LOL!  I'd borrow him any day, Amber!  Well, we got a quote back for getting one of the smaller jobs done, and hubby didn't like the idea of paying more than his own hourly rate for someone somewhat less skilled to work on his own house, which is fair enough!  I'm all for the swap a working bee idea, Nicola - funny though how when you ask some people if they're keen to lend a hand in the weekend you find that a lot of them already have commitments..... hmmmm!  Funny that.  My hubby is just overly generous with his time and skills though, and he enjoys helping others - just needs to shuffle his focus back onto stuff here for a while, I think.  I expected this, living with a builder - it's like mechanics whose own cars need serious help - you hear of that happening all the time.   I'll keep working on my new plan of attack - nagging was never going to work so I didn't really go there.  I can't bear to hear it myself, even if I am the one doing it! 

fleury wrote: Any chance you can get DH and his church volunteers to do a working bee on your house - a fair exchange of services me thinks. Ha - you could always make your next Ohbaby meet up at your house and have a changing rooms session.

Snap I was thinking the samething Andie.  Never know maybe set up a working bee at your houser sometime.  Or like busymum said is there someone that can watch Ella a few sat's so you guy's can tacle some job's together.( I know agreat babysitter that would love to have Ella I am sure)

We can have the next meet up at your place Andie and we'll help you. I love doing little DIY stuff - me and DH (well mostly DH) have done our lounge, 3 bedrooms and now the bathroom is finally being finished.

I would start the odd small thing (that how I got my bathroom going again) and see if he notices that you have done something.

I argee with the My house my castle thing, poor Brenda so that must be how you feel.

You sooo can, Fleury!!  Sounds like our DH's are kindred spirits, Peanut!  And Busymum, yep you read the I want him to work more on our house thing right... but I asked him to look after Ella (who was sleeping) for an hour and didn't really care what he did with that time, then he said he couldn't 'cause he was off to volunteer himself, which (of course!!) led straight to me being livid at how many weekends and days off get spent helping out everyone else and our place is such a disaster STILL.  Anyway, I did take that deep breath Lyla, went and nailed some MDF over the exposed batts in the showerroom that have sat there at floor level waiting for Ella to grab since before she was born, asked a DIY friend for a quote to finish off the Coopers stripping work and re-hang a door (that has, of course sat against the wall for over a year), and I might just load up our Bunnings account with whatever I need to put rails around our deck and blimmin nail them on myself - it'll look nasty but not as bad as waiting 'till Ella's a teenager before we kid-proof the deck!  I'm all for giving, but if you're not taking care of your responsibilities at home first it's just mental. 

Yeah, gotta give him that - there isn't a lazy bone in that man's body - he even gets bored trying to watch a full-length movie and usually gives up to go and 'do' something instead.  Just wish he'd do some work on the house while his daughter sleeps and I go run my errands for the day! 

Right, here's the background - DH bought his first house 6 years ago, I shifted into it when we married, 2& 1/2 years ago.  By then he'd started a lot of renovations.  While I was pregnant he turned the shower room from a complete diasater (I mean, it'd been missing wall linings even!) into a nearly-finished but very workable room, and transformed a room he used to use for an indoor garage into a beautiful bedroom for Ella.  But we STILL have bare plaster kitchen/lounge walls, and threadbare carpet, and asbestos lino that's peeling up at the corners, and kitchen cupboards that don't shut properly so I can't even install kid locks on them, and a seriously vile bathroom/loo.  BTW - I am married to a builder!!!   I don't earn a cent, so it's blimmin hard for me to organise someone else to come in and do the work since I can't pay them. 

Anyway, DH gets rained out of work today, so comes home.  Great - I say - perfect - can you please look after Ella for an hour so I don't have to drag her out in this manky weather to get the groceries (she's been couging and a bit gross today).  No, he says, he wants to go volunteer his services at the church where they've been renovating for well over a year (so there has been many an opportunity for him to work there, and he's spend so many saturdays there).  In the end we compromised on he'll come home at 4 so I can rush out and get the groceries and rush back for our friends arriving for tea at 5.  Am I being a cow for feeling so pissed off at him for not spending the avo pulling finger on our house for once?  Come on, GandT - You'll tell me straight up!   And before anyone says 'talk to him about it' - I agree that's the first place to start and believe me, he's heard lots!!! He he he.