And totally necessary to know if you have any Sharpie loving kids or adults around your house.

During our first bathroom reno in our first three bedroom ONE bath home we planned to go back to our old apartment to shower.Don’t ask about the other common bathroom activity.. 9.. Get involved.

Even if you’re hiring out.Get nosey at the hardware store while they create the 3D rendering of your custom vanity.Walk through and look at the framing before the drywall goes up.

Don’t be intimidated out of DIYing something or doing something unique.You’re allowed to put slate on the floor no matter how many times the sales rep tells you you can’t.

These people work for you and they want your business.

Get involved and see it done your way.. 10.It’s great to look back and see just how all of our favorite family holiday activities and traditions have grown and changed over the years, little-by-little, as our lives got busier and we got smarter..

When Jack came on the scene two years ago just a few weeks before Christmas, we definitely had to make some changes and updates to some of our favorite “must do every year” activities.For the most part, we’ve always taken our cues from all of the holiday clichés and have gone pretty classic with our holidays.

We always head out to cut down our own tree, decorate the tree together as a family that night, then make time for gingerbread house decorating, Christmas crafts, and watching the Santa Clause parade in there somewhere too..Some traditions, like bundling up to go skating (or just sliding around) on the creek, or taking pictures in Santa hats are just so much better for everyone now that we’ve got Jack around to make us all laugh.