Our hardwood floors are installed in the family room and living room. They are sanding and staining today and will be sealing them tomorrow. I'll post more photos as they move along. So excited!
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| Living Room - rustic hickory |
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| Family Room |
Friday, May 31, 2013
Friday, May 24, 2013
Duke and chickens
I had the opportunity to spend a few days in Raleigh, North Carolina a few weeks ago. The trip was for work, but I found time to run over to Durham and visit the Duke University campus. Aaron has been a huge Duke fan for years. Specifically, he loves Coach Krzyzewski, the Duke basketball coach. He would love to meet coach K at some point in his life.
When I got home on Friday night, my kids came screaming into the garage and before I could get myself fully out of the car, they announced that dad had bought chickens. Aaron has been dying to own chickens for a long time and finally did it. He has 2 that are two weeks old and 3 that are two days old. They are currently living in the basement, until they get old enough to live outside. Aaron now has to find/build them a chicken coop.
These are Americana chickens and will lay green, blue and brown eggs. So, if you are interested in fresh eggs, I might be able to help you out in a few months.
This whole experience should be fun for the kids. (and they are really cute when they are little)
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| Some day, I'll take Aaron here for a game |
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| There's a big grass / flower park thing on campus dedicated to coach K |
When I got home on Friday night, my kids came screaming into the garage and before I could get myself fully out of the car, they announced that dad had bought chickens. Aaron has been dying to own chickens for a long time and finally did it. He has 2 that are two weeks old and 3 that are two days old. They are currently living in the basement, until they get old enough to live outside. Aaron now has to find/build them a chicken coop.
These are Americana chickens and will lay green, blue and brown eggs. So, if you are interested in fresh eggs, I might be able to help you out in a few months.
This whole experience should be fun for the kids. (and they are really cute when they are little)
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| They jump on the side of the box to roost, but I haven't seen them jump out of the box yet. |
Smarty Party Shelby
Last night, we attended the 9th grade recognition night at the school. Shelby was recognized for being part of the High Honor Roll group, which has a GPA of 3.95 - 4.0. She has maintained a 4.0 all through Jr High School and we are so very proud of her. I don't have to bug her to do homework, instead I end up consoling her when she thinks she is going to get an A-. Somehow she always pulls off straight A's even though she is very involved in soccer and basketball and her friends. Nice work sister!!!
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| Notice that she is almost as tall as the guy giving her the award. :-) |
Floors and doors
As most of you know, I am replacing the carpet in my living room and family room with hardwood. They are coming Tuesday (the 28th) to start installing. Aaron and I have worked really hard the past week to clear out furniture and rip up carpet and tack strips. We hauled one couch to DI and have another ready to go to the dump. After the floors are installed, I have a couch already purchased to replace the ones we are getting rid of.
Bailey was a huge help finding staples and lifting the tack strips. Here is a cute picture of her and Aaron working in the living room. I'll post photos of the progress and of course when they are done.
Bailey was a huge help finding staples and lifting the tack strips. Here is a cute picture of her and Aaron working in the living room. I'll post photos of the progress and of course when they are done.
I made a new wreath for my front door and am very happy with the way it turned out. I have seen similar ones on Etsy for over $100, but I made mine for around $45. I found the hydrangeas at Tuesday Morning.
Gretchen's pioneer day
On Friday, May 17th, Gretchen's 4th grade class celebrated Pioneer Day. They dressed like pioneers and spent the day learning skills, playing games and eating things the pioneers might.
I was able to take half day off work and help in one of the "booths". They broke the kids up into families of 10-12 kids. Parents helped the kids move from area to area and organized any takeaways. They made butter and ate scones. They played marbles, leg wrestling and horseshoes. They learned to quilt, sew on buttons and saw logs. I helped the kids learn to sew on a button. I did sneak away to take a photo of Gretchen at the log sawing booth, since they were close by.
It was pretty chilly all day, so most kids were wearing coats, but they had really cute pioneer outfits. Despite the weather it was a fun day for the kids.
I was able to take half day off work and help in one of the "booths". They broke the kids up into families of 10-12 kids. Parents helped the kids move from area to area and organized any takeaways. They made butter and ate scones. They played marbles, leg wrestling and horseshoes. They learned to quilt, sew on buttons and saw logs. I helped the kids learn to sew on a button. I did sneak away to take a photo of Gretchen at the log sawing booth, since they were close by.
It was pretty chilly all day, so most kids were wearing coats, but they had really cute pioneer outfits. Despite the weather it was a fun day for the kids.
Bailey's pretty pink arm
On Monday, the 13th, Bailey and Gretchen were outside after dinner playing in the backyard. Bailey comes crying through the deck door, holding her arm. Before going outside, Bailey had put on sunscreen because she burned her shoulders the previous weekend and didn't want a repeat injury. She is a master at the monkey bars, but didn't take into consideration her slippery hands and slipped off. She must have landed on her hand/wrist.
I tried comforting her on the couch for a few minutes, but she kept saying how much her wrist hurt. I put on my Dr. Mom hat and started going through the routine of figuring out whether she was hurt or injured. She could move her fingers, but not bend the wrist. It was starting to swell, so we grabbed some ice. I poked around on her arm and couldn't feel anything that caused her a lot of pain.
After being unable to console her for 15 - 20 min, I decided it was time to head to the doctor to have it x-rayed. The whole way there, she kept crying "I can't hold it any more!"
We got in to the pediatrician after-hours, who poked around the swelling and confirmed that Bailey most likely had broken her arm. She put on a temporary cast, secured with ace bandages and sent us over the hospital for x-rays. We dragged ourselves home at 9:30 and spent a rough night comforting and medicating Bailey so she could sleep. It was amazing how much that temporary stabilization helped, but it still ached.
The next day, they confirmed she had fractured her arm in two places. Since this is the first broken bone (except for an undiagnosed finger for Aaron), I was unsure of the next steps. We waited until Thursday to have her cast put on, I guess to allow the swelling to go down. She was able to pick her color and of course, chose pink. She was glad to get rid of the sling. As soft as it was, it was starting to irritate her neck.
The first day back to the babysitters, one of the girls had packed a marker just so she could sign Bailey's cast. We carried around a marker for a few days, to let the friends and family we saw sign it. (even Dutchie, Emily's dog, signed it!)
She will have it until mid-June. Yesterday, while we were doing a floor puzzle, she used the cast to hammer the pieces into place. I'm guessing she's feeling better, right? :-)
I tried comforting her on the couch for a few minutes, but she kept saying how much her wrist hurt. I put on my Dr. Mom hat and started going through the routine of figuring out whether she was hurt or injured. She could move her fingers, but not bend the wrist. It was starting to swell, so we grabbed some ice. I poked around on her arm and couldn't feel anything that caused her a lot of pain.
After being unable to console her for 15 - 20 min, I decided it was time to head to the doctor to have it x-rayed. The whole way there, she kept crying "I can't hold it any more!"
We got in to the pediatrician after-hours, who poked around the swelling and confirmed that Bailey most likely had broken her arm. She put on a temporary cast, secured with ace bandages and sent us over the hospital for x-rays. We dragged ourselves home at 9:30 and spent a rough night comforting and medicating Bailey so she could sleep. It was amazing how much that temporary stabilization helped, but it still ached.
The next day, they confirmed she had fractured her arm in two places. Since this is the first broken bone (except for an undiagnosed finger for Aaron), I was unsure of the next steps. We waited until Thursday to have her cast put on, I guess to allow the swelling to go down. She was able to pick her color and of course, chose pink. She was glad to get rid of the sling. As soft as it was, it was starting to irritate her neck.
The first day back to the babysitters, one of the girls had packed a marker just so she could sign Bailey's cast. We carried around a marker for a few days, to let the friends and family we saw sign it. (even Dutchie, Emily's dog, signed it!)
She will have it until mid-June. Yesterday, while we were doing a floor puzzle, she used the cast to hammer the pieces into place. I'm guessing she's feeling better, right? :-)
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| The bump on the top of her arm is where it's broken. This is before it was temporarily casted. |
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| This is right after the temporary cast and before the x-ray. She is much happier here. |
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| This is her arm right before they put on the cast. You can see a light bruise by her wrist. |
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| Here she is with her new pink arm. Happy kid! |
Friday, May 3, 2013
Motocross / Happy Birthday April!
Bailey had a blast playing with Miley at Grandma Jenkins' house, though I think she would have had a good time. I think she really enjoyed being the only one left and having grandma all to herself at 10:30 at night. Grandma was a good sport and played Memory with her.
Happy Birthday April!
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