We've been trying to get Mason to eat a variety of foods. A lot of times after he takes one bite, he shuts his mouth and refuses to eat more. So we're trying a different approach.
First is the Baby Mum Mums. These are rice crackers that are made for babies. It dissolves quickly so that he doesn't have to spend much time chewing.
Next, we had Wendy hold him while he tried boiled carrots and tofu.
Sunday, June 3, 2012
Saturday, May 26, 2012
May Day is Lei Day
A week before our little open house, I convinced Wendy to let me change the horrible wood-finished 5 globe bath bar vanity lights in our bathrooms. I figured it would be a one day job; remove the old lights, paint the bare spots, install the new ones. We went to Home Depot and picked out a pair of vanity lights we both liked. (Actually, the ones Wendy really wanted I had to veto. Although they looked great, they used weird sized halogen bulbs that didn't come in an energy efficient version.)
We got home and I immediately removed the bath bar lights.
Great. Of course nothing in this house goes as planned. Since the bath bar does not mount to a box but to the wall, the builders decided to just forgo installing a box. They ran the cables down the WRONG side of the stud, poked it through the drywall, then notched out the drywall to make a channel to run the cable to the right location. That staple you see in the picture? It totally missed the stud and was holding on to nothing. It fell out as soon as I moved the cable. The other, adjacent bathroom was exactly the same situation.
Here's what I had to do to:
1. Cut out an 8X20 inch horizontal section of drywall in both bathrooms.
2. Drill a 3/4 inch hold through the middle of the stud.
3. Run both bathrooms' cables through the hole to get it on the correct side of the stud.
4. Install electrical boxes in both bathrooms.
5. Cut green board patches to the right side.
6. Have Wendy help me mark the outlines of the boxes on the green board.
7. Cut out holes for the boxes.
8. Screwed the patches to the studs.
9. Taped with fiberglass tape.
10. Two coats of 90 minute joint compound.
11. Light sanding.
12. Sprayed on texture.
13. Primed then painted.
14. Installed new fixtures.
This was done during the week between 4 and 6 PM daily.
Finished all the work by Saturday the 19th. The open house was the 20th. About 12 people showed up. We had way too much food, which was unfortunate for us, but good for my students because they got lots of goodies.
Speaking of students, one student gave me a yarn lei. I remembered that I did not get the directions for Wendy's mom, so I asked the girl to teach me. Here's a video how-to. It was done on our field trip, so it's noisy and there's lots of wind, but I think you can make out the directions.
Speaking of videos, here's Mason!
Carrots suck!
We don't let Mason drink sugary drinks. We give him aspartame instead.
Mason kept taking the camera.
Mason learning to use a cellphone.
Mason feeds himself... sort of.
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Celebrity Lookalikes
BTW, we got our $50 back from Home Depot and we spent it on a laser level. Wendy used it to put up some vinyl stickers and a name sign in Mason's room.
While we were watching a movie last night, Wendy spotted Mason's celebrity lookalike.
Here's Mason:
Here's the celebrity:
You decide.
While we were watching a movie last night, Wendy spotted Mason's celebrity lookalike.
Here's Mason:
Here's the celebrity:
You decide.
Monday, April 30, 2012
April Updates
Well, we got our electric bill for March. In November, we paid $240. December, we weren't here for half the month. Both January and February cost us $187. So what was March? $127. The new water heater cut $60 off our bill. At that rate, it will pay for itself in about 2 years.
When we got our tax returns, we planned on getting the Elspeth Suite carpeted. We went to Home Depot, and after what seemed like hours, we decided on a carpet. We paid a $50 deposit, and were told we would be contacted the following Monday by a flooring guy to measure our room. Monday came and went. Wendy had to call HD on Wednesday for them to arrange for someone to come out on Thursday. Then about 2 weeks after we had picked out our carpet, HD called to let us know they lost the order. Wendy, though furious, went back in to try and fix their mistake. Wouldn't you know it? They discontinued the carpet we wanted, and they dumped all the samples so we couldn't find the one we chose. So we went to a local company instead.
We went to a place called Harvey's Flooring. It's a local business that's been around for over 35 years. We chose a really nice carpet and a couple of days later the boss came to measure the room. A few weeks after that, and voila, carpet installed.
When we got our tax returns, we planned on getting the Elspeth Suite carpeted. We went to Home Depot, and after what seemed like hours, we decided on a carpet. We paid a $50 deposit, and were told we would be contacted the following Monday by a flooring guy to measure our room. Monday came and went. Wendy had to call HD on Wednesday for them to arrange for someone to come out on Thursday. Then about 2 weeks after we had picked out our carpet, HD called to let us know they lost the order. Wendy, though furious, went back in to try and fix their mistake. Wouldn't you know it? They discontinued the carpet we wanted, and they dumped all the samples so we couldn't find the one we chose. So we went to a local company instead.
We went to a place called Harvey's Flooring. It's a local business that's been around for over 35 years. We chose a really nice carpet and a couple of days later the boss came to measure the room. A few weeks after that, and voila, carpet installed.
Anyway, Mason is now eating baby cereal. He can't crawl yet, but he's getting there. Here's some videos:
Friday, April 6, 2012
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Laundry Room Done!
After installing the new water heater, the plan was to redo most of the laundry room. We figured since the laundry room would serve as the main bathroom for the Elspeth Suite, we wanted it to look good. Luckily I started on the reno before Spring Break since, like every other project on this house, there were some surprises I had to deal with.
Here's what the laundry room looked like when we moved in:
Some paint, a new laundry tub, a new toilet, a cabinet and laminate counter top, and some new vinyl tiles.
We got the cabinet at Home Depot for 20% off. When we bought the toilet, there was a sign saying it was on sale for $198. They charged us the regular price of $258. I went back the next day to get it corrected and they said that that particular toilet was not the one on sale. After I complained, they gave me the sale price. So our new toilet was $60 off.
While I was at it, I finally changed the laminate wood paneling off the kitchen peninsula. I had to remove the paneling to get at some wiring. I suspected that the builders left holes in the wall where they had run cables to the range and peninsula, and that was the entry point for the centipedes and roaches we kept getting. Sure enough, there were 3 cables and 3 holes. I patched them up and replaced the old panel...
with beadboard like Wendy wanted.
In other news, here's one of Mason's onesies:
Cowboys don't need no spellin.
And Mason likes to talk:
Here's what the laundry room looked like when we moved in:
Some paint, a new laundry tub, a new toilet, a cabinet and laminate counter top, and some new vinyl tiles.
We got the cabinet at Home Depot for 20% off. When we bought the toilet, there was a sign saying it was on sale for $198. They charged us the regular price of $258. I went back the next day to get it corrected and they said that that particular toilet was not the one on sale. After I complained, they gave me the sale price. So our new toilet was $60 off.
While I was at it, I finally changed the laminate wood paneling off the kitchen peninsula. I had to remove the paneling to get at some wiring. I suspected that the builders left holes in the wall where they had run cables to the range and peninsula, and that was the entry point for the centipedes and roaches we kept getting. Sure enough, there were 3 cables and 3 holes. I patched them up and replaced the old panel...
with beadboard like Wendy wanted.
In other news, here's one of Mason's onesies:
Cowboys don't need no spellin.
And Mason likes to talk:
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Weird Noisy Things
Remember the weird thing in this picture?
We bought one of the water heaters next to it after we got an electric bill for $240. Since we're using more electricity at home due to Mason, we figure it would save us money in the long run. It works like a fridge in reverse. Instead of cooling the insides, it heats it. It uses 65% less electricity than a regular electric heater. While it is running, it sounds like a loud microwave since it has fans to move air through the heat pump. (The pipes go straight up to clear the air filter access.)
The heater cost $1500, but we should be able to get a $300 rebate from the power company. Luckily I had a bunch of savings bonds from the 90s. We cashed those in and bought the heater. The leftovers are going to other improvements around the house.
Like these $20 light fixtures Wendy got me to replace the totally 80s brass fixtures that were in our hallway.
We also got a new TV stand. We wanted one with doors that we can put a child-lock on to keep Mason from breaking stuff. The LED TV is now mounted to the wall on a full motion mount.
Jess and Aaron also spent several nights in the Elspeth Suite. Looked like they really enjoyed their visit to Kauai. They both claimed that the Elspeth Suite was really comfortable, and they left us a Home Depot gift card. Guess they were hinting that I need to fix it up? Heh. Just kidding. I was working on the laundry room while they were here, so they knew what I wanted.
We'll be using some tax return money to finish up the Suite before our next guests arrive in October. I need to patch up a little bit of drywall, paint, then carpet the floor.
Mason had a doctor's appointment. He's still above average in length and weight. He's 26 inches long (75-90 percentile) and 15 lbs 8.9 oz. (50-75 percentile). He might have a future in Sumo. He's been rolling on his side from his back a lot, but hasn't quite made it all the way over. I think his big, heavy head acts like an anchor. He's become way more vocal too. He baby-talks sentences... even while mommy and daddy are talking.
We bought one of the water heaters next to it after we got an electric bill for $240. Since we're using more electricity at home due to Mason, we figure it would save us money in the long run. It works like a fridge in reverse. Instead of cooling the insides, it heats it. It uses 65% less electricity than a regular electric heater. While it is running, it sounds like a loud microwave since it has fans to move air through the heat pump. (The pipes go straight up to clear the air filter access.)
The heater cost $1500, but we should be able to get a $300 rebate from the power company. Luckily I had a bunch of savings bonds from the 90s. We cashed those in and bought the heater. The leftovers are going to other improvements around the house.
Like these $20 light fixtures Wendy got me to replace the totally 80s brass fixtures that were in our hallway.
We also got a new TV stand. We wanted one with doors that we can put a child-lock on to keep Mason from breaking stuff. The LED TV is now mounted to the wall on a full motion mount.
Jess and Aaron also spent several nights in the Elspeth Suite. Looked like they really enjoyed their visit to Kauai. They both claimed that the Elspeth Suite was really comfortable, and they left us a Home Depot gift card. Guess they were hinting that I need to fix it up? Heh. Just kidding. I was working on the laundry room while they were here, so they knew what I wanted.
We'll be using some tax return money to finish up the Suite before our next guests arrive in October. I need to patch up a little bit of drywall, paint, then carpet the floor.
Mason had a doctor's appointment. He's still above average in length and weight. He's 26 inches long (75-90 percentile) and 15 lbs 8.9 oz. (50-75 percentile). He might have a future in Sumo. He's been rolling on his side from his back a lot, but hasn't quite made it all the way over. I think his big, heavy head acts like an anchor. He's become way more vocal too. He baby-talks sentences... even while mommy and daddy are talking.
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