I've been busy

So I haven't posted in...well...months. But in my defense a lot has been going on! First of all, with summer here there's been a slew of visitors hopping in and out of our area, so we've been making time to visit with all of them. Second of all, Eisley turned 1 and we had to combine her party with Jake's since their b-days are only 4 days apart, and third WE REMODELED OUR KITCHEN.

I posted some pics on facebook, but there's no direct before and after transition there. I like to show the remodeling being done. But here, I wanted to show side by side how the transformation when from beginning to end. Trust me, a lot went in to getting them this way. Thank you homebuyers credit for making it possible!

Before

After

WAY before. Like before we moved in.

After

World's worst kitchen layout. Oh, I mean...Before....

After!

I wish I had a better camera. Or a video. Or something to truly convey how DRAMATIC it is. It's so much warmer and cleaner and sleeker and a million more -ers that I can't even list. It's the first kitchen I've ever had where I look FORWARD to loading the dishwasher. The first time I've don't really mind cooking dinner. The first time I've been able to decorate a space like this in my own taste. Not to mention, the first time I can say that I selected ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING in this space. The floor, the cabinets, the appliances, the countertops, the sink, the hardware, even down to the dishtowel hanging on the stove, it was ALL me. And to see it come together like I envisioned it in my head is even more rewarding.

I've told several people that the reason I do commercial design for a living is because homeowners are so picky and indecisive. Now I can add myself to that list of annoying home owners. I had the HARDEST time making final decisions and trust me, this went through several re-designs. But I'm so happy with it. Some of my favorite features include:

-raised upper cabinets to allow for 22" above the countertop instead of the standard 18". It makes it feel so much bigger.

-silent-close drawers. They're amazing. Except now I slam the drawers at my mom's house and expect them to do the same; they do not.

- A fridge with an ice-maker. Maybe this is old hat to some people, but I'm an ice FANATIC and have never had an ice-maker before. Makes me want to weep with joy daily.

-The tile floor. Again, old news to some people, but after having a double-layered carpeted kitchen, I feel like I could kiss that tile every day.

-The dishwasher. Didn't have one, now we do. Enough said.

-The chandelier. We changed it from a big 2x4 fluorescent and the difference is phenomenal. It encourages me that we might actually get rid of the ship-wheel light fixture we have downstairs. One day...

Anyway, that's a look at how it really went down. 3 weeks of a different contractor in your house every day can get tiring, but at least I didn't have to do it all myself, and the end result makes it well worth it. And now we're down to the two bathrooms that need to be remodeled! Let me just give you a hint: toothpaste green plastic tile and pink wallpaper. This'll be one for the books, ladies and gentlemen. Trust me. :)

Eisley Crawling!

9 Months

Eisley is 9 months old. I don't know where the time has gone. That sounds so cliche, but really. I feel like I just had her. We just had her 9 month check up and she's 17 lbs. 13 oz. (30th percentile) 28 in. tall (65th percentile) and I don't know her head measurements, but don't worry, because it was in the 90th percentile. I think they add her hair into the measurement.

I don't know if every doctor is like this, but they give me a questionnaire to fill out every time she comes for a well-child checkup and it's a series of yes or no questions about what your child can do. You stop once you've answered "no" three times. Well that happened within the first 5 questions this time, so naturally I became worried. The questions were like: "Can your baby get to sitting position if lying on her back or tummy?" ummm...no. Then "Does your baby pull herself up to standing when near furniture?" yeah, not really. "Can your baby crawl?" Does scooting count? So the doctor tells me not to worry, that she might even walk before she crawls because she's hated being on her tummy since day one.

So I go home and, of course, I worry. But I think Eisley just likes to see me sweat because I kid you not, the VERY NEXT DAY she did all three of those things. Suddenly she can crawl normally (not for long distances yet, but she's got it). Suddenly when I lay her on her back, she flips over, gets up on her hands and knees, and pushes herself back until she's sitting up. And it's definitely time to lower her crib mattress because more often than not, now I find her holding on to the sides and trying to stand up.

In other developmental news, she plays peek-a-boo like a champ, calls me "mama" (and sometimes when I make her mad she says "ba mama" so it sounds like she's calling me a bad mama, but I'm going to pretend that's not the case), holds her own bottle (FINALLY), and pretends to be scared when I say "boo!" to her. She does a fake scream and everything. And she makes her toys talk in a different voice than her real one. Is that normal? Doctors don't tell you about that stuff.

Anyway, we're so glad to have her and she really makes every day so fun and different. I can't imagine a life without her now. I love being her mom and I love watching her grow. I can't believe she'll be a year in three months. I'd better start planning the party...

(I'll post pictures soon. My desktop computer is still packed, but by the end of this week, we should have the office up and running again, and I'll post some then!)

The Life of a Remodeler

I never thought I'd be this person. I never thought I'd pick an old fixer-upper to be my first house. When I dreamed of buying our first home, it was a vision full of clean, white walls, wonderfully neutral carpet, and a new kitchen with a dishwasher. A blank slate, ready and willing to offer me my first chance to truly design a space entirely my own.

So what am I doing holed up in a wood-paneled basement room of a house that looks like a tornado ripped through the entire upstairs, leaving tack-strip and wallpaper scraps in its wake?

I'd be lying if I said I hated every minute of this process so far. And truthfully, we've made a LOT of progress in the short week we've held the house keys in our hand. The ceilings are now beautifully white and popcorn-free. The walls are all painted the exact colors I wanted, with very little of the said paint actually covering wallpaper (I swore I wouldn't paint over wallpaper, but in the bedrooms, where there were three layers to peel off, the first one had BECOME part of the drywall. So we primed it and painted it and you'd never know).

And the floors...Ahhh the floors. The once famed shag-fest that was our entire first floor is no more. And I, always the pessimist, thought that we'd DEFINITELY have to sand and re-stain what we found underneath. But I couldn't be happier with what was unveiled. The narrow-planked original hardwood floors are in BEAUTIFUL condition. When we pulled the carpet back and saw what was underneath, I felt like I was on an old episode of Trading Spaces, and Jacob was my proverbial Vern Yip telling me we didn't have to do any more work on the floors. (It makes you wonder why people were always living with their nasty old carpets, when that was just waiting underneath). The stain is a little more orange than I would've picked, but when all they need is a once-over with the pliers to pull out the carpet staples and a little sprinkling of orange-glo, I am not going to complain about the color. Not when everything else in this house needs to be re-done.

But not everything has been so easy. The windows are all painted shut. Which we knew going in, but we didn't count on them being painted shut with literally 10 layers of paint from the past 50 years. We had to physically pry the entire bottom casing off of one window, just to access it to push up. And even then it took two people to push the thing so that a mere 3 inches worth of fresh air could come in and break up the paint fumes that were permeating the space. The furnace...don't get me started on the furnace. It didn't work the night we moved in. Someone, between the inspection and closing and cut the power to it. We had an electrician come out and fix it, yet here we are a week later, and it's not working again. That's the short story. I will not go further into detail. And I still can't decide if I want to gut my kitchen and completely re-do it (therefore completely using up the $8,000 tax credit we get for buying this "project" of a house), or if I want to live with it and spend the money on real grown-up furniture for once in my life.

The list is a mile and a half long; new carpet for the basement, new windows, a new toilet, new tile for the kitchen and bathroom (which by the way had mint green PLASTIC TILE on every wall AND in the shower surround. I've never even HEARD of plastic tiles.) etc. etc. etc.

But at the end of the day, there is a certain sense of pride that it all belongs to us. That we're allowed to paint the walls, replace the carpet and rip up whatever we want. I can put nail holes in the wall wherever I want and nobody can punish me for it. So, yes, I'm grateful. And I know I'll look back in a few months, or a year, or whenever we get everything done (does that ever happen? Anyone?) and be happy we did it. But right now, it's a little more than overwhelming. And I'm a lot more of a true remodeler than I ever dreamt I'd be.

I'll post pictures soon. Like when I actually get my desktop computer unpacked. :)

Time to Move

I hate moving. I hate packing up every tiny little thing in every closet and trying to find a label for it. I hate that I have totes and boxes that I haven't even looked at in years, yet I can't bear to throw it away so we move it along with us to not be looked at somewhere else.

But as much as I hate moving, I love change. I really do. I'm a change-aholic. And even more than change, I love progression. So the fact that Jacob and I were blessed enough to be able to finally buy our own home, which presents us with change AND progression, is enough to make me smile through the packing.

And then I remember what the NEW house looks like, and my smile falters slightly. On paper, this place sounds amazing. Here's the actual description from our actual agent:

immaculate home on tree lined street. Covered Patio, spacious living room, large family room in basement. New oven/range, Nice, fully fenced yard. Solid brick home. Workbench stays, space for RV, convenient to bus lines, shopping, schools, churches.

Then you look at the stats: 3 bedroom, 1 1/2 bath, 2044 square feet, one car garage, corner lot, upstairs living room, downstairs family room, and probably about 8 storage closets. It sounds amazing right?

They don't tell you that every single one of those 2044 square feet is plastered with wallpaper, or crowned with a popcorn ceiling, or adorned with lovely shag carpet from the 1970's that matches to a T what my great-grandmother had in her home. We always joked about how she was so protective of spills, because it was so mottled with shades of chartreuse, day-glo orange, tomato red, and mustard yellow, that we knew you'd never even notice a spill. And here I am, about to own that carpet.

Yet for some reason, I can't feel bad about it. We got a great deal, and when we walked through it Jacob was like a kid in a candy store talking excitedly about all the improvements he could make. And I have to admit, it's been kind of fun designing my very own kitchen.

So we'll tear out the old and come in sanding and painting and repairing to find the new. And hopefully soon, I'll have some killer before and after photos.

Wish me luck! As of Monday, we'll be homeowners!

An Ode to Cousins

Thick as thieves.

Isn’t that what they say,

About two people who are the closest of friends?

If so, than these two girls should be charged

With grand larceny.

They’re more than two peas in a pod,

They’re two grapes on a vine; two kernels on an ear; two seeds on a berry.

(Why has no one ever thought of those analogies?)

Two beautiful little girls, made of much the same stuff,

yet, evidently unique.

Curly dark hair and deep, gray eyes,

Straight blonde hair and bright, blue eyes;

Toothy grin,

Gummy smile;

Dances and runs,

Sits and shakes;

(I mean it. She just sits and shakes with excitement

about EVERYTHING)

Despite the differences, there is obvious camaraderie;

Eisley tolerates advances from Elaina she would NEVER accept from me

(Think forced hugs, body-smashing kisses, and poked eyes;

I think she’s still trying to figure out what color they are. I am.).

And Elaina abides Eisley’s innocent-yet-painful interactions,

Far more patiently than she would coming from anyone else

(i.e. merciless hair tugging, endless face scratching, and gallons of slobber

From unrelenting kisses).

And through it all,

They stand up for each other,

(Even if Eisley cannot yet stand).

They each have the other’s back.

They fight,

They forgive,

They scream,

They laugh,

They share,

They grab,

They imitate,

They lead,

They laugh at each other,

They cry together,

And above all,

They love.

Even at this young age,

They love.

And I count my blessings that I am allowed

the privilege

To watch.

I hope they always remain this close.

No, THIS close…

First Word...?

I'm totally counting this for her first word (And not JUST because it's mama):

makes me smile.

(and how about that hair? Cracks me up.)

Betrothed

Eisley had her first real date this weekend. Sure she's met other boys; there was Kaleb from Kentucky who was super cute but a little shy around her and Bentley from Boise who was sick when she met him, so she couldn't be sure what he was really like. But for this weekend, it was lunch at a Chinese restaurant to meet my good friend Brooke's son, Jett for the first time. A REAL date. I was glad she let me tag along and take pictures. Something I'm SURE she won't let me do when she's a teenager. But I was there this time and it was priceless.

I think it went well...

Jett nervously munching his appetizer until Eisley arrived.

Neither of them were sure what to think.

Play it cool, play it cool. Don't seem too eager.Jett tried his hardest to share with Eisley, but she was playing hard to get.He got a little discouraged, and Eisley kept looking to me for comfort.Finally, she reached out to accept his offer.Oh yeah! Jett is very satisfied with himself."Mom! I think he likes me!"
Finally dropping all pretenses, (and realizing Eisley can't eat crackers) he just went for her hand. What a stud.It was time to say goodbye all too soon.Eisley didn't get the memo on "you go 90, let them come the last 10"
She went straight in for the kiss.
That is one happy couple!

Okay, okay, so I realize it's crazy to plan your daughter's marriage and put her on fake dates. But after seeing these pictures, I'm not so sure it was fake.

At any rate, we had a blast seeing Brooke and Jett and are so glad they made the long journey down from Canada and that Dev and I could make it up from Utah to see the Interior Design art show and have some much-needed girls time. Thanks for the memories! And who knows, maybe these two will live happily ever after?

The Pigtail Saga

Eisley's hair has been unmanageable lately, so I finally plucked up my courage, picked up a comb and attempted pigtails. I'm happy to say it was a success. See for yourself:

Front View

Back View

So I was all proud of myself and kept looking at her funny all day, because I'm not used to her hair being pulled back. She didn't seem to mind, thankfully. Well, little did I know I had made a BIG mistake. I put pigtails in her hair on a non-bath day. See, we only bathe her every other day because we don't want to dry out her already sensitive skin. I did not think of what would happen that night when we took the pigtails out. Or the next morning...

THIS is what happened:
...that night......the next morning...
(P.S. This is TOTALLY my desktop background picture right now. Cracks me up)So the only logical thing to do, was to put her hair in pigtails yet again. And yet again, she looked adorable (even if she IS chewing on her shoe):


So that night we were at my mom's and she said she'd give Eisley a bath with her cousin Elaina. I brought Eisley in to my mom and this was our conversation:
me:"Okay she's ready!"
mom: "Yes, dear, but you have to take out her hair ties."
me: "I already did!"

Can you see why she was confused?
That hair is doing it on its own!

So we finally got the perma-piggies out of her hair and she slept wonderfully knowing she was clean and probably free of the headache induced by such tight little pigtails. And I thought we were finally done with the drama resulting from my self-perceived successful attempt at doing hair.

I was wrong...WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO WITH THIS GRANDMA FRO?!?

The poor girl had worn her hair pulled back for two days straight and it gave me a headache just LOOKING at how tight those little pony tails were. I didn't want to inflict that upon her again! So this time I resorted to using product. I swore I'd never do it, but it cannot be helped. I used some spray gel in her hair.

Still, not great.

But after a little drying, a little tousling and a little hairbow, we finally ended up with something I could live with. And in fact, I love this picture of her. (Yes I changed her outfit. It was too cold for shorts, I just wanted to try them on her.)

So there it is. I'm learning slowly how to deal with her beautiful curly hair. I've never had curly hair. I've never had a baby. This is a HUGE learning curve for me. But at least I'm able to laugh at the process. And I wouldn't trade her for anything, OR her luxurious locks.

Mond-uary

Is it just me, or does January feel like one big long Monday? I mean, in November we were able to take a long weekend and go up to Boise for Thanksgiving. Then in December we took another long weekend and traveled to Kentucky for an early Christmas with Jake's family. Then during Christmas week, and New Year's week, Jacob only had 3-day work weeks. So we're having all this fun all month long, like it's a never-ending Friday.

Then January comes, complete with depressing snow, 5-day work weeks, and a whole heck of a lot of CLEANING that needs to be done. Just like Monday.

Anyway, at least our long Friday was a lot of fun. It was so nice to go visit our KY family. They all just ate Eisley up (not literally, thank goodness) and she basked in the glow of never-ending attention and affection (very literally). She was SO good both on the plane ride, and with the mass of family swarming around her. She was so happy and content, and that made it a lot easier for ME to be happy and content. We had tons of fun having Christmas, eating Missy's biscuits and gravy (something I never understood the appeal of until I had hers. Now I crave them, and I just can't do it the same way), going shopping, re-visiting old haunts, and catching up with old friends.

Eisley and her cousin Kyleigh

...with Granddad Kinney

4 generations! E, Jake, Missy (Jake's mom) and Granny Carlisle
Can you see the family resemblance or what?Eisley and her Auntie Clinton! So cute! There was a picture where you can see Tamara's face too, but this one's so cute with her laughing, that I had to use it instead. Sorry girl. We came back and very soon after we were celebrating Christmas with my family. It's not as big of a deal, since we pretty much all live here and see each other pretty often, but it was still fun. We decided to spread out the presents on Christmas day this year instead of opening them all at 6am and being done and tired by 8. This year, Jacob and I stayed at our house (instead of sleeping over at my mom's as we'd done in previous years) and opened our presents to each other after Eisley finished her morning bottle. Then when she woke up, we went over to my mom's for brunch (attempted biscuits and gravy. Not nearly as good) then most of the family went to see a movie, which is a long-standing tradition for the Dick family. We saw Avatar and LOVED it. Then we came back, Nate and Libbie joined the ranks and we stopped by our house to have everyone open their presents from us. Then back to mom's for the rest of the family presents. When all was said and done, the last present wasn't torn open until 4pm. If you ask me, THAT'S how you do Christmas!

Eisley trying to open her presents early

E and her cousin Elaina Christmas morning

I got Elaina a wooden pizza set. She loved it!Everyone at my house. The kids bought mom and dad a new microwaveNew Year's Eve came quickly too, and we spent it at our house playing games on the Wii, then Guitar Hero and DDR on the Playstation, eating hoagie sandwiches and just being loud and having fun. Now that there are 5 young kids, however, we did not make it till midnight. We decided to go ahead and celebrate with our friends in the Eastern Time Zone and blew our horns and popped our confetti at 10pm. Don't judge us. I was EXHAUSTED, and my living room floor was littered with confetti bits, but I went to bed at 10:30.

Probably one of my favorite pictures EVER.

Or this one. I love it. I think they were canoeing

Me and my girl

Jared and Ben in their special hats. Jacob and I in their special hats.

All in all, it was a wonderful Holiday season, and it makes me a little sad that now I have to live through a month of Monday's. But at least February will be here soon, with promise of another Holiday to look forward too. Now if only someone could remind Jacob that Valentine's Day IS a real Holiday...