Potty Training, Potty Hands

Note to Self:

Whilst hugging baby girl -thus keeping her from falling in- who decided she wants to "go" on the big potty (and the lil' potty is packed away somewhere)- baby brother will come around and stick his hands down into the bowl.

Too Many Options!

Most of the small projects are complete (yes, for the 100th time...I realize I have lots of blanks to fill in). The big one looms ahead however. The kitchen.

To put it shortly...we've got to start from scratch. While the house sat empty for a year (after the original owners left), someone got the bright idea to break in and take what they could. The entire kitchen was stripped. I don't mean just the appliances and fixtures...but even the cabinets. Who steals kitchen cabinets? Even the real estate agents said that is rare. Mainly, because of their size and the effort it would take to remove them in the first place.

The culprits did pretty well. They broke two of the units and were kind enough to leave them in the garage for whomever might eventually buy the place. One of the countertop pieces cracked and was no good for them either so that currently lays against the interior garage wall as well. Now mind you, even with the entire kitchen to rebuild...this house was a steal. We did our homework and even the senior agent from the real estate company we used was quite impressed with our find.

So we've mapped out our design. We decided to save a few bucks and go with unfinished cabinets. Staining them on our own will take some time, but at 50% the cost...what else can I say? It was a 3-day ordeal trying to figure out my layout. We wanted to mostly go with the original plan of the house, being that the flooring is decent and we didn't see the need to change it anytime soon. It is cut where the old cabinets were set so we decided to use that as our guide. Determining how to work within that outline was harder than I thought it would be.

We measured out the walls of course to confirm how much space we were working with. Than we had to choose the puzzle pieces - the individual cabinets - for both wall and baseline. I didn't realize how many options we'd have when filling in the blanks. I tried shopping and browsing online for ideas, but this only led to a road of anxiety...TOOOO many options! It gave me a headache. I didn't like any of the virtual kitchen make-over tools either. Not a single one allowed me to actually input my dimensions, so while they were fine for playing with color and style,that was about it.

Finally, we went to Lowe's and decided to just make a list of the cabinet sizes & prices. I wished they had a printout like Menard's does. Menard's has a form that is spreadsheet style with all the information pre-populated. This makes it much easier to select and estimate your cost. With pen and paper...(and OMG!) the two-in-diapers along for the ride, we went up and down the back aisle of the store and made our own list of each cabinet's size & price. It took us nearly an hour...OUCH!

Later that night, I sketched a blueprint of our kitchen. I know I have grid paper somewhere - this would've made it simpler and I could do my drawing to scale - but I wasn't about to go dig for it amongst the mountain of moving boxes, so I just used a plain sheet of paper and did the best I could (at 11 o'clock at night).

I penciled in each wall, then went about choosing the cabinet width. See, that's what I learned through this process. It's funny how we often don't pay attention to simple details we brush with each day until we find ourselves undertaking such a task as this one. I never knew that a single cabinet for instance, could come in 9 inch widths, or 12 inch, or 18 inch, or 30 inch, or 36! I figured I'd just plan for single cabinet here, double over there, 2-door base on that side, and single width base and silverware drawer on this. No! I'd have to plan by width to complete the design...duh!

Then the trick was to utilize every bit of the space available. This too was difficult...correction. Not difficult, but time consuming. With so many options to consider and the need to remember where the stove would sit, where the plumbing for the sink was, etc., etc., I found myself erasing and re-sketching again and again. It was 2am when I was finally satisfied that I had stayed "within the lines" and not wasted any space. I included the price per piece on the drawing and added it up. Wow! We were going to spend less than I thought. Not sure if this is because I'm particularly clever in optimizing the space with a budget in mind, or if I simply got lucky :)

We had already bought our refridgerator & over-the-range microwave, but now I'm struggling with dishwasher and range options. There are sales everywhere and each time I think I've made a choice, something else catches my eye. I nearly reached panic mode yesterday. I should just jump in and make my purchases today. Already, the stress is eating at me. I'm buying things I've never had to buy before and I find it thoroughly aggravating. Who ever knew that too many options could be a such a headache?!

Note to Self

Must remember to close windows during T-storms...check.

Second - when using mail order to obtain merchandise, remember which state you now live in Amber!

So, we've been working on individual themes for each one of the munchkins. Little Patito gets the sea theme that was originally from Neto's first bedroom. Chica has the Disney Fairies (without over-emphasizing Tinkerbell), and Neto will have dinosaurs of course.

When we did Neto's room a few years ago, Kiki had ordered rub-on wall tattoos. They looked very much like paintings on the wall rather than stickers which created a marvelous effect. We ordered the dinosaurs and fish from Tatouage again. Chica's fairies had to come from Amazon.com however. Her stickers arrived last Wednesday, so I expected the boys' art to follow shortly. I began to worry when by Monday, they still weren't here.

Finally, I stole a moment between chores after the mail came and the tattoos still hadn't been delivered. I came across my order confirmation e-mail and was able to get the FedEx tracking number. I studied the itiniary and was confused as to why my purchase was shipped from Florida to Colorado and then to Nevada.

Then...it leaped out from the screen and bit me on the nose. Literally, I almost died from embarassment - though no one could even see me or know what I'd done. Reading the "mail to" section, I saw that the city was listed correctly; the zipcode was fine...BUT, the state designated was California. Yikes! I guess it's going to be harder than I thought to break a 32-year habit. I am a bit surprised I did that. I tend to be a little paranoid about things and usually read through a thousand times to make sure I have everything correct.

Of course...FedEx should have figured that out much sooner than they did. Most companies -even ones that use automated information systems- sort by zipcode first. The zipcode should have alerted them that the package didn't belong in California. Had the computer tied the zipcode to the city, they would've known to override the given state...or at the very least, call the customer to clarify...ya' think?

Luckily, the wall art was delivered yesterday. I had placed a call late Monday and left a message, but I am assuming they figured it out before then since it arrived the next day. They are beautiful! I can't wait to get them up on the walls of the boys' rooms.

Note to self taken. Triple check the address for correct state!

Post Script: I am having trouble posting the links within my blog text for some reason. But here they are if you'd like to see.

Neto's Dinosaurs
http://www.tatouagedesigns.com/product_p/20942p.htm

Patito's Sea
http://www.tatouagedesigns.com/product_p/21690p.htm

Chica's Fairies
http://www.amazon.com/Sandylion-Fairies-Wall-Stickers-glitter/dp/B000OFTUPC/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1249476853&sr=8-9

T-Storms & Lightning

So a major storm moved in today. I was anxious to cross more things off of the "to-do" list, but that's ok. It's been a wonderful morning. Baby Patito woke before his brothers and sisters did so we had some quiet play time, just the two of us -rare, very rare. Then I remembered, I shouldn't let Neto boy sleep in...1st grade begins next Monday and we've been trying to get back to a school day routine. We even spend several hours a day doing practice work.

I sat going through my baby pictures this morning. I love to do this and can't believe I've been here in Indy for just over two weeks and have just barely pulled them out. While rummaging through, I also came across Great-Grandpa's World War II memoirs. I remember trying to read them when I was 12 or so, but had a hard time getting into it. I read through a few pages and have decided I'm ready to finally follow his diary entries. The compilation definately needs to be turned into a book or perhaps a screenplay even...I know Mom has often thought of doing something with it. If she doesn't get the chance, perhaps we will. It is very well written with lots of details.

As the storm progressed, I gave up on the idea of running out to get more paint and the other supplies I needed for completing a handful of projects. We'll see how the weather is later this afternoon. In the meantime, I have no excuse to not catch up on some writing. LOL.

Esteban decided to prepare some enchiladas and also fry the fish he caught this weekend while we were down at the lake. Scrumptious! It was only half way through cooking brunch -and several hours into the storm- that he thought to ask me if I had closed up the windows to our bedroom next door. AGH!!!

I popped up and ran from Mom's house to ours. Got soaking wet, couldn't believe it. I made a joke last week about the amount of rain we get here. I wondered if people from the midwest laugh the first time they experience rain in California. I love it though. Several days of sunshine & then some rain. Keeps it beautifully green here all through out the summer season. In San Jose, everything that's not watered turns brown by mid-May or so.

It could have been worse. I arrived to our master and suite and found mostly the sills puddled with water. Luckily, for the most part it collected there and didn't seep down the wall and onto the carpet. I dried up what I could once both windows were secured shut. I had left them open last night after I finished painting to air the room out. I decided to do this fancy granite-textured paint on the wall which smells worse than just regular paint. I snatched a look at our other neighbor's yard. Easily, it was flooded with about an inch and a half of rain. Poor drainage I'm guessing. Ours was much better though the rear corner nearest hers was collecting water. Not sure if do to the slope of the yard at that point or just because her yard was so saturated and it was pushing into ours. We'll keep an eye on it.

Note to self - always close windows when there are T-storms & lightning!

Do Not Panic

There comes a time during all projects that the pulse begins to race, the breathing becomes labored and the mind just flips out of control. WHY!?

Not that I should be in a panic. It's really only been two weeks. We've come remarkably far in that time period, all things considered. Preparing our 6-year-old Neto boy to enter the first grade next week and corraling our two in diapers...I should feel satisfied at what we have accomplished. Actually, I am.

But now, I've got to figure out our kitchen. I don't even know where to start. We are working with a blank slate - which usually is a good thing. For some reason, my imagination has made a run for it, and though I have wonderful ideas, I've got to strike a balance between what would be most pleasing and affordable at the same time. I've tried all the virtual kitchen designers but spend more time figuring them out then getting anywhere. Oh well. There really is no rush. We have plenty of time. It will come together...eventually.