The Final Countdown

Our remodel is in full swing.  Our family has spent hours upon hours up at the house painting and dry-walling and painting and painting and putting in tile and painting.  And some of them are going back this week for more painting.  Who knew painting the trim white would take more than four coats?  The insanity.

The Hubs and I didn't intend on gutting the place entirely and re-doing everything, but the clearances at Home Depot have been kind to us, and we've been able to swing a full-tilt overhaul.  We have kissed the 70's goodbye and ushered in our dream home.  We are one week away from carpet day and then its all downhill from there.  God has provided so much for us, and we are so looking forward to settling in to enjoy it! Moving day is February 11, and we can hardly wait!

The place looks fabulous- I can't believe how hard everyone has been working and what a difference some serious elbow grease and way-too-many cans of paint can make.  It looks like an entirely new house, and the flooring and furniture aren't even in yet!  These are exciting times for our little family.

In the meantime, the countdown to move-in day is competing with the countdown for ultra sound day.  February 16 we're heading in to take a peek at Baby and find out whether we're having a boy or a girl!  I almost keeled over in the aisle when I saw some of the Carter's spring/summer collection for baby girls.....what. the. cute!  And I have a brilliant idea for a little man nursery, so we have some fun shopping to look forward to either way.  =)

Newbie and I have been flying under the house-remodel radar, spending our days at home, trying to get creative with how to entertain ourselves while the Hubs is gone allll week and weekend long for the past few weeks.  My love language is time together when it comes to the Hubs, so the past few weeks have been long- totally worth the sacrifice (hello, new house!)- but I miss having my main squeeze around and having some back-up so we can all re-charge on the weekend.  I think everyone who's been working on the house for the past couple weeks is going to be well over due for a quiet weekend at home when its all said and done!

Yesterday our boredom drove Newbie to the bathtub with four tubes of finger paint and the intent to make a mess, Mother-approved.

He delivered.

I've let him run wild with paint, and I have become such a pushover when it comes to sleep.  Who knows what he will get away with next.  I feel bad at the lack of routine and consistency lately since we've been so full throttle into the remodel.  So its kinda a "put it on my tab" situation.  I'm such a sucker. We'll be paying dearly when we get into our new place, but for now I'm taking in all the snuggles I can get.  Newbie has been really clingly lately, and I think its largely due to how busy everyone has been and how much he's been stuck at home with me.  So he's taken a couple afternoon naps in "Mommy Daddy bed" and don't get me started on bedtime because the Hubs and I have shared too many a laugh over the circus that is getting Newbie to bed these days.  Night before last he was running around our room at 10:13 pm wanting to paint and play with the cat.  Madness, I tell you.

 (Do you like those mismatched pillow cases?  Evidence that my laundry is approaching an all-time low.  I totally dug those out of the bottom of the linen closet from when I was a little girl.  Mutte made them, and Newbie was digging my "Mommy bug piyow" so its all good in the hood.)

There has also been more than our fair share of Curious George viewings over the past two weeks.  Keepin' it real, man.

 

 

 (He belly-laughs his way through one of the episodes every time.  It's adorable.)

Lord willing, two weeks from now we'll be in our new house, starting to unpack and getting settled into a routine.  Then there will be less bedtime chaos and TV time. I miss routine.  And my bath towels.  I'm just being honest.

Here's to a happy Tuesday!

Foot in the mouth. Literally.

Yesterday Newbie was a little wound up at nap time, and after trying his crib for a while, I caved and brought him into bed to snuggle with me.  The sun was out, the temps were warmer than they've been in a while, I cracked a window, and I had just changed the sheets on the bed...it was the perfect setup for a fabulous afternoon nap.

I told Newbie he had to lie down next to me or he was going to have to go back to his own bed.

Newbie: "Mommy's bed." [places his head on the pillow]

Me: "You can stay in Mommy's bed as long as you lie down and take a nap."

I closed my eyes, thinking he might actually start snoozing right away.  (Wrong).

Newbie: "Onnnnnne....twwwwooooo....FREE!  FOWA! Yea. Yea. R in Ti-tago?  Yea.  Too-Tee in ses-sas? Yea.  Daddy a wook. Gym. Gym."

I kept my eyes shut, hoping he'd take the hint and settle down.

Newbie: "Ah-choo!  Ahhhhh-choooo! Ah-CHOO!  AHHH-CHOOOOOOOO!" (The best part about this series is that it absolutely started out in a whisper like he was testing the waters, and then escalated when he realized I wasn't opening my eyes.)

Then, I feel a tiny set of fingers start to pry my eyelid open. Wow.  Now there's a finger touching my actual factual eye.  Impressive. I hold my ground.  I'm not saying it felt good.  I'm just saying I really wanted to take a nap.

Newbie: "Mommy seeping."

The fingertips give up.

Now I have a foot on my face.

Teensy toes are touching my mouth...no, wait- teensy toes are now prying my mouth open.  What. is. happening?!

I seal my lips tight and try not to laugh out loud.  My frame is shaking with my withheld chuckles, and I finally crack a lid.

With a not-so-big big toe resting right on my lip, I look over to see the biggest ever grin on Newbie's little face.  He starts busting a gut laughing, triumphant that his foot-in-the-face trick finally won me over.  

He sits up and starts crawling down to the foot of the bed, ready to make a nap time escape since Mommy's up and his scheme worked.

I was torn.  He sure wanted to play.  But I knew an afternoon without a nap would soon not be an afternoon at all.  It would be a meltdown fest all the way up to bedtime.  I had to stick to my resolve.  Adorable foot escapade and all.

Me: "If you lie down in Mommy's bed you can stay here, otherwise you're going back to your bed."

He stops dead in his tracks, races back up to his place in the middle of the big king size bed and slams his head down on the pillow.  All smiling has ceased.  There is nothing worse than being demoted back to your own crib after you have successfully finagled your way into the coveted king-size bed. Head smooshed deep into the pillow, his serious little mouth curves behind his binky and says, "Mommy's bed.  Mommy's bed."

Ah ha!  Gotcha.  

Me: "Do you want some covers?"

Newbie: "Yea.  Nigh' nigh' Mommy."

I tuck him in, kiss his soft forehead and tell him to sleep good.

And we do.  For a solid two hours with the sounds of a sunny winter day slipping in through the window and the covers pulled all the way up to our necks.  

It was lovely.

Wishing you all a happy, adorable foot-in-the-face kind of weekend. =) 

Of forts and wobber sobbers

Today we made a fort.

(He is obsessed with the rug on the floor...I bought it to go in our new kitchen, and he always wants it laid out so he can run around on it in his room- "wug?  wug?!" Too funny!)

Because Daddy's car wouldn't start so he took mine and we are marooned here at GiGi Island.

(Wouldn't it be nice if the pictures I took were in focus?  Yeah, I know.)

Somebody loved it.

For two minutes.

Until he realized it was more fun to tear forts down than sit in them.

Life with boys.  =)

Speaking of my boy, I've been so busy with the house and so busy not blogging that I've failed to keep good track of our little man's latest and greatest.  He has been talking a ton, so brace yourself because the following few paragraphs are in lieu of that baby book I never fill out...

Two weeks ago when Newbie woke up from his nap, I walked in and said, "I love you, big boy!" to which he replied (are you sitting down?) "wuv ooo too, Mommy".  I melted to the floor and thought I'd never recover.  We had been practicing the "I love you"'s, but this was the first voluntary, no-strings-attached "I love you".  And I still haven't gotten over it.  He's doling out a lot of "wuv ooo's" lately- before bed, before someone leaves for work- but let's not forget who got the first one, yes?  =)

Newbie is obsessed with chocolate milk.  "Cha la milk?" is what we hear any time I ask him what he wants to drink.  We put less than a centimeter of chocolate milk in the bottom of a sippy cup and fill the rest with milk.  Homie hasn't caught on- probably because that's the way we rock it with juice and any other fun beverage over here.  Newbie's two favorite juices: "Gan-Dad's juice" (orange juice) and "boo juice" (a wicked awesome blueberry juice with pomegranate and apple that I occasionally steal a swig of).

"Daddy pay hockey, peas?" Oh my lands.  The Hubs and I almost fell over when Newbie said this yesterday.  The Hubs dropped his bowl of cereal on the counter, leaving the Cheerios to die in a soggy mess, and went right over to play hockey, because how to you turn down a little person asking you to "pay hockey, peas?"  He is all over the "pay now?" but this was the first full sentence with "play" and we were thrilled.

My personal favorite is when he talks about the dogs.  Its just hilarious.  "Opie bowl here?"  "Diffin eat ninner?" "OPIE, COME!  COME!" (complete with back bent, slapping his own thigh).  This kid keeps me in stitches.  He's also all over the cat, Bailey, and is always trying to hunt her down upstairs.  Poor girl has finally caught onto the game and usually goes running when she hears Newbie make it up the stairs.  Ha!

"Snnnno!"  Newbie squeals this anytime he looks out the window.  We're big fans of the white stuff this year.

"Wobber Sobber".  It's his word for any word he doesn't know.  Me: "What did you say?  Where is it you want to go?" Newbie: [points across the room] "Wobber sobber."  Oh, sure, wobber sobber.  How did I not catch that the first time?  We have tried for weeks to figure out what it means, and finally realized he uses it when he's not sure what to call something.  I'm sure it'll be a running family joke once Newbie gets older and can articulate more vocabulary.  "Hey, Honey, I know you called and asked me to stop at the store, but I can't find those wobber sobbers you asked for.  What did you need again?"  Awesome.

Last but not least, we never stop hearing about Chicago around here.  "R in Ti-tago?"  Newbie pulls this one out any and everywhere.  Its so random, but he's always asking if R (my uncle who was visiting here over Christmas) is in Chicago. He is, that's where he lives, so we always respond with a "yep, he's in Chicago".  Last night my mom and I left for a while and the Hubs did bath time and bedtime with Newbie.  When I got home, he said Newbie was asking about "Ti-tago" all night long, including a "Mommy and GiGi in Ti-tago?"  Ba hahahahaha!  He's recently added a "Too-Tee i' in sez-sas"  (Mutte is in Texas), so there's no telling when he's going to start thinking anyone who leaves the house may have ventured off to Texas.  What a riot.

Well, I have to rock and roll because Newbie's up from his nap, and its time to pull some serious magic out of my hat. We still have another five hours in these four walls alone before anyone will be home to entertain us, what with being marooned here without a car and all.  Wobber sobber.

Happy Thursday!

Swoosh Swoosh Swoosh

This morning we bundled up and headed out for an early morning doctor's appointment.  Newbie played in the waiting room with his daddy, dressed in a wool Elmo hat and loving the discovery that was piles and piles of magazines to reorganize and stack push to the floor.  I love my OB's office because it is decked out in all kinds of girly pinks and sparkly chandeliers and always feels like walking into a Barbie mansion.  I felt a little sorry for my boys when I ditched them in the waiting room, but I knew they could make a break for some elevator races if they hit a pink-a-thon overload.

Just about as soon as she walked in the door, my doctor pulled out the doppler and said, "Ok!  Let's hear a heartbeat!"  She surfed the surface of my growing belly with the doppler for just a few moments, listening to the thump thump thump of my heart until she stopped at the sound of a teeny tiny, hearty little swoosh swoosh swoosh swoosh. Sweetest sound I've ever heard!

Little Baby's heart was racing away at almost double the speed of my own, and I couldn't stop smiling.  Thank you Lord! I whispered as we listened.  155.  Heart rate of 155, and everything sounds great!  Praise Jesus!  I am so so so thankful and feel so refreshed this morning after getting to listen in on our little wonder and hear what she or he was up to.  The Hubs and I just can't stop talking about God's goodness in watching over our littlest little and about how excited we are at the thought of getting to hold this little one on this side of Heaven.  We are tasting and seeing (and hearing!) that the Lord is good- though He always remains the same- it is such fun to experience His goodness in the anticipation of meeting this little one when we had to say goodbye to our last so early.  We're enjoying every moment over here in our neck of the woods.

Speaking of enjoying every moment...have you read One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp?  I'm about three quarters of the way through, and oh, the things this woman is teaching me! I am loving it.  It took me some time to get used to her writing style, but by three chapters in I was hooked, and I'm telling you, this book is a game changer.  God has been molding me and shaping me a lot in the past several months, and this book is coming right alongside His teaching in my life.  I am adoring everything about what Ann has written, and drinking up a chapter each day.  I think I may be tempted to turn right back to the first page and re-read it when I get to the last!  It is phenomenal.

And with a fabulous Baby update and a wonderful book recommendation, I'm off to snuggle down and catch the tail-end of some Baby Einstein with Newbie before we crash for a nap. =)

Happy Tuesday!

Our House: Before

Happy Sunday!

I hope you've all had a fun weekend.  We have been busy hitting up every Home Depot within a 50 mile radius for various odds and ends on our to-get list for our house.  Mom and I went out yesterday with Newbie after breakfast and didn't come home until the dinner.  It was a busy, super fun day spent picking out all sorts of stuff for the house.

Today the Hubs is headed over to crank up the jams and start some prep for all the renovations we're beginning this week.  Last Thursday we both snuck away for the evening to pull out nails and pull down wood and scrub, scrub, scrub cabinets and counters and shelves.  I took a trillion pictures, knowing this is the last time this house will look like it does since we have some BIG plans in the works.

Here are several "before" shots so you can get a feel for where we started.  I'll post some pictures of the process as we work through it the next few weeks, and of course, lots of "after" pictures when we're finally done!  Think tons of paint and new flooring for starters...

 

(Here's the Hubs with a double thumbs-up for the kitchen)

  (The half bath...say goodbye to just about everything in this room- especially the creepy motel medicine cabinet above the sink and the what-were-they-thinking wicker toilet seat!)

 (Oh!  This is one of our favorites...stairs to the basement covered in carpet that looks like wood. Very classy, just the way we like it. =])

 (This is where I will (won't?!) be doing lots of laundry...it needs some TLC, but we'll get there.  Don't you love the random shower?  You never know when you'll need to take a dip before folding clothes, man.)

 (Here's the dining room...check out that glass display case and kiss it goodbye.  The Hubs got for real on that thing and its already outta there.)

 (Back down to the basement for a quick shot of the vintage stove. Its in perfect condition and is hooked up to cook away.  If I could paint this sucker red or teal and stick it in my kitchen upstairs, I totally would.  We may hold on to her for a while or put her up on eBay.  LOVE that thing.)

 

(This little beauty was a treasure left behind from the original owners.  Newbie has already claimed it as his new favorite chair, and we're going to let it stick around for a while.  I'm a big fan of the vintage kitchen look, so she stays.)

 

(Here's our cutie's little hallway, leading to the full bath and the three bedrooms.  Newbie runs in and out of all the rooms shouting "biiiiiig hows!"  The Hubs and I don't think Newbie's figured out the actual square footage of this baby.  =])  

 

(Here's a little peek at the full bath.  We picked out tile for the floor in here yesterday and I may or may not have snagged a ruffled shower curtain.  LOVE.)

 

(One of the bedrooms- they are all similar in style and size.  I can't wait to get some beds in these puppies and start calling this place home!)

 

(Be still, my heart.  When we met the sellers at the closing, the woman mentioned she left some of her mother's dishes in the cupboards, and if I wanted to keep them, I could.  I held my breath and hoped it was the set of green glasses I spied the first time we went through the house....and guess what?!  It was!  My grandmother has a similar set that I have always loved and I was thrilled to see these darlings still sitting in the cupboard.  Hooray!!!)

 

(After several years of no AC and old radiators, this thermostat is a sight for sore eyes.  We are so pumped about having AC and fabulous heating.  Praise the Lord!)

 

("Clark, this here's our pride and joy..."  The Hubs went all Demolition Danny on the hutch in the dining room and I love the way it looks now.  So excited to see those cupboards go from plastic that looks like wood to white! I think this might be my favorite part of the whole house.  I love a dash of character, man.)  

 

This weekend has been a lot of fun- we've done lots of planning and dreaming for this new house.  We are so blessed to have a place to call our own, and we are so excited to begin the work and move in!  There is a lot of painting and fixture-replacing and scrubbing on the agenda, but it is going to be such a fun project to take on.  The Hubs and I can't stop talking about how grateful we are that God has provided us just exactly what we need right now and how exciting it is to get settled into a new nest.  I've been benched for most of the renovating due to the bun in the oven, but I'm enjoying hanging out with Newbie and being a part of the planning.  Wahoo!

Newbie has been such a trooper over the past week.  He had some time to unwind Friday night on the iPad G-Mama (who Newbie now calls, "GiGi") has checked out for her class.  He was a whiz on it, asking over and over again for "lowdy" (Woody- it was a Toy Story read aloud book) and "da bugs! bugs." (a game where you smoosh bugs with the tap of your finger...gross!).

We've also done a lot of coloring lately.  Opie has a real taste for Crayons, and last night Newbie was coloring with his daddy when he ran up to me and said, "Mommy!  Opie eated a boo one!"  I can't believe my little guy is talking in complete sentences like this!  He had me cracking up.  He is always right when it comes to "Opie eated it" accusations.  Sure enough, blue Crayon right down the hatch.  Opie has a rainbow assortment of treats out on the lawn, and had apparently decided to add some blue to the collection.  What a winner.

In other news, Baby is doing well as far as we know, and we have our 16 week appointment on Tuesday.  No ultrasound this month, but we'll check in on the heartbeat and make sure everything is still looking good.  Prayers for our littlest little would be so appreciated!  Thank you, friends. =)  Only a few more weeks until we find out if we're having a baby boy or a baby girl!  Any guesses?  The Hubs and I think we've got a little girl in the works, but I thought that about Newbie too, so it's still anybody's game. Can't wait to find out and start planning another nursery.  What a gift new life is! There is not a day that goes by that we take for granted this fragile little life and what a blessing each moment we have with this little one is.  God is so, so good.

Newbie and I are gearing down for a nap soon.  Baking a baby and scouring Home Depot after Home Depot can really wear a girl down. =)  I'm thankful to have a day to slow down and rest.  Newbie could stand to catch a few z's too, after the busy week we've had.  There's just something so lovely about napping on a Sunday afternoon, isn't there?

Happy Weekending!

Looks like I graduated after all...hooray!

Last night I grabbed a memory card I found on the computer desk and stuck it in my camera hoping there was some space on it to take a few shots of our morning today. When I got online this afternoon to upload the pictures I took of our day, I ran into an archive of long lost photographs. My college graduation. Four years ago. I have been looking for these for YEARS, lamenting the fact that they are the only pictures we have of my College of Education ceremony, and therefore the only evidence that I actually graduated outside of the degree that is still waiting in a manilla folder for a fancy frame (Aunt C-Dog, could you and your fancy framing certification get on that?=]) 

Hallelujah. It looks like I graduated with a degree in education after all!

 

There were times when I wondered if all the portfolio making and lesson planning and student teaching nightmares were all a dream. So happy to see it wasn't a figment of my imagination. =)

Moving on...

This morning we went out for a celebratory breakfast. It was FREEZING cold outside. Like, put Newbie in his car seat and make three different trips inside for more layers, blankets, hats, and gloves before we finally started scraping the snow off the car and headed down the driveway. It. was. COLD.

Newbie is such a charmer at restaurants. He is always so excited and asks for "colors" (crayons) right away. We've been really spoiled since we sold our house, eating out far more often than we ever, ever do since we have a little more cash flow what without a house payment and all. Newbie has had his fair share of chocolate milk in big boy cups lately. He is ALL over that cup like stupid on Opie. (Sorry, was that not kind? I can't help it. He almost ripped my leggings today, so he is not on my happy list.)

 

Do you like my massive crocheted ear warmer? The Hubs gave it to me for Christmas because my ears are ridiculously sensitive to the cold. Like, feel as if they are going to explode with the slightest drop in temperature sensitive. What a thoughtful, good-looking man I've got.

We went to the house after breakfast, but I'm going to break it to you fast- like a bandaid: I did not take any pictures. I was too busy choraling Newbie away from the carpet guy's tape measure and pulling down lacy curtains that were stiff with 40 years of dust. Pictures to come, I promise.

The Hubs took off for work from there, and on our way home, Newbie and I stopped at the hardware store to get my man a metal snow shovel, per his request. Let me tell you something: metal snow shovels weigh a billion pounds. I felt like an Olympic lifter hauling that sucker through the store, big metal blade over one shoulder, Newbie on the opposite hip. Why did nobody offer to carry the billion pound shovel for the pregnant lady with the squirmy toddler? COME ON! You're killin' me, Smalls. I finally made it out of there, hoisted Newbie into his car seat, hoisted the shovel into the back of the truck, and swore I was never going to shop at the hardware store alone again. It is really no place for a pregnant woman on the edge anyway.

When we got home, Newbie spotted a "TIE-ANG-GULL!" on the floor. He said it five times before I realized he had found a sliver of light in the kitchen that left a triangle on the wood. Baby genius, man.

I whipped up some lunch for my little sidekick, then we climbed the stairs so momma could blog and Newbie could catch a pre-naptime Curious George episode. Check out who greeted us in the computer room:

Somebody shot right to the top of the Naughty List and it wasn't Opie. Or me. Newbie started crying because that's what he does anytime he realizes one of the dogs ate something awesome. Like a binky or a little blue sippy cup. Oh, the drama. Good thing we're headed to the store this afternoon. Number one on the list is an awesome blue cup replacement.

Wow. Has this been the longest post ever? I'll get on with it. It's time for nap over here, and it ain't only Newbie that benefits from a few afternoon z's.

Hope your Thursday is good to the last drop!

A trip through the 70's on the horizon...

What. a. whirlwind. I haven't posted in ages because: a) I am such a slacker with uploading pictures- and who wants to read a ton of posts with no pictures? b) We've been visiting paint stores and flooring places until my eyeballs were ready to roll right out of my head...super busy. c) Newbie is talking like crazy, and its a lot harder to sit at the computer and blog when he comes up to me and asks, "Mommy pay now? Mommy pay peas?" I mean, really? How do you say no when a curly-haired toddler asks you if you will come and play instead? But I put a pause on everything to jump on the blog and announce that the Hubs and I are officially homeowners! We closed on our house today(!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) and could not be more excited! We are so so so grateful for God's timing in providing this house for us and just for His faithfulness in meeting our needs. He is so so good! We're going out to breakfast tomorrow to celebrate, then we're hanging out at the house for the morning while the carpet guy comes to get some measurements, and Newbie runs in and out of his bedroom and Baby's nursery yelling "BIIIIIIG HOUSE". He's been really into giving "biiig hugs" lately, and today when we stopped by the house after closing to try out the garage door opener and celebrate, his "hug" turned into "house" as he ran from room to room. Too funny. Anyway, while we're there tomorrow I'm going to take lots of "before" pictures and plan to post them later in the afternoon. So brace yourselves for some pretty intense 70's MADNESS. Green carpet? Sure! Teal carpet? Absolutely! Pink carpet? You can bet your bottom dollar! Brown wicker toilet seat? Do you really think we'd hold out on that?! We got it all, baby. We have our work cut out for us, but its going to be fun to see the transformation happen over the next few weeks and several months to follow. I'll share each step of the way on the blog- it should be a good time! We have to start with the plastic kitchen cabinets and the faded shag carpet...but I promise it won't stay that way. =) I'm exhausted tonight. I think the stress and anticipation of working through all the details of purchasing a house have finally come crashing in on me. This momma is going to shoot for an early bedtime tonight- if only I can get Newbie to play along! Be back soon with some 70's swag. Wishing you all a very happy Wednesday!