Chellamaral, there was tile EVERYWHERE in this house and it only bled through in one area - a back bathroom. I think the grout was white, but I believe it was white all over the house . The tile that bled was the only original tile from 1958 left, so maybe that had something to do with it. To be honest, it didnt look that bad. One contractor was kind enough to tell me that if he stained the existing concrete, I would have ghosting every where. The current contractors said the same thing, hence the overlay. My friend just used the same contractor, and their existing floor was good enough to stain w/no overlay. I will ask the flooring guy why some floors are good tomorrow. I didnt get any pics of the bathroom, but here is an example I found online: Pip is doing well. He is a male parakeet. I already have two small (potty trained!) parrots, and wasnt looking for any more birds, but little Pip needs someone. His wings are cut (badly) and his nails are VERY long, but he seems tame. I have scoured the internet and no one has posted a lost ad in that area. My friend says that there are lots of foreclosures where she found him, and she thinks someone just let him go. How could someone let a bird that cant fly "loose?" It is bound to be eaten by a cat. I will probably get him a girlfriend and a bigger cage, once I move into the new house. There will actually be a bird room for my two birds. I love my birds, but had I known how much time/attn. they require, I would have thought twice before buying them. Below is my Rocky (post bath) and Zeek. I had an AC contractor look at the ducts. He said I have a HUGE underground duct with branches to the rooms, and moving the current ducts would be fine. The ducts are moved now and they have laid the first coats of overlay. Unfortunately, the scoring is still showing through and looks terrible! They are laying another coat tomorrow, but I am not confident it will disappear. I am not sure I am willing to pay 1k for the scoring, since the last one was wavy. I told him to cover it up and assume I am not scoring. kitchen: living room moved to bar: I love the reto renovation site! Thank you for the link. LOL@the 90's song posted on there. I will keep you guys updated! Thank you for your help. :)

rhome410 - thanks for the suggestion around flipping the fridge / pantry area. I had considered it early in the process, but we were hoping to avoid in order to prevent changes to the dining room (wallpaper and paneled.) However, as you will see below I created an updated floorplan and included your suggestion. I think it helps with the overall functionality of the space. We considered the full range over the rangetop / wall ovens. We really like to idea of an oven that is up off the floor for both easy access and distance from small children. Also, the fact that the oven + rangetop combo is actually significantly cheaper is a factor. On the other hand, the full range makes the floor plan easier to arrange, provides ventilation for the ovens and also has the benefit of providing an excellent "centerpiece" to the kitchen appearance. I'd say we're undecided at this point. Do you think I have the right pro/con list? kaismom - thanks for the thoughtful feedback you've given on the overall flow and interaction of the spaces we're designing. I completely agree that this is one of the most important aspects of the design process and is also one of the hardest to figure out since it can be difficult to visualize. Let me give you a few more facts that I haven't already provided. First, we live in the Boston area (not VA). The funny thing is that we used to live in VA - up until about five years ago - so I know what you are talking about! Given the combination of relatively few truely hot days and the fact that our backyard has mostly indirect light except for in the early morning, we aren't to concerned about to much light heating up the house. The back wall of the kitchen that faces the backyard does face southwest, so I'd expect great morning light and then indirect light as the day goes on. Second, your suggestion about casual family dining is an excellent point. We were thinking that the island would be the center of family life in the evenings (homework, dinner prep, dining, clean-up.) You will see below that I've created a revised floorplan and added a placeholder for a table to the plan. My thinking right now is that we wouldn't add the table - but it gives us the option. You make some excellent points about how as the kids grow older, all being seated facing each other might be a valuable habit - I'll keep them in mind. Third, you suggested I consider how we interact with the house / yard today. I'd say 90-95% of our entrance / egress from the house happens via the garage. This is in spite of the fact that we have three other entrances (including two in the backyard.) Now that you've suggested I give this careful considering - I don't expect this to change much - so this is probably the most important entrance to get right. The second priority would be the backyard, as the kids get older I envision more time (especially on the weekends) being spent playing in the backyard. In fact, this consideration is why we are having so much consternation about giving up the side view. While not having direct access to the mudroom from the backyard isn't ideal, I'm not sure we can have both the side view and this access. Adding a door from the backyard into the garage or coming through the kitchen wall adjacent to the garage won't work because there is a bulkhead access to the basement in that corner that cannot move. That's unfortunate since this would have been an excellent solution - thanks for the suggestion! palimpsest - you asked about the right front room. It is currently a room that gets little use. We'd like to eventually turn this into a library / study of sorts since the idea of a formal living room doesn't appeal. Adding the powder room of the central hall would reduce the room dimensions from 17x18 to 13x18 - I was thinking this was still adequate space for the use we envision. Perhaps a little more of a rectangle than would be ideal, but still a space we could make work. What do you think? bmorepanic - Excellent point about the double french doors. The more my wife and I think about it, the fact that they swing creates space problems and also makes it difficult to have screens on the doors. I don't see that much opportunity to have both of these doors wide open with no screens as it's either darn cold or there are to many bugs around. Given this, we're leaning more towards a sliding door. The fact that it isn't centered on the hallway isn't all that big of a deal to me, but I'll keep an eye on it when I can get some renderings and make sure it doesn't look strange. I'm still thinking about the idea of moving the fridge to the wall adjacent to the garage. Biggest concern about this is that it moves it farther away from the family room and backyard entrance. Maybe this reduces the convenience factor? However, it does create some benefits around allowing open counter space across the whole backyard wall and what feels like a more convenient work layout. I'll keep this in mind. If you get a chance, take a look at the layout I'll provide below and let me know what you think. sundownr - it's great to hear the dimensions of your space and that you find it functions well. Very encouraging that we will eventually find a solution that will work for my family. Also great to hear you eat at the island and enjoy it - this is what we envision today. Also, the photos are helpful - thank you for providing them. As you mention, I see you went with the full range which solves the wall oven problem. We like the idea of wall ovens for their convenience and also like the ideas of deep drawers under the cooktop for pots and pans, but both the convenient floorplan as well as the asthetics of the full range certainly appeal. We're still undecided there. New Revised Floorplan: I've incorporated some of the suggestions everyone has provided in this update. Still isn't perfect, but I'd be interested to see what people think. Thanks again for all the helpful suggestions!

Oh i wish that would be the case with my Dh 's ex! That is exactly what happen one weekend 3 years ago. We won tickets for a circus (family) and my DH called his ex to take the kids on 'her ' weekend. She had no plans ( we found that out later) but refused! saying ' its my weekend, why should i do you any favors?' This is the type of woman mom is! She wouldnt' let my dh swap weekends or just take them for the day , a few hours! to the circus!!! but then would complain 2 years later that 'oh...you dont even come up on theother weekends to take them to mcdonalds'! She's ripped in the head! sooo both Dh and i have given up on weekends the kids are with her and right it off cause we know that she plays games and my dh rather save the kids the pain of seeing it. I honestly think the legal system should change a few things. Ie, make both parents take after divorce getting along courses. Get fined ($) if they do not get along and especially if they use the kids in any way. Divorced parents for the most part do not act like adults. Thsi needs to be seriously adressed. I do have one friend who is friends with his exwife her partner and vice versa...its incredible!!! They ALL GO OUT AS AN ENTIRE FAMILY! I could only dream of that! I seee them all going out ..one big clan! You should see how happy all the kids are.

Where do you live? France is a big place. And does it snow in your area? Here is some general info on lawns. Ignore your neighbor. He's trying to intimidate you and set you up to fail. Plant new seed only in the fall. Start in the early fall. That might be August or it might be September depending on where you live. You seem to have done it pretty well - perhaps by accident. Not rototilling was excellent. Rototilling is a big mistake that a lot of new gardeners make. See if you can rent a roller. You only need it once the first time you seed a big yard. After that, for annual overseeding, you can simply walk on the new seed to press it down onto the soil. Water new very lightly 3x per day, every day, until you get 80% germination. For the shade grass you planted that would be 3 weeks. If you have shade type grass, I'm assuming it's a fescue. Fescue should be mulch mowed at the mower's highest setting most of the time. If it gets hot in the summer, then mow every other week. The idea is to develop deeper roots to get water from deeper places in the soil. Fertilize for the first time on Fête du huitième mai or Jour de la Victoire 45 (same date different name). Fertilize again on Assomption and for the last time on or about Jour d'armistice. With the new lawn skip Jour d'armistice for this year. National holidays are easier to remember than specific dates. If you want to use organic fertilizer, you can do that any time including now. The application rate for organics is almost always 7 kg per 100 square meters. I like to use alfalfa pellets (lapin chow) as a fertilizer. Get them from a local feed store in 20-kilo bags. They really work. Watering: Deep and infrequent is the mantra for watering. This is for all turf grass all over the place. Deep means 3 cm all at one time. Put some cat food or tuna cans around the yard, and time how long it takes your sprinkler(s) to fill all the cans. Memorize that time. That will be the time you water from now on. My hose, sprinkler and water pressure takes 8 full hours to fill the cans. Your time will likely be less. I like gentle watering. As for watering frequency, that depends on the daytime air temperature. With temps from 33-38 deep water once per week. With temps from 25-32 deep water once every 2 weeks. With temps from 21-24 deep water once every 3 weeks. With temps below 21, deep water once a month. Note that you have to keep up with quickly changing temps in the spring and fall. In the USA this deep and infrequent schedule works in Phoenix and in Vermont (for Oz think Hobart to Darwin including Alice Springs), so it should work for you. The reason for deep and infrequent is to grow deeper, more drought resistant roots and to allow the soil to dry completely at the surface for several days before watering again. If it rains, reset your calendar to account for the rainfall. These are in reverse order of importance. Watering is key to getting a good lawn with the fewest problems. Weeds: Spot spray a liquid herbicide in mid April and again in mid September.