cpartist: Their current bedroom is about 14x16 and they share it just fine. This is where that small dining table that barely seats 4 would go to be used as a game table. The food storage wouldn't be in their bedroom. I did state that what is CURRENTLY their bedroom would be changed into a multi-purpose room for pantry, play and school. It wouldn't exactly be a bedroom then, right? Overnight guests? They haven't had a sleepover yet and if they do want one in the future (post-remodel) the kids can all sleep in the school/playroom in the wide open floor space, or in the living room which is about 1/4 the square footage of our 1400 square foot house. There's also plenty of space outside for campouts if they wanted to sleep outside with their friends. Yes, a 5x8 space will easily fit a dresser and even a vanity. A bedroom door is only 2 feet wide which still leaves up to 3 feet on either side of the door. Not too many dressers come wider than 5 feet long or 20 inches deep and a vanity table can easily be something that folds up on the wall kind of like the top part of an old fashioned secretary desk. Their rooms are mainly for sleeping, changing and the rare bit of alone time they need. Our kids prefer to be with other family members most of the time. If you walk through any Ikea store or look at tiny house plans you'll see how easily space can be maximized, especially when you have high ceilings. For us, more space means less family time and that's what we enjoy the most. Our favorite people to be with are each other. Growing up, I NEVER had my own room. Neither did any of my siblings. Try 8 kids in a 3 bedroom house and neither of those kid rooms larger than 10x12. It is actually doable. We don't want our kids to feel they can hibernate in their rooms all the time as they get older. I watched my nieces and nephews do that during their teen years. Not okay with us as it disrupts the family unity. Occasional alone or study time in their rooms is fine but not spending their entire day in there every day. No, we're not controlling. We just show our kids that THEY are the priority, not other things in our lives. They give their input with any planned projects, especially one that is for them. I know a room without a closet can't legally be called a bedroom and that's another reason for no closets. Not legally a bedroom and it's not as expensive to build and it can be customized with modular storage systems tailored to each child's interests and changed as they grow. Once they move out, the rooms can more easily be repurposed if we want since there won't be built-in closets to work around.

No! We keep putting off starting. Walking is what I want to do again. My neighbor and I had been walking over 4 miles a day. We walked every day, hardly missed a day. Then I got a cold in October...it kicked me hard. We walked a few times and then it was rainy or cold. We both really enjoyed walking, felt better...everything was better. We may go to the mall to get started again...but we may need to carry a gun at the mall close to here.lol I wore RED today!

Carol, there's a "birthday" thread on the Gallery, with pictures of the kids, me, the ex, Amanda and Ashley, even little Linsey, the miracle baby. (grin) Donna, I paid $25 for the class and it included a basic "kit" with a couple of tips, couplers and a pastry bag. It was once a week for six weeks at a local tech school which has a culinary arts program. Of course, you could buy extra tips, bags, paste colors, wouldn't you know... Brenda, the peanut butter frosting is easy, just a cup of peanut butter, a couple of tablespoons of butter and a pound of powdered sugar. Beat it up until smooth, add milk to make it the right consistency. Sweet, sticky, fudgy, peanut butter-y. It's not my favorite, but Amanda loves it. Nancy, I saved a piece of each for you. Sure I did. Suddenly, they're just gone. Ahem. I think the kids must have eaten them.....or something. :-) Cathy, we had one big birthday party for all three of them, so there was a "selection of desserts". Yup, you could have cake, cake or cake. Ice cream was optional but there was butter pecan and rocky road! Annie

Yes this has been covered many times! It is of course not necessary to tape wire nuts IF they are installed properly but taping may help if they were improperly installed as it may stop a wire from comming out and shorting out a ground wire or whatever! Here is the proper way to use wire nuts (imho). First make sure you are not trying to install too many for the wire nut size, trying to get just one more in that tan wirenut if you don't have that red one! Make sure they are ALL stripped of insulation evenly and that they ALL are of equall length. (sometimes it is good to strip way more insulation and use your linemans plyers and twist them all (here is another "controversal" subject) together and then cut the ends off square. Make sure to tighten the nut really tight, if you did twist the wires before twisting the nut and squared the wires at end, you will never find a wire loose. The above is foolproof with all solid wires. When you have stranded and solid mixed you have to be very observent of what is happining to the stranded wires! They don't twist equally with solids, so you have to check that they are properly twisted with them all and have not twisted more than the others making them not be even with the rest.