Teammates!

Spring has finally arrived on Delmarva. Soon we'll be complaining that it's too hot! Springtime home preparations are significantly accelerated this year given the nearing arrival of Kemba. There is lots to do and Julia has tried to help every step of the way! She even helped make her first snowman when 3" of snow interrupted our Spring a couple weeks ago.
On Monday I picked Jules up at daycare and told her that we needed to stop at Home Depot before going home. Part of me was expecting a tantrum of some sort. It was a nice day and I knew she wanted to go home and play outside. On the contrary, her response was to throw both arms in the air as she let out a loud "YEAH!"

I wanted to buy some manure and vegetables for the garden. As she sat in the nursery area, atop a pallet of mulch, I was loading the cart up with forty pound bags of sweet manure. She asks, "Daddy, what's that?" My answer of manure was not sufficient, so I elaborated that it was poop that we were going to mix into the garden because it makes the vegetables grow big. She accepted that answer, but later I realized that I may have to explain later on why we don't poop in the garden. I'll cross that bridge when I get to it!Next, we went to pick out veggies. There were two other Dads there, each with a child around Julia's age. One child was running around like a maniac as dad filled his cart. The other was whining the entire time. But not my princess! Julia was by my side, picking out veggies, asking all sorts of questions and giving plenty of input:

• "What does that plant do?"
• "Can we get more tomatoes? I like those!"
• "That one looks sick. Let's get this one instead"
• "Are those peppers spicy? You like spicy peppers, don't you?"

We head over to the checkout and my little girl is standing there, hands on her hips and proud as a peacock. You see, she felt like she picked out each plant herself and she placed each one in the cart. I was standing, waiting our turn and actually thinking that it doesn't get much better than this...she was such a good girl! Little did I know that she was about to BLOW MY MIND!

She turns to me, hands still on her hips and says, (and I quote exactly!) "You know Daddy, you and I make a good team!" Then she walks around to the front of me, puts her arms around me, gives me a big hug and say, "I love you so much Daddy!"

The cashier had to call for the stock boy in the back to bring the mop and bucket up, because she melted me right there. The other ladies in line with us were beside themselves. There are moments in your life that you never forget. Most are major milestones or changes, but for me, few things top this moment. I will be able to hear those 16 words clear as a bell, feel the warmth of the day and smell that sweet manure in my memories for the rest of my life!We came home and Jules helped me till in the manure. We're planting this weekend if Mother Nature allows and I know she'll be by my side, up to her elbows in dirt and loving every minute of it! I also know that Courtney and I are raising this little girl the right way...not bad for a couple amateurs!

Now Kemba on the other hand...we'll see. He's starting off by trying to enter this world ass backwards! Stay tuned!

-Andy

Julia's Big Girl Room

It's complete...well, except for curtains, but that's not my department! Julia has been so awesome about giving up her room for her little brother and she is really excited about her new room. Seems my strategy was right on!
We dealt with some minor curve balls, but overall it came together well. I was pleased with the trim. Best part was that we used decorative florets at the joints so that we didn't have to cut any 45 degree angles.The new windows went in without any problems. It's one of those projects that sound really complicated and even scary, but it's really easy! I did them all by myself...no help. It took about 2 hours for me to put three windows in, but that was mostly because of the trim work once they're in.

Without a doubt, Julia's favorite part is bouncing on her new big girl bed. She's growing up so fast! I am truly enjoying this age!!! It's great that she gets offended if you don't let her help with chores...I need to figure out how to make that mentality last into the teens! Here she is helping Mommy sew some curtains.
The other day, I asked Julia "who fixed up your new room?" She responded, "Daddy". I asked if anyone else helped and she said, " Papa, Uncle Louie and Uncle Brent." I was highly impressed with her memory. Yeah...she's probably smarter than me!

Special thanks to Papa, Louie and Brent. A lot of work went into this room and we got it done in good time thanks to all the help we got!

Now...what's the next project?

-Andy

Progress and a Small Change in Direction

When we uncovered the brick fireplace behind the plaster, there were about twelve people who told me that we should leave it exposed. I wanted to cover it up, mainly because it would require a lot of trim work and that is my home improvement nemesis! Courtney can tell you how many perfectly good pieces of molding I've wasted because of lack of patience and foresight.
Nevertheless, I decided to change course and expose it. I think it'll be a nice feature in the room and the wall that we had put over it was pretty soft, because there was no stud behind it.
The room is coming along great! It's insulated. All the drywall is hung. There is a marked difference in the feel and temperature of the room.
Many, many, MANY thanks to Louie and Brent for all the help that they have provided with this project!

-Andy

OH BOY!!! Another Project!

Momma says that we need to get cracking on remodeling our third (and final) bedroom. This new baby is going to be here before we know it and we need to be ready! We have decided that the nursery will remain the nursery and Julia will get a brand new room...she is the princess after all!

This room is easily the coldest room in the house. It's on the northwest corner and has trees blocking what little sun it might see during the day. It does have a fabulous view of the lake though.
Courtney and I kick the project off by spending Martin Luther King Day stripping wallpaper. We actually did a great job...and by the way, the mixture of white vinegar and hot water is great for removing wallpaper and a lot cheaper than chemical removers!We finish stripping all four walls and Courtney is just whooped...we are admiring our work and I start thinking...that's where it gets dangerous. Our house was built in 1927. So I start wondering if there is any insulation in the walls at all. After performing a highly scientific "hammer test" it is determined that my suspicions were correct.

Well my little princess needs a warm room! So yesterday, we started stage two of the project. We removed the plaster in two walls, installed insulation and began hanging new drywall. My goal was to get all the drywall hung and we're a little less than half way there. All in all, I couldn't be more pleased with the progress.
Now that baby is coming quickly and I couldn't be happier. I have so much to teach him...plumbing, electrical, insulation, flooring, drywall, painting. The things that I've taken on in this house (with the help of some fantastic friends and family) are really starting to impress me. Now Julia is a big help, but I'm sure he will take it to the next level.Oh yeah...It's a BOY!!! Here's the photographic evidence...a view from the bottom. Let's the hope the ultrasound tech wasn't wrong. It looks pretty clear to me! Julia will soon be terrorized by a little brother. Boy oh boy is her world about to change.
But she is still and always will be my princess. There is nothing that I wouldn't do for that beautiful child...wouldn't you agree?

-Andy

A Great Labor Day...with the Girls!

With the exception of a fantasy football draft and poker game, I'm really grateful to have spent every minute of this long weekend with my girls! The ladies even came up to Chestertown for the draft, but hung out with the other wives and children in the league.

As always, the reason for Fantasy sports is to connect with some old friends. I really wish I could've made it to the CT and Chestertown drafts this year, but CT just wasn't in the cards. Hopefully next year will be different.

Possibly the highlight of the trip to Chestertown was spending a couple hours on the corner of the bar at the Blue Bird Tavern with Thad and Louie. I haven't been there in forever and that place just never changes and that's the best part about it!

On Sunday we spent the day in Cordova at Pop's birthday. Ma Jones, Mickee and Carrie put together a light lunch for us all consisting of BBQ Beef, Hot Dogs, Mac & Cheese, Coleslaw, Zucchini Casserole, Baked Beans, Stuffed Croissants, Fruit Salad, Cake and Ice Cream (why do I feel like I'm missing something). Every bit of it was delicious.

Last night we had some friends over for BBQ Beef ourselves. I tried a new potato salad recipe that went over pretty well and all the food came out decently, in spite of Mother Nature raining on my smoker all day. It did delay the meal a bit because it was tough to keep the heat up, but it turned out OK. It was great to see some good friends!

If you're a regular blog reader, you know that we just recently replaced the floor in our kitchen and by doing so, raised the height of the fridge, forcing us to remove a cabinet. Well today I fixed that project, cutting some ornamental moulding and adding a shelf. Still needs to be painted, but I was fairly impressed with myself. I really didn't think that I had the skill or the patience to cut the moulding. Check it out!

-Andy

Handy Andy, Part Deux

Seeing as how it rained most of the day yesterday, it was an excellent opportunity to do some more home improvements. We decided to tackle the rest of the outlet project that was started a while ago. Well let me tell you, the part of actually connecting the electricity was MUCH easier than the first part of drilling in the ceiling and cutting the holes in the walls. The old electrical box came out quite nicely and Andy's first drilling attempt in the attic was right on. No holes in the ceiling this time! Andy was actually quite patient and I don't even think there was one utterance of a cuss word!! (This is an amazing feat if you have never done home improvement work with Andy before!) I was relegated to flashlight holder, GoFer, and the official consultant of the Wiring 1-2-3 book (I gave myself this job, just to make sure we were doing everything right!).

So after all of the flack I gave Andy about how hard this project was gonna be and how he should call an electrician, he did a really good job! Either he really did know what he was doing or he is a really good BS-er and it worked out in his favor this time!!! I'm gonna say it was a little of both!

So the nursery remodeling continues. We had our friend come over and measure for new windows so hopefully that will be done within the next month. We thought it probably wouldn't be a good idea to keep the drafty windows that you have to hold open with a wooden stick in the baby's room. We should be ready to paint the front room any day here. We still have to remove wallpaper and paint in the super secret room and Andy also wants to try his hand at re-surfacing the hard wood floor in the room. He's so ambitious!!

So for now...we have sweet success with the electricity! Andy says at this rate, LBMF may become an electrician/handyman when he gets older! I think I'm ok with that!!

~Courtney