Can I Get An Amen?!

We have water, PEOPLE!!!





















I'm very happy with the placement of these sinks and mirrors!! It was worth the wait and inconvenience.



















And here is our desk from Ikea.

All we have left to do is paint (yea, we hired a painter), the carpet needs to be tacked in a few places, one dry wall patch and clean.

And if I may quote Vern the plumber, "Well, whoop-d-do".

I love that man.

A Small Setback

Do you see the sink holes in these pictures? Notice how far they are to each end and how the mirrors are all the way to the wall? I can't live with it. And when your spending all this time and money on a project like this it better be just what you want. RIGHT?

A new man, actually the owner of the construction company, was in charge of the bathroom that day and he assumed that I wanted the sinks centered over the two little doors. Well, I didn't, but he didn't ask. So when I saw it I silently gasped and called Dave. I was calm but said "um, did we really want the sink over the doors?" We lived with it for a few days and then I calmly (the key here) told Dave I just didn't like it. He understood and agreed. The good news is that is it not granite, it is Formica. We chose Formica for right now because the four girls will be using curling irons, nail polish, nail polish remover etc. and we figure we can change the counter top very easily when they get a little older. Dave and I were prepared to buy the new counter top ($200) but the construction company offered to deduct it from the grand total! So it is on order and should arrive some time next week. It has delayed the project by a week or so but this way we will be totally happy.

I also decided to get a quote from a painter to finish the book shelves, crown moulding, casings, baseboards and new walls. I should hear from them soon. Please pray that my husband will allow it.....I don't think I can cope with all of the trim work and detail it will take to finish it off.

Here is what was accomplished this week.






P.S. The colors of my walls finally look right in these pictures.

Edifying Dinner Conversation: A Days Worth of Throw Up

I can think of no other way to do this than to put it in bullet form. Yesterday was the first day of school and this is what we discussed at our dinner table last night.

* I made Dani take her (new) multiple vitamin at 7:10 AM while she was eating her breakfast and drinking a small glass of orange juice. She quietly disappeared to my bathroom and I found her there a few minutes later exiting the toilet area. She said the famous words "Mom, I just threw up". I was thinking she was especially nervous and excited about the first day of school and barked at her for getting carried away until it dawned on me it must have been the vitamin. Vomit Story #1

* Dani shared what occurred in one of the 6th grade classrooms around 1:00 PM. A boy threw up in a forward facing direction and it landed in a little girl's pony tail. Dani was especially offended that the school nurse only rinsed the girl's pony out with water, not a full shampoo and conditioning cleaning. I assume the boy went home. Vomit story #2

*Sarah pipes up next. "Well, a little girl in my class threw up 5 times at home this morning (thank you considerate mother) and then she threw up 5 more times during lunch/recess". I'm screaming this whole time, wondering if this child came near to Sarah during the day. Sarah reassured me "no, not really". Do you think considerate mother was surprised to receive a phone call from the school nurse? Duh. Vomit Story # 3.

*James and Dave who just arrived home from football practice shared precious information about the boys vomiting all over the football field and in the near by bushes. The Italian lunch, high heat and "gassers" were getting to them. Joy. Vomit Story #4

*Hannah, not wanting to be left out, told us about a freshman last year who was walking down a sidewalk in between classes, leaned over a bush and lost it. Just cuz. Vomit Story #5

My friend Stacey and I laughed til we cried last night as I was relaying all of this information to her. It really is unbelievable that all of this occurred in one day, so close to home.

I sent the kids off today, clean, healthy, well fed and happy, we'll see how they come home. Hopefully not puking.

The dinner converstaion can only improve from here. No?

Homeschool Preschool

We're going to have a great time while the big kids are away!

How do you like my fancy, non-classical, inexpensive curriculum? :)

Ready, Set, Guess

UPDATE (9:24) AND HINT: Pay close attention to what type of tree that is.....


Guess the names of these photos.

The winner will receive a $20 gift card to Starbucks and the book "Damsels in Distress" by Martha Peace.

Remember, they are already named. You have to guess what we named them.

Have fun!


#1























#2

















See you in the comments.

Contest at Just Janet

Just because.

I have two funny photos I want to share.

They are already named and you have to try to guess what we named them.

Let's do it Friday Morning.

Prizes, you ask? Of course!!

$20 gift card to Starbucks and "Damsels in Distress" by Martha Peace, a book I've never read but trust me, I'm sure it is excellent.

Rules? IDK. First one to guess the names of the photos wins. Janice may not participate cuz that would be cheating.

P.S. The Master Photographer and Contest Holder has inspired me to hold my own humble little contest. I'm hoping for 5 comments.

Pictures of Progress

The Bathroom


























































The Office

Happy Birthday To Sarah

My Sarah Hope
My petite one.

Happy 9th Birthday.

I love you.
Mom

Progress

With pictures later in the day!

The guys arrived at 6:30 AM and so far they have accomplished:

Vanity installed
Counter tops on
Mirrors hung
Bookshelves up
Crown moulding started
Door casings started

LUNCH BREAK.

***********

My hubby did the rest of the painting and laminate floors while Janice and I had the kids in Flagstaff. It was our last chance to go up North before school starts and we agreed that since Dave had to work at our store on Saturday and figure out how to do the floors it would be good for us to be out of his way. We came home to beautiful wood floors. He did a great job!!

Janice and I had a wonderful time up North. We took the kids to Snow Bowl Ski Resort and rode the chair lift. We were at 11,500 feet elevation! The views were breathtaking. As we started on our way down Lauren said "you can see the whole world from here". She was fearless and sat on the edge of the chairlift dangling and swinging her feet. I can't say the same about her Auntie and one sister. :)

One other highlight was seeing a herd of elk, probably 50+, grazing in the meadow. We drive out to the meadow almost every night looking for the elk. Hannah was just convinced that they had picked another spot but on our last night we had the thrill of finding them just at dusk. We also saw two yearling elk in a neighborhood. They were not spooked at all. They were casually roaming through the yards eating leaves and startling home owners and their dogs. We don't know where Mama was and wonder why they were seperated from the herd.

More later.

I'm Here!

But I am buried under a thin, annoying layer of dry wall dust. :)

The remodel project has continued to go well but I think you would be terribly bored with pictures of walls with dry wall sheets and now textured walls.

We met with the contractor today and Dave and I will paint the two rooms tonight and tomorrow and then Dave will lay the Bruce hardwood laminate over the weekend.This is the one we picked.












The contractor will come back on Tuesday to finish the baseboards, door casings, crown moulding and put the bathroom together: vanity, mirrors, counter tops, sinks, faucets,lights and casings.

My main computer has been unplugged. It was hilarious. The dry wall guy asked me to move it out of the way so he could spray the texture. I just started pulling every plug I could get my hands on and a few days later James asked me why I pulled ALL the plugs. "Um, cuz, I just did? I was in a hurry and I didn't know what to do." James quickly turned on enough equipment to get our remote lap tops running. I'm so glad the kids are smarter than I am.

I should be able to post some pictures of the newly painted rooms in a few days and then by next week I'll post pictures of the new floors.

All else is well but I would appreciate prayers on my behalf, not relating to remodeling but much bigger issues that are heavy on my heart.