Pure, Simple, Fun

We went up to Hallowell to visit Jen, Jess and Sam on Memorial Day.  It was a beautiful day and the kids enjoyed every moment.We did not know it would be a pool day, so the birthday suits were all we had...

I love this one since you can see Lexi in the background going down the water slide.

Thanks to Jen, Jess and Sam for an awesome day and for some delicious lobster and steamers!

Sundae Bar

Memorial Day weekend consisted of many dinners with friends for us.  The first was with the Porada family.
After a yummy grilled dinner we indulged in a Sundae Bar.

Have you ever done a Sundae Bar?  The kids were the excuse to do it, but I think it's actually the adults who appreciate it.  Yum!  Words cannot describe what ensued when Heath discovered this delight.  Heath previously did not like ice cream.  I think this experience changed that.   Luckily this was all outside and we have nice friends who didn't mind that their deck got a bit messy. (Note the results of the haircut from the last post.)

He was completely disgusting when he was through, but it was entirely worth it!

Buzz

We had a great long weekend kicked-off on Friday.  Patrick got off work early for the holiday weekend (thank you LL Bean) and I took the opportunity to sneak away and grocery shop without kids in tow. When I returned, Patrick said, "Please don't be mad at me."
"What happened?" I replied.
"Well, I cut Heath's hair like you asked...and...it was hard, so I just gave him a buzz cut."
"You didn't!" I said a bit shocked, having a fear of buzz cuts on kids (not sure why).
" I did.  And it looks kind of good," he said.
Heath was already in bed at this point so I ran up wondering what I would see.  Luckily he wasn't in a full slumber so I didn't startle him entirely when I swooped him up from his crib to check out his hair.

Well.... let's just say he looked entirely different.  Almost like a different kid.  While Patrick did do a good job, there were still some longer pieces making it look like his hair fell out instead of being shaved on purpose.  (All things Patrick was able to fix the next day after a little prodding from me.) Below are some recent pics from before his buzz cut.  Patrick likes to say his hair looked like a greasy teenager.  Sad, but true.  You'll see shots of the buzz in the next post.

Camp Porada

We call it Camp Porada and it's actually our friend's house. 

Background: In early September we were lucky enough to meet the Porada family.  Betsy (mom), Mark (dad), Carolyn (big sis), and James (little brother). They've become a part of our weekly (heck daily most of the time) routine. As coincidence has it, Betsy also went to Colby, but we did not overlap during our undergrad years. Carolyn and Lex attended preschool together this year and became fast friends.  James and Finn are just 8 months or so apart in age and are also connected at the hip.  Heath is clamoring to become part of the boys crew.  Without the Porada family Maine just wouldn't be the same. This post is a big thank you to them for helping our adjustment to Maine go smoothly.  As the kids would say..... "Hooray for the Poradas!" and then, "What's a Porada?"

Here are some photos from some of our adventures with the Porada family.

Peek-A-Boo indoor play space - Lex and Carolyn

James and Finn at Greenlight - another indoor play space

Buddy James

Carolyn hanging at our house

Pensive Carolyn

End of Year School Party - Carolyn and Lex

The Real Camp Porada - Fun in the backyard

Thank you Porada family for welcoming us to Maine!

Working Double Time

There were a lot of commitments when we moved into this house of what we would renovate. Patrick is great at doing things on his own, but it comes with some patience and long hours after full days of work. Not an easy task. Let's not forget we still have 3 kids under the age of 5 too competing for his attention!

Here's the tally of renovations Patrick has complete since we moved in to our home in November...

Master (See DIY):

• Tore up very yucky carpet in the master and put in Australian cypress wood floors
• Added overhead lights (thank you!)
• Painted
• Painted the master bath

Lexi's Room:

• Tore up more gross carpet and replaced it with wood flooring
• Painted
• Added overhead lighting

Finn's Room:

• Painted and added overhead lighting

Heath's Room:

• Painted and added overhead lighting

Kitchen/Family Room:

• Painted and added overhead lighting (good-bye dingy yellow!)

Guestroom:

• Built from scratch....pics follow

These were taken in February after Patrick had already been working on the room for a couple of months. Framing the room, adding electric, and insulating.  It was just unfinished basement storage beforehand.

This corner is framing for the bedroom closet.

Fast forward to many long nights and a pending visit from my mother to push Patrick to finish.  Here's the completed bedroom as of the end of May 2010.

This is the door leading from the other side of the basement to the guestroom.

Looking into the room, here's the closet door and new wood floors/baseboard.

Custom wood beam in corner of room.

New completed electric and furniture, art, etc added

It's cozy and ready for more visitors!

Thanks to my driven and handy husband. Next project: first floor bath. Stay tuned.