Leapin' Forward, Lookin' Back

I got a spark of inspiration from my sista's blog post about where she was four years ago on the last Leap Day. So it got me thinking....what was going on in the tiny little life of Jessica N. Drinks back on February 29, 2008? I mean, for starters, you would have to ask Jessica N. White....
And she would tell you the following facts:
1) On 2/29/08, I was sitting in the first house I owned with my ex-husband, having put the kids to bed by myself while my husband-at-the-time was out drinking and partying until 3 am with his new "friends" most definitely, his new girlfriend most likely, and I was a glorified babysitter and house sitter to him.
2) On 2/29/08, I was one month out of having been told by my husband-at-the-time that he was no longer in love with me, felt stiffled and suffocated, and wanted a divorce. No counseling. No discussion. Not surprisingly, I am also down 20 pounds at this point.
3) On 2/29/08, while I sit on my couch in my quiet, cold house and stare out the blinds wondering when/if my ex-husband will come home that night (it was a gamble at the time--you never knew if he was going to wander back in the dead of night or show up the next day), I never could have imagined what a difference four years would make.
4) On 2/29/08, there was no Timmy in my life. There was no Emily. There was no little brick house on Dahlgren Road. So in four years, you realize that a lifetime can change. You look back and don't even recognize yourself from back then. Did I really drag myself into work every morning, eyes red, no smile, no enthusiasm because my husband chose to not choose me? Because I'm a world away from that now. At the time, I thought I was losing everything. In fact, looking back four years later, I have gained everything worth having. A wonderful husband who could not be a more perfect match. Another beautiful baby, and a new appreciation for the two I already had. My first niece! A better life than I could have ever imagined while sitting in that house that is no longer mine, never really was, waiting for a husband that wasn't worth the time or effort or frankly, any more mentions in this posting. Because the following has happened:
1) On 2/29/2012, I live in a warm, wonderful house with the best husband in the world and children that thrill and excite me every day and make me proud to be their mother. I have a job that I like, friends that like me, a little money in the bank and a lot of love. And that's all I need.

Science Fair Spectacular

I attended Potomac Elementary school's science fair tonight because Garrett had a project in the show. He didn't end up placing, but I know he had a lot of fun doing the project. He tested to see whether the type of material on a track affected how fast his marine snail (Gary the Snail) moved. Caroline and I helped him put the show board together but all of the work was done by Garrett!

Marine Science Aquarium

Since I had to drive the two cats down to Va Beach for an extended stay with Cammy, we decided to make a weekend of it. I picked up the baby and kids after school on Friday, jammed the kitties into a carrier, and we were off! After driving through rain storms for three hours, we finally made it, and Emily made it clear that she was not happy being off schedule. She got up every couple of hours all night long on Friday, then was a little "off" on Saturday. She only took a 45 minute nap before we met Stephanie, Gavin, and Alexandria at the marine science museum. We had a good time running around the place, then headed to Chick Fil A. Stephanie came over for a little visit, then we met up with Jill for dinner at Bubba's (I was reminded of why we only take Emily to fast food--our waitress was horrible, and Cammy and I had to trade off with the baby just to eat!). Another bad night of sleep on Saturday, then we headed back home on Sunday during nap time. Luckily, Emily is getting back to her old self after being sick last week, and she slept for two hours of the drive. Yay!

Cheesing with Gavin

The turtle tank was so peaceful.....if you don't bring a 15 month old with you.

Emily: Fifteen Months Old

What a cheeseball! Emily definitely recognizes a camera! She is growing by leaps and bounds. No official stats this month--we haven't had to visit the doctor since our well baby check at one year! That's good news--only a couple of colds so far this winter, knock on wood. Doesn't look like she inherited her brother's love of ear infections :) What I Like: all foods, especially cheese, yogurt, chicken, peas, applesauce, and crackers; my bathtime; reading books; building towers with my Mega Blocks; singing songs; playing with toys that make noise; going outside; playing on my swing set and tractor outside (climbing EVERYTHING!)

What I Don't Like: being left alone in a room; being ignored; being overtired; being told "no"

The Monthly Numbers: size 3 in diapers, 4 in shoes, 18 months in clothes, and 14 teeth!

Emily has developed so many new skills, and many of them involved mimicking what other people do. She wanted to get in on the action when Garrett was cleaning the windows. She ended up taking his paper towel away from him, and when he sprayed the cleaner, she wiped up after him!

Bathroom Beautiful

So we've only got one full bathroom and we had to make it show-stopping. So it got a new coat of "A Beautiful Beige"--same color as bedrooms and hallway--and all the trim got a new bright white coat too. Then I washed the show curtain and got a new liner and scrubbed the whole thing top to bottom. I even took off each of the six light shades and washed them! Everything is so clean and sparkly, including the tile in the shower.

Yes, I did tie my fresh towels with some jazzy ribbon. Yes, I got it from a staging website. No, I will not feel embarrassed about the towels that NO ONE is allowed to touch!

See how clean that counter top is?? All of our toothbrushes and stuff are in the drawers. It's taken a couple of weeks to get used to the new setup, but now it's automatic to just put everything away.

My orchid from Lowe's. She's a beauty. Apparently she loves low light and little water, so I might actually not kill this one.

Changes, They are A-Coming

So we've been working like crazy around this place, and I've managed to finish the last two bedrooms before the weekend. Our list for Saturday and Sunday is very looooong and time consuming (clean out garage, paint garage floor, take loads of stuff to parents-in-law's house, built back deck and steps) so I was trying to get as much completed during the week as possible. Not an easy task when you factor in Miss Emily A. Drinks, so much of the work was done on Wed (I took the day off from work to get some uninterrupted paint time) and after she went to bed.

We have an appointment to list the house next Wednesday, take all the photos and measurements on Thursday, with the house officially "on the market" and Exit Realty website by next weekend! Girls' room "after"

I needed a way to keep the curtains back to let in more light. Thank you, $2.97 roll of ribbon at Walmart.

Doesn't Aunt Carrie's quilt look so nice on the end of the crib?? Matches the accent colors perfectly!

Shelf above dresser. I had to leave something on the bare walls!

Finished painting hallway on Wednesday. Took down all the family photos and put up this picture from my mom (beach scene).

Master bedroom: before

Master bedroom: during

Master bedroom: after

Moved the computer to the new family room addition.

Our mammoth dresser. A real estate agent would probably tell us to "down size" the furniture, but we gotta store clothes while we're still living here. So the dresser stays. I did clean it off and put only 2 tasteful accessories.

Home Improvement

As Camm says "moss does not gather on your stone, Jessica!" Timmy and I have been full steam ahead on getting this house ready for the market. It's not really "my house" anymore. It's certainly not "home" in my mind either. I read on a staging website that you have to emotionally distance yourself from the house--think of it as merely a product to be sold, like a box of cereal on the supermarket shelf. Timmy and I have been working into the night, with him fixing up the garage, updating wiring, and building steps while I paint every vertical surface in the house. Look at our progress over the past couple of days! Garrett's room: cleared out, cleaned up, and everything painted (walls and previously-brown wooden trim)
another view: desk and bunk beds

Looking into Garrett's room. We have replaced all of the doors in the house for more updated 6-paneled ones. Just have to paint them!

Cleaned up and cleared out kitchen. New under cabinet lighting!

Foyer area: replaced area rug

Living room: all toys are packed up, room is cleaned, trim repainted (cats clawed up the front window trim), and bookcases cleared

First view when you walk in the front door. Hoping a potential buyer out there falls in love and puts down an offer the first day!

This is So Moving......

and by "this", I mean "me and my family". Hopefully. In the near future. Because this party of five is not meant to stay in a 1200 square foot house. Yes, we've done A LOT of work on this house. Yes, we've done two additions (garage and family room). And no, we're not finished with everything that needs to be done before you put a house on the market. But Tim and I agree that we're busting at the seams, our neighbors are too close for comfort, and we would like a little more privacy and a lot more land. So the prep work has begun! Tim is busy finishing up the electrical in the garage so that we can get that final inspection done next week. Also on his "honey do now" list? Replace all bedroom doors with six-paneled doors (they are hollow core right now, and very dated) and build a deck off the back of the house where we put sliding glass doors into the addition. We thought about just doing a landing and stairs into the back yard, but a deck would look soooo much better and probably help sell the house. So we scrapped the plans to do the Trex deck that we would have built if we stayed, and we're doing the basic weather-treated wood 10 x 12 deck.

My list is just as long but involved the inside instead of outside. I have been packing up all the rooms so that the house "shows bigger". I've been a little obsessed with staging websites, and I think I have all the tricks of trade in place! We took half of our kitchen belongings out of the cabinets, packed up the kids' rooms, cleared out linen closets, etc. Take a look at our progress below! Hopefully we will have more updated photos in the next week so you can see how far we've come!

The cleared out living room entrance. Removed a white bookcase and fixed scratches in hardwood floors. Don't worry, cozy coupe will be packed up soon too!

kitchen table needs to be cleared off with jackets in the closet, but it's baby steps around here!

Garrett's room: took down his border, packed up toys (hence the boxes in the middle of the room), cleaned up desk and bought a new chair cushion, bought new bed set. Still gotta paint, clean, and clear out!

Caroline wanted to get in the shot!

Master bedroom: turkey is getting put into storage, new bed linens, computer is going into storage, desk chair will be gone, new paint job

Finally, a finished project! Built in bookcase next to kitchen--I took out all family photos, cleared out Timmy's junk from work, packed up my million cook books (left out a few for the top shelf), and wiped it all down.

This was a BIG job! Cleared out sooooo many books and knick knacks from the built in bookcases in the living room. Left books sorted by color, added a few baskets and tasteful pictures (nature scenes, not babies!), and wiped everything down.

Other side of bookcase.

A view of bookcase and fire place.

Snowball looks concerned, and rightly so. Cats do not sell houses! Their food bowls and litter boxes are a big NO NO. So Snowball and Buttercup are being packed up for a visit to Cammy's house. The kids and I are headed to Virginia Beach with cats in tow the last weekend of February.

Who knew there were so many shades of "tan neutral" in this world??? We ended up going with "A Beautiful Beige" from the Better Homes and Gardens collection. It was a nice warm beige that looks amazing with white trim. All three bedrooms and the hallway will get a new coat of paint, along with white trim for the bedrooms. I will be very busy in the upcoming weeks!

Organized and cleaned out spice cabinet. It's amazing how much junk I let pile up!

Packed up all kids' plates, plastic bowls, etc. and left the organized and matching dinnerware.

Corner cabinet--only left rectangular baking dishes and set of mixing bowls. Looks huge in there now!

Cup cabinet. Left matching coffee cups with handles all pointed in same direction (this was on staging website), and matching glassware. Everything is white, blue, clear and green except for my beloved Virginia Tech cups! They stick out like a sore thumb!

A cleaned off fridge--so white and boring :) I know everyone loves stainless steel, but my fridge is AWESOME (huge and french doors and freezer on bottom) and very new! So it's staying! And it matches the dishwasher and microwave (all are Whirlpool gold). Figured it was more important to have matching and new than stainless steel. We scrubbed out the fridge too and organized the food--apparently house hunters like to look in fridges???