It Doesn't Look Golden To Me

My sister-in-law, Jana, and my niece, Morgan, traveled with me to San Fran for a conference. We've had a fun time sight seeing and watching these two little ones interact.

More to come.

Floors and More

Sam worked all day long Saturday with hardly any break to get the floors in the upstairs bedrooms. It looks awesome!

The "blue" room:

Winston's room:

Our room:

The refrigerator and stove were also delivered and installed Saturday. I am shocked at how big the fridge is--we're going to love having all that space!

Next on the to-do list includes:
- installing the railing/baulster
- finishing the flooring in the living room
- painting and installing the trim/moulding
- painting the cupboard doors
- hanging all doors
- cleaning, cleaning, cleaning

It's so close to being done, yet so much more to do.

PS I've decided I like the kitchen green since the second coat is on. And it looks even better at night.

Thank Goodness for Uncles

Winston's regular schedule has been quite different the last month or so as we've been working on the home. Most the time, however, he does a very good job considering the inconveniences for him.

Yesterday, however, was rough. I had a presentation to give at night, and he was left with Sam. Usually there isn't a problem with this, but Winston is tired of his little car walker and can only handle so much time in the back pack in one place for more than a couple of minutes. He was not only crying, but screaming for quite a while.

Sam asked his brother to come sit with and entertain Winston so Sam could finish the last little bits of paint and start the floors.

I came home to find Caleb and Winston like this:

Poor Winston and Caleb. He cried 30 minutes before giving into sleep and Caleb held him and loved him that whole time.

Caleb even took a nap, too. And because of that, Sam was able to get a good start on this:

And Winston's other uncle (my brother Brian), came and helped paint and hang the new light fixture last Saturday.

Thank goodness for uncles (and aunts, too) willing to help! We very much appreciate all the help we've received from all our family and friends.

A Mind of Their Very Own

I'm looking out my window at a blanket of freshly fallen snow. It is beautiful, but I thought we wouldn't have more of stuff that actually stuck to the ground for at least 6 more months. {Sigh} Oh well.

So, for a couple months now, the windshield wipers on our older car have had a mind of their very own. Even if the windshield isn't wet, the wipers think it is and stay on pretending to be doing their job. It is really funny, but SUPER annoying and distracting at the same time.

I drove all the way to work and all the way from work yesterday with the wipers casually going back and forth and back and forth (and back and forth and on and on and on!).

I had to keep spraying the windshield to keep from going insane from the squeaky dry noise. And to keep myself from looking like an idiot to all the other drivers. I'm sure it was a funny site, but seriously. I wonder how long they stayed on for Sam today...

Paint, Paint, Paint

Love this one!

And this one, too!

Very unsure about this one.

Sam says I have to wait until the second coat is on and dries before I head to the paint store to pick out a different green. It is just so much more neon than the paint sample looked.

But it might be growing on me...but then at night without any daylight it is neon-magnified. Like Kermit the Frog exposed to nuclear materials or something. And I'm very unsure about it.

What think ye?

It's a Bit Messy Around Here

From yummy fresh blueberries

to icky drywall mud dust

to tasty pine needles and leaves

we're a bit messy around here.

Sam painted most of the ceiling Friday and Saturday. Much, much more painting coming up this week.

Color Me Wild (part 4)

And the last post on the conclusions I've come to regarding our painting and decor decisions.

4. Possibilities are endless and doable.
I worked at The Home Depot for a short summer in between high school and college. If nothing else, I learned that the possibilities of home projects, remodeling, and redecorating are virtually endless. And doable. And often do-it-yourself-able.

I'm still learning this, too. I am surprised and greatly pleased at how much Sam has been able to do on his own and with some help. He's learning a lot, and I think our confidence is growing to the possibilities that we can do in the future. Each time I run back to the hardware store to pick up something we need is yet another time I get a new idea for something different I'd like to see in the house. It's getting dangerous!

By the time we are officially ready to move into this home, we will still have a list of things we'd like to do to it. Including:
-getting new kitchen cupboards and countertops
-adding in a bathroom
-building shelves under the stairs
-fixing the deck
-getting rid of the backyard-full of dandelions (ick)
-planting a garden
-planting flowers and other general yard-fixer-upper projects

And by the time those are all done, we'll have something else we want to do. Or what we did will be out of style and will need a face lift.

Despite the work that is entailed, we are excited to be home owners. We've been waiting for these projects and responsibilities for a while now.

So, in conclusion, we are painting some bold colors that may freak out some of you. But, hopefully it will work out, and if not we'll be blogging for some better ideas.

Cheers to all your fixer-upper-projects this Spring!