New year, new chapter

I am going to try to keep up with this better this year :).

After three LONG years I received my first paycheck at a teachers salary!  I'm almost a fully month into teaching vs. assisting and I must say I really enjoy it.  There are days that I miss my kids and interacting with my peers more in the building (being stuck in the connections hall makes for a lonely Beth) BUT I love having control over what I am teaching and how I'm teaching it.  I can judge my kids ability and adjust however I need to ensure they understand, not just try to adjust someone's lesson and hope it works.

Justin has started his new assignment as well and he really seems to enjoy it.  He is doing "Enrichment" which is a fancy word for a Common Core based project class.  He is working with 7th grade teaching kids how to properly do a research project in the Science content.  I know it has been a challenge for him to adjust but he really enjoys the class and it's a lot less stressful than the 8th grade Science for HS credit.  

My last school note...Olivia starts preschool next Tuesday!  I know, yes she is already almost 3 years old.  She'll be going two days a week for just 4 hours a day, but I really think she is going to enjoy this change in her day and having a chance to "play" with other kids instead of always being around adults.  She picked out her own backpack and lunchbox and was even ready to go this morning :).  I will ensure to take lots of pictures Tuesday and post them ASAP.

House Renovations cntd

After much shopping and price comparing we were able to find the tile and laminate flooring we liked and it has started to go down.  We also picked out our appliances (fridge, stove, dishwasher, washer and dryer) and picked up all but the fridge to install at the house because the fridge is on back order...we'll have that next week.  We've (well my dad) fixed electrical...a lot of electrical, installed new door handles, put in a new kitchen sink, re-hung the patio door and put on a handle, replaced at least a dozen light bulbs, installed the appliances, and other little odds and ends tasks.  We are not quite ready to move in yet, flooring has to be finished upstairs and there is a bit of clean up to be done first but I'd say in the next few weeks we'll be moved in :)

Here are a few pictures of before and afters so far (remember we're not finished totally)

  Before we painted

After (stairs and handrail still need to be finished)

Office Before

The after color (better picture to follow, this has become our temporary trash room)

Family room before

Family room after (the lighting is weird, I promise its not pink)

Kitchen before

Kitchen after w/paint

 Kitchen after with paint and stove

Downstairs bath before

Downstairs bath after (not finished, handrail and vanity being painted white)

Master bed before w/blue carpet

 Master after w/wood flooring (shoe molding to go down still and trim to be painted)

Master bath before (this room had 5 different paint colors!)

Master bath vanity after (putting up framed mirrors)

 Master bath before (yes that is carpet in the bathroom)

Master bath tile...almost finished!

Hallway...there was carpet everywhere!

Hallway after (only needs shoe molding put down and its all done)

One of the 3 extra bedrooms before

Same room after

There are two more bedrooms that flooring had to go down in and they were working on that when we left last night so I'm sure I'll have more updated pictures soon :)

Mothers Day

So Sunday was my first Mothers Day as a mommy (not pregnant) and it was wonderful!!  I got to spend the day with my darling Olivia and wonderful hubby and his family.  It involved burgers on the grill, relaxing on the couch and two (yes two!) naps...aka wonderful!

I have to say that now being a mom you can never fully appreciate your mother and what they've done for you and the sacrifices they made for you over your life, until you are a mother yourself.  To my wonderful Mother:  You are an amazing woman and I am so happy to call you mom.  Thank you so much for teaching me such great morals and values over the years and molding me into the woman I've become so I could be a great mother as well.  LOVE YOU!

House Renovations

Well our paint party was a success!  We were able to get 90% of the downstairs painted that day and two coats on 3 of the 4 bedrooms and the master bath.  Since last Saturday I've finished the downstairs painting and now have to commit just a few more trips to get the upstairs finished up.

As soon as we get the painting done we're sending in our flooring guy to get that started!  Wish us luck :)

Here are a few pictures of the painting fun!  Before and after post will be coming soon.

WE CLOSED

Its official!  We're homeowners :)

Reno day 1:  I went to the home and started with my putty and putty knife to fill in the nail and screw holes left by the old owner.  I don't understand how one family could have so many things hanging on their walls!  Worse yet, many of the large screws that were used (I would assume to hang heavy items) weren't even in studs!  I could pull many of them out with my fingers.  I was able to fill about 30 holes today and the sanding and second coat (if needed) will be tomorrow.  I also removed the horrible master bathroom mirror tiles and filled in the 18 holes to those alone.  I don't know what the previous owners were thinking...
My other task I started today was wallpaper removal.  I don't understand who would EVER want to put up wallpaper...I didn't get very far into this task yet but that is my main goal tomorrow.

Tomorrow I'll be back over there for a few hours to finish wallpaper removal in the downstairs bath and (hopefully) the upstairs hallway.  Then finish a few of the filling in of holes and sanding.  Also, I am going to start the process of removing the paint from the stair handrails to expose the beautiful wood underneath and restore that.  If this doesn't work, we'll be buying a new handrail. 

As the process continues I'll be posting before and after pictures but as of right now I only have a few before that I took today.  Tomorrow I'll update some pictures as I hope to have some visible progress. 


Saturday will be our paint party starting at 11am so if you're free and interested in helping out please let us know so we can plan for extra rollers!

Easter in Michigan

We survived the 13 hour drive from Georgia to Michigan and back with the two of us, Olivia and our two dogs!  It was a great trip and a lot of fun to be home and see the family for the week.  It gave them lots of opportunities to spend time with Olivia and let her get to know them better.

Olivia went to visit her Great Grandmother and laughed and laughed for her so that was pretty great to see.  We think the teething train has really started to enter our world too so look for updates on that (she is drooling like a mad woman, fussier than normal and NOT sleeping through the night anymore...).

Nashville

So Justin and I took a weekend away and went to Nashville to see the Red Wings play for my birthday gift for last year (I'm okay with waiting) :).


We had an absolute blast!!  I've been before but this was his first time going and he was amazed at the fact that it was 3pm and the bars were packed with people and there was live music coming from every corner.

We started with lunch at the brewery and some sampling of beverages then headed to Tootsies and had a few drinks.  It was a lot of fun knowing how much history was in that building alone.  We stayed there for awhile then headed over to the game.  The Wings won in a shootout!  After the game we found a small bar that had an amazing live band playing and stayed there till closing time.

All in all it was a fantastic weekend!

Inside tootsies at 6pm!