After not having enough T-paper and dog food (with two hugh dogs) during the blizzard in Indianapolis in the late seventies and having to walk 10 blocks to get some to hold us over, I swore that would never happen again so I always have a good supply of both. Then, after we first moved down here to the boonies on top of a high hill and experiencing many power outages while living in a mobile, I decided what I would do and get to be prepared when we got our house built. The first thing I did was research woodburning stoves until I found one that didn't take up all the room in the world yet would provide all the heat we could want, light and plus I'd be able to cook on it. Bought it a little over a year before the house was done and stored it. Then we bought a generator which the one dog tore all of the wiring out of before it could ever be used much. Lesson learned. The next generator we bought is encased. I also started stocking my pantry, overstocking it as DH always complains. I don't think there is such a thing as overstocking it. Also put in a good supply of flashlights, batteries and candles. Since we were on a well, everytime they predicted a good storm or tornado or the wind just got up high, I'd fill the bathtubs and washer plus have drinking water on hand. About two months or so ago we went on county water. Just in time. No more problems with flushing. We heard this storm was coming in and got extra gas for the generator. I'd just bought a 40 lb. bag of dogfood and had my normal back ups of everything else. Didn't need to go to the grocery at all. The ice storm hit but power didn't go out until about 1:30 a.m. so the generator, already set up and filled, was fired up and we already had the woodstove going strong. We watched some weather reports on television for a little while, then on to bed where our CPAP machines worked great off the generator. When we lose power, we also lose our land line, so we make sure our cell phones are always well charged and we can always contact relatives to make sure they are well and let them know we're okay. We do have our backpacking stoves and some battery operated Coleman lanterns as well. When we got up, the house was pretty much as warm as we always keep it. The young man from the place down the road came over to make sure we were okay. He said no one could get up the steep hill that we live on or down it. I heated water on the woodstove for hot drinks and we had cereal and fruit. Later I started dinner on the woodstove, smoked sausage, onions, carrots and potatoes, and the power came back on. This was around 4:30 p.m. Finished cooking on the kitchen stove and its just like nothing out of the ordinary never happened. When we first found out this storm was coming, DH went out to the 5th wheel, put the slide in and started up the furnace. We figured we'd just move into it if the power went out. He'd just had the two big propane tanks filled so we'd be able to stay warm and cook in there. However, he didn't like the way the furnace sounded so decided to turn it off and stick it out in the house. I'd say the first thing we were going to do once we can get out of here was take the 5th wheel to have the furnace checked, but I know better. We were supposed to leave here for a warmer climate shortly after Christmas and kept getting delayed. When we can get it out of here, we're getting in that RV and heading south or southwest. We can get that furnace checked wherever we wind up and our ceramic heater or two will work until then. Something else everyone should think of is sleeping bags. Even with heat and blankets, my DH has been putting his Marmot -20 sleeping bag over the bed. He chills so easily and can't easily warm up. I, however, do not have that problem. Anyway, sleeping bags could be life savers for some and kids love them.

@Laura Hoefer seems like your situation is not as bad as ours in terms of exposure. We didn't know about the windows and my kid's bed was right by them. He got exposed a lot with all the opening and closing. Plus the age doesn't help - he still puts everything in his mouth. If you decide to strip them yourself, I would advise to take a class on lead safety. That being said seems like it's a very complicated process and it might make the situation worse. There are some sealing paints for lead, but you'll still have to scrape the peeling paint off, which is dangerous. I'm going to strip only the 1st floor windows as it gets warmer (they are 8 ft tall so super expensive to replace), but we decided to replace the rest. Restoring is even more expensive if a professional is hired. Have you tried using professional lead cleaning products for lead to mop the floors? Maybe this will help reduce the exposure for your kids. It's all so scary. I'm scared that my kid will be permanently brain-damaged due to all of this :(

If you can get or grow native Texas milkweeds, good for you! Always good to use the plants native to your area. But if not, don't worry, Tropical Milkweed is native to Mexico, which is our neighbor, not far away. There's been a lot of BS printed about Tropical Milkweed, which is unfortunate. The Monarchs are in a big crisis and have decreased in numbers dramatically. I blame Neonicotinoid pesticides, genetically modified crops, Round-up ready crops that have wiped out milkweed in huge areas of agricultural fields, severe loss of habitat...both in the U.S. and Mexico. The fact is, we need to provide the Monarchs with more milkweed (their only host plants) during the times of year when they are here to reproduce. Also, the Monarch butterflies and especially the caterpillars are sensitive to pesticides and every bit of restraint in that matter makes a huge difference. There's been a groundswell of demand among those who want pesticide-free milkweed to find a reliable supply. But still, most nursery milkweeds being sold have systemic pesticides applied at some point before being offered to the public...systemic pesticide doesn't wash off and will kill the caterpillars. And I might add, if you go to nurseries to buy milkweed, you're unlikely to find any milkweed except Tropical Milkweed. Now, in the town of Medina, there's a nursery where you can find native milkweeds that are safe for Monarchs. It's called Medina Garden Nursery. http://medinagardennursery.com/about-us/ Or you can get seeds and grow your own milkweeds. I've had Monarchs come by three times this year and lay eggs on my milkweed here. I have native Texas Milkweed and Antelope Horns, which are perennials. There are many native Texas milkweeds...they're just harder to get. I also grow Tropical Milkweed and have never had a problem with Monarchs lingering to spend the winter here. It is an annual in most of the country, but can survive winters when temps don't get very low. Since I live in the hills where it's a bit colder, they will often die here if not protected. I haven't seen any Monarchs yet this fall, but the peak month for fall migration is usually October, so they're probably coming through. There's just much much fewer Monarchs than there used to be, so you might have to really watch carefully to spot any. They need our help. The Monarchs that are just passing through headed to Mexico will need to stop and find flowers for nectar, food to help them on their way. There are also usually some reproductive Monarchs headed our way in addition to those. They will use milkweed to lay their eggs on. That way, any of their caterpillars that survive and become butterflies will increase the numbers of Monarchs that head to Mexico to overwinter. https://monarchbutterflygarden.net/raising-monarch-butterflies-ebook/http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonkblog/wp/2013/12/03/why-are-the-monarch-butterflies-disappearing/ http://www.cbsnews.com/news/monarch-butterflies-drop-migration-may-disappear/ http://www.monarchwatch.org/

Chispa, linelle, and graywings, we went back and forth about enclosing it or keeping it open but we decided to leave it open for now, and if we want to close it in later it would be easier than trying to match up the railing with the rails on the steps. The loft still has the full closet on the wall next to the bathroom. I made sure the closet would still be there. I definitely see the downfalls of a loft that you mentioned, but I think it looks much nicer than completely enclosed and we were thinking of kind of doing both in the future similar to the picture below, except maybe with glass doors if we decided to make it an office/music room. Would also bring in a lot of light. We were also considering maybe putting French doors in to make the room more open. We will see as all of that would be down the line. If we were to enclose the loft but keep the railing and catwalk, it would make the room about 16x10 which is a little narrow proportionally but would still be a nice space. As for the laundry room being upstairs, it's not the ideal location for it but there isn't any space on the first floor so that's where it's going. We would like it on the first floor but that would require changing a lot of other rooms to fit. We also plan on children in the future and are hoping this home is one we can stay in, instead of just a first home. This isn't a custom home so we are working with the layout given. We have considered so many ways of changing it up but ultimately decided to stick to this layout other than using the 4th bedroom as a loft.