Installing New Windows

Chad installed our new windows in October 2005. I know I keep bragging about him but it honestly made such a HUGE difference in the look of our house not to mention our heating and cooling bills. He did such a great job and did most of them himself. Again, John Bailey (our home repair superhero) came the first day and helped Chad with the windows on the north side of the house. He was so knowledgeable and gave Chad confidence and good info about the process.

Here he is in our dining room taking out the windows that are the focal point of the room. Thank goodness he had decent weather and it wasn't very cool that day or we would have froze. It took most of the day to get these windows in but it looked fabulous when it was finished.

Twister!

Noah had a couple friends over today. Sam and Drew came to play video games, swim and play TWISTER. Talk about halarious! We had kids falling all over the place. Here are a few pictures of their escapade!

Drew was the spinner in game one and Sam was the master spinner in game two.

House Repair

Owning a house is so much F-U-N! We moved in five years ago and have redone every room except our bedroom (of course!) We have taken down walls, put up walls, drywalled many rooms, new carpet, new wood floors, new water heater and softner, all new paint, gutted bathrooms, new windows, new garage doors, deck, pool, landscaping....and what's more....we haven't hired out any help to do any of this. Chad is amazing when it comes to "handiness." I am thankful for everything he has done and continues to do to make our house a home. Plus my parents are great with helping and Chad has a great friend, John Bailey, whom he works with that is a marvel with home repairs. He has helped with tons!

However, with every job we take on with our house, we realize the age of our home. Our house was built in 1891. It is gorgeous with an open floor plan, original wood floors and trim around the windows. We have been wanting to take down the wallpaper in the kitchen for quite some time but we have been leary. You see, when we scraped wallpaper in the living room, we scraped 8-10 layers of paper off to get down to the original plaster. It took forever!

Anyway, we are tackling it today! I started in at about noon and both Noah and Sydney have helped. Chad also joined us later. We are about halfway done but with the shape of the original plaster (in spots) and some older drywall, we are probably going to have to treat the walls with something. We'll see...we're still in the beginning stages of the project.

I'll try to dig up some pictures of Chad replacing our windows! Talk about a mess!!!! Unbelievable!

More Pictures

The puppies have already started changing. They have all grown so much since the first day we brought them home. We have two males that are the brutes (the two on the far right) of the litter and a small male (the one laying upside down) and a small female. The female has already sold. Her new family has named her Belle. She is really cute! When I pick her up to change the linens in the box, she sticks her paw in her mouth and starts sucking on it. So adorable.

We are loving having them. We can't wait until their eyes open. The kids are dying to play with them. I am a little tired of doing dog laundry however. I am having to change their bedding every couple of days. I'm sure that won't get better in the near future.

To Be Outside

We are completely enjoying this weather. Isn't it beautiful? We can shut off the air and open the windows. We are loving the cool nights too! Ahhh!

Even Gabe is begging to sun himself out on the deck. Here he is waiting in our sunroom at the french doors to be let outside.

Gerber Daisies and a Sago Palm

Here is my prized Sago Palm. I love this and I know once I transplant it in a bigger planter it will take off and get even bigger.

Every year I plant Gerber Daisies in my planters beside my deck steps. These are my very favorite flower. I would rather Chad send me a dozen of these than a dozen roses. They are gorgeous!

First Puppy Pics

Here they are...in all their glory! The female is in the middle on top. If it looks like they are a little green-tinged, they are. They still have delivery stuff on them that Gidget will clean.

Gidget is exhausted and is passed out on the opposite side of the box. She hasn't nursed the babies since she's been home so we're hoping that will change SOON.

P.S. They are only 3 1/2 inches long!

More pics to follow!

THE PUPPIES ARE HERE!

Okay...so it's been an exhausting week. Here's the scoop!

Tuesday, Gidget went into labor. Her temp had dropped (a good indicator that puppies are coming within 24 hours) so we patiently waited. We waited, and waited, and waited....but after several hours of mild but decent sized contractions, Gidget fell asleep and that was the end of that! By morning, Gidget was eating, barking, and acting normally. I took her temperature and it had gone back up! No puppies! I did take her to the vet to have her checked and after some blood work and an internal exam, she was declared okay but not in labor anymore.

Wednesday went by...no puppies.

Thursday went by...no puppies.

Thursday evening her temp dropped again and mild contractions started. We watched her until 1 a.m where I slept with one eye open all night long and checked her every hour. It wasn't too bad since her whelping box was beside my side of the bed.

8:15 this morning (Friday) no puppies.

Fifteen minutes later, Elijah came into my bedroom and said, "Um, Mom. Gidget's got something hanging from her back end."

I jumped out of bed and sure enough, the first signs of puppy could be seen! I won't gross you out with the details but after 3 hours... still no puppies!

I began to really worry. I didn't want anything to happen to Gidget. I called the vet and he said to come on in. My sister-in-law and I took her to the vet and discovered that Gidget would have to have a c-section. It was discovered after an exam that her pelvis was just a wee bit too small for the heads to fit through. As sad as I was to have to see her have surgery, we knew it was best.

At 2:30 we heard the words we had been waiting 63 days to hear..... "Gidget is doing great and all four puppies are gorgeous!"

YEA! We have a healthy Gidget AND three male puppies and one female puppy. I am so excited to meet them and even more excited to pick them up and bring them home! I leave in a half hour to get them....so get ready to be bombarded with picture after picture of these little cuties.

As excited as I am, I am more than ready for a good night's sleep. In four days, I have had around 12 hours of sleep and two new zits from all the stress. It's a lovely thing! This puppy thing has been terribly hard work and I really didn't do much except worry.

F-O-U-R-!

OH MY GOSH! We just got back from the vet and we have some really exciting news... Gidget is pregnant with FOUR puppies!

I took her to the vet to have a final grooming and an x-ray and when we went to pick her up, Dr. Grasso asked, "So, how many did you want?"

I shrugged and said, "Well, I'd be completely content with one or two however it feels like a circus inside her tummy."

Dr. Grasso grinned and said, "Well there's a reason why it feels like a circus! There are four babies in there!"

She said everything looks great and it looks like Gidget will probably be able to deliver the puppies on her own without help. I am really hoping for a good delivery with no c-section and healthy babies. We'll see what happens!

After getting Gidget groomed, she now looks like one of those snakes that has swallowed something a bit too big for their body. She looks horribly uncomfortable....but wouldn't you be uncomfortable if there were four babies inside you?!?!?! WHOA!

We're very excited and nervous and anxious...but happy for Gidget. We'll update more soon!

She's gonna pop!

This is NOT Gidget's best side. In fact, at this point, there is no "good" side however she's getting so big and the poor thing acts just miserable. Her tummy is so tight and big she has a hard time getting around. She can't get up and down stairs anymore. And, wherever I am...Gidget is there too. As I type this she is underneath my computer chair and as long as I'm touching her with my foot, she's content. She has been a bit on the grouchy side for the last two weeks. I will be ready for the old Gidgey baby to return to normal! The babies move constantly and I have enjoyed feeling them move and kick inside her. She is just so cute and I know she will be a good mommy.

We are ready for the birth. We have the whelping box, rubber gloves, and thermometer ready for the big event. I even have my sister-in-law on speed dial so she can rush right over to help with the delivery.

Tomorrow is a big day! We are going to get Gidget groomed and an x-ray to find out just how many cuties are in that ever expanding belly! I will update more very soon!

Brace Face

We have an orthodontist appointment today. I think I dispise these appointments more as an adult than I did as a teenager! Probably because Chad and I are footing the bill this time around and before someone else was paying for my adorable smile. *Thanks Mom and Dad!*

Our relationship with Elijah's orthodontist is not a new one. We have been seeing him since Elijah was in third grade. Elijah has had mouthpieces, expanders, reverse headgear and now....(drumroll please....) braces! What's even more sad about this is Elijah is only our first child to have regular orthodontist visits. Noah is next!

Noah has lost six teeth (that's right, six!) in five months! He is quite a wealthy pre-teen due to all the recent visits from the tooth fairy. He is changing so much and I know his regular visits to our orthodontist will be starting up soon.

Sydney has a ways to go but I know within a couple years, she too will be sitting in the same chairs that my other children have warmed. Our visits to the orthodontist are far from over.

I can see well into the future and can foresee that I will be spending much time in the waiting room at Rosenthal Orthodontics. In fact, if I strain my eyes really hard, it looks like I'll be spending the next 7-8 years handing over check after check after check.

My children should get a huge contract from Colgate or Crest after all this money is spent on their mouths. After all...their teeth will look so good, they should beg them to endorse their products!

P.S. I tried to get Elijah to stand still for a picture but he HATES having his picture taken. So for this blog, you'll have to use your imagination and picture Elijah in a grey t-shirt exposing his mouth full of metal!

Another Fun Friday!

Today was a good day. Elijah had a friend over to stay last night. We played Monopoly until 12:30 a.m.! Yikes! This morning, after his friend left, we quick straightened up the house for some of my teacher friends. Mr. Huber (the first grade teacher I work for) and Mrs. Baker (the CAPE teacher I work for) brought their delightful little sweeties over to swim and play. We had so much fun.

First off, let me say that Mrs. Baker's new little sweetie is only four weeks old. She is completely YUMMY! Mrs. Baker had Sydney in her after school program last year and she is one of Sydney's favorite people so she couldn't WAIT to meet little Emma. I also got to hold her and get my baby fix out of the way. She is totally cute and her plethera of black hair is adorable! Sydney fell in love with her immediately. Talk about fun!

Let's not forget about Jaden. We see Jaden and his mom and dad quite frequently so I was completely stunned when he walked in our front door to find out how much older he looked. He no longer looks like a little baby but this wonderfully behaved, sweet, and very polite little boy. He loved swimming and playing with Elijah, Noah, and Sydney and then wanted so badly to hold baby Emma. However as much as he loved Emma, he made sure we understood he was NOT interested in having one of these at his house. So cute!

It was such fun to be able to visit with good friends, laugh, and hang out. What a great way to end the week!

Finally...the concert!

We got back late late late last night from the John Mayer concert. WOW...amazing show! I would have written last night but we didn't get back until 2 a.m. so I was pretty beat! I mentioned previously that Chad and I attended his show back in September and we didn't think he could possibly have a better show than that one however...we were wrong! John came back around and played incredible with songs he didn't perform the last time around. It was great! He touched on songs from all his ablums, which is always fun. He played some of my personal faves from his Room for Squares album (which is the coolest!) such as Why Georgia, No Such Thing as well as Neon.

Our seats were perfect! We were right in the middle and John Mayer was smack dab right in front of me! He wore jeans, black button up shirt, and black and white sneaks. He's gotten his hair cut but still sports the curly shaggy look (very suave and ooh-la-la!) It was an amzing show and we got to hang out with many of our friends which makes it even better! His set was much different than the show in September. There were three of these three sectioned screens that had all different camera angles of John while he played. We got shots of him singing, his fingers playing his different guitars, and of his feet keeping the beat while he sang and played. Fantastic!

Oh...wanted to touch on the opening act....Ben Folds. Unbelievable! That guy is sheer talent. I've seen him on MTV and SNL but to see him live was incredible. He can play piano in a way few can! He's also quite a comedian and had the crowd laughing and singing along. Really great!

So, in closing....John looked amazing, sounded even better, and kept us wanting more. I officially have the Mayer Crave!