A Change of Venue

Once we made the decision to stay in our current home for another 3-5 years, T and I started to look at the house and prioritize which home improvements were absolutely necessary and which once could be held off for a while (or even forever). We quickly came to the conclusion that the kids’ bedroom was the first place to start.

Our house was built in the mid-1930′s as a summer cottage. It was not intended to be lived in year round. Previous owners had done small updating projects here and there, but until we moved in, no one had added insulation. T and I added insulation to the outside wall of our bedroom before moving in, but that was pretty much it. The room that became the kids’ bedroom has two outside walls and is, unfortunately, the coldest room in the house. For the last two years, we’ve put up plastic and calking and turned up the heat, but we knew that that was just a stopgap.

Our dream plan has always been to tear the whole house down and put up a new house. And as a result, we’ve done our best to get by without putting much money into home improvements that would only be destroyed once we put our plan into action. But because we know we’re stuck here for a while (another whole story in and of itself), we decided that we really need to make improvements to the kids’ room to make it more comfortable for them.

So, this week the construction guys are working on the kids’ room (adding insulation to the walls and floor and putting in 4 new windows), and we’re hanging out at Grammy and Papa’s house not too far away. Although the kids are calling it our “bacation”, to me it’s just a change of venue. We’re still doing what we do everyday (even EI was willing to adjust to continue Buba’s services), we’re just doing it in a different location.

And while I had really hoped that it might be sort of like a vacation with extra hands to help out, there have been many times where it definitely feels like more work. The house is only minimally toddler-proofed, which is both annoying and somewhat stressful, and Tiny and Buba are definitely testing to see just how much they can get away with. But at the same time, it is so nice that Grammy makes us a delicious dinner every night AND cleans it all up afterward while T and I get Buba and Tiny ready for bed. I’ve had not trouble at all adjusting to that change.

I was most nervous about disruptions to sleep, but it hasn’t been a problem at all. Buba and Tiny still take a 2-3 hour mid-day nap, and although they’ve been getting to bed slightly later than they would at home, we don’t hear a peep from them until morning. All of this is making me hopeful that we might actually be able to take a real vacation in the not too distant future. T and I haven’t taken a vacation since before my pregnancy, but I really think we could use one. And I think Tiny and Buba would enjoy one too.