It’s been a long time since I had the Craig and Jo show. Well Sunday was the day for us to start our “new season” as Craig said. Kalissa had worked the overnight the night before and needed a quieter house to sleep in…and there was a larger snow even overnight that made Craig need to work on Sunday morning. I volunteered to watch the boys until Craig got back from working and then we could start a few projects.
Karl and Carver joined in on the fun of working. It all started with a lot of little things….
First furniture moving….
I had a busy weekend which included a road trip with Kelli to hunt down some living room furniture. It was successful and I’ll tell you more about that day and do a living room update for you in another blog post.
From there Craig hung pictures in the upstairs bathroom and living room. 
He bent some hooks in the upstairs bathroom. He was hopping from project to project. Most of the things really didn’t take long. It took longer to find the items needed to fix or hang it than it did to actually do the job.
Carver was a big helper. On a break from being in the garage, he went out and started shoveling snow. He vowed to do the whole back patio but was back in the house in 15 minutes because his “hands hurt”.
While the boys were busy, I was watching Gannon and making food. Craig put in a request for burritos and Fruit Pizza Brownies (recipe HERE). I was a good mother in law and made his request.
From there Craig and Karl started in on the bathroom in the basement. I’ve been wanting to spruce it up. Kramer and I never did anything with it. We had it on our “to do” list last winter but then he got sick and all projects went to the wayside. We did hire someone to texture the walls. He did a “meh” job. He never textured behind the toilet. UGH. Now I have to somehow deal with that.
Anyway…the bathroom had a cement half wall about 18″ tall. I talked to Craig on a different day wondering how we were going to make that look okay. Our idea was to do this…cover it with wainscotting and put a cap board on top. To do that Craig and Karl searched the garage to find a tool that pounds a nail into cement…then support boards and then the actual wainscotting.
Here’s how it is looking now…. I LOVE it.
I was upstairs taking care of Gannon so I didn’t get any action pictures. Sorry. I could hear them working. Craig was in the bathroom….Karl was at the table saw in the garage. Carver was running cut boards between the two of them. Poor little Carver got totally pooped out. He said he wanted to watch television and was sleeping in about three minutes after he laid down.
The boys ate a sandwich and were back at it again. This time Craig was moving on to trimming out the built in cabinet. We had been on a search much of the summer to find the doors and finally did. We found some corner time pieces and decided we’ll use them for trim in the basement. They aren’t fancy but will make getting trim up easy. Craig found 1 x 3s and cut them down then took them home to his house and routered the edges.
The project got left there with plans to work on it again another day. I’m supposed to get paint and get the bathroom painted. I’m thinking a gray color…then we’ll paint the trim white. I think all of the basement eventually will have white-ish trim. Then Craig will be back to work on it another weekend when Kalissa works.
My days have been so full. I hope we don’t end up waiting on me to have the painting done. I just don’t seem to get as much done as I used to lately…but maybe there is just more on my list. Who knows?
Anyway…I’m loving the progress. I couldn’t be thankful enough for the help Craig, Karl and Carver provided. Stay tuned…we hope to keep this project going.
You have some great kids Jo and you couldn’t ask for a better SIL than Craig! He is so handy and willing to take on projects! Carver is such a doll! Glad you are getting some things done around your house. I love seeing people’s home improvement projects!!!
Wow you all got so much done. I love the idea in the bathroom, it looks great. It sounds like Craig’s (ankle I think he badly hurt) is doing better. Carver is getting so big, he’s adorable.
Do you think I could hire them out? Including Carver? Great workers you have Jo and how blessed you are!❤ Oh, I thought you already bought furniture for the living room? Did i miss something?
I bought the couch, love seat and recliner. We needed some other things too.
When I was a new widow, I was worn out with all the things I had to do by myself now. He loved going to the post office and grocery store for me. He cut the grass and paid all the bills and fixed the dryer……the list is endless what he did. And then he was gone and I had to take care of everything. It’s exhausting, so pace yourself ? You are so very lucky with Craig and Karl.
It’s almost uncanny. Your previous post about me time really resonated with me, and the very next post is about a home reno project. Can I just say I agree 100% with you on the whole taking self care time. I watch my 2 yr old grandson 30 hours a week, and will be adding in a newborn by the end of summer. My sons and their girls are very much around. It may not sound like much, but as a person who very much needs time to recharge,(and who isn’t getting any right now) I hear you!!! Adding to that is the nearly complete disorder brought on by a big home reno project. Not ONE spot in my house stays tidy and my son is currently sleeping in my sewing room!!!! Reading your blog us a well needed break! It helps to know someone else feels like I do. Thanks, Jo. Blessings!
So great that your kids are willing to help. It just makes everything go so much faster, even if the tasks are small. They get good food out of it and you get your items accomplished.
Looking good!
Are you sure you want to texture behind the toilet? It’s a difficult place to access to clean and dirt & dust will accumulate there, even more so with texture. I never could clean behind mine until a plumbing fiasco and the plumber had to pull the toilet. I was right there with the vacuum as soon as he did – lol. (Still not that funny, though)
I enjoy all your posts…bought mag for your pattern. Did I miss a post for your alphabet patterns?? Keep up the great work
I haven’t gotten a chance to work on letter yet Chyree. Having a puppy is making sewing in my sewing room virtually impossible. Once she figures it out, I’ll get to it.