Deadline

With the countertop people coming Friday, we have a deadline to meet! Steve was busy spackling, sanding and painting the new addition to the kitchen yesterday. He also put up the light in the working kitchen area. Enjoy these pix!

ceiling and trim done, 1st coat of paint on the walls

new light fixture in working kitchen

pantry open

Light at the end of the Tunnel

We are having the countertop templated on Friday!! I can not tell you how excited am I about it. I thought we'd never get to this point. Not quite sure how long it takes to make and install the countertop once it is templated, but I will be asking that question on Friday.

Here are some photos of what got done this past weekend:

All the way from AZ!

Mike and Laura-Ann were in NJ this weekend to attend her cousin Kristina's wedding on Friday evening. Laura-Ann's parents, Tony & Anna, were kind enough to have our crazy family over to visit with them. As always, they threw a lovely party. The food was great as was the company. Mike and Laur look fantastic. AZ is really agreeing with them. They seem overly happy. David was very happy to see them. Ava was too, even if you couldn't tell. The kids also had plenty of playmates. Rosaleen was there and Laura-Ann's friend Cara brought her daughter Lucia and her son Ace. The kids ran crazy having a blast. I wish I had some more time to spend with them, but they will be home for Christmas - which will be here before you know it. I miss them already!

Clean bill of health

My Mom underwent surgery this morning to remove some cancerous cells from her tongue. I got the call from my Dad right before lunch that she got an 'All Clear' from the doctor! No more cancerous cells!

Thank you to everyone who was praying for my Mom.

Mom, I am so glad you are ok - I love you!

Kitchen Photos

The fridge and side panels

The stove and microwave

The pantry

Now we're cookin'

The oven and microwave have been installed and are in working order! WOO HOO! Steve worked hard on Saturday on the 'little things' like hooking up the water line to the fridge for the ice maker, venting the microwave oven and setting up the gas lines and shut off for the oven. He made himself a Jimmy Dean sausage sandwich in the microwave and it was great. He also set up the pantry - it's BIG, but it's beautiful! I need to take some pictures to post. I plan on picking up some hot dog rolls on my way home tonight so I can actually MAKE dinner instead of ordering it. My pots and pans are still buried and I do not want to put any dishes in the cabinets until the counter-top is in. So, hot dogs on the grill, tater tots in the oven and frozen veggies in the microwave will have to do. I bet we will have a lot more money floating around now that we can cook our food. Money that I can use to shop for a table and china cabinet (from Crate & Barrel)!

Hard at work

Sorry about the lull in my posting. We took a mini vacation and have been working very hard on the kitchen.

For our mini vacation, we went to PA to visit The Yoegel's and my in-laws on the 2nd. My In-Laws came up from FL for a few days and the 2nd was the only day we could get to see them. Tracey invited us over to celebrate Ally's 10th birthday and to spend time with Steve's parents. Tracey threw a nice get together and everyone enjoyed themselves. The next morning we drove to Hershey Park and spent the day with Laurie, Tom and Walt. We had a great time. We slept in a beautiful room at the Hershey Lodge that evening. On Tuesday the 7 of us took in the Hershey Gardens and they were beautiful. After, we got back on the PA turnpike and drove back to Tracey's. Steve was helping Rich draft his fantasy football team that night. David got to pick up Ty and Ally at the bus stop - that made his day. The kids played and enjoyed being together. The guys seem to have fun at the draft. Wednesday, we made our way home to NJ.

This weekend we really made some progress on the kitchen. We have 5 wall cabinets up and 5 base cabinets in. Steve has connected the pipes for the sink and the dishwasher is in place ready for install. Steve was able to get the floor put down in the entire 'working' kitchen area. Some of the walls have been painted. Our fridge comes tomorrow so we plan on putting up the panels and the fridge cabinet tomorrow evening. Here are some pictures:




Football started last week and the much anticipated Giants vs Cowboys game was Sunday night. Unfortunately, the G-Men lost, but the game was good.

Rocked!

My birthday was great. I received so many nice gifts and beautiful cards. Steve and I went out for dinner with Laurie and Walter to Bonefish WITHOUT THE KIDS!! Can you tell I was excited? The food was delicious and the company was great. We had a real nice time.

Saturday morning we took a family trip to Lowe's for the sheetrock. I helped Steve carry it into the house. I did not think sheetrock was so heavy! By the time he left for Joe's draft, he had finished the long wall. Sunday, Steve worked all day and finished putting up all the sheetrock. We have walls!! Today he'll tape and spackle. I am so thrilled. We might even get to start the floor this week ;)

59-27=32

Happy Birthday Dad & Me and BLOGGER? I just logged in to write a quick Birthday post and noticed that we share a birthday with this website. How funny is that? Love it.

Ok, now to my original rant...
Today I celebrate my 32nd birthday while Dad celebrates his 59th. As you can see from the equation above, he was 27 the day I was born. I was a very original birthday present, don't you think? My Mom could not have planned it if she tried. I too was given an awesome gift that day. Two fantastic parents that would stop the world for me.

32 years later I now have a wonderful husband and 2 beautiful children. Those same 2 parents are still taking very good care of me and now of their grandchildren. I sure am a lucky girl.

Catching up

Last I posted, we were in the demo phase. In the past week, we have progressed to the rebuilding phase. Steve has layed a new sub floor and moved some of the electrical outlets so they will not be in the wrong place when the cabinets are installed. Speaking of cabinets, 34 boxes of cabinets were delivered last week and are taking up my entire living room. Not fun. The addition is almost complete. We are waiting for the trim to be done and then the contractor is finished. Steve's next move is to insulate the exterior kitchen wall. Once that is complete, he can start to sheetrock. It will still be some time before the kitchen is in working order. Sigh...

Through all this, we did host our yearly Fantast Football draft. With the loving support of my cousin Laurie (she took the kids), it went well. The weather was beautiful so we could be out on the deck. I feel my team came out well. I hope I can win some money this year.

Ava had been sick all week. She had bronchitis and a double ear infection. She took her antibiotic and nebulizer treatments like a little princess and is doing much better.

Friday night it took me 3 hours to get home from work due to the rain. They closed Rt. 18 at Commercial Ave and I was in the same spot on Rt. 18 for over an hour. That was NOT how I wanted to spend my evening. My parents had the kids and ended up keeping them. Which meant their plans had to be changed. All because of some stupid weather. Horrible.

This coming Friday is my birthday. I will be 32! I am hoping Steve gets me some nice gifts and takes me to Bonefish. I'll let you know!

Down to the studs

Saturday was demolition day at the Boettger house. With the cabinets being delivered tomorrow (Tuesday), we had to get a jump on the kitchen renovation. With Steve working all week at the Fair, Saturday was do or die day. We started ripping things apart about noon time. Steve smashed the cabinets off the wall and took off the countertop. David wanted to 'help' so Steve gave him a mallet and he started knocking through the sheetrock. I took care of the tile on the floor. After a while, there was SO much dust that Steve made David and I stop working and he finished up. By the time the Giants game started, we were down to the studs on the walls and a pile of sheetrock/trim/plaster was in the middle of the kitchen floor. There was A LOT accomplished in 8 hours. It was back to the fair for Steve on Sunday, so nothing more was done. Maybe today he'll get to do some more. Not so sure though, Steve is sick as a dog. Poor guy. He got the bug that has been running rampid in our house. However, knowing him, he'll do more work. Check out the pix...

Pierced Princess

I said I was not going to be the one that brought Ava to get her ears pierced due to the fact that I can not tolerate pain. Steve was going to take her. That changed yesterday afternoon when David and I went to the mall to make a WebKinz purchase. I saw the Piercing Pagoda and thought to myself "Ava is tougher than her Mom, she can handle it". Plus, Steve was working hard and I knew it would make his day. Sure enough, David and I picked out a cute pair of CZ's and on the count of 3, she was pierced! She let out a big cry that lasted for about 45 seconds and it was over. She is a tough little princess - thank God. Not the drama queen her mother is. She looks real cute, but they do not make her look any less like David. So, now we have a beautiful girl with pierced ears that still looks exactly like her brother - minus the piercings. Oh well!

Time flies with the second child

Guilt ridden. Yup that is how I have been feeling this week. I look at Ava and can not believe how fast she is growing. She'll be 9 months in 11 days and I feel like I missed them all. Obviously, I have not and I have pictures (many) to prove it. BUT, I can not seem to convince myself that I'm not missing out - because I am. I can remember sitting in the den watching David for hours on end and enjoying every 'new' thing he did or place he went. With Ava, I feel that I have not seen everything 'new' and that I miss a lot of her. My schedule was more flexible when I returned to work after David was born which entitled me to be with him more. I have not had that with Ava. When I do get time with Ava, David is there and requires attention too. I am worried that I do not divide my attention between them well. I do not want one of them to regret the other because of the time I spend or do not spend with each of them. I always knew being a working Mom would be rough. I lived through it with David and thought I came out unscathed. I was wrong. Being a working Mom with more than 1 child is ROUGH and I am not unscathed. I am bruised, battered and my heart is aching. It is up to me to change the way I feel. I just wish I knew a better way.

Fallen for Craig

Craig's List that is. A friend of mine had mentioned a few times that she uses Craig's List. I had heard of it, but never used it. In case you are not aware of it, Craig's List is a website people can buy or sell items on or even find an apartment, vacation rental or roommate. I emailed another friend of mine that uses the site to ask her advice/opinion and she told me about her positive experience so I dove right in. With our kitchen renovation underway, I thought I would use it to sell our appliances and furniture. Last Thursday night I took photos of our items and found the manuals (so I had the facts for the blurp) and posted 9 items on the central NJ Craig's List. By the time I was finished, I had about 50 emails in my inbox from people wanting to purchase our stuff! I could not believe it. I was hysterical. Steve - not so much. He thought I was insane for selling our stuff this soon (we will not have appliances till Sept.) and this cheap. I defended myself, of course, by explaining that I could have given the stuff away for free and admitted I was just as surprised at how fast the items were moving. Here is the breakdown:

While I was at work on Friday, a woman came to pick up the Island. Friday evening, a couple came for the sideboard and another for the stove. They came back Saturday morning for the table. Sunday morning a woman and her son came for the pantry. Last night some guys came for the fridge. Tonight a couple is coming to see the china cabinet. UPDATE: China Cabinet has been sold! Dishwasher too!

Moral of this post: USE CRAIG'S LIST. Advice - accept only cash (advice given to us, we have not had a bad experience).

Appliances and Kitchen Furniture For Sale - nothing over $100

• SOLD GE Stove top Range - White, $100 SOLD
  
  


• SOLD Roper Refridgerator - White, $100 (65 H x 29.5 W x 29 D) SOLD
  
  


• SOLD Admiral Dishwasher - White and Black, $75
SOLD



• Hotpoint Over the Stove Microwave - White, $75




• SOLD Huffman Koos Kitchen table, 4 chairs and bench - White and Wood, $100 (66 W x 48 D x 30H) SOLD




• SOLD Huffman Koos Kitchen Island with 2 Drawers and Wine Rack - White and Wood, $75 (42 W x 34 H x 21D) SOLD




• SOLD Jc Penney China Cabinet - Green, $100 (70 H x 48 W x 13 D) SOLD




• SOLD Double Door Pantry - White and Wood, $75 (70 H x 34 W x 16D) SOLD



• SOLD 3 Door, 2 Drawer Side Board - White and Wood, $50 (42.5 W x 31 H x 16 D) SOLD

The 4th and more

At the Milltown Parade


To celebrate our independence, we took in the Milltown 4th of July parade with Laurie, Walter and Thomas. The parade was great. The kids had so much fun catching and picking up the candy that the parade walkers were tossing their way. The weather turned out to be crappy, so after the parade we went to Laurie's instead of Brookside. The men went on a quick job and ran some errands while we went for a walk. For dinner we ordered from Carrabba's - delicious. Laurie and I did a little scrapping before we left so I could get our laundry done for our vacation.

Thursday we left NJ and headed south to MD. We vacationed in Ocean City for the next 3 nights and 4 days. Our hotel was The Castle in the Sand on the beach. It was pretty good. Older, but clean. The first night we hit up the rides on the boardwalk and ate dinner at SeaCrets on the bay. It was a real cool place - huge too. I had a great Crab Toast and Steve enjoyed the fired shrimp. David loved the fact that the floor of the restaurant was sand.

After breakfast at Dough Roller on Friday Jackie, Michelle and Michelle met up with us. We hung poolside most of the day and spent about 1 hour at the beach. After we showered up, we took a ride to Crab Alley. The kids fell asleep in the car and slept until our table was ready. David was great, Ava on the other hand - not so much. Steve accidentally left her formula in our hotel room and she had a bad diaper rash. Poor baby girl. The girls and I took turns trying to keep her happy. Thank God for them. Steve and Jackie got the all you can eat blue crabs, the rest of us got the crab cakes and David got a hot dog with applesauce. He ate the applesauce and I ate the hot dog. The crab cake was to crunchy for my taste. When we finally got back to our room, I fed Ava and fixed her rash and right to sleep she went.

Saturday we hit the beach, but not before another trip to Dough Roller. This time we went to the one on the Breaker's Hotel. I wanted to see the hotel, but Ava fell asleep so we went right to the beach instead. David had a great time running in and out of the waves. It was sweltering hot, so Steve spent most of the day in the ocean. Ava was a good girl, but we tried to keep her under the umbrella. We starting our evening a little earlier than the night before and went to dinner at Phillip's. Again the girls were my saviors. One rocked while the other made the bottle. Then another fed her and got her to sleep. LOVE THEM! I got to eat my crab legs and drink my banana colada. After we went to the boardwalk and put David on some more rides. We made a stop at Candy Kitchen and then went back to the hotel for the night.

Sunday we all wanted to get a head start on the drive home so we were on the road by 9 am. Steve and I had a 3:30 pm appointment at Lowe's to order our cabinets and counter top, so we wanted to make sure we were home early. We made it home by 1pm. I started some laundry and cleaned up a bit. Laurie was kind enough to offer to take the kids to Crystal Springs for us. We dropped off the kids and our car and went to Lowe's. After about an hour, we were all ordered and met Laurie, Walt and the kids at the swim club. Everyone was hungry, so we grabbed dinner at Stefano's. After an interesting dinner, we went back home and off to sleep I went. I was SO tired.

In fact, I am still tired. So - off to bed I go. Stay cool!

Adding on

Once again (third time is the charm, so they say) we are adding on to our house. This addition, while not physically big, is huge for entertaining purposes. Our contractor (Brown & Glynn) have built a 8x6 area that opens the living room into the kitchen. I have always wanted that open and airy feeling of the newer homes and I think we have achieved that. They started the job last week and already the entire area is framed. Next they will put on the siding and then Steve and Walt need to run some electric. I am VERY excited about this and will post some pictures so you can see the progess.

We are also remodeling our kitchen. When we bought the house, the kitchen was not how we wanted it. Steve did a touch up job on it to update the floors, walls and countertop, but we still knew we'd want a total re-do. With this addition, it's the perfect opportunity. We spent about 3 hours at Lowe's yesterday picking everything out and we did not argue at all! I was very proud of us. After Steve measures the kitchen tonight, we'll go place the order. They are even running a promotion if you buy cabinets...depending how much you spend, you get a Lowe's gift card. YEAH! I LOVE GIFT CARDS!!

Here are the specs:
Countertop :Corian - Moss
Cabinets: Schuler - Monterey - Chesnut
Floor: Pergo - Global Passage - Dolce Mahogany
Paint: Vaspar - Montana Moss & Twilight Jungle

New Wheels

Friday I got a letter from the car dealer that I purchsed my Rendesvouz from claiming I could "Trade Keys" with them and no money would exchange hands. It peaked my interest, so Monday I called the dealer to get some background information and decided it sounded good enough for me to make a personal appearance. My Dad & David met me there after work and after a little back and forth, I bought a new GMC Envoy! It was the one right on the showroom floor. It is Red Jewel in color, has a DVD player with remote control and wireless headsets, nice BOSE stereo and leather seats. I love it and David does too! Here is a photo or two of our new family truckster...

Dad's Day

A Happy Daddy...

Happy Father's Day to all those father's out there. We celebrated the day very low key. The day started in PA at the Yoegel's with donuts and coffee (2 of Steve's favorite things). Once we got home, Steve opened his cards and gifts. David was VERY excited to give Steve the Darth Vader card. When you open it it says "I am your father". It was opened about 100 times :) Steve enjoyed the photo card I made him although Ava tried to eat it! His gifts were a Dunkin Donuts gift card, black golf shirt, outfit from Old Navy, Linkin Park CD and Beer League on DVD. A little while later, my parents and Grandparents came over. They opened their cards and gifts. Dad got 2 shirts from Old Navy and a book on Sandy Koulfax. Grandpop got lottery tickets. My poor Dad ended up returning everything I got him. He already had the book and the shirts he did not need. I treated everyone to dinner at the Grove. It was great. There was no one there and the food was good. Steve had buffalo wings, a jersey cheesesteak and onion rings, Dad had chicken parm and Grandpop had a grilled cheese with tomato. After dinner we went back to my house for dessert. Steve go to take a nap & Grandpop had to finish scratching off his tickets. I am not sure how much he won in the end. A great day was had by all the Dad's!

Born to be my Baby

Four years old! Can you believe David was born 4 years ago? I truly can not. It seems like just yesterday I was holding him all swaddled up in the hospital. He has grown up SO much. Sometimes when he talks to me I get chills thinking about how fast the past 4 years have gone. No matter how old he gets or how big he grows, he will ALWAYS be my baby boy.

We celebrated his birthday on Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Saturday was his kid party at Jenkinson's in Pt. Pleasant. Sunday was his family party at our house. Monday (his actual birthday) we took him to Great Adventure. He loved every minute of each celebration.

Happy Birthday Buddy Boy! We LOVE you.

I was fortunate enough to have both of my children born on the 11th on the month. So, Monday was also a birthday of sorts for Ava. She turned 7 months old! Our beautiful girl can do so much already! She turns over, eats fruits & veggies, waves bye-bye, says Baba and so much more. David loves his baby sister and plays so nice with her. Steve and I get so much joy watching them together.

We are so very blessed to have both of our babies. We love them so very much.