I'm Going To Pay For This

What a weekend!!! We have been busy, busy, busy!  We ripped out both bathroom floors and had new flooring put in, started painting the living room, and planted flowers in the front.  That doesn't sound like a lot, but here are the details:

Floors

We decided to rip out the floors ourselves to help us save some money.  We thought that since the master bathroom had regular vinyl and the the hallway had vinyl tile, the master bathroom would be more difficult.  Consequently, we started on that one first so we had plenty of time since we had to have it ready in time for the flooring guys that were coming on Friday morning.  So here it is:

It turns out that floor was the easiest to do.  It only took us about 2 hours to rip off the trim, old vinyl and scrape the excess glue of the floor.

Then we started the hall bathroom. . . . . While the tiles came up fairly easy, especially with a heat gun, the sticky residue they leave behind was a NIGHTMARE!!!  It took us 6 hours to completely clean the floors.  However, when we were done, it was completely clean.  In fact the flooring guys were impressed with our work.  They would have just gone ahead and replaced the entire subfloor rather than deal with the sticky mess.

The floor after the tile was removed and the sticky mess taken off:

The new flooring:

(No we are not rednecks and have our toilet in the bathtub, normally.  We just had to rip out the toilet for the flooring and put it in the tub temporarily.  It's back in the correct place now.)  Can you believe how well it matches the tile surround?  We couldn't either.  It is so nice to have flooring that is not curled up on the edges, has gouges, or has nails showing where the previous owners had decided to nail it down.  In other words it looks like it is supposed to look when it is done right.

Living Room

We had to repair a large crack in the wall that we got after the high school next to us put in their sprinkler system and shook our house.  (It felt like an earthquake!)  Since we had a faux finish on the walls, we were not just able to patch the crack and re-paint just that section.  Plus the realtor that we had look at our home had suggested we paint the walls a solid color since she felt the faux finish dated the room.  We decided to go with a lighter color to help the room look brighter and larger and here is the before and after:

Before:

After:

We still have half of one wall and the a small section around the front door to do and then this project will be done.  There is another crack on the opposite wall, but it was painted white so we are only going to have to pain that one area.

Front Yard

It finally has gotten warm enough that we were able to plant the flowers for the front yard.  I was so excited because I finally got to the nursery early enough to be able to get the Black Velvet petunias that I have wanted for two years.  (They sell out by Memorial Day.)  They will look so pretty when they and the white ones fill out.  I also replaced two rose bushes that had died and border flowers for the center flower bed.  Overall, I planted about 75 flowers.

So besides that and the routine laundry, grocery shopping, cleaning, chasing a two year old down the street - literally, etc., that is what we did this weekend.  I am now ready for a nap!

My Value Just Went Up

While I was at the hospital for four days after having Little Miss, my hubby had a "honey-do" list to complete as well as take care of Little Man. The list was not very long, but needed to be done so that we could move on to our next big projects. Plus they were things he could do with an active toddler.

When I got home, I quickly discovered only one of those things were done. Needless to say I was not happy. When I asked why, I got a detailed account of Little Man's daily activities and how that took all the focus. I explained that is how he was every day and yet I still accomplished other things throughout the day.

My husband replied with the best answer he could have when he said, "Honey, if there is anything I have learned the last couple of days it is that I truly don't know how you get done all that you do. You truly are super woman and I'm not just saying that or trying to kiss up." Well played, Hubby! He gets a "get out of jail free" card, and my value just went up.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY TO ALL OF US SUPERWOMEN!

Oi Vey!

I was so hoping that by this time I would have some great before/after pictures to show you of the finished countertops and the newly painted living room. Alas, I do not.  Instead I have dark under eye circles and a really sore incision site that I don't think anyone really wants to see. 

We have had quite the week this week.  Little Miss has been having health issues that the doctor thinks may be a food allergy to milk.  Consequently, we have had a very unhappy and uncomfortable little girl and a lot of sleepless nights.  She is now on a hypoallergenic formula so hopefully we have this under control.  Time will only tell. 

Hubby also went back to work this past week, or at least attempted to, since we are trying to save all the personal leave we can because we do not know what the future holds in regards to health issues, work stuff, moving, and such.  This meant that I attempted to take care of the kids by myself, which proved to be an interesting adventure since I am on restriction and cannot lift more than 10 pounds (Little Man weighs 30.) and Little Man's sleep schedule is less than ideal.  On Monday, the day started out okay.  By the afternoon we were on a roll, but Little Man fell and my mother's auto-response kicked in when I picked him up to comfort him.  BAAAAAAAD idea!  Needless to say, I had to have Hubby come home after working a half day the next day because I was hurting and Little Miss needed to go to the doctor immediately. 

Since I had felt pretty good the week before, I have been overdoing it a lot this past week and am paying for it this weekend.  It's just so frustrating when I have so much that needs to be done and have this sense of urgency because I know at any time things could change with Hubby's work and I want to be ready.  Now if I can just get my body, a two year old and a newborn to get on board with this as well so that I can get things done.  LOL!  Yeah, I know.  Good luck with that.

So no pictures, no progress, another week has come and gone.  We will try again next week.

I May Have Cried

What a whirlwind week this past week has been! On April 25th our little girl, Elizabeth Anne, was born at 10:20 am via c-section. Her delivery went so much better than her older brother's and the care I received at this hospital versus the hospital we had our son at was night and day difference. The nurses this time were so kind and great. I just couldn't believe the difference. We were released on Saturday and then the fun began.

Now that Little Miss was born we decided to hit the ground running to work on getting the house ready for market. While we did not get nearly as much done as we wanted due to lack of sleep, adjusting to another child, and having a very busy and bored toddler, we did make some progress. We had granite countertops and new sinks installed in both bathrooms. We did not initially plan on this, but because we had to replace the sinks anyway and they had to be custom ordered it was almost the same price as putting in custom sized sinks. (The "lovely" builders did not use a standard sized sinks or countertops.) We also hired movers to come in and move the bigger, heavier things to a storage unit so that we can not only paint and do flooring but also to start staging. This meant that the armoir, some exercise equipment, 2 chests from grandparents, a dresser, boxes, and the piano are now all gone.

I have to admit that I cried when I saw them remove the piano. I truly have a love/hate relationship with the piano. It has become a source of frustration with a two year old who has found every hole and crevice to stick things in, but I have loved to watch the same little one find such joy and pleasure playing it and discovering a love of music. I felt so guilty having it taken out of the house, especially when I don't know when we will see it again. It doesn't help that he asks at least daily where it is. I so hope that we are able to find it a permanent place in our "permanent" home soon!

We have bids on flooring and have picked out what we are going to do, we just are trying to figure out when we can do it and get the money together to pay for it. We also have the paint bought for the living room. Once the cracks in the walls are fixed, that will be completed as well. I still need to sort through a ton of stuff downstairs and the deck needs to be repainted. I also need to work on the flower beds in the front but that will need to wait until it is warmer at night.

I know we are getting closer to listing the house, but it still seems so far away, especially since the time we have to work on all of this is so limited. Not to mention we have the stress from my husband's work and what will happen when he goes back. Right now we are just hoping praying and asking for the prayers of others that his manager's heart will be softened so that he can stay in town. With the lack of sleep we are getting and me being on restriction while I am recovering, having him be so far away will be a safety issue and put a huge strain on us physically, emotionally, and financially. Needless to stay we are on pins and needles and very worried. I really miss the old contractor at this point.

That is our life in a nutshell at this point of time. Pictures will be coming soon.

What Will April Showers Bring?

For us........a baby! My doctor informed me today at my appointment that she will be out of town for two weeks after April 27. Since that is when my 39th week starts and I refuse to let any of her partners deliver or even see me, this little one will be born no later than the 27th. That is also the earliest she can schedule a c-section with the current guidelines. However, the baby has dropped and I have had some doozy of Braxton hicks, so we will see what happens. I am just hoping no earlier than the 37th week when the baby will be considered full term, which is the 13th. Guess we will see. In the meantime, I have a lot to do and figure out.

Our Little Imp

If you have ever spent time around our son, especially lately, you quickly realize that he is: 1. Extremely fast 2. Tall for his age 3. Has an incredible memory 4. Is extremely smart. While this combination can be quite entertaining at times, it is often leads to a lot of frustration because there is NO downtime when he is awake. He must be within sight and reach at all times. Consequently, finding babysitters or leaving him with anyone is not easy. This is especially true if they have not spent much time with him or just roll their eyes at us thinking we are giving our child way too much credit or are being overly protective. Here is an example:

In our ward we have a lady who is in charge of the nursery that I honestly don't know why. She is in her mid-40s and has never had children, nor desired to. In fact she readily admits she does not like little kids. This is quite evident by how little interaction she has with the kids and gets easily frustrated when they don't just sit there with their arms folded and only do what she tells them to do. We have warned her several times that our son is not this type of kid and only needs to see something done once or twice and he figures out how to do it himself. Needless to say, she does NOT like our son and makes it very clear which is why my hubby or I stay in nursery with him. This is how last week went:

Little Man walks into nursery and sees the only chair available is the one the nursery leader is about to sit in. He immediately runs over and moves it so he can sit in it and luckily my hubby warned the nursery leader before she fell to the floor. Hubby then leaves briefly to check on the Sunday School classes, since he is the Sunday School President, and comes back to our son running down the hall yelling, "Daddy!". (Turns out he is the first nursery kid who knows how to open doors, according to the Primary President.). The parent helper chasing him couldn't believe how fast he was.

The final act of impishness was that the nursery leader had locked the cabinets where the "cool" toys are kept to keep the kids out. Unfortunately, she then put her keys on the windowsill, which are low and can be easily reached. Well, our son grabbed them while she was gossiping with the other women and not paying attention, figured out which key unlocked the cabinets, and opened them all up to the delight of all the other kids.

(Sigh!) Can you understand why I already worry about when this child starts school. I have a feeling I am going to be spending A LOT of time at the school.

Where To Begin?

There is so much to blog about that I am not even sure where to begin. Part of the reason that I haven't stayed caught up is I got really sick with "the crud" (as my doctor calls it) and could not seem to shake it for about 3 1/2 weeks. It wouldn't have been so bad, but I am so limited as to what I could take and was having a hard time breathing even without the help of a baby pushing against my lungs. Anywhoo...... I am back in the land of the living and will have a lot of catching up to do when I can come up for air with everything that is going on.

In the meantime, here is a small synopsis of the latest. We are in the process of deciding on final renovations and will be putting stuff in storage in the next couple of weeks as we start to stage our house. The hope is to have the house on the market by the end of April/early May. Very ambitious considering the baby is due at the same time, but I am really in need of seeing some progress at this point. Plus between things that have been happening lately both personally and professionally it is time for us to move forward rather than beating our heads against the wall waiting for others to change. If there is anything I have learned from Papa Doc's death it is that life is too short to stay stuck in misery waiting on others to make your life better. Change is scary, but sometimes it is necessary. This is especially true if you truly believe family comes first and you want to spend time with your family and be happy.

I know that is kind of vague, but I am not at liberty to say a whole lot right now. I just know that there are some serious changes coming our way which may or may not include a different state, a cut in pay, and some other things. However, if it means we can be a family, be healthy, and happy, then it is worth it! The last time we saw Papa Doc he told us that he would never live to see retirement and would not last much longer due to his stress levels. How I wish those words had not come true. Now it is up to us to not repeat the same mistakes. Stay tuned!