First Night Home

Jeff, Matthew, and I spent the first night in our new home last night. I already LOVE it. Sitting on the couch, with the windows open, and the warm breeze floating through the house was an added bonus.

There was a time when I thought that we would never be able to turn our 'fixer upper' into a place that would even come close to resembling a home. However, with a lot of hard work, late nights, and energy...Jeff has worked a miracle. He did have help, a big thank you goes out to our fathers and to Jeff's brother - Dave. All who have helped so much!

I could not ask for better neighbors. They are friendly and eager to share that they hope we love the neighborhood as much as they do. People passing by not only wave and smile, they stop and talk. Such a warm welcome we have had!

These are my attempts to take Matthew's picture today...haha. But, BREAKING NEWS...he pulled himself up onto his knees! What a strong little boy :)

8 Months!

Matthew is 8 months old today! Check out Matt's fine faux-hawk!

Matt's list of tricks include: sitting up, rolling over, crawling, saying 'boo', 'da da', and 'ba ba.' He can also sit up all by himself. He loves his 'spin-a-letter' toy, reading, and playing with his daddy. Matthew is also trying new foods including some Gerber sweet potatoe puffs and blueberry puffs.

NO TEETH YET! When is this kid gonna get a tooth?

Update Living Room - 3 weeks later

Jeff refinished the wood floors himself over the weekend. He spent his FIRST Father's Day sanding and applying finish to the floors. Ay yi yi. But, alas, this project is complete and we can move forward with installing trim and painting. The floors look awesome. By the pictures, you can't really tell how much better the floors look. You're gonna just have to take my word for it! And, I wanted everyone to see the lovely yellow that we (ahem Dave) had the joy of priming over.

I am so proud of my man for all his hard work! Go Jeff!

Update Bathroom - 3 weeks later

The bathroom is almost done! We just need to trim and paint it. I wish that I would have taken a better 'before' picture. I don't think this one does any justice to how gross the bathroom was. Yes, that is a wooden toilet seat and YES, that funny looking thing in the shower is a soap/shampoo/whatever dispenser.

Jeff had to rip EVERYTHING out, right down to the studs - replace all the framing, insulation, the tub, re-do all the tile, replace the sink, install a new light fixture...the works. He even had to re-do all of the plumbing.

I am very happy with how the bathroom turned out. I can't WAIT to see the finished product. We are painting the bathroom Sherwin Williams 'Silvermist.' A nice blue/green. I can't wait to see what it looks like on the wall! Stay tuned....

It's Official

I am a delinquent blogger. I PROMISE to post pictures of the house soon! We have been so busy that I have not made time to upload pics yet.

Matthew update: He is almost 8 months! I can't BELIEVE it! Matt is moving, moving, moving. When he is awake, he never stops. He loves reading, his 'Spin-a-Letter' toy, plush blocks, and of course eating!

Wish I would have know about this...

Any many can tell you that your breasts grow throughout pregnancy and don't stop once the baby arrives. Instead of buying new sizes, you can buy one bra that will expand with you. La Leche League International Intimates by Q-T's adjustable Wrap N Snap nursing bra costs $19.50 at LLLIClothes.com.

House Update - Week #1

So far, Jeff and I have got a lot done with the house. Realizing that we just closed one week ago, I am very pleased with our progress. However, there is a LOT more to be done before we move in.

We were gonna try to squeeze in getting the kitchen done before we move in, but with all the extra work that we are uncovering, it is doubtful that we will have time. Since it is such a small space, I am having a designer take a look at it. If you are going to spend the money to remodel, might as well do it right.

All, I gotta say about these older homes is DAMN! Jeff has already said...'Our next home will be built NO earlier than 1990.' Unfortunately, in the areas that we want to live...there are only older homes.

EVERYTHING that we go to do, requires extra time, $, and planning. Case and point...the bathroom. We simply wanted to tile the shower/floor and put in a new sink. Well, once we started ripping everything out, we uncovered a land mine. Jeff had to take EVERYTHING out. He re-framed the shower, put in new insulation, installed a fan/light combo, is re-doing the old plumbing, etc. A project that should have taken one day is now taking a week.

Our motto has become...'If we are gonna do it, let's do it right.'

Angel Baby

I am an Italian mother who has been blessed with a son. To me, Matthew is perfect in every way...naturally. Even when I am out and about, people ask me quite frequently "Is he like this all the time?" (Referring to his good nature) I have to answer honestly, with a twinge of guilt "Yes."

Matthew is a complete angel. He wakes up "talking" every day. As soon as he sees my face, a happy smile spreads from ear to ear. He spends the rest of the day playing and lauging. He is excited to play with mommy/daddy, but has no problem entertaining himself. The only time that he fusses is when he is uncomfortable, which is usually remedied in 2 minutes. At night, Jeff and I give him his bottle, bathe him, give him lots of kisses, say his prayers, and then he snuggles up with his favorite blankie. He is off in dreamland in 5-10 minutes.

To many of you, this little post might seem like bragging. To that I reply, so what? Every mother deserves to have a little 5 minutes here or there of 'brag time.'

House Update - Weekend #1

Well...Jeff and I have got LOTS of projects ahead of us. So far, we have completed the 'demo' phase of our improvements. It seems when you start one project, you uncover 3-4 other things that need to be done.

Goals for this week/weekend:

Bathroom / roof complete
Refinish floors
Patch n' Prime all walls

After that, we will need to do trim/paint and we are set to move in! I will post some before/after pics soon.

We are planning on re-doing the kitchen in July. If anyone has any ideas for pre-made meals that are quick, easy, and require little to no clean-up, let me know! Our kitchen will be UC (under-construction) for 2-3 weeks.

Boo!

20 minutes of busting tile...and I busted my finger. Four stitches later, I am out of commission for a full week! I am very frustrated.

Welcome Home!

I had to share a pic of my boys in front of our new home. Picture perfect!

Day #4

Well, it is day #4 of my "Bootcamp," challenge. So far, so good. Biggest challenge...having to tote around a lil' munchkin who weighs 20 lbs. It isn't easy when my muscles are singing from yesterday's workout. I need to find a way to track my progress. I don't believe in weighing myself...I weigh what I weigh. I just want my clothes to fit well and my muscles to look toned.

I have set some goals for myself for the coming week...

1. Eliminate caffeine
2. NO sugar...real or artificial
3. Drink more H2O

Gonna be a rough week ahead, but I want my body in tip top shape for life. AND, I want to produce my own energy...don't want to rely on caffeine.

It's all happening

We close on our house today at 4:00PM. YA! I knew this day would come...we found an area that we love (Plymouth) and we found the perfect house! We will be living on Sunset Street.

Who wouldn't want to live on a street named "Sunset?"

I took "Personal Defense" in college as one of my fitness classes. However, I can't say that I remember too much. I think it's about time for a refresher course.

No matter what area of town you live in, I think knowing a few things about how to defend yourself is important. More important than knowing how to fend off an attacker, is knowing how to prevent an attack in the first place. Going places in numbers, avoiding ill-lit parking ramps, not taking walks after dark, NEVER getting into a stranger's car...all things that may seem like common sense, but how many of us avoid common sense on a daily basis?

Also, now that I have a child, I have attracted all new predators. I think education is power. The more education I have on how criminals think, the better I can arm myself with ways to protect my family. I am not talking about karate chopping a guy's arm for making googly eyes at my baby. More along the lines of making sure that I am paying 100% attention to where my child is at all times. One thing that I try to do is keep one hand on the shopping cart, stroller, carseat at all times. Matthew is too young to even make a peep if someone were to snatch him. Scary.

New Moon

Saw the "New Moon" trailer...all I gotta say is Edward WHO? I think somebody else is about to steal the spotlight from Edward Cullens.