Almost time for the reveal...

We've been working hard in the back bedroom and it's almost time for the make-over reveal. But, since there are still a few more things to complete, I must hold off. In the meantime...

Potatoes have been planted. And, so much changes in the yard in a week it makes me want to shout "Hooray for spring"...

Reflections on a project gone (pretty much) according to plan...

By pretty much according to plan I mean to say there were a number of unanticipated disasters. And, we pretty much specialize in unanticipated disasters here around 726...

Fun Blast-From-the-Past:

The kitchen when we bought the house. 

The kitchen after the remodel. 

I was chatting with Mr. Perfect on the phone today, relaying the part about the story where I stood in the center of a room 3/4 of the way done and cried about not being good enough, and he asked: Why didn't you just wait for help? I think, this is why...

When we bought the house...And, we still bought the house.

What the trim, etc. has looked like pretty much since then. 

I'm pretty much all about learning. I tell my students all the time: The human brain learns by doing. You've got to jump in head first, get your hands dirty, be unabashedly afraid to make mistakes (now, the tears were largely about wishing that the mistakes I had made weren't permanent fixtures in my home, but whatever). I looked at this project and figured there was only one way I was going to learn...By giving it a try. By cutting a few pieces of trim wrong and by calling in my right-hand-woman to fill in some thick caulk lines. And, when I really got myself into a closet door pickle, by calling first my dad and then our friend Woody for a rescue. 

It isn't 100% finished. There is touch-up painting happening as I type. There are curtain rods that need a toggle-bolt hanging. I need to figure out how to get the new door. I must learn how to rewire those ugly ceiling lights. Pillows must be sewn. Beds must be made. But, Kumquat reports she's been reading away this rainy Sunday in the new library nook.

And, it feels kind of nice, at the end of it all, despite all the imperfections, to be the kind of girl that builds window-sils and installs moulding and then goes and gets a manicure afterwards. Who is imperfect. Who doesn't know what she's doing 3/4 of the time. But, who also isn't afraid to try. That's something, isn't it?

It was Jelly-Bean who looked at this corner and said:
"This will be perfect for your books." 

To be sure, putting away books was one of the first jobs. 

Trim and moulding and a new arrangement. Hooray!

I Heart Lyla

Our friend Lyla came to play for a few extra days. She's at the best age. This is not really my story to tell, (and, yes...It makes me a little weird to write about other people's children, still)...but I'm going to write it because it's been making us smile and laugh when things around us are not all smiles and laughter...

She was at the park with her mom and dad the other day playing on the swings when her dad asked: "Do you want an underdog." She replied, "No, I want a Gilleon." Hilarious! See what I mean? The funniest age.

She's so helpful, so I asked her..."Lyla, will you please go put this fabric in the craft room for me?" She wanders down the hallway: "Is this the CRAP room?" "Yes, Lyla, that's the craft room." (Though I gotta say, crap room is a much better descriptor...).

We plopped that baby right into the bath tub after a trip to the beach where she got covered in Flash-Slobber. I suggested some plastic cups and Kumquat delivered a black measuring cup and an orange plastic drinking glass. I  posed the question: Which cup do you think has a greater volume, the orange or the black? Let's fill them to capacity to find out! Kylene laughed at me about this...But, that smart baby-girl figured out the orange one did. Who says bath time can't be math-time?

She also laughed at me the next day when I suggested we segment some phonemes while playing with alphabet cards. Lyla was having fun. And, when Jamie and Woody go to the kindergarten conference and the teacher announces: "Lyla has a very well-developed sense of phonemic awareness," who will be laughing then?

Since we all spent the night at M & T's Lyla thought it would be nice to return the favor:"Tell Matt and Tom next time they can come to my house and sleep in my bed with my Hello Kitty blanket!"

I love that baby, who is not a baby anymore, but such a smart, big girl with her eyes open to all that is happening in the world and a heart already big enough to embrace it all:

Lyla: "Remember when I was crying the other day?"

Me: "No, sweetheart, why were you crying?"

Lyla: "Remember, I was crying in the car because I missed my Nana. She is in the hoSpidal."

Me: "I bet she misses you, too."

From Paint to Popsicle:

I don't know much, but I am fairly certain that every successful house project at 726 begins here:

The rest of the story goes something like this:

If you let Jenna order a new duvet cover for her bed, she's going to want a clean white ceiling to go with it.

After you let her paint the ceiling, she'll ask if she can finish off the top of the room with a round of crown-moulding.

Once the crown is up, she'll look downward and want to add trim around the windows and doors. Inspired by the clean trim, she'll want to paint the closet doors.

With the closet doors drying in the yard, there's no reason not to get a new door to match the other doors in the house.

She'll be distracted temporarily by playing with her favorite three year old, by agreeing to house/dog sit for some very handsome men and by a trip to visit her mother. Plus, she'll want to turn some garden beds and plant some onions and some brassicas. 

She'll be thankful she has such a nice and helpful friend who is especially talented at painting and caulking baseboards, because once all the other trim is white, surely that will have to be white as well. 

Once all the painting is done, she'll decide she needs a few window-sils to go with the trim. 

So, maybe the next time Jenna says: "I think I need a new duvet cover" you'll think twice about saying yes...You might just tell her to go have a popsicle instead.