The house

So it's been awhile since I gave an updated photo of what we've been doing with the house! Dan started working on the outside a few weeks ago and he just finished most of the painting besides a few touch ups for the bottom portion of the front of the house. He still needs to refinish the floor and install the new light fixture and we plan on getting a new storm door cause I think the style that's on there now hides too much of the newly painted maroon door!


As you can see, we're getting closer to a fully painted house! This year we're focusing on finishing all of the painting, fixing the leak in the slate roof as well as cleaning it (it's a slow leak so it's nothing major at this point but still needs to get fixed), repairing the woodwork on the outside of the house that needs to be replaced and painting the garage. He needs to tear out the lattice and replace it but that's nothing too major. We'd also like to re-grade the driveway and put down some crushed stone since it was a complete mess this spring. Dan was a landscaper in college so he knows how to put all of the stuff in so we're going to wait until next year to do that so that we can invest some money into it since we'd like to get some more trees and have some permanent plantings in the front of the house.

So while Dan figures out how he's going to paint the top of the house, we're moving onto the kitchen. We received our new sink base which is lovely and we've changed our plans a little. We were planning on waiting a few years to start the major demo, but I'm at the point now where I don't want to go through this all over again! So, the plan is to tear down the wall, refinish the floor and buy the cabinets piece by piece and then install them. We're still up in the air about the countertops, but we can always do granite tile for now and then upgrade them down the line since the cabinets are going to be a decent chunk of change. We're going to leave the bathroom updates for next year, but in the meantime we'll be installing a fan and new light fixture in the upstairs one which will be great since there is basically no proper lighting in there right now!

It's going to be a busy summer for sure, but I' m ready for it to be over with and I'm glad that Dan feels the same way.

Washable Markers

Thank goodness for the word washable!


I bought some washable markers at the store today to make Lilly's new potty chart for her stickers and she couldn't resist playing with them herself on the back porch.

Then yesterday right after she woke up she took off her pants and pull ups, grabbed a book and sat on the couch for a good morning read (hence the messy hair!)...


Things are going okay here. She had her three year check up the other day and normally I post an update that afternoon or the next day, but I needed some time to digest the news that Lilly most likely needs to see a speech therapist. Even now as I type this I'm crying because I feel like it's my fault. If she weren't born premature, I feel like she'd be caught up......and if I didn't have high blood pressure she wouldn't have been born so early. When we went to the open house for pre-school last week, I could hear the difference between her and the other three year olds so I think I kinda knew this was going to happen, but I think it's just natural for all parents to want the best for their children.

Her doctor said that she noticed that she's a lot more involved in things than other little girls her age. She likes to inspect things and she's really active. She said that most likely she's focusing on her motor skills over her language skills which also plays a role in her potty training which is still a work in progress, but she's getting better every day and I look forward to the day when I don't have to pick up any more pull ups until the next one is born (still awhile for that!)

So at this point we're just waiting to hear back from the school so she can get an evaluation. I'm not going to focus on it though and I'm not going to push her. We'll continue to read throughout the day, learn our ABC's and 123's (she's up to 15) and just play and have a good time together! I'm also going to try to not blame myself, but as most mother's know, it's hard not to blame yourself!

Pre-school

And so it begins! We headed to Lillian's pre-school open house today which I was excited about. I think mostly because I wanted to see how Lillian compared to the other kids. I know that each child is unique and their going to develop on their own terms, but it's hard not to compare to the other kids. Being around other kids, I can see where things are lacking a little bit and I think part of me expected it. Her doctor noticed that she was a teeny bit behind, but assured me that once she got into school and was able to interact with other kids that she'd start to pick up. Her speech has gotten a lot better in the past month and I've seen a lot of progress. She can count to the number 15 on her own and she's learning the alphabet song (still some gibberish in there of course!) She loves to be read too and that was really the only advice that we were given......just keep reading to her and she'll catch up sooner or later. So since that's a part of her daily routine anyways, nothing really needs to be changed on that front. Potty training though is numero uno!! I think she might have been the only one in pull-ups. So I'm determined now to get this accomplished this summer. I'm not going to push her and I'm going to let her make mistakes.

Tonight though she actually pulled down her underwear and sat on the toilet by herself without us telling her which was a first. She also put the little seat on the toilet in the bathroom by herself and went there as well. I know it'll happen when it happens.......just as long as it happens before she starts school!

She did EXTREMELY well with the other kids. She's always been one to just start talking to other kids and going up to them to start playing. She's certainly a little social butterfly and I'm thinking she didn't get that from me.......not that I'm not friendly or anything......just takes me awhile to warm up to people!! Anyways, I'm just so very proud of her and I know that she'll enjoy it there!

We'll hopefully be heading to the field across the street tomorrow since I found out from my next door neighbor that it's okay for me to take photos over their since the town owns it.......a great field and yellow barn......and you know me and my barns......love em!!!