We are:

• taking down the pool (Jay)
  
• building railings around the current deck (Jay)
  
• filling in where the pool was, landscaping & making more room for Sammy to play (Jay)
  
• sanding down the doorways and built-ins (me)
  
• repainting doorways and built-ins (me)
  
• repainting the kitchen (me)

One of my biggest complaints about this house has been the lack of yard for Sammy to play in (well, that and our ghetto backyard-parking neighbors). Jay has spent all summer trying to get the pool swimmable, and it's just been one huge pain in the ass.

This means we won't likely be in as huge of a rush to move as we have been. We've got a few years before Sammy will be old enough for the local school district. The market is still kind of crappy, and it gives us a bit more time to get in a better place to buy a better house (since we didn't likely make all too much on this house, given the current state of the market). It also means we can build a little brick patio and Jay can finally use the chiminea I got him for his birthday. And we'll have a big enough yard to build snowbabies with Sammy this winter!

I wanted to sand down the built-ins to the original wood, but they've done so much crap to this house that who knows what the state of that wood is anymore. And since we're working through Sammy's naps and at night, we've got to work with what we've got... so it looks like I've got a few dates with Kilz 2 primer and some white paint (and my painter overalls - woo hoo!).

And - I'm VERY much looking forward to a "cottage green" kitchen. It'll be a nice change. Then after that, maybe we'll actually get around to painting the upstairs hallway... In the meantime, we need to sell the filter we bought brand-spankin' new last summer and maybe find a small swingset for Sammy.