He passed!!!

Jeff has spent the last two months studying for his LEED certification test (I wont deny that I loved the short lived break from all of the major house remodeling). Jeff took the test this afternoon and passed! Jeff is officially a Leed Accredited Professional BD+C . I have no idea what that means but this website explains most of it: http://www.gbci.org/main-nav/professional-credentials/credentials.aspx. I could not be more happy for him or proud of him. Now we plan to celebrate!

The Accredited LEED Professional cramming for the test.

The Monster in the Basement

Jeff has been hard at work on the heating system. We had a very ancient monster of a furnance in the basement that we pulled out. It was huge and it made very scary noises (hence the nickname) and when we discovered the original plumbing permit tucked behind it from 1936 it pretty much confirmed the reason our gas bill so high. Until we figure out if radiant heating is an option, we needed some kind of heat source so Jeff is also working to retrofit our fireplace to gas. Here are a few pics:

Before/In Progress

The Monster

Jeff working his magic!

In bloom

We have been so busy, but still trying to take some time to smell the roses! Our garden is so out of control, I can't keep up - I am pulling things up, and cutting things down (not necessarily the right things all of the time) but fun to see what pops up and what doesn't! All of the pictures below are really out of my garden...amazing!!

 

Happy Birthday

Gus turned 4 this week...we celebrated with lots of meat for dinner and some good bones for Gus. Four years with Gus: the separation anxiety, missing shoes, missing butter cubes, calls from animal control, paw prints on the counter tops and the dining room table, birds, birds, birds, neighborhood escapes, howling nightmares, tromping through fields, diapers for dessert, destroying plants, grass, flowers and anything that grows, raccoon fights, kennel time in the city, road trips and robberies. He is worth it all!

Mother's Day

We had a great weekend in Portland with my Mom, I just wish I would have gotten an updated picture...

This was my favorite picture of the weekend:

Isn't it ironic....

Of COURSE Abe slept in this morning (only on the week days!) I actually had to wake HIM up...classic.

Abe striking a pose at his Grandparent's house last week.

Saturday Morning Paper Work

The hippy (I don't use that word with an ounce of offensive undertones) doulas who taught all of our parenting classes provided a lot of detail, they recited countless facts, provided way too much information, they showed us videos that literally made me cry real and true tears, but did they mention it? No. All of those pregnancy books? They don't cover it. I think the other new parents are too tired to remember to tell you.You see, babies: THEY DON'T SLEEP IN ON THE WEEKENDS. Abe in no way appreciates a Saturday or Sunday morning. He has no concept of the fact that after a super busy week filled with rashes and ear infections and teething this would my, ours, his, one and only chance to catch just a few more minutes of oh so sweet sleep.

A few weekends ago, Jeff took the early shift, when I stumbled out of bed searching for coffee this was the scene in my dining room: just some Saturday morning paper work.