Countertops are selected....

We have made our selection of the granite for the kitchen counters and our order has been placed and now we wait for the final measurement and installation. I really like the color and I was surprised Tim actually liked it as it was darker than he originally thought he wanted. It is amazing how different a piece looks when you see a large piece rather than a small 4x4 sample. Our next step it to decide on the faucet and the type of sink we want. At this point we know we do not want a stainless steel sink but rather a solid surface with one large bowl.

The countertop will not be installed until we are in town so that we can oversee the installation and make sure they are putting in what we selected.

More Progress...

This weekend was very productive and we made significant progress with the house. Tim was a great handyman and spent a lot of time in the kitchen. He took out the existing counter tops and back splash in the kitchen to make way for the new one which will be installed later. He also installed the new dishwasher.. you can see it in the photo with the protective coating still on it. :-)

We also did a lot of painting. Maggie's room is now completely painted and looks really good. The photo is of the work in progress when only the one color was up on the wall. I am so pleased with the way it turned out. The boys were a great help this afternoon ~ they enjoyed painting the accent wall in Christopher's room - his other walls are going to be khaki. Andrew will be using the same chocolate brown but will have an orange accent wall GO BROWNS!!

Updates....

I know it has been ages since my last post but I have been busy and when I think to post something I get distracted. Things are going well with the house and it seems like there has been ZERO progress until the past couple of days. We have hired a painter to remove all the old wallpaper in the house as well as paint the entry, stairwell and upstairs landing and hallway. This won't be finished until tomorrow but already it looks SO much better. I am just not a wallpaper person and taking it off ourselves was a pain~ much easier to have someone else do it.

Our new washer and dryer was delivered and installed today and I have never been so excited to do laundry. It is WONDERFUL and HUGE!! Maggie had fun watching the laundry through the clear lid :-) I wonder if my excitement will last as I have to do more and more loads...probably not.




The new dishwasher also arrived but it is still in the box awaiting Tim to install it this weekend.

We have, I think, made our decision on the countertops and will get that taken care of early next week and get that process started. I will post some 'before' pictures this weekend if I actually remember to take them.

Done Deal...

Today we closed on the new house and I was finally able to see the inside of the house rather than just driving by to admire it. Well, Tim got it 100% right!! This house is SO us and will be prefect for our family. There will be some redecorating to do, but I like doing that so I am excited to get started. I will take some photos tomorrow so I can document the before and after of the house.

Happy Day To You

Happy St. Patty's day to everyone. is an annual feast dat which celebrates Saint Patrick (385–461 AD), one of the patron saints of Ireland, and is generally celebrated today, March 17. It is a national holiday in Ireland but other locations around the world celebrate with parades, parties and just plain old FUN! Those with no Irish connections will make themselves "Irish for the day" and why not?

Bad Mother Alert??

I think I really must be reported to protective services for failing for the second night in a row to provide my children with a nutritious meal. Why you ask? Well, on Saturday we ate lunch very late so no one was hungry come dinner time so instead we had chocolate malts from Steak & Shake YUMMY!! Tonight was a similar situation but instead of milkshakes we had Blizzards from Dairy Queen. I know, not a good example but hey, we are on vacation, according to the kids so that is my story and I am sticking to it.

We went shopping on Saturday to look for Maggie's First Communion dress and we were successful. It is really a pretty dress, simple yet has sparkle, and she is quite pleased with it. To be honest with you I think she is more excited about the hairpiece and shoes...the shoes have a tiny heel and she is tickled about that. Oh, to be young and excited to wear heals...she will learn one day they are more of a pain than a pleasure.

Again, we drove by the new house today and the kids wanted to drive around the neighborhood to get a general feel for things. Andrew made the comment of how the heck was he going to get around the neighborhood as he has NO idea where he is LOL....he will figure it out soon enough.

Well, that is all for now ~ hope your day was a good one!

Back In The USA

We have arrived safely in the US of A ~ specifically, Indiana!! We had no problems on any of our flights and the journey went well. The only glitch, and a tiny one at that, was the minivan we reserved at the car rental place was not available so they upgraded us to a 'luxury suv', a Durango. I am not sure what qualifies this to be a luxury suv but I was fine with it as it had the space to hold all of our luggage ~ the gas to fill it will be another story.

We arrived after dark so we quickly drove by the house and from what we were able to see Tim made a GREAT choice on the house and so far, I am impressed!! Granted, I have seen pictures but it is always better to see the real thing in person.

Last Chance

This is your final chance to let me know if you need me to bring you sunscreen ~ I am going shopping in the morning :-}I can say this is the BEST thing that I have discovered while living here in the UK. It is amazing the protection you get from the sun while still getting a golden tan. Here are the details from the bottle ; containing Mexoryl®SX, an advanced patented filter, this formula effectively defends the skin against UVA and UVB rays which cause sunburn and long-term skin damage. The spray also contains a hydrating complex and pure Vitamin E to protect the skin's natural moisture levels during sun exposure.

Look what we had today ~ I love rainbows!!

Oh so cool...

My sister in law, Ellen, on a few occassions has said it would be neat to somehow print the posts from a blog into something to keep for years to come.

Well, Ellen.....someone has done just that! Check out BLURB where you can create your own blog book. I had no idea such a thing existed until I read about it on another blog. How cool is that? YEP, I will be completing a book for our family. I am thinking one book for each year of posts or something like that. I am going to start on mine tonight....I can't wait!!

New Lenses

Andrew has made the plunge and has opted to get daily wear contacts. We went this morning for his final 'fitting' and he was successful and is quite pleased with himself. Here the eye place had him practice putting them in and taking them out before they will send you home with contacts. He had to go again as he wasn't completly confident in the process. He originally planned to get them for sports but I have a feeling he will wear them more often than that! I am sure getting ready for high school and GIRLS has NOTHING to do with this recent decision.

A Few Photos

Here are a few photos of beautiful Ava. Isn't she just TOO cute? Jack (2) meeting his baby sister

She's Here...

Ava Kathryn made her entry into the world last night, March 5! She is a healthy 9 pounds 1 ounce and 21 inches long. I can't wait to see pictures later today.

The Stork Is On It's Way....

No, not to MY house!

My brother and his wife are currently at the hospital awaiting the arrival of the newest member of their family~baby girl H should hopefully arrive later today. The last I heard they did have a name picked out but until they confirm it I don't know 100% what she will be called.

As soon as I hear anything I will post an update.

Mothering Sunday

In addition to being Tim's 40th birthday today it is also Mothering Sunday here in the UK. It is the equivalent of Mother's Day in other parts of the world.

It has been celebrated in the UK on the fourth Sunday of Lent since at least the 16th century. More details can be found {HERE} from last years post.

We did not do much today as I was up early (4:30am) to take Tim to catch his flight to Brazil. Luckily, the airport is only a 15 minute drive from the house so I came back home and went back to sleep.


Hope you are having a great day wherever you may be.