Bathroom Remodel Pictures

The old bathroom -- we hated the tile color, the fact that you couldn't take baths -- basically everything.  When Chris tore it down it had a ton of mildew and crap in the sheet-rock as well, so it is not a healthier place to bathe.  :)

One side of the bathroom, guesses on when it was built?

The other end of the tub, so a tight squeeze.

Chris ripping out the floor on Sunday morning.  It was the little tiles, so thankfully it came up quite easier than he expected.

His pile o' tile

The top of the old ceramic coated wrought iron tub going out.  Even with the three guys it went clunk on EVERY step and then some.

The studs of a completely gutted bathroom.  Chris took all the old tile out.

The new bathtub that only took two guys to bring up the stairs or seat in place.  It also has whirlpool capabilities.

Chris got about half of the new tile up on Wednesday.

Painting on Wednesday

Tiling on Thursday

Toilet went in after the grouting on Friday

Vanity in and almost done on Saturday. 

Taking a Break

Well, this past weekend we gutted the bathroom.  When I say we, I really mean Chris did.  I was sent away so that I wouldn't pester him with questions or annoy him with "trying to help" or get all the tile dust and such in me.  Saturday Chris did demolition while I went to a 1 year old b'day party for a friend.  He managed to get all of the walls down and out of the house that day.  I'm sure our neighbors love us, but hopefully they will more when it helps the resale value of their condos.  Sunday was an adventure because we ripped up the flooring.  It came up significantly easier than Chris was expecting so that was quite nice.  We also got the old ridiculously heavy bath tub out with help from a few church friends.  We got the new tub in with only one friend, if that tells you the extent of the old tub.  It was a wrought iron tub coated in ceramics -- impossible to do much with in reality.  The new tub has whirl-pool jets, arm rests and hold enough water that it covers my legs when I want to get in it -- you know, we had to test it out to make sure everything worked properly. Since the new tub is deeper than most we needed a special drainage kit and the one Chris got first didn't work.  I got sent to Lowe's with the kit to ask for help, apparently people love helping pregnant women who look clueless with their plumbing problems. Monday I went to work and Chris got a lot of stuff together so we could get the sheet-rock and backer-board in for the tile after I got off of work.  He also got the condo association to turn off the water so that he could replace the plumbing in the walls just a bit.  Yesterday (Tuesday) he started sheet-rocking walls and putting up the backer-board.  He also got the walls primed and ready for me to paint.  I'm currently taking a break after scraping the old paint off of the ceiling and letting Chris finish putting up the backboard around the new tub.  We bought all the tile and stuff today, so the people at Lowe's won't have to see me a whole lot more (hopefully). 

Today at Lowe's I had a whole new experience with a complete stranger walking up and congratulating us.  We had a flatbed full of stuff and the lady (lady A) was having a conversation with the check-out lady (lady B).  They both believe that I'm having a boy because I'm not "big all over", though lady A did lift up my jacket in the back and say I had some hips on me to help me carry the extra weight.  She didn't actually attack me or try and touch my stomach, though she did make motions like she wanted to.  Chris was glad of this because originally he wondered how many hands he would have to break from people deciding my abdomen was public domain.  So far his total is zero, but this is also the first time any complete stranger has said anything.  I also got the traditional, "I hate you. I wish I could have looked like that at months," when Lady B asked me how much longer I had to go.  Apparently me telling them 2 months, that I was 8 months into this pregnancy was NOT what they were expecting.  However, since I get that from EVERYONE -- from the OB/GYN to friends -- it is what I expected.  

On the Ripley front -- we regularly see him move, it isn't uncommon at any point in time, so I get some weird looks occasionally because people don't expect it from my abdomen.  We get arms and legs and random body parts that stick out quite a bit sometimes.  It has become interesting to wonder where exactly Ripley thinks it is going.  Apparently my abdomen is getting a little small because kicks to the ribs are painful and it still likes to stay hang out playing piano on my spine. 

Anyway, it sounds like Chris is almost done roto-zipping the backer-board as the last piece for the tub so I should get to painting.  I'll post a series of pics (since I've taken some everyday) once this is over and we have everything back together.  

Week 31, Day 2

OB appointment took FOREVER today.  Especially for me just having stuff checked out -- I mean like, BP, weight, fetal heart rate, stuff like that. 

Everything is normal thus far with both Ripley and me.  :)

We also made all of the rest of the OB appointments we'll make for before Ripley gets here.  This means in nine weeks we'll be parents!?  I suppose this means we'll be busy and have to get to work on getting everything ready. 

T minus 7 minutes

Well, I've got pasta boiling and it will be the end of having supper ready, so I've got seven minutes to post something.  We've made it through the first couple of weeks of March with not much ado.  We're still in limbo about all sorts of things, so no resolution on any job fronts.  We do know that we're still working on having a baby in May though.  We go back to the OB this Wednesday.  This is the last of the monthly appointments, so we start biweekly after this.  Two weekends back we managed to put together baby furniture and have moved the house around a bit.  This past weekend we didn't do much of anything, just recovered.  I also taught my last couple of courses at Westwood so I'm done there until August-ish.  This coming weekend we will start demolition on the bathroom.  Chris wants to get it all done in a week, so we'll see how it goes.  I have faith that it can happen, just will it is the question.  I'll probably get to do some painting, but as long as he gets the major stuff (like the bathtub, tiling, and sheetrock hung) we'll be good to go.  I'm still at the cafe though that will only be through the end of the month -- it has been very painful to be up and about so much.  Anyway, this is apparently as much as I can type before the timer goes off, so I had significantly less than seven minutes to start with.  I hope that all is well by everyone. 

Walk in the Prairie

Well I had today off.  I should be writing thank you notes for the shower, or grading papers, or sleeping, or the list could probably go on indefinitely.  I chose to do something I wanted to do though and go to the prairie.  The prairie has a trail that I walk and run on -- the first outside walking this year since I was on a strict no slipping policy for this winter.  I took my phone which means I could get some pictures of winter giving way to spring.  This time of year really is great in my opinion as we watch the snow melt, the water levels rise and green buds begin to form.  We won't have anything close to a true spring for a month or so, but it is still nice to see the preparation of it all.  

Some remaining snow caught in the bushes

Bubbling brook

Not quite thawed out pond, but its getting there -- see the lighter colored ice?

Trees in the distance

Almost makes me forget I'm in a metropolitan area when this is what I see. 

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Shower Pics (Finally)

My niece and me all shower ready.  She had a great dress!

cake -- it was apparently good as most of it got eaten.