Catch up time!

Wow! I just realized that time really has flown by fast. This weekend will be a month since I last posted here.

The baby shower was a success. There wasn't a ton of people but a living room full which was more than enough. It was a very long day as Anna and Bryan were also moving in. Thanks to Jacob's great drywall skills the master bathroom shower/tub area looks great. He did a really great job and spent a lot of time sanding, and texturing to make things look awesome. 

My nephew started school on Monday, August 25th, so it is good to have some peace and quiet again for a few hours. He spent his two weeks of summer vacation cleaning and helping to get things done. He loved escaping to the backyard for a late afternoon of swimming to relax and have fun. He definitely loves the water which is ironic since if he gets so much as a speck of water on his clothes (from brushing his teeth to washing his hands, etc.), he must change them immediately. He has been this way since he was little.

My sister Anna received lots of nice baby gifts. My nephew has been her helper around the house. He gets her cups of ice, helps her put puzzles together, and helped Anna to put the crib together yesterday. He helped paint wooden letters spelling out his new girl cousin's name. He has been especially fond of Uncle Bryan's boxes of Krispy Kreme donuts that he has brought home for a treat. It has been nice having someone else in the house to talk to during the day while my sister Sarah sleeps (she works graveyard) and my nephew is at school. 

We have gotten things pretty much organized and on a schedule of sorts around here. Last night we rented movies including the Spiderwick Chronicles which my nephew really loves now. He is in 3rd grade so of course, he wants to be the kids in the movie who battle creatures. I am surprised he didn't have a nightmare last night. I think he was so tired from staying up until nearly midnight watching Nim's Island also that he couldn't do anything but sleep. 

It is finally cooling down here to around 100F which feels pretty good. Although my same nephew who hates water on his clothes insists that any temperature below 80F is cold. With Anna being pregnant and hot we have the air conditioner set to 75F and every fan on in the house. Well, nephew has turned the AC up to nearly 90F a couple of times and has tried to wear a winter coat in the house or sweatshirts and sweatpants.

We have been using the crockpot a lot recently, and I must say that I do love that particular invention. Anybody who knows me and Sarah knows that we love to cook. Fast food really doesn't do it for us. Last Sunday we had awesome pulled pork sandwiches for dinner courtesy of the crockpot. YUMMY! 

We just did short ribs last night in the crockpot. When they were done at midnight, we decided we couldn't let all of the sweet sauce that was left over go to waste. So, of course, Sarah made a trip out to the fully stocked freezer in the garage to get boneless skinless chicken breasts! Yeah at 9am this morning we had delicious barbecue chicken also for today. 

I made triple layer brownies and chocolate cake with pudding and cool whip today. Plus more beef taco mix for nachos again as they tasted so delicious last night. I hope that we don't spoil Bryan and Anna too much. Sarah and I love to cook and have a ton of cookbooks. That is one of our secret obsessions. I can hear something calling my name. I'm not sure if it is the nachos or brownies. So Ciao for now:)

Busy, Busy

I have had lots of fun reading friends and family's blogs, so I decided it was time to start one of my own. I think that I have finally gotten this blog process figured out. I can be a perfectionist at times and have to make sure everything looks good before I let anyone see the results. I also have a big pet peeve with poor grammar and spelling. It has taken me awhile to get on here and get something posted. 

We found out in July that my sister and her husband are moving in with us this month (actually next Saturday, Aug. 23). We knew we had to finish the master bathroom that we have been taking forever to finish. So we cleaned everything out and called in a plumber to help get everything done fast. We had to take out the old tub and put a new one in as well as a new shower surround and raise the water pipe for the shower head, and tub faucet. It looks great now except we still have to finish the last of the drywall around the edge, hook up the vanity and faucet and the toilet. 

We also repainted the bathroom again on Monday (like the 3rd time now) to cover up the marks from the old tub coming out and the new stuff going in. Last Tuesday we had to have a plumber come out and fix our water pipes to the water heater as the cold water pipe had a leak where it goes into the water heater. Thank goodness it was a minor fix. We also had a new outdoor faucet handle put on as the old one leaked and had been a big pet peeve for the last nine years. No more water dripping on the cement when the water is turned on. YAY! We are now touching up all of the paint again throughout the house and still have to repaint the hall bathroom. 

Next Saturday is my sister's baby shower here, and she is also moving in with her husband that morning, plus we have to get the food ready for the baby shower and make sure the house is spotless. We still have to steam clean all of the carpet and repaint the baseboards and add a shelf to two closets and dust and polish. Basically, add my penchant for list making with my wanting things to be perfect, and you get the idea. Besides, I will feel guilty if I am blogging and I still have things to cross off my to-do list:) It is better to get them all done and out of the way.