Madelyn Reading to Connor

These are several video clips from a moment when I snuck into Maddy's room to find both kids sitting cozy on her toddler bed and she was actually reading her favorite books to Connor. These are some of my favorite video clips of the year so far. It's a little long because it's 3 books worth of recording...but it's totally priceless. The first book is one of Connor's favorites "Five Little Ducklings" that she obviously picked for him. And then she reads "Popcorn", which was a family favorite when I was growing up. And you all will recognize the last book "Brown Bear, Brown Bear".
This was actually recorded back in Feburary, but I only just now found a decent way to upload videos. So, I hope you enjoy a little STORY TIME with the Sammons kids!

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Silly Sporty Time with my little USA All-Star Girl!

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And we have CABINETS!

Here's some of my most recent photos of the casa. It's coming along day by day. I think they installed all the trim work yesterday so I'll have to check that out when I have a minute to drive over there. I'll keep you posted!

Finally, here's a view of the back of the house.

A nice spring day
Voila!

View standing in the kitchen looking over into the great-room. I love all the light streaming inside. Aaaaaaa.... =)

Connor & Madelyn keeping us ever-entertained!

First you will see Connor learning how to feed himself. Very impressive if I must say so myself! You'll be amused by my smootie-eating, bed-head girl all the while. Later the video clip will fade to Madelyn in the place we sometimes find her sleeping these days. Although she's not obeying our "stay in bed" orders...it's pretty darn adorable!

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Adding a little Essential Oil News

So, I haven't ever blogged anything about my new hobby of learning about essential oils and using them for our family's health. We love the DoTerra products because they are certified pure by two 3rd Party research sites. So today I just came across another great article out there with scientists being amazed at the antiviral and antibacterial properties of Essential Oils, so I thought I would just go ahead and add a link to the article.

Study: Plant Oils Highly Effective Against Drug-Resistant Bacteria
http://www1.voanews.com/english/news/health/Study-Plant-Oils-Highly-Effective-Against-Drug-Resistant-Bacteria-89708912.html

This article talks a lot about Thyme oil specifically...and actually I just bought Thyme oil for the first time this month. Lots of my friends have found it to be helpful with the croup cough that seems to be going around (thankfully we haven't dealt with this in our home...fingers crossed). Anyhow, then I remembered that the supplements that Gary and I have been taking every day actually have THYME oil in the EO Mega blend. Very cool! Probably the thing that makes the doTerra supplements most unique to anything on the market right now is that they have these CPTG (certified pure therapeutic grade) EO'S in the omega capsule. So pure that they are safe to ingest...and therefore our bodies are getting the awesome benefits of eo's internally every day. Loving it! I really think this is a huge reason we've continued to stay so healthy over these many months of trying the supplements and oils.

Just a little food for thought!

www.mydoterra.com/karina

HardiPlank!

We drove over to the house on Sunday afternoon (Easter) and this is what we saw! The siding is fianally being attached to the house giving it a much-more-finished look. And we were also excited to see that the drywall and mudding is practically done inside the house. Wow.
M/I Homes went with a siding option in our neighborhood called HardiPlank. I've had a lot of people ask me exactly what that is, so I just looked it up. Just for the sake of a little education (it was interesting to me), I'll go ahead and add some of the description below about what this strange sounding HardiPlank really is!

This is the view of the back part of the house. I'm standing in the kitchen area and looking into the Great Room.

And here I am standing in the Great Room and looking back at the kitchen area. You can see where the pantry will be straight ahead. And the doorway to the left of the pantry leads into the dinning room.
The Bonus Room

And here's Gary checking out the HardiPlank siding =)

HardiPlank’s Composition

First, what is HardiPlank made of? HardiPlank falls in the fiber-cement siding class, which means that it is a combination of cellulose fibers, along with cement-like materials. In other words, it’s partly wood, partly cement. Break a piece of HardiPlank and inside you will see a brittle core interlaced with wood fibers.

HardiPlank: A Green Building Material?

In this day and age when everything is about green and sustainable, HardiPlank can make a strong argument for being such. The cellulose fibers that are used in HardiPlank do not come from endangered species of wood. The cement and sand used is certainly in great abundance. And no toxic materials (i.e., vinyl) are used in the production of HardiPlank.
Another oft-ignored aspect that makes HardiPlank a green building material is simply that it lasts so long.

Is HardiPlank Fire Resistant?

Yes, fire resistant, but not fireproof. But no siding is ever truly fireproof. Even brick, when used as a veneer siding, does not completely protect a house from fire. And while a true masonry-built building would be fireproof, we do not include this as solid brick walls are not type of siding.
HardiPlank does not contribute combustibles towards a fire. Vinyl siding, being a petroleum product, significantly feeds the flames. Wood, obviously, is a highly combustible product. So, the best way to look HardiPlank is as a type of neutral building material, as far as fire resistance goes.

HardiPlank Looks Much Like Wood

The main reason why many homeowners do choose HardiPlank vs. vinyl siding is because it looks very much like wood. No, it’s not a dead-ringer for wood. Also, unlike vinyl siding, HardiPlank can easily be painted. You can either go with the neutral color that HardiPlank comes with, or you can paint it. And there is nothing strange or unusual about painting HardiPlank. It is just the ordinary type of DIY painting you might do during the summer or by hiring a paint contractor.

So friends...there you have it. Just in case you were curious!

Our home...progress rolling right along!

Actually...the house is now completely drywalled...if you can believe it! All four of us drove over to see the house last night and the crew of drywallers were still there finishing up. It was awesome to see them in full-swing working on our house. I carried Madelyn in with me (with their permission) and carefully walked around while dodging all the spare nails on the floor. And it was pretty awesome seeing our house with WALLS! Really made it have such a different appearance. But because I was holding Madelyn and because of all the guys working on the house, I opted to not take inside photos. So...below are a few pics from last week after the plumbing and electric were finished. The kids love exploring in the house, but it makes Gary and I extremely nervous with all the nails and wires. SOON...it will be all walled up and ready to explore without so much caution!

This is our great-room with the fireplace still in construction.

The kids in the laundry room. This is the door out to the garage, and will most-likely be the main entrance for our family.
Daddy and the kids. Heading home! (the trim on the outside of the home was painted white this past weekend while Gary was at the house adding extra insulation).

Madelyn and Gary waving "HELLO" out her bedroom window. I love this!

Here was a photo of the house from our trip over last night. You can see the white trim...and the awesome blue sky. See, Ohio isn't always gray! =)