Under Construction

**UPDATED WITH SOME PICS AT THE BOTTOM**

(beadboard is cut and primed and ready to be painted and hung and it is all I hoped it would be!)

We have turned into our own little HGTV family around here. And as soon as we finish and I remember to take the computer to the Apple store for a little help, I will post pics of it all. But for now, you will have to settle for this riveting verbal account and a few pics.
We have a space in between the eat in portion of our kitchen and the laundry room that has (until now) proven to be decoratively challenging. Is it a niche? Is it a hallway? Is it an office for me? Could it be storage with a buffet? When we first moved in, we had a large black thingy (I know, I know, so technically correct) that matched our kitchen table. First of all, it was too matchy matchy and secondly, it was good for little. Not deep enough to store well, but not just display enough to keep us from collecting stuff that we really didn't need but for whatever lazy or sentimental reason chose not to throw away immediately.

I moved it into Sascha's room (I think) at some point for storage and display and then eventually sold it because it was not serving any real purpose other than collecting dust and junk.

When I moved it out of the area off the kitchen, I replaced it with a desk for me. You know, because of all that desk work I do . . . oh wait, I really do no desk work, so it just became a great place to pile stuff when you came into the house from the garage. And unlike the big black thingy, there were no drawers or doors to hide it all.

Then Granny died and I hoarded brought home as much of her furniture as I liked and thought I could use. Included in that was a beautiful painted buffet that worked with our colors but was a little bit too big for the space and hard to decorate in that area and also attracted clutter. So I moved it to our entryway (duh, why it took me a year to do that is beyond me because it looks muy bueno there and makes the space feel larger) and brought the desk back up because I had been missing having a place to do all my desk work.

Oh. Wait. I forgot AGAIN that I don't do desk work and (all together) it just collected crap, stuff, clutter, junk, and dust.

Meanwhile, my kids were at a loss as to what they should do with their bags and coats and shoes. And in their poor distress, they just dumped them wherever the urge overcame them. (Usually about 8 inches inside the door.) After another semester of tripping over bags and shoes and coats while trying not to curse (outloud), I decided while lying in bed frustrated by my lack of clutter control that it was time to make a mini-mudroom in that space.

So, the morning after we drove back from Georgia, I headed to Home Depot and bought 2 kitchen cabinets. Josh took the doors off and I painted the cabinets and helped him hang them. (I am proud to say I was truly helpful and no one said any bad words.) After we got them up, we bought 2 pieces of molding and a 2x4 . . . I really don't think it's 2 (insert measurements) by 4 (of any measurements), but to me that means it was a piece of wood. We painted them, hung them and added some hooks for back packs and coats. Now I was getting excited, because what I picture in my head rarely looks like what I am able to create, but we were actually taking our time, being smart and knocking it out of the HGTV park. My next step was to find a bench and 4 baskets and decide if I wanted to put beadboard up (I do and it is on the list for this week). The bench was proving to be the biggest challenge and that really surprised me. I could not find one that was long enough, tall enough, and the right style. On line searches were frustrating too because they were beyond my budget or hard to gauge by the small pic and oh-so-expensive to ship and then what if I had to return it?!

Then it happened. That glorious find that is euphoric and amazing and you want to stop strangers and tell them all about your little victory . . . Bo and Sascha and I were running some errands while we waited for the Terminix guy to leave when Sascha (in a very panicky voice) said, "I HAVE TO GO TO THE BATHROOM! I AM ABOUT TO PEE PEE IN MY PANTIES!!" She is a girl who means business when it gets to this stage of the potty timeline and I knew our time was short. I decided that my parents' house was the closest and easiest to get too and we sped over and made it just in time. On the way through their garage, however, a little cream piece of furniture I have walked by a thousand times or more caught my eye. Once Sascha was settled in her carseat and the potential crisis had passed, I whipped out my little tape measure and, GLORY HALLELUJAH, it was THE. PERFECT. SIZE. STYLE. COLOR. AND PRICE--FREE!!!!! My bench had been sitting in their garage for a while because they didn't have a place for it and it was tucked in just the right spot that it wasn't in the way either. It was waiting for me.

I am so thrilled with our mini-mudroom. It is semi-functional at this point and will be complete in all it's glory with-in the week. Josh has been an amazingly patient and kind Bob Villa through it all and I have had a blast scoring it under budget. (My cabinets were 20% off. Happy, happy.)

This project has kicked off some others around the house in an effort to reduce the clutter of our lives and simplify things. With 6 of us, it's easy to amass junk and we are trying to be more mindful of that. We cleaned Josh's office out over the weekend and are going to sell his desk and turn that room into a guest room. I am so excited that instead of having a room to store more things, we will have a place to "store" people.

(Oh and the desk that was in the niche is now a sofa table with lamps and pictures on it and it has brought the coziest touch to our family room. Josh and I race to sit down and read or watch tv or talk when the kids are all in bed. I love me some redo's around the house . . . especially when they are relocation redos and virtually free.)

 The niche

 The cabinet (with door)

 Doorless with some paint

 Confession . . . we are still kind of surprised that the molding stayed up the first time. It was kind of tricky.

 (Not that y'all care, but I have bigger baskets i like better in the cubbies now)

Sofa table

Christmas recap (part 1 because getting these few pics up was a beating)

Dear Mac computer . . . I miss you. Trying to work a PC is no fun. Please help me clear some space up on your hardrive so I never have to load pictures like this again. Love, Rachel

Our Christmas happened in 3 parts: My family, our family, and Josh's family. The kids' expectations may never be righted. In fact, Sascha keeps asking when our next Christmas is. Santa only came Christmas Eve/morning, but here are a few shots of Christmas with our families. I literally had to reopen 4 folders and find the picture I wanted for each time. For whatever reason, uploading multiple pics at once was not an option, so in order to NOT spend my ENTIRE day doing this. Here are a selected few. The kids had a wonderful time and were grateful and content and excited which makes it 10 times more fun to give them stuff. Sascha could NOT have had more Christmas excitement and spirit. She and Bo are my carol-loving soul mates.

 The boys decided to wear their suits to my parents. So cute.

 Poor Sassy was so sick.

 She kind of rallied for presents.

 In front of Josh's parents' house. This was our best shot before going to his Nonnie's house.

 (this is what most of them looked like)

 Waiting to open presents Christmas Eve at Mimi and Grandpa's

I had just asked, "Who's ready to go downstairs and see if Santa came?!"

Resolutions-0, New Year-3

So . . . it's Thursday and my plan (resolution) to blog consistently is already on the downhill slide. I have a couple of "good reasons" (like being a fun mom and focusing on my kids Tuesday since it was their last day of vacation and then the reentry backlash of the first day back, but according to The Biggest Loser, we are in the season of no excuses, so you can ignore those).

Failed resolution 2 . . . getting up before my husband and kids so I can have some quiet time and get prepared for the day. Hmmm . . . let's just say the wailing and gnashing of teeth yesterday morning weren't all from those 10 and under.

Make all lunches the night before--strike 3.

I did get up this morning and work out and I didn't go back to bed when I got home (not that I have ever done that in the past, ahem). I am blogging now and was showered before 8. Perhaps there is hope for this new year after all.

(Oh, and technically, I never make ACTUAL resolutions because that is just a set up for failure and I HATE to fail. I tend to come up with a word for the year and some ideals to shoot for. Much easier to live with myself that way come March or June or January 5th.)

Never disappoints

Well . . . I'm not sure if it's a proud way to start the new year, but I know I'm not alone when I admit that I watched all 2 hours of the Bachelor tonight.

Here are my observations . . .

#1--These women had enough time to spray tan (no judgement) and buy multiple rose ceremony dresses (some deserve judgement), but those were the best opening lines they could come up with?

#2--You must have to FAIL a mental health exam to move on in the interview process

#3-- I am now CONVINCED that the producers get to pick at least 2 of the rose receivers in the first episode for dramatic draw. Please refer to Monica and Jenna if you don't believe me.

#4-- After watching the previews for the rest of the season, I. Am. Hooked. Shamefully, set my DVR, promise not to watch while the kids are awake hooked. (Well played, ABC, well played.)

#5-- This may actually be THE MOST DRAMATIC SEASON IN BACHELOR HISTORY!!

Happy New Year!!

Ok, first new year's resolution is to get back to blogging regularly! The holiday season has been fast and fun and memorable and blog worthy but not always blog accessible. I am kind of bummed that regular life is about to resume. Josh has been off, the kids have been out of school and I have enjoyed our time together.

Christmas was great! And I will post a good recap later . . . it involved happy kids and an adorable nephew.

Meanwhile, here are a few things that I learned this year and hope to take with me into 2012:

 - when you have a kid with the pukes, make SURE they are done throwing up before you offer them red jello

 - keep two eyes and one hand on Sascha after taking her floaties off at the pool

 - if Bo and Sascha are together and it is quiet, stop whatever you are doing and go find out what mischief they are making

 - if you have a house alarm, turn it on before you leave the house just in case you are robbed. feeling stupid on top of scared when there are police at your house filing a burglary report does not help the situation

 - if you decide to start using the house alarm after said theivery and you leave your oldest at home to run to the bus stop, make sure you engage the correct one and NOT the one triggered by movement inside the house . . . I'm not sure what was louder--the alarm or Caroline's screaming

 - think twice before giving Tru your phone number and access to a phone . . . he LOVES to call (and call and call and call)

 - know where sharpies and nail polish are at all times (and it is helpful to know where Sascha is in relation to these objects)

 - if you think you smell dog poop, check the kids' shoes yourself--they will all say it's not on theirs (even when it very obviously is)

 - having all 4 kids potty trained is a BEAUTIFUL thing

 - convincing all 4 kids to try and use the bathroom at the same potty stop on road trips is a work in progress

 - the side of the road is ALWAYS an option for boys

 - speech therapy is an amazing thing and worth every penny (too bad our insurance company doesn't follow my blog)

 - facebook causes me great anxiety so I only use it to shamelessly promote my blog or share things--I don't check the news feed or people's profiles anymore

 - I don't miss facebook at all

 - hearing my 2 babies (ok, 2 youngest) sing "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" NEVER got old or less sweet sounding to my ears

 - my relationship with God is more about me hearing His voice and following it than anything else

 Happy New Year! May we all be aware of God's blessings over the next 12 months!!

Merry Christmas

I get pretty emotional around the holidays. (Shut up, Josh, I know "around the holidays" isn't the only time I am teary.) I love the sentiment and the specialness and memory making. I love buying presents and watching people open them--to me it's like saying, "I know you and I love you and I bought you this because it made me think of you!" Even gift cards can seem personal when you know it brings that person joy.

I also love the real meaning of Christmas. The whole Jesus thing gets me. Bo and Sascha were little babies their first Christmases and I found myself staring at them all the time wondering how Mary felt. I used to think she must have felt sad because He was going to have to die on the cross, but then I remembered that at the time, they all thought the Messiah was going to come and save them from Rome and tyranny and reign as a king, not live a lowly life and then die for their sins. Can you even imagine what it was like to look down at your baby and KNOW HE WAS GOD?! I mean, I used to look down at my babies and just get overwhelmed with joy and love and responsibility. My stomach would get all fluttery because I had so many feelings. But Mary had God. Wow.

I get teary, too, wondering what Christmas eve was like for God the Father and Jesus. When Granny died, I started thinking about how short (in the grand scheme of time) our earthly separation would be before I got to see her again in heaven and hang out for eternity. It didn't really lessen my pain any. Or when Josh traveled for weeks at a time a few years ago, even though we could talk by phone or skype, I missed his actual presence. I know time is different for God the Father (you know a day is like a minute or an hour or whatever), BUT He was sending His SON to earth for over 30 years to be tempted and tried and hated and eventually killed after taking on all of our sins.

Christmas is my favorite time of the year. Traditions, smells, family, great food, memories, music, lights, candles, laughter . . . but mostly, that sweet baby who chose to come to us because we were literally lost without Him. He gave up a throne and a host of angels and hanging out with God to spend hard time here JUST FOR US. Because He loves us. Because we need Him and He thinks we are worth it.

That's the gift I most enjoy each year.

Sicko Kidos

I am crossing my fingers and toes and knocking on wood that Caroline and Tru can avoid (will avoid) whatever little bug attacked Bo and Sascha last week.

Tuesday, I picked Bo up from school around 11 and he was crying. His teacher said she didn't think he felt good and that he had fallen asleep in the reading center and complained of being cold. By the time I got him home and set up in our "sick spot" (aka, the couch bed down in the playroom), his temperature was 102 and it stayed there until sometime overnight when it broke and stayed gone. He was pitiful and lethargic and didn't move except to go to the bathroom. He was so polite though, saying, "No fanks," when I would offer him food or drink. I finally got some medicine down him around 10. Wednesday, we stayed home (so sad that he missed his school Christmas party) and he was slow but better.

Sometime that morning, Sascha handed me an empty bowl and said, "Yum! More crackers please! Those were dood!" I thought and thought, trying to remember giving her a bowl of crackers. I realized with some impending doom that she had been snacking on Bo's food--his half-eaten, germ-covered crackers. We often say that Sascha is too mean to get sick (love her so much), so I had kind of forgotten about her self-exposure until Saturday morning when she was whiny and slow and refused a donut and then barfed her milk everywhere. We cleaned her up (and the floor) and got her settled on the couch where she pretty much stayed for 2 days. Her little bug was harder on her and longer lasting even though her fever wasn't as high (it was a constant 100.2 for 48 hours or so). Bless her heart. Mischievous, energetic, constantly on the go kids seem so much sicker when they are sick. And, God love her, she was more worried about how close she came to throwing up on the Christmas tree then she was about how she felt at the moment.

Today, everyone is pretty ok. I will admit that I am kissing foreheads a little more frequently to secretly check for fevers. My Christmas wish is for the rest of us to stay well and enjoy this break. But here's a word to the wise: milk + feverish belly = fountain of yuck.