Dazed

This weekend has gone by way too fast. We got a lot accomplished, but there is still much to do. Lets start with the pool.It is uncovered, and the new pump and filter have been installed. There have only been a few glitches. The first little glitch involved the wiring. We had to run new conduit and wiring because roots had grown through the old wiring. The second glitch is a little more troubling and is going to take some time to resolve. Apparently, since it has been so wet this winter, the water table is up. Ground water seeped behind the pool liner and caused it to float away from the sides. John did some research and discovered that the best way to remedy the problem is to pump the water out while adding water to the pool. He just pumped the water from behind the liner into the pool. The plan was to equalize the pressure by moving the water from one side of the liner to the other. It made sense to me. That may not have been the best plan. Our pool that started out pretty clear is now a very murky green. Today we went and bought some Super Floc to hopefully clear it up. We are learning a lot about pool maintenance. We may forgo covering it next year and just run the pump all winter to avoid this problem.
On to our little bathroom project. John got a lot done this weekend. Yesterday he grouted the vanity and the shower. They look awesome. Today most of his time has been spent cutting tile and lining it all up. Right now the plan is to lay the tile tomorrow evening. As of this morning we had decided to stop with the entryway and wait until after Easter to tile the front room. I think John may have other plans, since he is tearing up the wood floors in the front room as I type.

On another note, Oscar does not like air tools. While John was trying to get up the old glue, Oscar was trying to attack the air hammer. He is not the most intelligent puppy.

Two Weeks to Go

I am not sure how it happened, but we have less than two weeks to make our bathroom and hall useable. We started with what we thought was plenty of time to do a small bathroom project and to maybe do a little work on our floors. As you have seen our little projects grow, and four days a week of baseball has impacted our free time. We have gotten a lot done, and our pool is uncovered and the new pump and filter are working, although the water is not what we want it to look like yet (pictures to follow soon). We hope to have floors done today (we will see how that goes). If that happens we are on track to be finished with everything this week and have a week to recover before my parents and Granny come visit. We are ready for a weekend that does not involve non-stop work and to be able to sit back and just have some family time. I guess I had better go for now, hopefully Kristina will have a chance to put some pics up this afternoon of our fun.

How did this happen

I feel like one minute it was Sunday and then I blinked and it was Friday. This working for a living messes with my clock. The funny thing is, the working is the easy part. The hard part is all the things that need done once I am home from work. Thankfully, baseball practice is cancelled tonight. Since it is supposed to continue raining all night, I am assuming that tomorrow's practice will be cancelled as well.

We have way too much to get done this weekend. We have been busy this week, so projects around the house have been on hold. That means we will not get any rest this weekend. By the end of the weekend we hope to have the bath closer to complete and the pool in working order.

On a more fun note, I received a belated anniversary gift this week. When I got home on Thursday, the UPS man had left me a package. I knew it was coming, so it wasn't a surprise, but it was still fun to unpack it all. Four place settings of China, plus a cream and sugar set. There is a story behind this. When we married, this is the china I registered for. At that time we got five place settings. Over the years we have talked about adding a place setting on each anniversary, but it never seemed to happen. Last year the idea of completing our set became more urgent when Noritake discontinued the pattern. Enter eBay. We have been watching and occasionally bidding. Keep in mind, that we like to get a deal. We aren't going to spend an outrageous amount on dishes we never use. Last week John found the above set at a decent price and got it for me. He is so good to me.

Stuck at Home

John and Jacob have gone to church, and Joshua and I are spending the morning at home. Joshua got up this morning with a crusty eye. I cleaned all the gunk off his lashes and gave him some clear eyes drops, but it is still a bit irritated. I suspect pink eye, but we are out of the prescription drops, so a doctors visit will be required. Why does this always happen on a Sunday? If it had happened yesterday, we could have gone to the doctor and avoided missing church and school. Oh well, it could be worse.

As soon as John gets home from church he will get to work on the bathroom. The shower is taking some time to tile but he should be able to get it finished today. We won't grout until at least tomorrow evening. It is exciting to see it all taking shape. We are on schedule to have the bath completed within the next two weeks. I can hardly wait.

Real Progress

What more can I say. Things are starting to take shape and it looks like we could be back to having two baths within the next two weeks. John tiled the counter top this evening. He plans to tile around the tub tomorrow and grout it all on Sunday. If all goes according to plan we could be texturing walls and painting in the evenings next week. We will also be prepping floors so he can tile the bath and hall floors next weekend. Once the floors are tiled we just need to set the toilet and install the final pieces, such as towel racks. Oh, the fun we have.

Spring Break

Aren't they handsome. I had to take a picture to show off their new hair cuts. They are wearing their day care shirts since they had a field trip to Pump it Up today. Yesterday they had a St. Patrick's day parade. I am really glad the day care has fun activities planned for this week. Tonight John is continuing to work on the bathroom. He is getting all the plumbing lined up so he can finish installing the vanity. The vanity top is currently on track to be tiled this weekend. I wish I was more help, but I think I just get in the way. It isn't a very big space to work in.

We have not had any baseball practice this week due to the rain. That didn't stop John and Joshua from getting out and doing a little batting practice yesterday. John is such a good daddy.

Bathroom Update

Tonight John installed the new light/vent combination. The UPS man delivered it today. I had to laugh when I pulled into the drive because he had put it on the carport and covered it with the door mat. I don't know if he was afraid the rain would get it, or if he didn't want anyone to see it. John has begun patching where the old vent used to be. I think he is waiting on the first layer to dry so he can do some more blending.Next he will take down the fluorescent light and patch the ceiling. The new vanity light will attach to the wall. Tonight he spent some time working on the cabinet that will go over the toilet. We are reusing the cabinet that was there, but John has done a little reworking on it. I just love it when things start going back together.

John took up another tile in the kitchen tonight. That gave us an even better glimpse of the old linoleum. I am not sure that was ever attractive.

Big news

Joshua is going to be baptized on Easter Sunday. We have known for some time but we haven't wanted to share until we were sure of the date. If anyone is needing an excuse to come to Mississippi, this is a good one. Our pastor has asked me for pictures of Joshua several times, but I haven't gotten around to selecting some and emailing them to him. Tonight, I finally got around to it. I have included a couple of the pictures for your enjoyment. We are very proud of our Joshua.

Yea for Rain

Normally, I am not a big fan of rain, but this past weekend, I was loving it. Due to the rain our baseball practice was cancelled for Friday, Saturday, and today. In addition, our fun hike and museum trip with cub scouts was postponed. It was so nice to have a weekend without obligations. We have way too much going on at home.

John has made great progress on the bath this past week. We have a lovely new toilet flange and the walls now have backer board and drywall. It is slowly coming together. In addition, he has ripped all the flooring out of the hall and entryway. He also had to rip out three tiles going from the hall into the kitchen. It exposed some interesting linoleum. Jacob thinks it is cool looking and he doesn't understand why they tiled over it. Sometimes I wonder about his taste.

Can you dry a cat

My cat is a bit skittish tonight. She has good reason. Cats don't like to be in the dryer while it is on. I didn't intend to dry her, but I didn't know she had gotten in there. I turned the dryer on and started to put another load in the wash. My dryer was making an awful noise. I kept hearing something hit the side and it was almost jumping. I thought, what could be in there. About that time I had the awful realization. I quickly opened the door and peaked in. It took her a second to get out from under the clothes. She jumped out and ran off. I tracked her down to be sure she was alright. She seems okay and she even let me pet her for a few seconds before biting me. I guess we are back to normal. The picture above is actually from yesterday. John has been busy doing a little more demolition.

What a difference a day makes

My irises are beginning to bloom. I think there were some purple ones in the mix last year. Hopefully, there will be again.

Another weekend comes to a close

John and I left Friday evening for a two night stay at the Pearl River Resort and Casino near Philadelphia, MS. We chose said establishment because we got a really great deal. By Saturday morning we were ready to come home. It's not that it wasn't a nice place, we just don't stay away from home well. We have way to many projects that need done. We took the long way home on Saturday so we could drive through Decatur, MS. It was a sight to see.The water tower says Town of Decatur, but the picture didn't turn out too great. As we were making the trek home I called my friend Jessica to let her know that we were on our way and she wouldn't have to put up with my kids for another night. She told me that John and I needed to find something else to do since it was our anniversary. Once we got home, she informed me that she and my friend Jenny had already made plans to take my kids to a movie Saturday, so John and I should go have fun. We went to Lowes and bought a bathtub and concrete. We are the romantics. Once the kids were home from the movie, John poured the concrete base for the new pool pump and filter. We all put our hand prints in it. John even put the dogs paw in it.

Today we went to church and then ran by the mall to get Jacob some pants. That kid is growing like crazy. After that, John dropped me off at my friend Becky's for my ladies group and he and the kids went to a parent meeting for Jacob's baseball team. Tomorrow night Jacob will have his first practice. This will be our first week with both of them having baseball practice. Of course none of the practices are on the same days. I need to go by the library and get a book. I am about to have plenty of time to sit and read. Maybe baseball practice will be a good thing. I could use the down time.

Day care and such

When I began working in September it was going to be 20 to 25 hours a week while my kids were in school. I was given flexibility to take off pretty much any time I needed. That lasted about two months. I slowly gained more responsibility and before long I was working closer to 40 hours a week than 20. It has worked alright. In theory, I can work full time and be home before the kids since I get to work about 6 in the morning. However, being the practical girl that I am, I realize that theory and reality are not always the same. Therefore, today I enrolled my kids in an after school day care. I thought about just doing the after school program that the school offers, since it is much cheaper, but that would leave me in a bind on the days that they don't have school. The boys and I went and toured the facility today and it is really nice. During the week of spring break they will get to go on a field trip to Pump It Up. I think this is going to be a good thing.

Laughter is Good

Sometimes you have those moments you would like to rewind. Today I had one. On my way home from work, I had to stop by the Occupational Health Office to take a pre-employment drug screen. The company I have been working for part time since September has offered me a full time job. Up until now, I have been working through a temp agency. Anyway, that is all beside the point. We all know how the test works, you get to potty in a little cup. After I had done this I set the cup down and proceeded to knock it over and spill it everywhere. There was a little left and the lady told me she thought it would be enough, but if not they would just have me come back and do it again. When I was relaying this tale to John he told me I should have studied for the test. He laughed and said it will be sad if I fail the test on a procedural error.

Happy Anniversary

I have a meeting at 11 every Wednesday. As I was leaving the meeting I ran by our HR Coordinator's office to pick something up. When I walked in there was a beautiful flower arrangement on her desk. I said, "Those are so pretty!" She started laughing and said, "Well, they're for you. What's the occasion?" Fourteen years and counting.

At our wedding we had white daisies and pink carnations because they are my favorites. He always remembers.

Are we having fun yet?

This week is way too busy, and I think it is only the beginning of things to come. Sunday afternoon the kids had tryouts for baseball. Last night we had an informational meeting for Joshua's team and they begin practice tonight. I still haven't heard from Jacob's coach, so we don't know his practice schedule. Joshua will have practice on Tuesday nights from 7:30 to 9:00 and again on Friday nights from 6:30 to 8:00. It will be extra fun since we have cub scouts from 6:30 to 7:30 on Tuesday nights. I am not looking forward to it. My kids are usually in bed by 8, so the Tuesday night practice will be interesting. I am so hoping Jacob has practice the same nights, but with my luck his will be Monday and Thursday. We decided we are going to forgo Wednesday night church for now. I am going to be putting the kids in bed by 7:30 that night.
Tonight will be our first night of this new balancing act. We are going to take separate cars to cub scouts so that John and Joshua can leave early for baseball practice.
In home improvement news, John purchased a kit to repair out toilet flange today. He is hoping to get that done in the next day or two. I think the next step will be to put the new tub in, but we are waiting until a payday so we can get the new tub. It is amazing how expensive this "little" project has gotten.
We will be taking a break from the project this weekend. Plans have been made for a little get away. It is good to stop and celebrate the milestones.