2009_05_31 Sunday

We had an earlier-than-normal start of the day after a sleep-less-than-normal night. Jonathan didn't adjust too well to the Barony sleeping arrangements, and he woke with the sun (a la 7:30 or so). But, we managed to have breakfast (fresh eggs, of course) and get out to see the chickens as quickly as possible. The Barony has 14 new 'peep peeps' that he was very keen on chatting with. He's certainly warmed up to Gambol as well. After lunch, we walked around, rode on Opa's tractor, and Gambol found a turtle for us.

We also drove to Bellefont to feed the ducks and fishies. Jonathan really enjoyed the playground there. We brought along chicken feed for the ducks, but the carp and koi seemed to eat it more. Jonathan liked throwing the feed around, but much of it got caught in his hoodie. The car swung into the Creamery on the way home. It's funny how that happens every time we visit. After a quick calcium replenishment, we all felt like we could make it home. Even Gambol got in on the cones (no ice cream for him, though).

Jonathan slept in the bathroom all night; it's nice and dark in there, and unless someone has to use the facilities, it's a great space for him. I snuggled a little bit with him before he went to bed, and he looked up from a hug and said, in his sleepy voice, "I love you" for the first time, unprompted. too cute.

2009_05_30 Saturday

We had a leisurely start to the morning. Dave brought home bagels after getting under cabinet lighting from Home Depot. I packed up the car as best as I could. Jonathan got up and ate the rest of Dave's bagel while I packed him up.

Then, we headed to Whippany for Danielle's baby shower. It was so wonderful to see her. She's glowing. It was also nice to see both her and Pat's families. Jonathan really enjoyed the pickles and pretzels there (yes, some lunch!). And, after Danielle opened her treasure trove of gifts, we had to boogie out.

For some reason, this drive to the Barony seemed like it took much longer than usual. No reason for that, though. We arrived here around 6:30. It was an easy drive. Sleep didn't come well to Mr J2. It was a pretty rough night for him. I tried co-sleeping, but that didn't work for me, so he went back into the crib and fell asleep relatively quickly.

2009_05_29 Friday

It rained all night, so I cancelled our morning Stroller Roller walking group. I may have been a little on the lazy side since it wasn't actually raining, but it was still pretty cool and damp. Anywhooo, we had a nice, leisurely breakfast at home. We were going to meet Tracey/Kyle at a new park, but since the wx was bad, we moved our playdate to the indoor playground at the mall. We weren't the only ones who made that choice; the place was packed!! They ran around for a bit, and then we had a snack in the food court. Jonathan barely ate but was insanely interested in throwing everything into the garbage cans. On the way out, the boys got a ride in a stationary circus truck and seemed to really like it.

The contractor showed up shortly after I got home and put Jonathan down. They drilled holes in the granite for the faucet and put the bathroom door up. The plumber is here to connect the sink, fridge, toilet, and pedestal sink. He also said something about putting the oven in too. I could have a functioning kitchen tonight! whahooo!

We're going out to dinner with Tracey/Steve/Kyle though!

2009_05_28 Thursday

I woke Jonathan up at 9 this morning so we could have breakfast at the diner. He was excited for "pancakes and sausage." Then we went to Home Depot (our new second home) to pick up trim paint and screws for the pulls. We delivered those to the contractor and then headed back to IKEA to return 90% of what I bought yesterday. oh well. At least we got to see more airplanes!

2009_05_27 Wednesday

The morning was a bit hectic, in that the contractors needed grout immediately to get the day started (which was not entirely true; they could have waited a few hours). So, we went straight away to Home Depot for tile grout. I got an off white so that it would blend rather nicely. We delivered that and spun around for Whole Foods' Mom and Me art program. We got there about 15 minutes late, so we missed the singing and snack time. But, we made a cute ladybug that Jonathan wants to send to GG. 

When that was over, we went to IKEA to get 2 more storage shelves (love that they are $15!!), a sleeping mat for J2, legs for a DIY table I'm working on, and a mirror for the 1/2 bath. When I got home, I was really in for some excitement: the kitchen was on fire, sort of. The contractor had accidentally left a halogen light on leaning against the wooden frame of the bathroom door. It had started to smolder, so the whole room was smoky. I actually used the fire extinguisher (for the first time) since I saw embers. I wouldn't have even gone in the kitchen had I not seen the back door open (I was concerned that one of the cats may have escaped, but he hadn't).  So, I called the general contractor frantic, and he called his two guys. It's all resolved and everything is fine, but that sure got my adrenaline pumping.

2009_05_24 Sunday

We joined the new Mr and Mrs Kevin Hardwick (and the rest of the Hardwicks) for brunch and then piled into the car to head home. The drive was remarkably easy: no Memorial Day weekend traffic to speak of! We arrived at Ned's BBQ slightly early, but there were others already there too, so we didn't feel too badly. The BBQ was very nice. An added bonus: Ned did his whole patio DIY-style, and he's convinced Dave that they can do it together. I'm thrilled.

2009_05_23 Saturday

Jonathan slept with us last night. Boy, that boy sure travels around the bed while he sleeps. I hardly slept, but he sure did. We're a bit nervous now about taking the rails off his crib.

Today is the big day: Kevin and Melissa are getting married!!! The ceremony was beautiful. Uncle Bill presided (over ours too). Alice hooked us up with her best friend, Katelyn, as a babysitter. On the one hand, I wish J2 could have joined us to see his cousins and relatives, but on the other, I had a really great, grown-up time. Dave and I danced the night away.

Dave actually managed to get Jonathan into the hotel pool without screaming. I wasn't there though to see how he did it! 

2009_05_20 Wednesday

We started off the day with our Moms and Tots program at Whole Foods. I didn't realize they had been going on this whole time. So, today we made summer art projects for all of the grandparents! Watch the mail...after I get some stamps. But, we had fun and had a nice snack (apple juice, banana, and bunny cookies), and I got a short massage! wahoooo!! love it.

Then, we swung by Target (since it's right next door -- ouch) to get fabric protector for our newish club chair.

Jonathan's down for a nap now, so I'm going to see if I can spray the chair and get more done in the bathroom. The contractors aren't here today so there's no news to report on that front.

2009_05_19 Tuesday

Today got going really early. Contractor woke me up at 7:20, and one of his guys arrived at 8:30 to go to Home Depot with me. ugh. So, I had to wake Jonathan up, and he was most unimpressed. We picked out moulding, which he'll build semi-custom, and got ceiling paint. We also found out the cabinets are here, but the doors have moulding on them that we didn't order. I think the design changed from when we first started talking. The company is willing to take the doors back and remove the moulding if we want; we'll make a decision tonight. So, Jonathan and I went to the diner for a late-ish breakfast; I wasn't crazy about going. I've been craving muesli (granola and yogurt), which they don't have. He was really out of sorts but managed to pull through fairly well. He even put his head in my lap for a little bit!

By the time we got home, the guys were all here unpacking the cabinets! It's so exciting. And, they sent us super fancy crown moulding, which we may/may not use. It has roping, which doesn't exactly match anything else in the kitchen, but it might be a nice finishing touch. We'll have to see what it looks like up.

We watched a little PBS before Jonathan went down for a nap. 

Happy Birthday to Opa!!!

2009_05_18 Monday

Ah, back to the grindstone...

Jonathan is talking up a storm now. This morning, he specifically asked for oatmeal for breakfast. I couldn't understand what he wanted, but he was insistant in pointing to it. And, once I realized what he wanted, I definitely understood that he was saying 'o-meeeel.' He frequently links adjectives to nouns now, too. 

Contractors arrived around noon to finalize the drywall sanding. We'll definitely need more primer than we were told to get. So, we picked up the kitchen and 1/2 bath paint (Jonathan showed me all sorts of colors and brushes at the store) and the desparately-needed cat food. 

I think cabinets go in tomorrow!!

2009_05_17 Sunday

After our weekend routine at the local diner, we headed to Home Depot for a shopping spree. We bought the 1/2 bath pedestal sink, faucet, lighting, primer, and two samples of trim. Then we got home, put Jonathan down for his nap, and bought a ceiling fan and pendant lights for the kitchen.I think I also bought the TP ring and towel rod via ebay, but I'm not 100% sure. Can't wait to see this AmEx bill!

Once J2 woke up, he and I headed off to Mayfest, which was a street fair in town. It was cute; they had an animal petting zoo, live music, and lots of vendors. We only made it to the last hour though.

2009_05_16 Saturday

What the?! the contractors showed up today to finish off the drywall! I was shocked...although happy.

I thought I was going to get another quote for the back porch, but the guy didn't come. oh well. 

While Jonathan napped, I went to Target (and Starbucks) for nearly 2 hrs. Shocked that I didn't come home with more stuff, honestly.

Then Jonathan and I drove/walked his bus to the local school playground to get some energy out. There was a little girl there who brought her stroller. J2 and she traded toys for awhile, and he played football with her dad/uncle. It was pretty funny to watch the kids be so protective over their respective toys. But, they did a good job, when we encouraged them, to share.

2009_05_15 Friday

Dave's flight got in really late last night. We picked him up around 11:30pm. So, that disrupted sleeping considerably, bI ut I think we've all recooped now.

I woke Jonathan up at 9:30 so we could go to Stroller Rollers, which I now head on Friday mornings. It's a walking group, although so far it's only been me/J2 and one other mom/child each week. Met a nice woman whose mother spoke German with me! After a 45-min walk, we headed home to play outside for a short bit, then have lunch, and then off to nap.

Dave's working from home today, so we're going to have lunch together. wahoo!

So far, no contractors but it seems like the dry wall has dried. I may call Wanderly later today to touch base with him.

2009_05_14 Thursday

We got off to a slow start this morning. 

The contractors were here until about 2 finishing off the drywalling. Now it's just needs to set, but with this damp weather, we don't think it will be ready tomorrow. I've put a space heater in there to help, but it may not be strong enough. If that's the case, we'll have to wait until Monday/Tuesday to continue. Once that's done, though, the cabinets go in!

New pictures are up, though, with subtitles: http://s690.photobucket.com/albums/vv262/jsdemm/house/?albumview=slideshow

We've got a playdate this afternoon with Aylin, Sharon, and Iris. very excited for that.

2009_05_13 Wednesday

Today has been a booooring day. 

We went to the zoo for a little bit, but I was so frazzled by the wild school kids that I couldn't handle it for very long. Jonathan was a bit funky too. We did manage to see the turtles being fed, the peacocks, and the emus, which are all three very critical to a zoo visit.

We tried to pick up a freecycle shelving unit, but it was gone. oh well. So, we swung by our local park to get some energy out. Jonathan really loves this wierd ball contraption. There's a steering wheel that you spin and it spins a couple of balls that drop through openings. He's not great about sharing that thing (or even taking turns).

Dave left tonight for a day-trip to MI. He'll be back tomorrow night.

The drywall is nearly done. And, the floor guys came and installed the entire floor tonight. They left around 9pm! It's unfinished, so they'll be back at some point. The kitchen is coming together, though!

I stayed up waaaay too late tonight.

2009_05_12 Tuesday

It's been pretty cool and damp here, so it's tough to do much of anything. We got a hardscaper to come check out the back porch area, so I should be getting an estimate from him soon.

And, Jonathan and I ventured to Home Depot, which he now can identify by name. I bought a tray of white impatiens and a gardening hoe (the three pronged thingy). I wanted to get a dryer exhaust vent, but after finding it, I think we already have one, and what they had looked cheap, so I skipped it. 

Once Jonathan went down for a nap, I planted the impatiens under the den's front windows and around the front tree. That also means, though, that I weeded like crazy!! I've learned in hindsight that they are annuals, so they won't expand to be ground cover like I had intended. oh well. They'll be pretty while they last.

2009_05_11 Monday

We finally got our reinspection taken care of. The guy apparently didn't even make it into the kitchen before he approved it! It's still frustrating that we couldn't have taken care of this on Thursday!!

But, Jonathan and I missed that fun because we were en route to a new nature reserve with the mom's group. This one was the Wachung Reservation and its Trailside Nature and Science Center. They have a great center with lots of touch-me stuff and local animals (stuffed and alive) on exhibit. I loved their night show, which was in a theater and taught kids that night noises aren't monsters but specific animals. It was really cool. They also had a neat kiddy room where everything was touchable. Afterward, we ventured into the reservation to an enormous playground. There were hardly any kids there, so Jonathan had a field day there. He tried out a tire swing for the first time and loved it. And, he climbed around on lots of equipment.

You can imagine, he slept like a baby after that!

2009_05_10 Sunday

It's Mother's Day. I got breakfast in bed and some time to myself to watch the political wonks blather on about what they'd do to fix the world. It was great. Dave took the lead on Jonathan for the whole day! I was in heaven. I didn't know what to do with myself, honestly! They played in the parks and gave me some much needed time to myself. I ventured to IKEA and found a club chair for the den. I also found some mirror options for the living room, but didn't pull the trigger on any of them. I did get three metal storage units for the basement, though, since we started to get some water there with our 7+days of rain. And, I actually assembled and filled the units by myself. Dave even made -- grilled -- dinner! whahoooo!!!

2009_05_09 Saturday

Dave had a follow-up dentist appt this morning to get a cavity filled. My tough hubby didn't even need novacaine!! 

After breakfast, we picked out our granite! So exciting. We had settled on Kashmir Gold awhile ago, but we found another one, Brazil Oro (or something close to that), that we liked even better. It's pretty close to the old one. So, we reserved two slabs.

Then, in the evening, we drove up to Vicky and dropped off Jonathan with his cousins. Dave and I went to Piermont, NY for my birthday, Mother's Day, and our anniversary. I'm not sure it's fair to lump all three together, but dinner was really nice. The town is on the Hudson River and has quaint shops/restaurants. I had asked to sit outside, but since our reservation was at 8:15, it was a bit chilly and the inside was definitely nicer than the outside. I had pork medallions with a mushroom/onion sauce; Dave had a 20-oz T-bone steak. We were so stuffed by the end!! It was a really nice night out, though. And, it sounded like Jonathan had a blast with his cousins.

2009_05_08 Friday

Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday to mmmmmeeeeee ,Happy Birthday to me! Good god, am I really 35? ouch.

Today really wasn't all that exciting. The ersatz inspector dropped by to see if we had fixed the fire retardant insulation because he'd approve the kitchen for us. ugh, it would have been great to know there was a possibility of him coming by b/c the contractors aren't coming at all today but could have if we had known! grrrr.

Renewed our termite warranty in the PM. 

2009_05_07 Thursday

The only excitement was that we failed our insulation inspection. It wasn't anything Dave did; it was that we didn't have fire retardant insulation in specific areas. The crappy thing is, though, that the city doesn't do inspections on Friday, so this means we have to wait until Monday to get an inspection, let alone move on to drywalling! ugh. And, the ersatz inspector won't even let us drywall the other areas that are fine. frustrating!!!!

2009_05_06 Wednesday

Today was another of our nature center activities. Today, we did a water-logged walk to the frog pond and actually found 4 frogs! It's been cold and rainy for the past few days, so I was pretty surprised to see them. The teacher caught one so the kiddies could touch it. Jonathan thought that was pretty cool. We also lugged a plastic bag and a shovel out to collect soil samples.

Then, we moozied back inside for our activity: painting with soil. Basically, we observed what soil is composed of, sifted out the big chunks, and mixed up the smallest soil with a gluey mixture. We did the same with sand. So, we ended up with a brown-ish paint and a gray-ish one. Then, we took paint brushes to bright paper. Not all that impressive, but an activity nonetheless.

When it was over, we drove directly to Tracey/Kyle's house for a playdate. Erin/Jake were sick, so they couldn't come. We had a nice time over a pizza lunch and playing afterward. The boys were great together. And, Kyle has tons of tools that Jonathan really liked. 

When we got home, Jonathan passed out so quickly. I was exhausted too. When Dave got home, he went to work on finishing off the insulation in the kitchen. We have an inspection tomorrow afternoon. Jonathan and I made a quick jaunt to the grocery store before dinner. He was goofing around (not so safe) in the cart, and I got angry at him. That's such a horrible feeling. A short bath to get all the soil from today's fun off and off to bed relatively easily...and on time!

That rash on his side hasn't really changed. I guess that's good, but it's not going away either. Will keep my eye on it.

2009_05_04 Monday

The workers weren't here today AND it's a crappy, rainy day, so I thought we might visit with Amanda/Julia. But, sleeping schedules conflicted, so it didn't work out. Then, I thought we'd go to the Newark Museum for a bit, but it's closed on Mondays, so it's good that I called ahead. Finally, I settled on an indoor playground that we've been to once before. We went from about 11 until about 2:30. We spent considerable time in the climbing area (which was great for me since it was so empty!), a good chuck of time at the grocery store and the '60s diner, and some time in the train/construction zone (for which he got his outfits mixed up). I took a gagillion great pictures and videos. Check out our Photobucket to see them...But, for whatever reason -- and maybe it's because I'm always in his face -- he refuses to look at me to take pictures!! The last one is my all-time fav.

I finished off a new pocket for Jonathan's bed while he was taking a nap. I'm super excited for him to wake up so I can try it out. Jenny will be excited to see it too! 

Doing lots of laundry. hoping to plant some seeds/transplant some plants. And, then swing through the grocery store for milk, etc. quite an exciting, albeit productive, day!

hmmm, I noticed a small rash in Jonathan's right armpit and down his side. Put the poison ivy pink stuff on it, but haven't noticed much of a change.

2009_05_03 Sunday

It's raining, it's pouring....We had plans to have some friends from The City come visit us today, but we've cancelled since it's so ugly out, and we can't really hang out at our house very well (given the construction).

We walked to the diner for breakfast today. Got a little wet, but not too bad. Then, Dave and Jonathan hung out while I hit Target. Now, Jonathan is about to take a nap, and Dave's going to Home Depot.

2009_05_02 Saturday

We're off to the dentist!!!! Jonathan's first appointment; Uncle Raj was really the first dentist. Uncle Dr Raj was better. Jonathan wasn't AS interested in showing his teeth, although Dr Bae (from SKorea) did have a giant toothbrush that J2 liked to brush his hair with. He also had a giant alligator hand puppet, which J2 chomped his teeth at. I had to explain that one. Raj was really smart in letting him goof with the equipment and face mask; Dr Bae didn't as much, so when the face mask went on, J2 got a little freaked out. 

 

But, all in all, he was nice, gentle, calm, and patient...all what you want if you have to see the dentist. He also had a VHS with Disney movies going, so he seems to know what he's doing with kids! Also had a ton of Poloroids of kids with the toothbrush and alligator. very cute, although he didn't take one of J2, so his bulletin board IS lacking.

We had intended on picking out our granite today, but time got the best of us. Instead, we spent the day outside, working on the yard. I pulled/cut tons of weeds and overgrown shrubbery on the right side of the house while Dave weeded the front lawn and mowed. Jonathan napped and followed Dave around. I must say the right side looks much larger now! Then we had ice cream as a reward for our hard work. 

2009_05_01 Friday

How can it really be May already!? We're getting our April showers now, though. Today's pretty grim, which stinks since I'm supposed to lead our Stroller Rollers walking group this morning. I'm not sure it's going to happen. Instead, though, we might swing by the library for our favorite sing-along group, Sister Sing Sister String.

The contractor and crew are here, finishing off the 'addition' flooring. Parts were rotted due to water damage. We've also discovered that that is, in fact, not an addition. The wood is the exact same age as the rest of the house. 

This afternoon, we've got a freecycle pick-up.