Renovation Realities, Part XXXLLLIII--is that even a number?

It was another long weekend at the Denler Estate.  This weekend's task was to tile the bathroom floor.  Seems simple, right?  My poor husband worked literally all night doing the tile Friday night--like, I got up at 7am to get Josie and he was two tiles away from being done, but had run out of thinset.  I will not begin to try to understand or explain what happened during my sleepy time.  Saturday while the mortar dried, Kevin slept mostly but after that we got out of the house for awhile.  Sunday we put a light coat of sealant on the tiles so the grout wouldn't stain them.  When it came time to grout Beau came over to help.  Perhaps it should have been a sign of things to come--Beau is the guy wearing the squirrel hat and our "expert" tile helper.  He's done this before.  Actually I kid, Beau is great and we really appreciate when he comes over.  Anyway, the grout was applied in about half an hour and then the four subsequent hours were spent cleaning the tiles.....wow.  Tomorrow we can buff of any remaining grout and then seal.  This is probably only interesting to me, but this has been the story of my weekend, so this is all I've got.  On an upnote, we didn't have to move out for the weekend, so being at home was handy.  Every time we get another big portion of the bathroom done I say to myself "the worst is over, it's all downhill from here".  But, this time I think that could be true.  After the floor is done, we need to tape, float, texture, prime and paint the walls.  Kevin will make the vanity tops  and then everything can be put into place..  Easy Peasy, right?

Sprinklers: great for grass and entertaining children

Picture One is Josie by her new big girl bed, which she loves and has only fallen out of once!  I had better pictures of the conversion, but those were lost with my digital camera.

Our newest sprinkler is a big hit--with Liv at least.  It is 12 feet long and has 16 wiggly arms that squirt water.  Josie is happier to watch Liv play while she runs along the driveway, also she provides musical entertainment (see pictures below of Josie with her microphone).  Liv would play all day in the water, if that were an option.  The grass was also happy to get a drink....ah, the joys of summer!

Tooth Three

Liv has been working on those top tooth for about a month.  When we went to the dentist, the x-rays showed that her adult tooth was ready to make its appearance, so we knew it wouldn't be long!  I yanked that sucker out Saturday morning and this is what we're left with--the biggest tooth gap in the history of tooth gaps.  I told Liv it made her look tough--especially with her accompanying grimace!

Our next issue was the Tooth Fairy.  Due to bathroom remodel, we were at Grandma's house and the Tooth Fairy didn't know that or how to get there.  Never fear, I went by our house and left the Tooth fairy a note to ask her to please fly on over to Liv's grandma's house, and gave her the address.  Luckily, the Tooth fairy found us, took the tooth, left some cash, and Liv was thrilled.  

The story above is true--just trying to earn that Mom of the Year award for 2009.....

Renovation Realities....

So, this weekend was it--the big rip out sheetrock-add tons of new electrical stuff-resheetrock-tile-bathroom remodel.  The plan went something like this:  Friday-take out toilet and sink and demo, Saturday-electrical and new sheetrock, Sunday-tile floor, Monday-grout floor, Tuesday-seal floor.  Seems so simple, right?  Our renovation reality adjusted schedule happened like this:  Friday-perfect, we're right on schedule, Saturday-electrical all day long (Kevin worked until 1 am), Sunday-sheetrock all day long (Kevin worked until 3 am) Monday-plumbing replacement parts, sheetrock, major cleanup, toilet reinstall.  My "simple" remodeling plans usually don't account for extra factors like constantly needing a different supply than anticipated, plumbing work, our house being 60 years old and not ever level or easy to work with, and the fact that in my head my husband is Superman and is so handy that he can do everything himself.  The truth is, he is that handy but doing that much work alone even wears down Superman.  He did have help--if anyone sees Beau Stewart or Uncle Rick, please give them high fives--it's well deserved.  I spent most of the weekend at my mom's house to entertain the kids and keep them away from the huge mess that my house was.  They had a great time playing with Grandma and Pop.  Liv even got to go to a Captains baseball game and was introduced to Herbie K's.  We also made a weekend trip to Sci-Port with Ashlyn and Ryleigh and their moms and siblings.  I had the way easier end of the remodeling job!  Kevin is a crazy perfectionist and I am not, so sometimes we drive each other crazy during big house projects like this.  But, I tried to remain supportive and not ask why everything was taking soooooo long.  Last night we stopped working in time to do a good clean up and put the toilet back in on top of our concrete foundation.  The plumbing is done, the electrical is done, the sheetrock is done.  All good things.  During the evenings this week we need to do an adhesive floor stripping to get the floor officially ready to tile.  That will happen Friday night.  For now, we have no bathroom sink, and bath mats covering the floor.  It kinda feels like we're camping out--which is gonna be totally worth it for 4 days.  I'll post new bathroom pics when the tile is done.  After that we have to tape and float the sheetrock and paint and get the vanity tops made....I promise when this is all done it's gonna be great and worth all the pain.....isn't that what people tell you about childbirth?  Those people are right....

Is it too soon to buy a replacement camera?

The answer has to be--no, please Katie buy another--right?  I do have some pics to blog with today during Josie's naptime.  I've been using Kevins iphone when I have a chance to take some pics....

Check back this afternoon--I'll have a bathroom update, show you the toughest looking six year old you've ever seen, and our new sprinkler for the girls to splash in....

Off to eBay to score a great deal on a camera.....

A small disaster...and crayons and toddler beds

So, normally this is the part of my blog where pictures appear....sadly disaster has struck. I lost my camera--no clue where it went or when it went.  I am sad.  I called very store I went to yesterday and have searched the car and house....still holding out hope that it turns up b/c I am missing photo ops right and left.  Nearly all of the pictures on the camera card were also in my computer already so, on the precious memory front I've only lost pictures of my crayon craftiness and Josie's crib to toddler bed conversion.

I have been saving up broken crayons and finally had enough to make my crayon melts.  I put the broken bits into a couple of ramekins, baked them at 350 for a few minutes and froze them.  Now we have crayon discs that are every color of the rainbow--my kids were both highly impressed with the creation, and you would be too if you could see the pictures...silly MIA camera.

Monday night we decided it was time for Josie to switch to a big girl bed, and we ran it by her to get her approval.  She said, "oh yea, nice".  So, Kevin took off the front rail of the crib and replaced it with just a decorative rail across the bottom.  So, now she has total access to get in and out of bed at will.  I felt certain that she would roll out of bed in her sleep so she has pillows on the floor in front of her bed.  But so far she has spent two nights and is on her second nap without incident.  I also thought she would get out of bed to wander the house or play, but that hasn't happened either.  In fact, when she wakes up instead of getting up she still calls for me to come get her...funny girl.  This also seems like it would be a better story if I had the pictures to support it. Crossing my fingers that the camera comes out of hiding...

Go, Diego Go....

I have lost Josie, maybe forever.  I used to be impressed that my barely two year old would watch an episode of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.  Last week she was introduced to Dora and Diego.  She loves them more than the air she breathes.  Instead of impressed that she'll watch one episode, I now have to listen to her wail when I end a marathon of Dora and Diego episodes.  And she doesn't even mind watching the same episode over and over.  This is unfamiliar territory because Liv never sat still enough to watch a whole episode of anything until she met Hannah Montana about two years ago.  I took the picture of her on the couch during a recent marathon, not only was she totally unaware that I was in the room--she was sitting like a real classy lady....the other picture is Josie eating a donut and really enjoying the glaze!

In other news, we cleaned out the garage this weekend, it looks great and is organized.  I didn't have the forethought to take a before picture so an after picture really wouldn't have the same impact.  My hydrangea finally bloomed.  And most excitingly, we will be spending Memorial day weekend doing the next phase of bathroom remodel.  Bye bye two tone wall and laminate floor....

Baby Einstein

Every mom thinks her kid is smart, right?  Well, I know it's true about baby Josie because this is the way she wakes up looking most mornings.  Clearly channeling Albert Einstein.

Air Show and Mother's Day

I was gonna talk about Mother's Day last, but since these pictures are on top I guess I'll start there.  These pictures are a little bit older.  I wanted to post a picture of each of my ladies that makes me really happy to see.  I mean, look at who I get to be the Mommy of!!  Josie is seven months old in her picture and Liv is jumping on the trampoline for the first time--Christmas '07, which makes Liv 5.  For Mother's Day I got to sleep in while Kevin and the girls made cinnamon rolls, when I got up the girls gave me cards and presents.  Liv's card was really sweet--she loves her Momma.  She made me coupons I can use for things like babysitting, vacuuming, and doing the dishes.  Conspicuously absent was the clean her room coupon....She was really proud of it, and so was I.  They got me a new purse and wallet too--using them now and they are working out beautifully.  Kevin's card was really sweet--I won't say everything he said but he did say I was everything a mom was supposed to be and more.  I really hope so.  I hope so many things for my girls.  I hope I am teaching them everything I am supposed to and giving them a childhood worth writing memoirs about.  I hope they know how much they're loved.  Alright, I'm tearing up now so I'll stop there....man, being a Mom....

On to the Air Show--backtracking really since we took the girls on Saturday.  We only went b/c Liv wanted to go--she saw the Blue Angels making their practice runs at school.  We loaded up the wagon and journeyed to the base.  It was quite a journey, there were so many people and such long lines and walks.  By the time we got to the action it was hot.  The girls watched a few of the small planes doing all the tricky "twists" (Jo Jo speak) in the air.  But soon we needed refreshment.  We got snacks and sat under a B-52 wing to eat.  Then it was time for the F-16 to fly....Josie isn't a huge fan of noise (neez, if you're asking her).  Liv wasn't either at her age.  When the planes flew by Josie covered one eye and one ear--trying to cover all her audible bases I suppose?  It was pretty cute. At this point we were getting sunburned and nap time was calling our name, so we left pretty soon after that.  We did get to see the Blue Angels fly from home, so mission accomplished there.

The picture at the bottom is the girls on a horse statue that Josie regularly asks to ride when we go to our local Mexican restaurant....funny girl.

Field Day with the Fish Friends

I really love Field Day--as evidenced by the photo montage below--yes, I realize that I have posted many pics of Liv doing nearly the same thing.  But I promise if you asked Liv, she would tell you there are huge differences between each of those relays.  But, I digress.  Field Day was Friday and Liv's class are the Fish Friends.  Robyn and I arrived just in time to get some prime parking and watch the opening ceremonies.  After that all of the first graders headed to the three legged race--I placed myself in charge of cheerleading and prepping the next runner to go.  We did great and then we were off to Ten to Win--in this game the kids each shoot one basket until the class scores 10 points...get it.  Anyway, it was slow going in the beginning, until Liv stepped up to the line--she nailed her first basket and to prove that it wasn't just luck she drained her next shot too.  Not to brag, but my kid was the only one in her class to make every shot she took.  After a fifth place finish at our first race, we were all excited to take a third place ribbon.  Lunch was next, just a quick pitstop on our way to the relay races.  I'll just say this about my kid's run--she means business, and by business I mean she flails her arms to gain speed.  And it works--big time.  She ran with a hula hoop, a ribbon circle thing, a plain circle thing and through an obstacle course.  It was hot that day and we were all sweaty--and by we I mean all the mushy skinned first graders that I spent the day high fiving and hugging.  The relay races were our last stop before we were set loose on the concession stand.  Liv had run off her lunch and needed pizza, drinks, pixy stix, sour straws, and later she split nachos with Ryleigh.  She had a great day, took home many ribbons, and will hopefully remember how awesome it was that her Mom was there being her biggest cheerleader.  I was so happy that I got to be there--thanks to the husband for letting me not work (also, can I never work again)!  I guess that's all I have to say about that...already ready for next year!

Pajamagrams and rain puddles

We finished up our soccer season tonight, Liv scored two goals so she was happy with her performance.  Next up--swimming lessons!  Liv's awards assembly for the third nine weeks was Wednesday so after we dropped Liv off at the carpool line, Josie and I parked the car and headed to the gym/cafeteria/auditorium to wait.  Josie made good use of her time with entertaining the growing crowd and as soon as she saw her Sissy--she let the audience know.  And, as honorary mascot of the Fish Friends class, she felt obligated to sit with Liv through the assembly.  That went well and my lap got a break.  

Reason number 832 that I love my kid--Wednesday night my mom was coming over to hang out and eat dinner with us since she was gonna be out of town for Mothers Day weekend.  I made a roast for the occasion and Liv wanted to bake a cake.  In an effort to impress the kid, I opted for a layer cake as opposed to my standard 9x13 pan.  Everything went well--even the egg separating of egg whites from yolks (Liv wanted a white cake).  Got the cake out of the oven at the perfect time but when it was time to ice the cake, things fell apart--literally.  The bottom layer split in half horizontally and at first I thought that was no biggie--easily hidden by icing.  I got the big can of icing--the one that advertises that it is enough to ice an entire layer cake.  The icing people are liars.  I put on the thinnest layer of icing available and by the time I got the sides I was scraping the bottom of the can.  At this point I know the cake looks horrible but I am comforted knowing that it will taste great.  Just then Olivia walks into the kitchen and proclaims that my cake looks "so great".  My heart almost exploded as I moved the cake into the dining room to be on display.  I have never been so proud of something from my kitchen!

My mom sent us a gift today, kinda for Mothers Day--I thought I was supposed to be giving her the gift, but Mom just can't resist sometimes and she loves surprises!  We got a pajamagram--Josie, Liv and I have matching pajamas.  Josie likes to say "same-same" and point at us all, getting a picture of the three of us was a feat as Josie was feeling busy so this is the best we could do right before bedtime.  I never thought I would be the mom that dressed in matching clothes with kids, but it is pretty sweet to be same same....and the decorative things the pajamas came in were even worth saving!  Thanks Mom....you're the best!

The rest of the pictures are just of the girls being silly.  They had a ton of fun splashing around outside--a special shout out to Dani who provided Josie's raincoat!  She loved the hat most of all and now that she knows wearing the coat=play in the rain, she attempts to put it on daily, rain or shine.

That's all for now, just one birthday party this weekend for Liv and other than that it should be another slow weekend for us...sounds good to me! 

Tuesday

So, today went by without too much excitement....the whole family was leaving to go on a bike ride and that's when we heard it.  The ice cream truck--who doesn't love that music coupled with an Asian girl calling out salutations.  Anyway, the Denlers were on a mission.  We pointed the bikes in the direction of the music and off we went.  After a while it got farther away and we decided we'd never catch it on pedal, so we ditched the bikes and jumped in the van to hunt down the truck.  What's funny is that I wasn't even hungry, but the adventure of finding the truck was fun.  We rolled down the windows and drove through the whole neighborhood.  Josie was yelling for the truck to c'mon back and find us.  I wish I had a happy ending.  The truck evaporated and we settled for sundaes from Mickey D's.  

An hour later I expected my kids to be excited about sitting to down to a dinner of grilled chicken and potatoes.  That didn't go so well for Josie....hoping her ice cream is gonna tide her over til the morning!

Big day tomorrow--Liv's awards assembly at school, Gymboree, and Wednesday folders....

Jo-Jo Speak

I love to talk to Josie and hear her repeat things she's heard other people say.  For instance, she's heard me refer to Kevin as 'Babe' for so long that she has abandoned the traditional Dad names and is now opting to call her Dad--Babe..it sure is precious to hear her yelling, "bye Babe" every morning as Kevin leaves for work.  At Liv's soccer games she yells "go Sissy" and "kick ball".  She likes to tell people to watch her when she is about to perform a new trick and can ask for every type of snack available in the pantry.  She also only likes to sit in her low chair (just a fold out chair she can pull up to the coffee table) as opposed to the high chair because confinement is for babies.  When Josie isn't ready for bed she asks if she can "wait more minutes" before going night-night.  She loves her manners, says thanks at unnecessary times even!  She sings Happy Birthday to herself every day and loves to look at pictures of her party.  Other new additions to Josie's repertoire of words are things like "ew yuck gross" when referring to bugs or snakes, "everybody share" when she wants something you have" and "no only mine" when you want something she has.  She says "c'mon now" to things she wants to see more of, like bubbles and trains.  Tells her sister and Daddy (Babe) to "home fast" when they go to school and work.  "Hi guys" is a popular greeting and when she is ready for you to leave the room she points to the door and says "that way".  That one isn't new, and neither is "hop up" when she wants you to get something.  She loves to make animal sounds and knows a ton of them--everything from elephants to cows to sheeps to owls and coyotes.  She likes to announce when something is next, when it will be okay with her to wait, and she loves to sing the Gymbo song.  If I thought anyone would read it all, I would list everything she says...but really I just love that I am able to stay home with her all day to hear it all (and act as interpreter later sometimes).  

The Denlers are having a pretty lazy weekend.  Liv played soccer this morning and we've home since then.  Kevin trimmed some trees in the backyard and is now doing the electrical work in the bathroom.  After that comes tiling the bathroom vanity tops, ripping out and replacing sheetrock, tiling the floor and paint.....when this is finally done it is gonna truly be the finest bathroom in all of 71104...and I'll be hosting a bathroom warming party for all to come and see!