Pantry

When we moved into the house, there was a pretty little door to the pantry.  Oooo...impressive.  A door to the pantry.  Must be nice.

Uh no.  

Very shallow shelves that moved if you put too much weight on them.

And this creepy gap.  the shelves were at an angle in the closet and there was a gap where food had fallen through.  

Yes.  Seven year old, bloated cans of tuna is exactly what I want chilling in the creepy gap of my ridiculously shallow pantry.  Yes.  The tuna was really sitting back there, smoldering away.  Shiver. 

So...we asked a friend to take it apart to see if we could pull out some more space in the pantry.  We knew full well that we might just be pulling down shelves to reput them up.  But...we had to get to that tuna somehow.  Might as well finish the adventure.

Turns out that there was less space than we hoped but way more than we were currently using.

So we pushed it out.  And by we, I mean our friend.

Oh yeah...and we chucked the tuna cans that looked ready to burst.  Yuck!

L curved the drywall (I didn't even know that was possible) so that it conformed to the stairwell and we got as much depth as possible.

L made a doorway to further storage back under the stairs.

L let James take a turn on the nail gun for some of the new doorway trim.

L built in some seriously deep shelves...

Painted everything...

Added a custom spice cabinet in the little space by the doorway...

Added some lighting.  (He is a cabinet builder and electrician).

Left some space for large storage (or let's be honest, the greatest hiding spot in hide and seek ever...).

And built me another custom shelf for canned goods and jars.

It's been a long process because L has a day job and his family and ours went through the flu which delayed stuff quite a bit.  

But it is done.  And it is marvelous.   

I love my new pantry!

Mr. Fix-It and Junior Fix-It

When There Are No Electronics to Play With...

We don't have tv but we do have dvd's, video games, and netflix.  And youtube.  So it is not like they cannot always find something that interests them.  But they are boys and they need to go explore.  They were not made to sit in front of a screen all day.  

Sometimes I tell the boys 'no electronics'.  Go out and play.  Paint something.  Build something.  Go do something that does not include a remote or a battery. Unless you are building a battery powered robot or something.  In that case, carry on.

The other day was a no electronic time.

I heard...

"Hey, Mom!  Come Look!"

Riley had stuck all his 'friends' upside down in the bunk bed...

...so that he could punch them...

...perhaps telling the boys no electronics that day was a mistake.  Not sure this is better than being glued to a video game.

Inventive?  Yes.

Concerning?  Yes.

Today I told them no electronics again.  

I have two boys using power saws in the backyard to break down some hefty furniture boxes for the recycling bin.

Inventive?  Yes.

Concerning? We'll see.  

If no one loses a limb, it will be fine.  However...

Chickens

A friend got some chickens for Mother's Day.  

Baby was enamored.  

Several of my friends have gotten chickens.  I want some.  I mean, I don't want to clean up after them or anything, but the idea of fresh eggs in the backyard is very appealing.

Someone Found the Costumes...

...or else he has finally decided on a vocation.

I hope it is the first.

Fort Time

This was a very elaborate fort with tunnels.  Brilliant.

Safety First

"Okay, Mom.  We're ready."

"We?"  I looked in the back seat and saw this.  

Pool Time

Shining Light

For Riley's homework the other day, I had to read to him for twenty minutes.  Normally his homework is for him to read.  He thought this was an incredible power play to make the parents have homework too.

I gave him a choice between Sneetches (which I have practically memorized over the years) and The False Prince, which is a young adult novel, where the main character, Sage, reminds me of Riley.

He chose The False Prince, which surprised me a little.  Even though, he is a good reader, he tends to like shorter books.  

In the end, it didn't matter.  I read both to him.

But...he has kept me reading The False Prince to him every day and we are well into it.  I've read it probably half a dozen times before but it is still so good.  And I am really enjoying this time with my own Sage, Riley, as we make our way from one plot point to another.  

Donut Boy

Un-freakin-belivable!!!

Years ago, I came across this book in a bookstore.  Looked interesting.  So I bought it.  And read it.  And as I read it, I couldn't help but notice that there were a lot of story lines going on that would be hard to finish up in one book.

I checked the book jacket.  No mention of a series of trilogy.  So I kept reading.

Only to get to the last page and be plunged into trilogy hell.  

Over and over again.  For three years.

Or so I thought...

About two weeks ago, I was excited to find a new addition to the selection series.

Yay!  I loved the first three.  An extra one would be fun.

I checked the back of the book to see if there was any mention of another trilogy.  All that it mentioned was that it was the fourth book in the series.

So I bought it.  And read it.  And as I read it, I couldn't help but notice that there were many story lines that couldn't possible be cleared up in one book.

I checked the last page.  Just glanced to make sure it said nothing about another book. 

I didn't read the words but the format seemed normal.

No mention of another book.

Okay,  

I kept reading the addition to the trilogy.

Until the end.  

Holy Dickens!  

Kiera Cass did it to me again!

I am in series hell.  

And I have to wait until at least a year and a half from now.

Oh my....I want to tear my hair out!  No I want to tear her hair out!  

Arrrrrrggggghhhhhhh!

Anyone want to jump back into series hell with me so I am not alone...?

Sign up for literary torture.  Come on, it will be fun...sort of...at least enjoyable while it lasts...and that counts for something right...?

Family Night

Normally we have family night on Mondays.  

But Monday this week was crazy.

So...we had it on Thursday.

And the dessert was dirt pie (chocolate pudding and cookies) and worms.  Lots of worms.  

(Excuse the mess in the background.  We still have construction on the pantry going on which makes for a food mess in the breakfast nook, kitchen, and family room.  That project is coming along and should be done soon.  Yippee!)

I love my family!

Creating a Library to Love

The loveseat arrived.  

Which then provoked some conversation with my sons regarding what a loveseat actually is.  I think the word 'love' weirded them out.  

Well...some of them...

Came with legs and screws...and no instructions.  And not enough screws.  

So James and I improvised.

And pulled out the power tools.  Love my thirteen year old!  He's built half of the new furniture in the house and reassembled what we had to take apart for the move.  He's the best!  

I had a plan for the furniture but Husband wasn't thrilled with layout so I tried his layout first to see if it would work.  Couch by the window, chair freefloating in the room.  It did give more openess to the room but it blocked the beautiful view.  

While James and I were pretending to be highly-qualified decorators, the other boys found Baby's overalls and made him a farmer again.  They love him in his overalls.

Then he tried to help decorate.  Um...dude...you're wearing overalls.  You are disqualified from having a valid opinion on what works.  

So here is the problem.  I liked my original layout.  But, the colors weren't right.  The chair, which we had before was more burgundy and...

...the rockin throw pillows that I love are too red.  Sigh.  

See how they don't quite match enough?

Darn it!

So I tucked away the red pillows.  Maybe I will use them in another room.  Or pull them out and enjoy them when no company is expected and therefore cannot judge me for my clashing red tones.  

I ordered more of a burgundy case and a throw to try to get the color over to the silver side of the room.  We'll see how those colors go...

Guess who is loving the new library?

This is the room in pieces.  

I love it.  

Husband really gave on the color scheme with the silver, white, black, and red.  Originally we were going to go with a more brown palette...but I had the red chair to consider, the white shelves, and I fell in love with the silver couch.  

Hopefully he loves it too.  

If not, we have many other rooms he can choose to spend his time in...