Patio and Deck!

Summertime equals outdoor projects for the Dobson house and we have been at it!

For about two years we have had little makeshift stairs leading out to the back yard from our french doors. This summer it had to be changed. We decided to finally use a bunch of free pavers we had to build a patio and build large wood steps coming off the back doors. 

The first thing we did was rip up the sod from our desired patio area and dig out about 15 inches of dirt.  After that we poured in about 12 inches of gravel and an inch or two of sand to allow for proper drainage and to create a plyable surface for leveling.

The next phase was to level the ground out and start laying pavers.  Our leveling method consisted of running two long rebars parallel to one another that ran the width of our patio area then taking a 2x4 board and running it perpendicular down the rebar pieces to push out excessive sand and make things even.

Then justin and his pops started laying the pavers.

Once all the tile was laid, we started building the steps (I say "we" but it was really all Justin).

We stuck with a really easy design since we are novice deck builders and because we just wanted something safe and simple. 

I love the steps because the can also be used as additional seating!

I placed some of my flower less pots to stage the space. You'll notice some missing pavers, we had to wait for them to come over from Spokane. They are now in place and the space is really coming together!

We're still working back here, (think gray paint :]). Ill be back soon to update you on all that jazz!   

Hope you're all having a great summer!

The Office

The Office is one of our favorite TV shows but it was also a room in our house that needed to be addressed.  Our Office or the Dobson Den has been a long time coming.  We knew right when we purchased our house that we wanted this room to be an office/last option guest room. 

Here is how the room started out.  It had a horrible pink paint job and some weird burgundy carpet that was just lying on top of the hardwoods.  It was all sorts of bad, but this sort of bad is totally our thing.  We could see the potential.

After a paint job and adding some moulding near the top of each wall, this room became our temporary master since the upstairs was phase II of our home makeover and was completely inhabitable.

It completely lacked style and storage but we needed somewhere to rest our weary heads and this was our only option for the time being!

That spring, we decided that this was the perfect room to add french doors to our back yard.  Our house is so old it didn't have a sliding glass door so we wanted to make the back yard more accessible for us and our new pups.

Then we continued to sleep in there for another year... 

We finally moved upstairs and after we did we through the office furniture in there.

Here is what the room looked like right before Cru was born.  Spoiler: It's scary!

Then I got my crazy pregnant lady hands on it and now the space looks like this:

We're at a good stopping point for now.  It's definitely not near completed, it's a total "work with what we have" space. Now that the baby toys are getting to be more, I am thinking of reworking this into and office/playroom/guestroom.  I have some fun ideas but it will have to wait until fall when we are done with the exterior projects. 

We're Back and Our Life Lately...

We are back in action! Hopefully for good now!

So since we've last checked in a lot has changed in our life!  Cru is the best thing that has ever happened to us.  He is almost 5 months old and is rolling around, smiling, laughing and eating rice cereal!  He is the light of our lives and we are so in love!

Our furbabies are the best big brothers and our loving the hot summer the Northwest has this summer!

We have been enjoying our summer with our precious babe and he's already been on his first vacation and his first camping trip!  We're working on the house (much more slowly since our new addition came) and I have some newly decorated rooms to share with you!

I am happy to be back on the blog and can't wait to show you what we've been up to!

Until the next time, Cheers!



More Problems...

We've been having some computer problems again so I haven't been able to blog... I can do a quick little jig like this from my phone but full on posts are a no can do.   Feeling frustrated and wanting a new computer ASAP! Thanks for being patient!! 

Cru's Room!!!

After a looong wait we are back in action and I am ready to blog!  I thought I would start with Cru's room!  It's the first room we completed upstairs and I absolutely love how it turned out.  The finished product came out exactly how I hoped and it all fits perfectly together with the perfect amount of eclecticness. You may remember my post about the nursery plan...

 

When we bought the house, Cru's room looked a little like this...

 

 

Yeah, bad.  We ripped out the carpet and primed all the wood paneling and I picked out the paint.

 

 

 

I decided to go with a bright blue and subtle grey desk color.  We actually painted this room a long time ago and it ended up being perfect for our baby Cru.

 

About a year after the paint went up, the new carpet padding and carpet went in!

 

 

After that, I started making it a nursery! The first thing I did was put up the bookshelves.  They are actually frame shelves from IKEA but they make the perfect bookshelves if you want to face the covers forward like I did.  There is a little lip on the edge of the shelf so they can't slide off!  The rug is also from IKEA and the other accessories were things we already had or little pieces I found!

The desk chair is from a set I received from a family member.  They are just sitting in the basement so I put one here!

 

The little rocking chair is another family hand me down and the bin to the left of that is all homemade blankets and quilts Cru received.  He really is a loved boy!!

 

 

The chair came from my moms house. It's not beautiful but it works and is super comfy!

I added a subtle touch of Disney with the vintage attraction ride posters and they look great! I would like to add a little more Disney items and will do that gradually. :]

 



 

The closet and window coverings are actually shower curtains I found on clearance at Target. I purchased cafe curtain clips and new rods and they work perfect and add a punch of fun and color!

One thing we did was bring in a full sized bed. I wasn't sure if I wanted to but it has so far proved to be the right decision since we have had to use it as a guest room a few times since Cru has been born!  It will be the bed he graduates to after the crib.  It's a little big but we can figure it out :]

 



Another little decor nook...

 

We received a photo session as a gift from my brother and sister in law.  I wanted her to take a photo of Cru in his crib.  As you can tell we have played with the room since then and have changed things like the bed pillows, removing the mobile and rotating the crib but it's such a great picture and I wanted to share!  Also, I wanted to mention that we received the crib we wanted from all the grandmas! I love it soooo much!

If you go back to the nursery plan, it looks pretty right on!  We didn't have room for the red desk but other than that we did it!



So there is the nursery! Up next is the master, stairway and other rooms that have gotten face lifts! Thanks for bearing with us and I hope you enjoy these next posts!!

Computer Problemzzzzz

Hey y'all! We are temporarily down due to both our laptop and desktop sucking...

We are having our laptop fixed (fingers crossed) and will be up and running soon!  

I have lots of stuff to catch you up on so stay tuned!

Thank you mucho!

Steph 

Cru Allen Dobson

It's been over a month since my last post. The reason being we finally welcomed our little bundle into the world. He is god greatest gift to us and we are so richly blessed to be his Mommy and Daddy!

Here is a short version of Cru's birth story.  We don't want to bore you or gross you out with too many details:

 

Cru Allen Dobson was born on 2/27/13 at 9:52 pm. I was a nervous wreck when we checked into the hospital that morning. The unknown of what the day was going to bring left me feeling very anxious and scared. We checked in at 11:30 am and once we were settled around 1:00 pm my dr started the pitocin and broke my water. Contractions were bearable until about 3:00 pm when we ordered the epidural.   Two hours later the anesthesiologist FINALLY showed up and after she worked her magic, the rest of the day was a piece if cake! Around 9:20 pm I started pushing and at 9:52 we welcomed our sweet, precious boy!

Justin (with the help of the dr) delivered our son and cut the cord. The whole experience was so peaceful and wonderful! It turned out so much better then either Justin or I could have imagined! I know it was because so many people were praying for us and once again god showed us his faithfulness and awesomeness and made the day perfect with no complications.

Cru was born at 8.85 lbs and 20.5 inches. He cried for a short second and after that was so alert and mellow!  Our love for him was an intense and instantaneous love. I couldn't believe the miracle of growing and having him, it sometimes still doesn't seem real that I am his mommy!

The hospital staff and our dr were incredible. They doted on us and made our stay perfect!

Cru is a perfect baby! He eats well, sleeps well and is all around a perfect boy! We are completely smitten!

So that's my short little birth story for y'all!  Here are some photos of the day, Justin did a great job of capturing everything! 

                                       last meal (chinese food yuuummm)                  last pregnancy photo 39 weeks and 4 days!

 



                                  checking in!                                                                       our room

                                      our room                                                               scared and ready to go!

                        me with my amazing parents!                                                 our sweet baby Cru!

                                Cru with Daddy                                                                Cru with Mommy