Weekend warriors

It has been an absolutely beautiful weekend in our area with lovely blue skies and warm temperatures. On Saturday I secured a babysitter and Matt and I spent many hours working on the house. It reminded me of when we were first married and living in Houston remodeling our maiden voyage on this journey of home ownership. You would think we would have learned, but I have very fond memories of that house in Houston and I really enjoyed my Saturday, even if the only thing I did was prep all the trim for painting. The house we are remodeling was apparently owned by a chain smoker who had an OCD obsession with poking holes in things because there was a nasty tobacco stain on all the trim and one million holes in every window, weird. While we were working the guys that we hired to do the tile in our kitchen were finishing up that project, with grand results. I cannot wait to show before and after pictures, it takes my breath away to see such beauty come out of something that was so ugly. I just hope the work shows up well in the pictures. I feel really blessed by the guys who worked on our house. They were fast and fair and did an excellent job. We found them on Craigslist, which can be risky when looking for someone to hire, so I am glad things turned out so well. I think in this society it is becoming more rare to have anyone take pride in their work and do a quality job, so when a craftsman comes along it is easy to take notice. They also were very ready to compliment the quality and skill of Matt's work, so evident in the house, and that made me swell with pride. I like it when other people notice what I see all the time!

So now it is back to the grind. I have my first full schedule since starting my new job. I have been anxiously awaiting having less free time, and now I know I will miss it when it is gone.

Introducing....

Baby girl #2!!!

Matt worked to try and get the pictures to scan and turn out clearer, but this is the best we could do with our scanner and the darkness of the pictures. Originally I had not planned on having an ultrasound, because so many people had told me how fun it is to be surprised and find out at birth. Then I realized...I hate surprises. So my midwife hooked me up with a very cool ultrasound company that offers diagnostic prenatal ultrasounds at a VERY reasonable price. I have to say that this was the best ultrasound experience I have had, they were professional, but laid back. And they really cared about offering a quality service to those without insurance, like myself. Enough about that.

Both Matt and I had been hoping that this one was a boy, because we are going to be done having babies after this and we really wanted a boy and a girl. After the ultrasound tech announced that we were having another girl, I realized instantly that I was super excited about having two girls. Sisters. However, Matt was more disappointed than he thought he would be, and I really sympathize with that. Had the situation been reversed and we had had two boys I would have been sad, too. Not that he does not love his daughter (s) intensely, but there is definitely something to be said for the bond between a father and son, likewise between a mother and daughter. I consoled him by saying that a daughter would have a much better chance being an Olympic weightlifter, because there is way less competition. I am sure he felt better.

So now we are in the process of picking out another girl name. For those of you who remember the last pregnancy, you know this was a really difficult process the last time around. I have found a name that I really like, and Matt is so-so on, which is about as good as it gets for us. We well see what happens, I guess.

As far as the oldest daughter is concerned, Camille had her first shots yesterday. It was horrid, and I am very glad I waited until now to do this. This is not at all a post on my position about vaccinations. As far as that goes I know everyone is doing everything that they can to make to safest decisions for their child as possible, and I respect that. I expect that same respect in return, since I too am trying to make the best decisions for my kids. You love them so much, and all you want is the very best in all situations, when it comes to making the big decisions, like should I inject them with neurotoxins in order to prevent dangerous diseases, there is no easy answer. Matt and I had decided when Camille was only a few months old that we would wait until she was walking and talking before beginning her vaccines. She is well into that stage, and I realized that even though she is not in as much danger from a lot of the conditions that vaccines treat against, the new baby would be, and I did not want Camille getting sick and then getting her newborn sister sick. There is nothing, NOTHING, worse than a sick baby, can I get an amen!!

So we went in and Camille got to big pokes in the thigh. She did really well and I only cried a little bit. She is now vaccinated against pertussis, meningitis, polio, and tetanus. We are going to go in at least one more time before May (when baby #2) arrives for the second round.

I know that something like vaccinations should not be so hard, but they really scare me. It is just another of those instances where I realize that no matter how much I feel like Camille is MY baby, really she is God's. He has given her to me to take care of her needs, but He takes care of her ultimately. I try to convince myself that I am okay with that, but the truth is I beg Him for mercy all the time. It takes trust to a new level, one that I could probably spend my whole life working on and be rattled at every turn.

Okay, this post seems to have rambled on long enough. I am wondering if anyone is reading this blog at all?? We are having major computer troubles, so it has been harder to post than normal, but my goal is still once per week.

Our house...In the middle of our street...

I should start this out by saying that Matt and I LOVE houses. Or maybe I love houses and Matt is just really good at turning something that is near ruin into something beautiful. I am serious, that man has mad skills. This is our second time to do a major home remodel, except this time we bought a house that was not-so-livable (it took my mom three attempts to just walk through the whole thing) and have the luxury of doing some of the major repairs before moving into the house.

I just got home from completing my first project on our house. By completing, actually I mean attempting, because as it turns out modern day wallpaper stripper does not even touch thirty-year old contact paper. I am certain I heard the contact paper laughing as I scored it with the little doo-dad and then tried to un-stick the space age glue with my measly chemical solvent. So, that was my thought, someone suggested renting a steamer, but I doubt water, even very hot water is going to do anything to this stuff either.

It was the first time I had been alone in our new house for any length of time, and it felt nice, and a little creepy. I seriously think some weird stuff went down in this house, seeing as how it was an estate sale (I do not know if the person actually died in that house) and then they had to turn off the water and electricity to try and get the son, who was squatting in the house, to evacuate. Turning off the water and electricity did not work, evidently, and it took over a year to get him out and get the house on the market. I do feel sorry for the guy, but there were ten heirs, and the other nine were really ready to get the brother out. Now, this family apparently had some issues, we found a box of pad locks in the garage, there were SEVEN on the front door. Several of the door jams are broken from the inside, like someone slammed the door so hard, or maybe was 'stuck' inside and hit the jam so hard that it cracked. The were hardcore Catholic, with crosses and and religious cards taped all over the walls, along with some random shopping bags and people cut from magazines. Sometimes, when I let my mind go places I should not I have a odd mix of the scene in Seven where they find the killers scary lair and Psycho with the whole devoted son thing. I try to think happy thoughts after that.

Okay...so why did we buy this house, you may ask, and LOTS of people have. We bought it because it is a stinkin' awesome investment. Houses in the neighborhood sell for significantly more than we paid, and given the right face lift (or maybe CPR and some electric shock is a better medical analogy) the house will be an awesome place to live. We are within walking distance of THREE parks. The house is on a corner lot with great trees, it has a four bedrooms with a den and a living room. We love the layout, the location, and the previous owners even had the decency to remove all the old carpet, for whatever reason. So...this is the list of things Matt the Wonder Husband has done:

1. Scraped all the old popcorn texture off the ceilings

2. Re-textured the ceiling

3. Paint the ceiling

The ceiling was a very involved project

4. Laid 750 square feet of tile

5. Removed a wall between the kitchen and the living room

6. Put up a new mailbox

7. Run wires for new lighting

8. Demo'd the old kitchen removing all the old counter tops and appliances

9. Prep work, Prep work, Prep work

10. Worked a full time job

11. Still been a loving husband and father

My brother Josh lovingly (I paid him a lot) painted the bedrooms for us over his Christmas break.

The things we have left to do before we can move in:

1. Lay wood flooring in the bedrooms and den

2. Paint the Kitchen cabinets

3. Tile the Kitchen counters and back splash

4. Replace two toilets

5. Hang lights in every room

6. Clean the bathrooms and get them usable

7. Paint closets and trim

8. Patch the fence so our dogs stay on their side

9. Replace interior doors

10. I do not know what my deal with lists has been. I think I just find them to be very organizing, and I like that.

At this point I think we are going to sub-out tiling the kitchen, because we are hoping to get into the house in the not too distant future and Matt's work is picking up. It has been REALLY frustrating to be pregnant during this remodel and not be able to help much at all. I have done a lot of the leg work, finding the best deals, scouring craigslist for materials and appliances. Eating bon bons and holding the whip, it has been great. So, here is a very poorly made video tour of our house from about 6 weeks ago, enjoy.

Let's get it started in here...

Welcome to my new blog!!

Please, please do not be cynical about my millionth attempt to consistent with blogging, I really want to do it well, but I think I am just going to be satisfied with doing it at all even if the posts are not fabulous. Once a week is not too much to ask, with the exception of the month of May during which I will be having a baby and the blog can deal. I am in the process of making some major changes that will hopefully make staying committed to the blogging process easier, the first being waking up earlier and the second being moving into a house with an office where I can have some quiet time to write without being in the hubbub of my house. Please feel free to hassle me if I do not live up to my own expectations.

I am feeling particularly nostalgic right now, being that today is the beginning of a new decade and I have nostalgic pregnancy hormones coursing through my veins. I am going to start this blog off with two lists, the first is the major events of last year, the second is my goals for the 2010. I love lists, they make me happy.

In 2009 I:

• Lived in the same house for over a year
• Planted my first garden with my mom
• Neglected said garden and enjoyed the fruits of my mom's labor
• Found a church I love
• Trained for a triathlon, which I never did ( nothing about pregnant and triathlon go together)
• Travelled on an airplane with a baby
• Decided that we only want two kids
• Got pregnant
• Bought a (second) house
• Met some cool people that I would love to get to know better
• Drastically changed jobs, from working with geriatrics to pediatrics
• Fell more in love with my husband
• Made the switch to raw, locally bought milk and paraben free products
• Lost my grandmother
• Watched my daughter learn to eat solid foods, crawl, walk, talk, dance, climb...
• Struggled with the same old things

This year I want to:

• Make real friends
• Have a healthy baby
• Take more pictures
• Blog (!!!)
• Take control of my health for me with no more excuses
• Get organized
• Move into our new house
• Wake up earlier
• Cook more, but easier and better planned meals
• Get a half a cow in my freezer from a local farmer
• Plant a super awesome garden and not neglect it too much
• Play more with Camille
• Walk the dogs
• Create a nice outdoor space for my family
• Send more things in the mail
• Read my Bible
• Keep my car cleaner