Hours spent cleaning walls: 10
Number of boxes of Magic Eraser used on walls: 7
Days spent painting: 14
Total rooms/halls/stairways painted: 15
Total specialty painting projects done: 3
Money saved by doing it ourselves: $600+
Hours spent loading/unloading moving van: 15
Number of times I faked a pregnancy to get out of loading/unloading: 0
Number of times I wanted to: Many
Hours spent cleaning the rental before turning in the keys: 8
Number of boxes unpacked so far: Abt 50
Number of boxes left to unpack: Abt 40
Number of children who survived their mother's impatience and frustration: 4
Number of casualties: 2 (a large painting Josh and I bought on our honeymoon and my really nice blender)
Days of working on either the rental or the new house in a row: 22
Number of hours I wish I could spend in my bed without worrying about anything: 1000s
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Extreme Make Over -- Johnson Home Edition Part 3
Matt's Room.....
It's hard to see it in detail, but the following pictures are the artwork that are on the wall on the right. The wall facing the window bore the name "Skye" in huge 12" letters of red marker. Guess what the little girl's name was that lived in this room.
This is a combination of paint, marker, crayon, pencil, and pen. I was able to mute the colors, but they wouldn't fade completely.
Before....
It's hard to see it in detail, but the following pictures are the artwork that are on the wall on the right. The wall facing the window bore the name "Skye" in huge 12" letters of red marker. Guess what the little girl's name was that lived in this room.
This is a combination of paint, marker, crayon, pencil, and pen. I was able to mute the colors, but they wouldn't fade completely.Two coats of primer and two coats of primer/paint later, this is what we got:
Matt's room is the Marvel Superhero room. Now, before you get the chance to judge me, let me just tell you that Matt's bedding is Superman because that's what we already had. Superman is not Marvel. I know everyone was getting ready to jump me for that Superhero faux pas, but I knew it was an error from the beginning, thank you.
Josh originally envisioned an Ironman room. We may get Matt some Ironman bedding eventually, but for now it's just a heroes-in-general room.
Josh's painting project in here was the racing stripes around the top of the room. They are really incredible looking and by far the more difficult of all the projects he did. Somehow, a bunch of straight lines are harder to pull off than freehand murals. I can't do either, so it's all impressive to me.
Matt's room is the Marvel Superhero room. Now, before you get the chance to judge me, let me just tell you that Matt's bedding is Superman because that's what we already had. Superman is not Marvel. I know everyone was getting ready to jump me for that Superhero faux pas, but I knew it was an error from the beginning, thank you.
Josh originally envisioned an Ironman room. We may get Matt some Ironman bedding eventually, but for now it's just a heroes-in-general room.
Josh's painting project in here was the racing stripes around the top of the room. They are really incredible looking and by far the more difficult of all the projects he did. Somehow, a bunch of straight lines are harder to pull off than freehand murals. I can't do either, so it's all impressive to me.
Matt loves his room so much that the second night he slept in it he saw his Wolverine figure on the wall, got all kinds of excited and went to jump onto his bed. Unfortunately, he completely missed his bed and landed on his face instead. We can't all have Super moments.
Extreme Make Over -- Johnson Home Edition Part 2
Abby's room.....
Josh's painting project was to recreate a mountain scene from Abby's new bedding.
Isn't he amazing???
Before....
After....
Abby's clue word was "luck." Can you see why?
Josh's painting project was to recreate a mountain scene from Abby's new bedding.
Isn't he amazing???
Abby loves her room. We've found a few more pink touches to add to her decor. Abby can't have a room without pink.
Extreme Make Over -- Johnson Home Edition
When Josh and I made plans for this house, we decided to do a themed room for each kid. We love watching the make overs on Extreme Make Over: Home Edition and thought we'd put our hand at it. Of course, if we had Sears as our sponsor we could've beefed up our budget quite a bit. But alas, such is not our lot.
The kids were dying to know what their rooms would be like. We gave them no hints as to their theme or even color palette. Finally, Emma conned me into giving them each a clue. Emma's clue was "mushroom," Abby's was "luck," and Matt's was "steel."
Finally they got to see what Josh and I had been working so hard to do.....
Here are the before/after shots of the kids' rooms, beginning tonight with Emma.
Before....
Middle.....
Josh did a special paint project in the three big kids' rooms. Emma's was a full wall mural of vines. We were inspired by the Tinkerbell room brochure at Home Depot.
After....
Emma's clue was "mushroom."
She got Tink and her friends in stickers. Underneath the fairies and their leaves reads the words, "Magic's Where You Least Expect It."
She still needs some closet doors. But her room is pretty close to being done.
Her bed is a Tink-green with vines. It was a fortuitous find.
Emma loves her room. It's also going to be the official guest room since we gave her our queen bed since we got a king size bed.
Anyone up for a visit?
The Bloggest Loser -- On Hold
This week's Bloggest Loser is on hold. For several reasons. First, I still haven't had a chance to watch the finale. Second, I have a lot of blog updating to do on the house. Third, I have a lot of unpacking still to do and that means I didn't get to eat well or exercise, so I'm being selfish on that one.
I hope you understand and will play with me next week. We'll do that halfway point check-in next weekend.
Good luck!
I hope you understand and will play with me next week. We'll do that halfway point check-in next weekend.
Good luck!
Sunday, May 23, 2010
The Bloggest Loser -- Week Five
Last week's big weight loss winners were Cindy at 2.51% (go, Cindy!) and Carina hit a milestone with her 1.56% loss. Awesome job!
Calculate your loss and see how you did. Remember that next week is our midpoint weigh-in and we'll get our up-to-date weight loss. This week, however, use your weight from last week as your Start Weight. And it's not too late to join in if you want to play but haven't been posting.
I was pleasantly surprised when I LOST WEIGHT this week!! Hooray!! I've been painting and cleaning up a storm and had a 1.86% loss. Finally!!!! My secret this week wasn't exercising, although I was very busy. I did try to eat lesser portions and I did both the Slim Fast and Subway diets. I really don't know if that helped me, but it was much better than grabbing donuts and burgers all week long. I've got another week of transitions before I can start to settle down. We are hoping to fill a moving truck tomorrow. If I can get the house cleared out and packed. The worst part of moving 15 minutes away is knowing you don't have to pack everything perfectly securely, therefore you don't really pack at all. That makes the transfer to the new house a bit more difficult. Ugh. Enough about that.
This Tuesday is the finale of Biggest Loser. Oh, poor Daris. He and Koli are vying for the final position for the final three. His gain of 2 lbs hit home so much!! He went home for a month, trained for his marathon, broke the record of time to complete the marathon, and then justified his overeating with the excuse that he's exercising so he'll be okay to eat late at night and doubling his calories in those late hours of the day. How well I know this trap! Josh works nights and I spend several of them alone after the girls have gone to bed. My entertainment consists of TV and Facebook. I'm usually not tired enough for bed, so in my boredom I eat. And I inevitably double my calories for the day. I just identified with him so much! I rarely vote for reality TV, but I exhausted all my votes for Daris. I really hope that month of reality didn't end it for him. But, if he does lose the vote, he should be in good standing for the At Home Prize.
So, tell me. How'd you do? What's your weight loss for the week? Good things? Tough things? Highlights from the week?
Oh, and I'm running out of ideas for polls. Are they worth doing each week? Do you have a question you'd like to ask the group?
Calculate your loss and see how you did. Remember that next week is our midpoint weigh-in and we'll get our up-to-date weight loss. This week, however, use your weight from last week as your Start Weight. And it's not too late to join in if you want to play but haven't been posting.
I was pleasantly surprised when I LOST WEIGHT this week!! Hooray!! I've been painting and cleaning up a storm and had a 1.86% loss. Finally!!!! My secret this week wasn't exercising, although I was very busy. I did try to eat lesser portions and I did both the Slim Fast and Subway diets. I really don't know if that helped me, but it was much better than grabbing donuts and burgers all week long. I've got another week of transitions before I can start to settle down. We are hoping to fill a moving truck tomorrow. If I can get the house cleared out and packed. The worst part of moving 15 minutes away is knowing you don't have to pack everything perfectly securely, therefore you don't really pack at all. That makes the transfer to the new house a bit more difficult. Ugh. Enough about that.
This Tuesday is the finale of Biggest Loser. Oh, poor Daris. He and Koli are vying for the final position for the final three. His gain of 2 lbs hit home so much!! He went home for a month, trained for his marathon, broke the record of time to complete the marathon, and then justified his overeating with the excuse that he's exercising so he'll be okay to eat late at night and doubling his calories in those late hours of the day. How well I know this trap! Josh works nights and I spend several of them alone after the girls have gone to bed. My entertainment consists of TV and Facebook. I'm usually not tired enough for bed, so in my boredom I eat. And I inevitably double my calories for the day. I just identified with him so much! I rarely vote for reality TV, but I exhausted all my votes for Daris. I really hope that month of reality didn't end it for him. But, if he does lose the vote, he should be in good standing for the At Home Prize.
So, tell me. How'd you do? What's your weight loss for the week? Good things? Tough things? Highlights from the week?
Oh, and I'm running out of ideas for polls. Are they worth doing each week? Do you have a question you'd like to ask the group?
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Music To My Ears
It's the last week of school. So, there are lots of end-of-year events. Tonight was my nephew Cody's band concert.
We got to go to Cody's concert back in December and their band has made some great improvements. It's really very fun to be able to go and watch my nephew's events. We've been to his football games, saw his US state display at school, and his band concerts. I love that we are here and can do that.
So please understand that the rest of this post is written in love.
I think it's impossible to listen to beginning musicians and not smile. They try so hard and come a long way in a short period of time. But they are still beginners. Of course, Cody rocks. He's related to me, so he has musical talent out the wazoo.
I never really knew that listening to beginning musicians could be so.... interesting. I began my musical endeavors in third grade. I played flute and joined the school choir. I loved it all. My band class was too slow for me, so I went ahead in the band book and taught myself. My choir teacher discovered that I was a decent alto. I thought I was pretty hot stuff.
Then, about six years later I was watching an episode of The Carol Burnett Show with my parents. There was a sketch showing a close up of a few parents in the audience of their children's band concert. The lights dim and the band begins. Listen with me: the flat notes, the off rhythm instruments, the squeaking clarinets. All the camera shows throughout the entire sketch are the faces of the parents with their plastered-on smiles and shudders as the music plays. Hilarious!! However, I was crushed when my parents revealed to me the truth that the sketch was actually very, very real. And here I'd thought I was an incredible musician.
As I listened to the concert tonight, I really loved being able to see the improvement from the band. They obviously worked hard and did a great job.
And in the back of my mind, I tried to suppress the thought of Carol Burnett.
We got to go to Cody's concert back in December and their band has made some great improvements. It's really very fun to be able to go and watch my nephew's events. We've been to his football games, saw his US state display at school, and his band concerts. I love that we are here and can do that.
So please understand that the rest of this post is written in love.
I think it's impossible to listen to beginning musicians and not smile. They try so hard and come a long way in a short period of time. But they are still beginners. Of course, Cody rocks. He's related to me, so he has musical talent out the wazoo.
I never really knew that listening to beginning musicians could be so.... interesting. I began my musical endeavors in third grade. I played flute and joined the school choir. I loved it all. My band class was too slow for me, so I went ahead in the band book and taught myself. My choir teacher discovered that I was a decent alto. I thought I was pretty hot stuff.
Then, about six years later I was watching an episode of The Carol Burnett Show with my parents. There was a sketch showing a close up of a few parents in the audience of their children's band concert. The lights dim and the band begins. Listen with me: the flat notes, the off rhythm instruments, the squeaking clarinets. All the camera shows throughout the entire sketch are the faces of the parents with their plastered-on smiles and shudders as the music plays. Hilarious!! However, I was crushed when my parents revealed to me the truth that the sketch was actually very, very real. And here I'd thought I was an incredible musician.
As I listened to the concert tonight, I really loved being able to see the improvement from the band. They obviously worked hard and did a great job.
And in the back of my mind, I tried to suppress the thought of Carol Burnett.
Monday, May 17, 2010
An Update
To avoid talking about painting (master bath and one accent wall left) I've decided to give an update on how our family is doing. I have no pictures. I don't know if I've taken any pictures or not. I'm too lazy to empty the camera to find out.
Millie
This girl is the biggest helper in the world. All she wants to do is whatever I'm doing. And today all she wanted to do was sit on my lap. Not any easy feat while I was taping the bathroom. She's all over the place: walking, running, and telling people their business.
I've set up what we call "the cage." It's an 8-panel gate that connects together to make a corral. It's the place for Millie when she's getting into too much trouble. The other day Abby was sitting on the floor and began throwing a fit over something. Millie went over to her, popped her on the head, pointed at the cage and emphatically told Abby to get in it. I don't pop Millie on the head, but the rest of it could have easily happened earlier that day. I'm not sure if it did or not.
Matt
Matt finishes kindergarten on Wednesday. It's the last week of home schooling and, honestly, there hasn't been a whole lot of schooling happening this week. But, Matt is a trooper and has been working hard. He's actually reading -- something I didn't expect to happen at all with how this year started.
Matt's got such a tender heart too. Living with girls has made him a softy. He tries to mind his own business, but often a girl of some sort will come and get into his little world. I don't know how many times a day I hear, "Ow, Millie!!" He doesn't usually fight back. Usually.
Abby
Abby just lost another tooth the other day. She's a little uneven. She's missing three teeth up top and looks a bit crooked. But she was excited for the ring-shaped dollar the TF brought her.
Abby's 8th birthday will be Friday. She's so excited for the presents. That's what it's all about for her. She's wrapping up 2nd grade at a 4th grade reading level. She has made lots of new friends in our new neighborhood already. She's going to be baptized June 19.
Emma
Emma is finishing third grade and reading at a fifth grade level. She's made lots of friends in the neighborhood as well. She's having tons of fun at school, but I think she's going to be really happy to have no more homework. I know I'll be really happy.
Thursday Emma will be performing in the school talent show. She's the singer and her friends are dancing. She's actually a very good singer. With her long beautiful blond hair and her sparkling blue eyes, we are in trouble. Big time.
Josh
At the hospital, Josh's coworkers have dubbed this month "Mustache May." I guess several people are donning upper lip wear. Josh took on the challenge. I've never seen him with facial hair, unless he was in a play. Then it was usually a full beard and mustache. So, when Josh decided to grow his mustache I was pleasantly surprised. And then when he added the goatee, I was pleasantly.... attracted. Mmm-hmmm. He's a hot man.
Shelly
Paint. Swollen feet. Exhaustion. Need a shower.
Millie
This girl is the biggest helper in the world. All she wants to do is whatever I'm doing. And today all she wanted to do was sit on my lap. Not any easy feat while I was taping the bathroom. She's all over the place: walking, running, and telling people their business.
I've set up what we call "the cage." It's an 8-panel gate that connects together to make a corral. It's the place for Millie when she's getting into too much trouble. The other day Abby was sitting on the floor and began throwing a fit over something. Millie went over to her, popped her on the head, pointed at the cage and emphatically told Abby to get in it. I don't pop Millie on the head, but the rest of it could have easily happened earlier that day. I'm not sure if it did or not.
Matt
Matt finishes kindergarten on Wednesday. It's the last week of home schooling and, honestly, there hasn't been a whole lot of schooling happening this week. But, Matt is a trooper and has been working hard. He's actually reading -- something I didn't expect to happen at all with how this year started.
Matt's got such a tender heart too. Living with girls has made him a softy. He tries to mind his own business, but often a girl of some sort will come and get into his little world. I don't know how many times a day I hear, "Ow, Millie!!" He doesn't usually fight back. Usually.
Abby
Abby just lost another tooth the other day. She's a little uneven. She's missing three teeth up top and looks a bit crooked. But she was excited for the ring-shaped dollar the TF brought her.
Abby's 8th birthday will be Friday. She's so excited for the presents. That's what it's all about for her. She's wrapping up 2nd grade at a 4th grade reading level. She has made lots of new friends in our new neighborhood already. She's going to be baptized June 19.
Emma
Emma is finishing third grade and reading at a fifth grade level. She's made lots of friends in the neighborhood as well. She's having tons of fun at school, but I think she's going to be really happy to have no more homework. I know I'll be really happy.
Thursday Emma will be performing in the school talent show. She's the singer and her friends are dancing. She's actually a very good singer. With her long beautiful blond hair and her sparkling blue eyes, we are in trouble. Big time.
Josh
At the hospital, Josh's coworkers have dubbed this month "Mustache May." I guess several people are donning upper lip wear. Josh took on the challenge. I've never seen him with facial hair, unless he was in a play. Then it was usually a full beard and mustache. So, when Josh decided to grow his mustache I was pleasantly surprised. And then when he added the goatee, I was pleasantly.... attracted. Mmm-hmmm. He's a hot man.
Shelly
Paint. Swollen feet. Exhaustion. Need a shower.
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