Patience Please

Nope. You'll have to wait a bit longer for the pictures of the final outcome of the kitchen project. We still have a few more things to put away. I'm shooting for Saturday. Pictures on Saturday and maybe I'll post on Sunday morning. So, stay tuned.
Tonight's entry is a public exhalation. A virtual sigh, if you will. An acknowledgment that the last few weeks have been really tough but I'm on the other side of it. Ironically, not because of the kitchen but rather other problems that I've had to work out in my head. Don't worry, everything's fine. The family is great, life is good - even with the construction and the chaos. It's just that sometimes, there are things that you need to work out in your own head. And your partner or you friend can listen to you and even offer advice but ultimately, you're the one who has to decide how you want to handle your problem. And that's where I've been. One of my new favorite slogans is "everything is a passing memory". Nothing is permanent. The pain or anger or frustration that I was feeling was a passing memory - it's already gone. And every time the fear popped up in my mind, I reminded myself that it was simply a passing memory and the anxiety faded. So, this post is all about me feeling at peace with myself and my newfound tool for redirecting my focus so I can let go of the things that weigh me down.
Everything is a passing memory. My new mantra.

Oh! The Suspense!

Oh the pictures are coming, don't you worry. It's just that I decided to wait a bit until everything is put back together before I post the pictures. Call it an unveiling if you will. Or, in reality television, it's called The Reveal. There are still a few little things to do. Plumbing the sink, for instance. Oh, that's a big one and it's in process. After that, the new light fixture goes in and then we'll begin to put the room back together. We're close, so close.

As you know, we've had to do a lot of eating out due to this project. Luckily, Jack and Dean have demonstrated that they are delightful dining companions and I can honestly say that every outing with them has been not just bearable but enjoyable. Even when it's been just me and them.

Alright, well Tom just walked in the door with a bag full of In 'N Out burgers so off I go.

More later...

Polishing it off

They've been working on installing my countertop now for the last 2 hours. The first two pieces went on so easy - POP! and there they were. But the other piece, the big piece with the sink? Not so simple. Our walls? They are not square. No, no, no. They are decidedly unsquare. They had to shave off a bit here, sand off a bit there. A bit more here and a bit more there. A shimmy and a shake. More shaving and sanding. Finally, that sucker went in. And now they're sanding and polishing the top so its purty. And it is. It is purty. I like it. I can't wait to put the new pulls on the cabinets and clean all the shelves and connect the plumbing for the sink and wash all my dishes and put everything back in the cabinets and on top of the cabinets and vacuum my floor and remove the pile 'o crap from my dining table which is in the middle of the living room blocking the boys' most precious toys and generally driving me crazy with all the clutter and chaos!
I seriously thought all that in my head with only one breath.
But, I must be patient because there is so much to do before that can be done.
First, Kate needs some attending to. She was spayed one week ago today and her incision is looking a bit weepy so off to the vet we go. As soon as these nice gentlemen leave.
Pictures of my beautiful new countertop will be forthcoming.

Addendum: Kate's fine. The vet says her incision is healing beautifully and that she doesn't need to wear the cone anymore. And that's good because she could not figure out how to navigate with that thing on her head. I can't tell ya how many times she has run into a door jamb or a wall and just stopped and stood there because she couldn't figure out what stopped her.

Quick Kitchen Update

The interruption in programming is due to extreme busyness at work punctuated by chaotic, dustyness (new word?) at home. I have updates to share but not enough time to download the pictures. I painted the ceiling in the kitchen on Sunday and did the walls yesterday morning. All it needs now is the countertop and that is being installed tomorrow. WOO HOO! I cannot wait to clean my cabinets and put everything back in!
I painted the dining room yesterday and realized we picked the wrong color. After I got 2 coats on it. Boo Hoo. It's a pretty color but it's too close to the kitchen color so it's too much of the same darn color. Ah well.

More to come . . .

Weekend playtime

We had really nice weather last weekend and the boys wanted to go swimming. This was the best we could do on short notice.

Six Steps and a Long Term Goal

As I promised here, I am outlining today what I plan to do in response to Lotus' challenge to contribute to the cleaning up of the planet (or at least my tiny part of it).

1. I will keep a trash bag and gloves in my car so I never have an excuse to not pick up trash when I see it.
2. I will walk a lap around the track after my run in the morning and pick up all the trash I see.
3. I will continue buying my fruits and vegetables from local farmers at my Farmer's Market.
4. I will make a conscious effort to buy other grocery items (such as meat and dairy) from within a 100 mile radius of where I live.
   
5. I will use those cool mesh bags for my produce that I saw here.
6. Once a month, I will take the boys to the park/beach/hiking and pick up trash while they play.
7. I have a long term goal to grow a vegetable garden so I can be somewhat self-sustaining but it may have to wait for a different yard.

I think that's a good start, right?

More about the kitchen

Here's where we left off, right? There was a door in the middle of our dining room. In years past, there used to be a wall that ran from the kitchen to that door and to the right of that door, was a laundry room. To the left was the dining room. Back then, it probably made sense to have a door there. I guess. Anyway, someone tore that wall down and left the door there. It was on our to-do list when we moved into the house and here we are, 6 1/2 years later, doing it.

And here it is, done. The taping, plastering, sanding, replastering, sanding, etc. is being done today. As promised, cabinets and appliances were re-installed yesterday and we finally begin to see how it will all work together.

In other news, I'm ridiculously stressed out about work (shouldn't be doing this now but procrastinating the real stuff) and starting to have the free-floating anxiety again. Woo hoo. Hives will be showing up any minute. Because, you know how that helps the stress level.

Charlie Bit Me

Go see this video because it cracked me up! I am amazed though that the older brother handled himself so well.

Charlie

A Floor!

The tile was laid on Monday so we went to dinner and a movie right after work so we wouldn't be tempted to walk on our new floor. We were pretty excited when we got home and saw how it looked. I couldn't wait to see how it would look with grout!


The boys were really happy to get to walk on the floor again. Dean said it was perfect for making snow angels. Wha??? Anyway, we love the color of the grout. I think it's the perfect sandy, dirty color so it will disguise the real dirt once we start using the kitchen again.

The cabinets and appliances go back in today and the company comes out on Friday to do the template for our countertop.



Also today? That door comes out and the wall gets framed in! I can't wait to see it tonight!!

Hidden Costs

of a kitchen remodel:

Thursday
Millies = $48.00

Friday
Hot's Cantina = $36.00
Penguins = $12.00

Saturday
Starbucks = $8.00
Jamba Juice = $14.00
Sizzler = $30.00

Sunday
Starbucks = $8.00
KFC = $30.00

Monday
Parking at Citywalk = $5.00
Nameless Pizza Place = $20.00
Movie Tickets = $37.00

Ultimately, the cost to our health is probably worse than the pain in our wallets. I can't wait to cook in my new kitchen!!

Dear Dean Letter

Cleaning out cabinets in preparation for demo/construction, Tom found a postcard given to Dean by one of the girls from the daycare who went to Kindergarten in Fall '07. Perhaps you recall the postcard that she wrote to Jack? This is Dean's:

Dean,

Thank you Dean for letting your brother be nice to me. I still love you.

T---

Kitchen Update

This is what we came home to on Thursday night. All appliances and base cabinets were removed and the kitchen was down to the sub floor. Most of the electrical work was done with the addition of 4 outlet boxes on the stove/fridge wall (seen below) and 3 outlet boxes on the sink wall.

Look at these beautiful boys amid the devastation!

Ok, then we got home on Friday night. All the electrical was complete, including 2 new outlet boxes in the dining room and 2 new phone jacks - one in the kitchen and one in the living room. Makes a big difference since we won't have to have phone line threaded all over the house! The drywall was in place and the arduous task of tape, plaster, dry, sand, repeat - had begun. The wonderboard is on the floor ready for tile. The cabinets are in place but not installed yet. It's supposed to rain this weekend so it's too risky to store the cabinets outside as we have been. So that's the latest. We have a birthday party to go to soon and then we'll go look at tile for the wall behind the stove. Jack desperately wants to clean and dust (me too) but we're making him wait until the construction is done. The work is stalled until Monday so no updates until Tuesday!

Holy Gutted Kitchen Batman!

Love is in the Air

I know a lot of people think that Valentine's Day is a fake holiday made up by Hallmark but some folks need a dedicated day to remind them to say 'hey, I love you' or something romantic like that. If you're in need of a unique or great gift for your loved one, take a look at Mighty Goods 2008 Valentine's Day Gift Guide. While you're there, check out the awesome alternatives to Hallmark Valentine's Day Cards.

One Step for Nature

When you get a chance, go read this post by Lotus of SarcasticMom. Look for my post on February 11th that will outline the contribution I intend to make to Project Support Beauty in Nature.

What will you do?

Observations and Conversations

Jack has an accent laced with an East LA inflection. He says words like 'ghostes' instead of 'ghosts', 'lello' instead of 'yellow', 'weally' instead of 'really', etc. He calls me 'ma MEEEE' with the emphasis on MEEEEE. His favorite exclamation word is 'awe SOME' with the emphasis on some. His favorite color is still red but he will wear other colors now.

Dean has a valley accent. He says 'o-kah' instead of 'okay'. He uses the word 'like' all the time. Like, all the time. His diction is otherwise perfect and includes the proper tense usage. And, in fact, sometimes includes correcting his brother. Which is always welcome (NOT). He often uses his eyebrows to emphasize his point. Furrowed = mad. Raised = inquisitive. He will not wear long sleeved shirts.

Conversation between Jack and Dean this morning:
Dean: When are we going to get to wear braces?
Jack: What are braces?
Dean: They're special teeth that you put in your mouth.

Conversation between me and Jack last night:
Jack: Well? Did you know? That there's a new baby at the daycare? And the parents? Well, they call him a bad name.
Me: Really? What's his name?
Jack: Well, they call him Gun.
Me: Oh, that's short for Gunnar.
Jack: Well, it's a bad name.

Conversation between me, Jack and Dean last night:
Dean: Did you know we have another Katie at the daycare?
Me: You do?
Jack: Yes, now we have two Katies.
Me: How old is the new Katie?
Jack: Well, Katie is 3.
Dean: Yeah, one of the Katies is 3.
Me: Is that the old Katie or the new Katie?
Dean: Well, the new Katie is 8 I think.
Jack: No! She's 7.
Dean: Yeah, right. She's 7.
Me: So, is that Katie who has a sister named Sarah?
Dean: Yeah, right.
Me: She's the Katie who came to the daycare last week?
Dean: Right.
Me: But she doesn't go to the daycare anymore. She used to go there. She was just visiting.
Jack/Dean: Yeah, right.
Me: So who's the new Katie?
Them: She's 3.
Me: The Katie who was just at Callum's birthday party last weekend?
Them: Right.
Me: So besides that Katie, is there another Katie at the daycare?
Them: NO.
Me (to myself): Glad we got that cleared up.

Dean

Just a quick note today about Dean. I feel like I've been a bit down about him lately. Only posting negative reports about him and frequently complaining about him. We actually had a very nice weekend and he was pretty good. Oh, except for Friday night . . . I'm just now remembering how he was in Target (NIGHTMARE) but otherwise, an angel. No really, some of it is our fault. We know how he is with change (not good) and we know how sensitive he is (extremely) and yet some part of us still thinks we can get away with a quick trip to Target on a Friday night at 8:30pm to buy a birthday present for Jack's best friend and have Dean be all mature and compliant. Ahem.
Saturday morning brought us a new day though of good-natured boys who were, for the most part, good to each other and well-behaved. Or maybe, this is just the view through my hindsight goggles. Whatever. I'm remembering the sweet moments with Dean. The moments when he looped his arms around my neck and his babysoft, cool hands touched my cheeks and he looked at me with those deep brown eyes that look into my soul . . . what a wonder. That boy who is by turns all piss and vinegar and then the sideways wry smile, the knock knock joke, the unprompted 'I love you mama' melts my heart and all is forgiven.

Updates and Photos

To make up for my long absence from regular posting, here are some pictures for you! My brother was in town recently for business and we managed to get together for a quick dinner. Jack was suddenly very shy but Dean warmed up immediately and proceeded to charm the heck out of Chad. One memorable comment by Dean to Chad was, "You're hilarious! How did you get so hilarious? I didn't know you were so hilarious." I think Chad thought that was, well . . . hilarious!


Here, Chad is showing Dean how to do the Rock 'n Roll handshake. At the next table were some hard core rockers with black smudges under their eyes, tattoos, black fingernail polish and brightly colored hair. We had to show 'em how hip we are!


I haven't posted a picture of Kate in a while so here she is with her absolute favorite thing: her frisbee. She's still really sweet and eager to please. I'm looking into obedience training for her to start sometime in February. The training isn't for her as much as it is for me! She already knows sit, down, and paw but I want to make sure she comes to me when I call her - especially since she takes off if an opportunity presents!


This is Dean with Kate in our kitchen before I took a sledgehammer to it. Note the brick "thing" on the left? I hated that thing.

Here's Jack in the space where that brick thing once stood. He was my big helper. I knocked that thing down and he moved every bit of mortar, pieces of brick, etc. to the wheelbarrow parked just outside. He loved when large pieces came apart. He was my biggest cheerleader, best helper and absolutely tireless. He wouldn't take a break until I took one and hardly even wanted to eat in case he missed something. Don't worry about the missing shoes in the following photos. I shop vacced that whole place and picked up every stray nail or screw. Seriously, it's cleaner now than when the linoleum was on it.

See that door behind Jack? That will be removed and filled in. Who needs a door in the dining room?
And the view from the dining room looking through the kitchen towards the entryway. That countertop is on it's last breath. I can't wait to take the hammer to it this weekend! Yee haw!!Doncha want to eat Jack up in that photo? He looks like a little gingerbread man to me. I just want to nibble him! He's got a few tricks up his sleeve lately. The other day he was taking a bath and he washed his hair and body by himself, let the water out of the tub, got out and dried himself and then got dressed without my even knowing it. Yesterday morning while I was in the shower he got dressed for school, dragged the chair into the kitchen so he could reach the cereal, dragged the chair to the cupboard to get a bowl, took the milk out of the fridge and poured himself a bowl of cereal with milk. At school they tell me that he's the first to wash hands and wait at the table with his hands folded, patiently waiting for all the other kids to sit down to eat. He loves to sweep and does all the sweeping at the daycare. One day a parent commented to his teacher about what a great job he was doing and his teacher replied, "He's been doing this since he was 3!" He tells me that Jack does an exceptional job and doesn't miss even a grain of sand. Jack has a best friend at school and they spend every waking moment together. He told me he wants to move in with him and be his brother. And I found out that this boy's mother packs 2 of everything in a lunch whenever they have field trips - one for him and one for Jack. It's so sweet.

Dean is still a handful of drama. He's afraid of everything - windows, doors and (I found out today) chimneys. He doesn't want to go to the bathroom by himself or even go into the kitchen by himself! It's enough to make me crazy! Jack is kind enough to point out windows, doors and chimneys, thankyouverymuchjack, and Dean cries and clings until I finally give in and hold him. I'm trying to be all rational but clearly this isn't a rational fear and I'm sure he'll grow out of it soon. I've also been concerned about Dean because he's so quick to anger and his gut reaction is to hit, bite, push, etc. Every day I remind him to be kind with his words and kind with his body and still nearly every day there is some incident that happened at school in which he had to be removed from the group for some period of time. The teachers are all very nice and they don't "punish". The worst thing they ever do is remove the child from the situation. So it's my nightly practice to check in with his teacher to see how he was that day. In our chat last night I expressed my concern that when he enters kindergarten in the fall that he's going to get in a lot of trouble. His teacher told me that he thinks he'll be better when he's with all 5 year olds and that most of the time, it's his love-hate relationship with a 3 year old boy in the daycare that gets him in trouble. The other times he gets in trouble is when he is defending one of the younger girls in the daycare! His teacher told me that all the kids love Dean and he generally picks who he wants to play with each day and they do whatever he wants them to do. He told me that Dean would be fine and that his teacher is going to love him because he's so charming.

Finally, I asked him how Jack and Dean interact at school and he said that for the most part, they don't. Usually, the only time they do is if one of them is sick or upset then the other one will comfort him. Usually, the one needing the comfort is Dean and Jack does the comforting. His teacher said he loves to watch the way they come together when they need to but are otherwise completely independent.

As always, it's busy, chaotic, demanding and frustrating here at twintales but I wouldn't change it for the world.

Demolition Girl

Sorry to be so MIA. I've been a little preoccupied. I demo'd my kitchen yesterday. Pulled up all the linoleum, steamed the wallpaper off the dining room (that was Sunday, actually), removed the tile from the countertop next to the stove, took a sledgehammer to the built-in brick thing that was next to my stove and removed the brick (yes, brick) backsplash. My hands are raw, my back is aching, my fingernails are falling apart but boy was that fun! Jack was my little assistant. He carried all the linoleum and wallpaper bits and pieces to the garbage can. He filled the wheelbarrow with broken tile, mortar and brick pieces. That kid was absolutely tireless. I'll take some pictures tonight and try to post them soon. The countertop installer comes next Wednesday to measure and do the template. Then it will be another 5-7 days before it will be installed. So, by Valentine's Day I should have a new kitchen!!

Saucy

I went to a sauce class on Tuesday night. This was the second class that I took from the gift certificate that Tom gave me for my birthday. She showed us how to make a compound butter, veloute, vinaigrette, bechamel, reduction sauce, and a creme anglais flavored with coffee beans. I went home from that class feeling totally inspired. Wednesday night I made corn chowder with crispy pancetta and golden shrimp for dinner. Okay, seriously it was so amazingly good. Then Thursday night I made cream of mushroom soup and tonight was Pasta al Forno (fancy way of saying mac and cheese). But the best was the corn chowder. Soooooo good. Here's the recipe:

1 T. canola oil
small onion, diced
1/2 C. cubed pancetta (or bacon)
3 T. butter (divided)
2 T. flour
2 C. chicken stock
16 oz. frozen white corn (w/ 1/4 c. reserved)
1 C. milk
1 lb. shrimp, peeled and deveined
Tapatio or Tabasco Sauce
salt and pepper

In a large heavy saucepan over medium heat, add the oil, onion and pancetta. Cook until onion is translucent and pancetta is browned. Add 2 T. butter and cook over medium heat until the butter is melted and sizzling (do not let it burn). Add the flour, whisking constantly until it begins to have a nutty aroma - about 3 minutes. Whisk in the chicken stock. Stir in the corn (except for 1/4 cup) and bring soup to a simmer for 5 minutes or so. Stir in the milk and simmer for another 5-10 minutes. In a separate skillet, melt 1 T. butter and cook the shrimp 1-2 minutes on each side. Remove the shrimp to a clean bowl after it turns a light pink, add the 1/4 cup reserved corn to the skillet and saute for 2 minutes. Chop the shrimp into small pieces and add with the reserved corn to the chowder. Add a couple of dashes of tapatio or tabasco and salt and pepper to taste. Serve with a green salad and crusty bread. Serves 2.