Long Overdue Update (aka Moving and the Gent's first day on the new job)

We are back from the beach (check back for those photos tomorrow) and I am finally getting around to updating! Here is moving day in pictures:

We filled the moving van to the brim. All 24 feet of it.


Thank you to our dear friends from church for helping us load and clean!






And thank you to Alea for keeping up with Annie. (Alea, I am so impressed you kept her happy the whole time!)


Our always-generous neighbors made lunch for everyone. James and Rosalind, we miss you! Come see us soon!


The Gent really loved his lunch.


Yum. A feast, complete with fans to keep us cool!




Annie saying goodbye.


And on to the new house!


Mighty Mouse!


Annie and Uncle Tyler taking a short rest.


No nap. :(


Poppa building a gate.


Papa Rick and Annie


Talking with Bebe


The dogs were so happy when we unpacked their beds!


I have no photos of my Mom, who worked almost around the clock for two weeks before we moved in. She supervised plumbers and painted the entire house and did a million and a half other things. THANK YOU to Mom and everyone else who helped get our home ready for us!!!

Moving day was a long day and it is taking a long time to get the house put together. There are so many little projects! And big projects! And huge projects! I made a list. If you want to wear yourself out, you can read it. Otherwise, scroll to the end for a photo of the Gent's first day at work.

Kitchen
Paint dog food bin
Paint stools
Make cushion
Order plantation shutters
Fix refrigerator
Tighten knobs

Office
Unpack supplies
Arrange desks
Buy piano
Bulletin board
Bookcases
Recover chairs

Entry way
Reglue chair
Make cushion
Buy rug

Family room
Hang tv and set up electronics
Slipcover chair
Bookcases

Dining room
Finish molding
Recover chairs

Sun room
Paint table
Paint chairs

Nursery
Saw shims
Hang picture frame
Pictures in frame

Play room
Paint laundry doors
Fix blind
Level washing machine

Guest room
Refinish cedar wardrobe

Master bedroom
Buy dresser
Buy coatrack
Fix bolt on armoire

Garage
Organize

Basement
Label bins
Demolish bathroom
Organize

Basement closet
Hang curtains
Hem curtains

Throughout house
Accessorize and hang artwork
Touch up wood furniture
Touch up trim work
Add window treatments
Energy audit
Childproof

Big projects
Rewire electric
Transplant boxwoods and monkey grass
Add topsoil and plant grass
Replace rotted wood and repaint exterior

Smaller projects
Brace deck steps
Replace basement stairs
Recaulk windows
Repair rotted wood on garage
Improve drainage on garage
Repair mortar
Put up new house numbers
Fix sump pump
Brace basement beam
Install vents in basement
Dowel rods for windows

Someday projects
Refinish play room floor
Work on landcaping
Plant garden
Install crown molding in master bedroom
Install crown molding in office
Attic insulation

Far in the future projects
Refinish hardwood floors
Renovate kitchen
Install flat ceilings and trim work upstairs
Install new windows

And last but not least, the Gent started his new job on Monday! Isn't he handsome? All is going well so far and I am so proud of him! Annie did not want her Daddy to leave and go to work after having him around every day for two weeks. She spit up on him as a delay tactic. :) This is shirt #2 in the photo.

This and That

We're still alive, move went great. It is just a slow process putting everything together. This will probably be the only post this week. A few things of note:

Annie is now babbling "mamama" and it makes me so happy to hear it. :D

Maggie found a home with the Gent's brother and his wife and is a happy (and lucky) doggie! Nick really misses her. Zeke was glad to see her go and Huck hasn't noticed yet.

Here are the first before and after pictures of the house. Not sure why I started with the dining room but that is the only room that is almost finished, so here you go.











The furniture is all antiques and was purchased on Craigslist for less than $1000 (two china cabinets, buffet, table with four leaves, and 10 chairs). I already had the rug, artwork, and plenty of china and crystal to fill both cabinets. Yes, I am a Southern girl. I wanted this room to be a mix of formal and informal, since we eat in it every day (I re-purposed the eat-in kitchen, photos of that to come someday). The chairs need to be recovered and one chair needs to be re-glued, and then I think this room is done.

What do you think? I love the way it all came together.

The State of Things

Saturday=Moving Day. We're ready. Maybe.

Houseguest

(this is the second post of the day - scroll down for Annie pics!)



Meet "Maggie," our new houseguest. We found her dodging traffic in a thunderstorm last night, so she came home with us till we figure out what to do with her. She has a collar with a frayed rope attached to it but no tags. I filed a report with animal control and we put up a few signs. She seems like a sweet little thing, about 30 lbs and friendly. And she's got the cutest face!

And we are moving in less than 48 hours, eek!

Anyone want a doggie?

Still as Cute as Ever

Annie had her six month check up early so we could get it in before the move. She weighs 13 lbs 12 oz and is 25 inches long. We haven't tried solids yet. She is happy nursing and growing well so I'm not in a hurry. Dr. F said sometime in the next month or two, but no rush. Dr. F has been so good to us and we are really going to miss her! She always puts us at ease and takes plenty of time to answer our questions. She is also very flexible when I want to do things a little differently. I talked to her today about what foods to begin Annie with and she said Annie would be fine with whatever I decided to do. I've been doing lots of research and, for reasons I won't get into here, I just don't buy the whole "rice cereal must be the first food" thing. We plan to start with veggies instead.

And now the good stuff . . .

Neighbors

We have had the best neighbors in Mr. James and Mrs. Rosalind! This past year they have looked out for us, decorated the house when we came home from the hospital with Annie, loaned us lawn equipment, brought up our trashcan almost every week, and Mr. James even disposed of a not-quite-dead mouse for me when the Gent was at work. We are really going to miss them when we move! Here are a couple of photos from dinner last week.

What to Sing in Your Storms

Happened upon this blog post today. I found it so thought-provoking I just had to share. Please click over and read - I'd love to hear what you think. I copied a few of my favorite lines below. Like I said, thought-provoking!

http://www.aholyexperience.com/2011/06/what-to-sing-in-your-storms/

“If God really works in everything, why don’t we thank Him for everything? Why do we accept good from His hand — and not bad?"

"Murmuring thanks isn’t to deny that an event isn’t a tragedy and neither does it deny that there’s a cracking fissure straight across the heart. Giving thanks is only this: making the canyon of pain into a megaphone to proclaim the ultimate goodness of God."

"That which I refuse to thank Christ for, I refuse to believe Christ can redeem."

Annie's first time as a wedding guest

The Gent's brother married a lovely girl last week, and Annie was excited to attend her first wedding reception! She stayed in the nursery with a family friend during the ceremony, and she let me know she was none too happy about it. However, she survived and wasn't around to interrupt at some inopportune time. :)

Visiting with Granny at the rehearsal


Meeting Aunt Linda at the reception


Grinning for Aunt Dawn and Uncle Ron


Seeing Lily again


Our little family


The bride (and a very sleepy baby)


The groom


Bebe and Papa Rick! All their boys are married now.


She finally gave up and went to sleep

One of those Days

Yesterday. I'll start with the good news, then move on to the news, the bad news, and the badder news . . . nothing really catastrophic just one of those days.

Annie is now sleeping 8pm-8am without waking at all. HALLELUJAH. She skipped her 10pm feeding one night and then gave up her 6am the next night, with no encouragement at all from her Daddy and me. Thank you, sweet sleeping baby.

I am packing up the house, about halfway finished. It looks like a disaster zone. Sometimes I just walk around in a daze looking at all there is left to do. And then I leave it all and go meet a friend for lunch.

The packing is nothing compared to all the work that is going on at our new house. My Mom, Papaw, Stephanie, Dwight, Aunt Rhonda, Uncle Richard, Dad, and I don't know who all else are working so hard getting it ready for us. They're repainting the entire house, working on the electric wiring, installing new fixtures, completing assorted handyman projects, building cabinets and an organizing system in the kitchen, supervising paid workmen, accepting furniture deliveries, and the list goes on. We have a really awesome family and are so thankful. The front yard is now a pile of dirt but the sewer line has been replaced. The plumber is ripping out the downstairs shower today. We thought the shower pan was cracked and that's why it was leaking. Turns out it doesn't even have a shower pan. It is wood, concrete, and tile. Oh my dear heavens, what a mess.

Yesterday, of all days, Zeke decided to get into it with Nick over breakfast. Apparently Zeke got into Nick's bowl and Nick did not appreciate it one little bit. I heard them scrapping and by the time I walked five steps to the kitchen, Zeke's mouth was bleeding and a tooth was jutting sideways. Sigh. Of course the Gent had taken the car to work because I told him I wouldn't need it (his vehicle is already at the new house). I called him as he was getting ready to walk into court and said I need you to come home, Zeke is bleeding and we have to go to the vet. He got home, we loaded up Zeke and Annie (who was unhappy and ready for a nap), took the Gent back to work, and the rest of us went to the vet. $200 later Zeke is fine and has a new nickname: Snaggletooth. Maybe he will finally learn to stop picking on his brothers. He always starts the fights and then he is the one who gets hurt. But I'm not counting on it. He is displeased with his place in the pack order and I need to work with him on that. We'll all be happier after I spend a few days reinforcing that I am the leader and he is the follower.

Anyways, at 5pm yesterday I picked up the Gent at work and then we went to the vet to pick up Zeke. I go in, get Zeke, his meds, and take home instructions, then go back to the car where the Gent and Annie are waiting. And of course . . . the car won't start. Battery? Alternator? Please, be the battery! We find a sweet lady to jump us off, car starts, drive to Auto Zone, replace battery. Bye bye money, there goes another $100.

We finally get home, change, feed the dogs, and go to a dinner party that the Gent's boss and his wife are hosting. We were only 45 minutes late and the cocktail hour was just winding down. Whew. They had a baby bed set up for Annie, so I nursed her and put her down to sleep, then enjoyed great company and a scrumptious steak. And a lovely glass of Merlot. So it ended up being a good night after all.

Oh, forgot . . . I spent the two hours of Annie's afternoon nap on the phone with AT&T about our internet service at the new house. Long story short, we are getting our equipment for free after all the hassle I had to go through to get it set up. Saves us $100, will pay for the car battery.

I also totaled up the budget sheet yesterday and we are actually right on track for our estimated expenses related to the new house. Of course some things are more and some are less, but thankfully overall we are good.

Hello, weekend, I am glad you are almost here.

Annie: Five Months

There were so many cute photos I couldn't pick just one!











I can't believe my baby girl is five months old already! She is becoming so expressive and vocal. She loves to click her tongue, laugh, and squeal. She also loves to play with her toys, especially the ones that make noise. Her jumperoo is quite a hit, as is a book with crinkly pages and corners that are just perfect for chewing. We haven't introduced solids yet as she (and Mama!) are very happy breastfeeding. Her little thighs get chubbier every day, so I think she is growing just fine. We will probably try solids next month, after we move and take our beach vacation.

Annie is still in size 2 diapers and 3-6 month clothes. She is getting long for her pajamas, though, so I think she may move up to bigger pj's soon. Her 3-6 month pants are just starting to fit. It is really too hot for pants, anyway! We love one-piece rompers and cute little sundresses.

Annie's typical day hasn't changed too much from last month, except she is now sleeping a straight stretch from 10pm to 6am, WOOHOO!!! It took a little bit of encouragement on our part, but within a week we had gone from waking at 4am to waiting till 6am (when I get up, anyway). We just let her wait about 15 minutes longer each night before going in to get her. If she was really screaming, we'd get her earlier, but most nights she would lay in her crib and talk to herself for a while before we'd get her up. I am very thankful for an eight hour stretch of sleep.

Annie-girl, I love being your mama!

Our five month essentials have been:
sleep sack (girl won't sleep without it on, I figure as far as attachments go that's pretty harmless)
any toy she can fit in her mouth
books, especially ones that rhyme

Birthday Photos

Only one week late. :)

We started celebrating the Gent's birthday with breakfast at Bebe and Papa Rick's house.



















We saw Honey that evening for a little more low-key celebrating. There was banana pudding involved.