"A baby changes everything"...

Well, that has become true in terms of our house priorities, anyway.

Obviously, we're going to paint the future baby's future room. Gina is supposed to go get primer and paint today for that task. I'll have to prime and paint the upstairs second bedroom, which is covered in wood paneling. This is going to be a long process. But at least I won't need any ladders, since it's a lower-ceilinged room. OK, I might need a stepstool to get at the truly higher portions. I'll be sure to post pics of the room. It's cool now, and will look that much cooler after we paint it. The kid will have TONS of space, no doubt about that. And an air conditioned room! I never had that growing up...the brat is spoiled already. ;)

Once it cools off outside a bit, we've decided that it's time for the collapsing fence(s) to go. We'll either replace the entire backyard fence at once, or half in the fall and half in the springtime. One half isn't as bad as the other (right now, anyway). It all depends what we can afford, of course. That will be a fun, fun project...but we're going to do it ourselves. My dad put up a nice wood fence in his yard, so he can supervise/oversee the project. Which, with my dad, means that he'll pretty much take over and do most of the work. :)

After that, we're going to have to perform two renovations at once, most likely. The plumbing will have to be retooled to give us better water pressure--and we've decided to devote the fall, winter and probably part of the spring to remodeling the basement family room. If we time it right, we can replace piping while we have the basement walls torn up, minimizing mess and other issues. Originally, we were thinking we'd wait on the family room. However, since the massive rains did not cause any seepage or flooding or anything, we feel much more comfortable with our basement's solidity. The other thought is, once the baby gets big, we'll need a decent-sized space for him/her to play, and the frontroom upstairs and dining room simply isn't the answer.

Another reason seems selfish, but really isn't...and that is, I can wall-mount the 125-gallon fish tank that is sitting in the garage right now, taking up space. I probably won't set the thing up, i.e., put fish and water and stuff inside. But I can blow out the wall, rebuild it, build the stand and set the tank in place, ready for a future of fish. Yet another reason IS selfish, and that is, I can build my bar downstairs and get my flatscreen TV. :) Has to be an entertainment mecca, you know. :)

So we have big plans...and hopefully we'll have the budget to take care of most, if not all, of them and take care of them well. That said, I still need a ladder to get on the roof and figure out why the skylight in the bathroom is seeping a bit during some big rains. And then basically seal it shut, if needed.