We're Having a Boy!!!

Its official! Baby Chase Joseph Stanek will be joining our family in just a few months!

I thought this picture was fitting...theres Savannah showing me some art work and theres Baby Chase riding around on my back. I suppose I find comfort in chaous! The only thing thats missing is Joe in the back ground asking me where his various tools are....ahhh home sweet home

Painting...

Savannah's room I had great expectations for and I told myself that it wouldn't be that hard. It was. But after many hours of work it was worth all the effort and I may never do it again so I'm glad I got pictures of the process. I started by painting the whole room with the lighter green color and then masking off stripes where it would have the darker green. My speedy mom and dad painted the dark green stripes in a jiffy and Joe's mom Kay brushed in the border using white primer actually. Thanks for your help you guys!

Then I started adding some flower detail inside the stripes... Sometimes it is actually more work to know exactly what you want...not knowing means that you could possibly find something less complicated because your expectations didn't complicate it. I did attempt to simplify by using stencils....

But then I just painted over them and did them all by hand. AHHH! If thats not enough then I proceeded to do a bunch of little flowers (using a stencil) all over the dark green stripe. Then finally the border which I knew from the beginning I wanted to look like lace with ribbon weaving in and out of it proved to be the last straw. All the energy I had left I had to use on the trim which in the picture below is not a painted yet...I never wanted to paint again. And I don't think I did for almost a year...

Actual House of Crazy

We purchased this house last summer and got a screaming good deal because it was in bad shape. We had to replace literally every surface.

Here is a pic of the front door and living room when we moved in (left).

This room was the last room to be completed but it is now done!

The pic above and on the right is of the kitchen and you can also see into the living room. Notice our marvelous "baby gate" blocking off the construction zone. It was a door to a closet in one of the bedrooms turned on its side. We hopped over it for months.

Here is a picture of the lower cabinets being reconstructed due to the disgusting mouse colony living within them. YUCK! Joe and my brother Caleb rebuilt the drawers, lining, and facing of this part of the cupboards.

This is a star I drew up and Joe masterfully converted into a pattern in our floor. It is located outside the doorways of both bedrooms. This takes lots of skill and practice, I tried to help Joe do this and all I did was confuse myself and him. After that we decided we better leave that kind of thing to him. I'll stick to painting....

Welcome to the Stanek House of Crazy

Our home is made up of Daddy Joe, Mommy Rachel, and baby girl Savannah (who is 2 now and reminding me everyday she is not a baby). We are soon to have another baby join our family this winter. Our due date is Feb 4, 2008. We shouldn't forget to mention we are also running a business out of this home, Stanek Masonry, which is another little baby of ours 6 months old and growing strong.

Introducing Joe!

Here is the man of the house and we think hes great! He makes us laugh and is always full of surprises. These days he is working his tail off as the owner of new business. He is very dedicated and excellent at what he does. We are so proud of our Daddy he is working so hard for our family and is doing a great job! Right now is his favorite time of year HUNTING SEASON...look out wild life Joe is on the hunt. Hes had "the fever" since he got his first elk last fall, bow hunting. It was awesome!

Lets Hear it for Savannah

We just had her 2nd birthday and is now living up to age 2 in every way. She is the sunshine in our lives and more. Her favorite things right now are "Chip-icks" (Alvin and the Chipmunks), Care Bears, shoes, shoes, shoes, and her Daddy! They are thick as theives these days and it is so fun to watch. She is learning to count and so far her favorite numbers are recited as follows "three, six, eight, two, six, eight!"

And Me!

What can I say I'm a mom, a business owner, a wife, a nursery leader, a homemaker...you know the list busy moms! And I have never been happier. Oh I have my days...believe me! But in between I'm doing good. This pregnancy I am loving compared to last time. I think this time I'm too busy to think about how tired and yucky I feel. We are looking forward to finding out what the baby is. We'll let you know.