Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Coolest Job

You might be thinking pilot, actor, preschool owner, but no... it has to be a fireman. Our fire inspector came by today and for me it's like watching a celebrity walk through the room. He just sucked up the light. A bit taller than everyone, a bit cleaner than everyone, crisp uniform shirt tucked in a little better, great smile, a bit nicer than everyone, and just knowing that he actually saves (or has saved at one time) people's lives... mushy, I know. Cool job though.

Anyway, with that great smile, he did request more sprinklers... no biggy.

Monday, June 29, 2009

Moving Day

Nothing to do with Cassidy... It's nice to have grown up and not ask your friends to help you move for free pizza. Also, my back isn't sore which is worth every penny.

Got a call from our Sub and I'm multi-tasking boxes of Christmas dishes and final cut-sheets for sinks and toilets. Gotta run.

Friday, June 26, 2009

Back and Forth and Back and Forth

A while back we put a book together itemizing everything we wanted in the school. That book was then passed along to our architect who outlined everything on our plans. Those plans were copied and given out to about 17,000 people around the Santa Monica area. Those people then put together a list of said items and proposed their costs respectively. Somewhere in the middle, Crys and I realized how finite those decisions were supposed to be (oops)... which is tough because I can leave her in the grocery store looking at macaroni and come back 45 minutes later to find her the same spot deciding on the best approach to cheese (great for Cassidy... iffy for macaroni). Given all of that, the macaroni had turned into fixture colors. An expert in design, my mom, was called and an executive decision was made. I think we've been through 4 fixture proposals in the last 2 days. Be sure to tell her how pretty they are.

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Visual

I've always been a visual person (If you're new to this blog, please note this is Crystal's husband talking... Crys is a nice balance... yes, she paid me to say that). When we first found the building, I thought the West side of the front could be better visually. The old AC's were going to show direct to the street. It was comforting to know that the city was at least requiring us to have new AC units, so the stinky view would be better, but not great. Today we found out that the Architectural Review Board is requiring us to have little gates on the roof to help the appearance even more. Visually satisfied.

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Double Design

You'd think we'd have enough on our plate just opening the school, but noooooooo, we're moving right now, too. I realize this blog has become more than what I had initially intended with updates on construction... now with splashes of our personal life strewn throughout (When's the last time you used "strewn"? You should use it today). With that being said, we just painted our new place, ordered carpet, bought curtains, and booked a moving company. Crys and I also went hiking at Runyan with the dogs and missed seeing a baby rattlesnake by about 40 feet. It was a great day off from visiting the building. Splash, splash.

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Fixtures

Today we met with our plumber and went over everything involved with the fixtures for the building. Crys and I took a quick trip down to Ferguson's and picked out exactly what we liked. We got some great ideas on sinks and... wait, that sounds funny. Ideas on sinks? It's amazing how involved you become on the tiniest things (sinks, faucets, grab bars, etc.) when you care so much about every little detail. We must have spent 3 hours going over the bathroom and kitchen. If we can't say anything else about Cassidy, we can sure say we poured our blood into it.

Monday, June 22, 2009

Racing

Sometimes it's hard for me to sleep with my mind racing about what Cassidy could become. I will admit that I'm overly ambitious... maybe even sometimes to fault. It's hard for me to use the word "fault" because it implies something distant from reality. I guess with that governor on my brain, Cassidy would have never gotten this far... so I'm thankful for that "fault" in particular.

In reality, Cassidy is much larger than I can even imagine and that's what I love most.

Okay, okay...back to business...

We met with the city today to go over some questions our architect had about Urban Run-Off and Utilities. It's really interesting to see how much thought goes into something as simple as a filtering pit for rain water. Pretty uneventful otherwise.

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Weightless

As of 2 days ago, Crys is completely gone from Brentwood. A little scary, but very exciting. I remain so proud of her for taking on both Brentwood and Cassidy for the last year. It's nice to watch her sleep an extra hour and relax a little more through the day.

Tomorrow we have another meeting with the city. Will keep you posted... or blogged I guess.

Saturday, June 20, 2009

New Computers

We've been putting it off for a while now just because of the grand-total-shock we anticipated. Lucky for us, Apple was having a deal with iPods and printers, so essentially they were nearly paying us to take the computers... it makes me feel better... shhhhh.

Friday, June 19, 2009

Beer Cake (not for the kids)

Crys and I had a landscaping meeting today to decide what to put in the planters along the front and side of the building. Luckily, we both liked the same thing and found it at a nursery right up the road. It might take a few years to get it all grown in and full, but it'll be worth the wait.

The sprinklers were being tested for water pressure... I wasn't walking through puddles, so I'm assuming it's all gravy.

They are starting the duct work for the ACs, removing the old units, and bracing our roof for the new ones coming in. Had some nice little holes in the roof (that would make a great skylight, but alas, they will only be for the AC).

I started thinking about the cake idea for the construction guys... I'm thinking beer might be more inspirational (after work of course)... maybe a beer cake... maybe just both.

Thursday, June 18, 2009

...and Feathered.

I've been caught behind a tar trailer on the road before... I think most of us have. I've even had to walk around the same type of tar, granted it was cooler, on my old rooftop. But when I stopped by the building today, they had the tar oven cranked up and smellin' good... something with the roof. The steamy tar smoke was barreling right through the door and into the building. I lasted for about 20 minutes and left with a headache. I can't see how these workers do it. Some of them had been there for 6 hours by the time I got there... hats off to those guys. I thought it might be neat one day to get a few of you parents together and bring them all a cake or something. It'd be great to show them what they're working towards. If anyone's interested, get in touch with me and we'll work something out. You can email me at jbiltz@cassidypreschool.com.

Update on the piano: My mom might be helping us get it out here as a gift to Cassidy. Wish I had time to go get it, but my plate is full on my 3rd helping.

Got a lot of great feedback on our Preschool/Kinder Kids Parent Meet&Greet today. Thanks again for all of your support.

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Welcome to the Jungle

It couldn't have gone better. Perfect weather. Perfect location. Perfect night. Thanks so much to all of the Cassidy Parents, enrolled in Preschool and Kinder Kids, for joining us tonight. It was so nice meeting you all and getting to know more about your families. If I didn't get to meet you personally, please seek me out next time. I tend to get wrapped up in conversation and lose touch with the mingling social butterfly side of me... well, that's not true at all... there is no butterfly.

On that note, seeing how everyone got along tonight made me remember what we're doing here. There is a beautiful community around Cassidy already and the doors aren't even open. All of the RSVP's even showed up. Come on, it's LA... that's unheard of, right?

I did learn two things about this blog tonight. 1) Many more people than I would have thought are actually keeping up with it... so thanks. It's turned into a nice way to keep in touch with those interested. 2) Most people think it's Crystal's blog. Sorry folks. It's just her husband.

I should be at the building tomorrow for an update. It's late... going to sleep.

Thanks again for tonight.

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Just an Update

Was just at the building and most of the rough framing is now done. Electrical wiring is being planned out with outlets, lighting, and switches (Crys and I walked around the building placing them where we wanted). The plumbing is nearly roughed in with all the proper vents, drains, and water access. We have a new contact for appliances and finishing the kitchen. I picked up the tile yesterday and placed it in storage... super duper heavy... broken back and all.

We also had to put one of our pieces of furniture in the building already because we figured out it would never have made it once the walls were up. We're now literally building the school around that desk...it's there forever.

The playground was ordered this week and should be getting here within a few weeks for installation.

All in all, a pretty good last few days.

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

That Didn't Take Long

If you've been following my posts, you know I've been looking for a piano for Cassidy ever since we hired a teacher who plays. I happened to be talking to my mom and grandmother today and told them about this blog...they were reading it while we were talking.

It just so happens that my mom has been wanting to make more room in her place, but didn't know what to do with the piano...yep, the same one I grew up with and the same one I was trying to copy for Cassidy. I can't even believe it. The problem is getting it from Albuquerque to Santa Monica, but to have that history in our school is priceless.

My great-grandfather bought it new in 1921 and my grandmother played in a quartet with him as a teenager. It's been passed through the family for years...and now it's going to be at Cassidy. If you didn't know, we're naming the 4 classrooms after our grandmothers, so the Piano will obviously be going in Sally's Room. She just sent me this photo from 1956. I'm on Cloud 9.

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Beaming

No pun intended, but I'm talking about my face...well, both mine and Crys'. I walked into the building today just beaming. Beams were placed, walls were going up, and it's starting to look like our vision. Finally, we can see where the actual walls, doorways, windows, bathrooms, and hallways will be.

They were measuring our new operable windows today so we can get the beach breeze coming through, while the old AC's are being craned off and replaced with new units.

We've been documenting the progress periodically, but I loved this shot of Crys taking it all in.

Monday, June 8, 2009

For the Best

Last week I noticed the framers had put up a door frame in a different place than I had expected... yes, I had been changing things around. Today I went to go actually see it. What at first I thought was going to create more lost space for an activity area, has ended up opening up the room a bit more. I love when things work out like that.

Today, they were installing support beams in the East classrooms and I have to say, it looks unbelievable. They had also covered the entire floor with a new sub-flooring, so the rooms looked fresh and clean.

We made a few decisions on electrical matters, some wall placements, door frames, office ceiling heights, and windows. All in all, it was a productive day.

Is "rusticize" a word?

Playing music has always been a big part of my life, so when we hired our newest teacher (who happens to play piano), I took it upon myself to promise her some ivory to tickle. I guess it's all really just an excuse to have a piano again.

If you know pianos at all, you might know there's lots to go wrong on with the insides. I started looking on Craigslist, but started getting bad feelings about buying something so major without knowing the history. So, I'm putting it out there. If any of you know of a piano for sale within our little community, please let me know. I don't really have a budget in mind yet, so ideas are welcomed. I'm thinking I'd like to have what I had growing up, which was an upright...not to be confused with the console guy. We for sure don't need anything overly fancy because Crys is just going to "rusticize" it anyway, but I'd rather be getting one with a solid background check.

You can contact me through email at jbiltz@cassidypreschool.com. Thanks so much.

Saturday, June 6, 2009

Rainy Day Saturday...

...perfect for tile shopping. We went to a store we heard about a couple of weeks ago, but didn't see much we liked. That was our 6th tile store in 2 weeks. As we were driving off, we passed a very small tile store on the same block...hardly noticeable...I kept driving. Two blocks down, my gut said to turn around and check it out. I listened.

We saw a few that were just okay and got some new ideas, but nothing fit and I was losing faith in my gut. As we were about to walk out, Crys looked down at a small stack of tile on clearance because he only had 460sqft left...we need 450sqft. We laid our paint and floor samples down beside it and wondered how we had missed it walking around the store for 30 minutes...it was perfect.

Classroom flooring? Check. Bathroom tile? Now check.

Friday, June 5, 2009

Clarity

Yesterday Crys decided on what plants she wanted along the East wall outside. We're a little limited on the front because of codes and such. We both had a meeting with Planning and Building & Safety that went very well. It's nice to know that City Hall is 100% behind you. Even the City Manager knows who we are and is helping.

On a side note, I think I might lose sight sometimes of how personal this experience is for everyone involved. Day-to-day, I get caught up in structural this, measurement that, wall goes here, and the lights go there. Yesterday those thoughts were interrupted by moments of clarity as our close friend came to see the building for the first time (she's also putting our 2 month old goddaughter in the Itty Bitty program, so if there's bias to be had, she had it). For the first time, I got to see a Cassidy Mom take a walk through what will soon be our school. Her eyes lit up around every turn and pride filled up my heart thinking about little Taylor running around everywhere.

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Just an Idea

Today was a big day. We finalized the bid for our flooring throughout the school and in the bathrooms, switched up our lighting, got a great contact for appliances, framing started in the West classrooms, and I have a meeting with the head cheeses of City Hall in about 30 minutes.

It hit me again last night of how amazing this all is. Crys and I were looking over the plans getting ideas for electrical outlet placements (I know, romantic), and I just started to smile. Two years ago this was an idea.