Big Smile

This is Chase's "biggest smile" - and her self-portrait.

We were at Home Depot, paying for the counter (which has yet to be installed) and the woman behind the counter gave Chase a pink pen and yellow post-it note. Chase drew a picture of the woman - the woman took it and stapled it to her orange apron with pride. Chase then drew a picture of herself and stuck it onto her dress and wore it for the rest of the day.

I must say, her drawings are really impressive (said the crazy proud mom of her daughter).

New Dress

The dress Chase is wearing is from Nee Nee, who unfortunately never got to see her in it while she was here. It's in black and white because the color was a bit off - a shame, because she insisted on wearing her little belt with it.

New Shoes

Chase's FAVORITE shoes of 2008 have been her Dora slip-on (crock-like) shoes.

Hold on to something. Or sit down.

Today she picked out a new pair of shoes. Little girl kicks (sneakers). Pink and white. No silly characters on them. Just a couple of sparkles and small silver flowers.

But I checked her feet just about an hour ago and they were already getting red (where the shoes were rubbing). So we slipped on some socks, in hopes of stopping any blisters. Fingers crossed when I take her shoes off tonight for her bath I don't find them red and swollen.

If I have to put her back in the Dora shoes, I'm not sure I'll ever get them off again.

Another Friend

There is a little girl up the street, who Chase loves almost as much as she loves Chase. So I decided to ask her if she would come and read to Chase once a week. So starting next Thursday, I'm planning to hold a tea party for them. They can munch on little scones, drink tea and read books.

The little girl up the street has three brothers, so I think it will be a welcome break to do "girlie" things with Chase.

Make Believe

Chase's ability to self-entertain grows daily. The content and complexity of the conversations her Einsteins have with each other is amazing.

The Einsteins started off speaking in Mandarin to each other - they would say "Ni Hao"to each other. When they started speaking English, they said only basic pleasantries - "please," or "thank you" to each other. But recently I overheard them having complete conversations with each other.

Tonight, for example, they are talking about having "boo boos" on their knees (while the other is saying "your knee is okay"- and then the conversation evolves to one asking the other if she is wearing underwear, training pants or a diaper.

And now, she is putting all of them to bed and singing little songs to them.

So sweet.

Why Silestone Quartz?

After debating Silestone vs soapstone, it came down to money - which we don't have much of at this point - and resale potential.

Hubs and I both love soapstone, and will probably install it in our "forever" house (if there is such a thing). It's old. It's gorgeous. It ages naturally. It is quite common in Europe.

Silestone, on the other hand, looks more like granite. It's been featured in all kinds of home decor magazines, as well as the street of dreams. It has no VOC emissions and offers consumers the joy of preparing food on a antimicrobial surface (sort of freaks me out but whatever). It's also one of those counter tops that is more appealing to the masses.

And the real kicker - the Silestone, thanks to two promotions running simultaneously, is MUCH more affordable.

Kitchen Remodel: More Pictures

Cabinet installation took three days... (have I mentioned how sick we are of all things grilled)














Finally














And then Hubs began to tile...




















Hubs worked late into the night...



















The tile is set...













So now we have a working sink and a dishwasher (which will be replaced once we have money again) - our fridge is still in our dining room - and our stove is still on the back porch.

What's next?
1) Counter top needs to be measured and ordered (we're going with Silestone Quartz)
2) Floor needs to be grouted and sealed
3) Back splash goes up
4) Wainscoat and trim goes up

Kitchen Update - Go Hubs Go!

The cabinets are installed. The workmen are gone. Now we're on to tiling the floor, the back-splash, the trim, the wainscoat -- and if we're really lucky, we'll be able to move the fridge and stove back in to the kitchen by Sunday.

Bless Hubs; he has done amazing things with this house and has probably increased the value of our house by 50K (at least). Go Hubs, Go!

I am so tired of all things grilled.

I tried to get the downstairs nice and clean today, but everything has a thin coat of dust on it. I think we're going to have to call in back-up.

On Being An Adult

Two nights ago I was invited to attend a sneak peek of the new Children's Garden at the Denver Botanical Gardens. It so fabulous to be invited - really fun. I actually pitched a fundraising idea (shocker, I know), so we'll see if any work comes out of it. It would be a great project (not that I have any time)!

New Room For Chase

I have asked Chase several times if she wants to move into the "big bedroom," so that her little sister have have her room. She has said no. And no. And no. So I decided not to push the issue.

But last night, she told me she wanted the big room and that her little sister could have her room. So after Nana Cris and Auntie Lockett visit, we're moving her into her big girl room!

Bushel & A Peck

Nee Nee will be happy to hear that Chase sang the Bushel & Peck song last night while we were eating dinner!

ABCs

Two nights ago, Chase sang her ABCs - with excellent diction - but when she got to V, she jumped to "double-X" and then Y and Z. So cute.

Monkey-Butt

So I would rather not post this, but Hubs promised he will stop calling our dog Monkey-Butt in front of Chase if I did.

Yesterday Brian was outside, trying to call Taggart, our dog to come out of the kitchen. He said, "come here, Monkey-Butt."

Chase, who was right beside him, said, "No, Monkey-Butt, No." For some reason she likes Taggart to stay inside.

Hubs thought this was hilarious. I was scared for the future of our child. I mean what if she called another kid Monkey-Butt?

Just one of many things that makes parenting so, very interesting.

Kitchen Remodel Pictures

So when we bought this house we knew the kitchen needed a face-lift if we were ever going to resell it. I did not take a picture of our old kitchen because I disliked it so.

Picture white-painted cabinets, a mustard counter, mustard backs plash, a very funky plaster "blue sky" and grubby white plastic tile floor that showed everything that ever touched it.

This, combined with a very weird downstairs entry (back left on second picture) made the kitchen even more confusing, as it was covered over and left like a giant, unusable shelf. We decided that instead of opening it up, we could keep it covered, but insert cabinets above it and panel the wall below it, so that a person coming in would not even suspect a stairwell was beneath it.














Note the blue plaster "sky" - oh lovely... It was in the main kitchen too, before we put beadboard over it.













Yei Yei managed to take a little time away from the kitchen to enjoy Chase...














And Nee Nee spent countless hours reading and playing with Chase...














And Yei Yei helped us install our new light fixtures (just one of his many talents)...




















And Hubs worked until he was too tired to stand...














And Nee Nee helped us paint over the yellow and rust colored walls...














And then the cabinets arrived...

Butterfly Dreams

Me: What did you dream about last night?
Chase: Butterflies
Me: Oh? What color were they?
Chase: Red
Me: How many were there?
Chase: Two
Me: Were they big or small?
Chase: Small
Me: So what did you dream about?
Chase: Two red, small, butterflies

Remodel Tip

Couple things we've learned...

1) Some things on Amazon.com are less expensive than they are at Home Depot

2) You can live with just a BBQ and a garden hose (it's hard, but it's possible)

3) You can remodel with a toddler in the house - and they can sleep through anything if they are exhausted enough.

Kitchen Remodel: Day 4

Has it really been four days already?

Besides the dog running through the floor leveler yesterday (while it was setting), and my father-in-law burning his forearm, the kitchen remodel seems to be running (knock wood) on time. Hubs goes back to work tomorrow, so it's really important the ceiling gets put up tonight (it will cover a "charming" sky-blue, plaster mess).

We're all tired. Long days with no rest. But it is saving us about 10-15K, so in the end it's worth it.

Chase, who hasn't napped since Nee Nee and Yei Yei arrived, crashed at 7:30 tonight, unable to keep her eyes open, despite the insane noise of an air compressor, staple gun and circular saw humming away in the background.

Kitchen Remodel Update

The cabinets have been removed. The old plastic tile has been removed. The sink is gone. The fridge is in the living room. The stove is outside on the porch.

And today Hubs and Yei Yei start putting the kitchen back together. Starting with leveling the floor. They also have to level the ceiling. But that's another story.

Only casualty - the kitchen window. Cracked. And probably should be replaced. So far we are only just over the original budget, but with the house across the street, which is smaller (and does not have an updated look) on sale for 100K over what we paid for this house (amazing!) we feel pretty good about spending the money on the kitchen.

Now we're off to confirm the counter top. We found a GORGEOUS piece of soap stone yesterday.

It's A Girl

That's right, on December 29th (or thereabouts) we will be welcoming our second daughter to the world.

At our Dr. appointment, yesterday, everything looked great - the measurements are right on the mark, all of the tests have come back pointing to a healthy baby, so we're quite excited. I'm halfway through and I've gained 6 lbs. The baby weighs 1 lb. Chase was born weighing just under 7 lbs, so I've got to gain at least another 5 lbs in the next four months (which I'm sure won't be a problem). The most significant difference in the two pregnancies are (1) my diet - alas, no full English Breakfasts here!, and (2) activity level:rest - activity level is very high, rest is very low this time around. With Chase I took 2 naps a day - oh, lovely naps.

Hubs is already planning the girls will play soccer and ski, so that he can do it with them.
SO SWEET.

Kitchen Remodel Update

We've decided to go with a soapstone counter, as it has no VOC emissions. Slate-colored tile floors (no slate, as it emits radon). Now we're on to lighting, back-splash, as well as the sink and faucet.