Tuesday's Love and I'm Better Off Without Lists...

Love List...

• Last night, I snuck up in to Myles' bedroom and invited him back down to eat a s'more and watch a few Olympic races with us.  It was the highlight of his day.  Such a simple way to make a little one feel so special.  Don't worry - Jillian will have her turn sometime too.
• Both kids have been wanting to take showers each night, instead of baths.  Monday I asked Jillian if she was like a teenager, since she takes showers now.  "No Mom, I'm still little.  I'm only three."  Thank goodness.
• Remembering back to our first days in marriage and moving into our first apartment as we helped my sister and brother-in-law move into their first apartment.  I will be forever fond of those memories, especially bright as we approach our ten year anniversary this weekend.
• Jillian's go to shoes are her Tom's.  I love that she refers to them as her, "Tom Tom's".  
• We tried on some dress pants that fit Myles in the spring.  They are capris on him now...just a few months later.  Looks like he grew a few inches...again!  He is four foot tall!
• Both of my kids give me thumbs up signs daily.  Not sure where it started, but I find myself giving them the same now when they are doing well.
• The beautiful owl I see most every night when I go running.  I wish he would have been near me last week when a mouse ran right in front on me across the road!

I'm Better Off Without List...

• We had to leave the movie Brave this weekend because Myles was crying.  Check that...he was wailing.  The mom was just too mean to the princess for him.  (Jillian appeared to be fine with it).  On the bright side, I'm glad he has a sensitive and loving heart.
• The pre-vacation work freak-out that always gets me...every single time.
• The kid in front of me in church this week maintaining eye contact with me the entire time he fished a booger out of his nose.  It was so lovely experiencing that moment with him...

Kitchen Remodel Tour

I love our house.  It fits us and it is home to us.  Although, I don't exactly love the late 80s decor that came with it.  It has an amazing layout, and little details that I just love...like leaded glass windows above doorways, double master walk-in closets, and library-type office with a wall of bookshelves that I have always wanted.  Yet, there are somethings that I have not always loved in the year and a half that we have lived in this house.  Like...the pink countertops with wood trim in the kitchen, accented beautifully with the baby blue backsplash.  I guess I have just never appreciated the true beauty of this color combination.  To add to that gorgeous combination, the oak, oak, oak just swallowed the entire room.  Little by little we are going through our house and making it our own.

In the spring, we said goodbye to the gorgeous pink and blue kitchen and put granite on the counters.  We were able to add a belle to the island to add seating (I still need barstools though!)  We also added the farmhouse sink that I have wanted for years, a handmade crackle glaze subway tile backsplash, cabinet door pulls, new appliances, and lighting with Edison-style light bulbs.  This week, we finally painted all of the trim and doors white and added the wall color.  The pictures don't translate the bright springy feeling of the room with this paint color...

Here is the before and after...

Here are some more before pictures... (Well, not completely before - because we had already replaced the brass lighting, appliances, and added door pulls.)

This sink was honestly the worst sink I have ever had...  Out of four houses...the very worst.

Oak, oak, oak!!!

Baby blue and pink.  Is it a boy or a girl kitchen?

So...we ripped them out.  Here it is the night before the granite was installed.

Here it is today.  The cabinets look different in pictures day versus night.  This is natural light.

Our doors and trim are no longer oak...three coats of white paint later.

You can see my new accessories that I got for my birthday from Bella Patina.  An awesome old window to display the kids' art work.

And...an up-cycled door that we can write family or celebratory messages on.  I need to get some practice writing on that chalkboard!  It is a lot harder than I thought it would be!

Hi Wilson!  He snuck in this picture - so I just had to include it!

Close up of the backsplash.

The white trim makes such a big difference.  So much lighter and more airy.

Love my sink and backsplash.  It looks even better with a white window, instead of oak.

We still have some decisions to make about the cabinets.  Distressed white...distressed black...glaze stain to dark finish...or leave them.  What do you think?

My Time...For Myles.

Pretty much every night (with the exception of a night that we are having just way too much fun) I go running.  It is a minimum of a half-hour that I can dedicate to just myself.  I am completely alone in my head and I can think through things.  I guess it is kind of selfish that I put such a high priority on going out each night....but at least I typically wait for the kiddies to go to bed and I hit the road.  Honestly, I think Ben likes it that I go each night.  I always come home in a great mood...  You can read more about how I feel about running here.

Myles admires my running.  He always likes to know what race I am training for or how far I am going to run each night.  He talks about how cool it is and that he wants to go running with me sometime.  He plans to run a 5K next year, "When he is big."  So, tonight he asked me at the dinner table if he could go running with me.  Ben, protective of my sacred time, started telling him right away, "Buddy, Mom runs really far and really fast and I think it would be hard for you to go."  It was awesome to say YES.  Of course he could go with me.  My time was his time tonight.

So, instead of waiting until later into the evening, we went upstairs after dinner to get our running clothes on.  He was very specific about what he wanted to wear...sleeveless, nike, and his "tennus shoes".  He wanted to look just like me.  Had I thought through the fact that Ben would whip out his iPhone and take a picture, I may have opted for something other than this running tank circa 2002.  Oh-well.

Off we went.  His pace.  His conversation.  He talked the whole way.  His little legs were moving so fast and his arms were pumping as fast as they could.  His little cross-trainers were stomping on the pavement, every step he took.  Every single neighbor we saw he yelled, "HI!!!!  I'm going running for the first time with my mom!!!  She always goes running, but this time I'm going toooooo!!!"  It was like a script he prepared for each person he encountered.  We talked about running, races, animals, the lake, getting big, his wiggly teeth that are close to coming out...you name it, he covered it.  We ran a quick lake loop that totaled somewhere a bit over a mile.  He walked a little bit, but I don't know that it was actually because he was too tired.  I think he just wanted to walk and talk along the lake.

It was the best run I've ever had.

Tuesday's Love and I'm Better Off Without Lists...

Love List...

• A great antique find for my kitchen.  It may not be worth much (I have no idea and I don't care), but it is the perfect cookie jar for my kitchen.  I'm sure the cookies taste better out of this adorable and sunny container.  Guess I gotta make some soon.  For now, I put some oatmeal creme pies in there.  Thank you, Little Debbie.
• Watching Jillian swing.  She is fearless and such a good pumper.  It is probably silly how excited I get to see her flying higher and higher on her own!
• These shoes.  I don't like my love list to be filled with "things," but seriously!  How could these not make the list?!?  My mom took a chance and got me shoes for my birthday.  Good decision.
• Succulents.  They are gorgeous and take so little care.  A tiny bit of water once in a while when you think of it...no problem.
• Myles was singing a jingle today at dinner under his breath, "Nationwide is not on your side...AAA is."  Where does he come up with this stuff?
• A relaxing birthday laying on the beach, watching Myles and Jillian having so much fun with some little friends they made in the water.  Perfection.
• Myles' commentary about the Olympics.  Every event is something he is "going to do when he is 25!"  I'm glad he's got that American spirit.
• Eating dinner at a little restaurant in South Haven, Michigan with live music and huge smiling faces from all four of us.  Every time the guy played a Grateful Dead song, Ben sent Myles up to put a dollar in the tip jar.
• Myles teaching Jillian how to get better on her big girl bike (the pedals are really far for her to reach).  She took his advice and it worked.  She was so proud.  Of course, she was ringing her princess bike bell the whole time.

I'm Better Off Without List...

• This bug.  Just as a frame of reference...that tread in the dirt is a tire tread.  A car tire tread.  HUGE!  My coworkers had me convinced that he (and all of his friends) was eating my foundation or was planning an attack on my children to send them to the hospital.  Turns out they do attack...cicadas.  Thank goodness for Google images.
• The steepest hill on my five-mile route.  It is long...and steep...and has a super stinky cow farm at the top of the hill.  What a reward for getting to the top!  Moooooo.

Feeling Crafty...Sangria Bottle Soap Dispenser

So...I'm sitting on my couch watching the Olympics...of course.  Just love it.  Anyway, I was thinking of this old Sangria bottle that I saved a few months ago.  (I saw it under my sink tonight when I was looking for the perfect vase for some gorgeous birthday flowers my parents brought back for me from the Chicago farmer's market.)  ANYWAY, I love the shape of it (and the Sangria that came in it).  Back to the story, I thought of a genius idea for it!  (AND -  it was actually an original thought - instead of a Pinterest copycat like usual - there is something to be said for that people!!!)  And I digress again...

I begged Ben to help me cut off the threads to our kitchen soap dispenser (I am too clumsy to trust myself with a sharp knife and a plastic bottle).  We fit it right into the top of the sangria bottle, filled it with soap, and screwed the top to the old soap dispenser right onto it!  Ten minutes and I have a free soap dispenser that is MUCH cooler than the plastic one that was sitting there before!  The green tint to the glass will look great with the green paint we have picked out for the kitchen.  (Glidden's Softest Juniper after much debate this afternoon.  It has the perfect springy freshness that I wanted.)

I was so excited I just had to share with my friends!

Hope you had an amazing weekend!

Tiny Friends.

I love that my kids have friends that they love.  Friends that they ask to see again before we are even out of their driveway.  Friends that can play for hours together, without fighting about sharing, without hurt feelings, and without any drama.  Just good buddies that can race cars together, dress up like princesses, and have a Star Wars light saber lesson.  I love that after a good playing session with friends, the kids are so worn out that they fall asleep on the way home.  They learn together, teach each other, and most of all play like besties should.  It even gives mommas time to...chat, catch-up, and talk about those fun buddies playing together in the playroom.  

Tiny tots reading a bedtime story together.

Aren't these three cute?

Meeting new tiny sister friends.

Jillian asked me to take this picture.  Guess she wanted this memory.  She was two at the time. 

Friends experiencing firsts together.  First time at the theatre.

Sometimes I wonder if these little ones will stay friends over the years, through middle school and into adulthood. Will Myles still want to marry Lydia at 24?  Could they live in nearby dorms at MSU and give each other a wave at the bar...old BFFs with lots of memories?  Could Jacksen take Jillian to his senior prom...friends forever?  Or maybe Jacksen and Myles will take over their daddies' insurance office together someday like Jacksen says they will.  All of these little scenarios are a little silly, but as parents, Ben and I talk about and relate back to our childhood friendships.  Some friendships are lifelong and everlasting and some fade over the years.  As we watch our kids grow and relate to other children, I guess it is natural for us to surmise about their relationships.  I'm so glad I can watch things unfold for them.

Time to plan another playdate.  It is good for the kids...and the moms!

Tuesday's Love and I'm Better Off Without Lists...

Love List...

• Seeing Myles in a tux.  He looked like he was 12.  He loved the way he looked.  When he tried it on, he wanted to show off his look to the family.  He needed everything perfect - belt, socks, shoes, the whole bit.  Before he left the bedroom to present himself, he took a quick peek in the mirror.  You could see the suave in his face.
• Cousin pen pals.  Do you remember how awesome it was to get mail when you were five?  I do. Amazing.  We are writing letters tomorrow to send to North Carolina to a special cousin!
• Tan line interval training.  What the heck is that you say?  It is true motivation to power through an interval training run.  Who wants a sports bra tan line?  Not me!  So...I sprint in the sun and jog in the shade.  Interval motivation!  I'm weird, I know.
• Cuddling on the couch.  Enough said.
• This week I don't have any meetings (as of tonight) on my days off!
• This upcoming weekend we have no plans.  Sometime those turn out to be the very best weekends.
• Myles and Jillian cradling their heads, laying on their stomachs, watching the first dances at the wedding this weekend.  Myles said at one point, "Mom, Papa is just so handsome, isn't he?"
• A wonderful surprise mother-daughter dance at the wedding.  What a cool way for the bride to show her mom love.  Why does the mother of the bride traditionally get left out of the dances anyway?  She is pretty darn special you know!
• A simple email to Leapfrog and they sent us directions on how to fix Myles' toy...and it actually worked!
• Every single night Jillian asks me if she can come into my room in the morning when she wakes up.  Every time I tell her that I don't work the next morning...she cheers!

I'm Better Off Without List...

• Steak and Shake at 2am.  You can't properly judge nutritional intake after midnight.  Nothing good happens when you eat a plate full of grease after a night on the town.  Nothing.
• A Kalamazoo County Animal Control officer stopping by our house to demand we renew our dog, Wilson's, license.  For some reason I thought that when we moved to Richland we were off the hook on that.  Guess not.  His threat to dognap Wilson was...not so awesome.
• A vacuum that has lost its suck.  It sucks actually...just not on my floors.
• Discovering a un-flushed toilet hours after the little person donation was made.  If you are a parent, I'm sure you know what I mean.