Back to the Future

We will proceed in an orderly, logical fashion, being the type-A surgeon that I am.  In other words, I am starting with the recent stuff, because, well, it is happy and fun, and squishy.  Yup, babies are squishy.  Yup, we had another one of those  suckers.  Just ordered him right up from perfectsquishybabies.com. Yup, all those weird 'mom worries' about thinking the second one can never be as good as the first went right out the window as soon as little Paul showed up. Pretty amazing how this whole parenting miracle is put together.  Humbling and hard and exciting and truly the best job on the planet.

 And Luke, he is basically convinced that Paul was special ordered just for him.  He is proving to be the best big brother ever, whether it is bringing the wubba to make Paul stop crying or finding a blanket to swaddle him in for his nap.  Paul is the first thing Luke wants to see in the morning when he wakes up and there are lots of kisses and hugs saved only for the baby.  Pretty sweet-just hope the newness doesn't wear off too soon.

Hiatus longus

 Can't blame it on writer's block-you have to be a writer for that to happen.  No natural disaster or big glamorous trip to an exotic place without internet.  No, just a little something called life.  I have not created a single blog entry, posted a single picture, or even really thought about this little site at all.  And we Judki have LOTS to share.  Like in a change your life sort of share. Some good. Some not so good.  But it is all life.  And I will work on getting caught up-just stick with me because it might take awhile. 

Deep Thoughts

Happy Winter.  It is finally snowing.  We are moving next weekend.  Perfect timing, don't you think?

Love, Luke

Our new address is

1580 Jupiter Drive

Montrose, CO 81401

Sampson and Delilah (aka Dad)

There were no tears.  There was no anguish.  There was no gnashing of teeth.  I must say, it went quite smoothly, even uneventful if you will.  Unless you count the piles upon piles of lusciously long locks that fell to the floor without so much as a moment of silence.  And what were we left with? Imposter baby!  Smells like our Luke.  Sounds like our Luke.  Definitely, does NOT look like our Luke!   

A beautiful young boy who will soon learn the words, "I will have it high and tight, please sir."  Bye bye little baby.  Hello, young man.

Skiing superbaby!

Now, I know Luke has already been skiing-you can see it here. We now have added a Patagucci snowsuit, his first ski pass (who is the lucky mountain to have claimed the soon-to-be-famous skier's attention--Crested Butte, of course!), and some ridiculously tiny skis for the little man.  Watch out world, we have a natural on our hands.  Oh yeah, how could we go anywhere without Wubba, the eternally present sidekick.

Just when you thought...

Excitement you say?  Give me excitement? Ok, you asked for it.  Just when you thought the Judki clan could not get any crazier with our hectic schedules, racing toddler, and arguably psychotic Labrador  we went and bought a house.  Yes, a house.  And then we gutted it.

  Now, I do not me 'we' in the technical sense of Tim and Sarah.  Between our day jobs and aforementioned toddler/psychotic dog combo, there is no way we are crazy enough to tackle that project.  Plus, we like to ski, snowshoe, skate-ski (yes, Tim found yet another sport to gear up for), ice climb, and occasionally even hang out in our free time and we heard DIYers, well, basically DIY all the time.  Weekends.  Nights.  Mornings.  No thanks, we will pass on that crazy.
  We hired a meticulous, honest, Type A general contractor and entered into the wonderful world of home remodeling.  Yikes.  Who cares about picking out toilet paper holders?  Or cabinet pulls?  Or wall texturing?  I am learning a lot about subfloors, plumb walls (or out of plumb, in our house), and electrical inspections (you are responsible for prior homeowners sins, by the way).  
  The project is about halfway completed and we are finally entering the home stretch (I think).  Pray for drywall hanging, paint spraying, and tile laying so we can move into our current construction zone by the end of the month.  Oh yeah, and carpet laying, faucet caulking, and door hanging.  And vanity installing, light fixture assembling, and mantle building.  And...

The BIG reveal

How do you make refinishing furniture exciting?  How do you create edge-of-your-seat excitement with sandpaper, paint, and tack cloth?  A two-part blog post!!!

So, we left the scene with a helpful pooch, a tired baby, and a determined mom, all hanging out in a coolish garage in the Salt Lake City July heat.  The dresser/changing table/storage unit was dismantle, sanded, and tack clothed to perfection....or at least to a passable extent.

Now for the paint choice.  Not pink nor blue.   Something neutral, something pretty, something easily coordinated with a hodge-podge of other baby items.  Light gray, you ask?  Well, that sounds just about perfect.

First coat done, second coat done, hardware is next...a can of Rustoleum spray paint and some creative (free) drying racks go a long way towards transforming these 1980s drawer pulls into something more acceptable.

Last up, some light distressing so those scratches and dents that are sure to come will blend in more like they were accumulated over the ages.  All finished off with a few coats of polyurethane to protect the hard work.

It was a fun and rewarding project.  A few naptimes-worth of work, $40, and my frugal-self was able to transform a hunk of junk (aka solidly built, decently designed, although so ugly no respectable mom would let it anywhere near her baby's resting quarters) into this, a chic, thrifted piece of furniture for sweet Luke's new Colorado home.