The Homestead

Let me start out by acknowledging the fact that it is Friday  night and I am blogging = Lo-ser.  I am on spring break, which come to find out means something COMPLETELY different when you have two boys than it does when you are a young carefree childless twenty-something with a whole lot of time to do absolutely whatever you want.  Well, this year on my spring break, besides going for walks and to the zoo and playing with trucks, I am also demonstrating my impending old age and uncoolness by attempting to spring clean my house.  Let's put it this way - It is Friday and I have one room done - one of the easier rooms even.  So while my students are out splashing around in Panama City in their tiny bikinis with the tans they've been working to achieve all winter at the local fake-bake parlor, I am getting down and dirty with my super old house.  Totally uncool.
The whole point of me writing this is because cleaning today got me thinking about our house and how much it has grown on me.  I am constantly thinking about moving - to a different town, or even a different state, but the truth is that I would be so sad to leave this house.  It isn't our first house, but it is the first house that we picked out completely on our own.  The first house we got to have total say in what we've done.  Also, since one of the main points of this blog (besides to keep all of you up on the details of my glamorous and fascinating life - blah) is to keep a record for my children of our lives, I wanted to tell them a little bit about the house that we started our family in.  (Because that is the kind of thing I would have found fascinating about my own parents' lives - trust me, I am aware of just how uncool I am.)
So here we go kids......

Our Homestead

We bought our house after being married and living in a neighboring city for 2.5 years.  It was owned by a woman named Verna whose own parents had built it in the 1920's.  When we moved in a young couple had been living here and although I'm sure they did some fabulous things that we can't truly appreciate, they also did a lot of really weird things.  For example, they pulled out every TLC painting trick in the book.  Now, I love TLC just as much as the next person (although not enough to actually pay for cable), but there comes a point when it is a little excessive. 

Now, almost 5 years later I've made Dustin paint every room twice, (what can I say - I'm sensitive to color. :)).  We've remodeled almost every room in some way, and there is so much more we want to do (like actually finish the second upstairs bedroom that has never been finished).....  So, for my children (and those of you that have actually made it this far in the post...) here are some photographs of the house our family started in.

The Kitchen

It used to be an enclosed room with some really funky cupboards.  One day Dustin came home from work and I had started knocking out the wall because I just couldn't stand it.  So began our first big renovation and almost 6 months without a kitchen sink.

 The Basement (a.k.a. ManLand)

Your dad couldn't wait to get the basement done.  You love to play down there and we love having friends over and hanging out in our newest addition to the basement.  It really had nowhere to go but up. (Yes, that is definitely a keggerator in the corner, and we definitely sold it in record time to a bunch of frat guys that saw a poster I hung up at the local college.)  Your dad and his friends studded it themselves and then your grandpa came out to help us do all of the lighting and add the half bath.  Your mom (me of course) did all of the wiring with a lot of guidance from grandpa.

The Dining Room

This is one room that I only painted once - but it did take many coats of paint.  The previous owners may have done weird stuff, but they did it well. :)
My dad (your grandpa) helped us put in a sliding glass door where there used to be windows so that we would use the backyard so much more.

The Boys' Room

This is the boy's room three paint colors earlier (like I said, I'm very sensitive to color).

The Living Room

This is one room that really hasn't changed all that much, but it is a room that you boys play in often.  You (Miles) love to look out of the picture window at the cars and trucks driving by.  You also stand on the couch to wave goodbye to us when ever we leave.  Miss Ele has even taught you how to get Bear to wave to us as well, which is super sweet.

Upstairs Bathroom

Your dad has never been able to share a bathroom, so this is his bathroom that we had to try to make "manly", whatever that means.  This is significant to you because of the leather box on the back of the toilet.  Your dad insists on having his toiletries out for convenience factors, so I make him keep them in a sweet leather tote.  You've (MIles) figured out how easy it is to get to these items and have a lot of fun grabbing his deodorant and licking it or rubbing it on your cheeks. 

The Backyard

We love our backyard now and you love being back there with us.  That is probably our favorite place to spend time together.  This picture below was actually taken two years ago, so the trees and plants are already so much bigger.  Your dad and I have even more dreams for this part of the house.

Some things not pictured:  

Great neighbors, including sweet Mrs. Alvey, Todd with the giant back tattoo, and two people we wouldn't recognize in daylight because we think they're allergic to the sun.

A dilapidated garage.

A half-finished upstairs.

The stairs that you LOVE to climb.

The driveway that you can't get enough of.

So there you go.... our humble abode.  In looking at these pictures I'm still trying to figure out what your dad and I saw in this place nearly five years ago.  However, we have tried our best to make it an appropriate home for our new family.  We're not sure how long we'll be here, but we do know that it will always hold a special place in our heart.