Kitchen Helpers

Helping to tape:

And paint. I initially bought rollers for all 3 girls, but our single hour of that experiment was total chaos, so no photos. They all three went to watch a movie while we finished painting the trim. For the walls, it was time for taking turns: Mama cut in, called in for a roller-chick, and would closely monitor & instruct while the little one rolled. Whew!

Mouse Adventures

"Hi Little Guy. Come on out. This is not your home. anymore. I know it was your home before it was ours, but it's not your home anymore."

This was Archer's conversation with the 4th live mouse we've seen today. After this the little guy got chased all around the kitchen/ dining room by a 6 foot man, which was exceptionally amusing to his wife. I actually offered to help this time, but when the little critter came scurrying at me I lost my nerve and escaped to higher ground (a chair). 

Padme killed one for us earlier today. We think she was actually trying to play with it- she tossed it, let it go, chased it around the back porch, then repeated the process until the mouse gave up the ghost. As soon as it was immobile Padme lost all interest.

Unfortunately, Noelle did not lose interest. Lessons on live/dead rodent handling, germs, and thorough hand-washing ensued.

Hopefully someone will take the bait tonight, and there will be a few less mice in the house tomorrow!

Best Daddy for Daughters!

I love these people.

(Photo by Sid Hall)

Hanging Around

What has been happening this week:

Lily and Noelle reading about 16th century fashion in "Living Long Ago". 

Plus many other things simply lived and enjoyed, more or less. 

Uh, Oops. Honey I bit off more than I can chew...

Current State of the Kitchen:

I didn't really intend to touch the kitchen for a long time. It's totally functional. I REALLY wanted to prioritize getting the enormous clawfoot tub working upstairs so we can shower/bathe up there first. But as each plumber had a different answer and the days went by...

It all started when I decided I couldn't wait on pulling up the carpet in the kitchen because of the smell, and my inability to clean up the 5 raw scrambled eggs/milk I spilled on it on Day 2. 

So I decided to rip up the carpet and just paint the subfloor until I am ready to "do" the kitchen. 

The girls loved helping me. It smells better. Great. Grab some no-VOC floor paint and good to go.

NOT.

1st trip to Ben Moore: 

Gotta get rid of mold/mildew/stains first or it will show and even get worse. They say to replace the plywood.

Trip to Lowes:

Priced plywood, hardwood, laminate, pergo, hardwood, everything. Never mind,  I'm just going to paint it. Lowes Paint Lady said you need to treat stains first so they don't grow (need toxic chemicals, respirators, gloves, and to not be pregnant with 3 kids), then use Kilz primer (need toxic chemicals, respirators, gloves, and to not be pregnant with 3 kids), then you can use whatever floor paint you want. Great. $50 and I'm in business. 

Except I can't use this stuff. And I forgot the respirators/gloves for Excellent Strong Man. (If you haven't watched Courtship of Eddie's Father do so now.)

Discussing process with ESM (husband):

"You know you really should paint the walls before we do the floor."

REALLY? I have no idea even what color I want the kitchen.

Next trip to Ben Moore:

Choose and purchase wall paint and painting supplies. Good thing they have trains and dollhouses for kids. Forget putty and spackling.

Another Trip to Lowes:

They do NOT have toys for kids at Lowes. Decide I'd like a beadboard backsplash instead of the flat Formica to paint over. Only $50. Excellent.

Bring wood panels home to ESM. Not thrilled, but accepting.

This afternoon, we did this to the Formica. Backsplash to prepare for the wood panelling:

This is really hard. And sharp. But it seems to go well for a while.

Then it gets harder:

And Daddy (ESM) shows up and starts criticizing our work. "You're destroying the wall!"

Oh. 

Then Miss Smarty Pants shown above on the counters says, "Mom, you're going to  ruin this whole kitchen!"

Ok fine, we'll just go over what's there. Arch wants to put it up tonight, which means he starts sawing panelling and I tuck the little smarties in bed and head to Lowes. 

I've lived here two weeks and the people at Lowes know me. One guy actually followed me around answered my questions as I went down the list, and the lumber guys (who had already answered like 5 questions for me) who were restocking came to check on me when they heard me drop a piece of 1x2. At 9:45pm. 

I closed down Lowes. Arch was still sawing when I got home. 

Looking forward to reinforcements coming tomorrow!! 

Still no working tub.

Busy Settling Down

In the last month, a lot of things have happened:

- Archer chose a final placement for his career. Sounds simple, but there was a lot of deliberating, negotiating, and weighing of options. God has blessed his efforts over the last 9 years (grad school+rotational program) by providing multiple exciting career options, which made it difficult to choose! He will be working from home doing cyber-security. 

 

- We finalized details and purchased Archer's Gram's New Hampshire home (The Big House) and moved our little family from D.C. to NH. 

- We made it out of the first trimester of Batch#4 and got to hear his/her little heartbeat! 

So now we are settling into life in New England, which is exciting but bittersweet for us. We are thrilled to be closer to Archer's side of the family, but wish we could also live nearby the Texas family and friends, and dear friends in Michigan, Nebraska, North Carolina, New Jersey and Virginia as well! (Wow, we've covered some territory in the last 9.5 years!) We love you all! After meeting and learning to love so many folks all over the country, I personally look forward to the community of saints hanging out and catching up for eternity! In the meantime we are planning some serious road trips. :) 

Lots of folks have requested photos of our new old home, since it's not everyday you get to live in a home that has been in the family since it was built in 1855, so subscribe to the blog if you want notifications of those- I don't want to spam Facebook. :)

The girls love it here already, they want to go up to Uncle Sid's every day, they love their swing set, yard, bedroom, and especially the fact that they will not have to move again. Lily is especially looking forward to the decorating, and I already had to stop her from pulling wilting wallpaper off the walls! Clara and Noelle are looking forward to having their own paint rollers and painting the walls. 

Clara is probably the most excited about this newfound stability- she's moved 3 times in her 3.25 years of life- and she has verified almost every day this week that we will live in The Big House forever. 

I'm already enjoying the peacefulness of rural life- but close enough for this city girl's comfort to amenities like malls, Costco, and the big city of Boston! 

Archer is revving up on his new job, and we are figuring out the kinks of working from home... like the kids not having a huge fight right outside his office while he's on the phone! He's also learning the ins and outs of being a landlord, since The Big House also came with a separate Little House, complete with a tenant! 

Batch4 is due in late November, and the girls are all hoping for a baby brother (they are tired of sisters). Mama suspects a boy, because she feels so different (no morning sickness at all!), only the Lord knows until November! Ultrasound in a month for photos, though!

Padme is thrilled with her new abode. Her cousin Hollie, a beautiful golden retriever, lives just across the street, and cousin Scoter (black lab) has been to visit a lot too, so our sweet ole girl is getting plenty of exercise playing with her dog buddies! She's been enjoying the backyard a lot too, just basking in the sun. I was hoping she'd do away with some mice for me, but so far she's not been all that helpful. 

Happy Summer, everyone! Plan your New England visits now, and plan to BYOPB- bring your own paintbrush! 

Old House Fun: Ants

Ants in the kitchen

Ants in the bed

Ants in the bathroom

Ants in the computers

Ants in the maple syrup

Ants! Ants! Ants!

A really horrible ant poem by me.

I set out baits this morning, then we found the crowd around the maple syrup.

To fog or not to fog?

Sunny Back o' the House

It was 89 degrees yesterday, but the house (no a/c) stayed remarkably cool. The only time we get direct sunlight is late afternoon- so many pretty trees! This pregnant mama is thrilled not to be overheating already. :)

Here is the backside of the house and barn. The barn is painted white on the three other sides, but the backside has been untreated for 150+ years. 

You can also see "The Little House" off to the right. We have a very nice tenant- but it's weird to go from renter to homeowner and landlord in one fell swoop. 

Everything I do (like the lead inspection yesterday, and the Lowes shopping list) is now multiplied by 2, or at least one and a half. Arch has always wanted to have rental property, though, so here we have it!

For the above photos I was standing on the slide:

You can't see it for the overgrowth and poison ivy, but behind the fences are stone walls... can't wait to uncover those beauties!

I didn't buy all the necessary parts at Lowes yesterday so no more interior progress to share yet. No point in take photos of piles of boxes! Tomorrow I'm getting a plumbing estimate, so don't get too excited about that either, folks. 

Here's some beautifulness:

Poor babies are all coughing up a lung- but on the mend now that things are settling down. 

Pray for us as we figure out our new routines, etc! Having Daddy working just upstairs means sometimes being quieter than we ordinarily would be. I'm already itching to put him out in the barn...