Emma created these using the box of play-do toys from my childhood! It was fun. (I helped.) We were missing the eyes for the elephant and I suggested beans. Emma countered with "Coffee beans!" So many uses...
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Playdough
Emma created these using the box of play-do toys from my childhood! It was fun. (I helped.) We were missing the eyes for the elephant and I suggested beans. Emma countered with "Coffee beans!" So many uses...
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Saturday, February 11, 2012
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Settling In
Last time I wrote, we were still in demolition mode. Now we've moved in and the house has come a long way. In November, the kids and I drove to Monroe and spent five lovely weeks. We saw Domini, Dave and three kids on the way there. They grew to four kids by the time we passed back through Fort Worth! I was so happy to meet Caroline Elizabeth and Emma was thrilled to be with the Cooper gang again. They are such a happy fun-loving group.
I spent a lot of time marveling at Monroe's natural wonders: trees. I guess I really missed them. Now that we have a big backyard (by our neighborhood's standards), Nick has promised to plant a Southern Live Oak for me. They don't get all sprawl-y here, but it'll be big and shady year-round.
The primary reason to drive 21 hours is to see family, of course. And we had a wonderful merry-go-round of parties and drop-ins. Lots of quiet nights at home, too. We went for walks around the neighborhood and tried out some playgrounds. While we were living it up, Nick was working like crazy trying to get the house ready for moving in before Christmas.
Click on the picture to go to the album.
Gotta go, but I hope to continue this post soon... Life calls!
I spent a lot of time marveling at Monroe's natural wonders: trees. I guess I really missed them. Now that we have a big backyard (by our neighborhood's standards), Nick has promised to plant a Southern Live Oak for me. They don't get all sprawl-y here, but it'll be big and shady year-round.
The primary reason to drive 21 hours is to see family, of course. And we had a wonderful merry-go-round of parties and drop-ins. Lots of quiet nights at home, too. We went for walks around the neighborhood and tried out some playgrounds. While we were living it up, Nick was working like crazy trying to get the house ready for moving in before Christmas.
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| 1-13-2012 |
Gotta go, but I hope to continue this post soon... Life calls!
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Remodel Update
I don't know how to move these around to the right order. But here's Nick taking apart the pony wall between the kitchen and living room. Don't worry, the electrical to that area is off! It's all steel framing so a little different to demo. Basically, he's taking the screws out and dismantling it. More tedious, less dramatic photo opportunity.
Here is the gutted bathroom. All that's left is the wall at the back. It's full of loose fiberglass insulation, so we're going to tackle that another day. The metal wall midway will come down as soon as we are confident it isn't structural! And the large opening leads to Emma's room . It had a pocket door, but will be closed up.
Woohoo!
This is what it looked like before. Very cramped. Too many walls. We're confident it will feel downright spacious in this 6'8" x 11'6" room.
This is the house without tile or baseboards. A very painstaking process that was mostly accomplished by Nick and a couple of guys from the farm. There is still a little thin set to get up. It's a very dusty job. I have a feeling I'll be cleaning thin set dust and dry wall dust for a long time.
Here is the gutted bathroom. All that's left is the wall at the back. It's full of loose fiberglass insulation, so we're going to tackle that another day. The metal wall midway will come down as soon as we are confident it isn't structural! And the large opening leads to Emma's room . It had a pocket door, but will be closed up.
Woohoo!This is what it looked like before. Very cramped. Too many walls. We're confident it will feel downright spacious in this 6'8" x 11'6" room.
This is the house without tile or baseboards. A very painstaking process that was mostly accomplished by Nick and a couple of guys from the farm. There is still a little thin set to get up. It's a very dusty job. I have a feeling I'll be cleaning thin set dust and dry wall dust for a long time.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Pictures of the new house
So, the wait is over and we can get into the house and start tearing it up! My first remodel and I think it will be fun. (Famous last words, right?)
Here's a link to my web album, including a short video. BTW, I didn't edit it, I actually thought I was recording from the beginning.
https://picasaweb.google.com/kshipley3/20110928?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCMW-oe3glPWXSQ&feat=directlink
I just want to mention that it does have a spare room. :)
Here's a link to my web album, including a short video. BTW, I didn't edit it, I actually thought I was recording from the beginning.
https://picasaweb.google.com/kshipley3/20110928?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCMW-oe3glPWXSQ&feat=directlink
I just want to mention that it does have a spare room. :)
Friday, September 2, 2011
It's been a while. All I can remember between now and my last post in June is that Andy and Quinn got married! Since most of you were there, I don't need to tell you we enjoyed the heck out of that week.
In some ways I've used this blog as a way to keep you all up to date on Jack's news, good and bad. I wanted to share each step of the journey personally with you. Now Jack is just Jack and he has a cold right now, like any other sibling of a pre-schooler! We continue to look for a diagnosis, but with a little perspective, I hope, I try. One tidbit is that we are weaning the ketogenic diet. Now we are on a slightly less severe ratio, still formula, and the acid reflux is 100% better. So I know he's gotta be happy about that. I sure am. It was out of control (and gross and so stinky). We are waiting to get an EEG before we go any lower, just to make sure the Infantile Spasms doesn't come back. The diet was our miracle cure, but I'll be so excited when he can sink his new molars into a teething biscuit! Oh yeah, by the way, he's getting those back teeth in and not enjoying it. I expect he'll be off the diet completely in a month.
In other news, we are buying a house! We've been in a nice rental in our neighborhood since we sold the house. I may have mentioned that we decided against building a house. I didn't love the lot we were going to build on. It would have been noisy and not likely to appreciate to the cost of building, so theoretically starting out underwater didn't seem like a brilliant plan. We really really want to live here in Civano. It's so unique, we just can't see living anywhere else. So we were waiting for the perfect house to come up. I wrote a friendly note to four of the best houses in Civano asking if they might consider selling to us. This was Mom's idea, by the way. The very next day, the owner of the best of the four, calls me and want's me to see her place. Three days later, I do, and she already has a "hold" on a house she wants to buy! That's Friday. Tuesday, Nick sees it for the first time, signs the purchase agreement, and we have the inspector through. Crazy fast. Now we are just waiting on the loan to process. Closing is set for September 22. All because of a little initiative! While we wait I am getting really excited about the remodeling. The house has a lot going for it already. What we're budgeting for right away includes paint, floors, trim and the smaller bathroom. Our bathroom needs work too, but it will take some pondering. There's a lot we want to do over time; little things like nicer doors and ceiling fans, etc. The yard is a huge blank canvas. And that's one thing that makes this house so special is the large lot size. Also it has a three car garage and a long driveway; Nick is very excited about that! So, modest house - great outside! Our lease is up Dec 31, so we'll move in right before Christmas, probably as soon as I get back from Monroe. Throw that in there too - The kids and I are driving to Monroe Nov 7 and coming home Dec 7. Nick will fly out for Thanksgiving weekend. Extra long because we are taking the drive over three days, and Nick will go camping with friends one of his weekends alone, and he will get a lot more done on the house with us gone!
I need to go to bed, but I promise pictures will be posted as soon as we can get in the house!
In some ways I've used this blog as a way to keep you all up to date on Jack's news, good and bad. I wanted to share each step of the journey personally with you. Now Jack is just Jack and he has a cold right now, like any other sibling of a pre-schooler! We continue to look for a diagnosis, but with a little perspective, I hope, I try. One tidbit is that we are weaning the ketogenic diet. Now we are on a slightly less severe ratio, still formula, and the acid reflux is 100% better. So I know he's gotta be happy about that. I sure am. It was out of control (and gross and so stinky). We are waiting to get an EEG before we go any lower, just to make sure the Infantile Spasms doesn't come back. The diet was our miracle cure, but I'll be so excited when he can sink his new molars into a teething biscuit! Oh yeah, by the way, he's getting those back teeth in and not enjoying it. I expect he'll be off the diet completely in a month.
In other news, we are buying a house! We've been in a nice rental in our neighborhood since we sold the house. I may have mentioned that we decided against building a house. I didn't love the lot we were going to build on. It would have been noisy and not likely to appreciate to the cost of building, so theoretically starting out underwater didn't seem like a brilliant plan. We really really want to live here in Civano. It's so unique, we just can't see living anywhere else. So we were waiting for the perfect house to come up. I wrote a friendly note to four of the best houses in Civano asking if they might consider selling to us. This was Mom's idea, by the way. The very next day, the owner of the best of the four, calls me and want's me to see her place. Three days later, I do, and she already has a "hold" on a house she wants to buy! That's Friday. Tuesday, Nick sees it for the first time, signs the purchase agreement, and we have the inspector through. Crazy fast. Now we are just waiting on the loan to process. Closing is set for September 22. All because of a little initiative! While we wait I am getting really excited about the remodeling. The house has a lot going for it already. What we're budgeting for right away includes paint, floors, trim and the smaller bathroom. Our bathroom needs work too, but it will take some pondering. There's a lot we want to do over time; little things like nicer doors and ceiling fans, etc. The yard is a huge blank canvas. And that's one thing that makes this house so special is the large lot size. Also it has a three car garage and a long driveway; Nick is very excited about that! So, modest house - great outside! Our lease is up Dec 31, so we'll move in right before Christmas, probably as soon as I get back from Monroe. Throw that in there too - The kids and I are driving to Monroe Nov 7 and coming home Dec 7. Nick will fly out for Thanksgiving weekend. Extra long because we are taking the drive over three days, and Nick will go camping with friends one of his weekends alone, and he will get a lot more done on the house with us gone!
I need to go to bed, but I promise pictures will be posted as soon as we can get in the house!
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