The Basement is DONE!

I even tried to take before and after pictures so you can see the great progress. I guess we still have basement 2.0 - fix one door, a couple of paint touch ups, fix the air draft problem from the concrete behind the walls, and finish moving in furniture and hanging some pictures on the walls. But here are the before and afters:

This is the basement door from the top looking down


After you hit the landing, here is looking down the rest of the stairs


Looking into the bathroom at the bottom of the stairs


This is what the vanity wall used to look like,


Now this is what the vanity wall looks like!


Here is the linen space - it matches the way the linen space in the master looks


Vanity - we bought an old one and refinished it and put a new top on it


Door into the shop area


Looking the opposite direction, back to the shop door, looking down the hall to the first bedroom


From the door looking into the first bedroom


Pics from inside the bedroom


Closet in the first bedroom - third pic has the closet door on the far left.


Hall closet


Looking down the hall to the second bedroom (hall closet would be right outside of view on the right side)


Second bedroom


Closet area in the second bedroom


Looking back to the door of the second bedroom


Looking back down the hall from the second bedroom, to the door of the first


Looking back up the stairs


Ta Da! And back up to the top! London saying peek-a-boo!

So there was our project! Looks good huh? Better tell me it does, cause we put a lot of work and time and money into it - so there! Come visit us now, you will have a nice place to crash. The second bedroom will be more of an entertainment area, we will put a TV on top of that weird thing in the corner (it's the cover to the sump pump) and a couch on the back wall. The couch will be a pull out bed (with a nice top so it'll actually be comfy) for extra sleeping space. We hope to finish moving in stuff this week so I'll update with pictures when we get that done. Fogg did an AMAZING job on the basement, I'm so proud of him for getting it all done and he really paid attention to the details, making sure things matched the rest of the house. James was awesome to lay carpet for us (in exchange for a few dinners, which I happily made). We also got help on the plumbing from our friend Jed, and a little electrical and framing help from Andrew, Rob and Scott. Pete helped with the tile in the shower and dad helped with tile on the floor. My father-in-law, Dick, helped out at the very beginning with helping to frame and get a few doors hung and a little drywall up. But Fogg did a majority of the work himself, truly solo. Great job Fogg!

And a few fun pics of Reed to end this very long post!



Cheers~

Hallelujah!

Hallelujah! Fogg got a job! What a HUGE weight off our backs, I'm so proud and excited for him!

So, he'll be working for a company called Systems Implementers. They work with the military integrating computer systems and he will be working as a project scheduler. Basically, he manages when things happen and with who. He will get to utilize his logistics degree and experience. This job is a great fit for him, not just a job. The opportunity for growth is fantastic and the schedule is optimal with working either 4 10's with every Friday off or 9 9's with every other Friday off. He will also get national holiday's off due to the work with the government. We are so excited about this new opportunity (and of course the chance to actually have money). Fogg will start working in a couple of weeks, once paperwork is in and sense he will be working for the government, security clearance is given. This gives Fogg a couple of weeks to wrap up a few things and for us to secure all of our childcare needs.

Just the quick update of the day - more later!

Trooper

Well, the little buddy has a double ear infection. Poor little dude. He's been such a trooper. As mentioned in my post the other day, he didn't sleep much on Tuesday night. Then I didn't sleep much on Wednesday night! We've obviously got a cold going on in our house. Anyway, the little guy just wasn't his usual happy self, so I took him to the doctor on Thursday to see what was going on. Doc took one look at his ears and declared an ear infection! Of course she (not my usual doc, he was busy, but I liked the fill in, she was nice) asked many other questions and completed her exam before officially declaring the ear infection, but I believe it's right on the head. So she sent me off with a few prescriptions and already he seems to be doing better.

Usually he'd be really happy about many things in this below picture with LaLa, number one: that he is with LaLa, number two: he is getting his picture taken (he is a ham and usually smiles), and number three: he was in a new place with a few new people (not pictured). But no, this is what the little dude looked like on his first gondola ride ever with his first season pass!

On the way down, I took a couple of just the little dude and me:

A second later (about to sneeze):

So this morning, we got him his antibiotics, cleaned his nose out with saline, then sucked it all out, and put in ear drops, which was all done while screaming bloody murder. Just 10 minutes later, this is what the little buddy was up to (also notice all the goo dripping from his nose all the way down to his chest - yuck):Happy as can be! And isn't he cute in his new little motorcycle outfit and funny little pose? And doesn't he look exactly like his dad?

Cheers~

Ran-dumb

Why do they sprinkle small rocks on the road instead of salt these days? We have cracks in every single one of our windshields, not just a chip - a full out crack. As if driving in the snow is hard enough, then you feel like rocks are raining down on your car as you approach large trucks.

I'm officially back to my pre-pregnancy weight! Good thing cause I'm done breast-feeding, aka shameless calorie burning, so I've really got to watch my food intake now. I'll never be back in my old jeans cause "things moved" but at least I'm no longer swollen and jiggly.

So sad that my boss has resigned. I love her, she has been the best boss ever! I don't blame her though, she kinda would like to live in the same state as her husband. Will miss you Helen!

Missing my BFF's big time lately. April and Tash in San Fran is so far away! Cause I work 24/7, I don't even get to see my local BF's either! Hang in there friends, I'll see you sometime.

Thought up this post at 3:30 in the morning cause Reed had a tough night last night. Things that I've wanted to say, but I couldn't write a billion different ones about nothing really special, so they all got mushed together. Reed woke up at 2:30, didn't really go back to sleep until 5, with 4 attempts in between. 2 bottles, Tylenol, a nose-sucking, and a cuddle later, he finally went to sleep. Thought I'd be able to sleep in, but oh no, up at 7:30! Crying right now for a nap, we might have success, it's been quite for a few minutes, will check on him when I'm done posting.

I love skiing. Even if I only get to do a couple of runs cause I've got to spend time with the little buddy, I really enjoy it. Wish I could find a way to ski all year round and a bit more often than I currently do.

Get to see Billy Joel and Elton John Face2Face concert on Feb 19th (hopefully, it's already been postponed once). Hoping that Bree and Margo can come with us. Then I get to see Michael Buble on March 31st - 10th row floor! April and Candace get to come with mom and I - so excited! Fogg won't go to either concert so Mom is coming with me.

So sad for all the people in Haiti. I can't believe a man was pulled out yesterday after 2 full weeks under the rubble. Unbelievable. My heart is broken for all of the family of the victims, and all the orphans. Wish I could do something, hard to think that a few bucks that I could afford to donate would do much. I'm going to donate money in a few months when people have stopped donating and hopefully Fogg has a job.

Getting tired of working 7 days a week. Emotionally exhausted. Miss my little dude when I'm gone all the time - I think he is starting to miss me too. Frustrated that Fogg still doesn't have a job, many irons in the fire right now, hopefully one comes out hot soon.

Reed has taken to chewing on furniture. The rails of his crib are looking like a rat has been gnawing on it, just started chewing on the coffee table too. I must learn to cope with losing the "perfect" condition of items cause that's just the toll that having a kid takes.

Dying for a massage. Can't justify it with our current financial position, it'll have to be a reward for something. Also, would love to have a nice dinner out (sans Reed cause he's so stressful to have at a restaurant). Needing a day off to catch up on some things like cleaning, running a few errands, updating the baby book, laundry, filling some picture frames, get some gifts, schedule doctor appointments and go to them, etc.

Names we've called Reed in the past 8 months: chubby stripes, little buddy, ruddy buddy, reedy-boo, snotty-nose, grabby hands, grumpy head, and probably many more.

Basement is almost done. Carpet is being installed now, then all we have left is getting the plumbing in the basement done, install a few shelves and move furniture in! Looks so good, can't wait till that's off our plate. Will post pictures as soon as we are done.

And a few parting pictures - the fam at Snowbasin last weekend and Reed enjoying brownie and ice cream (mom's personal favorite).

Off to my day, Cheers~

Buddy-shaped part of my heart

A couple of nights ago, Fogg and I were laying in bed talking about how much we love our little buddy. By the way, we call him "little buddy" often. Fogg said that often people tell you that you really never know what unconditional love is until you have a kid. In a way, it's true. You don't choose to love this little guy, you just do. But when this little guy came along he filled this part of his heart that he called a "buddy-shaped part". We never knew we were missing it! But he perfectly fits it. There is nothing like the love that you have for your child.

He's been getting into EVERYTHING lately. Just last night, he was in the dishwasher and the pantry.

He loves to stand up all the time, crawling his way to anything he can, pulling up on it.

And by the way, it's finally snowing around here - about dang time!

Cheers~

from reed

Hi everyone,

This is Reed. In case my mom doesn't share enough about me, I thought that I would just let you know how I'm doing. I'm almost 8 months old already, only 4 more days! I have two teeth, the bottom two and they are getting bigger. I've been feeling some pain in my top, but no teeth yet. But I drool a lot to let mom and dad know why I might be getting grumpy sometimes. I really like to crawl over to cords or strings and pull on them, that's my favorite! But I don't like just sitting around anymore, I love to start crawling as soon as mom puts me down. I really like to pick up something then smack it down really hard to see what kind of noise I can make.

I love people! I like to smile at them, and for special people, I kiss them, I think they really like if I leave a lot of slobber on them. I think that people with long hair like when I pull it too, they make a funny sound if I pull really hard so I do that as often as I can. I don't really like my car seat, but then I like to be in the car so I'm ok once we start to move.

I'm eating lots of new foods lately, I like everything I've tried except those yucky green beans. Mom tricks me by mixing them with other veggies that I do like, so I'll eat them. I really like fruit, but I also liked fruit a lot when I was in mommy's tummy too. My favorite is mixed berries! I like to eat things in my mesh feeder but can't quite get little bits in my mouth yet, it's hard to use my fingers like that! I also like to rub my yucky food fingers in my hair too. Lala once gave me this yummy orange potato with lots of sugar and butter on it from her plate at a restaurant, that was really good!

Mom and Dad keep playing a movie about signing. I don't really get it yet, but I like watching mom and dad do funny things with their hands and saying a word over and over. I'll do it back when I'm good and ready! I'm having a good time building up my muscles by pulling up on the couch, coffee table or ottomon. Or even mom or dad! I just grab on to them and then pull up and put my feet under me. It's easy! My favorite is when I'm in my crib for a nap and I don't really want to sleep, I grab the edge and stand up. I cry until mom or dad comes to get me cause I don't really know how to get back down.

I'm pretty cute if I do say so myself. Mom puts me in some pretty cool clothes (I don't mind though, cause then the older ladies when I'm out like to smile at me, and I like that). Here is a picture of me from just the other day:
I really like when my mom works from home, she seems to be gone a lot! Dad is home a lot me with though and I really like him!

I'm getting sleepy now from all of this writing, so I'm going to take a nap now, here is a picture of me sleeping:
Talk to you later!
Love, Reed

A Heartwarming Tale

The latter months of 2009 were a tough time for me. We've been dealing with much, relationships, money, personal struggles. And when you turn on the news, you get blasted with crime, economic hardships and death. But one story has captivated me in the past months and I found myself glued to the news stations hoping for an outcome that we all hoped for. On Christmas Eve, David Goldman was able to take his son home after a five year battle to regain custody of him. If you've been living under a rock and don't know the backstory, here is a quick recap for you.

David and his wife Bruna had a little boy 9 years ago. Bruna was from Brazil and she took there son, Sean, to visit her family for two weeks. Instead, she stayed in Brazil and divorced David. David then started proceedings to get his son back to the US. Bruna remarried and ended up dying in childbirth about a year ago. Her new husband now had custody of Sean and refused to bring him back to his only biological living parent. The Brazilian courts were not being fair and many US government officials got involved in correcting Brazil's decisions to obey international law to bring Sean home. After all the delays, David got his son back and flew back to New Jersey on Christmas Eve with his now 9 year old son. For more details on this story, go to this link.

As a new mother (of a son) I just felt for this guy. I can't even begin to imagine what he was going through. But it was so heartwarming to me to watch David get his son back. In all the heartache, there are still good things that happen in this world, and we need to cling to them. I love hearing about their story and I hope that this is the end of it - literally "and they live happily ever after".

Speaking of Reed, here are a few new pictures of him. He has enjoyed being "walked" around, figuring out exactly how his feet really work. He will crawl over to something, pull himself up and has just started transferring to other things. I'm sure it won't be long before he is walking around holding on to the couch or coffee table or ottoman.

Focusing...

He LOVES his toy from Grandma and Papa Fogg.

Reed had a great time with MacKenzie, his future babysitter. She was shaking her head (as in "no") and he would copy her, it was adorable.

I'm still working on my New Year's Resolutions. I heard on the radio this morning advice about how to keep your resolutions. The one that hit home for me was "each day is a new day". So if you screw up one day, the next day is a new opportunity to hit your goal. Though yesterday I wasn't maybe the greatest mother, or the best friend, or the most compassionate wife, today I have another opportunity to make it happen. So off to my day of being a better person, making every day worth it, learning more about myself, and being positive!

Cheers~