Bathroom Remodel Part III

NOPE! NOT DONE YET!

But soon...at least that's what I have been promised. (Fingers crossed)

Stay tuned for more photos and updates!

Bathroom Remodel Part II

So, I guess that my timeline was a little bit off...it's Friday night and my hubby is only just finishing up on tiling the shower, so I my estimate of being done by the end of the weekend is probably wrong. I would now say that maybe we will be done by Memorial Day(?), but that might just be a little too tight also...we will have to see. ;-)

On the other hand, what is done looks absolutely wonderful! My hubby, might be methodical at his tile work, but I will have to say that everything is absolute perfect. If anything, my hubby puts his all into whatever task is at hand, and he makes sure that it is done correctly. He doesn't like to have to come back and fix mistakes, so he makes sure that it is done right the first time. I have started to notice this tendency in my son now also...when he plays with his cars they all have to line up just right, when he helps me to put away his clothes they all have to be in the correct place and when he is doing an art project everything is straight and even. That is definitely something that he gets from his daddy...I am the exact opposite. I am more creative, emotional and a little more scattered in my thoughts and how I approach life. I think that is why my husband and I work so well...we balance each other out!

Here are a couple of photos of the progress so far...please cross your fingers that we can finish it up quickly!



And here is my favorite part so far...the shower floor. I just LOVE this tile!

Bathroom Remodel

About a month ago, I noticed a wet spot on the wall in our master bathroom. It was about 3 inches in diameter right where the glass shower door meets the wall. My husband and I were a little worried about mold, so we knew that we needed to do something about it...and soon!

My hubby had planned a week of vacation for himself this week, so last week he decided that he would tackle this project while he was off. The first conversation that we had about it was just talking about repairing the drywall and resealing the door to prevent further leaks. The next day we talked a little more and decided that maybe we would instead take apart the shower and tile the shower like we had always wanted to...

But instead this is what happened...




Yep...everything except the tub came out and we, or I should say my hubby is, changing it all! New shower, new floors, new pedestal sinks, new tub surround, new mirrors and light fixtures. We are going with the whole shebang!

So far my hubby has stripped the shower down to the studs, replaced the drywall in the shower and tub surround with concrete board, taped and mudded the new board, and he has built a shower pan from scratch. Tomorrow has the first of the tiling on the schedule...and if everything goes well he should be done by the end of the weekend!

I will post updates as we progress!

Nearly Naked Gardening

This year I finally convinced my husband to build me a raised garden bed on my side yard. He constructed it out of natural redwood and it is 8 feet long x 4 feet wide x 1 foot deep. He then went to a landscape yard and bought a garden soil mix and added some good MiracleGro garden soil to the top. We planted tomatoes, yellow bell peppers, basil, green beans, peas, carrots, yellow summer squash, zucchini and cucumbers in it and everything has been doing so good so far!

Here is my little garden just after we planted it:

And here is my "nearly naked gardener" helping mommy to water her garden:

Caleb is so cute everyday about the garden. He just loves "helping" mommy by watering it. He absolutely cracks me up because he tells me some days that he NEEDS to take his pants off to water, "it's the ONLY way to keep from getting wet mommy!" I really have to watch him though...he's pretty good about leaving puddles and thinks that making mud is the reason for watering!

And here was my garden this morning. We planted it about 4 weeks ago and I already have some growth. The only thing that hasn't come up yet are the peas...I am still hoping that they might come up!

The tomatoes have about doubled in size and each of them already have some little baby tomatoes growing on them! I can't wait for the harvesting to begin...I just love the idea of being able to eat fresh homegrown veggies. It's almost like a memorial to my grandmother (she passed away this past October on my birthday), she always had a garden each and every summer and I spent many hours with her in that garden. We would plant it together, water it together, weed it together and eat tomatoes fresh off the vine together. Just being able to do something like this is a way to pass on something that I learned from her to my son and it's like she is still here with me.

Momma said there'd be days like this...

It's Monday, nothing is going how I would like it too and I feel like I need one of these....



Chocolate, frosting and Tylenol. It seems to be a cure all for me. And then I think that I will wash it all down with a large glass of red wine. Sound good?

Life is what you make of it!

I have just made it to the halfway point with this round HCG. So far this round I have lost 15 lbs and I am now down a total of 37 lbs over the course of the two rounds. When I started on this diet back in January, I wasn't really sure what I expected. I had heard so many great success stories from others and I hoped that it would work for me also. I am so very glad that it did!

When I think about that number, 37, I can't even believe it! I pick up my son, who weighs less than that, and it is so hard to believe that I was walking around carrying that extra weight every day. I don't know how I did it...but the bigger question is, why did I let myself get to that point? I know that I can use lots of excuses like stress and depression, but the real reason is that I somehow along the line forgot to take care of myself. I've still got a ways to go, but I am on the right track and I will not stop until I am healthy again.

I made myself a promise two years ago to finally start doing things to make my life better. I realized that I can't just sit back and expect everyone else to do things to make me feel better and I shouldn't make it everyone else's responsibility to make me happy. I am the only one that is in control of my happiness and I need to remember that. Over the past 2 years I have finally went back to finish college (I graduate next month!!!), I have taken control of my mental and physical health, I am making an effort to reestablish old friendships, enjoying new friendships, and I have put more of an effort into my marriage. All of these things have made my life much more full and exciting. The rewards of finally living my life instead of just watching it are amazing. I love where things are going and can't wait to see what is in my future.

5 Things I Dislike (Vol. I)

1) People That Are Habitually Late – It really drives me batty when someone says that they will be somewhere at a certain time and then isn’t. I understand that unforeseen things can get in the way, but I totally don’t get people that are habitually late. It’s like you are telling me that your time is more important than mine…well, you know what? IT ISN’T!


2) Meat With Bones In It – I really hate having to pick apart my food. I don’t get everyone’s obsession with chicken wings and ribs. UGH…they are so small and you barely get any meat and the little bit of meat that you do get is so not worth the effort. Give me a boneless chicken breast or a boneless steak any day!



3) Texting While Driving – Seriously people, you can already barely drive and now you are going to try to drive while not looking at the road? SERIOUSLY?!?

4) Answering My Text With A Phone Call – Do you not realize that if I had the time to talk that I would have just called you in the first place? Along with this are the people that txt and run. I really dislike that. If you are going to txt me a question, make sure that you are going to be around your phone for at least five minutes after you send it…don’t leave me hanging. And if you don’t have the time to wait for my answer, then send the txt later when you do.

5) Overly Aggressive/Competitive Parents – I mean c’mon people…we all have a hard enough time trying to fit everything in, why do some parents feel the need to always one-up another? Can’t we all just support each other and try to help each other. I love my son and will ALWAYS do things my own way and I will never try making another parent feel bad or feel as if they haven’t done enough. It’s hard enough being a parent as it is…don’t make it even harder on others that may not have the money or time that you do.

Sorry about my little rant here today...but I just get frustrated sometimes. I consider myself to be a considerate person and I feel like there are less and less people that care about others in this world. I try to lookout for the best interests of everyone around me...yes, I take care of myself and my family first, but I also try to look at all situations from different points of views. If there was one thing that I could change in this world it would be getting others to take notice of what is happening around them. Please don't just stay in your own little bubble and forget that what you do on a daily basis is felt by many. Take advantage of that and do more nice things. I know that it sounds trite, but I have decided to make it my own personal mantra "Do more nice things, Do more nice things, Do more nice things"...won't you join me?

The way the Schell's dye Easter Eggs...

Last night we had our first experience dyeing Easter eggs since having Caleb and we all had a blast! Caleb did really well and not one drop of dye was found where it shouldn't be. (This is more a comment about me than the three-year-old.) We pulled out the camera during the egg dyeing and got some really photos...






But then hubby decided that we should use the timer on the camera to get a good family photo.

Using the timer starts out all good and nice. Look at this great photo that we got:




But the next thing you know things get a little goofy and man, oh man, it's all downhill from here...



Next came this...



And don't even ask about this one!

Happy Easter from the Schells!