Picture Perfect

 Yes, more picures!  Here are some shots of Garrett's room.  And yes, he picked the color.  It was slightly.....ummmm, brighter, than I thought it would be, but it's not neon or blinding.  It's called "lemon grass" from Home Depot.  The room is a pretty good size.  We didn't paint Garrett's wood trim because (1) I was painting while home alone and (2) I'm not allowed to use oil based paint.  So, what's the moral of this story?  Garrett gets to have wood trim until we (1) paint the trim at a later date or (2) he decides to live with it forever.  We're leaning towards the latter.

 When I took this pic, we had just put the bookcase in the room, so Garrett was in the process of unloading his boxes and filling it up.  Also explains all the stuff all over the floor.  Four of his fish survived the move so we bought some more and added them in.

 Bedroom #5:  Future nursery.  Right now, it holds the clothes overload.  No reason to rush cleaning it out for another....couple months?

 Kids' bathroom upstairs.  I didn't do much in here--just added the really cute frog accessories.  The frog in the soap holder actually pops up and down--very cute.  The vanity and medicine cabinet were new when we moved in.

 Side shelves in bathroom.  Our towels and baskets of supplies looks very nice there.  Oddly enough, there's not a linen closet in the upstairs hallway, so for now we use this shelf system for the kids' stuff and use the closet system in the nursery for our sheets/blankets/towels.

 Master bathroom.  It has a nice jetted tub and new tile and the shower head has amazing water pressure. 

 Family room downstairs.  Right now, it's the only room with a tv.  We bought a gallon of Ocean View (blue from old family room) and when we get the energy, we might actually paint this room soon!

 Office downstairs.  It's actually bedroom #6, but who other than the Duggars needs that many rooms??  The room used to be originally 1978--think wood panel on the bottom, dark trim, gold ceiling fan, brick patterned vinyl flooring.  We put several coats of primer and paint on the paneling so it looks like nice wainscotting.  The wall color is "silver spoon", purchased at True Value.  It's a gorgeous gray color with a touch of blue.  Very beachy looking.  New flooring (tile system--roman travertine) goes in tonight and hopefully we'll be able to unpack all of those boxes of books into our bookcases.

We got a wonderful print from Cammy of the Outer Banks (taken from satellite).  It will go on the wall above where it's resting.   My diploma goes on the closest wall, and Tom the Turkey gets a place of honor somewhere in here (that way I don't have to look at him in the family room).  Two white bookcases and the computer desk and we're done!

A Plethora of Pictures

 And if you ever knew my old principal, Ms. A., you would think that heading was funny because we swear that "plethora" was her favorite word.  She used it constantly.  But I digress.....here are some more pics of the house!  The top pic is a little dark, but I'm standing in the living room in front of the double glass doors, aiming for the kitchen.  When we arrived, the entire downstairs was painted off-white.  Nice, but a little bland for us.  So Timmy picked out a beautiful green "Sagey" (at Home Depot) and we attacked the living room and kitchen.  The green really helps the white cabinets stand out from the walls.

 See those boxes on top of the tv stand?  Eventually, once we set it up, the tv will be there.  That way, we have another room for watching tv when the kids are trying to take over the family room for a marathon of "Adventure Time".

 Landing of the staircase.  It felt a little bare, but I wasn't sure a table would fit there and not be in the way.  This little antique table fits great, and it gives me a place for a basket for our mail.  Dallas pics above!

 Emily's room.  We went with "love and nature" bedding and decorations from Target.  Paint is "lemon drop" from Home Depot.  Curtains are a heavenly microfiber from Walmart that drape beautifully and really block out the light.

 Notice the adorable owls on top of her closet and curtain rod!  We had a blast with our vinyl decals!

 This tree was found at Target for only $18.  It's almost 5 feet tall!

 Bought a rocker/glider from my friend Sheri and Emily loves it.  We've now transferred our "reading books" time before bed from the family room to her bedroom.  Now, after she's in pjs after her bath, all I do is sit in the glider, ask her to pick out 3 books, read, then put her straight into the crib.

 Caroline's room!  Notice that Caroline and Emily have white trim--the result of many, many coats of oil based paint.  Caroline's room is "pool water" from Home Depot.  We got her curtains on clearance ($7 a panel!) and they are ombre stripes.  Her bunkbed and bedding stayed the same, but we passed along our old dresser for her (she used to share with Emily) and dug her desk out of the basement so that she can finally use it!

 Caroline is the only one with a closet system, so she is very proud!  Her books, toys, and doll accessories fit in perfectly.  We will probably end up adding a few more shelves--she definitely has the space.

House Update

 I'm adding some recent pictures of the outside of the house.  Now that painting is almost complete, I will do another post with those pics too!  Above is a view of our patio.  We pressure washed it last night (pic above is the "before") and bought a new patio set (on sale at Home Depot).  Since that big glass door leads right to our living room and kitchen, I can't wait to use the grill this summer and eat outside.

 Taking a step back, this is a pic from the back of our yard.  I love this white picket fence that runs all around the back patio.  The previous owner planted lots of climbing vines and flowers.

 Front of the house.  They did some wonderful landscaping....right before they left.  Here's to hoping my sorta-green thumb is able to keep all of this stuff alive.

 We have tons of bleeding heart plants in our flower beds.  They are gorgeous! 

 Emily waving to our neighbors.  The people next door just moved in a month before us and have a 3 year old girl and 5 year old boy.  Those two kids love to chase each other around their yard in their motorized Jeeps and Emily is just fascinated.

 House from front yard



Emily: 18 Months Old

I know this post is late, but we've been going crazy with the move.  The computer wasn't hooked up for a couple of days, then the internet was being cranky, etc.  So here are some pics of the 18 1/2 month old girl playing in the backyard!  Don't have many stats on her right now because we don't have our well baby visit until June 8th.  But I know that she's 25 1/2 pounds because we were at the emergency room a month ago for a dislocated elbow (moral of that story:  don't swing your child from her hands while walking with your husband in a Bob Evans' parking lot). 
Emily's new room is a sunny yellow color with the "love and nature" bedding set from Target.  We also got some vinyl decals to decorate her walls--owls sitting on top of her closet, a big beautiful tree next to her crib, cute birds flying across her walls.  She sleeps like a champ in her new room!  Over the weekend, she slept in until 9 am on Saturday (14 hours of sleep) and until 8:30 am on Sunday!  I could get used to this schedule with summer break coming up! 
Emily likes:  grapes, bananas, cheese sticks, cottage cheese, Go-gurts, sub sandwiches (not cut up), and pickles! (her favorite); climbing up and down stairs; playing on her climbing equipment; climbing ladders; reading books
Emily dislikes:  being stuck in the grocery cart; not being able to run free through Home Depot and Walmart; being scolded; having to share her toys

Mama Drinks: 18 Weeks

No, it's not our actual baby to the left, but it is a picture of a baby at 18 weeks!  Which I have now reached!  Flies by, doesn't it?!  Seems like just yesterday my students were saying things like "Mrs. Drinks, I don't want to be rude, but are you getting bigger?  Tommy said your having a baby..."  I went to the doctor yesterday and everything is looking great!  I had my bloodwork done for the AFP test (alpha fetal protein), weight (up a couple pounds), and blood pressure (130/65).  Top # seemed a little high to me, but I guess it's common in afternoon appointments (stress of the day catches up with you).  My nurse, Amanda, found the baby's heartbeat on the first try, like 2 seconds after she stuck the doppler on my belly!  And that doppler pumped out a beautiful heartbeat of 140 on the dot.  Hmmmmm, boy or girl, based on that number??  Not to worry, we find out for sure at our anatomy scan on June 5th!
I am now fully in maternity clothes.  I couldn't pull on my loosest pants if I wanted to at this point.  I no longer have the constant fatigue and nausea of the first trimester and I've needed the extra energy with the move.  I've gained around 5 pounds total and I swear it's all sitting on my chest.  I mean, my "girls" weren't small to begin with, but now they're positively humongus!  My feet seem a little puffy in the evenings, but nothing major.
Next doctor's appointment (@ OBGYN):  June 19th @ 9 am.

Recorder Concert

Remember that plastic recorder that we all had to play in music class in 4th grade?  Well, that lesson plan has not died.  I remember when we ordered Garrett's recorder 2 years ago, and lo and behold, Caroline had to get one this year (but remember how ours were all brown?  Now they come in a rainbow of colors!  So jealous!)  The idea is that the recorder introduces the kids to the possibility of taking band in 5th and 6th grades.  If your kid liked playing the recorder and did well at it, you might want to sign them up for band.  If your kid refused to practice and hated playing....might be time to look into a sport instead.  As for Caroline?  She LOVED the recorder.  Played it everywhere--in the car, outside, in the shower.  She wants to do band next year (possibly flute or clarinet, hasn't decided yet). 

KG's Artistic Society

One does not get many chances to enjoy the fine arts of King George County, so I was very happy to go to Caroline's recorder concert AND get a preview of the art show!  I was only expecting to sit (struggle) through a couple of recorder classics, but it was followed by a keyboard concert (5th grade) and a chorus concert (5th and 6th grade).  I couldn't very well get up right after Caroline finished Au Claire de la Lune and interrupt the performances, so I muddled through the other acts.  Then we went next door to the art gallery (cafeteria) to see the best of the year's art projects!

Moving on, Moving up

Seriously, we're exhausted.  I have only moved a handful of times in my life, and most of those times required a few Rubbermaid tubs and a desperate attempt to get my security deposit back by cleaning out my fridge "just enough".  A whole house of stuff (including a workshop, garage, and basement) is another story altogether!  And everyone who helped us move has the same "suggestions":  "You should have a garage sale", "You should donate any of this stuff you don't use", etc.  And the thing is, they're right--we have aquired just a little too much "stuff".  But how do you get rid of 2 years worth of baby clothes before you find out if the next one is a girl?  Or the 3 boxes of memories you have from growing up because your mom finally made you take those yearbooks and junk from her house? 
So the move is going.....well, it's going.  We have the kids on mattresses on the floor and a little pile of clothes for each until we finish painting bedrooms.  We have to prime the trim (oil based, so I can't help) then paint walls, then go back and actually do trim paint.  It's a multi step process that takes about 2-3 days per room.  But it's worth doing right the first time, because after this, we're loading up the furniture, clothes, and toys and each room will be finished!  The kitchen, family room, and living room are all set up--we're eating on our dining room table, sitting on our couches, playing on the computer, and waiting for the "dish man" to show up Thursday so we have tv.  Emily has a newfound love of the stairs, so we can't leave her for a second.  It's a little overwhelming, but we're getting there slowly and surely.

Echo, echo, echo

The house is empty!  Well, almost.....we have a few boxes of pantry food and stuff from the bathroom being piled up in the dining area.  In these last couple of days left in our house, I have been working like a madwoman.  Yesterday, I boxed up 8 boxes of pantry food, threw away 4 garbage bags of expired food from the cabinets and fridge, and scrubbed the fridge from top to bottom.  Tonight, I'm tackling the bathrooms and packing up the last of our toiletries (we'll be left with only our toothbrushes and my contacts).  The basement is empty for the first time in 4 years (you can collect a huge amount of crap when you have a full basement to store it all in).  Timmy took off work on Friday so that he can pack up our bed and the baby's crib before the walk through at 9 AM.  And as of 11 AM, I will sell my first house.  And be officially homeless until 4 PM, when we close on our new house.  How excited are we to move?  Well, we've already bought paint for all the bedrooms!  And new outlets and light switch covers. 
I am such a novice at this whole process.  My only experiences with packing up and moving out usually involved doing just enough cleaning to get my security deposit back.  This is so much work!  But at least all of our stuff is already at the house, stored in the garage for now.  Hauling boxes back and forth is such a pain in the patooty.  More updates soon!