Pool

I got in trouble because I shared my strawberry smoothie with one Mr. Flip the Dog. Let me tell you, he LOVED it. Flip is a fan of Starbucks. The problem is, now Steve can't enjoy his girlie coffee drinks in peace. What you can't see super clearly in this picture is Flip's tongue shooting out to try and get at the whipped cream. You can see Steve moving like lightening to save his frap:

Dog attack

Steve is also sad because, despite the king sized bed, Flip enjoys pushing him slowly but surely off the bed using his needle paws. I woke up this morning to find Steve's knees hanging off the edge of the bed and Flip pressed against him. Meanwhile, I had like 3 acres of bed on other side.

Bed hog

Also, I'm mad at amazon. I tried to get a large baby pool for Flip and Wm to splash and play in this summer. Wm is allowed to go to the real pool any time he wants, but I thought he and Flip would have fun frolicking together in the backyard. A fun summer activity! Well, despite the picture on amazon showing a large dog sitting in the pool with ample room for more dogs/people, what arrived was decidedly NOT that size. Here are Wm and Flip playing in their new pool:



Surprisingly, they both seemed to have a grand time!

Wm said I looked 28. I was very happy until he said our retired neighbor (at least 60) looked "about my age." He did say that Steve looks 34! So, there's that!

Long Weekend of Fun!

We had a great long weekend! On Saturday, Steve and I went to see Book of Mormon. It was really good! Steve didn't care for "all the singing." Sigh. I did sneak a picture of him looking sour:

Sourpuss

But,  we had really good seats that, for some reason, were cheap!! Steve found them, so that was a win! Yay Steve!!

It was super hot all weekend, so Wm and I took Flip to the dog park early on Sunday, while Steve went to play in his soccer game. Flip and Wm were super cute. The park is really big, so Flip has acres in which to run and play with other dogs. But, any time Wm walked around, Flip would come tearing over and walk next to him, escorting him all around like, "and over here, you will see a delightful dog poo that I sniffed for a while earlier...feel free to enjoy a whiff yourself."

Best friends

Spotted something!

Wm is now officially on summer break! He got a 4.0 for his first year at Metro and had a GREAT year! He is actually a bit sad that he can't go every day. When he returns, he will be a big 7th grader! Oh! And Wm has earned one high school credit already!!

On Monday, Wm hung out with his neighborhood friend and then we went to the pool. It was great! A small neighborhood pool, but not crowded and down in a secluded, woodsy ravine. Surprisingly, Wm LOVED it. He had so much fun!! He remembered how to float and do the back stroke. We worked on the breast stroke and the crawl. His swimming is actually pretty good, compared to where he was! And, when we left, Wm goes, "next weekend, let's go right after lunch and stay all the way until dinner!" This is a HUGE change from how he felt about the pool just a couple years ago! Hopefully this means he will also be getting into the water on vacation...

Flip, too, is a little water baby! We take him over to Antrim and he chases sticks into the lake. It should be super fun to take him on vacation and watch him swim! After he got all gross at Antrim and the dog park, Wm and I took him to the dog "spaw" and gave him a bath and full blowout. He got a cow femur as a reward.

And, as always, Steve and I are plugging away on the house!! Here are the latest pics:

Master sink and closet before

After! Still have the new light fixtures to go up and paint the cabinet, but close!

Master water closet before: mauve-y taupe. Ew.

Master water closet after

Master Bedroom Before: old lady-tastic

After: Shot 1

After: Shot 2 (with Flip spread eagle on the bed)

After: last shot, leading into mater bath - and big window!

I'll tell ya, that king size bed is AMAZING. Wm sleeps in our old queen sized bed and it looks so tiny! It's like after I got the iPhone Plus and all the old iPhones looked comically small. Maybe I should move to Texas. Everything's bigger in Texas!! I was a little premature in my kitchen "after" shots because Steve decided to put in a new sink faucet and that thing is also amazing. I love it!!

And now...back to work...

Kitchen/Family Room

The two spaces we probably did (or plan to do!) the least in are the kitchen and family room. I just spruced them up a bit and de-old person-ed them! (Interesting tidbit about the kitchen: I was super sad to leave my gas stove and move to electric...but I LOVE it! That thing is not only insanely easy to clean, but boils water in a millisecond! Farewell gas stove!)

Kitchen Before

Kitchen after

Kitchen, shot #2

Kitchen dog...hoping for food since someone is present in the kitchen

Added all new pulls - colorful cabinets and ORB drawer cups

Family Room Before

Family Room After

Shot #2

Aerial shot!

We had planned to make the den into Flip's room. But, for various reasons (including his intense dislike of being in there), we moved his crate into the family room. He is happy as a clam in there. Snoozes all day in his giant greyhound-sized crate (thank you Mimi and Guy!)

In other news, Wm finished the first two of his four final exams. They are already graded and in. 2 A's on finals, two final grade A's. In fact, he got a 112% on his Regions and People final! But, today are his last 2 - and they are the hard ones: Physics and Algebra. Tomorrow, they have an end of the year pizza party and Metro Games (which is basically when they play a bunch of things outside all day). This year went by so fast. I told Steve that mid-way through 7th grade is also the halfway point of middle school and it blew his mind!

We were planning to go hiking in the Hocking Hills this weekend, but the forecast looks terrible. So, instead, we are going to see if we can score some tickets to see Book of Mormon while it's in town! Yay for 3 day weekends! I also put in all my leave requests for summer vacation. WOOT! Steve was shocked, since he put his in months ago. But, I told him that there's no danger that mine wouldn't be approved, so I'm never in a big hurry! Plus, I'm not the boss of anything. When Steve leaves, it's chaos. When I leave in the summer, no one even notices. All the students and (even better) the professors are gone!

Edited to add picture of the dining room light off so you can see the swirly bulbs. I think it's growing on Steve! But he still will not let me paint the light switches pink to match. :(

Best light fixture ever!

First Before/After Shots!

We are feeling pretty settled in! We are 99% unpacked and making ourselves at home. We still have lots to do, but all the urgent stuff is done and we are not feeling as manic. This is also Wm's last week of 6th grade! He's done on Friday. I can't believe it!! This year flew by! Without further ado, here is what we've accomplished so far...

Exterior Before

After: new door color, bench, garage gating, and landscaping

Living Room Before

Living Room After

With Flip butt and tail wagging

Living Room into Foyer Before

Living Room into Foyer After (find Steve...)

Foyer After (with fun turquoise door!)

Dining Room Before

Dining Room After (mostly my awesome pink light!!)

And Kevin Bacon, hipster pig!

I know the lighting isn't great. It was morning, thunderstormy, and I was taking them fast before I left for work. But you get the idea. We are almost done with our bedroom/bathroom and the family room. The half bath and Wm's bathroom both need more work. And the den is done, but really needs to be painted (according to me!) So, more pics to come as we make progress!! I know everyone is jealous of my pink dining room light and Kevin Bacon (I named him Mr. Merriweather P. Bacon, but Steve and Wm have taken to calling him Kevin). Steve hates both. The light is even more awesome in person because those are crazy Edison bulbs with the coolest filament you can't see in pictures. As my friend Melanie said, "this is the perfect house for entertaining!" So everyone will just have to come over and see it in person and tell Steve how cool it is and how he has no vision.

New Friends

Everyone is getting settled in. The cats already love the new place - especially the screened in porch! Flip is getting used to new routines, but still a bit weirded out. Wm is already 100% adjusted and loving it. He has even made his first friend! Right on The Sac! Just a couple doors down on our cul-de-suc is an 11 year old boy. He and Wm have been trampolining, video gaming, and yesterday, playing at the park. Here they are hanging out:

Fast friends!

Flip has really been enjoying our awesome backyard!! We really need to work on setting up the screened in porch and back patio so we can eat out there and enjoy it, too! Here is the doggo spotting a woodland creature to attack:

He actually got a hold of a squirrel right before we moved. He shook the shit out of it, but dropped it when I screamed. It sort of limped away, all jangled. I think he gave it Shaken Squirrel Syndrome. I doubt the poor dude made it. Flip is a murderer.

Wm had an end of the year class party. He had a blast! Here he is hanging with his friends (notice the segregation of boys and girls!):

Work has continued to be pretty awesome. My graduating class came in to my office yesterday and brought a really nice card, gift, and this:

So I've been feeling very appreciated!

Work on the house has been productive!! We're feeling fairly settled in. But, Steve's toolbox is in our dining room, my list of to-do's is a mile long, and we have a giant hole in our bathroom wall that needs patched...to name a few! We'll get there...
The things we are enjoying the most include: the neighbors and neighborhood, backyard, extra bathrooms, and king sized bed. I have no idea how I slept before The Bed. It is amazing!!

Wm has recently gotten super into, of all things, communism. He's a weirdo. I walked by the den the other day and he's in there playing while listening to the National Anthem for the USSR. He also used birthday money to purchase a hammer and sickle pin and a shirt that says, "Ain't No Party Like the Communist Party."  Evidence of weirdness:




Turn it up and you can hear the disgusted tween breathe at the end. This is what we're dealing with.

Moved!

Well, the move is complete! And we are exhausted! I spent Monday and Tuesday at the new house while a parade of worker guys came through. We had: shower refinishers, fence builder, carpet cleaner, furniture delivery, washer/dryer delivery, internet installer, and plumber. Almost everything went smoothly. The plumbing is a bit of a fiasco. We finally have all new, working, toilets! But, one shower still needs to have the hardware installed, so we're down to 1! While all the guys tromped in and out, I cleaned like a demon (which was quickly all destroyed on move in day!) and unpacked things (poorly). I also painted the front and side doors. We took load after load over to the new place.

Still, yesterday, the Official Move Day, it took the movers 4 hours to get us in with all the big stuff! But, we are in! Mimi was a HUGE help and stayed at the house all day with Flip to deal with the plumbers hanging about. And Grandma and Grandpa came in with their truck and worked their butts off! It is convenient since we are now all grandparents on deck for Wm's birthday today!! HE'S TWELVE!!! But, he's also at school, so he's kind of bummed. But we gave him a few little gifts this morning and will have a family celebration this evening. And, tomorrow he has a school dance! Then, this summer, he plans a pool party with all his friends to celebrate.

Expect lots of Before/After shots coming down the pike as I get things situated. For now, here are a few things...

The moving crew! Door behind Mimi is now turquoise!

Wm's big bday present being enjoyed by all creatures.

Coolest old timey fan in the den. LOVE IT.

Flip is the tiredest dog alive. Not only was the move a big deal, but his dog sitter took him to the park for HOURS. There was one dog who enjoyed the king sized bed last night! He has also been busily rubbing his essence all over the new pillows/furniture:

The cats are actually taking things better than expected. Schroeder, surprisingly, being the braver of the two! Hopefully they like their new digs!

I am back at work today after being home for the last 3 days. But, Steve is off. I kind of like being at work while Steve is home getting things done. This is nice. I could get used to this. I need a househusband.