Our Lot! Lots of Posts Scroll Down for More...

Here is a picture of our backyard. Right now it is just a mound of dirt.

The view from standing at the side of our house looking down the street.

Abby & Jacob in the front of our lot, Andy is in the background checking out our backyard space. It is a bit smaller than we were anticipating.

See those puddles of mud...yep, Jacob went tromping right in one before I could get to him. He was excited, I was not!

Upgrades and Color Choices

Here is a basic over view of what we are getting: We went skimp on upgrades in exchange for more square footage. We figure interiors can always be changed but the size our your home can't.

Standard Carpet and Pad, color is Thornwood. We did upgrade the carpet and pad in the family room since it will get used a lot. color is Braxton 201 Birchwood.

Laminate flooring in the entry, hallway, kitchen, baths, and laundry room, color initiator 66178

Honey Oak Cabinets in Kitchen and bathrooms. I am planning on painting/staining these to give them some "finesse".

• White marble countertops in the bathrooms, single bow vanity in kids bath and double bowl in master bath.



• Kitchen Island, No Morning Room.



• High Definition Laminate counter tops in Kitchen, yellow river. Here is what is looks like with what my cabinets will look like after I get my hands on them. White glazed cabinets and a cherry wood island.

What my kitchen will look like when I'm done, HAH! Well, not exactly like this but close, hopefully.

• We got recessed lights in the kitchen, family room, & master bedroom.



• We added wiring for lights/fans (yep you have to pay extra for this) in all rooms.



• We upgraded the standard tub/shower in the master with a Large Shower with 2 Shower heads! So excited to have a shower head that is my height and one higher up for Andy.



• We got some cable outlets, phone jacks, and some speakers for the family room



• Basement is unfinished, a project for later



• We got a fireplace in the family room with Venetian Gold granite surround.

Here are a few pictures of our Model I found Online.

Kitchen w/bonus Morning Room, we are not getting this extra room, it was a good chunk of change I don't have but boy is it a great room. Our Island doesn't look like this it goes the other way and is a lot smaller. There is a window over the sink and a sliding glass door where that opening is.

Living / Dining Room

Here it is ...Our New Home!

Ok, so this isn't exactly our new home, all we have right now is dirt. We are building a home with Ryan Homes, the Rome Model. Pictured above and below are models I found online. The one I love is above:) and the one we are getting is below. To add stone and such was lets just say "not in the budget". So we are going with all siding in the hope that one day we will be able to add the stone.

Our home is going have...

• Elevation C - it adds an extra foot to the loft upstairs and gives a bit of overhang over the door.


• Khaki Siding, LOVE!
  
  
• Almond Trim, HATE! - want white, really want white but Ryan Homes won't let me get it:(
  
  
• Brown Shudders, they're ok, I really wanted black but again Ryan Homes doesn't budge
  
  
• Plum Door, HATE! I want Cranberry Red, ...
  

We went with the color scheme that seemed the easiest to change to suit our tastes. I figure I can paint the shudders and the door but replacing/painting the siding would be too much. So we chose our favorie siding color and will have to live with the rest.

We chose Valencia Brick for the "to grade" brick work that starts at the ground and goes until the siding starts.

We break ground this week with an estimated move in sometime in August...can't wait!

Abbyism's

Abby is one funny girl. Her mind is working all the time trying to figure things out. She always asks the funniest questions. And sometimes I think "did you really just ask/say that?" I will list a few now and try to add to the list as more ridiculousness comes out of her mouth!

1. "Mom, why does Jesus live in the dirt?"...Honey, Jesus doesn't live in the dirt. Why do you think he lives in the dirt? "When you die you go in the dirt, Jesus died." I go on to explain the Resurrection and such and she kind of gets it until she says "So when you die you don't have skin and bones?" At this point I am thinking "Where did I go wrong in my explanation". I am about to try a new approach when she says, "So does Jelly Bean PaPa and GG Elna (her 2 great grands that are in their 80's) have their bones?...And do they have their skin.?" At this point I just start laughing.

2. "Mom, when you have a baby in your tummy are you resdeterded (resurrected)?"

3. "You can't treat me like this, I'M A HUMAN!"

4. "Mom, since I"m going to be Rapunzel for Halloween, when are my eyes going to turn green? And you know you need to get restentions (hair exstentions) right?"

5. I'm doing Abby's hair for school and she leans close to the mirror and says "Wow, I look like Taylor Swift! Do you think my friends will know it's me, Abby?"

I saved some money!

Anyone who knows me knows that I love to shop and shop and shop. Its theuraputic and fun! I've seriously been dying inside as I see deal after deal in my Inbox, 30% off at the Gap Outlet...yep past it up. Gymboree Circle of Friends ...yep past that one up too and the list goes on. We are in the middle of buying a home right now so I can in no way spend any money that isn't truly necessary. So, to cure my need for retail therapy I am focussing on Grocery Shopping because hey, that is a need, right? Now, I know my mom will be impressed because she loves me and everything I do is great, right mom, "Wink Wink". Andy, not so much because if it wasn't free then it wasn't a good deal. :( Well, I didn't get free but look what I did get for $26.00! ( I know that it's a lot of Pepsi, don't judge me)

Here's what I got:
48 yes 48 cans of Diet Pepsi
2 packages of Extra Long Grain Rice
1 jar of Bertolli Marinara
1 Bottle of Dawn
1 Mr Clean Bathroom Cleaner
5 packets of mexican seasoning
2 tubes of toothpaste
1 toothbrush
2 boxes of Cereal
2 boxes of Lipton Beefy Onion

I saved 50% on these groceries because here in PA stores double the value of your coupon! Coming from CA, I had never even seen that done before. I was so nervous when I went to checkout, I had so many questions and I think the checkout lady thought I was a bit crazy.

On a side note. Abby wants everyone to know that she can carry Jacob while walking. She is thrilled, Jacob not so much!

Marburger Farms

We went to a very quant little dairy farm today with our playgroup from church. There were a lot of us! We learned all about dairy farming and then some.
Abby was a great big sister...always keeping Jacob in check!

This is the cow that Jacob fed and let lick him all over, I had no part in it...obviously

Here he is feeding the cow all on his own. He love love loved it! When I told him we were going to the farm this morning he shouted, "All Right"!

The kiddos inside the very fragrant barn surrounded by about 50 cows.

Jacob constantly pointing and shouting, "It's a cow, It's a cow, MOOOO!"

Abby finally getting brave enought to pet a cow. She opted for the baby cow.

Jacob was contantly distruaght because he wanted to go inside the gates and cages so he could get right up and personal with the cows. He wanted to hug and kiss them, thank goodness for the cages:)

Abby made sure that I got a picture of her petting the cow, it was a very proud moment for her.

After the tour we were all treated to some super yummy vanilla, strawberry, and chocolate milk. It was seriously soooo good and I'm not a milk lover so that is saying a lot. It tasted like I was drinking a milkshake.

Notice Jaccob glaring across the table? He is strategizing on how to steal the sippy from the kid across the table. This poor little guy had the same Mickey Sippy that Jacob has and Jacob was trying to steal it from him the entire time.

Easter Weekend / Duquesne Incline

After all the furniture hauling (see post below) we went back to Pittsburgh to return the truck and do some necessary sight seeing. We chose to go up the Duquesne Incline to get a great view of the city. It's a small tram that takes you up the hillside to a great view and some quant restaurants. Jacob was soooo excited about riding the Tram!
From the top you get an amazing view of the city and the "3" rivers. I think we counted 15 bridges although I know there are more than that.

Andy, Jacob, and Clark checking out the view

We ate at a nice place on top of the hill with a great view of the city. Afterwards we went home and dyed Easter Eggs.

Easter Weekend/Furniture Find

I am loving Pittsburgh Craigslist. It rocks! I mean I have found the best stuff and the best prices I've seen anywhere. If the storage unit could hold more I would be all over it.

(Easter Weekend) Clark arrived late Friday night...I had already made an apt. to look at some furniture for Abby's room before I knew he was coming SO, on Sat. the plan was to look at the furniture put what we could in the van and then maybe rent a truck or something the next week to haul it to the storage unit. But, thanks to Clark...we used the ZipCar truck in Pittsburgh and were able to haul it all on Saturday. It was so nice to have Clark's help. I don't think we could have done it with out him. Not what Clark was planning on doing for 5 hours on a beautiful Saturday, but I'm gald he was a good sport.

Of course my awesome van! Yeah that's right I said awesome (LOL) hauled what didn't fit in the truck. I scored an entire room of furniture for Abby. I had purchased a night stand for her a few years ago at a consignment shop and have been looking for the past couple of years for the matching pieces. Well I scored! The pieces match perfectly.

It's kind of a girly French Provencal set from I don't know, the 50's-60's maybe. It's a creamy yellowish gold with gold details and scrolled legs and lots of girly touches. We are for sure going to give the pieces a face lift although Abby likes them just the way they are...of course!

This is a picture of what the furniture looks like. We got the following:

1. Full size bed, mattress, box spring, frame, headboard/footboard

2. night stand

3. 5 drawer tall dresser

4. long 6 drawer dresser with mirror

5. desk and chair.