baseball

Thursday, June 28, 2012

Cheap labor

My awesome parents came to visit June 20-27. A whole week!! It was great to see them, and man, did they help us whip things into shape around the house. I had quite the project list for them, and they jumped right in to the manual labor.

Day 1: Josh and I had to go to work. But don't worry, we left the project list with Elayne and Guy.

The trash drawer in our kitchen had been bugging me for awhile. Our contractor did a shoddy job on it, but Guy Willis fixed 'er right up and changed my life.


Elayne and Guy painted Nugget's room the gray I had picked out to match the bedding.

Unfortunately, we weren't too pleased with the color (way too dark, didn't match the bedding at all), so...

Day 2: Elayne and Guy repaint Nug's room the perfect shade to match the gray bedding. Note the difference. 




























Guy installed new non-80s ceiling fans in Nug's room, the guest bedroom and the office. Tom rested.

Day 3: Finally, the weekend! Elayne continues to paint a bookshelf and also started on an end table. I painted a toy chest. 












Guy and Josh put plywood down in the attic so we can actually store things up there. (Well, things that won't melt in bazillion-degree temperatures, that is.) A wire was accidentally screwed through. The house alarm beeped for about an hour. They discovered a frayed wire that could've caused a fire. It was a good day of progress.


Day 5: Elayne and I continued to paint and watch paint dry in four-hour increments. Josh and Guy installed wainscoting in Nug's room. And crown moulding! Cutest baby room ever? Probably.







Day 6: Back to work for Emily and Josh. Elayne paints the office/den. Now only one room of this house hasn't been repainted since we moved in. Before she could paint the office, she had to clear all of these bookshelves. Not fun.

But look how good it looks now! Well, it will, once I get the books back on the shelves. Note the new ceiling fan where one did not previously exist.


Finally, how many Willis/Samuels family members does it take to hang a curtain rod? (Note the new non-80s ceiling fan.)


Grand Totals
Trips to Home Depot: 12-15
Trips to Lowes: 2 (We like it better than HD, but it's farther away.)
Trips to Braums: 2 (Conveniently located in the Home Depot parking lot.)
Toenails lost: 1
Bags of cheesy puffs consumed: 2
Projects gone awry at one point or another: All of them
Coffee pots broken: 1

It was an exhausting week, but so great having my parents here. My mom got to feel Nugget kick a couple of times! I was so sad when they left. My mom will be back in October for one last peek at my bump before Nugget arrives. I can't wait!

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Our first baby clothes!

Josh's Aunt Lori sent a package containing our very first baby clothes! They're so cute, and the card contained practical advice like, "Emily, take the drugs!"

Sunday, June 3, 2012

Mistaken Identity

Sometimes my mom forgets that my name changed 2.5 years ago. The bank almost wouldn't cash this check for Emily Willis.

Saturday, June 2, 2012

My humps, my humps, my humps, my humps

As I mentioned in my October blog post, there are some ground rules to this relationship when it comes to the Cardinals and the Cubs. One of those rules is that our children will be raised as Rangers fans. The Rangers can expect a new fan to arrive this fall, because Baby Samuels is due Nov. 1!






We're going to be surprised with the gender, so for now, you can just call Baby Samuels "Nugget" like we do. It's a term of endearment, and also a nickname that we sincerely hope doesn't stick. 

Here's Nugget's first picture at 6 weeks. As you can see, Nugget was already quite good looking, even at that early stage.


And here's the latest Nugget photo shoot, from 15 weeks.



Finally, here's me and my humps.