Coming Along

Settling in to our new house has been so exhausting! Wonderfully exciting and rewarding but EXHAUSTING! I have been so tired from going to bed after midnight and waking up with Ellie in the early morning that I haven't had a moment to write, call, email, or visit family and friends! So I thought I would catch you all up here. :) Currently, our yard is dirt. :) Dan and some neighbors cut/ripped up all the grass/sod today and hauled it away. We are adding drainage, sprinklers, dog area, and fence and leveling out the slope. Clearly this is a HUGE and overwhelming task that I basically have decided not to think about. For my sanity's sake, I have left the details up to Dan and figure he can worry about it! Meanwhile, my job is to keep the beer cold, the dog and kid inside, and the sandwiches ready. Oh my gosh, that sounded so 1950's. We still have a few boxes to be unpacked. We are waiting for the estimate for built-ins in the family room and then once that task is completed, I can unpack the boxes. I have successfully chosen/purchased kitchen table and chairs, kitchen window coverings, and rugs. I have not had the same success with the fridge. Here's what happened: So as soon as our offer was accepted on this house, I ordered a fridge. In the meantime, we used a cooler on the back patio to keep milk, beer, butter and diet coke cold. But as anyone who has ever used a cooler knows, the lid made an OBNOXIOUS "crreeeeeekkk" sound every time we opened it. The neighbors loved it I'm sure. :) After about the 8th trip for ice (the HOT weather was not helping our cooler situation), our generous neighbor offered his beer fridge as a temporary fix. That's right. A neon glowing, automated, can-sorting beer fridge. The thing lights up like the Griswolds' Christmas. So you can imagine my excitement when the LOWE'S truck arrived today with our new fridge. Problem is, it is NOT stainless steel look. It is gray. Matte gray. Which is REALLY different than stainless steel. Oops. So I called LOWE'S and asked (ever so sweetly) if they would switch the gray fridge for a black one. To my surprise, the answer was, "Not a problem!" Only now I have to wait ANOTHER two weeks for the black fridge to arrive. Welcome back to the beer fridge. On a happier note, Ellie and I had our first real movie night tonight. She picked "The Tale of Despereux" off the On Demand menu and I thought, "Perfect! A story about a cute little mouse!" Um, not exactly. The storyline is a bit convoluted for a two and a half year old and I had to fast forward through all the death/violence/scary cat and rats parts. Oh well. Ellie didn't seem to mind. She got to eat M & M's and white cheddar popcorn (don't worry Mom, it dissolves better than the regular choke-worthy kind) to her heart's content. Some days end up so upside down and messy. Oh well, tomorrow is a new day and I have SO much to be thankful for! Every day we spend in this house I feel more at home. I know we made the right decision to move here and I have such great people (and dog) to share it with. Hope you all come visit us soon! And here are a few more pictures of the "moving in" crew (THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO HELPED!!!!!!!) and of Ellie in her new P I N K room and play loft. There is still a lot to do (my poor kid has mattresses on the floor!) but it is coming along sure enough. Love to all.