Let's do "before" pictures, so you all have a good point of reference:
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| View of the kitchen into the dining room from the naughty corner, what was then the fridge (it was like a long distance hike from the fridge to the oven: "Hello (echoes) hello hello hello....." |
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| the living room from the kitchen/dining room doorway |
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| the kitchen sitting in the dining room, which was labeled a "family room" and the eating spot was supposed to be that small corner that has wainscotting. Lame. Who needs two living rooms? |
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| Front view of the kitchen from the living room doorway |
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| The dining room! One of Brian's massive paintings is featured and he hand-built our table. The chairs we bought from IKEA, and 2 more are coming to be placed around every day, with probably 2 of their nice wooden folding chairs to be brought out occasionally for even more extra seating. We're just missing our hanging light fixtures in here, also from IKEA. |
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| Here's a view from the sliding door at our buffet (which was our dresser but is too big for our bedroom). Those books above it are what's left of my enormous cookbook collection - I purged quite a bit. :) I swear the shelves aren't hung crooked, though they look it in the photo..... |
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| A close-up of the beautiful table Brian built out of pine and large agragate concrete. I love the juxtaposition of textures, and it will look even more perfect once we re-do the kitchen completely in Phase 2 and add concrete countertops there. He's got a little tweeking to do on it: he says he needs to do another coat of polyurethane then cover his nails, etc... Oh, and if you want one for yourself, he will custom-build one for you! :) |
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| The view from Brian's painting looking towards the kitchen. The wall the trash can is on is going to be leaving up to the fridge in Phase 2. The peninsula will be rotating back against the wall, extending the workable counter, and an island will be going in with bar seating. More cabinets, too, will go by the fridge to anchor it. That little cart was actually Brian's make-shift taboret in his old painting studio. Right now it's where I keep my pots and pans. :) |
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| Looking at the kitchen from the living room. I can't use some of the drawers/cabinets because of their ill positioning, so it's a bit of a challenge right now. We still have a blind to hang in that window, too, so I'm not blinded by the morning sun. :) |
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| This is the kitchen and dining room as seen from the naughty corner. :) Eventually we'd like to make all the floors cork so that it'll be one continuous great room. |
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| The naughty corner: where the fridge used to be. Chloe HATES her naughty corner. I used some leftover chalkboard paint we had purchased for another project and have posted our House Rules and our Daily Schedule to remind her of when she's in her chair. :) |
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| This is the living room from the kitchen doorway |
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| From our front door - no photos is the frames yet, but at least they're hung! My "office" can be closed-up in our secretary desk that doubles as an end table. |
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| And the view from the secretary desk. We still need a cord-keeper thingy for the TV cord and our bookcases will eventually get sanded and re-stained, but that's kind of low on the to do list at present. More chairs, curtains, and more accessories yet to come, and that darn wall is just in my way! Once the wall comes down, you'll be able to see all the way into the kitchen and the island bar area, which will be a really nice flow for entertaining. |
Alrighty, that's all the house pictures for now! Whew, glad I got that off my chest. :)
In other news, I kept telling Liam if he didn't stop pulling my hair in order to pull himself up, I would chop it all off. He didn't stop, so that's what I did. Of course, it wasn't entirely his fault - it had gotten so long that this busy mom simply did not have time to do anything with it other than braid it or bun it directly after my shower, which means it rarely ever dried all the way. :) So, I donated a foot of hair to locks of love last night!
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| Whatcha think? :) |
Well, even if you hate it, I love it. I stepped out of the shower, brushed it, then let nature take its course. My hair is naturally wavy, so this is what happens. It looks like I spent time on it, only I didn't - even less than, actually, when I was just brushing it and braiding/bun-ing it and it looks a helluva lot better. Woot!
Let's see, this week is going really well. Chloe starts summer school this week for a few hours a week. I'm not sure I mentioned it here, but she goes to school at our church. To save money, Brian and I hadn't enrolled her in the summer program. Then, out of the blue, one morning her school director contacted me to say an anonymous gifter had donated money on Chloe's behalf in the amount of the registration fee and entire first summer sessions' enrollment fee! I was so blessed, humbled, and awed by this news. We posted a thank you in our church bulletin, but just in case: anonymous gifter, you have rocked my daughter's world. We are so grateful to your generosity and my only hope is that you can read these words of thanks and smile in return. Bless you and Thank you!
Last week was super, too, save for the hiccup of our car brakes going out and the kids and I being house-bound the entire week. We managed. Blessedly the weather has been great so it's not hard to come up with fun things to do when there's a huge fenced in backyard with a splash pool, tent, and little slide I can convert into a waterslide, plus there's hiking trails in the woods behind our house. :)
Chloe's attitude and behavior are drastically improved - even better than before we moved. Discipline is easy, which are two words I never thought I'd write or say in the same sentence. Chloe knows what's expected of her, knows the rules, and knows the procedure. A week and some change down on this new system (see Supernanny books) and she says, "please, thank you, excuse, and I'm sorry," almost all the time, she will sit at the table to eat almost all the time (if she gets up without asking she goes in the naughty chair), and her attitude/mischevious behavior has improved 100%. When I praise her for good behavior, she practically preens she's so happy to hear it, and now simply the threat of the naughty chair has her resulting into a tearful, "I not naughty chair!" :) Who knew just a simple chair, exactly her size, tucked in a corner would be so effective? :)
I also really love having our schedule posted. With Chloe out of school these past few weeks and our car brakes being out it's been all day every day at home, with me needing to find a solid balance of activities. We don't have a TV now that we've moved (well we do, but it's not hooked up. Movies only, or we can download stuff from the internet, that way Brian and I can still watch The Daily Show/Colbert Report!.) Anyway, the schedule helps me stay on track without having to put too much thought into it. I just look at the clock, "Oh it's art time. Chloe 5 minutes to art time. Would you like to paint or color?"
It's been wonderful getting into this groove. I feel like the mom I've always wanted to be, which is so freeing. I think my attitude in general is improving because I don't have to remind myself daily why I'm happy (as a way to counteract unhappiness), I just am happy. I wake up happy, positively thrilled that the kitchen needs picking up again or that the cat's litter needs changing. All the chores seem simple and managable and downright enjoyable because it's my house I'm cleaning. Such a difference. That and exercise. Wondrous, glorious exercise - 45 minutes all to myself, thanks to my local Curves and it's after-hours keytag feature (bless you!). I literally have the place to myself, can turn the music to soft, and just groove, relax, and clear my head. I feel a zillion times better afterwards and I can finally feel these stubborn baby pounds melting away. I mean, I used to be a Curves trainer when Brian and I met - I was THAT in shape, people! :) It's so nice to have more flexibility/mobility/body confidence now. I've got about 60 to even 70 pounds to go before I hit pre-Chloe weight. Wowza. One pound and one inch at a time.
Alright. In the final bit for tonight, I have a recipe to share! Tonight I made some simple lo mein noodles and it was so tasty and so easy, I just knew I'd post it. :) It took me all of 10 minutes to make. Love it.
Lo Mein Noodles
Yield: 2 adult servings and 2 child servings
1/3 C soy sauce (tamari reduced sodium is my preference)
1 T oyster sauce
2 t hoisin sauce
1/2 t sesame seed oil
a few drops asian chile oil (or more if you want it spicy!)
1/4 C vegetable oil
1/2 pound linguini noodles
1 bunch green onions, cut on the bias into 1 inch pieces
2/3 C matchstick cut carrots
1 1/2 C coleslaw mix (shredded cabbage and yes, more carrots)
3 large cloves garlic, minced
1/2 t chinese 5 spice powder
1/2 t ground ginger
While pasta is boiling, make the sauce: combine the soy sauce, oyster sauce, hoisin, sesame seed oil, asian chile oil, 5 spice powder, and ginger. Set aside. Drain pasta and set aside.
In a large skillet or wok, heat the vegetable oil to rippling hot. Add the carrots and cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add the garlic and green onions (and some crushed red pepper flakes for extra zing if you like) and cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat, stir in the sauce, then add the noodles and toss with tongs to combine. Return it to the heat and let cook 1 to 2 minutes, tossing the pasta frequently. Serve with extra soy sauce at the table.
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