Saturday, February 19, 2011

Standing Olivia

Olivia is getting braver by the minute. Yesterday she decided she was
going to stand. And she did, for almost a whole minute. On purpose.
Abby was cheering for her and that was pretty awesome since poor Abby
spent a lot of time in time out for hitting, pushing, and toy stealing
yesterday. This big sister job is much harder than she realized when
Olivia just slept in my arms all day.

We had a crazy day yesterday. It went from 39 to 29 within just a
couple hours, then it got really windy - like up to 50 mph gusts
windy. And of course snowy. That combination blew all the snow
straight up our driveway and into the ba k entry. So when I went to
let Maize out this morning the snow was knee deep against the back
door (which I have to use since the patio door that leads straight to
the backyard is totally busted). The drift by the car door is closer
to waist high. But the funniest part is the fact that the rest of the
driveway is totally clear. Good thing there is a good snow blower in
the garage.

And now... Off to he kitchen. We are having a party (shocking, not if
you know our calendar) for friends who are moving this weekend to the
Midland area permenantly. I've got lots of cleaning and cooking to do!

Friday, February 18, 2011

Stage One Done

We have the counter tops in the kitchen installed. It's a dramatic difference already. Not picture ready yet, since we ripped out the old back splash and the wall behind is pretty ugly with old adhesive and no paint. So, this afternoon Abby, Olivia and I may be going to pick out some possible paint colors. Then we may have to host an online straw poll. It's nice to have new counters that look clean. Next week will be the workspace/desk/cabinets. I'm very excited about that!

Monday, February 14, 2011

Kitchen Touch-up Before

Our kitchen counters were delivered today and tomorrow starts the resurfacing project. Here's the before pictures so that when it gets done you'll have something to compare it to. I am so excited for new, clean, stain-free counters!

p.s. the new counters look amazing... even just sitting in boxes on the floor :o)

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Blogging in Bed

The computer still hasn't got a home where it is convenient for me to use it during the day, but we pulled it out tonight to catch up on a t.v. series we like (and record, except our tivo had a problem and missed two episodes), so I thought I had better take a moment and update my blog, since I really want to do better at keeping up with it. I promise...

Not much exciting happened last week. We are still waiting for the cabinets to come in so our contractor can get our work station/toy storage installed. The counter tops arrived last week, but they are keeping them at the hardware store until everything is in. I also met with the artist who is designing me art glass cabinet pulls. She has some great pieces started and I am excited to have a one of a kind knob on all of my cabinets. The wider pulls (with the 3 inch gap between the two screws, if you know what I mean) will match the stainless steel stove, so when everything is in our kitchen should have a modern pop to it. And a coat of bright green paint should liven it up a lot. I am very excited to have new, clean counters to work on.

Olivia is still working on walking behind things and hasn't quite figured out whether she wants to stand unassisted or not. She's had a couple brief (2 or 3 seconds) attempts at standing on her own, but she sits down pretty fast when she realizes that no one is supporting her. I'm sure she will be running before too long. She's also been attempting to do the three steps that are up to Abby's bed (it's one of those "dog steps" you used to see advertised on t.v. It works great for helping a little girl into and out of her bed). We've got to get something figured out to keep her away from all our stairs while still letting Abby easily get to the potty. Good thing I'm still faster than Olivia.

In the saga of whether or not I am going back to work we've also made no progress. The offer to work with the other two attorneys still stands, but it is riding on them getting a contract to provide all the public defender services for the county. And we haven't talked salary yet, so it could still get to the point where I have a job offer, but not one that pays enough to cover child care and other expenses. So, we are still praying and waiting. I didn't seek this out, so if it comes about it will be just another "God thing" that has happened to us. We're amassing quite a list of those...

Abby and I are starting a preschool workbook and art projects during Olivia's nap time. She has been showing increase ability to concentrate on an activity and has been thriving in Sunday school, so we figured it was time to start working on some basics at home. Today we bought a workbook, construction paper, scissors, and crayons. I really hope I don't regret the scissors purchase... For good measure Abby also snuck a Tangled (the latest Disney princess movie) t-shirt and a Michigan Wolverines t-shirt into the cart. Since she's outgrown a lot of what we had for her to wear this spring I figured I'd let her get away with selecting her own shirts. It took almost 10 minutes for her to decide which Tangled shirt she wanted. I think there were 8 or 9 options. She is going to be very disappointed if she wants to be a shopper like Grandma Mary and is limited to the Soo for her stores.