Happy 1st Birthday, Sophia!

Oh yes, our youngest is one year old. She has had a busy year:

• Birth (this is probably a big one from her perspective): the first breath, the first cry, the first fight as the doctor tried to get fluid out of her lungs. We were rooting for Sophie: "Go, girl!"

In the OR a few minutes after birth

• Name: It took us a good week or so to finally decide on Sophia. Originally, we were thinking Carolina Grace (which Omi still wants), but Sophia won out.
• Trip to CA: Oh yes, she got to travel across four states while only four months old. This was for her great-grandfather's funeral, sadly, but it was wonderful to introduce her to many family members. On a positive note, she was also blessed while we were in Cali. (For members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, a baby blessing is for giving the infant a name on the records of the church and an official father's blessing, much like the blessing Isaac gave Jacob and Esau in the Old Testament of the Bible). Cool stuff.

Four months old and still on the floor - at Omi's house in CA
(Omi is German for grandma)

• Move into our house: We were living in Doug's mom's basement for about a year while we transitioned from South Carolina to Utah. A long year without much light, but that year allowed us to end up in a great house - and we were able to sell our house in South Carolina a whole month before we bought this one!
• Birthday: the crowing achievement for a little girl who has actually survived a year with four siblings. You made it, girl.

More pictures from Sophie's first year:

1 month old

Almost three months old and smiling

Five months old and rolling around

Ten months old and crawling and cruising

Eleven months old and everything goes in the mouth

Someone's having a birthday! She's been practicing standing alone all week...walking isn't too far away!

This has been a busy and difficult year. I am so grateful for this little one and all the joy she has added to our family. Happy birthday, Sophie!

Gardening: the Wishlist for 2012

As a corollary to what I've learned, here is my wishlist for 2012.

• Gloves. Every year, I wear out my current pair. I need very good gloves, because my hands are always getting dirty. 
• We need hardscaping. This actually splits into two parts for me: 1. the fence, which is my number one priority, due to small children; and 2. pathways, which is lower down on the list but still there. If the hardscaping is in, it should be easier to plan and execute the whole landscaping design. 

Fencing: A more modern look? Or...

Should we go more rustic?

I really like this flagstone path...

But this grey paver path is also so sweet.

I love everything about this picture -
maybe we could do the rustic fence above, using these gates,
pebble the drive access and then use pavers or flagstones for the pathways?

• We need a good sprinkler system. Doug spent many weeks making sure that the garden and the new lawn behind the house were watered. Everything else I had to water by lugging around a hose. The more plants I put in, the more laborious this chore became. Next year, this is high on my list.
• A plan. Mentioned in passing above, this is really my biggest wintertime project this year. I need to map out our yard. Unfortunately, this does require a lot of measuring. And plotting. And thinking. But what else am I going to do when it's snowing outside?

This doesn't sound like a lot, but honestly that fence is going to be a killer - budget-wise and labor-wise. Doug wants to put it in himself, and we still can't really agree as to what type of fence we want. Our city also has extensive codes that we need to figure out before we can determine where to put the fence. The codes even dictate what materials can be used. We're not in an HOA (House Owners Association), but our city certainly acts like one sometimes.


So much for a relaxing winter...

Gardening 2011: What I Have Learned

Every year I learn more about gardening as I try new things and improve on older things. Here's my list of good and not-so-good things from this year:

• Peat Pots! This is the first year I've actually had success with seeds. True, amazing success. And I attribute it to peat pots. I have tried Dixie cups, paper towels, egg cartons, you name it. This time it actually worked. 
• Give plants their space - they grow faster than you think they will. When I put in the seedlings, they seemed to have way too much room. And since I'm a lazy gardener, I didn't want them too far apart - too many weeds that way. The good and bad of it is, those plants are very crowded in some places. Especially where the native plants (also grown from seed) are taking over.

The echinacea (coneflower) to the left and the malva zebrina (the striped purple flower in the middle) are being overtaken by the evening primrose (the pink cupped flower to the top left and bottom right). The primrose is a native, so I'm going to let it grow wild...but on its own, not in the middle of my flower bed!

• Buy plants in fall. We were too busy in spring to do much more than put in our seedlings from the peat pots. Which was okay - the seeds did great, and when I got around to buying, I got great deals. We'll have to see how well they overwinter, but I'm guessing it'll turn out okay.
• Wear gloves. I know, Duh. This is a big one when you have puncture vines (aptly named). Even with good gloves, I have a new splinter in my hand every day or so. When I don't wear gloves (this is a daily lesson because I try to pull weeds when I see them instead of running to the garage to get my gloves), I get a sticker in about 1-2 minutes. 
• Watering is not optional. Thank heaven (and also the city) for secondary water. In the "Intermountain West", as the Salt Lake Valley is called, there is no atmospheric water. Establishing plants requires constant watering. 

The weeds (to the top and right) seemed to have enough water,
but the poor eunonymous is about half dead...but still half alive!

We'll find out next year if I've learned any of these lessons.

Finally, the Door is Painted!

After priming and a couple of red coats, the door is finally red:

And we loooooove it. I know I said it before, but: LOVE IT!


While I was taking pictures, Sophia got tired of waiting for me, and decided to knock to be let in:

Open! Open! Open!

Malena took pity on her and let her in.


Here's the sad part. Are you ready? Jack took a dry erase marker and marked all over the sidelight. Luckily, it was only inside. I didn't take a picture, because incriminating evidence is not a good thing when kids do not-so-good things. Especially since I'm hoping to have it completely repainted by the time Daddy-o gets back from his work trip to Minnesota. If it's already fixed, he has a tendency to be less angry. I understand, I'm the same way.


Oh, Jack.

Curb Appeal: House Numbers

One of the best things you can do for emergency personnel is to have house numbers that can be found and read easily.


When we bought this house, this is what the house numbers looked like:

Falling off, rusty nails, really trendy golden brass (woohoo). What's even better, you couldn't see them hardly at all from the street, because they blended so well with the siding:

Oh yeah. Good thing we haven't needed an ambulance yet.


There are some really beautiful house numbers out there. But! Since I'm on a budget (the first year after buying a house is always a tight one, for some reason - read: Down Payment), I just got some basic black numbers from Lowe's. Each one was just under $4, so for a whopping $16, I completely updated my numbers. Curb appeal, check. Allowing people (and emergency workers, if necessary) to find my house easily, check.

Look at that contrast! No more yellow on yellow!

And someday, I'll get some really cool house numbers.


For the moment, these will do. Although Doug says the numbers are too close together, so I may get to space them out a little better. Not interested in doing it today, though!

Bless the Previous Owner

The previous owners had some great ideas. I like a lot of what they did: renovating the kitchen and master bath, adding a new stair railing, terracing the back yard, and so on.


Here's what they didn't do: they didn't finish any of the projects. They are almost done...which is my post for the day: what we have to finish. The previous owners spent the cash, we get to do the detail work.


Not a bad deal, although frustrating at times. Here's a peek at some of the more annoying things:


The Kitchen

Missing cabinet - it is actually installed on the other side of the kitchen , so either another one is needed, or we need to reconfigure the other area. Also love the tape line on the ceiling from the drywall work

Trim doesn't quite match up...hm.

The screw doesn't go all the way in. Maybe they couldn't find a smaller screw at installation time?

Just to add to the fun, some of the doors open the wrong way - and one of the cabinets is almost completely inaccessible, due to being too far away from either side of the counter.


Stair Railing

The trim pieces on the railing were never added - although the box of trim is waiting patiently downstairs

Tiling Woes

In the front two rooms, there are no less than three kinds of tile:

Tile 1: Original to the house, but still missing grout in places (Front room)

Tile 2 and 3: Tile on the left was added most recently in the kitchen reno; tile on right was damaged during that process  (Dining room)

Another damaged tile, along with some interesting non-finished trim

The tile surround for the door was never finished or grouted; the tiles on the door are mine 
(very sad tiles at the moment due to them constantly falling down...to be solved with more permanent glue once the door is painted)

Tile in the master bath - the joining of 2 subfloors made for an unstable surface. So this tile eventually worked its way free

Doorless
When we moved in, there was only two interior doors upstairs - on the master bath and main bath. All three bedrooms were without doors, as were all the closets.

Hall closet

Closets downstairs are also just open

We added doors for the bedrooms in short order - although we went cheap, since we eventually would like hardwood doors instead of hollow core doors.


Patches
There are lots of places in this house where the walls had holes in them. Why is sometimes a mystery.


What is more of a mystery: why the previous owner started patching, and yet didn't finish the patch. A little compound, a little sanding, and viola! It's not that hard or time-consuming (I say, as I realize that I have lived here for no less than 6 months without finishing more than 2 of the holes).


Light Bulbs
I love how Steve Carrel says "Light Bulb!" in "Despicable Me". Truly hilarious. What's not hilarious is having almost every room with a burnt-out light bulb. Some of them are specialty lights, so I totally understand that. The ones that are not specialty, though, I don't understand - especially when there was a stash of light bulbs in the garage just waiting (begging) to be put to use.


More Master Bath Details...
In addition to the tiling issues shown above, there is also centering issues, trim issues, and a very strangely placed shower head

Love the light fixture - except that it is off-center

Missing trim

On the Good Side
There are some very positive things we've gotten from the previous owner, though:


A Playset
They didn't want to put this together - or lost the instructions or something. So Doug, my amazing handyman, put it together for us!


A Cat
Although I am not a cat person, I do have a strong appreciation for a mouser. This cat, named Tae-Bo, is a fighter and an excellent mouser. He can stay. Outside.


A Pool/Air Hockey Table
Seriously? They left the pool table? It even flips over for air hockey. Granted, they didn't leave cues or any air hockey items, but still! It will be fun once we have all the accessories. Sounds like a Christmas item to me!

More on Upholstering

More of what I've learned on upholstering:


Don't leave a naked chair where the kids can still sit on it. They will pick at the foam.
After they're done, you will have to replace the foam. And by "you", I mean "me".

No foam on the arms anymore.
They were starting to disintegrate, so I guess replacing them is a good thing?

It's just one more thing to staple on, right? And buy, and cut out. Sigh.


I've resorted to covering the chair with a sheet while I do all the fabric work.

The bedsheeted chair

The good thing about this: it does look a little Halloween-y. So I'll call it a "decoration" for the holiday. Euphemisms are very cool.

Door Update

I've really been working on the door. I washed it, after all.


Then I researched what was needed to paint a steel door with plastic trim. Oh yeah, love the mixed media there.


Unfortunately, I need Bondo to fix some cracks on the door. Then I need a bonding primer to prime the door before I can paint it.


Luckily, Doug has all this in his garage. But now I have to wait for him to spray the front door with primer - since Doug says that I can't just use a brush or roller with this stuff.


Rats.


Doug did call me from work yesterday and ask me to get the door ready. Prep work, my favorite. Not. Sadly, I was unable to do much prep work, so Doug started on that when he got home. Go, Doug!

A storm decided to blow in just after he removed the door. After moving the door work to the garage, we laughed as our back door repeatedly blew open (the girls didn't close it very tight, and without a front door, the air pressure is working against that door). Fun, fun, blustery evening.


So now our door is beautiful primer grey. Amusingly enough, it actually looks better grey than with the brown/white stuff going on. I even joked that we could keep it like this until after Halloween, since it seems to fit our holiday decor so well:

Nah. Definitely paint it red! And soon!

Check Out My New Page!

Now I have TWO whole pages for blogging...one for the house, and one for the sidekicks (or the family, as they are known around here). The link is on the top of the page under the house picture and says The SideKicks!


Check it out!

October! Halloween! Fall!

Three of the things I love best: October, Halloween, and fall.


It being October 1st, I pulled all the Halloween and fall decorations out, and the kids and I went beserk. It was really fun. We have wildly different ideas on decorating, but I keep reminding myself that a month of crazy decor that the kids did themselves is an okay thing. Hopefully they'll get some good memories out of it.

My touch - I got these cool wood and iron spiders in Connecticut years ago

The kids did the front porch - the two lanterns light up at night

With all the fun Jack has been lately, I find this one to be appropriate

And it's Halloween - there's no right and wrong about it! It's just fun. Personally, I love the little LED flickering tea lights. I've inserted them into the kid's old trick-or-treating lanterns, which are on the "dust" wall between the dining room and the front room. When the lights are out, it's a really cool (and slightly spooky) effect.

Daytime - on the cheesy side

Nighttime - more of a spooky vibe