A Functional Kitchen ... almost.

Back in May, Jeff and I ordered new granite countertops for our kitchen from Home Depot. We waited until mid-August, when we finally got the call that they were ready. The plumber (contracted by home depot) came out to disconnect the cooktop and sink. The installers came out, removed our existing countertops, kitchen sink (which they broke in the process - which at the time seemed no big deal since we had bought a new one anyway), and cooktop... and then told us they couldn't install the granite countertops because the cabinets weren't level ...

And they don't do that.

So we called up Home Depot, and they said

"Yes, that happens sometimes."

"No, we don't have anyone who can level the cabinets for you".

"No, we don't have anyone to recommend."

Their recommendation was that we contact the better business bureau and pick someone listed with them.

Hmmmph.

This was something that the Home Depot guy who came out to take measurements for the countertops was supposed to check and tell us about, but he either forgot, or chose not to do it.

I asked our daycare people if they knew of anyone who did this kind of work. As it happened, one of the other dads has a construction business and does "handyman work" on the side. So he came out, and after much discussion, we decided the best way to level the cabinets was to put plywood across the top of them and level that. GREAT! He did the work for us that week.

The countertop installers came out a week later (when they were back in our area -- Home Depot contracts out the countertops to a company who is not in the New Orleans area ...hmmph). They were supposed to be there between 1 and 3 so Jeff took the afternoon off. They showed up at 5:15 ... and said the cabinets still weren't level, so they couldn't install them. What!!???!!

At this point, Jeff had taken time off work on 3 separate days, and we still didn't have a kitchen. Well the Home Depot people got an earful at this point, with the conclusion that they had 24 hours to find a solution to this problem, otherwise we were cancelling our order, disputing the charge with our credit card company (who Jeff had already talked to and said it was okay but we should try to work it out), and getting our money back. They called Jeff with a recommendation for someone to level the cabinets the following day. He came out the next week and un-did everything the first guy did, and then leveled the cabinets without the plywood, in 1/2 the time.

The countertop guys came back out last week and finally installed them!

The plumber was out the following day to hook up the sink and the cooktop, but the cooktop connection had a leak. The plumber didn't have the correct part to replace it, but said I could pick it up at Home Depot and hook it up with no problem. I got the new part (I tried Lowes first, but they didn't have it), hooked it up, and can still smell gas under the stove. Hmmmph.

So we've been using the stove but turning off the gas when it's not in use, and the plumber is coming out again on Wednesday, but he suspects the leak is actually in the unit itself and we'll need a new cooktop.

Uggghhh!

So we have a functional kitchen again, for the most part, which is a relief after almost a month of cooking on the grill and in the microwave and washing dishes in the bathroom sink.

And we've learned two major lessons:

• We will not use Home Depot for any of their "installation" services EVER again.
• We will shop at Lowes whenever possible.

The Birthday Celebration

We started this morning with Cassidy's gifts.

Thank you everyone, for remembering Cassidy's birthday! She enjoyed all of her presents, but most of all ... she enjoyed the wrapping paper.

She focused on each present just long enough to tear off a piece of paper, which she then found much more facinating than the gift itself.

Then we had "cake" for breakfast.

Now this cake .... Why on earth, you might ask, would I dream of making my child's first birthday cake healthy, rather than the fun, sugary, smeared-with-buttercream-frosting experience it should be? Well I'll explain. The recipe, which I first found out about on babycenter.com, came from the "What to Expect: The first year" book ... and it got great comments online! I thought, "Perfect! Something baby friendly so we don't end up with a baby with an upset tummy or cranked up on sugar!" Nor would we have to be concerned about food allergy or anything like that because almost all of the ingredients we had already introduced and had no problem with. I asked Kim to slightly modify it to eliminate the eggs it called for since we haven't introduced eggs yet. As it turns out, the eggs must be EXTREMELY important. While the cake was lovely, 2 layers separated by cream cheese frosting,

complete with candied carrots around the outside (great job with the decorating, Kim ---you can't be held responsible for the rest since I gave you the recipe to use), it wasn't really cake. It had the density and texture of cheesecake, but obviously lacked the flavor as it had no sugar and was sweetened only with apple juice and apple sauce. The carrot-cinnamon flavor was mild and not bad ... just not cake. We gave Cassidy a giant piece to dig in to.

She ended up eating a small amount of it, but then spent the rest of breakfast pointing (she just started pointing at what she wants - apparently everything - this week) at the container of puffs on the kitchen table, which actually contains cheerios much to Cassidy's disappointment. She's recently decided she likes puffs much better than cheerios, no doubt because of their sweet flavor.

After breakfast, we uncovered her other birthday gift ... a little kitchen set (which hopefully will occupy her while I make dinner in the evenings).

She immediately noticed the phone on it, which she was just fascinated with and played with more than anything else.

Overall, it was a good celebration! But our next one will be complete with chocolate cake and/or buttercream frosting!

The Baby in the Mirror.

In the morning after getting dressed Cassidy usually makes her way into our room, stopping to play on the dog bed, and then heading over to the mirror on the closet door.

The Birthday Girl

Cassidy's ONE year old today! And wow, has this year flown by!

We decided to wait until tomorrow to celebrate because the evenings after daycare are usually unpredictable. She's always very clingy, wanting to be held even when she's playing and gets tired and cranky as the evening goes on.

Tomorrow we'll have ourselves a little celebration... complete with carrot cake with cream cheese frosting (sugar free, nut free, honey free, and egg free; made by Kim, our lab's own "professional" baker) and gifts.

She's up to 6 teeth now... 4 bottom and 2 top ... and she's discovered how to use them. While eating her gerber puffs or cheerios, she puts them in between her teeth and bites down with a "crunch" before popping them all the way into her mouth.

Check out my teeth!

She's not quite walking yet but seems to be getting more comfortable with the idea, happily walking while holding our hands, and sometimes even just one hand for a few steps. I think she'll attempt it on her own sometime very soon.

In the mean time, bath time has recently grown more challenging as Cassidy thinks it's great fun to try to stand up in the bath tub. We've got a no slip mat, but have made it a rule that she sit down while she's in the tub. So over and over, she sits with her back to us, goes up onto one knee, glances over her shoulder with a huge grin, and stands up to put her toys into the soap cubby in the tub surround. And over and over we say

"No Cassidy. We sit down in the bath. No standing."

while trying to keep a straight face because that mischievious grin is just so darn cute!

Based on what we've seen so far, I think we're going to have our work cut out for us with a very happy, but very willful toddler.

And still, I can't wait to see what she'll try to get away with next!

Dear Grandma and Grandpa,

Thank you for my new dresses. I've worn the green outfit also, but mommy forgot to take pictures. We'll put up pictures of the other ones as soon as I wear them.

I miss you.

love, Cassidy

That Makes Three...

Nights in a row of sleeping through the night. 9:00-7:15 (actually she started waking up around 6:30, but was still playing and babbling away in her crib when I went to get her at 7:15!

I'm hopeful that she's back into her normal routine!

I've eliminated all caffine except the occasional diet coke, but I can't really say if that's it. We are on day 6 of antibiotics and her ears don't seem to be bothering her anymore, so that may be the answer too.

Two in a Row!

9:00pm until 6:30am last night.
Let's go for three, baby girl!

She slept...

from 9pm until 7:30 am! With just a few bursts of crying (in her sleep, I think) but no actual waking up.

I hope it'll happen again tonight.