Delayed Valentine's

After our busy week of visitors, Steve and I both fell victim's to whatever crazy sickness is going around.  Steve had actually started with a cough and sore throat while his parents were here, but mine held off until everyone had left.  Steve is convinced that I am the one who got us sick; although, the facts clearly show Steve is the culprit:

Steve started with a sore throat on 2/17.  The sore throat quickly developed into a cough that settled in his chest.  There was much hacking and coughing and not much sleeping for a couple nights.  He had to keep a constant supply of cough drops nearby all day and night.  As of yesterday, Steve is finally back to normal.

Lindsey started with a sore throat on 2/20.  She had a fever and sore throat all week, but never had the intense coughing like Steve.  She only coughs right before bed and when she gets up, but that's as far as the cough has gone.  She's still got some lingering issues with her throat, but basically back to normal.

Who's to blame??  Obviously, Steve is the culptritt since he got it first and had it more intense.  Another reason that Steve is to blame -- he is the one that interacts with outside germs on a daily basis.  Chalk this one up for Steve.

Due to the visitors and sickness, we weren't able to celebrate Valentine's Day until this past weekend.  My gift to Steve was a bag full of his favorite junk food (gummy bears, beef jerky, etc).  I actually gave it to him on Valentine's.  He had a rose for me on Valentine's Day but his gift for me was making me dinner.  Steve has maybe made dinner for me once since I've known him (although, I think I swooped in at the end of that meal to finish it).  This time, I wasn't even allowed in the kitchen.  I knew of the ingredients (because I bought the ingredients).

Before I was banished from the kitchen, I had to help Steve find all the gadgets and accessories needed for his meal.  (I do all the cooking and most of the dish washing, so he is oblivious when it comes to kitchen items beyond silverware, plates, bowls, and cups).

I took one quick action shot before being banished to the living room.  I was able to sit and enjoy a favorite show while waiting for dinner to be ready.  It was bizarre to smell dinner without being involved in the process.

I meant to take a picture of the meal, but I was too hungry and completely forgot.  Steve scored extra points for pulling out the "special Disney" plates and glasses.  The name of his meal was "Creamy Cajun Chicken Linguine".  It consisted of linguine noodles, chicken cut into small pieces, sun dried tomatoes, cream, and green onions.

He did an awesome job!  He learned what it's like to read recipes (this one called for 1 to 2 cups of cream which baffled him), time management (making sure everything was ready at the same time), and how to make his wife happy :).  I think he should make dinner more often!

Dayton Children's Museum

Two weekends ago (I know I'm behind on the posts), my sister Amber and her girls -- Emily, Allie, & Gabbie -- came to visit.  They came in Friday evening and stayed through Saturday.  The last time they were here, we just stuck around the house.  The girls played Wii & Amber, Steve, Chris (Amber's husband), and I worked on house projects.  This time, Chris didn't get to come and the girls requested an outing.  They were given different options (like bowling, Chuck E Cheese, movie, etc) and they picked ---- the Dayton Children's Museum!!

The Museum was just over an hour away from our house and had lots of different things to offer.  At first, we went through the outer space exhibit that was way over our nieces' heads, and a little over my head.  We were afraid that the kids wouldn't have much fun, but the next areas redeemed itself.  They had lots of areas set up for dress up/ pretend  (like a courtroom, recycling center, vet clinic, grocery store, etc), water tables, and science experiments.  They also had a small zoo with different animals (porcupine, bats, skunk, otters...) and a "tree house" designated for bird watching.  However, the kids' favorite attraction was the 2 story tube slides.  There were tubes and rope ladders that they got to climb up and then slides to bring them back down.

Even though the museum was small (their "concession" area consisted of 8 tables, some vending machines, and a brought-in caterer (he had a little table with 4 dutch ovens with food in them), it never seemed to get over-crowded.  I was worried about us going on a Saturday, but it ended up working out great!

Allie got a kick out of locking her sister's in jail. 

Allie was quite the little scientist with the microscope.  She was the first one to figure out that microscope projected its images on the screen.  

Emily was an awesome big sister!  She helped Gabbie go up and down the rope ladder and tube slides.  Amber went with the girls the first few times, but passed off the responsibility to Emily.

A rare moment -- loving sisters (they're in that phase where their likes are different and they don't play well together).

They got a kick out of this crazy truck.  You could "change the tires" and pretend to be a mechanic; although they just loved to take turns "driving" it. 

Emily

Allie 

Gabbie

Busy Week

Last week was a pretty busy one.  We got to open our home to several different visitors!  First off, Ashley (Steve's sister) was with us all week for business.  Her job brings her up to Lima off and on and we get the joy of sharing our home with her.  Even though I only get to see her a few hours (Steve gets to see her more at work), she always brings such entertainment into our home.  She doesn't claim to be entertaining; however, I think another person in the home always brings excitement to our dull lives.

Towards the end of the week, my best friend from primary school came for a visit!  Megan was able to sneak away from her busy life as a night shift emergency room nurse to come visit and work on preparations for her upcoming fall wedding.  She was only here for 24 hours, but we were able to get a jump on a couple projects (table decorations) as well as complete two projects (cake topper & boutonnieres).  Megan and I used to be inseparable all throughout middle and high school; however, we chose different colleges and career paths which put some distance in our relationship.  We were always able to make quick trips to visit each other in college, catch up on holidays, and sneak in some concerts here & there.  Even with the distance, we still remain close friends who know each other in and out.  Even though I only got to see her for a day, it was like we had never been apart.  I look forward to working on more of her wedding projects as well as serve as matron of honor in September (p.s. look at the crazy uses of "as" in that sentence!).

We finished off our busy week with Steve's birthday weekend.  Steve's birthday also happened to correspond to his parents' visit.  They spent the first part of the weekend with Scott & Ashley in Cincinnati and the later part with us in Lima.  Sunday marked his actual birthday.  Scott and Ashley came up with Doug & Trisha on Sunday and we were able to have a birthday dinner celebration for Steve, complete with gluten free lasagna, ice cream cake, & presents.  The next day was spent showing Lima to his parents.  The had gone to college in a nearby town and had visited Lima when younger; however, they didn't venture out enough to really remember it.  We got to round off the trip with furniture shopping!  Doug & Trisha are way too kind and bought us new coffee & end tables.  They haven't come in yet, so you will have to stay tuned for a future furniture blog-post.

We had such a good time with all our different visitors.  We always appreciate when people come to visit us and see the new house.  We especially enjoyed the special time with Steve's parents!  We are very thankful for all they have done for us and that they were able to spend a couple days with us.

Here are some pictures of the weekend courtesy of Trisha:

Apparently as a child, Steve got really into birthday celebrations.  He would always request for the lights to be turned off.  Ashley fulfilled his childhood wish by repeating the tradition.  

Steve and I had hyped Kewpee Hamburgers (a local hamburger chain) and Doug requested a visit.  It is named Kewpee's after the Kewpee dolls (as seen on the wall in the center of the picture).  

Where Steve works

We snuck in a mall visit on Sunday.  While Ashley was contemplating the best pots to buy, Scott and Steve found massage chairs to pass the time.  

Happy 24th Birthday Steve!!!

Bedrooms

Last week, I put up curtains in our bedroom.  Miraculously, there are 3 windows just like we had in our bedroom in Tennessee; so I was able to use the same curtains.  On another miraculous note, the bedroom paint matches our bedspread and curtains, so we are just leaving the paint the same color.  I will probably have to freshen it up (you can see lots of scratches and dirt on the walls and trim), but we'll deal with it for now.

The guest bedroom is pretty minimalistic.  It's not that big, but there's enough room for our extra bed and a night table.  I am not yet sure of what I will do with the paint color, but for now it stays the same.  

Trapped

In case you were wondering how Ramses's Great Escape ends. . .

Ramses's story ends with him trapped in his cage.  We decided that the only way he was getting out was through the "front" door.  I was able to take 2 paper clips and pin the door permanently shut.  Unless Ramses has smuggled tools into his cage (which I wouldn't put it past him), he is shut in pretty tight.  We had to go this route because he is not meant to live in the bathtub out of fear of escape.  He is back on his perch and has been very well behaved.  He even earned a carrot the other night (okay, maybe I had a little piece left over from cooking and just gave it too him because he's just too cute).

Dining Room Trim

The Dining Room trim, as well as the dining room, has finally been completed.  Just like in the living room, the trim was in pretty rough condition.  The floor trim especially; it was full of dirt, dings, and scratches.  Now it is freshly painted, with straight lines, and matches the trim in the living room.  I also painted the lower section of the wall the same color as the trim.

The trim & lower wall before being repainted:

 The trim & lower wall being painted:

The trim & lower wall after being repainted:

When painting the trim, I have to do the ceiling trim, too.  This involves me standing on a step-stool and painting above my head.  I have to crane my neck and can only do so much at a time.  Now that the dining room is finished, the foyer is next on the list.  It's going to be quite intensive because the ceilings are so tall and there's a lot of it.  I want it to remain the same color, so I have to color-match, which may take some time.

The Amazing Changes Paint Brings

For the past week or so, I have been working to finish up the living room.  Most of the trim throughout the house is either dinged up, repainted with different shades,  or just caked with years of dust.  In a moment of insanity, I decided to take on the project of repainting all the trim throughout the house.  I'm going room by room, starting with the living room, then the dining room, then the foyer area (I'm going in order of rooms used).  

It's a lengthy process involving chipping away some bubbled & old paint, sanding areas down, patching up gouges, taping off walls, painting the trim, and also scraping off old paint off of window and door panes.  It's also a pretty boring process, so I try to work on the trim a little bit, and then go try to organize other areas of the house (and maybe catch up on some old shows and check out new ones).  During the process, I absolutely hate painting and thought repainting the trim is ridiculous; however, once I took all the tape off in the living room, I fell in love with the new trim.  It makes the room look so much brighter and cleaner.  

Here are some pictures of the trim transformation from in the living room:

Before the Trim was Repainted:

Previous paint jobs were present on the trim.  Here you can see a little bit of  red on the trim (the dark spots on the white).  There was also some navy and light blue paint in other areas.  

Here you can see a patch of paint completely missing.  Some of the old paint flaked right off while I was cleaning up the trim in preparation to be painted.  I had to then sand these areas so the new paint would go on smoothly.

Here's another shot of paint on the upper trim.  You can see some red and navy on the white edge.

One corner of the living room has some issues.  It appears that there has been some water damage on this corner.  We know that the outside downspouts and drainage system are bad.  Steve has been working on that issue and it should be corrected by Spring.  We haven't noticed any water inside, just damage to the wall and a separation between the wall and trim.  (You can see where the plaster has bubbled on the wall in the corner).

Here is a close-up of the separation in the wall & trim.  This area's location is in the corner of the living room (you can see it in the previous picture).  I used a silicon sealant (what was left over from the bathroom project).  This may not be a long term solution, but the gap is no longer noticeable for now.  

After the Trim has been Repainted:

Here's the corner with the damage.  There is no longer a gap between the wall and trim.  

Here you can see the area that had the missing paint.  It's all patched up and one color again!

Here you can see all the trim pieces are the same color and no longer have previous paint colors on them.

Clean paint edges!

The living room is almost completely done.  All we have left to do is mount the tv over the fireplace and move the furniture around until we find the right set-up.  On a whim, I decided to paint the background of the built-in shelf unit the same green color from the dining room.  It goes nicely with the green curtains and pillows in the living room.  

Also, notice the lovely roses on the coffee table.  Steve brought them home for me one day, just because.  I don't brag on him much, but couldn't resist this once :).  

The Great Escape

Our little Ramses has started to really show some personality this week.  Apparently, he is a brilliant mastermind.  For two nights in a row, he somehow broke out of his cage (leaving no evidence), to get cornered in the kitchen.  Both times, he got himself caught in the same area.

For those of you who don't remember much about Ramses, he is a Robo hamster (again, not robot for those of you who think I have an electronic hamster trapped in a cage).  Robo hamsters are very small, less than 2" in length,  and are very fast.  You can't really hold or cuddle these kinds of hamsters.  They are however, fun to watch, especially when you put them in a ball.  Since he's really fast, we usually have to outsmart him into his ball by cornering him in his cage, giving the ball the only escape.  (This method is also how Steve caught him in the mornings after he escaped and put him back in his cage).

Because our house is older, we have antique floor registers that have lots of small openings.  However, they are not smaller than Ramses.  If he got too adventurous on his nights out, and ran over one of these registers, he would have fallen through, meeting his demise in the ducts and potentially heather (something, I don't want to think about).

If you take the floor registers out of the equation, just imagine a 2" small ball of fluff running around the house, never to be caught.  Again, another scenario I don't want to think about.

In general, I hate the step that leads from the door entryway into the kitchen.  I often forget about it and trip myself on the step.  However, without this small level change, Ramses would not have gotten himself cornered  (again, 2x in a row) and we would have never found.

I like to think that God was looking out for Ramses.  I know it's crazy to think but the Bible says that God looks out for and knows even the sparrows, so why would Ramses be any different?  For whatever reason (besides my sanity) Ramses is meant to stay in this house a little longer.  He gives me some responsibility, something to take care of (besides the plants I've shipped off to my mom due to the move and general neglect), and he lets me go on rants during the day without interrupting.

That all aside, Ramses has caused quite the conundrum in the household.  We think we have an idea of how he's getting out, but are not 100% sure. The first night it happened, Steve caught him the next morning and put him in the tub.  I inspected the cage and thought that he might have gotten out through the top.  We have caught him in the past climbing up the walls, but didn't think he'd be strong enough to get out.  However, this morning, I noticed one side of the lid was not latched properly.  I put his cage back on his hallway perch and didn't think much about it.  However, he broke out again that night.  Now he's permanently banished to the tub.  We don't want to give that critter a 3rd opportunity of freedom.

 We tried to set up the computer with a built in camera to video tape him last night.  However, the computer only recorded 15 mins before shutting off.  We also needed the light in the bathroom on to be able to see with the camera, and Ramses doesn't act crazy with the lights on.  If only we had a night vision camera. . .

Ramses the mastermind has put a cramp in our style.  We are planning a vacation in March and were planning on shipping him off to my parent's house.  However, he can't be trusted.  Good thing they too have a large bath tub to house his cage.

A Mastermind in Action

 

Close up of the area he gets cornered in.  Thankfully, he hasn't figured out that he could probably fit under the door that leads to the basement (left).  That's another scenario I don't want to think about.

Ramses new home located in the bathtub. He hasn't broken out into the tub yet.

Close up of his cage -- there is a hinged door locate on the front.  We believe he is able to push the door open enough to push his way out.  Hopefully we will catch him in action.

A closeup of the mastermind sleeping.  He's probably preparing his next escape plan.  He's just too cute to punish :)