Considering the amount of time it took me to demo the baseboards, scrape, prime, paint, paint second coats, replace all the electrical and light sockets, paint the new baseboards, and finally cut and install the baseboards, it is amazing that I have finally sat down and posted to our blog site. The month plus project probably took so long because it is hard to come home every night after work and jump into another few hours of labor before finally getting to sleep. Wait a minute; this is the same way parenting has been described to us!

I have to admit that it was a labor of love. Much how I expect our many joys and struggles will be with our son. I learned a few things along the way, some from the Internet, some from the advice of friends and family, and some just from trial and error. I have a feeling that parenting will be very much the same journey. I look forward, with a bit of nervousness, to the challenge. I can always buy a new piece of wood and paint over the blemishes, or caulk away the imperfections, but with our son I want to get it right the first time, as the stakes are much higher. I know that I will make mistakes, but that is why I married Tanya, because she will always love me and most importantly always ground me, and inevitable help me make the hard and right decisions.

All right enough with all the introspective babble. I am very proud of how the room came out. The color and scheme came from a piece of fabric T and I found at Treadle Yard Goods on Grand Ave. I wanted a lot of strong colors and Tanya wanted to avoid the typical baby themed room. Not too much blue or baseballs, so we decided on owls. Some are whimsical, some comical (I am still a little nervous about the judgmental one), but I like the colors and the feel of the owls. She bought some of the fabric and borrowed a sowing machine from her sister to make valances for the windows. For the walls we chose a yellow, T calls it butter cream. The real name is Ray of Hope, so much for avoiding the typical baby theme. I think the excitement surrounding the election of Barack Obama is what made Ray of Hope sound fitting.

I primed the old green away and put down two coats of paint we bought at Home Depot that contained no VOC’s and it actually covered very well. I also painted all the existing trim around the windows and doors and removed the old baseboards. Next I changed out the electrical switches and plates. Finally I primed and painted the baseboards, measured many times and cut even more, and eventually used my new finishing nailer and compressor to install them. Thanks for the tools T! That’s it, a piece of cake. I think it turned out pretty good and Tanya had fun too taking that embarrassing video of me. If anyone stops by I will proudly show you my handy work. Much like when our son is brought home in July.


As a postscript I would like to comment on the issue of circumcision. If we are to choose circumcision for our son I will strongly advise the doctor . . . measure twice cut once.