The Crafts

The w-a-i-t-i-n-g is the hardest part. Tom Petty was so right. I have been patiently waiting and waiting for the bathroom remodel to begin but sadly I was told today that I must wait some more. Looks like the contractors aren't coming until next week. I asked if next week meant Monday...the response...Monday or Tuesday. Until then...

I'm in an awkward clothing stage right now. My non pregnant clothes no longer fit but my maternity clothing is much, much too large. I spend most of the time when home with Kate in comfy, sweat pants because nothing else fits. When I go out I, of course, change clothes but am constantly uncomfortable. I recently saw some pics of pregnant celebrities and thought - ah, ha - maybe I'll get some fashion ideas from these famous women. Nope. Here is an example of what you will not find me wearing.

How quickly my mood has changed. So it turns out our leaky toilet is the cause for so much drama. Apparently the toilet tank is draining into the floor and the water then follows the outside of the plumping only to be collected in the kitchen ceiling. So the plumbers are draining the toilet tank and the leak should be fixed. They said the kitchen ceiling should be able to dry out and no repairs needed. We'll see once its dry but all looks good right now. I literally almost hugged them when they shared this news. I feel like dancing!!

After shutting off the water to the toilet yesterday I assumed the leak was contained....until this morning. I came downstairs after all of us had used the upstairs sink and discovered more water leaking into the kitchen. I talked with the contractor yesterday and told him the dilemma...when I thought it was just the toilet. He said they would simply fix the problem when they came in to do the remodel. However, now that we know it may be more than the toilet I immediately called the plumbers who replaced the water and drain lines. They didn't answer their phone unfortunately so I'm not sure what that means. But someone is going to pay to correct this problem and I don't want it to be our wallet. We JUST had the kitchen ceiling replaced and we JUST replaced the bathroom wall. And now I imagine we'll have to tear more holes into both to fix this problem. I need to get pumped up to argue that we are NOT going to pay for this.

We awoke this morning to find a small pool of water on our kitchen counter. The water seems to have come from the toilet in the bathroom above. That means our newly refinished kitchen ceiling is taking on water. I shut off the water to the toilet and I just pray that our bathroom remodel and new toilet next week will solve the problem. The existing toilet is around 90 years old or so. I imagine that last month when the plumbers moved the toilet to replace the plumbing behind it, the pipes may have had a hard time fitting together again due to their age? I have no clue. So the debate is...do we call the plumber to make repairs so we can use the toilet for the next few days or do we just wait until next week when the bathroom remodel is "supposed" to begin. As of now we are going to wait. Although I still haven't signed anything with the contractor on the bathroom remodel, nor have I seen a final cost estimate. I've called but no return call yet. I'm holdi

Kate did her FULL business on the potty chair this morning!!! She was a little embarrassed but after reassuring her that she did a fantastic job and would therefore get to watch Barney, she suddenly was ecstatic. Even more surprising, I started the Barney DVD and she said no, she would rather watch Elmo. Huh? Are you my child? So she is watching Elmo and eating a few white chocolate chips...her other favorite treat. Who knew I could be so proud of someone going to the bathroom. :) I'm not holding out hope that she'll go again on the potty chair anytime soon...ok, maybe I'm secretly wishing it will happen...so I need to hang onto this moment and remember that it is possible. Hooray!!

I've decided to start keeping a blog on my fitness progress. I got the idea from Megan Williams, so a big thank you Megan! I'm hoping it will keep me accountable and will be an easy way to track my workouts. It won't include much detail but you can check it out anytime you want. The blog link is on the right hand side of this page and is listed as "My Fitness Blog."

So Matt and I are about to transition from double teaming Kate to man-to-man defense. That's right...we are having another baby!! You know, with this big house we have bedrooms to fill so we figured it was about time to add a fourth to the family. We are not planning to find out whether the baby is a boy or girl and we will not be revealing names. All will be a surprise! What I can share is that we are not having octuplets like that woman on TV!! We hope the news makes you as happy as it makes us!

Hmm...never thought I'd be typing those words into my blog. The rumored start date for the bathroom remodel is the week of February 23rd! Whoopieee!! I can't wait. The plaster girls came to the house today to fill in the giant hole in the bathroom wall. Kate awoke to their noises, hops out of her room and starts laughing hysterically. That is when I knew we were in for a wild day. And wild she has been. Thankfully she has finally tired herself out long enough to get some sleep. The bathroom remodel date is not yet set in stone but it sounds like all materials will arrive by that date and the contractor has that time slot open. So now we wait patiently to get the final word. I haven't signed anything yet so I suppose I can't begin to trust much until that time arrives. The estimated total project time is one week. I hope they aren't getting my hopes up.

In a previous post I mentioned that Kate has learned her colors. Since then she has advanced even farther. When driving through town, Kate has started informing me whether the light is green or red. She must not be quick enough to identify the yellow lights but she sure lets me know what colors are ahead. It is rather cute, really. Kate also has a new favorite food...blueberries. She would eat them all day long if I'd let her. Even as I type she is singing to the blueberries in her bowl. Another new favorite is skipping. She skips almost everywhere she goes. She skips from room to room, she skips in the stores and she even had a chance to skip outside yesterday. A quick bathroom remodel update...I talked to the contractor again yesterday and he has put in an order for our tile, tub and toilet. And he is still planning to start work at the end of February. Keep your fingers crossed!

That is the sound of excitement pulsating through my veins! I just called into our contractor and ordered the new bathtub, toilet and accessories. Ahhhh!!!! The contract has an opening for February 23rd or 27th to start work but I don't know if we'll get everything lined up in time. Either way, each day we get closer to having a shower upstairs!!! I cannot wait for the bathroom remodel. It is going to be so beautiful!! We are refinishing the hardwood floors in the bathroom, installing subway tile halfway up the walls, installing a new tub and shower and new toilet. Matt and I are going to paint the built-ins and vanity. We are keeping the old sink and we are also tiling the entire inside of the shower. Oh, and because we don't have a third wall to build in the tub and shower the contractor is going to build a partial wall at the end of the tub and then install glass all the way to the ceiling. It is going to be amazing!!!! Instead of a shower door we are going to put in a t

I gave up on the potty training. Kate is NOT ready. I can't say for sure but she seems to think a potty chair is something to sit on fully clothed or fully naked. But either way, Kate acts like a potty chair is simply another chair. She sat there reading and then tried to get the kitty to take a turn. After an hour of chasing a naked booty up and down the stairs as she ran from one potty chair to the other, I finally caved. She knew her reward was Barney and there would be no Barney until she pottied. So she sat there crying aloud "p-o-t-t-y, B-a-r-n-e-y!" She was trying so hard and getting so tired. I eventually put a diaper over her underwear before putting her down for nap. I thought leaving the underwear on would cause her to be more uncomfortable if she did go to the bathroom in them. Well she did her business in the underwear but didn't care one cent about the uncomfortableness. So today she has sat many times on the potty chair but she usually has her pants on.

Despite my post yesterday, Kate is currently sitting on the potty. She insisted on sitting on it this morning but we had to leave. So after literally peeling her off the potty chair kicking and screaming I promised her we'd spend the whole afternoon sitting on it if that is what she really wanted. So after a half hour car ride home listening to nothing but potty talk (haha) she ran inside pulled down her pants and has been sitting there ever since. While she has not yet done her business she is fully aware of the rewards that await her for potty success. The grand prize? She gets to watch Barney. And there will be NO Barney until she potties. I'll keep you posted...

One of Kate's new favorite foods is apples. So when I was washing dishes and watching her eye the apples on the dining room table I knew what was going through her head. The fruit bowl was full of bananas, oranges and apples. She first emptied the bowl of bananas, then she played for a bit with the oranges and then crunch. I heard her take her first bite of apple. A minute later I see the apple fall from her hand and roll into the other room. So with great tears in Kate's eyes she sadly handed it to me and I rinsed it off. I just couldn't bring myself to throw away a giant apple with three bites out of it. I then told her she could eat the one apple, but do not bite the second apple. But what she heard me say was "blah, blah, apple, blah, blah." Maybe 45 seconds later I continue to hear crunching and realize Kate is double fisting apples. She takes a bite out of the right apple and then a bite out of the left. Realizing that there is no way she will be