The Work Continues...

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The Kitchen Demolition is Complete

Well, it finally happened. I have no functional kitchen sink. I'm not sure for how long. Mike will hopefully rig up a sink tonight, or it will be a long week ahead.

This I ask of any who follow this blog: please pray for the weakness of my flesh...for impatience, for intolerence, for giving up any hope that this house will ever get done. This moment I mark as the candle being snuffed out - the darkness of the remodel has descended upon our house.

Snow on April 11

I was not keeping up on the weather for today and didn't realize that the forecast called for 3 to 5 inches. I sent the kids to school with no boots! Thankfully they had a hat and gloves. The shoes will take a couple of days to dry. The snow was a most unwelcome event here, even though we shouldn't be surprised.

My Kitchen Emptied into the Living Room

More Pictures of the Cabinets

Construction Pics

New Kitchen Cabinets Have Arrived!

Here is one of the wall cabinets that will go into our new kitchen! The base cabinets are like the top cabinet in the picture. It was really exciting to finally see the cabinets in the style and color that we chose. I really love them! The base cabinets are pretty much taking up 1/3 of the living room and the wall cabinets are taking up 1/4 of the garage. The base cabs. will go in first, our countertop will be installed, and then the wall cabs. will go in last. Yay! I can't wait to see it finished!!

Recent Happenings

A few weeks ago, we finally ordered new kitchen cabinets! It's hard to believe that it actually happened, but the smaller bank account is a reminder. After much planning, deliberation, and help from a kitchen designer, we made the decision. We went with a maple door, and we are mixing two different door styles. The stain is similar to the color of the trim throughout the house.

This is a link to the wall cabinet style (chestnut finish which you can scroll down and select):
www.kraftmaid.com/doorsfinishes/index.cfm?navigationid=321X0&doorstyleid=54

This is a link to the base cabinet style (chestnut finish):
www.kraftmaid.com/doorsfinishes/index.cfm?navigationid=321X0&doorstyleid=52

The counter top will be Silestone, a quartz material. Here is the link (color is Black Anubis):
http://www.silestoneusa.com/colors/colors.cfm?SS=0

The cabinets will be delivered on March 27. There is still a bit of work to do before they can be installed: plumbing, electrical, demolition, etc. Nothing big. (ha, ha) Mike is the plumber, electrician, and installer. It will eventually happen. We can't live with half of our living room filled up with cabinets (that's how much room they will take up) forever. I'm quite certain that we couldn't do that for very long before some of us went crazy. Violent crazy.

OK...on a more positive note, here is a link to a kitchen that inspired some of the design of ours:
http://community.webshots.com/album/344061590uIXndy

I really like the idea of slate on the end of the island, and we have planned to put slate in 2 by 2 squares in the same slate color as our entry. The cabinet wood species is different, but in a similar stain color to ours.

It's the end of the term for the boys, so report cards are coming home. They received excellent marks. They are doing very well. If I may brag a little...

Avritt took some standardized tests this year and received a score of "Exceeded Standards" in Mathematics, Reading, and then Total Language Arts. He received a score of "Met Standards" in Writing. He received top scores in virtually everything on the report card (still working on those multiplication facts) and here's the comment from his teacher:

"I love having Avritt in my classroom. He has a wonderful personality and sincerely loves working and being with his classmates. He has a great deal to add to class discussions and gets along very well with all of his classmates."

Isaac received the highest marks in all the catagories on his report card. Here is the comment from his teacher:

"Isaac is growing by leaps and bounds. He is a great friend to his peers and has a love for learning. He continues to be an enthusiastic member of the class and enjoys participating during whole group discussions. Isaac is making excellent progress in literacy, math, and his writing. Isaac loves reading, centers, and computer time. It has been a pleasure having Isaac in my classroom this year."

Emily is getting straight A's in everything except Band (B+ for lack of practicing) and Geometry (just went through a hard unit on proofs, also B+). We just went through the process of deciding her high school schedule. She is not continuing in band (she's glad for that) and will pick up Spanish and a computers course as electives. She's going to stay in Advanced Math and take Algebra 2 next year. She will be in Honors English, also. We're beginning to talk about vocation and what choices she should make for classes. We're only a little more than four years away from starting to plan a graduation party for her!

We are enjoying the cats and their antics. They fight like all brothers and sisters do. They climb on us when we're watching TV at night for some petting, they bat their toy mice under the bathroom door in the morning when we're getting ready, and overall are a pleasure to have around. They like to be near us and are always checking out what is going on. They have been raised as indoor cats and really seek out attention and always want petted. They love to chase a string around and bat at bubbles.

All in all, our life has settled in to a comfortable pace, at least for the moment.

Avritt the Old

Avritt was wearing a snow beard.


 

At Least 2 Feet of Drifted Snow

The wind blew snow into our driveway so that it was drifted over to at least 2 feet. The boys were standing there as a measuring stick.


 

Winter Fun

We received a lot of snow last weekend. It took us a combined three hours to shovel our driveway on Saturday morning. The boys had fun building a snow fort.

 

Isaac the Toothless

Isaac finally lost one of his front teeth. It was hanging on for days. We visited the dentist and when she was flossing, the tooth amazingly just came right out. I didn't know that parents can request this special tooth-removing floss for long-hanging teeth. What a relief that it was finally out! The tooth fairy at our house is very forgetful, and it took her several days to remember about the tooth. A few nights, she visited, but the tooth had fallen underneath the bunk beds and she forgot her tooth-finding flashlight locator. Our tooth fairy makes up for her forgetfulness by adding a dollar for every day she forgets. She'll soon go bankrupt if she isn't careful!


 

Avritt with one of his lego creations

 

Both Hallway Lights

 

New Hallway Lights

 

New Kitchen Lights

 

Pictures of our new pet cats

The female cat is named Tootie, and the male cat is named Kima. These were their names when we adopted them. So far we haven't changed them, although we may in the future.

A Return to Some Kind of Normal

I finally have time to sit and write something instead of quickly throwing a picture up of the house. My schedule is so much more sane than last semester. I have one school's schedule to keep track of instead of two. I teach in the mornings and then I have time in the afternoons to grade, prep, and copy. Or bring the kids to that occasional doctor's or ortho. appointment. I am smiling more, spending more time with my kids, and relaxing more in the evenings with Mike. We have started a habit of spending at least two Friday nights a month together doing something interactive. Last Friday we completed two crossword puzzles. They were easy ones, but we wanted to ease into it. This Friday we may go get some quotes on kitchens from local hardware stores.

I do miss teaching at the college. The semester has started there, and I don't mind not dealing with the placement tests, the frenzy of trying to get students to the right classes, and all the hassle that goes along with that. But I will miss the students that I would have been able to encourage and help come to peace with their math anxieties. The college students are much more mature compared to the 10th graders at the high school. Especially the upperclassman. I will miss helping that senior who waited until the last semester before graduating to take that math class.

However, there are some perks that come with teaching at the high school. Once a month, some of the moms provide a lunch or breakfast for the teachers. Today it was mexican, and it was really good. Soft or hard tacos, chicken filling, real guacamole, salsa, mexican rice... yummy! I finally feel like I know most of the teachers better and am comfortable there. I need to get a feel for the students - how to interact with them, what my place might be there. I think that it will be helping those students that are struggling, but I need to find avenues for doing that. It took all last semester just to get the feel for the schedule and the routine. My interest in teaching definately lies with the students rather than the content.

I realized the other day how much influence parents can have on their kids' tastes. Emily spends a lot of time playing SIMS (and I mean a lot). This last week she designed a Craftsman style house, complete with Stickley furniture and stained glass lighting fixtures. I wasn't sure whether to be proud of her or to be slightly appalled at the reality that I have influenced her tastes. I'm not sure how to explain this, but the thought that my children will grow up thinking that what we do in our family is normal sometimes frightens me. To be sure, Emily doesn't just design Craftsman houses, and she has a very healthy sense of independence from me. Mike would probably say just celebrate that fact that she even knows about styles of architecture. The house remodel will have both a positive educational aspect for the kids and possibly a negative response along the lines of "I will never do this with my house." As I sit here typing, Emily is designing away. She turned to me and said "This room is just too big. I can't figure out what to do with the space." I have recommended that she read "The Not So Big House" by Sarah Susanka. Maybe I'll leave it on her bed tonight...

Slate floor, walls, and bench. 

Entryway wall with bench. 

Entryway with light. 

More Pictures of the Dining Nook