Ten + on Someday

1. Laney came home from school the other day beyond excited to tell me that Liam has a crush on her. I asked her what does he like about you and she said, "because when I drew a house, it didn't have a roof." Innocent love.

2. Matthew is getting more vocal every day (for the good and the bad). One day he stole a half bottle of my spark and wow, that was a very vocal day. He was running around kicking everything. lol. He will repeat almost anything and loves to say hi to his friends. He is very stubborn though and if it isn't done his way, then you are wrong and he lets you know it (back to the vocal part). Here he is in Kohls throwing one of his many fits. I don't know what it is about that store but he always throws a fit there.

Dramatic much?
Look at the other shoppers...they were even used to his fits by this point.

3. Ella is doing great in first grade. Continues to be in speech and although didn't qualify (test wise) for reading help, there was an extra spot so we grabbed it. She loves this time and the students are jealous when others get to work with a special helper :)

4. Laney & Ella finished up their ballet and tap last week. I was honestly excited. Although they enjoyed it both were ready to be done and try something else. They had come a long way in their 15 weeks of classes but both have asked to do gymnastics. I have them in softball in the spring now that Ella is done with basketball. Jason has signed up to coach.

5. We booked a trip for Spring Break to Gatlinburg. A huge thank you to my parents for booking this for us as we were able to use some of their time share points. We were able to get a 3 bedroom deluxe which is fabulouso. We have done 2 bedrooms before but it is a little challenging. 3 will be great. We are going to be there Monday-Friday...now to figure out some things to do down there :)

6. AdvoCare has kept me very busy these days but the pay off has been great. I have a wonderful team of leaders in Cincinnati and feel blessed to have this opportunity. I love that my income averages out to what I made as a part time RD (with child care costs). Our friends, Troy & Jen, just hit Ruby which pays $80,000 a year. I share in their excitement! And boy do they deserve it!

7. The basement, the basement, the basement...is almost done! This week is the week for carpet. I am so incredibly glad to have a company here to do it all. They guys pop up every now and then with a question but other than that, are just down there working. What a great group of guys and I am thinking I might actually miss the activity they bring. But then again, when I am sitting in my warm basement, drinking some wine from the bar, I am sure I will be glad they aren't there..lol.

8. My best friends from college and I are headed to Indy in a few weeks for a reunion. We have 10 kids between us so it is tough to find a weekend that works for us all. I love girl time!

9. Ella sold over 200 boxes of girl scout cookies. A big thanks to my mother in law, Bettye, who probably sold over 100 herself (she was a rockstar). Ella enjoyed learning about sales, sorting money, delivering the goods, etc. She has a great Daisy troop and we were glad to help out. She earned a deck of cards, water bottle/bag, and a stuffed girafffe (I think??). We will be manning a cookie station at the Krogers in a few weeks :)

10. Matthew had a black eye and we kept asking him how he got it. When I first asked him, he said, "Laney did it." The second time I asked him, he said, "Ella did it." So J took a shot at it. Matthew told Jason, "trash can. bang, bang, bang (with corresponding punches). " Not sure if that was true but funny nonetheless.

11. As I was picking Laney up from school, her teacher pulled me aside. She said, "Laney told me something about you (always scary words to hear from a teacher...these kids know too much AND say too much). She said you give her a gift each day. But when I asked her if this happened  was every day, Laney said to not tell you." Hmmmm Laney...tryin to fool the teacher?

12. Ella's most frequently used saying is, "I have to tell you something." No matter what she is going to say, the first thing out of her mouth is, "I have to tell you something."

All from December (finally got around to adding them):

13. To go along with that Ella has come out with the saying, "I don't understand what you are talking about." Like on 12/31, Jason and I told her, "See you next year." We tried to explain that tomorrow was the next year but she just kept saying, "I don't understand what you are talking about." We then talked about snow. She asked, "When we will get snow?" Jason said, "Next year." You know what came next....."I don't understand what you are talking about."

14. Another funny school story from Laney: As we were driving home I asked her how her sharing day was. She said it was great and that everybody loved her trophy (which was mine from good ol' 1988). She then said she was the only one who didn't bring in their stocking. I thought to myself, how did everybody bring a stocking...coincidence? Oh no, I went to the calendar and saw that it said sharing day: bring your own stocking. I was cracking up because here everybody had stockings and Laney showed up with my trophy. Laney was loving it though. A+ mom, right?

15. Laney saw Santa twice today and the first time she saw him, she sat on his lap and told him what she wanted. She saw him again later tonight, sat on his lap and he asked her what she wanted. Laney said, "I told you this morning. One time is good enough." He said, "You can tell me again." She said, "Nah, you got it."


16. One night when my dad was over, my dad said he wanted to guess her new age. Here is the conversation:
Grandpa: Laney, I am going to ask you questions to guess your age. Do you put your own clothes on?
Laney: Yes
Grandpa: Do you get in bed by yourself?
Laney: Yes
Grandpa (after many more questions like that): You are 5!
Laney: I am Grandpa, now I am going to guess your age. Grandpa, do you get discounts at the movies (yes, my mom and I were giving her appropriate questions).
Grandpa: Yes
Laney: Do you get free drinks at Wendys?
Grandpa: Yes
Laney: Do you go potty by yourself?
Grandpa: yes
Laney: Grandpa, you must be....18!

Week 3

This week was another exciting week in project Basement Completion.

Paint, trim, tile, doors, shelves. Set to finish this coming week with carpet being the last thing on Friday. We might need to order a new banister as the one in stock was not our style but that doesn't really count, right?

Only one side of the basement in these pictures but the other side had nothing major but the paint. The walls are a dark grey and the bathroom is a dark khaki (like our living room and family room).

The knobs, plumbing etc will be put in tomorrow.

The wood on the bottom of the bar will be covered up with tile. 

Sink and toilet to be put in tomorrow as well

We are really excited about the door outside.

Ella was a little too excited....made us rethink this as I am sure when she is 16 this will be a great escape..lol

A visit from friends

Over the long weekend, our friends from Indy, the Sohockis came for a visit. We absolutely love having them visit since all of our kids have a playmate. We met them at the airforce museum in Dayton (which is fabulous if you haven't been...and free!). I wasn't sure how "fun" this would be but the kids ran around for hours. There were hundreds of planes and a few we could sit in. The kids listened during story time and even made a craft (their own satellite).

Amanda and Ella love getting together.

I asked the kids to pose infront of a plane and this is what I got.

Trains...Matthew was in heaven.

Hi Matthew and Aiden. 

I wonder what Matthew is looking at?

My guess was this one....

Ella S and Laney

There were so many planes, in a few different hangers.

They had the planes sectioned off by wars which was pretty cool.

Fun to see how planes have evolved.

Matthew flying

 Outside 

Kicking the tires to see if it works??

The kids all slept well that night! Thanks for coming, Sohockis!

Week 2

Week 2 brought us dry wall and dry wall. Although not as impressive as last week (just because every night last week revealed something new) it is a necessary step :) The installation, mudding and sanding took most of the week and only required us to leave the house for about 4 hours (during the sanding when they have to turn the air off).

Although they were hoping to be done this Friday, the mudding took one extra day. This puts completion at next week. We are in no huge hurry but can't wait to go play down there (it is the warmest room in the house...yay!). Carpet will go in next Friday and then we will be done!

The bathroom (bar will be to the right)

Door straight ahead is to the unfinished part. Door to the right is to the bathroom.

Working on the shelves for the microwave (above) and the refrigerator below.

It's funny when you look at drawings on paper and then see the plans finished, things appear that you just never really thought of.

Yes, I knew there would be a wall to the right of the stairs but I didn't think it would be big enough for a piece of furniture (small chest for games, end table, etc). I was excited to see this!

This leads me to my next thought...I could never build a house....too many decisions. I mean, they wanted to know the ceiling color. I said "white." lol...just too many choices :)

Out the back window

Although we often see a few deer out our window or while we are driving, this time was a whole family. Jason walked out to the deck and the dad stopped to make sure we were friends and then kept on walking. Hearing their hooves on the street is always a riot! You would think we live in the country :)

It is funny to me how tame the deer are around here. Often they are found just standing on the side of the road watching traffic. They are so beautiful, but if you are reading my blog deer,  please stay on the side of the road and be safe :)

Happy Valentine's Day

Jason and I were able to stop in on Laney's Valentine's Day party at school. We didn't tell her we were coming and to see that big Laney smiley when she first saw us made my heart melt :)

Such cute little bags.

The kids each wrote the other kid's names on the valentines which, let me tell you, took forever!

Glad we did it but wow, am I glad that is over...lol

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Laney lost her first tooth!

Laney's bottom right tooth has been loose for weeks. She has played with it often and constantly reminds me that it is loose. Yesterday, the girls were playing dentist in their room. I went in there to find Laney on her back while Ella was reaching a tissue in Laney's mouth, wiggling that tooth. Silly girls!

My parents watched the kids Sunday afternoon while Jason and I had an AdvoCare event. We got a call half way through from my dad telling us the big news (so we knew to be prepared for the toothfairy...wink, wink). When we showed up to get the kids, Laney was uber excited to show us her new smile :)

As the girls were heading to their rooms to get ready for bed, I heard Laney tell Ella, "Ella, no playing with the leapster tonight. We need to get to bed so the toothfairy can come."

The toothfairy did come (thank goodness she remembered as she can be flaky). She brought $3, a heart candy treat (rather ironic from the toothfairy, right?) and fairy dust, aka glitter, was all around her room :)

Father Daughter Square Dance 2012

Friday night was the Father Daughter Square Dance. Ella, her friends and their dads were ready for dinner at 5:15 and then off to the dance by 6:30. What a fun night!

Our neighborhood really lives by the saying It Takes a Village to Raise these Kids. An hour before the dance we were all calling each other asking for hats, skirts, boots, bandannas. But the girls all looked ready for a boot kickin' good time :)

Jill & Ella

Ella was excited to have alone time with Jason and Jason also wanted time with just his favorite first grader. 

What a great night!

Week 1

Today was spray foam insulation day. It was quite a smelly process but luckily only took 3 hours to get it all in. The installer said it is water proof and no bugs can even get through. It already feels really warm down there so I am excited to not have a cold basement :) I have to give a shout out to our neighbor, Amy, who let the huge insulation truck park in her driveway all morning because the reach to her driveway is shorter than to ours (which is around front). She did not mind at all, and it saved the workers a ton of time!

The light switches are all put in, plumbing is 95% done, insulation is done and framing is complete. Monday starts the dry wall process which I believe takes 3-4 days. We were asked to leave the house on the last day of insulation when they are sanding it because they have to turn off the ventilation on the house (or something like that). Mom and Dad, we are coming over Thursday :)

Our insulation is green!

I really wanted the foam to be purple like it is on HGTV (lol) but happy about the lime green :)

Look how clean they keep this place!

I had to take a picture of Jason's office ceiling.

Our goal was to make this as sound proof as possible...lol

Day 2 and 3

Day 2 was another loud day with jackhammers galore. All I heard was a lot of banging (for all I know they could have been downstairs banging on the floor and drinking a beer) but then when I went downstairs I saw the beginning of walls for the bathroom and bar area. I was amazed how much they got done!

End of Day 2. Notice the pole in the middle of the picture. I wonder if we move that? The bathroom is on the left hand side and in front of the green ladder will be the bar.

A funny moment on Day 2: I kept throwing our clothes down the laundry shoot because although we were going to have Ricky move the laundry shoot another direction, the main shoot stayed the same (and he wouldn't be starting that for another week). So our clothes kept going down and down. After they stopped for the day I went downstairs to take the above picture. I found all of our dirty clothes in 2 laundry baskets on the other side of the basement. Why do I have a feeling the plumber kept getting hit with our dirty clothes? I was laughing and so embarrassed! LOL

Day 3:

No more pole :)

Ella and her pole dancing will be saddened (I wish I was joking about that!)

Our new bathroom

The concrete is wet on the left

Ella wanted to put her initials in it :)

The cold and hot water lines are running to the bar

The outside door and then to the left is the framing for the small refrigerator and microwave.

The open door is Jason's office. 

It took me a second to realize this but look how clean the workers leave everything! 

All the tools are in the corner where I am taking this picture. I am impressed they sweep up everyday.

The guys were joking that too much lumber was ordered. 

Jason asked if they could return it and they said sure...but now they have to haul it away, back up the hill..lol.

I am so glad I wasn't here when this pole was taken out.

I told Jason I was worried the house would come crashing down (there are 3 main poles in the basement and this is the middle one). He said it was so loud as they were cutting it out but the house remained.

For the record, they put in a reinforcement in front of the water heater. I guess that puts my mind at ease :)

Today was lighting day and here is Jason's office with the can lights in.

Day 3:

A funny moment: I came home from a playdate and Jason said they changed the angle of the door going into the unfinished space/laundry area. Of course I was fine with that (they are the pros, right?).

 So I yell down to the basement, "Ricky." (that is the head contractor's name).
He replies, "Yes ma'am" I went to HS with Rickey and he is a woping 2 year younger than me so ma'am is not required but I think he likes to do it.
Me: "I heard Jason made a change in the plans without consulting me."
--At this moment, all of the hammering stopped and I had 6 or 7 sets of eyes looking at me (I honestly think they were kinda scared of this 5'5" machine).
--As I walked down the stairs (which were so dirty...and one of the guys even swept them as I walked down), they just stared at me, wondering if I was going to go ballistic.
--I then started cracking up and they all settled down. The 2 framers showed me the change which of course was 100% fine with me. Oh the look in their eyes was priceless!

I can not say enough wonderful things about the many workmen that have been in our house. They are polite, respectful of our space and never come upstairs (there is no real need given the outside entrance) but if they need something, they knock on the front door. They clean up after themselves each day and keep us informed of the progress.

They first estimated 4 weeks but Ricky was thinking 3. I will be happy with 4 :)

Basement Day 1

Today was the day the basement project officially started and start did it ever! I guess this is why you have a building company do these types of projects so they can organize it :) There was a slew of people in and out of the basement (a walk out is lovely for a project like this) from 8 AM on...I loved the progress!

At 7:55 AM this was in our drive way:

By 8 AM the guys were here taking it all downstairs and starting to frame. By 9:00 the plumber was here breaking up the concrete to put the plumbing in the bathroom. This is what I saw for the rest of the day:

So loud, which it was!

I should learn to get off manual on my camera....I love that his feet are in focus but not his head...LOL

Matthew wanted to show his fans he wasn't too upset by the jackhammer :)

In fact both him and Laney took great naps through it (which at times was shaking the first floor).

By 10 AM the tile for the walkout/basement/bar was in my garage ready to be put in.

At 4 pm the electrician was here.

At one point, there were 6 trucks here for our house and as many of you know, we live on a cauld-a-sac and a street with only 4 homes so parking is very limited. And we took all of that parking up :)

Here is how the day started:

And this is the progress from day one--amazing!

This was causing the extremely loud sound!

Can't wait to see what tomorrow brings :)