Home renovation jargon

Some people say that owning a house is a constant project. Maybe so, but I love a good household project as long as the job gets completed within an acceptable amount of time. When we moved in last September, We didn't have much time before Bodhi's arrival and the cold of winter to get much accomplished but we got a good start at it. We have learned that we need to make a list and prioritize our household projects. I throw a new idea at Patrick everyday and he is a bit overwhelmed with all of my requests, ideas and finish what you started comments. 

Before we had this last spring snow storm, we had two weeks of decent weather to get a start on the exterior/spring projects. Daily Patrick says words, term and phrases to me and I have absolutely no idea what he is talking about. I swear, some stuff he throws at me or just totally makes up just to make me crazy. Now I say "just tell me what that is called so I can do a search on Pinterest to find the style/design that I like." There has been a lot of talk about the soffits & fascia of the house as we make some improvements to the exterior before painting the exterior of the house. I know all about the fascia of our bodies but am totally clueless as to what fascia & soffits of the house are, even after he pointed it out to me numerous times. I think I get it now. 

We are also remodeling the front door entrance which thanks to pinterest I have learned is called a portico. I thought that it was difficult to pick out a color for the interior of the house, it is a whole other ballgame to find the right color for the exterior of your home. It's not really something that you can do over at least until another 5 years when the house will need to be painted again according to my husband. 

Inside we have painted numerous rooms and walls of the house, put down a new wood floor in the family room, demolished a large river rock 70's fireplace wall and built a new fireplace wall and mantel, completely demoed the basement and changed out a few light fixtures. We have a very long list for the interior of the house which includes a complete demo and rebuild of the master bedroom, bath & closet. Right now, the focus is on the exterior as spring approaches. Landscaping is a big project that we are working on. Four large trees that needed to come down have been taken down and removed last fall and one more just last week. Heartbreaking for me but they were a danger to our house and our neighbors. Now we are working on a landscape design which includes a large privacy wall along the new cedar fence that went up last fall. We have years of projects ahead of us, but it is so great to see the evolving changes. I will work on some before and after photos to share. 

Oh and when I say "we" I am mostly referring to my husband and some wonderful family and friends who have been so kind and generous to give us a helping hand. I have been mostly the designer and care taker of the children throughout these projects. 

These are some of my Pinterest inspiration photos:

You can find my Pinterest page here: https://www.pinterest.com/Nikkimaycapuano/

I'm back!

I'm back! Those words relate to so many things right now, not just the fact that I am back to the blog after an unanticipated absence. It has been a long time since I have felt like myself and I'm so happy to be feeling like me again. I still feel like I am in a strangers physical body, but internally, I'm back. The physical stuff I am working very hard on. All of the hard work is paying off, but I still have a long way to go to reach my fitness goals. 

Our journey through pregnancy beat me up pretty bad. Emotionally, it was a long road with many bumps. I didn't write much about my pregnancy with Bodhi & his twin because it was a daily struggle for me that I was working through each day. In the end, we have been blessed again with the gift of our beautiful baby boy. The two babies along the road that we will never know will always be on my mind and in my heart. Our story has a happy ending and not everyone who struggles with infertility & miscarriage does. This experience has forever changed me. I am extremely grateful for the blessing in our life. My thoughts & prayers are always with the families who are going through similar struggles. 

I'm excited to get back to start sharing our family photos, adventures & stories.