One for the memory book

Kati Oliver — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 04:47:36 GMT

I often wonder what events, trips, activities and daily doings we'll remember later in life. The last few weeks will probably be one I'll remember for years to come. The last post described some of the craziness of our first remodeling job. This was Nick's last week of paternity leave and we've been finishing a few things in the kitchen and living room. However, we hit a new level of crazy when temperatures soared to 101, then 103 and then 107 degrees. I'm fully aware that there are other parts of the country where this is common during the summer however we don't have AC, no one around here does. With our house at 90 degrees we took to sleeping in a tent in the backyard with the boys. To escape the heat we decided to go bowling on Thursday afternoon. It was all fun and games until Spencer went trucking down the lane full speed and his feet slipped out from under him. A loud thunk, stars and sobbing ensued. By the time we got home he seemed fine and was chasing Carson around the backyard. However the next morning he looks like this.

This was odd to me since he hit the back of his head. I took him into the pediatrician and after a thorough check she said to keep an eye on him and sent us home with a list of symptoms to look for. By the time we got back to the house she had called and said that after talking with the other doctors she had changed her opinion and had already called Children's Hospital and they were waiting for Spencer to come for a CT scan. The other doctors thought the black eye indicated a high chance of a skull fracture. Like any mom I'm freaking out at this change in plans, let me add that we have Carson's science themed birthday party starting in 3 hours and the carpet guy coming in 2 hours. I'm torn do I go to the ER with Spencer or stay and finish Carson's party (which child do you save from the burning house?) I sent Nick, Spencer and Jamison to the hospital and Carson and I rush to throw together the rest of the science experiments and games. 20 minutes before the party Nick calls to tell me Spencer is in the clear, a concussion with a freak black eye from the fall. It's all good in the end, my baby is safe, the party was a blast, the weather stayed at a comfortable 84 degrees and my volcano cake turned out just like I hoped.

Pardon our Dust

Kati Oliver — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 18:53:33 GMT

With 4 weeks off of work (gotta love Microsoft paid paternity leave benefit) we decided to do a little kitchen remodel DIY style. I've watched plenty of shows and kept telling Nick "it can't be that hard". Well on shows they never show how the homeowners live without a workable kitchen, bathing their baby and washing their dishes in the bathtub at the same time. You never see them trying to entertain 3 boys under the age of six, 2 who are fascinated by power tools and one who loves to be held and still wakes up multiple times to eat at night. Well now we know. Thanks be to a hard working and handy husband, take-out and delivery, PBS, Disney and Noggin, paper products, sunny weather and good friends. Here's how it went down. . .

This is the before shot

Everybody and I mean everybody is expected to work in this family

New cabinetry and flooring

And here is the final result (almost) just waiting on the countertops to arrive. . . all done by us with very little cursing, minimal neglect to our children with our marriage still in tact and zero trips to the ER. However Nick swears his back will never be the same.

July 2009

One for the memory book

Pardon our Dust