Sleepless in Stanwood

I'm starting to lose sleep over the addition! Look at how close we are to "moving in". Of course there's a lot of finish work to do that will take all of February, probably, but I'm so excited I can hardly stand it!

Inside

Downstairs Playroom

Doors From Left to Right:

Guest Bath, Toy Closet, Guest 1, Guest 2

Standing at the same spot downstairs, turned slightly right

Office

(door on left is Guest 2)

Upstairs

Laundry Room
Upstairs

Master Bedroom from Master Bath area

(dark doorway on the right is directly across from the laundry room)
Master Bedroom

Looking towards the master bath area

(standing in front of the windows in picture above)
Master Bath

Standing in the walk in closet (solid wall in picture above)

(looking at the toilet room, shower on the left)

Happy early Birthday to Me!

The Baking Center

Before:

After:

Happy Birthday to me from my in-laws and my husband's hard-earned money. It is a little early, but I couldn't pass up this little treasure!

I saw this hutch at a local Vintage Shop (Poppyseeds) and thought it would be perfect for my baking center area that was just a makeshift area in the kitchen - useful, but not permanent. The hutch was painted blue, which was really cute, but didn't match my kitchen. I offered a deal and a new paint job. They were happy to do it and here it is.
(Now it is time for some cute, non-see-through baskets)

p.s. I can't wait to show you the other items I bought from Poppyseeds. Three pieces that are going to become the sinks/vanities in each of the new bathrooms.

House update

This picture was taken one day before they finished the siding on the front of the house. The general contractor has moved out!

I was finally able to get to the backyard without sinking ankle-deep in the mud. So here's a view you haven't seen for awhile. It makes the current house look tiny, but it is actually 162 square feet bigger! :o) The new part has 10' ceilings so it made it look really tall. I didn't anticipate that.

It is supposed to be insulated today and drywall starts Monday...we'll see. It is pretty quiet over there this morning.

Only two more years...

The first thing Tessa tells me on her birthday is, "Only two more years until I'm a teenager!"

Oh groan!

She made a very impressive mark on the growth chart this time. Growing more than 2 1/2" in six months!! (The previous 6 months was about 1/2".)

As always, the favorite "birthday cake" is something ice cream.

It was ice cream bowls this year.

Some kids move out of their parents' room as they get older, but Tessa is moving in!

In just a few short weeks she will be kicking us out and moving completely into her new room/our old room. She's already starting to setup with her new birthday desk, lamp, chair, and digital camera. Many, many dreams came true this birthday!

A four year old's concept of age

Kaylee says:
When I was 1 and 2 I was a baby.
When I was 3 I was a little girl.
Now that I'm 4 I'm a big girl.
When I'm 8 and 10, like Trevon and Tessa, I'll be all grown up.
When I'm 70 I can drive! ("drive" is said with such glee!)

I decided to keep the house and enjoy the addition for 20 years, or so.

How did our first day of homeshooling go, you say?

Excellent! The kids loved it. They were a little pushy at first, constantly wanting individual attention, but soon learned how to be patient and work independently. At three o'clock they wanted to keep going! I was ready for a break....like to start dinner or something. We'll just stick to substitute teaching on No School days!

Eli was much more interested in snack and recess, than abc's and math facts!

Big changes at the Anderson house

I'm putting our hilltop waterfront property up for sale and starting homeschool tomorrow!

Until now we've only had a waterview property. Today we nearly have a waterfront property so it looks like it might be a good time to sell. :o) Oh, and the siding is finished on the back side of the house. That will help, I'm sure, if someone isn't sure about "the house with the unfinished project".

After 3 missed school days for snow; 2 days and counting for flood; and 2 full weeks of winter break we are going to hit the books bright and early tomorrow morning. (Plus, they'll be missing 2 weeks in March for a trip to Cancun.) The kids are too wet outside, too bored inside, and too irritable with each other so the lesson books are coming out. Eli will be joining us again, as his nanny is flooded in. He'll be learning his abc's and math facts 0 thru 9. Next week we'll start him on multiplication and division.

This is a picture I got from the local news. It isn't our exact view but very, very similiar to the low farmlands just west of us.

This is a landscape/firewood sales establishment not far from our house. It is completely underwater. When I drove past it today I saw a little car just barely above the water level. It is definitely below the surface in this picture. In the very center of the picture there's a tiny black dot beyond the establishment. That is the top of a stop sign. The stop sign is next to a park and ride (widely known as the "park and swim") that is 6+ feet under water. I understand a levee broke and flooded into Stanwood this evening. The water in this picture would have flooded to the right, directly into the town.

So far our friends in the farmland areas around here do not have water in their houses and the water is receding. yeah.

Christmas 2008

~Christmas with the Smith Family~

Christmas day was full of fun...after a white-knuckle drive to Enumclaw!

A White Elephant Gift Exchange

Just a few of the treasures...

A magnifying mirror...I never have liked those things. See what they do to your image?!

Grandpa got a matchbox car and several other goodies from one of the boys' overflowing toy boxes.

Randy is ready for the kitchen

Auntie Beth is pretty proud of her new travel case

A midnight snowball fight among the cousins

I thoroughly enjoyed kicking up my heels with a baby and a magazine while everyone else kept busy with games and food prep. This was my first time to see my great niece Ellia. She let me rock her for both naps. What a perfect little baby girl.

One of the many gaming tables

Uncle Marvin came down from AK to surprise the family.

Kendal and Pam hosted brunch and a Show and Tell.

Grandpa and Tessa played a duet. Tessa played several other pieces too, as duets and solos. She had a her first recital (that her mean mother MADE her do) in the beginning of December. She decided then and there that she was NEVER going to do another recital. She must have gotten the performance bug because she kept volunteering!

Anderson Christmas at our house.

Jared loves to eat so much that he even tried out the new plastic drumstick.

The Anderson grandkids

What on earth was I thinking??!! An indoor basketball hoop?! This was a purchase for the playroom that is not complete yet. Its completion will not be soon enough. My entry has turned into a gym, kitchen, and storage room.

Ping Pong Ball guns. Grandpa and Trevon had way too much fun.

A nice Christmas Carol to finish the festivities.

Misc. December

Some cute December pictures.

Look closely at Trevon's mouth! He used to feed Kaylee and would do the same thing! So cute.

Brich Bay

December started with the Sister's Weekend in Lynden and quickly moved to Grandma and Grandpa weekend at Birch Bay. The kids got to spend some time with G&G while Randy and I went shopping for the house. In all the looking we did, we bought 7 lights!! Not exactly the high priority, but they were the only things we found that were "just right".

House update

There's not a lot to show since the last post...windows are installed, doors got put in yesterday, plumbing is done, the house is wrapped in Tyvek and ready for siding today. The electrician should be out this week. Then it is insulation and sheetrock. Then....we get to take over and finish it!