"New" Home Renovations

When we first bought our home in January of 2010, quite literally the first thing I did was rush up to what would be Lucy's nursery and start tearing wallpaper down. The entire room needed to be updated and it just didn't meet my standard for our first child's nursery. I wish now more than ever that I had stopped for a second to take a picture of the hideous wallpaper and nasty shag rug (I mean honestly, what were people thinking in the 70s and 80s when it came to home style?!)

Here are a few pictures of the entire process:

Here is the ONLY picture that shows a little of what it looked like beforehand (oops). The sheetrock is going up!

Walls are up, now it's time to sand the softwood flooring. Note: Don't ever "paint" over gorgeous flooring. It took entirely too long for us to fix and it's such a shame to cover up such beauty!

Floors are sanded, walls are up. Time to paint!

Green it is!

Next came staining the floors. It's starting to look so much better!

Time to add the freshly painted trim and crown molding!

Crown molding and trim finished!

We're moving onto Lucy's "big girl room" next. It's a fairly large rectangular room that like this one, has awesomely nasty shag rug and wallpaper. Now it's not that I'm against wallpaper. It's just the choice of wallpaper matched with TEAL rug. I mean, really people!?

A quick little weekend project we have planned for this weekend is to repaint our bedroom that is a mustardy yellow color that I just can't bare. It's the most gorgeous room in the house, with high ceilings and large windows that look over our 7 acres and farm. The flooring is incredible and it just deserves something so much better than that, don't you think!?

The bottom line here is that we're trying to sell our house, and know that before doing so there are a lot of projects that need to be either started, or finished. :) 

xo

Disney 2012!

We just got back from our family's first Disney trip with ALL of the little ones. It was wonderful. It was exciting. I'm pretty sure the week we were there rocked their worlds.

 But I'd be completely lying if I didn't say it was taxing, exhausting and draining at times (especially being pregnant in 97 degree heat!). With that said, there was always a moment, whether meeting a favorite character, going on a roller coaster for the first time, or seeing their favorite animals on a safari that made all the stress and chaos completely worth it.

Take a look:

Lucy's cousin Jackson star-struck by the very presence of Buzz Lightyear

My little love bug overwhelmed with excitement on the watersides

Lucy's cousin Alex just as excited heading down the slide

My parents with Lucy and Jack in front of Cinderella's Castle

The Kimberlin's!

Meghan and Jack wearing Dumbo and Mickey ears!

Ben, Jackson and Meghan

Myself, Lu and Nate watching fireworks (Lucy's first time!)

Joy and Jack 

Nearly the entire crew getting ready for Muppets 3D

Grampy and Jack, game faces on!

Thanks for stopping by!

Catching Up

And just like that 5 months have gone by! My, where has the time gone? Let's see, where to start..

So Penny {Lane} came into our lives mid-November. She's sweet and gentle, incredibly similar to Indy. She has proven to be calm and understanding of Lucy exploring every square inch of her!

Christmas was exciting. Lucy was so enchanted with the Christmas tree. For almost a week after we took down the tree Lucy would run into the parlor with excitement, hoping the tree would magically return. But to no surprise, the tree did not return.

(Please excuse my husband's barefeet and the nasty old curtains!)

Since then, we have purchased new curtains and Lucy's hair can actually fit in an itty bitty ponytail!

The last few months have been rough to say the least, but I am forever thankful to have an incredible husband and a sweet little girl. They really are my everything.

Ms. Penny Picard

Please excuse my lack of blogging in the last week. My computer is apparently loaded with viruses (my AVG ran out and wasn't renewed...oops!) and I should have it back within the week. So in the meantime, on the hubby's computer I am!

Last Sunday a dear friend of mine, Marie, sent me a link for a 7 y.o. Great Pyrenees at the Bangor Humane Society. We decided that for our lunch break the next day we would go take a look.

Oh boy. I knew when I was pulling into the parking lot that there was little to no chance we'd be leaving without her. I just had that gut feeling. It just felt right. The newest Picard.

Penny Picard.

She was an absolute doll. Naturally she looked a little scared and timid, but just wanted to lean into me through the kennel and have me pet her soft, fluffy white fur.

She and her sister (Penny is 7 and her sister is about 2 3/4) were returned to the kennel when Penny was 6 1/2. The owners were negligent and kept them in a barn, with no attention and certainly no love.

Come to find out, Indy and Penny's sister are SISTERS from the same litter! Which, in a sense, makes Indy and Penny sisters from another litter (hehe..I like to say that snapping my fingers)! What are the odds!? Not that it's a typical breed in Maine, but still, it just makes the whole situation feel like it was meant to be. And I honestly feel that even though she's 7, it's NEVER too late to have a loving home and to be showered with attention. I mean, we do have 6 years of cuddles to make up for...so she's definitely in the right place!

Team Yellow

Our 4th Biggest Mover started just a few weeks ago at the Y. It's a 12-week program and we are approaching the end of the 3rd week. We have 9 teams (and 9 very different trainers) with 5 people/team.

Introducing:

Team Yellow!

A lively, very diverse group they are! They come ready to work and are always up for a challenge. We've had 5 workouts together so far (each team trains twice/week with their trainer - the rest is on their own) and each one has been a little different.

Some awesome moments so far:

Day 1: Josh finishing his modified push ups that he didn't think he could do. The team was cheering him on, his arms were shaking and the smile on his face when he finished was priceless.

Day 5: Cathy showed up a little late, and while the rest of the group was on their 2nd round of Overhead Ball Slams/Squat w/Ball Throw/Jumping Jacks/Kettlebell Swings, she busted butt and was caught up with them by the time we finished in the gym

Day 5: Katrina finishes her inverted rows and traveling lunges, then goes to the stairs for another round, even though she had finished everything I'd asked of her. That's commitment.

Every Single Day: Chris and Darlene are coming in daily for extra workouts. I know the others are, too - but they are really pushing themselves. Chris even comes in when his wife's team trains to get a little extra. Nothing makes me happier than to witness people "seeing the light" into a healthy lifestyle.

There will certainly be more to come on Team Yellow. Our Week 3 weigh-in is tomorrow, so here's to hoping they eat well and stay hydrated! :)

Raindrops On Roses And Whiskers On Kittens...

These are a few of my favorite things!

Lately I've been craving The Sound of Music. Oh, what a sweet movie. I grew up watching it, adoring it, and *somehow* wishing that I had a singing family. Lucy seems to love all the singing and dancing children.

Here are a few of Lucy's favorite things:

Rolling around on the floor, laughing uncontrollably. She definitely wants to make sure you get a good look at her new chompers, too!

Tormenting/Loving the cat. Lucy has an odd way of showing her affection. She smothers, wrestles and hugs-to-death her animals and friends. We're working on it, but she seems to think that smothering is the only way to go.

Pasta Day! Which, for anyone that knows Nate and I, is just about every other night. And Lucy seems to be following in her mother's footsteps, loving pasta to the max! And let's not forget how much she loves to be messy. So throwing all that amazingly sqiushy pasta around makes it that much more enjoyable for my little love!

Playing Outside. Anything involving being outside makes this little one squeal with excitement. She runs in circles, throws herself on the ground and is genuinely happy to be outside. It also isn't uncommon for her to walk around the house all day carrying her coat should she happen to not be out in the fresh air.

Kudos to my brother Mikey for unknowingly reminding me of The Sound of Music over the weekend!

A Star Trek Halloween

Lucy isn't exactly the subject in this post, but Nate and I certainly had a fun little "adventure" on Saturday night.

My work, The Bangor Y, has an Annual Auction.

This is the 12th, to be exact.

The night starts with a silent auction and finishes with a live one. It's a fun time for all, even if that means it's more hectic for some than others.

Since the event was so close to Halloween this year, the organizers decided to make it a costume party.

Most of the staff dressed up, but the members and auction go-ers weren't quite into it, I guess. But that didn't stop my wonderful husband, Nate!

He has a pretty severe Star Trek obsession, and I hate to say it but that obsession has completely worn off on me. I find myself checking the channels any time that I'm home, hoping old Star Trek episodes or movies might be on BBC or SyFy.

Yes, it's completely dorky.

Yes, I am 100% ok with it.

So this (naturally) felt like my chance to *finally* be able to dress up as Uhura. I mean, the red dress, the earpiece, the black boots, the slicked-back black hair (yes, of course I am referring to the 2009 Star Trek Movie Uhura, not the perm and skirt-set Uhura), the Starfleet Communicator...what's not to love?!

Plus it didn't hurt that Nate made a killer Spock. So serious and intriguing, that's my man!

Our friends Jen and Kathy showed up for the fun, and they dressed up as well!

Kathy represented as the Real Housewife of Penobscot County, Jen as Tink and myself as Uhura.

Lots of wine, lots of fun and lots of laughs! Thanks for such a fun night, everyone!

Happy Halloween!!

Happy Birthday Dad!

We had a nice family gathering today for my father's birthday.

Lucy took it upon herself to help him open his presents and cards:

Since my mother has a daycare, it's the perfect spot to have these little gatherings.

It's baby-proofed, large and full of fun things for the babies.

Since one of my brothers and my only sister each have a baby, we find the daycare a blessing.

We also took the bouncy house out for a bit for the little loves to play in.

My, oh my. Lucille just had a ball!

(Haha, get it...Lucille Ball!?)

Here's Lucille with her cousin Alex:

Alex, Lucy and Jackson. Alex is showing his favorite pose!

Happy birthday, dad! We all love you!

Big Fluff

Indy just doesn't get enough love on here. You know, I don't think I have ever mentioned her! Well, I will certainly make up for lost time.

Indy is our 2 1/2 year old Great Pyrenees.

What is a Great Pyr, you ask?

They're large breed guardian dogs. She basically looks like a polar bear, acts like a teddy bear (you know, if everything you ever thought a teddy bear was, actually came to life) and makes the best pillow. She was the "runt" of a large breed litter.

She's a gentle giant.

So sweet and good with Lucy.

Here's a picture of her as a pup:

Another from the day we brought her home:

Her favorite things include lying down to eat (I'm not joking and will post a picture at the bottom to prove it), barking at absolutely anyone or anything that might walk by our house, being best friends with our cat and jumping up on the couch when she's really excited. She's a laid back, loving dog. She's part of the family, not "just a pet".

She lets Lucy rip and pull on her hair, and somehow knows that she just can't get mad. If she's had enough, she just gets up and moves.

No snapping, growling, nipping. She just looks at us with her big, pathetic brown eyes, as if saying,

"Please mama, make her stop!"

Here's our little sweetheart in action:

Can't wait to get another Great Pyrenees sometime soon!

So sweet.

My sweet little munchkin.

I finally caught on camera Lucy's adorable peeking out the window on her tippy toes. She does this mostly when Nate leaves in the morning.

I'll say, "Lucy, where's papa!?"

Then she runs to the window to wave bye-bye to him.

I also decided last weekend to try on her hats and mittens for this winter, to get a good idea if the sizes were okay. When I tried this set on her, I couldn't resist taking pictures. What a doll!

Pumpkins and Playrooms

Gosh, lots of things have been happening in our household, yet I've neglected the blog once again! Lucy is off and running. It's so great watching her learn and explore our home. She's constantly trying to climb. Sometimes that's on her riding toys, other times it's on my bags, she often tries to just use Indy or even the cat to get a little more altitude. Anyone, anything...she doesn't discriminate.

Our garden... What to say here. We really didn't know what to expect back in May. At all. All we had to compare was the garden in Orrington, that honestly had more rocks than it did soil. It was so hard to get anything to grow. But we definitely hit the jackpot here in Detroit, Maine. For putting in very minimal effort we seem to have endless supplies of acorn squash, summer squash, zucchini and pumpkins! Many other things as well, but these mentioned were near perfection (well, you know, sort of). Lucy sure loved the garden, too. I think it was a combination of the dirt between her toes and being able to tear up as much grass surrounding the garden as she wanted without anyone stopping her.

Here's Lucy with the pumpkins:

And walking to get mama:

We've also had a little time to get her playroom downstairs started. Memorial Day weekend we had a large number of family and friends stay over at our house. Since then, most spare rooms in the house are still filled with beds. I mean, one room in the house has 3 beds in it - and I'm not kidding. So, Operation: Playroom is underway.

We still aren't quite done. We don't have a rug or playmat in the room, which is definitely necessary. We have awesome hardwood throughout our entire house, but it's just so slick and slippery. Lucy has a lot of nice, heavy toys in the room that I just don't want her to hurt herself with...and like I mentioned at the beginning, she's definitely off and running.

So that's all for now. Many more updates to come soon!

Cake Boss, Not Quite

We had Lucy's first birthday party last Saturday. It was wonderful. The weather was beautiful and plenty of family and friends came to celebrate with us. She wasn't exactly feeling well, but we still had fun.

The cake came out, well...not so hot. The recipe was fantastic and I loved the cake itself. When it came time to frost, though. Man. I was ready to give up. Constantly adding more confec. sugar, then more milk. More sugar, more milk. Repeat. It was humid and I just couldn't get a nice consistency, so finally I had to give up (the party was starting in less than an hour and I was still in pj's) and just let it be that the frosting would be thin. It was extremely difficult to frost the sides because of this. I even tried to put the frosting in the refrigerator for about a half hour, but it just wasn't long enough. Oh well. Live and learn. Hopefully by next year I'll have this frosting sitch under control.

I love birthdays. I just think they're wonderful and fun, and why not put a huge smile on that person's face, right? Well, that's what I was aiming for yesterday.

Nate actually loved it. I mean, who wouldn't love coming home to a huge banner for their birthday, right?! Perhaps I had too much time on my hands, but nonetheless it put a huge smile on his face when he got home from work.

So needless to say, it's been a fun week in the Picard household. I'm so thankful that Nate's home this time around to enjoy it with us.