crawling!

Hartley has been rocking on her knees for a few weeks. We could tell she was getting ready!

I've tried encouraging her through toys and even Sonic slushes (don't judge me). I found what really worked was my phone...

This video is from Day 2 of trying to crawl.

the new garage!

And it's finally finished! I stepped out to toss a diaper this morning (more on that later) and there was a car in my garage. Weird.

I realized how much I hated the closed-in garage look. So much that I never took a picture of the exterior. Marshall took the above picture when it snowed in February.. and that's the only one I could find!

This was last week when Marshall started demolition. I had no idea everything was going to happen so quickly! One day he got a rough estimate, the next day he was tearing down walls.

Nice booty, Marshall.

We had a vinyl siding company professionally re-install the siding and frame in the doors. I felt so bad for the guy that came out- he was here 5 hours and hadn't eaten lunch. So I made him a roast beef sandwich. Do you normally do that for people who spend hours working at your house?? Are you supposed to?! Anyway, he was grateful. I guess. He kept saying "thankya thankya thankya." And he thought Hartley was absolutely adorable! And Hartley kept thinking it was her Daddy banging away in the garage. It was cute, she kept looking around the corner in the living room waiting for Daddy to appear.

Marshall's door is slightly open at the bottom so it wouldn't lock him out. There's nothing wrong with it.

So, the siding went up Wednesday and the garage doormen came Thursday! We originally planned on going with basic doors (like everyone else in our neighborhood), but the professionals encouraged us to get ones with windows since there would be no sunlight in there. I'm so glad they said something, we never thought of that!

Nice booty again!

Oh, I'm so happy! I have never parked in a garage, so I really want to try it out. Marshall pulled my car in as he was rearranging. I'm afraid that I'm going to hit a wall, knock off my sideview mirrors, or not be able to back out.

Sigh. I love the exterior of my home now! Next up- changing out or painting the exterior light fixtures.

SUYL - Kitchens!

It's Show Us Your Life at Kelly's Korner! Today we're visiting kitchens- probably my favorite room of our house!

My husband and I are ambitious DIYers and are constantly renovating our first home, not that it needs it, we just like giving it our own touch! You can read about our kitchen projects here: wainscoting and painting.

Without further ado.. our Kitchen!

The Before Kitchen. The actual (freezing cold) day I bought our first house on the courthouse steps. It's always an interested tale of how we bought our house. We were in the process of submitting a second offer when we found it was going to be auctioned off in a few weeks... We waited and got a really good deal!

The After Kitchen!

We used Fernwood Green by Benjamin Moore and I love it! Most of the decor, ok scratch that, all of the decor is from my mother and her friend. We gladly accept all donations!

We have 9ft ceilings throughout our house and I love how open the rooms feel. This also allows us to decorate on top of the cabinets. I think even with builder grade cabinets, linoleum, and boring countertops, you can make a room pop with decor!

The above dresser and hutch are the ones I used from my childhood. My husband painted them the same color as the trim. The barstools were purchased at a secondhand store for $10 each. They go perfectly with our kitchen table that I snagged at K-mart for $115 (hello, 50% rain check and kindly asking for a discount since the box was opened/previously returned!)

My husband and I added the wainscoting in August and it looks like it's always been there!

I think one day we'll change up the cabinets (maybe paint them white) and update the countertops (maybe cement!). But don't worry, it will be awhile, we've got plenty of other projects on our list!

hartley videos

It's time for another installment of videos! I've been filming Hartley a lot these days, but I forget to upload them until I don't have any memory left on the camera.

Hartley recently started playing peekaboo. And circling.

I can't turn around for a minute without finding her getting into (under) something.

She loves her walker! She does say "mama" in this video. And snorts after I ask her to say "dada."

Hartley is at such a fun stage now! Once the girl wakes up she's squirming nonstop. And this doesn't stop until she goes back to sleep! Of course I was slightly aware of this when she was in utero.

She's become an acrobatic nurser as well.. which makes nursing limited to our home only. Not to mention she prefers pulling her nursing cover off...

I'll try to be better about uploading videos in a timely manner and not overload you with them.

dear stalker..

Okay, I don't mind posting my life for the world to see.. because normally I know who reads this. However, I've noticed a visitor from Naples, Florida that stops by quite frequently.

I hope you, Dear Floridian, have turned beet red because you should be embarrassed that you read but never comment. I understand that my Momma doesn't comment because she doesn't know how.. but I'm sure you do. :)

So, my Stalker, please introduce yourself to me and my fellow stalkers/stalkees. I promise I won't bite. And plus, it's not fair that you know all about me but I don't know anything about you!

Sincerely,

That's A. Moore

trick or treat

under construction

We always have ongoing renovations around our house. We're ambitious DIYers, what can we say? Our current project actually involves professionals for once!

We've debated since moving into our house in April 2009 about the garage situation. It was closed in prior to us purchasing the house. Marshall wanted to use the garage as his workshop. I wanted to have a car that I could get in without having to scrape off frost or warm up for 20 minutes or get poured on while it's raining. Um, and I have a baby.

Our options were:

1. One entry door to replace one of the windows. Marshall wanted to access the garage without having to go through the house or around the side. (My momma and I didn't like this idea. It would be really tacky and people wouldn't know which door to enter our house through)
2. One single car door. This would be my door. Marshall would still have his side of the garage for his workshop. And perhaps later down the road we'd install the other door.
3. Two single car doors. Again, I would have my door. Marshall would have one on his side. They exterior wouldn't look so weird. And Marshall will continue parking in the driveway because his side is his workshop. Boys and their power tools. Gyosh.

So, we decided on option Numero Tres. Number 3.

Marshall was very thoughtful with letting me have the automatic opener and his will be manual. What a kind husband!

Marshall has also done most of the demolition by himself. We will have a professional install the vinyl siding (Marshall had to take it down to remove the windows/walls). And hopefully by Friday our other professional will install the garage doors.

We have a list going, it's called the "Big List." Included on it are the garage doors, kitchen wainscoting, and...

A FREEZER!

We got it in August shortly after Hartley started solids. I've been making all of her food! I was quickly running out of room in our refrigerator and we had discussed a freezer for awhile. This was a smart purchase!

We've got easily a few months supply of baby food on hand, plus lots of frozen pizzas, popsicles, and meat. And healthy frozen vegetables. Have you tried the Birds Eye Steamfresh vegetables?! Um, get some now. We use these for Hartley's vegetables and ourselves many nights a week. Pop 'em in the microwave for like 5 minutes and you've got deliciously, fresh veggies.

And since it's officially fall (and we've had cooler weather), I attempted a fall wreath complete with pine cones and real cotton. I guess you would say 100% cotton?? And I bought some decorative pumpkins (as seen with my little pumpkin) for the front door.