Summer Vacation

Nancy and Dick left on Saturday and I believe I have been resting since. Man, putting in the new floor really wore me out. But, it is Monday night and I feel I am ready for the next project...the baby's room. It has been nice having this time to focus on the inside of our house and working at my own pace, which has slowed down A LOT now that I'm pregnant.

Today, I woke up around 5:00 AM for no particular reason. I tried to go back to bed with no luck so I got up and went into the living room around 5:30 to watch TV. The news was on and all the talked about was how nice it was outside and how it was going to get real hot. So, I ate breakfast and got dressed to go out about 6:30 am to tackle the lawn. They were right...73 degrees and cool...it was great! That was until our lawnmower broke...again. We have two riding lawn mowers, but they need some TLC so we try to hold them together to get the lawn done each week. Anyhow, that ended that project. So, I thought I would do Ryan a favor and go feed. I then came inside, paid bills and realized I was sleepy again. That was 8:15 AM. So, I crawled back in bed for another hour. It was great!

I was right...Ryan was very happy that I had fed the horses. One less thing for him to worry about. Luckily Ryan was able to fix the lawn mower and after two days of mowing I was able to finish our entire lawn...at least I'm good for something well I am pregnant. It's not riding horses, but it is better than sitting around and waiting for Shelby to arrive! HA!

To be honest, that was about as productive as I was for a couple of more hours til it was time for lunch and Ryan was on his way home from shoeing some horses. So, we made my Mom's famous egg rolls and I cleaned the kitchen. By then it was too hot to do anything...so Ryan and I hung out and watch a movie. My cat, Sady, decided to crawl up on me and it was over. A nap was in progress. It's amazing how sleepy and tired I get now.

Oh, that reminds me, speaking of having your body taken over for 10 months...the other day I was looking at my growing belly and noticed it was very crooked. Ha! Apparently Shelby was squished over to one side cause one side of my belly was way more round than the other. It is a little more normal now.

As for the rest of the week...I actually have something to do other than work on this house. :) Tomorrow afternoon/evening I'm meeting up with a friend who is getting married in December. She wanted to get us bridesmaids together so we could meet and socialize. So, we are going to dinner in downtown Houston. Then, Thursday, another friend invited some of us down to the beach. I just got a bathing suit so I am anxious to use it and to hang out by the beach! Oh, and Thursday evening some church friends are getting together for dinner. So, an eventful and fun week!

I'm also going to tackle the baby's room. I believe we'll just paint it the same color as the living room and hallway. We REALLY like the color and it will go with pretty much any decorations we choose to put in Shelby's room. That way we can put the changing table in her room and a dresser the Boudrie's brought down with them. Then, I can start putting all the clothes, etc in there as well instead of storing them in our shop in plastic baggies.

Well, I'm sure this is plenty long enough so I will end it on that note. Of course, pictures will be added as we complete Shelby's room as well as some updated pictures of the living room and hallway. I'm still trying to figure out where to put the decorations on the wall. That takes time and a lot of staring at the wall and thinking...

Until Next Time....

New Floor is in...

I will write more later but I wanted to let you know we have the floor put in and it looks SPECTACULAR! There are a couple of more pictures under "House Projects."

We also have the crib up and the bedroom floors have been scrubbed. Nancy was very determined and busy with that project.

Anyhow, gotta go for now...I'll share more later and add more pictures later too!

It's a Girl!...and Daddy is already cleaning his gun!

We had our doctor appointment yesterday at Houston's Memorial Southwest. What an experience. It is so different when you go to a specialized unit compared to the generic hospital experience. I'm learning how VERY lucky we are to live in Houston. We have such amazing facilities and doctors right in our backyard. It sure is reassuring!!

We had so much fun at our appointment. We first went over the basics of my health, how is the pregnancy going, etc. Then we got into my family history as well as my history with my blood pressure. My blood pressure was EXTREMELY low yesterday and so the dr. was concerned and told me to quit taking my meds for it. That, to me, is good news. I hope to stay off of it but we will monitor and see how it goes. I truly believe God wants me to stay off of it so I am going to believe that is his will. I hear lots of stories and negative experiences others have had and feel they need to share with me. I have to be sure it goes in one ear and out the other.

Anyhow, our little girl, Shelby Lynn, was so much fun to watch on the monitor. She was very active and full of character. I can't wait to meet her! I'm sure she will be as charming as her Dad and as good looking as her Mom...hahahaha...or is it the other way around??!! hmmmm...

At one point she was laying on her back with her legs over her head and she was scratching her forhead with her toes! It was priceless. The doctor thought that was too funny. She even took another picture and printed it out for us. So, we have 9 pictures of our little girl just from yesterday. We are so lucky! Everything looked perfect! They checked her size, weight, bone structure, etc and it all came out perfect. We couldn't be happier! We enjoyed the picture of her scratching her head with her toes so much we decided to put that one on our blog. You can't read what it says, but if you look where the red arrow is pointing you'll see her foot touching her forehead. Enjoy!

Oh, and Ryan and his friend, Brandon, (who just had a girl in January) have decided to start their own club. Hahaha...Dad's N Guns or something like that...hahahaha...I'm sure there will be plenty of daddy's that will be joining them.

We also got our flooring in yesterday. What an ordeal that has been. I'm glad it is sitting in our house waiting to be installed.

Ryan's parents are going to leave their house early Friday morning so we expect to see them sometime on Saturday. We are all anxiously awaiting the visit. Nancy is having a blast going through all of the clothes she bought and picking out all the girl clothes to bring down with her. She has been buying both for some time now. I'm sure Dick will be pleased that she will now be able to focus on one set of clothes...hahaha...

Well, time to get back to my To Do list. Enjoy the picture of our little 'monkey.'

SB

Building More Fence

Yesterday was a busy day for us. Eloy came over and helped us put in the fence post for our fence that will be parallel with the road we live on. We have been wanting to do that for some time because our road is very busy and we are always nervous the horses will end up on it somehow. This will also give us more pasture in the front. We decided to go with all wood posts because it will look nicer from the road. I'm learning in the Cowboy world it is very important that your fence line looks good from the road. In fact, Cowboys are much like farmers. They take GREAT pride in their work, including the straight lines they are able to create. Farmers like their straight lines for the fields and Cowboys like their straight fence lines. Being a teacher I can appreciate this knowing that it is a perfect example of Geometry and how it is used in the 'real world.' Anyhow, we worked on it for 5 hours and it was HOT. I had to take a few breaks to get out of the heat including climbing in Ryan's truck to turn on the A/C for a while. Yet, another uncontrollable change I'm going through. I'm usually cold nature...this baby is definately warming me up!

The pictures were taken while they were putting in the front posts and tamping them. Incase you don't know what that is...it's when you pound the dirt in the hole to make sure the posts are sturdy. So, the pictures are of a the halfway point. By the end of the day, we were able to get all the posts in and ready for the fence. We still have to put the wire support around the big corner posts as well as put the 4" x 6' posts in between the corner posts for support. Then, we can put up the net wire. Finally, we'll add the gates.

We also finished our paint project. What a difference it makes! I can't wait to hang our decorations. I ordered some hangars called "Hercules". These are cool because they can go directly into the drywall and they hold up to 50 lbs. So, that allows is to hang our decorations where we want rather than working around the studs in the wall. So, now that the kitchen, living room, and hallway are painted I guess it is time for the baby's room .

We go Tuesday for our appointment in Houston. Since I have high blood pressure I'm considered high risk. So, I have to go to the specialist. Anyhow, they will do an ultra sound and we hope to find out what we are having! We went last week for an appointment and the dr. said the baby's heartbeat was around 140 which, according to the nurse at work, means it is a boy. So, we'll see.... Then we'll probably celebrate at Benehanas (sp?). This is an expensive Japenese restaurant that has $6-8 lunch specials. So, we are looking forward to that!!!

Ryan's parents, as you know, are supposed to come in this weekend. Well, their mare has yet to foal so we are not sure if they will be coming as planned. Stubborn mare! ... Ryan's dad said he's getting impatient waiting on her. Then he said if I go that far over due he might get frustrated with me too. Ha...he was kidding of course...but I told him I will be frustrated with him.

Oh, I took pictures of the tree that fell. We have begun to widdle away a it but it will be a long drawn out project. Especially with so many others on our "To Do" list as well...but it will get done. We cut away at quite a bit of it last week. It has been too windy and dry to burn it til this morning. So, I was able to burn what brush we had. Now we can cut some more.

Finally, we have begun saddling Bobalou. We are so excited! We saddled him last week and he never bucked or did anything stupid. Today, we saddled him w/o working him in the round pen first and did real well this time too. So, he and Mito are tied to trees right now learning patience. Yea! I cannot wait to throw a leg over him next year!

Work In Progress

Yesterday was very productive with me taking a half of a day. We managed between the two of us tag teaming and working to get the living room done. We were both VERY tired by the end of it all, but I think it looks great. I have a feeling the pictures I've added under "House Pictures" will not do the walls justice, but you get the idea. I will add pictures as the project continues over the next few weeks. I am SUPER anxious to put the new flooring in and hang our decorations.

We now have to paint the hall and the kitchen. They are both tedious areas with so many doors, etc but it will be worth it when it is done.

I also made spagetti from scratch. A co-worker gave it to me last year and I never made it. I figured since I had a half day I would have the time to make it. I kinda forgot about it when I got home since I dove into the living room. So, I didn't start it til 4:30...oops...it takes several hours of simmering the sauce. Oh well...we ate a little late, but it was REALLY good. It's an easy recipe, just need to be home to simmer!

I am almost done with school! I can't wait!!!!! It will be good to have time to organize our house...as you can see from the pics...it's pretty messy w/all these projects!

TTYL
Stacie

Got Paint?

We finally decided on a color for our paint in the living room, hallway and kitchen. Yes!

I have to take a half day because Ryan's truck broke down over the weekend and he needs to go to work to pay for the money I wasted on paint! HA! So, I'm anxious to go home and begin the preparation for painting. Anxious only so I can get my hands on the paint and begin this project. I HATE preparing for big projects. I like just coming in and doing them. I will take pictures and add them as the project progresses. I am so anxious to see the final product!

I started taking the trim by the carpet off to prepare for removing the carpet and to make it 'easier' for me so I wouldn't have to put tape on the trim. Well, I started in the hallway and did about 4 feet of it. Actually, I got it loose but didn't actually remove it. Let's just say..."Easier said than done!" I then called my father-in-law, Dick, and asked him if we were going to have to remove it. The good news is he said to wait and hopefully we could put the new flooring under the trim w/o removing it. So, that's what I'm hoping for.

In the meantime, I have A LOT more taping to do since I have to put tape on the top and bottom of the walls as well as around all the doors...I have 6 doors in the area we are going to paint.

So, let the remodeling saga continue...Stay Tuned...

Lowe's Part 2: Painting

Wow, what an experience this project we have in the house has been! After all the stress of choosing the flooring I thought choosing the paint would be easy. Ummm...ya...not so much! I have spent $40 and two trips to Lowe's (in addition to the 3 last week) on 3 quart size paint cans thinking I had bought the perfect paint. But, when I rolled it on the walls we realized it was not going to work.

I even dragged my church friends in on the ordeal. They helped me pick out the 3rd color, but it ended up being a little too pink/peach color for our liking. We are going for the Taupe/beige color with a background tone to it that will match our floor. Of course, it looked perfect on paper. It wasn't til I rolled it on that Ryan and I both agreed it is ok, but it is not going to work. I hate to describe it this way, but it looks like I've rolled the skin of a Caucasian person on the wall. I know, a little grotest...but that's the best way to describe it. It is pretty...just not for us.

Today, at work, I discovered (thru a couple of co-workers) that I can go to Sherman Williams (lucky me, I pass by it everyday!) and get a real small sample of paint for just a few dollars. So, I'm going to take the color (3rd color choice at this time) over there and have them help me pick out a few colors and then go from there. My goal is to have the painting done before Nancy and Dick come. They are expected to arrive June 14th. So, hopefully we will have settled on a paint color for the kitchen, living room, and hallway.

For those of you who are gasping at the thought of me painting...1st - paint does not have the strong odor it used to, 2 - I'll wear a mask (probably), and 3 - unless you are willing to fly down to help me I have no other choice. Just thought I'd throw that out there...since I have many friends here who are concerned about me painting. :)

I'll be sure to post progress pictures of our living room/hallway adventure as we work on the project. I probably won't write as much in the summer as I have dial up....oh, wait, I can use dial up and take naps while I'm waiting for files to open! HA...j/k...maybe someday Boling, TX will get DSL...oh well...better than living in the city!

Side Note - Rent House - We didn't sell it to the lady who had been out like a zillion times (ok 4 times but it feels like that many...)...However, we did have a couple come Sunday morning to look at it. They definitely want to rent it and they may want to buy it. So, there is some hope to selling the home! At least it is rented! I was starting to panic a little with insurance due in a few months and taxes at the end of the year.

Well, that is it for now...TTYL