Happenings

Sadly, I can hardly remember where I left off last.  We have been going nonstop around here.  We are in crunch time with the house -- getting so close the end is in sight, but far enough away that we can also see all the work that has to be done to get there.  Others besides John and Ray are able to help now -- lots of painting to be done! -- and we have been doing so as much as possible.  Mom stayed until almost midnight the other night working on the nursery.  John has been working night and day and making so much progress.

The thought of fall being right around the corner gets us even more excited to dwell in our new home.  I have been taking advantage of babysitters as much as possible (even though I hate leaving Rudy so much, I keep telling myself its only a short time and then we can all be together like a "regular" family again and it will all be worth it).  For the first time in months, we finally got some much needed rain this weekend.  I took a break to get lunch and go to the bathroom (one caveat to more work being done on the bathrooms -- so long operating toilet!) and as soon as I walked back in the door, it started pouring down.  I was alone at the house so I took 15 minutes to sit in the library and eat and watch the rain come down on the courtyard.  Sounds beautiful, huh?

Well...here was my view

...and my seat (almost literally because I cleaned up some dust while sitting)

It was the most peaceful and relaxing 15 minutes I have had in awhile.  I love our house so much, even as it is now, I can't wait to watch the rain and the leaves change all fall long.

Other things I am looking forward to --  Pumpkin scented candles (or any fall scent really), pumpkin muffins, pumpkin butter (hoping Dawn will be as good to me this year as she was last...hint, hint :)), visiting the pumpkin patch with John and Rudy, warm apple cider, carving pumpkins at the kitchen counter, lazy Sundays watching football, being outdoors in sweaters, new fall shows, old favorites returning, fall colors, pretty much everything that comes along with fall and I'm so excited that I can be excited about all of this, because we can just "be" and not have five hundred and one things to do.  (I think the baby is excited, too because she is awfully active right now!)  The anticipation I usually have for fall is 100 times greater because I get to add to it the moving into our new house.  We are so fortunate to be able to have had the opportunity to do this house, which we would not have been able to do had we not had all the help we have had along the way.  I'm just ready to be done now!  (And I pray I didn't just jinx us and something comes up that pushes back our timeframe)

So I'm guessing you might want pictures??  Here goes:

First things first... the winner of our bet goes to...

Half bath with tile 

 Vanities with painting in progress (turquoise for the kids' bath and moss for the half bath)

 John installing the vanities in the playroom bath

 the tile in the kids' bath

 Complete vanities and tile in the playroom bath

 Master bath vanities installed with just enough tile to do so (and no we are not painting the vanities, those are the colors we want them!)

 Half bath with installed vanity (waiting on the doors to dry)

Kids' bath with the vanity installed (waiting on the doors to dry)

Hard to say, really.  Technically, the guy came to measure for our countertops on Friday morning and the nursery was not done.  HOWEVER, mom spent 2 full days last weekend helping John clean and prime walls so that he could advance with his part.  AND not to mention, 2 evenings painting vanities so they could be set before the measurements were done.  But yesterday we finished the nursery (and Mom was BY FAR the MVP on the job!!!).  I'm calling it a tie.

 Left wall

 Back wall

Right wall 

John has moved on to the bamboo flooring now.  Compared to the Greenbriar house, I can't put into words how nice it is for John to install it and then be done (I can only imagine how John feels).  It's been going well and looks great!  I'm so happy we went with the "dream house" pick!

Rudy loves being a part of the action.  He lights up when we pull up to the house and he is so happy once inside.  He's never been grumpy or in a bad mood there.  So much to do!

Master bedroom 

And just a few other pictures...

The kitchen

The front door that was delivered recently

And our other doors

Some other things we have been doing with Rudy...

Grandma Cicci put together the car track.  It is motorized but Grandma hasn't figured out how to charge it yet, so she pushes Rudy around and around and around in circles.  They have to stop every few laps because she gets dizzy!  And Rudy also has to have his turn at pushing it around (of course).

He's still a fan of teeth brushing.

We also celebrated Grandparent's Day this weekend.  Rudy and I made a special project for his grandparents.

I signed Rudy up for a music class that starts in a couple weeks.  We go together every Monday at 4 for 14 weeks.  I'm really looking forward to it.  The class description for "Bouncing Babies" reads, "This Fall the Babies class will use a delightful collection of songs and activities (simply called "Babies Music 2").  In this 30 minute class, adults have the opportunity to play musically with their baby so that their well-being and total development might be served. Parents, or caregivers, will learn many songs for touching eyes and ears, hands and feet - to help baby learn about the body and to build body awareness; songs for wiggling and tickling - to help baby enjoy the delight of music; songs for movement - to allow baby to feel the flow, beat, meter, phrase, and nuance for music.

This class is rich in interactive songs - bouncing, rocking and dancing songs - to express the joy of playing together. We sing rocking and quiet songs, to help baby calm him/herself. We explore various rhythm instruments that baby can use and manipulate as he/she learns about sound, timbre, and vibration. There is much repetition from week to week because repetition of simple songs and rhymes enhances memory, oral expression and later written language.

Our goal is to awaken baby's natural curiosity and response to music, to develop aural perception, a musical sense, and a sense of beat, and to encourage pleasure in listening to and making music together at home.  Come enjoy a wonderful playtime with your baby, and meet other moms and dads!"

Sounds right up Rudy's alley!

We ran into Jenna and Nolan at Lowe's last week and we all went to the park afterwards.  Rudy liked the slide the best!  (No pictures, though)

John and his friends had their fantasy football draft on Sunday.  Rudy and I went to visit for a bit and met Jenna and Nolan there, too.  Rudy and Nolan took quite a liking to the coolers.  They spent a lot of their time passing out beer.

And annoying Gus.

It was raining and Rudy was loving playing in it.  He kept making a run for it out of the garage.  Grandpa hung out with him in the rain for awhile and Rudy looked like he had just had a bath he was so wet!  And when it was time to leave, Rudy was so upset.  Dad promised him some day he could stay and hang out as long as he wanted (while Mom went shopping, even).  

I've finally wrapped up a few projects (although my "after" pictures are legit "afters" because they aren't hung/installed in their home, you get the idea for now).

The measuring board:

Before

After

Rudy's alphabet wall:

Before

After

Rudy's canvas:

Before

After

I ordered fabric for the baby bed I've been working on and with just a few more finishing touches it will be ready for an "after" picture.  And I've gathered supplies for a few more projects to be started soon.

Moving right along!

Next up for the week...John is going to keep going with the floors and whatever else comes up and we are meeting with a couple closet people to work on the closet layouts.  We are headed to the Chicago area this weekend for a quick trip to pick out the granite slabs for the kitchen and bathrooms and make a stop at Ikea (Tony's favorite store -- just ask him about it).

Never a dull moment here!