Update on the Bathroom

We have a real door now!!! So exciting!

the tub actually came today and was put in but they are still working on lighting so I'll have to take those pictures later!
the new track for the pocket door that is going in the toilet enclosure

don't worry...that is not where the toilet is going but that happens to be where they put it for now=)

J's First Day of School!

On Tuesday, Jessica started her very first day of pre-school!! She had a great week and seems to like her class. No problems with her clinging when we get there and no long and drawn out goodbyes!

Here is her cubby with her backpack and lunchbox

checking out the sea shells
making a new friend

finding the necklaces for dress-up!

Birthday Fun!

Jessica and Zechariah had their birthdays this weekend! Their actual birthday was on Friday so we celebrated J's (3) at Gibby and Papa's Friday night (pictures to come!) and Z's (5) at HOOTs on Saturday. Both parties were so much fun and everyone had such a good time!

the cousins playing air hockey

opening gifts
singing "happy birthday"
sliding with daddy
sliding with Papa

Emily and Ethan coming down the slide

Dawson and Ethan sliding on their bellies!

a high-five for the birthday boy

singing and blowing out the candles

the Captain America cupcakes

First Days of School

Ainsley's first day of 1st Grade! Sitting at her table in her new classroom!

Can't believe she's a first grader?!
Zechariah's SECOND day of Kindergarten and his 5th birthday! Forgot the camera on his first day so we "recreated" it. Can't believe I left the camera on the table and we were running late so neither one of us had our phones either!

lining up after the bell the same way, in the same class, with the same teacher Ains had last year!

After school on the first day...and he's smiling!

Playing in the Rain

Remodel Update

Look Ma, no hole!

The new "entry way" to the bathroom. We're having a real door installed and the whole thing moved over a little bit.
Vanity area right next to the entry way

The shower, cabinets/storage and bathtub area

the enclosed toilet area

Excited to see what is happening this week! I'm also getting excited to pick out fixtures and tile too=) We already picked out the vanities and counter tops!

The Remodel

Let's rewind to the pictures of the kids' bathroom when we moved into our house last summer:

Here is the vanity and double sink area...

and here is the sunken tub and shower (toilet is in the lower right corner...the same toilet where the whale was caught taking a swim!)
Now, fast forward to the weekend before last. Mike was going to recaulk the inside of the tub because it was coming off. When we pulled up all the old stuff we discovered a leak that we thought was originally from the faucet. Turns out, upon further inspection from our wonderful neighbor who has done all the other work on our house, that it was coming from under the drain. If that was indeed where the leak was, it was a pretty easy fix and only required redoing the bottom of the tub.
Pretty huh!

To make a looooonnnngggg story short, it was not an easy fix and the plumbing was encased in concrete and done incorrectly at the time it was constructed (not sure when that was???) so the whole thing was going to have to go. We had no desire to put in a new sunken tub again and decided on a jetted tub with a separate shower. Since the sunken tub was being demolished and a regular one was going in, we figured we might as well get rid of the tile on the walls and the carpet covering the other half of the floor!

Since that was being done too, we figured why not get new vanities and sinks?!

And why not add some storage while we're at it!! We're on a role now=)

So, the whole thing is being redone! Who knows when it will be complete but I'll keep posting the progress! In the meantime, the 6 of us are sharing the master bathroom: 1 sink, a shower and a toilet...glad school starts tomorrow!

Yes, That is a Beluga in My Toilet!

This is why I have begun to count down the days until school starts...I need a break!! Between keeping my 18 month old from climbing on our bed (which is a little over two feet off the ground) and keeping my 2 year old out of my make-up, I'm exhausted!

I will have to say, although J made a huge mess with my lipstick (doesn't know to turn it down before capping it!) she really did a great job applying it to her lips. She even had a hint of mascara on her lashes too.

While cleaning up after her, Dylan decides that Ainsley's beluga whale needed to get back to the ocean I guess because I hear Z yell, "Mom! Dylan has his hand in the toilet again!" My older two are notorious for letting me know what the others are doing but not realizing that they can actually HELP me out with them too=)

Usually when Dylan gets into the toilet, he likes to use a wash cloth and swing it around once it has had a good soaking! Today he decided that stuffed animals were much more fun!

Yes, I know the simple solution to all of this would be to shut the bathroom door...I would really love to, if it worked=) See, we have a pocket door to the bathroom and kids (who shall remain nameless) have stuck numerous papers and who knows what else in the "slot" and one adult (who shall also remain nameless but really has no earthly idea how, while holding onto the If You Give a Mouse a Cookie book and sliding the door open, that it would slip out of her hand and directly into the pocket door!) has also gotten something stuck in it. Needless to say, now it won't close...at least it won't close and open back up again. I have even gotten stuck in the bathroom and had to yell for Ainsley to bring the phone and squeeze it through the small opening in the event that I could not get out! Thankfully it is not the only one we have.

See why I'm counting down the days=)

Summer Wind Down

What a summer it has been! Can't say we "did" a whole lot or took any trips this time but it was full of all the fun and adventure you can have with a 6, 4, 2 and 1 year old!
Some Summer Highlights
*Ted and Anna came from NC for a visit and we got to meet our niece, Aubrie for the first time! She is so cute and it was so wonderful to hold a little tiny (and very light) baby again! Wish they lived closer!

*Jessica is potty trained!!! We kept putting it off and then one weekend decided to start since we knew she'd be off to preschool this month. She caught on pretty quickly and has had very little accidents! So thankful for that and so proud of her!!

*J and Z have upcoming birthdays...on the same day! I'm sure as they get older it will be a little harder to coordinate=)

*Ainsley lost 4 teeth this summer! (one just a few minutes ago!)

*Dylan took his first ride in an ambulance! (guess he had to outdo his brother...Icalled 911 when Z was 5 days old but he didn't have to go to the hospital, thankfully!). Dylan and J were jumping on her bed and one little monkey fell off and bumped his head! He was crying at first but then everything went limp and he was quite sleepy. Everything turned out A-ok and he was right back to climbing on the furniture not too long after we got home from the hospital!

*Had two of my nieces spend the night and had a blast hanging out with them and Ains at Chic-fil-a, Hinkle and Sonic!!

J and Zsleepy deedlewearing his big brother's shoes D's cheesy "take my picture" grin! Ainsley did J's hair the other day...so cute!
Ains and Z "boxing" on the Wii
My brother Mike and my sister-in-law Patti came over for dinner a few weeks ago. The kids got to try out some chopsticks with our Chinese dinner. They did pretty well but ended up using forks shortly after dinner started! I cheated and started with a fork because everything looked so delicious that I didn't want to spend the extra time getting it in my belly!


Hope everyone has been enjoying their summer!

P.S. Christina, if you read this...check out the posting from the http://deckthehalls-christmas.blogspot.com/ titled "back to school fairy"! Thought the treat ideas were too cute and I thought of you=)