Sunday School

Yesterday our church went back to its non-summer schedule - two services instead of just one, and also the start of Sunday school. On our way to church, I was a bit anxious about whether she would take the other kids' crayons, throw a tantrum, or some other bad behavior, despite our constant efforts to teach her manners (especially not throwing things!). But, I was also excited for her to be moving on to this big-kid stage, and know that things like this always get better and better each time. Lucy is in the group of kids who turn two by December 1 (she turns 2 in less than a month!). We've taken her to nursery for a while now, and she never seemed to be crazy about it. She'd usually frown or cry a little bit, and then slowly warm up to it throughout the hour, playing a little, but not very enthusiastic in general. Well, yesterday she literally dragged Ron by the hand down the hallway toward the check-in table, and after she was given her name tag she took the hand of one of the teachers and marched right to the classroom, never looking back! We were shocked, but very happy, to see her go without any hesitation! Who is this child?

Maybe this age seems late for her to finally be totally comfortable going with someone new, to someplace new, with people she doesn't know, but Lucy has never been a daycare kid so I suppose this kind of thing takes a little bit longer for her to get used to. It was nice not to be distracted by thoughts like, "I wonder if she is crying..." during church. We can't wait to take her again next week! The structure and more stimulating activities of Sunday school as opposed to nursery made all the difference in her mood for the morning.

New Roof

Our new roof was put on yesterday (completed in one day).Here is a photo that shows work while it was going on. We decided to go with a layover (no tearing off the old shingles) to save some money. We had one soft spot repaired, and went with the upgrade type shingle, so it still has the 25 year lifespan... and we saved several hundred much needed dollars.

We are going to do the vinyl siding this fall. The new slider is coming in the next couple of weeks (we want that in before siding goes on). We are replacing a French door that is literally rotting, drafty, and leaking (not to mention we do not like how it opens into the house, whereas a slider stays flush with the wall), and that will improve our energy use through the winter significantly, it was that bad! There are a couple other little things that need to be done before siding (a couple windows, and the front porch). We will be able to redo the back deck next year, ourselves. These major exterior improvements (roof and siding) are the most fun - they don't require US doing the work (and it's worth it!).

Rainy Day

I came home last night from hanging out at my parents' while Ron was at his grad class. I opened the garage door (everything seemed fine), and as I did Ron opened the door between the garage and the mudroom to greet us. The garage door opener (on the ceiling of the garage), apparently had had enough. Two little plastic screws that held something in place finally broke after 22 years. This caused something to come loose, and as Ron was reaching for it to see why it was hanging all goofy, it smashed onto the logic board. Looking up from the driver's seat (I was still in the car), I saw a bright flash and a shower of sparks, along with a loud pop sound. Hence our garage door opener no longer works. Ron called the manufacturer (Chamberlain) and reported the problem and not surprisingly, the model is discontinued and no parts could be purchased. So, at 9:30 PM Ron ran out and bought a new garage door opener, to be installed later today.

I know the rule - plan on something unexpectedly breaking or needing replacement and have a stash of money for just such an occasion. It's not a matter of "if", but "when" something will get fried or start leaking or fall apart. Or as Dave Ramsey calls it, have a "rainy day fund". Well, we try to always be in a position to manage these little catastrophes, but honestly it's easier said than done. Luckily we had an in-store credit from Menard's (from a coupon they honored after we purchased a slider), but we weren't really planning on spending $120 on something so random. Because of plastic screws.

The Roof

Roofing was to begin today. We are also finally getting a much-needed rainfall. Unfortunately those two things don't mix very well. I guess we'll see what tomorrow brings!

School's In

Ron is back to work, his first "real" day with students (he's been back since last week, a few days here and there getting ready, going to meetings, etc.). His schedule is pretty great this year, and we both actually enjoy how much more regular it is than his summer job's schedule. It's still going to be a busy fall since he is taking 2 grad classes for his master's degree, on top of everything else we have going on.

So, here's to another year (his 8th!). I hope it's a good one, tragedy-free, and full of hard-working students with positive attitudes!!! Maybe that's a little bit wishful but you have to start somewhere on day one, and for the most part his students are happy to be in his class. Some things are beyond anyone's control, but good or bad, it will be interesting to see what the year will bring.

Pow - Pow - Power Wheels!

My dad got a deal on two new toys for Lucy from someone at work, and she tried them out last weekend - a little motorized 4-wheeler and a Caterpillar dump truck (more photos on our photo site). She can make them go, but she hasn't quite figured out the steering!And here she is playing on the big dirt pile they had in their front yard last weekend (they are redoing their lawn after a few trees were removed). I guess she's come a long way from the days when she was terrified of sand. She just loves being outside, no matter how miserably hot it is...

Congratulations!

These two are engaged! Heath proposed to my sister over the weekend in Traverse City. We all think he's the perfect guy for her. I can't wait to hear more about wedding plans, but nothing specific has been decided quite yet...

My In-Laws in Grand Haven

Yesterday morning Ron, Lucy, and I took Ron's parents to Grand Haven... they had never been there and we thought it would be nice to show them around a little. We mostly walked along the channel and down Washington where there are plenty of interesting shops to browse around. They really liked it and want to go back someday to see some things we didn't get to. Ron's dad gets quite tired so we tried not to do too much walking. Since we don't have too many photos of us as a group, we made sure to take one. We are in front of the sundial outside of the Tri-Cities Museum. We didn't get any ice cream or Pronto Pups this time around, but I'm sure there is plenty of that in my future - next summer.

Before-And-After Photos

Nursery Before

The carpet was a dark-medium mauve with assorted stains all over. Walls were originally blue sponge-paint (I repainted the room right before we moved in, but I have no pictures of that), with about 3000 tack holes . Apparently teenage boys like their posters. The light switch and outlets were all replaced with white, and the trim, closet doors, and registers were painted white. Also, the light fixture was on the ceiling right in front of the closet. It was replaced with a more stylish one and moved to the middle of the ceiling. The room is a lot brighter now. The new carpet and removal of trees outside of the window also made a big difference.

Nursery After

The walls are re-repainted, and the new carpet is in! The little birds going around the border match those in the crib quilt hanging on the wall above the changing table. We will also hang letters (painted blue or pink?) that spell the baby's name... after we know what that's going to be! These photos don't show every inch of the room, but you get the idea! It is a much happier place for the baby to come home to!

New Trees, New Carpet

Ron is currently planting our two new trees - a flowering crabapple, and a flowering plum tree. Both are quite tall, good sized trees. We bought them from Roark's on Chicago Drive, and they have great deals right now. They are "filling" in some of the space where we had trees removed, but both are kinds that will not get too huge, and they are not being planted as close to the house (we took out 5 large trees, and we're planting 2 smaller trees). Now is the time, from what I understand, to plant trees (any time in the late summer or fall).

Also, the new carpet is in the nursery! I was so grossed out when Ron was ripping out the old, filthy, stained stuff last night. It feels so much better in there, and I know it is clean. It also makes the room a lot brighter. I have to add a little decor, but then I will take a photo and post the before-and-after. It's amazing that it's the same room (although it's not quite the same as seeing it in person, especially if you were ever in there before we redid it!).

I had my 34 week appointment today, and everything is fine (same old same old!). I go again in two weeks, then every week after that. Crazy! At this point the baby would be almost full-length (20 inches give or take) and around 5 lbs. It's head is down and it's still fairly active... and over the past few weeks I've actually noticed a pattern to the times it is most active. At exactly 11 PM every night it starts moving around a lot (more than any other time of the day or night). Maybe after it's born that will be the time he or she is most awake! Great... ;)

Fireplace Tile

This afternoon during Lucy's nap, Ron and I applied the tile surround to the fireplace. There is also a wooden mantle that will be built around it, but this was a fairly big, and fairly messy job that we got out of the way. Putting tile on a vertical surface can be challenging. It took some planning, but we think it looks really cool! We were careful to protect the tile hearth (which we installed last fall) and our carpeting from the mortar. Tomorrow I will probably grout it, and next weekend Ron can continue working on the woodwork surrounding the fireplace... as if we didn't have enough projects going on! I'm not sure how long that will take to complete, but he swears it will be done before the baby arrives! We're going to be using the same tile as a kitchen backsplash sometime (but after today, we're not about to do another tile job anytime soon). You might call this "Extreme Nesting". Wait till you see the before and after on this one...

PS: Go Dathan! 9th Place!!!

I grouted the tiles - there are a couple little spots I will touch up when we do the kitchen backsplash, but for now it will do. This is what the tiles look like (they are 1 inch tiles, six-wide, going around the perimeter of the fireplace):

Baby Birds Border

What have we been up to lately? Well, I've been hand-painting the border in the nursery. I looked for "easy" ways to decorate it and nothing was working out, so I have resorted to making my own stencil of baby birds from the crib quilt (which has a variety of animals on it), enlarging it, and drawing them lightly on the wall, and painting them in the same color scheme as on the quilt. It sounds like a lot of work but it hasn't been that bad. I'm almost done, and I'm pretty happy with how it is turning out. We're really starting to wonder whether it will be a little boy or a little girl who will be enjoying the new carpeting... which is being installed next Wednesday morning! At that point, I will be able to post a photo. ;)

A couple days after that our new roof will be going on, as well as new fascia wrap (in white). It may look strange with our existing siding, or it may look really great. Either way the siding will be redone next year (spring or summer), because it is rotting wood and we want vinyl, in a lighter color. I just can't believe we're going to have a new roof on the house within the next couple weeks!

As for me - 33+ weeks and for the most part I feel really good. I could complain about a couple things, but I'll let Ron listen to that stuff, and not blog about it. It's usually just a way for me to vent, and of course I realize that it is all worth it in the end! This baby is coming within the next month or month-and-a-half so I'm glad we have at least a few more weeks to get some stuff done.

Trees

This morning we had five trees removed, plus a couple large branches off some other trees... plus a couple stumps ground out (we didn't get them all done, we'll deal with them in time). The crew of five guys came around 7:45 AM and got right to work, and didn't appear to take many (if any) breaks until they were finished. They stacked the medium logs for us (we have plenty of firewood now), and chipped up and removed all of the brush. They raked everything clean, and used leaf blowers to clean the street, our driveway, etc. The only evidence that they were here are the big trunks laying on the ground. Many of the trees on our property were here before homes were built in this neighborhood, so they are extremely large. We love all the trees around the houses on our street, and even taking out the ones we did feels weird, but it really was necessary.

Here's Lucy, still in her pajamas with her bed-head. She was a little nervous with all the noise at first!The main trunks were sawed into 8'6" sections and we may try to sell them on Craigslist - since some people like the hardwoods to mill into lumber for projects. If they don't sell, we'll probably give them away because we definitely don't need any more wood. They are too heavy for us to move, but we requested that they leave them here, with hopes of making a little bit of cash. The company we had do this gave us an outstanding deal, and they went above and beyond with the "extras" and cleanup, as well as their speed and general friendliness. They already have another customer in someone across the street! E-mail or leave a comment if you're interested.

The property looks so different after having trees taken out. There are still several large trees all over our property, but removing the ones we did was necessary, since branches were laying on the roof, and rubbing the side of the house. I'll be planting a couple new trees this fall - smaller ones, and not as close (maybe a dogwood, or flowering crab... or something that won't grow to be too huge). We're shooting for the end of this month for getting our new roof on!

32

So here's my big belly in all it's pale glory (I'm not bold enough to sunbathe in a bikini while pregnant... if I were even much of a sunbather in the first place). It seems that for the past few weeks I get a bit bigger every day. It's hard for me to see myself as I really am sometimes - when some people say I look small, but I catch my reflection or look at a photo and think I am huge! I guess I'm somewhere in the normal range, and look similar to how I did with Lucy when I compare photos. At 32 weeks, depending on how you count, I'm almost 8 months along!
I can tell the baby is having it's big growth spurt now, putting on almost half a pound a week (which means I get to gain weight rapidly as well)! At this point he or she is about 4 pounds and close to 19 inches long. It is fully developed and is simply piling on the baby fat at this point. The typical discomforts of pregnancy are here, but thankfully they are minimal. Regularly hoisting a giant toddler probably makes this harder on my back than the first time around. Also, I am almost through my first bottle of antacids. I find myself assuming that the baby will come a tad early like Lucy did, born at 38 weeks 3 days (my due date was/is accurate both times). I know nothing is guaranteed, but it would be nice, wouldn't it!

Frederik Meijer Gardens

Today Ron, Lucy, and I went to breakfast at Perkins - kids eat free on Tuesdays and Thursdays! Then we took Lucy to my parents' house and Ron and I went to Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park. Neither of us had ever been there! We basically just walked around looking at the sculptures and plants - and of course the big "American Horse". I was pretty tired by the time we left, and we were dying of thirst. I took pictures but nothing came out too outstanding. We determined that there were quite a few things Lucy would have loved, and a lot of things she would not have cared about at all! The Lena Meijer Children's Garden would be the place to spend 95% of our time if we bring her there. We'll take our kids to the butterfly exhibit for sure, next spring.

Christmas idea!!! I want one of these for our backyard (probably my favorite sculptures we saw while walking):Also, today is our 4th anniversary! It's weird how quickly the time has gone by, and how many ups and downs have happened in such a relatively short number of years. I have to say, not too many other people would understand (put up with) me and my moods the way Ron does! Not that I'm terrible to live with (neither of us is perfect), but I appreciate having someone who I can trust to love me unconditionally. And occasionally buy me Sour Patch Kids.

My Nephews

Tuesday we visited Ron's sister in Portage (and her husband and kids). We had ribs and chicken on the grill, and hung out at their house for a while before going to a nearby elementary school playground so the kids could burn off some energy. They have almost 3-year-old twin boys, and Lucy kept up pretty well with them. They are (obviously) non-identical twins, and their personalities are equally unique. It was fun to see all three kids climbing things and running around... and I took some cute pictures of the boys, together and apart. I've never had a chance to spend time just taking pictures of them just having fun, and they are at such a fun age. We're only about an hour apart but always so busy we don't see each other as much as we'd like to. I got a couple shots of Lucy on the backyard playset climbing wall, which is not huge, but I was quite surprised at her determination... she actually got all the way up without any help. More Photos from our visit

Birthdays Party

Almost every month my extended family on my mom's side gets together at my grandparents' house to celebrate recent (or upcoming) birthdays and anniversaries. Yesterday was the party for August people. The backyard was the most comfortable place to be, as they don't have AC... yet. It was gorgeous in the shade, and my grandpa keeps his lawn golf-course nice. We had sandwiches and cake and ice cream (or sherbet, which was a nice change of pace), and Lucy somehow managed to leave with a big white stuffed monkey that used to belong to my aunt.

More Photos From the Party

Mellow Yellow

Today my mom took Lucy back to her house after church, and I went to Lowe's and picked out a new gallon of yellow paint. I went home and put on the first coat - it looks a lot better! I will probably go back over it tonight and make sure I cover everything evenly, but I could actually get away with just the one coat. I found a color called "Shiny Silk", which is a slightly warmer (less greenish), very light yellow. It is still a cheerful shade but without the Day-Glo effect. It looks good with the bedding, and I think the baby will like it. I feel much better now.

The room is a disaster with all the furniture in the middle (Ron will have to move it all out of the room, which involves disassembling the crib, etc. in order to get the old carpet out, and the new carpet installed). I'm not bothering to arrange anything and get it set up until after the new carpet goes in... so for a few more weeks it's not going to look very cute. At least my work is almost done...

Potty Girl

Before her bath, Lucy sat down on the potty chair (she was casually asked to, but we didn't sit her on it), and she peed! Yeah! So, she earned a sticker. This is the second time she has successfully used the potty - although the first time was a hurry-and-put-her-on-it moment that wasn't really her decision. So, this might be the first time we can really consider her doing it herself, willingly. Maybe we'll start using more Pull-Ups now.

Blueberries

Ron had the day off, so this morning after breakfast we went to Reenders Blueberry Farm (just south of Grand Haven on US-31) to pick blueberries. I've wanted to go and do this for a couple years, but last year we were too busy getting ready to move. We got there around 9:30 and it was already starting to get hot! There are 650 acres of blueberries there. Every bush is loaded down with so many blueberries, it was hard not to knock some onto the ground while picking them. We left with almost one bucket-full, which ended up being 5.6 pounds (for less than $8.00)!
Lucy was fairly helpful at picking them and dropping them into the bucket, but she quickly realized it was a lot more fun just to eat them right off the bush! As we were both blueberry "rookies", I also learned a few things for next time:

1. Go when it's not blistering hot.
2. Bring baby (or other wet) wipes because some individuals in your party may eat dirty blueberries off the ground and end up with muddy fingers and face.
3. Wear shoes you can hose off.
4. In general, local farm-grown produce is a lot cheaper than what you can get at the grocery store, and probably fresher too!

More photos from today