Home Projects

Last week I re-covered our kitchen chair cushions with some of the fabric that I got in Brookhaven. I think they turned out so cute! These are in the breakfast room in the kitchen, so I went with a casual, fun fabric. I think every room needs a little animal print so that's what I used for this project. Remember my chair in my old living room? Well, since we moved that chair has found a new home in a different room, so our kitchen/living room needed a little animal print :)

Here are the chairs BEFORE and AFTER side by side. (The new fabric is on the left. Duh.)
I really like the lighter fabric. It gives the chairs an entirely new look. I was able to recover all the chairs for only $15 and I even have enough fabric left over for a pillow!

That's one project I can check off my list. Next up is painting the living room/kitchen. Oh, and using the other 39 yards of fabric that I bought to make curtains for these windows:We are slowly but surely turning our new house into our home :)

Dog Gone It

by David Howie

After putting up the shelf piece Thursday night, I was pretty hopeful that Knightly would stay in the yard. Friday morning he didn't seem to be able to get out. He was still in the yard that evening. Everything was looking good. But we got home from dinner, and he was gone. We were really upset and frustrated then and talking seriously about getting rid of him. I had already started getting ready for bed when we got a call that someone had him about 10:30. So I picked him up and put him in the garage.

Saturday morning I let Knightly out in the yard to see how he was getting over this time. But he just played in the yard. I waited a while, but he never tried to get out. I was working at home that day and would check outside often, and he was always there. Just as we were getting ready to go to dinner, we realized that he was missing. I got a call right after I realized it and went and picked him up again. This time we staked him out.

Sunday morning I let him loose after our walk to see how he was getting out. This time he jumped out right away. He's still going out over the gate, but now just uses the middle horizontal piece on the gate. That means he could get out anywhere in the yard. I don't know what to try next. And I don't understand why he's determined to leave the yard. It seems to me that it's better than our old yard, and he never left it.

Week in Review: Sort Of

You may have noticed the lack of posts from me this week. Not really sure what that was all about because we pretty much did absolutely nothing this week. As a matter of fact, I don't think this week even needs a day by day recap. I can sum it up in a few sentences. We did nothing. We stayed home. I didn't go to the grocery store. I didn't cook. I didn't blog. Sounds depressing. It wasn't depressing though, just very low-key.

Aubrey was a little under the weather at the beginning of the week, but thankfully whatever she had was pretty mild and she was fine by the next day. She is still very very VERY inconsistent with naps and with what time she wakes up every morning. This has got to change. Not sure how we're going to go about changing it, but I'm determined that we have got to get back into some sort of a routine.

I hope that yall aren't too disappointed to not get a normal week in review post! :) I'll just share a few fun things that happened this week instead.

--I'm 16 weeks pregnant and I'm officially wearing maternity pants now. Just 2 1/2 weeks until we find out the baby's gender! :)

--I re-covered our kitchen chair cushions this week during the few naps that Aubrey took. I think they turned out great, and I'll post pictures soon!

--I bought paint for our living room and kitchen today, so hopefully we'll be starting that massive project soon.

--We had lunch with Ashley this week. This was the first time in MONTHS that we've gotten together without SD. She was a working woman this week though and couldn't make it.

--I played Bunco on Tuesday and would have gotten an adorable Vera Bradley prize if I had won. I didn't win anything though. I never do. I was especially bummed to miss out on the Vera prizes though.

--I just baked my first cake in my new oven. It's for my little brother's birthday. Hopefully this oven cooks cakes better than our old one. It looks ok so far.

That's about all the randomness I can think of for now. I plan on being back to my regular blogging next week. Because I know you missed my oh-so-exciting posts. Ha! I WILL post some pictures soon. It's been way too long.

classified

by David Howie

For Sale: 3 year old male boxer. Good problem solver. Very persistent. Excellent jumper. All the neighbors say he's very friendly. Make an offer.

Raining Cats and Dogs

by David Howie

Yesterday it rained a ton. It started raining in the night and rained all day. And rained hard. When I left home in the morning, Knightly was curled up asleep in his house. But I got a call about 3 from a lady who was out running and had a boxer following behind her. Dang dog got out again.

So when I left work, I drove around the neighborhood looking for him. It had been hours by this point, so there was no telling where he was. I drove around for about 15 or 20 minutes and there he was walking along the main road into our neighborhood. He was drenched of course and looked pretty miserable. When I opened my car door and hollered at him, he came right to me. I put him in my car and took him home. Of course he shook off right after he got in, so now my car is wet and smells like dog.

When I got home, I put him back in the yard. He started trying to jump out right away. He was still jumping at the gate where he got out Monday, but slightly to the side. He would stand on the latch itself and pull himself over. He had a harder time since I put that wood on the gate to cover the support pieces, but got over in just a minute. I ran back out and caught him in the driveway and put him in his kennel in the garage. He stayed there the rest of the evening and all night.

After karate class, I added another layer of protection to the gate. I got another one of the boards from our old shelves (about 1' wide by 4' long). I nailed it to the top of the gate so that it sticks out horizontally. When he jumps up to the gate, he comes up underneath this new board. I think that should stop him going out at the gate, but if he really wants to, he can probably get out at any point of the fence.

After our walk this morning, I put him back in the yard, and he immediately started trying to jump out again. He wasn't able to then. After my shower, he was still trying but not as often. Carrie said she saw him still trying to jump out later this morning. I hope he'll give up and just stay in the yard. I don't know why he has this great urge to leave anyway.

Thus far, it's dog - 2 and David - 0.
Round 3. Begin!

a bad case of the Mondays

by David Howie

Carrie called about 12:30 Monday and said Knightly was trying to climb our 6' wood fence. She said he could jump up and put his front paws on the top. He would hang and drop back down. She couldn’t do much with Aubrey and even if she did stop him this time and re-tie him, it wouldn’t be a long term solution because we’d have to let him loose at some point. So I told her to just let him be. She called at 1:30 and said he was gone. I figured I’d have to drive around that afternoon and see if I saw him. No telling where he’d be. So weird that he’s never tried this before in the 3 years we've had him.

I got a call about 3:15 that someone had found Knightly (my number is on his tag). The guy just lived one street over and around the corner, so Knightly didn’t go too far. They guy was very nice and said he’d hold Knightly till I got there. I stopped on the way home from work (left a little early). Turns out the guy went to school with me through 6th grade. Small world.

Knightly was fine riding home, and I put him back in the yard. He started jumping at the gate almost right away. Carrie said that’s where he had gone out before. He would get his front legs on the top and his back legs on the middle horizontal piece and use the diagonal piece on the gate to get up and over. After a few tries he got it. Very impressive - I wish had gotten a picture. I ran through the garage and caught him in the driveway and put him back in the yard. I went back through the garage and turned back just in time to see his tail go back over the fence. He’d gotten much faster. I caught him in the garage and put him back in the yard. This time I stood by the gate and took a big swing at his head when he jumped up. He didn't try again for a long time after that.

Since he had only jumped at the gate where the diagonal piece was and he seemed to use that to get one up, I got 2 of the boards from the half built shelves at our old house and nailed them to the gate to cover up the diagonal piece. It seems to have worked because he hasn’t gotten out since. Yesterday there was mud on those boards, but it seems like he can get up and over.

As I was tending to Knightly, Carrie hollered like something was bad wrong. Aubrey had been taking a nap when I got home and woke up about 4:30. She had been just standing in the kitchen and made a little cough noise – and threw up a ton. It was all over the floor and her clothes with big chunks of green beans and such. And it smelled horrible. Carrie was freaked out (smells always bother her), so I got Aubrey undressed and wiped off. Then I gave Aubrey to Carrie and I cleaned the floor. It was very gross. Good thing I had gotten home a little early to help with that.

Aubrey seemed fine after that, so we got her cleaned up more and I went to get her dressed. And she threw up again all over the clothes I had just picked out for her and on my pants and the carpet upstairs. It was much smaller than the first vomit, but still very yucky. So I gathered all the dirty clothes and put them in a pile outside. I cleaned the carpet and got some blankets to wrap Aubrey in for warmth and because they were easy to clean.

We gave Aubrey some water, and she threw that up too. Carrie went to get some pedialite, and we gave her that. A few minutes later she threw that up too. Later on she would gag and heave. She wouldn’t keep anything down and emptied herself out. The first few throw ups were very large but very easy. Later she looked very uncomfortable and would heave but nothing much would come out. In between she seemed almost normal – she would play some and talk but was less active. More just sitting or laying down. We all stayed home from karate and tended to her.

We called the pediatrician about 6:15 and they called back about 8:45 (very annoying). By then Aubrey was very sleepy. She didn’t seem hungry but wanted a drink. She hadn’t heaved in about an hour or a little more. They said to try to wait 2 hours after the last vomit and introduce pedialite very slowly. Hopefully she would sleep and feel a ton better in the morning.

Right after I talked to the nurse, Aubrey heaved a little again. We couldn’t wait too long, so we just waited till about 9:30 and gave her a ¼ teaspoon of pedialite. After 10 minutes Aubrey was fine (besides fussing for more), so we did another ¼. That was fine again, so we did a half teaspoon. Then we did a whole. And another whole. Aubrey kept all of that down with no problem. We were nervous but hopeful putting her to sleep. I got her all changed and pj’s on. She had no fever. She went to bed a little after 10 with no bottle.

During the night I went in once to give her the bear and paci. She cried out 2 other times, but by the time I got to the stairs she was all quiet. So I’d say she slept great. She woke up a little after 7 for the day and soon after had a big poop. We started slow with the pedialite but were soon giving her cup fulls. She wanted more, more, more at first, but after the 2nd full one, she seemed satisfied. She ate fairly normal on Tuesday and all seemed well. Praise the Lord.

It was pretty stressful at the time (and super sad watching her puke), but really it went pretty well - at least it didn't last too long. And Knightly is still in the backyard. So we're pretty good.

Week in Review: Sleep Strike!

We had a pretty good week, all in all. Aubrey was sick and was way off her schedule, but it wasn't too bad. We stayed pretty busy in spite of her being sick. Here is what we did:

Sunday: Aubrey had had an awful night Saturday night, so I stayed home from church with her while David went. Aubrey and I didn't have very much fun since she wasn't feeling well, and we were both tired. I cooked lunch so we could eat as soon as David got home. David was going to watch the football games on Sunday afternoon, so I took a nap while he watched the games and attempted to get Aubrey to take a nap. She finally ended up taking a short one. I went to church that night and David and Aubrey stayed home. Sunday night was another rough right sleep-wise.

Monday: Aubrey slept pretty late, but not as late as I was hoping considering she didn't go to bed until midnight! We hung out at home Monday morning. I did some laundry and general straightening up. I gave Aubrey a bath which made her feel a little better. I had a dentist appointment that afternoon, and Aubrey went to play with her grandmother and uncles since my dentist's office is in my parents' neighborhood. Aubrey had fun, and I didn't have any cavities :) Unfortunately, my dentist appointment was right in the middle of naptime, so Aubrey didn't get a nap that day. (That's what happens when you make appointments 6 months in advance!) Even though Aubrey was under the weather, we decided to go to karate with David anyway. I knew Aubrey would be tired and cranky if we stayed home, but she was in a great mood while we ran an errand. We went to Dillards with my mom and brother. On the way home from karate, we picked up pizza for dinner. Praise the Lord, Aubrey went to sleep easily that night!

Tuesday: I woke up around 6AM to Aubrey coughing. She wasn't awake, just coughing almost constantly and I could hear it loudly through the monitor. Finally at around 6:45 I got up and asked David if he thought she would go back to sleep if he slipped in and gave her cough medicine. We both thought she would go back to sleep since it was still so early. WRONG! She was up for the day after that. Believe me, I was kicking myself! I would rather lay in the bed and doze between coughs than be up and playing with a wide awake baby that early! It worked out for the best though, because I was able to call Aubrey's doctor early and get her in earlier than I otherwise would have. After our trip to the doctor, we went to Target to get her prescriptions filled. Then we headed home, ate lunch, and attempted to nap. Aubrey wasn't having it though, so we skipped naptime again! Ughh. I could have gone for a nap myself. We went to the grocery store instead, and when we got back Daddy was home! Aubrey played with David while I cooked dinner. After dinner we hung out and watched American Idol and then put Aubrey to bed early.

Wednesday: Aubrey slept great but woke up early :( I was sad. We got ready and met David at the chiropractor. I didn't want to go in because the last time we took Aubrey she kinda freaked out and I had to hold her down while the chiropractor adjusted her. I thought she would do better and let David hold her this time if I wasn't there. So I ran to Books-A-Million during her appointment. I literally walked in the door and David texted me that they were done. So I went right back to pick Aubrey up. David said she did great and didn't even cry much this time. Aubrey and I came home after that and had lunch. Then we attempted naptime. It didn't go so well. In case you're counting, this was day number 3 that she skipped her nap. I was determined to get her to sleep at least a little though, so I laid in my bed and put her on my chest and she finally went to sleep for an hour. I don't know what's up with the sleep strike, but I don't like it one bit. After "naptime" we played until David got home. He was sweet enough to stay home with Aubrey and let me go to church that night.

Thursday: Aubrey slept until almost 10! Guess all the nap skipping was wearing her out. I had an OB doctor's appointment, so I was able to get ready while she slept. She slept so late though, I ended up being a little late. I just hated to wake her up since she hadn't been sleeping great. My appointment went well! The baby has a good heartbeat. At my next appointment on February 23rd, we should be able to find out the gender! So excited! After my appointment we came home and tried naptime. It was a no go once again :( So we went outside to play instead. We were outside playing when David got home, so he and Aubrey stayed outside for a while and I went in and put some soup in the crockpot for dinner. After a while we went to karate. Aubrey and I and my mom went to Target. After karate we came home, put Aubrey to bed, and ate dinner.

Friday: Aubrey woke up at 7:15. How can she be so inconsistent?! This no schedule thing is really driving me batty. We had lunch with Ashley and Evy and Sarah Denley. Ann Peyton didn't come because she was sick. Aubrey missed her little friend. I lost my keys and freaked out because I thought I had locked them in the car. SD held Aubrey while I went outside in the POURING rain to see if I saw them in my car. I didn't see them, but I did succeed in getting drenched. After getting the poor owner to look through the trash for me, I finally found my keys. In my purse. Yeah, I felt like an idiot. I didn't have high hopes for naptime after we got home, but guess what?? Aubrey took a nap in her bed! I think it was a combination of being exhausted and the fact that her room was pitch dark because it was raining. Whatever it was, it was SO nice. What did I do with my glorious free time? I took a nap too. I love naps on cold, rainy days! After we woke up, I straightened up the house, and then we met my mom, brother, and grandparents for dinner. David and my dad were at a Men's Conference. My grandfather hadn't seen Aubrey since Christmas, and he had been wanting to come over and see the progress we have made on our house (not much). So after dinner they came over and hung out for a while. They left when it was time for Aubrey to go to bed.

Saturday: I got up and met two girls from church to go fabric shopping! We went to Brookhaven (about an hour away) where you can get cheap, cheap fabric. We ate lunch in Brookhaven and then went to the fabric store. I found fabric for drapes for our living room and kitchen and fabric to recover the cushions on our kitchen chairs. I ended up getting 42 yards of fabric! Good thing it's cheap :) Now hopefully I can get these curtains made ASAP! It was late afternoon by the time I got home. David and Aubrey had gone over to his parent's house for a while and she was napping when I got home. Yay for another nap! Hopefully we're getting back on track with the naps. Tonight my grandmother took David, Aubrey and I and my family out to dinner. We had a LONG wait and Aubrey got pretty antsy, but we had fun. After dinner was our usual Saturday night Kroger run.

So that was our week! Aubrey seems to be feeling better, so hopefully next week is better schedule-wise!