fireplace s'mores

Kristin here.  Last week, we did something that I've always wanted to do.  I've been planning it since we made a bid on our house.  We roasted marshmallows in the fireplace!

Nathan's mom came down for a visit during her Spring Break, and then his aunt and grandmother visited for one day while she was here.  We enjoyed visiting, ate a good dinner, and then I busted out the marshmallows.

They don't seem to roast as well in a fireplace with a fake log burning (I used one of those fire-starter logs).  The middle cooked before the outside browned.  That's okay...I made a s'more anyway!

Everyone joined in on the fun, including Nathan's grandmother.

And Nathan's mom, Becky, came up with a great addition for her s'more.  M&Ms make everything better!

On a different note, we're doing well!  We're slowly (very slowly) getting unpacked and figuring out life in our new neighborhood.  We've been going to church the past few weeks and are looking forward to checking out a Sunday school class this weekend.  I still have to watch most of the service from the mother's room while nursing or rocking Rebekah, but it's nice to be back just the same.

Rebekah is growing fast...she's almost 2 months old!  She's smiling up a storm and also fussier than ever.  It's amazing to us how she can do both at the same time.  She still won't take a bottle or a pacifier, and I admit that I'm giving up hope on winning that battle.  We still try, though - I call those times "torture hour at the Stone household".

I'm becoming the typical stay-at-home mom.  The highlight of my day today was a dirty diaper (it was quite the doozy!), and it's a rare day when I talk to anyone besides Nathan.  I'd like to get outdoors a bit more, but my goodness it's been hot!  It wouldn't be so bad if I could fit into any of my shorts, but nope. :)  On that note, though, I've been cleared to begin exercising!  I've managed to fit in a workout every day this week, and I've (sadly) giving up eating desserts.  I'm also slowly transitioning back into dissertation writing, digital scrapbooking, and blogging.  Although I know I'll never be able to do all that I used to do, it's nice to be getting back to my old self.

Nathan is awesome, as always.  He's been incredibly willing to help me with Rebekah in the middle of the night, and he enjoys taking her on when he's home in the evenings.  He's also the one to tackle the fun jobs of trying out the bottle and pacifier - he's so patient!  People have always told us that having kids is hard on a marriage, and I can see why.  But, I've been blessed with a husband who puts my needs first, and that inspires me to put his first as well.  When we do that, marriage is the best thing ever!

Hope all of you are doing well...I've got to go change a diaper now. :) 

adventures of new homeowners

This is us the morning after our first night in our new house.  We look a little rough, but we're happy!

The move went incredibly well.  Saturday morning, we got up bright and early to get the truck and get started.  We were blessed with some help from Nathan's brother and our extended family in the area, so we were able to finish everything by lunch time.  We beat the heavy rains that came later that day and were able to enjoy visiting and spending time with our helpers.

Right now, there are boxes everywhere.  Rebekah doesn't let us get much unpacking done, so we've been averaging only a box or two a day.  There are also lots of handyman projects that need to get done - rewiring and installing a light fixture in the master bedroom, fixing a leak under the kitchen sink, weeding and mowing the yard, flipping the doors on the washer and dryer, etc.  Right now, it's more a mess than anything else...but it's our mess! :)

Our first day was quite an adventure.  Kristin spent a lot of time looking at the owner's manual for all of the appliances in the home - everything is much more high-tech than what we've been used to in our apartments.  We've had to re-learn how to use the dishwasher, washer, dryer, and especially the bathtub. 

Yes, the bathtub.

Our master bathtub is one of those cool spa tubs with jets.  It did not come with an instruction manual, and we weren't quite sure how to use it.  Nathan decided to give it a try, so he filled it up, making sure all the jets were submerged, and pushed a little button he found on the side.  Unfortunately, he didn't quite fill it up enough to compensate for the water getting sucked into the pump, and water began going everywhere!  Kristin was in the other room for the split second that he had the jets on, and when she came out, she found water on the ceiling, the floor, the walls, in the closet, and all over Rebekah (who was sitting in her bouncy seat by the door).  It was hilarious!  We both would have loved to have seen Nathan's face in that split second he realized the mistake as well as the flailing that ensued as he tried to find the button to shut it off while being sprayed in the face.  We now know that we'll never have to take Rebekah to a water park...just turn on the jets in the master bathtub!

We also managed to get locked out of our house (Kristin's fault!).  We got home from a trip to clean our apartment, and neither of us had a key!  Kristin was supposed to have one on her key ring, but she couldn't find it (turns out, it fell out and landed in the diaper bag).  Nathan ended up having to break into a window to get us in.  We really know how to "break in" a new house!

Things are going well, though!  We'll be busy unpacking for the next several weeks, but we'll also be taking time away from our boxes to just enjoy being a family.

painting

Last week, we got most of the interior of the downstairs of the house painted.  We plan on doing the rest later, after we've saved up more money.  For now, we focused on the rooms we'll be living in for the immediate future.

We had spent a while working on color choice (it's a scary thing to put a color on a wall), and Nathan had even ended up getting us an appointment with a design consultant at Pottery Barn as a fun surprise for Kristin.  Here's the finished result in the colors we chose (all colors are Benjamin Moore).

Master Bathroom in Cherokee Brick

 Master Bedroom in Adagio

Another view of the Master Bedroom

 Living Room in Stone House (what an ironic name, right?!) with accents in Barrista

 Entry Hallway in Kingsport Gray

 Kitchen in Oxford Gray

 Study in Aventurine

This past weekend, we decided to tackle a room that we didn't have professionally painted...the master closet.  We weren't going to pay to have a closet done, but it looked "used" enough that we wanted to freshen it up before moving in.  We still have another coat to go (plus the shelving), but here's an idea of how it will look (the brown accents were Nathan's idea!).