Pumpkin Patch

For a fun Sunday activity, we met Mike's family out at Schnepf Farms today. We honestly didn't get to do much in the 3+ hours we were there, but we had fun hanging out with the fam...and of course Molly is always fun to hang out with. We got separated from everyone (except Patrick, Sarah, Amy (Sarah's mom) and Molly) when we went to eat lunch. We all thought we were all going to eat...and then we never saw anyone else!! All the bigger kiddos were off watching pig races and riding the rides. It was a beautiful, but hot day...totally worth the 133.2 mile round trip drive and the $$$ it cost to spend a few minutes with those we love. :)

A Few More Before & After (or almost done!!) Shots...

Guest Bath Before:

Guest Bath After:

Hallway (downstairs) Before:

Hallway (downstairs) After:

Entry Before:

Entry (partial) After:

Kitchen Before:

Kitchen After:

Brand Names

I'll admit that I can be a brand name snob with certain items. I'm not saying I have to have everything name brand, but some things I would rather not have if it isn't the name brand.

For example, I wouldn't carry a fake purse...I just don't see a reason to pretend you have a Coach bag, a Louis Vuitton, etc. If you don't want to spend a lot on a purse, there is no reason to spend any amount on a bag pretending to be something it isn't.

I feel the same about Ugg boots. I don't care what boots other people wear...but if I couldn't (or didn't want to) afford Ugg boots, I wouldn't want to pretend I had Ugg boots. I don't care what other people buy, wear, etc...it's just a thing I have. I think pretending to have something you don't is stupid. There is nothing wrong with buying a purse or wallet from Target...so why pretend you have something you don't?

Anywho...I don't normally have a problem using some store brand products. I have recently discovered there are a few products with differences that require the extra few dollars to get the name brand. There are plenty of store brand items that are worthy of being purchased, but the two products I will use for examples are NOT equivalent in taste or quality...

#1 - Contact Solution. Several years ago, my eye doctor suggested I switch from RENU to Opti-free. That was the year that RENU caused all those people to go blind...he thought it was best to switch products until they figured out what the problem was. Obviously, I had no problem with that. Opti-free is a little pricier, but what's a few buck for your eyes, right?

I decided to try the Target brand contact solution about 6 weeks ago...it was SO cheap (about 1/4 of the price, I think.) and I figured it was no big deal. I am here to tell you that YES- there IS a difference and it IS a big deal!! It's the WORST contact solution EVER!! My eyes are always SO dry!! I can usually wear my 2-week contacts for about 4-5 weeks before they "need" to be replaced, but with Target brand solution...I barely make the two weeks!! Ugh. I'm throwing the rest of our first bottle away and the entire unopened second bottle is going with it.

#2- Store brand Graham Crackers. There IS a difference...and the extra money (although quite a bit extra) is worth it!! We don't eat a ton of Graham Crackers...but when we do eat them the store brand ones are disgusting!! Also in this category is store brand cheez-its and anything similar.p.s. There is also a difference between Dr. Pepper and ALL the others that try to copy. No matter what my cheap-a$$ brother says- Dr. Thunder does NOT taste like Dr. Pepper...3-liters at a time or not.

Bar Stools, Baseball and Midnight Movies

Saturday was a busy day, but mostly fun. Richelle and I woke up early and went out to a few garage sales. There are a few items we were hoping to find, but it wasn't our lucky day. We did find Derek the "Indian in the Cupboard" books. I used to love those books and was super excited to get all three in the series. I hope he loves them as much as I used to!! (The gently used patio furniture I was hoping to find for a bargain was not out there...)

Richelle dropped me off and headed to Carsen's t-ball game. We had plans to take care of a few errands after the game, so Sydney drove up so she could join us. We picked up some birthday presents, the two bar stools for our kitchen, and a few other assorted items. We took care of our "to-do" lists and then headed to Derek's baseball game.

Sydney, Mike & I made it there in time for the last 2-3 innings, and were pleasantly surprised to get to watch Derek get to play catcher and to have a turn up to bat. I'm sure everyone knows how much I love my boys...it's so much fun to watch them do what they love. I can't wait to have my own kiddos to be so proud of.

After the game, Richelle, Mike, Sydney & I went to a late showing of "Couple's Retreat". We all laughed pretty hard throughout and had a great time. We were all exhausted by the end of the day and ready for bed. Sydney even stayed the night (our second guest) so she didn't have to drive home with all the drunks...

A Day Of Nothing...or Something

Mike sent me a message on Wednesday evening telling me he had Thursday off...and said I should take the day off too. Since I don't have the pleasure of working a job that ends after a 10-hour shift anymore, I had to decide if I could put off the ever-growing stack on my desk & goof-off all day instead of making endless phones calls, showing photo line-ups, and all the other non-sense that fills my oh-so-exciting day.

It actually wasn't really that hard of a decision to make...especially when the alarm clock went off at 6:15am.

It was a glorious day of nothing. No projects touched or mentioned. No cleaning. We did cook breakfast & dinner, but that's because we wanted cinnamon french toast & grilled cheese.

We lounged around for all of the AM hours...Mike had to get his hair cut at 12:30, so he left for that & I figured it was probably time to get dressed, wash my face, brush my teeth, etc. While waiting for Mike, I was checking out Facebook and saw my friend Peggy's status...about eating white chocolate popcorn from our friend's bakery (Sweets Unlimited). Holy crap- I couldn't stop thinking about that stupid, but oh so delicious white chocolate popcorn!!

When Mike returned, I announced that I thought we should rent a movie & eat white chocolate popcorn!! He laughed, but drove me to the bakery...we bought two bags of popcorn, two cinnamon rolls (for tomorrow's breakfast), a lemon square, a rice krispie treat (for Carsen & co.), & an eclair (the big one). We also got a tour of the "back"...it must have been as fun for me to see Halloween cookie/candy/cake decorating in full progress as it is to play in a police car when you aren't a cop. (Um- can you see how dang cute those mummy cookies are!? The cookies I have decorated (with all my heart I might add) have NEVER looked like that...they are so stinkin' cute!!)


We left with our loot and headed to find food. We stopped at Barro's Pizza (YUMMY!!) and had Chicago (my fav city) style pizza, wings & cherry coke. It was a great lunch...one of our favs.

We headed to Blockbuster and rented "State of Play". It was a pretty good movie with some good twists. I'd say it's worth the $1 red box rental...not Blockbuster raping @ nearly $5.

We watched almost all of the movie, when it was time to pick up Carsen from a birthday party & deliver him to Anthony. Richelle was at a work conference & Anthony was at Derek's ballgame with Jake. I was the most under dressed "mom" there...and felt really out of place. But once Carsen saw me and his eyes lit up- those other mothers coulda kissed my a......well you get the point.

We stayed a bit at the ballpark in hopes to see our MVP, but Derek had just been replaced by the "other" catcher. We stayed for about 25 minutes, but had to get home to make a Craigslist sale...

We finished our movie...made a quick dinner (grilled cheese with Havarti is really good!!) & that pretty much ended the day of doing nothing. Although after typing this...it seems we did quite a bit. Hmm. No chores or projects though...and that's what counts.

Undy Update

Hello All You Procrastinators!!

The Undy 5000 is just about a month away...on Saturday November 21st!! Not very many of you have signed up for our team!! If you aren't able to run/walk, and can donate a few bucks to our team's goal...that makes us happy too!!

Let's get the word out!!

Let's find us a cure for this awful disease & get people screened for early detection!!

I want to order team shirts for us to wear, but can't do so until we have final numbers for the team!! If you plan to sign up (It's $25 to do so), please do soon so we can get those shirts ordered!! We need to get the order in soon to have the shirts here in time!!

Click on the link to join our team!! It's in the right side bar...click the picture that says "Undy 5000".

Ditch Day

Mike's "ditch day" wasn't quite as fun as a Senior Ditch Day would be...OK- his wasn't fun AT ALL!!

Mike & Michael spent about 10 hours digging the ditch to get the electricity to the pond. Neither of them could believe it took so long!!

There really aren't words that I have for this post and the pictures won't do it justice.

I hope Mike knows how much I appreciate his willingness to build the turtles a new home!! I know it isn't the funnest project to date, but it is one that is super important to me.

Thanks Babe!!

Full of Crap

Or at least I wish that was our plumbing issue. It's not. After a third visit from Parker & Sons (trips #2 & #3 were free of course) our issue is finally known...not resolved for good, but at least we know what we're up against.

Trip #1 - Billy cleared out the obstruction. He didn't know what caused the obstruction, or what the obstruction was, but he cleared it and everything seemed to be working properly when he left.

Trip #2 - Ryan came out last night (Sunday) because the bathtub in the downstairs bathroom was FULL of water...and the toilet wouldn't flush. When we had the black water in the tub last week (trip #1), there was a small amount of water in there. I had washed two small bathroom rugs, so the water level in the washer was on it;s lowest setting. Yesterday, I washed an entire load of whites on the highest setting...so you can imagine the difference in the water level that made it to the tub. Awesome. Ryan cleared out the obstruction again, but also scheduled Brandon to come out today to send a camera down the pipe to find out what the reoccurring problem is.

Trip #3 - Brandon came out this afternoon. SO far he's my favorite...although they have all been very nice, helpful, educated about plumbing, etc. Brandon scoped the plumbing from the outside first and didn't see anything to cause concern. So for fun, I took the desk a part and moved it (again) so he could get to the clean out and scope the plumbing from there.

He found a wad (my word) of what appeared to be TP just stuck in there...not super close either. We flushed the toilet and nothing. We ran the bathtub and the sink and the wad moved downstream with the water. Brandon had me flush about 20 pieces of TP down at one time (I thought I might get in trouble) and it also just sat down there.

Brandon explained (much better than I am going to) that our toilets are "builder grade" (which means CRAP) and they are 10 years old. They don't push enough water when flushed to push "solid waste" through the pipes. We don't use the downstairs often, which explains why this took a while to happen...so the paper (or other "solid waste") builds up until there is a blockage. That blockage is causing the water that is trying to drain to go into the other pipes...which is how my washing machine water ends up in my bathtub. Which honestly is MUCH better than my toilet water ending up in my washing machine...right? :)

So, the pipes are all clear...but we will be purchasing new toilets. The toilets are one thing, but the install price is nearly $200 a piece. Awesome. Mike swears he knows how to do it, but he's the only person I've met that isn't a plumber that knows how to replace an entire toilet...so the jury is still out on who will so the install. (He also doesn't like to say he can't do something...even if he can't...love him tho...whether he can do anything or nothing...why do men do this? Must be the Penis...)

Ugh.

We're exhausted.

Plumber's Crack

I've owned my own home for over 10 years now...I've called my dad for many items I wasn't sure how to resolve on my own...I've hired many people to fix things I couldn't figure out how to fix myself or stuff my dad couldn't take care of. In all those years...this is the first time I have ever had to call a plumber.

We had to call a plumber the fourth or fifth day we lived here because we had NO hot water & couldn't get the pilot light lit ourselves. Well...let's be honest. Mike wanted to light the pilot light and since I know very little about plumbing I told him, "good luck!!" and sent him downstairs. I thought I'd follow and learn a thing or two...until he got out the lighter thingy and wanted to LIGHT the GAS water heater...I was outa there!! (I do not wish to die by fire or explosion.)

He couldn't get the stupid thing lit, so the next day we paid a plumber $69 for about 3 seconds worth of work. While he was there...and the money was already spent, he helped us unclog the upstairs guest toilet. Sheesh...already more plumbing problems than I had ever had, but still not so bad, right?

We got hot water...kinda. Okay- not really. We took turns for a few more days on who got to take a hot shower & who had to suffer. I'll be honest- I didn't even take cold showers at Camp LoMia...I cheated EVERY time. This time...I like my bunk mate, so I shared and took my fair share of quazi-hot showers & cold ones too. Yuk. Mark & my dad helped us put a new hot water heater in and now we scald ourselves daily. We should be good to go for 10-12 more years.

THEN...last Saturday night the downstairs toilet flooded/leaked all over the floor...and somehow drained into the tub too. I know...Gross. We walked in the door from getting blizzards and were hit in the face with a nasty mildew smell...after we got it cleaned up, we tried the toilet- it was fine. We look from where the water had come from, but couldn't find anything. We were stumped and tired...and there was no water on the floor so we went to bed.

On Sunday...I was mopping the portion of the floor that wasn't being used by Mike and his dad to re-hang the front door. I mopped the laundry room, the downstairs bathroom, the kitchen, the hallways, etc. Mike called to me in the kitchen and asked if I had mopped the bathroom floor. I said I had...and he asked how much water I used? I was a bit confused...I am new to mopping with an actual mop...so I thought maybe I hadn't rung it our enough before I mopped...and then hadn't noticed an OVER wet floor..??

I walked down the hall still confused...and found that the bathroom had flooded AGAIN!! Holy crap...now I was annoyed. We got it cleaned up...and there was nothing in the tub this time...so we were stumped again. After it was cleaned up...a few minutes later the bathroom was flooded AGAIN...this time was worse than both times before put together. Nobody had even used the bathroom.

Mike got down on the floor and could finally see where the water was flowing from. When the tile was torn out and replaced...the toilet had been taken off and then re-set after the tile work was complete. There was a small area the caulk appeared to be missing from at the base of the toilet and Mike could see water bubbling out.

We were still confused. It took weeks for this to be a problem? And why sporadically? We didn't have any answers, so Mike turned off the water, removed the toilet and called Zach (from the company we hired to do the work).

Zach came out on Tuesday to fix the toilet. Problem solved...or so we thought.

Mike & I ran to Target Tuesday night for about an hour...when we got home we were once again hit in the face with that NASTY smell. AGAIN!! The frustration had officially set in by this point. And for fun...this time the water was BLACK and in the tub & the toilet. We figured out that the BLACK in the water was from the water in the washing machine...I tossed the black rugs from the downstairs bathroom in the washer before we left for Target. Ugh. How did that happen!? The water from the washer...ended up in the toilet AND the bathtub...ugh.

I called my dad...then we called Parker & Sons (they don't have call out fees...same price 24/7). Billy...our plumber...arrived a short time later. After taking apart the desk in the office and doing whatever it is that plumber's do...the problem was solved. We hope it's solved for the last time...

At midnight....after we put the desk back together...and after we learned we could make more money as plumbers (and still deal with $#@& for a living)...and (another) mere $200 later...it was off to bed.

Raelynn's Birthday

Raelynn loves her birthday as much as the rest of us do...she starts talking about her next birthday on October 13th...maybe this year she'll wait until after her party on the 17th.

This past weekend my parents went to a wedding in Yuma, so Raelynn stayed with us Saturday & Sunday. We had a good time...watched some old movies (on VHS) and went for ice cream. On Sunday morning Raelynn woke up and wandered downstairs...she stood near the island and thought to herself for a few minutes.

She finally said, "Ya know what?! Today is Sunday...so tomorrow is Monday...and my birthday is on Monday!!" We high-fived each other and then made pancakes & eggs for breakfast together. She was so excited...she's dang funny when she's so excited.

So...on Monday Robyn, Richelle & I picked Raelynn up and the four of us headed out to lunch to celebrate our baby sister turning the big TWO SIX. However, I'm still trying to figure out how Raelynn can be turning 26 this week...if I'm still 25..??

Out for Lunch

A couple of weeks ago (I know...I'm WAYYY behind) a few of us got together and took Grandma Joyce to lunch. This is an activity we mention doing often, but unfortunately we rarely get to do.

We all snuck away from work and met in Gilbert at Oreganos!! We had such a good time together...and an equally good time sharing pizzookie!!

I love spending time with Grandma...and everyone knows I can't get enough of my sisters!! We need to make this a habit...hopefully we can all sneak away a few more times in the near future.

Season of Change

For our family journal, I want to remember everything we've changed/done since we started, so here goes:

Paint throughout the entire house (four colors- red pepper, macchiato, olive mist & krisp khaki) the trim was also re-painted white. Everything has been painted...even closets!!

The banister was also painted...

All door hardware was changed (from brass to brushed nickel)

BAD tile in the laundry room/downstairs bath was ripped out and beautiful tile was added

The nasty carpet was changed to beautiful (holy crap expensive) carpet (the color is called Travertine)

Every light fixture was replaced (inside and out), unless it was a can light

New faucets in the master bathroom, kitchen, laundry room & downstairs bathroom were installed...

A new kitchen sink complete with a new faucet & new garbage disposal

The water heater needed to be replaced...we are thinking of adding the "instant hot" thing to the kitchen and the master bathroom...it takes FOREVER to get hot water anywhere in this house. It bugs...

Jack (our drywall guy) came by and spent 3+ hours patching holes left by the previous owners (prior to the paint of course) (We love Jack and our painters were also fantastic and their prices were incredible). There weren't any holes from damage caused by anyone on purpose...just regular holes from hanging stuff, holes from adding lighting, changing bathroom hardware, etc.

New towel racks, TP holders, etc were added to each bathroom...the master bathroom is oil rubbed bronze, the other two are brushed nickel.

Misc pool stuff (vacuum, skimmer, brush, & parts for the pump)...I don't think I have any clue what I've gotten myself into with the pool!! I know NOTHING about pools...at least Mike has some clue...otherwise we'd be in big trouble. :)

The weatherstripping was replaced at the front door...the front door is still a work in progress. We are having some trouble getting the door to hang correctly. It's solid wood and HEAVY...and been hanging there for 10 years...not to mention the past 2+ years have been very hard years for this beautiful house.

We ordered our custom screen/security door tonight for the front door...it should be here in two weeks. We'll have to work on ordering the one for the back door...wish our doors weren't so large. Our front door was $300 more because of it's size!! Oh well...totally worth it.

All cupboards throughout the house were wiped down/washed and oiled

The light bulbs were nearly all replaced...

The batteries in the smoke detectors have all been replaced (some twice). Since the house is nearing it's 10th year...some of the smoke detectors may need replacing. At this point we are just replacing batteries...

Two ceiling fans were swapped with ones from the Chandler house (family room and the den/office). The others will have to stay for now. We decided not to do anything to the "baby's room" until we knew what we want to do for the baby...that hasn't been conceived yet. Don't get crazy...we DID pick out which room we wanted him/her in, but just because we are hoping to make that addition very soon.

We ordered all new appliances (range, microwave & dishwasher in stainless). They are beautiful. I was hesitant to order stainless because we have a relatively new black fridge. But Mike really wanted stainless and it wasn't too much more, so we went with it. I'm glad we did...it's so pretty!! (note to self: some times Mikes IS right...repeat 10 times)

All the doorstops were replaced (brass to nickel)

The lighting in the master bathroom was changed/added...

Hardware was added to the master bathroom cabinets

Hardware was added to the kitchen cabinets...knobs to the cabinets and pulls were added to the kitchen drawers

The mirrors were changed out/replaced in the downstairs bathroom & in the master bathroom

The backyard was demolished to build the turtle pond, add some grass, a seating area, a built in BBQ...some of it will come with time...other stuff will be added more quickly.

Both air filters have been changed twice already.

Mike and Trent put in the wood floor in the game room.

I'm sure I am missing/forgetting something...My memory isn't as good as it used to be.

OUR house is turning into OUR home. I couldn't be more thrilled to come home everyday. It has been exhausting, but so fun to do all of these fun projects!! Now we just need to settle in a bit more and then we can have everyone over to enjoy am evening with us in our home. Who knows...maybe for our first anniversary we'll throw a party!? (much, much smaller than last year's November 8th event!!)

(a few) Before & After

Here's a sneak peek at a few projects we've completed...or nearly completed. There are MANY more that I am not quite ready to photograph, but soon...very, very soon. :)

Here is the kitchen BEFORE:

Here is the Kitchen AFTER we moved in, but before anything was put away...there will be an actual AFTER we live in the house picture next time around. You can't really see the sage green wall...but aren't the new appliances, sink, faucet, etc WAY better (even messy)!?

Here is the family room BEFORE:

Here is the family room AFTER we moved in, but still not completely completed...when the picture was taken stuff was just kinda "set" places &/or still in boxes.

Here is the laundry room sink area BEFORE: I am VERY lucky and have a nice laundry room...complete with a lot of cupboards and a sink!!

The old faucet was...well old. And kinda gross.

Here is the new faucet: I found an awesome "bathroom" faucet (4" spread...amazing what you learn about crap like this in a short time) on e-bay...it's the coolest!!

Here is the large niche above the entry way/stair case BEFORE:

Here is the niche AFTER: The huge niche DWARFED my huge, beautiful painting!! Pino is my favorite artist...if I ever have a lot of money...I will have a lot more of his work!! She needs a picture light still...

Here is a picture of the UGLY/dirty/nasty tile...this in the laundry room. This is the same tile that was in the downstairs bathroom. I wish I would have taken more close-ups of the tile...the grout lines were AWFUL!! Not to mention the tile is awful and didn't even come close to matching ANYTHING in the house...

Here is the laundry room tile AFTER: We replaced it with something we wish could be all over the house, but the tile we have is nice and it has our granite inlaid in throughout. So, we just transitioned from the lighter tile in the hallway with the granite. We thought about doing a listello (sp?) using both tiles and the granite, but when the bathroom/laundry room doors are shut, all you can see is the granite. I like it.

Here is the master bathroom BEFORE:

complete with these AWESOME lights!!

Here is the master bathroom after the lighting, but before paint, etc.:

Here is the master bathroom AFTER: We added/changed the lighting, changed out the large one piece mirror for the two bronze mirrors, changed out the faucets, added hardware to the cabinets, paint, all our stuff. I love the bathroom...it is HUGE and it's beautiful. This picture doesn't do it justice.