New Construction - Shabby Chic

This weekend Erin and I were jamb packed with stuff to do. It's getting down to the wire for Leonard's "big day", and there is still a lot of things to do around the house. But we made some real progress this weekend. Erin finished painting the book shelf and got the fabric wrapped and put on the top. It looks really good. She did an amazing job. I'm still kind of amazed with how crafty she is at times.The photo doesn't do it any real justice because I had to use my phone. We've resolved ourselves to the unfortunate fact that our camera is officially lost. So, if anyone has $250 lying around and wants to get us a new camera, please feel free. ;-) Just kidding (though not really).
As you can see, the floors are still unfinished. I've got about half the room left to sand (belt sander busted on me at the halfway mark...how depressing), but I have assured Erin that it will be done before Leonard arrives home. (fingers crossed) Also, this weekend, I completed my first construction project in our new home. We used to have this jukebox that came with the house on one wall in the dining room. It was my intention to clean it up and get it working with some funky old records and what not. That obviously hasn't happened and it was just taking up space. So, the jukebox got moved out to the front porch for now and in it's place I constructed a countertop for Erin and all of her scrapbooking craziness. Again, the photo does not do it any justice (see above). But Erin loves it and that is all that matters. I think it's an awesome addition to the dining room, and not having the jukebox there really opens up the space and gives us a little more room to move around. I also built her a small cubby shelf to hang right above the countertop, but I haven't figured out how to hang it yet.
That was Saturday. Saturday night we did dinner with Erin's parents and sisters down at Donna Maria's (this little mexican joint down the road from our house). It was fun...until Duane spilled salsa down my leg... :-\ oops. Ha! Sunday would have been a busy day of yard work, but someone decided that they needed my lawn mower more than I did, so that was shoved off the "to do" list. Oh well, mowers are cheap. So instead I rearranged the living room and laundry room to make things a little more spacious and open. The old homestead is really coming together. It seems like every couple of weeks we find things that we can do without, so we get rid of it. There is this book that I want to get. It's called "Small Houses". It's a book of houses under 1500 square feet and it gives ideas of what can be done with very little space.
For now things are going good. Erin is doing fine with her pregnancy. She's getting to the uncomfortable stage because Leonard is growing and she isn't, so he's running out of space in there. We're down to 4 or 5 weeks till "the big day", so mark your calendars for the first week of July. It's going to be so awesome!!! :-)
Ok, that's enough from me. I've got to get back to work and then get over to Erin's parents' place. It's her mothers birthday today and we're doing smoked chicken and roast beast! Duane is a master with the smoker and grill. I shall never follow in those footsteps, I am unworthy. Till next time, we love you all! Stay funky and don't let "the man" get you down!

Ciao.

"Complete Birthing Class"

Erin and I are taking the "Complete Child Birthing Class". It's pretty cool. I've already been through it once, but a lot has changed in the last 10 years, let me tell you. And St. Vincent's Hospital is so much more high-speed than Camden County. So far we've been learning about the birthing process, the different stages of labor and the emotions and physical transitions of each stage. It's rather fascinating to watch. We also learn different techniques for the "support person" (that's me) and various ways that I can help Erin through the whole delivery process.
I have to say, I am so excited about our pending birth. It's such an awesome opportunity to be bringing another life into the world, and to be able to be there through all the "firsts". I honestly can't wait to be a new dad all over again. Especially now, when Alexa is going through so many changes that I get to help her walk through and she can grow too with Leonard, being a big sister and all that goes with that emotionally and developmentally. She's going to learn so much from this whole experience. It's going to be so amazing to watch.
We still can't find our camera....it has so many pictures on it too!! Ugh, our house is a black hole right now, so bear with us. We'll have new photos soon, I promise. Till next time.

Ciao.

What's da Happs!!??

Hello all! Well, there will be no cool new snazzy photos this time around. The usb to the camera is missing and I'm too busy (i.e. lazy) to go and get a new one. Rest assured that we are all well. Erin is getting much bigger and Leonard is kicking and rolling around like a gymnist on crack. Oh, and Erin has a 4.0 GPA in school, so be sure to send her huge congrats on that. She has been working extremely hard to keep up with classes and still be the most amazing wife for me. Eddie is...well, Eddie. Still has that sort of vacant look on his face when you don't have food in your hand, but we love him anyway.
Things are coming along with the house. There are some issues to take care of, of course, but it's still all ours and that is awesome. I'm still in the process of sanding Leonard's floor so that we can refinish it. Kind of getting down to the wire on that one, but it will get there. I'm doing well. The new job is starting out pretty darn good. I've got plenty of work to do, I enjoy the people that I'm working with and I feel like I'm actually contributing to the buildings that I'm working on. So, things are going good. We are both extremely excited about Leonard being on final approach, as it were. We're taking our lamas class. Man, that has changed a lot in the last 10 years, let me tell you. Much more high speed now-a-days.
So, that's about it for now. I hope everyone is well. We love you all. Till next time.

Ciao.