Short post, but pictures!

I need to be quick, because it's about dinner time. Noah's schedule has been somewhat disrupted today--we've had workers doing drywall & various other wall treatments, so even though he woke up BEFORE 7 AM (!!!) today, he did NOT take a morning nap, nor did he get a very long afternoon nap. Which means fun for everyone...

We went to Cleveland Park in Spartanburg last weekend--it's an unbelievably nice park--they've got a lake, a playground, picnic tables (complete with grills), walking trails....and a TRAIN!!! Noah and I rode the train and he had a really great time; I think we'll be going back again. As much as we love Falls Park in downtown Greenville, it can be really crowded; Cleveland Park--not so much! Not sure if it was because it was a Sunday, or if they were calling for rain later that afternoon, or what, but there were very few people there.

So, I'm posting some pictures from last weekend, as well as some of the "before" and "during" (since the workers will need to come back & sand tomorrow) pictures of the walls, and just a few of Noah that I took in the last day or so.

Our love to all! Enjoy!

Noah & Mommy waiting for the train; it was nearly impossible for Daddy to get any shots while the train was moving...All the more reason to go back!


Mommy tickling Noah when we got ON the train because it seemed like it took FOREVER from the time we sat down until we started moving, and Noah started to get really, really restless. I know. Big surprise.


Noah after sliding down the slide all by himself!


He was looking through a plastic "window" that was on the playground...I guess it was supposed to be some sort of space machine? Maybe? All I could think of was, "E.T., phone home!"


Daddy & Noah, sitting on the swing (one of many) at the lake. There were lots of ducks & geese around, too. We're going to have to go back...


The self-portrait of the Hardin family at the lake. Patrick and I used to do these all the time whenever we'd hike somewhere. It has been awhile since we'd done one, and I thought this was the perfect time to resurrect the tradition.


Noah, dressed by Daddy. Love the sentiment of the t-shirt, but think it's probably a bit too small.

I snapped this today; was a complete accident, but I loved the result. His eyes are so blue.


Before, in the dining room. Notice the peeling drywall paper on the sides, the vast expanses of electric blue & neon yellow...


During, and no more peeling drywall paper, and the vast expanses of electric blue & neon yellow are much smaller. Once they're done sanding, I'm whipping out the primer. That wall may very well be the first wall we paint. And yes, I say that knowing full well that there's a 1st coat of primer on our bathroom walls (yes, the terracotta is going bye-bye) and needs to be a 2nd, but oh, yeah, I need to finish primer-ing the walls. I ran out of primer. And Noah was about to wake up. Yes, this is what I do during our son's naps. I primer. Or spray paint. I found a can of silver spray paint in a box of stuff Mom & Dad left us and I began touching up our swing set in the back yard. Ran out of spray paint, too, and had to stop that project. So, um, yeah--I've got about 3 projects half-finished. Not including the front door that has nearly all the paint off, but I just need to go over it with a sander and maybe one more time with the stripper... But I digress.


Before, laundry room. Notice the slatted boards, the various types of paneling. Okay, maybe you can't see it in this size, but if you click on the picture, it'll be more clear. You can also see the various shades of paint that were used to try to make the room a bit brighter, a bit nicer... It didn't really work.


During, and notice the nice, smooth drywall... Just try to ignore the crappy floor. I think what we may do very, very soon (do I hear another project? I think I do!) is to lay down a thin sheet of plywood as a new subfloor (so would that be a supra-subfloor?) and then do the peel-n-stick tiles on top of that. There are about 3 layers of vinyl/linoleum/peel-n-stick on the floor now, in addition to parts of the subfloor that are exposed and parts of where a vent used to be & duct-taped over, and I'm just afraid that were we not to do something with some substance to it, that the peel-n-stick tiles wouldn't stick, and you'd be able to discern the various layers underneath the floor. Not sure exactly how to undertake this particular project, but we've both got Dads who have done this kind of thing before and can offer all the advice that we care to take. And then go & do it however we wanted to in the first place.


And this was a spur-of-the-moment negotiated project. I asked our drywaller how much to do the small bathroom, since Patrick & I were mostly finished taking off the wallpaper, but the walls were so crappy underneath the wallpaper (explaining exactly why they wallpapered...with Gorilla glue) that we were not sure how we were going to fix it. SO--Jose said "$15o." I said it wasn't within our budget right now, that the job we were having him do was stretching it already. He said, "$100, and I'll do it right now." I responded with this: "You quoted us $425 for the dining room & laundry room. If you can do those two rooms & this for $500, you've got a deal." And, as you can see from the above picture, the walls look mucho bettero. I had to fight the urge to say, "$150? No way, Jose!" Actually, this guy is very, very nice, and does excellent work. Let's just say that I'll keep his phone number handy, for myself & for my clients!