House Renovations

So our house was a little ugly when we bought it. Truth: I hated it and wanted to mark it off our list.

Funny huh?

Anyway, somehow we ended up choosing this house with the idea that we would be making some changes. Compared to some, it was a pretty easy update. We didn't have to do bathrooms or the kitchen. First up was painting: the gray-white walls and brown trim had to go!

Den before

Den after

 

 

Kitchen before

Kitchen after

 

LOTS of painting. The whole house, actually: walls, ceilings, trim, and doors. An EXCELLENT way to update a house.

We also needed a place for our TV. The den area was being used as the TV room by the previous owners, but we were in need of an office space and we needed a larger space for our furniture. So, we decided to use the front living room as the living room (imagine that!) and the back den as the office area. We still needed a place for the TV, though. I thought about above the fireplace, but there are all kinds of things to think about with that. So I consulted with my great friend Tiff over at the ID Boutique who gave us some great ideas about making built-ins.

Living room before



Living room after

We are SO happy we did this. Also really happy we painted the brick.

And finally, we replaced all the doors in the house with a more updated look.



Entry before

Entry after: well, all but the front door. You can at least see the new hall closet door.

So that's that. Just some minor projects left to do, like replacing the outlets and switches, and changing a couple super old light fixtures, and, uh, the yard.

 

Yuck

Wow! There's some green!
Yeah, it's foot tall weeds.

 

 

I never thought we would get a fixer-upper, but it has turned into a great house for us and I keep finding things I love about it. If only we can get the yard under control...hmmm......

 

 

Anyway, if you're ever in Midland, the Turner home is open to you. We'd love to have you! (and maybe put you to work)  :)

Enjoy!

The Turners

Melanie - 4 Months

Height: 26 inches

 

Weight:  18 lb (is that right?!)

Hair: Blonde

 

Eyes: Blue

Food: Exclusively breastfed and still loves eating. She eats every 3+ hours.

Sleep: Our sleeping has gotten to an entirely new level of awesomeness. Since moving into our new home, all I have to do is lay Mel down with her paci and she puts herself to sleep. 3 awesome naps during the day and 10+ hours of sleep at night! What a welcome change from big brother's infant sleep habits.



Mel-Belle got to nap with Mommy the other day

 

 

 

Temperament: So happy and sweet. She'll smile at anyone and loves talking and "singing." She does get grumpy when tired or hungry, but don't we all?

 



 

Melanie loves:

-Eating

-Sleeping

-Being held by Mommy

-Playing with Brother

 

 

-Smiling

-Daddy!

 

 

-"Talking"

-Riding in the car

-Ceiling fans

-Getting her legs massaged

-Her pacifier

-Sitting up

-Chewing on her hands

-Floor time

 





 



Mel dislikes:

-Being burped

-Waiting to eat

-Being left "alone": she loves people and wants to see everyone and interact

-Tummy time: Oooh how she hates tummy time! This lasted like 30 seconds.

 

 

New adventures:
-First long road trip: Mel was a champ and whenever we were moving, she was sleeping. (Can't say the same about big brother, he was a wiggle worm and wanted OUT)

-New home!
-Sitting up: Everything was packed away, so we had to wait until we moved in to try the Bumbo, which Mel LOVES! When you hold her, all she does is try to sit up, so she is in heaven with this thing.

 

-Play mat: Until now I didn't trust Reed around Mel when I put her on the floor, so she didn't have much floor time at all. Since we moved in (and I found the play mat in the disaster that is the garage) Mel has gotten some great floor time. She really likes the play mat. The first time I let her play on it she squealed with delight for a good 20 minutes. I still have to watch Reed when Mel is on the floor, as he tries to drag her off the mat and sit on her, but he mostly plays in his play room (which is, btw,  a totally awesome place)!

-HANDS: We found our hands and they are almost ALWAYS in her mouth.

-Grasping: It all started with her blankets. Mel loves being warm, and usually has blankets on her or burp cloths around her at all times (remember the spitting? It's gotten a lot better, but she still has a leaky mouth). One day she figured that her hands can grab the blankets. Now it's not uncommon to find her hidden under one and sound asleep. And since we started playing on the mat she likes grabbing some of the dangling toys and chewing on them. Reed loves it when she tries to grab him.

Here is the side-by-side monthly chair pic:

First chair pic in the new house!

 

 

Enjoy!

The Turners

Living with the parents

So, its been 7 long weeks since Wes started working in Midland, and 7 weeks of me and the kids living with my parents.

 

There's that stigma out there of "living with your parents" and how awful it is and how you "can't wait to get out!" However, it has been a wonderful 7 weeks here. Some may shudder at the thought of moving back home, but I was very much looking forward to it.

 

We knew in October that we would be moving. Thankfully, his work was sensitive to the fact that we were about to have a baby (and to the fact that it was Midland; not a very exciting place to move). So we were given some flexibility. Wes was to start working in January and we were holding off house hunting until then so we could get used to having a new baby and to enjoy Thanksgiving and Christmas. (I didn't really want to be showing a house during in the Christmas holidays, and not many people are looking then anyway). So the plan was to get the house on the market in January when Wes started work.

 

The prospect of being a single mother with two tiny kids PLUS trying to show a house kept me up at night and gave me anxiety attacks. So we had to get me some help.

 

Enter my awesome parents.

 

Nana and her Mel

Watching airplanes with Grandpa

 

They live about an hour away and have plenty of room for guests. So the plan was for me and the kids to stay there during the week 1) so I could have some help with the kids, and 2) so we wouldn't have to worry about getting/keeping everything clean and leaving for showings. What a LIFESAVER.

 

Grandpa Edgar and Nana

 

I won't say it has been perfect, because we haven't been a complete family. We missed Wes a lot, but considering the circumstances, it was the best possible solution.

 

 

Hiding on Nana and Grandpa's bed.

 

So here we are!

-Sold our house and moved out.
-Bought a new one and have waited patiently to move in while it was painted and updated a bit.
-Survived many hour long trips from Keller to Prosper and vice versa.
-Came down with several illnesses
-Had many more setbacks than I would have believed possible

 

But we did it!

 

And along the way we have learned, NO MORE LONG FAMILY SEPARATIONS! It's not good for our health, marriage, children, or general well-being. We leaned on friends a lot, leaned on family even more, but were 100% leaning on God and trusting in Him. And He does not disappoint.

 

EVER!!

 

 

House pictures are next!


Enjoy

The Turners