Suzi Homemaker

Yep! That's me.. Suzi Homemaker... well not really, I won't respond to the name Suzi (ok. fine. I would, but begrudgingly...) and I wish I were a homemaker as in a SAHM... but I do think a play a role in making our house a home... especially with these new curtains! Yep, I made this beauty all by myself!  (Can you tell I'm very proud of this accomplishment?) 

Of course it wouldn't be me if there wasn't a ridic story attached... So allow me to set the stage... Dan was working nights and Charlie was spending the night at Grandma Russell's (I had a dentist appt and she was watching her the next day it was easier this way...) I had the night husband and baby free! Sounds like a vacation, right? So early in the morning I was envisioning myself sitting in front of the TV with a glass of wine (read: bottle) in hand catching up on my absurd list of shows that I never have time to watch. As the day progressed, this vision morphed into something dark... I decided I was going to paint the kitchen. Bonus: I would surprise Dan! This is the only room that hasn't been graced with a fresh coat of paint since we moved in... it was long overdue. There was a spackled area next to the stove that would taunt me as I walked up the stairs... u-g-l-y. I went to the store by my work and picked out a perfect greige (gray/beige) shade. (I am the most indecisive person, so this was a very difficult task for me!) I loaded up on all of the supplies and I was good. to. go. After my dentist appt. I putzed around at my mom's with my sister. I mean, I was baby AND husband free... I just went where the wind took me.. well not really, she had food and I was hungry. So! after that I went home and decided to start this project at 10:00 pm. I mean how long could it take?? There isn't a lot of surface area to paint... I just have to tape. Yea, taping took me almost 2 hours. Then I needed to do two coats... of both the edging and rolling... yikes! 3:00 am I finally finished :) I set it up all HGTV style.. minus the things on the wall. I could hardly sleep I was so excited for Dan to see it! I swear it felt like Christmas Eve!! I call Dan on my way to work... we talk as he is driving home. He tells me he is home and that he'll call me later! I was giddy with excitement!! After about 10 mins... still no call! Hmmm.. I called Dan this is how the convo went:

Me: Hey!

Dan: Hey! I was just going to call you... 

Me: Oh?

Dan: Yea, the kitchen looks great!

Me: Oh thanks! You like the color??

Dan: You painted?

Me: (sigh)

No, Dan didn't not notice that I changed the paint from an off white to a gray (or smell it for that matter), there was nothing on the walls, no light switch covers were on and the spackled area was now gone. He did, however, notice that I cleaned off the butcher block (which is usually covered with junk mail and random baby paraphernalia) Folks, this is the person that I am trusting to protect me from the bad guys... I'm scared, very scared. 

Laying Sod Is Not For the Faint of Heart

We finally got our sod! I was so excited when Dan told me it was on its way because you know what that means... NO MORE DIRT IN MY HOUSE! Allelujah! The shipment came last Thursday which was my mom's birthday. The plan was we would go out to dinner with the fam, come back, put Charlie to bed and start laying sod. Apparently sod will burn if you leave it rolled up, so we needed to get it done. With full bellies we were ready to go! We started around 9:30 PM and I threw in the towel at 11:30. I did have to work the next day! And I didn't let Dan forget that... I might have said that 30 times during those 2 hours, to which my slave driver (aka Dan) responded 'I have to work early too'. He was referring to finishing up the sod in the AM... it wasn't until 11:29 PM that I was not envious of him! It was really hard!!! I thought you just unrolled them and voilá you're done! No... I was sadly mistaken. I got the unroll part right, but first you must lug a +40 lb roll (yes they are that heavy!) to the prepared place, unroll, line up all seams and smush together. The last step requires you to get down on your hands and knees. Thanks to that step I confirmed that I am STILL allergic to grass. I was wearing shorts, so my legs currently look like they were malled by a wild beast... It is rather cute if you ask me ;) Oh and in those 2 hours we got about 42 pieces down. That's 16.8% of our total order and roughly 420 square feet... just a drop in the bucket... again, I was not envious of Dan, as I looked at the miniscule dent we made in 2 hours!

Here are a few pics of the finished product..

My lovely flower bed :0

A few highlights from the above process...

• Dan over ordered... AGAIN! We had an extra 50 rolls after he and his 'crew' attempted to patch every last bare area in the lawn. My neighbor asked who was in charge of measuring and ordering. Fearing it was me because I tutor their daughter in math... I cleared the air. He sighed with relief.

• Mike came to help early in the morning. I think he was there by 8:00, maybe earlier... I was shocked to hear this because I always though Mike was like me... NOT. A . MORNING . PERSON. The slave driver forced him to work without a break in the hot sun only offering him a peanut butter sandwich and some water. I mean seriously! This is not the way to get people to help you in the future! You should hear Mike tell the story... it was pretty funny!!!

• Dan suckered recruited one of his friends, Jay, to help. I'm sure he showed him the same hospitality he showed his brother... 

• The slave driver also tried to get one of Mike's friends to help... he was smart and said he was 'running late'... Oddly enough he was on time for drinks at the Brew Pub later that evening.. I will place this one in my arsenal for future use.

• By 7:00 PM Mike and Jay were starved and parched and declared mutiny on the big, bad slave driver. Dan tried to crack his whip to make them finish the rest of the 50 rolls but they were too weak from the 100º weather and lack of nutrients. 

All joking aside, both Dan and I are so thankful for our families and friends... They have all poured their blood, sweat and tears (well it's usually my tears, but blood and sweat was def shed by many) into making our house a home. I'm pretty sure my Dad's back can be found somewhere in our retaining wall and particles from Dan's Dad's skin is peacefully residing somewhere in my flower bed. It is now safe to come to our house without the risk of being put to work... I think we are done for awhile!!! 

Work in progress...

Here are some pics of the other side of the patio that is still being worked on...

The flower bed Dan and my father-in-law built... It took them almost 12 hours (after Dan dug the trench for the stone) and there was only a minor casualty! (Dad Russell was severely burned from the cement! OUCH!!) I think they did a really nice job! I can't wait to add some flowers :)

From were the patio ends to the end of the fence will be grass. You can tell the condition of the soil is not conducive to growing grass, hence the expected delivery of sod... which is now coming next week.
And of course a few pics of my babe...
These toes are scrumptious!

Patio pics

Here are a few pics of our patio...

Our neighbors refer to our retaining wall as "The Great Wall of Russell"! haha It is quite large! Each wall is 4 feet and extend past our house on either side... You can kinda get an idea of the size by comparing it to Eska (she is to the right of the tiki torch!)

The patio is done... and I have the blisters to prove it!

AHHH... the patio is done!!
• stone for patio (check!)
• table and chair set complete with a huge umbrella (check!)
• chiminea (check!)
• tiki torches to keep the skeeters away (check!)
• grill (check!)
• an alcoholic beverage garnished with an umbrella in my hand (let's not push it!)

We still have some more work to do... Dan is building me a flower bed as we speak and the sod is getting delivered on Tues but it is getting closer to BBQ ready!! YAY!!

One highlight from the above process:
Matt (the very talented, jack of all trades carpenter/mason) measured the future patio to be 40' x 47' (which was an over estimate, but not by all that much). The day we went to go order the stone, Dan couldn't get in touch with Matt so he over estimated, giving Meier Stone the measurements of 50' x 50'. Well after all is said and done, of the 22 pallets ordered and delivered... we had 13 left over. That's right, 13! What are we going to do with 13 pallets?!?!?!?!?! O and did I mention there are signs all over the store in large bold letters 'NO RETURNS. All SALES ARE FINAL'. O boy! I figured I would give them a call, using my maiden name because my cousin's office is right above them and he has a great working relationship with them. After selling my soul and offering up my first born, he said he would come pick them up and just charge a restocking fee!! THANK GOODNESS!! He thought it was hilarious that we (ah-hem Dan) made this blunder... saying I quote "Ya know, 30 years I have owned this company... and in those 30 years NO ONE has over ordered this much!" haha Leave it to my hubs! The owner is a great guy! We had a few laughs (at Dan's expense) and he came and picked them up, freeing up oodles of space :) Did I mention Dan had to go there today to get some other stone to make my flower bed?? hehehe