The remodel is coming along well... the new sheetrock is up and being mudded for the third time as I type, the new tub and shower is in, the subfloor is down. Now it's just the finish work to do... the pieces that put the room back together. We ran into a little problem with the floor as there was 3/4 of an inch grade difference between the front and back ends of the tub. They shimmed the low side and ended up having to put a second layer of 3/4 inch plywood down. The only other issue so far has been that I discovered that we had told the contractor the wrong tile to buy... thankfully we caught this before it was laid down so I went to Home Depot this morning and bought the correct tile. Problem solved! The tile is the next project and I am so excited to see it on the floor.
In other news, Michaela has strep throat again so she is home today and stayed home yesterday. She had just finished her last round of antibiotics for strep on Monday and then got it again on Wednesday. We think that she may have reinfected herself from her toothbrush. So when we picked up her new meds we grabbed a new toothbrush as well. She is in good spirits today and is eating like a horse so she is clearly on the mend.
Jenna is great...she loves having Michaela around all day. Her latest word is "ouch" which she pronounces "ouse" and squints her eyes for dramatic effect. She started using it when I was trimming her nails the other day and she wanted me to stop saying, "Ouse, ouse..." and pulling her hand away.
The Libutti girls had fun yesterday at Gammie's coloring Easter eggs, which is a Davies family tradition. It definitely cheered Michaela up to make eggs for everyone. My parents are right now on the road to MI to see Brian and Bethie and Michaela sent a bunch of lovenotes, artwork and two colored eggs for them to enjoy.
Enjoy the spring weather!
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Saturday, March 24, 2007
Pictures of the remodel
Here are the first "Before" and "During" pictures. The girls had just taken their last bath in the old bathroom.
Chaos sweet chaos
The bathroom remodel has started and is in high gear! Everything has been torn down to the studs, the floor has been torn up (thank the good Lord... it was beyond gross) and a new subfloor has been laid down. The room has been rewired and our outlet moved to a much more logical location. Our new tub/shower unit is in our garage, ready to be installed on Monday. Monday is a big day as the new sheetrock is also being put up. The small wall separating the vanity from the toilet and shower has been removed so it will be one larger room.
Dan and I have picked out all our new stuff... vanity, sink, faucet, tile for the floor, paint color, lighting,etc. and thankfully generally agree on the same style. We're going for a spa-type look- clean and uncluttered and bright.
While we are bathroom-less my parents have been graciously letting us invade their guest bathroom and use it for baths and showers. We should have about another week and a half until completion and things are going very smoothly... I really thought we'd have water damage where our shower tiles were coming off but thankfully there was none.
In other Libutti news, Michaela has been feeling her oats a bit lately and has been particularly pokey, which is her most frustrating habit. She also told me while we were in the car the other day, "Mom, I think I am ready to take a vacation from school." I cheerfully told her that Spring Break was coming in about three weeks and she'd have a week off. She told me, "No, that's not really what I meant... I mean I want to be home when everyone else is in school... I work really hard in school and just need some time home." I told her, "Sorry, Charlie, but I can't just keep you home- it's against the law..." and assured her we would do fun things on her break and that really the school year is almost done (a small stretching of the truth!). Who knew Kindergarden was so exhausting??
Meanwhile Jenna has learned two new words that have taken over her communications with us: No and Me. When you ask her,"What's your name?" she very matter of factly answers,"Me!" and points to her chest. She is showing lots of moxie with Michaela and has told her no and pushed her a few times. Jenna is our child of extremes: so sweet yet so strong-willed. She also asked me to make her an "eggie" for breakfast which she promptly spit out after her first bite. She has started saying "Addooo, ba-ba!' when we leave somewhere which is Jenna speak for goodbye. She is becoming interested in Michaela's underpants and actually insisted on wearing a pair last night over her pjs. Maybe she will potty train earlier than 4 and a half years old like her sister!
I will try to post some bathroom pics soon for your viewing pleasure.
Dan and I have picked out all our new stuff... vanity, sink, faucet, tile for the floor, paint color, lighting,etc. and thankfully generally agree on the same style. We're going for a spa-type look- clean and uncluttered and bright.
While we are bathroom-less my parents have been graciously letting us invade their guest bathroom and use it for baths and showers. We should have about another week and a half until completion and things are going very smoothly... I really thought we'd have water damage where our shower tiles were coming off but thankfully there was none.
In other Libutti news, Michaela has been feeling her oats a bit lately and has been particularly pokey, which is her most frustrating habit. She also told me while we were in the car the other day, "Mom, I think I am ready to take a vacation from school." I cheerfully told her that Spring Break was coming in about three weeks and she'd have a week off. She told me, "No, that's not really what I meant... I mean I want to be home when everyone else is in school... I work really hard in school and just need some time home." I told her, "Sorry, Charlie, but I can't just keep you home- it's against the law..." and assured her we would do fun things on her break and that really the school year is almost done (a small stretching of the truth!). Who knew Kindergarden was so exhausting??
Meanwhile Jenna has learned two new words that have taken over her communications with us: No and Me. When you ask her,"What's your name?" she very matter of factly answers,"Me!" and points to her chest. She is showing lots of moxie with Michaela and has told her no and pushed her a few times. Jenna is our child of extremes: so sweet yet so strong-willed. She also asked me to make her an "eggie" for breakfast which she promptly spit out after her first bite. She has started saying "Addooo, ba-ba!' when we leave somewhere which is Jenna speak for goodbye. She is becoming interested in Michaela's underpants and actually insisted on wearing a pair last night over her pjs. Maybe she will potty train earlier than 4 and a half years old like her sister!
I will try to post some bathroom pics soon for your viewing pleasure.
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Catching Up
I have been neglectful in my blogging and I apologize! It is not because nothing has happened; in fact, things have been busy this week at the Libuttis. Yesterday I volunteered in Michaela's class, which is always a blast and did little odd jobs for the teacher and helped the kids finish up a lion project. It had lots of glitter and gluing so it was fun to see the kids play.
Michaela called yesterday one of "the best days of my life": I came to school with her, she didn't have to take the bus, she was the VIP of her class for the day and she got to bring home Travelling Cheetah (the AM class' version of Travelling Dog). We had to come up with something exciting to write about in the Cheetah journal and I as a mom feel lots of pressure with this. Thankfully, Cheetah looks just like Michaela's stuffed animal Pookle from Build a Bear so we did a riff on how they met each other and played together, etc.
Jenna's big excitement this week was starting to call Dan "Da-da" finally. Her vocabulary is exploding right before our eyes and I think Danny was very excited to finally have a name.
Well, our dinner is ready and we are off to choir for Michaela and a scrapbooking class for me (heaven- three hours away and working on projects!). Enjoy the Office tonight!
Michaela called yesterday one of "the best days of my life": I came to school with her, she didn't have to take the bus, she was the VIP of her class for the day and she got to bring home Travelling Cheetah (the AM class' version of Travelling Dog). We had to come up with something exciting to write about in the Cheetah journal and I as a mom feel lots of pressure with this. Thankfully, Cheetah looks just like Michaela's stuffed animal Pookle from Build a Bear so we did a riff on how they met each other and played together, etc.
Jenna's big excitement this week was starting to call Dan "Da-da" finally. Her vocabulary is exploding right before our eyes and I think Danny was very excited to finally have a name.
Well, our dinner is ready and we are off to choir for Michaela and a scrapbooking class for me (heaven- three hours away and working on projects!). Enjoy the Office tonight!
Tuesday, March 6, 2007
God Bless the USA
At dinner tonight, Michaela and I started singing the Lee Greenwood song "I'm Proud to be an American"... she had sung it with her children's choir and we have the CD and listen to it occasionally. Michaela cracked us up by belting out, "I'm allowed to be an American, where at least I know I'm free..." Too cute!
Michaela started swimming lessons yesterday at our local YMCA and did great. She'll go once a week for a half hour for about 8 weeks. I think she was excited to be back in a pool! Jenna was even happy for her and when Michaela was getting changed in the locker room after the lesson, Jenna was patting Michaela's arm and saying in her little broken English, "Good job, MiMi!" We are finding Jenna to be quite sensitive and empathic and will go immediately to comfort Michaela if she is crying and starting patting her arm or back. What a wonder to see their little personalities emerge!
Michaela started swimming lessons yesterday at our local YMCA and did great. She'll go once a week for a half hour for about 8 weeks. I think she was excited to be back in a pool! Jenna was even happy for her and when Michaela was getting changed in the locker room after the lesson, Jenna was patting Michaela's arm and saying in her little broken English, "Good job, MiMi!" We are finding Jenna to be quite sensitive and empathic and will go immediately to comfort Michaela if she is crying and starting patting her arm or back. What a wonder to see their little personalities emerge!
Saturday, March 3, 2007
Kids in a nutshell
Mommy says to Michaela: "You're driving me CRAZY!!"
Michaela answers with a smile: "It's my JOB to drive you crazy."
Mommy and Michaela both laugh.
Such wisdom from a five year old.