I Baked Cookies

I baked cookies today. For most of you this may seem like a small feat. And for me it used to be. Lately, however, it is truly a treat to bake cookies..........or keep the laundry caught up....... or run the vacuum more than once every two weeks. The house renovation has completely consumed our lives. I know it will be worth it in the end when we sell it but for now- I am feeling a little overwhelmed. I think I am just tired. Physically and mentally. As the project grows closer to completion I am bombarded with several decisions. Small things that now seem like huge deals. Paint color, trim finish, counter top style, carpet color, style, weight.............the list goes on and on. Not only do we make these decisions but we do the work too. We have been working on this flip house since early February and we are trying to have it completed by the end of April. It is down to the detail work now which always seems to take the longest amounts of time.

There are some nights when I feel we have been doing this forever and yet other nights it seems like we just started. The nights get longer and our time at home seems shorter. I don't even want to total up the hours we have put into this project. Right now I stay busy totaling up receipts and balancing the budget. I will say though- I am glad I am not the one writing the checks for all of the renovation. It makes me sick to my stomach looking at the pile of receipts quite frankly. Maybe it is worse knowing it isn't my money. I don't know. With all the budgeting and working on the house life keeps moving. It is hard to find a balance..........and enough sleep.........but we keep going with or without either.

Cali is changing and growing so much! She learns something new everyday it seems. She is trying to crawl right now but enjoys scooting and wiggling and rolling to get to where she wants to go. She also has something to show you..................


New teeth!! She now has 4 teeth! Two on top and two on bottom!! She does this thing where she wrinkles up her nose and wiggles it and she looks like a little bunny. It is the cutest thing.

Kyle can now tell anyone, in detail, exactly how a furnace or hot water tank works. Really. And he has a new love for broccoli! Yeah!!

Bella now has to have a mountain of friends in bed with her. I love this picture- it reminds me of ET when he is hiding amongst all of the stuffed animals. We did receive a diagnosis for Bella a couple of weeks ago. She has what is called PFAPA. I will do a post about it soon (hopefully) but if you type PFAPA into a search it will come up with a ton of information. She still has to go back to her Ear Nose and Throat Specialist to see about her hearing loss and what is causing it.

Here is what we have been up to at the house. I really loved these ceilings from the first moment we saw this house...............

But while I was painting them I decided I didn't like them so much anymore.

You see that ladder?? Yeah, it's like a 10 foot ladder. See how high above the ladder the ceilings still are?? Have I mentioned how TERRIFIED I am of heights??? Yeah.

I don't know what we were thinking. We painted the entire first and second floor in less than 4 days. Two days and two evenings after work to be exact. Are we nuts or what?!?!?!? When I say paint I mean: paint every ceiling, prime every wall-two coats, paint every wall-two coats. 4 bedrooms, two hallways, living room, kitchen, bathroom, stairs. NUTS!!!! It looks good though!

The crown moulding is now installed on the cabinets...................

My Dad came up last Saturday and helped hang the doors and trim (Thanks Dad! You are the trim King!)

We used 5 inch baseboards which look amazing! All white trim, six panel doors, baseboards, etc. The only problem here?? Well, we had planned on spraying all of the trim and doors before installing them. Needless to say the sprayer did not work, it was SO cold in the garage we could not paint...................so now I am left with painting all of this now that it is installed. EEEEKK!!

Bella is an amazing little helper- especially when there is a broom involved!!

What is that hole in the basement floor you ask????

We are adding a bathroom in the basement where there was not a bathroom before. A full bathroom.

Yes, we have a ditch running through the basement. Let me tell ya- the kids are having a ball with this! We have to strip them as soon as we get home at night because they are covered in dirt!!! LOL!! Poor little Thomas trains though- they are working very hard in those ditches!!! :)

How in the heck am I supposed to clean up that mess?!?!

Well, that's it for now. I would like to promise that it won't be this long between posts next time, but honestly.......... that is a call I just can't make. I miss posting every day. I miss visiting my blogger friends. I miss getting all of your comments in my inbox every morning. I feel like a part of me is missing right now and I think that is it- I have fallen from the blogging world............. a temporary hiatus I guess. Maybe in May I will be back on top of my game!

Miss you all!!

~Heather:)

PS: IF YOU HAVEN'T Checked out my Sister's new blog you have GOT TO go see her! She is so much fun! Super Talented! And not quite as long winded as me!! hee hee Whimsical Ways