James' First Birthday!!!

Happy Birthday to our super special little munki who turned 1 on Thursday! We celebrated with a cake and he had a blast. We kept it pretty low key and will celebrate when Didi and Papa and Gramps come next week for both the kids. Can you believe it's been a year ???!!!

Daddy's morning hair

With a little help from some jam from his breakfast, James awakes to some serious 80's new wave hair. If only we had known that the jam could work this well, we wouldn't have contributed to the hole in the ozone with our Aqua Net !!!

Ava's First Recital

The preschoolers performed 3 songs at Saturday's 5 o'clock service. After the service, the preschool families had dinner, and after dinner there was a viewing of Charlie Brown's Easter Special. I took the munki home after the dinner as it was his bedtime, but Daddy and the chicken stayed for the flick. She had a great time. We met a couple of nice people during the dinner too. But best of all the darling girl was beautiful and charming in her song- the pictures don't do her any justice. She had little hand movements going, and it was so sweet to see all the little chickens up there singing their hearts out. I will be aquiring a copy of the performance from the school when it becomes available, and will share with anyone who is interested.

The sickness

Our poor girl contracted a fever over the weekend (which I found out from her preschool teacher is going around and has even hospitalized one of her students!!!) which kept her down. We pressed the liquids and kept her on the couch. Some tv and some chess with Daddy helped while the day away, and we continued to try to keep her quiet Monday. Her fever was waning Monday however, so it was harder to keep her down. She's all better now, thank goodness. Passed it onto Mommy tho. Grr. Here's to a healthy Daddy and James (fingers crossed!).

New addition to the family

So as James crawls frantically around the house looking for a playmate in the Belly and gets rewarded with growls, I got the idea that we should have a new family member. For James and Belly both. So onto the internet I went, eventually finding a rescue shelter about an hour or so from here that took in a group of pups that were now 9 months old. Shepherd collie mix from what they can gather. After discussing our needs with the lady that runs the rescue, it was determined that of all the litter Fred was the best match. He was the calmest, and most apt to be okay with Belly being in charge. We went to meet him and he really was super sweet. He and James clicked immediately. We brought him home. While I'd like to say that we have had zero "accidents" that is not true, though if I am really diligent about letting them out every couple of hours there's no problem. He also likes to chew, and that includes Ava's kitchen toys, wood and plastic both, and Ava's pet friends that he gets for himself by climbing onto her chair. So while we are working on the bathroom etiquette and determining which toys are his and ok to chew on versus hers and most defenitely not, I think he is settling in quite nicely. He really wants to play which Belly is controlling. He thinks James is part of his pack and wants to play with him too, so we have to really watch so he doesn't get too rough, but they really are sweet together. When we get James up from his nap Fred comes with us and James will make his happy grunt to greet Fred. Belly is starting to come around and play a bit more often, so I think we are going to be good. So everyone it is my pleasure to introduce Frederick Johann Thuringer!

Advice

Don't flush a baby wipe. Ever. Even on accident. Thanks Gibsons Plumbing!

Countertops have arrived!

Rob and Jay arrived at 8:30 this morning with 4 pieces of countertop, and a sink. They left a few hours later and my kitchen is looking prettier. Poor PJ worked hard and late last night unhooking the plumbing so they could get the old sink out tearing a pipe in the process (blessing in disguise? How long till it would have gone and we wouldn't already have everything out from under the sink!) and dealing with the disposal. The disposal that is hard wired. And not hooked up to any of the kitchen circuits. And leaking. So he is trying to disconnect a live wire with water. I had my hand on the phone ready for 911 which thank goodness it wasn't necessary. PJ instructed me to call our friends the electricians who told me that it's not their fault it's not marked on the breaker box since they didn't rewire the house. All they could do is come out and test each breaker to see which one the disposal is hooked up to. Duh, we could do that. Come on. That's kinda not the point. So that will be a project we will look at this weekend. Our favorite game: find the breaker!

Anyway here are the counters. I think they look great except I found a few scratches. I will have PJ look at them and email Rob tomorrow and find out what he can do about them. All in all I am pleased and now anxious to get tile up and paint !!!

The Master

We got Ava's watercolors out this morning while the guys were installing the countertops (!!!!!) and she created a few masterpieces. Most importantly, she had a good time. It sounds like they do quite a bit of art project stuff at school, which I think is good since she seems to like to stretch the right side of her brain.

New curtains

I purchased sheer blue curtains off Ebay (where else?) and was hoping the blue would match the blue in the light fixture. Guess what- it DOES! So we have a new bold dining room which makes the paint color I love make me love it more. I think it tones it somehow to what I envisioned it, which is more of a light olive. Now we just need a rug. Ebay here I come!

Sleepy boy

This is the cutest sleepy boy EVER. He is also the SWEETEST boy and FUNNEST (yes it is a word) EEEEVVVVEEEERRRRRR.

Sledding

Tuesday we had a snow day for Ava's school as it was coming down with quite a bit more on the way. All day Tuesday it snowed. PJ and Ava went out and did the snowblower at about 7 p.m. and by the morning with the additional snow and wind blowing it about you could hardly see their hard work! (Daddy's snowblowing and Ava's footprints in the yard). They shut down the city. Literally, non essential employees did not have to report to work, so PJ took advantage of the time to take himself snowboarding. He came back kinda early because he had promised to take Ava sledding with his friend Dave and Dave's son Jaia. She had a BLAST !!! Dad brought home one tired chicken and a picture on the camera. It wouldn't surprise me if she asked to go every day.

We braved the roads today to get Ava to school, as it was her class Valentine's Day party. We got Maisy valentines at the dollar store and candy bracelets (just smaller versions of the candy necklaces) for her class. I think it says a lot that in the box there were something like 42 valentines, and we needed only 10. I thank God that she is in private school and not getting lost in a huge classroom. Will update when I get the word from Ava on the party!

Give this girl a hug

*Didi noted that Ava looks like she could really use a hug in this pic, and isn't it true? The strange thing is that she was in a great mood due to new dress and going to school. But who can tell???*

Another ebay purchase on the outfit. Shoes came from Piperlime. I am in love with that website. http://piperlime.com

No more ebay for awhile unless it's diapers, although I did get 2 towel rings for 99 cents. Not including shipping, but it was still cheaper than if I got them in town. And they're pretty!

Tuesday

We got more weather Tuesday. The snow came down and it was quite chilly, so I didn't venture out even to take Birdie to school. It's better now, although the thermometer pic is from this morning (thursday) about 8 a.m.

Chair Fabric

So I was on Ebay (surprise!) and found this beautiful fabric for my grandfathers chairs. There will be plenty left over to do the 2 odd dining room chairs that need new fabric and perhaps even a pillow. It's quite lovely- the pictures don't do it justice!

Kitchen light

PJ put up a new kitchen light. Upon taking down the old one, there was some major drywall repair/sanding work needed. He therefore put up only 2 of the 5 lights in the track. I teased him that it was my mood lighting, but due to the sanding of the ceiling and the additional sanding needed pre-paint, we wanted to wait to do it all at once. Good thing too! The bugger stopped working- only one of the 2 lights worked, and that was NOT mood lighting, it was just wrong. So back to the Depot we went, and about 20 minutes after start time this thing was up and totally running. There's no more mood in the kitchen- just some good lighting!

Catching up

Sorry folks, I was on a roll for a while but fast became a slacker. There are pictures, however, so this is my attempt to catch up from the last week.

Ava's First Day of Preschool !

Ava started preschool today at St. Peters Lutheran Preschool (see link here http://stpetersfw.org ). Her teacher, Mrs. McEachern, said she was a good girl and even participated in the class ! When asked whose birthday it is on Christmas, Ava knew the answer. What a smartie! She said the kids in the class were nice and she had a good time. Tuesdays and Thursdays for the rest of the year- Dad thinks next school year she'll be ready to step up to MWF ! I still have to photograph the picture of her school bag- it has her name on it and she decorated it herself- so will post that shortly. In the meantime, let's hear it for Ava !!!

Bathtism

Last night was the kids' first bath together. They had fun and nobody got bubbles up their nose!

Measuring

The countertop guys came today to make the template for the new countertops. It's going to rock ! They said after the templates, it typically takes about 3 weeks or so to put together. So new counters within the next month !!! We chose Richlite, (check it out here http://www.richlite.com ) and we decided on the Merlot color. It's like it seems, a nice deep wine color. Exactly how it will turn out will be determined upon installation, as it's not a process that yields the same result every time. Originally I was thinking a nice light gold for the kitchen paint, but now I am thinking a silvery greeny silver green. A color that you're not sure if it's silver or green. Keep it light as the cabinets, appliances and counters are all deep dark colors. The tile backsplash will have to be kept light as well. I found a stainless steel backsplash, but it's a bit pricey. I could have probably installed it tho, so poor PJ would not have to deal with the tile job, but I am excited to help. Even if I cannot make the cuts, maybe I can do the grout? He's the pro tho, with a couple of tile jobs under his belt.

Ava starts school tomorrow (didn't start Tues due to 4" of snow) and is super excited. You will see a picture of our beaming girl here tomorrow for sure !!!

Love to all...

I am out of control.

So a few years ago, my watch broke. I think I was preggers with Ava, not sure, although I know we lived in Mesa. So PJ went out and even though he knows I am the pickiest person on the planet, he got me the exact perfect watch. After a while, the band died, and I couldn't part with the watch. So PJ got a new band down at Van Horne Jewelers in downtown South Bend, and they put it on. We knew it wasn't exactly right due to some configuration, and that it would not last forever. It started to go here pretty recently. It didn't even last a year. So I began my search for a new watchband. Easier said than done, since it's a 6mm and they are hard to find. Even online I found out! Well, I found one on http://watchbands.com and also on the site they showed a tool, the one people use to put on watchbands, and it was only $7 or $8! So I decided that I should have it. In case we need to replace any watchbands (now you know where to send your repairs). So in the mail today came a lovely bubble envelope with my new watchband, and the new tool. The watchband looked nice, and not as thick as the last one which I think was part of the problem. But wait! The buckle was GOLD and my watch is silver! Not to fear. With the power tools and the cake from scratch yesterday, and a new tool at my fingertips, do you think I am going to be wearing a silver watch with a gold clasp? Never! And this time it didn't take me that long. And it looks really nice. It wasn't that hard. I am so feeling empowered !