Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Pictures of the Kids - finally! :)
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Santa
While at the Augusta Christmas parade yesterday, we decided to walk down the road while they were setting up the tree lighting festivities/craft fair to avoid the crowds and we happened upon the Santa booth..where he was waiting with NO LINES!! If you have one child, you know how hard it is to stand in line at the mall with them waiting and waiting and waiting. Multiply that by five and you have the reason I have not done it for two years...until now. : ) Thank you City of Augusta and Santa Claus for making my holiday season just a teeny tiny bit easier!
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Wiseman..or King
So cute!! Can't wait till all the activities this weekend! Sorry for the yuck quality of the pic, used my phone because my camera is still broken! Hopefully I will find a decent lens soon!
Katie
Friday, November 5, 2010
Weekend Plans
Projects for tommorrow include stripping the GORGEOUS doors that Melinda gave us from her barn storage pile (thanks to the previous owner) so that we can have something like this on the front of the house :) And eventually replacing that god awful gigantic thing that they call a light fixture over it....Building one of these...
And mapping out the area for the deck off the mudroom and the patio with firepit in the backyard. And then to scour craigslist for the materials...fingers crossed someone is smiling down on us. I'd love to find some really, really, really cheap adirondack chairs that I can paint! :)
Katie
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Halloween Pumpkins
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| View of all 5 pumpkins - sorry for the crappy lighting |
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| Owen's Bat, Kaitlin's Skeleton, and Abby's Cat - Owen poked all the holes himself for me to carve, Kaitlin did her own this year! Whew! :) |
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| Emma's Werewolf and Joey's Ghost - Emma poked all of her holes herself - Great job!! |
Friday, October 22, 2010
Renovation Ideas
Things I'm thinking about doing: (more for my memory benefit than anything..I promise tomm to post about the kids! :)
Dining Room - not this exact one, but something similar
Kitchen: Removing all of the upper cabinets and using open shelving. Trying to figure out what to do with the microwave if we do this...Removing one set of the lower doors (the cabinet by the doorway/dishwasher) and using large baskets. We have things like the salad spinner/colander/crockpot in there which could easily go in the big baskets...
We would keep the white cabinets, bead board under the shelves from the countertop up, white shelves on the green walls. The brick chimney would still be exposed in the corner, but the shelves would butt up to it solving the dilemma of matching the molding around it. :)
I'm toying with the idea of replacing the fan in there with two pendants lights or a bar light over the island, but with no windows that open (the biggest flaw of my kitchen..boo!), I'm thinking I need the fan in there.
The dining room is going to get a sisal rug - I liked one that Ballards had, but I'm looking for a MUCH lower price point ;-) Going to add in a sideboard with no hutch on top and add detail to the walls like this - painting the lower 3/4 white and leaving the top the navy blue currently in the room:
In the bathroom, I want to replace the gigantic pedestal sink with a smaller one, add a medicine chest and find a throw rug that coordinates with the shower curtain...which seems to be the hardest feat of all!
In the laundry/mudroom, I want to paint the floor (concrete), and build cubbies with a bench on top that will run the length of the wall where the jacket hooks are. Above the windows will be cabinets for all the storage needs - lightbulbs, tools, batteries, etc that are currently on top of the washer and dryer. At the end of the w/d will be a chest freezer. Over the washer I want to build a countertop that I can use to fold/iron on if needed. It would be nice to get a tankless hot water heater for the corner instead of the huge one, but that is NOT happening anytime soon. Darn groceries and electricity. :) I want to change the door on the back of the house to the one with the window..I know it's not the safest one, BUT it will be inside the fence and we have another door with lock in the mudroom leading to the house. And it will really open it up in there - plus I'll be able to see if someone is at the back door (b/c you can't tell with our doorbell) AND the kids in the yard.
Boys room - move bunkbeds to other wall, build cubbies for corner toy storage, hang snowboard, finish painting toybox, replace fan, refinish wood floors and get throw rugs, paint lamp, put skateboard wheels on dresser as handles.
Girls Room: HA. Here's the real work. We have to have a plumber come in and tell us if it's possible to relocate the bathroom upstairs. If so, we'll put it where their walk-in closet is, using some of the current play area space and leaving enough for a small desk in the nook there. Take the current bathroom OUT of Kaitlin's room - making her room more private, larger and giving the other 2 access to the bathroom. Plus it will make it bigger and enable us to put a tub in there instead of the shower only. Take the back entrance stairs outside off and make that a balcony (with fireladder of course) off of her room instead. More secure and she'll use that more. Buy the desk she wants. Find a wicker rocker with closed back (the older victorian style) and spray paint it to match her room, make some cushions for it. Paint her dresser. Add artwork to stairwell. Figure out a/c replacement or change ducts around to promote better heating/cooling.
Master Bedroom: Paint. Finish floors. Paint furniture. Find headboard. Organize closet
Dining Room - not this exact one, but something similarKitchen: Removing all of the upper cabinets and using open shelving. Trying to figure out what to do with the microwave if we do this...Removing one set of the lower doors (the cabinet by the doorway/dishwasher) and using large baskets. We have things like the salad spinner/colander/crockpot in there which could easily go in the big baskets...
We would keep the white cabinets, bead board under the shelves from the countertop up, white shelves on the green walls. The brick chimney would still be exposed in the corner, but the shelves would butt up to it solving the dilemma of matching the molding around it. :)
I'm toying with the idea of replacing the fan in there with two pendants lights or a bar light over the island, but with no windows that open (the biggest flaw of my kitchen..boo!), I'm thinking I need the fan in there.
The dining room is going to get a sisal rug - I liked one that Ballards had, but I'm looking for a MUCH lower price point ;-) Going to add in a sideboard with no hutch on top and add detail to the walls like this - painting the lower 3/4 white and leaving the top the navy blue currently in the room:
In the bathroom, I want to replace the gigantic pedestal sink with a smaller one, add a medicine chest and find a throw rug that coordinates with the shower curtain...which seems to be the hardest feat of all!
In the laundry/mudroom, I want to paint the floor (concrete), and build cubbies with a bench on top that will run the length of the wall where the jacket hooks are. Above the windows will be cabinets for all the storage needs - lightbulbs, tools, batteries, etc that are currently on top of the washer and dryer. At the end of the w/d will be a chest freezer. Over the washer I want to build a countertop that I can use to fold/iron on if needed. It would be nice to get a tankless hot water heater for the corner instead of the huge one, but that is NOT happening anytime soon. Darn groceries and electricity. :) I want to change the door on the back of the house to the one with the window..I know it's not the safest one, BUT it will be inside the fence and we have another door with lock in the mudroom leading to the house. And it will really open it up in there - plus I'll be able to see if someone is at the back door (b/c you can't tell with our doorbell) AND the kids in the yard.
Boys room - move bunkbeds to other wall, build cubbies for corner toy storage, hang snowboard, finish painting toybox, replace fan, refinish wood floors and get throw rugs, paint lamp, put skateboard wheels on dresser as handles.
Girls Room: HA. Here's the real work. We have to have a plumber come in and tell us if it's possible to relocate the bathroom upstairs. If so, we'll put it where their walk-in closet is, using some of the current play area space and leaving enough for a small desk in the nook there. Take the current bathroom OUT of Kaitlin's room - making her room more private, larger and giving the other 2 access to the bathroom. Plus it will make it bigger and enable us to put a tub in there instead of the shower only. Take the back entrance stairs outside off and make that a balcony (with fireladder of course) off of her room instead. More secure and she'll use that more. Buy the desk she wants. Find a wicker rocker with closed back (the older victorian style) and spray paint it to match her room, make some cushions for it. Paint her dresser. Add artwork to stairwell. Figure out a/c replacement or change ducts around to promote better heating/cooling.
Master Bedroom: Paint. Finish floors. Paint furniture. Find headboard. Organize closet
Yard: enclose front/side into fence that exists in backyard currently. Build swings. Build firepit in the back by garage. Plant two shade trees in front yard. Build small deck off of mudroom. Plant flowers/plants by garage to help with drainage. Replace mailbox.
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| Not as busy with the landscaping - mostly 2 large shade trees and smaller plants |
Friday, August 27, 2010
So I've been a little slack..again!
Busy, busy - the summer was a day to day experiment in trying to stay sane around here! The kids were all out of school for the summer since we decided to take the boys out of preschool early (May instead of August) so they had to get used to being around each other and entertaining themselves again! :) On top of that, we had several projects going on around the house, the Medical Board for Fred, and various doctor appointments for me and the kids. Here's a brief rundown on everyone:
Kaitlin: Started 8th grade this year, still homeschooling and NOT liking the crazy hard vocabulary words Mom gave her this week. Or the spelling words, Economics, etc, etc, etc. But by today (Friday), she had a routine down (somewhat) and I think next week will be much easier on here. In a few weeks, we'll hopefully add the Rosetta Stone French - budgeting it in this week. :) She started taking hip-hop at a local studio in Augusta and loves it. It's a compromise for us - I don't want her cheering anymore because her ankles and wrists were really starting to bother her, and she missed the competition/teamwork so this is a good halfway compromise for us. She's also joined the church middle school choir, ACTEENS (it's a youth group for girls), and Amp'd (the middle school youth group that meets on Wednesdays for activities/games/music/etc.
Emma: Started 1st grade!! She was a little worried her teacher was going to be "scary", but after the first day things seem to be going well. They've been there a little over a week and she's doing great. She likes to stall on doing her reading at night and it's driving me nuts, but I think with a little perseverance she'll get into a routine. She wants to take Karate this year, or horseback riding, or karate...you can see why I haven't signed her up yet... :) In a weird coincidence, when Kaitlin was about 5 or 6, a little boy at a consignment sale stepped on her finger and cracked the growth plate at the top, resulting in a pinky finger that is a little bit crooked. Well, guess what Owen did to Emma about two weeks ago? Yep, stepped on her finger when they were watching tv and cracked the same spot - opposite hand. How is that even possible!?!?
Owen: Started Pre-K at Emma's elementary school. He still gives us a hard time at carpool in the morning..as in won't get out of the car until we pull forward, park the car, yank him out of the backseat where he's hiding, and hand him over to the teacher manning the front of the line, but he says he loves it at the end of the day...weird little kid. :) He is starting soccer on September 21st on the town league and is very excited about his soccer shoes with the weird things on the bottom. Not sure whether he realizes the amount of running he'll have to do in those shoes or how that will affect his enthusiasm for them, but we're excited to see!
Joey: Joey, Joey, Joey....he's going to be my challenging accident prone constantly at the doctor or the ER child......the other day he managed to get into the pantry closet (we usually remove the handle and keep it on the fridge so only the grown-ups can get in because we keep all the art stuff/cooking supplies in there..like the food processor...). He decided he wanted to test the sharpness of the blade on said appliance and you guessed it, sliced the top of his middle finger wide open. It was not pretty. Nor was the carpet where he did it or the white slipcover cushions I had stored in there also. A 2.5 hour trip to the ER and some dermabond glue later and we were home...only to return the next night when it split open again at 3:30 in the morning. We moved from glue to tape and we seem to be doing better. He's going to have a pretty decent scar but no permanent damage to his finger since he missed the bone and any major nerves...thank God! That's the good news, the bad news is that it hasn't slowed his curiosity or his ability to put himself in harms way at all......he's a constant accident waiting to happen! But then he smiles his little crooked smile with his goofy Einstein hair and I can't help but laugh at him. Boys!!
Abby: Miss Priss is definitely not going to like it when there is someone younger than her in the house. She has a monopoly on our bed, the dinner table, the toys, you name it, she thinks it's hers. She starts preschool two days a week after Labor Day and THAT should be a fun transition for all of us. She's a walking talking opinionated little person now and she doesn't hesitate to let everyone know it! She picked out her back to school sneakers the other day...pink glitter converse type sneakers. Yes, she is a princess...that will find a mud puddle in a heartbeat. <3 She's getting a big girl bed this month and is VERY excited about that...in theory. When we asked her what she wanted, she pointed to a King size and said "That one". Umm, nope! :)
Other news: We are hopefully (and not hopefully) nearing the end of the Medical Retirement process. The are waiting on one more consult and then they type up their summary and we send it off to San Houston in Texas and wait for their decision. We can appeal their answer, but we are really hoping that they come back with a good rating the first time so we can move on with our lives. 30% guarantees our health insurance BUT is a HUGE pay cut for us (we get base pay plus housing plus food allowance right now, the percentage is based on Base Pay alone..housing and food equal about $1500 a month so it's already a cut before the percentage is figured in) He has filed for Social Security because he has permanent nerve damage from the spine surgery and severe loss of range of motion in his neck (as in he can't look up or to the left...hence the car he almost backed into the other day) so police work is out (with his knee and shoulder too). He can't use a computer for long periods because of his neck either so it limits us quite a bit. I'm looking at going back to work BUT with the baby being due in January it might be awhile before that can happen...
In other news, we are most likely making the move to NY after all of this. Our house in GA is for sale now (so if you know anyone that wants to move to Thomson, GA send them my way :) Fred has 13 years in the retirement system there so if he can find a civil service job with his veterans preference or a State Job he will be building on that in addition so we think that's the best thing to do. The kids are super excited about the snow and the things to do up there. We are going up for the weekend soon and planning on hitting the State Fair and seeing Niagara Falls while we are there. Owen is excited about that, while Kaitlin is counting down the days to the Mitchell Musso concert at the fair. Something for everyone! :)
Well, that's all the news.."talk" to you soon!
Kaitlin: Started 8th grade this year, still homeschooling and NOT liking the crazy hard vocabulary words Mom gave her this week. Or the spelling words, Economics, etc, etc, etc. But by today (Friday), she had a routine down (somewhat) and I think next week will be much easier on here. In a few weeks, we'll hopefully add the Rosetta Stone French - budgeting it in this week. :) She started taking hip-hop at a local studio in Augusta and loves it. It's a compromise for us - I don't want her cheering anymore because her ankles and wrists were really starting to bother her, and she missed the competition/teamwork so this is a good halfway compromise for us. She's also joined the church middle school choir, ACTEENS (it's a youth group for girls), and Amp'd (the middle school youth group that meets on Wednesdays for activities/games/music/etc.
Emma: Started 1st grade!! She was a little worried her teacher was going to be "scary", but after the first day things seem to be going well. They've been there a little over a week and she's doing great. She likes to stall on doing her reading at night and it's driving me nuts, but I think with a little perseverance she'll get into a routine. She wants to take Karate this year, or horseback riding, or karate...you can see why I haven't signed her up yet... :) In a weird coincidence, when Kaitlin was about 5 or 6, a little boy at a consignment sale stepped on her finger and cracked the growth plate at the top, resulting in a pinky finger that is a little bit crooked. Well, guess what Owen did to Emma about two weeks ago? Yep, stepped on her finger when they were watching tv and cracked the same spot - opposite hand. How is that even possible!?!?
Owen: Started Pre-K at Emma's elementary school. He still gives us a hard time at carpool in the morning..as in won't get out of the car until we pull forward, park the car, yank him out of the backseat where he's hiding, and hand him over to the teacher manning the front of the line, but he says he loves it at the end of the day...weird little kid. :) He is starting soccer on September 21st on the town league and is very excited about his soccer shoes with the weird things on the bottom. Not sure whether he realizes the amount of running he'll have to do in those shoes or how that will affect his enthusiasm for them, but we're excited to see!
Joey: Joey, Joey, Joey....he's going to be my challenging accident prone constantly at the doctor or the ER child......the other day he managed to get into the pantry closet (we usually remove the handle and keep it on the fridge so only the grown-ups can get in because we keep all the art stuff/cooking supplies in there..like the food processor...). He decided he wanted to test the sharpness of the blade on said appliance and you guessed it, sliced the top of his middle finger wide open. It was not pretty. Nor was the carpet where he did it or the white slipcover cushions I had stored in there also. A 2.5 hour trip to the ER and some dermabond glue later and we were home...only to return the next night when it split open again at 3:30 in the morning. We moved from glue to tape and we seem to be doing better. He's going to have a pretty decent scar but no permanent damage to his finger since he missed the bone and any major nerves...thank God! That's the good news, the bad news is that it hasn't slowed his curiosity or his ability to put himself in harms way at all......he's a constant accident waiting to happen! But then he smiles his little crooked smile with his goofy Einstein hair and I can't help but laugh at him. Boys!!
Abby: Miss Priss is definitely not going to like it when there is someone younger than her in the house. She has a monopoly on our bed, the dinner table, the toys, you name it, she thinks it's hers. She starts preschool two days a week after Labor Day and THAT should be a fun transition for all of us. She's a walking talking opinionated little person now and she doesn't hesitate to let everyone know it! She picked out her back to school sneakers the other day...pink glitter converse type sneakers. Yes, she is a princess...that will find a mud puddle in a heartbeat. <3 She's getting a big girl bed this month and is VERY excited about that...in theory. When we asked her what she wanted, she pointed to a King size and said "That one". Umm, nope! :)
Other news: We are hopefully (and not hopefully) nearing the end of the Medical Retirement process. The are waiting on one more consult and then they type up their summary and we send it off to San Houston in Texas and wait for their decision. We can appeal their answer, but we are really hoping that they come back with a good rating the first time so we can move on with our lives. 30% guarantees our health insurance BUT is a HUGE pay cut for us (we get base pay plus housing plus food allowance right now, the percentage is based on Base Pay alone..housing and food equal about $1500 a month so it's already a cut before the percentage is figured in) He has filed for Social Security because he has permanent nerve damage from the spine surgery and severe loss of range of motion in his neck (as in he can't look up or to the left...hence the car he almost backed into the other day) so police work is out (with his knee and shoulder too). He can't use a computer for long periods because of his neck either so it limits us quite a bit. I'm looking at going back to work BUT with the baby being due in January it might be awhile before that can happen...
In other news, we are most likely making the move to NY after all of this. Our house in GA is for sale now (so if you know anyone that wants to move to Thomson, GA send them my way :) Fred has 13 years in the retirement system there so if he can find a civil service job with his veterans preference or a State Job he will be building on that in addition so we think that's the best thing to do. The kids are super excited about the snow and the things to do up there. We are going up for the weekend soon and planning on hitting the State Fair and seeing Niagara Falls while we are there. Owen is excited about that, while Kaitlin is counting down the days to the Mitchell Musso concert at the fair. Something for everyone! :)
Well, that's all the news.."talk" to you soon!
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