My Progress

So here's Avril's room all pink. We've finally got her all moved in, but there is still some little stuff I need to finish before I'd call it finished. She loves it though - sleeps by herself in there pretty well. At least she doesn't wake up any more often than she used to with Alex; I do think it strange that neither of my children sleep through the night still. Alex is getting better though and a few times a week will go all night. Avril wakes up several times though and it's starting to get to me. Anyway, there's also a pic of the den that I've been working on this past week. If you've been here you'd know how much work that has been. It was completely filled top to bottom and side to side full of stuff. Now I'm down to one pile to sort through and figure out what the heck to do with it. Anyone need a rocker?... Then the hardest part for me - accessorizing. I can lay out a room just fine but the finishing touches are always a problem for me; I'm gonna go out on a limb and say it's because I'm cheap and hate to spend money on nicer things. But when everything is in it's place I'm vowing to try this time. Also the den needs repainting and new flooring, but I'm not sure when that will be done since I still have two more bedrooms to paint first. Whew I'm tired; every moment spent at home seems to be spent in some sort of project. But interior decorating and organizing really is my passion in life and I'm having a really fun time getting this house the way I want it.

Update

No, I'm not grimacing but just looking into the sun.

Sorry I hadn't posted on here in awhile, been quite busy this past week. My work schedule has gotten hectic and last week was VBS at our church (in which I'm resident gopher). So I was at work the entire day and at church every evening; but Saturday was really great. It was Frank's birthday so he actually took the weekend off work-the first weekend he's spent with us in two years. First thing we did Saturday morning was head down to the National Guard Armory to see in our favorite troops! My best friend in high school married Frank's best friend around the same time we got married, so the four of us have always been close knit. A year and a half ago my friend's husband went off to Iraq (also in that troop were his brother and four other guys that I went to school with). Anyway, they all came home Saturday and if you ever want to see Corie cry, just be there when a bus full of troops -half of whom I'm close to- comes pulling into the Armory parking lot. So anyway that was fun. Right after that we went to Frank's brother's house for a pool party thing. Hence the picture. Let me tell you, it is quite a challenge to supervise two children in the water by yourself. Frank wouldn't get in. Then after cleaning up from that we spent the evening in Paducah dining and shopping and having a jolly ol' time. lol. Sunday was good too because Frank was able to join us at church then we had lunch at his parent's house. By last night we were all exhausted, but it was nice to spend so much time with him. The other picture here is of my baby niece who I'm sure you've all heard me talk about. She was adopted at birth by Frank's brother and his wife who have wanted a baby for several years. Needless to say she is the most beautiful baby ever so you don't have to tell me. You can see from her expression that she really wanted to get in that pool!

The Addition

And here is Frank's room as we are beginning to lay the laminate floor. it really wasn't hard at all - just rough on the knees. As of now, the only things that need to be finished are the top and bottom moldings and the threshold. Yipee!! Now outside is a different story - the roof is unfinished as is the siding. But the inside of the addition is almost done! Next comes redoing of the den that the two new rooms come off of - it will have laminate like these, and new paint. but that prolly won't be done till later in the fall. i'll just be glad to have this far done. kevin will be moving into his new room today so this week i'll be separating the kids and putting avril into her own space. i'm a little nervous about that because they've always been together and i'm afraid it will take some time to get them used to sleeping apart. but i'm sure they'll both enjoy having their toys separated finally. lol. This second picture is Frank's room with the floor done, and the last pic is Kevin's room. Yay!

Bug Catching

I had to post these. This was last night - Avril catching lightning bugs (or fireflys whichever you prefer). The girl has a weird fascination with bugs of any kind, especially ones she can catch up with. I've gotten her a bug house that she had a big time with. But if you need to see something cute, watch her chase these guys around the yard. She bends down a bit and calls "bug! where are you?" and makes me laugh. Then after she got quite a collection of a dozen or so she swang with them for awhile then had to sit down and get them all back out. The poor little things were just barely blinking and their wings were all messed up. But she loves them even when they're squished.

Dentist Visit

So here we are playing outside; they really could live outside if I let them. The weather has been really nice - albeit a bit dry and hot; we're in a big deficit for rainfall and the temps are averaging around 90. But my kids would not rather be anywhere else then in the backyard on their little swing. I can't wait till all the construction is done and we can clean up the yard, get our fence up, and really enjoy it. Yesterday I had to take them to the dentist and it wasn't very fun, but they took it alot better than I expected. Avril had to have a tooth that has grown in bad pulled, but she was a trooper. When she came out after having it done she was jabbering away like always (she's never quiet) but with the gauze still in her mouth. I had expected her to be all upset and be crying "booboo" but it didn't faze her in the slightest. She was just completly thrilled with her star sunglasses and beaded bracelet and princess sticker that they had given her. Alex had to have a couple of fillings and he wasn't hysterical either but wasn't impressed; I don't think he remembered what had gone on (because of the gas) but he knew it wasn't good and he was just mad about it. But after a few hours when everything wore off he went back to normal so that was good.

Alex Fishing

So yesterday Frank took Alex fishing. Here are some pics I thought were cute. Not really much else to say - according to my carpenter I should be able to paint the interior of the addition this afternoon after work, so we'll see if he's right. He has to come over this morning and finish the sanding and install the electrical outlets, then his part will be done and I'll paint and install the floor and trim out. So maybe by this time next week I'll have more to update on with that. I guess that's it.

Mom's House

So here is the progress going on at the Benton house. I'll see if I can explain. If you're not familiar with the house the way it was, there was a back half that is now gone replaced with a new block foundation and what will be guest bathroom, master bed and master bath, and raised flagstone patio. There was also a separate apartment type building in the back that is gone and now sits a slab that will be a garage with guest quarters upstairs. The top photo is where mom's french doors will step down onto the patio. The second one is looking down the hall and down the jog to the left where the door to the master is. The third is looking back onto it all. Then where the little house used to be. Then the way it appears from the driveway.