Ahhhhh Fall Continues...

Our family enjoyed another beautiful Fall weekend. Jason was off this weekend so it was nearly perfect!! I LOVE it when we are lucky enough to have a weekend off together, for some it may seem trivial but for us it is so nice. We go to bed at the same times, wake up at the same times, and we are quite the team getting so much accomplished. On Friday we stayed home and got a few things done around the house. Saturday was super productive. Jason and I finished up hanging the bathroom mirrors, got a FEW pictures on the wall. Our patio in the back is complete now so we gave our patio furniture a fresh coat of paint and arranged it outside. We still want to get some rocking chairs for our front and back porch, and we'll get there...just a little at the time. Jason did some work in his "man room" too, he is so excited about it. We got a lot done in the house...lots of cleaning lots of finishing up projects...Saturday night we had some friends over to watch the UFC fight. This is one of the few things that Jason still does with his friends (who are mostly single) so we make it a tradition to get the together about once a month. I enjoyed the girl time, and I KNOW that Jason enjoyed being with his "boys".

I have a few pictures from today - Sunday - of Blaine. We spent midday in the woods in our back yard changing the batteries in Jason's deer camera and putting out corn...I think he is planning to hunt a couple of afternoons this week.








Blaine LOVES being outdoors, and today was definitely the day to be outside with him...he has developed quite the little "tude" lately...sleeping habits have changed a little. We have made some changes in his overall schedule so I think things will work themselves out. I really think he is working himself toward the 1 nap a day schedule, but I am going to follow his lead as I have from the beginning and it'll work itself out. Today was such a nice relaxing day. Jason and I napped both times that Blaine did today (I know...how lazy of us) and we watched a little tv, cleaned and enjoyed each other. Tonight Jason built a fire in the fire pit outside and we sat and talked for about an hour. It was so nice to feel connected to him, and enjoy each other in a relaxing situation...that doesn't happen very much anymore : ) Life is good!!

This week is gonna be a busy one, but a good one. Jason is on first shift all week, so it will feel a little "normal" : ) !!

A few days "rest" if that's what you wanna call it : )

We started our weekend off with a nice birthday party for Jason's Mom, and it was our FIRST official gathering at our new home. It was a busy day, but I am so glad that we were all able to get together and celebrate Jason's Mom's Birthday, she does so much for us and this was the LEAST that we could have done. Jason was such a big help (and I'm pretty demanding) cooking, AND cleaning up afterward!! I think that Jason' s Mom enjoyed the evening and I can't wait to see her new Pandora bracelet with the charms that she has chosen. Here is a picture of her blowing out her candles on the cake...I forgot the ice cream : )
This morning we had a yard sale and it was nice to purge some "stuff"...I am NOT a "stuff" and "nic nac" kind of person so I wanted to get rid of a lot of things that we didn't want to "transplant" into the new house...we sold a lot, and pretty much gave a lot away too...it was difficult to let go of a few of the nicer things, but I refuse to clutter this new house. Afterward (while Blaine was napping), Jason and I brought all of the Christmas decorations in from the barn and put them in upstairs storage for easy access during the upcoming Holiday Season, AND, we finally cleaned out the garage so that I can pull my car in...now THAT is going to be AWESOME!!! I went out to pick up the lamps that we had made at Towel Town, and Jason and Blaine napped later in the afternoon since Jason had to work tonight.

After Jason went to work Blaine and I played in the living room floor for a long time and strolled around the yard...visited Maverick in his kennel and took some cute pics on the front porch. Here are a few of them...I cannot believe that Blaine will be 9 months old on Monday...his grandma Dawes' Birthday. The three of us are "19th babies" : ) I love how tiny Blaine looks by the front door...I know that 16 or so years from now when I take his prom pictures in the very same spot they will look much different...

It was really COLD this afternoon during our afternoon walk!! I know it looks funny to have such heavy clothes on this early in October...but it was warranted!!

A lot of landscaping to be done...We finally got the lights moved and mirrors hung in the guest bath. We are still waiting for touchup paint in the master bath...so I will post those soon!!

I love that Blaine tries to eat Daisy's tail in this video LOL I was trying to catch him standing alone, which he does often now...he moves from one piece of furniture to another easily, and it is rumored that he has taken "a step" but I haven't seen that yet...As you can see Blaine is very boisterous and I am thankful that I have such a tolerant dog because I believe I even saw him stick his fingers in her eyes today as she sat helpless...

Just a side note...with Halloween coming I am thinking that we should have picked a different costume for Blaine. The backup lion costume (long story) came in that I ordered for him and I thought that it might be a good idea to get him used to the cutie pie hat. Well...I don't think that Blaine is going to look like a lion because he WILL NOT let that hat stay on his head...so we'll see how that goes...could be interesting!!

Bitter sweet...and some catch-up...

Today we said goodbye to our old home as it was rolled off of our home site. I was so excited about it and ready to see it go...until I had to run home during the school day (I left my inhaler at home this morning) and I saw it (our mobile mansion) being dismantled and rolling away. This had been mine and Jason's home for almost 4 years...the longest I have lived anywhere since I left my parent's home for college. This home had served Jason and I well all the way up until it was time for us to start a family. When we decided to have Blaine Jason and I knew that it was time to make a move into something roomier and safer!! Those who know us well know that it was quite a journey from the trailer to the house. It was difficult for us to watch our friends purchase homes while we still lived in the trailer (if that makes sense), but we were focused on our goal. Jason and I wanted to be able to build a home that would grow with us and our family. We had some pretty specific requirements: had to have a garage, had to have a man room, had to have a formal dining area, we wanted 3 bedrooms 2 baths on the first floor and a large unfinished upstairs for storage and future expansion. We weren't going to settle for any less than what we had set our sights on, and we wanted to make sure that we could comfortably afford it. The timing with the economy made for the perfect storm (low interest, bottomed out prices on labor and materials) and we finally are realizing our dream.



We still have a lot of work to do though. Our bathroom fixtures had to be moved slightly to be centered with the sinks and now there is a little bit of touch up painting that needs to be done so we haven't hung the mirrors yet. Lot's of organizing is still in the works, and the blinds have been ordered and we are waiting for them to come in and be hung...the ones in the bedroom are a dark cherry finish so they had to be special ordered...they are in and hung, but the rest of the house are not in yet so we hung a sheet in the living area that we spend the most time... We are having a yard sale on Saturday (weather permitting), and afterward, whether we sell it all or not, we will have a clean garage!! We have a lot of furniture that we are not using in the new house a small dining room suit, end tables, a few pictures, kitchen utensils, a lot of brushed nickle lamps, and accessories. The finish of our fixtures and such are now oil rubbed bronze so we are ditching all of the brushed nickle accessories that we previously had. Maybe after this weekend is over and there is more "stuff" out of our way we can finally get down to the fine details of organizing. Everything is sort of "in place" or at least in the room that it is suppose to be in, and we are working a little bit at the time to get things just right.

I got home pretty late yesterday after a hair appointment and some running around. Jason had put Blaine to bed, taken care of a sick Daisy and was obviously exhausted. We decided to make it a movie night and watched Ghost of Girlfriend Past (I think that's right) and we both enjoyed it and went to bed...not a lot of house work was accomplished, but that was OK we enjoyed the house together...and it was nice.

We are very excited to be hosting our very first family even at our home on Friday. Jason's Mom's birthday is Oct. 19th and for so long she has been planning her own Birthday. We are honored to be hosting her birthday this year and she doesn't have to do one thing but show up. We are so excited to have a dining area that can seat 6 and a bar that can seat several comfortably, a covered porch, and a patio that we can enjoy if the weather is nice. Finally, more than enough room to spread out and not be right underneath one another... We have already invited my family over for a real family dinner too. Not that we haven't ever cooked for our friends and family...but never when we had this much space to breathe!! I love having a home that feels warm and inviting to our friends and family. I hope you enjoy the pictures of our new home...more to come as we progress...

Master Bedroom

from front door
entrance at side door (garage)

guest bedroom

My goal is to post some pics of the porches and patio after this weekend, and our new view with the mobile masion gone!! : ) Thanks for sharing!!

Just a little detour!!

We decided to take Blaine to the pumpkin patch this weekend (in the middle of the madness). Jason and I discussed how busy we were going to be, but decided that we should make sure that Blaine got to experience the awesomeness of Fall. I love Fall, it has become by far my favorite season. Fall is when I fell in love with Jason, and every year the smells and the coolness remind me of how it all happened. I remember carving pumpkins with Jason in the fall of 2003 and really not expecting more than a friendship...going to Draughn farm in Leggett and walking down to the waterway with Maverick (that's Jason's lab of almost 12 years)...just feeling so free. I remember visiting the corn maze with a bunch of friends and learning that Jason loved me (even when I wasn't ready to reciprocate, silly me...) This is the time in my life when I learned what was important, and Fall will always be a reminder of this, so I love ALL of the things about Fall!!
Ok...so enough with the mush...

We had an awesome visit to Briley Farms today with Al, Melissa, and Jackson...have I ever mentioned how excited that I am how close together in age they are!! Jackson has changed so much since the last time that I saw him (which was way too long I might add...with all this house business going on...) he is smiling and LAUGHING...he is developing WAY ahead of schedule and I am already convinced that he is going to be a little Einstein!!! You can see in the pictures that I am going to post that he is examining everything and learning so much from his environment. It is just amazing how much babies change in their first couple of months of life. Jackson is beautiful and I am so excited that Blaine will have him to grow up with...if only he were closer we could see him every day!! : )

goats

This was at the duck display

Eventually Blaine actually started to CHEW on the display...

Blaine is obviously ready to play with Jackson...

We ended the afternoon with dinner at Larry's (which was a relief because I was exhausted from moving more stuff when we got home from the pumpkin patch). Blaine enjoyed being able to crawl wherever he wanted to outside and CRASHED when we got home...


I know everyone wants to see pictures of the house, and we're getting close to being finished moving in...but I must say it's amazing what you can fit in an 1100 square foot mobile mansion...it seems never ending...Thank goodness ECU is on fall break this week and I will have some time to get things in the new house organized!! : )

Jason and I are so excited about our new home...it is amazing the sense of accomplishment that comes with building a home, and especially contracting it yourself. Everything has turned out more beautiful than we imagined it would and I promise to post pictures by the end of the week...we are still waiting for a few minor details to work themselves out...so check back next week this time and there should be more pictures posted!!

A little more...

WOW today was a busy day. I worked in the mobile mansion for a long time getting things cleaned up for the proud new owners. I know that they are as excited as Jason and I were when we first took ownership, and I want things to be nice for them. Jason did a lot of work in the yard and some running around. He got the tile that we picked out for our backsplash in the kitchen, and he painted our gas tank that we are going to have buried in the back yard for our gas service (so we don't have to rent one from the gas company). Tomorrow is the big day that we are having the house inspected so we are excited that we may be able to have some things moved in as early as tomorrow night. As usual it's a busy week for me. I have a midterm tomorrow night, class Tuesday night, and maybe things will begin to settle in for the week after that.

I wanted to post a few more things from our getaway, I was tethering a connection through my blackberry and uploading was slow. I have another video and a few more pictures to share.

Just a little more video of Blaine on the beach in Hatteras, NC....he is quite the busy body and SOOOOOOO curious...

Jason playing Guesstures : ) It really was quite fun!! Wish I could have had video of the other crowd (including myself!!). I love that Jason cares little about what others think and is able to let go of his inhibitions and have fun...I am working very hard on this!!

I know that I have said it before, but I'll say it again. Blaine Dawes does LOVE his daddy, it's so funny to watch him light up when Jason walks into a room...

A break from the chaos...

I have finally found a moment to sit down a write a few notes about the last few days. Since I last wrote things have continued to go quickly with the house. By the end of today we will have all of the flooring complete, running water, and by Monday we will be ready for a final inspections AND A MOVE IN!!! : ) Needless to say we are VERY excited. I will post pictures once we get moved in with furniture and ALL!!

As for the break from the chaos Jason left with Blaine on Tuesday and joined his family in Hatteras, NC for a Johnson family vacation. Of Course I had to work (and go to graduate school) so I stayed behind until after work on Wednesday and you better believe that I hopped in my car at 3:30 and rushed to get to my baby...and my husband of course!! It has been a beautiful few days here (as I sit in the living room of the house and overlook the water and the marina). Yesterday was my first day here, and we took the ferry over to Ocracoke Island and strolled the streets, stopped in for a couple of beers at Smacnallys (one of my fav. places), and snuck in some ice cream before we got back on the ferry and headed home. We ended the day with a game of Guesstures with everyone and I must say it was HILARIOUS, and I am NOT really good at it...but it was really fun. Today we have just relaxed up until now...Jason went out fishing this morning with Larry and his grandaddy and when he gets back we are heading to the beach for a bit with Blaine. We plan to come home pretty early tomorrow to check on the house and get ready for the week ahead. Here are a couple of pictures of us enjoying this nice getaway before the chaos of moving in...

Blaine playing with his daddy...

Blaine's first boat ride...


Ocracoke, at Smacnally's

A video of Blaine's first Hatteras trip. His first beach trip was to Pawley's Island, but this one was a little more fun for him because he is moving around pretty well!! : )