New Rug

We finally found a new area rug that we liked for the family room. It is SO thick it's crazy. Now in addition to having a dog that sheds like mad, we've got a wool rug that is just as bad!

99.999999999999999999

Percent of the way there!

Front room - check!

Kitchen - check!

check!

and re-check!

The only first floor areas not completed at this point are the bathroom and the front closet. The laundry room will get tiled. All our "real" 1st floor living space is done!

So now the "putting back together" begins. Baseboards, touching up the beat-up walls, moving and removing furniture (Sarah and DZ -we need you!), the purchasing of area rugs (anyone have a Crate and Barrel discount??)
Holy smack, they are beautiful floors!!


So enough with the gorgeous floors already...

Here's my baby-love - at Jen's last weekend. I tell you, this kid really loves his books - and really, really loves other kids' books. This is the stack that accumulated on his lap after about an hour or two of thorough perusing. I love that all our kids love to read.

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On another note...me, Margie, Tara, Lisa, mom, dad, Sarah and my kiddies went to spend some time with our relatives on the east side of town (ones that we don't see very often). Someday, I will devote an entire hour of blogging to the history on this side of our family. The Mexican/Navajo/Spanish side of the family - that is where my kids get their complexion ;)

An interesting FYI - my dad's dad used to ride with Poncho Villa. I have no idea what that entailed, but I assume it was riding around on horses in Mexico...I'll need to do a little research on this!

This is a photo of dad's parents and one of his sisters (Jessie, I think).

First Soccer Game

Ella had her first soccer game yesterday. She did a great job of hustling and even scored a goal! Coach Daddy was very proud of her and the girls. Their team name this year is The Butterflies.

Notice her new soccer cleats - pink and black :)

She looks like such a little tomboy here!

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Justin was up at 5:45 am and was out the door at 6:15 to go play golf - some much needed R&R for him. He's worked his rear off on the floor and has all the hallway and most of the dining area completed. The more that goes down, the more we love it! Today we will work on getting the family room put back together - it's like a great big romper room right now.

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Last night when I tucked Ella into bed, she was so sweet. She had played hard all day with her friends after soccer, so she was exhausted. She wanted to sleep in our bed and we were too tired to put up a fight. As I tucked her in she said "I love to snuggle with you - that's why I like to read books with you and sleep in your bed" and then she kissed me on the nose.
I know why my kids have to be so rotten sometimes - if they were as sweet as they can be ALL the time, my heart would shatter in a million little pieces.

Floor update

The family room floor is one strip away from being completed!!! Tim and Justin worked on it all day yesterday - and we've got Greg, Kevin and Keith helping out today and tomorrow...hopefully we can get the dining area and hallway done this weekend. Man-oh-man, it looks awesome!

Tear out on the dining area linoleum - getting it ready for the hardwood

Speaking of hard floors...Silas wiped out on the concrete yesterday and took one on the chin...

I love...

having someone to walk to school again in the mornings now that Miss Boo is in the big K. I love the back-to-school atmosphere. She is adjusting very well to the new schedule and to getting up early every morning. She is always full of news when she gets home. Yesterday she told me that she made 2 new friends in class - Cloe and a boy (but she doesn't know his name).

This morning Si was still sleeping when I walked Ella to school, so Justin stayed home while I took Ella. As I was coming out of the school, I saw a very sleepy looking Si walking with Justin towards the school. He was still in his Bob the Builder jammies and was wearing his beaded turquoise flip-flops. Justin said he didn't want to get dressed, he just wanted to walk to the school "right now!" I wish I had taken a picture of the goofy boy.

Drama Queen!

Mason got another haircut - the cut from the beach wasn't short enough for him

Siley J.

Here is the current state of my office while we are putting down the hardwood. How can I be productive working in this mess? (I always have an excuse!)

Weekend Outlook:
~ Hope to make major progress on the flooring over the 3 day weekend - it is LABOR DAY isn't it??
~ First OSU game - Go Bucks!!
~ It's my high school 20 year reunion weekend!! How can this be??
Tonight is an informal gathering at Otie's (of course!) and then tomorrow night we will have the official shin-dig at the Buckeye Hall of Fame. I bought a "new" camera on eBay - a handy little point & shoot so I should have lots of pictures as I play with it.

Blood, Sweat and Tears...

Blood and sweat - as Justin hammered his finger and worked his butt off all weekend.

Oh man...what a project. I knew it was going to be bad but in the back of my mind, I was thinking that I was just Thinking it was going to be bad and in real life...it wouldn't be so bad...no, it IS as bad as I dreaded it would be!


So here's our weekend in pictures:

Friday night we boxed things up, moved things out of the family room

Saturday morning the carpet got ripped up - the furniture got moved out.

Ella decided that she'd do some helping in her snazzy little sandals. These are NOT OSHA compliant!

This is the very worst part for me ... the major furniture pile-up. That is where the "tears" come into play.
Ella and Si being silly helpers

After the "helpers" were no longer helping, we went to the James' to hang out - lots and lots of pool time!

Ella and Si were SO tuckered out after hours and hours of swimming.

This is what the floors look like so far - about 1/2 of the family room is completed - actually less than 1/2 - so it's very slow going but they look fantastic!!

Everyone is super tired and Ella had a temp of 102.2 when I put her to bed tonight. Not sure if she has caught a bug or if she is just wiped from the weekend. She'll be disappointed if she has to miss the Big K tomorrow!

How to Impress a Kindergartener

Ella had her 2nd day of kindergarten on Friday (they did staggered starts for the kids the first week). She came home just babbling away about what they did and how much fun it was. She looked at me with the most serious expression and said:

"And Mrs. S wore flip-flops to school today. We went on the playground and she didn't even get mulch in her shoes!!" She was incredibly impressed by that feat! (no pun intended :)

I think it's going to be a very good year for Miss Boo.



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Today we start the HUGE project of getting all the hardwood floors down on the first floor. I am really dreading the entire process. Last night we packed up everything on the shelves in the family room to make the furniture moving easier. I was hoping this would be a 3 weekend or less project...I'm doubting that will be possible with how much work will need to be done! The only thing that makes it all better is envisioning how beautiful it will look when completed. And I'm looking forward to doing a "clean sweep" of each of the rooms in the process.