Baleigh's Birthday

Baleigh Requested a "Rapunzle" themed birthday so we made Pasqual cupcakes like the little guy from Tangled.

Our birthday girl ready to blow out her 5 candles.

Grandpa Bob and little Ryan. That kid is the HAPPIEST baby you will ever meet.

With her birthday plunder. She got to get her ears pierced a few weeks prior to her birthday and we took her to the city to get her DollyBean's hair done at the American Girl Place with Grandma Diane

Daddy and Thor checking out her cool new gifts

Posing with her new wand  from Aunt Holly and beautiful new hat that Aunt Gretchen made (it matches her coat)

Cousin Gage and Thor snitchin' food.

Cousin Emma enjoying a cupcake

All the girls had a pow-wow in Baleigh's room to discuss a certain someone's new boy! Baleigh got the Cinderella poster from Aunt Hannah.

All in all it was a really fun afternoon. I was not up for a HUGE party like we had for Thor's so we did this one on a Sunday afternoon and just had my family over. I told Baleigh that next year when she is in kindergarten if she would like a big party that we will do one like that for her. It just got to be a bit much having that many people in the house. We enjoyed it but fall/winter birthdays don't allow for much outside time and about 25 people is our house's comfortable capacity. : )

Holidays and Such

This year has been one of a great many changes for the Nielsen family. The other day I got to thinking about "where was I this time last year?"- about a million miles and things from here is the answer.

Last year I was in a job (The Army) that was quite literally sucking the very life out of me. I don't think I could have been more miserable. I loved my actual job but the environment I was on was completely toxic and that made for a very difficult existence, not only for me but my family. It had been years since we had been able to come HOME for a holiday and we were feeling pretty burned out. We had no one around to watch the kids, because my old unit whom I trusted and loved had deployed and there was no way I was leaving my child with a stranger.

This year is a complete 180! I am happily taking a bit of time off from the "working mom" gig and staying home with our Baleigh Bean. The kids and I gardened a bit this summer and I found that she is a great helper when it comes to pealing tomatoes are hulling strawberries. She loved picking peppers and collecting basil and fresh tomatoes for one of our favorite summer meals - grilled margarita pizza.

In September, October and November we celebrated numerous birthdays-they happened in quick succession as well. Starting the last week of September he had Cole's (my nephew), My mom's, and then week 2 of October was Thor and Kylie's (my niece). The last week of October was my dad's and then we had my brother Caleb's and Baleigh's birthday in the first 3 weeks of November. Mix that in with the start of AWANA ( a Wednesday night church program), Ballet (for Baleigh every Wednesday), Thor starting school, Halloween, Thanksgiving and our 7 yr Anniversary and you have one jam packed fall.

I feel blessed to have so much family around that has been really helpful to us in the last 6 months as well. We could not have gotten out house to the place it is right now without numerous hours of help from 2 of my brothers (Caleb and Clayton) fixing all the crazy wiring issues it had as well as putting in lots of new lights and switches for us. My dad and mom were also invaluable not only in helping put down the new floor and just this week finishing the ceiling in my kitchen- but they also helped us by keeping the kids at their place during the day for the first week we were here so Jake and I could get the house painted and unpacked with little to no distraction. With all the frustration that comes with moving and buying a home we had an invaluable support system in them and we are so grateful.

I can hardly believe that we have reached the 12 days of Christmas! It has come so fast. This year we are spending Christmas with Jake's family out in Lake Geneva. It will be the first year we have all been together since before the Army. Jake is really looking forward to seeing his brother Jeremy who has been living in Florida for the last few years. He is flying up to see all of us for the weekend and we are thrilled he can make it.

Jake's work shuts down for the week of Christmas so he gets a mandatory unpaid vacation. Not really what you want at Christmas time but we are going to make the best of it and enjoy our time together. : )

Thor is 6

Requested Birthday breakfast- poached egg. Kind of fitting since he is so obsessed with birds lately. : )

Angry Bird Cookies for his class treat

Opening gift from Auntie Katie and Uncle Skippy

Princess Skippy!

Loving his cupcakes.

Happy 6th Birthday

Birthday banner and his school birthday crown

Ivy and Ryan Zimmerman (cousins)

Grandma Diane and Grandpa Peepaw and Daddy

Saturday night we had Thor's 6th birthday party. We had the whole Zimmerman clan here along with several good friends and all of Thor's Grandparents. It was a fun party. There was plenty of good food, and conversations as well. I didn't get quite as many pictures of the decorations as I would have liked but it was really fun getting to dress up the house for my little man. We loved having everyone here and look forward to future parties here on Peggy Sue.

Follow Up

To follow up on the blog I wrote last month, I wanted to make a few clarifications. I am not nearly as on fire as I was at that moment, and would like to clear misunderstandings up. A sister brought it to my attention after reading it, that I was pretty harsh and wanted to know why I was so angry.

Well, every week I take Baleigh to story time and to ballet and Awana. Every week the same catty mothers sit around in their little circle (literally) talking about their lives. These are the moms who went to grade school and highschool together, they met boys in the same small town and got married at the same time, and then they had babies at the same time and seem to do everything as a perfect little group. I have tried to get to know them on several occasions and have all but been treated like a leper (now I get how guys in bars feel approaching a group of girl - terrified).

 So I was angry and I lashed out. I did all the things I was judging them for in my rant, I judged them for #1, judging other moms(especially the working ones- that really struck a nerve), and #2, putting out there how awesome their lives are then I "judged" them for "pretending". Maybe their lives really are perfect. Maybe they really do have it all. Why do I care? Maybe in a little way I was jealous of it (a very little way : )). I realized this past week with our anniversary and having some time alone with my own amazing spouse that if I wanted, I too could brag about my amazing family. The husband of a friend of mine, was on FB the other day saying how he likes to only put uplifting types of messages on his status so that people come away with the best feeling possible when they read his page. That is what these girls are doing. They are just putting out the best possible parts of themselves so that everyone feels good. OK, I get it. I will never be one of those people, maybe because of how I was raised; but I think it was put in to perspective for me. Some people have to only talk about the good stuff in public because that may be the one good thing they have going for them.

 I apologize if I offended some of you (if you are even still reading the blog) and am going to take a page out of Jim's book and write more positive things. There are already so many negatives in life, why dwell on them? This is part of why I purged my FB about a week or two ago as well. I am cleaning out the stuff that doesn't make me a better person. If the other mom's at story time don't want to be friends - cool - I don't know why I feel the need to try and be accepted by them because our kids has a class together. I have 3 amazing sister in laws and 2 amazing sisters and several friends from the surrounding area who I love dearly and should be cultivating relationships, with rather than trying to get a random group of women to be my friends. October is my month to "clean house" so to speak. I am going to make me a better person and stop concerning myself with all the truly unimportant external distractions.

7 Years And Still Together

Today Jake and I celebrate 7 years of marriage and just over 12 years together as a couple. It has been one amazingly complex journey to say the least. Between the multiple moves, military separations, unexpected babies, and day to day drama, I think we have come out of the last 12 years stronger and more committed than ever.

This time last year we were still in Texas with the knowledge that our time as an Army family was coming to and end. Together we buckled down and made a great exit plan. We worked our tails off this year to make our dream of owning a home come true. Then we successfully packed up our life in Texas and transported it back to the Mid-west. We have turned a once unwanted house into a warm inviting home that we both love and have begun life as civilians again with more ease than the first time.

I thank God daily for having such a loving partner in my life to hold my hand on the road we are traveling together. Some days it has not been easy and we have had our share of downs to balance out the ups. But overall we have been blessed and will continue to thrive no matter what life throws our way.

Sugarcoating Bull$h!t

I recently  came to the realization that I am tired of people pretending. Pretending that they never get frustrated with their children (not saying you should scream at them in public but have the decency when I hiss at my kid through my teeth to "straighten up" not to look at me like I am a out of control mother, have a bad day and feed their kids hotdogs (the over-processed kind that are full of nitrates), or forget their mom's birthday, or argue with their spouse ( not asking you to air your dirty laundry just don't pretend that it is always perfect).

I admire people who work hard at relationships and aren't afraid to show the imperfections. Nothing is perfect - STOP PRETENDING!

As mothers (especially the ones who work outside the home) we have a hard enough time getting everything done in a day without our peer group looking on with judgement and condemnation. Maybe things aren't going perfectly, but at the end of the day when you are sitting at home in your child's bed at 20 minutes past bedtime, because you promised to read them a story and a promise is a promise- You are a good mom. No one sees that mom so - STOP JUDGING.

Having lots of money doesn't make you a better parent. Don't get me wrong money is great! It makes the world go round; however, taking your kid on 12 vacations a year and buying them everything their heart ever desired, and entertaining them every second of the day, is not good for them. Some day when they are young and independent they are going to wonder why they can't afford to go on vacation (either because of money or the fact that they have not earned time off from their jobs yet). Or maybe they will be angry because they are bored and no one is there to keep them entertained. Its just not real life. Real life is hard work and perseverance and and making your own fun. The part they never saw out of their parents was when they had to work out a budget  or figure out how they were going to pay off a credit card bill that was last summer's vacation - DON'T SPEND YOUR LIFE SPOILING YOUR CHILDREN

The one that has hit home the most recently is how people pretend that broken families are fun. FUN? Jake comes from a broken family and I like to think that we have a pretty healthy relationship with all of the kid's grandparents. However, now that we are out of the military it comes to a  point when we are approaching birthday season and we have to figure out how to have a party where everyone is invited and still gets along.  Its not fun to have to worry about these things. Its not fun to juggle multiple holidays. Its not fun to have your mom and dad not get along anymore (even if they are amicable in public we all know there are things that go on behind closed doors that make it uncomfortable). I would give anything to have just two sets of grandparents for my children.  Divorce is ugly and difficult, I understand that you love your family but - STOP ACTING LIKE YOU LOVE THAT YOU ARE FROM A SPLIT FAMILY

The final point that I have to make in this rant is the one of spending time with your children. I am SO tired of parents leaving their children to be raised by strangers. Don't leave it up to some stranger to do for you because you don't have the intestinal fortitude to discipline your kids. Your kids are supposed to test your patience. Its part of being a parent. The reason I am so irritated by this is because I was recently told that my husband and I are martyrs for staying home with our kids so much and not getting out on our own more often. We love our kids.We love them even when they are trying to learn how to whistle and it is annoying  us to death. We love them when the set the table and accidentally drop and break our favorite glass. We yell sometimes. We give spankings. We send them to their rooms. All of these are forms of love. Some times not the best form but it shows we care. We care enough to spend all the perfect and imperfect moments of their lives. I pray that in about 10 years when they are dealing with their first heartbreak that they come to me or their dad to talk about it and not run to someone else because they know that we have always been the ones there for them. I read something the other day that was pretty profound considering its simplicity. 'If you listen to and are there for your child's little things, eventually  they will come to you with the big things.' STOP PRETENDING YOU ARE RAISING YOUR CHILDREN- A STRANGER IS.

This is kind of emotionally draining- I am going to put a pin in this for now and hopefully come back and finish it soon.

Welcoming Autumn !

This week has truly felt like fall is here. I love fall more than any other time of the year. I especially love fall in the Mid-West. It brings with it apples, and pumpkins, cool crisp nights, bon fires, golden and crimson maples and a general feeling of relaxation. I have missed autumn the last few years living in the south. There was nothing significant to mark the end of summer - it never ends there. : )

Baleigh and I have been enjoying our last few days of summer and celebrating the first signs of fall. This week we canned almost 30 quarts of tomatoes, salsa, and last night habanero jelly to be enjoyed later this year. We picked up the sweet corn we froze earlier this summer from Grandma Jill's this morning now that we have our own chest freezer. Then we headed home to get ready to go to story time at the library. Baleigh is really happy to have some different things to be doing now that big brother is in school. Tuesday is now our library day and starting next Wednesday she will be taking ballet classes up in Monroe, WI. She is SO excited to be starting those classes.

Thor is enjoying school more than we could have ever expected. He has gotten used to riding the bus and has made several good friends at school (some of which live in our neighborhood) and loves his teacher as well. We feel very fortunate that he was able to be in Mr Blakely's class as we thought having a male figure at school would be goo for him. He had a couple of rough days learning that you can't just talk whenever you want and that you have to really learn how to know when it is a good idea to just walk away from someone who might be teasing you instead of lashing out. He seems to have gotten the hang of it rather quickly and has not had an incident in about a week now.

The rest of this week Baleigh and I are going to dedicate to fixing all the little odds and ends projects that we have not completed yet. It seems as soon as we get one job done 15 more pop up to take its place. I can't wait to be fully complete with the house. It will be such an amazing feeling when it is DONE! That should be about when we are ready to sell it. : )

The time has also come to start thinking about Christmas and what we will be doing for that. We know that we will be spending it with Jake's side of the family this year but I need to start working on gifts. This year we have decided to make it all HOME MADE! We will be coming up with more inventive ideas this year on what gifts will mean the most.

The Peggy Sue Frunch Room - finished but need updated pictures.

When we bought it

Bland white, beige carpet

Patched walls, prepped for color - My birthday present!

New (to us) couch, refinished coffee table that was Jake's dad's way back in the day. The little side table is a roadside find (actually an old sewing table).

New curtains have been added since this was taken and a Cinnamon colored recliner is in the right corner

The Peggy Sue Fireside room makeover - still in progress

We are still working on completing the front of the fireplace but there is a plan in the works. We will be installing the new doors this weekend and then covering over where the gross fake brick was with a stone front. The mantle is actually an old hand hewn log from my parents' 100 yr old barn. It is going to look spectacular when it is finished. I can't wait to decorate it for the holidays. 

Our "Fireplace" room when we bought it

View from the kitchen complete with saloon doors

View of the driveway showing off the "fabulous" carpet and concrete ledge

Serving as a work space in the AC with no dust so I could paint kitchen cabinets

After Mr Nielsen tore down that wall

One more drywall wall to come out

Taking down the final piece of drywall

New lighting courtesy of my fantastic brothers Clayton, Caleb and some consulting by Chad. Paint by Jake and me one late Saturday night

New furniture and I finally got my treadmill back in the house!

View from the window 

The Peggy Sue Kitchen Makeover - From June to August

Kitchen when we bought it

Kitchen on moving day

Kitchen after the wall came out

Kitchen before skim coating walls

Walls finished, upper cupboard doors on - Almost there

Kitchen with the fridge in its final resting place, new flooring and all the cupboard doors on.

Painted kitchen countertops

Kitchen window prior to the new trim and valance

All done!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lobsterfest 2012!!!

  

Thor watched a video of how to "butcher" the lobsters that we got today and was giving me step by step instructions. I was pretty impressed with the attention he paid to the chef he watched on YouTube.

We got the lobsters as an "anniversary" gift to Jake and me because today marked 12 years that we have been together as a couple. The grocery store that is about a block from our house was selling live Lobsters that you could either have cooked there or take home and cook  yourself. We decided that we would have them do the cooking! The lobster "dissembling" was easier that I had anticipated. Its really kind of like cleaning a big shrimp -except that the claw meat is where it is at. So good! Baleigh was not really that impressed and decided that she would be happy eating leftovers after trying her two obligatory bites. : ) It was a first time for me eating lobster and overall a pretty neat experience.

My Grown Up Boy

Thor started School today! He was all decked out in his Angry Birds attire that was chosen weeks ago. I was not a fan of the camo pants for first choice but he rocks them. I made him get up early and eat a real breakfast so that he wasn't starving by lunch. He mowed down a poached egg and several pieces of  toast along with half an apple. I guess gearing up for school works up an appetite.

We took him to the bus stop where there were about a dozen or so kids already waiting. The bus was 10 minutes early so its a good thing momma still has that Army "10 minutes prior" thing still drilled in her head.

He wasn't sure where his stop was and I had to ask the bus driver to call for him to get off. Jake was just coming home from work when Thor was getting off the bus so he got to see him right at the end of his first day.

In Thor's words the day was "Awesome". He said they had two snacks, milk in the morning and then gold fish the were "blasted with cheddar cheese". They had a rest time on mats in the afternoon but Thor stated firmly that he didn't take a nap.

He managed to forget his lunch box in his locker but we have a back up just in case. He is looking forward to hot lunch next friday when they have pizza.

IT was nice to just hang out with the Bean all day. I think she is going to enjoy being the only one home this fall. I know I am. : )

Where the summer going????

This summer has gone faster than any one in my memory's history. I can't believe it has been two months since we moved in to our new house and started making it our own. Now in just a matter of weeks we will have a Kindergartner in our house ( or at school rather) and it will be just Baleigh and I at home all day. We have been making all the necessary preparation for starting school. Eye exam is completed and the appointment for physical is made. Registration is next week and all of our school supplies are labeled and in the book bag. First day of school clothes are picked out and we are ready to go.

This weekend my dad is helping to put in the remaining pieces of the sub floor in the kitchen and dining room and showing us how to blow insulation in to the attic now that all the work up there is complete. Monday the carpet guys come and we will have floors laid by the end of Tuesday at the latest.

Today Baleigh and I pickled several pints of banana peppers and started drying about 24 cayenne peppers in the garage. This is just the beginning of our food preservation for this fall. I am looking forward to it very much. It will be a lot of work but at the same time so rewarding.

Yesterday Jake's step mom Cori  was in town and we went to Galena for the afternoon. We had lunch at a Mexican restaurant and walked down main street before taking a trolly ride around the city. It was a fun day all around.

Kylie, Gage, Baleigh, Cole, Thor and Aunt Hannah at the Lena Pool 2012

Today we are headed to the pool with the cousins for a couple of hours. I managed to get a good sun burn on Tuesday so I will be slathered in sunscreen today. We have been getting good use out of our season pool pass. So glad we decided to get it.   

Pretty Darn Lucky!

Monday was my last day on active duty. Now all I have to do is go to the nearest military base and get my ID changed to IRR. Tuesday Jake GOT A JOB!!!! He was out job hunting when he got a call from a placement agency saying they had a position open up and wanted to know when he could start. He went in to their offices, watched all the mandatory safety videos and filled out their paperwork and stared work on Wednesday. He is the materials handler for Saega Industries. They fabricate machines at this factory but Jake isn't working on the assembly line. Instead he receives all the materials and organizes where they go so when a particular department is out of a part they come to Jake and he gets it for them. They have not had anyone in this position for around 6 months so it was a rough first day getting all the inventory off the floor where it was in random piles. He is working on shelving it all and getting it in some sort of order. Its hot work (especially this week) since the factory is not air conditioned and there are a limited amount of fans. If everything goes well after his probationary period he will get a raise and be on a permanent status. We are so blessed to have found something this quickly and that it is something that he really enjoys doing. Now getting the house finished is up to me. : )

My To Do List

Just for fun I thought I would show my little reader world what my to do list looks like after 5 weeks of working on Peggy Sue. We have this list on a dry erase board in the living room at the moment so we can feel a sense of accomplishment when we have completed a task. At the end of the day we flop down on the couch exhausted and mark things off our list.

To Do List as of  July 9, 2012

1. Paint Master Bedroom closet
2. Install underground dog fence (purchased and J.U.L.I.E. has been called - waiting for underground wires to be identified)
3. Paint Baleigh's toy box and puzzle shelf to match her room
4. Finish painting mail box (need more spray paint)
5. Clean out tool shed/spray hornets nests that have been established there
6. Instal post for my clothes line (this too will wait until underground wires are identified)
7. Finish skim coating kitchen walls after range hood is hung (will be completed this week)
8. Finish painting kitchen walls (after they are skim coated/patched/ after the range hood is hung) : )
9. Hang remaining cupboard doors (waiting for floors to be layed so they don't bang up my labor of love that are those cabinet doors.)
10. Level Floor in fireplace room
11. Lay floor (after it is leveled) in kitchen, dining room, frunch and fireplace rooms
12. Fix bathroom ceiling - need to find a good tutorial on how to do this
13. Instal Dog door in the back door
14. Make curtains for every room but the bedrooms (after I pick out fabric and room colors)
15. Hang family photos in the family tree
16. Hang trim around kitchen window (after the walls are skim coated, painted and my range hood is installed.
17. Paint inside of front door (decide on a color)
18. Paint outside of back door (after I get more paint)
19. Frame my grocery list chalk board (after i choose a trim)
20. Finish last coat of stain/sealer on coffee table
21. New trim for around AC unit
22. Paint trim white in master bath
23. Skim coat dry wall on header in kitchen
24. Scrub all ceiling fans in house
25. Paint ceiling in fireside room white
26. Scrape caulk off of shower walls.


That's what it looks like today. Who knows what will be on it tomorrow. I see new projects every day and they get added to the list. I could not be happier with what we are doing right now. This is what I love doing. If I had just a little more knowledge and a few more tools I think I could do this for a living.

More Updates To Peggy Sue

I am going to work backwards on this post and try to remember all the things we have done since my last post.

1. Today I got up at 4:30 AM because I couldn't sleep for some reason. I ended up watching YouTube videos for about and hour and a half. What type of videos you might wonder? How to skim coat walls. That's what kind. Our kitchen is ready to be skim coated and I didn't want to have to pay someone or wait for my dad to come over and do it for me. So At 7 AM Bean and I were in the car on the way to Grandpa and Grandma's to pick up some required tools. Grandpa hooked us up with everything we needed to get started and we were home by 8AM. I wanted to practice in an area that wouldn't see much of the light of day- Behind the fridge ( or where the fridge will go when we move it out of the dining room) was the area we settled on.

before wallpaper removal and skim coating

After skim coat completed- needs to be sanded yet

According to YouTube you can coat over wallpaper- WRONG!!! I got about a 1' x 2' area done when it started to bubble- 20 minutes later I had sponged down the rest of the wall and scraped off the offending bubbles along with all the other bits of wallpaper. It went fairly smoothly after that. I completed that area and then I did behind the stove. Both came out very well but I want to sand them down after they are dry to make sure I did it right - prior to completing the rest of the kitchen that people will actually see.

2. Removing drywall 101. Let Jake do it. : ) Jake measured out what parts of the drywall needed to be removed and took it all out yesterday. He scored it with a razor knife and it came off in large hunks. I took the pieces out to our refuse pile (all the things we are removing from the house that can not be re-used.) behind the garage. By the time he was done removing the drywall all we had to do was sweep up and run the vacuum. It really opened up the area only having exposed studs blocking the view- giving us a new perspective of what our house will look like in about 4-6 weeks.

My brother Caleb came by today to look at the wiring as he is going to be our resident electrician here next week. All my other electrically inclined brothers are far to busy to come and take time off work / away from family to re-wire our house. Its pretty impressive what my baby brother can do.

3. Painted a mural. Sort of. I got up early one morning last week and painted a giant tree on our dining room wall. The plan is to place photos of our families in the branches of the tree and it will be our "family tree". I know its bragging to talk up my own skills but even I was impressed at how well the whole thing turned out. it really looks pretty professional. I guess I still have a little artist in me.

4. Painted the "frunch room". We are calling it a frunch room because years ago Jake read me a piece about how you know you are from Chicago if... and one example was if your mom ever told you to go sit down in the "frunch" room (Front room). For some reason that really resonated with us and now we have a front room.  For my birthday I wanted to paint the frunch. We went in to Farm and Fleet and picked out the paint for that and the dining room and we picked Sulpher Green. I like to think of it more as a warm country green. Its very soothing and looks so amazingly nice with our "new" furniture. We inherited some furniture from Jake's mom because she was moving to a smaller place this month. We had to drive to Chicago to get it and help her disassemble all her other furniture but then it was ours. The "new" couch looks so lovely in our green frunch and we finally started hanging some wall art. Jake's favorite paining "The Singing Butler" looks so nice hanging there as well. The eventual plan is to put the TV in the fireplace room but until then we have it in the frunch.

5. Jake assembled my grill. That was my birthday present this year.  I wanted a grill the entire time we were in TX and for my birthday this year Menards had a great sale combined with a rebate so we walked away with a great grill for an even better price. Jake and I agreed that the reason it was so cheap was because it was so dang difficult to put together. But he is amazing and it is so shiny and pretty. My birthday present from my dad was a tank(full) to go with my grill. AWESOME!
We went over to my parents the day after my birthday to celebrate. We had BLTs and Angle Strawberry Dessert ( way better than just cake) for dinner and then just hung out for a while. My bestie Katie came up the following Friday to take me out to the movies. It was a great weekend!

6. We painted the laundry room and decided to see what was under the nasty carpet- tile! Once again, who does that? We ended up tearing up the carpet in both bathrooms as an encore to the laundry room. Same tile under it all. At least I feel like I can get the floors "clean" now and there was so much mold on those rugs. Lots of bleach water was used to kill it all and it looks amazing now. We will be recovering these rooms in the near future but until then this will be an adequate fix.

7. Jake has cut firewood to his heart's content. He chopped down several trees and bushes we didnt' want and took the brush and separated it from the real wood and it is all cut and stacked on the back part of our property ready for a campfire once the weather breaks and we get some rain. We are under a no burn order right now.

8. Jake tore off the ugly facade that was on the fireplace and we are debating whether to keep it or not. I like the idea of a fireplace but the practicality of it as well as the placement are not ideal. We will see on this project.

9. Painted Thor's Orange Stripe around his room. This was a major undertaking and one that I think came out so well due to Jake and my amazing teamwork. He applied the painters tape while I held the level - then while he painted I smoothed out the tape against the wall about 6-10 inches in front of him so that it stuck in all the little textured areas. This way we got the cleanest line possible on a textured surface. My dad who has painted all his life even said we did a really good job. That felt good. : ) It also helped that Thor thinks its awesome.

That is all I can think of right now but we are busy every day from the time we get up until the time we put the kids down for the night. We seem to be getting the earwig situation under control- I only kill about 4-5 a day in the house now and that is a HUGE improvement to the dozens we were killing every day when we moved in.  I realize now why my dad said I had bitten off more than I could chew when I said I wanted to be done with the house in a month. Now my goal is 2 months. I am a firm believer in doing most things myself and when the big part (taking down the walls and leveling the floor) are done I think Jake and I can do the rest ourselves. I am thankful every day for a talented family who is able to assist us in this major undertaking. We couldn't do it without them.