Electrical, Tile, and Easter, Oh My!

Last week, I spent some time working on the electrical panels. Day one, after a trip to the hardware store for grounding lugs and whatnot, I finished the upstairs sub-panel. I figured after getting some practice on the little panel, I would be able to get the main panel knocked out in a day. But things always seem to take longer than you expect they will.

Before

After

I must admit, I am pleased with the results, and if anybody gets in there and messes with my wires, I might cry. Or punch the perpetrator. Or both.

Friday, we started working on the tile in the kids' bathroom upstairs. Our neighbor used to own a flooring business, and a few years ago, had given us a large stack of salesman samples. Peeling the tiles off the display boards had been a pain in the booty, not to mention the glue we had to scrape off the back of the tiles.

 But I'm really happy with the results.

Saturday, the kids colored Easter eggs. This one of Zivah's was my favorite.

Sunday, we went to an early morning community service where several of the area churches come together to celebrate Easter, then spent the afternoon relaxing with my family. It was a lovely day.

Now it's crunch time. We have carpet scheduled to be installed the 19th of May, and there is a lot to get done before hand. All the baseboard needs to be put up in all the bedrooms and upstairs, tile done in the master bath, and other odds and ends. I'm hoping the kids won't die of neglect in the meantime.

Wind

I woke up this morning to the sound of wind and rain. I was only half conscious when, at the sound of another gust, it felt like someone gently rocked the bed. I am used to the wind making the roof sound like a flapping circus tent, but I have never felt the wind actually move the trailer before.

I will not be sorry to tear this piece of tin down. May it be soon.

A Spring Saturday

Steps almost finished.

Fruit trees almost planted.

Leaves are emerging.

The girl with the curl.

Making Marks

I was getting tired of the cinder block steps we have been using, so about a week ago, I decided it was time to build some legitimate steps for the front of the house. Although we eventually hope to have some nice stone or brick-lined steps for the entrance, we decided it would be quicker and easier to build wooden ones using some old decking material we have on hand.

But instead of just concreting the 4x4 posts in some holes, we figured it would be wise to go ahead and pour a slab. So this weekend, that's what we did.

 Seeing the wet concrete, the kids begged us to put their hand prints in the slab like they did in the porch concrete nearly three years ago. I have to admit, the thought went through my mind that it would be fun to have a chicken print on the slab, too, but brushed the idea aside as a little ridiculous. So when Finley asked if we could put Lizzy's footprint on the slab, I was more than happy to give it a try.

Turned out nicely, I think.

Joe. He's 8 now.

Joe turned eight yesterday. As a birthday present to himself, he pulled the second of his top front teeth the day before. Sadly, our absent-minded tooth fairy neglected his duties, and Joe still hasn't received payment for this monumental tooth.

Not to let this little hiccup in life ruin his birthday, Joe turned his attention to decorating the cake for his party:

 Behold, a three (or six) wheeled monster truck.

I know. It does not look like Joe will grow up to be a modern day Rembrandt. A Pollack, maybe, but really, art isn't his thing at this point in life.

A while back, he came to me asking for newspaper. That spidey-mom-sense-tingle made me ask what he wanted it for. He wanted to start a fire. Further inquiry revealed that he had made a house out of a box, complete with working chimney, and wanted to create a "house fire". He had the whole setup ready in the middle of the gravel driveway (so that the fire wouldn't spread), his big water gun at the ready to put the fire out, and a roll of toy gun caps taped to the "ceiling" for added excitement. After the lecture on never starting a fire without mom or dad around, we postponed the mini, controlled house-fire to a day that wasn't so windy.

Lest you think I am raising some future arsonist, let me assure you there are other things on his mind. Last week, I was working in the house when Joe showed up in his work clothes, determined to help. I was wiring up outlets, so I thought Joe would like to put the wall plates on after I was done. This kept him happy for about a minute, but then he wanted to know how how the outlets worked and how to wire them up. After a quick explanation of the different wires and what they do, I showed him which wire to hook up where, and he (figuratively) shoved me aside and went to work. 

You have to admire his determination. 12 gauge wire isn't the easiest to work with, but he struggled with it until he was done. All that was needed from me was a little tightening of the screws. After a few of these outlets, I showed him to the guest room, where lighter gauge wire and push-in connections would be easier to work on. He wired up all the outlets in that room. (Please don't be afraid to come stay at our place. We checked his work to make sure the house won't burn down.)

All this talk of electricity got Joe to thinking, and he came to me with an idea for an experiment. He wanted to hook a wire up to a battery to see if it would glow red. I explained that a light bulb is exactly what he was talking about, and after failing with a 1.5 volt battery, we got it to work with a 9 volt.

He was thrilled and carried his battery and light bulb around for the next two days to show every one his light.

So, here you have a glimpse of Joe at eight. Let's try not to look too closely at the morning grumpiness and whining [he's gotten good at 'humph'] and critical spirit. Hopefully those negatives will be tamed and reshaped with grace. Let's focus on that curious kid that likes building and inventing things and figuring out the way things work. He is kind to the animals, but wreaks havoc on imaginary zombies. He still loves his mom... still wants to be a race car driver, still doesn't like meat.

And, for some reason, Joe likes bunnies. (Will this fact embarrass him when he's 18? Let's see...)