PIMP MY KITCHEN

We didn't wait to start tearing down the nasty wallpaper in the kitchen. Unfortunately, we didn't realize how extremely difficult it is. There's nothing you can apply to it that will allow you to just peel off the panels. Instead, it's a painfully slow process that feels like peeling off tiny slivers of tape that's been super-glued onto the wall one tiny piece at a time. This is even after scoring it and drenching it in wallpaper remover solution. And you know what else? After we started tearing off shreds of the green wallpaper, we found another layer to have to deal with underneath of it! Our workload was doubled.



And then guess what? We found another layer! Hello 1970.



After getting through that layer, we found yet another layer, we actually continued traveling through time. Hello 1960. This one resembled rudimentary cave drawings of barns and wagons. Seriously, it looked like Fayte took a #2 pencil and drew on the wall.



By now it became comical. So with all of the wonderful new surprises, this is all we got done after one full day of merciless peeling.



As you can see we didn't even get to the other side of the kitchen. After another day of around-the-clock labor, we finally did it! Next up, texture, primer and finally paint...as soon as we find the fingernails we lost while peeling through time.

OUR NEW HOME

The search is over! We closed today and are very happy with our new (and biggest) purchase. We wanted Fayte to share in the experience of walking through for the first time so we went to pull her early from daycare. She and her pals were just settling in for their afternoon nap and when we grabbed her, the other kiddos gave us looks that cried "Please take me too! Why does she get to get out of jail early today?" Fayte looked so smug as she waved goodbye to all her fellow inmates on the way out. Her day got even better from there because when we opened the door to the new place, she immediately ran to her new backyard! We're looking forward to a lot of backyard soccer this Spring. By the way, it is truly amazing how many forms you have to sign during closing. It is a very thorough process and anything and everything is covered. It was really hard for us to sign the forms stating that we will not drill for oil or precious minerals on the property. Rats!


Welcome!


Fayte poses for a pic before taking off for the backyard


Welcome to Fayte Field.


A little buddy that was left behind from the previous owner greets our guests.

AUNT YVONNE: TEXAS STATE CHAMPION!

Aunt Yvonne won state today at the University of Texas swim center in Austin!


Team Yvonne ready to cheer!


Cousin Connor's got team spirit!


Yvonne rallies the Lake Travis team


Yvonne ready for the gun in Lane 4


Yvonne looks up at the crowd after the race


A crazy fan!


Two Crazy Fans!


Receiving her gold medal where many swimming greats had done so before her.


Showing off another medal she received (and roses from Fayte).

We're looking forward to watching Yvonne swim on the collegiate level and hope that the school she selects will be in a coastal vacation destination. The Le Unit is very proud of Yvonne today and we hope that the on-field (or pool) success of the Le Family will continue into the next generation as well:


Oh yeah. Fayte dunked right after this shot was taken, but we ran out of film.

SECOND TRIMESTERVILLE, POPULATION: ME

Today, Olive/Leighton is the size of a lime! Pretty unbelievable considering that he/she was the size of a grape only 3 weeks ago. We're just hoping that this time, the baby will be smaller than Fayte, who as you recall was a whopping 8 pounds and 10 ounces. We're a little worried because she amassed all that weight eating fresh tomatoes the whole pregnancy. This time, it's been nothing but meat and potatoes. We can already tell that Fayte and the new baby will not get along come dinner time.

Something that's also pretty unbelievable is that the baby's already making itself felt! It's very exciting to have that so early on this time. And yes according to Su Chin, the baby's got fingernails. If you're wondering what that means, go see Juno. We finally saw it at Dallas's equivalent of the Alamo Drafthouse last weekend and thought it was hilarious and deserving of the shiny gold men its nominated for. EVERY movie theatre should serve an extensive dinner menu and feature comfy executive recliners, right Fayte?

BE MY VALENTINE

Fayte's been busy with arts and crafts at daycare. Here is a valentine she made for "everybody."


And here is one she made just "for Daddy." Check out those precise scissor cutting skills! (kidding).

QUICK UPDATE ON THE HOUSE HUNT

To all you prospective first-time homebuyers out there, we wanted to quickly provide another update on our exhausting search. After terminating the contract on house #1 due to unrealistic seller demands, and then losing out to another buyer on house #2, we have amazingly secured a contract on yet another home in our target area. The major hurdles (roof, foundation) have been cleared on lucky #3 so we are breathing a sigh of relief as we sprint toward the closing date set for the end of the month.

IN CASE YOU WERE WONDERING ABOUT FAYTE'S LEG

It's all good!

And speaking of soccer, it's warming up out there and if you're going to purchase a soccer ball this season, consider getting one from LittleFeet.com. A $20 donation to Little Feet (the price of a regular Nike ball here at home) buys one soccer ball for you and one for a needy child in the developing world — delivered for free through an association of airline pilots with big hearts. The organization's motto is "A Soccer ball won't stop a war, and it won't fill a belly, but it might help heal a soul, and let children be children-at least for a little while." The movement started in Iraq this past year and after distributing over 20,000 soccer balls to heart-broken children affected by the war, it's grown tremendously to over 30 different countries.



"Can A Soccer Ball Change The World" from Yahoo! (A quick read).

WESTSIIIIIIIIIIIIDE!

We meant to post these pictures up on Fayte's blog back in December, but never got around to it so we thought we'd share them now. Going on production for work was the perfect excuse for a nice weekend getaway in L.A. Though Fayte wasn't able to come along this time, we brought her back plenty of nice things. Here's one of the items she really enjoyed:


This sweet skeleton hoodie from H&M glows in the dark too!


Right after we landed at LAX, we drove up the Pacific Coast Highway for lunch at Malibu Seafood in well, Malibu of course. The Ahi Tuna Burger was good, but the fried scallop sandwich and chowder were to die for! If you enjoy great seafood overlooking the Pacific Ocean and also having money leftover to enjoy other things like $4/gallon gas in LA, then this is the place to go.


Speaking of good eats, we had to make a stop at the famous Roscoe's House Of Chicken N Waffles in West Hollywood. Artery-clogging tastiness!


We loved the design at our hotel (The Viceroy Santa Monica)




Check out those knockers! Get your mind outta the gutter!


Hallelujah! The Chanel boutique on Rodeo. We felt like complete yokels when we pulled up to have our rental Ford Focus valet'd in between a Bentley and a Maybach. Inside, rich people were being fanned by employees and served tea to alleviate them of the stress associated with spending money. Must be nice.


And as for celeb sightings, we did see Darryl from The Office as soon as we got off the plane at LAX and then Hef out to dinner with his gals at Jar. Yep, that's him up there at the other end of the restaurant in between the two people in the foreground of this poorly taken photo (had to be stealth with the iphone).

HAPPY NEW YEAR, LUNAR STYLE

To all those who follow the lunar calendar, "Happy New Year" to you. The Le Unit is looking forward to the Year of the Rat. It will be the first complete year spent in Dallas, hopefully in a new home soon, and it will also feature the arrival of the newest member of the Le Unit, Olive or Leighton Le. Everything is going well and Fayte is very excited about having a brother or sister. She's been practicing her big sister skills on her cousin Connor lately. The morning sickness has been bad, but not as bad as when Fayte was in the womb. And unlike Fayte's cravings for health foods and tomatoes, Olive/Leighton is a big fan of burgers and really any and all things meat. So when Ong Noi and Ba Noi took the Le Unit out to Texas de Brazil, the family was in heaven. Can't beat eating endless varieties of steaks off of swords. And while it's been almost a week now, we're still full! Seriously, if you're ever in town, you've got to go.



Oh and speaking of a new year, this guy on the train into work today apparently didn't get the memo. His "Bout it, Bout it" jacket reads "No Limit True Soldier." Sorry about the poor angle. Getting beat up on the train is definitely NOT the way to ring in the year of the rat.

GIANTS ARE SUPERBOWL CHAMPS!

Maybe next year, the Le Unit's other favorite team will bring one home for Dallas. Though we wouldn't be disappointed by a New York repeat. Next up: the Yankees' 27th World Series championship!

MUSTACHE DU JOUR

The Sonny Bono Choco-Stache!

THE NEXT CAT OSTERMAN

Though Mommy's got Fayte hooked on soccer, Daddy's been trying to teach Fayte how to swing a bat like Derek Jeter. In other words, do the exact opposite of what he tells you!



Talk about talent! Hitting and throwing at the same time. Sorry, at this moment, we are only open to recruiting visits from Stanford and Texas.

PEACE!

So after asking the seller to pay for the repairs on the foundation and to call his insurance company to get them to fix the hail damage on the roof, we received a response today (late again) telling us "Sure, I'll fix the roof if you pay me $3,000. And as for the foundation? Every house has foundation issues in Dallas so, no I won't pay for it." So, after all of the long and deflating negotiations AND surrendering earnest and inspection money, you'd think we'd be feeling pretty miserable right now.

Actually, the response we received made us feel happy to move on. From here on out, the seller (who is a public figure by the way...damn politicians) will have to disclose the black eyes that the inspection turned up to all prospective buyers. That is if he wants to adhere to the law. We were in the driver seat as it was in his best interests to repair and sell to us since he could have rolled it into the asking price. Not only did he say no, but he also suggested that WE pay him to fix his roof! If you're interested in what our initial reaction was, subtract a finger from that black hand up there.

Peace! Have fun finding a better offer for your house now! And no, you won't be receiving our votes. Signing the termination of the contract felt sooooo good, and we are happy that at least now we know we can move on. Things happen for a reason and even though our backup home is more expensive, it's actually a better property and hopefully the seller won't be half as bad as this one was.

We know some of you who read this blog are prospective first-time homebuyers and so our advice to you from what we've learned so far is that it's true what they say about unmotivated sellers. Just avoid them altogether. Theres plenty of fish in the sea. Don't waste your time and money like we did.