My thoughts on... Moving

We survived.  I repeat, we survived!

Dare I say, it wasn't as bad as I thought?  I say that now, but if you would have asked me on Saturday I would have told you it was a terrible experience.  Even Cooper said he was never moving again and he is only 6.

You see, I don't like to think I am too A-type but when 65 boxes were dumped in my new house, the A-type in my took over.  I stayed up until 2am on Friday because I couldn't go to bed until my kitchen was in order!

The kitchen is missing a floating island that has to be off the floor for 1 week.

We were fortunate in that we didn't take a lot with us.  We furnished our old house well over 10 years ago and haven't updated anything since, so we I decided to update most of our furniture while we were at it. #expensive

We ordered this set in December before we bought our house and then we waited and waited then waited some more.  Finally in April, after we bought, the couches arrived.  I made them hold them and they delivered them on Saturday!  Exactly the same as our old ones (per James' request) except grey instead of blue.

Everything is moved away from the wall so the new baseboards can be painted....

The view gets me every time.  We back onto a green space and I have been sitting at the kitchen table with my coffee and laptop each morning in the sunshine.  I could get used to this...

    

I targeted the main floor first, emptying so many boxes, collapsing them and putting them in the garage like they will magically disappear if I can't see them.  Saturday it felt like a job that will never end.  By the end of Monday we are 80% unpacked.  The only things not unpacked are the office contents.  You see the desk isn't put together yet since it is hard to move once assembled and the baseboards only went on Saturday morning and then are getting painted tomorrow.  I have to live with the office boxes scattered around the main floor while the renos continue...

This photo was taken Monday morning and by the end of the day we were left with a bouncy castle we have to get rid of since we can't anchor it in our turf backyard and the shelving units we pulled down from the basement scrap booking room turned spare room.  Sorry if you are a scrapbooker.

 

Let's talk about moving with kids at 6 and almost 9.  They did so good.  They were involved in the buying of our house.  After looking at house for 2 years, they knew the drill.  They would head to the basement and check out the mini stick are while I would head to the bedroom to check out the closet.   #priorities.

They were so excited to take our new walk to school that we left at 8:30 am and arrived at school a solid 15 minutes early.  Thankfully it was a sunny Monday morning.   I was so happy to be able to walk with them on the first day.

 

Another huge pro to moving with kids at this age was a huge toy purge.  Our kids are not that into toys anymore.  They like their fidget spinners, their sporting goods, and their video games.  We did a huge purge and boy did it feel good!

Yesterday I spent the day organizing the storage room and labeling everything.  I have a few bins to buy and  then I'm done in here.

 

With buying new furniture comes empty rooms and mismatched furniture.  Our dining room chairs arrived on Saturday yet our table won't be here until July!

 

Overall it went good.  Better than I hoped.  I'm confident with our decision and love it more than the first time we looked at it 3 months ago.  We made changes to make it ours right off the bat, the floors, the walls, the railing (happening next week!), the furniture, come to think of it, we did almost everything!  During the past month I was a big stress ball but now that we are in the house it was SO worth it.  Ideally it would have been nice to get it all done before we moved in, life doesn't always go as planned.

The new owners moved into our old house yesterday.

I expected to be super emotional as I left the house Monday morning and locked the door but truthfully, it didn't affect me like I expected.  I looked around at my empty house that I lived in for so long and it didn't feel like home anymore.  I had just spent the entire weekend decorating our new house with all our stuff and watching our kids enjoy our new home.  I realized that we didn't leave the memories behind in the house, we took them with us.  

Our home is now our current home.

It has our stuff, our beds, our pictures, our people.  Home isn't the walls themselves but the people within them.  Once our stuff was gone and the house was empty, it just wasn't as sad to leave.

My final thoughts?  It was 100% worth it.  #noregrets

Spring Time Fun: Summer Plans

This week the blended blog is talking summer plans.  If you are hopping over from Sarah, aka my new BFF's, blogs, WELCOME.  Be prepared to get tired just reading my post.  I'm going to be totally honest here, this post is going to stress me out.  I know, before even starting this post, that this summer is going to be a busy over scheduled one.  The calendar is filled with all the fun things but we are on the go almost every weekend.  I am very aware that come September I will be exhausted and ready to just stay home.  Then hockey starts.

Let's get started...

Calgary Stampede

Courtesy of 2009

Every year Calgary welcomes the Stampede to the city.  There are parades, cowboy boots, parties, beef on a bun, jeans, beer, pancake breakfasts and all the other fun things.  It is fun, it is tiring, and ironically, it always falls on one my busiest weeks of the quarter at work.  This year we hope to bring the kids to watch the chuck wagons as they have never been to the Stampede grounds.  We take them to one of many free pancake breakfasts each year and they think that is the Stampede.  We know that once we take them once we'll have to go every year and I wasn't sure we were ready for that! In addition to the party, I'll also be partaking in the Stampede Road Race for the second time in preparation for my half marathon later in the summer.

Sara's Annual Visit

For several years now, one of my besties comes for an extended weekend visit with her 2 kids during the time that her daycare is closed.  The kids have so much fun and so do the Moms.  I looked back at old posts and found this photo of Grady and Aiden in the tub on their first visit back in 2011 when I was on Maternity leave with Cooper.  I can't believe that this year will mark our 7th consecutive year of the weekend visit.  Wow!

Kelowna

For the 6th year in a row we will be spending a week in Kelowna for our family summer vacation.  I love kelowna.  It reminds me so much of Hawaii except I can drive there. There are beaches, pool time, hot weather, and sunshine.  Win, win, WIN!  

Picture courtesy of 2015

Unfortunately we have to stay at a new house this year.  I think it is a downgrade because the view at the old place was phenominal.  The kids think we are upgrading since the new pool has a slide.  Happy kids = happy mom!

Meeting my New Niece or Nephew!

We will be making a trip back home to visit Blaire, Joel, and Baby B.  I think it is a boy.  No, maybe it is a girl.  I love guessing baby's gender but truthfully, I'm not very good at it.  I love that they went the old fashioned route and did not find out the gender. The anticipation is killing me!

Seawheeze Half Marathon

In August I will be (hopefully) completing my first half marathon.  And maybe me last.  I'm excited nervous.  I am so excited for a weekend away in Vancouver with 2 other Mom runners but I'm also scared I am going to injure myself between now and then.  I've always wanted to run one but never thought I would actually do it.  I've never run farther than 10km in one run.  This week calls for 11km and that will officially be the farthest I've ever ran.  Trust me, there will be lots of beer and pizza when we are done!

Comfort Camping Trip

Believe it or not, we have never taken the kids camping.  I used to camp before I met James, less after we started dating, and we have not actually gone camping since we got married almost 12 years ago.  I think James pretended to enjoy it in our dating years because now he clearly does not enjoy it.  When our friends invited us for a weekend of comfort camping, I was skeptical.  Our summer was busy and we aren't avid campers, it was James who said yes we were going to do it.  We reserved a sight knowing that we can cancel it before July 1.  It seems like a good way to ease back in... it has pools, hottubs, a playground, and there will certainly be beer and clam.  We can make this work, right?

Girls Weekend

Finally, the summer plans end with the most anticipated weekend of the year, our annual girls trip to Edmontong.  We eat at the mall. We sleep at the mall. We laugh at the mall.  We reminise at the mall. We do all the things, at the mall.  #myhappyplace

Courtesy of 2015

There you have it, my entire summer in one post. I'm sure you can look forward to detailed posts of how each of these events as they occur.

Now that I have tired you out, check out what Lana, my other new BFF is up to!

Tell me what are YOU planning this summer?

Saying Goodbye to our Corner Blue House.

Today is the day we say goodbye to our blue house.

James and I the day we moved in Jan 2004

While we don't actually lose possession until Monday, today is the day that the moving truck pulls up and empties the house of all the belongings that has made it ours for over 13 years.  Including us.  

I find myself feeling emotional over the thought of leaving it forever.  I find myself even more emotional at the fact that I will still drive by it all the time and potentially will see the new owners living in it. I'm OK moving out, I just don't like the idea of someone else moving in!

You see, while I am so happy to finally be done renos and to be actually moving into the house we bought almost 3 months ago, I liked that we still had our current house.  It is home.  I struggle with the idea of starting all over at the new house.  

I have so many memories in this blue corner house and I am scared that it will take months or even years before we build those memories up again.  I remember moving in with James after exactly 3 years of dating and our first fight being over me double dipping in the peanut butter jar.  Want to hear a secret, I still do, so maybe don't eat PB at my house.  Ha! 

I got ready for our wedding at this house.  We brought both our babies home to this house.  We've hosted countless Bbqs and play dates.  It is the only home my kids have ever known.  

This house has been great to us and I'm so sad to leave while at the same time being so excited to move into the new one. James says I can't keep both.  

The new owners are a young couple with 2 kids that look to be about 1 and 3.  I Facebook stalked them.  Admit it, you would to.  It makes me so happy to know that a family similar to ours is moving in and I know they will love it as much as we have.  

I have every intention of leaving the new owners a bottle of a wine and a note that tells them how I hope the house treats them as good as it has treated us.  I hope they take care of it.  I won't actually write the last part but I will be thinking it... ha!

Today is a big day in our house.  A day of change.  A happy day.  A sad day.  A day that I will remember for the rest of my life.

I'll leave you with a few pictures that we have of our possession day in 2004.  Look at the pink carpet and all the wallpaper... not to mention the roll of toilet paper on the ledge!  #classy

Look how young James looks!  This is the wallpaper (yes, more!) in our bedroom.

Candace happened to be in town the day we took possession and was staying with me, so she joined us for the walk through.

Wow, look at the peach walls...  What you can't see is the green and burgundy wall paper under the chair rail.  Now you can understand why the wall paper in the powder room of the new house had to come down!  Yuck!  But for the record, from what I could tell, it came down way easier than the old stuff in this house.  The painter had piles of it in very large rectangles that seemed to just peel off the walls.  #noregrets

Stay tuned for how the move went... post to come next week when I welcome you to our new home.  

Toronto: The Friendships

When the ladies of the blended blog met in Vegas last spring, I didn't go.   It was very close to our family vacation and I didn't want to be away from home again so soon. The second I started seeing their pictures I regretted my decision not to go.  They were having fun and I wanted to be a part of it.  I vowed then and there that I wasn't going to miss the trip if they went again the following year.

Shoe twining

It didn't come without a little sacrifice.  

We planned the trip over a year ago, choosing the destination and the dates well in advance.  The flights and hotels were booked.  Then we bought a house with an end of May move in date.

Some of us needed tuques.  I wish I would have bought one to.  Brrrr.

I almost cancelled.  

I knew that May was going to be a tough month and I had to decide what was best for our family and whether we would be moving on the long weekend which probably made the most sense.  James and I talked and I really didn't want to cancel if I didn't have to.   James insisted that we could move a week later an that I should go on the trip as planned.  So, we decided to schedule our move for May 26th, this coming Friday.  As a side note, our renos wouldn't have been done for the long weekend anyway so it turns out it was meant to be.

Showing the Americans our Canadian treats!

I really wanted to meet the ladies that I had been reading about for 3 years.  I know their kids names, husbands names, what they do for work, what they wear.... I wanted to meet them face to face, hear their voices, make them laugh and ask them all the questions.  I'm sure they would all agree that I succeeded in the question department! 

I didn't know what to expect.  I have a lot of in real life friends and I was a little skeptical about making new friends when I barely have enough time for my current friends.  That was the wrong attitude.  

You are never too old to make new Friends.  

These ladies offer so many different perspectives ranging in ages from early 30s to early 50s.  I loved listening to Lana and Andrea, fellow boy moms,  talk about the relationships they have with their now teenage and college aged sons.

My Mom Mentors

To hear Lana tells her son she loves him and knowing that he said it back at 20 something is exactly the kind of relationship I want to have with my boys.  They give a glimpse of what it is like to have adult sons and that they are still their babies.  I love hearing that.  

I had the honor of talking parenting with the other moms that have younger families like me.  No matter where we live, we all face the same issues with our kids.  It is always refreshing to know you aren't alone.

We talked about our families, our friends, where we live, our religion, our goals, our style.... no subject was off limits. Especially if you were at my table.  Ha!

Another Selfie!  At least it is in the privacy of the bathroom...

As I walk away from the weekend, I walk away with 9 new friends and a Deena that I've been lucky to have in my life for decades.   Each one of these friendships has grown exponentially because I was able to sit with each and everyone of them and talk about their lives.  Nothing compares to that.  

I am walking away with a renewed commitment to my blog and to the Blended Blog because it brought these new friends into my life.   I am in awe of how we met and how the relationships have blossomed.

Blogging is a community that I am proud to be a part of and I am even more proud to be a part of the Blended Blog.  Think about it, each of us left our family and friends to go meet a bunch of people we met on the Internet.   I can't believe our loved ones allowed it and didn't think we were crazy. We all took risks,  buying planes tickets and hotel rooms to spend an entire weekend with essentially strangers.  But risk comes with rewards and I think we've all been rewarded this weekend.

Thanks you TBB for bringing these ladies into my life.   I am proud to call them my friends.  

Toronto: The Agenda

I just spent an amazing weekend in Toronto meeting the ladies of the Blended Blog IRL!  It was such a surreal experience to see them and hear them rather than just reading and looking at pictures.  The weekend did not disappoint!  Deena was the ultimate tour guide and since I am usually the family trip planner it was nice to sit back and just enjoy.  I didn't even look at the itinerary which she so diligently sent out.  Oops.  I was relatively certain my bed mate wouldn't leave me behind and she didn't.

Grab your coffee, this is going to be a long post!  Why don't you just blog about it?  Don't mind if I do.....

The Travel

I was fortunate enough to share my 3.5 hour flight with the BFF, Dee.   Lana was supposed to join us but due to flight delays missed her connections.  Big fat BOO.  Deena and I talked for the full flight and the 2 hours before we left.  She may argue that I did all the talking but I did a little listening too, I promise.  We also passed the time looking at every. single. photo. I on my phone.  And apparently, I have too many.  Never a dull moment when the 2 of us are together.  

The First Meeting

Unlike most of the other girls, I wasn't nervous.   Maybe a little overwhelmed when we first walked in but not really nervous.  Deena wanted to hold my hand as we walked in and she had already met over half of them!  Dee and I were almost last to arrive so we were greeted by lots of hugs and welcome greetings from all.  One of my fears was not recognizing one of the gals or forgetting their name.  That didn't happen thankfully.  It didn't feel like meeting a group of strangers, it felt more like reuniting with friends you hadn't seen in a while.

The Sleeping Arrangements

I had the privilege of sharing a room with Deena and Lana.   I became the room DJ with all my 90s music instead of Deena's gangsta rap.  We stayed at the grand and it was fantastic, I can't say enough good things.  From the free breakfast, big rooms, fitness center and roof top hot tub it was fab.  I must say my only complaint was the dim lighting making it very hard to put on your makeup.

Dee, Sarah, Lana, Me - all twinning in our converse

Funny story about Lana.  When we had lunch on Saturday Lana ordered a what she thought was a Caesar salad.  She said I'll have a Caesar and pointed to the drink special without reading what it said.  When her drink arrived instead of a salad she gave it to me since she doesn't like Clamato juice.  Who doesn't like Clamato.  Lana is one of our American friends and didn't even know what a Caesar drink was!!!

 

Deena and I shared a bed and she only snored a little.  She was my alarm clock each morning only giving us just enough time to get up and ready before we met.  Us west coasters needed all the sleep we could get.  She started by setting her phone alarm on the first day and I told her it was too aggressive.  Day 2 we slept in somehow and I got a firm smack in the stomach telling me we had 10 minutes to get ready.  On day 3 I got a nice back tickle as a wake up call.  It just kept getting better....

The Wine Tour

To kick off the first day, we hopped on a bus tour from Toronto to Niagara with a quick stop at Pond View Winery.   I had no idea that Toronto even had wineries. Not to mention that the area provides 80% of the ice wine to the world.   We got to sample a red or a white and then sample an ice wine.  Personally, I didn't enjoy the red one but rumor is the white was decent.  Many of the Americans had never had ice wine.  I don't have it often but I sure do enjoy it when I do!

The Niagara Experience

I was so excited to see Niagara and if I were being perfectly honest it wasn't as breathtaking as I hoped it would be.  I think lots of if came down to the weather. It was much colder than I expected it to be and I shivered, all day.  It was overcast and the mist from the falls blended in with the sky making it hard to see.  It cleared up just as we got on the boat tour.   The sun felt great on our faces and just as we started warming up we drove straight at the falls and got misted and cold again.  It is definitely a must see but not at all as I expected.

The Mexican Joint

We booked a reservation at a Mexican place where we ended up having a 7 course feast.  It was amazing.  Absolutely amazing. I also consumed a few delish margaritas.

We all agreed that the corn and churros were the best.  Such a great was to try so many dishes.  I would never had ordered those 2 items.  Actually the item that i was considering ordering was in the menu and wasn't that good.  If I knew what the restaurant was called I would definitely recommend it!   When you share a room with the tour guide you don't have to pay much attention the schedule.  She just tells you where to be. Thanks Dee!

The Walking Tour

We were told to bring runners, or tennis shoes as referred to by the Americans, because we would be walking a lot on Saturday.  We essentially covered a large portion of the downtown area by foot.  And can I just say that walking around with a bunch of bloggers means everyone has their phone out taking pictures of each other or taking selfies or anything really.  Embarrassing....  With that being said, I have no issue using all the pictures they took to compose this post.  Sarah has mean selfie skills of getting us all in the picture!

My favorite part of the walk was graffiti alley.  It was actually a back alley that ran 2 blocks full of graffiti.  It really was something else.  Nicole is a photographer and offered to update our pictures for the blog with a unified look.   She did a great job if I do say so myself.  

The Shopping

We finally arrived at the mall for the first time at 3pm on Saturday.   To say I was gitty with excitement would be an understatement.  I love the mall and since I have not shopped in nearly 3 months I was ready for a little guilt free shopping.   Of course there was some twinning as there always is on girls shopping trips.   Sarah and I both bought this cute pink Kate spade crossover that they were practically giving away.   Especially if you were converting back to USD like she was!

 

Deena and I also bought the same black jeans from express which I was sad to hear is closing all Canadian locations.  Before it closed, I scored these great distressed leggings that may be the most comfy jeans I own and at a 30% discount!

The Hot Tubbing

After a mall dinner on Saturday we headed up to the rooftop hot tub.  Did I mention the weather was a little chillier than most of us packed for?   Lisa even bought a tuque, or a hat as the Americans call them, on the first day!  It was super 'crisp' on the upper level of you weren't actually in the hot tub.  But, they played music videos on a large screen that reminded us of the drive in and the view was phenomenal.

 

There may have been a little excitement when Dee pushed the emergency button instead of turning on he jets.   To our surprise no one came up to see what our emergency was and the group engineer figured out how to turn it of on her own.  I laughed so hard that my abs actually hurt the next day.  For reals.  

The Goodbyes

    

Sunday morning people started to head home in stages.    We are no longer saying goodbye to strangers, but to our new in real life friends.  I will be reading their blogs with a new light now having met each of them in person.   While I liked them all before, I have grown quite fond of these ladies and how wonderful they are.  Stay tuned for the next post on the friendships.  I just couldn't squeeze it all into one post!

What I learned this weekend? You are never to old to make new friends. 

five on friday

Yesterday I traveled to Toronto to meet up with the gals of the blended blog IN REAL LIFE!  This trip has been in the works for over a year and it has finally arrived.  While it is with a touch of nerves that I set out on vacation with 11 ladies, 10 of which I've never met (and of course Dee that I've known for over 30 years) I know it is going to be phenomenal.  I may have not met these ladies face to face, but I already know them and I know it will be fabulous.

Image courtesy of Living on Cloud Nine

In honor of the trip, this weeks {five} are the things I am most looking forward to doing this weekend.

{one}  Making IRL friends.  What I am most looking forward to is changing the status of my online friends to IRL friends.  Meeting the woman will be the best part of the trip.  It will be like a first date. There will be anticipation and butterflies before meeting.  The difference here is that I know I will be a good 'date'. I will get to hear their voices, hear them laugh, and learn all about my new old friends.

{two} Shopping.  You can't send a bunch of fashion bloggers to the city and not go to the mall.  That would be crazy talk.  Since buying the house I've lost my shopping mojo. All my time is spent researching house purchases, renovation, and furniture.  Boring.  I plan to bring the mojo out of retirement for the weekend!

{three}  Food and Wine.  I plan on indulging in a few (too many) glasses of wine and a few beer and clams.  We have to show the Americans how to drink a red eye.  Someone has to do it.  I am really good about making healthy decisions on a day to day basis but we have some reservations at some great restaurants where I plan to enjoy whatever I choose off the menu.  I did pack my gym shoes, just in case.

{four} Exploring.    I have only been to Toronto once about 15 years ago.  When I wrote the CA exam (formerly called the UFE) I was in the top 50 in Canada and they the company I worked for invited all the top writers to Toronto for dinner.  I was literally there for less than 24 hours.  This time I'll be with a few gals that have been there many times and can act as tour guides!  I can't wait to see what the city has to offer!

{four} Niagara Falls.   I didn't realize the falls was a bucket list item for me until the trip was booked! Now this is by far the thing that I am most looking forward to.  I know I am going to love it and want to bring the kids back in the near future.

Have a great weekend, I know I will!

On Giving Back

Last week I had the opportunity through work to volunteer at the Alex Community Food Center here in the city.  Per the website, it is described as the following:

The Alex Community Food Centre (CFC) is a welcoming place for people to come together to grow, cook, share and advocate for good food for all. The CFC provides people with access to high-quality food in a dignified setting through healthy meals and an affordable produce market. People learn cooking and gardening skills, and kids get their hands dirty in the garden and kitchen in ways that expand their tastebuds and help them make healthier food choices. Community members find their voices on the issues that matter to them, and people find friends and support. CFCs offer multifaceted, integrated and responsive programming in a shared space where food builds health, hope, skills and community.

The word we heard over and over thought the course of the session was dignity.  They want to provide healthy food to low income families in a dignified way.  They don't want to just feed them in push them out like other drop in centers.  They want it to feel like a restaurant.  You come in with your friends, sit down, and share a meal and some laughs.  They encourage you to stay as long as you want and to mingle with each other.  They strive to create a community atmosphere.  There are even social workers blended into the crowd to provide assistance to anyone that needs it.  It was a program that I have never heard of and one that I think comes with a tremendous amount of benefits for the clients and volunteers alike.

This is a sample weekly schedule for the center.  We were there volunteering for the Wednesday community lunch.  For an example of the quality of food that they were serving, ALL the volunteers ate the same lunch that was served to the clients.  I would NEVER eat the food they serve at the Drop in Center so I was a little leary when we were first told this.  But after reading the menu and watching them prep the food, I happily ate it.  That day we devoured Greek salad, a quinoa grain salad, a green salad and roasted veggies.  Super healthy and super yummy.

You'll notice that along with the free meal, they offer gardening classes, kids classes, budgeting and nutritional classes.  They are invested in the well being of the community members, not just feeding and dumping them. 

This center opened in fall of 2016 and is the first of its kind in western Canada though not a new idea, it is a new concept in our city.

This is where it gets real.  While I stood there in my clean jeans, a tee and a necklace perfectly accessorized along with my bright lipstick, I felt out of place.  I felt like I wanted to take off my necklace and rub the lipstick off my lips.  Simple every day things that I do without thinking while people, more than I care to admit, can't afford lunch.  Working people who can barely make ends meet.

I served old couples, young couples, extended families, construction workers, and individuals. ALL of them were so grateful.  My last client gave me a hug as a thank you after I placed her hot plate of food in front of her.  These people are no different than me, than us. Circumstances have led their lives down a different path and this is just what I needed to put things into perspective.

As I walked into the Alex center feeling stressed about my renos, I quickly was reminded that I have a house over my head.  Yes, the decisions are important to me but in the grand scheme of things, they don't matter at all.  If my walls get painted a shade darker than I wanted,  it doesn't matter. If my baseboards aren't painted when I move in, it doesn't matter.  I have shelter, I have food, I have family.  That is what matters.

I am so happy that my workplace provides the opportunity for us to give back to the community.  We help them, but in the end, they help us just as much.

Celebrating Mothers day

In my dream world, on Mother's Day we would sleep in until 9am and then the kids would be on their best behavior and tell me they love me all day and want to give me endless hugs and kisses.  Alas, that if not what happens.  We spend the day just like we would an other day.  We got up in the 7s, I make my coffee and called my mom who had already opened her Mother's Day gift because she couldn't wait.  Ha!

I got this photo of her on Friday wearing everything I had sent her.  It was a running theme since we are running a 5k together in September.

Then we went for brunch with Nana and James' brother and wife.  Brunch is a treat, so even though the food was mediocre, the company was fantastic.  I made the kids stop and take a photo as we left the restaurant.  It is scary how tall Grady is getting.  How can I be old enough to have an almost 9 year old??

 

While we were at it, Marla wanted a picture with all her boys.  A very good picture if I do say so myself.  A very good lookin' group!

 

After brunch we swung by the new house to check out the paint colors that went up this weekend.   Grady chose red.

 

When he first saw it he was so disappointed that he only got 1 red wall and not 4.  I told him that if he chose red that he would only get 1 wall but apparently he blocked that part out.  I think he is coming around though.  He doesn't know that for his birthday he is getting a bunch of Chicago Blackhawk bedroom decor, I am pretty sure he is going to love his new bedroom in a few short weeks.

Cooper loved his room immediately.  Ironically, it looks like Grady's room in our current house.

 

After that, there was a lot of packing.  I packed a box and would leave it for James to carry downstairs.  On Saturday morning I hurt my back carrying boxes.  It is so disappointing since I was supposed to go my second training run on Sunday morning and I couldn't.  It hurts to walk and to carry things.  I am hopeful that it will get better soon as I have a lot of running to do.

I ended the day with a long walk with a friend.  Both moms, both doing what we love on mothers day, exercising and catching up.  So while I didn't get my 7km run in, I did walk over 20k steps and that made me happy.

Happy belated Mother's Day!

My thoughts on.... being project manager

I tried to do a five of Friday post and all I had to talk about was house related items.  So instead on this bright and shiny spring morning we will talk about the Project Manager role that I have been doing that has been dominating all my free time for the past 2 weeks.

When we initially bought the house we knew we wanted to refinish the floors.  They were an orangey oak and really worn looking.  They needed a makeover.  We also figured we should paint while we were at it.  Floors and paint renos before we move in, I can handle that.

Within a week, James mentioned that we would also like to take down the popcorn ceilings and make it paint grade, aka flat.  I argued with him that no one ever walks into a house and say what nice ceilings you have.  The railing on the other hand is a focal point in the house and something I thought would make a drastic difference when you first walk in.

James' argument was that the ceilings can only really be done before you move in and that I agree with, especially after seeing how big of a mess it made! You would never subject your house filled with furniture to the mess that happens when you scrape all the popcorn off your ceiling, trust me.

So, before we knew it our simple little house make over turned into a minor renovation.  Not to mention that since we were doing the ceiling we opted for new lighting in the kitchen/family area and new baseboards since we had to take them down for the floors.

Our renos spiraled out of control.

Had I known at the beginning that our simple reno was going to explode into such a project I would have hired a project manager to handle it, but alas, that didn't happen.  Someone had to step up to the job, and that that person, sadly, was me.

You'll remember how stressed I was when we had 'contractor day' day at the house last month, well times that by 1000 and that is how I have been feeling every day since the contractors started.  From lining up the contractors, to having all the decisions made, to making sure they will all be done by the time we moved in.

I finally realized last week that in order to minimize the stress I needed to move our railing reno to after we move in which means a few nights slept in the basement with the kids.  As soon as I made that decision I breathed a large sigh of relief.

Most recently, we decided on a paint color.  The color the designer chose was just too dark after seeing it painted on the wall so we were back to the drawing board.  We had exactly 24 hours to pick the paint before we started holding the painter up.    I spent the night scouring Pinterest and reading about undertones of the various grays out there.  I picked a few of the most popular grays and just hoped that one of them would work.  We have a winner....

All the paint is Benjamin Moore, left to right:

1.  Revere Pewter

2. Gray owl

3. Balboa mist

4. Sandy Hook Gray

5. Stonington Gray

Funny story about the paint.  The color we ended up choosing was one I like from the beginning from my research on a 'safe' gray.  One that my MIL and many friends have used and loved in their places.  The designer felt that it looked green in our house based on a very small paint chip.  When I was choosing these colors in I added in that color as a backup in case we didn't like the others.  When the painter texted the picture I immediately knew the one that I was leaning to and go figure, it was the 'safe' color that I had chosen way back when.

What color was it you ask?  Revere Pewter, shown far left above.

The paint was especially stressful for me since there are way to many colors to choose from and will be on the walls for the unforeseeable future.  It felt like a huge decision.  I am confident that we won't regret this decision.

At this exact moment, I am dreaming of the day that we are moved into our renovated home and are unpacked.  A time when my only decision is what I am going to watch on TV or what book I want to read.  As we tick off the decisions we get closer and closer to this reality.  

When they say moving is one of the top 10 life stressors, they aren't kidding!