Braces progress

September 16, 2009:



November 14, 2009:

The dog's gone bananas!

Three guesses who put the banana sticker on Lucy's head...

For you, Mom

Here's where you'll plug in your blow-drier when you come visit.


This is what you'll look like standing in front of the sink and plugging in your blow-drier (if you had gingerbread man pajamas.)

Living room rearranged

The fireplace looks like it's part of the living room now. We angled the rug to cover up the parts of the floor where the columns were. Audrey got a huge splinter before the floor was patched, and we had to take her to the doctor to get it taken out. They used the biggest tweezers I've ever seen. She was very brave at the doctor's office. When Scott and I tried getting the splinter out at home, Audrey screamed like her face was being chewed off by a chimpanzee.

The living room opens up

During the planning stages of the basement remodel, the structural engineer suggested removing the living room columns now rather than in a few years when we remodel the main floor. That way, they won't have to re-do the structural walls in the basement in a few years. I have been eager to see the columns go, and the leftover wall bit that served no purpose. Mary liked climbing the columns, but it turns out it was a good thing we got rid of them when we did, because nothing was supporting them from underneath, and they were starting to sink through the sub-floor into the basement. The crew put 700 pounds of steel in the living room ceiling to support the 2nd floor. They jacked up the floor from below to make it more level, so they'll be able to get the new joists into the basement ceiling. It was quite an operation. I love standing by the front door and looking into that newly opened space. Without that leftover wall piece in the way, you can see all the way into the back of the room, rather than staring at the dead end of a hallway. It looks extra big, since we haven't moved the furniture back in yet.

Audrey's Seinfeld impersonation

"Why do they call it a toilet? It isn't a toy, and it's not lit."

Halloween

The week before Halloween, Mary and Stephen went to a party given by Mary's orthodontist (with braces-friendly treats, of course). Audrey was going to go, but she didn't like the decorations, so she and I didn't stay. Mary is a zombie and Stephen is a Transformer. Audrey is a black cat.



The kids each carved a pumpkin. Mary didn't like scooping out the pumpkin guts, but she did most of the work on hers. Audrey designed her pumpkin's face, but I did the cutting.


While we were carrying the pumpkins to the front yard, Audrey tripped and fell on top of hers. She cried a lot, but we were able to rebuild it with duct tape and toothpicks, turning it into a mummy Jack O'Lantern.
Audrey had a fever on Halloween, so she didn't get to go our trick-or-treating. Mary and Stephen went out together, and Mary shared her candy with Audrey. Audrey got all the braces-forbidden candy, and half the braces-friendly candy.