The paint crew finally finished painting our house almost two weeks ago. They said it would take them two days, but it ended up being five days, profuse amounts of dust everywhere, paint chips on the bottoms of our feet, and camping out in the basement with Taj for days on end, not to mention that I had to cover and re-cover our furniture with plastic a bazillion times. I thought I would go crazy. Renovating a house is a lot more work than one would think. It's mentally and physically taxing. It's also taxing on a marriage--that's why we hired someone, otherwise we probably would've been divorced by now. I've only posted a couple "after" pics since Taj is taking a nap and I have to take advantage of my precious opportunity to blog. More pics will surface soon of the rest of the house. We are finally starting to feel like it is ours and it doesn't smell like "Dennis and Betty" (as Brannon would say) anymore. We feel so blessed to be able to have a home to call our own and to live in a fabulous neighborhood. I can't wait to let Taj play outside in our backyard. I know there are some good times ahead of us in our little home on Larkin Lane.
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This is the flavor of "Dennis & Betty,"....the smell: stale cigarette smoke, but that too is gone now!
I tried moving this pic down, but failed many times, so here it is, right in the middle. Taj loves to push the cushions up on these chairs and then he climbs up and sits there like he's a stud because he's sitting all by himself. Taj is seriously out of control wild now. See the corner shelf in this pic, right behind the chair? Last night he pulled it down on top of himself. I freaked out, Brannon said I swore, but I don't remember that. I just remember hearing my baby cry and not seeing him because he was pinned underneath this thing. He got a pretty good goosegg from the whole ordeal, thank goodness that was it. Next, he pulled the wood molding off the wall, the whole strip! He's already dinged the new paint on our walls too. Good thing we don't have nice stuff because it's going to be trashed by this kid!
Some things about Taj (for memories' sake): His favorite words are "No!" and "Don't!". He says this whenever we try to get him out of the bath, make him eat, change his diaper, etc. Yes, we already have a disobedient child. He also says "doggie," "cracker," "uh-oh," and a certain grunt that means he wants something. If you take the time, he'll sit down and tell you his life story. All you have to do is knod and say "yes." I swear, he's just like his dad. He loves to be pushed around on his Radio Flyer, in his Cozy Coupe, and in his over-sized toy dump truck. He loves to play with cars and his boat and he makes the noises to go with it. His favorite book right now is "Doggies," which is way cute. He likes to watch Super Why in the mornings and his favorite show right now has to be Matilda, the kid is enthralled with it. It's the only movie he'll actually sit down and watch for at least 45 min. straight. He also gives real kisses now because he tries to pucker his lips (the only bad thing is that he won't give me any, just his daddy-we'll have to work on that).
I broke down yesterday and bought Taj a leash. It looks like a doggie backpack, but it's really a harness with a leash on it. I'll have to post a pic soon; it's sooo cute. Some of you may think it's child abuse, but you don't know my kid. He's half my size and he loves to cruze in all the wrong places. It's nearly impossible for me to contain him when he wants to get down and run, so now he can run, just not too far!
We are so thankful to have our little guy in our family. He really is the light of our lives and we feel so lucky to be his parents. He's teaching two people who thought they knew it all, that they don't know anything at all. We love him so much! Being parents is the best!
The Volkswagon Vanagon...shag carpet included.
"The Beast," self-proclaimed (note at the top of the camper)
The 1984 Toyota Dolphin, Brannon's favorite...I'm not even kidding.
Saving the best for last, the 1957 model Jeep motorhome. Supposedly, it still runs.
Brannon knows that I love Jim Shore figurines and he said that this one reminded him of me.
This year I decided to make Brannon's card. I don't know why I don't do this more often. They're cheaper and a lot cuter, plus much more sentimental. Don't judge this card too harshly, it's my first valentine's card and I used what I had, so it was free! Oh and I had to use tape because I didn't have any glue...just had to improvise:)
You can see that his mouth is full...that's an oreo in there. Taj has reverted back to shoving whole cookies and crackers in his mouth. He almost always gags and sometimes pukes. He's been watching his dad eat. I'm coaching both of them to chew their food before they swallow and to take smaller bites;)
This is my grandma...how cute are those glasses? I told her she was definitely up-to-date with the latest trends in eyewear. She came up to check out our new house with my family a couple weeks ago. It was her 64th birthday. Yep, she's 64 and still going strong:) Don't let her small size fool you. She intimidates the inmates at the local prison she works at. One time I didn't believe she could take me down and all of a sudden my arm was being wrenched up behind my back and Iwas on the floor...I guess that's what they do to get criminals under control. It works! We love Grandma Martha!
My friends Audrey, Jackie, and I get together every time Jackie comes into town. We always meet at Cafe Rio; there's something there for everyone! Who doesn't love it? We usually try to take a picture every time too because our kids grow so fast. We always have so much fun. We always gab for about two hours or sooner, whenever the kids start freaking out. Nap time is not something that can be ignored:) It's so nice to stay in touch with old friends and remember the good times!
Taj's wobbly foot prints in the snow...it was the first time he walked by himself in the snow. For some reason he's really intimidated by it, but he does like the "crunch" noise it makes. 
Taj had a little help the first time through the snow in our backyard.
Can anyone else see the face in our walnut tree? How cool is that!
I take no responsibility for this outfit. This is what happens when daddy gets him ready: Black coat, navy blue pants, and brown snow boots.
My favorite doorknob in the house...
This is the lightswitch cover in our bedroom. I chose to leave it because it's so vintage. Never mind the dust you can see, that just adds to the authenticity right?.jpg)
Entry way before.jpg)
Entry way after....
This was the "blue room." Everything was blue: the door, the baseboards, the walls, the ceiling and even the blinds were spray painted blue. It was like standing in an aquarium.
Office after...the next thing to go is that ugly red chair
Taj's room was blue room #2. It wasn't as overpowering as the office, but I think that's just because this room is smaller.
I like this color so much better than the blue. I know the light fixture looks like it has tentacles, but they're really crystals. Yeah, I know, a little girly for a boy's room, but Taj doesn't know the difference and I'm sure it won't threaten his boyhood. 
Even our bedroom had wallpaper in it, so glad to see that gone!
I know this looks really green. It was supposed to be a sage green, but turned out to be "safari" green. Boy were we surprised. Bran was freaking out more about it than I was. He didn't want to paint our bedroom this color; he tried to pawn it off on Taj's room. I like bold colors though, and it's really not so bad, kinda grows on you. That light fixture will also be coming down, as soon as we recover from the costs of this paint job!.jpg)
Taj on the floor jamming out to Randy Travis. He was even doing some head banging and shimmying. (Pretend you don't see the unmade bed and dirty sock on the floor. I'm not perfect.) P.S. Notice the stenciling on the hardwood floor? That too is Betty style. I don't like it, Brannon said just the opposite when he first saw it. He thinks it adds to the vintage accents in our home (old doors, creaky floors, really old 1950s linoleum, etc.)
