Finally!!!!!!

When we moved in our house last December I knew immediately that we were going to have to replace some floors. Let's just say that the previous owner had several pets that were NOT potty trained! Then Rebel couldn't seem to cover up their sent enough times even though we steam cleaned several times. I was completely disgusted! I couldn't stand it and Eric got an earful from me at least once a month about it. He finally gave in after I had saved my babysitting money from the entire summer to pay for the majority of the project. It totally sounds like a teenager, doesn't it? Anyway, when he said OK, I didn't waste any time getting things moving.

Julie's husband, Jason, is in construction and sent me to the place where he buys all of the flooring for his housing projects. I found a "rustic and better" quality solid hardwood for a really great price that was just in my budget. I couldn't afford to do the entire downstairs but I could at least replace the worst rooms for right now. The rustic and better grade of wood is a little more "grainy" looking and has a few more "blemishes" and visible knots then the better grades of floors but I didn't mind. I think it adds to the character of the floors. The color was great so we went with it. Mom and Dad agreed to take the girls for the weekend so we could work. We thought we would remove the old floors on Friday night and then start the install Saturday morning. Jason so delicately informed me that he didn't think we could get the demo done in one night. He was probably shaking his head and laughing to himself as I described our timeline for him. So Eric started the demo on Monday evening.

The foyer, half bath and hall closet had glued down engineered wood floors already. That was going to be very hard to remove Jason said. He suggested we pay someone to do it for us. Eric does not believe in paying anyone for something he can do himself though! After two nights of getting no where fast, I called Jason again and he got a price for having someone take the glued down wood out. It was going to be $400!! Eric became even more determined at that point. He made another trip to Home Depot and bought a different chisel thingy and ripped those things up that night! It was not easy though. I couldn't really help him. I just didn't have the muscle it took to do it. Please, if do not ever use glue to install a floor that is not meant to last for the entire life of a house!!! Then he took out the toilet, put it in the garage and we moved the sink into the kitchen. The carpet was no big deal to remove. I did the two carpeted rooms myself. That just pulled right up. Then I had to get all of the staples out of the floor. It was easier than I thought it would be. Lyla loves to help Eric when he's working. She really gets into it. She spent a lot of time one particular evening helping him pull up floors. Grace helped long enough to have her picture taken. ha ha Lyla is in her panties, of course.
This is the dining room/office. The big circle on the floor is the shadow from the light above. The is the front living room/girls playroom. The carpet was in these two rooms.
After I removed the carpet and staples I swept the floors. I was disgusted at the amount of dirt that was under the carpet pad! I had several piles just like the one in the picture below. The people that built the house didn't bother to sweep anything up before laying the carpet!This is Eric working hard. He'll work till the job is done! No matter what time of night (or morning) he gets done!This is a picture of our family room with everything from the other two rooms piled into it. What a mess! We finally got the felt tar paper down at about midnight Friday night. Jason told us to go buy a special staple gun that would make it easier to staple the felt paper. I did just what he said but when we needed the gun at about 9:30pm Friday night it wouldn't work! Just our luck. Thank goodness Eric had a regular staple gun already. It didn't have enough power to push the staples all the way into the plywood so I had to follow behind him and hammer the staple the rest of the way into the sub floor. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.

Saturday morning I went to Home Depot around 8am to rent the floor nailer to install the wood with. Julie and Jason came around 9am and we got started immediately. They were so sweet to give up their WHOLE Saturday to help us. It would have taken us twice as long if we hadn't had their help! Plus, Jason's experience and knowledge were extremely important for us! Thank you Jason and Julie. I drove Jason crazy all week calling him about every little thing too. He definitely proved his worthiness as a brother-in-law this weekend! He also brought a saw that we needed and a nail gun too.

So, Jason slammed the floor stapler, Eric measured and cut pieces and Julie and I laid out the boards as we went. After a while Jason and Eric switched jobs because bending over and slamming that stapler with a sledge hammer is quite hard on your back. Julie and I also made a few trips to Home Depot throughout the day. Here are some working pictures...

This is Jason...
This is Julie and Eric watching Jason. They really did work too.
This is Julie arranging the pieces so they would be ready to nail into place.This is me, at about midnight Saturday night, still working! Julie and Jason left around 7pm I think and Eric and I kept going. We needed to finish using the rented stapler so we could return it the next morning and not pay for another day of rental. Plus, the girls would be back the next day and we wanted to have it done, for the most part. After Julie and Jason left, Eric put me to serious work. I started measuring pieces, cutting them with the saw and using the stapler and nail gun to put them in all by myself. I told Eric I felt quite liberated! He was working in the bathroom and I was installing wood floors all by myself at the front door! It got a little difficult when I had to cut around vents and "rip" pieces for the last row at the front door and front wall in the playroom. To "rip" a piece means I had to measure it and cut it the entire length of the board. I ended up using three different types of saws, two different staplers, a nail gun and two different mallet/sledge hammer things. Are you impressed? I was quite impressed with myself. It was hard work and I usually complain about hardwork but it was easier than putting in a ceramic tile floor, which Eric and I did in our first house. We finally quit at 12:40am only because we ran out of nails!
Here are some pictures of the finished product. I am soooo happy with how they turned out. Now I'm saving "my" money from babysitting to put floors in the family room and buy some bookshelves and a craft armoire for all of my painting stuff. Hopefully, it won't take another year to get that accomplished.


This week I've been painting the baseboards. We still have to put down quarter round and fill some nail holes. We also have to touch up some spots on the walls where we banged it one too many times. It saved a TON of money installing them ourselves and I would recommend everyone doing it this way. It's hard work but it can be done with some determination. Having fun people to work with helps out a lot! Thank you Jason and Julie!

Pitiful

Eric has grown a garden for many years now. This is the first time he's tried to grow carrots. Here is the result.....

His garden hasn't done very well this year at all. He says our backyard has too much shade or maybe the ground isn't good. Needless to say, we got a good laugh out of these pitiful carrots.

Earrings!!!!!

I finally gave in. Grace has been asking to have her ears pierced for at least a year now. She knows a handful of people, including one baby, that have their ears pierced. Because one of the them is a baby, cousin Brianna, I couldn't use the argument that it is only for big girls with her. I didn't really have a solid leg to stand on. Until now, when she would ask I would just talk about how it feels to have it done and say we would think about it. Then she wouldn't ask again for a long time. But since school started the asking picked up considerably. She was very serious this time. We talked about it for several weeks. We even looked at a video on Claire's Boutique website on how to care for your newly pierced ears. Eric said he didn't see what the big deal was. I couldn't put my finger on it but I just wasn't comfortable with it. Finally I realized that I didn't think she should do it because, quite selfishly, I didn't want her to be grown up. I told Eric one night that I felt like if I let her pierce her ears that she was going to be a preteen now. He thought I was being silly.

If anyone remembers my post last January about Grace's 5 year old shots, you'll remember that it was an extremely unpleasant experience. So, I talked to her about how it would feel. I didn't lie and say she wouldn't feel it. I told her the truth, that it would be a quick pinch and it might feel hot or burn a little after that. I told her that if she cried or threw a fit that we would leave and that I wasn't going to hold her down like I had to for her shots.

She decided she could do it. So, I called several places, including our pediatrician (yes, I'm crazy). Everyone charged about the same price. I called a dermatologist (yes, I know I'm really crazy) to find out what kind of posts to make sure she got. After all of my "research" we ended up going to Sweet 'N Sassy, a hair salon for girls. It's a very fun place for little girls and I had a $5 off coupon. Joni, Reesi and Lyla went with us. When we got there Grace started to get quiet and I was getting nervous she was going to back out. When the stylist came to help us she got nervous and we had to have a moment to talk about it. She said she didn't want to do it. I asked her a few times if she was sure. I told her that this was her chance and if she wanted to wait, we were going to wait until her birthday, in January, to try again. I gave her some time to think about it. After that she didn't say she didn't want to. I was trying to reassure her that she could do it. I told her that if she could survive a hornet sting (that was a couple weeks ago) then she could do this without any problem. She just kept asking me how I knew that she could do it. The stylist and a couple other girls in the salon were very sweet with Grace. They kept coming over every few minutes to check on her and try to reassure her that it wasn't that bad. After about 25 minutes she finally decided she would do it. It's a good thing too, because Joni and I were about to give up on her and leave at that point. But once she decided to do it she was fine.

The stylists came over and we picked out her earrings. She looked very nervous but she didn't freak out. The other girls, Lyla and Reesi, were very interested in watching. They both said they didn't want to do it themselves though. I thought Grace would cry once it was done, but she didn't! Once it was done she just got a big smile on her face. She's been great about cleaning them, or letting me clean them. She loves them and says they're "really cute", which they are.

I keep telling her she's beautiful with or without earrings. I think she's tired of hearing that though. She tells me, "I know, Mom" when I say it now.

My little girl is growing up soooooo fast. Those baby days felt so slow but now that they're gone, they seem like they flew by.

The Incredible Hulk

This is Lyla....

This is my favorite picture!

Last weekend I rode to Atlanta for Laura's baby shower with Stephanie. On the way back we were talking about what our kids were going to be for Halloween. I told her that Lyla wants to be Batman, with a muscle chest! Yes, that is what she wants. She found it at Target and was dead set on batman with muscles but it was way too big for her. The toddler size doesn't have muscles so she didn't want that one at all. I told her I'd have to find it somewhere else. I've been watching Ebay but they're expensive even on Ebay and they're used too! So, she said I could borrow Max's Incredible Hunk costume. The girls loved it, of course. They're so silly. Lyla did her classic muscle arms pose but Grace got a little crazy with her poses and started giving me a little photo shoot. She's so silly!

Grace's 1st Soccer Game

Grace played in her first soccer game a week ago. She only had a couple of practices before the
first game so I was a little nervous about how it was going to go. The third, and last, practice before the game they played three on three just like they would be doing in the game. At this age, they only play three on three so they can have more of a chance to get the ball. When they started playing each other at practice I tuned in to see what Grace was going to do. I didn't know how Grace would do. I didn't know if she would go after the ball or be timid. She answered my questions very quickly though. When the coach called her name she took off out onto the field and went after the ball fast. After a few kicks the other girls were getting in on the ball too so Grace started pushing the other girls! She pushed three girls in a row with two hands to the chest! I couldn't believe it! I started yelling and the two coaches started yelling, "don't push". It was funny but a little alarming. She was definitely not going to be timid! Then when it was her turn to wait on the sidelines she was doing gymnastics, headstands and cartwheels. After practice we had a talk about no pushing and no gymnastics at soccer!

That Saturday was the game but I had to miss it. I was in Atlanta hosting a baby shower for one of my dear friends. Eric video taped the game for me and took several pictures. He said she did great and got the ball several times. She made a few goals, although one was for the wrong team! He said she would get the ball away from the pack but then stop and look around to see where everyone was. By the time she started to kick the ball again, the other girls had caught up with her.

She said she loved playing soccer! I'm so glad she's enjoying it. It's so cute to see her in her little uniform. She's so grown up. Here are some pictures that Eric took at the game.

Too Many Boo-Boos!!!

Tonight was Grace's 2nd soccer practice. We decided to walk and ride bikes to the practice since it's just down the road. As I was putting their water bottles in the backpack I had the fleeting thought, "do I need to take band aids?". No, they'll be fine. We'll be in the grass. I should have followed my instincts.

When we got to the park where practice was Lyla immediately started playing her soccer on the basketball court. I should have known it was coming. Within 5 minutes she had fallen. There was a little blood, but if you know my girls, a little blood surely means imminent death! That's what their screams tell the bystanders anyway. Thankfully, there was a better prepared mom close by that saved the day with band aids and neosporin. It was even a Barbie band aid.

Well, after the fall, Lyla couldn't walk (obviously!) so she wanted to swing. So off to the swings we went. Grace had started practice by this point. About 15 minutes into practice the coach gave them a water break. Grace came running to me to get her drink. When she got about 4 feet from me she fell to the ground screaming (the "I'm dying" scream) and clutching her leg. Evidently, there is a hornet problem at this park that I was unaware of. Evidently, several people were stung by these hornets last week at practice. I didn't know that because I had to leave practice early last week. Well, one of the hornets stung Grace on her calf. She was screaming like she had a compound fracture! Everyone was looking and rushing over to help. In Grace's version of the story, "a hundred people" came to see her. Of course, I had nothing with me. Not even my van to get home quickly! A nice woman gave me ice to put on it. Then a nice man gave us Bactine spray. Then another woman gave us a bee sting wipe that numbs it. Then the coach's wife drove us home. I just left the stroller, our balls, our drinks, Grace's bike, everything, at the park. Eric was just leaving his work so he had to stop at Walgreens and get Benedryl and then go to the park to get the stroller and bike.

Poor Grace didn't even get to practice her soccer. I felt so bad for her. I'm so glad that all of those people had first aid stuff with them. I'm going to stock a first aid kit for my van and never walk to practice again!!!

The First Day of Preschool

Lyla is wearing her favorite jeans (even though it's 93 degrees today) and her new "hot chocolate" t-shirt. It actually says "holding out for the chocolate milk". She loves hot chocolate for breakfast so I had to get this shirt when I saw it at good ole Wal-Mart. Gotta love Wal-Mart!She's showing me her new Spider Man thermos. She loves it!
Reesi didn't want to take pictures!


Andy needed the barrette more than Reesi did evidently!

Ford and Lyla doing puzzles together.
Lyla is obviously telling Ford something very important...see how her head is tilted to the side? That means it's important!
This was our first week at preschool! Lyla and Reesi enjoyed it and both say they love their teachers and classrooms. These are pictures from the first day.