Yes, we know it has been a while. I am aiming to catch everyone up on what’s been going on around here. “Busy” is the key word.
Zoey has been doing very well. She had her 9 month check up last week. She is a whopping 20lbs 1oz, still 27 inches (the same since she was 7 months old–wacky!) and her head is 45cm. She is doing very well. Her second top incisor finally cut through last week as well, so, 4 teeth total right now. She is definitely working on some more. I forget what’s next, lateral incisors, then molars? Anyhoo, we will keep checking.
Zoey’s favorite activities include crawling after Murphee’s ball (especially the super dirty ones, of course) and going into the potted plants, taking a handful of soil, and putting it into her mouth first, then, dumping the dirt onto the floor and repeating. Yummy. Maybe she will grow out of that one soon. She’ll probably grow up to be some sort of horticulturist or something.
Her latest food is mangos. She loves them! She has also eaten oatmeal, yogurt, brown rice, and blueberries. “We” made our first mess at the Chinese restaurant Black Pearl. She was eating the brown rice and got it all over everywhere. But, she had a great time!!!
As for the rest of us, Evan has been working hard on his web work and being a wonderful stay-at-home daddy. I have been getting used to my new teaching schedule while trying to recruit more students at the same time. I am coaching all the brass players at Kenmore Jr. High. I coach beginning band brass at 7:45 in the morning every day of the week now. That really isn’t very early until you figure in the run that me and Murph do at 5am. 
I wanted to mention that I love Nicole’s site that features what she has been cooking. We watch the food network all the time now. Alton Brown is one of our favorite chefs. So, I am insprired to start mentioning the things we have been making (if they turn out good). They are for the most part quite healthy because I am working on my weight loss goals… So, today we are crockpotting a turkey breast with carrots, celery, potatoes, and spices. It smells so yummy right now! It should be done around dinner time. That with a little brown rice and some sort of greens will make tonight’s dinner healthy and yummy. We will be serving carrots to the young princess with four teeth. I am determined to only cook once for the whole family. Evan does half the cooking, so hopefully, he is determined, too.
In other news, my Step dad Lou spent nearly a week with us, sleeping on the air mattress, while he worked to get his church’s booksale going. We heard it was a great success–congrats Lou!
We have been weighing the pros and cons of expanding our home right here versus moving to Bellingham. The remodeling plan includes tearing down the garage and the deck, and building a two-story addition on the back of the house with a couple more bedrooms, a rec room (gamers, that’s for y’all), and one and a half more bathrooms, with a 2 car garage and a little yard. Anyone have any remodeling hints, tips, or advice? We’ve heard a good rule of thumb, costwise, is about $100 per square foot. Does that seem right?
October 19th, 2004 at 10:13 am
I’ve heard numbers ranging from $100 per sq. ft. to as high as $250 per sq. ft. I think it really depends on the type of construction, the materials used, and how fancy you want the interior to be. As an example, you can spend $29 for a bathroom faucet, or you can spend $389. More corners usually means more cost, so fancy-shaped houses cost more than simple boxes.
Do you know anyone who has similarly remodeled in your neighborhood? They may have a contractor to recommend (or to NOT recommend).
- Eric