This One's For Ryan

My cousin recently asked a few questions about how we built our house. So I thought I'd do a post about it, mostly so I can remember what we did. First off, you need to make sure you have the right attitude to get the job done...yep.



Then you need to draw up plans, and choose your materials. We wanted to do ICF (Insulated Concrete Form) because Joseph's brother had built a house with them, and they were highly recommended. We chose Logix brand ICF blocks...there are several different brands, but there was a distributor nearby, so we chose these.



The construction itself was very do-it-yourself friendly...the blocks are kind of like giant Legos. The tricky part is fitting in the window and door openings. And of course making everything straight and level.



We kept it simple and made the plans for our house just one big two-story rectangle.




Just keep stacking the blocks until you get to the desired height... then pour the concrete in between the foam blocks...



We then put in the upstairs floor. Next we covered it all up with a big tarp and took a much needed break until the next spring when we put the second floor walls up and did the second and last concrete pour. (It is possible to do this all in a much shorter amount of time, just not for us).

After that last pouring of concrete, we put on the roof and installed windows, doors, etc.


Hmmm...this all makes it sound so easy...and quick. I guess it should be, but it's NOT. This "project" has consumed our lives for almost 3 years. The house is far from being finished, but it is comfortable and functional. If I could do it all over again, I am not sure we would try to build our own home. Actually, I am sure that we would NOT try to build our own home. But, since we can't do it all over again, I am very satisfied and quite happy with the results. I really do love our house...and if you have decided to build your own home, I would highly recommend using ICF.

Excitement!

I just signed up for a pottery class! Yay! I think this will be so fun. First time I will have been able to work with clay since I graduated from college. I am giddy with excitement!

Snow, snow, GO AWAY!!!

This is our minivan. I haven't driven it all winter. I really don't like driving in the snow. That may or may not have to do with the fact that I almost drove me and my sisters off a seemingly large cliff when the roads were covered in snow up at Woods Lake. I still have nightmares.



This is the view from the girl's bedroom upstairs. This is looking down right where my garden will be. This week we had one good day where the snow started melting. And then it snowed again. And the wind blew really hard. And it's cold. That's all.

A Miracle of Modern Dentistry

We had a little trauma happen here on Monday night. Emery "accidentally" pushed Garrison down a few stairs and he landed on his face. There was a lot of screaming, no blood, but a very freaked out Mom. After making a lot of calls and consulting the internet, we were able to take him to a dentist early the next morning and his teeth are now as good as new.



Look at the "after" picture below- You can't even tell that they were chipped. Even close-up, it's hard to tell. He's a very lucky boy.

It's Coming Along!

You may wonder why Garrison is wearing a foil hat...
go ahead and just keep wondering.



This is a baby carrier that I made for Kara yesterday. I had to test it out...and Aila loved it. Not quite sure what Terra is thinking about it. I loved that it was comfortable to put her on my back as well as on the front.


This the flooring in Garrison's room. I put down Aspen tongue and groove boards and then put a clear finish on top. I love how it turned out and I think we'll eventually get around to putting this in as our floor in the entire upstairs part of the house.
And this is what I am most proud of lately. I think the siding looks so great...so finished. I still need to put the trim around the windows. The greenhouse is almost completely done, just in time to start some early plants for the garden this year.

Happy Anniversary!

Before The month is over...

It's been a wonderful nine years. Life is so good, and I am so happy. I hope to have many more wonderful years full of adventure, craziness and joy with my best friend by my side.

Once upon a time...

Once upon a time a goose drank wine,
a monkey chewed tobacco on a street car line,
the street car line broke,
the monkey choked,
and they all went to heaven on a billy goat.


This morning Joseph said, "Sing me a song." And I started belting out that sing-song riddle thing. Where did it come from, and how do I know it? I have no idea. Guessing from some childhood weird thing. Anybody know?



This is the bathroom floor upstairs that took me months to finish. Don't have a clue why it took me so long. We used all "found" tile...meaning it took me quite a while to collect it from yard sales...thrift stores, etc. This way it was cheaper for me to use nice tile.


This is the beginning of our siding outside. I started on the back of the house so I could mess up without anyone knowing. I love how it's looking. It's Cedar...I think it's very rustic looking...just what I wanted. I almost have the Front of the house covered, and half of the east side...but I can't do much more because the scaffolding is too slippery and it's just too scary.


And this is the best picture of our dearly departed goat. I think we somehow poisoned him with all the weird produce we've been feeding the animals. The pigs and chickens are fine. We had our first large animal butcher with the goat and saved the meat for the cats, since we didn't want to eat an animal that we didn't know the reason for death. We will never raise goats for meat. NEVER.