This post is 2 months late in the making.  Even 2 months after the fact, I'm still in disbelief that our little girl is 5 years old! 

Together, Steve and I agreed to throw big parties for 1st, 5th, 10th, 16th and 18th birthdays.  The others will fall in line for family and a few of her friends.  This year being the 5th birthday, we invited her entire preschool class (19 kids) plus family to the festivities.  We had 10 girls total come from class.  Maybe cooties start earlier than I thought ;) but there were no boys in attendance except for her cousins Cooper and Clint. 

The theme was a mesh of bounce house and unicorns, spiraling quickly into rainbow as well.  We set up a rented bounce house in the yard along with some balls and hola hoops out to play.  There was chalk to draw on Steve's garage floor as well.  And the girls made good use of all of it. 

Last but certainly not least, her favorite present for her birthday would be her new truck from daddy

Charlie is still in the 85% for height, reaching 3'8" at her well check visit.   She's average for weight, in the 74th percentile and hitting 43lbs.  Not quite enough to get to her big girl booster without the back yet.  

Through this past year her love for horses has only grown.  In fact we are trying to start up horse back riding lessons to see if her passion sticks.  She loves everything rainbow and glitter.  The more sequins the better.  She's a fun loving kid who's discovered her own sass as well.  While I admit there are moments she pushes her parents buttons, she's truly a sweet girl.  She uses her manners so well and I get told from multiple people how well behaved she is.   Although she's spunky and seems fearless, she has moments of shyness as well.  It's not often, mostly with people she hasn't met or gotten to know yet.  Purple is still a favorite color.  Pink rates pretty high as well.  She loves to sing and dance.  Whether its her own song of her making or she's singing along to the radio.  I would say her favorite movies over this past year would be the Greatest Showman along with Mama Mia.  She just loves the music! 

We're doing one more year of preschool this year.  After speaking with her teacher, we felt it best to let her grow a little more before big kid school.  Maturity level needed to come up a bit.  Although she's totally potty trained, she still has trouble remembering to flush the toilet, wash her hands etc.  We're working on dressing herself, brushing her own teeth and hair too.  It seems a silly to consider now, but as she's working on dressing herself she and I are also working on color coordination for outfits.  Matching her pants/shorts with her short and her bow of choice.  Charlie has also started taking showers in this past year and learning how to wash her own hair etc.  

We still try hard to read a book or two at night at bedtime.  But over this past year, Charlie seems to be stretching her bed time more and more.  Currently we don't get to bed (after bath/shower) until about 8pm.  And by then, its time to just settle and go to sleep. 

Things we did this year include her first concert! My mom's favorite band in the whole world, Alabama, came to Pittsburgh in March.  It was the first intro to the concert scene for my little music lover.  She danced along to the opening act, Tracy Lawrence.  And made it through some of Alabama before passing out cold on my lap.   It's also been the year for big birthdays among her friends.  We got invited to Alexa's rolling skating party and girlfriend went HARD on skating for two hours.  She absolutely loved it.  

Its so hard to try and squeeze so many memories in one post.  But I want to capture as much as I can.  I have enjoyed looking back over these with each passing year.  

Building a House, Update #16

Update # 16

There are no more fancy titles in my head.  I'm fresh out.  I'm over it.  To say the least. And that truly is saying the least. Most of which I cannot spout off to my husband because it only adds more stress on his plate.  But we're getting into the design element of the house and I am so nervous.  Terrified really.  I feel like I went through this entire process in denial or conflicted.  I've never designed an entire house before.  I've done snippets at a time.  One more this year, one room next, oh wait lets blow out the whole downstairs.  But by the time we took on that massive project, I had my feet wet with how I envisioned the house to be over all. This new house?  Yikes.

Starting out with the master bathroom paint color.  On a whim, the night we painted I put the same paint choice in both bathrooms as you may or may not recall.  I did.  I vividly had nightmares about it.  I couldn't handle the mint green in the master bathroom.  It just didn't scream adult to me.  Instead I went back and forth about my original plan, my dark colored accent wall and the rest of the walls white.  Finally, I suppose after enough nagging, complaining, my husband told me to do whatever I wanted but he didn't have time to help me with it.  Totally understood.  So I took a Saturday and painted the primer on the whole bathroom myself.  Yes it took me a day. Yes, its a small space to have taken that much time.  There was a ladder involved.  Shudder.  By the time I was done with primer, my husband so kindly decided that I wasn't up to the task.  For one, I took too long.  For two, I'm apparently a horrid painter.  Who knew?

Lets start with some before photos.  Still has the mint green.  But its only necessary to point out that in the few days it took me to mull over whether I was definitely changing the color my husband managed to put together the vanity, the toilet had been install and the shower tiled.

During - I'm already obsessed and just in love with my decision. 

Final.  Along with a shower photo with the dark grout, tile work and shower head.

And just an updated shot of the spare bathroom.  It has stayed the mint green.  I think it suits.

Next up, the KITCHEN. 

Bless me, this space caused and still causes me anxiety. My original vision had been a much lighter color lower cabinet.  The husband hadn't been on board with that.  At the time that we had settled on the darker cabinet for the bottom, we were still planning to run the laminate through to the kitchen.  So I went with a dark cabinet to compliment the laminate I had chose.  When that changed and I needed to choose a tile, I was and quite frankly still am, nervous about the coloring.  Looking at the kitchen blindly as it sits right now, there's no "warmth" so to speak.  It looks so modern with the stark contrast and cold to me.  So there's a lot to be added to this design yet.  

Cabinets got picked up Wednesday before Thanksgiving.  

Set, hung and the sink installed on Saturday, the 24th.  

Oh, but that sink. 

 If you're looking for an apron front farmhouse sink and don't want to break the bank, give IKEA a look.  I had the single basin sink in our farmhouse and was able to for the double in this house, which I'm so excited for.  

Once the cabinets were set we realized that we had actually a large space with play with so we used the cabinet cardboard boxes to toy with the idea of an island.  I'm happy to report we'll be able to fit a small island in the space with bar stool seating at the end.  I'm hoping for a Zellem original made by the husband, but time will tell.  

Steve picked up the laminate flooring on Monday and got it in the house before we drove to Fredrick, MD to look at granite slabs.  A quick before and now shot of Charlie! I took this same exact pose two years ago when we were remodeling the first floor of the farmhouse and our new floors had arrived.  It was too easy to do a new version.  Our baby just won't stop growing. 

Monday, as mentioned, Steve and I drove to Fredrick to look a granite slabs.  Impressively it only took us an hour to walk the massive warehouse and narrow down our selections.  I feel confident with the choice we made and love the details in person.  My anxiety over whether it fits the space hasn't eased though.  I'll feel better once I have pictures on the walls and my pink depression glass along the top cabinets.  

Granite choice - it has the stark white and grays, blacks I was looking for.  An added bonus is these beautiful specs of a purple through out.  Something I hadn't been aware of before, how badly granite photographs.  Hopefully once its in the kitchen with natural light I can capture the colors better. 

The contractor is coming to measure for the counter tops this morning already.  Fingers crossed I didn't pick the most expensive slab and that it isn't a long lead time issue to get.  

Carpet gets installed by Lowes on Thursday. Another area I'm worried about.  I went to the store and chose a carpet I saw in person. When I went online that night to add it to My Lowe's and print a list for the husband to order, I changed the choice to another.  On a whim.  So I've never seen the actual carpet that is getting installed in our bedrooms.  No big deal. People do it all the time.  Right? 

Smack my head. 

Steve started installed the laminate last night and took a quick photo so I could see.  I didn't go over because Charlie is overly emotional lately.  I think it's a combined cold/sickness with the upcoming move into the new house.  It's all we talk about and subconsciously I think our stress is stressing her out.  Hopefully some quiet routine time at home will help settle her out a little bit. 

Paint it, tile it!

Last week we got a massive amount of painting done in the house.  By massive, I mean all.  I went pretty simplistic in my paint choices for this house.  If you'd seen our last home, you'd understand what I mean by that.  I mean... there's more white on the walls of this home than I have ever allowed.  Gasp.  My father would be so proud.  Well, not really. He'd still be causing a ruckus that there wasn't more white.

Little helper.  She was riding her bike through the house, carrying empty paint cans to the garage. 

As for the floors, I had wanted hardwoods throughout the whole house. One, my husband adamantly denied wood floors everywhere, he had to have carpet in the bedrooms.  Secondly, I couldn't do actual hardwoods like we had in our farmhouse. Due to the concrete slab foundation we had to do a laminate click together floor, a floating floor I believe its called.  I'm not a fan of laminate and tried desperately to persuade another situation.  I lost on that one.  I'm keeping an open mind that perhaps my experiences with laminate are limited and there's been a lot of progress since they've been first introduced.   So carpet in the bedrooms, tile in the bathrooms.  The open living space was a debate due to again, the laminate.  I wanted all one flooring, through the kitchen, dining, living space, front entry etc.  But because it is laminate, cough*annoyed*cough, I was asked to choice a tile for the entry ways and kitchen.  Annoyed.  And again, brings up my dislike of laminate.  It concerns me that it can't get wet.  Or should that wetness should be avoided.  Moving on.  I chose tile. 

The break down;
Kitchen
- White walls.  I want those upper white cabinets to really blend with the walls, causing the illusion of a bigger space. At least I hope that is what this does. 
- Big, beautiful gray tile with a slight wood grain, wavy design to them. 

General living area 

- Sherman Williams - a gray color.  I have the swatch at home that I can later update the legit name.  Its very neutral and I love it.  I've been told our house is the "fifty shades of gray" house thus far.  No red room, sorry folks.  

Bathrooms

- Sherman Williams - as Steve calls it, extra minty.  There is a real name.  One that, again, is stored away in our house folder.  To be found at a later date.  The first photo shows the grey hallway looking into the mint green spare bathroom 

- Tile.  We had this tile left over from our last house and I was excited to bring it to this house.  It was my birthday gift this year when my husband redid our downstairs bath at the last home.  The darker tile you can see is the tile in my (our) master closet.  

House Vision

I tossed together some of my favorite finds from Pinterest to try and narrow down the overall vision for our house in design features.

First up the master bathroom.  We already had a gray wood grain tile we had bought previously to install in the upstairs bathroom of our old house.  So I'm sticking to that tile for both bathroom floors.  I'd like to do a herring bone style to the flooring but thats a wait and see item.  Because of the amount we have and the space we need to cover, we may just lay it horizontally or vertically.  To counter balance the light gray flooring, I chose a dark, almost black mosaic tile  for the shower floor.  I love the idea of a bench in the shower.  For shaving my legs now and the thoughts of age down the road.  I see white subway tile with dark grout for the shower.  The vanity we chose is from IKEA, a double vanity that I wasn't sure I'd be able to fit in that space.  Thanks to IKEA's a little off the wall sizing and amazing pricing, we were able to score a double vanity.  I chose to get the dark stain in the bottom and kept the mirror above in white.  Lastly the walls will remain white except for the far wall with the window, that will be a darker shade. 

Next up, the general living space 

Wood floors through out.  One big open living space.  Living area, next up to the dining room table that will open out those beautiful french doors, and within eye site of the kitchen.  I'm so excited to get back to an open concept living space.  I'd love to add a gas fireplace down the road, a focal point on one of the walls.  We also chose our couch from IKEA.  Its a smaller footprint than the massive sets we have now.  Allowing ample room for Steve's "man chair" aka the Lazy Boy.  There's storage beneath the chaise and I love that! I'd love a big chandelier above the dining table but haven't finalized the one I'd like yet.  Lastly, a cool gray for the entire space on the walls to keep it neutral as I add in other elements of color

On to the kitchen.  

Fairly straight forward.  Top photo is the vision.  White up top, dark on the bottom for the cabinets. The bottom left photo is the stock photo from the Aristokraft website for our cabinets we chose for the bottom. Bottom right photo is emphasis on flooring I chose.  Another light gray choice.  But a wider size than whats in the bathroom.  

House Update

At this point, the beginning of November - the house is so close to done and so far.  I'm sure I've said that a bazillion times.  Countless of moments of just staring around at everything in awe of how far we've come and how far we have to go.  But truly, we're on the home stretch. 

As of right now, the house is plumbed, has electric, has HEAT - glorious, amazing heat.  There is drywall! Real walls to envision the space I have to work with for design.  Its... astounding.  The major components are complete so to speak.  There was a crew in this week doing all the finishing on the drywall.  There was a little drama with the furnace getting installed but as always, my husband handled it like a pro and got the problem resolved. 

He has a few projects that need to get completed for his own customers while weather is there to do so before he can put more focus on the house.  But still, at the rate we're going, New Years isn't just a pipe dream move in date anymore.  It's a very real thing. 

A few photos of the space with drywall installed.  It's hard to real photograph a big empty space. But these will be fun to compare down the road. 

From the corned of the living room space looking at the kitchen (right), Charlie's room (left)

From the corner of the kitchen staring into the living room, dining space, front door (right)

Staring down the hallway to the master bedroom and spare bedroom. 

Straight ahead is the linen closet we just added and I'm so thrilled about that spontaneous decision.

Master bedroom windows

From the master bath staring into my glorious closet.  All the heart eyes

Master bathroom. Envision a walk in shower to the left, toilet to the right

Windows and Siding!

Is there truly any fun titles for this house stuff?  I just updated the other night but I couldn't wait to put these up.  To document the butt kicking work my husband has been doing.

Power got turned on Monday!

He helped the crew thats framing the house on Monday to get the metal roof on.  It's about 80% finished as of today and will be finished tomorrow, God willing.  

Today he helped the crew get all of the windows and doors in! I got this picture from him earlier today and I couldn't wait to get out there.  

Another awesome bonus to the day, the lady we've been working with about cabinets called and asked if we would be interested in switching to another brand, similar color for somewhere around a 2K cost savings.  Um, heck yes.  

When I got out to the house, I saw this beautiful view.  Windows in! Front door on, no painted yet. Garage doors will go in Tuesday next week.  Roof mostly done! 

Steve called me in and said he had to get my opinion on something in the back, and as I came around the corner I was greeted but a FULL FREAKING PORTION OF SIDING! 

Just look at this beauty.  I can't even describe to you how excited I am for this siding color.  It was touch and go there for a while as I slowly worked to convince Steve this was the right choice.  I don't know that he's 100% onboard with me, even now looking at this amazing color.  He's too logical and spouts off the reality of the darker colors fade faster etc.  But man, its worth it.  So worth it.  Pictures don't do it justice.  Its this amazing blue grey color and its just fantastic.  

For actual builder information - we have both Provia siding and windows

Final Look 

Charlie Starts Preschool

I'm stuck somewhere between shock and excitement that our baby is in Preschool.  She is attending my mother's private school that is in the daycare Charlie already attends.  The location itself takes away any of the stresses I was going to feel towards big kid school just yet.  I drop her off and pick her up just as I have for the past four years.  But in the afternoon of her day she goes downstairs to the preschool room for three hours Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

I started out the big school tradition as any other mother would - with a sign.  I was thrilled that there were garage doors on Steve's shop that I could snap a photo in the same place year after year.  

Charlie is 4 years old

She is 42" tall

Her favorite color is pink

Favorite food is Cheese

Favorite Movie is Brave

Favorite Game is Duck Duck Goose

She wants to be a Chef when she grows up

She loves swimming, horses, dancing, riding her bike

Class of 2037 

So far so good, she seems to take to it pretty well.  I, on the other hand, do not.  School mom is a position I do not excel.  I forgot the very first show and tell day.  Otherwise known as the second day of school.  Ugh.  I'm behind on her ABC book.  Among a list of other things.  I hope that once this house thing settles, life will settle and I can remember all the little details.  It all seems a blur these days.