Basement {phase 2ish)

Just a recap...


Here's a pic I showed you yesterday. This is what our basement looked like as of last Friday:

And, here's a pic I snapped this morning! The treadmill is in the exact same spot (to give you a better perspective).

As Greg always says, "It's gotta get worse before it gets better!"

Ain't that the truth.

***

And if you would like to see some of my other basement dreams from a while back, click HERE.


So many possiblities!

If you like "before" pics...well then, these are for YOU!

So.

Last Thursday night, after the kids were in bed, and we were happily plopped on our separate couches with separate laptops, scrolling through our separate FB accounts, exchanging the highs and lows of our day (yes, our life is really THAT exciting...don't be jeal.) Anyway, Greg announces that he would like to invite 2 of his brothers over on Saturday to help gut the basement.

Whoa. Hold up.


(**blink with perplexed brows and shake head slightly at the same time**)


I was shocked.

What?! We've been talking about finishing the basement for HOW LONG and all of a sudden you want to gut the basement on SATURDAY!? (Please understand: my husband needs T.I.M.E. when making big decisions. Finishing the basement? I figured it was never gonna happen).

Sa-weet!!



That's the good news.

The bad news is what I'm about to show you......prepare yourself as we enter the dungeon:

Good-bye happy world above ground level!

Welcome to the basement.

Now, it doesn't look so bad here (depending on your perspective)....

Other than the unorganized pile of junk haphazardly arranged on the floor. (There's a method to my madness, okay?) The only thing I actually use in this room: the treadmill.

But, what lies behind those walls of paneling you ask?

There's gotta be more to the basement than just this "junk" room, right?

Get ready for the most sarcastic basement tour of your life...

Lets go see what's behind that paneling then, shall we?

There was once a shower gracefully placed right under the ceiling light you see glowing in the picture below. While I never showered in it myself ('cuz we ripped the sucker out as soon as we moved in) I always thought it was so convenient. Placed right next to the exposed sump pump (the hole in the corner) for easy draining. PLUS, there was an outlet also directly above the shower. I imagined plugging in my blow dryer, so that the moment my shower was done, I could blow dry my hair without even stepping out!

Let's keep taking the tour, shall we?

Turn around.

Oh, look! I see some light down there....

Why yes there is! Let me TAKE you there! Come on!!

**skip skip skip**

THIS is the laundry room! Isn't it grand?!

 But, what's that dark color running down the wall underneath the window?

Oh THAT?

pshhh.

That's just from the flood of '09 where we got 18" of water in our basement.

No. Big. Deal.

And don't you just LOVE the variety of colors on the wall?

Golly, that horizontal striped pattern above the chest freezer (probably from old shelves, I'm guessing) adds SO much dimension. Don't you think??

And THIS? Well this completes the tour of course. Just another beautiful corner of loveliness.

Okay I'm done.

Let's go back upstairs where my brain can think clearly.

While I'm excited about the idea of having a usable basement with a larger playroom for the kids, I know it will still be a loooooong journey. And don't get too excited for the after pics. It will not look as nice as the upstairs. But, anything will be better than what we have now!

I'll take pics tomorrow of what it looks like gutted. Now that the walls are down, I can see the whole basement at once. Lots of day-dreaming will happen in the next couple weeks.

Stay tuned!

The trying and tiring two's

Before I had children I would cringe when people started groaning about the "terrible two's". They would depict fist-throwing fits where children would start to scream in the middle of the grocery store. And these toddlers wouldn't stop screaming. They would melt into a puddle of jello and refuse to walk. And when you try to pick them up they would throw their bodies into convulsions, screaming even louder. The mother would end up ditching the full grocery cart, drag (literally) the screaming child out of the store in complete embarrassment and drive home in misery.

I'm not saying it's  that terrible--not yet anyway (or maybe I'm just trying my hardest to come up with other titles because I enjoy living in oblivion that things aren't that bad. They can't possibly be THAT bad. Right?). Whatever you want to call it...

This stage is humbling. 

This stage is trying my patience.

And this 2 year old is making me plain tired!

with a capital T.

*Sigh*.....ohhhh this age.

Kensie (so far) doesn't seem to be a "throw-yourself-into-convulsions" kind of fit-thrower. And I have not had any horrible shopping experiences. She actually does very well going to the grocery store.  I'm not saying she doesn't throw fits. She just has different ways of throwing them. It usually involves covering her face and shedding lots of TEARS. Lots and lots of tears. Oh, to be a girl.

Currently my daily battles with miss Kensie include (but are not limited to):

• Sharing toys with Mason or other playmates. And she's a sneaky one too. I once caught her in the act of stealing a toy from Mason. She paused and looked at Mason with a scowl. Then looked at me and said, "Mason, share Mama?" As in, Mason needs to share his toys with ME. Uh, yeah right little miss. I caught her red-handed and she tried to talk her way out of getting the consequence. Geesh. 
• Dumping her cereal. If I don't take away her cereal bowl as soon as she's finished in the morning she dumps the bowl over and starts swirling the milk ALL over the counter. Every morning.
• Putting toys away just before bedtime. Takes on average 30 minutes of repeating myself and then she winds up playing with the toys she's supposed to put away.
• JUMPING ON THE COUCH. This one drives me absolutely nuts!! This is NOT a new rule in our house. I've been training her since she was walking that we do not jump or stand on furniture. I realize other people may be OK with this at their house. And I'm fine with that. But, at our home we DO NOT. She has been testing this one like crazy lately! I feel like giving this battle up at times but I'm still determined to keep trying.
• Taking shoes off and ponytail out while in the car. It doesn't matter where we are going, the girl will take her shoes off and throw them across the van. The ponytail also comes out and I can never seem to find it again. There's probably a thousand hiding under her car seat.
• Throwing things in the house. Once I walked in her bedroom after nap time and her lamp was knocked over b/c she chucked every dolly and blankie with all her might across the room.
• I'm sure there's more but, that's all I got for now....

I know it's just a stage. Like so many others.

This too, shall soon pass. 

I know I will get through it.

I'm sure I will not feel like a good Mom at times.

But, just for record keeping, can I please show you this video? Please??...

Mmmkay.

Here's the scenerio:

They were playing SO nicely together. Kensie was rolling the ball back and forth while Mason giggled hysterically.

And as soon as I pull out the camera...as soon as Mom wants to document this sweet moment, it all goes downhill.

Moment ruined.

I was venting to a friend last week and we agreed that God definitely knew these early years would be the hardest. That's why (we concluded) He made them so darn cute at these ages. It's what makes the tough moments tolerable, and the sweet moments that much sweeter! Just look at these cute little buns...

Can't be mad at those cuties for too long...

Updates: this and that

We've had lots going on and I keep procrastinating forgetting to update the blog...so here it goes:

We had a lovely winter wedding {for my Mama} two weekends ago. It was held inside the most beautiful log cabin I've ever seen, tucked in the middle of a deep forest with trees covered in fresh morning snow. Beautiful. Unfortunately I don't have many pics so you will have to imagine the rest....



hanging out after the ceremony




the flower girl and ring bearer...they did awesome.
{even though their silly mom forgot the flower girl's shoes! Don't get me started...}




weddings are such a nice chance for family pics...




Mama and Terry...the lovely bride and groom.




trying to capture the gorgeous snow outside. Seriously, it was unreal.



***

Greg was gone the following weekend for a High School winter retreat with church. So, while he was enjoying sledding, broomball, and freezing his booty off....I enjoyed some quiet nights with candles, pinterest, my bible, and some precious moments with God. It was one of those potentially "lonely" weekends that turned out to be one of the most memorable two days I've had in a long time. I love how God speaks to us in love when we need it most. I was moved to tears Sunday morning during worship  just thanking him for his goodness. This blog is used to document these times so I can look back on them later. So important to me.



One of my quiet weekend nights--enjoying some leftover flowers from the wedding and my favorite scented candles.

***

Speaking of pinterest...

I tried a new brussel sprouts recipe! Greg is not usually a fan of this particular vegetable.

These were a hit! I especially like the cranberries mixed in. Gives it a little zing!

Go HERE for the recipe.



I'm also working on a post which I've already titled, "The trying and tiring two's".

Can't wait for that one huh?

Me either.

Thanks for staying tuned in!

Evening stroll

Strollers have been popular from the beginning.

Kensie has always loved pushing around various dollies, stuffed animals, and even Mason on occasion...

Is that my son??? Don't even recognize him here. Crazy.

But, today Kensie decided to switch things up a bit.

Is it just me, or is there something wrong in this video...

...that's what I thought.

The baby is pushing the toddler in the stroller.

Weird.

Kensie thinks she's boss.
Mason thinks he's actually walking.

Win-win.

This is NOT January weather.

We live in a place that snows in the winter.

Some years are better than others.

Some years are worse than others.



This is what January is suppose to look like.
(pic taken this time last year)



But, this year I feel like I'm dreaming.

We've been absolutely loving this warm spell in the middle of January!

I'm talking....

(1) NO snow.

(2) Green grass.

(3) Playing outside in just a light jacket.

(4) Yesterday it was nearly 50* F

Unbelievable

**blink**

Am I still in California??

Wait.

NOPE!

It's motivated me to {finally} take down all the Christmas crap stuff.

I'm not getting tooooo comfortable with this heat wave though.

Snow is coming.

Soon.

Like tomorrow soon.

Like 8" plus.

Oh well.

It was fun while it lasted.

A {not so fun} 10 month celebration.

Mason is generally a very happy baby.

Except when he's sick or teething.

And when he's sick AND teething....you don't want to be a guest overnight in our home.

Trust me.

When he wakes up he let's the whole house know it.

(Although Kensie and Greg NEVER wake up from his cries...those two sleep like rocks!)

During the day he is easily distracted.

But at night? It's a different story.

And (unlike Kensie as a baby) he does not go back to sleep without intervention.

He needs:

(a) a bottle

(b) mommy

(c) cuddling

So last night I was up from 2am-4am.

Happy 10 months little guy....

I hope you get those 2 front teeth soon.

You deserve it.

I deserve it.

***

On that note...this is a good post to tell you two things:
(1) I LOVE my role as a mother and absolutely think it is worth it to have kids.
(2) But, there are days like today, when I'm exhausted and wonder, "Can we just get to the next stage already!?!?"


Then I read THIS ARTICLE from a gal that (in my opinion) totally "gets it" as a mom.
I was so encouraged.
Read it.
If you have little ones, you will be encouraged too.