Mid-summer catching up

It doesn't feel like we've had that much of a summer this year. I think its mostly because we've not gone to the beach at all this summer. The weather has just now gotten hot, but then there have been other things that have taken up weekend time.

The kids are busy being kids. That pretty much sums up their summer! This last week Armaan graduated to being a post-2 year old boy by having to give up his pacifier. I don't think its still sunk in for him - I almost catch a glimpse of hope that the next bedtime will bring it back. So far no problems, though. If everything goes well, that will be two kids who came off of pacifiers with no issues.

On a different note, Armaan is now entering the phase where he starts getting anxious with new places and new people. It takes him a little bit to stop feeling anxious, look around, and see that everything is still ok. I took him with me to the barber shop, and for 20 mins he stood straight as a ruler, whimpering by my feet. About five minutes before we had to leave, he broke out of it, and became interested in what the whole place was about.

Priya spent a week at vacation bible school at a local church. She pretty much loved it. She loves being in a social setting with other kids. She can't wait for her pre-school to start again in a few weeks.

Priya and Skylar in their VBS presentation

Grandma Kathie's birthday

Along with beaches, we had also missed out on a couple of carnivals that we go to every year. Fortunately, the Lake County Fair was still going on, and we had a free weekend. We had a really good time. Priya finally got to ride in the bumper cars that she'd been wanting to go on for the last two years.

The two rides below were really amusing to me. The first one was where the kids sat in cars and trucks. Priya howled the whole ride through, while you can see how Armaan's expression is - pretty stoic.

The next ride was where they sat in motorboats. Priya had fun clanging the bell the entire time, while Armaan wanted no part of it. Kids...

I love Armaan's expession in this picture

Happy 2nd Birthday Armaan!

We canceled our planned trip to Canada because of the costs involved, and spent an extra few days in Michigan. The weather was great, and the kids had a lot of fun. It's amazing that Armaan turned 2. The little guy is a joy to our hearts, and so much fun to be with.

Priya with her eternal fascination of dogs

Armaan hanging out with the boys

Classic lounging pose

Who is enjoying the fireworks more?!!

Another plan brewing to take over the world

Hey who took this picture, and why are Kavon's hands around my daughter?!!

Enjoying fireworks

Visit to the zoo

We got free zoo passes from the library, and headed out on a warm Friday. The biggest disappointment was that in the Hammil Family Zoo the little creek was under construction. Priya was younger than Armaan when we had last gone there, and we had fond memories of her splashing around in it.

Headlight lens restoration through wet sanding

I just had to show these pictures. I had heard about sanding down the headlights to get the haziness out, but I was skeptical it could be very effective. Boy was I wrong! Here are the results of a few hours spent with a drill, 3 different grits of sandpaper, and a lens polisher.

This is what the headlights look like after 11 years of oxidation

A close-up view

Round 1 - makes it look worse!

Round 2 - the top layer has been sanded out

Round 3 and 4 - Amazing!!

As good as brand new!!

The yearly photo shoot - or how time flies

Here's a quick post with Priya's 4-year and Armaan's 2-year old pictures. Armaan did not do well at all, as can be seen in one of the pictures. Priya was almost exactly the same at her 2-year shoot. So must be the age. For now, here's my beautiful children...

One step forward, two...

So picking up from last time, the work on the garage is 95% complete. The only stuff that is left is the little stuff - trim on the window and doors, and painting the fascia. Otherwise, it looks great! A weekend ago Tish took the kids to Michigan, and I spent three days cleaning up, and painting the drywall. It took two coats of primer before the seams were covered. I had bought some cheap paint at Menards. As soon as I rolled it on, I discovered why it was so cheap. The consistency was no better than water. So I could get just one roll on the wall before I had put fresh paint on the roller. It was painful. I also took out all the old fluorescent light fixtures. The ballasts on them must have weighed 20 pounds. Glad none of them fell on my head.


Oh that reminds me.. The reason for the title of this post. A lot of my financial planning for this year was dependent on us being able to refinance our house at a much lower rate. A few weeks ago I got a call from my mortgage broker who told me that somehow she screwed up, and our rate was not locked in. So we missed the low point of the rates. She promised me that one way or the other she will get that rate for us, but that my response to that is, uh huh. The garage project was already commissioned, so things will be tight. But its like that for everyone else, so we will be ok in the end.

It finally got warm enough to put the pool out! But I think I got some pretty bad exposure setting it up. All of today I was in a little bit of a daze, with its associated lack of good mood. Yea... not much fun being around a grouch! Next time - set it up when its evening, and drink more water.

Our trip to Shedd Aquarium

Busy, and expensive, time of the year

Even though we're faced with a pay reduction, with continued employment uncertain from week to week, life never stops. This is the year that a few things I'd been putting off finally had to get taken care of. Which also makes an expensive few months. Our 25 year old refrigerator finally started signaling that it was ready to kick the bucket and go into land-fill heaven. If you remember, I was originally going to buy a fridge back around Christmas time along with the two other appliances. Then money got tight, and that purchase was put off - for six months as it turns out. So over Memorial Day I went to Home Depot where they were having a sale. I ended up getting a pretty good deal. There was an appliance sale going on, with a further reduction of 10%, and then if you were military, there was an additional cut of 10%. The sales manager at Home Depot looks at me and says, 'You seem like you were in the military to me.' That's basically code for if you want it, I can give you the 10+10% discount. So we are the owners of a shiny new GE Adora.


On to the next major expense. Those of you who have seen our garage have probably noticed that it's not in the best shape. The outside siding is falling apart, and on the inside, the paneling is practically on the floor. Pretty nasty. I was going to get this done last year - but put it off for a year. As it turns out, that was a pretty good decision - only in that I got Fabio Tsukayama to work on the project. I have always heard great things about his work, and now I am seeing it first hand. He is such a conscientious worker. And excellent too! Having done some carpentry work myself, I am amazed that when he measures and cuts, his pieces always fit perfectly.

Most of the time in the rehab has been repair work. The garage is built on ground level (one of the many things that were not done correctly in the house, as we've found out). Usually garages are built on a concrete slab raised a few inches above the ground. This prevents water from flowing in. So in our case, on two sides where the slope was the steepest, the wooden sil plate that the garage stands on were completely rotted. So Fabio had to lift the garage using a roof jack, and install a new plate. The work is still ongoing, but here's a few pictures of how its going.

Notice the rot on the bottom

Inside is nice and dry-walled. Painting will be next.

This beaten down door will be replaced...

...with a shiny new one like this

This what the garage will look once the siding is all done

Armaan is pretty worn out - can you tell?