We've taken on a lot, and somehow managed to stay in tact. Living life now as a family of 4!

So yesterday I go to post the link to my latest blog instalment on fb, like usual, and then fb tells me all content from blogspot.ca is  BLOCKED! WHAT THE HECK!?!?!?!? (Actually, I wanted to use a stronger word than that...) I have been linking to it through fb FOREVER. I'm seriously annoyed. Probably 80% of the people who read this get the link through there. All that to say, I guess we will have a big drop in pageviews now. The thing is, it's not about this blog being popular and how many pageviews I get (although it is fun for me to see) - it's that fb won't let me link to something that is important to me! The cynical side says that it is because blogger is owned by google and fb doesn't want to do free advertising for google products. Either way, it is annoying. I'm on google+ too, but haven't really spent a lot of time there, because most of my friends were still on fb. Maybe this will prompt a switch...who knows. Anyway, if you're still re

When we were discussing when to do the bash and crash and turn the heat off, the beginning of May seemed like it might be cutting it close. Never did we expect to be shivering at the END of May - today and yesterday have been the coldest yet! We invited J and K over for supper tomorrow, but may have to recant (or bring the food to their house) so we don't freeze them half-to-death. Anyway, enough about that. It isn't so bad - we are both so cheap that the heat would have been off no matter what by now anyway. On to the pictures! Things continue to move forward around here. Jake is meeting with the heat guy Monday afternoon to make a plan and sign the contract. There are lots of unknowns about how the process will work and how long it will take, so that is exciting. Hopefully we have enough interior wall! There won't be many left! Last weekend was the long weekend and we spent it working on our house (and other houses, as I have written). I asked Jake to get a c

At the risk of posting too many pictures in one post, I feel it is a disservice not to share these. Lori and Rachel went around with my camera and conned people into posing (or not posing) for pictures for a calendar. Some of them are pretty hilarious, some inappropriate, some immature, and some a combination of all 3. I didn't include any that feature nudity (they conned Jake into taking his shirt half-off!), but you'll get a pretty good idea from the ones that are here. Enjoy! Brendan is a master shoveler, although his posing needs work. He should at least look up! I think Loren is about to take his shirt off? Or is just sooo excited about destroying things? Now that is a work shot. Looks like it's posed, but Addy spent a fair amount of time up on that ladder, doing a not-fun job. I think mom is showing off her legs? Shoes? That Bruce sure can haul! Original AND creative! Orchestrator of the Calendar, #1 Heather sure knows how

A few months ago, the mother of one of Jake's best friend's passed away. She had been ill for several months, but was not old, and it was quite sad. Jake's friend and his sister have been going through the process of dealing with their mother's estate - a task that is never short or easy. Yesterday they had close family friends over to their mom's house to look around and see if there was anything that sparked particular memories, as well as to get help cleaning up of some of the more non-sentimental items like wooden spoons and the like.  Jake spent a lot of time with this family when he was growing up and things at his own home weren't ideal. He even spent one summer living in their shed/gazebo in the backyard. By all accounts, they were unfailingly kind and generous people who took their children's friends in as their own. They have passed that generosity on to their children and both J and W were extremely encouraging and kind - they wanted thei

A proper visual update is coming, with photos and everything, but I have a few minutes now while the potatoes are bbqing (sidebar: the bbq is AMAZING for some surprising things - even perhaps better than the stove. Pizza! Baked Potatoes! I'm thinking about bbqing perogies next.), so I will write a little. Wedding Nay-sayers. What is up with them? There are several people in my life who take every opportunity to warn me against my upcoming marriage, and who are quite sure that this renovation will be the death of our relationship. I just don't get it. What is gained in life by such negativity? And why is it that some people seem to think that being a downer all the time is cool or fun? Jake and I worked on 2 friends' houses and our own this weekend, and there was nary an unkind word between us. I'm kind of worried what we will do with ourselves when this renovation is done, actually. We're going to be bored! (just kidding. We'll just keep going. Basement! Downs

I don't know if I have ever been more exhausted in my life. I just can't seem to shake the all-consuming desire to sleep. And sleep. And sleep. Getting up to go to work has been a serious challenge. Finding patience for the kidlets even more so. However, the good news is that we are feeling really hopeful about this project. There is a lot of cleaning to do (I have hatched a crazy plan to wash all the floors on my hands and knees to get rid of this hellish dust as much as possible), but life is quite livable, even with this latest incarnation of a gutted house. If only I could stop being so tired! As Jake commented on the previous post, we got the poundage of the bin from the guy who arranged it for us. It weighed a total of 13,830 pounds, or 5880kg. That is almost 6 metric tonnes, people. That is CR-AZY. I carried buckets for most of the day, so maybe that's why the fatigue is lingering. I am incredibly thankful that we pushed ourselves to do this part early - orig

Momsie - what a trooper. Well, my friends, it is done. Yesterday morning there was plaster on the walls and the house was pretty in tact, and by yesterday night it was almost as naked as the day it was born. Along the way we had some fun, and learned some things. Let me share my newfound wisdom with you. 1. Hire A Good Crew: Over the course of the day, 23 (25 including Jake and I) people were here to lend a hand, and we needed every single one of them. It was quite a sight to behold - our friends and family with pry bars in hand, bashing the CRAP out of our house. We are so lucky. Everyone worked their butts off - not a single slacker among them. So here is a thank you to you all (I sure hope I don't forget anyone!): Kathryn, Loren, Lori, Jill, Rachel, Thomas, Heather, Mom, Addy, Mark, Vanessa, Nathan, Ang, Jon, Sarah, Dean, Scott, Brendan, Brendan, Tom, Winston, Kyle, Jay, Tara (she sent the hugest Taco Dip I have ever seen, and also a bazillion strawberry tartlets, some o

It probably seems a little ludicrous when I say 'there's no going back now' - we have been at that point for a while already, what with the huge holes in the wall to get the vermiculite out. But tomorrow it is ALL coming down, including the radiators, and we are both excited and a little nervous. The keg is on ice, the food is ready to be assembled by my mama, the sink is out (and we discovered that it is CAST IRON, not ceramic, as we previously thought. HEAVY! But also perhaps worth more?), the Hooligan has clean towels for dusty faces, soap, extra TP, and even a tarp-door. We waffle between thinking the house will be stripped before lunch and wondering how much we will still have to do on Sunday. Around 25 people are coming to help and we have a whole keg of beer and TONS of food, so I think they will stick around till the job is done. Hopefully. So now, on to some pictures: Last meal cooked on the old stove! An improved version of Stella's Mexican Breakfa