Bathtub renovation!

So for those of you who have been waiting impatiently, I will post the first mostly-finished "makeover" of our home. When we bought the home, our master bathroom was a wreck...a 1970's wreck, that is. Here is a picture of the shower/bathtub combo...

Yes, that is a sunken-in tub...very deep. Visions of "I've fallen and I can't get up" kept running through my head the first time I saw it. I actually attempted to get in, and let me tell you, I don't know how anybody would want to shower/bathe in that monstrosity and attempt to get out of it wet.

Ever since we were married, we had really bad showers. Too small, not enough water coming out, nozzle head at the level of your chest, etc. Well, no more. We got rid of the sunken in shower; my wonderful little brother mudded in a shower pan (basically made it from scratch) and I have spent the last month tiling...it wouldn't have taken so long if I was without kids, but Paula (mother-in-law) was gracious enough to watch kids while I was finishing up. These pictures don't really show it, but the shower head is almost to the ceiling...yes, even a tall basketball player could easily shower in it. We put in two shower heads, and I can hardly wait to take my first shower in it!

I still have a little bit more tiling to do, but the bulk of tiling is done. I told Brian that when we fix the other shower (not sunken-in, but chest level again) we are just going to put in a pedestal bathtub like such...no tile!

Haircut!

So this is not Ben's first haircut, but his hair was really long (as you can see by the previous post), so we decided to give him a haircut after Family Home Evening. He laughed when the clippers touched him, so it took a lot longer than it should have, but it turned out really cute!

He is such a handsome little man, and he looks a lot older now that his hair is shorter. Plus, his curly hair makes it really adorable. Yes I do take pictures of Lydia, but I couldn't find the cute pictures I took of her the other day, so you have Ben again. I will post for Lydia tomorrow, so until then, dear readers, good night!

My cute kids!

I would have to say that my kids are so adorable! Lydia had a friend named Andrew over today; he loves to climb trees. We have some old apple trees in our back yard, so obviously he climbed right up! Benjamin got it in his head that he could climb a tree too; I had to put him in and get him out, and he didn't move a muscle while in, but I got some really cute pictures of him. I also love that the leaves are changing color! Autumn is my favorite season, hands down!

Fear of a black president?!

So I know I just posted, but I really think that things are getting out of hand. Since life has been so crazy and I haven't been keeping up on politics like the "faithful" political scientist I am, I was quite surprised to see the news about the Representative from South Carolina being lynched for speaking his mind on President Obama's speech in the House. (Google it if you don't know what I am talking about...Joe Wilson "you lie" comment.)

What is asinine is the fact that Jimmy Carter, lousy president he was (yes, I did say it), came out to say that Rep. Wilson is being racist. Racist?! Since when did someone speaking out about their feelings on an issue turn into racism? The only reason this came up is because the president is black, but that is entirely beside the point. Had someone said that to President Bush or any of the other white presidents, no one would have batted an eye. Might it have something to do with the fact that the president's approval ratings have fallen faster than any one president in history? Might it be the fact that we have been lied to as the American public that "change" and "hope" were on the way? May it even be the fact that He is less than a year into his term and he has pulled the "religion" card out of his belt? (He does speak like a black televangelist, not like the leader of a nation, after all, so why shouldn't he do it?!) No, ladies and gentlemen, this whole issue came about because the world is out to get our "poor" president. And yes, if speaking out and saying that the president is lying through his teeth means Rep. Wilson is racist, that makes me racist as well.

(Side note: if you want to see the reference to the Jimmy Carter comments, go to AOL news. It should be the top story for now.)

Back from Idaho...

We made a blitz trip to Idaho this past weekend to go to my mom's wedding. (By blitz, I mean 32 hours driving in a 72 hour stretch...groan!) The kids were great, and we were able to stop in Twin Falls to see Brad and Katie (Brian's brother, for those of you who do not know). It is still so funny to me that Brad is in my old stomping grounds, and I am in his...kind of weird, I know. Anyway, back to the story, we stayed with Brad and Katie and went to 1000 springs and Niagra Springs while we were there. We got some really cute pictures of the kids that I thought would make a fun post this time.

Lydia would not let me do her hair that morning; she is probably the only person I know who can leave their hair alone and it will still look fabulous.


Baby Ruth (Brad's daughter) was thrilled to be in the hot sun...isn't she adorable?!

They were fascinated by the little fish in the crystal clear lake at Niagra Springs. You could see the vegetation in the bottom...yeah, it was that clear.

Ben looking in the crystal clear pool.

Ben decided to kick it root down on the way home. This is his new favorite pose while he is in his car seat (he also pulls his legs up so his knees are on either side of the seat). He is still covered with peanut butter sandwich for breakfast (you probably think that is all we eat in our house...but not so, just for the record)!

Lydia was coloring, as you can plainly see. What you cannot see is that our car was a wreck!

Ben before we left being a cutie!

In other news, our house is getting closer to being done. We have been painting and tiling up a storm. It is looking really nice, but I will wait until it is done to post pictures...you will be able to see the before and after pictures when I do that. Plus, it still looks like we haven't done very much, when in all actuality we have done a bunch to get it livable!

I can't believe that my kids are another year older, almost. Lydia will be four (Oct. 29) and Benjamin will be two (Oct. 19). (Benjamin is getting a train cake for his birthday and Lydia is getting a ladybug cake.) How time flies when you are having fun! My kids are so amazing and adorable; active, energetic and curious. Lydia has started reading words and can count to twenty. She loves playing in our huge back yard, and I love that they come in smelling like dirt...lovely smell! Lydia also is great with cooking. She loves to help make dinner and treats. Benjamin has started asking questions like, "Train, where are you?" "Where are you" and "I love you" sound a lot alike, but you can tell the difference. He is also very wonderful about picking up his toys and putting dishes in the dishwasher. He helps with laundry and shares amazingly well. He also loves pointing out body parts, and still calls his belly button his "duh duh." I am completely blessed to have such amazing children!

One last piece of news, and I am going to go...I decided that I am going to attempt to make challah bread today...wish me luck! Maybe I will post pictures of the results...which reminds me I want to share my favorit web site with everyone. Go to her site, and drool over all the yummy things she makes.

http://www.smittenkitchen.com/