Recent Pictures

Thought I would post a few recent pictures.  We are counting down to baby sister who is coming in 3 weeks, 3 days.  Taylor has moved to her big girl bed and slept there for an entire week now.  It was a much smoother process than I anticipated.  She is excited every day when she gets a sparkle, princess sticker for being a "big girl".  She also didn't have a problem when we moved her baby bed to "baby sister's" room.  We are lucky she is such a flexible child!

This is what we do when it's hot and Mommy is too tired to go to the pool.

I love those little legs!

Ready for school.  She grabs her lunchbox out of the frig every morning!

First time to make cookies.  The chocolate chips were a big hit.  

Tasting the cookie dough.

This year she likes pumpkins.  And she loves her "Patches".

Happy Fall

It sure feels like Fall has arrived FINALLY.  We had a beautiful day of 80 degree weather today.  So I've been eyeing this wreath in the Williams Sonoma catalog, but couldn't bear to spend $99 on it.  So I tried to copy it.  I spent $40 at Michaels and waalaaa...I must say it looks great on the front door!

House Pictures - Before and After

We had an Open House party for our friends this past weekend, so that was incentive to get the house in order and take some pictures of what we've been busy doing on the new house for the past five months.  Here are some before and after pictures!

Front of House Before

Front of House After - We removed all of the ivy from the brick and the
dead tree on the right.  We added a driveway gate, gutters, sprinkler system
in the front,  re-painted all of the wood a slightly different shade and did some
landscaping.

Den Before

Den After - we added wiring to hang TV above fireplace, surround sound,
the bookcases on both sides of the fireplace and bench storage for toys
under the right window

Kitchen and Breakfast Area Before 

Kitchen/Breakfast Area After - we stained the wood beam, did a little touch-up painting
and some minor cabinet tweaks

Study Before

Study After - we added a built-in desk on the right, bookcases

on the left, under cabinet lighting, extra cable/phone/electric plugs,

a glass top and shutters on the windows

Desk Area

Bookcases

Living Room Before

Living Room After - We did new curtains, recovered the flowered
club chairs and got two new wood chairs for a separate sitting area (oh - and
Ryan finally got to hang his first duck in the study, which is what Taylor
points out when she's giving a tour)

Living Room After

Living Room After - new couch pillows

Dining Room Before

Dining Room After - We added new curtains and some accessories

Upstairs Bath Before

Upstairs Bath After - The project that started it all....
We changed everything except for the
placement of the plumbing!

Shower after - we added the shower light, new tile and reglazed tub

Upstairs Vanity Before - original tile

Upstairs Vanity After - all new

Taylor's Room Before

Taylor's Room After - just a little paint, a chandelier and shutters

Taylor's Room After

Guest Room Before

Guest Room After - we painted my Grandmother's old bedroom furniture and
it's looks fantastic, I must say

Nursery Before

Nursery After - Work in progress

Nursery After

Master Bedroom Before

Master Bedroom After - we didn't have to do anything here. Whew!

Backyard Before

Backyard After - We removed five trees, did some landscaping and repaired
part of the fence

Garden Before

Garden After - We removed two palm trees and the elephant ears,
and added flagstone

Back Porch After - New paint

A final picture to make you hungry - party food

Taylor's First Day of Preschool at First Steps

We made it on-time and it was a full success!  Yesterday, we spent preparing for the big day - gathering her "supplies" ready and getting in bed early.  We picked out a plant and painted a special pot for her to plant it in.  She also had to bring a framed family picture so she was very excited about that.  Today was a short day - only an hour and I stayed with her the entire time.  There were no tears and she wasn't afraid of anything.  She even made a few buddies; however, most of the time the kids were doing "work" by themselves.  Yes, it's called "work" not "toys" or "play".  There are eleven kids in her class and three teachers.  Her lead teacher is Ms. Veronica.  There is also a mix of older kids who were in the class last year and new kids.  Tomorrow we go for a little longer and I slip out of the room for 30 minutes.  Friday a little longer and I'm gone for an hour.  Next week, it's 8:15am - noon everyday.

Supplies for school

So excited about her "fower" and "pot" 

Hugs from Mommy

Goodbye, Daddy! 

"Working" hard at transferring beads from one bowl to another with a spoon

Putting sticks into tiny holes

Cleaning up her placemat after snack

School is over - time to play

I had to peel her away from the playground - it is a beautiful day

Ireland Trip Photos

We had such a great time!  It was a real treat for us to be together as a family for 10 days in a row.  I have put together a movie with captions of our photos from Ireland.  Unfortunately, it is too big to upload anywhere on the web.  So I had to settle with uploading the pictures onto Snapfish and haven't had time to add any captions yet.  Below is a link to the pictures.  Guess you will have to come visit to view the movie and hear about the details!

http://www1.snapfish.com/snapfish/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=4026404002/a=12048492_12048492/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/