Haggard

haggard: having a gaunt, wasted, or exhausted appearance, as from prolonged suffering, exertion, or anxiety

OK- This was one of Justin's vocab words this week. He was looking for a definition this week. Instead of pulling one up from the Internet (our dictionary isn't unpacked yet) I simply said... me! He quickly responded... tired? Guess that fits! I didn't know the real definition but it actually fits! I don't think I've had prolonged suffering, but too much work and not enough play certainly fits! I know it looks like I'm doing all the work and Jim's sailing through this remodel... but, it's not true! He's pretty much touched every piece of sheet rock, wood and mud that's down there! (along with Uncle Dana...) Taking advice from my brother Steele... use as little mud as possible... sanding it is NOT fun! Justin was on the sander for a couple minutes, then completely worn out. The next day, he came home from school and we told him I sanded the whole downstairs. Jim asked him, " Do you have just a little more respect for mom now that she did the whole thing?" He quickly responded... "Oh, I already had a ton of respect for you both." Actually, all four of the boys have had a hand in helping build our basement... Caden's put in the most time... he's Mr. Fix-It. He LOVES being down there doing whatever we're doing! Justin's a close 2nd... He carried almost all of the sheet rock downstairs with Jim. Great bonding dad/son time! (Ty did carry 4 of the 140+ sheets... gotta give him credit!) One of these days when we're finished, they'll all be able to say they helped build our house!

A bit of sheetrock!

From completely unfinished, to framed and now sheetrocked... here's our basement! We're going to eventually put some kind of countertop on the cabinets for a work area. The corner is going to be our office and my work area for my vinyl. The bathroom is right there, too. Plus, the big closet that Justin calls, "just a closet." On the other side of that wall is our pantry area and space for canning along with our utility room/tornado shelter. It's all so open and light!

Jim and I have a hot "weekend date" down there... playing in the mud! Should be loads of fun! I really can't wait. I'm so excited to work on it! With so much dust and mud flying, there's really no reason for me to clean or dust upstairs, right?

A Family Affair

Let me just say... we decided to skip doing any small projects on our new house and get down to business! Finishing our basement is like building a house!! It really is! If there's an award out there for "Uncle of the Year" it goes to my Uncle Dana-fix-it. That's what we call him since any time his name is mentioned, Caden adds on a little "unka dana fix it". He just spent another weekend with us away from his busy life in San Diego to join our craziness! In just 8 full working days between both long weekends he was here (Jim only had 6 full working days)... it's coming along! Starting from a big open room- they framed it, ran all the electrical, sheetrocked it, and even got a plumber in to run the lines for the bathroom. I never thought I'd love the sight of sheetrock, dust aka orbs, 2x4's and tools everywhere! It's just beautiful.

When it's finished, we'll have Justin and Ty's bedrooms down there, a huge family room, nice big office/work area, full bathroom, canning area/pantry w/a drop sink, tornado shelter in our utility room, and a walk in closet that I can hardly wait to organize! There are windows all around, so it's so bright and light. I think we're going to LIVE down there! I'll post photos after I make it down there today to clean up a little bit!

Undefeated

I know they've only had two games, but both Justin & Ty's teams remain unbeaten! Both of their teams shut out their opponents last week, making sweet victories! Winning isn't everything, but they're sure enjoying it! Actually, we're all really enjoying football. In spite of the four hours or so that we spend in the bleachers, it's fun hanging with the little guys! Of course, Caden's our little daredevil child, so he'll likely be hurt sooner or later! By the end of Justin's game- we're all exhausted!

It's fun to look forward to each Thursday night!

A Boy, A Dog & A Frog

Some days, my life seems like a fairy tale... Reality kicks back in quickly, but all in all life is so good! I feel I could write a children's series just watching my boys and their many adventures out here in the country. Maybe, I will someday.

Coleman and Tyler love frogs. Our pup does, too. Coleman thinks they're his friends. He's gotten good at holding a frog in one hand while steering his bike with his other hand. It's great fun to watch. He loves it when I water my flower spot, because the frogs come out of their holes making it easy for him to catch them. Of course, he gets scolded about every other day for getting in my flowers... we're working on this. Every once in a while Caden decides that he wants to hold one, or at least touch one. So, Tyler or Coleman will catch one, get close to Caden and he'll chicken out. He almost touched one the other day, then backed off right away! He'd rather watch them jump around! Justin doesn't like handling them either, imagine that! I can admit- I'd rather watch them than get my hands slimy, too!
Poor frogs, but it makes for hours of great entertainment.

Blessing

We've been here a whole month now and I still don't have my pictures up on the walls! I don't understand... I thought for sure that I'd be totally settled, decorated and on top of things. I'm not. My pictures are in stacks on my window shelf- still. I don't have just one "junk drawer" yet- but piles still on every counter that I seem to clear off every other day. I still haven't even taken the sticker off the glass in our bathroom that says, "Only wash with soap and water, do not use shower cleaners. Leave on for homeowners." Why is it so hard to knock this stuff out!?

I love houseplants, so does Caden. With so much dirt outside, I don't understand why he has to mess with mine. I'm having a hard enough time getting my plants to take without him dumping them out or digging in them. I don't know how to grow plants in a house with A/C- help! Maybe this is contributing to the reason my pictures aren't up yet!

I'm too busy cleaning up new messes.

Looking back at my days before moving, I struggled to keep up with the daily chores of keeping our house together and everyone happy. I don't know why I thought I'd be able to stay on top of that plus everything else and have it done by now. Guess if I wasn't still doing 2-3 loads of laundry every day, making dinner, dishes, babies, a trip to the ER, puppy training, football, homework with the big boys, everything else with the big boys... it might all be finished! Oh well!

I did do my entry wall with this saying. I'm still working on the pictures to go around it. Maybe that will happen today with the other things I've been meaning to get done!

Play Ball

It's football season again, and I must say here... it's a whole new game down here! I LOVE IT! Ty's last game last season in Alaska was freezing... and the memory is still clear in our minds. Instead of worrying if the boys are bundled up, I'm worried that they're hydrated enough... and that it won't be too hot for them. They're handling it pretty well considering most of the last couple weeks was close to or at 100 degrees! Justin said this game was the best game he's ever played in... Ty had a blast too in spite of being crunched by the big kid in the picture above! (really, this is 7th grade!)

Sitting in the stands watching their first games was a wonderful experience! I couldn't believe it was Middle School, it felt like a High School game- an announcer calling the plays and their names, programs when you walk in, a concession stand and stadium lights that actually lit up once the sun went down! It was crazy! Of course, the best part for me was the 90+ degrees that I could just soak up while hangin' in the bleachers! Where have I been all of my life?!

I'm pretty excited for this season!

(By the way... they both won!)

School Days

I know it's been a couple weeks since school started, but I thought I'd still post photos of the big boys and their first day of school! I just about bought them a bunch of jeans/pants while school shopping, before realizing that they'll be wearing shorts for a while! The idea of a warm fall is such a crazy concept to me that I'm still trying to grasp.

Ty started 7th and Justin's in 8th grade and both are off to a great start! We're really not that remote, but far enough out that a bus picks them up in our driveway. Talk about pressure... having to have them beat the bus out there since they're the only ones at their stop! They're picked up at 6:45 (except Wednesdays, which start an hour later) which makes for early mornings! (especially when they have a mom who's still not a morning person... It's probably too late for me now, right?)

Both boys are playing football (photos soon to come...) and practice isn't over until 5:30. Needless to say, it's a long day for both of them. I asked Ty the other day if he's doing alright making it to class on time- he said he just doesn't go back to his locker at all! Remember that pressure of only having a couple minutes for passing time!? Poor guy, I'll have to work with him on planning his day a little better to make it a little easier! Middle School is so tough!