House: We got junk

We can't wait until we can park in the garage.

Right now, piles of carpet, carpet pad, wood, and trash enjoy shelter from the elements in our garage while our cars stay in the driveway. That is, until tomorrow.

Matt scheduled an appointment with 1-800-GOT-JUNK for tomorrow. The customer service rep was really friendly, and scheduling the appointment was really easy.

Hopefully we'll have good things to report tomorrow. While the service comes with a cost, this is one of those jobs we'll gladly pawn off on someone else.

House: Wood-floor project planner

I wish we would've come across this a week ago.

Then again, I probably should've looked for it. In any event, here's a nice interactive tool from Minwax — the Project Planner.

It walks you through the products they recommend for a wood-floor project.

This would've helped a few days ago, because we accidentally applied polycrylic as the first coat of finish instead of polyurethane. Turns out, polycrylic is better for furniture and cabinetry, not wood that endures heavy use like floors.

No worries.

The next three coats will be the right stuff — water-based polyurethane. We applied the first coat last night.

With just two more coats to go, the floors already look nice!

House: Almost there

Once we move in and have more time, we'll walk everyone through the work we did. Unfortunately, the presentation will be scatterred chronologically.

We'll post pictures and everything, too. But for now, here's a recap of this past weekend's work.

Thursday
Matt's sister Alli dropped cousin Pete from Seattle off at the apartment around 6p. We ate pizza, then got to work about 7p. Task at hand: tear up the carpeting in the two bedrooms and prepare the floors for sanding. We’ve treated the nursery as our lab for pretty much everything we’ve done at the house thus far, so we started there. The green (at least 20 years old) carpeting came up without too much trouble.

The tack strips, well, they were as easy as tack strips can be. Sometimes they splintered, sometimes they came up easily and brought the nails with them. After pulling the tack strips, we moved on to the carpet pad.

Unfortunately, the brown carpet “pad” seemed to have become one with the wood floor. To get that up from the floor, Matt had to use a chisel. This proved quite tedious and somewhat nerve wracking because we didn’t want to damage the floor, but that brown crap had to come off for us to sand. While Matt scraped the floor, Pete pulled carpeting in the master bedroom. By about 11p, the nursery floor was as clean as we could get it.

Matt then joined Pete in the master bedroom, and we finished pulling up the carpeting and carpet pad. This carpet was significantly newer than the other, so it and its pad came up easily. We called it a day at midnight after pulling up the staples from the floor. This left only the tack strips to be pulled Friday morning before we could get sanding.

Friday
We rented a floor sander from Home Depot at about 9:30a. Before we could sand, however, we sealed up the heat ducts, taped the electrical outlets, and pinned up a drop cloth to cover the door. We fired up the sander and let it go to work. Matt went over each floor with three different sandpaper grits. This took all of Friday and most of Saturday. Not much to report here. Basically just had to control the 100-pound sander and try to be as even as possible. Pete swept the floors after each time Matt went over them.

Matt's mom arrived Friday afternoon and cleaned the kitchen. Within about 10 minutes of her getting to the house, she declared the carpeting in the eat-in kitchen and the family room smelled too much like a litter box, so it had to go.

Saturday
Matt spent most of the day sanding the floors. During one of my breaks, I walked into the kitchen and saw my pregnant wife and AARP-eligible mom pulling up carpeting. During the next break, the two were pulling apart a railing. All this in preparation for the carpet installation this Thursday.

By the afternoon, the floor sanding was complete. So, we packed up the sander, returned it to Home Depot, and rented an edge sander. The floor sander can get as close as an inch to the base molding, so then you need an edge sander to get the rest. This 40-pound, "little" monster was ferocious. It took everything I had to keep it from pulling me for a ride across the floor.

Again, Matt started in the nursery. It went okay. I made the mistake of trying to “touch up” some spots in the middle of the floor. Well, the first coat of stain revealed just how much deeper the edge sander cuts into the wood than the floor sander. Fortunately we stained the nursery floor before I finished with the edge sander, so I learned not to take the edge sander anywhere other than, duh, the edge. We finished up around 9p.

Sunday
More sanding and staining. Finished the sanding by about 1p and returned it to Home Depot. Mom and Shana continued their work on the eat-in kitchen and the family room. Alli and friends arrived about 3p. Two of her friends primed doors, and Alli and our other cousin from Seattle, Alexandra, painted the bathrooms. Alex is in town to visit Marquette.

Mom left about 3:30p.

The girls left around 5:15p. Shana finished painting the bathroom in the master bedroom, and I wiped the master bedroom floor with a tack cloth to get it ready for the stain. Shana left about 6:30p. I stained the floor in the master bedroom and left the house at 8p.

Busy, busy weekend. Tonight, I’ll head over and apply the first of three coats of Polyurethane to the floors. The nice thing about this job: I can listen to the radio and not have to fight a machine.

Hard to believe we move this Friday.

House: Green Home Tax Breaks

A Forbes.com article, "Groundbreaking Green Home Tax Breaks" (March 3, 2007), lays out some of the tax benefits to making a house more energy efficient.

Here are some excerpts from the article by Matt Woolsey:

• "If materials are Energy Star-certified and fall under the scope of the Energy Policy Act, you can recoup some costs." Visit this link to learn more about the tax breaks put forth by the Energy Policy Act. According to the site, the tax benefits will remain in effect through 2007.
• The Environmental Protection Agency "estimates that efficient materials can reduce energy costs by 30 percent."
• Request an energy efficiency inventory. We're definitely going to do this at the new house. A representative from your local utility company — in our case, WE Energies — will come to your house and, as the article states, "highlight your home's trouble spots where the most energy is being wasted."
  A quick visit to WE Energies' web site brings up this list of "101 money-saving tips".
  Also, the WE Energies Residential page links to the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Home Energy Audit site, which boasts being "the first web-based do-it-yourself energy audit tool." Cool! We'll check this out after we move in and before we request the audit from WE Energies. We added this link to our "For the house" list.
• According to Woolsey, "Exterior windows and doors, including skylights, that meet Energy Star requirements have a 10 percent tax credit up to $200. This also goes for storm windowns and doors. Roofing and insulation or sealing that meet efficiency requirements earns a 10 percent credit up to $500."
• And finally, "if you're looking for the most consistent long-term green solution, the answer lies at your local nursery — trees."

House: Green idea #1

So we figured it'd be fun if we shared some of the things we came up with to "go green."

We're trying to come up with ways to green-ify our life. So, for instance, to cut down on paper-towel use at work, Matt now brings a hand towel. Let's take a quick look at how much paper this saves:

• 1 foot of paper toweling per bathroom trip
• 5 bathroom trips per day
• 25 bathroom trips per week
• 50 work-weeks a year
• All that adds up to about 1,750 feet of paper toweling saved just by bringing a hand towel to work.

So that's our first green idea. Be sure to post in the comments the creative ways you "go green" in your daily lives.

House: Lower your phone bill

Looking to save some cash on your phone bill? These sites let you compare local, long-distance, and wireless services:

• MyRatePlan.com — easy to use, best for comparing just rate plans
• WhiteFence.com — "Connect your utilities online." We'll definitely revisit this in the coming weeks as we prepare for the big move.
• SaveOnPhone.com — "Cheap long distance phone rates discount comparison service." Another simple site that helps you compare rates for residential plans, calling cards, cell phones, and Internet service.
• PhoneRateFinder.com — Really, the URL says it all.

Dog: Zooley update

There really hasn't been much to report on Zooley. She still loves to counter surf. Fortunately, a full stick of butter and a raw italian turkey sausage have no adverse effects on her gastrointestinal tract.

She's loving the snow and sub-zero temps right now. The picture on top shows her sitting peacefully during one of
her walks. The
other shows what she does when WE want to go inside.

As you can see, she's emphatic about letting us know she'd like to stay out, lie down, and eat snow. As soon as we make a move toward the front door, she immediately sits or lies down and jerks her head backward. For both pics, the wind chill was near -20°F.

House: Compact Fluorescent Lightbulb tips

Some quick, easy facts to remember about Compact Fluorescent lightbulbs (CFLs):

• A 60-watt incandescent bulb uses 3.5 times as much electricity as a CFL to put out the same amount of light.
• Over its life, a CFL will cost you a third or less to buy and run than an incandescent.
• Helpful links:
  
  Energy-Efficient Products as recommended by the U.S. Department of Energy Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
  GE Consumer & Industrial Lighting: Ask Us.

Thanks to the Chicago Tribune's "5 things to know..." feature in the paper's Home&Garden section (2.18.07).

Baby: 15 tips from a friend

One of the reasons we're blogging about our experiences preparing for our first baby, owning our first house, and raising our first puppy, is to catalog all the great advice we get from friends and family.

One of our friends, Melissa, sent us 15 bits of advice. From her favorite non-alcoholic beer to the nipples that best resemble the shape of the breast, Melissa's tips gave us plenty to think about.

Thanks for the advice, Melissa, and thanks for letting us share it! If anyone else can add tips to Melissa's list, be sure to post a comment. Just click on the "comments" link at the bottom of this post. Remember to do this for any of the posts you read. Thanks!

1. O'Doul's Amber is the best n/a beer.
2. Mojito mix with soda and no rum is really good, especially this summer when you're going to be hot as hell and prego.
3. Old Navy has pretty cute maternity clothes that don't cost a fortune.
4. You have to drink a ton more water. I got the worst Charlie horses and leg cramps when I was pregnant. Tums (Ca) and water solved this problem. We bought a GE water cooler from Home Depot last summer and buy five gallon bottles of Culligan fluoridated water. The water cooler has three dispensers: cold, room temperature, and hot. I make Kara's formula with this and don't have to use the microwave.
5. If you get a swing, get a little portable one you can carry from room to room. You can travel with it, and it doesn't take up a ton of room.
6. Kara has a mobile that puts a little light show on the canopy that's over it. She LOVES to stare at it when it's dark.
7. Very early on, Kara became infatuated with her own reflection in the mirror. You must have a mirror for Baby Q's crib.
8. We have a Fisher Price Ocean Wonders Aquarium Bouncer she also loves. She can kick the little dangly things and get it to play different tunes.
9. Our lactation consultant at the hospital said that Avent bottles have nipples closest to the shape of the breast, so if you breast feed, there's less confusion when you do need to use a bottle. I like them. Ventaire seems to have too many damn parts. Plus, buy one type of bottle and stick with it, so you don't have all sorts of different nipples and sh-t to sort through to put a bottle together. Baby sitters will appreciate this!
10. Diaper Genies really do work. I was told not to get one, and I'm glad I still received one as a gift. [And who can beat their slogan: "Proven #1 with #2"?!]
11. Register at Pampers, Similac, and Enfamil's web sites so you can start accumulating coupons.
12. Put your changing table below a window so Baby Q can look outside when you are changing her/him. Kara loves looking out her window.
13. Blankets: I registered for and received some that have satin on one side. I don't like them because they are slippery, and it seems like you can't get a grip on the baby.
14. A MUST!!! Buy a Snugli (Hippopotamus brand?) at Babies R Us. It's a swaddler that has Velcro on it. You wrap the baby up, and they really sleep longer, even though it looks like a straight-jacket.
15. The anesthesiologist and your delivery nurse are your friends. I would rather die than have natural childbirth. Lamaz-schmamoz.

House: Five-second rule, right?

Germs, germs, germs. They're everywhere.

For now, we look the other way when Zooley (our 65-pound puppy) "samples" our kitchen towels or licks the fabric softener from our clothes. Odds are, though, we'll raise our germ sensors when Baby Q arrives. The Q section in Sunday's (2.11.07) Chicago Tribune points us to a web site that offers tips on keeping our house clean(-er).

When we visited the site, we found out it's the companion web site for the book What to Expect When You're Expecting.

And, yes, the book's on our nightstand. Order the book.

The Trib's Verna Noel Jones offers this summary:

"The guide was developed by the non-profit What to Expect Foundation in partnership with the Clorox Co. and offers practical advice on how to keep a clean and safe home without going overboard."

Also, a quick visit to Clorox's web site reveals a neat interactive page for "New Moms" that lets you see where germs live and how "you can create a healthier home for your baby."

Baby: Hello, second trimester

We've reached the second trimester!

Today marks 13 weeks, 1 day into Shana's pregnancy. Just a few days ago, we found out the results of the first-trimester screening What's this?:

• 1 in 500: Odds of Baby Q being born with Down syndrome.
  (Visit the National Down Syndrome Society web site.)
• 1 in 10,000: Odds of Baby Q being born with trisomy-18.
  (What is trisomy-18?)

We had the first-trimester screening last Monday. In addition to Shana's blood test, we also got to see Baby Q for the second time! Already 6.5 cm long — about the length of a pinky finger — Baby Q was dancing all over the place! Obviously getting that from mom. You can see the tongue sticking out in both pics.

Everyone, meet Baby Q.

Baby Q, meet everyone.

House: Adjust temperature at night?

Shana and I often debated whether or not to turn our thermostat down while we're gone during the day or asleep at night.

We never could figure out, though, if the furnace actually works harder to go from, say 63° to 73° than it does to maintain 70°. According to Doug Anderson, the national home sealing project manager for ENERGY STAR, "It is true that the furnace will have to work hard for a short period of time to get the house back up to your 'comfort zone' but that saves more energy than keeping it in the comfort zone continuously." Consider that mystery solved.

Days after reading this, we watched Al Gore's global-warming documentary An Inconvenient Truth. Anderson's advice coupled with the movie's powerful message led us to turn our heat down to about 63° last night — and for many nights to come.

Add the movie and its web site to your list of "living green" resources: www.climatecrisis.net.

Baby: Tips for buying a crib

The Sunday, January 28, 2007, Chicago Tribune offered these tips to consider before buying a crib. We'll probably end up getting a bassinet from Shana's family, but we both found these suggestions helpful:

1. Safety: The Consumer Product Safety Commission lists safety requirements for cribs. Even though we're getting a hand-me-down, we'll still check it against these standards.
2. Assembly required: No surprise here — read the directions before purchasing the crib. "If things look too complicated, consider a crib that's easier to assemble."
3. Get a firsthand look: Even if you shop online, go to a store to check out the model you're interested in. This will let you let you check the stability of the frame and get a feel for the mattress. **"Cribs that support mattresses with metal spring systems or metal hardware are preferable to those that suspend with vinyl or cloth straps."**
4. Form, function, style: Where's the crib going? How do you and the crib get along? Some cribs have drop-side features on one side only, others, not at all. "Test to find which works best for your height and comfort level. For extra storage, look at models with drawers underneath. Models on wheels make for easier cleaning around the crib."
5. Beware of convertibles: A "convertible" crib can transform from a crib to a daybed, toddler beds, or twin-size beds. If you decide to get one of these, make sure you love the style, because you'll be stuck with it for a while. **"Think about whether you are going to have another kid. If so, consider whether you really want to buy a second crib because the first child's was converted into a toddler bed."**

House: Use water wisely

We've all heard of — and hopefully purchased — EnergyStar-labeled lightbulbs and appliances. According to Karen Klages of the Chicago Tribune's Home and Garden section, "the EPA recently launched WaterSense an EnergyStar-like testing and labeling program dedicated to water efficiency and conservation." According to Klages, WaterSense-qualified products — sprinklers, toilets, faucets — will be at least 20 percent more water efficient than non-qualified products.

Visit epa.gov/watersense for more information.

Also, be sure to check out energystar.gov to learn more about the EnergyStar program.

Dishwasher tips

Yesterday's installment of Chicago Tribune's daily e-newsletter, "Daywatch" included an article with these helpful tips for using a dishwasher. We've had some problems with this in the past — smoggy glassware, for example.

Here are "do's and don'ts" from the Universal Press Syndicate's Mark Hetts:

• DO: Use less detergent than the dishwasher or detergent manufacturer recommends.
• DO NOT put aluminum pans or utensils in the dishwasher. Repeated machine washings dull, pit, and eventually ruin the finish.
• DO: If non-stick cookware and utensil makers recommend against diswasher cleaning, take their advice.
• DO: Hand wash copper items and copper-bottomed pots and pans to avoid dull and tarnish copper.
• DO: Hand wash antique glassware, china, or flatware.
• DO: Always read the instructions with dishwashing detergents and dishwashers.

Finally, avoid putting the following items in your dishwasher: wood-handled or bonded-handle utensils or flatware (whoops), cast iron, wood bowls, tin, pewter, and antique or deicate crystal or china.

To receive Daywatch, click here.

Introduction

Just found out that an empty plastic orange-juice jug works as a great toy for our 8-month-old puppy, Zooley.

I love breakthrough moments like this. The little lessons that no one teaches you, but are so effective you wonder why more dog owners don't sing the praises of the Tropicana 96-ounce jug.

Shana and I have a big year ahead of us. A month ago, we found out we're pregnant ("My boys can swim!"), and two weeks ago, we bought our first house.

Six months ago, we welcomed Zooley, a Bernese Mountain Dog, into our life — and our two-bedroom apartment continues to shrink as she grows ... and grows ... and grows.

So, here we are.

Married: Check.

Dog: Check.

House: Check

Sam's Club membership: Check

Baby: On the way.

Yup, that all adds up to adulthood. Ready or not.