Remodel - Kitchen

When Liz and I decided to buy this home, we were able to see it, not with actual eyes set in reality, but with remodel goggles on. We saw the home for what we want it to look like one day.

People always say how much work goes into buying a house. Up until recently, I hadn't really felt the same way. Sure there were a lot of papers to sign, but it wasn't that bad.

Then we moved in.

If we left everything the way we found it, we would be able to survive pretty well. It would have been a little smelly and quite outdated.

Well, I decided that I would rip everything out of the kitchen and get it ready to put in new cabinets and things. Easy peasy lemon squeezy. What I failed to realize is that everything I take out of the kitchen, needs to go somewhere. So, while I'm ripping things off the walls and moving appliances, I realize that they have to go somewhere. Now, our fridge and stove are hanging out in the living room and all of the broken cupboards (broken because it was just more fun) are in the dining room.

Time for some visuals. Kitchen as it was before we moved in.

And the kitchen as of Saturday.

Along with finding only what I hope is a greasy film on everything, I found a few things that are cause for concern.

Water damage.

I believe this looks like a fire hazard. This is what the oven hood was wired in to.


Needless to say, this isn't turning out to be as lemon squeezy as I thought. It's definitely going to be a slow process, but the results should be worth it. I just hope I don't burn the place down in the process.

Jesse

Puppy Update

Quick update on the puppy.

First: We have decided that his name shall be Duke. Duke Michael Duckett. Thanks Sarah Paul for the suggestion. You win. :)

Second: Duke got really sick last week. He had contracted Parvo. Parvo is a super serious disease that affects puppies before they've received all of their vaccinations. Parvo is transmitted through fecal matter. we believe he contracted it from the "common pet area" at the condo. There are a lot of owners who were not picking up after their dogs. I've written a very stern note for these owners. However, it would not be very Jesus of me. Puppies that are diagnosed with Parvo are given a 50% chance of survival if it is caught soon enough. Essentially Parvo causes the dogs to die from dehydration. Duke was taken into the vet last Thursday morning and ended up staying the next two nights. It was a pretty tough time for us. As if we needed anymore things to land in our lap at one time. It's amazing how quickly something can grab a hold of your heart strings.

Third: Duke is doing great!! We got to bring him home Saturday evening. He's back to his normal hyper self and eating his food as though there are still 9 other puppies trying to steal it from him.

I don't have a picture of him from before his vet stay, but here is one the day before we took him in.

Oh, he's the brown lump in the shopping cart.

Jesse

The New Member

Friends and family, we'd like to introduce the newest member of our quickly growing family.

I'd tell you his name, but honestly, we haven't come up with anything we really love. So right now we just call him Puppy. Sometimes Liz calls him Baby but then I get really confused when I'm trying to figure out which baby just bit her or which baby is kicking. Seems easy, but I can be easily confused.

So if you have any suggestions for names, we'd love to hear them.

Here are some pretty adorable pics:



We really debated on when we should get him. We wanted to get him asap because, i mean, look how completely adorable he is, but we also wanted to wait until we finished moving. But we decided on the impulsive approach and picked him up from my parents house Saturday evening.

We figure that having the puppy will help Porter adjust to having something small around the house before the human baby comes. And, considering that Porter is going to lose a fair amount of attention, now he'll have someone to play with and talk behind our backs with. As much as we would have liked to say that getting the puppy was for Porter's benefit, Liz and I have sure learned a valuable lesson about whining and crying (sometimes screaming banshee style) in the middle of the night. Turns out that having this puppy now, is great practice for these to-be parents.

We had this great little rotation going on Sunday night where I would get up with the puppy, then Liz would. Then I would. Then Liz would. It worked out pretty perfectly, minus the not sleeping part. It's like we had this sixth sense about who's turn it was. Perfection. Turns out, it was not as smooth of a process as I realized. I guess Liz got up twice as many times as I did and I slept straight through the majority of the crying. I think Liz is more prepared for parenthood than I am.

Maybe we can just call him iPuppy, then upgrade him to iDog.

Even if sleeping has been better. This little guy sure is adorable. We're very happy.

Jesse

Fun With Pets

Here are a few cool pictures we took of our hairy children.

Samson really like to drink out of anything with water in it. Especially the fish bowl. So we fille dup this mug and he is constantly drinking out of it. I think he uses this mug more than the water bowl that is next to his food. Sam hearts NY.

I think this is just a right time, right place kind of picture. Liz was holding out the mound of hair that she had just brushed out of Porter and it look slike he really feels bad about it.

Jesse

WE BOUGHT A HOUSE!!!

That's right boys and girls. Liz and I are homeowners!! We closed on a house in Pacific last Thursday the 12th.

Here is a picture of our new casa:

There is a lot of work to be done, but we believe that this is the house that is most perfect for us. Perfect size, perfect for the dog and cat. Perfect for us to raise a child/children.

We are very excited about all the years of memories that we get to start in this home.

Jesse