Friday, July 27, 2012

Building a House: Pardon the Delay

Please excuse the lapse in postings.  My laptop died this week – UGH!!! – and I can’t edit photos because that’s where Photoshop resided.  We’re still in the process of deciding what to do about it.  In the meantime, there will be no photos for this here blog.

As far as the house goes, we have window wells (!), underground pillars for the backyard patio, LOTS of dirt has been brought in ($$$), the dirt has been backfilled around the foundation, a whole lotta gravel has been brought in…AND the basement floor was poured today!!!

Hopefully I can get some pictures posted next week.  The framing is supposed to start on Monday, so things are going to change in a very dramatic way!

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Haircuts on the House…and a Loose Tooth

I looked at Caleb yesterday and had to do a double take.  Something was different.

Caleb-haircut

It seems our little Tornado has gained speed these days.  A lot of speed, actually.  Are 4-year-olds supposed to be doing this kind of stuff?!?!  I thought he would have mellowed out a little by now.  Boy was I WRONG!!  This kid is so smart, though, that he leaned over the garbage can while carrying out his nefarious plan.  Yeah – he’s awesome like that!

The best part of the situation was when I asked him why he did this.  His response?  “’Cause I always wanted a buzz cut!!”  Caleb, do you know what a buzz cut is?  “No!”

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And upon further inspection, it became very apparent that he used his mad cutting skillz on poor little Daniel.

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Not too obvious, but still there nonetheless!  Oy!  No wonder I wake up with a headache almost every single day!

I took care of the buzz cut this morning, hoping to erase the damage.  Oh boy, I think it may look just as bad!

 Caleb-haircut-3

And we’re supposed to have family pictures this weekend.  Extended family pictures.  And the episode will be forever cemented in the annals of our family history.  Ugh!!

Continuing with the “Day of Discovery” theme yesterday, we learned that Rachel has a loose tooth!  Her first one – and while she’s excited about it, she seems a little worried at the same time.

Loose-Tooth

She questioned me all afternoon about when I lost teeth, and tried to reassure herself that this is OK.  I bet it will all be forgotten as soon as she wakes up to the money on her pillow from that tiny little tooth fairy, who her mom has never even seen, and who likes to keep the teeth of young children…gross!!

Thursday, July 12, 2012

Building a House: How Firm a Foundation

The forms went up Tuesday and yesterday morning, and the concrete went in last night.

Foundation-1

The forms came off today, and this is what we’re left with.

The front…

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Moving around to the south end…

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And the back…

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The north end of the back…

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Around to the garage in front…

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We want a nice, strong foundation, so we’ll be patient while it cures.  Then the fun part starts and this house will really start to take shape!!

Park Photo Bomb

I took the three Littles to a new (to us) park last night after we got ice cream.  Hey – we have to have fun when Dad and the Bigs are gone!!  I took a ton of pictures (a large proportion of which were pathetic) when I wasn’t holding Daniel or trying to keep woodchips out of his mouth.  Here are the best.

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Just a little peck on the ear.

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I think her ship is trying to beam her up!

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Holding on tight while Mom gets yet another picture.

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 Park-9

Park-5

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And…he’s had it.  Too much heat and oh-so-tired!

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Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Daniel at 14 Months

This little video pretty much sums up Daniel’s personality right now.  Aside from being extremely social, he is a mover and shaker who spends his days exploring the contents of various drawers, pulling himself up to whatever he can reach, climbing onto everything his size, and eating everything he can get to (which includes shoes, paper scraps, wood chips, and plant parts).

Sunday, July 8, 2012

Cherry Almond Breakfast Cake

I recently found a recipe for buttermilk blueberry breakfast cake on Pinterest.  Anything with blueberries always catches my eye, and this recipe looked delicious.  I made it for breakfast the other day and boy was it tasty!  Perfectly moist and loaded with sweet blueberries, it won the spot for the favorite meal of the week for everyone in this house.  Not an easy feat.

I needed a breakfast item for a family breakfast on the 4th of July, and thought I would make this cake, but I didn’t have any blueberries, and I knew there would be other dishes with blueberries as well.  Jared suggested cherries, and I thought, “What the heck.  Why not?!?”  As I was putting things together, I decided a little bit of almond extract and a few ground up almonds would add a nice touch.  The result?  DELICIOUS!  Jared thought it was way better than the blueberry version – and this man looooves his blueberries.  The cherries were tasty, but I think the almond flavor is what created the home run taste.

I’m not a food blogger, but I thought I’d throw this one up (mostly because I’m so proud of myself for coming up with my own variation).
Cherry-Almond-Breakfast-Cak


Cherry Almond Breakfast Cake (adapted from Alexandra’s Kitchen)

3/4 cup margarine, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. almond extract
3 cups flour
3 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. salt
3 cups fresh cherries, pitted and halved
1/4 cup almonds, pulsed in blender until the consistency of nutty flour
3/4 cup buttermilk  

1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Cream butter with the sugar until light and fluffy.

2. Add the egg and almond extract and beat until combined. Meanwhile, toss the cherries with 1/2 cup of flour, then whisk together the remaining flour, baking powder and salt.

3. Add the flour mixture to the batter a little at a time, alternating with the buttermilk. Fold in the cherries and almonds.

4. Grease a 13x9-inch baking pan (or something similar) with butter or coat with non-stick spray. Spread batter into pan. Bake for 35 minutes. Check with a toothpick for doneness. If necessary, return pan to oven for a couple of more minutes. (Note: Baking for as long as 10 minutes more might be necessary.) Let cool at least 15 minutes before serving.

Friday, July 6, 2012

Building A House: Footings

We’re not even a week into the building process, and I’ve already come to know one thing: not much happens when it’s supposed to!!

The footings were poured today.  It was supposed to happen two days ago.  Please refer to the first sentence if you’re confused.

The pump truck – assisted by one of our workers – putting the wet concrete right where it needs to go.

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Looks kinda’ like a maze down there.  When the cement hardens, we might have a new playground for a little while!

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Packing it in and smoothing it out.

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The foundation wall is *supposed* to go in tomorrow.  So, I’m guessing it’ll be Tuesday in all reality.  Again, please refer to the first sentence if you’re confused!

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Fireworks!!

Our city does fireworks on the night before the 4th.  I happen to really like this because we can stay up late and still have the 4th to have fun.  No worries about getting to bed at a decent time!

I don’t have pictures of any fireworks, but I do have pictures of my cute family…waaaaaay better than fireworks!!

Caleb wants to be a photographer.  (He’d probably do a much better job than I do!)

Caleb-camera-lens

Daniel enjoyed himself until things started getting too hot (about 10 minutes after we got there).  This is a happy picture, just in case you were wondering.

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The Emily Chill – Wordoku (Sudoku with letters instead of numbers), pink blanket, and a place to lay her head.

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Josh in a tree.  Josh in a tree?  How can that be?

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 I happen to really like this guy.

Jared

Rachel my silly girl.

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Daniel blowing raspberries at having his picture taken.  He needs some lessons from Emily.

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It’s gettin’ kinda hot out here.

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Taking refuge in the shade of the Suburban.

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Such a sweet boy, even when he’s hot.

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We survived the heat until the sun went down.  And Daniel was especially relieved when Stacie arrived with popsicles for everyone.  We all loved the fireworks – even Daniel!!  He clapped and flapped his arms through lots of the show.  It was a fun evening, but I’m glad we can hang out in the cool A/C today!

Monday, July 2, 2012

Building A House: Day 1 (July 2)

We got started on our house today!!  Well, in all actuality, this started months ago, when we first approached the builder.  And we really thought THIS day was going to happen about a month ago.  But the city took FOREVER to issue the permit (OK, not forever, but longer than they should have taken)!

The tractor came and got to work!  First it dug a trench to find and connect to the sewer line.  (That house in the background is the home of our builder.  I think we’re going to get extra special treatment since we’ll be right next door!)

Digging-1

And then that tractor dug a really big hole.  (That tan-colored building in the background is our kids’ school.  Same school we’ve already been going to.  But now we’ll be CLOSE – like 100 yards away – and we’ll have sidewalks, and there will be no streets to cross.)

Digging-2

Digging-3

The footings for the foundation go in next, then the foundation walls.  Hopefully that will be done later in the week.

Stay tuned for the next installment of Building A House!