Three Boys and a Girl: Progress & Mother's Day

I had a wonderful weekend. Well, most of it. I'll quickly skip over the parts that weren't so good because no one needs to hear about those details. Let's just say, sometimes couples can struggle when it comes to doing house projects together. We don't always, but Saturday we did. Some one's attitude was sour and the day ended on my husband buying me chocolate and taking me to my favorite restaurant to make up for his behavior. I am thankful for a husband who can recognize when he's been less-than-kind and say he's sorry. Thanks, Babe, for swallowing your pride to make the rest of our weekend better :) He's a good man. I married a gooooooood man.

The project we were tackling was ripping out the carpet in the dining room. We had planned on leaving it in there until the end of the summer, but we ran into a problem that caused quicker actions. The carpet that had been cleaned just prior to our viewing the home twice and moving day no longer smelled like carpet cleaner. It began to take on more of a cat litter-box smell, if you know what I mean. I'm not super keen on the ammonia cat-pee smell, so the carpet had to go. ASAP. I'm not a carpet lover to start, so when it made me want to hurl walking into the room, it was time to do something.

After ripping the carpet and padding out, we realized that the sub-flooring was also damaged from being used as an animal potty. After trying bleach and a vinegar/peroxide mixture to alleviate the odor, we decided to try using a stain/odor blocker paint to seal the plywood. It actually worked. The smell was greatly reduced and I'm pretty convinced that the dining room might actually smell pleasant someday. I'm optimistic :) We are going to give it a few days to make sure the smell is gone before we begin laying the bamboo down on top.

You see those dark spots? Yeah, that's exactly what you think it is. Appetizing in a dining room, eh?

After some Kilz paint.

Our plans are to get the flooring in here, move the stuff from the other carpeted room into the dining room once it's finished, and then work on that room. It's going to take a while, but I'm thrilled the process has begun.

You see that little bit of painted trim in the last picture? I've completed all the trim in the downstairs except for the two carpeted rooms. Woo-hoo! It took forever. Lots of nap times were actually used wisely and productively this past few weeks. I'm working on picking a color for the wall in the family room and kitchen. Since those rooms are adjoining, I'll be using the same color. I'm hoping to get that done very soon and share!

In other Dunn news, Mother's Day was great. We went to church, came home, relaxed a few hours, and then enjoyed an evening grilling out with my in-laws. I am blessed beyond words to be the momma of these two boys. I wish I always acted like it, but here's to another year of trying. Trying to be who I am supposed to be to my children and my husband, thus being more of who God wants me to be.

I like presents ;)