Marc + Saw = 7 stitches!!

A lot of you know that Marc is kind of accident prone. I think in the 18 years we have been together we have visited the ER maybe a half a dozen times, I would have to sit down and figure out exactly, but that is not an exaggeration!! There have been hernias, stitches and even staples before we met! So, I don't know why I didn't prepare myself for the worst when Marc rented a toe kick saw this weekend!! Who would have thought that "they" even make a toe kick saw!! What the heck is that? So, here's the story...

Marc helped a guy out with a major water leak he had at his house. It took him many hours and some concrete cutting to locate the leak, come to find out it was in the middle of the driveway!! Roy is a contractor is doesn't have a lot of work right now so he asked Marc if he would be willing to trade. Now, if you know Marc at all you know he is big into trade and bargaining, we have ended up with some cool stuff because he likes to swap things with people. So, he had this idea that maybe they could trade Marc's labor for Roy installing hardwood floors at our place. Of course Marc jumped at the chance and we went to look at the flooring he had at his warehouse. So, to prepare for the floors being installed we had to remove our old flooring, carpet and linoleum. This is where it gets sticky!! The sub floor runs under the cabinets so we had to figure out a way to cut under the toe kick so that the new flooring would run even with the bottom of the cabinets. Roy suggested we should rent a toe kick saw. This is where I should have been concerned. So, we went to RSC and rented one. I need to mention that the boys were in Prineville at this time so, they were not witnesses to Marc's destructive nature, this time! Anyway, we worked on the flooring all day on Friday, accident free! Then Marc decided to work in the bathroom and get the corner under the counter with the dreaded saw. Mind you this is at 7:00 at night, when we should have been settling in for the night and enjoying a nice movie. I was washing dishes at the time (by hand, that's another story), when I heard him say a couple of choice words that he normally wouldn't say, that's when I knew something was amiss! The saw had gotten in a bind and kicked back and run across the top of his knee. Needless to say we went to the urgent care center (conveniently located across the street!) where the doctor determined he needed stitches!I have to say that Marc was in good spirits during the whole thing, joking and laughing about all of his other "incidents" with the doctor, she was very entertained and couldn't believe Marc had cut himself in the same place as the last saw incident!
So, all is well now, the boys are back home, the house is in a disarray but, we are anxious for the new floors to be installed. The wood will be delivered on Monday and then it has to sit in the house for 10 days to acclimate, then it will take a day and a half to install. This is what the family room looked like before...And this is what it looks like right now...The new flooring will cover the kitchen, breakfast nook, laundry room, bathroom, hallway and front entry. I will post new pics once the construction is underway. Have a great day, back to school and work tomorrow!!

"Hoppy" Easter!!!!!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful day. We were fortunate enough to have both my parents and Marc's parents spend the day with us.Just look at those handsome boys. They have figured out how to be "hams" when it comes to taking pictures. They also know not to run off after the first picture because knowing mom there will be many more to come.Ernie and Nancy came over from Prineville and went to church and Brunch with us. They are doing well and even bought a new puppy recently named Nicki!Mom and Dad are doing well. Mom had surgery in February and is starting to feel better. Geoff came with them, he is anxious to be done with school. If all goes well he will be graduating this June. Dad and Marc had some quality bonding time over "Jack".
The boys have gone with mom and dad for a couple of days and I will head over the mountain on Tuesday to pick them up. They have lots of plans for Nana and Papa. I know they will have a blast but Marc and I miss them already!! It's so quiet in the house when they are gone. Even Lady isn't sure what to do!! Have a wonderful Easter with family and friends!

Our Flu Arsenal!!!!

As some of you may know, our family has been fighting the flu for the past week or so. I started showing signs of it a week ago Sunday. I slept all day, I got up in the morning, made breakfast and then went back to bed. I called in sick on Monday and then Tuesday, sent Marc to school conferences on Wednesday and finally gave in and went to the Dr. on Thursday. It's the flu she said!!! Drink lots of fluids, get some sleep and take this cough medicine. Then, Tucker started feeling yucky, so I took him in on Thursday evening, it's the flu, she said!!! Drink lots of fluids...yada yada yada, we knew the routine by then. This is a picture of our flu arsenal in my bathroom....So, needless to say I haven't gotten a lot done in the past week or so, I even had to cancel my Friday night class (sorry, ladies) and opted to sleep instead. But, now I am starting to feel a little bit of cabin fever!! The sun is shining outside and I am beginning to feel like my old self again. Yet, I can't go anywhere, because this is how Tucker is spending his time...Poor guy!!! So, the best I can hope for now is that Marc and Beau don't get it, too! Pray that you don't get the flu, it is NO fun!!!!

In our spare time....

Marc and I have been working on the master bathroom for the last couple of months. It all started when I was in the shower one day, I have hated the outdoor scene wallpaper in our bathroom since the day we bought this house. So, I started peeling the wallpaper off of the wall, from then on I was committed! I peeled a little bit here and there and then moved on to the hideous linoleum. Then, one day Marc and I were out doing some backflow testing and met this guy that had excess tile from some jobs he had done. We scored enough tile to do both of the upstairs bathroom floors for only $30.00!! But, the catch is it has been sitting in the garage for almost a year! I finally decided to crack down and peeled the rest of the wallpaper off. Just a little side note here... don't ever wallpaper!!!! It is horrible to remove, especially when it wasn't installed correctly in the first place. Anyhow, we tiled the floor, after many discussions on the pattern, and then decided it looked so good that we tiled the counter top as well. I am so proud to say we work very well together and the bathroom turned out beautifully!!!
It took us several coats of different paint colors before we decided on this steel blue, i love it!!We decided on this basket weave type pattern, it was easier than the diagonal
way and is prettier than just squared up.

So, the next major project is the boys' bathroom, then maybe the laundry room! Aren't home projects fun!?

Avion "Fear no H2O"

Baby, it's cold outside!!!!
The Avion team, and 345 others, took the plunge last night!! It wasn't as cold as last year and I have to give the organizers credit for things going way more smoothly this year. Here's a before of Marc and Gene in line waiting to jumpCheck out the Newschannel 21 coverage here.They raised over $95,000 for the Special Olympics!! Avion raised $2,800, thanks to everyone who donated, it goes to a great cause! The Special Olympic Winter games start this weekend! Check it out here. Here's Marc AFTER... BRRRRRR!! Keep Marc and Avion in mind for the Polar Plunge next year, we will try to raise even more!!!