Construction update

Here are a few before and after pics one week into our home fix-up! They are staining the hardwoods today, so we should have some new floor pics this weekend. We picked a darker color than was there before.

Carpets gone!

fireplace stove removed, floors sanded, fan gone, new lights

A special thank you to Gary Greenberg, who has been working alongside the construction crew to make everything perfect!

Egg hunt-in the rain

This morning, Ethan and I awoke to the whistling wind. Not a good sign for our planned outing to spring fling--a spring party and egg hunt we were planning to attend. But it was going on rain or shine, and we needed to get our of our apartment so Jason could sleep (he worked last night) so we headed out with hoods on. It was raining so hard I couldn't get any good pictues without getting the camera wet, this was the best...

Quite a few people came...which was surprising considering the wind and torrential rain. But Ethan loved it and "got it" a lot more than last year.
Afterward we headed inside to hear some children's music, and had the chance to take a pic with the Easter bunny--very cute!

Lemons!

Now you may be wondering why a picture of 2 lemons is front and center on the blog.....
Well, it's because they are from our new lemon tree!!
We took possession of our new house today--we have a big lemon tree in the back yard, as well as an orange tree. The oranges are a little small, but some of the lemons could win a size competition.
Tomorrow the real work starts--we are having the floors redone, the place painted and the family room fireplace remodeled. Stay tuned for before and after pics!

Crissy Field with Shelby

Check out this great pic of Ethan and his friend Shelby at playing at the beach in Crissy Field. We are so fortunate to live in such a beautiful area!

First Time Skiing

We finally got some much needed rain earlier this week, which meant snow up in Lake Tahoe, so we headed up into the mountains this weekend for some fun winter activities.

We enjoyed sledding, snowball fights, and most of all, cross-country skiing. The last time we were up in Tahoe cross-country skiing was before Ethan was born--although you may remember, we did go skiing when we were living in Boston. This time we figured he was old enough to try it out on his own.

He actually did pretty well, considering it was his first time. He couldn't go for too long though, so the rest of the time Jason towed him in a sled.

He enjoyed this considerably more than last time!
We spent most of the day outside and got a great work out. I have a feeling Ethan will be a great skiier someday!

Sweep Away the Monsters

A couple of weeks ago after reading the book "Where the Wild Things Are" a few too many times, Ethan started having nightmares about monsters. He would wake up in the middle of the night, screaming, "the monsters are going to eat me all gone". Not fun, especially at 2am. Then it got to the point that he didn't want to go to bed either. He told me that the monsters were under his bed waiting for him. Where he got this idea from, I haven't a clue, but if there is one thing that I don't deal well with, it is bedtime battles. By the time I finish work, drive home, make dinner and clean up, the last thing I can handle is having a child that won't go to bed. So I set out to find a solution.

Luckily, one of my colleagues had a great one: the monster broom. I was armed with a new plan.

That night, I got a small broom out of the closet and shared my new knowledge with Ethan. "Ethan, mommy's friend at work told her that monsters are afraid of brooms. Right now we are going to sweep all of the monsters out of your room. Afterwards, we will leave the broom by your dresser so that they stay away. FOREVER."

I have to say, he looked a little skeptical when I swept the floor, but he did make sure I got underneath the whole bed. That night, when I tucked him in, I reminded him that the broom would keep the monsters away all night long. And voila, he went right to sleep, and didn't wake all night long. Amazing. Since then we have not had any issues. I am forever indebted my friend for the brilliant idea that allowed me to resume a peaceful night's sleep. Now lets hope he doesn't learn about witches!

Happy Belated Valentine's Day!