Sarah's First Trip to the Pool

Is there anything more adorable than a baby in a swimsuit?  We joined a gym in February, and one reason we picked this particular one is because it has a really nice indoor pool.  There are lap lanes, a family swim area, a slide, water toys, baby area, and a hot tub.  There are men's and women's changing rooms as well as family rooms, and those really make changing Sarah in and out of her swimsuit a lot easier since they're so spacious.  As you can imagine, there aren't a lot of swimsuits for sale in Missouri in February, so I ordered this cute online through Target.

For Sarah's first trip to the pool all three of us went together.  We went when Sarah was rested and fed to ensure that it was as enjoyable as possible.  We had the whole pool to ourselves other than a senior women's aqua aerobics class.  They loved watching Sarah!  

A big fan of the gradual entry!  It's kind of like the ocean where it starts out super shallow and gets gradually deeper.  Sarah enjoyed sitting and splashing to get accustomed to the water.

 No tears, no blow out diapers, and lots of smiles!  Looking forward to going again soon.

Sarah's First Easter

Easter is here!  Thank you, God, for sending your only son, Jesus, to be the answer to our problem of sin and for saving us from what we deserved.

Robert was asked to be a part of our church's Maundy Thursday service by playing the role of James in a live re-enactment of The Last Supper.  He did a great job memorizing his lines, and he looked pretty cool in his robe!

Mom, Dad, Memaw, and Pepaw were able to come to the service, and Mom entertained Sarah for me since there wasn't childcare, and I wanted to be able to watch Robert.  We also partook in Communion and a time of prayer.

On Friday we made a trip to Bolivar so I could get a massage (!!!) and to hang with the family since Mom and Dad had the day off from work.  We had a great lunch with Mom and Dad and a great dinner with Memaw and Pepaw.  I can't say it enough - I'm so glad we live this close to family.

Saturday was a day of extreme yard work for Robert.  I plan to have a post devoted to our yard work projects one day, but this weekend's project was moving gravel.  Some of the gravel in our yard made sense at one point.  I'm guessing the builder made a gravel area around a tree at every house judging from our house and both of our neighbors' houses.  Our neighbors have kept up with it, but previous owners at our house didn't, and it was just a mess of dirt, weed, gravel, and torn up lawn tarp.  It was a pretty big area, maybe about 100 square feet, so we decided we wanted to get rid of it to have more grassy area.  There were also a couple of random small areas of gravel throughout the rest of the yard.  Robert raked it into a pile and shoveled it into the wheelbarrow.  We didn't want to figure out a way to dispose of it, so we shoved some of it under our deck, some around the electrical box (I think that's what it is) in the ground, and some around a bush in the corner of the yard.  We also moved the fire pit farther away from the house only to find out why the previous owners had put the fire pit there.  They had chopped down a tree and didn't want to remove the stump so they just put a fire pit on top of it.  Oh joy.  I feel like we've ticked off 5 things from our list and added 8.  Sarah enjoyed tummy time outside while watching Robert and listening to birds and the incessant barking of the neighborhood dogs.  Our back yard neighbor has three dogs.  They mostly stay inside other than being let out to potty.  They bark a lot when they're outside since they get each other worked up, but it's for short amounts of time.  Our catty corner backyard neighbor has a pit bull that could seriously bark for 10 hours straight.  Actually, I think it did on Saturday.  It paces back and forth in the corner so much that the grass or worn and it's just dirt.  It barks and barks and barks.  I don't know if the owner is gone and doesn't realize that it's happening, or if the owner is home and that's why the dog is sent outside.  Is there a way to stop this without totally making them hate us?  We've never actually met.

Sarah and I had an awesome photo session on Saturday!  When Mom and Dad went to Pennsylvania that brought home a christening dress for Sarah that was originally worn by her great great great uncle Edgar.  He was my grandma's step uncle.  It's been worn by many family members including my cousin Christine, Aunt Cathy, and me!  Sarah tolerated it quite well, and actually thought it was pretty fun to play with the long dress and bonnet.

South Gate didn't have Sunday school today and had two services instead.  We'd planned on all of us going to the 8:15 service, and then Sarah and I would go home while Robert played in the second service.  He would leave after the music and we would head to Bolivar.  But Sarah had other plans!  She fell asleep as she and I pulled into the church parking lot so I sat there with her for about half an hour.  I got her checked into the nursery but it was already 10 minutes into the sermon, so Robert and I hung out in his office and then went to the second service but had to leave slightly early to get to Bolivar on time.  Sarah definitely calls the shots around here!

Lunch was at Jim and Taylor's, and it was awesome!  Memaw made ham and rolls, Mom made sweet potato casserole, cheesy broccoli and cauliflower, and deviled eggs, Taylor made pasta salad and had the house looking great, and I made carrot cake.  Harvey and Sarah were very interested in each other. :)  We had a short baby dedication for Sarah since Memaw and Pepaw were unable to attend last Sunday.  Such a special time!  Then Sarah blessed us with a nap so we could all play The Game of Things.  Fun!

We all split and Sarah, Robert, and I went to Mom and Dad's house for more play time and relaxing.  High five to Sarah for being an awesome car napper and sleeping on both legs of the trip.

Sarah's First Sickness

Remember when I said Sarah has never been sick?  Well, her first sickness was quite the initiation into parenting a sick baby!  On Thursday the three of us decided to go out to lunch at Dublin's Pass in honor of St. Patrick's Day.  When we got there Sarah started crying and wouldn't be satisfied with her pacifier, toys, or even a straw.  I thought maybe feeding her would take care of it.  I had formula but...no bottle!  Ugh.  Our house is only about 3 minutes away, so Robert and Sarah ran to the house while I waited for our food except that our food arrive 30 seconds after they left, so I went ahead and ate by myself, and Robert started on his cold food when he returned.  It really was tasty though.  While Robert ate I gave Sarah the bottle, but she really wasn't enjoying it and fell asleep after 2oz.  She slept for about 5 minutes, woke up, sat up, and exploded with barf all over the place!  She and I were both drenched, and the table, bench, and floor got hit, too.  It even managed to go across the table onto Robert.  After a second of being stunned I picked up Sarah and ran outside while Robert cleaned up and paid.  We got Sarah home, and Robert tucked in Sarah while I took a shower, and then he headed to the hospital for a work-related visit.  Sarah only napped for 30 minutes and then woke up crying.  I brought her into bed with me in hopes that she would go back to sleep, but instead she throw up in our bed.  I took her temp and it was about 100.  I started to get a bit concerned, but I knew my parents were going to be here at 1:00, so I knew I could hang on until they got here.  They were on spring break and wanted to spend the afternoon with us.

My mom snuggled with Sarah while Dad and Robert did some yard work.  They tore down the old vegetable garden and moved some pavers and concrete blocks.  They moved the pavers that were randomly in the back yard by the deck up to the front yard to go under the bench swing.

Dad and Robert ran to Lowe's to buy some lawn equipment, and when they returned Mom and I headed out to shop while the boys hung with Sarah.  We wanted to find an Easter dress for me and some white shoes for Sarah's baby dedication.  We went to the Uptown Boutique, and in the future I want to go back for some casual stuff, but there just wasn't anything that was Easter dress material.  We planned to go to Target to get some shoes for Sarah, but then we both realized we'd missed calls and texts from Dad telling us to call him ASAP.  I was scared!  I called and he said Sarah was shaky and we needed to come home.  We swung by Sonic to grab everybody dinner, and we also went to Walgreens to pick up some Pedialyte.  By the time we got home Sarah had thrown up again after they had tried to give her Tylenol.  Dad was snuggling her while we ate.  When Sarah woke up she perked up a bit and enjoyed playing with the four of us.  Mom and Dad left right before bed time, and we tucked Sarah in after a small 4oz bottle.  We expected her to wake up in the night since she hadn't had her normal 8oz.  She did wake up around 3am, and we fed her 4oz.  She slept til the morning and had a small puke stain in her crib when she woke up.  She still had a low fever of about 100 or 101.  Side note - we became expert rectal temperature takers during this sickness, a skill I never knew I'd need.

On Friday we hung around the house and cleaned up in preparation for Ray and Terri (aka Papa and Babi) to show up.  I called the pediatrician to tell them what had happened on Friday, and they said to just keep giving her Pedialyte and Tylenol.  The nurse said that as long as the fever was controlled by the Tylenol that things should be okay.  They got here in time for lunch, and they could tell Sarah just wasn't feeling like her normal smiley self.  She wasn't very interactive and didn't enjoy eating.  I tucked her in for her afternoon nap, and she woke up with a temp of 103.4.  I now realized that the fever wasn't being controlled by the Tylenol.  I called the pediatrician again, and since it was a Friday at 4:00 and they were closing for the weekend in an hour and Sarah's doctor wasn't even there that day they suggested going to pediatric urgent care.  I immediately got numb and tingly.  I walked in to the living room and told Robert we needed to pack up and head to UC.  I was terrified, but Ray and Terri agreed that it was the right decision.  Terri is a nurse, and I fully believe that God made sure she was here for all of this.  She was a blessing and very helpful during this as an experienced nurse and loving Babi to Sarah.

We got to UC care, and her temp was up to 104 by the time they triaged her.  The nurse gave her Ibuprofen (her first time ever to receive it), and she wasn't a fan of the orange taste.  We went back to the waiting room, and when we were called back we got the sweetest doctor named Dr. Raj.  He gave Sarah a physical exam (ears, tongue depressor down throat, stethoscope, etc.).  He didn't see anything wrong, so he said he wanted to test for a UTI.  He said that when there are no other symptoms but a high fever and vomiting there is an 8% chance of UTI in infants.  Have you ever wondered how non-potty trained babies provide a urine sample?  Through a CATHETER!  I had the displeasure of receiving a catheter after Sarah was born, so I knew this wouldn't be a great experience for her.  They cleaned the area three times, inserted the cath, and 30 seconds later it was over.  It actually wasn't that bad.  Next came the blood draw.  It was awful.  Imagine any horrific adjective and that's what this was.  Two female nurses came in and tied a tourniquet around her left bicep.  It was so tight and her arm turned purple.  The couldn't find a good vein.  Switched to right bicep.  Nothing.  Back to left bicep.  Two pricks and lots of digging but no blood.  Squeezed around wrists and ankles.  Nothing.  I asked them to stop and give her a break.  She had been crying, and we were trying to reassure her, but after that long you just rung out of comforting things to say.  She stopped crying and just looked up with  the saddest eyes which was even more pitiful than the crying.  They brought in two phlebotomists from the hospital lab to try again.  It took some time, but they got it with just one stick.  They were very nice, and complimented Sarah on her ravishingly beautiful good looks and blue eyes.  When they finished we fed Sarah and snuggled.

Dr. Raj informed us that she had a UTI and gave her an antibiotic shot in her left thigh.  We had to stick around for 20 minutes to make sure she didn't have an allergic reaction, and she took a bit of a nap.  She didn't have a reaction, and the CBC blood work showed elevated white blood cell counts which is normal during sickness.  They sent us home and told us to return the next day for a follow up.

Sarah was more interactive when we returned home.  I think having the fever more under control helped a lot.  She didn't have the best night's sleep ever, but that's totally allowed after you've been through the wringer like that!  Robert got up with her once just to snuggle and re-tuck.  I got up with her and gave her an outfit and diaper change as well as a bottle.  Robert remarked, "Sarah, Mommy and Daddy aren't used to waking up at 3am so this is really hard for us."  God, thank you that we aren't used to waking up at 3am!  I know that isn't the norm for all new parents.

She woke up without a fever on Saturday morning and we got ready to go to UC for the follow up.  I called beforehand just to make sure it wasn't packed and the receptionist said, "We're a walk-in clinic so I can't guarantee that 16 people won't walk in the door in the next minute."  Okay, duh, but could you just tell me if it's packed right now?  We got there and there was one other family waiting.  Another family came in with a girl about 5 years old and a boy about 2 years old.  The little girl came up and touched Sarah, and Robert pulled her away.  The girl's mom said, "Don't touch that baby!  She's sick!"  I don't know why, but this was funny and insulting to me.  While I was sitting there thinking that girl was gross and sick, the other mom was sitting there thinking the same about us.  We got called back, and Sarah didn't have a fever still.  Yay!  They gave her another antibiotic shot which I wasn't expecting as well as a prescription for an antibiotic and told us to pick up a probiotic.  We got both at the hospital pharmacy and headed home.  What do you know, Sarah wasn't a fan of the antibiotic.  We've figured out the most successful method which is to let her suck on the bottle a bit, give her half of the syringe, bottle, syringe, bottle.  It's a two person job.  The probiotic was supposedly tasteless and to be mixed into food.  It was bitter and gross, and Sarah wasn't having it.  The antibiotic made every single diaper have the most disgusting poop ever.  Yay.  My friend Emily suggested Florajen4Kids as an antibiotic that her baby likes.  Terri and Ray looked for it, but every CVS and Walgreens in town was sold out.  Walgreens overnighted some to be picked up the next day.  Sarah doesn't mind it one bit.  I'd recommend it to anyone with kids of any age needing a probiotic.

Anyway, Sarah did quite a bit better on Saturday and didn't have a fever or throw up.  One of the biggest bummers of this whole things was that Sarah was supposed to be dedicated at church this weekend.  That's why Ray and Terri were in town.  Saturday was supposed to be a family brunch, and then Sarah would be dedicated at the service on Sunday.  We made the sad but obvious decision to not attend Saturday, but since Sarah was doing so much better we went to the dedication on Sunday.  Thankfully almost everyone was able to come to the dedication on Sunday even though they had planned to come Saturday instead.  Ray and Mark, Gary and June, Mom and Dad, Jim and Taylor, and Ray and Terri were able to come.  Memaw and Pepaw couldn't come due to commitments at church, but we're planning to do a little something special with them on Easter.  I skipped Sunday school and only took Sarah up for the dedication and then left the service immediately.  She had a good nap, and then everyone else joined us at the house for lunch and celebrating.

The UC called that afternoon with the results of the blood culture and urine culture.  The blood culture showed no growth which was good, but the urine culture showed that the UTI had been caused by E. Coli.  I was terrified, but after doing some research I learned that everyone has E. Coli in their poop.  It's just that when it comes out and goes back up into the urethra it causes an infection, and then UTI's in children cause high fevers and vomiting.

Once everyone left Sarah took a nap and Robert headed back up to church for his evening activities.  Sarah woke up and played with Ray and Terri, and then they left to see Robert.  About 2 minutes after they left I discovered Sarah had a fever again, gave her Tylenol, and she had the biggest throw up ever.  Green beans + formula.  You can imagine it.  I text Terri and asked for Ibuprofen.  She picked some up and came to spend the evening with us while Ray and Robert were at church.  Sarah officially like Ibuprofen better than Tylenol.  Good to know.

Ray and Terri left early early early on Monday morning.  I called the pediatrician at 8:30 to request a follow up, and they got Sarah in at 9:00.  So thankful for that!  Dr. Toth reassured me that we hadn't done anything wrong.  It wasn't caused by pooping in the bath tub or using cloth diapers.  It's just something that happens when you are a little girl and wear diapers.  However, she was still concerned and wanted to do a renal ultrasound to rule out VUR or any concern with the kidneys.  This was the moment where I lost it and started crying.  I didn't have Robert there as my support system.  Sarah had already been through so much with the catheter and blood work.  It was a weak moment.  I'm glad that Dr. Toth has a baby just a month older than Sarah so that makes her more empathetic.  We got an ultrasound scheduled for 8:45 the next day at the diagnostic center.

Yesterday morning Mom came over after taking the day off, and the three of us took Sarah to her US.  Let me just tell you, this was the least traumatic test of the whole process!  She didn't cry once, and she just enjoyed looking at the US screen and playing with her duck.  I know this was an answer to prayer because no 7 month old should be that calm when a stranger is manipulating your body, your parents are holding you still, and you're having cold gel rubbed around on your stomach.  It took about 5 minutes, and then we headed home.  Robert went to work, and Mom watched Sarah while I got a hair cut.  I couldn't handle Sarah ripping out my hair any long.  I haven't gotten a regular place in town yet, so I just went to Supercuts.  I was a bit alarmed when I lady with blue hair called me back, but I was pleased with the results and we enjoyed talking about motherhood as she has a 9 month old son.

Because we didn't have enough going on (HA!) this seemed like a perfect time to start using Sarah's big girl car seat from Uncle Jim and Aunt Taylor.  Do you think she likes it?

When I got home we enjoyed lunch together and played some, and then Mom came with me to watch Sarah while I had a contact lens fitting.  Mom left from there, and Sarah and I went to have a Sonic drink with Robert.  Then Sarah and I went for a stroller ride with Madison and hung out with her at church for a bit.

Sarah will take the antibiotics for three more days, but she's been fever and throw up free since Sunday.  All of this was scary, and it was so sad to see Sarah in such discomfort, but we're thankful for God's healing and for modern medicine so she can make a full recovery.  It's made me even more empathetic for parents who have children with chronic illnesses and even more thankful that we have a strong baby who is usually healthy and happy.

Our First House: Before and After

We've owned our house for three months now, so I figured it was time to do a before and after post.  You've all been dying to see it, right? ;)  Okay, maybe not, but Robert and I have worked very hard, and our family and friends have helped us so much, and we're very proud of our first house.  When we bought the house we knew that the first thing to go would be the carpet.  The sellers had three children and two indoor dogs, and holy cow, it smelled like they had at least five dogs!  Eww...  It's amazing what you get used to.  You know, like the fact that we don't smell Mittens' litter box or Sarah's diaper pail!  Anyway, the carpet had to go.  I actually don't hate carpet, but it's so expensive, and I know hard surface floors are in style, so that's what we went with.  I mentioned it earlier, but we were able to purchase the same wood laminate that was in the living room and hallway to use in the bedrooms and closets.  We also painted all of the walls and the ceilings in the living room, bathrooms, and master bedroom.  Let's hit up the nitty gritty details, shall we?

Throughout the House

• Oil rubbed bronze interior and exterior door knobs.  The sellers had a replaced a lot of the brass fixtures like the lighting and faucets, but they hadn't replaced the door knobs yet.  Robert can't function when things aren't matching. I'm glad I'm able to go with the flow so much better. HA!
• Washed the windows inside and outside.  This made a big difference!  I think I'll do it again this spring when it isn't freezing outside.  
• The door knob on the front door knob was installed upside down, so Robert and Pepaw fixed that.
• The light on the back deck was two big for the space where it was installed so the top of it pressed against the roof and was disfiguring it.  Robert replaced it with a smaller and brighter option!
• Some of the windows had wood blinds and others had plastic mini blinds, so we purchased matching wood blinds for the remaining windows.  They look great!

Living Room

• We finally have a hutch to store Robert's Mamaw's china!  I'm excited to no longer have it in storage bins so we can access it more easily.
• The lighting got changed up quite a bit in this room.  We replaced the canisters of the can lights over the fireplace so they're white now instead of brass.  We replaced the brass ceiling fan without lights with an oil rubbed bronze fan with three lights.  And we took down the track light that had three spotlights for artwork and patched the ceiling.  It's so much brighter in here now.
• We're loving our matching new navy couch and love seat!

I love how bright this room is with the French doors looking out onto the deck.  We have to remember to close the curtains in the evening.  I know that if we can see our neighbors watching TV that they can see us, too!  Sarah really enjoyed watching the fire this winter, and it was fun to turn on.  I like that our piano can be out in the open, prompting people to play it regularly.

Kitchen

• Installed a microwave over the stove which really freed up a lot of counter space.  The microwave was one of those projects that turns into a much bigger deal than you ever expected.  The short story is that it was missing a bolt, we returned it, there wasn't a replacement in stock, we ordered a new one, and had success installing it.  The long story is take all of that and add six hours.
• New refrigerator with a fun water and ice cube dispensers.
• Replaced the light over the kitchen sink.  The old light resembled a seashell or something you'd see in a hotel hallway.  Robert didn't even electrocute himself!
• The shelf under the kitchen sink was rotten due to a leak that had been fixed, so we just took the final step and replaced the wood sheet as well.  Hooray for no more rotten wood!

In my dream world we would replace the counter tops and the oven, but there's nothing wrong with the counter tops other than the fact that I got used to having granite in our townhouse and miss being able to chop things and putting hot pans on it directly.  The oven works, but doesn't heat evenly, and you have to adjust the heat and temperature to have success, but if you'll notice, it's a drop in oven vs. a free standing oven, so those suckers cost about twice as much, so it'll have to wait until it explodes one day.  We also really like our little coffee/baby bottle cart.  I love our navy blue accent wall in the kitchen and in our bedroom.  The sellers left two options for our lamp shade over the kitchen table, and we went with the smaller, off-white shades.

Funny conversation with two youth:

Younger brother: What's that box on the wall?

Older brother: You dummy!  That's where they used to plug in the Internet when people had dial up.

Me: No!  It's where people used to plug in land lines.

Both: When was this house built???

Ha!  Now the spice rack covers up the box so we don't have to have that conversation again. 

Guest Bedroom

• The closet has become a bit of our office space.  We have some storage containers, filing cabinet, and office supplies in there.
• We kept the chair from our old living room set and have put it in here to try to give it a bit more of a bed and breakfast vibe for our guests complete with a side table, lamp, and alarm clock. 

This room looks out into our front yard, and it's totally Mittens' room.  Her litter box and blanket are in here.  She spends hours sitting on the bed and looking out the window at the birds and cars.  I know a litter box isn't the most welcoming thing ever, but after we thought about it, it was the best room.  Nobody wants a litter box in the living room, kitchen, or your baby's bedroom, so this was the best choice.  I like to think that most of our guests like Mittens so they'll still visit us even if they do have a litter box visitor at 4:00am.

Hallway

• The accordion doors to the laundry closet were off the tracks and just hanging there, so that's been fixed!
• I love that we've been able to use this artwork everywhere we've lived!  Robert had a friend paint it for me when we were dating.  

The sellers had a cabinet unit where the painting is, and I think the space is a lot more open and maneuverable now.  When you come in the front door you can turn to the right to go down the hallway, and then it splits off.  The master and laundry closet are to the left.  The other two bedrooms and bathroom are to the right.

Guest/Sarah's Bathroom

• Installed shower curtain rod and purchased new shower curtain.  Why they took that rod but not the other one, we may never know.  Where they had ripped out the rod there was some stucco missing, and Robert and I may or may not have gotten taken away picking out it.  Yikes!  We had to stops ourselves eventually and just sanded some of it to make it even and painted over it.  It was like peeling the world's worst sunburn!  

We'll never know why this room and only this room has stucco walls.  Was there water damage and this was there way to repair it?  Was the house built like this?  We affectionately call this the weird bathroom.  All I have to say is, Sarah's a very fortunate little girl to have such a stinking huge bathroom all to herself.

Sarah's Bedroom

• Fixed Sarah's bottom dresser drawer
• Swapped the fan in the guest room and the fan in Sarah's room to match the decor better
• Once we ripped out the carpet I knew that I would want a big rug in Sarah's room so she could play and not worry about falling down and getting hurt so much.  As you probably know, rugs are outrageously expensive.  Since Sarah's room is already purple and vibrant, I was looking for a more neutral rug.  We had great success buying a carpet remnant and having it bound for a fraction of the price of an area rug at Ross's Floor Coverings in Bolivar!

I've projected my love for purple onto Sarah, and I love it!  This was the room with the dog kennels, and it was very dark and brown, so I feel like it had the biggest transformation.  The sellers had fluorescent light bulbs throughout the house, and we've replaced them with LED light bulbs which has helped brighten up the place, but this room also just had very dim light bulbs in general, so the new lights really really helped in here.

Master Bedroom

• Fixed a drawer in our dresser and chest of drawers
• Four of the ceiling fan blades were turned one way, and one was turned the other way, so we fixed that.  How did that not bother anybody before?
• This room also has a navy blue accent wall.  The tray ceiling is nearly black and it is chalkboard paint.  Inspirational quote or Scripture to come.  Suggestions?
• Robert built us a platform bed that we really like.  Upholstered headboard to come!  The bed fits perfectly between the windows.

I love that Robert and I have separate closets!!!  It's amazing!  It's not even that either of us have tons and tons of clothes, but it's just nice to have separate spaces so we can keep our junk how we like it.  I love that we were able to reuse the canvases that Elise painted for our wedding reception by hanging them over our bed.  

Master Bathroom

• Unclogged drains - This included pulling a shoe lace out of the tub drain.  That always helps!
• Our bathroom is the same color as Sarah's bedroom
• New shower curtain - Robert picked it out.  Kidding!  I got to decorate this bathroom, and Robert decorated Sarah's bathroom.

I guess this room probably received the least work, but I think the change from sea foam green to purple was a big deal!  My closet is attached to the bathroom, and Robert's closet is in our bedroom.  My closet has a lot of shelves and organizers in it, and it's awesome!

Now the yard is calling our names!  I can't wait to share those pictures soon.  Give me another three months!

Working with Woodwork

I know we aren't the first people to ever tour a home that's full of the seller's stuff and not notice the imperfections in the details until you're moving into an empty house.  That's totally what happened to Robert and me.  There weren't any catastrophic surprises, but one bummer of a surprise was the awful condition of the woodwork.  I mean ALL of the woodwork.  The sellers had three children and two indoor dogs, and the woodwork had seen better days.  The three main areas of problems were dirt/grime, paint, and scratches.

For the dirt, I used Murphy Oil Soap.  The baseboards were very dusty and grimy from the dogs, the cabinet doors had a lot of grease on them, and the doors were just dusty.  This stuff did a great job of cleaning everything and making the house smell really nice.  It has sort of a citrus smell, and it's nice to know that it's derived from 98% natural ingredients.  It's also super cheap when you pay $6.50 for a two pack and only mix 1/4 cup of the soap with a gallon of water.  It goes a long way!  

The sellers were unbelievably sloppy painters.  There are globs, splatters, and streaks of paint everywhere!  Our realtor, a friend who is a painter, and a couple of other people recommended Goof Off.  Based off of the smell, I'd say it's basically paint thinner.  I wouldn't suggest using it around children or animals.  We had to open the windows and turn on fans when we used it, and the smell still lingered for quite some time.  I would say that the Goof Off worked well for getting paint off of the bath tubs, but it really didn't do much for the trim.  I think some of it had to do with the fact that the paint had been on there for quite some time.  Also, when we did it in a test area it took off some of the paint from the wall due to rubbing it, and it took away some of the finish on the trim.  I'm trying to make myself be at peace and tell myself to get over the paint on the trim because realistically it's going to be there for the rest of the time we live here.  We can't afford new trim, and we're not in a place in our lives where we have the time to paint it, especially when I think of the domino effect of painting the trim, then needing to paint the doors, and then the window sills, and then the cabinets.  Holy cow!

Lastly, the woodwork was horribly scratch.  See three children and two dogs from above.  Seriously.  Scratched beyond belief.  Sometimes I wonder how a family could treat stuff this poorly.  I just don't feel like I treat things like they did.  I don't know.  Anyway, everything was scratched.  Even the insides of the lower kitchen cabinets were scratched.  How does that even happen?  I like to imagine how.  My guess on this one is that they kept the dog food in this cabinet, and the dogs would get pumped when the owners were getting out there food.  Who knows.  Memaw provided me with some Old English Scratch Cover for dark wood.  It worked wonders!  I feel like I should be a spokesperson for Old English!  I don't feel like we have super dark wood.  I would call it medium, but the dark cover was a great match.  I give you the before and after of the inside of a kitchen cabinet door:

Tell me this doesn't look like a different door.  I can't say enough about it.  I feel a little crazy saying how much I love this, but it really restored our woodwork, and it looks  good as new now.