Not a word about the remodel...

Quite a few things have been happening this week. We went to the zoo on Sunday and had a great time.

Hayden bought some "Stretchy Bugs" while we were there.



And we went for a walk on the golf course that evening.



On Monday, I signed Hayden up for preschool. This was the second preschool we visited, and though it wasn't quite as academic as the Montessori school we toured, it seemed like a place he would learn and have fun. They are going to put him in the Pre-K class even though he is only 3 and see how he does. They may even move him up to the older Pre-K group with the 4 1/2 and 5 year olds, though I'm not sure he's ready socially for that. I'm glad the decision has been made. I had been stressing out about waiting lists and scheduling issues.

Tuesday was Hayden's last day of Mom and Tot class and with our new preschool schedule, we won't be able to do it next year. We had our end of the year party and none of us could believe how sad we were that it was ending. Actually, I was tearing up a little as I looked at these pictures.

This week, I am acutely aware of how fast he is growing up. For us, three has been a hard age. Hayden has developed an anti-establishment demeanor and doesn't want "the man" keeping him down.

Three has also been hilarious because he is still so unique and unaffected by outside influence. By that, I mean that when he is describing something to me, it is straight from his imagination and not tainted by television characters or other kids. I want to hold on to this and I know I can't. So, I am trying to enjoy it in spite of his defiance and take this summer to see the world through three year old eyes.




(Here he is in line for the zoo sky ride, inciting people to get moving by yelling "green light, go people, go" with just the right amount of sarcasm)

Julie and Bill - June 11, 2005




More wedding photos here.

I know, I know. It's been nothing but remodel picture after remodel picture on this blog forever now. That's because the varying stages of house completion have been an undeniable presence in life around here for two months now. But, there has been life outside of granite tile and wonder-board. Neil graduated, we went on vacation. Now we're home and trying to adjust to this new life. I love that Neil is home every night and when he has a day off, we decide how to spend it. What I haven't figured out yet is how to still do everything I did while he was in school, but without the very generous extra, extra help of my mom and Neil's mom we had during those two years. Neil does get to come home every day after work, but he doesn't work 8 hour days. He works 12-13 hours a day, so he gets home by 7:00-ish. Since Hayden has stopped napping altogether, he has to be to bed by 8:00 or he becomes a ricocheting pinball of evil intent clanging around the house, shrieking and destroying at will. So, I have to feed him by 6:00 or 6:30. So, I am trying to get him to preschool and swimming class and take care of the house and do the shopping and errands and make dinner for Hayden and prep dinner for us and get 20 hours of work in a week. It's not working out so well at the moment. And I'm still going to the gym three days a week, and trying to run on the streets two evenings a week. I just need an extra day where I can lock myself in a room and do 24 hours of uninterrupted work so I can dedicate the rest of my week to being a Mom. I am a scheduling master, and I believe I can solve anything with an Excel spreadsheet and color coding, so I am not going to panic. I know I can make adjustments to make this all work. I just thought life was going to be so much easier. Better, yes...easier - not yet.

The tiniest bit closer to done

The new gas fireplace insert was installed today. It kicks ass. I have a remote control to start a fire. Perfect. You can even set the temperature (on the remote) and the thing will come on and go off to maintain the temperature. Hallelujah. No more looking for kindling (there never was any), lugging dirty wood in the house, spiders, and stuffing newspaper after newspaper in, and then just running the heater because the fire is too much of a pain.

The fireplace surround itself needs a second coat of paint, and the TV and speakers and everything haven't been installed yet. This is what it looks like right now....




And this is what it used to look like....



The master bath vanity tile is grouted and the copper accents are in in the kitchen...

The patio is looking pretty good - still needs the ceiling fans and the doors on the barbecue...



There's still a lot of finish and detail work to be done. Exactly the kinds of things that take forever to finish because they're not exactly high on the contractor's list when he has other jobs going on. I hope it wraps up soon. And damn it, I want to watch the giant TV that has been collecting dust in the guest room for two months.