The Boss'

Here are a couple of snapshots of the cabinets that I made for our enclosed front porch. I made them entirely from 3/4″ MDF, so all the wood cost me only $80-$90. As you can see, that’s a lot of bang for our buck.

In the bottom photo, you can sort of see the stainless steel leg that I’m using to support the front of the unit. (Click on the image to view the full size image in the Picasa album) The cabinets are all supported by a cleat attached to the wall, as well as being screwed to the studs using 2 1/2″ coarse thread drywall screws. I just have two legs under the unit right now, one at each end, but I have two more that I may put under it in the future. The whole assembly feels completely solid as it is right now. Here’s a gallery of the full size images.

I’m happy to announce that I have survived yet another round of layoffs here at HMI. It’s “back to work” for the rest of us. A lot of really good people were shown the door yesterday. This is the third or fourth round of layoffs that I’ve lived through, and this has hit closest to home for me. The team I work on has been spared, but I knew many of the people who were let go. We had a 2 hour meeting this morning were the executive team explained what happened, and what they expect to happen going forward. I have to say, the strategy going forward seems to be very sound. A lot of thought obviously went into all of the steps that are being taken, and hopefully they will move the company in a positive direction.

My thoughts are with those affected by the announcements yesterday.

Jack had a weight check today and he’s tipping the scales at 8lbs, 5oz. It seems that the formula and bottles that we’re using now are doing the trick. Now if we can just get him to put together some longer stretches of sleep at night. He’s only good for 2 1/2 to 3 hours and he’s wanting to eat again.

This weekend, I was finally able to put my workshop to good use. I had a couple of projects that I hoped to make progress on. The first was a system of shelves/cabinets for our “school” room. The second was something we’re calling the kitty corral, for our old barn. The kitty corral is a relatively modest affair…basically a 3′x6′x6′ cage with a door. The two cats that Emma got for her birthday are getting cramped in their existing accommodations.

With these goals in mind, my dad, Ben, Woody, and I went to Menard’s to pick up some lumber. After dropping $139.57 on 15 6′ 2×4’s, 3 sheets of 3/4 MDF, and assorted hardware, we were on our way home. I decided to use 3/4″ MDF for my cabinets because, well, it’s cheap, take paint well, and it cuts beautifully. The dimensions for my cabinets were driven first by the space I intended them to fill, and next by my desire to eliminate any scrap, if possible. I end up making my cabinet boxes 30 inches wide, by 18 tall, by 15 deep. In this way, I was able to rip 15 inch wide strips from my 48×97 sheets that I had bought, leaving only a 2 5/8″ wide strip that I had other plans for. After cutting a 30 inch top and a 30 inch bottom, as well as two 18 inch sides from each 15 inch wide plank, I was left with a 1/2 inch piece of waste. I thought that was sufficiently frugal. From the leftover 2 5/8″x97″ strip, I created stringers for the back of each cabinet that I will use to fasten them to the wall.

The cabinets will be mounted just below a large window, almost like a window seat, but they will float about 8 inches off the ground. This allows us to store some shallow bins on the floor below for paper and coloring book storage, and it also facilitates easy clean up when it comes time to sweep up in the classroom.

I don’t have photos yet, but I modeled it in SketchUp. The first image is what I have done so far…just the 4 30″ cases mounted to the wall. Eventually I’d like to build everything that you see in the second image.

This project forced me to cobble together a makeshift sliding panel cutting fixture. I had tried to do a few cross cuts with a modified miter gage, but it was unwieldy and not very accurate. I had to use just the wood that I had on hand, but I have to say that it greatly improved the process. I’ll have to build a nice sturdy panel cutting fixture one of these days.

(A huge “Thank You!” to my brother-in-law, Larry, for helping me get the furnace hooked up in the shop. There’s nothing quite like a warm, dry place to go and make some saw dust)

Okay, here’s the latest with Jack. He really started eating good when we changed formula, bottle, and nipple last week. However, when we switched formula to Isomil, he began to spit up really bad after half of his feedings. Projectile vomit would be an accurate description. So, we had him eating good, but he wasn’t keeping it down. He was, however, gaining weight. He put on 6 ounces over the weekend, taking him up to 7 pounds, 6 ounces. How he was gaining any weight while spitting up that much, I have no idea.

In response to all the spitting up, we took him off Isomil and switched him back to breast milk. He has no issues with the breast milk. Now we have to wait and see if he is able to gain weight on breast milk. We have a fair amount of that in the freezer, but we’ll have to go to formula at some point. Picking the right formula will be key. The spouting vomit thing was getting old super fast.

We’re really pleased that he’s gaining weight. The feeding tube was never really needed, since he started eating so well right after it was put in. We’re glad not to have to deal with that anymore. Thanks for all the kind words and prayers on behalf of Jack and the rest of us.

Well, it turns out Baby Jack is a pig! On the same day that he had the tube put in, we switched his formula and changed the type of nipple on the bottle. The combination of those changes seems to have made a huge difference. He’s gulping down his bottles in 10-15 minutes, and it looks like he wants more. We’re going to talk to the nurse tomorrow about increasing the amount that he’s eating, and maybe even taking the tube out. It seems silly to have it in there if he’s easily polishing off his bottles.

He will also be weighed tomorrow, so we’ll see then if he has gained any weight. We have a good feeling that he has.

That’s what Grace calls him, anyway. Well, Jack Jack hasn’t been gaining weight like the doctors would like, so we’re having a home health nurse come to the house to set us up with all the tools and knowledge that we need to tube feed him. Yep. That sounds like a good time, doesn’t it? A tube down the nose if you don’t finish your bottle. Needless to say, we’re not thrilled about this development, and we covet your prayers on behalf of Jack. Hopefully he starts packing on the ounces so we don’t have to do this tube feeding thing for very long.