Soapy Mohawk

Baby Steps

Last night was a late one. After my bath I hung out in the living room while Ron continued to work on the sink and faucet. He got it all hooked up and it works beautifully, but there is a drain "branch" that will be hooked up to the dishwasher in the future... so when water drains in the sink, having this open pipe creates a vacuum that pulls small amounts of water out. So that's not good. So, we can use the sink... just not the drain. He should be able to find a plug for it today. We went to bed around 12:30 (which is extremely late for us). It doesn't seem like much got done on the kitchen last night, but we were both working so hard! As long as we get a little bit done every day, eventually these projects will get finished.

Paint Day

Well I am taking a break from painting. It seems like I have been working on this great room and hallway all day long, off and on (basically during Lucy's two naps, and then after we put her to bed). I was just up on a ledge that is only topped off by drywall... so I had to pretend I was on a balance beam and stand only where the joists were (as indicated by where the board was nailed down), while trying to do a neat paint job! Mission: accomplished... but I definitely do not want to have to go back up there. I also painted some other really high spots by using an extension ladder. I feel that an extension ladder does not belong in a living room, however I am grateful that our living room has such high ceilings! For some areas I didn't want to go up the ladder any higher, I used the a paintbrush taped to a giant stir stick. But before I could really paint I had to use a dusting wand to knock down some dead spiders/webs (which of course fell on my head). So I am taking a break. I'm so grossed out right now, I am going to have to take a nice bath before I go to bed tonight.

Kitchen Update

We'd lost our connection for a while since we didn't 'register' with yahoo yada yada yada... I didn't realize all that was necessary to keep the connection, since it was activated a few weeks ago, and then went away unexpectedly. Oh well, we're back on again.

The kitchen was torn apart last weekend and most of the cabinets are installed - all but the island. The counter over by the sink is attached, but sadly our endcap was missing/damaged and a new one needed to be ordered. It will arrive in a few days. I am not too bothered but it was definitely disappointing to discover that when they brought it in and put it in place. Our counters are the "splurge" of the kitchen and finding a defect sent me into a tailspin. It will be easy to repair though... and otherwise they look beautiful!

Also the hole for the sink was cut and the sink put in place (just to check) - that will all be attached and plumbed up tonight so we will get to use the kitchen sink and stop doing dishes in the bathroom! We also set our new faucet in place to see how it will look and we couldn't be happier with it. Not only will we have a SINK to use, but a fairly sweet-looking one at that.

The great room paint color is a light warm tan color... but only after a couple misses on the right hue. First it was too light (lighter than the original off-white). Then it was too pink - which the swatch didn't appear to be at Menards. The third time was the charm, and the nice girl spent an hour adjusting my 5-gallon bucket of paint to the new, correct color. Not always possible to do, either, so I was very glad that it turned out right and I didn't have to start over with a new bucket - which you may or may not know, 5 gallons of mixed paint isn't cheap (all the adjustments were free).

The room is a disaster still, but it shouldn't be for too much longer. Old drawers, small appliances, old cast-iron sink, an extension ladder, and countless tools etc. are all kind of strewn about - so we have a designated "clean" area for Lucy to play in, as well as her playroom. I'm looking forward to the day where she can freely again. I'll post pics soon.

Spinning

We went to Hagar Park again last night... I love how close our home is to such a nice park! We went late, so Lucy was already tired, but we wanted to burn through some time before putting her to bed. We went around 6:15 PM and managed to beat the storm. We went to the "old" playground part, and just sort of hung out casually. Lucy rode on the merry-go-round with Ron. I even took some photos of a couple of really beautiful girls who were hanging out on the swings smoking. A couple turned out pretty well, but I wish they would've looked less "posed"... they were happy to oblige though. Just goes to show you how talented Bill Wadman is with his portrait project. I wanted to practice on people I've never met before... and the weird thing is, older kids and teens are more conscious of the camera than a baby or toddler. So, I think it's actually more challenging to take their picture and have it look "natural" or capture their personality. Teenagers tend to put on an act when there is a camera pointed at them. Nothing remarkable came out, but this is just a nice "basic" portrait of one of the girls.


Anyway, this photo of Lucy turned out neat, with me on the merry-go-round with them - it made the background streak across. I should've thought of this a long time ago! Anyway, she was sleepy and the light was poor, but we might have to try something like this later...


Ron was playing around with the camera a little bit too... and came up with this very cool image:


It shouldn't be too difficult to figure out what it is, if you think about where we were. Another really cool effect that could be used when taking pictures of kids (as long as they're old enough to be safe!). However, it looks neat as is.

Cats and Dogs

Taken looking out the window last night

Cabinets

Our cabinets are in! Ron looked it up using the order number before they even sent us a notice... that way we were able to schedule delivery for tomorrow afternoon instead of having to wait. We still have some prep work to do, but we're hoping to start installing new cabinets/counters on Sunday. They are delivering them between noon and 6:00 Saturday - and can't narrow the time frame down at all... blah. I'm not going to complain though, because we're going to have a new kitchen soon!

Clutter For Sale

Since moving in a few truckloads of stuff into our new home, I have felt the need to eliminate anything that we don't use regularly, or don't need to save for very important personal reasons. There are things that 'might' come in handy one day, or aren't necessarily useless, but still it is better to get rid of them any way we can... to free up space, improve our feng shui, and maybe make someone else happy in the process. At our last house I collected a bunch of coffee bean bags (the kind used to ship to-be-roasted beans from other countries). They had some pretty decorative logos, etc. on them, and I hung some up on the walls of our breezeway. We no longer have a breezeway (a.k.a. "room to build up huge amounts of clutter"... at least in our case), and I listed them on CraigsList... within less than a day I got a call and the lady is coming to get them tonight... and she's "so excited"! So am I, because now I don't have to figure out where to store them, and I get $20.. and she can use them to make throw pillows for her window seat.

It's like having a garage sale without having a garage sale... just list it, it's free (for most cities) and easy and efficient. We also have our old range hood listed, and easily got rid of the old dishwasher (free). I am very anti-clutter right now, especially with a little one who wants to destroy everything she touches. Craig didn't pay me anything to say this either... I was just having an I Love CraigsList moment that I wanted to share.

Welcome Tooth #3

Today I noticed a new tooth has popped through - one on top (her right front tooth)... I looked and didn't see any others, but she fights me a lot when I try to stick my finger in her mouth, so I don't push the issue. They're coming in, slowly but surely.

Yuck

I just went to the downstairs bathroom (which we haven't done anything with yet, except give Killian a bath), to vacuum some spiders...

I am not your typical freaked-out-by-spiders kind of gal, but I literally had goosebumps on my arms as I reached up with the extension to get the ones by the ceiling... 3 of which would not fit into the vacuum attachment - they just batted it away with one of their giant legs and sauntered away, laughing. Meanwhile I was ditching the vacuum cleaner, trying to shake off the heebie jeebies, and heading back upstairs. I've done enough, I'll let Ron tackle the big ones when he gets home tonight!

'Tis the Season... Already?

Our neighbors across the street have their Christmas lights up.

What Do You Think?

Here's one of many articles discussing the April 2 ceremony in Poland, marking the 2nd anniversary of Pope John Paul II's death. The images were just shown on the Today Show so I Google'd it. Pretty interesting. I know sometimes people can be skeptical about images, such as ones in smoke, fire, potato chips, etc. Especially in this digital era - things can be doctored up afterward and made to look like just about anything. The photographer claims he had no idea what he had until he took his camera home and his family pointed it out. I'm not as skeptical, and I tend to believe in strange things like this - even if people think I'm weird. Miracles have been happening for forever, but when they're caught on film people don't want to think it's real... unless they see it "live" with their own two eyes. Of course I wouldn't bet my life on the notion that the Pope made an appearance in a bonfire, but I'm not so quick to dismiss it either. I'm not crazy, I just either find it to be an amazing coincidence, or someone with too much time on their hands to edit photographs.

This Bird Has Flown

Kitchen Demolition Begun

We learned last week that our countertops are in, and today found out that our cabinets will probably be delivered sometime in the middle of this week - which means it would be wise to start preparing now, to avoid wasting time when they do arrive. The upper cabinets in the kitchen were the first to be removed, and it went more smoothly than we expected, as Ron easily pried them off with a crowbar. The base cabinets will probably be a bit more difficult, because they will also involve the counter, appliances, old-school toekick, plumbing, and electrical. Then we will probably remove flooring. However, by later in the week they will all be out, even if it means doing some dishes in the bathroom. I know it sounds glamorous, doesn't it?

Currently our great room looks like it was hit by a tornado. Our job tonight, instead of making more messes, is to try to pick up this one, so we can still function around here without me "freaking out" as Ron would call it.

Abstract Expressionist

Lucy has been introduced to the world of Crayola, but until recently, she only seemed interested in two things: 1) eat the crayon and 2) poke it on the paper. Now she gets the "scribbling" concept and we wanted to let her create her own masterpiece - one that we weren't messing up with our own demonstrational marks. We thought it would be nice to keep her first piece of artwork in a frame, so without further ado:

"Trapped in High Chair" by Lucy Denning

October 12

Today is a special day that I will always remember - it is the date that we got engaged on the pier in Grand Haven (in 2003), that year on this date it was warm and sunny. It was also when Lucy was due last year. However, by October 12 she was 11 days old, and it snowed 2 inches in Grand Rapids... even more in other areas of the state! Goofy Michigan weather... gotta love it!

(The picture is actually from the night we got engaged - the best I could do with a FunSaver)

Pretty in Sink

Yay - this is going to be our kitchen faucet. It's beautiful (I always wanted one with the goose-neck style), and has a pull-down end, and we got it for a steal on eBay, beloved eBay. I think we may try to fix up this house with as much eBay and Craigslist stuff as possible. It's brand new (in a box) so we're not worried about it being faulty. Normally we'd never be able to splurge on a faucet like this, but we paid a lot less than retail. It retails for more than Ron paid for his car! Ha ha... that sounds outrageous but it's true (but that's not saying much about the vehicle my husband drives). Ron entered his first bid with 20 seconds left last night and won it, stunning the competition...

Strange Visitor

This was strange - I'm sitting on the couch reading, and I see a young man (older teenager) look into the window next to our front door. He dashes off, and I go to the window to see him riding away on his bike. A minute or two later, he returns, and rings the doorbell, so I answered the door. He said he used to live here, and just saw that the sign in the yard was gone - he had no idea someone had bought it, since it had been on the market for so long. I introduced myself and shook his hand, and he told me his name: Chris.

The funny thing is, I knew his name because of a card he saved (Valentine's Day, maybe?) that was hidden toward the back of the highest shelf in a bedroom closet. When I was wiping the shelves down (in what is now Lucy's nursery), I found this card... a rambling love letter written with the drama of an obsessed high-schooler. It must have been important to him, but also a secret, since he kept it so well-hidden that even HE forgot to take it with him when he moved out.

So he told me how he grew up here, and how he loves this house and neighborhood... and I felt a little weird because I know that some bad things have happened in his family... I believe it was his mother who passed away from cancer a few years ago, and obviously his family lost the house because it was in foreclosure. I guess I just wanted him to know that we're going to enjoy living here as much as he did, and we'll take good care of the house. I almost wish I had made him wait so I could retrieve the card (which we still have) and give it back to him... maybe he would have been embarrassed, since it's safe to assume we read it, but not giving it back is just as well... it'll probably never even cross his mind.

He seemed nice enough, and just probably wanted to meet whoever bought his house. I can understand that. So, now there is a face to go with the name... the boy who's childhood is left behind here with little clues - a romantic card, a Power Ranger, a ragged teddy bear, surf brand stickers on his door, and dusty old puzzle pieces.

Busted!

This is a first - this morning Lucy crawled quick as she could to the dining table, crawled through a chair, and started standing up under the table (which she is a little too tall to do safely). At first I thought it was cute, and then I saw a couple of bolts on the underside of the table that could have hurt her if she bumped them too hard. I started trying to get her out from under the table, but she was standing and wouldn't sit down or crawl out. I think we both learned our lesson.

Ready for Fall

Our little girl is having a lot of fun lately. Today she went to the mall with me, and she got a stuffed ghost, a new shirt, and a fleece hat and mittens from her great aunt Ginger! They're a little big, but I was pleasantly surprised to find out that when I put them on, she did not have a panic attack to get them off! Usually she can't stand to have more than a barrette touching her head, and forget about messing with her hands. I love the hat and mittens though, now she's all ready for the cold weather...

She took her nap and then we went to Moelker Orchards (in Walker), so we could go to the pumpkin patch and wander around the orchard. We got there right before they closed and bought some homemade salsa and apple butter, as well as a small bag of "gingergold" apples. This is the 100th year of this family-owned orchard, and it was really nice to wander around for a little while. Lucy got nice and dirty.
More New Photos

Forcing My Beliefs

Today I went to Rivertown Crossings mall to meet with my grandparents, as well as my aunt, and my cousin who just got his braces off today! We had lunch in the food court, and then my grandpa had to head home, and my aunt had to take her son back to school. So my Grandma stuck around to entertain Lucy and push her around and feed her Cheerios while I went on a quest for pants. I'm pleased to announce that I found jeans that fit me at The Gap! After I found the jeans I went next door to the Gap Kids side and found a (RED) t-shirt for Lucy. It was only $6, so it was easy to justify. She can wear a long-sleeved shirt underneath... and it's a little bit big so it should fit her later. They also had "DIAPE(RED)" which I thought was a cute phrase, but I wasn't crazy about the off-white it came in.

Then, as planned, I scooted over to New York & Co. but didn't see anything I was crazy about. I was also pretty sure that Lucy was getting tired, so I decided to call it quits. Finding a good pair of jeans was a successful enough for one day.

Weekend Break

Saturday Ron and I went to Evanston to visit Kelly and Heath. We got there around lunchtime and watched some football, and then went to the Chicago Botanic Garden, where I took plenty of pictures. After that we went to a restaurant for dinner and drinks, and then back to their place to play some Trivial Pursuit. Sunday we just went to downtown Evanston and had breakfast, wandered through some stores, etc. It's a really lovely city with a relaxing but fun atmosphere. We headed home around 3:00 and picked up Lucy... who we were told was very well behaved at Grandma and Grandpa's house.

Flora

Some plant life at the Chicago Botanic Garden in GLENCOE, IL.

Which Candidate Suits You?

Ron showed me this quiz at USAToday.com which asks 11 questions about various issues, and gives you the candidate that you are most aligned with. The field will get narrowed down before election day, of course, but it's interesting to see it organized this way.

I'm not a super-politically obsessed person. I have my opinions about issues, but it's not necessarily my usual choice of blog material. I just liked how this gives a clear explanation of the different people in the running and where they all stand, so we can make a wise decision next November. I was surprised by my results.

Revisiting

This afternoon I took Lucy to one of (in my opinion) Grand Rapids' most beautiful places - Johnson Park by the Grand River. The Grand River isn't known for its cleanliness, but I glanced down the slope and could see the sand at the bottom of the river! I have to admit I haven't been down to that edge many times in my life, but I'm glad I was there today. The leaves are so pretty right now, and the sky was bright, so I wanted to take Lucy there for some photos.


Johnson Park has special meaning to me because it is the "home course" for Grandville Cross Country and that brings back some very wonderful memories. I don't try to live in the past, but I do hold it near and dear... for the same reason a person would rescue their photo albums if their house were on fire. I had a great experience in high school and I am always thankful for that. This time of year when I see the runners in the park I think back on the challenges I faced on that course, the fun times, and some of my best friends. It makes me think of Jim, Shannon, Kevin, Ray, and all the other people who made my high school years so outstanding. The road through the park is also the one that I have always taken back to Mom and Dad's house, so it's really "home" to me in more ways than one. Bringing my daughter there somehow connects the past, present, and future parts of my life. It's hard to explain how that feels... maybe comforting? Complete?
More Photos Here

Just What We Needed...

Last night's Google search, around 10:15 PM: "dog sprayed by skunk get odor out".

I found a MythBusters reference that said a mixture of baking soda, hydrogen peroxide, and dish soap works best (I was looking for alternatives to anything involving tomato juice). We're not ones to carry hydrogen peroxide regularly... maybe someday when we pierce Lucy's ears... so we went with diluted white vinegar (a tried-and-true odor neutralizer) and Suave. It seemed to do the trick on Killian. Since she was still damp and potentially smelly, she was confined to the mudroom last night, and thankfully didn't whine.

Unfortunately we had windows open and since this incident occurred in our not-so-big backyard, we went to bed with the aroma of skunk musk in the air. Now I'm really glad we found a house with an attic fan!

More unfortunately, when washing Killian last night, I discovered a fairly significant lump on the right-front of her throat. It's located underneath where her collar usually sits (which had been taken off for the bath), which might be why it has gone overlooked. Either way we both are worried about it, and Ron is going to take her in for an examination on Friday. It could be anything, so we're trying not to jump to conclusions. I am going to go find my box of candles now and try to make the house smell pretty.

Check-Up

Today Lucy had her 1 year checkup with Dr. Joe - everything went fine. Her hemoglobin is 14.5 - which apparently is really good. Okay, whatever! She is 22 lb. 12 oz., and 32.25 inches. Her weight is normal (78%), but I figured she'd be closer to 25 pounds so I was pretty surprised about that. However, her height (length) is about 3 inches more than the average one-year-old, and doesn't really register on the graph. Yikes. So that's why her pants all look too short...

She got a few shots and screamed her lungs out for a minute... and now she's back to her usual self. Time for lunch!

Craig Strikes Again

Ron is out getting a new sofa and chair for our downstairs rec/family room! No more laying on the floor to watch a movie! They are a matching set and are from a non-smoking house... and they are in very good shape. They will certainly work for what we need, and are a red-green-blue plaid (you know the type). We got the set for only $100 on Craigslist. Not the most stylish design, but it's a downstairs REC ROOM! We don't care what it looks like as long as it's clean and not falling apart.

I finally finished painting the main floor bathroom in the light grayish purple I spoke about. I had to prime it all first, since you may remember from photos that it was dark red and tan. I put it off for a few days when things got hectic and decided to get it over with after I put Lucy to bed.

Speaking of Lucy, every day she walks better and better... it's so weird, because she just walks around where she wants to go. I'm sure others can relate to that seeming kind of surreal... like your baby suddenly became a kid. Anyway, she might fall a few times here and there, but for the most part we don't have to stand there as a "safety net" anymore. In a way it's nice, but she's going to be able to get into a lot more trouble now too!

Classic

Smile!

I had Lucy's portrait taken today... they got a few pretty good ones, but I decided not to get out of control with ordering prints. We're getting a "package" and a few extra 5x7's but all the photos will be in their system for 60 days if I want to go back for more. We went to Wal-Mart but not Target because Lucy was getting hungry, so we just went home. She had a couple taken with her favorite lovey, Pink Bear, which is good since we won't want to forget just how attached she is to this thing. It'll be a little over a week until the prints come in, then we can give some away to our family. I'm glad I went ahead and did it, and it went really well. Lucy smiled nice and didn't try to climb face first off the side of the table thing!

Old School

I discovered that no matter where in the crate I place it, Lucy always goes for the Leo Sayer album, and pulls it out and studies his face. Weirdo.

They Come Bearing Bread

Hey today we bought another appliance from The Craig's List: a clothes dryer! (See reference to The Google). We had a washer and dryer in our old house... then the washer died... so we bought a new one. The buyers of the house had their own, but wanted our dryer to stay, so we took with us the washer. New house did not have a dryer, so there we were without the other half of the set (again). After a week of doing laundry at my parents' house we found a great deal on a very nice looking KitchenAid (who knew) dryer in excellent condition. Riveting, I know.

A couple more neighbors stopped by tonight... one was a little boy with a card from his parents and a loaf of banana bread - he was so cute as he sort of recited the information he wanted to share. He told us what his parents were busy with that night, and when I read the card after he left it said that they were planning on stopping by tomorrow but their son was too excited to come over and bring us their gift. We got a loaf of pumpkin bread last week from the family next door. I am planning to return the favor with my gingerbread cookies later this fall for the holidays. Another woman stopped by after Lucy had gone to bed and I talked with her on the front porch for probably a half hour! She is really nice, and I (shamefully) had to ask her her name again before she left, because I'm terrible with that kind of thing. I get the name at the beginning of the conversation and part way into talking with the new person, a voice inside my head goes, "you can't remember her name, can you?" and I figured it would be better to admit my habit, laugh about it, and find out the name than to have her leave without knowing for the next time. Donna. Donna. Okay.

I'm taking Lucy to get a real "professional" portrait taken tomorrow. I will be taking her to the prestigious Wal-Mart studio, and then possibly to Target as well (since I just found out about a special they are running which is too good to pass up). I figure getting portraits at least once a year would be good... if not more often. I know there are copyright issues with making prints, but if one of them turns out really great I may just have to scan it and post it here :) which isn't like having more prints made... so it should be legal-ish, right?

** Ron informed me that it wasn't the Bargain Corner, so I fixed my post for accuracy. The point is, when it comes to appliances, we're shopping for deals!

Back Online!

It has been very frustrating not having Internet access for the past week and a half or so. We got our phone here turned on at the correct time, but for some reason it has taken AT&T a bit longer for our DSL service. Oh well, now I can catch up. Sorry to anyone who has visited and not seen any new posts in quite a while!

Sunday the 23rd we got a U-Haul and did our big move into our new house. With help from a couple friends and relatives, we were able to get most everything in just a few hours. We thought we were more or less in the clear, but found out throughout the week that a lot of “little things” left at Taft added up to quite a few more car and truck loads. By Saturday, however, we were all done and the keys have been handed over. Ron said that that morning he realized as he was locking up the house for the last time, that he would never again go in there. I don’t feel like I got to say a proper “goodbye” but that’s okay. Our first home held a lot of memories, but we brought those with us when we moved.

Sunday was Lucy’s first birthday party (a day before her actual birthday, October 1st), around lunchtime. The weather was very cooperative and it was actually hotter than I expected it to be, especially in the sun. I couldn’t help but remember that a year ago, on September 30, the weather was also quite beautiful. Most of our close friends and relatives were able to come and celebrate with us, and Lucy was so well-behaved the entire time, which made us very happy! She enjoyed playing with her new toys and got some adorable outfits. She loved her cake too, but that’s no surprise… once she figured out that she had full access to a mountain of frosting in front of her she went to town! I have uploaded photos to a gallery on SmugMug of the party.


As far as the new house goes – I painted a few rooms, but not the great room with vaulted ceilings yet… that is going to be a huge job and I’ve been putting it off. I will attempt to have it done before our new cabinets and counters are delivered, so within a couple of weeks this place will see a major transformation. Things have been so hectic with moving, unpacking, and trying to make Lucy’s party nice, that I haven’t really even thought about home-improvements lately, but now we can get to work on it. We got a new refrigerator (there was not one at the house) and no longer have to use Ron’s old dorm fridge. Our new fridge currently has Lucy’s brand new magnetic letters stuck all over it, but I found out quickly that her game is to take them off and throw them on the floor. I’m glad that we have an extra bedroom on the main floor (until Lucy has to move out of the nursery) that we can use as her “playroom”, and Sunday night we actually watched a movie in the basement, which is starting to resemble a decent family room.

Best Parents Ever!

Day 2

We got a little more done today, but nothing crazy. We did not order the cabinets yet - just not enough time, but maybe tomorrow or Monday. Ron did some more carpet cleaning and I got two bedrooms taped, and one room painted one coat (nursery). I picked out and purchased the paints for the three main floor bedrooms and bathroom, but that's it for now. The great room / hallway can be done later. I forgot how much I detest painting! Really the worst part is cleaning out brushes and roller covers (I like to reuse them so I take the time to rinse them out all the way!). I can't complain though - because unlike our last house we are not tearing out walls or rerouting plumbing, or any other major "remodeling"... This is just typical buy-a-new-house stuff, and I think everyone paints when they move into a new place! I just want our room and Lucy's room done so they are ready for sleepin' in Sunday night. I can't believe we only have 3 more nights at this place!

Homeowners Again!

Yesterday afternoon we closed on our Hudsonville house... Ron and I met up at Lighthouse Group (the title company for the seller) and our Realtor and Mortgage Guy were already there. Shannon had flowers (again!) for me, and an Olive Garden gift card for Ron and I to (eventually) go out and celebrate. We began the Signing and within a half hour everything was done! Our Realtor was incredible and we couldn't have been happier with everything she has done for us. Rob (who introduced himself to the other Realtor there as "The Mortgage Guy") was also extremely helpful and fun to work with. This experience was 100 times more pleasant than the last time we bought a house ("we measured it," as Ron would say). We got the keys and went out to the new place to start the long process of cleaning. We thought a good place to begin is the carpets, since we aren't going to be replacing them right away. Especially in the great room, where the previous owner stopped caring about dirt and stains (since it was a foreclosure).


This is the dining area, which actually will not be carpeted - when we redo the flooring in the kitchen we're pretty sure we're going to run it into the dining area as well, even though the carpet is fairly nice. The carpet cleaner Ron rented from Lowe's seemed to work pretty well. A few stains are being pretty stubborn, but overall I think it's a vast improvement. We're going to go over it all again tonight. We know it was working because when Ron emptied the water into the bathtub it was a dark brownish-gray color. We're hoping to update light fixtures in the next couple of months too.


Ron picked up a six-pack of Sunset-Wheat when he ran to the store for toilet paper (might be handy while we're there working) and food (we were both starving). Since he was the one dragging the carpet cleaner around there wasn't much else I could do last night. Today and tonight I should be able to be much more productive though...

In the meantime, I am hopefully going to buy a couple cans of paint and do our bedroom and Lucy's bedroom, the ones which we will have to be sleeping in come Sunday night! Yikes! Ideally we will order our kitchen cabinets and counters either today or tomorrow.

Oh - and apparently someone went in before we closed and cleaned up that area of mold that was causing so much drama.

However they failed to go on spider patrol for us. Tonight they meet their fate: the shop vac. There was one hanging from the middle of the ceiling in the downstairs bedroom (which didn't have a working light) and I only caught a glimpse of it when the light from the window hit it just right, as it was dangling in front of my face! Yyyyyeech! Don't worry Kelly, we'll have them all cleaned up before you ever have to sleep down there! (Anonymous quote: "WTF is that?! Ohmigod, I would totally move!")

I have to say I'm excited about this new place but the big move on Sunday is starting to worry me. Luckily we won't be doing it ourselves, because we're having some friends come over to help load the truck... I SHOULD be worried about how the heck Ron is going to back that thing into our driveway...

Lucy's Halloween Costume

"I'm Crazy Desitin Arm Girl! Now give me some CANDY!"

Someone better get this...

On a Lighter Note

I wanted to add a funny photo of Lucy to take the edge off my blog. That last post was quite a rant. Thanks for putting up with me.

Pincher Bug

I took some more pictures of Lucy today, out in the backyard (where there is more wide open space for her to take steps and crash to the ground...). When reviewing the photos, I noticed that she almost always has her fingers in a "pinch" position while she is trying to walk. Maybe it helps her concentrate. I don't know - but it's funny.

Sneak Peek

This is the Problem. This kitchen is about 90% non-functional. Check out the dishwasher. Imagine you are standing at the sink. Now open the dishwa... Not so fast! You just opened it into the side of your leg! Well, I guess we could wash dishes by hand in the sink there - except the faucet sprays everywhere BUT in the sink basin. Not even getting into the filth that I believe is living in the 1986 oven (which I understand can be cleaned, but I think we're going to upgrade) and the generally dirty cabinets. The stove top fires up (yay) but other than that, there isn't much that can be done in here. Therefore we're scraping together to redo the entire kitchen. It will be laid out more wisely and look a lot prettier.


Here's another one: the main floor bathroom has 3 - count them, THREE, different kinds of flooring! Why narrow it down to one, or even two? Well, we're going to take the leap and replace all three of them with one simple sheet of vinyl flooring. Hopefully we don't have to wait too long to update this room. The walls are going to be painted a light grayish purple color, and we're of course going to invest in a shower curtain. The best part of the bathroom: TWO SINKS! We get ready for bed at the same time and I have learned that two sinks would be very beneficial to our marriage. I included another view which shows the awesome brass cover plates and hardware, as well as the 2nd door to the bathroom which connects to our master bedroom.

We have a lot of work to do - every room needs help. Cleaning, painting, and decorating will make a difference in the majority of the spaces, but the kitchen/great room is going to be a big project. We're hoping to maintain patience and sanity. If we take our time we will do a better job and not "burn out" from the work. I'll be posting more photos as we get things done.

Lunch at the Grill

This morning I met my old friend Lindsey at the Rainbow Grill for lunch. She had her daughter Lola (almost 21 months) with her, and I of course brought Lucy. It was nice to see her and actually get to talk one-on-one. Last time I saw her was a little over 3 years ago at a friend's wedding shower, and we didn't talk at all while we were there. I have known Lindsey as long as I can remember and I like the idea of becoming friends again, even after we had drifted apart for quite a while. She lives in Hudsonville, which is where we are moving, so maybe we will have to get together... It seems like everyone lives in Hudsonville!

Anyway, when they were house shopping a year or so ago, she and her husband actually checked out the one that we are buying! They passed on it, due to the amount of work required to fix it up. I just think it's funny that they were in our house before - and that's another reminder of just how long it was vacant / for sale.

52° and Partially Crazy

I just decided to clean out our bathroom drawers - we have so much junk! I have body sprays, lotions, jewelry I haven't thought about in ages, half-empty tubes and bottles and all kinds of things I just chuck into the trash can without thinking about it for too long. If I start to spend time pondering whether or not I want to discard my last 2 droplets of some perfume, or some old lip gloss, I might start to feel guilty - and that is when I get going with perhaps my strangest habit: personifying inanimate objects and worrying about whether or not they will get to fulfill their destiny. Like that perfume was made at the perfume factory long, long ago. It has sat patiently in my drawer believing that one day it would be chosen for a special occasion. It must - otherwise it would have been thrown out by now, right? Then one day the giant hand appears and reaches for it, lifts it out of the drawer, and - could it be? Just as that perfume gets its hopes up, it finds itself in the trash can with all the other unwanted toiletries. It makes me sad. I know it sounds crazy, but I do this with everthing from un-popped popcorn kernels to the last square of toilet paper. In my mind I know they don't actually have thoughts and feelings, but something in my heart starts to convince me otherwise, and I can't shake it. I guess I really don't like to be wasteful!

New York, London, Paris, Munich...

... Everybody talk about Pop Musik!

Just got this e-mail from U2.Com

It was billed as a 'sci-fi disco supermarket' and it was a rock'n'roll tour like no other. You had to see PopMart to believe it... and now you can.

This week U2's 1997/8 'PopMart' world tour is released on DVD for the first time - live from Mexico City.

And at U2.Com we've just launched a dedicated site celebrating all things PopMart including a twenty minute live audio webcast of the Rotterdam show, the press conference where the band announce they are 'taking the Lemon' to Sarajevo, a behind-the-scenes road diary and a gallery of exclusive shots from on the road.

The DVD comes in a Standard 1-disc format, featuring the concert, and a Special Limited Edition 2-disc format, the 2nd bonus disc containing unreleased live audio and video material, including documentaries, a PopMart tour visuals montage, and DVD-ROM extras.

Everything you need to know including the complete tracklisting.

I am lucky enough to say that I have gone to several U2 concerts, including one show of the PopMart tour - October 31, 1997. Halloween. Pontiac Silverdome. Smashmouth was the opening band, and they were awful! Awful! However, U2 was amazing (and maybe just in my 16-year-old mind it was just so surreal to see tiny Bono out there on the stage... the mirrorball lemon...). We were astounded by the giant screen and all the other drama and huge-ness of it, and afterward we were all yelling at each other in the car on the way home, trying to speak over the ringing in our ears, about how "awesome" it was. I'll never forget it, and although I have been known to put in the VHS from time to time, it's going to be muuuuch nicer to have it on DVD with all the extras (cuz you know I'm getting the Special Limited Edition 2-disc format...) It comes in waves, but I'm still a U2 nut.

Switched Again!

So, our assertive and awesome Realtor got on the phone with some different people and put the heat on, so our close date wouldn't keep getting pushed further and further back. Now, we are officially scheduled to do a split-close this Friday at 4:00 PM. That way, the buyers of our house will fill out their papers at a time convenient for them, and we will fill ours out at a time convenient for us! From what I understand this is fairly common. We will then close on our house in Hudsonville next week, sometime (17th or 18th). At that point we will have possession and get to start cleaning, painting, moving things in, and so forth! We will also have the ability to order our cabinets and get some new appliances, switch plates (ours are brass too... what the heck!), and other little details... which we will take as they come. We're not going to be able to do it all at once, but we want the main / messy stuff out of the way before too long, since by the end of the month, we will have to actually LIVE there!

Parks and Brown Pants

I brought Lucy to a couple of parks today to take some photos of her. The weather was nice, and there were some cool clouds in the sky. I dressed her in brown pants because I knew there would be plenty of dirt involved. Smart thinkin', huh? Anyway, the session ended when Lucy spat up on her sleeve and we headed home for her to take a nap. The wind really got whipping while we were at Heritage Park, and I thought it might even rain... And watch out for those ducks and geese - they come after YOU!


More Here

What's Another Few Days, Then?

UGH Our Realtor called and told me that the close date is going to be pushed back a little on our house (Taft) because the buyers have some weird stuff going on with their loan... so to make a long story short, we're not going to be moving quite as soon as we thought. We'll close on our houses sometime next week, and as much as this stuff annoys me, the good part is that we have more time to get things packed and sort through whatever we might want to throw away or give to Goodwill. I just can't wait for this process to be behind us, and pushing the date back is prolonging it even more. It seems to stress me out, and I hope that our next place turns out to be a home we'd like to live in for a long time - so we don't have to do this again anytime soon! I know my sister has moved more times than anyone. Anyone. So I can't complain too much. I'm just starting to really understand how much STUFF we can fit into our basement...

Fragile

Last night, unfortunately we received some truly sad news. Our friend went into early labor (19 weeks) Friday night, and lost her baby. Her daughter was born alive and although her time on earth was short, she will be a very important part of their lives forever. Her water broke a few days earlier and they were doing everything they could to prevent labor, knowing how tiny the baby still was - during that time, they gave her the name Lily Jane, a delicate flower that needed to grow and be protected. I cannot imagine what they are going through, and of course have no idea what I would even say to them right now. No words can make their pain go away, and we all feel helpless in our desire to make them feel better. I have a lot of feelings that all seem to contradict each other - about knowing that someday their lives will go on, even though right now they can't even begin to think about that. I also feel strangely guilty that we have a healthy daughter and theirs was lost... while at the same time feeling immensely grateful and lucky that this didn't happen to us. It's so confusing to feel sad, hopeful, guilty, and thankful all at once.

I was fortunate to have a very smooth pregnancy and labor & delivery. We are blessed with a healthy child. Looking back, I think I took it for granted how easy I had it, and I am sorry for doing that. Sorry also to be Debbie Downer, but I felt like mentioning this, because it's on my mind.

Frog's Hollow

This afternoon, Ron, Lucy, and I went out to eat at Russ', and then decided to continue our evening by driving around. We meandered over by the new Metro Hospital (opening September 30) and found Frog's Hollow, a cute little playground for kids. No one was there! How could no one else know about it? The weather was nice... Anyway, we had the whole place to ourselves for a while, but before too long a few more kids showed up to play, which intrigued Lucy somewhat. We even ran into a former teacher (with her husband and daugther), and a current teacher at GHS. Anyway, I took plenty of photos since the sun was out and Lucy was having so much fun...

So Much Can Happen During Naptime...

I am FINISHED with the scrapbook of Lucy's first year. Well, really it's a photo book, and does not include any other mementos. I keep that stuff in her baby book. Anyway, I am going to leave a couple of blank pages at the end for the rest of September and also to include photos from her birthday party.

In the process I have a huge mess of "snipits" on the dining room table, and the floor surrounding. I will pick them up, but I had to hustle up here and blog about it first.

It is nice to have that done and out of the way, and I am going to really try to do a couple pages a month. Then I can take my time and do an even nicer job, and it won't seem like such a daunting task.

Ron is expecting me to put in the same effort for child #2 when he or she comes along, and of course I agree that's only fair... but I imagine it's easier said than done, right? Okay, time to pick up my mess.

Stop Sign?

I am driving down Taft, on our way back from visiting Grandville High School, and as I am about to pass a cross street, I see someone running the stop sign! I honk and she slams on the breaks, luckily in plenty of time. There is full visibility from her side and no reason she wouldn't have seen me coming... my headlights are even on (all the time automatically). She would have hit the driver's side of my car, which is of course the side Lucy is on in the back seat. I'm not a perfect driver, but I think it's pretty insane to blow through a stop sign... but at least she didn't hit me. Rant complete.

365 Portraits

I just stumbled upon an awesome photography project site that is so inspiring! It is called 365 Portraits. He's not the first to do this type of project, but according to Thomas Hawk (linked under photography blogs), he's the best. Here's an explanation:

I'm Bill Wadman, a New York-based photographer who after completing my first 365 Project, and then a weekly 52 Project, has taken it upon myself to shoot and post one portrait every day of 2007. The photo will have been taken that day, and each day will be a different person. Some will be in the studio, some will be in the wild. Hopefully they will all be interesting.

I added it to my links so that I can visit each day. I'm tempted to go back and search throughout the entire year... maybe when I'm really bored.

*Note, I stumbled upon one or two nudes, so if you're at work and afraid of getting busted, watch out. Nothing pornographic, but I wanted to give fair warning...

Another First!

Today Lucy got her first tattoo. I know she's not quite one, but I figured she was ready. She went with a gray and white kitten on her left shoulder/bicep. She thought it would show her tough, but feminine side. She didn't cry at all while she was getting it, because she's so hard-core. Here's a close-up:

Creepy Puppet Book

When going through stuff in the basement a while ago, we discovered this book from Ron's childhood. It was in his stuff, but it seems oddly familiar. Kelly, didn't we have some like this, with the holographic cover? I think we did... Either way, we set it aside for Lucy's enjoyment, and today I found it again and put it on her bookshelf.

Anyway, the illustrations are really photos of puppets with eyes that are solid color - not like human eyes - which I find quite disturbing. This one is all about how to tell time, and the things these two puppets do throughout the day at various times.

Here they are enjoying their creepy supper at 6:00. Notice the puppet knives they each are holding. Is this not a recipe for nightmares? Of course, today when I set Lucy free to "read" (pull off the shelf and flip through) all her books this morning, what was the first book she went for?.... you guessed it!

Ready to Move!

Put In Lucy's Room

Last Minute Scrapbook

As unbelievable as it seems, Lucy is turning ONE in less than a month! Since I have taken so many photos over the past year, I have decided that NOW is a good time to put them into a scrapbook. Nothing fancy - I'm keeping it simple to save time and money - but I already got several pages done. I just ran out of glue-stick, so I am stopping until I can get more.

It's going to be nice to have a book of her first year to set out at her party, and hopefully people will enjoy watching her grow up "in pictures". We still have not had professional portraits taken of her, and I'm thinking we should consider getting some - I think at least once per year, around her birthday, would be good (and when she starts school, those school portraits will be timed closely enough to keep it going).

I have completed about 2-3 months of her life, and at that rate, it should only take me a week or so to get it done... then we'll see if I can keep up on it (not likely!).

Last Night of Crazy

Last night was officially the last night that Ron could stay up late and have fun and not have to face teenagers the next day. We had our friends over to have dinner, etc. - one of whom is also a teacher at the high school, so she also made the most of her final evening of summer vacation. We had some good food and drinks, and some very interesting conversation about everything from babies to theories about the existence of aliens. They had the privilege of witnessing Lucy in ultra rare form - one of the screaming-est nights of her life. She is the loudest baby I've ever heard. Not a competition we'd like to win, but we were all quite impressed by her powerful lungs. After I got her bathed and she had her last bottle of the day, we gave her her "lovey" (pink bear) and then she started smiling. She fell asleep quickly and didn't wake up despite all the loud laughing and talking.