- 'Twas the night before Christmas... -

...well, make that two nights before Christmas; but when Momma's scheduled to work Christmas Day, the calendar gets altered a bit. All through the house on December 23 -- AKA "Christmas Eve 2018" -- a lot of creatures were stirring...

...some break-and-bake "cookie batter," that is.  Ohhh Toll House, you're a busy mom's dream come true.

The stockings were hung off the railing with care, and Harper and Co. are officially ready for the gift-bearing visitor! She insisted that Santa liked orange juice the best, so a full glass of O.J. it was...

...turns out he didn't complain! ;) :)

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night! 

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PS -- I love these pictures shared with me of some of the cookie plates we made! I hope Santa enjoyed all the delicious treats!!!

- Birthday for Three! -

Even Twinkle Toes knew it was time to celebrate Daddy...

...and celebrate did we!!! Fancy-fringed party blowers and birthday hats for all!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Brian and Brant!!! We had Bella Milano carryout followed by ice cream cake...

...followed by a long, luxurious backrub for our favorite Daddy Bear.  Harper picked this little kitty massage contraption out in the stocking stuffer aisle [AKA $1 junk aisle] at Wal-Mart and was soooo proud to wrap it up for Brian. We decided to put it in a cereal box so Daddy wouldn't know what it was when he shook the gift. As soon as Brian got home from work that day, she ran up to the front door and excitedly exclaimed, "Dadddddyyyyyyy, we bought you a CUTE little kitty back-rubber and we put it in your Frosted Flakes box so we could trick you! But you can't open it until your party, because it's a bee-prise [surprise]!" ...lolololol. #kids

The very next day was Van the Man's birthday, and the kids loved his Ninja Turle pinata!

Happy birthday to the three boys! We love you all!

- Bowlin' Babe! -

Daddy's dream is coming true: little Harper LOVED her first stab at bowling!  It wasn't a 298 game [Daddy's claim to fame back in his bachelor days!], but it wasn't too bad for a 3-year-old! Some of Brian's work friends invited us out to the local lanes, and I'm so glad they did.

Scarlett scarfed the alley food while Harper threw her ball, and lots of fun was had by all.

:)

- Friendsgiving: Round 2 -

Thanksgiving, meet Christmas:

But fear not: ain't nothin' that can stop a group of great friends from enjoying some good fellowship! We planned to celebrate the 2nd Annual Friendsgiving the weekend before Thanksgiving, but [not] thanks to a nasty GI virus that had Scarlett AND Momma laid out flat on the couch, we had to reschedule for a later date. The house was decorated for Christmas upstairs and decorated for Thanksgiving downstairs...

...and Harper was very proud of the drinks she set out for everyone!  Good thing, too, that we Thieves-coated the pumpkins, because they were still in perfect condition for the December party!

We had so much fun with everyone and adore you all! Already looking forward to Friendsgiving 2019 in our NEW HOUSE! :)))

- I spy with my litte eye... -

...ONE LITTLE ROOF TRUSS! [Late November 2018]

And one turned into ten...

...and ten to a thousand[ish] -- which we thought was soooo exciting!...

...and pretty soon, we had a full blown, legit ROOF over our heads!

*Cue the angel chorus!*  Shingle work then began immediately... [Early December 2018]

...and Harper was always sure to yell, "'Dat guy better be CAREful!" within a few feet of the brave souls traipsing around on our steep roof. But really -- where be their rope belts and all that?! Oy.

:) :) :)

- From the windowwww -

...to the WALL[S]!  Ain't no room for Lil Jon in this joint, but WE HAVE WALLS and I'm singin' it loud and proud from the top of my lungs. [November 2018]

Out with the old and in with the new -- Brian found a framer juuuust in the nick of time, and he bid the job for less AND turned out to be much easier to work with than the original guy was.  HOORAY!  A real miracle.  While he and his crew were busy throwing up studs over here and over there -- and, well, really everywhere -- our guys were down below working hard to put in the stairs!

 Every day there was a little more progress...

...and a little more...

...and a little more!

A big snow storm blew through our area the week before Thanksgiving, and poor Brian spent hours at the house shoveling and shoveling and shovelingggg the snow off the unprotected subfloor.

Pretty solid work, if you ask me!

The framers worked fast and seemed to throw it up in a flash!

One day we had to stop by to iron out a few issues the builders ran into...

...but no big deal; all fixed in a few minutes. I self-toured the evolving "house" while Boss-man Brian barked instructions. :)

When Harper visited the next day, she proudly adorned several studs with a big blue "H!" <3

It's really starting to look like something; we are so soooo thrilled!!! :) :) :)

- Subflo' -

GUEST POST! 

Subfloor is not my specialty and the mastermind is free and roaming this morning and so! Hear it from the [Super]man himself...

Welcome to the blog, Brian!  

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Floor trusses delivered and ready for installation.

Prepping for the rain in the forecast, plenty of light from my little helper.

7:30am and the crane is in action!

Break time.

Just a few adjustments with the router.

Brant and Uncle Mike pose for a picture with Harper while the crane rolls away.

Day two and we're at it again.

Floor trusses are set and ready for subfloor.

Prepping the location for the basement steps.

Harper enjoying a snack in her new bedroom!

3,000 screws in, 2,000 to go.

Subfloor is finished -- now time for the framing crew.