Ten Weeks of Summer

So we had ten weeks off from school this summer. That goes for Ely and I anyway... Philly was only able to take off a couple of days. With in those ten weeks we sure accomplished a ton of wonderful things!! Some of those things left bigger messes and some really moved us closer to our goal.

Week #1- Cleaning week. Like a crazy person, I washed every detail of laundry that I could get my hands on and cleaned every room as fast as I could. Then I prepared for the 1st yard sale (we had two) of the summer. That's a lot of work in it's self. It sure was worth it though!

Week #2- #5- Ely's bedroom was transformed! This brought so much relief to all of us. This room was a serious color of peach before we got a hold of it.

We wanted to do something that was really fun for an ever growing, high energy, ten year old boy but, we really desired that the room also fit him in five years. So here is what we came up with... 

Look at the expression on that face! That is Ely's "Woooooow face."

Brown and tan walls, camo curtains and bedding, a huge bulletin board for pictures of family and friends, and some jungle masks themed decor left Ely feeling right at home.

Did I mention the loft bed??? No kidding! Philly whipped this creation out in two days. One day of planning and purchasing material and one day of construction. We surprised Ely with this one while he was out of the house for the weekend. The icing on the cake... a peg board in the fort area underneath to hang all of his army and nerf weapons.

In the middle of the the bedroom redo, I needed a rest so I took a couple days off to spend with Ely. We took a much needed day trip to Kenray Lake. Along for this trip was my friend Michelle's four kids, Gavin, Scout, Jacob, and Joshua. The next day Ely and I had a Mother/son day full of watching movies and reading together.

Two days was all I could handle because my pregnancy brain kicked in and forced me up to work....
Week #5 through present day. (Work in progress. When complete we will update with fresh photos.)

                                                         THE BABY'S ROOM
This is the room that has shocked everyone from the beginning. Absolutely the most overwhelming room in the house!! From the begin of our life here, just walking passed this room made me exhausted and frustrated. Needless to say, it is great to get this project out of the way.
This room was pasted with pink flower wall paper from ceiling to baseboards. I am serious! The CEILING was wallpapered people!! So... many hours of removing sticky paste and finally we were able to begin priming. UGH! We do not ever want to go through that again.

We primed and we primed and we thought it would never end. But boy did it feel great to see that pink disappear!
And finally....

....we were able to put color on those walls! We know how to pick'em too. This room hasn't seen a dull day.

On to the floors. Philly pulled some really nasty carpet out of this room and uncovered beautiful hardwood. So he rented a sander and did as much as possible on his own with several phone calls to a best friend, Tim Ryan. (Thanks for answering all of Phil's phone calls Timmy:) Sanding hardwood is very tedious if you do not have really good equipment so now we are calling in professionals to finish up.




Powder Room floor.

 And on to the powder room...

When Phil removed the wallpaper in the Baby's powder room, the wall crumbled. Several layers of mud later and it is as smooth as a baby's bottom. Hehe, no pun intended.

In the mist of it all we had two nephews down from Logansport. Nick and Luke got to spend an entire week with us! Gavin, Justiam and Jewls got to stay a couple of days too.

Nerf wars, our pool table, ice cream, a journey to Kenray Lake, a morning at the theatre, and a trip to the bowling alley made this week one to remember.

Week #7- There once was a driveway that ran through our back yard, oh where, oh where could it be?

They brought in equipment, cut and busted it up, and drove it away can't you see...
Ok, the real story.... On the hottest weekend in July (106 degrees to be exact) Phil and Landon rented a concert saw and cut through river stone that was 8 inches deep in some spots. Landon hauled off 7 or more loads of our driveway. All of this for the purpose of putting in a swimming pool. Our back yard was in real need of a overhaul. Hopefully the pool will be installed this fall and the deck project will begin in the spring. Things just take longer than expected sometimes. It will all be worth it in the end.

To end the driveway saga right, Philly and Ely got to play in the mud!

Last but not least, the gigantic (3 feet in diameter) stump got mulched up!!! Our second week in our new home a crazy weather storm came through and we lost a huge tree. The stump was in the way of our pool so we hired someone to chip it away for us.That left Phil hauling an enormous truck load of mulch off to the dump.
We have lived here for seven and a half months now and we are finally moved in. These ten weeks of summer where much needed to help us prepare our family for Baby. I think we needed school to start to force us back into a routine and slow us down a bit.
Until next time,
Jen, Philly, Ely, and Baby

6 months and showing- I mean growing!

For the few people that didn't think I was showing.... I am now! No denying this pregnant belly. The transition from month five to six sure did take the baby bump to a whole new level.
I feel great! We will see what the next couple months bring.
The baby is moving a lot and I can just about tell you a timed schedule of baby activity. Seems to be a very predictible child at this stage. This pregnancy has been completely different from carrying Ely, not many similarities.
Though I still crave fruits and veggies, my mind starts screaming for ice cream every night after eight o'clock. Ice cream with frozen berries or with bananas and almonds, sometimes recese cups crumbled on top. It's ridiculous the combinations I can come up with. It's one of  those things that I hate to admit (though calcium is a good thing.)
So we are around three months away from meeting our new family member! The excitment is building and we are rushing to complete as many projects as we can before due day.
If it is possible to begin nesting in the fifth month, I did so. I just can't stop moving.
More pics coming very soon, Jen

August 9th, 2012