It's Done!

Wow!!! My floor is finished!! I am beyond ecstatic! It looks really great and so far, seems easy to clean. Heck, why clean it, you can't tell it's dirty! (I am kidding, ya know!)

The guys came today and finished the baseboards and transition pieces and it looks fabulous! I am sitting here waiting for them to come back and put my laundry room door back on, but then it is done. Well, we have to get the baseboards painted and touch up the walls and cupboards that have gotten dinged up. But it is pretty finished! We put in a vinyl tile and I think that it is perfect for us. It is durable, easy to clean, "softer" than ceramic tile and the color will hide dirt perfectly!

Andy worked on Gavin's room a bit this morning and they are off working on a pinewood derby car. I am hoping that we can work some more when they get back, but I am having a lazy day. Yeah, you read that right, LAZY! I have hardly done anything and I am trying to enjoy it.

I was having trouble falling asleep and Andy got me some night time Tylenol. Unfortunately, I react badly to anything that MIGHT make you sleepy. Don't get me wrong, I got a great night's sleep, but I didn't wake until 9 and have been in a fog since. In fact, after breakfast and some workbook activity time with Ella, she and I curled up together on my bed and took a nap! We ate a picnic lunch on our front lawn and I opened the mail. After the guys return to put my door on, I do have an errand to run, but after that it's dinner and game night with the family. That's it, my entire day...doing nothing. I hope that my "day off" will give me lots of energy to get things done tomorrow!

Here are pictures of the kitchen with the new floor! Coming next...the low down on Gavin's birthday celebrations!

Calming Down

Well, the painters came back and fixed the little things that we were unhappy with and my Mother In Law and a dear friend came and helped me to put all of my "stuff" back where it belongs (mostly) and I have cleaned off most of the dust and found most of the lost items and we are feeling much more "normal". This picture is of the new chair that Gavin and I just put together and that I am currently sitting in! The school nurse called while I was working on this post. He is home from school with a head cold.

We hosted a big party for my nieces' blessing and a celebration for her 2nd, Ella's 4th and Gavin's 8th birthdays on the 7th which gave me the greatest push to put the house back together. The house was packed full of people and love and the kids had a great time visiting, playing, and enjoying the festivities. Even though it was a crazy mad dash to get this place "presentable"... we did not have door handles, floor or outlet/switch covers.. but we had fun.

I started back to school with classes twice a week and next week I will start my field work, hopefully at the school of my choice and in a 5th grade classroom. Work has been more regular, meaning that I am actually getting there (I missed A LOT with all of the work being done) and I have returned to a somewhat normal work out routine at the gym. I am again, the weight that I was last year at this time, so I have 15 pounds to drop (notice I am not going to "lose" them... I DO NOT want to "find" them, again) and have already begun counting points and am watching the numbers on the scale go down.

Right after the party, Ella got really sick with a terrible head cold (again) and was feeling terrible. She shared and last week the stress and exhaustion caught up with me and I went down. I went into work on Thursday and couldn't even read the forms that I was working on so I packed up, headed home, changed into my p.j.'s and collapsed onto the couch. I am still battling the remnants of that cold, but feeling much better. Gavin and Ella both have ear infections and Gavin now has pink eye. It is becoming more and more apparent to me that this family needs to SLOW DOWN and figure out how to DO LESS! If I could just figure out HOW!

After that being said.. we continue on with the month's adventures! We had some good friends, Giacomo & Kate Bono, over for a special Valentine's dinner and had a wonderful evening. We had a teen neighbor come over and watch the kids and sit with them at dinner while the grown ups had a candlelit dinner in the dining room. We made roast beef with homemade gravy, roasted potatoes, asparagus, salad and chocolate bread pudding for dessert. I was not feeling well all day and was on cold medicine that made me loopy. Andy went to the store twice, we messed up the potatoes and had to make them twice (and didn't make enough the second time), I ruined the dip that we threw into the trash and I burned the chocolate on the first go round. I also over cooked the meat (I like it RARE), but amazingly the meal came out wonderfully and it was super yummy. We were honored, surprised and completely flattered when Giac (is that the way you should spell that when it is shortened?) & Kate asked us to be the Godparents for their new little one, Alex. He is four months old and is just a smiley ball of love! We are so excited that we get to have our third baby (without sleepless nights)!

The house is still in a pretty bad state of disarray with boxes here and there, some new furniture that has been purchased and not assembled in several rooms and little piles of "stuff" that have not found a new home. Gavin's new loft bed still needs some tweaking to stop the creaks and wiggles that it is suffering and Ella's room is a complete mess. The flooring is not in yet, but my new cabinet in the laundry room is, but it needs to be painted. I am looking at the pile of paperwork and wondering how much of it is really important and how much can wait until later.

My new laundry room cabinet with cubby for my "dream" trashcans. Simple Human, white, step cans with butterfly lids. Who knew that someday I would have a dream trashcan!

Really big box in the living room containing our new bookshelves for the family room, maybe we will put them together...next weekend?

And, more big boxes in the family room. These contain the new desk armoire that we might put together...next weekend?

This is my plywood floor... the tiles have been ordered, but have not come in yet...maybe next weekend? (you see where I am going with this, right? )
I still feel like I am recovering from everything that has been going on, but I am not sure if the best way to take care of myself is to work on it, or rest some more. I am always torn on this. I know that I will be able to relax when the work is finished, but I am learning that owning a home and raising a family means that the work is NEVER finished. I am learning that life is a project with no end but "The End" and that I will keep on working until I reach that finale. I am learning to enjoy the journey without focusing too much on the destination. I am learning to love the Trek without worrying about seeing the peak, and I am learning to ignore the dirty laundry strewn along the trail!

Ah... now, I can relax. WHAT!!! It's Christmas time?

So I got done with all of my work, submitted my final papers (got an A on that big one by the way) and registered for classes for next semester. Good news, only 6 units instead of 9! Hooray.

I had a hard time wrapping my mind around the idea that I was done and I could relax. Then, I fell asleep! The next morning, I realized that I had Christmas to contend with and there was much to be done!

I did the Christmas cookies with my Aunts last weekend and we had a wonderful family dinner together afterwards. We had a great time and got some gorgeous and delicious cookies from our labors. We also decorated the tree during the week and got the rest of the decorations up.

Aunt Marie-licking the bowl!

Aunt Sylvia, showing us how to do the traditional holly and berries.
Just a few of the finished cookies!
Cousin Jeff made ribs and beans...oh, and Uncle Dave changed an outlet and put in a dimmer switch while he was here!
The kids were literally vibrating and had major meltdowns before crashing into bed!

We had a CRAZY fun weekend.. we went to the Whittier Christmas Parade and Gavin marched with our church. Ella and Andy weren't up for it, and I thought that sitting with them sounded nice... so he joined some friends and led the group! In the afternoon, we made our family ornaments. (A tradition since Andy and I first lived together, we make an ornament - or set of ornaments- for our tree) It has been challenging to find things that the kids can do with us, but we have done it. This year were these pretty, beaded snowflakes! Ella did a great job and even made two! Girls really are different! Gavin was more about getting DONE! Saturday evening we were scheduled to stay with GiGi (Andy's Gramma) so that his parents could go out. We had Indian food for dinner, ate a giant chocolate bar and watched "The Year Without a Santa Claus" by the fire.

Sunday morning we went to the L.A. Zoo with my brother Allen and his family. The kids had a great time! By the time we got home, it was getting late and we all got changed into our fancy Christmas clothes to go to the Friends Church Christmas Dinner with my mom, stepdad and Andy's family. We have done this together since that first Christmas together, too. The kids got to see Santa, but Ella did not want to get anywhere near him. He snuck up behind her so that I could get a shot! We came home, sorted through the piles of presents that I have been stashing in my closet for the last 3 months and figured out that we just need one thing for Ella and something little for her stocking and a few things for family members, but we know just what we are getting. We made our list and checked it twice and then, we fell into bed!

Is he thinking about what he wants for Christmas,

or trying to answer the "Naughty/Nice" question?

Posing in her pretty dress... FAR away from Santa.
She is not happy with me.. but, Thank You Santa!

I sent Ella to the babysitter today, just like I have every Monday (so that I could study) and I wrapped up ALL of the gifts. I did all of the laundry and put it all away! (since I have been in school, it gets folded, but not put away...) I caught up on quite a few t.v. shows and I made dinner. Now, I am blogging and next I am going to make some fudge

and then work on my Thank you notes from my birthday party.

Very productive.. but boy, I still have a long way to go!

Still Here, Still Hangin On

October was INSANELY busy with parties and soccer and midterms and ?????? I made it through and I am exhausted, but hanging in there! Sadly, we cancelled our trip to Arizona this weekend but we are all wiped out! Ella was begging to stay home in her pajamas and do nothing all day!

I have a list a mile long of posts that I want to do (yes Gina, I still have the tag waiting!) but it is time for us to head to my in-laws house for the yummy dinner that I made! We are having Ham Chowder, Sweet Potato Biscuits, BLT Ceasar Salad and Blackberry Swirl Pie for dessert!

We did some catching up on household chores yesterday and I got ready for the last push of my semester. I have some projects to complete and a lot of reading, but the end is in sight. I go back and forth between relieved and completely freaked out! We have started on Gavin's "new" room now that our roommate has moved out. We decided what the plan is and the first step is having the closet system installed tomorrow. We also found some GREAT stuff for Ella's room at a yard sale! We picked up a headboard, footboard, a dresser and a little cabinet to sit on top of the dresser! I am excited, but I know that it will probably be summer time before we even get to that project! All of the pieces need to be refininshed, but Andy is looking forward to the challenge! I am so thankful for his enthusiasm and dedication to me and to our family. He has really worked hard to make our home a wonderful place and he keeps on working to make our marriage strong and happy. (even when I am a total grump butt)

I am rambling... but there is so much to share! I just didn't want anyone to think that I had dropped off the face of the earth. I am here, and I will post again soon!

Me? Busy? What would make you say that?

Noramally, I would have put text between the photos, but blogger decided to display only the html for the pics and not the pics themselves and I couldn't figure out where to type. Well, I COULD have figured it out, but didn't feel like it!
We had a busy week! I realized that I STILL have not posted about our camping trip two weeks ago...and....the kitchen IS done. Andy finished it while I was gone scrapbooking... I will post about that this weekend!

Gavin played his last baseball game on Tuesday and not only got on base EVERY time he went up to bat but he also tagged two kids out in one play (is that called a double play?) What a dunce I am sometimes! Unfortunately, I did not get to see all of this, because in the middle of the game, Ella had to go potty and it was not good. She has had tummy troubles this week and we have not ventured to far from a potty. I left work early yesterday so that Andy and I could split the child care duties for the day, he took the a.m. and I took the p.m.

I got to go with Gavin on a special field trip on Wednesday (while Andy stayed home with Ella). Gavin participated in a special program called, "Reflections" at school. It is an art program and he did a drawing to represent the theme, "I can make a difference..." His work was done in crayon and was a scene about recycling and taking care of the earth. Anyway, the lower graders who participated got to go on a special field trip to the Norton Simon museum of art! It is a place that I have been wanting to take him, so I jumped at the chance to chaperone! I did not have to drive, but got to ride with my friend Martha and 6 kids. We split off from the group, (there we 26 kids all together) and toured the museum and talked with the kids about what we were looking at. It was a really fun day, and I think that all of the children got a lot out of it!

Last night was Open House at Macy school and we got to see all of the work that Gavin has been doing. The focus for the last few months has been on science; frogs, toads and plants in particular. It was fun to have him show us around his classroom. We also visited the 2nd grade classrooms to check out what is in store for next year!

We had visitors last night too! Our friends, Rachel and Mike were in town for Whittier College graduation and they came by to show off their 10 week old baby, Izzy. She is a bundle of cuddly, cooing joy and it was delightful to get to hold her. Izzy talked to me and told me all about her exciting life and her big sister, then she got a little fussy and after she ate, she crashed out on Andy's chest. He really is magical with babies. I am now saying, "Let's have another" and he is saying, "No". We keep going back and forth...but niether of us has been in the "yes" camp at the same time (this is most likely, a blessing). Rachel is the incoming Alumni Board President, so she had some "official" business to do Thursday night and Friday morning. It was so great to see them and re-connect. I really do wish that we had more time to cultivate our friendships...

Tonight will be a family night with a treasure hunt and a movie complete with popcorn and candy. A perfect night when the weather has decided to get cold and rainy. Off to enjoy....