Consumer Reports

Chris recently signed up for a year subscription to Consumer Reports Magazine. His reasoning is that in the next year we are planning to make some major purchases, and hopefully with the help of the experts we can save some money and glean some useful advice.
Well, we purchased all of our appliances last week at a Sears Scratch n' Dent Warehouse in Indianapolis. We ended up saving over $500 thanks to Consumer Reports. Chris did a lot of research before we shopped, too, so we walked in knowing the exact models we wanted. He research repair history, baking performance (for me!), and lots of other categories. The applicances at these places often are perfect, too, except for a tiny scratch on the back or some leftover sticker glue that's easily removable. Ten points for Consumer Reports!
We just received the October issue in the mail yesterday. I've only read the first couple pages, and I've learned about the best stainless steel cleaners, how to make good choices about sweetners, and that the Easy Bake Oven is being recalled because kids are being easily burned. What will be next?
Now, is it just me, or is this magazine a disguise for a SHOPPING magazine? I mean, really, folks. Every article has to do with buying something from chocolate to vitamins to cleaners to cars and lawnmowers. For a new homeowner like me, it's loaded with great money and time saving tips. Don't you want a subscription?

Moving Right Along

We spent today down at our house in Bloomington. We painted our bedroom! In reality it's a khaki color even though in the picture it looks yellowish. It's finally starting to feel like we may live there in the near future. The ceilings are now drywall instead of tongue and groove, and the elecrical work is almost finished. We still need to get our front porch fixed, hardwood floors sanded and polyurethaned, and finish painting. Our new appliances come in a week, and this week our moving van from California arrives. It's all moving so fast, but it's exciting! Above you see the before and after pictures of our bedroom. Fun!

Indy Zoo

We took a break from house renovations and appliance shopping and went to the Indianapolis Zoo today. Chris made it back from Vienna safely a few days ago, and now we're enjoying some much missed family time!
We saw an elephant get a bath, sleeping lions, and some HUGE bears up close. We also saw some white rhinos sleeping and some sharks in the Oceans exhibit. We could have spent more time at the Indy Zoo, so we may need to plan another trip soon.

It's another Frank BOY!

Yes, that's right. The Franks are having another boy! The only glitch is that the doctor found a long-named (I'm not sure the exact name!) cyst in the baby's brain on the ultrasound today. She said not to worry because these most often go away through the rest of the pregnancy, but just in case I get to have another ultrasound to check on it in 2 months. It's always great to see pictures of our growing baby, so that's the good news.

The other noteworthy thing about today is that when I asked Cole what he'd like for breakfast this morning he immediately said, "COOKIES!" I had to laugh out loud! Yesterday I gave him a chocolate JoeJoe cookie from Trader Joe's. It's like an Oreo with chocolate filling. He loved it! He threw a huge tantrum on the floor when I didn't give him another one. He sat their crying and mumbling "cookies!" over and over. The kid is a cookie monster!

Let's Paint!

Cole painted his first picture today. It was great fun AND great mess! He did surprisingly well for a little guy.

20 Week Cake

Cole and I decided to bake a Cinnamon Bundt Cake today after his nap. He helped me dump the ingredients in the bowl, and he helped me mix them up. The cake was a very yummy snack! I am 20 weeks pregnant today, too, which is halfway! This can serve as the 20 week belly shot for those of you wondering! It seemed appropriate to celebrate with a cake :).

Sunday @ Home

The lake my parents live on has a very low water level at this point in the summer, and contains some unexpected toxic algae, so my dad decided to pull the boat out before it gets stranded. So today we went on one last boat ride for the summer. We also helped my dad clean the boat in the driveway, and Cole decided to jump right in! He scrubbed, and then he dumped the soapy water all over himself. Figures! He also enjoyed his very own apple on the garage steps while watching the rest of us clean.

We all went down to our new house in Bloomington again yesterday, too. We tackled the backyard, and luckily this time no one came home with poison ivy. My dad had it pretty badly last week. We had a few guys come to help us this week, too. The backyard is now clear of bushes, some trees, weeds, and trash, and I really think by doing that we doubled the size of our yard! I am busy working our details with our contractor for getting the electrical, plumbing, and drywall work done in the next week or two, and then we can think about cleaning, painting and moving in! I'm learning to be persistent and patient at the same time during this process. Trying to handle all of this while Chris is in Vienna still is a big job for me, but it's been fun. I am so excited for Chris to get home on Saturday, though, so we can do this together!

Cole's new words so far today...knee, bottle, apple, sky, and share. This kid is a fireball and a new word maniac!

Wagon Surfing Take 2 & New Words

So last weekend on a walk, Cole wagon surfed again. This time, he toppled over onto the street, and you can see how the street ate up his face! Fortunately, it's much better now!
In other Cole news, he's saying what seems like a million new words every day. Some new ones include stool, boom, school, cat, picture, all gone, cool, two, dance, jump, turn it, off, on, and Andy (Raggedy Andy from when I was little). Chris has been gone for just over a week, and I already can't remember what Cole knew before Chris left and what he's learned since.
It's been in the high 90's here in Indianapolis the last few days, and with the humidity, we've been trying to find things to do that are inside. Today we visited Great Grandma Jean, "JEAN!" according to Cole. He loved the fish (shish) tank in her building, and the rocks on her coffee table. Grandma even let him climb up on the table and dance! He also used her electric vaccum sweeper all by himself. Wow, such a little boy, and SO much fun to watch.

A little T.L, and C

Today we spent the day in Bloomington at our new house! We are officially homeowners! The only bummer part is that Chris is in Vienna. My mom, dad, Cole, and I went down, though, to start attacking the yard. It's extremely overgrown and untended, probably for at least a few years. It's the epitome of a fixer-upper house. We're going to have a lot of interior work done soon, so today was outside day. We pulled weeds, chopped trees, cleaned out the trash in the house and especially the basement, and raked, raked, raked. I ripped up carpet, hosed out the crawl space under the porch that was filled with mud, dog poop, and trash, and took down old window shades. My parents were so helpful, and even though we all came home with scrapes and bruises, we had a great time. My dad even used a chainsaw! The people living in the house up until last week had a litter of pitbull puppies that they really didn't care for well at all, so they left remnants of that, old beach towels, rocks, books, and more all over the property. Unfortunately, we didn't do too much to the backyard (otherwise known as the Pit of Despair). That's next week's job. I think there is a garden and a sand box buried in bushes and overgrown weeds. Really, it is a jungle out there! The process is going to be fun, though, and since we don't have too much time pressure to move in and get going, we're ready for the challenge. HGTV, here we come! (I've been watching a lot of shows lately to get ideas and inspiration!) Above you see the house the first time we saw it, overgrown. You also see it today after we cleared out a whole lot of junk. Big progress in one day! Stay tuned for more photos.