Farmer's Market with Finley (1.75yrs) and Grayson (3.99yrs).

Boo boo

Boo boo

We are still here...

Boy, this moving business is no joke. I seriously cannot believe it's almost August. Oh my.

On the family front, Grayson has now enjoyed one week of dance camp and two weeks of Vacation Bible School. Shushu has been visiting weekly to lend a hand (thank you!) and she even brought Mamaw today for her first visit to the new house. We also got a quick visit from cousins last week for lunch and a bit of playtime. They are coming back next week for more fun.

On the house front, things are coming together slowly but surely. I was out to dinner with some friends the other night, answering their questions of what we were renovating. I made the comment about Justin installing the hardwood floors, to which someone said "I didn't know he knew how to install hardwood floors?" I responded, "Oh yes...he does now". Let me tell you, he also knows a lot of other things. Like how to rip down a cabinet and completely install a microhood...during naptime. And how to knock out a wall, re-frame it, move the plumbing and electrical, and hook up the washer and dryer so we can do laundry. He also knows how to patiently hold up the curtains with and without sheers for his indecisive wife and then proceed to install all of the curtain rods for her. Did I mention he has a day job? In finances? Yes. Seriously. Mr. Fix-It is racking up major points around here.

I have been busy wrangling the kids and trying to get some nesting done. I alternate between feeling like it's looking like home, where pillows and curtains make the den come to life, versus wanting to pull my hair out. Like when I wait two weeks for curtains to arrive and the curtain rod that I had picked out a month ago doesn't reach to the advertised length that I need without falling apart. I am constantly reminding myself that (insert whatever isn't going so smoothly) doesn't matter in the big scope of things. Seriously, it's JUST curtain rods. Reminding myself to be thankful for the millions of things that really do matter and that Jesus is there to fill in the gaps when I feel like it's falling apart. I have to say that here does not feel entirely like home yet, but I know that will change.

On a cheery note, I have been swooning over some decorating blogs that I resubscribed to now that I needed some inspiration for the new space. Let me just say, there are some creative people out there. I've bookmarked about 20 projects to tackle (and plenty more to just drool over), but this was one of my favorites that I wasn't sure I could pull off without spending a fortune on letters. Check out the ABC wall pictures. But then I got the chance to stop in at our good friend's sign business today and venture downstairs to pick out a letter (or two) they had to giveaway from old signs around town. It felt like Christmas morning to this crafter. I was about to jump out of my skin I was so excited. So, if you are local and you need a sign made, go to Bravo. If you want a letter to call your own, like them on Facebook. And yes, as many of you already know, I don't do Facebook (gasp), but Justin halfway does (he at least has a page even if he will never respond to your friend request--gasp again), so he was my "in". Thank you for the letters Matt! More pictures to come when they make it up on our walls. For now, enjoy the family pictures--

Breakfast Dates

--
Justin Smith

And we move again...

Tonight is the night we all sleep at the new house! The carpet was installed Saturday and Charlie and Charlie helped Justin move in all the boxes and furniture from the garage on Sunday (HUGE thank you!). We unpacked the basics on July 4th while Maymay and Peeps entertained the girls at the lake (another HUGE thank you!). Apparently we like to move on holidays as we moved out of the old house (picture below) on Memorial Day weekend. Crazy.

We are loading up our five weeks worth of things today at Toad Hall and the wild wooders are moving on. I'm sure Maymay and Peeps will be finding kid socks and toys and hidden sippy cups over here for the next year.

Things will be quiet on the blog front and busy at the house as we get internet connected, fix the wireless issue on my computer, install ceiling fans, tack up toilet paper roll holders (someone please tell me why these are so expensive), and continue to unpack the massive pile of boxes.

And the fun continues...

"Matchy Matchy" as Grayson likes to say...

Den Sneak Peek

Before...

After...(obviously in process but again, the miracle of paint!)

Kitchen Sneak Peek

Before...

In process with painters...

After!

This qualifies as a sneak peek since there is still much to do here, but isn't it amazing what paint can do? Let me just say, my handy dandy Mr. Fix-It husband (with a little help from some friends here and there) installed those shiny new wood floors. In the whole downstairs. That's a foyer, living room, dining room, kitchen & eat-in area, den, and half bath...lots of square footage. Very impressive DIY skillz I must say. Changes: new floors, new cabinet paint, new cabinet hardware, new wall color, new scraped and painted ceiling. Thank goodness for our painters who ripped off all of the wallpaper and scraped the entire house free of popcorn ceilings. I sure am glad those jobs were not in our (huge) DIY list for this house. Whew.

Summer Update

I finally found my camera cord. Thankfully it was not buried in our garage at the new house, better known as our storage unit, where the DVD that I owe to the library is conveniently still located in our DVD player. Which is packed in a box. Which is packed among lots of boxes. Stacked to the ceiling (sigh). At least I now have the camera cord.

Yes, we moved. Four and a half weeks ago actually. We've been camping out at the grandparents' house, better known as Toad Hall (for those Wind in the Willows fans, that will make more sense). If you know the story of Rat, Mole, Toad and their friends, it will make you laugh that I saw this drawing up on the front hall table here at the house. See here. In the story, all the "wild wooders" like the weasels and foxes and such take over Toad Hall and cause a big ruckus. We ARE the wild wooders. From our piles of sippy cups and wet bathing suits to Grayson's love for stacking cushions into crash piles and Finley's current love of swishing her hands in the potty, the wild wooders have for sure landed. MayMay and Peeps claim they love it. I do know that it will be very quiet when we leave!

Even though we have been renovating the new house like crazy in all of our "free" time, we still have been doing typical summer things. ShuShu has been coming to play once a week, which has been great for all of us. Finley is walking and talking and her hair is so long it's in her eyes. She rips out and tries to eat any clippie to hold it back. Grayson has taken a week of swim lessons, is getting more brave about going underwater, and is in vacation Bible school this week, loving every minute. We've been eating lots of ice cream and we made chocolate covered frozen bananas. We also made 24 sweet potato and raisin muffins (from a mix). The golden retriever ate 16 and had to take "medicine" to upchuck them because raisins are bad for dogs. Pure entertainment for a three year old let me tell you. Wild wooders unite.

Now that I have my camera cord, I will attempt to post in-process pictures of the new house. It has been quite the adventure, one that will continue for a while I'm sure. It's tiring, but good. We hope to be there in a couple more weeks. Here are a few shots that I've captured of some summer fun.

Swim lessons...

Bubble fun on the porch at Toad Hall...

On. The. Go.

More from the sprayground...

Grayson was so excited she could hardly even speak. Finley thought it was better to sit in my lap and watch. This place is a sprinkler system on steroids so their reactions were expected!