The Costumes Are Finally Done!

I finally got them done! It was definately work trying to accomplish this while having the kids every second I wasn't working. I would have to sew when they were taking naps or down for the night. If I put on a movie for them and tried to sew, about 5 minutes later I have a 1 year old on my lap and a 3 year old pushing buttons on my machine saying "What is that mama?" I do have to say I am very impressed with how the mask turned out. I read how to make the mask on the internet and it turned out exactly how they described. I was so thrilled. We were a hit at our ward party. So many people were stopping us to take pictures. So hmmmm..... what to be next year.

It worked!

So the Grinch mask worked! I was so excited that I couldn't stop smiling. It was a huge process but it worked! I first made a mold of Adam's face with plaster bandages. I could have poured plaster on Adam's face to make a mold but I didn't want to deal with the mess, didn't want to worry about his breathing and also didn't need perfect detail. I had to lube up his face with Vaseline, wet the bandages and criss-crossed them around his face. He sat there not moving for 20 minutes. Once it dried I pulled it off and poured plaster in that to make a reverse mold. I used this face to sculpt a grinch face with pottery clay. I did this so I knew exactly where the nose and eyes were and it would be a better fit for him. I saw another method where you just paint layers of latex onto the face you sculpted but when I pulled it off it stuck together like a deflated balloon. I was so bummed. I then decided it would be best to make a mold of the grinch face and paint the layers of latex in the mold. I was crossing my fingers that pouring plaster over my hours of sculpting would work because I didn't want to have to sculpt it again. Well it did and I started the tedious painting of the latex layers. I colored the latex green by mixing in the face makeup before I painted it on. The latex dried green and is the exact color of the fur I got. Score! I used baby powder when I peeled it off the mold so it didn't stick together. Tada! it worked. I still have to cut out the eyes and the mouth to fit it to Adam. I am a little nervous about that part because if I cut wrong then I will ruin it.

Halloween Costume Dilemma

So here is the deal. Adam is going to be the Grinch (Jim Carey version) and I am wondering what I should do for his outfit. There is one part of the movie where the Grinch is deciding to go to the town party and he tries on different outfits. One is a lederhosen. Melanie has a lederhosen for when her and Casey went to Austria so I thought it would be funny to use it. The options are to just have grinch in no clothes, in a Santa suit or in lederhosen. The Santa suit would be the easiest because I would make his jacket and hat. Then I would make "fur" pants, and gloves for the grinch part and of course paint his face. For the other options I would have to make a full body suit with more detail but it would be cool looking. I don't have much time since both Adam and I are working full time and I have the kids when I am not working. You know how it is trying to get things done with kids running around tearing the house apart. Therefore I am leaning more towards the Santa suit option. I thought it would be cool to see what people's opinion is. Take my poll to the left or on my facebook page http://bit.ly/zdZ4p
Thanks for helping me out!

Halloween Is Coming!

Looks like everyone else is more on top of it than me this year. Every year, as most of you know, I make our Halloween costumes. I usually start in August so that if I need to order something online or something goes wrong with the production I won't be stressed. The other reason why I start so early is because I like to plan out fabrics to buy when they are on sale and I don't have to pay a fortune. I have been so crazy busy with the kitchen remodel that August rolled around and I haven't even thought of it. Everyone at work kept asking me what we were going to be this year. One night when I didn't have to work they were all trying to come up with ideas and they posted them on Facebook for me. Some said Goldilocks and the three bears. Others said Cinderella or Snow White but none of those really caught my interest. One day I was sitting at a friends house and noticed that Addison's ponytail had migrated to the top of her head and was sitting straight up. I said, "Hey doesn't she look like Cindy Lou Who?" Ah Ha! That's it! I have always debated whether to keep our costumes a secret until presenting them in flesh and blood but I do have a big mouthed sister who tells everyone everything. Plus I would get sick of everyone begging me to tell them what we are so I give in.

Adam will be the Grinch, I will be his girlfriend Martha May Whovier, Addison will be Cindy Lou Who and Landon will be Max the dog.

The one thing that I am concerned about it how am I going to get Landon's one antler to stay on his head. Suggestions anyone? I don't want to attach it to the dog costume because if I need just a plain dog costume in the future or if someone wants to borrow it then I don't have to remake it or take it apart.

So I will post my progress until October!

My Crazy Life

I know that I have been saying that I am almost done with my kitchen for a long time but now I can really say "I am almost done!" I came to the conclusion that I can't do it on my own anymore. My dad took his tools back since he started building the cabin. I still had to cut all of the baseboards but had no saw. I thought, Do I try to borrow a saw, buy a saw or just put the money towards someone doing it for me? I found one of my friends from high school on facebook and he has a tile business. He is doing the backsplash and also new tile in the bathroom. He told me that he had a brother-in-law that is a general contractor and could come finish the doors, paint them and also do the baseboards. SOLD! Everything is taking me ten times longer. I work full time and am with the kids when I am home. I try to get things done when they are asleep but only if I am lucky to get them both asleep at the same time. Mostly I am trying to paint right now. By the time I get the paint out plus all of my supplies and start painting one of them wakes up. I then have to clean everything up and wash the brushes before my 3 years old "helps" me paint. There is a certain moulding around the doors that I want but I had to special order it. It will come in this week and then they can install it. Woohoo! Then I am really done. I do have to do a good cleaning from all of the dust of remodeling. I can't wait until Adam quits his job in November then I will have more time to finish things.

Addison decided to start walking now. I knew that she knew how to walk but she just didn't want to. We would barely hold her by one finger and she would walk fine but when we let go she would just sit down. She still crawls a little bit but now when she falls she will pick herself back up and start walking again. She is kind of bow legged which is a little funny but hopefully it will straighten out the more she starts walking. I think it's her big thunder thighs.

Landon starts preschool tomorrow and he is so excited. He has been asking me everyday for a month if he is going to school yet. He will say things like, "Mom I will take a nap and then go to school okay?" Or he will run, get his backpack and say, "I go to school now okay!" On Sunday morning he even made Adam play school with him.

So I am thinking about going back to work in the ER. I love the babies but I miss the variety of the ER. I am also losing all of my skills. Since we don't use much medications for babies then I forget things. I used to know tons of medications, what they do, how they should be taken etc. Now when people ask me questions about meds I unfortunately say, "I don't know." I applied for a couple ERs so we will see! I have to get recertified in Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) and Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS). My class is this Thursday and next Thursday. I have to review all of the cardiac rhythms and medications to give when someone codes. It's a lot to remember and since I haven't done it in a long time I will need to study. This is one more thing I have to do on top of my crazy life.

I am trying to eat better and lose weight now. I gained about 30 pounds with this kitchen remodel. I wasn't able to cook anything with having no kitchen so I went out alot. I am also going to not drink soda anymore. I had my last soda today. I will let everyone know about my progress. If people know my goal then I am more likely to do it.

Addison's 1 Year Pictures

So I went to picture people and they were actually good today. They didn't make me wait an hour like last time. Addison did not have a good time though. I sat her in the middle and went behind the photographer to make her smile. She got about 2 pictures where she was straight faced and wouldn't smile. All of a sudden she looked all around her and then busted out in the biggest cry I have ever seen her do. She was crying so hard that she was shaking and hyperventilating. So the photographer decided to give us some blocks to play with and stepped out to get her familiar with her surroundings. She played for a while and crawled around gathering and stacking the blocks. Once the photographer came back in she dived towards me and clung on for dear life. What we had to do then was have me sit in the picture and sit her on my outstretched legs and have her play with the blocks. She was still able to be with me but they got some head shots of her without me. She then started warming up, crawling around by herself playing with the blocks but the second the photographer would try to take a picture she would see and dive towards me again. We finally got some good shots so I decided to forgo the second outfit that I brought. The pictures that I posted are from the website so they have that logo on them but atleast you can see them .

Check One More Thing Off My List

So I spent all day yesterday making the shelves for the pantry. I didn't have room in my garage to cut the big sheets of wood down so I had to do it in the hot sun on the driveway. Atleast there was a little breeze. I am so glad they are done. All I have to do is sand a little bit of the edges to make them smoother and to paint it which shouldn't take too long. Now that's one more thing to check off my list. Today I am going to work on putting in the doors. I guess I should atleast have a door on the bathroom since my mother-in-law is coming to visit this weekend. So all I have left is putting up and painting the doors, the moldings/baseboards and tiling the backsplash. I might price out how much it would cost to have someone do the backsplash because I just want this to be done. If it is not outrageous then I will just have them get it done. If it's a crazy price then I definately will be doing it myself. Below are some pictures of the shelves I built.

This Has Been Going On Too Long!

You know that you have been doing this kitchen remodel way too long when the guy at the home improvement store says, "Hey you cut your hair."

So here is the update. I got my refrigerator yesterday and I am so excited. My TV is coming tomorrow and they will install it on Friday. My goal for Saturday is to put the shelving into the pantry so I can start organizing things. Then it is onto the doors and baseboards for next week. Tiling the back splash and I'm done! So I am guessing about 2 weeks.
(Maybe less if I call in sick to work :) J/K)

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

So Landon's favorite book is The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. I decided to make a quilt of the story for him. I do have to say that I got the idea from Michelle Brady's mom. She made a small quilt for Liam and I decided it would be a perfect gift for Landon. My quilt is totally different than Liam's but the concept is the same. I did applique for the pictures and hand embroidered all of the story. I took the actual book, copied and enlarged it to make my pattern. I cut out all of the individual pieces and sewed around it to make the applique. I then hand stitched the lettering because I liked the look of it rather than using my formal embroidery machine to put the letters on. When I was buying all of the different colored fabrics at JoAnn's they asked me what I was making. I told them and the girl said that she saw the dot fabric that is exactly like the book at a particular quilt shop. If you are not familiar with the book in the beginning there is a page full of colorful dots. The fabric was the actual dots from the book. I called the store and they said it was just sold out and they don't know when they will get some more. I was bummed but with my personality I don't take no for an answer. I then looked up all of the quilt shops in Sacramento and proceeded to call each one to see if anyone had it. After calling the 5th store I found it. They said that they just got it in that day and that it usually goes quick. I went and bought it right when I got off the phone. The whole back of the quilt is the dot fabric. It was a perfect find. Thanks JoAnn's Lady!

After much persuasion from family and friends I decided to enter it into the State Fair. I have to turn it in this Friday and if it is one of the winners then they have to keep it for a couple of months to display it in the State Fair. If not they just give it back to me at the end of July.
So here are some pictures. I think the cherry pie is my favorite.

4th of July

So we had a typical 4th of July except for working on the kitchen. In the morning we went to the pancake breakfast at the church. It was nice because we got to see some people that we haven't seen for a while. Oh how I miss our old ward. We had a lot of good friends there and it was so fun. After the breakfast we walked down to watch the parade. Nothing much to it. It was a typical parade but we were laughing saying it seems more like an advertisement parade then a celebration parade. We ended up leaving part way through because we were sitting in the sun and all the kids were getting too hot and grumpy.
After the parade Adam and Landon went swimming at grandma's house while I went back and finished putting the front door in. We also painted some of the baseboards so I could put them in the pantry. The next priority for me is to make the shelves in the pantry. I couldn't do that until the baseboards were in there because it would be awfully hard to reach under the shelves to put them in. Once the shelves are in I can organize the kitchen and just do the rest of the projects here and there. So what is still on my list?...paint and put in the doors, paint and put in the molding for around the doors, paint and put in the baseboards, finish installing the speakers, cover the seats on the kitchen table, make the curtains, and tile the backsplash. Then I am completely done. We are getting our new couch on Monday, our refrigerator on Tuesday and our TV installed on Friday. My dad came over on the 4th and finished installing my faucet, garbage disposal and dishwasher. Thanks Dad! Now we can actually make food in the kitchen and clean the dishes. YES! I thought this day would never come, a functioning kitchen. Check out my little model with our new dishwasher.

So What Do You Think?

I desperately needed my haircut. I have been so busy with the kitchen remodel that I haven't had time to go. I talked to Michelle Wright on Sunday and she said I could come to her house and she would cut it for me. I brought a picture of what I wanted so that she would have an idea. She cut it but her flatiron broke so she said she couldn't style it. My hair gets wavy, especially if I don't blow dry it. Once I left it started drying more and puffing out. I then used my flatiron and it did tame it a little. It still angled out at the bottom like a triangle. I wanted it to round more against my face. I called Michelle and asked her if there is anything I need to do to get it to round more. She said she would come to my house and see if it just needed to be styled a certain way or if she needed to cut off a little more. She did ended up thinning it out towards the bottom so it wasn't a puff ball. It turned out exactly what I wanted. Thanks Michelle! That was so nice of her to come to my house so I didn't have to lug the kids over to her house. The picture that I showed her was Heidi Klum's haircut. Now Adam calls me Heidi. I laugh and say "I wish." I am far away from that body.....but maybe someday right? I have to shoot for something.

I Am So Embarrased!

Today the electricity was being worked on so Adam took the kids over to grandma's house while I got my haircut. Addison was still asleep so I relieved Adam of the kids so he could go to work. I was sitting in my parents computer room talking to Melanie and Landon was in the living room playing. We walked out and noticed Landon was gone. The back door was open so I thought that he just went into the backyard to play on the swings. I went to go check on him and suddenly there was a knock on the front door. It was Charles the little boy who lives across the street with his nanny Amy and her daughter Abby (I am friends with Amy and we go over there to play alot) She said, "I have come to bring back Landon" I looked down and he was completely NAKED! I then found his clothes in the backyard. I guess he went back there took off his clothes and then ran across the street to see if Charles can play. Oh Boys!

Almost Done!

I know I have been saying that for a while but when you work full time and have two kids it takes longer to get things done. The flooring got put in and it only took the guy a day. He was really good and a hard worker. My next door neighbor is a furniture refinisher so he restained my parents old table for me. I just got it back and will have to cover the seats with my red paisley fabric. I painted an accent wall red and started painting paisleys on it. I put my new front door in and it looks great. I did have a casualty though. I whacked my finger with the hammer. It hurt so bad. It is that kind of hurt where you just go, "ahhhh" and it is throbbing. It is so swollen now and it as purple as a grape. It seriously looks like someone just took a purple marker and colored my finger. Next step for me is to put the interior doors in. I am holding off on the pictures because I would like to show the reveal once everything is done. You will have to wait in anticipation. (unless you are the ones that stop by and see it in person)

Kitchen Update

So the granite was put in and that whole ordeal is over. I was so pleased with the service and Emerald Stone and Tile. They were great. I am putting new interior doors in for all of the bedrooms and bathroom. I still have to paint those and install them. I also got a new front door because the one there before made the entry look like a dungeon. The new one has a full glass panel that lets light in but the whole world can't see through to my living room and it has a swirled wrought iron design. I still have to do the flooring, paint the baseboards and molding for the doors and put shelving in my pantry. Then I am done! I was going to do the flooring myself because it is only laminate and everyone tells me how easy it is to put in. I just kept thinking "When do I have time!" I work full time and Adam works full time plus I am with the kids all day. I could probably do it but it would take me a week or two extra since I would only be able to work a couple hours here and there. I am so burnt out this kitchen remodel that I just want it done. I figured it's not worth it and I will just pay the extra money to have someone do it. I did some phone calls and everyone was way out of my budget. I thought forget it. I will just bear through another couple of weeks of chaos. I went to my house to get the mail and get ready for work when the penny saver came. I thought what the heck I will see if there is anyone who installs flooring. There was so I gave this guy a call. He was reasonably priced but I thought "Oh great I don't want to deal with another situation like the granite guy" I asked for some references and so he gave me a couple of names and numbers. I often wonder how people's references truely are. Are they real outside references or are they just giving me names of family members that will say they do a good job? Well I got a hold of 2 of the references and they seemed kind of caught off guard that I was calling them. So obviously they were random clients that he gave me. Both of them said that he does a really good job and that he always was there when he said he would be and that he called when he said he would call. I figured I would go with him and called him to ask when he could start. He said 8:30 in the morning. Yes! It's going to get done quicker than I thought. He said it will be done in 2 days so he will work all day Thursday and Friday. We can probably move back in by the weekend! YEAH!

Granite Moving Along

I tried to call the people that did my parents granite to see if they will cut a new piece for me but they kept saying they would give the person the message and call me back. They didn't call me at all. I guess they don't really need the business. Another nurse that I work with had some granite put in her bathroom so she refered me to Emerald Tile in Rocklin. They came out measured and gave me a quote. I said, "It's a deal!" because I just want it done. They picked up the piece on Friday and said they will install it on Tuesday morning. I can't wait. Then it is the flooring. We can move back in once the flooring is done because I can tile the backsplash and paint the baseboards when the kids are asleep. I am so frusterated because if all this stuff wouldn't have happened with the granite my kitchen would be done by now. It set me back about a month. Well I will post pictures when it is all in.

Just Go To Bed!

My kids never sleep now. We have been sleeping at my parents house because of the kitchen remodel. We would always take them over right when they would wake up so that we could feed them. We figured why keep going back and forth. Landon has been the worse about the sleeping. We put him to bed and he just plays in the room. It is partially our fault because ever since the chaos of the kitchen we haven't been really strict on a bedtime. Last week I put him to bed and went to watch some TV. I checked on him and he was still up at 10pm. I told him to go to bed, sang him a song and tickled his face. His eyes started really drooping and he got really quiet. I slipped out of the room. I went back downstairs to watch TV. It was midnight and I was getting tired so I decided to head to bed. I walked upstairs to find the light on in the room Landon was staying in. I opened the door and got a surprise. He took all of Melanie's scrapbook paper and laid it all over the floor and the bed. Then I saw that he got a hold of one of her orange markers and drew all over both of his arms. The paper was up on top of this tall dresser and he figured out how to get it. There is a porta-crib that was put away so it was in a rectangular shape. He pushed it up to the dresser to stand on it and get the paper. I was so mad for multiple reasons. He was still up at midnight and that he got into Melanie's scrapbook stuff. Thankfully he didn't mess up any of her paper. He helped me put it back and finally went to bed. Saturday we had a little family party for Addison's birthday. By the time everyone left it was 3:30pm. Landon usually goes down for a nap at around 1:00pm. I said he should still go down for a nap but Adam wanted to wait and just put him down for the night. Well 5:00pm comes around and Landon is just melting. Adam takes him up to bed and laid him down to sleep. He fell right asleep. I thought, great now he is going to wake up in a couple hours and be up all night. He never woke up. He slept through the night until 5:00am and Adam made him stay in bed until 7:00am. He just played in his bed, reading books until 7:00am. I guess he was catching up on all of the sleep he has been missing.

Happy Birthday Addison!

Today is Addison's birthday and the 1 year anniversary of my VBAC. (vaginal birth after Cesarean) As most of you know I had a horrific experience with Landon. After my research and also my experience with working in Labor and Delivery I have concluded that there was no medical reason for my C-Section. I didn't have a fever, his heart rate never dropped. It was really just over management from the doctor and the nurse. I was induced with pitocin, had an epidural and the nurse started pushing me way too early. (there are many more things that happened that contributed to my C-Section but I won't go on about it) They said my 8lbs 2oz baby was too big for my pelvis and that I shouldn't even try with my next one because most likely it will be a bigger baby and not fit. I talked to a lot of other mothers who were told the same thing and went to have bigger babies just fine. Being the planner that I am I researched the pros and cons of each situation, C-Section or VBAC. Pros with C-Section: it's scheduled and that was about it. Cons: Blood clots, placental problems in future pregnancies, infertility, hysterectomy, damage to bowel and bladder, hemorrhaging, infection, recovery pain plus potential problems with the baby's lungs and not breastfeeding well. I have to say I have seen a lot of these things first hand at work. Now VBAC Cons: labor pains, don't know when it will happen, uterine rupture (you have a higher chance of having cord prolapse in a normal birth then having a uterine rupture). Cord Prolapse is when the water breaks and the umbilical cord comes out first, gets pinched off by the pelvis and baby's head to cut off the blood supply. This is a true emergency that need a C-Section. Pros on VBAC: less blood loss, with natural hormones the babies breath better, recovery is quicker. (obviously the pros also are that you don't have a chance of all the problems with C-Section)
Well I do have to say my C-Section experience was not bad. I recovered well, breastfed fine but I knew I wanted to have more kids and the risks get higher and higher with each C-Section. I looked into homebirth. I had the greatest experience. My midwives were so good. Soft spoken, gentle, truly cared about me and what I wanted. Addison was born at home, vaginally, 9lbs 2oz, a pound bigger than Landon with no tears at all! It was much easier than I thought. The pain was intense but I wouldn't trade 12 hours of pain for 6 weeks of pain with a C-Section. I felt so empowered after her birth. To have people tell me that I couldn't do it and then to go on and have a bigger baby with no complications was great. Going through what I did with Landon was horrific but I wouldn't change it. I learned a lot about birth, and also about myself. So take that Doctors who said my pelvis was too small!

AHHHHHH!

Ahhhhhh! Is all I can say. So the granite piece is not salvageable. Towards the back of the break it wasn't a clean break. It basically shattered in the back. I guess if I wanted to spend hours putting all of the little pieces together then it will work, but it is just not worth it to me. My mom said that I should call the people that did their granite because they were really good. I will call tomorrow. I just want my life back! I don't ever see anyone anymore, my kids are off their schedule and therefore their sleeping is out of whack. I want to be able to just sleep without dust everywhere and have a meal at a kitchen table. There is one good thing. I was going to cover the brick on my fireplace with stone. I had to grind off the white paint so the mortar would stick. Well it revealed some nice brick that doesn't look too bad. Everyone says that I should keep it and I probably will. The good note is that it cuts down my time since I don't have to put the stone on the fireplace. I picked up my flooring today and so once this granite ordeal is over I can start installing that.

With Kids You Get What You Bargain For

It is so funny, Landon has been into bargaining lately. If he wants something then he will tell me what I want to hear first and then what he wants. For example he wanted to go play in Grandma's backyard on the swings. I said he couldn't because we were leaving to go to his gymnastics class. He then said to me " We go to gymnastics, come home, eat and then play in the backyard right?" Just now he tried to bargain with me. We have these gummy bear vitamins. Well actually they are Melanie's but she has been giving them to Landon. He wanted some just now but he already had some this morning. He then said, "I eat dinner and then have some ok mama?" Nice try Landon. See for this reason I am not an advocate of having medicine and vitamins look like candy. The other funny thing that he does is when he is trying to bargain he tilts his head, talks in a higher voice and nods yes. Good try on the body language persuasion. I then realized that he is learning his bargaining from me. I always say he needs to do something first like put away his toys before he watches a movie, eat before he goes outside etc and that is where he is learning the skill. He even has my body language down to a T. What a good observer.

Don't Take Good Service For "Granite"

***Warning this post is long***

I am so close to finishing the kitchen I can taste it! I can't wait for it to be done. I sick of the chaos of not having a schedule and just having everyone else watch my kids while I work on the kitchen. I just finished painting everything but there are a couple of places where I need to touch up on the ceiling. I got the cabinets in and they look fantastic. I picked out the tile for my backsplash. The flooring has come in but I can't put it in until the stone is in on the fireplace.

So this is what it looks like so far. We put in the ovens and they look great. We still have to cut the notches out of the island granite for it to fit around the posts. The frige is my old frige but I put it the the spot just to see what it looked like. I am going to get a new stainless steel frige when the flooring is done.

So now I will tell you about my horrific experience with the granite. I bought the granite from this place close to my house because I was able to get a good deal. I needed the island edge finished and a opening cut out for the sink. They gave me a name of a guy who usually does it for them. I called him and he said no problem that he would pick up the pieces, finish them and then take them back to the graite place for me to pick up. I left the kitchen plans with all of the dimensions and the sink template with the people at the granite place. He picked them up finished them and then I met him at the granite place to pay him for the service. I paid him and then noticed that the sink opening was cut at the wrong place. I mentioned something to him and he said "Oh no it's right, you were planning on cutting one side so then it will be in the right place." I trusted that he knew what he was doing and then went home. I still kept thinking that it was wrong so I looked at my plans, calculated the inches on where the sink opening should be and concluded that it was majorly wrong. It was only supposed to be 15 inches from the right and it was about 30 inches. I then drove right back to the granite place and told them what happened. They called him and had him come back. He came right over and the first thing he said to me was, "I know where I messed up. I added the inches instead of subtracting. " He then said he would get another piece for me, cut it and get it back to me in two days. I was glad that I didn't have to argue with him that he messed up so I was just going to leave it at that. He then said, "For your troubles I will cut the piece to length and drop the granite off at your house." Well he didn't have it done in two days like he said. When we found the problem it was Saturday. He said he would pick it up on Monday and drop it off on Tuesday. I kept calling him and leaving messages but he never called me back. I then talked to him Wednesday afternoon and he said he hadn't even picked it up yet. He will pick it up on Thursday and drop it off on Friday. He then calls me on Friday and says that the sink template got thrown out and that he needs to pick up the sink and just cut it from the actually sink. He came over picked up the sink, double checked the cabinet measurements and said he would be back at 5:30 to drop it off. He then called me at 3:30, two hours before he was supposed to drop it off, and said I have another job I need to be at and I can't drop it off. I will take it back to the granite place and you can pick it up there. I said that was unacceptable and that I planned on him bringing it to my house. I then asked if he could bring it to be early Saturday morning. He then said no and that he was only doing this as a favor for me. I reminded him that it was his mistake that put me back a week on my kitchen and it was at his suggestion that he would bring it to my house. He said "Oh well I am going to drop it off at the granite place and you will have to figure out how to get it." Then ended the coversation. My dad only had Saturday to finish the granite and so we were planning on it being there. When Adam got home from work we made a plan. We would go to the granite place right when it opened and have some guys from the ward to help carry the massive island piece in the house. Adam made some phone calls and I have to give a shout out to the guys who came over at short notice. Thanks to Adam Laret, 4 missionaries, Bill Freeman, and Nathan Brady. We were glad that you guys were willing to help us out. Well we tried to put the piece in and found out the guy didn't cut it down like he said. He cut the right place for the sink but the faucet hole was off center by half of an inch. We had to take it off and put it down to cut it to size and to top it off the granite broke! AHHHHHH can this get any worse!

My dad said that he has fixed broken granite before and that you probably won't even know it happened. If not then I will have to buy another piece and pay for someone else to cut the opening for the sink. I am definately not going to that guy again!

9 Years So Far

So on April 28th Adam and I had our 9 year anniversary. It's nice because since we got married in 2000 we can always remember how long we have been married. In 2025 it will be our 25th anniversary. Well Adam decided to plan out this anniversary celebration and scheduled a couples massage. I laughed at first because Adam pulls away and gets uncomfortable when people come up and just rub his shoulders. How is he going to do with a whole hour massage? He said that he was doing it because he knows I love massages and he wants to be with me. What a selfless husband I have. So he scheduled it for the Saturday after our anniversary at Mellow Me Out day spa. Our appointment was for Saturday at 4pm but Friday night we both started throwing up with the flu that we got. He called them right when Mellow Me Out opened Saturday morning to cancel. The phone said "we cannot answer your call at this time please leave a message" he then left a message canceling. Later that day we got a message on our answering machine with an annoyed voice saying..."Where are you guys? It's 4:20 and your appointment was at 4. If you don't come we still have to charge you." Adam then called the next day a couple of times to fix what happened and they kept saying "We will call you back" A week goes by with no phone call. I then looked at my credit card statement and they did charge me! I called to fix this and they put me on hold twice for 15 minutes each time. I was furious by then and called back demanding to talk to a manager. I finally did and they credited my card. That is the worse service I have ever had and we hadn't even gone there. Never will I attempt to go there again. Adam chose another massage place downtown and it was nice. My lady was a little fast with the massage but Adam got a girl that was good and he actually enjoyed it. He said it was really relaxing and he would definately do it again. I was surprised. After that we went to the Firehouse Restaurant in Old Sac. I have always heard about that place but had never went there. It is really nice and expensive but fun to do once in a while. Adam got the Filet Mignon and I got the Lamb. Both of them were excellent. Cooked perfectly and the seasonings we great. It was kind of funny but our waiter kept saying, "How are the flavors?" Well it was a much needed night for the both of us. Adam and I rarely see each other now especially since the start of the kitchen remodel.

Interior Decorator Coming Out

So here is the stuff that I have picked out so far. Hope you like it.
There are a lot of pictures so bear with it.

This is the granite I picked out called New Venetian Gold

My main cabinets are knotty alder stained a medium tone with a glaze
(see the darker in the creases)

My island is the black with sanded edges

These are the paint colors. The main part of the living/dining area will be the beige on the left. The arches and kitchen will be the greenish/brown on the right. The maroon is an accent wall in the living room and the offwhite is the molding.

These are my fabrics. The paisley one on top is going to be the seat cushions for the chairs of the table and also some pillows. The bottom plaid fabric is also for pillows and the roman shades for the windows.

This is an idea of what I am going to do for the roman shade in the plaid fabric.

Customized Blog

So I decided that in the abundant spare time that I have(ha ha yeah right) I would change my blog theme every month to fit what was going on. Well in June it's Adam's and Addison's birthday plus it's Father's Day. Hope you enjoy all of the songs and pictures.

Yeah Man, Sheet Rocks!

So we have put up the sheet rock and we will start texturing the walls on Monday. It's getting closer and I can't wait. This sickness has definately put us back on the project though. After the texturing I have to paint. I still need to figure out what colors I want to do. Adam says that he loves the autumn colors that I decorated with before but I am afraid that with the new cabinets my current burnt orange color might be too dark. I was thinking of just going with a neutral beige and then just accenting with fabrics but is that too boring for colorful me? My cabinets are a knotty alder that has a medium color stain and a dark glaze just in the creases plus my island is going to be black with sanded edges. I think I will go to the fabric store and get inspiration there. Suggestions anyone? I cut all of the holes for the in-wall and in-ceiling speakers and ran all of the wires for the surround sound. We are getting built in cabinets made to surround our fireplace and are also going to get a huge flat screen TV to mount above the fireplace. Let me tell you...Rock Band is going to be awesome on our TV and surround sound.

Swine Flu!

My parents house is busting out of the walls with people and now all of us are sick. My sister, her husband and kids are living with my parents now and we are here everyday because our house is in shambles from the kitchen remodel. Well it all started with Melanie getting sick on Sunday. Then on Wednesday night we woke up to Landon throwing up. He got better on Friday and that is when everything else when haywire. Adam came home from work throwing up then it went Mykell, My mom, Addison, Casey and now me. So all at once 6 people were struck with the flu. Lets just say we were glad that my parents have 3 bathrooms. I wasn't feeling right on Friday but I couldn't pinpoint what it was. I had a really bad headache but didn't feel nauseated. I just felt blah. I decided to call into work sick because I have been up all night for the past 2 nights with Landon and I was exhausted. Well good thing I did because in the middle of the night I started throwing up. It is so funny because when I called into work and they were asking me all of these questions thinking that I have the swine flu. I think this swine flu scare is ridiculous. It's just like any other sickness....stay home, wash your hands, stay hydrated. The regular Influenza make millions of people sick and unfortunately some die. Why is the media playing up this to be ten times worse than the regular flu? They should educate people, not cause mass hysteria. Well I will get off my soap box now. The only people who haven't gotten sick from this is my dad and Kaylee. Then again my dad just said...I just don't feel right. Uh oh he is the next victim. So we aren't going to be around people for a while until this passes.

Cabin Fever

So my parents decided to build a cabin for all of us to go up to. It is going to be built up Hwy 80 just past Colfax. They closed on the land and all of us went up there on Saturday to check it out. It is 20 acres and it is great. The main top part is level but then it drops off. Towards the bottom is a river and where the cabin is going to be built is a gorgeous view. You are able to see the view of it in the picture of me and Addison. It is going to be so much fun. It is only a little over an hour away, there are plenty of trails to hike and it gets snow. We are planning on making a playground for the kids, a baseball field and have pool table and ping pong in the cabin. It will have 9 bedrooms so that the whole family could be up there at once. When we got there on Saturday we found out that on the adjacent property there is a couple who is building a cabin also. They have 4 kids that range from high school all the way down to kindergarten. So it would be fun to make new friends for the kids. We checked out the progress of their cabin and got even more excited about our project. We then built a bonfire, roasted hot dogs and marshmallows. I am so excited about it that I told my parents we wouldn't mind being permanent caretakers. I have already gotten ideas on how to decorate it. Once we start the project I will post our progress.

Am I Crazy!

So I thought today...Am I crazy for starting my kitchen remodel at this time in my life? Probably. I just switched from part-time to full-time at work, Adam is working full time, and I watch Melanie's kids 3 days a week for about 6 hours each day. I have been wanting this kitchen for so long that I thought I just needed to make the leap and do it.
There is light at the end of the tunnel though. The electrical is almost done. Most of the drywall is done then it needs texture and paint. The cabinet guy (President Pebbles for those of you who know him) came by today to do some final measurements. He said he would be able to install the cabinets in the second week of May. Then all we have to do is my granite counter tops and the flooring. We are probably about over half way done. I will have to have a "My Kitchen is Finally Done" party at my house. Who's up for it?

It's Comin' Along

Well here is the most recent update of my kitchen. I am excited for it to be done. We still have a lot of work though. The drywall is almost done. We have to finish an archway over the desk window. Move the dining table light, install the in ceiling speakers, install can lights, install the exhaust hood under the island and texture/paint the walls. The cabinets are supposed be done in mid May so we have a deadline to do all of this stuff.

Kids and Pictures

Well today I decided to take a break from the kitchen and take the kids for pictures at Picture People. I rarely see Adam because both of us work full time and have opposite schedules. I work nights and weekends, he works days and weekdays. He is off of work this week to watch the kids while I work on the kitchen with my dad. My dad is a temple worker at the Sacramento Temple and his days to go are Wednesday mornings. I thought it would be perfect to schedule picture time. I made an appointment at 11am. Perfect! Just before the kids naps. Well they didn't get us in to take pictures until noon. An hour after our appointment. I was very annoyed. Picture People is usually really good about not having people wait. The last couple of times I went it has been getting worse. I am almost thinking about going somewhere else.
I did their individual pictures first and then our Easter pictures. Well once we got to the Easter picture part they have had it. When one was smiling the other one was crying. Landon does this funny thing now where if you say "don't smile" then he will smile really big. We thought we would try it for the pictures. He did it but would lose his pose in the mean time by leaning back on dad or uncrossing his feet. Now I understand why people take less and less family pictures when have more kids. If it is this hard trying to get two kids to look at the camera and smile what are we going to do when we have 5 or 6 kids?

New Kitchen Here We Come!

So I have been trying to save my money for the past 3 years for a new kitchen. I finally decided just to do it or it won't get done. My dad is helping me which is nice. I know that it would take much longer to do if it was only me. We did demolition on two walls to open it all up. The layout of my old kitchen was horrible. The refrigerator door would hit the wall every time you opened it, the space in between the cabinets were almost 6 feet. That was such wasted space and it felt like forever trying to move a pot of boiling water from the stove to the sink. I decided to move the refrigerator, get built in wall ovens, make an island, and move the dishwasher. I thought we were done with the walls when we brought them down but my dad suggested that it would look better with arches in them. Even though it was another thing to do on the kitchen I am glad he suggested it. I am posting some pictures to let everyone know how our progress is going.