We’re Home!

12/11/2012

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Friday was moving day. It felt so different than when we’ve bought houses in the past…we would close at a title company, get our keys and let ourselves into our new, empty house. This time we’ve been in and out of the house almost daily for the past 6 months while it was constructed. On Friday Jason was cleaning the windows while I moved a few things over from my parents house. Then the last inspector from the city came and we paced around nervously while he walked through the house. Our site supervisor Scott put the last of 4 final inspection approval tags on the kitchen counter as he walked the inspector out. And that was it: we’re allowed to move in! Jason and I looked at the 4 final inspection tags on last time and gave each other a high five. Go time.

We met the movers at our storage unit and spent the rest of the day—the rest of the next several days, really—slinging boxes, moving furniture and unpacking. We are physically exhausted but oh-so-happy to be finally in our new home. I had hoped to sneak over early Friday morning and take final photos of a clean, empty house before we started moving in but it didn’t happen. Why? Because early Friday morning the tile guy, Peanut, was finishing grouting the fireplace and the bathroom; John, the painter, was doing touch-ups and Scott, our site supervisor/problem solver extraordinaire was putting the final touches on our front porch railings. In other words, the house was not clean or empty.

When we arrived back to our house, my mom had set up sloppy joes in her crock pot for us, as well as dropped off a bunch of food to get us through the first couple of days. She’s the best!

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After her afternoon nap, my parents brought Ali down to check out her new room. She hasn’t seen most of this stuff since she was 7 month old…so basically, she’s seeing it all for the first time. Who needs Christmas gifts!

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She was so excited about all the “new” toys that she climbed into her toy box.

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…and assembled:

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The first morning in our new house!

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On Day 2, my sister-in-law Ginger came over to help while my niece Eliza played with Ali. After they left, my parents and Jason’s parents helped us unpack and move more things from my parents’ house all day. It’s so wonderful to have such an awesome family to help us! I was too preoccupied to take many pictures on Saturday but I did snap this one of Ali. Nana (Jason’s mom) was unpacking a box with Ali and found some of my sunglasses…

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Day 3 in our new house: Sunday.

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Ali seems to really like her new room. It’s one of the most complete rooms in the house. All that’s missing are things that hang on the wall: pictures, book ledges, curtain rod, etc.

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Ali also seems to love her playroom (AKA the den) and it’s nice to have 2 rooms in the house that are mostly kid-safe.

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The hall bathroom is for Ali and guests:

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The living room is pretty much a big mess because the two couch pieces of our sectional and an armchair are being used in a home staging project. They’ll be back in a few weeks. I’ve been meaning to write about that. I’ll do that soon…

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Meanwhile, this is our makeshift couch: a pile of old blankets and pillows on the floor. Lucy approves.

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LuLu can be a very anxious dog but she seems to be adjusting really well. To my knowledge she hasn’t peed on anything or had any seizures so that says a lot for her.

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The kitchen is almost mostly complete, however it’s still a big mess because it’s the heart of the house. (Note the tool box and cleaning supplies on the counter, the step ladder in the dining room.)

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I really, really love how the kitcehn came together.

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We’re planning to add a tile backsplash at a later date.

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The coffee and tea bar is pretty much my favorite thing ever.

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After three days of hard work, we decided to use our last bit of energy on Sunday night to set up the TV so we could properly relax. It involved a mount that fixes to the concrete fireplace with a floating shelf below the TV. I’ll tell you about that later. We don’t have cable or internet yet, but we could use the DVD player so we found our box full of Seinfeld DVDs.

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Random: Any Nashvillites interested in a beautiful, big, heavy gold vinyl sleeper sofa? I was planning to use it in the den but it’s too big for that room so we’re selling it. It’s on craigslist for $100. Sold! Thank you to Mark and his wife. I hope you enjoy it!

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Babies and Dogs …

07/17/2012

I think every baby should come with a dog. It’s a great partnership. Lucy (the dog) doesn’t even like Precious (the baby) and they still have a beautiful thing going. Precious is delighted by Lucy…watching her, chasing her, occasionally catching up fast enough to get a quick feel of her soft fur. Lucy gets more exercise these days, now that Precious is on the move. But the exercise is good because she’s always eating a lot more table food than she used to (which was hardly any). Lucy is actually a very picky eater, but Precious will eat anything. Lucy is quick to clean up Cheerios, bread, cheese or yogurt off the floor. If Precious drops blueberries, green beans, peas or carrots, however, we’ll have to pick those up ourselves. Lucy sits below the high chair and stares at the rug, waiting for a Cheerio to bounce and roll…


Phone Photo Friday

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Happy Birthday, Lucy

11/17/2011

Our sweet cocker spaniel Lucy tries hard not to be be forgotten through all that’s been going on lately. Sometimes she succeeds. Other times I let her outside, then go make a bottle for Precious and 30 minutes later remember I put her out. She’s such a good dog. She could easily run away or wander off but she just sits patiently at the back door waiting to be remembered. Lucy is pretty laid back, as you can tell from this photo.

Although…more than once she has used the forgotten outside excuse to find something disgusting to blissfully roll in, necessitating a bath. That’s one way to get attention and I’m pretty sure she knows it.

Happy 7th Birthday, Lucy-LuLu-Lucille–Brown Dog–Chocker Spaniel–Floppy Ears-Sad Eyes-Puppy Face-Chewbacca! Thanks for never leaving. Please stop rolling in grossness. We love you, sweet puppy!


Phone Photo Friday

08/05/2011

(Picture borrowed from Jason’s phone this week.)

We’ve tried so hard to keep our cocker spaniel Lucy from getting fat but she’s getting a lot of extra snacks these days.


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Everybody has days like this sometimes…


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I’m trying out a new app on my Droid called Retro Camera.


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