Flashback Friday, Before and After

Not so long ago we did a master bathroom remodel. It was a pain in the ass, but that is another story. I thought I'd take the chance to inform you of the things we learned.

Here are the before photos:


Almond fixtures anyone? These were taken just before the contractors showed up to begin the destruction.

This shower, how I hated it. But it sure was easy to clean. Like the built in bench? HA

It was so tiny, not that our bathroom is huge now, but it was SOOO tiny. How could anyone call this a master bath?

Now the after photos...

Glass enclosed shower. Never get one of these unless you want a squeegee attached to your hand every single day after every single shower to keep it clear and clean. What a pain!

Pocket door enclosed toilet area. Gregg had to have this.

Vanity area.

80 gallon, 2 person whirlpool tub. The contractors didn't measure correctly, so it juts out 6 inches more than it was supposed to, but it's nice for the occasional soak, especially in the winter. Later, we put in a LCD tv so I could watch TV while I soak.

Now, things we learned:

1. Never hire the lowest bidder on a job, if the bid seems too good to be true, it probably is.

2. Contractors never complete on time, just go into any project knowing this and you'll be fine.

3. If you want the sub-contractors to work a full day, you must be home to ensure they do.

4. Make sure you put time limitations in the contract if they are really important.

5. Never pay the contractor in full before the job is finished to your satisfaction, so you have some negioation room when things don't go as planned. (luckily we already knew this)

I'm not sure we'll ever do a remodel again, it was just so stressful. But we drew up the plans and picked out everything for the bathroom and I think it came out very well. It's a nice relaxing space & I'm happy we did it.

Tagged!

Mandy C. tagged me. I am glad because it gives me something to post about.

5 Things I Was Doing 10 Years Ago.
1. Taking care of Baby Payton
2. Waiting for Gregg to get back from Cruise
3. Shopping too much
4. Making it through hurricane Bonnie (IIRC)
5. Moving to Washington DC

5 Things On My To Do List
1. Do ACC Homework
2. Take ITT Test
3. Take a nap
4. Eat lunch
5. Watch some TV

5 Bad Habits
1. Shopping too much
2. Wanting to start a project, but not ever doing it (taking the carpet off the stairs, sanding, painting and staining)
3. Speeding
4. Cooking more than we can eat
5. Eating too much chocolate

5 Places I Have Lived
1. Woodward
2. Virginia Beach
3. Washington DC
4. Norman OK
5. (hoping to move to Nebraska or Missouri soon)

5 Things I Am Listening To Right Now
1. The rain
2. Jolie meowing at the door
3. Quesadilla sizzling on the stove (lunch!!)
4. Radio upstairs
5. Myself typing

5 Words I Hate
1. purple - this word just sounds weird
2. panties - also just don't like the word
3. Chincoteague - town on the eastern shore, in Accomack county
4. Fiancee - just bugs the crap out of me how people use it so often.

5 Jobs I Have Had
1. Gymnastics coach
2. Receptionist
3., 4., 5. Person who cooks, cleans and takes general care of the family

5 Things I Have Eaten Today
1. 2 Cough Drops
2. Water (does drinking count)
3. Coffee
4. I'm about to eat a quesadilla with mushrooms, peppers, onions and cheese
5. More water

5 Websites I Visit Daily
1. College page
2. Yahoo weather
3. www.allrecipes.com
4. Blockbuster
5. Blogs

Now I tag Britt and Hilary. Have fun girls!!

BTW I got an 88% on my test, not bad, not good. I'm sure I'll get over it.

Rollercoaster Weekend...

This weekend has been an odd one. First off, with no OU game to look forward to on Saturday, our weekend was WIDE open.

We ended out going to see "Burn After Reading" which, just so you don't make the same mistake we did, DO NOT TAKE YOUR KIDS TO THIS!! I can overlook a little language and dark humor, but there were a few scenes in this that had both Gregg and I saying to ourselves "please just make it stop." I'll leave it at that.

So after that we did a little shopping and went to lunch. Nothing interesting, I know.



Later we came home, the kids played some Mario Kart and the evening was over before we knew it.

Sunday started off like most Sunday's, I make breakfast (this morning it wasn't usual though, I made Eggs Benedict - YUM-O), we read the newspaper and just relaxed. Later, Gregg got this genius idea to use his air nail gun and mend a couple places in the floors.

We ended out in the ER: he shot a 1 1/2 inch nail INTO his index finger.


The doctor thinks that it hit his finger bone and bent the nail. This has left Gregg saying that he's made of steel. He pulled the nail out before he got downstairs, he claims it was quite hard to get out, only about 1/2 inch of the nail was visible, so there was an inch of that sucker stuck in his finger. He was perfectly content not going to the doctor, but I convinced him otherwise. Not a scream or a whimper out of this guy through the entire thing, he's normally a baby, so I had no idea he was hurt until I nearly passed out at the sight of the blood.


They did some X-rays and put him on some antibiotics. He'll check when his last tetanus shot was tomorrow at work, since that's where his medical record is (I know this doesn't make a lot of sense, but that's how the military does it).

So to cap off the evening, he helped our friends put on their back screen door (with the use of more power tools) and later played chess with Payton. I'm glad the weekend is just about over.


I am extremely nervous about a test I have tomorrow. It's a biggie, so I hope I do OK. We'll see, since I don't feel prepared at all and I've been studying off and on for a week.

Flashback Friday

Payton & Leslie, June 2001, age 2 & 24.

The Drama Years

Since Thursday was Payton's birthday and she couldn't have her party until Friday because of school, she was able to open her presents from Gregg and I after school, she invited Morgan over to help unwrap and test out the gifts.

Here are a few photos from Thursday:


She learned how to play chess at camp 2 years ago. She decided that a chess set might help her become better at the game.

Uh oh, what's that?

This totally wasn't on her list... and we got SOOOO lucky in finding one.

Here are the girls playing Mario Kart - one of the most fun games ever!

So Payton's birthday party was Friday night. It started out as any other birthday party with little girls arriving and running around excited to get to stay up, be together and play. Though within 2 hours of everyone arriving, it turned into a drama fest around here. I'm not sure if Payton wasn't in a good mood or if the other girls were just being brats, but they didn't want to hang out with her and she really didn't want to hang out with them.

One thing I do know is that kids now days aren't taught how to act when at someones house. Not only were they total brats, but they didn't think they needed to do what I said. By the time the morning rolled around I was ready to scream. So I loaded up each and every little girl and drove them home myself... 4 hours early. I have said it before, but this time I mean it, I will NEVER - EVER - have a large sleep over at my house again - NEVER - EVER.

I just don't think I'm equipped to deal with the drama. Here are a few photos before it all went down the drain...

Samantha, Payton, Morgan & Megan

And here is the only photo I got of the girls when they weren't fighting. Oh well, I tried.

On a side note, we are getting somewhere with Austin's condition it seems. We have finally seen a psychologist & have an appointment to see a speech pathologist in order to determine if he has Austism or Asperger's Syndrome. We have also gotten a referral to NYC to see a specialist in Russell- Silver Syndrome to see if more genetic testing can be done to determine if this is why he is so short. The labels don't really matter, I was just hoping for something that could be fixed so our lives could be more normal. Dealing with his developmental issues have caused a lot of unneeded stress on me & now that I know that if it's either Autism or Asperger's (a form of Austism) it can't be cured and we're just going to have to continue to deal and find a way to cope, the light at the end of the tunnel has all but burnt out. I wish I could snap my fingers and make things right, but that isn't going to happen and I guess I need to find a way to deal with the stress.

Hope everyone is having a good week.
BTW I got a perfect score on my last test, the only one in all of my professors classes. =o)

Happy Birthday, Payton!

Today my little girl turns TEN! Happy birthday Payton! Here are a few photos from her first year.

Strings

The kids school continues to amaze me. In fifth grade the kids get to learn to play a string instrument. Payton chose the violin. We went and picked one up today, she's been in her room ever since, "practicing." I am already enjoying the sounds of the violin over the recorder from last year. Here are a few photos...

The instruction booklet came with a couple DVDs to show proper form, not sure if she's got it down yet, but she's enjoying herself and that's what matters.

Doesn't she look like she's having a great time? Hopefully this doesn't wear off anytime soon. Last year there was only 20-something children in "strings" so I think she'll be getting a fair amount of instruction. It's 2 days a week for 45 minutes each day, for a whole school year. Maybe sometime I'll have some video of a beautiful piece... someday.

I wish we'd had this chance in school. It's amazing what kinds of opportunities our children have today. Here I am pretending to be a pro. HAHA

Flashback Friday...

It just occurred to me that I somehow missed flashback Friday last Friday. I can only assume that it had something to do with how busy things were here and that we were somewhat waiting for Hannah to drop some serious amounts of rain on us on Saturday, which didn't happen.

The power did go out for about 5 hours. It was daytime, but it's hard to go from so much technology to nothing at all like that, Gregg took a nap and I read & waited and waited and waited. We did have a plan for dinner, had the power not came back on, pizza and a game by candle light. Too bad it came back on because that sounded like a lot of fun. Anyway, here you go...



Here I am vacuuming my dad for some reason. And look at that awesome outfit, ick!

First Day of School 2008

Tuesday was the kids first day of school. They were both excited to be going back. I was the uncool mom taking pictures at the bus stop. HA


Here's everyone holding up the number of the grade they are starting. Payton is in 5th now and Austin in second.

Payton and her best friend Morgan. It's going to be really tough for these two when we move.

Date Night

Sunday evening Gregg and I went out for a date night. We went to see "StepBrothers" which was hilarious, but absolutely nasty at the same time (don't EVER take your kids to see this). And then we met our friends Heather & Trace at a local oyster bar for some drinks and grub. Gregg got a little excited with the camera and started just taking random photos, some of which actually turned out. So here you go...



Payton took this one before we left. It was the best one she took.

Payton also took this one, but notice Gregg's face... he was being that guy from high school he once was. She also didn't tell us she was going to take the photo before she did.

Gregg took this one while I was running around trying to make sure things were in order before we left. Photos never turn out of me, I always look psycho, so this was a pleasant surprise.

And since Gregg couldn't put the camera down, here's me checking my mail. HA

School started here today for the kids. I feel like a kid in a candy store with them gone and this house to myself. Is that wrong? I did take some photos this morning & I'll try to post them asap. Hope everyone is having a great week.