Major Remodel Ahead

I have lived in this house since 1979. I was 10 years old when my mom and her husband bought it. When we were married, my husband and I began renting it from my mom. Finally, in 1999, we bought it from her. So, I have lived in this house for 30 years and 3 months!

This house was built in 1964 (or it may be '65) and still has the original kitchen. That means a 1960's cooktop; a 1960's oven; 1960's cabinets; etc. In other words, it's ugly and it doesn't function very well anymore. Not to mention, I'm tired of it having lived here since before microwaves and VCRs were commonplace!

My time has come! I am finally, officially remodeling this place! And, I couldn't be more excited!

Problem: I am challenged in the design department. Solution: I am working with an awesome designer!

I had my third meeting with her this morning at which time she showed me three different plans she has conceived for my space. Now, this is not going to simply be a kitchen remodel. In fact, the entire front of my house-living room, dining room, office space and kitchen-will be gutted. Walls we be demolished. New walls will be built. A double oven will be installed. Bookcases will be built in. My house is 1482 sq. feet in total and this remodel will completely changed 700 of those square feet. So, I'm not exaggerating when I say this is a major remodel!

While my designer and I sat at my dining room table, we took her three proposed plans and took elements from two of them to create an amazing space! She has listened to every word I've said and she has captured my style and my function better than I could have imagined. She is now finalizing our ideas, creating a shopping list for appliances and contacting my contractors (who are also great, BTW) with the draft!

Before it all begins, I thought I'd share the "befores" and give a sneak peak into how things will be transformed.

See this wall? Gone! It will no longer exist!

This is where a new sofa will go. And, you can see the "popcorn" ceiling. All gone, baby! :-) The piece you see to the right of the sofa as you face it is a cedar chest passed onto me from my great-grandmother. It will be refinished and find a new home in the entry way.

The fireplace...it will receive a major transformation! The windows on either side will be eliminated and floor to ceiling built in bookcases will take their place! There will also be a custom mantle and surround created. A new flat screen TV will go above. A nice seating area with two sofas and two chairs will set the stage for a nice conversation area around the fireplace.

The window next to the fireplace will become a bookcase as I mentioned before. I'm contemplating replacing the slider with French doors.

The window here will be taken out and a new picture window placed horizontally. Under that window will be a bench seat with storage underneath sitting up to a nice, square dining table. The wall where you see the framed photo hanging will be demolished and the refrigerator will go there.

Gross mid 60's kitchen! The walls you see before you will be gone! As you look to the left, that will be counter space with cabinets above and the cooktop will be where the sink is currently. The window above the sink, of course, will be eliminated. To the right, it will all be opened up to the living area and an island will appear.

This view will become my new pantry! The laundry will be moved to the exact opposite side of the wall which is the garage. There will be a door to the garage right where you see the washer and dryer right now.

You will be able to see my new island from this view! The double oven will go where you currently see the fridge.

This will be part of my new office space.

This wall is going! This will be where the island goes and will look out over the fireplace. This is the other side of the wall where you currently saw the TV.

This will be office space. I'll have a nice desk here.

More office space. The current bookcase will be removed and the whole corner will be built in bookcases/storage.

Isn't it exciting? I can't wait for the finished project! I'm not looking forward to living through construction but I am looking forward to a modern, functional living space.

Until the next installment...

Happy New Year

As this new year begins, I've spent a lot of time thinking about goals I would like to focus on for the year. My good friend Goodwife H had a great post on her blog outlining her ponderings for the new year so I thought I'd follow her example.

I also like the way she outlined her goals into categories. I tend to think that way so I'm going to steal borrow her idea on that as well.

With that said:

Health: This is a big one for me this year! First, I turned 40 in 2009. Second, last year was a tough one health wise for me! It started when I experienced my first panic attack out of the blue in March. I'm working on discovering what causes them and how to deal with them when they come. I hope to eventually eliminate them altogether! In May, I was diagnosed with hypertension and began taking medication to control it. Problem? It's still not controlled. Along with the hypertension, I also learned that I have Hashimoto's Disease which results in an underactive thyroid. My joint pain has also increased. It seems that the minute I turned 40, I completely fell apart!

So, in the interest of my health, I am focussed on doing the things I already know how to do as well as continuing to learn how to better my health. I am committed to exercising for a very minimum of 20 minutes every day. I will also make sure I am getting enough sleep. And, my plan is to lose 5 pounds per month over the course of the year. I figure that's pretty realistic.

Homeschool: I need to be more consistent doing preschool with On the Loose. He loves it and thrives on it! I also plan to faithfully take him to the library once a week. It's his favorite place!

I will also keep up on reading the literature that the older two kids are reading. It drives me crazy when I get behind as it's nearly possible to catch up.

Lastly, I will continue researching college options, testing, transcripts, etc. to prepare for Turned Loose's senior year.

Home Management: This area continues to be a huge struggle for me. I'm great at financial budgeting but not so great at time budgeting. So, this is an area I'm working on-telling my time where to go just like I tell my money where to go.

Meal planning is also an issue for me. I really don't like to cook. I also just struggle putting a meal plan together and sticking to it. So, I'm going to work on improving in this area. There will be an obstacle, though! We will soon be starting a major kitchen remodel. Will be gutting down to the studs and starting over. I know that cooking will be even more difficult without any appliances. :-) If anyone has any suggestions for me in this area, I would love your help!

Family: I will work on planning our big trip to Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks coming up late spring. This will possibly be our last major family vacation for all five of us before Turned Loose takes on some college courses and loses much of his flexibility to travel with us.

Personal: I am slowly learning to take care of myself and realize my limitations. I went on for years pretending that I was "supermom" and could be everything to everyone and do it all. I plan to continue setting some healthy boundaries so that I am caring for myself.

Spiritual: I recently decided on my "Word of the Year" for 2010: Sanctify. This is what I want my spiritual life to be about this year. Sanctifying Christ in my heart and participating in my own sanctification along with the Holy Spirit to conform me further into the image of Christ.

With God's grace, I will diligently pursue these goals and experience some degree of success which will allow me to grow over the course of this year.

I also pray that all of you will succeed in your goals as well!

A Tasty Snack

So, I haven't blogged for a long time. I got bogged down with traveling and the holidays. What can I say?

I thought I'd offer a treat to anyone who may still be reading.

I guess you would call them Wonton Wrapper Chips. These were shared with me by my friend Lisa and I was craving them today so I thought I'd share. Disclaimer: they can be quite addictive! Disclaimer 2: I'm no Pioneer Woman with the camera so please excuse my photos!

They start with a package of wonton wrappers. In my grocery store, they are located near the fancy cheeses, hummus, etc.

Line a cookie sheet (or baking pan with a rim) with parchment paper.

Pour some oil into a bowl. I use olive oil. (Like the Sesame Street bowl? It's been around since Turned Loose was a little guy.)

This is how the wrappers look out of the package.

I use my handy dandy Pampered Chef pizza cutter to cut them into fourths.

Lay them out on the baking sheet. Brush them lightly with the oil with a pastry brush. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Pop them in a 350 degree oven. These take just a hair under4 minutes in my oven but my oven isn't reliable. It might take an extra minute or two in a working oven.

They come out looking like this. Slightly golden around the edges.

And then you have a plate of yumminess with endless possibilities!



Use them for a variety of dips-hummus, mango salsa, onion dip....use your imagination. You can also change them up according to your mood or needs by sprinkling different spices on top instead of the salt and pepper.

Enjoy!

College...here we come!

I have been blessed to homeschool my kids since Turned Loose was in second grade. It's been challenging, it's been fun, it's been overwhelming.

My cute little 7 year old second grader is now and almost17 year old (in two weeks) eleventh grader and college is right around the corner. College preparation can be scary for a simple homeschooling mom! My job has gone from teaching him (Who am I kidding? I haven't taught this kid anything academic since he was about 8!) to being a full time guidance counselor. Problem? I have no clue how to do this part of the job!

So, I've been researching. Turned Loose is a scientist at heart and he is interested in very intense and very competitive schools. I'm the opposite of a scientist and cry in fear at the thought of stepping foot on the campus of the likes of CalTech, MIT, or Harvey Mudd-all schools that my son would love to attend!

I'm learning and growing and attempting to equip myself to make application to one of these schools within reach for my high schooler. I thought maybe someone out there might be interested in some of what I've learned so I'll begin sharing my thoughts and discoveries as I press on through this junior and senior year.

I will also have a ninth grader next school year and will start my preparations for her much earlier now that I know better.

I hope that some of what I've learned will be a benefit to someone else out there. I wish I would have had my hand held starting a few years ago but I really didn't even know where to look at that time. If I can help hold the hand of another mom who is a little intimidated by the prospect of college I'll be thankful!

If there's anything that anyone would like to see me address specifically, I'd be happy to do that, too. I hope to post at least once a week with my ideas about college prep planning.

Here's a hug for all of my fellow homeschoolers navigating these waters!

Preschool Fun

I haven't been as regular as On the Loose would like with preschool these days, but we still manage to have some fun.

He is still greatly enjoying his bags we collected as part of our preschool bag swap with our Five in a Row friends!

This one uses foam shapes to organize by color and by shape:

This is one of his very favorites! You "fish" for the letter fish with a magnetic pole and place the letters on the card one at a time.

This is the one he and I made for the swap. It's another magnetic fishing pole. There are 10 magnetic items and 10 non-magnetic items. The goal is to classify them by what sticks and what doesn't.

Here's some play-doh fun with his brother. He's made a "circle shaped pizza with tomato sauce and cheese on top. ":-)

We've also read a wide variety of library books, played blocks, experimented with numbers, etc. I think we've been successful in spite of our not being regular. We'll see what next week holds!

Five Years

Can it really be five years? Some days it feels like it was yesterday. Some days it feels like a lifetime ago. Some days it feels like it was just a nightmare and that it never really happened.

Five years ago today, September 17, 2004, our family welcomed our beautiful Katherine into our lives. We went into that day thinking we were going to meet a perfectly healthy baby and that she would soon be home with us and fit into our fun. However, our world was turned upside down a few short hours after her birth. I will never forget my husband turning to me and saying, "We have a problem. It's her heart." Our world changed in that moment.

Our perfect little girl was broken on the inside and we had no power to fix things. A simple kiss from Mommy couldn't make things better. All of the skinned knees, bruises, etc. that I had spent nearly 12 years kissing away did not prepare me to be able to fix it this time. We had to completely and totally turn her over to the One who had knit her together.

And turn her over we did. We cried and begged and prayed for God to heal her broken little heart. I sat by her bedside and whispered into her ear all of the plans I had for her. I looked for God's goodness in her life every day.

In the end, He chose to take her home to be with Him. She lived exactly six weeks. In that time, my faith grew and I developed a new sense of what it is to hope in God. He has proven Himself over and over again over the past five years as He has held us and comforted us.

This day is always hard for me as I can imagine celebrating with her. I can imagine the cake and the ice-cream. The dolls. Her smile as we sing Happy Birthday. Instead of those things, the Lord has replaced them with hope. Hope in seeing her again someday as we feast with Him and sing His praises forever.

Happy Birthday Dear On the Loose...

Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday dear On the Loose
Happy Birthday to you!!

Our little guy turned 4 years old today! I can't believe that I was holding a sweet smelling little newborn 4 years ago tonight. He's growing into such a funny little fellow. We are blessed by him for sure!

One of his new fascinations is music. His instrument of choice is....the drums. Don't laugh! I know you're laughing and saying, "Better her than me!" At any rate, I took him to Toys R Us today to buy him a bike. I also found this fun electronic drum set. Apparently, drumming is dangerous business.




Last Mother's Day we went to lunch at an outdoor shopping mall. This giant ferris wheel is a focal point. On that day, he wanted to ride the wheel but, well, I'm afraid of heights and did not want to ride an overgrown ferris wheel on my special day. So, he asked (on Mother's Day) if he could ride it on his birthday. Four months later, his birthday finally arrived and we made good on our promise.






He was very excited! :-)



When we got to the top (yes, I swallowed my fear and rode the darned thing!), he said, "Look, Mommy! You can see everything from up here!"



After riding the ferris wheel, we had dinner at California Pizza Kitchen. He always orders a "circle shaped pizza with tomato sauce and cheese on top!" He got that from an episode of Blue's Clues. But, I don't like dealing with tomato sauce with a little guy, so when he places his order and the server just looks at him, I say, "He'll have the honey chicken pizza please." :-) When they ask if he'd like tomato sauce on it, I just inconspicuously shake my head. On the Loose doesn't even notice.



Nice and full, we headed for the carousel. He enjoyed his ride. On the way out the exit, a nice, big red button was just at his level. He couldn't resist and he pushed it before I could grab his hand. It instantly turned off all of the lights on the carousel and it was plenty dark outside. Red faced, I profusely apologized to the carousel operator and she said, "It's OK. It happens all the time." I'm not sure if that's true or if she was just trying to make me feel better. He still lives up to his moniker of Mr. Naughty Pants!



To top off a fun birthday celebration, we headed to a cupcake shop! Yum! Here you can decorate your own cupcake and they'll give you a candle and some matches to make your experience complete!



He chose blue frosting, M & M's and gummy bears.



We sang Happy Birthday and just enjoyed the moment.




I think he had a fun and fabulous day! :-)