I'm Crushing On....

I am taking a break from the incessant dusting and cleaning to share some of my latest crushes.

Well I have two non-stop crushes

After these cuties...

On the Web
Skype is probably the best invention for our family right now.  Matt's job keeps him away long hours, so it's nice to talk to daddy during breakfast.  The best is that he can call my cell from his laptop for mere pennies.

Mornin' Daddy!

E-mealz has been a lifesaver for our family.  For a reasonable subscription fee I can download weekly menus and shopping lists.  The meals suggested require few ingredients and not a ton of time.  While I don't usually follow the whole week's plan, it helps with the weekly question, "What should we have for dinner this week?"

Television
One Born Every Minute on Lifetime - This show is not as hokey as anything TLC puts together.  The show has its share of sad moments, but it definitely makes me want to snuggle a little baby.  Notice I did not say I wanted a baby, I just want to snuggle a baby.

The Amazing Race - We have learned so much about the world from this show.  It has played a big hand in our lengthy To Visit list.

Done x 1 1/2

The bedrooms are complete, but the pocket door project is not quite finished.  Zak Brown was back this morning to patch the floor.

The hole from the wall was temporarily filled with a piece of 2x4 (random thought - is it still a 2x4 if it has been cut shorter?) and covered with a tarp.  Shockingly G has not bothered to lift it up once.

Zak Brown thought it would be best to fill the spot properly so when he returns to stain and urethane the floor he can get started right away.  Here are some before and afters of the pocket door project.....

I think that's a nice difference, don't you?  Just a few more weeks and the construction dust will be adios for good.

We had a pretty full agenda for today.  The list was mostly created so we'd be out of Zak Brown's way, but the list lasted well into dinner time and Zak Brown was done!

1. Drop M at Spanish class and go to butcher shop
2. Zip back at home to let Zak Brown in and do a few dishes
3. Pick up M and get emissions test done on car
4. Go to the mall for new shoes for the kids, Matt's birthday present, and some make-up
5. Grab lunch on the way home
6. Put G down for a nap and work on report cards
7. Go to Home Depot for primer & stain (Talk to Matt on Skype while he's in Germany in the parking lot)
8. Go to grocery store at the height of the dinner hour with a boy who really, really didn't want to sit in a cart
9. Make dinner for the kids while preparing for dinner with my parents tomorrow afternoon.
10. Prime the pocket door opening so we don't get plaster dust on us every time we rub past it.

We didn't have the chance to get to Staples today, but there's always tomorrow.

Done!

One week and one day later, the room is complete!  There are a few things that we have to complete, but that will happen in due time.  We need to paint our room and G's room and stain all the new doors.  Everyone is sleeping in their own room.  Amen.

Pretend there is paint on the wall

Pretend the doors are stained

Pretend there is a rug and some decor on the wall

Let's hope it stays this clean :)

House Renovation, Day 8

Today is Presidents' Day and we do not have school, but that does not mean that we get to rest. 

Mr. D. had to put another coat on the former pocket door wall and finish up a short punch list of things.  Zak Brown has to sand, stain, and top coat our bedroom.  We are all packed up to go back to the hotel for one more night.  Then....

Mr. D. gave me a panic when he said Zak Brown’s van would not start for him this morning and he might come tomorrow instead.  He was hoping to hear from Zak Brown shortly as to the status of his ride.  I graciously held my tongue and waited for the call.  If he can’t come today, then the whole week is off to an interesting start.   I did offer to pick him up, but he lives almost 40 minutes away.  That would not be cool for the kids.  Thankfully the stars are aligned and his van started!  The late start had a potential to push the job into tomorrow and another day at the hotel.  I think he realized the hullabaloo involved in moving two kids out for just one night, and agreed to push through and get it all done today!

We had to make ourselves scarce around 11:00.  That worked perfectly as that was just enough time for lunch then back to the hotel for naptime.  When we checked in the fire alarm was sounding quite obnoxiously loud.  The desk clerk said this was the annual test and check of the fire alarm.  This meant the alarm company and a hotel employee had to physically enter every room in the hotel to make sure the alarm sounded.  That put a potential damper on the nap, but again the stars aligned for us and it stopped just as she handed us our key.  The nap has been saved!

After G woke up, it was time to head over to the park district for his weekly tot music class.  I will say it's not my favorite but he gets to play with tambourines, bells, maracas, etc., and occasionally smack another kid.  What more could you ask for?  When we were there two weeks ago the teacher said that was the last week of class and there would be a one week break between sessions.  That worked perfectly since G would be with Grandma & Grandpa last Monday.  I had M with since she did not have school today.

As it has become habit G loves to push the button for the elevator to get down to music class.  The funny thing is that he calls it a "butt."  He calls it a "butt" really loud whenever he sees them.  Slightly embarrassing, but good thing he is cute.  As I went to open the door to the classroom I noticed that the lights were off and all the fun toys were missing as well.  Now, I immediately figured I had made a mistake.  The finer details in life sometimes pass me by.  Did the teacher say this week would be the break?  Did the class move to another room?  I traipsed the kids back to the car to double check the email on my phone.  I did not want to look like a moron to the desk clerk if I was off a week.

No, my email said 2/21 was the start date.  So I called the desk clerk from the parking lot to see if I was an anonymous moron.  She concurred that the class started today and was confused that no one was there.  I asked her to look up if the class had been canceled.  She asked me, "is your son G?"  I was impressed with her telepathy skills.  She said, "yeah, you were the only ones signed up for that class so it was canceled."  Thanks for that email, park district.  I suppose the stars were not aligned for us on this one.  You can't win them all. 

Now that we were all dressed with no where to go, we went for dinner instead.  On our way I had to stop home to see how Zak Brown was doing.  His van was gone so I kept the kids in the car (I cracked the window for some ventilation!) and zipped inside for a minute.  Our floors look awesome.  While I could have gotten used to the zebra stripes in our bedroom, I think a cohesive color fits much better.    

Furniture goes back in on Wednesday, and we’ll dusting for the next few weeks.  Zak Brown will return to our house in a few weeks to take care of the hallway, kitchen, and living room.

Anyone want to buy an entertainment center?  We are selling ours because it won’t match the new floor finish, and it’s just a bit big for our postage-stamp sized house.  The finish is cherry and it's made by Pennsylvania House.  The shelves are adjustable and there is a hole made by the manufacturer to route electronics cords from the shelves to the TV area.  It's heavy and quite a lovely piece of furniture.  Send me a message if you are!

Yeah, I know the TV is a bit small

Day 7

Now that G is back in town we have to have a place for him to sleep.  The goal for the day was to get the kids’ beds set up so they can start getting back to normal.  Matt and I, however, will still be schlepping it in the basement on the aerobed (aka pumper bed as coined by M) and couch.

These are gorgeous!  The daylight makes them sparkle.

Zak Brown said that we can’t slide furniture on the floor, even if it’s on felt sliders.  The finish coat will still scratch.  We slid M’s dresser down the hallway on the yet to be finished hall floor and then carried it into place in her room. 

G was the most excited to be home.  When we showed him his room, he kept yelling "Room! Room!" and opening & slamming his new door.  Goodness I hope the novelty of that wears off soon!  

Welcome home!

 We are all so happy to be home!  For now....

Photo of the Day - January

Since last year, I've taken a photo every day to document the mundane and everyday of our lives.  There were weeks where I might not have gotten a photo each day, but during the week there were enough photos to fill seven days.  Some are funny and some are a true documentation of daily life.  Here's a look at January

House Renovation, Day 6

After we got G back to town we went to the house to check on Zak Brown's progress.  He spent the day laying the planks in our room so he can sand, stain and seal the floors on Monday.  Don't be alarmed by the photo below.

Love the zebra stripes?

Zak Brown wanted to mix some of the planks that were in our room before the remodel with new planks.  That will give a more cohesive look to the room.  Hence the zebra stripes.  On Monday that will no longer be a problem.

G saw that it was dirty and started to clean up.  
Keep up the great work, kid!

The house still had the lovely urethane smell, so we had the right idea to stay at the hotel for one more night.  We did stop at the hardware store to get some odor removing gel packs for the house.  We hope they work because we're coming home tomorrow.  We zipped back to the hotel for a little swim.  While I had the greatest of intentions of swimming, I actually forgot to pack my suit in the craziness of last night's packing.  Oh well, I sat in the sunshine by the window while Matt and the kids had fun.