Honest Renovations

I'm Jessica. -I'm Lizzy.

And this is

Yay!

-Basically.

is parenting can be tough at every stage of the game.

There's a lot of yelling, and we've never been

like a yelling type of house.

that you got this, you're, like,

"Yes, I got this today."

- -Boom! You don't.

-Oh...

We started demolition--

Before Emma came. - Yeah.

-And then Emma came. - Ahhh...

I feel defeated as a working single mom.

I don't know who said babies don't need a lot of space.

Your family grows.

-Your family changes. -That's right.

Inevitably, you're gonna hit a breaking point.

Every day, I feel like I'm failing.

It looks like a junkyard.

It's an organizational thing, too. Right.

Where things are, where we put things.

-We could help with that. - Right.

can make a massive difference in your parenting life.

These are all the healthy snacks

we kind of put at the bottom.

What a cool little hack.

This is a mom hack.

You don't want to go in the nursery

every time you change the baby.

With changing these homes,

Welcome home. -

Oh, my gosh!

Thank you for seeing us.

What? Are you kidding me?

I'm gonna cry.

You needed to be celebrated.

What are you doing? -Ready?

- Yeah. - Yeah, go!

Let's see a 360.

Whoo!

-I'm John Mielkus. -I'm Elliana Mielkus.

And we live in Castaic, California.

for about a year and a half.

after moving in to our house.

Oh, the little bean.

Is that two in there?

Is that two in there?

No, it's not.

Nope.

We're having twins.

I think I need a drink.

That in a very tiny home doesn't work.

Baby. - Baby.

Do you remember how to slide it in there?

Uh-oh! -

The kids don't realize the space is that small,

And it's definitely a struggle.

We're all on top of each other.

- -

Someone's at the door.

Oh, hi! -Hi!

Hello! -Hi!

Say hi!

Oh, you're so in it right now.

Hi, I'm Rylie.

Hi. Nice to meet you.

Hi, I'm Jessica. - Hi.

Hi, Tucker. -Hi.

I'm Lizzy. Nice to meet you.

Hi, Levi.

And this is Dusty.

Oh, hi, Dusty.

Hello!

Family's always been super important to me.

I come from a huge family

and always wanted a huge family and suckered this guy

So strong.

Do they have anything that tells them apart?

-Like what is the...? -He has one little scar

on his right cheek-- it's been

-our little cheat sheet. -

The Mielkuses are the sweetest little family.

-I mean... -They're not very little.

-They're not a little family. -They're big.

-This is a big family. -Big family.

In a small space. -Yeah.

Were they a surprise? -Yeah.

- - One of them was.

- For me they were, yeah. -One was a surprise.

We were going for one more, and then, boom, twins hit.

- And then twins. - We got a two-fer.

-This is great though. -Yeah, this is legit.

Took up the living room, but it was totally worth it.

Well, yeah, so you don't have to worry.

Question. Do you break this down at night?

-

to the side just to give us a little more room at the couch.

- -

So, is this the normal routine?

You taking care of the babies while Dad's on big kid duty?

- Yeah. - When he's home.

Yeah, when he's home.

Being married to a firefighter is really difficult.

It's hard to find that balance

between letting him rest and trying to get him

to parent with me since he is gone for so long.

And it gets really difficult having to take on

the role of two as one.

What's your work schedule?

Usually, I work two days

and then have four days off, but it's not always like that.

I have to work other days.

Like, I was just gone for four days.

Wow. -I'm home for two,

and then I go back for another four days.

-So, I'm gone. - And when he's gone,

you are managing single mom, all the ones.

She's cooking, cleaning,

shuffling around with school

and other places that the kids need to be.

-And it's a lot. -I have firefighters...

in my family. -Same.

-And they are amazing cooks... - Mm-hmm.

and they're gone for stretches of time.

And are they sleeping through the night yet?

No. -Are the older two

helpful with the younger two?

Yes. I have a little second mom over there.

-Hey, Rylie. - She's fantastic.

Tucker and Rylie, come talk to us.

Sit down, sit down, sit down.

What do you guys love to do most in this space?

I like to play outside.

-Oh, you like to play outside? -You like to play outside?

I like to go on my skateboard.

You do? -Oh, you do?

In here, I like to do, like, art.

Yeah, me, too.

It's gonna be a challenge.

Listen, you know, this is

a smaller space for four people,

or for six-- for six.

Oh, my God, it's six of them.

that are appropriate for everyone,

What would you guys want out of this space?

This is my favorite,

lighting a fire and just sitting here

-and relaxing is like... - Oh, I love that.

-Cozy fireplace. - Second it gets cold,

-there's a fire on constantly. -Okay.

I love that. Do you like how it looks now

or are you open to switching it up a little bit?

So, you prefer the brick look.

And then what is the vibe?

Like, what's your aesthetic?

I don't know if we, like, truly have an "aesthetic".

Do you like modern?

-Do you like mid-century? - Farmhouse?

I think it's more like a rustic farmhouse.

-Yeah, for sure. That's... -[all agreeing]

-Yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly. - Yes. Yes.

Yes. That, that.

It's prep space, dinner space, homework space.

-Okay. -Family entertainment space.

- Highchair space. - Yeah.

Highchair space, right.

What do you say that you guys are needing the most?

Storage is our main thing.

A lot of the stuff ends up just sitting on the counter.

Nothing really has a home.

- I see, I see. - Okay.

Let's take a look in the kitchen.

Yeah, I used to cook a lot.

-[Lizzy and Jessica]

-There is really no storage. - No.

It used to be, when I had a place to cook,

or there was room to cook,

that was kind of my de-stressor.

we haven't had a real kitchen to cook in.

Whoo. I had him.

- Losing babies. -

-I was, like... Mmm. - Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Okay, so from what we understand,

John likes to cook. You like to bake.

I do. I love to bake.