House to-dos

So much to do, so little time.  We're slowly finishing our bedroom/bathroom remodel and I'll share some pics soon.  Other house items we need to complete this summer:

1. Remove diseased trees on our property.  The city gave us notice that we have 30 days. The clock is ticking on this one.
2. Remove fence from front yard.  Termites.  Yuck.
3. Replace furnace and (maybe) a/c.  The furnace blower is super loud.  It's annoying and sounds like a plane engine in our bedroom.
4. Replace damaged siding on the back of the house.  We had a minor grilling incident despite the grill being the manufacturer's recommended 2 feet away from the house.

There are tons more items to add to this list, but these are the must-do things.  In addition to finishing painting the hallway, closet and dining as well as the doors and trim in those areas plus the bedroom.  Ugh.  Are we done painting yet?  Probable answer--we will never be done.

Who am I?

I'm Ann.  Hi. ::waves::

This is Will.  I need to upload some new pictures, but he's almost a year old.  The time has flown.

He likes to pull himself up, primarily on me, and to walk around furniture or while holding onto people.  He'll use hands, shoulders, knees.  Whatever he can get his sticky little hands onto.  Aaron and I are such proud parents and enjoying every most moments with him.

Nemo with my man. 

 We also have a black lab, Nemo, who is the sweetest, most gentle and laid-back dog ever known.  I never thought I'd be a dog person, but it's now hard to imagine life without her.

Nemo is so patient with Will. 

I'm trained as a teacher, but am currently staying home with our little man.  It's fun to be home with him, but I don't love the keeping up the house part.  I lack motivation to clean, so I'm grateful for a dog to lick up all the food Will throws on the floor.  Heaven knows what the house would look like if Nemo didn't clean up every crumb off the kitchen and living room floors.  I promise my house is not that dirty, I do clean it.  I just don't like to.

I love to read, be outside, and dream of ways to improve our home.  I don't particularly love the process of remodeling, painting, moving, organizing and on and on, but do it as a means to an end.  It's so fun to see the finished product and that makes it worth it.  At least most of the time.

That's enough about me for know.  Maybe more later.

::tap, tap:: Is this thing on?

Hi. I'm new here.  Just trying to find my place in the world.

Do I stay at home with my son or pursue work opportunities (if I can even find work opportunities)?  Do I try to substitute teach again?  Would I even make enough money to cover daycare if I sub?  My mind spins with these questions everyday and I'm trying to figure it out.  In almost a year, I'm still giving the same answer,  "uhhh, I'm playing it by ear and just enjoying the time at home.  Maybe, I'll go back to work next year."

Well, next year is here.  Hmmmm.

So, I've decided to blog about my indecision.  Or maybe it should be called my decision to not decide.  I'm not ruling anything out, but not committing to anything either.

Mind you, this will also be a place to showcase all the work we've done on our house, as well as show off our family and other random things.

I hope writing will help me to find my place in this big world.