Baby it's cold outside. (And me with no one to cuddle with!)

It's still blustery and cold outside. Dustin should still get to come home tonight, but it won't be until the other guy gets there. It could be awhile. Our house is freezing! Our windows are drafty, what do you do? I left the furnace temp where it is and turned on the gas fireplace instead. That's warming up the living room.
I'm cuddled under a blanket with our dog Molly next to me. Gracie is curled up on a dog bed on the floor. We're snug.
I did some more drywall mudding today. I know, it's shocking! I will probably go up and do some more in a little while. I've been up there 4 hours today and was up there about 5 yesterday. So, I'm making progress.
Well, I'm going to stay here and stay warm.

Taking a break in the action.

I'm exhausted tonight. I have been doing some mudding upstairs. Dustin is at work until tomorrow night, so I'm hoping to have the room ready for the primer when Dustin gets home. I am only able to work for so long at a time and then I have to take a break. It's a bit frustrating for me.
Anyway. I thought I'd show everyone what we've been up to with the remodel.

This is the dormer we added to the east side of the house to the attic. Dustin, my dad and Tyler did most of the work. They did a great job. It still needs siding.


This is the dormer from the inside. Early on in the attic remodel project. It added some great space. When it is finished it will have built in bookshelves under the windows. There are recessed lights going in and some pendant lights will be hung in the right corner. There will be a chair for reading and the crib will most likely be along the left wall. It is bigger than it looks in the picture.


This is the inside framing for the windows on the south side of the house. The windows make the room very light. As you will see soon.


These are the windows installed. You can't tell the light comes in because I took the picture in the evening, but you should later on.


This is when we cut the hole in the floor for the stairwell.


Here my dad and Dustin were building the stairs. It took Dustin and I a long time to come up with the measurements of rise and run to make the stairs work and we still had a few adjustments as they went up. But they are usable now.


Here is Dustin during insulating the stairwell.

This is the doorway into the bedroom at the top of the stairs. It will have a french door.
Here is where we are right now. Finishing up mudding the drywall. It was some work to get it measured and up. We found out just how out of square our house it. There are a lot of corners to mud, so it has taken quite a bit of work, patience, and endurance. Hopefully tomorrow we can get up some of the primer.

So, there you have it. Our progress. Hopefully new pictures by the end of the week because we should be ready to maybe paint and start staining the woodwork.
Good night.

Getting ready for baby! Baby Stuff! Baby Stuff! Baby Stuff!

I took some pictures of some of the baby stuff we have so far, the cutest stuff anyway. I don't have lots. Holding off because of the attic remodel, but you can't expect a pregnant woman not to shop some. So, here is some of the fun stuff that we've gotten so far.


This is the cow and horse. Auntie Reyna bought one and I bought the other. They will be so cute with the crib set I bought. They are also incredibly soft. I can't post a pic of the crib set right now, it is packed away so it won't get dirty and I can't get to it without help. It's all farm animals! Absolutely adorable.

Baby Trend Car Seat. In Santa Fe, I think. This is part of a travel system with a matching stroller. I'm not dragging that out for a picture. I love the handle. It is really comfortable to hold. Safety ratings were good. I loved the color scheme of this car seat set. I wanted something gender neutral so we can use it for another baby. If our baby is going to be as big as the doctor suspects right now, baby will not be in this car seat for long.

Two pack of long sleeved onsies with pants. I bought these right after we found out we were having a boy. I needed to buy something blue. I loved the puppy face because it looks like our puppy Gracie. The other one says...
Is there any doubt? Our baby will totally be huggable.

Now, for the little Norwegian. Dustin's co-worker Noah picked these up for the baby. Thank you Noah. They are too cute and I can't wait to have him wear them to the Lutefisk dinner at the bible camp or maybe the one that we go to in Jamestown. If you can't read the onesies, they say...
"Where's the Lutefisk?" and "Where's the Lefse?" The hat, you should be able to read.

For the little monkey. I bought this sleeper to go with the monkey related gifts we have received already. It is too cute. I bought this at the same time as the blue clothes. It was a total impulse buy and I thank Dustin for just humoring me.



Here are the monkey slippers and stuffed monkey from Kris, Jeff, Devin, Tasha and Landon. They were part of a Christmas present. The slippers and the stuffed monkey all rattle.
The hat has monkeys on it too. It is from Auntie Reyna. I wish they had the matching sleeper, but they were out of it that day. I think I will return to the baby boutique where we found the hat and see if they get one in.


Finally, last, but not least. JJ Cole diaper bag. I looked at a lot of diaper bags. I wanted to find one I really liked, One that had lots of pockets inside and a changing pad. My hope was to also find one that wasn't too cutesie. I wanted one that I would really carry, since it will be my purse for the next several years. This will be one of the bags I use a lot. I have some other large bags that I will use as well, just to switch things up. I also have a black diaper bag, a small, basic one that will be perfect for quick trips down the road to grandmas or for Dustin to carry because it's not too girlie. The black one will most likely live in Dustin's truck. The one below. All mine. I love it. It has a great red lining too and the fabric is waterproof and will be easy to wipe off.


So, there you have it. Some of the baby treasure I have collected. I can't wait until we can use it or at least get it out for good. I'm getting antsy.

Well, this was a nice break, but I need to get back to mudding drywall. AGAIN!

Finishing the Day, Finishing my sermon.

My mom, dad and I quit early tonight. We got quite a bit done, but we were tired out. We ate supper and they went back to Nels and Harriet's house. I am getting my sermon wrapped up and get prepared for tomorrow. I would like to be wrapped up by the time Dustin gets home and since I'm writing a blog entry, you can tell that I am almost done. I just needed a little breather. So, I thought I'd write here while I play fetch with Molly. She needs a little attention, we've been upstairs all day, so she was alone most of the day.
Well, I better get back to work. Have a good night everyone.

I get to help again.

Yesterday afternoon, they started mudding. Dustin called me up to help. Why? I am really good at mudding and he didn't think my mom would kick me out again.
Dustin had to work today. Last minute thing. So, mom and dad are coming by later and we will continue with the seams and next stage of mudding. It should go pretty well. We mostly have the corners to finish taping, so that should go fine. I'm excited.
We'll see how well my dad follows my instructions today. That will be the test.

I'm glad the remodeling is progressing, I just wish I was needed.

Don't get me wrong. I'm glad that progress on the attic is happening. I just wish someone would let me help with anything. I ask what I can do and basically get told not to bother. There's nothing for me to help with. I know that they just don't want me to overdo it, but aren't I good for anything? Like I said, I appreciate all the help, but I get chased downstairs.
No one can figure out why I have gotten crabby. I get chased away. I went to town and said what I was going to do and was corrected on the order that I was going to do them in. (Does the order matter if I get the things done?)
I get looked at, whenever anyone comes down, like I'm lazy and not doing anything. When I offer to come up and help, I get told there is nothing for me to do. It's just frustrating.
To be honest, I don't have the energy to argue with them about it. I just wish I was part of my own house.

I just realized something! We're getting closer and I miss the puppy!

I just realized that there are now 59 days until my due date. That means we possibly could have a baby in less than two months. That's nuts! Good, but Nuts!
We are also getting closer to the attic being done today. A good push. All the drywall should be up by the end of the night. The taping and mudding will come next. We've taped and mudded about half, so, we're on our way. We may be out of our rut.
We took Gracie in today to be fixed. I miss our puppy. We get her back tomorrow. I don't think Molly and Winnie miss her as much, I think they see today as a day off from her overwhelming "puppy"ness.
Tomorrow, I get my Toyota back. This is another thrill. I haven't had it in about a month. I can't wait to have my own vehicle to drive again. Life is good.
Drywall, a puppy back home, a vehicle...Tomorrow should be a good day.