Forced Relaxation

Love the floors!

Best shots I could get

Luke's ball game went well.  He played his friend, Conner's team so that was fun. It was interesting to see how far both boys had come since last year.  After the game we had to hit Lowe's again.  There and Home Depot are our home away from home lately.  We picked out a different tile for Luke's vanity area -- hoping it will work.

About the time Katherine and I got there the hardwood crew was leaving.  They got it done fast.  Of course, we couldn't walk on it, but I managed to take a couple of pictures.  We love it!  It turned out great so far. They will be back tomorrow to top coat it.

It was sunny here today, but still chilly.  We had grand ideas to get a lot of work done outside and in the shop and basement, For some reason I was freezing and couldn't really focus on anything else.  I did get the carport and front porch swept up after we got all the scrap wood and trash in the dumpster. The kids were asking to leave by this time anyway.  We decided to go home while Paul stayed there and worked.  He had a load in the back of his truck and wanted to do some re-arranging in the basement. The kids and I came home and I actually laid down and took a quick nap -  it was heavenly.  We are all exhausted - mentally and physically.  After my nap the kids and I showered and got ready to go back to Gallatin to have supper with Jon, Kristen and Bill.  J&K just picked up BBQ and brought it to Bill's.  Of course, we didn't tell them we had that the night before. It was good -- from a different place than we are used to.

Kristen and I had a great time catching up.  It had been over a month since we had seen each other so we had a lot to cover.  We do usually talk once a week and text a lot!  It was fun hanging out and we didn't end up leaving until after 9.  The kids were so tired.

Birthday Happenings

Katherine playing photographer again

And again...

Two more stain options

So, today was a busy day considering it was my birthday.  Paul got up early and cooked a birthday breakfast which was great.  I did have a pedicure scheduled this morning.  I contemplated canceling, but it has been so long since I have had my toes done and it is my birthday!  I did that first thing this morning and then came home and cleaned the house from top to bottom again.  The home inspection, appraisal and termite inspection were all scheduled for this afternoon.  Thankfully they all went off without a hitch!  There are a few minor things from the home inspection that need to be addressed.  There were no termites to be seen and the appraiser acted as though the house was worth what our agreed upon price is.  Will know more the first of the week.

It was kind of nice that I had to be home this afternoon and couldn't do much.  I picked the kids up this afternoon and we came home until Paul got home.  We ate supper at Shane's Rib Shack and then went up to the house to check out the two additional stains the crew put down today.  We agreed on a stain so they will get it first coated tomorrow!

Making Decisions...

Almost done in K's bathroom

Luke's bathroom getting done

I had to run out to the house this morning before work to unload my car full of boxes.  A lady I work with brought some boxes today so I needed somewhere to put them.  I ran up to check on the tile work.  Luke's bath is coming along.  Paul says it is "boring" and it is, compared to Katherine's.  We are trying to think of a way to spice it up a bit.  We are having to work with the existing marble mosaic floor that Paul wants to keep.  We also didn't want to take the existing square tiles off the wall in the toilet area so we did our best to match that for the shower surround.  The marble floor in the vanity area was supposed to go in today, but the person installing had some concerns with the inconsistency of the tiles.  I am glad he didn't go ahead and put them down.  When I went back this afternoon he had them laid out and there were huge differences.  I know marble is a natural stone, but some of them were almost black and others were snow white.  We decided to nix that idea and go back to the drawing board.

The hardwood crew was there sanding.  They put down two different stains for me to choose from.  I wasn't sold on either one so they are going to put a couple of more down tomorrow and we will chose from that.  They will stain on Saturday, top coat on Sunday and cabinets are scheduled to go in Monday barring any unforeseen circumstances.  I took the day off to be there so I hope it can all happen!

Birthday Dinner

Today was Mom's birthday.  I picked her up at work on my way to get the kids.  The kids were excited to see her.  We met Paul at BrickTops in Nashville.  It was very good.  We all ordered something different and it was all yummy.  We got a special birthday treat -- a chocolate chip cookie baked in a cast iron skillet with vanilla bean ice cream!  Yum, yum!

It was a fun night and I was glad we were able to all be with Mom on her birthday!

Little By Little

Katherine's is coming together

Crown went in the master bathroom today

Never thought I would be so excited
to see a doorknob!

I remember when we were engaged and building our little house by Opry Mills the developer told us "it might look like it's ready to move in, but it's not; there's still lots to be done".  I know now what he means.  Every day it seems like there is just a little progress.  I had to speak at a meeting at work this morning at 7:30 so I needed to be there about 7:15.  I normally get there between 7:45 - 8:00.  Added to that I needed to take some tile up to the house before then.  Needless to say I was up and at 'em this morning.  I got to the house a little before 7 and had time to check things out.  Katherine's bathroom looks awesome! She is going to be so excited.  I am so proud that she picked something as classic as black and white -- it is timeless and will look good for years to come.

I got to leave work a little earlier than normal thanks to my early arrival.  I picked the kids up and we had time to come home before Luke's basketball practice.  That was nice.  It gave me a chance to change clothes and do a couple of things and I let them watch a quick show.  After practice it was back home for supper and homework. Luke had his Social Studies oral presentation today. He said it went really well.  His topic was Veteran's Day and Memorial Day.  He had to do a visual, an oral presentation and then a class project.  He did a poster board of pictures and did a worksheet/ test for his project.  He practiced quite a bit and sounded great.  He also got called back for the Spring play auditions.  Will see later this week if he got a part!

The tile crew called Paul about 6 tonight saying the power had gone out suddenly at the house when they were in the middle of working. Paul wrapped up at the office and went up there. By the time he got there it was back on. Not sure what that was about.  He decided to stay and work.  I ordered all the doorknobs online after finding what I wanted at a store.  They were much less expensive online. When Paul went to switch them out we realized that they old knobs were considerably smaller than the new knobs so they whole was not large enough.  Paul bough this contraption to help him size the whole up just enough to make it a little larger.  He was afraid it would take forever to do each one, but he was able to do one tonight pretty quickly.  We were also pleased to see that a trim guy had been there today, too.  He got the crown up in the master bath, finished the foyer trim and some chair rail going up the stairs that had been messed up.

Tomorrow the tile should be finished in Luke's bathroom if everything goes according to plan. Thursday and Friday the hardwood will be there to sand and first coat the floors!

Come on Sunshine!

Paul had to work again today.  He does not like working on Sundays at all and his boss knows that. He had to be in the office fairly early today.  Since Paul had to work I recruited Mom to help me teach our 4-year olds in Sunday school.  The kids and I had a rough time even making it to the vehicle this morning. I am still parking in the street and navigating our front stairs and yard in church clothes and shoes proved to be no small task.  I almost busted more than once, but did finally make it to the van.  We got Mom picked up so she wouldn't have to drive and made it to church close to on time.

We only had five in our class which was not surprising given the weather.  After church it was Luke's turn to choose where went.  He picked Cracker Barrel. He picked it last time, but the wait was too long.  We decided we were going to wait today.  It was packed.  I had to park in the employee parking lot.  I must say, it was worth the wait.  We all ordered breakfast food and it did not disappoint!  After that I had to pick up tile at both Home Depot and Lowe's.  Somehow we miscalculated how much we needed.  I was able to get it picked up pretty quickly and we took it up to the house.  That driveway is still slushy and the parking and turnaround at the house is a mess.  We had to be very careful.  I snapped a picture of Luke's bathroom. It is all prepped and ready!

We dropped Mom off and the kids and I came home to rest. I took a quick nap and they rested.  We worked on some of Luke's homework and I did some packing.  Paul didn't get home until after supper.  He is pretty worn out and he knows the effects of this weather event are going to last the next couple of months -- right when we are in the midst of moving/ selling and getting settled.

Such a Mess...

The picture does not accurately
show the depth of the water.

Additional drywall patching before cabinets go in

Some of our new trim under
the pile of trash

Progress in Katherine's bath

He makes my heart smile!

Well, today was not the best of days.  The weather forecasters got it right this time.  It was raining when we woke up and pretty much hasn't stopped all day.  It is a cold, yucky rain.  Paul's business has exploded in the last 24 hours and he had to work all day.  I had to work, too, so thankfully Mom was able to keep the kids.  Mom had some water damage from ice damming.  We are learning all kinds of terminology this winter season.  She has water damage on her living room ceiling and walls. Paul told her to put some fans on it and that has helped.  She notified her board President who has had reports from ~12 other homeowners.

Work was crazy busy today which I was not expecting.  It had been fairly calm when I left Thursday. I needed to leave in time to go check on the Gallatin house.  The tile guys were there working and said they thought water was in the basement.  This basement is considered a "dry basement" and had never flooded.  In the historic flood of 2010 there was only a very little bit of water in it.  So, I was shocked to find several inches of water on the right side of the basement.  We had been taking boxes up there and just sitting them in the floor.  Several boxes had books, pictures and housewares in it. Several of my  blog books appear to be ruined as well as some cookbooks.  I was pretty upset and tried to get some of the water out by using a push broom. That normally would have worked fine except it was a solid sheet of ice outside the door so there was nowhere for the water to go.  I tried to bust up the ice with a shovel, but didn't have a whole lot of luck since it was so thick.  I did what I could and then checked on the inside.

Thankfully there was no damage inside.  We did loose some new trim that was on the front porch.  The tile guys helped me get in what we could salvage.  One bright note was seeing progress in Katherine's bathroom with some actual tile on the wall!

I got to Mom's around 6 and she had supper waiting!  Paul got there shortly after to check on Mom's water damage.  It is definitely under control so he headed to Gallatin to see what he could do there. Turns out the reason the basement flooded is that the downspouts were not put back on after the exterior work was done. We told the guy we wanted them put back on and he said as soon as there was a break in the weather he would get a crew on it.  I don't think anyone would have ever guessed we would have as much rain as we did. Bill was able to get all the water out before Paul got there.  I am just glad to know this is not a normal occurrence and it is not something we are going to have to have fixed with a sump pump or anything like that.

The kids and I came home, got showers and got ready for bed.  Luke is back to reading Charlotte's Web. I suggested we read it as a family when we do our Bible time at night, but Luke wants to read it to himself which is fine, too!  So glad that he loves to read!

Here We Go Again...

Round three....

I was off today because I work the weekend.  I had intentions of getting lots done for the house.  The next big thing is getting the slabs picked out for all the counters in the house.  I called a granite yard in Nashville I wanted to go to, but they were closing at 11 because of the weather moving in to the area.  I am glad I called instead of just driving down there.  So, I went to Hendersonville to decide on carpet.  The guy Paul uses a lot is very nice, but I was in there longer than I thought I would be.  I ended up bringing home the first thing he showed me! Next I went to select some grout for all the different tile work we are having done.  Thankfully they have been working the last two days and have most all of the prep done to start tiling the upstairs bathrooms this weekend,  I went in one granite showroom, but only got to be in there a short time when the school called saying they were closing early.  I fully expected it and was happy to go get the kids. The kids, on the other hand, were not that excited that I was picking them up "early".  I was the first parent there so they didn't understand why they had to leave.

It started snowing pretty good fairly quick after we got home.  We decided to cuddle up on the couch upstairs and watch a movie. It was a perfect afternoon for it. When Paul got home we ran to the neighborhood Mexican place -- it was literally the only restaurant open except fast food.  The roads were pretty bad by the time we got home and it was still snowing.  The meteorologists are calling for a warm up tomorrow, but also lots of rain.

We played games until bedtime.  It has been a long week!

Not Her Day...

It is still bitterly cold here so the roads have not done much melting.  I  was anxious to see how the roads were this morning so I left a little early.  I decided to take the bypass into work because I thought it would be in pretty good shape.  It was for the most part.  I still took it slower than normal so it took me about 45 minutes to get there.

Paul didn't have to be in until 9.  The owners are still expecting an onslaught of jobs so they want everyone safe and rested up.  When I left the kids and Paul were outside playing. Later on this morning he called to tell me about Katherine's sledding accident.  I won't go in to great detail, but needless to say she could have been hurt very badly. She definitely had angels around her.  I think Paul learned a lesson and Katherine won't be willing to get back on  a sled anytime soon.

Both kids fell asleep in the car on the way home from Snow Care this afternoon.  It wears them out.  I think they go non-stop while they are there.  Our neighborhood is still awful and I was not able to get up the driveway which is quite frustrating.  Katherine was so tired, but I could not carry her on the icy sidewalk and driveway -- I was afraid I would drop her.  Poor thing was so tired she tripped going up the stairs into the house and busted.  I scooped her up quickly and was afraid to look. I am such a wheenie when it comes to stuff like that.  I thought she might have busted her lip or knocked a tooth out.  Thankfully she just banged up her chin, but she was pretty upset.  By the time Paul got home late tonight it was awful looking.  It literally looks like someone drew a black line down her chin. That combined with her boo-boos from the sledding escaped make her look like quite the character right now.

Snow Day #2

View on our way into work this morning

The roads have not really cleared at all and, in fact are worse than yesterday.  School is closed and so is their Snow Care program.  Thankfully, Mom's boss told her not to come in today because of the weather so she was able to watch the kids.  I wasn't so sure about driving in these conditions so Paul drove me to work and then went back to his office in Nashville.  We didn't have any difficulty, but I think it was mainly due to his vehicle.  I was glad to make it in to work so we could get caught up.

I worked until about 3:30 and Bill came to pick me up and take me home. It will be nice once we are moved that I will be so close to work and getting in should not be an issue.  Most of the roads had melted considerably since this morning.  It is still very cold but the sun was out all day which helped. Once we got on the side street to get to our neighborhood it was apparent the roads had not been salted or plowed. They were pretty treacherous.  We made it to our house and Bill offered to follow me to Mom's to get the kids picked up.  We were in his truck or we could have just picked them up on our way.  I left the neighborhood a different way and it seemed more clear.  I drove very slow until I got to the main road and then it was clear.  The kids were out in Mom's driveway scraping the snow and ice around.  Of course, they didn't want to leave but I was ready to get home. School is out again tomorrow but the Snow Care program is open! That is such a relief!

Paul had a slower day at work today.  None of his sub contractors are working due to the weather so he just bid a few jobs and is on stand by to go in at anytime to respond to emergency calls.  He is fully expecting to be working around the clock the next few days.  That did not stop him from going to Gallatin tonight to get some stuff done there.  He is working late trying to make the most of his time.  He has gotten the master vanity light fixtures installed, the light/fan in the attic playroom and has run some baseboard. Of course, the tile person has not come this week due to the weather but is supposed to be there tomorrow.  The trim and paint crew is scheduled for Thursday.  If we can just get the various crews there I feel like they could get the remaining items knocked out.

Oh and we are under contract!!!  We came to terms with the buyers and signed the contract!  Of course it is pending the appraisal, home inspection, sale of their home, etc. We are set to close the end of March, whoohoo!  Answered prayer!

Icemageddon 2015

Well, the meteorologists missed this one by a long shot.  Just in the last 2 days they were calling for 5-8" of snow for the Nashville area. Turns out we got very little snow where we are, but a lot of ice.  It was crazy hitting the roof -- it was so loud.  It has left the city quite the mess.  I spent most of the morning trying to figure out if the other staff scheduled were going to make it into work.  In the end one person made it in so I didn't try to go in.  For the first time since Paul has been with his company the owners told everyone not to come in. So, we found ourselves all four at home basically stranded! It was quite nice actually.  Once I got work figured out I was able to relax and get some stuff done. We were able to do a lot of packing which is great.  The kids insisted on going outside to play in the "snow".  They put so many layers on it was crazy. Luke had on like 5 pair of pants and 9 shirts.  Katherine was able to wear some size 3 snow pants of Luke's - sure glad we hung on to those.  They both got to break in their snow boots Mom got them at the end of the season last year.

Since we aren't ones to just hang around the house for long we decided to venture out.  So glad Paul has a 4x4 truck!  We didn't have any trouble really, but he took it slow.  We drove around for awhile checking things out then crazy us went to Lowe's in Nashville looking for tile. Surprisingly there were quite a few people in there -- mainly looking for salt, generators, fuel, etc.  We found some tile we think we agree on and that is within our budget!  Yay, finally!  We picked up quite a few other things before heading back home.

We spent the rest of the night hanging out.  We also are in the process of negotiating on the sell of our house!  I think it is really going to happen!  The best part is they want to close a couple of weeks after we plan to move -- so that gives us some wiggle room in case something comes up and we aren't able to move in right when we want to.  Praying this all works out!

Sunday Selfies!

Today was nuts, again!  We met Mom and the kids at church to get them checked in to their classes then we went to worship and Sunday School.  We are "marching" through Ephesians and every week's sermon is so applicable to our daily lives.  A quick subway lunch was next and then we went to the farm to get my van.  We decided to leave it there last night.  It took us a while to get it unloaded.  I had packed it full of boxes yesterday morning.  The guy doing the preliminary prep for the tile work came by to make sure he knew everything we needed done.  He is supposed to start tomorrow.

The kids and I quickly made our way back home while Paul stayed up there to work.  I worked like mad to get the house spotless for the showing this afternoon.  We picked up, cleaned up and scrubbed everything.  We got most of the closets straightened up.  Paul got home about 4 and we finished up the last few things.  I lit a good smelling scent and waited for them to get here.  Turns out they have two kids about our ages.  They seem like a really nice family and appeared very interested in the house. They stayed about 40 minutes and said they would be in touch.  It just seems so crazy to me that we might be able to sell our house this quickly and without listing it!

After they left we kind of let the weekend catch up with us and we realized we were exhausted!  We ate supper and went to bed fairly early!  The weather people are calling for quite the Winter storm overnight into tomorrow. Thankfully I had already requested the day off because the kids are out for President's Day.

Oh and to explain the pictures.  Katherine is very much into photography of late and insisted we had a little photo shoot tonight after the family left.  So, I obliged her and some of them turned out pretty good!

Wonderful Valentine Treat!

Trying to figure out window treatments
for the master bedroom

Our Welcome sign for V-Day Dinner

Our perfect table for two!

Yummy supper!

We love these kiddos!

We had a wonderfully busy Saturday!  Luke played another excellent game.  He is really becoming a good little player.  He played excellent defense again today.  He played 5 out of the 6 periods because a few of the boys were out today.  Mom met us there and then took the kids home with her so they could prepare our Valentine dinner.  Paul and I headed up to the cabinet maker to take some crown molding that will match the rest of the house.  I was also able to get all the cabinet hardware picked out which was a chore in itself.  I was super excited when he took us back to the shop to see the progress they have made on the cabinets.  They are amazing!  I absolutely love them!  He didn't have any of the mudroom cabinets painted but we got to see some of the kitchen cabinets, kitchen island and master bath vanities.  So pretty!  I think we definitely have no regrets on going ahead and getting the cabinets made.  The owner also informed us that the cabinets should be finished the end of next week!  Holy moly -- we have got to get on the ball!

We were there for about an hour and then we ran back to Gallatin, grabbed lunch and picked up a lot of supplies at Lowe's before we met the exterior guy at 2 to settle up.  During this whole process we also got a call from a friend who has a friend that is looking for a house in our area.  Long story short they want to come and look at it tomorrow!  Man, oh man do we have a lot to do!  We have agreed to it although I'm not sure how we will get it all done.  We stayed at the house until 4:30 working and then headed home to clean up for our Valentine date.

We got to Mom's about 6. The kids were so excited that we were there!  They had spent all day cooking and decorating for our special night.  They acted like waiters and took us to our table in the sunroom. They had the table all decorated with a menu and everything. They fixed our drinks and brought out each course -- cheese and crackers for appetizer, salads with homemade dressing and croutons,  chicken Parmesan with garlic potatoes and steamed broccoli -- yummy! The food was amazing but the service and entertainment was better!  We all ate dessert together - lemon raspberry sorbet in a heart shape.  Mom really outdid herself this time.  It was such a special night.  It made us sit and relax for a little while and enjoy the kids.  They were worn out so we left a little after 8 so they could go to bed.  Paul and I went to Home Depot and were there until it closed.  We are having a hard time deciding on tile for the master.  Of course, the things I love -- marble, travertine are out of our budget at this point. Since we are having cabinets made I have had to make some changes to my "wish list" so we stay on budget.  Hopefully we will find something soon that is affordable and that we like.

It was an amazingly busy, but fun day -- one of the best Valentine's Day ever!

Valentine Party!

The kids were so excited about their Valentine parties today!  We worked on their valentine cards earlier this week.  Nothing fancy in our house this year -- just some leftover valentine cards from the past few years.  We (I) just don't have time for all that cutesy, crafty Pinterest - inspired valentine treats this year!  The kids didn't seem to mind and just had fun filling out the cards.

Paul was able to sneak away from work long enough to surprise Luke at his party this afternoon.  I think Luke was pretty excited.  We have been feeling lately like we haven't had a lot of quality time with the kids.  Every night we are working on something at the house, or at basketball practice or in Gallatin at the new house. So, we decided to let the kids pick where they wanted to go eat tonight - Chik Fil A was there choice.  We actually haven't been there in a couple of months. It was packed as usual!  After that we went to Target to let them pick out their own Valentine gift.  I just had not been able to get something picked up and we figured they would like it better this way. Luke picked out a set of Pokemon cards, of course. Katherine looked and looked and could never decided so she left empty handed!  We had a fun night together!

Looking Good

I'm glad that we decided to do the shakes on
a small portion of the house for an accent!

The crew was back at the house today so I asked Mom to pick the kids up so I could go and check on the progress. I also had a very productive day at Hermitage Lighting yesterday. I was able to purchase all the remainder lighting for the house and they had most of it in stock!  So, I had a van full of lighting I needed to drop off.  From what I could tell today it appears they are almost done with the exterior!  Should only be 1-2 more days.  We are thinking now we won't complete the porch until after we move in.  That is something that does not have be done for us to live there. We are going to get it painted as quickly as possible, but the weather doesn't look like it is going to cooperate in the next couple of weeks!

The "Logging" Room

Making progress

Almost done...

Mastering the art of the "selfie"

It was warm here again today, not near as sunny as yesterday but still nice.  We went to Which Which for lunch after church which was my pick.  I like their bowl which -- just a sandwich in a bowl! Paul had some things to pick up at Home Depot so he and Luke went to do that and Katherine and I went on to the house.

I was excited to see the plank wall that Paul had been working on. I really like it!  It was better in person than in the pictures he took last night.  I think it definitely adds character to the space which is what we were going for.  Even though I wanted reclaimed barn wood this seems to be working out perfect.  After seeing it I don't think we will need to stain it.  It has enough variation of color between the boards that I think it will work just fine.

While we were there the kids and I put new face plates on all the outlets and switches in their rooms that the electrician had changed out.  I also got in a cleaning mood and cleaned their rooms.  It is amazing all the debris -- wire, screws, nails, paper, etc that accumulate on a job site.  I cleared them out completely and vacuumed really well. Basically, I would be comfortable with carpet going down if it had to, but I know we are going to wait until the sand and finish is done on the hardwoods downstairs.

The kids kept entertained with playing outside and playing blocks.  Luke dribbled his basketball up and down the driveway over and over and rode his pedal car a lot.  He is anxious to get a goal put up so he will have somewhere to shoot the ball.  We left around 3 and ran by Mom's to pick up some more boxes.  Luke has a big social studies project due the middle of February and we had not started on it yet. He and I worked on that some while Katherine entertained herself.  We had leftover soup for supper.  Paul got home about 7.  He put in a full day up there.  From now until we get moved I know he is going to be up there as much as possible. He has been trying to go one night during the week after work and then most of the weekend.

Getting It All In

Perry "shocking" Luke

Had fun hanging out with the little guy!

It was another jam packed Saturday.  Luke's game got us out and about early.  He played well again today, but no baskets. He played excellent defense and really seems to be getting into basketball.  He loves to just be playing with the ball all time time -- dribbling, shooting hoops, etc.  It is neat to see him actually seem to enjoy a sport so much!  Mom and Bill came again today.  I think Luke likes having a little cheering section.

When the game was done we headed to the farm in separate vehicles.  There is so much work to be done up there.  Paul and Bill loaded up all the old kitchen cabinets that have been sitting on the carport for close to a month now.  They had thought they were going to store them, but after looking at them closer they decided they were in too rough of shape.  So, they loaded them up and are going to burn them at some point.  There is quite a large pile of debris that needs to be burned.  Will definitely have to wait for a day that is not windy which is few and far between lately.  I took some measurements of all the lighting I picked out just to make sure it was going to work and it is!  Now, I just have to decide between two options for the foyer ceiling fixture.  I plan to go back Tuesday to place the order.  I think most everything is in stock so I should be able to take them with me!

The kids and I didn't stay long because we had a busy afternoon. Paul stayed and worked the rest of the afternoon.  We did get the wood for the plank wall in the playroom.  Paul picked out a western cedar - I guess paying homage to the original exterior of the house.  After seeing it I think it will be ok, but now I am considering staining it a little darker. We'll see once it is all installed.  He also worked on putting backer board in both kids' bathrooms in preparation for the tile to go in the week after next.

We ate lunch, went to Target to buy birthday present and ran home long enough to all take showers and get ready for Connor's birthday party.  It was so fun.  They had a "science guy" there that did lots of fun experiments with the kids. The kids loved it!  He kept their attention for close to an hour. They had pizza and cake after that and it is so warm here today that they were able to play outside!  Luke enjoyed seeing all of his buddies from the day care.  It is pretty neat that they all still invite each other to parties and such especially since they have not been together in over 2 years.  I got a lot of baby time in with Nolan.  He is such a sweet baby!

Paul went to the Wild Game dinner at church tonight so Mom came over and brought homemade soup for supper. It was really good.  After that we tried to pack up the laundry room and made some progress.  The kids were both worn out so Mom left and we got ready for bed. It has been a long day!

Exterior Progress

The exterior work started Tuesday.  I ran out there this afternoon when I left work to check it out.  It is going to look really nice.  It is hard to tell right now since it is just the primed Hardie board, but the extra wide trim around the windows is going to be a nice touch.  It will take them 4-6 days to get it all finished.  We hope the weather cooperates and they can get done in a timely manner and we can get the painters there to get the paint done.  It is all finally coming together!

Game Night

I had a very productive day off today.  I went to Hermitage Lighting in Nashville to get the last of the lighting fixtures picked out.  That task has been overwhelming.  I have bought several things online and the kids fixtures have come from Home Depot or Lowe's.  The lady that helped me was very nice.  My main goal was kitchen lighting, but when we seemed to get the figured out pretty quickly I moved on to the other remaining rooms - foyer, master bath and powder room. We were able to get something picked out for all the spaces!  I think at this point I am just kind of "done" and am not being as particular or second guessing every decision I make!

I finished there in time to grab a quick sandwich before meeting Katherine's teacher for parent/teacher conference.  Neither of the kids teachers requested a conference which is reassuring. We decided we wanted to check in with Katherine's teacher to make sure everything was going well. And, it is!  She said K is progressing very well and does not have any difficulties in class.  We were concerned that she has trouble identifying a few numbers - mainly 10, 11 and 12.  Past that and before that she does fine.  Her teacher said she was fine and that is common and felt like she would get it very soon.  She, of course, knows all her letters (upper and lower), all shapes and colors and is able to identify several sight words. She can also spell her full name, knows her address, phone number and birth date.  We are glad she is doing so well!

I did a quick errand after her conference before 3:00 dismissal.  It was nice to be home by that time in the afternoon. It gave us a lot of time to hang out and do some things.  I cooked chili for supper and Paul was able to be home at a decent time.  We played a couple of board games and Paul and the kids put on a finger puppet show!

Working on The "Other" To Do List

Paul was actually home before we were tonight.  He has not been getting home until close to 7 for the past couple of weeks because work is so busy.  He decided to take advantage of the extra time and started painting our bathroom.  It has some condensation stains and is a fairly dark color.  We have enjoyed the color but Kristen suggested we paint it a lighter shade.  It is amazing how different it looks and how bright it is!  We are using one of the main colors from the new house since there are a couple of 5# buckets of it up there.  Paul got one coat rolled on and will work on the cutting in and the second coat of rolling.  While he was painting the kids worked a bunch of puzzles while I packed up some boxes.  We are making progress a little bit at at time.  The goal is to have the house list by the first of March so we are definitely on a timeline!