car trouble and decorating

So most of you got my email about my car accident but for those who didn't:

I was driving to the doctor about a bad bee sting reaction when a horrible driver decided to turn left in front of me while I was going 50 mph.  I can't believe we both walked away without major injuries.  I have some serious whiplash that has gotten worse by the hour.  Chris hogan picked me up from the accident and took me home.  I'm so so thankful none of the kids were with me.  I made it to the dr in the afternoon and got some good drugs.  Wes came home from California early.  Glad Lynda was here to hold down the fort until he got home.   Oh, and I'll be driving a mini-van for the next few weeks.  Don't laugh too hard.  Here's a pic I snapped before they towed my car.

 

Traffic was shut down both directions on the 2nd day of school.  Oopsie!!

I originally was going to the doctor about a bee sting I got on Sunday.  Reese and I went to Sunday morning meeting while Kaitlyn kept Stella and Drake.  Then we ran errands.

Getting back into the car, I felt a sting on my arm.   Never saw the bee but wow, did it hurt.  I haven't been stung in over 20 years.  And that reaction was quite bad!!  I remember going up to Chester pool looking like the elephant man.  Here are the progressive pics of my current bee sting:

5 minutes after, not too bad

5 hours later, a hard welt about 6 inches across

Today, hard welt is still there with a bruise in the center.

So the doctor gave me an epi-pen for future stings that are above the chest so my throat and face don't swell.  And as long as this one doesn't get infected, Benadryl and Cortisone should do the trick.

But let's get to the important stuff.  The house!!!  Here are some improvements made this week.

We have a pantry door!!!  No more barricading the food supply with boxes so Reese doesn't eat herself silly.

And see those cherry tomatoes and plant in the foreground?  Those came from the garden next door and taste like candy.  Wes and I will have to take gardening lessons from her.

Here's the half bath downstairs getting some color from some Marshall's prints that used to hang in Stella's bathroom.  Can't see from this picture but they are bold colors.  

The kids on their playset.  If we go out first thing in the morning, we beat the heat.

 

Here's another tour of Stella's room/playroom.  

Sneezing is funny.  This one is a few weeks old but so cute.

odds and ends

Had a LONG day of unpacking.  Here are some cute videos I took of the kids throughout the day.  The first time you watch this video, watch Reese and Stella chasing the ball.  The second time you watch it, just watch Drake and see him blow bubbles with his spit.

Drake and his fake laugh.  

Here is a 360 degree tour of Stella's room, where we added a wall and a closet.  

Guess who can climb stairs!!!

Flexible Reese talking on her foot phone.

YIPPEE!!!

There is so much to be excited about!  After a LONG day of moving, we have everything in the house and it's time to start unpacking.  And there are a LOT of boxes.  I'm pretty sure our toy collection multiplied while it was sitting in storage.   So I'm trying to take it room by room, but it's a slow process.
Here are the pics of the house after Wes and I cleaned all day Friday.

Now here are a few pics of the progress in each room.

Let's see my new kitchen table!!!!!  The girls love sitting on the bench and eating snack.

The guest room is the storage room for the next few days until I can organize the rest of the house.

Stella's room/playroom.  This was the open area at the top of the stairs that we walled off.

Reese's room

The master bedroom with another round of cleaning.  

Wes cooking dinner in our new kitchen!!  

They love being big girls.

Nice hair, Reese:)

Cruising!!

Soooooo, I still have a lot of work to do so I better sign off and get to it:)

Can't wait for y'all to come visit us!!!!!!!!!!  The guest room will be ready soon!

Getting closer!!!!!!!!

Painters will be done tomorrow at noon!!  Steve, the head honcho, is meticulous.  I had made a list of a few things that needed to be touched up but before we could cover it, he pointed those items out and a few more!!  He is pickier than I am!!  And I have to brag about my negotiation skills.  I talked him down (way down) on the price - our friends just had their walls painted (no trim) and paid much more than we did for walls AND trim!!  I also talked the deck guy down $5000 on the deck bid.  And the deck is looking fabulous.  Pretty much done.  Just waiting on the railings, which is turning out to be a bigger job than they bargained for.  Here are some pics.

It looks dirty in these pictures but they were just getting ready to clean it.  Super happy with how it turned out. 

Lots of cute kid pictures today.

Guess who is at the bottom of the stairs?????  Daddy!!!!!!

Drake loves being part of the crew.

Stella bit me when I was putting her teething medicine on her molars.  OUCH!!

Reese loves having her hair put in a ponytail.  She only lets it stay for 2 minutes and it is the world's tiniest ponytail.

This girl LOVES ice cream.  As soon as she's finished, she chirps "more, more, more???"

So Stella would only eat the juice of beef bourguignon.  No meat, carrots or mushroom.  Just the juice.  But she loved it!

Look how blonde Stella is getting!

Sigh.  Still the cutest baby in the world.

what a mess

The house is a disaster.  Hard to believe it will (should) be finished in less than a week.  Here are the first deck pictures that I couldn't get uploaded before.

Stack of cedar

Starting the staining process.  Love that they are staining the boards before installation.  Will make for a much cleaner finish.

Finished with the staining.

Lots of railing to be sandblasted.  This part is taking the longest.

The inside of the house is where it gets really messy.  Everything covered in plastic.  

This is the desk that is in the upstairs hallway.  Will add shelving eventually.

The girls playing together, kind of rare.

I'm standing by myself!!!

Wearing her Sunday best.

Reese loves having Drake crawl on top of her so she can tickle him.

Daddy got us a big balloon!!