This Year's Big Project

Last year, Brett spent a huge amount of time remodeling the rental home we purchased. When it was finally done Brett was exhausted and ready for a break.

However, when my three-week trip to Germany started to become a reality Brett said, "You know, that's probably a good time to redo the kitchen." And so, it began. "It" being a huge undertaking that consumes all of Brett's spare time.

We have talked about remodeling the kitchen for years--really, since we first moved in. Who doesn't start talking about improvements you would make to a home when you first get in there? We have made a number of improvements to our home already, but I felt like the kitchen would always be "a few years down the road."

Brett is going to be doing all the work himself, including building the cabinets. He has had to start work now so that the cabinets are ready to be installed when I leave in September. That is when he will rip out all of the old cabinets, walls, and tiles, and replace everything.

Before he began the actual labor, Brett spent a great deal of time researching materials, drawing designs, ordering supplies, etc. We started with some drawings my sister Jen gave us. She gave us the vision, then we started tweaking things here and there. I mapped out where I wanted everything to be in the kitchen (I can tell you where everything is going from the saran wrap to the flashlights to the punchbowl to the small drinking glasses to...you name it.) and Brett made the designs for every shelf. You might not think of Brett as being highly organized or meticulous or mathematical (he is the biologist, after all, and I'm the math major), but his natural talent for doing woodworking and making the plans to go with it amazes me.

He also used a computer program which helps you plan out your cuts on each piece of plywood. That has proven to be a huge help for him. He was able to print out labels to keep track of the thirty or so pieces of plywood he was using for the cabinet boxes.

The wood was delivered last week and I am proud to announce that the cabinet boxes are completed--and being stored in my dining room!

This afternoon he started on the face frames. He started with (and finished) the smallest cabinet. [The small drinking glasses will be on the second shelf from the bottom, in case you were wondering.]

I am so proud of Brett for all that he has done so far. But, there is still much (oh, so much) left to do. And the interior of my house and amount of sawdust on the floors will only get worse as the project continues. But, Boy! Will it be worth it!

Someday

A few years ago when Sigrid came to visit I told her, "Someday, I would love to visit Germany. I have always wanted to see Europe." Sigrid answered, saying that I was welcome any time to come and stay with her.

The following year, when Sigrid came to visit again she told me that I really should come. I said that it was definitely in my future. But the boys were still young....

Yet again, Sigrid asked when I thought I might visit Germany. "Oh, I don't know. I really want to. Someday, I will."

Finally, Sigrid said something to the effect of, "Rebecca, 'someday' will never come unless you make it happen. So, when is it going to be?"

She was right.

And so it was that last year I start planning for someday. It turns out that someday is really September 9, 2009.

I can't believe that I am really going to Germany. I have Sigrid to thank for making it possible--taking care of accommodations, acting as my translator and tour guide, and inspiring me to make it happen.

I'm sure that I will have lots of photos when I come home. Let's hope that I share them. In the meantime, here is a little taste of where I am going.

More Silly Faces

Todd asked if he could take some pictures with my camera this morning. What followed was a little modeling shoot with Ryan. Ryan was making a very serious face-bordering on a scowl. Todd directed him to make a silly face. Ryan asked, "What's the matter with this face?" In the end, Ryan gave Todd what he wanted: silly faces worth shooting.


Todd also managed to capture the reason why the dogs aren't so crazy about Ryan.

Goldens are a great breed, but even they have their limits. Ginger is staying with us for a few days. While she loves the boys (and they love her), I don't think she fully appreciates the head-lock Ryan has her in.

I have also noticed lately that Copper has become a little less tolerant of Ryan. In that way Copper has reminded me more and more of his momma, Sandy. I have tried to teach Ryan the proper way to show attention to dogs. But Ryan prefers to pat rather than pet; he likes to hug the dogs; he gets in their face a little quickly and loudly when they are resting (sometimes in cramped spaces). I can't say that he is extremely rough or hurtful to the dogs. But he is just rough enough and erratic enough to make Copper not trust him completely. Perhaps Ginger is more tolerant of Ryan because she doesn't have to live with him every day.

The Novelist

I love this new stage that Todd has entered. I refer to the writing stage. These misspelled, hard-to-read notes are so full of personality. Todd wrote his first "story" on a quiet Sunday afternoon, about three weeks ago. Three pages is pretty good for his first effort at writing stories. It was such a nice surprise. I love that writing this story kept Todd entertained for over an hour. I love that Todd illustrated his work. I loved seeing how proud Todd was of his accomplishment. And I love the punchline at the end. It had me laughing. It still makes me laugh every time I read it.
I hope you, too, can feel the love as you read his story.

[The orange highlighter marks are from Kellie. Todd asked her to check his mistakes, but I stopped her before she got too far.] I'll write the translation under each picture.

Once upon a time I went to school and made a lot of art. I made pictures, a lot of things. And I kept all the art. I love my art. I love my art so much. I want to keep all the art. I like all of the art. I will keep all of the art. I like all of the art. I like the art so, so bad. I want to make more. Some of them will be books.

I went on the bus, and my art was in the back. I was so happy because my stop was the first stop. I had a lot of art. We stopped. I went off the bus.

When I got home I looked at my art. My art was so cool. Mom hugged me. My art was so cool. It was very cool. Mom loved it so so much and loved the art so much that Mom forgot to make dinner. The end.

The funny thing is, I broke out laughing after reading the last sentence. Todd laughed with me for a minute, then turned serious. "But Mom, that's really happened before, hasn't it?" More laughter on my part.
[In my defense, I may have lost track of time and had to throw together a quick dinner before. But I've never "forgotten" dinner. It's still interesting to see things for a child's point of view.]

Before writing stories Todd would often make lists--mostly lists of things to do or activities for the day. Now Todd has moved on to writing notices. The following notice was placed by a plastic container which held a baby frog the boys brought back from Oma's house. We were getting ready to leave the house for a little while and Todd left this message.

[On the back side of the paper it read, "Dad, Mom, Todd, Ryan"]

Please do not take our pet. You can look at the pet. It is a frog.
I don't know why this is so funny to me, but it is.

Update on the pet frog: The boys tried feeding the frog a little spider and a "red-bellied bug". The next morning I was able to convince the boys that the baby frog was probably better off living outside on its own than in the little container in our house. They agreed and released the frog. But they can't wait to get a bigger frog that they are able to keep.

Since Todd has shown a greater interest in writing I had him make a list of things he liked about his teacher and his first year of school on a card for his teacher. The class put together a nice group gift, which we contributed to, but I also wanted a little something extra from us. This is what I came up with.

Here, Mrs. B looks at the scrapbook one of the moms put together as part of the group gift.

Mrs. B put on a little closing ceremony for her class. She gave each child a special award ribbon, as well as a certificate predicting what they might be when they grow up.
Todd's ribbon award was for Best Boy Reader. However, I was surprised by her career prediction, "Novelist". Although I just got done singing Todd's praises as a writer, I recognize that a certain amount of creativity is required for successful writing. Perhaps that will come with age. Mrs. B said that Todd has a love for words. He tries very hard to use words appropriately-to use just the right word for something. And she said that he had a large vocabulary. Way to go, Todd!

After his teacher gave each child their ribbon and certificate, she also gave them a bright pink lipstick kiss on their cheek. Most of the kids thought this funny, but Todd was a little embarrassed. He was okay with receiving his kiss along with the rest of the class, but he wouldn't let me take a photo of it and tried to wipe it off right away.

It's hard to believe that the year is over already. Todd had a great time this year, and Ryan and I enjoyed being able to participate in so many activities with his class this year, especially when it involved yummy treats like ice cream sundaes.

It was nice being able to get to know the other kids in the class. I liked hearing the kids greeting me as "Todd's Mom" or "Todd and Ryan's Mom." I'm looking forward to meeting Todd's first grade teacher and the kids in his class.

But I think I will enjoy the time I have with my two boys this summer first.

Only Cosmetic

No, I didn't burn myself with a curling iron.
Yes, I have noticed this weird stuff going on with my forehead.
It started about a year ago with one small light strip that really did look like a curling iron burn. Of course, I haven't owned a curling iron in at least a decade. [It's so weird that I can say that about certain things. I mean, a "decade" may just as well be "half-a-century" for as long as it sounds.] With time the marks became longer and darker.

I had an appointment with my dermatologist who confirmed that these brown spots are completely harmless and most likely a result of changing hormones. (Like it took my body four years to figure out that I'm not pregnant anymore?)

The other good news is that it can be treated with good results. The bad news is that the whitening cream can be very expensive, has to be applied every day, and has to be covered with a minimum SPF 30 every time you step out of doors or it can come back. Since these spots are completely harmless, I think I'll skip the treatment for now. It sounds like more effort (and money) than I am willing to spend for something that isn't bothering me. So, get used to the face above. This is me--spots and all.

Now, the treatment for the red eyes you see in this photo is easy and inexpensive: Go To Bed!

[Yes, I do love my Turbie Twist. I would recommend it to anyone with longish hair. I can't even consider my hair "longish" anymore, and I still love it.]

Battleship

Last Saturday I went to a few garage sales with my sister-in-law, Donna. Donna has some great luck at garage sales. I don't go often enough to have come across a lot of great things, but I've gotten lucky a few times. I came home with two things last week from a garage sale for Todd: a Nike bat bag [maybe I'll get around to posting about his first Little League season] and the game Battleship. Todd is a game-lover, and this is a game that I remember playing a lot as a kid. I knew Todd would enjoy it.

In fact, Todd loved it. We played it as a family on Sunday--Daddy and Todd versus Mommy and Ryan. Dad couldn't keep up with the pace of the game--or couldn't keep down with the pace? Things were moving rather slowly as we were trying to let the boys be as involved in the game as possible. Brett lasted through one game, then we had to call cousin Kellie over to continue in Brett's place. After another game or so, Todd was able to play independently.

Todd came down with a fever and was feeling pretty miserable on Tuesday. However, he was not feeling too miserable for a few games of Battleship. He woke up in the morning asking to play. After he watched Wall-E he asked to play a game. Then about two-thirds of the way through Horton Hears a Who Todd asked if he could take a break from the movie to play Battleship. We don't often let the boys watch full-length movies in one sitting, especially in the middle of the day--let alone two! Sick days are the exception. So, for Todd to want to stop in the middle of the movie is saying something. [What exactly it's saying, I'm not sure. The movie wasn't so good? He was tired of laying in one spot for so long? He loves the game Battleship? Or all of the above?...I think he loves the game Battleship.]

Todd suggested that this was a perfect game to bring to Maine with his cousins. It does seem like a good travel game, with the exception of all those tiny pegs that I know would scatter all over the car or airplane. I was thrilled when I came across this as I was "researching" for this blog post. A paper version of Battleship! That really is perfect for a long car or plane ride. I don't think Todd's quite ready to play the paper version yet, but it's something I will definitely introduce him to when he is.

The Many Faces of Ryan

The good news is that Ryan is letting me take more pictures of him these days. He no longer tries to hide or cover his face right away. The bad news is that he has figured out how fun it can be to make silly faces at the camera--and he is teaching others in his family the fun of that.

On second thought, maybe it's not all bad. After all, a smile is a smile, even if it's the smile that comes to me looking at the pictures later. (I'm sure I will differently when these expressions are the only ones I get when we're trying to take a formal family portrait.)

(Yes, those "droopy" eyes are intentional in the picture above.)

Wait a minute, who's making that face with Ryan? I wonder where she learned it...

Side-By-Side Sisters

Lisa: I know what you mean. I too fall into that category of the self-critical woman: the smile, the eyes, the hair....just never looks right in photos. I'm posting this one, though I was hoping to find a more flattering photo of the new "do". I couldn't get your photo to go larger without losing quality, so I just shrunk myself down a bit to get the side-by-side.

Now I need to take a picture of Jen. Not long after I cut my hair Jen stopped by. She had cut about a foot of her hair off with almost the same cut as mine: same length, similar layers. Of course, Jen's looks cuter because she takes a little more time with it. Also, I think my hair has more natural wave and resists being tamed more than hers.

To the rest of my readers: who else thinks family resemblances are fascinating and just plain awesome? I do! If I enjoyed science and biology more I think I would like to have studied genetics. It was always one of my favorite sections in science.