2,592,000 seconds

1 month.  30 days.  720 hours.  43,200 minutes.  2,592,000 seconds.

Which one sounds the longest?

That is how much time my best friend has to spend with her mom, also known as Mimi to her grandson, and to my kids as well.  There are a million little armies attacking this strong, beautiful, woman, mom, and friend.

She is the same fighter that took breast cancer by the horns and sent it running for the hills, tail between its legs.

No doubt my friend and her family will be going through a very trying, emotional, and sad time.  Her mom’s husband will have it especially tough.  They have a high-school kind of love, the kind of love you hope to last throughout your marriage.

I will not only miss my friend’s mom dearly, but it also has me wondering what if I were to lose one of my parents?  With careers being the priority in today’s world, I always thought not to worry;  I will get to spend time with them when they retire.  But what if we don’t get to spend the retirement days with our parents?

I realized something today.  We are all dying.  Every day that passes leaves us one day closer to the end than yesterday.  Are we living it that way?  Loving with all our hearts?  Remember that song “Live like you are dying”?  Are we doing that?  No one knows what tomorrow may bring.

Do our loved ones know just how much we love them?

Have we spent enough time with them?

Laughed enough with them?

I’m not saying do something crazy.  Empty your bank account, go on a wild shopping spree, etc.  Not saying “Hey, go ahead and get that expensive handbag.  And the shoes.”  I’m saying tell your spouse they’re wonderful, tell your kids “I love you” every time you feel it in your heart, call your grandma just to say hi.  Tell your parents they’re the best parents in the world.  And apologize for your behavior during years 13-18.

Tell your friends you’ll always be there.  That they can count on you through thick and thin.  Call them and leave them an embarrassing voicemail when you’re trying to sound strong and positive, but end up breaking down crying instead.  At least that’s what I did.

Hey, it made her smile.  Love ya, J.

Game Time!

We like to play board games as a family.

My favorite is a tie between Clue and The Game of Life.  Rob prefers Monopoly and Scrabble.  Lucy and Will prefer Cootie, Sorry, and lately, Who Shook Hook.  Some of my favorite memories are playing Uno and Michigan Rummy with my dad.   We also played a lot of Sorry, Mall Madness, and Park and Shop.  Park and Shop is like the 1960′s version of Mall Madness and is totally awesome.  One of your plays might go something like this: Stuck behind woman driver.  Lose a turn.

Park and Shop. Best Game Ever.

We play a lot of board games at my house, and my mom has picked up on this.  She found this neat little table at an antique store, and decided to refinish it and make it our official game table.  Luckily she did all the hard part.  She stripped many layers of paint, took it all apart, sanded it, etc.  I became helpful once things slowed down after Christmas, and fortunately for me, it was the easy part.  I picked the paint color (bright red), decided the color of the checkerboard to go on top (white), and came up with the dimensions for the checkerboard after Googling the official regulation checkerboard size.  Yes, there really is such a thing.  And the regulation checkerboard is actually green and white.  Just in case anyone wanted to know.   Anyway, I primed, painted, and polyurethaned the checkers, helped mom touch up some of the checkerboard, and put a coat of paint on the tabletop. Like I mentioned, I did all the easy stuff.

All those checkers!

 

Regulation Checkerboard

It turned out so cute!  After some quick rearranging I found a great spot for it in front of the window in our family room.  Lucy and I celebrated by building Legos on it the next day.  I realized it is in the perfect spot  because of all the great natural light that comes in during the day.  Makes it easy to see all those tiny Legos!

Lego Girl

So next project: on to finding chairs.  I knew the style of chair I wanted, just didn’t know how hard it would be to find.  Turns out, not so hard!  There is a little antique store just a few miles from me, and they had 3 of the chairs I had in mind!  Ok, I know this is a lot of exclamations in a row, but that find was totally awesome!

those chairs….adorable!

So now I’m just trying to figure out, do I paint the chairs?  Do I leave them alone?  What color do I paint?  Is white too matchy matchy with the checkerboard?  Oh the endless questions and self-doubt.  But for now, I am just loving it.

Oh and sidenote- see that blank wall behind the game table?  See how sad and lonely it looks?  We are going to get this little ladder bookcase to put our board games on.

perfect!

It will help create a cozy little game nook.  I put all our decks of cards, dice, and barrel of monkeys in a little basket to put on there.  Now I am on the hunt for a galvanized bucket to put Will’s Lincoln Logs in.  Strangely enough, harder to find than it seems!

Ready to play!

I’m looking forward to spending time around the table with my family goofing off and playing games.  Thanks, mom!  Now I just need to get my hands on my very own Park and Shop…

 

 

 

 

 

Piano Man, er Woman.

I have a piano.

It is not fancy, expensive, name brand, nowhere near concert hall quality, but it is mine. I bought this piano in April 2009 when we lived in our Madison house. Rob found it on Craigslist for $60; the family was moving out of the country. My birthday money from my grandma paid for the piano and 4 sheet music books. Disney Movies Greatest Hits, Veggie Tales Silly Songs With Larry, Top Songs for Piano, and MTV Top Pop Songs for Piano. What a collection! I couldn’t wait to get started.

Lucy “playing” the piano April 2009, 15 months old

When we moved to Indiana I sold my beloved piano to my friend, Kim. It was more of a favor on my behalf because she knew I hated to part with this slightly-out-of-tune beauty. She paid me the same $60, and we managed to somehow get it in her spare bedroom. I actually cried the day we dropped it off.

Silly as it sounds, to me having a piano in the home is like another family member. I have memories of Lucy in a high chair banging on the keys, singing along while I play out of the song books. The kids love listening to me play, even when I hit the wrong chord, and they love playing their piano. I always kind of picture the whole family singing around the piano when I think of Holidays. Do we do this? Heck no, but I always think we will.

Well anyway, when we moved back home from Indiana I got a text from my friend Kim. Come pick up the piano. I was so happy! Kim was getting married that fall, and moving into a new home in a new town with her new husband. And they didn’t want to move the piano. Oh happy day! Of course Rob was equally thrilled that he would have the opportunity to move it again. We moved it into our new home, and it almost felt like we had never left.

August 2011, Will 23 months old

Duet- Lucy 3 years old

This piano is no beauty. It takes up a lot of space, could be a little more in tune, has one key that always sounds flat, and one that barely works. But I love it. The kids love it. Rob is always hoping I’ll get rid of it, but I just can’t. It reminds me of playing piano at my parents house as a kid. Singing along while playing not realizing my parents could hear my horrible singing voice. Feeling music so strongly that I’ve cried after playing a piece. I remember playing the sappiest love songs when I had boy problems. Again, not realizing my parents (and probably the neighbors) could hear me.

I thought last night I was finally ok with letting the piano go. Rob was thrilled. I was not. I told the kids the piano might be leaving and they broke out in tears. I thought, “I know! Me too!” I played my old recital piece and the key didn’t stick. It was like my piano was promising to be good if I just let it stay. So it’s just not time yet. Someday we will have to get rid of it, if nothing else to get a piano with better sound and a key that doesn’t always sound flat. But for now, it’s all mine. And I couldn’t be happier.

Hey check it out I’m still alive, alternately titled, We got a new computer.

Well, that title pretty much sums it up wouldn’t you say?

Our super-awesome HP computer died 2 days after we plugged it in when we moved back from Indiana in August 2011.  (And due to Best Buy’s warranty racket, they wanted $500 just to look at it.  Note to self and everybody else: never buy the Best Buy warrantees) Since then I have used my older laptop which died November 2011. We were graciously given an older tower to use by my in-laws which promptly died December 2012. We were then given an older dinosaur of a computer which finally croaked in December 2012. Honestly, I can’t believe the last computer lasted that long. It didn’t even understand the printer software it was so old. But it got us to Facebook (if it was in a good mood), pictures, e-mail, and I was able to do some rough graphic design, so it was OK.  Heck it was more than OK, it was free.

Ok, I’m exaggerating a little.  It was actually one year newer than this one.

Then the unthinkable happened. My parents bought us a new computer for Christmas. Holy cow. I don’t know if it was the sinus infection, the double ear infection, or the thoughtfulness of the gift, but I flat out cried when we opened it.  Then I passed out and let the antibiotics, steroids, and Sudafed do their magic so I could spend the next evening working on Christmas cards and picking them up at Walgreens at 3 am. THAT was a good idea. If you got a Christmas card this year from us, I really hoped you looked at it for more than ten minutes before chucking it in the trash.  But in all seriousness, I was extremely grateful we were able to still send them out with our new computer to the rescue.

Pretty much worth the 3 a.m. pick up amiright??

So here we are.  Starting a new year.  Lucy started her second semester of dance tonight.  She has really improved since last year.  This is one of my favorite pictures from her last class last semester.

Waiting…

I am officially starting the process of applying and enrolling her in Catholic school.  I am already confused by the first form I need to fill out.  That’s a good sign, right?  Ack.  Luckily I am friends with the woman in the office so I hopefully won’t look like TOO much of a space cadet when I call in the morning.  Wish us luck; I hear this is a hard school to get into.  I really feel in my heart it is the best place for her or I wouldn’t go through the effort and expense to get her there.  Fingers crossed when we get the call in March (3 long months of waiting! 3! ) that we will be accepted and officially enrolled.

New year.  Big changes.  Can’t wait.

We are living in our living room!

Big things are happening around here.

Well, not really, but big to me.  The house is finally decorated!  There are a few things I need to finish up in one bathroom, need to paint some in the kids rooms, and need to figure out some window treatments for the spare, but the main living areas are done!  It’s a nice feeling being able to relax in a room without wondering what it needs, and what to do next.  I sat down in our living room and watched an hour of tv for the FIRST time since we’ve bought the house last year. It was great! 

It hasn’t been a matter of our house being ugly, or imperfect.  I love our house!  It’s my favorite house I’ve owned/lived in.  It’s so perfect for my family, and I couldn’t be happier.  I’ve been having problems with our hodge podge of decorations and furnishings we’ve acquired through the years, and figuring out the most frugal way to make it all work without going on a ridiculous shopping spree. 

I’m the kind of person that can’t concentrate unless everything is finished.  I will stay up until 4am finishing a project,  a paper, or whatever research I’m doing.  This is a great skill in the workplace, but can be quite frustrating at home.  Thus, why I have finally been able to relax a little more.  I am a perfectionist to the millionth degree and trust me it not only drives my husband crazy, but also me!   So you can see why I’m so relieved that our hodge podge looks a little more put-together

I tried to find some pictures of what we had going on, but surprisingly I didn’t take a lot of our poorly decorated living room! haha.  So here are some cropped shots from birthdays, Christmas, etc. I completed projects as budget would allow starting in January and finishing this week.

 

Here’s a pic to get the general idea of the layout.  Big room!

 

I love all the natural light, but we had to get treatments…this room faces the west and it gets bright!

 

Ugliest curtains ever… but we had to get cheap ones while in Indiana and these did the job.

 

That shelf and all those wires were awful! 

 

So here’s the finished result!

 

New curtains!

 

I framed the prints, and found coordinating dog fabric to make throw pillows.  How cool!

 

This light fixture replaced the builders grade fixture in the hallway behind the living room. 

 

The bookcases were pushed together, and the dog toys, kid toys moved.

 

Framed the print, and added my frames I made this year.  Love the pillows I made!

 

The doors received bamboo shades for privacy and to filter light.

 

No more shelf on the wall!

 

I designed the corner shelf, my hubs built it, and I stained/polyurethaned it.  Success!

 

The kiddos love playing in this space!

 

Even Bailey can relax in here now

 

I’m sure things will be added down the road, and I certainly don’t consider myself an interior designer, but the room feels so much better and well-organized now.  Since I mentioned I did this on a budget crunch, I thought I would add these numbers…

Curtains-  free.  I stained my mom’s fence and used the good ole barter system.  (Actual cost- $120 for 6 panels.  I found them on clearance at JCP. I had a store credit, and mom paid the rest.  yayy)

Bamboo Shades- $60 at Lowe’s for two shades.

Light fixture- $25 on clearance at Lowe’s

Pillows- $30 to make 5 pillows.  The dog fabric was on clearance, and the rest was 40% off.

Shelf- $25 in materials

Frames- $60  for three, half off at Hobby Lobby.

Total spent to re-do this room- $200.

The List

Ok, so I guess that’s what I get for vague-blogging. 

I just didn’t want to get into a sticky situation by saying what was really bugging me.  But after being asked by two family members if it was about them (it wasn’t!) I feel I should clarify. 

 

 

My dog ate my carpet.  In my new home.  My husband and father in law rented a machine, fixed it, and got everything looking great.  I look down at the stairs last night and discover she has eaten the carpet AGAIN.

Another dog ate my flowers. 

Kids trampled my Poplar tree this weekend and killed it.

The city has deemed me un-interviewable because my mother in law works for the city. However, no one noticed this clause until 6 months in of me trying to get on at the city.

My boss scheduled a color class for Sunday.  I will be in Lake of the Ozarks for a wedding and have had it marked for several weeks.  She is clearly upset with me.  I’m hoping this isn’t a sign of things to come, because Sunday is the only day the 4 of us are together all day.

Speaking of work, more meetings and extracurriculars keep getting scheduled which I feel is putting a damper on my part-time schedule.  Those extra days of pre-school add up.

Someone found a tick on their kid this weekend and deemed my yard tick-infested.  I have been working in my yard every day for the last two weeks and have yet to find a tick or any other bug.  I have seen and destroyed 2 grasshoppers and about 50 grubs.  I wouldn’t find it so offensive if I hadn’t been working so hard on my yard.  And that part went unnoticed.  (Again, trampled Poplar tree)

 When I painted my master bathroom last weekend one part of the wall dried unevenly.  And I’m scared to put more paint on top of it in case it makes it worse. 

My Chi iron quit working.  I need to get another one for work now.  I’m not really sure which brand to get because Chi brand has been so junky lately.

My hands hurt.  Really hurt.  They have been numb for almost a week, and it really hurts to do anything. I have lost my grip, and they feel stiff all the time and on pins and needles.  I’m waiting to hear back from Rob’s work about insurance, but I think I can only get on at the first of the year.  I was hoping to put off having any kind of carpal tunnel surgery for at least a year or two, but at this point I’m admitting defeat.  Which I really hate to do.  Even typing this has caused several typos because I can’t feel which keys my right hand is touching.  

I have a feeling I wouldn’t be as bugged by everything else, if my hands weren’t bothering me. 

Funny, it took writing a blog post for me to realize that.

 

 

 

Want some cheese with that whine?

Maybe it’s being around a 2 and 4 year old.  Maybe it’s that I try to be ridiculously optimistic.  Maybe it’s because nothing has gone as expected this month.  At any rate I’m over the faking and am indulging in whining.  You’ve officially been warned. 

Since I don’t know who follows this blog closely, I won’t name names or divulge situations…but I’ve had it.  I always try to be gracious and polite, and when someone says or does something inappropriate, I just blow it off. 

But I’m taking a break.  So look out…and find your earplugs.  You’ll need them this week.