Barber Bustlings

the "before" pics  the only way to describe the yellow is  that it's the color of vaseline - YUCK! a garage full of cabinets that took weeks to sand down  the makeshift pantry (where the fridge belongs)  raise the roof!  such a difference without the low ceiling and hanging cabinets  just needs to be painted so we can hang the uppers on Friday!  the primed cabinets to be painted tomorrow and Tuesday (hopefully to be finished by Friday for hanging) I cannot wait to post "AFTER" pics of our kitchen. It may be awhile, so I will continue to post pics of the current situation. Right now I am gearing up for a lot of hours spent painting cabinets. I am so lucky my sister is going to help me. This is consuming most of my thoughts right now, though I try to keep perspective so I can be a decent wife/mother. I am really trying to enjoy the process but that is not my natural M.O.

We are in the middle of redoing our kitchen. I can't find my camera but I will post before and after pics. We are sanding down our "new"(used) cabinets in the garage every chance we get. After they are sanded we prime, paint, glaze and seal them. Then we get to take out the existing cabinets, find flooring to match and add it, then install the new ones. We are going to try to spray paint our 70s-looking beige appliances black to match the fridge and then add the backsplash. We have a lot of work behind and ahead of us, but it is going to be so nice when done. Last week was a nightmare. We had some workers here to raise our 7' ceiling and the kitchen was a mess. They took 2 days longer than anticipated, pushing back cleanup for our pending guests. In the interim we had a makeshift kitchen in our basement, complete with microwave, Scott's college fridge, folding chairs and card table, and our griddle. We did dishes in the bathroom. I was also really sick with a ba...

These are pics from Elliot Day. We went to the park with our balloons: my red heart, Scott's blue star, Bailey's truck, Myles' Sponge Bob one and Landon's Spiderman one. Each of us wrote a message to Elliot and attached it, let the balloons go, taking our messages to him in heaven. We had a great time at the park together. We talked about how much we missed him and what he might be doing if he were here with us. Then the kids played at the park and Scott and I sat together. It was a wonderful day for our family and I know Elliot was with us, buoying us up, being our angel. Big breath - we made it through the first year, which I do hope will be the hardest.

My mom always said the days leading up to the anniversary of my father's death were actually worse than the actual day itself. I have seen that this week as we prepared for today, the one year mark after losing Elliot. Two days ago was the hardest, since it was the date we found out Elliot had died. Today we celebrate Elliot Day, the son/brother who belongs to us, just not on this earth, not at this time. This image was what the nurses put on the hospital door while delivering my stillborn son. Our room was set back from the other delivery rooms. At first I thought they were banishing us in case I wailed or mourned too loudly. Of course I soon realized it was so thoughtful of them, to remove us from the soft cries of the other newborns, of what we would not hear in our room. I will be forever grateful to them for the kindness, compassion and tenderness they showed us through that difficult process. (My doctor is a different story, not for this post.) I have many thoughts fo...

Bailey's first day of school  Myles' first day (Bailey's 2nd day) 1st graders take a tour on the other grades' first day  We went camping!!! This is the first time our family  went camping together. We stayed in my cousin's camp  trailer. It was so much fun; we want to get one next summer  Family hike (minus B, who was at the lake)  Lola at her last class of puppy training Lola graduated The kids love school. (Myles is bored but I have already talked to his teacher and will just have to work with him at home.) They both have friends and don't complain about going so I am thrilled. Landon started his neighborhood preschool this past week and asks every day if he gets to go to preschool. On Wednesday I started the weekly babysitting of my niece and nephew. Lacee will turn 3 in January; Mason is 5 weeks old. They were so cute and Landon enjoyed playing with Lacee now that she doesn't wear diap...

Sometimes it doesn't take much to have a break through. My kids are in school and I have been so productive. I painted some accents walls in our bathroom. My sister had this a fun mistint from Sherwin Williams (very similar to above). The kids' bathroom upstairs really needs help (old flower wallpaper - YUCK) but I wanted a project that I could do quickly. I wanted instant gratification and this is the way to go. An hour here, an hour there and I am done. I am doing an accent wall in my room today. Bailey is enjoying school. She is able to find a friend from church with whom to eat and do recess. She has a fun teacher and even though she says "school is never-ending and long" I know she is happy. She also started gymnastics last week. She wants to be in the Olympics. I remember badly wanting to be a swimmer in the Olympics. Myles is another story. The novelty of school wore off after two days. He says he is bored and does not like recess because he can't fi...

Things are changing...again. My kids will be starting at the neighborhood public school on Monday. We attended the charter school open house last week and found out that not much that I had been promised about the school was true. There will be no ability-based groups for Math or Reading until 5th grade. They do not break into smaller groups for learning and they do not have ongoing assessments. At first it felt like another punch to the gut, another reminder of the great school we had to give up in Arizona. On the bright side, I just saved myself an hour and a half in the car, the kids will be able to go to school with their friends and we will be part of this neighborhood community here. We went to this school's open house tonight. Everyone was very friendly. The school is plain but the teachers are excited and the staff is very helpful. We saw the curriculum for Myles and this year will pretty much be a review for him in Math, Reading and Writing. I am sick about this but will...