Little helpers...

Tomorrow we have a bunch of family coming (thank you, Keith!!) to help tear all the siding off the whole house in preparation for the new siding coming next week! So tonight after dinner we had a little prep work to do...the kids jumped right in to help! I am pretty much useless so I took every opportunity I could to capture their busy hands in photos...

Andrew removes the house numbers with dad's cordless drill...


Both kids worked hard to take the corner pieces of siding off that they could reach. Each piece is attached by 2 aluminum nails (which are not magnetic so they have to be careful not to drop them in the grass because we can not go back and do cleanup later with a magnet like you do with regular nails)


Emily LOVES to wear Kelli's bike helmet...she was like our little inspector...checking everything out, including the beautiful blooming spirea bush...




The nail bucket...


She disappeared to the garage and came back with this broom obviously on a mission...she was chatting something the whole way, climbed up on to our retaining wall with it and marched it right over to Brian...




Kelli was loving that Daddy had bought her new work gloves and was excited to put them to the test...


She was having such a hard time with this nail that was just at the wrong angle and a little out of her reach...I found the continuous shoot on my new camera and put all the shots together in this little video....

All Framed Up!!

They got the interior of the addition all framed up today!! It is so fun seeing it all come together! Here is the quick run down

Walls are going up!! Whoo Hooo!!!

Things have been quite productive around her the last couple of days!! I ran out to ask the builder a question yesterday morning and we had a wall up!! I did a little cheer! I am sure the guys thought I was crazy! It is SOO fun to see it coming together! The downside is that it looked much bigger on paper, but it is going to be SUCH an improvement and be so much for family friendly! Alot more happened today, I haven't been able to get out to take pics yet...I am trying to take it a little easy today! I had about 2 hours last night of consistent, yet irregular contractions and I am just not ready to have this baby yet!! I will get out there though after Brian gets home and take some pics of todays progress! Also...Emily her first follow up appointment after having her tubes but in this morning and he said that everything looks perfect!! Praise God for that!!! With the exception of just the tail end of my cold hanging on I think we are all healthy!!! Someone please knock on some wood!!! Enjoy the pics! I added a few of the beautiful blooms from our yard too! So thankful for warmer temps (but praying they don't get too warm too quick...my personal thermostat reads about 15 degrees above actual!! I had the air conditioning on in the van the other morning...I was sweating bullets and it was only 59 out!!!)!

Addition Update

No new progress yesterday...lots of rain. Today they got the basement walls formed up and as we speak they are pouring concrete into the walls! Tomorrow the forms come off and they pour the basement floor! It is SO good to see things moving in the "putting back together" direction!! Demo is fun but this is SOOOO much more exciting for me!! We are doing good and are thankful for the help so many are offering! Yesterday I finally started thinking about making some preparations for the baby whose arrival is sneaking up on me! I bought some diapers, found some onsies to be washed and am just mentally processing for what is to come! Brian is back to work and I am most concerned that he is the one that gets overwhelmed as he has way more to do with this project than I do! He has to work all day and then come home and work on the house! Bless his heart! He is a good man and I am SO thankful for him everyday! I told him the other day...4 kids seemed so overwhelming...now as we wade through 2 surgeries, multiple sicknesses, an attic remodel still in progress and of course this new addition process and then adding another family member in the midst. When the addition is done and the attic is done and everyone is settled in their new rooms, having 4 kids is gonna seem like a piece of cake! =) (I know that is a stretch, but let me cling to that for now!! =)) Anyway...here are a few pics from today!!



Kelli and Andrew watching from their bedroom window

Extreme Home Makeover Demo day!

Well it has been quite a day around here! I took way too many pictures to post all of them on here, but they are all kinda cool, so I just threw them all in a quick video! Saves time for all of us!! SO it is all uphill from here!!! New footings being poured tomorrow!!!!!! Praise the Lord!!!!

The Temporary Kitchen Set Up

Lauren and I emptied all the "china" out of the cabinet and it works great with food stored in it!

We are using 99% disposable products so there aren't many dishes, although I am washing the plastic cups and silverware, so we just drop what needs to be washed into the red bucket and then in the evening after dinner it's upstairs to the bathroom to wash dishes!! =) Once I can easily get outside I will probably do them with the hose....there is just something not right about washing dishes in the bathroom! =)

The Littlest Patient

Emily had her ear tubes placed this morning and did a great job! We had to be at the hospital at 545 this morning. They got her all ready and took her back to the OR at 710. The guy that came to get her was super nice and when he asked her if she was ready to go, she put her arms out to him and didn't hesitate a bit! I was so shocked at how good she did that I didn't even cry....for like a minute...and then of course I did a little bit...come on...I am a mom AND I am pregnant AND I haven't gotten hardly any sleep because of this stupid cold! She was in recovery by 730 and back in my arms at 746 (not that I was keeping track or anything!). She was very fussy when she came back. They had warned us about that and we remembered Andrew doing the same thing when he had his hernia surgery. They say that kids coming out of anesthesia just don't know what they are feeling and don't know what they need. After not quite a half hour she calmed down and then very quickly was getting back to her normal self. She had some yummy apple juice and teddy grahams and we headed for home shortly before 9! The doctor said there was thick glue-like fluid behind both eardrums and that it would not have cleared up with any other treatment than getting in there and getting it out. So he cleaned it out really good, sent the gunk to be cultured, and then put the tubes in. She will get antibiotic drops for 7 days and then we follow up with the ENT doc in 2 weeks and then every 6 months until the tubes fall out. They can stay in for up to 2 years. Thank you so much for all your prayers!


In the waiting room...


Daddy getting me dressed in my hospital gown...


Mommy time...


Back from the recovery room trying a drink of apple juice...







All tuckered out...



Ready to go back home!!


Back at home feeling good enough to sit at the table and have a snack! A mouthfull of grapes...

My Sweet Kelli...

Today my sweet Kelli turns 5. I was thinking back today to the day she was born and the day before and thought I would just share from her baby book what I wrote down about the story of her birthday...

When Daddy came home from work on May 6th, I told him all the events that had happened that day, and that you would probably be making your entrance soon! Dand had plans to build a retaining wall the whole length of our driveway that coming saturday and we debated whether we should still order the blocks? We decided that we would go ahead and order them because if you decided to be stubborn and take a few more days then daddy could still work on his wall! So that night after dinner Mommy, Daddy and Andrew took a trip to Menards and ordered everything Daddy would need. We went back home and got Andrew in bed, picked up the house a little bit and then mommy and daddy got settled in for a good night sleep too! At 2am I woke up and my water had broke. I woke daddy up and told him that it was time! He called Grandma Mauch to come stay with Andrew. As soon as Grandma got to the house, Daddy took me to the hospital. I still was not having any contractions. My friend Tracey got me all settled in my room, then Beth Post, a nurse mommy worked with for 5 years, took over. I had my 1st contraction at 3am and then things went quickly from there! Our midwife, Kim, arrived and said I was dilated to 7 centimeters. I was doing well, staying calm and using breathing to keep me relaxed. Daddy helped me into the shower to see if that would help and it did! So I stayed there for a while and then back to bed. My body was telling me that it was time to push so I did and 20 minutes later I watched in a mirror as you delivered! Kim laid you at the food of the bed and daddy and I kept looking trying to see if you were a boy or a girl?! Kim finally siad, "It's a girl!" We couldn't believe it! We were sure you were going to be another boy! What a wonderful surprise! You were born at 641am weighing 8 pounds and were 21 inches long! We Love you, Kelli Renee! Welcome to our family!"

Just a few weeks old...



5 years old...

Pics of the day...May 7th

Today Brian pulled off all of the aluminum siding from the part that will be demo'd on Monday. The siding will come off of all of the house over the next couple of weeks as the whole thing will be resided.




Lots of holes!!




The wallpaper in the bathroom (it is actually kinda cute...old fashioned toilets and bathtubs)

Some of the details

Okay...well I figured I best get some of the details up here before I don't have the opportunity to do so! I am sure there will be a million pictures I could put on her over the next weeks and I don't want to overwhelm you so I will do this post and then maybe a picture of the day or something like that until the baby comes and then you may just have to come visit to see the progress that has been made! =)

So here is the current set up from the outside...


This whole back "leanto" section of the house will be demo'd (Extreme Home Makeover style with backhoe on Monday!!)




Faded section will be gone



The roof lines are exagerated here, but this will be how the new addition will sit. There will be kitchen on the left and a large laundry/bathroom/mudroom on the right.



The total addition will be 26.5 x 14 glorious feet! I can hear that kitchen's heart beat already!!