Thanksgiving

Another Thanksgiving bites the dust. I think I have it the best every year. I get to eat two wonderful meals every year and I don't have to host, cook or clean for the big event not to say that my day isn't coming.


This year as usual we went to the Zientara side on Thanksgiving and as usual my mom went overboard for the us, but this year the kids actual ate some of the meal so there wasn't as many leftovers. So after a hard morning of cooking and slaving over the stove the meal was demolished in 20 minutes and the evidence was cleaned up shortly afterwards. Just when we all want to lie down and sleep, the Andersons/Zientara came over for the second wave of chaos. Zac and Nick were the two terrors with Jayna trying hard to keep up, but this year Zac brought his video games over that calmed them down for a few minutes. Among the rowdiness, Tony made the great escape and tumbled down the stairs not once but three times. Luckily he wasn't hurt. Instead, Tony got a kick out of my mom's Christmas village that had a train that circles around. He and Max spent their time watching the train go around and around and around. Before you knew it , it was time to go home and sleep away the turkey.


Black Friday is a day for me to hide in my house, but for some they like to fury of the shopping. This year Chris braved the crowds to get the deals...on dog food, car parts, and milk. Crazy shoppers I say. I, on the other hand, was saving my energy for another day of eating. This time we made the journey to Ramsey to eat a fabulous dinner at the Herr's. The meal was wonderful and you couldn't tell anything was missing (butter) and my waistline thanks Julie :-) This year was joyful watching the chaos reign. We were lucky this year because Mrs. Turkey came and delivered gifts to the kids. Nick is still playing with his slinky and Chris is still fighting with my van. Let's hope the last month of this year ends on the bright side.

The chef/meal preparer is always under appreciated on days like Thanksgiving so for all that went to the trouble this year THANK YOU. My tummy is full and my pants fit a little tighter now.

Jayna's First Sleep Over

The verdict is in....Jayna's first sleep over was a success. Jayna talked about her first sleep over all day and finally crashed for the night around 7:30. Her biggest comment about her day was about the Macy's display and how Timi couldn't get her car out because the parking ramp bar was broken. I think that might have been the highlight of the trip. If you ask her for more details of her trip to Macy's all you get was there were a lot of people there and Mia cried because of an elf. Not sure what that was about, but I am assuming there were a few elves in the Santa display. Overall I think it was a success but having another kid to haul around is exhausting so kudos to Timi and Joe for taking on that task and giving our little girl a terrific first sleep over. Thanks guys!!!

What We Are Thankful For This Year.

Thanksgiving is just around the corner and for once I am grateful for not having to do any of the planning. I think this year I am very thankful for family. It is a guarantee that we wouldn't be this far on the house without the help of our families. So here are a few more pictures of how the house is coming along.



This first picture is very exciting because it shows the kitchen in the final stages. Chris got the microwave up with the double ovens and now all the appliances are fully functional. The set up looks wonderful unfortunately due to my vertical disability this microwave will probably be use for popcorn only.

The cabinets are getting the final trim pieces on and are looking fabulous, but don't call Chris a carpenter just yet. The under cabinet lights are working too thanks to Tim, and our electrician has to make one more trip down to finish installing the pendant & bathroom lights and hard wire the mechanical room.

The garage is also coming around. Chris finished putting down the tile to the mudroom/area. Besides the mop sink in the corner, Chris will be able to put in the washer and dryer once he gets his grout down. This mud area will be a great space now that the cold and soon snow season is arriving. We will finally have a place to put all the coats and boots.

The piddle little things are getting done but they do clean up the place nice. The bi-fold doors to the pantry and hall closet are getting hung. If you look closely enough to the hall closet, you can see the white door to the mechanical room. I give Tim credit for making Chris see that function doesn't have to triumph over looks. These doors work just as well as they look.

As the season for thanks approaches us, we are deeply humbled by all the support we have received from our families and all I want for Christmas is carpet :-D

Update

I had to brave the scene and see what happen, and here is the picture to show you what happen. The hole you see is a view of the wirsbo and if you look closely enough the low voltage wire that would allow the bedrooms to have TV, Cable, and Internet access has pierced a whole in the tubing. It is a bulls eye!!! It is difficult to think about because Chris even tested this tubing as the cement was being poured. Now Chris will have to figure out how to do a patch job and let Tim patch another hole in the wall.

I knew the mechanical room is where all the magic happens in a house but it is hard to believe all that has to fit into it. Just from the picture, you can see all the piping that has taken place to get the boiler and water heater hooked up and there still is more to go in this small place. Plus there is still the make up for the furnace, air conditioner and all the wires and the panel in this little six by six room.

On a better note the kitchen is looking wonderful. The back splash is on the wall and under the hood is finished also. It looks wonderful and is really bring the kitchen together. We have a few more lights to hang and the pendant lights AND the microwave. Wow, once you start to think about it the Ands can go on forever.

I guess like the saying says...what doesn't kill you will only make you stronger.

Are you serious????

When you think things are going okay another curve ball is thrown. I am hiding in the old part of the house right now because today was suppose to be the day we got the wirsbo started in the addition. Chris spent all day working on getting the boiler and water heater set up and at 9:00 tonight he started filling up the system. He found a few leaks, but were able to fix them with a few turns of a wrench. Unfortunately I heard drip, drip, drip and looked in the garage and saw that water was leaking from the smoke detector hanging from the ceiling. Hmmm, "Chris there is water coming down out of the smoke detector?" "SERIOUS!!!" We ran upstairs to see the floor wet by the wall between the back west bedroom (parents room) and the bathroom. Now I am hiding and hearing a lot of banging.

How easy is it to patch a hole in the cement floor? I feel bad for Chris, we are getting to the end and this happens. What next?

No More Deadlines!!!

Now that we are coming to the end of the project I have come to the realization that deadlines are not suppose to be made. Every time we put one out there something comes up that prevents us from making it, and usually it take 5 times as long to reach the deadline. So now I have come to expect the unexpected and to tell people we are moving in June 6, 2016, and we will have the open house the third Saturday in June for Jasmine's graduation party. All is invited. There so now everyone is told and should put it on the calendar.

Now that the holidays are approaching, Chris is stressed even further. I see why Hunting season is a necessity for the guys...to de-stress before the money spending holiday season comes full swing. He is pulled between spending his paycheck on the house and getting us in or scaling it back and celebrating the holidays. I see how tough it is for him so I think this year will consist of more homemade items.

Happy Holidays everyone and hope it is full of fun and less stress.

Dubie Dubie Du

It's been crazy busy down here in the South. It is hard to believe it is already November and the holidays are right around the corner. October flew by in a blur with the kids' party, hard to believe they are one year older, and sorry folks those pictures are on the camera still.

Jasmine and Nick are working hard at school. We had their first conferences at the end of October and as usual Jasmine is doing well and is quite busy now that she is participating in both the band and choir. In addition to her horse riding once a week, Jasmine has decided to give pitching a chance so we have softball clinics on the weekends. She is excited about all the different things she gets to do, but I think the most exciting thing for her now is moving up a level in her horse lessons...now she is in charge of the tacking her horse and eventually rounding up her horse from the field in the beginning of her lesson. She keeps asking when she gets to lease a horse, but I tell her she needs a job first.

Nick on the other hand had a difficult transition to full day school, but Mr. B tells us after seven weeks of school he has found his groove. He is a social boy and loves to talk so now he sits at an all girls table, but Mr. B tells us he is a helpful guy and helps the girls too. To help with Nick's energy Nick now plays hockey. He has never been on skates before and so learning to skate and play the game at the same time will be a new experience for him. He started on Halloween morning and lasted about 45 minutes before he decided that sitting down was the best way to go, but to his credit every time Nick fell down he got right back up and tried again. His second day went better and Nick was able to stand up on his skates and take a few strides, but he usually ends up down on the ice again. They are learning to push on their skates and use the sticks to balance too. He is really cute on the ice and seems to like it as well. He is looking forward to that day he skates circles around Chris.

The kids are busy and Halloween time was no different. This season is no different when it came to the costume ideas. Jayna wanted to go as candy to get candy, so she got to go as a Hershey bar which was nice. She got to wear her winter coat under the costume to stay warm, and little Tony went as a blue M&M. Nick by far is the easiest, because he wants to be the same thing every year...a repair man or worker. We get to reuse his costume over and over again.

Jasmine on the other hand went out with friends and I have no idea what she ended up going as, but I think she did say this was going to be the last year she went out for candy. We will see.

I am left speechless when it comes to the house...we finally got the electricity on, and thanks to Kevin Herr we are getting the trim done on the house. Chris attempted to trim, but we will just say he is a better plumber and leave it at that. So we are extremely grateful for Kevin for helping us out. Once that is done we can call in the carpet guys, crank up the wirsbo in the floor and put on the finishing touches. There seems to so much to do, but once again Tim aka Old Guy has done so much...putting light fixtures up, assembling fans, outlets, closet lights, and just plain cleaning. Oh and I forgot now he is staining our windows to match the trim FABULOUS!!!!

This is a picture of our Electricians...well you know the dubious question of how many electricians does it take to screw in a light bulb? Here is proof to how many electricians it takes to put in a light switch. Thanks Joel, Justin, and Sager (Chris).

I guess you can say the best part of this addition is the ability to do laundry at my own house again. Take a look at the joyful faces we have at the first load of laundry in my new laundry room!!!! I will never again complain about doing laundry. We still have a long road ahead but the end might be just around the corner.