Home Renovations!

Alright, so in an attempt to get back on track, I'm going to make this the first of a series of posts that are going to be way out of chronological order. However, in our defense, we've had so much insanity swirling about these past few months that, if not for the incremental fashion in which our camera stores the photos we take, we might well not remember the proper sequence of the events that have transpired!

Over the Memorial Day weekend - starting the Thursday before it, actually - we installed laminate flooring throughout the main floor areas of our home. The primary motivation for this was preparing our home for the start of Laura's daycare services; it seemed like hardwood flooring would be more damage-resistant than carpeting. Besides, the areas in which we had lineoleum, it was starting to peel away, and the carpet (as we really discovered upon it's removal) was getting beat down and gross as all hell in many places.

So, Laura's brother and mom came up that Thursday morning and got the installation under way. The week prior to this, and the few days leading up to it, we'd been ripping up carpet, packing furniture into the boys' bedroom and toy room, and any other possible storage location we had available. The boys took to sleeping on their bed mattresses on our bedroom floor during this time, and we had to institute a "socks-or-flops at all times" rule once we'd stripped the floors down to the concrete slab. It was a great adventure, and big fun to kinda rip up our home! Laura's younger brother joined the fray Thursday evening, and I was able to take off work that Friday to help wrap up the installation. We are so grateful for those guys' help, as well as her mom's help (as she also took the boys back down to Jasper with her while we worked through the weekend), in getting this major task done in such a quick, yet thorough, fashion. Big thanks to those three!

Oh yeah, not only did we knock out the flooring, we painted our kitchen, our dining room, re-applied a fresh coat to our half-wall and the back wall that spans the kitchen and dining room, and we painted most of our trim work in the areas where the floor was changed. Did I mention that my brother and I got a fence started, as well? No pictures of its progress exist, unfortunately, but I'll try to snap some of the finished product and throw down a few lines about that experience, as well.
In the interim, here are some pictures we took of the before and after look of our house through the floor transformation. Enjoy!

(K)

So, 150 posts became some sort of magical barrier for us, I guess.

Laura and I have absolutely NOT intended to allow this much time to pass between our posts here. It started in late March, early April, with the two of us mentioning sporadically that we really needed to get on and blog something. April passed, as did May, and clearly, no posting occurred. We suck, I'll admit it.

But, we've not been without reason. We've embarked on some significant changes in our lives. First, we decided that Laura was going to start staying home with the boys, and take on the responsibility of watching some additional children to supplement the lost income from her job. Second, in light of that decision, we felt it'd be prudent to ready our home for the daycare initiative, so, we've replaced most of the carpeting in our home with laminate flooring; stored my grandmother's dining room set and china hutch; and, finally erected a fence around our backyard.

With the help of our gracious family and friends (Frank, Jacob, Patty, Ryan, Derek, Brandon, and Joe) we were able to get the boys out of the house long enough to work on these tasks and complete them! We'll get some pictures taken soon of the new digs, but suffice it to say we're proud of ourselves, the hard work everyone contributed to the job, and the look and feel of our home.

So, I promise, this marks the resurrection of our blogging. Pictures, various updates (to bring everything up-to-speed on here) and forthcoming events will be chronicled as soon as possible.

(K)

Bring on the Spring...Winter Can Get Bent!

Let's face it. Winter in Indiana really bites. I mean, REALLY. I full accept it's not Montana or Canada or something of that ilk. But, for a non-snowbelt state, we get some rough treatment.

The worst part of it is the homebound, cooped up lifestyle it promotes. If we were more impartial to sub-zero windchills, 15+MPH winds and the proclivity to precipitate in a moment's notice, perhaps we could better-negotiate outdoor activity. As it is, though, we prefer to keep to the warmer clime of the homestead - or, other indoor locales - during this time of the year.Saturday, in the third leg of the "Wear Out the Boys Proper" Tour, we decided to give them a few additional minutes of clemency by stopping by our neighborhood park. It was cold and windy, yeah, but the boys nostalgically enjoyed the time they were able to spend romping about the park. We can tell they're ready to be outdoors more regularly, and we hope the weather cooperates with those desires, post-haste. If not, we may achieve a level of stir-crazy from which no one's nerves - not to mention household goods - may ever recover.

(K)

Ice Capades, We Were Not

Saturday afternoon, following swim lessons, Laura and I set a goal to get the boys as absolutely wiped out and tired as we possibly could. I had plans to go to a show that night, and we thought that by running those two ragged, we could ease Laura's solo management and lower resistence levels to bedtime.

While the plan was nice in theory, in practice, it didn't really prove to be an effective strategy. However, it didn't keep us from enjoying some family time together ice skating!

Laura and Jack went skating together once last year, or the year before, and here she is giving him some helpful reminders.

Laura bravely takes both boys on the ice while I maintain my wuss status and document the adventure from afar.

Into the breach: I don ice skates for the first time in well over 20 years. My first, and only other time attempting to skate, I thought I'd twisted my ankles into pretzels and vowed never to do it again. Funny what domestication coupled with empathy for your significant other as she struggles to help your offspring enjoy themselves will do to a man. Isn't that what the look on my face, below, says, too?

Above and below: cute and cuddly. The boys look OK, too.

See, now this is much better...we did actually thoroughly enjoy ourselves. My real complaining only started as I tried to wrangle Kian out of his skates and then keep him nearby as I struggled out of mine, all the while sitting on the floor in front of our rented locker while a gaggle of pre-teen girls munched crappy snack bar delectibles and stared at the rage that hotly simmered beneath the surface of my countenance.

(K)

Embracing an Internet Meme: The Commode Session

We're quite proud that, at just 2 years of age, Kian is fully potty-trained. In recognition of his achievement, we present the following montage of in-action potty shots. Guess which is the actual "poop face."

(K)

Against my better judgement

Earlier this afternoon while I was prepping dinner, I decided to finish watching the rest of last weeks episode of Hell's Kitchen. Kyle had taken his car out for a wash, Kian was napping and Jackson was playing basketball in the garage. Jack came in at one point and asked to air up the ball. Unfortunately the air pump outsmarted me, so I asked Jack to wait on Kyle. We agreed that he should gather all of the balls that needed to be refilled to make the most of it. He was in and out of the living room, game room, kitchen and garage. I suppose I noticed that he was watching the TV off and on, but didn't think much of it. Kyle joined us a few minutes later and sat down to watch the show while pumping up the various balls. At this point, I noticed Jackson laying down on the floor watching the show. He had asked Kyle to go out and play with him and Kyle said that he'd go as soon as the show was over. During the highlights for next week's show, one of the contestants made the comment, "I'll kick her ass". I grabbed the remote and turned the show off. This conversation immediately followed:

Me: I'm sorry Jack, I should have turned this show off earlier. I didn't mean for you to hear that bad word.
Jack: What bad word?
Me: Never mind.
Jack: What? Ass?
Me: Yeah, buddy. That's the one.
Jack: It's OK Mommy, everybody's been saying ass the whole time.
Me: Please don't repeat that word outside of this conversation.
Jack: OK Mom.

I sometimes forget that he's just a little kid and I should shelter him. That taught me that even though the show is on DVR, it airs late at night for a reason. I know he'll use that word eventually, I just didn't want to be the one to introduce it to his vocabulary.

until next time....lc

VD Surprise!

Not THAT kinda VD, you goons...Valentine's Day!!!

Laura shocked the Hell outta me yesterday afternoon. I was at work, and had taken a bathroom break. Upon my return to my office, my next-door neighbor and teammate, Josh, poked his head into my office and said, "Man, you've been paged twice, what's going on?!?!?"

"What? Really? Nothing I know of is happening...guess I'd better call the receptionist to find out."

Just as I turned to pick up the phone, it rang, and it was the receptionist again. She tells me I need to get upstairs to the reception area right away. When I asked if it something was wrong, she simply replied, "I just need you to come up here."

For some reason, I'm thinking I'm getting served a subpoena, or some thuggish mess is getting ready to transpire - that's how CLUELESS I am as to why someone would be asking for me at 5PM on a Friday afternoon.

I get up to the 27th floor, and start to look around to either side of the receptionist's desk as she greets me. To the right, I spot a familiar sight: Laura, and she's wearing a shit-eating grin and giving me this cute little wave. I instantly ask, "What are you doing here!?!?!"

"Taking you on a date!"

"...Whaaaat? Whoa...OK! C'mon downstairs for a second!"

I was TOTALLY surprised by this...and, what a great way to be surprised! We went to Fogo de Chao for dinner, then hit Circle Center to shop for new shoes (an established V-Day tradition for us), then out to Avon for a viewing of Slumdog Millionaire. I'm truly the luckiest sumbitch on the planet!

(K)

Job Security

Back in January I left Simon for good. For quite a few months I had been working part-time at Simon and part-time at Clarian West in the HR department. Believe me, I was ever-so-thankful that I was able to maintain employment at both locations. Yes, it was difficult to bounce back and forth between the positions, but I had to do what was necessary. I'll admit that it made the weeks go by very quickly! My last day at Simon was January 5th, and I was able to work full-time in HR at West starting January 12th. Given the fact that so many people are without jobs, I feel blessed that I've been afforded this stability over the past 5 months. I also want to note that Kyle and I thought it would be best that one of us move to work closer to home. Since it's a little easier for me to find something rather than for him, I opted to take over this role. I love that I can run home over lunch, or to Target, or to see the kids if needed. I recently drove downtown and can say that I do not miss that trip one bit. Sure the quite time was nice, but I like being closer to home. Perhaps that goes with age. Besides, it was tough for the kids to be bound down in the car for such periods of time each day. They are only 10 minutes from home which is proving to be a blessing as well.

Starting next Monday (2/16/2009) I will be taking on another role. I will be alternating days between the HR department and Case Management. Again, I am extremely thankful that I have the option to work at full-time status. Sure, I'd like to only work 20 hours per week and spend the other time with the kids and maintaining the household, but that's simply not in the cards. Perhaps one day I'll be able to work a limited schedule. Until then, I will enjoy my time at West.

A few things I love about working at West: it's only a 6 minute drive from home, about 12 minutes to daycare, the staff and culture are simply amazing and I love the work that I'm doing. I'm so glad to be back in HR working in a position that is rewarding and stimulating.

I promise to document more of my journey as it continues.

until next time...lc

First, an Apology, and then...Happy Birthday Sara!

First, a quick apology...I've been so out of it lately. Not "out of it" in a literal sense (although I was a bit sick last week), but just not feeling the writing urge. I knew I should help in providing some updates to the blog, but still...writer's block or some such business. So, sorry for the lack of updates. It's a bit frustrating, but, if there's anything that can prod me to slam down a few keystrokes, it's celebrating OTHER people getting older.

Last Saturday, we celebrated my baby sister's 22nd birthday. This is very surreal to me - Sara was like my first child in some ways. I was 12 when she was born, my dad had recently died, and I was the primary care giver after school while my mom worked nights. Certainly not MY child, obviously, but caring for her was absolutely my first insight to what parenthood might be like.

So, I've now lasted long enough to see her become a full-fledged adult. And, an impressive one at that. She and my brother are the only 2 people that have maintained a steadfast unwavering presence throughout most of the years I've been alive. It's exciting to see her grow up and become such a wonderful person - I'm honored to have this experience. All this, despite having Ryan and I as her big brothers! At least we gave her plenty of indications of what she SHOULDN'T do with her life. Ha ha ha ha...

We went to Buca Di Beppo, downtown, for dinner Saturday night, then broke away from Laura, Miss and the boys for a Campbell Sibling Triumvirate bar bounce. Drinks were had (mostly by Ryan and Sara, I played the DD), stories were told, and probably a bit too many details were shared that remained obscured until drunkenly divulged. It was a great time, and I hope we get the chance to do it again some time - my turn to drink, next time!

(K)

Homemade Tattoos

***NOTE: There are lots of new posts to read!***

For quite a while now, to keep our kids stimulated at the grocery store, we allow them to draw something small on the backs of our hands. I know it’s probably not the best example to set, however it passes the time and redirects their focus. We started out drawing smiley faces and have graduated onto bigger pieces of art. Jackson generally sticks to the rules, but on this particular day cabin fever set in and he was a bit ornery. He says it’s a shoe, but we think it looks a little different. At least his art skills are developing, right?

Kyle’s arm

I love their chubby little fingers.
An example of Jack sticking to the rules and Kian getting his turn with the pen.
until next time…lc

Poop Face

Well, not in a literal sense, but every now and again Kian ends up looking like just sucked on a turd. In most cases, he’s just enjoyed some chocolate, but this looks appears more than we’d like it too.

until next time…lc

Appliance Overload

We’ve been in our house for just over 6 years. It doesn’t really feel like we’ve lived here all that long though. A couple of weekends ago, our washer bit the dust, leaving us little opportunity but to stimulate the economy with the purchase of a new washer & dryer. We’ve, okay, I’ve, always dreamed of the day we’d be able to upgrade to a front-loading, high efficiency washer. I’ve always been excited by the little things in life, and this proves it. We spent a bit of time comparing prices at Lowe’s and hhGregg and settled in on this pair. And for hte record, hhGregg had the better deal...obviously. My new love affair:

Kyle thinks I’m a bit obsessed, however our laundry is clean. Enough.said.

Moving onto this past weekend. Our dishwasher ceased to function. So back to Lowe's and hhGregg we went. Thankfully we were able to have this bad boy installed on Monday evening. Too bad we don't have enough dishes dirtied to use it!

until next time…lc

All fall down!

One night after dinner a few weeks ago, Jack and Kian entertained us with a few rounds of Ring Around the Rosie. When it was time to fall down, Kian was doing this thing where he would lift both of his legs into the air simultaneously and fall on his bottom. Thankfully he only had about 11 inches to fall. Oh, and that he still has a bit of padding on his bottom. I think it's the 3rd time that he gets it right for the camera.

Oh, and then there's the whole, "Let me see" episode that cracks me up. We made the realization a while back that our children will never know what film is. You know, like for a 35mm camera? I guess we're assuming they won't get into photography. Seriously, they may learn about this in a book some day down the line, but they've grown up with digital cameras. Yeah, new things are invented all of the time, but it cracks me up that they know they can see the image just after it's taken. Heck, I was excited back in the day that we had a microwave. I'm sure glad that stuck around. Speaking of microwaves, this past weekend while at hhGregg, we saw the first microwave drawer. Weird!

until next time...lc

Children's Museum

Papaw and Nana Hop gave the boys a year-long membership to The Children’s Museum. We broke it in as soon as we had the opportunity, January 4th. Actually, we went the next weekend too. They boys absolutely have a blast there. (I’d be lying if I said we didn’t have fun as well.) The first time we went happened to be the final day of Jolly Days. They turn the grand staircase into a Yule Slide. We must have gone down that thing 6 times. Oh, and we packed a lunch for the first time. And along with the membership comes unlimited rides on the carousel. Again, another 6 rounds and we moved on to the next display.

Here’s the Yule slide….

And a photo-op at a display in the Jolly Days area…

No trip would be complete without a trip to the dinosaur exhibit.

We’ve all come to realize that taking a picture of Kian can prove to be quite a challenge. We ended up with 6 pictures of his silly faces. I guess 6 was the theme for the day, huh? I suppose this is where a digital camera proves its usefulness.

until next time…lc

Where, Oh Where has the time gone?

Kyle and I have discussed many times of the past few weeks that we need to blog. It just seems as though we've stayed constantly distracted. Oh well, perhaps we'll get around to it one night. Oh, I'll have to write about my new love affair!



until next time...lc