seedlings

progress

The "bad wall" is down, walls torn apart, wiring redone (after these pictures), flooring chosen.  Electric permit inspection is tomorrow then the insulation goes in and walls go up.  Jared has the entire place wired for stereo speakers, surround sound, etc.  It all seems very complicated to me...must be a man thing.  We're surviving the construction really well.  It's easy to live with the noise and mess when you're not doing it!  Cade will often throw in a, "Mark be quiet!!" (our contractor) but aside from that he's pretty used to all the activity.

let the demo begin

Here are a few shots of the "bad living room" (as Cade calls it) before demo started last week.  I'll be sure to get in there this week to show the progress.  After tearing down the dividing wall ripping out the faux ceiling the room looks much larger.  There wasn't THAT much damage found, some old water issues that left mold (yuck) and rotten beams as well as some really hazardous wiring.  Glad to take care of both of those issues.  Can't wait for insulated walls, a new gas fireplace (while keeping the original tile), a wired entertainment system & refinished floors!!  Stay tuned!

Living room furnished:

Cleared out for demo:



 

fake smile, masking fear

it was a little too quiet in the living room

artist

We're in the middle of a Shrek obsession, thanks to some old DVDs from Uncle Stow.  We've been finding it increasingly difficult to find Shrek gear and I've been forced to bid on old Ebay items to fill our needs.  Luckily we always have a pen and paper on hand to draw our own Ogres.

emergency

Last night marked our first trip to the ER with Cade.  I think the visit was way more traumatic for me than him.  I'm not used to my child getting sick or hurt so it was really difficult to process...imagine sobbing, trouble breathing, inability to respond to the doctor's questions...all on my part!  Meanwhile Jared and Cade were in control, wondering what was going on with me.  "Mommy you were so sad"

It all happened when Jared lifted Cade by his left arm to sit at the dinner table and eat.  He must have grabbed it just the wrong way for Cade started to immediately howl and cry.  Poor little guy, I couldn't even get his sleeve up to take a look.  Off to the hospital we went.

I was super impressed by Swedish Hospital, from the moment we arrived they whisked us back and took care of Cade right away.  Maybe it was because he was a little guy, or maybe it was because the entire waiting room was filled with hacking people wearing masks.  Either way, I was glad to not have to wait.  They found that he had a "radial head subluxation" other wise known as "Nursemaid's Elbow" and with a quick twist of the arm, his arm was moved back into the correct position and he started feeling better.  The trip took all of 20 minutes and Cade was back to his normal self, eating popsicles in his hospital bed.

On the drive home, Cade was processing the event and told me the following story:  "Today my daddy grabbed my arm and flipped me.  I got hurt and we went to the doctor at the hospital. I got all better without any shots or splinters!  The man (nurse) game me 2 popsicles in a cup and they had heals in them.  I ate them and the heals went into my arm and made me all better.  They healed me!  Now I don't have to go to school anymore and tomorrow I want to go to Trader Joe's and get more of those popsicles."

So, there you go.  Now I'm just hoping and praying we don't come down with Swine Flu.

sick, sick, still sick?!

Let's just say it's been a challenging 8 weeks.  I have yet to determine if my morning sickness has actually been worse this time around or if it simply FEELS worse because I chase after a 3 year old all day and that I'm, well, 4 years older.  I look back fondly on my first pregnancy; coming home from work to lay on the couch for hours and fall asleep in front of the television at 7pm.  What a luxury.

I wish I had a child who still napped, or one who would lay down with me for more than a minute.  I wish I could eat dinner one night without being completely disgusted soon after, gagging at the thought of what I just ate.  I wish my list of "acceptable" foods wasn't dwindling.  I wish I could kick these back to back colds by taking something stronger than Tylenol and honey.

But the good news.  I need to remind myself of the good news...in the next few weeks I WILL feel better.  I'll wake up one morning and emerge from this coma-like state and I'll soon forget all that ailed me.  That's the amazing part of pregnancy and child birth, no matter HOW BAD it gets you seem to immediately forget it all.  Nature's way of supporting procreation I suppose.

So, I guess this post is simply a personal reminder.  A reminder to me in a few years, when I get that baby urge, to remember what it's really like.  2 is a GREAT number and I'm sticking with it!

12 week belly

We are happy to announce that Cade will be a big brother in May, 2010!

talented

Jared is our resident weekend breakfast guy.  Here is one example of his amazing creations: a fractal and space needle pancake for Cade.  I was super impressed!

halloween: my space needle

Here are some pictures!