When I first went to college I wanted to be a teacher. I would have been 4th generation on my dad's side of the family and 5th generation on my mom's side. Plus I have 4 aunts who are teachers, and a cousin who just graduated with a degree in education, and my older brother who will probably eventually teach.
The #1 reason I decided NOT to be a teacher, honestly, was the money. Followed closely by a horrible experience substituting for 7th graders where I realized there was no way I wanted to spend every week day watching other people's kids. I didn't have the patience to teach them things they didn't know. It's harder when it's other people's kids than your own!
However, my life was shaped by many great teachers, first and foremost, my parents who were both public school teachers. They were the people who, despite me not wanting to learn anything on family vacations, or in everyday lessons, taught me. And then my favorite teachers growing up: Miss Coughlin (for the 4th grade), Mrs. Cailler (7th grade English), Dr. Lyombe Eko at UMaine and Dr. Paul Grossweiler at UMaine (two Communications professors who shaped what would be my career after graduation.) Thank you Matt Damon for putting this out there...
http://www.newser.com/story/124954/matt-damon-defends-teachers-wins-internet-love-video.html
August 3, 2011
July 22, 2011
Yay!
We now have the most expensive keys we've ever owned in our possession!
I'm headed over this afternoon to clean (they didn't leave it in the greatest condition) and measure. This weekend we're shampooing the carpets and picking out paint, appliances (new fridge and washer and dryer!), towel rods, shower curtain rod for the kid's bathroom, wall mounted baby gate for the top of the stairs (Santi's favorite thing to do now is climb the stairs - we'll have to teach him quickly how to slide down safely, as he already fell down one step to the landing on his nose (only one step, no crying, just shock from him!)
I'm headed over this afternoon to clean (they didn't leave it in the greatest condition) and measure. This weekend we're shampooing the carpets and picking out paint, appliances (new fridge and washer and dryer!), towel rods, shower curtain rod for the kid's bathroom, wall mounted baby gate for the top of the stairs (Santi's favorite thing to do now is climb the stairs - we'll have to teach him quickly how to slide down safely, as he already fell down one step to the landing on his nose (only one step, no crying, just shock from him!)
July 18, 2011
Weekly Update - Week 11
Before I get into week 12, better get this week's update out of the way!
How Far Along: 11 weeks
Weekly Food Comparison: A fig.
The Weird: Nada this week.
Currently Craving/Avoiding:
The Weekly Belly Bump: About the same. Finally a photo!
How Far Along: 11 weeks
What "They" Say About Our Baby's Development: Your baby is now almost fully formed. Its hands will soon open and close into fists, tiny tooth buds are beginning to appear under its gums, and some of its bones are beginning to harden. It's already busy kicking and stretching, and its tiny movements are so effortless they look like water ballet. These movements will become more frequent as its body grows and becomes more developed and functional. You won't feel your baby's acrobatics for another month or two — nor will you notice the hiccupping that may be happening now that its diaphragm is forming.
Weekly Food Comparison: A fig.
The Good: Having some more energy in the mornings, but that usually goes downhill in the afternoons. On most weekends, I will nap, since Tito is around to watch Santi.
The Bad: Headaches and nausea. This past weekend I could barely get out of bed on Saturday.
The Bad: Headaches and nausea. This past weekend I could barely get out of bed on Saturday.
The Weird: Nada this week.
Currently Craving/Avoiding:
Avoiding: Strawberries are making me feel more nauseous, so I stay away from eating them.Craving: Pizza, carbs, sweets, ice cream
The Weekly Belly Bump: About the same. Finally a photo!
Weekly Update - Week 10
This is a little late! Going to do two updates right in a row!
How Far Along: 10 weeks
What "They" Say About Our Baby's Development: "Though it's barely the size of a kumquat — a little over an inch or so long, crown to bottom — and weighs less than a quarter of an ounce, your baby has now completed the most critical portion of its development. This is the beginning of the so-called fetal period, a time when the tissues and organs in its body rapidly grow and mature. It's swallowing fluid and kicking up a storm. Vital organs — including kidneys, intestines, brain, and liver (now making red blood cells in place of the disappearing yolk sac) — are in place and starting to function, though they'll continue to develop throughout your pregnancy. If you could take a peek inside your womb, you'd spot minute details, like tiny nails forming on fingers and toes (no more webbing) and peach-fuzz hair beginning to grow on tender skin. In other developments: Your baby's limbs can bend now. Its hands are flexed at the wrist and meet over its heart, and its feet may be long enough to meet in front of its body. The outline of its spine is clearly visible through translucent skin, and spinal nerves are beginning to stretch out from its spinal cord. Your baby's forehead temporarily bulges with its developing brain and sits very high on its head, which measures half the length of his body. From crown to rump, it's about 1 1/4 inches long. In the coming weeks, your baby will again double in size — to nearly 3 inches.
Weekly Food Comparison: A kumquat.
The Good: Feeling better in the morning. But only in the mornings!
The Bad: The nausea...it's so bad, on weekends I have a really hard time getting out of bed. I also can smell like a super hero, and it's usually all the bad things that I can smell!
The Weird: Crying at the drop of a hat. Or at commercials. Or at things I've seen before. Yesterday I cried over the last 15 minutes of the Sex and the City movie.
Currently Craving/Avoiding:
Avoiding: Not much.
Craving: Sweets, sweets and more sweets!
The Weekly Belly Bump: It's at the stage where in the morning it's small and in the evening it looks like I'm 5 months along.
How Far Along: 10 weeks
What "They" Say About Our Baby's Development: "Though it's barely the size of a kumquat — a little over an inch or so long, crown to bottom — and weighs less than a quarter of an ounce, your baby has now completed the most critical portion of its development. This is the beginning of the so-called fetal period, a time when the tissues and organs in its body rapidly grow and mature. It's swallowing fluid and kicking up a storm. Vital organs — including kidneys, intestines, brain, and liver (now making red blood cells in place of the disappearing yolk sac) — are in place and starting to function, though they'll continue to develop throughout your pregnancy. If you could take a peek inside your womb, you'd spot minute details, like tiny nails forming on fingers and toes (no more webbing) and peach-fuzz hair beginning to grow on tender skin. In other developments: Your baby's limbs can bend now. Its hands are flexed at the wrist and meet over its heart, and its feet may be long enough to meet in front of its body. The outline of its spine is clearly visible through translucent skin, and spinal nerves are beginning to stretch out from its spinal cord. Your baby's forehead temporarily bulges with its developing brain and sits very high on its head, which measures half the length of his body. From crown to rump, it's about 1 1/4 inches long. In the coming weeks, your baby will again double in size — to nearly 3 inches.
Weekly Food Comparison: A kumquat.
The Bad: The nausea...it's so bad, on weekends I have a really hard time getting out of bed. I also can smell like a super hero, and it's usually all the bad things that I can smell!
The Weird: Crying at the drop of a hat. Or at commercials. Or at things I've seen before. Yesterday I cried over the last 15 minutes of the Sex and the City movie.
Currently Craving/Avoiding:
Avoiding: Not much.
Craving: Sweets, sweets and more sweets!
The Weekly Belly Bump: It's at the stage where in the morning it's small and in the evening it looks like I'm 5 months along.
July 14, 2011
The power of the Internet and Facebook
The Internet is full of a lot of stuff. A lot of things that aren't useful. And some things that are. And because of those few useful things, sometimes things can happen that are truly amazing. Like a 4 year old boys life being saved by having Kawasaki Disease diagnosed via Facebook...
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/facebook/facebook-helps-diagnose-kawasaki-disease-saving-4-year-old-boy-8217s-life/2200
Facebook helps diagnose Kawasaki disease, saving 4-year-old boy’s life
By Emil Protalinski | July 14, 2011, 12:35pm PDT
On Mother’s Day morning, Deborah Copaken Kogan’s 4-year-old son Leo woke up with a rash. Since a recent note from Leo’s day care reported a case of strep in his classroom, Deborah felt his forehead, noted it was hot, and took him for a strep test. That’s how a long saga involving Facebook unfolded, as told in full on Slate.
While waiting for the test, she snapped a photo of her son on the examination table and posted it to Facebook with the following caption: “Nothing says Happy Mother’s Day quite like a Sunday morning at the pediatrician’s.” The test came back negative, but the doctor decided to treat Leo for strep while waiting for his throat culture results. Back on Facebook, many friends commented on the photo asking what was wrong. Deborah wrote “Strep, no biggie.” She then filled the prescription at the nearest pharmacy and fed Leo his first dose.
The next morning, Leo was worse. The family doctor concluded it was scarlet fever (a fancy name for strep with a rash), also pending the results of the throat culture. Deborah posted another photo on Facebook with the following less cheeky caption: “Baby getting sicker. Eyes swollen shut. Fever rising. Penicillin not working. Might be scarlet fever. Or roseola. Or…???? Sigh.”
Within three hours, 20 concerned comments had appeared underneath the photo. The next morning, Leo’s face was swollen beyond recognition. Deborah took a dozen photos of Leo from various angles to send to the family doctor via MMS, and posted the least frightening ones on Facebook. “Swelling worse,” she wrote, “especially eyes and chin. Fever still crazy high. Poor baby.”
Ten minutes later, Deborah received a call from her Facebook friend Stephanie, a film actress and former neighbor. “I hope you’ll excuse me for butting in but you have to get to the hospital,” she said. “Now. The longer you wait, the worse the damage.” Her son Max had had the exact same symptoms, and was hospitalized for Kawasaki disease. Deborah looked it up online and found it was a rare and sometimes fatal auto-immune disorder that attacks the coronary arteries surrounding the heart. Many of Leo’s symptoms seemed to match the descriptions, though there were also similar ones to the flu and scarlet fever.
Then Leo’s strep test came back negative. The most recent Facebook photo had garnered 36 comments, with various diagnoses and words of support, and Deborah’s inbox had multiple private messages. One was from her friend Beth, a pediatrician, and it echoed Stephanie’s fears. Deborah’s cousin Emily, a pediatric cardiologist who often has to deal with the fallout from untreated Kawasaki, also called after seeing the photo, urging her to go to the hospital. “The damage begins as early as five days after the onset of symptoms,” she said.
Three Facebook friends were enough for Deborah to take Leo to the hospital. From the hallway in triage, she finally called her family doctor and filled him in. “You know what? I was actually just thinking it could be Kawasaki disease,” he said. “Makes total sense. Bravo, Facebook.”
Over the next three weeks, Leo was treated, released, retreated, and rereleased for Kawasaki disease and then the Kawasaki-triggered liver disease. After helping diagnose Leo, Facebook then played the role of keeping family and friends in the loop about his condition. Deborah explained the social network helped her “to feel connected—profoundly connected—to the human race while living, breathing, eating and sleeping in the isolating, fluorescent-lit bubble of a children’s hospital ward, where any potential humans I might have ‘friended’ on our floor were too distraught over the fates of their own children to make any room in their hearts for strangers.”
Two months later, Leo’s liver is slowly recovering. While his enlarged heart is doing well, he will have to endure echocardiograms every year for the rest of his life.
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/facebook/facebook-helps-diagnose-kawasaki-disease-saving-4-year-old-boy-8217s-life/2200
Facebook helps diagnose Kawasaki disease, saving 4-year-old boy’s life
By Emil Protalinski | July 14, 2011, 12:35pm PDT
On Mother’s Day morning, Deborah Copaken Kogan’s 4-year-old son Leo woke up with a rash. Since a recent note from Leo’s day care reported a case of strep in his classroom, Deborah felt his forehead, noted it was hot, and took him for a strep test. That’s how a long saga involving Facebook unfolded, as told in full on Slate.
While waiting for the test, she snapped a photo of her son on the examination table and posted it to Facebook with the following caption: “Nothing says Happy Mother’s Day quite like a Sunday morning at the pediatrician’s.” The test came back negative, but the doctor decided to treat Leo for strep while waiting for his throat culture results. Back on Facebook, many friends commented on the photo asking what was wrong. Deborah wrote “Strep, no biggie.” She then filled the prescription at the nearest pharmacy and fed Leo his first dose.
The next morning, Leo was worse. The family doctor concluded it was scarlet fever (a fancy name for strep with a rash), also pending the results of the throat culture. Deborah posted another photo on Facebook with the following less cheeky caption: “Baby getting sicker. Eyes swollen shut. Fever rising. Penicillin not working. Might be scarlet fever. Or roseola. Or…???? Sigh.”
Within three hours, 20 concerned comments had appeared underneath the photo. The next morning, Leo’s face was swollen beyond recognition. Deborah took a dozen photos of Leo from various angles to send to the family doctor via MMS, and posted the least frightening ones on Facebook. “Swelling worse,” she wrote, “especially eyes and chin. Fever still crazy high. Poor baby.”
Ten minutes later, Deborah received a call from her Facebook friend Stephanie, a film actress and former neighbor. “I hope you’ll excuse me for butting in but you have to get to the hospital,” she said. “Now. The longer you wait, the worse the damage.” Her son Max had had the exact same symptoms, and was hospitalized for Kawasaki disease. Deborah looked it up online and found it was a rare and sometimes fatal auto-immune disorder that attacks the coronary arteries surrounding the heart. Many of Leo’s symptoms seemed to match the descriptions, though there were also similar ones to the flu and scarlet fever.
Then Leo’s strep test came back negative. The most recent Facebook photo had garnered 36 comments, with various diagnoses and words of support, and Deborah’s inbox had multiple private messages. One was from her friend Beth, a pediatrician, and it echoed Stephanie’s fears. Deborah’s cousin Emily, a pediatric cardiologist who often has to deal with the fallout from untreated Kawasaki, also called after seeing the photo, urging her to go to the hospital. “The damage begins as early as five days after the onset of symptoms,” she said.
Three Facebook friends were enough for Deborah to take Leo to the hospital. From the hallway in triage, she finally called her family doctor and filled him in. “You know what? I was actually just thinking it could be Kawasaki disease,” he said. “Makes total sense. Bravo, Facebook.”
Over the next three weeks, Leo was treated, released, retreated, and rereleased for Kawasaki disease and then the Kawasaki-triggered liver disease. After helping diagnose Leo, Facebook then played the role of keeping family and friends in the loop about his condition. Deborah explained the social network helped her “to feel connected—profoundly connected—to the human race while living, breathing, eating and sleeping in the isolating, fluorescent-lit bubble of a children’s hospital ward, where any potential humans I might have ‘friended’ on our floor were too distraught over the fates of their own children to make any room in their hearts for strangers.”
Two months later, Leo’s liver is slowly recovering. While his enlarged heart is doing well, he will have to endure echocardiograms every year for the rest of his life.
June 29, 2011
Some favorite things!
Just wanted to share some of my favorite things!
1.
Switched at Birth on ABC Family. I caught this show one night and got hooked! I DVR it and think it's so great. Such a good show and Marlee Matlin is a producer, and I love how they are really portraying the deaf character and how she's able to function normally in a hearing world (as opposed to other movies I've seen where they make it seem like such a burden to not be able to hear.) And that Constance Marie (who plays Daphne's mom) really uses sign language...just a neat idea and a great show.
2.
The Glee Project on Oxygen. Is anyone else watching this show? I love the idea (winner gets a 7 week stint on Glee!) and love the kids. Although some annoy me - the Latina girl who dubs herself as "flirty" is annoying. And the know it all girl who said she doesn't feel like it's a competition has an amazing voice but seriously I want to smack her all.the.time. The only issue I have with the show is that all of these kids seem to be in characters that are exactly like the current Glee cast. So I don't know how the winner would be put into the show as a "new" and fresh character, but I'm liking watching it so far!
3. Grilling! We've busted out our grill for the first time this season! We could have used it before then but we were lazy and I refused to clean it and Tito just put it off. But we had friends over for a barbecue on Sunday so we had to clean it off and use it! I grilled chicken last night (with lemon pepper seasoning - yum!) and Santi and Tito gobbled it up. Tonight we're having turkey burgers and veggies...and it used to be Tito's job to grill but ever since he burned the crap out of the burgers on Sunday, he's forbidden. So I will be making non-charred food tonight!
4. Naps! Santi is now taking 3-4 hour naps once a day consistently. Usually he'll go down after we get back from Stroller Strides in the morning (about 11am) and sleep until at least 2 and then have lunch and then we'll run errands or play or go to the park. Sometimes when we don't go to Stroller Strides, he'll go down at about 10am and sleep for a few hours and on days like yesterday when he was really cranky, I was able to put him down at 3pm and have him rest (he didn't sleep but just hung out in his crib playing with his puppies and his lovie) for about an hour or so. It's allowing me to get a lot done (such as starting packing for the move!) Or occasionally if I'm really tired, I'll take a nap too! :)
1.
2.
3. Grilling! We've busted out our grill for the first time this season! We could have used it before then but we were lazy and I refused to clean it and Tito just put it off. But we had friends over for a barbecue on Sunday so we had to clean it off and use it! I grilled chicken last night (with lemon pepper seasoning - yum!) and Santi and Tito gobbled it up. Tonight we're having turkey burgers and veggies...and it used to be Tito's job to grill but ever since he burned the crap out of the burgers on Sunday, he's forbidden. So I will be making non-charred food tonight!
4. Naps! Santi is now taking 3-4 hour naps once a day consistently. Usually he'll go down after we get back from Stroller Strides in the morning (about 11am) and sleep until at least 2 and then have lunch and then we'll run errands or play or go to the park. Sometimes when we don't go to Stroller Strides, he'll go down at about 10am and sleep for a few hours and on days like yesterday when he was really cranky, I was able to put him down at 3pm and have him rest (he didn't sleep but just hung out in his crib playing with his puppies and his lovie) for about an hour or so. It's allowing me to get a lot done (such as starting packing for the move!) Or occasionally if I'm really tired, I'll take a nap too! :)
June 27, 2011
News!
So the biggest news is....
I'm pregnant!
#2 is due February 2, 2012! We thought we were 7 weeks along but the ultrasound and measurements last week bumped me up a week, so I'm now 8 weeks and 3 days along. We were trying, but didn't think it would happen as quickly as it did, so that was the surprise. We found out when we were back visiting family in Boston.
Here's a little video of our bean:
And to start the updates with this pregnancy, I'm going to go with 9 weeks:
How Far Along: 9 weeks
What "They" Say About Our Baby's Development: "You can’t feel it yet, but those newly formed arms and legs might just very well start your baby moving during this week. Almost a full inch long and about 1/8 an ounce, your baby is looking every day more and more like a little person. This is helped by the shrinking of the embryonic tail we all start with at the base of the spinal cord. The growth of your baby's head, now almost half the size of his or her body, has been impressive in this time, though babies keep them tucked down close to the chest. This week also sees the beginning of nipples and hair follicles. Internally, reproductive organs, either testes or ovaries, are forming as do other internal organs including the pancreas, bile ducts, gallbladder and anus."
Weekly Food Comparison: A Grape
The Good: My injections aren't as hard to take this time around, although I'm definitely looking forward to stopping them after the pregnancy.
The Bad: Nausea. I feel horrible. Which makes it hard to do anything, but especially take care of Santi. I live for when he naps so I can nap. I haven't thrown up much, but just the general nausea all day is enough to take me out.
The Weird: I'm nauseous all the time and hungry all the time. In fact, the only time I'm not nauseous is when I'm eating!
Currently Avoiding: I haven't had any real food aversions this time around. My aversions are to fabrics. Such as I have a pair of sweat pants I was wearing the other night with a drawstring waist I'd long ago knotted. I wanted to untie it but the fabric in my fingers made me nauseous and I eventually threw up!
Craving: Sweets. I never craved sweets with Santi and it's like I can't get enough of them this time!
The Weekly Belly Bump: It's there. I have to take a photo and upload. I feel like I'm bigger than I was at this time with Santi but smaller in a way if that makes sense. I've been working out consistently for the past year, and running too, and I think that's allowing me to fit into non-maternity clothes for longer than last time.
I'm pregnant!
#2 is due February 2, 2012! We thought we were 7 weeks along but the ultrasound and measurements last week bumped me up a week, so I'm now 8 weeks and 3 days along. We were trying, but didn't think it would happen as quickly as it did, so that was the surprise. We found out when we were back visiting family in Boston.
Here's a little video of our bean:
And to start the updates with this pregnancy, I'm going to go with 9 weeks:
How Far Along: 9 weeks
What "They" Say About Our Baby's Development: "You can’t feel it yet, but those newly formed arms and legs might just very well start your baby moving during this week. Almost a full inch long and about 1/8 an ounce, your baby is looking every day more and more like a little person. This is helped by the shrinking of the embryonic tail we all start with at the base of the spinal cord. The growth of your baby's head, now almost half the size of his or her body, has been impressive in this time, though babies keep them tucked down close to the chest. This week also sees the beginning of nipples and hair follicles. Internally, reproductive organs, either testes or ovaries, are forming as do other internal organs including the pancreas, bile ducts, gallbladder and anus."
Weekly Food Comparison: A Grape
The Good: My injections aren't as hard to take this time around, although I'm definitely looking forward to stopping them after the pregnancy.
The Bad: Nausea. I feel horrible. Which makes it hard to do anything, but especially take care of Santi. I live for when he naps so I can nap. I haven't thrown up much, but just the general nausea all day is enough to take me out.
The Weird: I'm nauseous all the time and hungry all the time. In fact, the only time I'm not nauseous is when I'm eating!
Currently Avoiding: I haven't had any real food aversions this time around. My aversions are to fabrics. Such as I have a pair of sweat pants I was wearing the other night with a drawstring waist I'd long ago knotted. I wanted to untie it but the fabric in my fingers made me nauseous and I eventually threw up!
Craving: Sweets. I never craved sweets with Santi and it's like I can't get enough of them this time!
The Weekly Belly Bump: It's there. I have to take a photo and upload. I feel like I'm bigger than I was at this time with Santi but smaller in a way if that makes sense. I've been working out consistently for the past year, and running too, and I think that's allowing me to fit into non-maternity clothes for longer than last time.
June 15, 2011
Finally!
So I can officially announce this on here - we're in escrow on a house! We're so excited! Our closing date is July 22nd, and we'll take some time to paint and do some minor cosmetic repairs before moving over officially.
Let's take a tour!
Kitchen area - this photo is from the staged house. They have since put in a black dishwasher (too short) and a white range/microwave and stove, and there is no fridge.) To the left of the fridge is the pantry which extends back underneath the stairs.
View from the kitchen into the great room. This room gets TONS of light. We will not be putting our dining area there, and would actually move it farther to the right, where that chaise is and have our livingroom area on the left side.
Another view of the great room area
Back yard...we need to buy a mower!
Another view of the back yard where you can see the trampoline set INTO the ground and a little of the patio area. We'll be getting rid of this...too much of a hazard with a toddler!
Master bedroom (staged, obviously). This room gets tons of light too. And we don't have that ceiling fan.
Master bathroom. To the left is the HUGE master closet. It's the length from about the middle of the first sink you see back to the back wall and is about as wide as from the doorway on the left to the tub area. The back door on the right is the toilet room. The bad is that this room has carpeting but we'll eventually rip it out and put finishers down for the bedroom door and the closet door to keep carpet in there, and put tile down in this bathroom.
Bath tub. It's calling my name. And since this room is on the back of the house, it gets TONS of light.
Bonus area at the top of the stairs. They repainted it a nice green, which we'll be keeping, before we saw it. We'll use this as an office space with our "L" shaped desk in the left corner, and Santi's play area on the right. Just to the left at the front of the photo is the laundry area. And there's one bedroom with a walk in closet to the left of this area, another bedroom with another walk in closet behind where you're standing in this photo and another bathroom (kids bathroom) off this area too. And the master is off this area as well.
What will be Santi's room - over looks the street and is over the garage. We're planning on doing the airplane theme that we have in his existing room, but we'll be able to paint here! :) Not sure what color to paint the walls but since his colors in his room are light green, light blue, tan and chocolate brown, we'll find some combo of that. Probably lead more towards the tan though since it'll be more neutral.
Santi's walk in closet - since he won't be needing all of that space for clothes, I'm planning on creating a little reading nook/fort/play area in there for him on the floor along with using it to store his clothes.
Laundry area (upstairs!) and part of the bonus area. We like this color and are keeping it. We'll be adding a couple of shelves in the laundry area.
Second room. It used to be blue and then they painted a pinkish color on it (but you can still see the blue.) So we'll be repainting this, although we're not sure what color.
Kid's bathroom. We'll eventually replace the counter tops (or put in a whole new vanity with a vessel sink?) and the flooring, but for now it'll do. We have to buy a shower curtain rod since they took that too!
Our room...Tito and I keep saying we love being adults and moving into a new house because we automatically get the biggest and best room! :) We'll paint in here as well, although we're not sure what color yet.
Our bathroom - like mentioned before, we'll eventually rip out the carpet here and tile, and then we'll replace the counters and maybe the sinks (the one on the left has a rust stain around the stopper that I need to work some magic on, but otherwise, we'll replace them. We love the vanities though - so much storage space!
Looking left into the master closet - we'll eventually do some built ins in here
In the closet - built ins will happen on the left wall and I want to build in a desk area on the back wall and use the area behind the door for shelving to house my craft stuff, and turn part of this "room" into my craft room. That way it'll be out of the public view, and I can work on something and shut the door to keep things from getting touched by little hands!
Our shower
View down the stairs - we'll eventually put hardwoods on the lower level
Garage! And our realtor and inspector! :) We'll paint this white or beige - we hate the look of bare sheetrock! We'll also probably paint the floor since they seem to have used it for some random spray painting and painted shapes on the floor (you can see one near our realtor's feet!) We'll also install shelving on the back wall and want to get some hanging storage so we can put things like luggage, etc up and out of reach.
We have a few repairs to do (it was a foreclosure so they took all of the shelving in the pantry, all of the forced air grates in the floors, and all of the outlet covers in the kitchen, as well as the towel bars and toilet paper holders in the bathrooms and the front door handle.) So we've got to replace all of that stuff and we'll be painting our bedroom and bathroom, the kid's bathroom, guest bedroom and Santi's room. We like all of the colors in the bonus area and in the downstairs, aside from the blood red 1/2 bath on the first floor, so we'll repaint that too.
There's also great crown molding in parts of the house which we're excited about. We can't wait to move in and spread out - I am going from having all of my kitchen/dining room stuff shoved into 11 cabinets and a sideboard to 26 cabinets and a pantry! I'm so excited!
I'll be posting more home photos as we get closer and move in! And then there's all of the personalizing and making it "ours!"
Let's take a tour!
Kitchen area - this photo is from the staged house. They have since put in a black dishwasher (too short) and a white range/microwave and stove, and there is no fridge.) To the left of the fridge is the pantry which extends back underneath the stairs.
View from the kitchen into the great room. This room gets TONS of light. We will not be putting our dining area there, and would actually move it farther to the right, where that chaise is and have our livingroom area on the left side.
Another view of the great room area
Back yard...we need to buy a mower!
Another view of the back yard where you can see the trampoline set INTO the ground and a little of the patio area. We'll be getting rid of this...too much of a hazard with a toddler!
Master bedroom (staged, obviously). This room gets tons of light too. And we don't have that ceiling fan.
Master bathroom. To the left is the HUGE master closet. It's the length from about the middle of the first sink you see back to the back wall and is about as wide as from the doorway on the left to the tub area. The back door on the right is the toilet room. The bad is that this room has carpeting but we'll eventually rip it out and put finishers down for the bedroom door and the closet door to keep carpet in there, and put tile down in this bathroom.
Bath tub. It's calling my name. And since this room is on the back of the house, it gets TONS of light.
Bonus area at the top of the stairs. They repainted it a nice green, which we'll be keeping, before we saw it. We'll use this as an office space with our "L" shaped desk in the left corner, and Santi's play area on the right. Just to the left at the front of the photo is the laundry area. And there's one bedroom with a walk in closet to the left of this area, another bedroom with another walk in closet behind where you're standing in this photo and another bathroom (kids bathroom) off this area too. And the master is off this area as well.
What will be Santi's room - over looks the street and is over the garage. We're planning on doing the airplane theme that we have in his existing room, but we'll be able to paint here! :) Not sure what color to paint the walls but since his colors in his room are light green, light blue, tan and chocolate brown, we'll find some combo of that. Probably lead more towards the tan though since it'll be more neutral.
Santi's walk in closet - since he won't be needing all of that space for clothes, I'm planning on creating a little reading nook/fort/play area in there for him on the floor along with using it to store his clothes.
Laundry area (upstairs!) and part of the bonus area. We like this color and are keeping it. We'll be adding a couple of shelves in the laundry area.
Second room. It used to be blue and then they painted a pinkish color on it (but you can still see the blue.) So we'll be repainting this, although we're not sure what color.
Kid's bathroom. We'll eventually replace the counter tops (or put in a whole new vanity with a vessel sink?) and the flooring, but for now it'll do. We have to buy a shower curtain rod since they took that too!
Our room...Tito and I keep saying we love being adults and moving into a new house because we automatically get the biggest and best room! :) We'll paint in here as well, although we're not sure what color yet.
Our bathroom - like mentioned before, we'll eventually rip out the carpet here and tile, and then we'll replace the counters and maybe the sinks (the one on the left has a rust stain around the stopper that I need to work some magic on, but otherwise, we'll replace them. We love the vanities though - so much storage space!
Looking left into the master closet - we'll eventually do some built ins in here
In the closet - built ins will happen on the left wall and I want to build in a desk area on the back wall and use the area behind the door for shelving to house my craft stuff, and turn part of this "room" into my craft room. That way it'll be out of the public view, and I can work on something and shut the door to keep things from getting touched by little hands!
Our shower
View down the stairs - we'll eventually put hardwoods on the lower level
Garage! And our realtor and inspector! :) We'll paint this white or beige - we hate the look of bare sheetrock! We'll also probably paint the floor since they seem to have used it for some random spray painting and painted shapes on the floor (you can see one near our realtor's feet!) We'll also install shelving on the back wall and want to get some hanging storage so we can put things like luggage, etc up and out of reach.
We have a few repairs to do (it was a foreclosure so they took all of the shelving in the pantry, all of the forced air grates in the floors, and all of the outlet covers in the kitchen, as well as the towel bars and toilet paper holders in the bathrooms and the front door handle.) So we've got to replace all of that stuff and we'll be painting our bedroom and bathroom, the kid's bathroom, guest bedroom and Santi's room. We like all of the colors in the bonus area and in the downstairs, aside from the blood red 1/2 bath on the first floor, so we'll repaint that too.
There's also great crown molding in parts of the house which we're excited about. We can't wait to move in and spread out - I am going from having all of my kitchen/dining room stuff shoved into 11 cabinets and a sideboard to 26 cabinets and a pantry! I'm so excited!
I'll be posting more home photos as we get closer and move in! And then there's all of the personalizing and making it "ours!"
15 months old!
So today, I am the mommy to a 15 month old. Time has FLOWN by and I am truly amazed at what an amazing person Santi is becoming. In just a few short months, he has gone from crawling to walking and running, from not talking to talking up a storm. He's such a fun little person, and I feel so lucky to be his mom.
Here are a few things I'd like to remember about this month:
1. You have more new words this month! You started saying "Bus" and now also pluralize a lot of things, such as I can be called "Mamas", Daddy is called "Papas", when you see other kids you say "Babies", etc.
2. You have not only learned how to say "No!" but you understand it. It's actually pretty helpful when we are trying to figure out if you are finished eating, or if you want to do something.
3. We got your some forks and you started eating food with them and do this pretty regularly! We are so proud and when you did it for the first time we clapped and cheered, so you started clapping after every time that you used the fork. :)
4. You're wearing size 12-18 month clothes and size 4 and 5 shoes. You are also wearing size 5 diapers still and rarely have accidents anymore.
5. You traveled on a plane to Maine/Massachusetts this month, and did great! Your slept for basically the entire flights, and you loved being in the airport and using your puppy leash to walk around with mommy.
It's been a great month Santi, and we're so lucky and happy to be your parents! Happy 15 months!
Love,
Mommy and Daddy
Here are a few things I'd like to remember about this month:
1. You have more new words this month! You started saying "Bus" and now also pluralize a lot of things, such as I can be called "Mamas", Daddy is called "Papas", when you see other kids you say "Babies", etc.
2. You have not only learned how to say "No!" but you understand it. It's actually pretty helpful when we are trying to figure out if you are finished eating, or if you want to do something.
3. We got your some forks and you started eating food with them and do this pretty regularly! We are so proud and when you did it for the first time we clapped and cheered, so you started clapping after every time that you used the fork. :)
4. You're wearing size 12-18 month clothes and size 4 and 5 shoes. You are also wearing size 5 diapers still and rarely have accidents anymore.
5. You traveled on a plane to Maine/Massachusetts this month, and did great! Your slept for basically the entire flights, and you loved being in the airport and using your puppy leash to walk around with mommy.
It's been a great month Santi, and we're so lucky and happy to be your parents! Happy 15 months!
Love,
Mommy and Daddy
June 7, 2011
I'm back!
So I've been out of town, visiting friends and family in Maine and Massachusetts and attending a family wedding. We had a great time, and had a chance to introduce Santi to family and friends who hadn't met him yet!
I'm working on getting back up to speed, and we're in the midst of home buying (just getting the signed contract back from the bank has been a struggle, but we think we're there now and should hopefully close within a month or so!)
Be back soon!
I'm working on getting back up to speed, and we're in the midst of home buying (just getting the signed contract back from the bank has been a struggle, but we think we're there now and should hopefully close within a month or so!)
Be back soon!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)