The Moment We've All Been Waiting For...

Please keep in mind that while we've completed 90% of the work, we still have some finishing touches to make (installing trim, painting the walls, putting up curtains, etc.) And, also, try to imagine the "old" space smelling like dog and cat pee, hair and other vile things I shall not mention.

KITCHEN : Before

KITCHEN : After

KITCHEN : Before

KITCHEN : After

KITCHEN : Before

KITCHEN : After

BATHROOM : Before

BATHROOM : After

FLOOR DETAIL : I still have to paint the baseboard trim.


And fiddlesticks on those of you who don't like what my mama and daddy have been working on!

Working in a Coal Mine

This is the window countertop/bar that Mr. Fixit Sr. put in Saturday. I am excited to have an eat-in kitchen. I put the first coat of poly on about half hour ago. I will paint the legs white to match the cabinets.
Installation of said counter.
Ta-da! I can't find the before picture, so this will have to do for now. And, it's very very messy. But, I wanted to post what the kitchen sort of looks like.

From This Media Center to Yours

I thought I was being clever to quote a song I heard on "The Office," whilst other more "media savvy" folk were aware of the original song. I got stumped! Anyways, so Heather gets mention because she knew the original song and Whitney gets mention for the Scranton party part. I had to laugh at Erin's comment:

"ps. I used google to help me with the coolio reference... "I got sides in my rides and motion for your ocean. Coolio got the potion to get the party open."

Very well said, Erin. Thank-you for the extended version!

This was fun. Maybe a giveaway of some kind is in order for the near future.

I'm enjoying my after-church pork and beans with hint of lime chips. What are you eating?

"Ain't no Party Like a [Cleveland] Party..."

The first person to know what I'm referring to gets mentioned in my next post!

So we've been chipping away at the old block (Did I use that phrase correctly? Oh well...) Meaning, working on this house. It's coming along, don't get me wrong. We've got some finishing work to do on the kitchen and then we'll be done (mostly) with what we had set out to do about 4 weeks ago when we got here.

Above picture: Brother Fixit installing media counter. "What is a media counter?" you ask. It's for our computers and my sewing machine.

Junior Plumb-bob trying to help "wurhk hass," translation: work on the house.
Miss Toots sporting her older brother's do-rag (spelling?) so much more pleasant than he ever did.

Sleeping so seriously...

Sleeping so chubbily...I can't get over those rolls on her right leg, so soft and perfectly folded over each other.

Special Day

On our way to the Amasa Stone Chapel on the Case campus. If I have one picture with Finn pushing his truck, I have a thousand.
Inside the chapel.
Travis receiving his white coat. It's a ceremony they do every year for the incoming class. The students recite an oath and they have speakers. Then they call each student's name and put their "student doctor" coat on them.

I had a "defining moment" while I was sitting outside the building during the ceremony. I was sitting on the lawn eating take-out Chinese that we hadn't eaten yet because we were running late. Finn would not stay quiet inside and so I was stuck outside with my two kids. I thought, great, this is what my life is going to be like for the rest of my life, missing out on things to keep my kids satisfied. I didn't come to a peaceful resolution to that thought, but I realized that now I can't just do whatever I want. I am tied to my kids. Like it or not, that's it.
Our "happy family" once again takes a classic shot. I don't think we've ever had a family picture where both Finn and Lucy are smiling.
CWRU Dental Class of 2011.

Finn Turns Two

On Saturday past, we celebrated the second birthday of little Finn-Bob. In the past two years, he's grown from a little tadpole into a small frog, metaphorically speaking. I got to thinking about what lies ahead (preschool maybe next year) and I thought of how precious the time is. He is pictured above with the truck Grandma Gigi gave him (which he loves...both the truck and his grandma).

We spent the morning of his birthday walking to yard sales. We managed to make it home with this heavy load (notice the 10 lb. dumbbells for $1!!) Then Finn wanted to go to the library and walk across the bridge that goes from one building to another. We ended up getting there at the magic time when the toy room was open. You can imagine his delight. He loves nursery and anytime he can play with toys and other kids.

It wasn't hard to convice the neighbors to join us for the Bob the Builder ice cream cake. They have four kids and they are alot of fun to have next door.
Out go the candles!
And.....as a sneak peak for a more finished look of our place, here's the kitchen backsplash tiling. Keep checking....next week I should have a picture of the final product!

Progress and Rainshowers

Here's Miss Lucy Toots at the scene of the renovation.
Here's Finn enjoying his first real Mid-Western thunder shower. Wanted out bad.
One down, nine to go.
Here's T. Handyman grouting the tile.

"I'm handy with love and I'm no fool..."

Slowly But Surely

1 industrial strength sander+ 2 rental days = 8 rooms' floors sanded bare
Underneath the dog-smelly carpet was sticky vinyl tiles. Using a small heat gun and scraper, we pulled each tile up individually. Underneath those tiles, the big reveal: wood floors! Then, some adhesive remover and razor scraping and it was time to sand.
Finn got his kicks by helping me pull nails out of the kitchen floor. I said, "Good job!" each time we got one. Sometimes he jumped the gun and yelled, "Good job!" before we even got the nail out. That is tar paper over wood.
T. Schuller here putting cement on the bathroom floor, in preparation to lay tile. I had already picked out white hexagonal tiles for the new floor, when Travis discovered the original floors were the same hexagonal tile! I must be in tune with this house! We still put new hex tiles in because the old ones weren't in good shape.
The old cabinets were gross, so we decided to do a budget kitchen makeover. Budget = Ikea, so here is the assembly in action.

I will post more pictures. When all of this is done, I will post before and after pictures. It's so fun but so exhausting at the same time!

Happy Fourth of July Everybody!

The Fredin Family (including Pa-Pa Duh and his fabulous wife) watched the fireworks blitz at the Town Hall Center by the bandstand in New Lenox, IL. It was classic: pops band playing all the patriotic songs in Rogers and Hammerstein fashion. I rocked Lucy in my arms as the fireworks lit up the sky above us and Finn sat with Grog (Grandma) Fredin. Since our trek out East, Finn has taken to Justin and his dad very well, just like he does most men and boys. He tackled some 5 and 6 year olds tonight that were three times his size. He gets it from his uncle Andrew.

If you're wondering what I've been up to, go HERE.

And P.S.: Whit and I had the most enjoyable 3-hour tour of Ikea today. I fell in love. It was an apron-front sink. Sorry Mr. Tarantula.

Backtrack to Sunday...

...when it was Travis' birthday! Happy Belated Birthday! To the hardest working guy I know and the only one who can tell me to chill out.



We met in Fall 2003 at a CES Fireside. I had just gotten back from living in Boston and I had sworn off single's wards. I asked Michelle Spurgeon about the guy who sat by us at the fireside and she said he played the guitar. Bingo! My ticket: so I told him my sister Emily and I were getting together to play guitar and sing afterwards (We are? Emily said right in front of him).

Anyways, it turns out we ended up dating for several months and got married April 24th, 2004 in the Columbia River Temple. I couldn't have picked a better match for me.

Time and time again, he his patience and humility have inspired me. He doesn't fuss over the small stuff, though he pays attention to details when he needs to (like when he's restringing his guitar, for example). He can fix anything. He knows when I need my space or when I need to just get out of the house.

To my favorite running buddy: Happy Belated Birthday!

(Orange font? His favorite color, of course!)

Cookies Are Gross

Finn threw up tonight for no apparent reason.

I am a little concerned as he tends to loose his cookies about once or twice a week. Usually, as in the case of yesterday, he takes too big a bite and that triggers the gag reflex. Yesterday, as I was packing, he stuffed one too many Reece's peanut butter cups into his mouth, and- poof!- up came the upchuck.

I'm not sure what the second puking of yesterday was all about.

All I know is it concerns me and I'm sick of smelling the sick smell of sickiness.

And, furthermore, I'm sick of washing laundry.

Now that I'm done complaining, I will just say that packing is among the top of my To-Do List and will remain there until this place is neatly boxed up and ready to ship out (i.e. next Thursday morning).

Goodnight. Cookies and milk. Cookie monster.

No upchucking the cookies though.

Get Me To the Church On Time
Although I don't have shots of the actual reception, I can show you what was hanging from the trees as guests walked down the sidewalk at the Swanberg's house. The real flowers were on the tables.
This filled the planter. Sisters Shoemake and Andelin, among others, were working the whole day, doing everything from ironing tablecloths to grilling taco meat. Spectacular! I am grateful the day went so well and I'm happy for Lauren and Sergio!

Oh, They Say When You Marry in June...
This is me, after the pins have come out of my hair. I was trying to sport a new 'do for Lauren's wedding and it turns out I looked like Amelia Earhart (probably after her capture by the Japanese).
This is Finn getting his hair cut. He actually likes the clippers and buzzing on his head.

It takes two to make a good haircut. Little Finn Bob was being patient. Now that pincurls are out of the question for me, what kind of hair should I wear? Right now my "social" 'do is a mix between Barbara Walters and most new anchors across America.

Hey there, Tiger!

The two ruffians are watching TV together in this shot. I tell you, I feel like I've been cooped up in "The Coop" all week long. It's not necessarily bad. I have been packing and it's been rewarding watching calculatedly decorated wall arrangements disassemble into compact taped boxes in a matter of seconds. My stuff is reduced to what I can safely take across the country in a Penske truck. DVD's and videocassettes: check. Glass containers and rarely-used dinnerware: packed. Winter coats and children's gloves and hats: yup, got it. My living room is now a big heap of boxes and bags waiting to be thrown into the back of a 26 foot moving truck.

Another bonus of moving is trying to use up your food storage. You know, those bags of peas that you stocked up on, thinking you would make soups in the winter. And, frozen chicken has now become the signature ingredient of the week. Tonight I made chicken fettucine. Last night was something with chicken (I can't remember what). Anyways, I enjoy using stuff up and this is a good time to do it.

Lest this post become user unfriendly (not enough subtitles and pictures), I will end. Travis and I have been running together in the morning and that has been a highlight of my day. We've been married three years and I think have only run together once until now. It's great.

Happy blogging and clogging (if you like that sort of thing)!