Happy Thanksgiving....

..... Christmas, New Years, MLK Day, Presidents weekend - JEEZ - what is today?

     98 days after the hot water pipe under our sink exploded we finally have our kitchen and living room put back together!

     Here are two pictures of our clean, newly arranged living room showing off our lighter pine colored floors!

     To get ready for the moment involved a lot of preparation beyond the floors being installed (early last week). We had to wait for the weekend to get the rest of the prep done. You see, we had to sweep and clean them very well since Sam was in heat and decided to leave drops of blood on them. Luckily that was easy to clean up. (Thank you Method!)
     Both dogs received bathes and multiple brushings (Autumn is shedding like mad with this warm winter). Finally, stage approval was a requirement from Abby. She approved everything with no changes! (Either I got really lucky or I might actually have a design bone in my body.)

     Here is a view of the updated kitchen:

     We've got a lot of open space that we're still trying to figure out, but the flow feels so much better now that everything that was there before is now available for use.

     We're looking for a nicer cabinet to take the place of the rack (with the toaster oven) and might ask my brother for some opinions!

     I know you've heard it already - but DANG it is nice to have a living room and kitchen that we can fully use and finally enjoy! 98 days is a long time to wait for everything to get put back together!

     We'll get pics of the family room and basement up when we have those rooms finished. We're shuffling most rooms in the house in order to get a nursery ready! (YAY!)

     Much love to friends and family!

   ~ Matt

A little bit of satisfaction!

     I found something out over a year ago. If I switched over to "tall" undershirts then I wouldn't have weird looking rumples in back when wearing dress shirts. I cannot explain how much better I felt with the different undershirts. 

     So Christmas was coming along and and I decided to ask for more of them. Parents obliged and I made it a WHOLE MONTH, wearing only clean shirts, without having to launder any. SO AWESOME! LOVE IT!

     Abby has not told me that I look ridiculous yet, but I love wearing an undershirt under everything - including just a regular t-shirt. Yeah, label me weird, but it feels so nice having a shirt tucked while having the option to tuck the second one.

     Ahhh.... It feels good AND thank you parents for helping make it happen!

Hmmm..... News?

Abby and I were sitting on the couch tonight with her messing on the computer. I glanced over and saw that she had broken the news on Facebook and Google+ that we're expecting in July.


Hmmm..... it feels good to put the information out there. We were slowly telling work so they could prepare too.

So what is it like so far from my perspective? Interesting. Abby had a week-long jelly bean craving - but I wasn't sure that was attributable to the pregnancy. She was going to bed early too - like around 7:30 - but that has gone back to the 9:30ish normal time. Yes, I was also enjoying "pity" tiredness too. I would lay down with her but 90 minutes later I would have to get up and do something else since my body was just not ready to crash.

The only other thing I can think of, but I'm not sure this is due to pregnancy or our current diet, but JEEZ her stomach is LOUD! She thinks this is because she's constantly hungry but I've no idea.

Well that's all for now. We'll keep you posted....

Two Peas - in our pod

Everything is calming down a week before Christmas. I've been up since 4:00 a.m. trying to get over strep and a troublesome sinus infection. Over three days I've just finished my second box of Puffs Plus with lotion. (Oh thank you for making these!)

It has been an incredible November and December. Besides the water incident, Abby and I hosted her family and friends for Thanksgiving. Eight of us gathered around our table on Thanksgiving day and enjoyed an awesome meal and fantastic fellowship. A great time was had by all as we played games, went on walks, and do what we all do very well: eat.

Two weeks later my sister, parents, brother, niece, and nephew came into Kansas to visibly confirm that I had, in fact, received my PhD from Kansas State University. Yup, it is real. We all traveled to Manhattan, Kansas for the event. It was two days of an incredible time visiting with great friends, fellow grad students, some very patient faculty (they had to deal with me A LOT), close family friends and some really nice in-laws (I think I hit the lottery with the Abby's clan).


Saturday my family traveled back to our house and we hosted an informal Christmas since we will not see each other until sometime next year. Again, great food, joyous times, and fun by all. Abby and I got to spend time with Stella and Shane our niece and nephew. I got to spend time with my sister, who I really miss and enjoy being around.

After all had left, Abby and I came to the realization that our two families are incredibly different. When my family was here it WAS LOUD and bustling and busy and people tended to congregate around each other. When Abby's fam was here it was subdued, quiet, and people tended to find quiet spots to read or study or chill. The contrast was evident even when we played games as a family. Abby's fam is (mostly) patient and quietly observant. My fam is definitely louder (we like to verbalize our moves to all involved) and much more animated.


When all is finished - I think that it is safe to say that all had a great time. Abby and I are happy and enjoyed hosting all of our visitors. It was fun. The house is finally back to normal with our messed up floors and walls. I think the ones who miss all the action the most are Autumn and Sam. They miss all those extra hands petting them and lavishing attention onto them.


If we do not get to see you, please know that we wish you a Merry Christmas and a holiday experience that rivaled ours!


Oh - and GO STATE!

Fountain Update

Well - the water mitigation people just left. Four spent their Monday morning with me at two-fifteen. The picture above is the kitchen. A lot of floor ripped out. It didn't have a vapor barrier under it - it had sheets similar to the backing of cheap shelf kits one buys from Wal-Mart. It sucked up water faster than a ....

Water traveled from the kitchen sink to the hall closet and down the wall into the laundry closet.

The drywall and insulation behind the machines had to be removed. The pad under the carpet had to be removed and the carpet was still wet. I know - since idiot here decided to start a load of laundry with only socks on.

They removed the laminate in front of the garage door and under the wash machines. Finally, they removed the baseboards in the family room, kitchen, and basement and drilled holes into the walls so air would be able to circulate behind them.

This is good news. Everything will be operating during Thanksgiving. The basement will be available as a bedroom and a bathroom. Now - Abby and I have to get some cleaning done!

I wish all of you a HAPPY THANKSGIVING! I believe it will be a joyous one here at two-fifteen!

Indoor Fountain!

Abby and I came home from an awesome UCM volleyball match. We stepped on our family room floor and splashed each other. What the heck? We found standing water on our kitchen and basement floors and steady streams falling from our basement ceiling. It was quickly diagnosed as the hot water pipe to the kitchen sink failed. Water was quickly turned off, towels procured, and we went crazy just trying to get the water off the kitchen floor. (No pics of that since that was the first thing we did.)

I then - foolishly - asked Abby to go to Wal-Mart and buy a wet/dry vacuum. She looked at me blankly and asked if it would be a better idea to call the insurance company. Duh.

Now - I don't want this to happen to anyone. It really sucks. But USAA was awesome on the phone. Less than two hours after calling we have a water mitigation/restoration crew from Kansas City that came to Warrensburg.

As I sit here typing this at 12:30 a.m. they are in the basement and family room cleaning and drying things off. Abby is asleep in bed and I am listening to the HUGE vacuum motor that is attached to their truck.

So what's the final damage? Not sure yet. We'll find out late tomorrow. But it sounds like the kitchen floor will have to be replaced, the exterior walls have to be opened to get to the wet insulation, and the basement's gonna be out of commission for a while. It sucks - especially less than 5 days until Thanksgiving and we're hosting family. But we're safe, the dogs are safe, and the house is in - generally - good shape.

We'll keep you posted....

Dinner with Awesome Friends

Abby and I headed into KC to visit with Paula, John, and their new son: Tripp. What a cute addition!
We met at Garozzos in Overland Park for some great food, a lot of fun, and some awesome company! Paula and John - we've missed you and meeting Tripp was so awesome!

Safe travels back to Texas! We look forward to seeing the three of you again soon!