Drastic Difference

Getting her hair done!

The exterior paint started today!

From the time we started talking about renovating Doc and Kitty's house I knew I wanted a very dark gray exterior with bright white trim.  Thankfully Paul agreed!  We went with the primed Hardie plank siding so we could pick our color.  We decided on Iron Ore by Sherwin Williams with Artic White trim.  It looks fantastic!  I absolutely love it and can't wait to see it all completed!  It will take about two weeks for it to be finished.  Katherine and I went for long overdue hair cuts tonight.  She doesn't mind going at all and actually likes it!

Closing Day!

We closed on our old house today!  It was a perfectly painless closing -- no hiccups or delays.  It was so nice to have that done!  Paul and I celebrated by eating at Edley's BBQ in Nashville.  It was so good.  I can't believe I have never been there.  Mom picked the kids up from school for us. 

Little Monkey!

Practicing his tree-climbing skills!

The kids were glad to get back to school and, honestly, I was glad to get back to work. Ready for a regular routine.  The kids are loving the house so far.  They love being outside and are constantly finding new things to play with and do outside. We have been most surprised by Katherine's affinity for all things creepy,crawly!  She has no fear when it comes to critters. She has brought frogs, grasshoppers, crickets and all kinds of bugs for me to look at!  I never would have guessed it!

Comfy.

We got the headboard attached last night and I love how it looks!  The bed sleeps so good. We thought our old mattress was great, but this one takes the cake as far as I'm concerned!  I have to get a bedspread, shams and rug ordered.  I also want to get the curtains up, but that is pretty far down on the list. Tomorrow will be interesting -- the kids will be back in school and Paul and I will go back to work.  Their commute is going to be considerably longer so we will see how that goes!

Beautiful Morning!

It has been a beautiful day here!  Sunny and cool.  The kids wanted to go to Pop's this morning after breakfast.  So, they set out across the field (with me watching) to visit Pop. It is nice to be this close to him.  The kids are going to love it! 

We have gotten a lot done today.  Jon came to help us which was so nice.  There are so many boxes; it feels like it will never end!

Routine

Hanging out in her closet

Storytime

Mom was here again tonight to help with the bedtime routine.  So far the kids are doing great.  Neither has gotten up to come downstairs at all.  Mom is sleeping either in the bonus room or in the other twin bed in Luke's room. 

It's a blur

Today was a blur.  The kids were home with us.  It was hard being productive while also trying to keep them entertained.  We do not have cable, internet or phone yet.  That is not scheduled for another week.  We worked on unpacking a lot of boxes and trying to get the kids rooms settled.  Our master shower is not done.  The tile guys kind of took a break for a few days while we are actually moving in. So, for now we are using the kid's bathrooms upstairs which is working fine.  The kids did good last night going to bed. Mom is going to do the same thing again tonight. 

Moving, moving...

Dining room looking good!

Today was a long, long day!  I realized yesterday that the house was so dirty from all the construction.  It had never hit me that the house needed to be clean in order for us to move our stuff in.  I didn't wan to put rugs down and furniture in on filthy wood floors.  Thankfully JoAnn was able to come and help out this morning before we got there.  I was amazed at how much she was able to get done in a few hours this morning before we got there.  What a relief!  I am so glad Paul told me we could start having her clean the house a couple of years ago.  She has cleaned for his mom and dad for years so she is well trusted and so sweet!

Paul took off the rest of the week.  I am so glad.  The movers were late getting to our house this morning and there were only two of them and they were s-l-o-w!  It felt like it took them forever to get the old house loaded on the truck.  It took over 8 hours to get everything loaded up and then unloaded at the farm. 

Mom picked the kids up from school and brought them home.  She is going to stay with us the first few nights to get the kids used to sleeping in their own beds upstairs.  I am glad we have several more days to unpack before we go back to work!  So thankful to finally be in!

Spring (Break) Day 2

Today was another busy day!  The kids went to Extended Care today so I could get stuff done.  My Made South shipment came to the new house today -- I was so excited to have some "real" mail at the new house.  Our new mattress got delivered! Paul and I decided to graduate to a King mattress with the move.  I couldn't wait to get it all set up.  I have had the duvet and curtain panels for over a month now.  I got them on a great sale.  I ordered the bed skirt in January!  I have know that is what I wanted for a long time.  I love that the room is coming together.

Still lots to do because the moving trucks come tomorrow!!!

**** Many people have asked what happened to the blog...well, we had a slight accident with my laptop during the move.  It got dropped by one sweet, apologetic little boy.  It is still operational but the screen does not work well.  I finally took it to see about getting it repaired and it was going to cost about 1/2 what a new laptop costs.  So, we decided to just get a new one.  Finally happened today so I hope to get caught up.  Bear with me as it will be hard to remember details of days that were months ago.  But, at least I have lots of pictures! Here's to getting caught up! As I have done before everything with be dated on the date it occured, not the date I am doing the entry. (8/15/15) **

Spring Break Kickoff!

Carpet down in my closet

Breakfast nook fixture

Yay for my tufted headboard!

The kids and I had a whirlwind, crazy day.  It started at the house with the counter template at 8:30.  I walked through each area with him so he would know what type of edge, overhang, etc we wanted.  After much deliberation I decided to go with the same counter on the perimeter cabinets and island.  I am also going to use the same for the mudroom desk.  Our master vanities will be different as well as Luke's vanity top.  He was there about 3 hours taking measurements.  He had a cool laser tool that synced with an ipad. Pretty impressive technology.  Super nice guy, too.

The cabinet maker came back to do a couple of finishing touches in the mudroom as well as put some additional hardware on for me.  The carpet installer got there about 9 and got to work upstairs.  He is doing it all by himself.  It was amazing to see him lift all that and take it up the stairs alone. The carpet is lighter than what we wanted but I think it will be just fine.  We would never wear shoes upstairs anyway.  While all the men were working the kids played outside a lot and had fun together. They drove their vehicles up and down the driveway, dug in the dirt and ran around.  I took turns playing catch with Luke, dolls with Katherine and unpacking boxes in the kitchen. We left about 12:30 for lunch and then I had promised them a trip to Toys R Us to spend gift cards they got for Christmas.  After about 20 minutes of looking I gave up on Katherine and, once again, she left a toy department empty handed because she could not make a decision.  Luke settled pretty quickly on some new Pokemon cards.

We stopped and got Luke a hair cut on the way home. The kids played on the playground while I packed up some more boxes.  I loaded my van down again and when Mom got here I loaded her vehicle down as well.  We headed back to the house and unloaded.  It was getting close to supper so Mom and the kids stayed there while I ran for supper. Paul was there when I got back.  We ate and then Mom took the kids back to our house.  I had to go to Lowe's to order our appliances.  The kids and I had run in there earlier today and they had a double oven on clearance for a very good price. After talking it over with Paul we decided to do that instead of what we originally picked out.  I got them ordered fairly quickly.  Bad thing is they won't be in for a couple of weeks.  I also found out late today that the counters won't be ready and installed until April 2nd -- that seems like forever away!  I know it will pass quickly, but it will be really hard not having a functioning kitchen.  

I got home about 9 and Mom had packed up some more boxes and was reading books to the kids. I got the kids in bed pretty quick and I am about ready for bed myself.  Paul. is still working at the house.  He says as long as he is on a roll he is going to go with it.  Tomorrow will be another busy, busy day!

Good Helpers

Packing up the pantry

Katherine found this baby in the
basement behind the deep freeze - oops!

Katherine's vanity top

It was a beautiful day here today!  We went to worship and Sunday School.  We went in separate cars with both of them loaded down.  After church we took a lot of stuff back to Lowe's and Home Depot. We had tile left from all of the jobs so it was nice to get it out of the back of my car.  We did a lot of work at the house.  I scrubbed some windows - the kitchen, mudroom and our bedroom.  They were filthy.  Luckily, they are double hung so they are very easy to clean - inside and out.  They looked so much better, but still not sparkling. Might take another cleaning to get them that good.  I also finished wiping the kitchen cabinets inside and out and started putting stuff away in the cabinets. Paul worked on getting the new attic access door done. He used an old door that we weren't re-using and cut it down.  It worked pretty good.  He also got Katherine's vanity top on, but not set as well as Luke's bathroom vanity lights.  It is never ending for sure!

Making Memories

Another picnic on the floor

Final coat on the floors!

Our day started bright and early.  I woke up around 5 ready to go for some reason. I think it is the anticipation and excitement of the next week ahead.  Paul had to be at the house early for Comcast to come and get our cable and WiFi set up.  They actually never showed which is another story.  He was able to get quite a bit of work done.  We were surprised to see that the flooring crew had installed on the quarter round which was stained.  The floors look awesome!  So pleased with what we decided.  I wasn't making much progress at home so I decided we needed to go get some of this stuff knocked off our list.  Mom came over and went with us.  We went to Target and HomeGoods and found quite a bit of stuff - mattress pads, shower rods, wastebaskets and so on.  We were out for a few hours and then headed back home.  Mom left and the kids and I went to Gallatin.  Paul had gotten quite a bit done and the painters were there.  There is so much touch up to be done it is crazy.  Paul finished putting the quarter round down on all the tiled surfaces so it can be painted.  There is still several pieces of crown, base and chair rail that need to be fixed.  Most of them need to be coped which Paul doesn't know how to do so he is going to need to get  a trim carpenter up there again.  Some of this obviously will not be done before we move in.  It was a long day and we were all worn out by the time bedtime rolled around.

Hot and Ready!

We all enjoyed being back in our routine today. I had a lot of loose ends to tie up at work before being off for a week next week.  I got the kids picked up at normal time and for the first time in forever Paul was off work, too.  He had an end of day appointment in Portland so he was back to Rivergate by 5:30.  He wanted to eat at Outback because he had a gift card. Funny thing is when he got there he realized his gift card was for Longhorn -- oh well.  The kids and I were there and already seated.  We had not been to Outback in years and we remembered why.  The service was not good and it is expensive considering what you get.  It was pouring down rain when we left but we had to get a mattress ordered.  We are graduating to a King bed when we move so we need a new frame, box springs and mattress.  The mattress we have now we have had since we married.  It has been great so I was a little disappointed when I found out they didn't make that style anymore.  We were able to find something we both agreed on within our price range.  It will be delivered next Tuesday!

The kids recently saw a show on how doughnuts were made.  We have never been a doughnut place and Paul saw the Hot and Ready sign on at Krispy Kreme so we decided to go in.  I had not had a doughnut in years.  They aren't my favorite which I guess is a good thing.  They were hard to resist so I got a doughnut hole and the kids each picked their own.  It was fun watching them being made -- pretty cool process.

After that we went to Sears to get the appliances nailed down.  I had them all picked out months ago but now that we need them so of the ones we chose have been discontinued.  So, kind of back to the drawing board.  They gentleman working tonight wasn't a tremendous amount of help so we left pretty quickly.  When we got home Paul looked everything up at Lowe's so we will probably just go with them.  They need to get ordered asap!

The Land of the Living

He enjoyed his snow cone!

Chicken and waffles

Katherine perked up considerably mid-morning today.  I wasn't as quick to bounce back.  I took two naps which is an improvement over yesterdays day spent in bed.  I was able to do a little packing but that was about it.  Mom is still sick, too and didn't go to work either.  I took a shower late this afternoon and decided I wanted to get out for a bit.  Mom came over and we went to check on the house.  Not a whole lot had been done. I was able to take a few boxes with me which was good.  None of us were that hungry but we decided to try Panera.  Katherine and I got plain noodles which tasted great and mom had a cup of chicken noodle soup.  We sat there and talked and made a list of everything I need to pick up in the next few days.

Paul got tickets to the UT/ Vandy game in the men's SEC tournament.  He took Luke.  As much as we have going on I thought it would be good if they could do something fun.  They had a good time and Luke enjoyed the game - especially the food!  The plan is to be back to normal tomorrow.  I am going to work and Katherine is going back to school.  Fingers crossed we are through with this bug and that Paul doesn't get it!

I Spoke Too Soon...

When Katherine woke up this morning she said her tummy hurt.  After a trip to the bathroom she said she felt fine.  I kind of had a quesy stomach as well.  We went ahead and got ready for work and school as normal. Mom was taking the kids to school because Paul had an early appointment.  I hadn't gotten very far down the road when Mom called and said Katherine had thrown up in the car...yuck.  I made a quick call to work while I headed to pick her up.  She looked pretty pitiful.  By this time I was feeling bad, too.  She and I headed home while Mom took Luke on to school. Mom also go sick on the side of the road after dropping Luke off so she went home, too.

We have had a very rough day.  We have been in bed all day and both of us have been vomiting and had diarrhea.  We have slept almost all day and have had nothing to eat except ice chips and a couple of crackers.  There is no way I can go to work tomorrow so Katherine and I will be staying home again.  I hate stomach bugs!

Back to Normal...

Mudroom looking good!

Love the little nook for the kids stuff

Above the washer and dryer

His and Her vanities

Oops...

I worked a little later today so I asked Mom to pick the kids up.  This also gave me time to go out to the house to see what progress their was today.  The cabinet guys were there and said they had been there since 5:30 this morning!  Now, that's dedication.  They had made a lot of progress but still had a lot to do.  The vanities were in and are just in need of the counter tops.  The mudroom was mostly done.  Still had to put the crown trim around the top and do some finishing little trim pieces.  The kitchen was proving to be quite the job I guess.  Somehow we provided the wrong crown molding to them. I am not sure how we didn't realize it but the crown molding in the kitchen is more narrow than anywhere else in the house.  Since Paul had ordered some additional trim for our bedroom and bathroom when he went to order the kitchen trim we just assumed it was the same as the rest of the house.  Well -- it's not.  So, I guess we will have to replace the remainder of the trim in the kitchen. It does not transition well at all and I think it would drive me crazy!

The paint crew didn't come today and the tile guys didn't work either.  So, the cabinets were the only thing going on up there today.  Hopefully some more progress will be made tomorrow.

Luke is back to normal.  He had a good day at school and said his stomach hasn't bothered him anymore...yay!

Pretty Puny...

Bible time...

Somehow I overslept this morning.  I woke up at 6:15 with Luke standing over me saying he didn't feel good.  Before I could ask what was wrong he was running to the bathroom. He threw up...yuck! Not how we planned to start our Monday.  I knew immediately he wouldn't be able to go to school.  I also knew that there was no way Paul could stay home so I did.

He mainly laid around all day.  He threw up 3-4 times but didn't do it anymore after about 9 this morning.  I think it might have been something he ate yesterday.  He and I laid low most of the day.  I let him watch more TV than usual while I took advantage of the unplanned day off and packed up my closet, our bedroom and my bathroom area.  The heat repairman came about 10.  He was able to get the new blower installed in about an hour.  It is definitely working - he had it cranked up to double check it.  Paul called a little before noon with some bad news. The carpet we had ordered and we thought was being installed Wednesday is on back order. It would not get here until mid-week next week.  Paul said we would have to change the movers to next Friday.  I said that was not an option since I have taken next week off so we can move and get somewhat settled in.  So, I had to drag Luke up to the carpet store to pick something else.  He was so tired that he fell asleep while I was getting ready.  Thankfully I was able to pick out something pretty comparable to what we had first picked.  It will be in later this week and we will have it installed Monday barring any unforeseen circumstances.

We picked Katherine up at the 2:30 dismissal. She was surprised to see us that early.  When we go home Luke took a nap while Katherine and I watched a cartoon.  Luke seemed better when he woke up from nap and complained of being hungry.  He had held some chicken noodle soup down at lunch so I let him have some crackers and a small glass of milk.

He also did ok with supper.  He went to be a little before 8:30.  As of now we are planning on him going to school tomorrow since it will be almost 24 hours since he threw up. Hoping he does ok tonight.

There was some progress at the house today.  The mudroom and master bathroom were grouted.   The cabinets are being installed tomorrow and the tile work is going to start in the master shower.  I am anxious to see how the rest of the cabinets look!

Spring?

This light fixture took forever to install!

Well, the time change got us -- we slept in and didn't make it to worship.  We made it in time to teach our preschool class.  They were all wild for some reason!  We went to Gallatin straight from church. After Subway lunch Paul ran in Lowe's to get a few things we needed today.  Mom met us up there and we set to cleaning the upstairs.  We had to have everything out of the rooms that are getting carpet.  We cleaned the inside of the windows, wiped down all the baseboards, doors, etc.  There is still quite a bit of touch up paint to be done.  Hoping that crew gets back before the carpet goes down. The attic playroom was quite a mess.  Paul had to get all the power tools out of there.  Mom cleaned the bathrooms. They will have to be done again before we move in, but they were pretty dirty.  Mom took the kids home with her after a couple of hours of work.  I stayed until about 5 then went to the grocery store. I honestly haven't been to the store for more than bread and milk in a few weeks.  It was an expensive trip!

When I picked the kids up from Mom's they had made us supper - roast, potatoes and carrots.  Paul got home at a decent time and we enjoyed a great supper.  We were all exhausted and tried to get in bed at a decent time.  I know it will take a little while to get used to the time change.  I must admit it was so nice being light later tonight!

Bear Bash and Beautiful Weather!

Keeping herself entertained with Pop's stuff

She knows she's cool

Mudroom Tile

Today was so busy!  The day actually started in the middle of the night when I woke up at 1 because I smelled something funny.  It kind of smelled like burning plastic.  I woke Paul up and we went all over the house trying to find the source.  We went in the basement, attic and in every room of the house.  It was most prominent in the master bedroom.  After spending about 20 minutes looking for the source Paul noticed the thermostat said 64!  I had noticed it seemed cold but didn't think much about it.  We turned the unit off on the master side of the house and the smell seemed to dissipate.  It was pretty hard to go back to sleep, but we did.  So, the morning came early today.

Luke had his last basketball game of the season. The team they played was really good.  Luke played well and has come a long way this season!  He made a basket so that was fun and he is still playing very good defense.  Katherine had fun playing with Pop's hat, scarf and glasses. She pretty much put on a show for everyone.  After the game we ran by the house to pick up another vehicle before going to Bear Bash.  Luke rode with me and Katherine was going to ride with Paul.  After Luke and I left the heat and air guy called and said he could come check out our house right then. Katherine was pretty made that she was going to be late for Bear Bash. Paul called Mom to see if she would come and take her down there while he waited on the repair man.  That worked pretty well.  I signed up to work the carnival game in Katherine's room since I am the PTO representative for that room.  I ended up working most of the carnival. It seemed like everyone was having fun.  They had food trucks for lunch options which worked well last year. Paul was able to get there to enjoy some of the fun Turns out the motor blower on one of our units went out.  Unfortunately they did not have the correct replacement so we will have to wait until Monday to have heat.  

After the carnival games were done we stayed a little while for the live auction.  We didn't want to stay for the whole time so we left to go work at the house.  I can't believe I didn't take a picture at the carnival!

The tile guy was there and he had the mudroom almost done when we got there.  It was pretty so the kids played outside.  We got a lot done -- more door knobs installed, light fixtures up and started cleaning the upstairs to get it ready for carpet install.  We were worn out by the time we left. We lose an hour of sleep tonight so our fatigue probably won't go away!

Another Friday Night...

The kids were less than excited with my
Friday night entertainment choice

Pretty excited to see this!

It was a gorgeous day here -- still very cold but the sun was out all day and did a lot to get rid of the remaining snow and ice.  The kids had a great time at Snow Care. Luke was the only boy today, but he didn't seem to mind.  Paul is so overwhelmed with work right now.  He didn't get home until about 7:30.  The kids and I hung out and watched some TV.  It was so fun (for me) to find the Motown 25th Anniversary being aired on NPT.  Dad had this on laser disc and we used to watch it all the time.  It is crazy that I could remember a lot of the monologue between performances.  The kids weren't too thrilled and tired of the "Motown Sound" quickly.  They were excited to see Paul when he finally got home.  The tile installer sent Paul a picture of the bathroom tonight when he left.  It looks great! They were able to get it all tiled with the exception of the shower which we told them not to worry about. The priority is the main bath floor and the mudroom.  That has to be done before the cabinets can be installed which will happen as soon as the floors are done!