I last posted after a flurry of stressful spring break projects. I am happy to say that in the time since, things have improved greatly!
We went off to Mom's for Easter weekend. Andrew cried for a good 2 hours on the way there; mercifully he was in better spirits on the way home. He is getting to that age where he is too old to sit in the chair for so long, but not old enough to watch a movie on a portable DVD player. We will have to plan our car trips more carefully now.
It was a little too cold to be very active, but we did get out to the park on Saturday. Andrew loves climbing on the playground equipment and watching other kids play, even if he is too young still to join in.
The rest of the week was one of the busier of my life. Grades were due on Friday, to end the 3rd quarter. I was a little behind because I had some things leftover from break. There was also a hole in the living room wall and a dusty mess - which had to be dealt with because there were people coming over on Saturday. So each day I got home from work, put in a few hours worth of drywall work, cleaned up, and graded for a couple hours. Thankfully Rachel pitched in on both tasks after Andrew went down.
Rachel and Andrew had to find alternate places to play (and do chores!) with the living room off-limits.
We were worried about the drywall, because the wall was not flat and being able to fill the space without looking too ugly would be a challenge....and the previous drywall challenge in the kitchen did not reveal my most stellar work. But with a renewed sense of urgency, I laid nice wide swathes of mud in three coats and furiously sanded it smooth on Saturday morning. By 10am, the wall was painted and the job was essentially done (except the trim).
I left at noon to go to Wisconsin, having only partially cleaned up. Rachel spent time that afternoon scrubbing and rearranging, so now the place is downright spacious!
-alan
We went off to Mom's for Easter weekend. Andrew cried for a good 2 hours on the way there; mercifully he was in better spirits on the way home. He is getting to that age where he is too old to sit in the chair for so long, but not old enough to watch a movie on a portable DVD player. We will have to plan our car trips more carefully now.
It was a little too cold to be very active, but we did get out to the park on Saturday. Andrew loves climbing on the playground equipment and watching other kids play, even if he is too young still to join in.
Mom bought a grill, which I helped to assemble. Now Rachel can fulfill her dream of eating steak when we visit Michigan. I just need to learn to cook it correctly!
Before we left, we had planned to go bowling to take advantage of $1 per game bowling at the local alley in the AM hours. However, will all the activity in the living room we never had time. I had ripped out several feet of floor boards along the wall where the fireplace was, so that I could seamlessly install new wood.
I went for the cheap option - unfinished stock oak boards from Home Depot. The size was perfect but the color is so-so. As long as some furniture is in the corner, though, we will be ok. It was fun to use the nail gun (borrowed from the neighbor) and the finish sander I picked up on clearance a few months ago. Add that to my list of new skills.
After coming home from Michigan on Sunday, we had a chance to go bowling on Monday because I had a bonus day off. Andrew liked hanging out on the alley and crawling around on the slick wood floor. In game two I rolled 230+ and had the mom's on the next lane cheering me on :)
The rest of the week was one of the busier of my life. Grades were due on Friday, to end the 3rd quarter. I was a little behind because I had some things leftover from break. There was also a hole in the living room wall and a dusty mess - which had to be dealt with because there were people coming over on Saturday. So each day I got home from work, put in a few hours worth of drywall work, cleaned up, and graded for a couple hours. Thankfully Rachel pitched in on both tasks after Andrew went down.
Rachel and Andrew had to find alternate places to play (and do chores!) with the living room off-limits.
We were worried about the drywall, because the wall was not flat and being able to fill the space without looking too ugly would be a challenge....and the previous drywall challenge in the kitchen did not reveal my most stellar work. But with a renewed sense of urgency, I laid nice wide swathes of mud in three coats and furiously sanded it smooth on Saturday morning. By 10am, the wall was painted and the job was essentially done (except the trim).
I left at noon to go to Wisconsin, having only partially cleaned up. Rachel spent time that afternoon scrubbing and rearranging, so now the place is downright spacious!
Wisconsin was a lot of fun - I am the best man in my friend Tom's wedding, so we traveled to Lake Geneva for the bachelor party. I won in bowling and Catan, but was sufficiently humbled in basketball and ping pong so I think it all evens out. Now pictures to show from that trip....but you wouldn't expect any, would you?
There is a wedding this weekend to look forward to - and then the ACT will be given for the first time at Ogden next week. The academic year will be over before I know it.
Finally, Andrew is showing more independence, particularly at mealtimes. He points to request what he wants to eat. He grabs the spoon from our hand if we try to feed him. And he has not quite gotten a hang of using plates yet...
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1 comment:
love the picture of Rachel & Andrew on the bed! :-)
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