OK, maybe it's not really that "extreme" a makeover, but it's definitely a face lift!
What a beautiful weekend it was! Sunny and hot, in the upper 80s, not a cloud in sight. Jeff's brother, Joe (who is a contractor), came up from Northern VA for the entire weekend, to work on the various home improvements that our caseworker told us we'd need to work on before the baby comes home. Joe and Jeff worked their butts off starting Friday night and all the way into Sunday at about 4:00. We had to convince them to take meal breaks.
The results? Well, we finally have a fully fenced in backyard...I had forgotten what it was like! Now we can just let Jupiter out the back rather than standing in the front yard in our pajamas, praying that no one we know drives by. They did such a nice job putting the fence in. Joe and Jeff worked on it together.
Joe also built a knee-wall inside our front foyer because of a dangerous open floor that was to the right of the steps going down into our family room (those of you who have been in our house know what I'm talking about). A kid can take a serious tumble, according to Catholic Charities (don't get me started on all the birthparents' homes that probably had this very "danger" when they brought THEIR kids home...but I digress...). And we bought a bunch of baby gates to be installed (the kind that hinge to the wall and can be pushed open and locked closed), as our house is kind of challenging, with all the sets of steps.
Joe also did a bunch of other little things: odds and ends here and there, like fixing doors, nailing down some loose shingles, fixing dimmers, light fixtures, and the list goes on. He is a very skilled contractor, and owns his own contracting company in Manassas, VA. (So anyone in MD or VA who needs work done, please consider using Joe! I can put you in touch with him. My neighbor is already planning on calling him, she was so impressed with the knee-wall he built. He knows his stuff!)
We're in the process of updating our home study, because it's been a year since it was completed. Hard to believe a year has passed, but it has. So we had to go and get yet another copy of our certified driving record, fill out yet another Child Protective Services background check form, fill out our financials yet again, and there's one more thing I'm not remembering. At any rate, I suppose at least it's a sign that the process is moving along.
The baby's room is in an ongoing state of renovation/transition from junk room to nursery, but it's coming along nicely. Sometimes I go in there and sit in the middle of the floor, just imagining what it's going to be like to finally be a mom...I might be kind of old to be a new mom (compared with so many of my friends, whose kids are in elementary school and on up), but I do believe I'm going to be pretty good at this mom stuff. Time will tell, I suppose.
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