Day 1 of Remodel

My parents came down last Thursday to begin the remodeling our kitchen and adding a 1/2 bathroom to our downstairs. Everything went great! I am so thankful that my dad is handy - he is saving us A LOT of money! My dad framed up the bathroom and knocked out a partial wall to open up our kitchen and living room. Adam and I spent about 6 hours in Menards last weekend ordering new countertops, kitchen and bathroom floor, paint and bathroom fixtures. We also purchased new bar stools and a kitchen table. Now we're just waiting on the plumber. We need him to rough in the plumbing, so my dad can install the bathroom fixtures, floor, and hang the drywall. We're also waiting on our hardwood floor and countertops, which should be here in a few weeks. A few nights ago we applied our first coat of paint, and will finish painting this weekend. Here's a few pictures of the progress:

The aftermath

We will be putting a coutertop along the cutout along with 3 bar stools

Helping with the bathroom wall

My dad framing up the 1/2 bathroom

Busy Busy

It's only Wednesday but I feel like the weekend should be here already! This week has been pretty busy and I feel like I haven't seen Adam for more than 30 minutes at a time. I have been putting in extra hours at work because my bosses father is in the hospital and she is staying with him. Actually, she was gone most of last week as well, so I've been in charge of the after-school program, making sure everything is running smoothly. I've also subbed the past two days, which makes my work day 10+ hours! (I'm used to 4 hrs - unless I sub) When I get home at night, Adam is already at work - so he'll stop home for a 30-min supper break and thats it!

Tomorrow my parents are coming down to survey our kitchen and figure out what we need for our remodeling project. My dad has happily agreed to add a 1/2 bathroom off our kitchen, knock out 1/2 a wall to open up the kitchen and living room, measure our countertops so we can order new, and help install a new kitchen floor. Sounds like a LOT of work - but I guarantee my dad will have it done within a month. Remember - he lives 1 hr 15 minutes away! I am SO thankful that he is handy - because Adam is not! My dad will make sure everything is PERFECT - he takes pride in his work and will settle for nothing less! We were going to spread our projects out over a few years, however we got a first-time home buyers tax credit - so we can afford to do everything now. Remodeling our kitchen and adding a bathroom downstairs will add tremendous value to our house when we want to sell it someday. However, I am nervous to have our kitchen turned upside down for the next few weeks - it'll be worth it in the end though!

First Ultrasound Pictures

This is how big I am - only 1.74 cm - I'm not even an inch long yet! But I was only 8 weeks and 4 days old when the picture was taken....

Me hanging out - my heart was beating 180 times/minute!

This picture was taken for Grandma and Grandpa - I have a really nice sonographer!

I don't have any arms yet - just little buds - I should have arms by the end of this week!

Exciting News

In case you haven't already heard, Adam and I are expecting our first child on September 22nd!!!! We are so unbelievably excited and are happy to finally share our news with family and friends! We found out that I was pregnant on January 17th - and we kept it a secret until this past weekend - it was so hard! Actually, my best friend from Wichita has known for a few weeks - we promised each other that if we became pregnant, we'd tell each other right away.
I still have 3 weeks left of my first trimester, so we were a little hesitant to tell people, however thought Valentines Day would be the perfect time to share the news. We had our first ultrasound done on Friday, so we came up with the idea of buying our parents a 'grandchild' picture frame to hold the ultrasound pictures. Their reactions were priceless! First in shock, then excited - kind of like our reactions! Our families are just as excited as we are, telling everyone they see!
Just to answer a few questions that everyone has been asking...we are not finding out the sex of the baby - or telling you names that we pick out...we will be delivering the baby here at the hospital in Clarion...I have been feeling good - no morning sickness - just a little nauseous sometimes after I eat...Yes - I will survive the hot summer - swollen ankles and all...Adam is already becoming creative with ways he can strap the car seat in the golf cart next summer...and finally, we know our lives will NEVER be the same again - and we are SO ready for this next chapter of our lives to begin!

Michael Phelps Soundoff

If you are living on planet Earth, then you've heard about the controversy Michael Phelps is going through after a photo was released of him smoking pot about 6 months ago. One of Michael's sponsors, Kellogg, is not renewing their sponsorship contract with him, which ends at the end of this month. The USA Swimming corporation has suspended Phelps for 3 months, as a form of punishment for his actions. I can't decide how to feel about this situation, one day I think people are making a big deal because it's Michael Phelps, and the next day I think he should be punished more!
MANY MANY people are banning Kellogg, calling the company (Kellogg now has a special line for complains about dropping Phelps), sending hate mail and threatening e-mails. A lot of people feel that the media is making too big of a deal about this. Would young kids really know about this if the media wouldn't have blown this story up? HIGHLY DOUBTFUL!!! Is it anyones business besides Phelps'? ABSOLUTELY NOT!
On the other side, Phelps is supposed to be a role model for young kids. He made a poor decision and should be punished for it. Think of all the other athletes (A-Rod for example) who get caught using drugs, they get suspended or fined, it should be no different for Phelps, Olympian or not! Let us not forget that he got an OWI in 2004 as well!
There are a few things that are bothering me about this case. The first is that 8 people have been arrested in relation to this picture - as I recall, Phelps was the one smoking, no one else, so why hasn't HE been arrested? Second, the infamous bong is being sold on eBay, it is selling for around $100,000! However, it's totally illegal to sell drug paraphernalia online..duh?!?! And lastly, doesn't the world have bigger problems to worry about, like FINDING OSAMA BIN LADEN, instead of arresting a few people that were smoking pot with Michael Phelps...
My feelings for Michael Phelps have not changed. I think he's an amazing athlete and has the potential to give back and be a positive role model for young kids. Everyone makes mistakes, learns from them, and moves on. I think that's what the media needs to do as well. Phelps apologized, was punished, and is moving on, so should we! What are your thoughts/feelings?

Lonely Weekend

It was another lonely weekend as Adam was at the National Guard again. It's crazy how fast four weeks goes by, it seems like he's ALWAYS at guard. Oh well, I'd rather have him be gone one weekend a month than to get called up to go to Iraq! I guess there is some good news about him going to guard - he transferred to the Albert Lea unit this month, which saves him a lot of time and gas! He used to drive to Owatonna, but in December the entire unit got transferred to Rochester, and that was just too far for him to be driving every month.

Although I miss Adam dearly when he is gone, I kind of enjoy having a weekend to myself every once in a while. After work on Friday, I ordered in some Mexican food and watched what I wanted to watch..no one to fight over the remote with! I cleaned the kitchen on Saturday morning, watched Lifetime movies all day, and then worked at the roller rink on Saturday night. Today I am going to do some laundry and go in for a few hours at the roller rink again to help out with a birthday party. I'm also hoping to finish reading 'The Last Lecture' and start reading the first book of the Twilight Series..everyone keeps telling me that I HAVE to read the books - so I'll give it a whirl.

A New Chapter

Adam has begun a new chapter in his life - he turned 30 on Thursday, January 29th! It's hard to believe that he is that 'old' because he really doesn't act like it! I keep telling him that its ME that keeps him young ;) We didn't have a big party for him, I am too big of a procrastinator to organize something like that. Maybe I should starting planning a surprise 40th party for him now!! We did meet up with his family for supper that night, Adam's choice - China Buffet! We did some celebrating with some Ciroc Vodka and Redbull when we got home. Adam happened to have Friday night off as well, so we grabbed a burger at a place here in Clarion and then went to 'Marley and Me.' (I was probably one of the only people in the theater that DIDN'T cry!) This time we tried out the Clarion Theater - MUCH quieter than our last movie theater experience!

Happy 30th Birthday babe!

Adam's present from me - a bottle of Ciroc Vodka

I even made him a cake! (The store only had Valentine M&M's - so it was a little girly)