One project finished, another one started!

So here are the pictures of our new garage! We are so excited to have it that we are actually looking forward to an Iowa winter this year! :) We are so thankful to Daryl and his dad, Gene, for all the hard work they did to get it done so quickly. They did an AWESOME job for an even better price! For all those in Pella that are reading this who need some work done, you can't find a harder worker than Daryl! Thanks again, Daryl! For me, the best part is the super-quiet door opener. You can see how close the garage is to our living room and you can't even hear the door when it is open! The only way that I know Cody is home because I can hear his car door shut. It's awesome!

As you can see, we still need to do some landscaping around the new walk and the new driveway. The plants that we had there were already starting to look bad and they look even worse now. Unfortunately, I think that will have to wait until next Spring.


The inside of it is so much bigger than we ever dreamed it would be! We can fit both of our cars, the tractor, trash cans, and soon it will hold Cody's workbench and all his tools. Those can't get in until we get out the huge stack of drywall for the basement and Owen's new toddler bed, which I'm not ready to move him to yet! :)

As I said in the title, we have already started our next project. You may have noticed the stuff piled on the driveway in the upper pictures. That is sand and stone for the new patio Cody is working on below our deck. Cody picked out some great stone and created a nice pattern and I think it will look really nice when it is all done. And since one won't fit on the deck because of our table, I can finally get that swing I've always wanted! Here are some of the first few pictures of that, although he has done some more work on it since these were taken. He would very much like it noted that it really is NOT as easy as they make it look on those do-it-yourself shows on TV. Thank God we spent the big bucks on our tiller last year as that has helped him tremendously!

My very own Bob Vila is also busy working on finishing the basement, which has been an on-going process for about a year now. We're hoping that he can get this patio done in a couple of weekends and then really dive into the basement all winter. He keeps himself quite busy with all his projects, but I really think he does love it. And I love it when it's finished! :)

Back By Popular Demand

Okay, so maybe not so much "popular demand" and more just constant reminders from Auntie Gaye and Beth to blog. Whatever the case, I'm back! I have lots of catching up to do on our summer so first we'll start with mine and Owen's visit to Murphysboro for 2 weeks back in June. We had a great time visiting with everyone and I got lots of cute pictures of all the kids. So, without further ado, here they are!

This was one afternoon when Maddy was trying to nap on the couch and Owen wouldn't seem to let her. He kept laying down beside her or on her and waking her up. He just loves her so much!

I thought I was getting the cutest shot of the two of them together on the couch and I was so excited. Then I noticed Owen's 2 fingers....

Here's Owen with his cousin Danielle doing stickers. He loves doing stuff like that with her!

My friend, Emily, whom I grew up with, was also there visiting from North Carolina with her two boys, Jackson and Sam. Above is a picture of Cade and Sam who were born within 4 days of each other. Aren't they so cute!

Okay, I know I'm related to this kid but really, is he not one of the cutest kids you've ever seen?!!! I just can't seem to get enough of him! Here he is clapping his little heart out. He also waves bye-bye, which is the cutest thing ever, and I hear he's giving kisses now. I miss him so much!

We decided we were going to take a picture of all the Grandmas with their grandkids and my mom and Ann both whipped out the lipstick and had to "freshen up." I'm sure they'll both want to kill me for posting this picture, but I really had to no choice! hee hee. You girls are beautiful!

Here they are: Owen, Maddy, Grandma Debbie, Grandma Ann, Sam, Jackson, Grandma Gaye, and Cade

Ann had an Elmo sprinkler that we decided to get out while my cousin Meghan and her son Aidan were over. The kids were a little reluctant to run through at first but they warmed up to it after a while and had a great time!

This is Aidan running through with a bat that he would not put down the whole time he was at my mom's house. This kid hits and throws a ball like no other 2-year-old I've ever seen. I'm telling you, he's going to be one hell of a baseball player some day. He can hit it if someone pitches it to him! Remember his name! ;)

And that, in a nut shell, is our trip to Murphysboro. I'm hoping this will start a trend in blogging for me as I have missed it in the last few weeks. I've still got pictures of our beautiful new garage to post and also pictures of our wonderful trip to Bolingbrook a couple of weeks ago. Stay tuned and hopefull I'll be back in the next couple of days!

Long Time, No Post

Well, it's been a crazy few weeks here at the Muhs household and I just haven't had much time for blogging. However, for the last week all I've been hearing from people is that they are tired of seeing Cody every time they come to the blog. Seeing as how I live with him day in and day out, I understand how you feel. Hee hee. Just kidding, honey. :) Anyway, so today I finally got around to posting some of the many pictures I've taken in the last few weeks and for some reason it's not working for me. I'm sure it's because I'm trying to get ready to go out of town AGAIN and the computer can sense my urgency in getting these pictures up. So, I'm sorry to say that you will all have to look at that mug of Cody's for yet another week. However, I will give you a little update as to what we've been so busy doing.

In mid-June Owen and I headed down to Murphysboro for 2 weeks to visit with family and friends. We had a great time seeing everyone. Danielle and Maddy also came to Grandma's house so it was fun spending time with them. Danielle finally has her license so she drove me around for a few days! I can't believe she's old enough to drive! We also visited with my friend, Emily and her sons, Jackson and Sam. They live in North Carolina and decided to come visit for a week, which is one of the main reasons I decided to go. Emily and I grew up living next door to each other our entire lives and rarely get to see each other anymore now that we live states apart. So a good time was had by all and we were, of course, sad to see our stay come to an end.

The good news is that while we were gone Daddy worked hard the garage and got it all finished! It is beautiful, a dream! We are really enjoying it and I can't wait to get the pictures of it up for you all to see it. Sometimes we just go outside to look at it and bask in it's glory.

We had a great 4th with the Eisenbarths and also with the Breuers, which I also have pictures of and look forward to posting.

Now we are packing up the van, dog and all, to head to Bolingbrook for 10 days to visit with Cody's side of the family. We are looking forward to seeing everyone and doing lots of the things we always talk about doing but never have time to do while we are there. Our friends Jim and Kate will be home from Louisiana with all their kids so we are looking forward to seeing them. And 2 other O'Briens have had babies since we last saw them so we are really excited to meet them! Out of everything though, I think Cody is most excited to take Owen to the Brookfield Zoo. Owen has definitely inherited his dad's love of animals so I'm sure it will be a great time.

So, stay tuned as in a week there will be more pictures than you will know what to do with. And not only will you be sick of Cody's face, I'm sure you'll be sick of all of us! Hope you're all having a wonderful summer and trying to stay cool!

Happy Father's Day!

From the moment I met him, I knew that Cody would be a wonderful father and I was right. Owen loves his daddy and the two of them have so much fun together. I am so blessed to have such a wonderful man as my husband and as the father of my children. Here are a few pictures of my two boys in the last couple of years:

Happy Father's Day to all you wonderful Daddies out there! I hope you each get a day to relax and do whatever you want!

It's almost finished!

I'm a little late on posting pictures of last weekend's garage accomplishments but as they say, better late than never! They worked Friday, Saturday, and Sunday last weekend and got a lot done. Here are a few pictures:

This was after Saturday's work. They got almost the entire roof finished that day.

This is what it looked like by the end of the weekend with the entire roof finished. They also got a lot of other things done that you really can't see in a picture but, trust me, they worked hard!! As you can see, Cody even pulled his car into it! We were both so excited as he was driving in!

Daryl and Gene are here today getting the driveway and walkway ready for the concrete to be poured. Originally, we were going to have 3 more weeks left, with the last weekend reserved for pouring concrete. However, Daryl decided to get that done this weekend so we only have 2 weekends left! I'm not sure what they've decided on, but the concrete will either be poured sometime this weekend or on Monday morning. This weekend they are getting the windows in and putting up the siding and then the following weekend is reserved for electrical and getting the garage door in. We are just so excited! Then the only thing we will have left to do is fix Owen's room around the window. We have to put a smaller window in there so we will have to put up some new drywall and paint it. That should be fun since we can't seem to find the paint color for his room and have no idea what it is called! I think we're going to have to cut part of the wall out and take it into the store and have them match the color as closely as they can. It's never easy with us. Oh well, at least we won't have to scrape ice and snow off our windshields this winter! Yippee!!!

Daddy Love

Owen just loves his daddy. He talks about him all day long and then goes crazy when Daddy walks through the front door at night. Here are a few pictures I took of my two boys last weekend.

Owen loves to wear Cody's work badge. As soon as Cody gets home he takes it off of him and says, "Put it on?" So Cody clips it on him and he walks around so proudly. On Saturday he found it on Cody's nightstand and had me put it on him. Then he walked around in it for about a half hour after that. Another cute tidbit--every time he sees the Pella logo, whether it's on a piece of paper, a t-shirt on someone else, or even my insurance card in my wallet, he says, "Daddy!" It's so cute!

Here they are watching a DVD after Owen woke up from his nap on Saturday. He wasn't very happy because we woke up him so Daddy decided to snuggle with him and then he was happy as can be. And yes, Cody is sitting on Owen's little Thomas couch that really was never meant for butts his size.
Murphy decided he had to get in on all the love. At one point he was sitting on Cody's lap but his butt was facing the camera so it just wasn't a great shot!

I'm sure we're going to have so much fun celebrating Father's Day this year!

Another Baby in the Group

Congrats to my best friend, Molly and her husband, Ted, on the birth of their baby boy, Mason James today! Mason arrived a few days early, weighing in at 8lbs. and 3 oz. Unfortunately, I don't have a picture of him yet but Michelle is supposed to put some on her blog sometime this afternoon/evening so check out the Calvert Crew page to see this cute little bundle. Of course, I'm sure I'll post lots of pics when I finally get to meet him in a couple of weeks. This is the 5th baby in our little clan--we're growing like crazy and we're all so excited! He is also very special to me because he was due 2 days before the little angel that we lost. So, I sort of look at him as the angel that was saved because mine couldn't be. What a great gift to receive during a time when I might otherwise be down! So once again, congrats to the Elrick family--we love you and can't wait to meet little Mason! Happy Birthday, Mason!

Houdini-in-Training

So last Saturday, after Owen and I were pulled from our slumber at the crack of dawn (well, to us, anyway), he was very tired and crabby by 12:30pm. So I decided that I would put him down for his nap but that I better do it in the computer room across the hall since his room is right above all the garage-making noise. So we set up the Pack 'N Play and Owen says, "Go nigh-night?" It's 10 to 1, which is much earlier than he normally naps but I figured hey, he asked, what the heck. So I put him in, head downstairs and then go outside to take some pictures of the progress and chat with Cody. At 1:10pm I come back inside and out pops a little being from the living room and says, "Oh, hi buddy!" The little booger climbed out of the Pack 'N Play, walked down the stairs all by himself, and played in the living for probably a good ten minutes while I was out snapping and chatting away! I was absolutely baffled. Never did I think this day would come when he would figure out that he could climb out on his own. So, after picking my mouth up from the floor and calling some friends to tell them my story I decided I'd have to try it again because there was no way I was getting through the entire day sans nap. I took him up and put him in again and then stood outside the door while he repeated his escape tactics 2 more times. Finally he got the hint that Mommy wasn't having it and he went to sleep. For a blessed 3 and a half hours, I might add.

So, I'm bummed but I figure, it's just the Pack 'N Play and how often do we really use the thing anyway? Yeah, you see where I'm going with this. Monday morning I'm lying in bed as I hear Owen wake up. I sat there for a while not wanting to get up until I suddenly hear a toy that I know was not in his crib. So I run up the stairs and open the door to find him playing in his room. He climbed out of the crib!!! Now, this I really did not believe he would figure out. I pray the entire day that he'll go down for his nap and go to bed that night without bailing out and thankfully, he does. So, I think okay, maybe it was just a small little phase and now it's over. Yeah, yeah, please stop laughing at me.

Yesterday I put him down for his nap and all is quiet. I'm revelling in the fact that he's sleeping and I can relax until, from the corner of my eye, I see him walking down the stairs! Seriously, I was listening to the monitor the entire time and didn't hear ANYTHING! I at least have to give the kid props for being a fantastic escape artist. He does it without any grunts or loud falls to the floor!

So now we are at a loss and don't know what to do. I did some reading on-line last night and some of the stuff said that just because they are climbing out of the crib doesn't necessarily mean they are ready to have a big bed. They have to have the cognitive development to understand that even though they can get out of a big bed they shouldn't. And I just don't think he's quite there yet. We are now at least shutting his door completely so that he can't open it and get down the stairs. We discussed a gate at the top of the stairs (which we bought a year ago but never put up) but fear he will try to climb that too. I am on pins and needles everytime I put him to bed and listen intently to see if he has gotten out. I just don't know what to do. Do I bite the bullet and move him to a bigger bed? Do I lower the crib rail so he at least won't get hurt when he climbs out? Do I buy a crib tent that goes over the top so he can't climb out? Do I rely solely on prayer and good faith that he'll stop or at least won't get hurt? Do I put him in a straight jacket and chains and time him so that one day he might become the next Houdini? Any suggestions are appreciated!

Garage Progress

Well, we had Cody and 4 other guys working on the garage all day on Saturday and they really got a lot done! Of course, they rolled in at 6:30am and woke Owen and me up, which we weren't all that happy about since we love our sleep. But we forgave them once we saw all the hard work they did!

Here's all the lumber in the driveway. These first few pictures were taken around 1pm, just to give you an idea of how much they did in one day!

They had to remove some of the siding from the house. I'm not sure why but Cody assures me it will go back and look like it was never removed.

This is Cody and a guy that works for him, Bob, hamming it up while I was trying to take pictures. They were both trying to get a tan so earlier in the day Cody came in and got some scissors so they could cut the sleeves off their t-shirts. And now he's peeling!

They also had to take down all the siding on the side of the house where the garage will attach. We will also have to replace that window up there with a smaller one as the roofline will hit it. However, I had the bright idea to save a little money and recycle it so it will go on the back of the garage. :)

This is the outside of the garage, what you see when you first come up the road to our house.

And here is what it looked like after working until 8pm that night. I can't wait until I can push a little button and pull my van right in!

Here's what it looks like from the back of the house.

Cody was so excited after they left that night that he sat in the garage and drank beer all by himself. Then when he got up yesterday morning I could hear him opening the side door of the house and looking at it, as if it make sure it was all still there and really real. Too cute! We can't wait for it to be finished!