Summertime!

I don't recall loving the summer season so much even when I was a kid in school, but having the summer off now seems utterly blissful!

Little d graduated!! From Kindergarten, of course. It was a great day! I didn't even get all blubbery and cry through the three minute ceremony. I kept it together. But I am just so proud of her. She learned so much this year and accomplished so much. She became a little lady who can go hours in a new surrounding and do just fine without me.

A huge weight lifted off of me as we drove home from her graduation. The realization that we have about ten weeks of sweet freedom was amazing! No more worrying about her for hours a day. No more worrying about getting her to school on time or what she was eating for lunch or if she was going to get a stomachache from not going to the bathroom on schedule. Ahhh--sweet freedom. (Oh don't be mistaken--I still will find plenty of things to worry about.)

Things are blooming around here. Despite the lack of rain. And guess, just guess, who is potty trained?? That's right. Little m. I woke her up the first day of summer vacay (that's how those in the know say it) and said 'Guess what? It's summer time that means no more diapers! Except for night night time of course.' And she took to it no problem. And we've had very few accidents. Most of which are right in front of the toilet because she couldn't quite make it in time. So I am thrilled with this little summer development as well.

Little md is eating more solid food. He's a good chewer. I love to watch his little mouth crunch and munch! He likes cereals and graham crackers and noodles and, without a doubt, cookies! Oh and grapes (peeled and cut) and strawberries. He doesn't talk much, but he can understand so much and get his point across pretty effectively.

I personally am going to call this the Summer of My Dentist Vacation. I've discussed my teeth to death on here, so the why is obvious, but not only am I doing my periodic tooth fixin', now my daughter is doing it as well. Little d's mouth has several cavities. A couple big enough to need caps. I can't even discuss how upset I am about this. I find little consolation in the fact that the dentist said we were 'doing a good job of cleaning them.' Genetics do suck sometimes...

On a lighter note I just ordered these. How lovely are they??

I am way into heeled sandals with shorts right now. I'm letting my hair grow out. I am hooked on OPI nail polish. I am not losing weight fast enough. I want so badly to be 112 pounds again. Or 115, I'm not choosey with it. I thought that next week I would be setting up my scrapbook room, but now D is working 5 days of overtime, so...no.

You know what else...the mirrors are finally hung. It only took nine months. Thanks Dad!

Fine! I'll show you my kitchen!

It's not completely clean, heck it's not even finished, but here's the latest pictures. There is still backsplash tile work to be done and and the vent hood needs to be installed. And of course, as with the rest of the house, no decorating has been done yet. But who knows how long all this will take?

And was I standing sideways when I took this one??

Shhh--that's like three posts in three days--what next? All the laundry done??

Blogkeeping

You see what I did there? A cross between blog and housekeeping. I'm sure someone's done that before me, but anyhoo-

I should be housekeeping, but I'd rather blog while the girls bathe. So here's what going on...

House news: The painting continues. We went and got all the colors yesterday. SO exciting...can't wait to see them on the wall...pictures to follow! The tub came in today. The elusive tub. No that's not a type. It's not supposed to be exclusive. See the story is we needed a corner tub. Around here we call it a garden tub. The part you sit in is triangle shaped. We wanted a soaking tub, not a whirlpool. And it needed to have the front skirting. Welll if that's confusing...here's a picture:

Except we didn't want the whirlpool jets. And we needed the skirt. So we went to Lowe's. Twice. Uhhhg. Here's a thought. If you want to actually sell a tub, don't have the customer leaning over your shoulder looking at a weak computer moniter picture of a tub.

Time's Up! I decided that to blog more often, my posts may have to be broken into several pieces...so until part two...see ya!

Facelift!

The Cutest Blog on the Block (see above left) informed me that as of Friday I will no longer be able to use my blog background. I've had that background forever. I think I have had it since the month after I started blogging. I loved it. I had never seen it anywhere else and to me it was easy to read on. So I'm trying this one out as a replacement....we'll see how it works.

In other news: House stuff is rolling right along...no pun intended, but we have all the primer coat on the walls and ceilings save for one pantry. I've started filling in the finishing nails on all the trim work. There are millions of them.

We've ordered countertops, carpet and a tub. We've bought faucets and cabinet knobs. I believe this is the time they call a full court press. Although I don't watch basketball or know anything about it.

Y'all have a great rest of the weekend!

Cabinets!

If you happen to have already seen these pics on facebook--sorry for the repeat, but you know I had to post them here.

We have cabinets and let me tell you--makes it start to feel like a real house! Well that and the drywall!

Here's the full view of the kitchen taken from the bay window area.

This is the wall where the refrigerator will go. I wanted these deep drawers to put snacks and stuff in for the kiddos.

Here's the island. It has the drawers also...I'm thinking for all those plastic containers and lids!

Here's the area of the stove. I'm going to use a vent hood that has the exposed pipe and back the whole area with mosaic tile. At least that's the plan. Oh and on the side there is a bookcase for cookbooks. It looks a little weird because the shelves aren't mounted yet.

Moving on to our bathroom. Here's our cabinets. My husband insisted that he wanted a cabinet that opened specifically to his side so he wouldn't have to reach around a door to get his shaving stuff. Anal, I know, but he rarely has an absolute opinion so that's okay.

We came up with this design, and the cabinet maker added the front doors.

Here's my ingenious idea. I saw in a design mag where they flipped that fake drawer under a sink to the bottom of the cabinet and put the doors on top. And after tripping too many times on the little step stools the are always in front of our sinks, I decided to ask if they could make that drawer into a pull out step...voila!!



And here is an updated picture of our living room as taken from the back door.

It's a little like she's doing my laundry.

My mother in law that is.

See during this whole house building experience I haven't really been involved. My primary duty has been, you know, give birth and watch the kids. Well, that's pretty much my primary duty anyway, but up until now, I've had no purpose whatsoever with the house. Remember what I said D is in charge of function and I'm in charge of pretty. So now comes the pretty part and it's not fun.

It was supposed to be fun, but the fun has been sucked out of it. For starters, I kind of changed the whole decorating direction I was going. Instead of the kitchen being a traditional ivory with antique stuff and oil-rubbed bronze, I am now all about clean white and ivory with silver knobs and pulls and fixtures. So there was a little internal stress about 'what the hell am I thinking changing the whole aesthetic at the last minute?' {Yeah I used the word aesthetic...blame BRAVO.}

Then I found myself all alone. My mom came down with something (thankfully she is better now!) and couldn't be around to go shop with me. My BFF has another friend going through a divorce who needs a house hunting budding. SO here I was out at these kitchen and bath and carpet and tile and paint stores with no one to bounce ideas off of. It was such a bummer. And it was kind of pathetic how I latched on to the sales girls like they were my new BFFs. Yes we are building a house. Yes, and my daughter is starting kindergarten....

And here's the other kicker. Truly. And the reason for my weird post title. There are few mundane things that bring me joy. I enjoy accomplishing the laundry in peace. And I like to paint. (You know for the record I think people can be divided into two catagories: those who like to paint and those who don't. And while we're on the subject, those who like to are usually good at it and those who don't aren't.) Anyway. So today I am here at the house with two wild monkeys and a equally fussy baby, while my mother in law is out at my new house painting.

Yes I know I should be grateful it is getting done.

But like I said at the beginning, it's a little like she's doing my laundry.

How I Hates Me A Liar

Okay. Maybe liar is too strong a word. But at this point in the whole house thing, I need the people to be honest...or at the very least vague.

Our drywallers said they would be done Wednesday. They said this to me and D seperately, on several occasions. So was it done on Wednesday? Um, no. Now the cabinets are off a day. That means we can't start painting and the trim guy--who has yet to show up even though his appointment was almost two hours ago--is also going to start later.

At this stage of the game that is just unacceptable.

We have to be in this house by no later than mid-August. Little d starts school on the 23rd. And we have to be living there so she can start school at that campus. We simply must be living there by then!

After paint we have to install electric plates and switches and the light and ceiling fan fixtures. The other things that will have to be completed are trim work, countertops, tile work (which may or may not be done by us) and carpet. Also the A/C guy and the plumber have to finish up.

Okay and can I just say that I spend three fourths of the day pissed off at my husband--so we need to get in the house so that whole stress is off. Because I hate being such a naggy bitch!

On a bright note...as of today we have a septic system. Installed by an ex-boyfriend. Who happens to be my husbands new BFF. Smile.

Annnnd we have a new laptop. Which explains while this post was started and finished today! Talk atcha later...

Drywall and babies and tiles, oh my!

Here's the updates I haven't been updating:

Little md: growing like a weed. He is so precious. He grins and coos and is more often than not a calm happy roly poly baby. I am so thankful we were blessed to have him join our herd. He is the easiest baby to breastfeed in the world. He only nurses for about ten minutes, usually every three hours. He already loves his big sisters and watches everything they do intently. The other night I cried a little to realize how fast the time has gone and how fast it will continue to pass us by. Before long I will be baking his first birthday cake in my new kitchen and wonder where the last year went...or I will be pulling my hair out over the latest Little m stubborn streak and wondering how to get crayon out of carpet...either way--the future promises to be an adventure.

The girlies: Gosh they are precious too. Little d is so smart. I know she is going to do so well in school. Ahhh. Kindergarten. I am having the worst panics about sending her away most of the day. What ever will I do without my constant little companion? Both girls are still testing their limits. I am still finding myself at wit's end. But I know that things will work out. I just have to be consistant. Little m has such a personality. I wish I could capture everything she does on video. She now has an imaginary friend....Lisa.

Today they were pretty well behaved. The reason?

Little Miss Perfect: We ( my mom and I) are keeping her while my sis in law goes to work. She works part time and so on wednesdays and some fridays, we get to keep her. She is a precious precious girl. So tiny and perfect. And you should just see her tiny perfect mouth. And the little fingernails...ahhh I could go on and on. It's so funny to learn her little habits. I am just thrilled that we get to spend the time with her. And Little d is such a great helper. She spent all day entertaining both babies.

The hacienda: We are getting drywall up. So excited about that! I still need to decide on the texture pattern. Did you even know that was a decision to be made? Sheesh. The details are endless! I've also chosen the countertops in the kitchen and tile for the bathroom...I think. But I am still on mission to find a subway tile for the backsplash in the kitchen to match the countertops. Oh and paint. We may be starting to paint as early as next week and I still haven't chosen the interior colors.

A word about the tile. I have been on the record several times saying that I will never have tile in my house ever! But then I saw this tile. And I fell in love with it. I am not even a fan of blue, but now I want this seaglass stuff in our master bathroom. Click on the link above and you can enlarge the picture.

And since that site is sooo chock full of beautiful tile. I fell in love with this to use behind the stove and vent hood.

Oh who knows? I seem to be on a tile binge!

Off to get the girls out of the bath. Someday maybe I'll write an actual entertaining post. Or except my award...

So you want about a thousand pictures of our new floors?

Suuuure you do!

Laundry Room:
Kitchen:

Kitchen, from the great room:

Back door in great room. I didn't want carpet right at the back door...

Bathroom 2:

Dining room:

Okay off to bathe girlies...

Quick House Update

Finally we have a real roof! Not just tar paper. It is soooo satisfying to see the exterior mostly done. (The red door has to wait to the end, so it doesn't get scratched up during construction.)

Here's the backside ;)

And now for a little interior work... This is our stained concrete floors. The pictures were taken with D's camera so I'll have to get some better ones next time I'm out there.

Okay off of here....just had to get these uploaded!

Has it been that long since I posted??

Yes, why yes it has! Whew. Who knew three kids would be so much work? I have hired a full-time nanny that goes by the name Mimi. She's cheap, thank goodness, but comes highly recommended...in case you haven't figured it out--I'm talking about my mom. She's practically lived with us since Little md's birth. What a Godsend.

How do women do it? Am I just particularly inept? I mean how do you fix a meal for a starving five-year-old, physically put a scratching two year old in timeout while breastfeeding a newborn? It can not be done by one person. And this kind of situation happens more than once a day.

I'm also trying to figure out if breastfeeding is just particularly draining on me. I mean I have zero energy most of the time. If my mom wasn't here to handle some of the night shift when D's at work I would not be conscious most of the time. I'm already cranky and short fused as it is. How do other mothers breastfeed and manage to have clean clothes, dishes....children? Oh and the sore...areas....of breastfeeding. A little taxing with every other thing going on.

A lot of stress comes from the fact that Little md is kind of high maintenance. He's on an iron supplement as per doc's orders, but Tuesday when we go in for a checkup and I'm going to discuss his iron levels to see if he still needs to be on it. I forgot to give it to him one whole day and half of two other days, and during that time he seemed less fussy.

Monday I have my six week post partum check up. Fun.

Thursday I have a root canal. Even more fun.

And because all that is not enough. Now is decision time on the house. Cabinet finishes, counter colors, call about alarm system, try to afford appliances, tile work--yes or no?

But the roof is on finally--I mean the shingles are. But they put the vents in the wrong place. Sigh. Here's a picture of the back of the house my bro sent today. What do you think? Did I choose good colors for the outside?

Okay I know it's not the best picture. Maybe soon I'll get out there and take some pictures. Maybe soon I'll sleep more than two hours...doubt it!

;) It's all good.....

Just some random thoughts involving money, teeth, and politics.

Oh and blogging.

Money: Tonight on the phone with D (he's at work) we tracked new house expenditures. Looks like the overall cost of the home will fall below budget. We are on track and that makes me vastly relieved. Please please please no surprises!

Teeth: I'm sure I've posted before about my horrible teeth. But I'm too lazy to look up the post and reference it. So just take my word for it. My teeth are horrible, and I floss daily. Yesterday I had my teeth cleaned and checked because one of them, here's a shocker, is getting sensitive and randomly causing pain. Today I visited the endowhatchamadinger and drumroll...I need another root canal. Seriously, why do I bother with the good teeth hygiene? I mean other than stopping bad breath. I brush twice (sometimes more) and floss every day. Even now in my very sleep deprived state when all I want to do is fall into bed and hibernate at the end of the day, I manage to floss at least six times a week. Blech.

Politics: I'm no fan of Obama, but who gives a poop if he visits the oil spill. Honestly? I don't know why conservatives are making a huge deal out of it. Of all the crap he's pulled and is pulling, this is the least of our concerns. In fact, didn't he respond faster to the oil spill than to the shooting at Fort Hood?

Blogging: I don't have time to visit my favorite blogs anymore. If I give the girls a bath (like now) I take a few minutes to peek at some. But of the hundreds on my list, I only check about 15 on an every other day or so basis anymore. Boo. Hiss. But life is just to full of other stuff right now. I foresee only more stuff in the future. I am trying my hardest to keep up this blog, because more than anything I want it for the kids future reference to how whack-job their mom really was...as if they need this thing for proof of that. ;)

Bonus topic-Scrapbooking: Not gonna happen anytime soon. Not even sure about Little md's birth announcements. I'm even thinking of packing it all up and just putting it in storage until the move. And it's shocking how okay I am with that.

Guess I should go get the littles out of the tub before the little man wakes up to feed again. Take care blog-land...

Paint!

Today the painters started on painting the exterior. I'm so excited!! Can't wait to see the trim finished and the red front door! Here's some pictures...

Front of house:

Side of house:

Back of house:

And yes, that's Little d in some of the shots. Did I mention that I registered her for kindergarten yesterday? Trauma! I know she will love it. At least, I hope she does. But me, I don't know how I'll survive. The good news is her school is very small. I think (as of now) she'll have 13 in her class. They have 26 kids registered so far and they divide the kids between two classrooms. I am loving that she will be in such a small class!

Ahh. Growing pains for me!

supa supa stars

We've been partying like rock stars around here. Staying up all night--eating chocolate all day. Fast times--

Even Little md gets in on it. As seen here, he is laughing (ok, smiling) at his sisters dancing antics.

Party on people--party on.

PS the painters are working on the exterior of the house this week...hope to have pictures to share soon!

Just scratching along...

The rash is still going strong. I am now pretty...pretty ugly. HA! And pretty sleep deprived. Little md is a little high maintenance, but it won't last forever. Been there done that before.

I do wish we were already in our new house. Somehow I feel like that would just make things so much easier. Oh well--before too long. In fact we are making progress...

Here's the latest pictures of the siding. D's dad has really been helping him try to get it done.

And today the electrician started! Yeah! After he's done (hopefully this week) we can get the spray insulation and the concrete floors done. And then the drywall--that's getting more and more houselike!!

And besides that...I have reason to believe I will keep my sanity despite the insane asinine itching. Turns out Little md takes a bottle of expressed milk like a champ. {I had to nurse Little m for an entire year before she could be weaned.} I was so worried that he would follow suit. But sigh of relief, he takes a bottle!

Blessed be!

Siding going up! {And news on my other grandma}

D had some days off in a row! And spent much of the time out at the land. His dad helped start on the siding. A couple of days were spent putting trim around all the window and doors. Then they started on the siding. Here's the back of the house. No this is not the color it will be, this is the color of the Hardiplanks.

Here's another side. The giant wall. D was goofing off--'up against the wall and spread em!' I said 'oh just like the night we met...' HA! No I did not meet my husband on the job.

This is all exciting and great, but in other news, my Grandma (my dad's mom) is in the hospital. She's 89 and has been having chest pains. She has a pacemaker, but is in excellent health otherwise. After an angioplasty it was determined that she needs four way bypass. Major open heart surgery. She was scheduled for Friday, but it was bumped up to Thursday. Now though they have moved her to ICU and put her on a nitro drip. The doc may decide today to do the surgery even earlier. We're just waiting on news.

I am trying to accept that the outcome may not be good. But really? I just am having a hard time wrapping my brain around it. I wish I could go a see her for a minute, but she is getting tons of visitors and I feel like she doesn't need more. I think I will try to get a card up to her today if my dad goes to see her.

Keep her in your prayers if you can. Thanks for stopping by!

One of these windows is not like the other....

Can you spot the difference? Yes the bottom panes don't match. One has six panals and one has nine. It may be hard to see in this pic because of the screen on one. So we'll need to get that window replaced.

Here's our front door and transom installed. I am so excited to see it finished and painted red!!

Guess what else is getting installed? Air conditioning!!

This is the attic part--I know, I know, so exciting right?!?

I call this the giant silver spider:

By the way...I AM SO VERY PREGNANT!!!!

Prep Work

It just hit me. Well actually it hit me around 5am, along with yet another bout of middle-of-the-night heartburn, that I only have seven weeks left on this pregnancy. And given that my doc has twice before induced me a week prior to my due date to prevent me having a large baby and c-section, that means actually only about six weeks left. Whew. That's not very long.

I am starting to freak a little.

I need to do a ton to this house. A ton. There really is no room to put a baby right now. The laundry room is cleaned out--thanks to the flood, but there is also nothing baby related going into that room. So that's a wash (hehehe ah I crack myself up with the puns!)

I know it will take me at least three weeks to do all the work I want to do with the house--and that's working steadily. Mostly this is because I have no energy.

Also, with the girls I spent a weekend (with my mom) during the last month of pregnancy cooking tons of freezer meals for the weeks following birth. Because who has the stamina to cook then? So I also need to get thinking on that.

Car seats. We have a Chevy Trailblazer, and it has a third row, but I'd rather not put one of the kids there. And three car/booster seats won't fit across the center row. So I have to contact the DPS and see if there is a law against kids in the front seat and then contact the dealer and see if our airbag is weight sensitive or if it can be turned off. Then Little d could sit there. If I end up having to use the third row, Little m is the only one that can sit there with Little d's motion sickness issues and me needing access to the baby. UGH! We are not going to be getting a new vehicle!! You know now that I'm thinking about it, maybe we should just see if all three seats would fit in the middle row...I'm not sure D actually tried it.

I have given up on finishing christening blankets and scrapbooks in time for this baby to be born. As long as I get them done by the time my kids get married right??

And this is not even close to including stuff that needs to be done for the new house. We have a deposit to send with a contract for the concrete floors, D has work on electrical and A/C prep, not to mention starting on siding and trim. Then there is work to do on this house because (egads!) we are going to have to put it on the market soon...

Really wish I was at least getting a good night's sleep. Chuckle, chuckle. Okay on to the great cleanout of 2010!! Today's agenda...the kitchen pantry!

Good Times, good times.

Here's a funky little card. Since I'm over my anger. Oh? You want to hear that story? Okay, twist my arm...

As of Friday our house was dried in. That means doors and windows, and a roof with tar paper--not shingles. Basically the house is weathered in. So at this point we should get our next draw on the construction loan. {Here's something I think is the most ridiculous part of having a construction loan. You get your money after the work is done. For example; our framer had to wait a week to get his money. Instead of us getting draws ahead of time and paying the workers when they complete the work.}

But okay so that's the process. However, our ICF walls cost way more than conventional walls. In fact they cost more than the foundation. This threw the bank off. Way off. So this last draw they wanted to approve only $10,000. Guess what? That doesn't cover the framers. Or the $12,000 in materials from the local lumber yard we just got the bill for. And we have a construction account with this lumber yard so they let us 'charge' for a month and then get billed.

So when the $10,000 arrived in our account yesterday we were floored. We were expecting something more like $40,000. Or at least $30,000. Because we are about to pay the lumber yard, the framers, and the A/C guy. {guess what? our A/C is going to have zones...how cool is that?} Anyway.

D spent much time and stress getting things cleared up. The bank guy actually said "hmmm, maybe these are pictures of Hugh's house not yours..." at one point. And you know, it wouldn't even be the first time they mixed up our houses. D had to threaten to stop everything right now and look for a new bank and then finally the loan officer starting trying to work things out. Sheesh. It's like dealing with five year olds. Wait, I take that back. Little d is way more reasonable.

But after I simmered down I made a card. A bright, cheerful card. But you may notice...it does include a clown.

Details: CTMH unless noted

Paper: polka dot from stash (I think DCWV), clover meadow cs, white daisy cs

Ink: clover meadow, holiday red, star spangled blue, black, sunny yellow, orange (including markers)

Stamps: Laughter, Good Times

Other: zebra ribbon (HL), foam dots (HL)

This and that

Here's one of those random posts...fasten your seatbelt!

We spent all day yesterday at the land. On the way out I told the girls I had forgotten my camera and Little d said "I guess you'll just have to take pictures in your mind." How precious is that!?! The girls had so much fun running around in the house and 'cleaning' up the sawdust and nails.

We have the exterior doors and windows in now. And it's officially dried in. Next comes the trim and siding, A/C installation, and shingles. Oh and electrical.

I've chosen the exterior colors for the house. I don't know where we are getting the paint yet, but the colors will look like the following from Sherwin Williams, ((I'll try to change the words to reflect what the color looks like))

• the siding will be Baguette.
• the front door Redwing.
• the trim Navajo White.

Okay so the white is actually more cream than what Blogger offers, but anyway. If you do go to the site and launch the color visualizer, you can choose a house style and plug in the colors to see what it looks like. I thought it was fun to play with.

Speaking of houses...I feel as big as one. I am huffing and puffing and at night I have to sit up just to turn over. I am running out of clothes that fit and I waddle like a duck when I walk. And my gosh I hate it when some thing or some one touches my belly button! But the good news is that at my last appointment (Tuesday) everything looked fantastic! BP, urine, sugar, heartbeat. I weighed in at 152. And I'm okay with that.

I made lemon poppy seed muffins today. Mom and Dad and Poppy came up to visit. Poppy really enjoys the girls. Today he brought them some of Memaw's beads. Memaw used to have a ton of beads, and she wore them with everything. Tomorrow is Poppy's birthday. Ninety-one years old!

The bank has yet again screwed up stuff with our loan. As soon as we are done with this I told D we are yanking everything we have involved with them out!! I am SO INCREDIBLY FED UP WITH IT!

I got an email from CTMH today saying if I didn't place $300 in orders by end of March I will be dropped to junior consultant. And loose my downline. I have two downline and one is already a junior, the other just had a baby, and is closing on her new house. Not sure either is into making much money with the hobby. Both work full time. And I sure have better things to do than support CTMH in this economy. Although I went online last weekend to drop my autoship from 100 catalogs and saw that it was already submitted. So there's almost $200 I won't be getting back. Oh well. Hehehe too bad autoship doesn't count toward consultant status...

So this week I've just been marinating. Thanks for stopping by! Maybe tomorrow I'll have something creative...