Kitchen Project

I finally did it! After three + years in this house I have finally painted my kitchen. Gone is the ugly wallpaper that I'm sure was original to the house, which was built in the early 1950's. It was wretched but for some reason it wasn't bad enough to get my lazy butt in gear. Did I mention that I detest painting? I actually think it is the cleaning up that makes me hate the whole job so much plus the fact that it never turns out as well as I want it to. I see all my little mistakes and sloppiness even though I was trying desperatley to be careful and clean. So frustrating! But now I have a bright, fruity, fun kitchen and maybe I'll enjoy cooking that much more becuase of it. Anyway, here are some pictures of the finished product. If you want to see the befores and durings you can check out my web albums.



I still would like to get more stuff for the walls and I need new curtains (don't worry, the brown gingham won't be staying) and hopefully we'll be able to put in a new floor soon but that remains to be seen. I'm definitely pleased with the new look so far.

Knitting Project

I've been making a poncho for Lily, which I just finished the other night. It's a little too warm for it now but we'll probably have some cool days or evenings that it will come in handy and it should fit her thru the fall and most of the winter. The pattern was pretty simple but it's the first project I've done that required piecing it together and increasing the number of stitches and whatnot. It was fun to do and I'm rather pleased with the finished product even with it's several 'mistakes' and fudges that I made.

front and back pieces

finsished off with a pocket and hood

and in use

Isn't she the sweetest little thing?!

Graduation

Well, my little Noah has graduated preschool. It was such a nice ceremony--combining both the AM and PM classes. Mrs. Oliphant talked about each class and shared a remembrance of each child. What she would remember most about Noah was his excitement for Life and especially anything that had to do with school. She then presented each child with their diploma. One of the mothers from our class thanked Mrs. Oliphant in a very eloquent speech for everything she has done for our children and how she has loved them. She said everything that I would have said and I was so glad that someone thought to do that. We then presented her with gifts. She really is an amazing lady, but I think I've mentioned that before...

Here are some pictures of the day:

Noah greets his buddy Jason

Ryan, Zach, Jason, and Noah

Noah, receives his diploma and a hug from Mrs. Oliphant

Noah and his teacher

Me and my graduate

Silly Kids

I just wanted to post this picture cause it was so darn cute. All year the preschool class has taken turns hosting "Boots" the kitty and we have to journal about our time with him. So, this was the picture I took for Noah's last journal entry on his last day with Boots, whom he is holding along with his favorite stuffed animal, Spot (Boots is the black and white one). While I thought the idea was cute in the beginning, it gradually became rather annoying especially when everytime we brought Boots home he looked rattier and rattier and I'm sure is infested with all sorts of lovely germs. But the kids just loved Boots and every one of them was so excited each and every time it was their turn and we'll always have somewhat fond memories of that kitty. Boots will now be retired to the classroom windowsill with the rest of the previous years 'friends' and I'm sure he deserves the rest.

P.S. Noah's preschool graduation ceremony is tomorrow. I'll be sure to post more on that...

Personal effect of global warming hype

So, I have mild asthma and in the springtime it's at it's worst. So, I called to get a refill of my inhaler, Albuterol, which has been a generic drug for a very long time and therefore a $10 co-pay instead of $20+. This time I was charged the $20 so I asked what in the world that was for. The pharmacist explained that the propellant has been outlawed in one step to outlawing all aerosols as they are damaging to the environment so they had to change it and now the inhaler is called something else. Mind you, the drug is exactly the same it's just the propellant that has changed. But, because of the new name, the insurance company considers it a brand name. The pharmacist mentioned that I could take it up with the insurance company as others have done that and I probably will. It just seems utterly ridiculous to me that, in essence, my healthcare costs have risen because of the myth of CO2 driven global warming. The propellant in this tiny inhaler is causing global warming...ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!

Sorry for the rant, but I really felt that I needed to get that off my chest.

As Promised...

I got copies of some pictures that Mrs. Oliphant took on the field trip.

Noah is standing inside a bubble! There is a trough around the platform filled with soap solution so when you pull the ring up, a bubble forms around you. Pretty cool!

If you get your hand wet in the solution, then you can put it through the bubble without it popping.

Noah and Lily in the color house

They've discovered another new species...It's a Nurtle!

Charlie's story

On Sunday, my brother-in-law, Charlie, shared a story about something that happened to him at work. He maintains and installs large-scale battery back-up generators and last week he was working on one in a medical lab. He spent most of the week by himself surrounded by machines in an automated lab. By the end of the week he was lonely and getting bitter about it. He'd finally had enough and cried out to God about how he didn't want to be alone anymore and didn't want to do this job anymore. No sooner had he said that then a woman he hadn't seen before (not someone who normally came in to check on the lab) entered the lab to do something at the computer. The next thing Charlie knew, she had her hand on his shoulder and said to him, "I was walking by the door and God told me to come in here and tell whoever was in here that He loves him", and then walked back out the door. Needless to say, Charlie was overwhelmed.

When he told the story, I was overwhelmed. It struck me on so many levels: First, that the woman was paying enough attention to hear God in that moment, that she obeyed and walked into the room and, after seeing Charlie, (who, if you haven't met him, is a rather big guy and bald to boot can be rather intimidating) continued to obey and give him the message. And second, that God was there listening to Charlie and answered his cry. God cared enough about Charlie to, in that moment, reassure him that he wasn't alone-- the Creator of the Universe was there in that room with him wanting to share his life and not only in the room but living in his heart. That is how deeply God loves each of us. That is the kind of relationship that He wants to have with each of us. It is not a common occurrence that God speaks and acts on such a real and personal and immediate level--something sort of similar has only happened to me personally once--but when it does happen it is a reminder to all of us and that is why I wanted to write about it.

I hope that I can walk close enough to the Lord that, when He needs me to speak into someone's life like that woman did, I will hear Him and respond.

Mother's Day

My kids were extra special nice yesterday and slept in til almost 9am, which is very rare so very wonderful. Luke made a pancake breakfast and then I was presented with my cards and gifts including a pink lei, which Noah picked out especially for me. He also got one for each of the mothers we would be seeing later too: Nina, Grammy, and Auntie Becky. He can be such a sweet and thoughtful kid sometimes.

We went to Luke's parents for church and then a family celebration at lunchtime, which Nina and Boppy joined us for. The guys did all the cooking, which was a nice change. Charlie is a wonderful chef and made a gourmet grilled chicken salad, Boppy brought the bread, Dad bought and (Charlie) prepared some coconut shrimp with Thai dipping sauce, which was amazing and Luke made (from scratch) an incredible chocolate mousse cake garnished with strawberries and raspberries that was to-die-for. Yum.

It was a gorgeous day and the kids had fun playing outside on their bikes and the swingset and even got to 'swim' in the hot tub while the rest of us relaxed and talked. What a lovely day. I hope you all had as wonderful a Mother's Day as I did.

Here are some pictures from our day. I was very remiss in my picture taking and didn't get one of me with my kids but here are the rest:

Mother's Day Tea

Yesterday, Noah's Grammy and I attended a Mother's Day Tea at his preschool. The kids colored placemats and made a tablecloth runner and painted heart pins, to which the teacher then affixed their pictures. They performed a song for us and Mrs. Oliphant read, "I'll Love You Forever", which is the sweetest most heart wrenching story ever written and had us all wiping our eyes. It was all very special and we enjoyed it a lot.

This is Noah's teacher, Mrs. Oliphant. She is the most wonderful teacher and one of the sweetest ladies I have ever met. She adores Noah and he adores her. We couldn't have asked for a better teacher.

Fun with Laundry Baskets

Posting those pictures of Lily made me remember taking several other pictures of the kids in laundry baskets. If there is an empty basket around, you can guarantee that one of them will be in it, pushing it around, giving each other rides, making beds for themselves or their stuffed animals, etc. And usually they end up getting hurt by them too: they tip over very easily, inevitably hitting them in the face and tumbling them to the floor. Yet they are not dissuaded from commandeering them for their games.

I don't get it.

A Basket of Lilies

Peek-A-Boo!

Field Trip

Today, Noah's class went on a field trip to the Children's Museum and Lily and I went along. Noah got to ride the big yellow school bus with all his friends but Lily drove with me in our car (finally back in our possession after almost 2 weeks with the mechanic--yoikes!) to meet them at the museum. We saw a planetarium show hosted by the late Mr. Rogers and got to play in the fun room, which featured a build-your-own-Lego race car with a race track, a replica of the Statue of Liberty, Formula One race car and a city of sky-scrapers all built entirely out of Legos. There was also a bubble blaster and bubble making area, a full-size whale model that you could walk in, and a room full of every kind of turtle. We saw a live owl up close and a huge boa constrictor and rattle snakes, some bearded dragons and a couple of chinchillas. All very cool.

This museum does not quite compare with the one in Pittsburgh, which we have visited the last few summers but had its own unique charm and fun. Lily had just as much fun as all the big kids and fit herself in quite nicely with them. She was rather upset with me for not letting her ride on the bus with them. I, of course, forgot the camera so will have to rely on the other more together mothers for copies and maybe someday I'll have some to post but for now you'll just have to use your imagination. My kids have definitely had a boost to theirs today!

Thursdays with Nina and Boppy

Nina and Boppy are Luke's Grandparents. For more than 5 years now I have been having lunch with them on Thursday afternoons. I started going when I was pregnant with Noah and it has been a much loved tradition ever since with only a few hiatuses here and there. The kids and I look forward to it every week. Today was beautiful and the grass was mostly dry after a lot of rain so we were able to play ball outside and take a walk up to the construction site behind their complex to see the 'big machines', which of course Noah loves. They should provide some entertainment for many months to come. I forgot to get some pictures of the machines but here are some of the kids playing outside with their great-grandparents.







When I was pregnant with Noah, Nina tried to teach me how to knit. For some reason (having nothing to do with Nina's teaching ability) I did not get the knack of it but last fall decided to give it a try again. The second time was the charm apparently and I have done several scarves and hats and am now working on a more involved project. So, Nina spent some time today helping me out with that, thank goodness because I probably would have ruined it otherwise. Hopefully it turns out well and I will be able to post some pictures of it.