Carrie's Bathroom

Carrie designed our new bathroom.

It's still being built, but I figured I'd share some of the process and my wife's genius.

Why

Our master bathroom is a knee-knocker, literally. If you sit on the toilet you cannot open the door without smacking your knees. Personally, it's never really bothered me. My brain registered it as silly, I shrugged, and moved on. Carrie tagged it as something that needed fixing for future resale value of the house. She was right the last time, so she's clearly the family expert.

Slightly Back-posted: Daniel and Shane playing!

I tried my hidden and balanced phone recording trick again! Daniel came over to play with Shane and I on Wednesday for a couple of hours to give Daniel's Mommy a break. These boys are active! Daniel may be higher energy than Shane if you can believe it.

John and Shane

Sunday, Carrie had a Ladies' Night Out with some of her friends. They went to watch the new Muppets!

While Mommy was away, John came over and the boys played. It wasn't all X-Wing, though. 

Shane's the top of my priority list, so we made sure to play with him, too. He LOVES visitors. Anyone who walks through our door is destined to be Shane's next "best friend" in his mind. Why else would they visit?

John did a great job reading with Shane. He almost left with a memento, too!

Tree-Climbers Club

Shane discovered his latent tree climbing gene. It's now active.

Employment History: Home Owner

People say that owning a house is a lot of work; I say it's a job! There's always something to do somewhere. Maybe it's just us, though.

Currently, we're updating our master bathroom and painting. All the work has made me reflective. I sat down and made a list/timeline of all of the different improvements and repairs we've done since moving in. I feel like we've done a lot; A lot more than most people. My wife is a customizer. She's good at it, too. It gives her a creative outlet and our house is better off because.

I think the other part is our house is our main investment. Carrie is nervous about stocks; I want to invest somewhere; The house is a natural compromise. If it weren't for the area we lived in, that may not be wise. We made everything back we invested on the townhouse, though. That included remodeling two bathrooms, our front door, our back sliding glass door, and adding carpet to protect Shane from tumbles.

So, if you're curious, a lot of links and lists follow.

Where There's Smoke...

I used leave today.

I hate missing work. I don't always like going to work, but I'd rather be there than have work move on without me. I like to think of myself as reliable and you can't be reliable if you're not on the job. 

But I digress.

The last time I missed a day I was hunched over a toilet in December. Today, I stayed home to take care of Shane, so that Carrie could take the truck to pick up different materials and save us a bunch of cash in delivery fees.

Instead, the truck's passenger side wheel started smoking and smelled like burning. This, of course, happened while Carrie was 30 miles from home and ten minutes before Shane's nap time.

Thankfully, I was home. It turned out to be the perfect day to stay home. Originally, Carrie had talked about driving up to PA for a better deal. We decided it was worth a $150 premium to avoid a long haul. What a blessing! Carrie didn't notice the burning until she parked. She could have been on a highway further out with an open flame or smoke in her rear view mirror if we hadn't decided to pay more and stay local.

Shane and I drove down to pick up Carrie at the Ford dealership. One of the contractors told me there had been a recall on F150s that might be related, but that doesn't seem to be the case. We'll be out some money to fix the truck and we're forced to pay for the granite delivery, but I can't help but be thankful. I got to be reliable for my family. 

Oops! No Real Post!

So, I was going to post something tonight, but Iolas was in drag teaching Hercules how to dance. It was almost bed time by the time I sat down to type. I didn't want to do any of my current ideas unless I did it write (pun!).

I scanned through some old photos and saw this one. Shane's grown so much. We love you, Little Man!

Because They're Cute

Shane loves the sleeping bag. He can't get enough of it.

He doesn't like it when I get in, though. It's okay. I'm not as photogenic.

Actually, I take it back. He does let me in it if he can jump on me. I tell him I'm in a cocoon and he he bounces and wants to ride! Last time, I hatched and grabbed a blanket to be my butterfly wings. 

If Shane has a choice, it's Mommy every time.

Ouch!

Shane was wounded at Harris Teeter yesterday. 

No, it was not in the dairy section when he bumped into door and fell on his butt. That made him cry until he saw another little boy and promptly stopped.

Shane was hurt when he grabbed a moving cart wheel. The wheel pulled his hand forward and his skin pinched between the wheel and the surrounding metal (the caster?).

Friction burn. Shane didn't cry out or anything. I didn't realize he was hurt at first. I asked what happened and Shane told me that he hurt his hand. My brain didn't put two and two together at first. I asked "how?" Shane replied that he had grabbed the wheel.

Thank God, it was only a small ouch. It could have been worse. Kids are designed far sturdier than they appear! I hope Shane's learned his lesson. Don't shove your hand in moving wheels!

I'm glad that I stopped immediately when I felt the friction on the cart wheel. It wasn't a conscious decision. Shane likes to hang on and put a foot on the top of a wheel to apply the brakes on me. It drives me nuts. I'll stop the cart and stick him back in the seat if he does it more than once. I wasn't worried before, just annoyed. Now, I have a reason to be paranoid about it!

Anyway, we'll see if it scars. Chicks dig scars. Shane needs to collect at least a few of them to lead a full life and find a wife when he's older!

Daddy Socks

"He's wearing pantaloons!" Carrie laughed.

No, they're Daddy's socks. The sweat pants are tucked in. I'm shocked his feet fit into his shoes.

I want Shane to fill my shoes one day. I did not realize my socks were serviceable already!