Wordless Wednesday: How Aaron Enjoys Ice Cream

Tackle It Tuesday: The Reveal

Like I said before, it all started with a handrail.

Since I started teaching piano lessons in our basement, we needed to install a handrail going down the stairs. I bought a plain cheap handrail and decided to paint it to stop it from splitting or giving splinters to anyone.

I had some paint left and wondered what it would look like to paint our cupboards in the kitchen.



These were our old cupboards. They actually don't look too bad in the picture. But what you don't notice is:

A. The cabinet that is slightly ajar NEVER closed, nor did the one next to it without being SLAMMED shut

B: They wouldn't come clean no matter how many times I washed them...they just always stayed sticky and grimy





Another thing you couldn't see was the nastiness in each of the corners where the wood was splitting and had major gouges take out











So I started thinking I could just paint them, without any primer.

First of OH SO MANY mistakes.
After about four coats, the cabinets were finally covered, but so were the hinges. I figured I could just take the hinges off and replace them with new ones.



Oh, if only it could have been that easy!!






I took them off, along with three coats of tacky paint that peeled as well.

After throwing away the hinges, Steve got involved when he came home to me screwing 12 sets of new hinges into the old holes.

Then, going to hang the doors, we discovered that OH NO ( I think there may have actually been an expletive there), the new hinges DON'T FIT!

So, now Steve takes out all of the new ones that had been screwed in, digs through the garbage to find EACH INDIVIDUAL bag that they had come in, tapes them all back into their bags, and returns to the hardware store to beg for store credit to to purchase the new ones.

Hubby came home with a new hinge, which once again, didn't fit. So back to the store again to learn that they don't even MAKE the hinge we need for our cupboards any more.

Meanwhile, our kitchen cabinets remained exposed for a good two weeks while we were trying to figure out what to do.

Then, my husband was THRILLED when the boys and I left the mess to him and headed out of town for the better part of a week.

But my hero came through. I came home to all NEW HOLES drilled and the cabinet doors all hung.





I went right to work the night I got home, filling all of the old holes from the old hinges and getting new handles screwed in.

Then came yet MORE repainting to cover all the new filling, after sanding them all down, which took yet another full day.







After a few more adjustments due to a couple of faulty knobs, the cabinets are FINALLY DONE.














I guess sit really doesn't seem like too big of a deal. But let me share with you our kitchen two years ago to now and you should see it more clearly.

Several years ago our walls were a nasty dirty white with this strange paper board going across the middle of the kitchen, we had these cheap blue white cottage valances on the wall and the old cabinets that had thirty years of grime on them that just wouldn't come off.








Now, green walls, window coverings that match the new color scheme, and newly painted cabinets.
Unfortunately, there is no money to replace the nasty linoleum floor that doesn't come clean, but at least when I am cleaning the walls or cabinets now, the grime I am cleaning no longer belongs to people who lived here three decades ago, it is MY OWN DIRT.

Nothing like counting the blessings where ever I can find them.

Not a real busy weekend, but very much a WET weekend.

5. More Painting
I don't really want to share pictures from this weekend's painting project, since I am saving it for a Tackle It Tuesday next week. But this weekend I not only FINALLY finished the kitchen (minus one last knob), I also fixed a decorating situation in Noah's room with some paint as well.

I like painting because it shows an immediate improvement in an area without too much effort. I still want to do the hallway and living room, but it will take A LOT of paint so it has to wait for now.

4. Lake Michigan Beach
Thanks to facebook, I have been able to develop a few friendships with people from church who were previously simply acquaintances. So this weekend, we were invited to join them to go to Grand Haven to the beach. We had such a fun day. The water was a little chilly at first, but after awhile of getting used to it, we spent the longest we have EVER spent at the beach since kids came along.

Here is Aaron dumping water on the legs of my friend's youngest daughter. I don't know who had more fun, Aaron doing the pouring or A giggling at the feeling of the water on her back.










Even though the two daddies spent a lot of time out throwing a football to each other and guys who were anchored on a boat nearby, they did spend some time with four out of the five kids trying to build a huge sandcastle.








And no water experience would be complete without quite a few of my sensory seeking boy needing to be THROWN into the air, landing in the water. The higher, colder, wetter, and more wild it is, the happier Aaron is.


Look at that height!!







3. Hormones
After three months off of the hormones, I have really been struggling to keep my emotions in check. On top of that, the pain from my endometriosis has been getting quite uncomfortable most of the time so after retrieving a coupon from my SIL, I FINALLY was able to fill my prescription this weekend. I never thought I would be this excited to be back taking them again, but three months without made me realize how badly they were needed in the firs place.

2. City Pool
As I mentioned above, I have been reading more and more about sensory integration disorders, particularly "sensory seeking" which is what I think we're dealing with in Aaron. I think this is the reason for his need to always be in motion...the wilder and busier, the more content he is. There are wonderful things and worrisome things about this.

I think this is the reason though that Aaron has NO fear of water. He is such a little fish. So when he begged to go off the diving board this week after only a week of swimming lesson, I felt I had to let him try.

The rules at the pool are that parents are not allowed to catch kids, so they HAVE to be able to get to the side on their own in order to jump from the board.

Well, lo and behold, after about two jumps, my FOUR YEAR OLD SON was doing correct form diving AND full in the air somersaults off of the diving board. I didn't get any pictures since I really didn't think he would go that far on the first day. You can bet I'll have my camera next week though. The pool is open for 5 more Sunday this summer and I imagine we'll be there all five of them.

1. Sick Cat
We came home from church on Sunday to find some HUGE nasty piles of regurgitating in several areas in the house. After much cleaning (and quite a rise from two little boys), I managed to get it cleaned up, but now I am worrying if Minnie is sick. The last thing we need right now are veterinarian bills. I guess I'll just have to keep you posted on that one.

The Week Ahead:
We got a call that our pediatrician had a baby on Friday and will not be returning to her practice so now Noah's appointment for Monday has been canceled. I guess I need to find a new pediatrician this week, especially since we'll be facing testing o some sort with Aaron in the near future.
I am also in full preparation for VBS next week. I have to get all supplies for the youth leaders. tee shirts, all skits copied, highlighted, and props for the skits in order, meet with the youth leader to prepare what kind of bible studies we will include, etc.
Also, it is the second and final week of swimming lessons, which are so fun to watch this year, since both boys are amazing me with the things they are doing.

Thursday Thirteen: How To Pass 6 Hours Until Fireworks

1. Playing on the merry go round













2. Opening Birthday present













3. Playing frisbee with daddy


















4. Eating yummy food, like grapes













5. Throwing sticks and rocks into the river













6. Engaging complete strangers into playing with new birthday toys












7. Coloring













8. Planting pinwheels into the ground












9. Passing out birthday cupcakes


















10. Catching fireflies













11. Watching the clouds













12. Dancing to YMCA














13. Finally settling in to watch the show

Wordless Wednesday: Serious Style

Try to look at the last one and NOT laugh...I dare you

Bakugan Mania and Rules To the Game

Last Christmas, the only thing Noah really wanted was "these little balls that pop open". I had NO CLUE what he was talking about. Then we went to the store and he showed me. I was still confused but then I started seeing that it was one of the HUGE things for boys last year. He got a couple and played with them, but I was still confused about the game. When I looked it up online, the directions seemed somewhat complicated. I know he wanted to "play the game" and I couldn't find anywhere online just HOW to play.

After much searching, I finally found what is probably the most succinct explanation, which I have copied and pasted below. I have had it sitting in my drafts forever because Noah didn't have enough pieces to play. Thanks to the generosity of several people this birthday, he now has enough and I imagine as soon as I read thee rules to him, he will not want to play anything else.

Why am, I publishing them, you may ask?

Simple. As a help to other moms out there who are as clueless about this craze as I was.

Happy Playing!!

MODERN DAY GAME OF MARBLES The Bakugan-Mania is here. I had no idea what my daughter was talking about since she spoke a mile-a-minute about what the latest craze in children's toys. These items are in extremely high demand and are similar in genre to Pokemon cards, Yu-Gi-Yo, and Digimon. The characters appear to be a spin off from Japanese anime, in my perception. What are Bakugan? They are action figures that are morphed from small plastic marbles, based upon a television show on the Cartoon Network. Each figure comes with a metallic card that has a point value. A point value is also imprinted on the figure. A magnetic lock in the toy is triggered to open when the figure is placed onto a metallic game card. How do you play the game? Each player starts out with 3 Bakugan and 3 cards. Only one care can be a special ability card. The youngest player starts. Depending upon how many players are participating (2-4), determines where the cards are placed in the arena. When a Bakugan is rolled and lands on a card, it opens. If the Bakugan does not open, the player loses a turn. If 2 figures land on the same card, a point total is taken to count up the power value of the Bakugan + the value of the card. The higher sum wins the card and the figure. At the end of the round, the highest total of points wins the game. My daughter's after-school care has an Bakugan Class where children play in the afternoon. She is 7 years old but her friends who have it range from 6 to 10 years old. This game represents a unique and revolutionary spin on the game of playing marbles. It is quite creative and superficially complex to play. However, many children are compelled to play it all over the country. Educational value Strangely, enough, this toy has an ACTUAL educational value by requiring the players to add up or subtract the values of each figure/card. Safety and Caveats Since these are essentially small marbles, caution should be exercised if you child has small siblings who may try to swallow this toy. It is too big to fit into someone's ear or nose; however the danger is accidentally swallowing it or aspiration (going into the child's airway). You should also be aware if you have pets since it may lead to a dangerous bowel obstruction if ingested/eaten by your pet. Durability These are relatively fragile items that require users to be careful with the moving parts. Sometimes, the mechanisms are defected or through wear and tear may not allow the action figure to open or close. Conclusion This toy system is, for now, one of the hottest items in the toy world. If you are actually lucky enough to find it, or willing to pay the premium, then you should strongly consider getting it. Your child will be extremely happy.

Weekend Top Five 7/6/09

Yeah, I know everyone is posting 4th of July pictures, so I will be too. If you follow me on facebook, you've already seen quite a few. With Noah's birthday on the 4th, it is often hard to distinguish between birthday activities and holiday ones, so they generally get pretty meshed together.

Warning: this post will be a little Noah-heavy. What can I say? It was a birthday weekend.

5. Visits To Grandma's House
Thursday we visited my parents to return their van that we had borrowed last weekend. The boys had fun playing with a young cousin that they don't see very often and Noah got his first birthday present. Although he has never even seen the Ben 10 show on Cartoon Network, he was all about the toys and was excited to get some little alien guys and also a projector watch.

He spent the rest of the day wanting people to go into dark rooms to "show movies" with the watch.











4. The Newest Member of the Family
My MIL came on Friday to get Noah his birthday present.

Yup, our home now has a new family member...a hamster named Snowflake.

There was much scrutiny while picking the little gal out at the store. Hamster vs. Gerbil. Hamster won out simply because their life span is a little longer.










This was one proud boy bringing his new friend home


















After getting the cage set up, Noah spent the ENTIRE day (and every moment possible since) watching her, playing with her, holding her, and talking to her.

A book we have said that if we don't let her sleep, she will have a shortened life span. I keep trying to remind Noah of this, but if it is true, then this little gal will have the shortest, but happiest life span ever.




He even made a sign for above her cage saying,"This is Snowflake". The lines are confetti according to the artist.

The name Snowflake was about the fifth name he finally settled on, because the store sign says that she will turn white in the winter. I guess that is yet to be seen.













About an hour after we got the cage set up, Noah opened a birthday card from my mother that had some cash in it. He used the money to go buy a ball for Snowflake. He is so proud to have used his own money for it.








At the moment, I am scared to hold the little rodent, but Noah loves her and she seems to settle right into his hands. Now if we can keep little brother from opening the cage, we will be all set.

3. 7th Birthday Boy
We decided NOT to throw a big party this year, with the 4th being a Saturday. Instead, we let Noah open his presents in the morning when Steve got home from work. The birthday was kind of in two parts: the presents from us in the morning, and the cupcakes with friends at the fireworks at night. I have decided through the years that it is easier to NOT bring an entire cake to share at the fireworks at night. I have been thinking about some major changes we'll make next year, but thankfully that is 365 days away.










2. Fourth Of July Festivities
We go to park and set up a blanket with some friends each Fourth of July. We have gotten together with the same group (with some variations through the years) for at least 15 years now, since before any of us have had kids.

This year our group numbered 11 people, 7 of them being children. I can't believe we got a picture with all of us.





I took this shot of Noah, not realizing that there was a firework in the background until I looked at it afterward.

This is one of about 6 pictures that I got this night that really remind me how handsome my boys are.







And of course, Aaron's usual pose of freaking out over the fireworks. I DO think he has some sort of sensory disorder that is starting to show its presence. We'll wait and see what unveils.

I did, however, manage to get him to keep his ears uncovered for the majority of the event.







I am not going to share too many pictures from the evening though, because I have a great Thursday Thirteen brewing. Stay tuned...

1. Pool
On Sunday when Aaron and I got home from church, we headed over to the city pool for some swimming. Unlike last week, the boys didn't swim for as long. Maybe they were tired from the fireworks the night before, or maybe the novelty has worn off a little. But we still had a fun time.

Noah has now learned how to do a flip off of the diving board










and Aaron and Daddy broke the rules and did flips when the lifeguard wasn't looking.










A fun but exhausting weekend.

The Week Ahead:
The boys start swimming lessons this week that last for two weeks. I need to get Noah in for his 7 year check up as well as find a new pediatrician since ours is leaving. Also, getting thank you notes written for Noah's birthday may take all week since he protests too much writing at once. I also have some ideas in mind to try to get Aaron's outbursts under control. I haven't blogged about them, but they are starting to take a toll on everyone in the family and we need to do something. I also lost my phone at some point on Satruday night and need to figure out what to do about that.

As usualy, please let me know if you blogged your weekend so I can come visit.