10.20.2010

the kitchen

I LOVE my kitchen. It's basically what sold me on the house. They kept the original drainboard sink and updated everything else. I love the open shelving and the subway tile. I'm not normally a fan of white appliances, but these have a touch of stainless and blend in with the white cabinets, so I like them.



One of the things we did was replace the globe on the pendant light. It was this ugly brown thing that did not go at all. Thankfully Lowe's had a white one for $5...easy fix!


We also painted the walls and open shelving "chic lime" by Benjamin Moore. They had painted a butter color that was nice, but not me. The lime really pops against the black + white and it makes me happy every time I walk in. We also used chalkboard paint underneath the chair rail on the opposite wall:


There are still a few things I want to do...like add a rug, replace the cabinet hardware and switch out the track lighting (too mod for me), but it's great for now.

1.5



Dearest Calder-loo,

Are you really a year and half today? Where has the time gone?
You have grown so much in the past month. You no longer fit on the changing pad and your legs are starting to thin out. You had an ear infection this month and you weighed in at 30 lbs at the doctors office...yikes!
You're becoming very agile and are getting very good at climbing. Yesterday morning I turned around and you were halfway up the stairs! I've even caught you standing on chairs, you little daredevil! We've been going to the preschool tot lot in the afternoons to burn all of that energy!
You're talking so well! Some new words in your vocabulary are: baca (vacuum), broom, "ay-dee-dee" (umbrella), raining, two, nine, "O," "D," bike, "ah-boo-ba" (applesauce), boot, boat, sock, ni-ni (sleep), "wicky" (monkey), block, knee, eye, hand, "noney" (nose), diaper, walk, screw, hammer, hug.
You LOVE to read. All day you bring me books and say "book!" As soon as I say it's bedtime, that's the first thing you say. It's very funny because you say it with such diction. You also love balls, kitchen utensils and cleaning appliances. I think I need to get you your own little vacuum for Christmas because you are obsessed.
You have definitely discovered your free will. Lately I've been asking for hug & kisses and you shake your head and say "nooo." It breaks my heart, but hopefully it's just a phase and you're saying no just because you can.
You're so full of energy and life and you love to laugh. You continue to be a people person and will walk right up to a complete stranger to say hi.
I love watching your personality bloom and your little brain soak it all in.

Let's have fun together,
Mommy

10.19.2010

so blessed

Ugh! How has another month gone by? I'll try to be better about keeping up the blog. House transformation is in full effect...pics soon to follow. I have so much in my head but I have no energy to write after monster man finally closes his sweet little eyes.
I'll try to break the silence tonight with a little story. It's amazing the people we randomly meet in life and how God can use them to shed light on our rough spots. Last Monday was Columbus Day and Kennon had a rare day off. We were running a few morning errands and I was in line at Martin's with little man. Thankfully Kennon met up with us in the knick of time and whisked him away before I had to tell him for the 100th time that we were NOT going to get the pumpkin balloon. A sweet lady in line behind me at been ooing and ahhing over Calder and commented on how lucky I was to have a husband like that. Then she proceeded to tell me how hers had held her and her young son at gun point for three days. WHAAT?! She didn't call the cops because she figured someone would die that way. She talked him out of it and got him some help. He ended up falling in love with the woman in the room next to him at rehab and left her. Wait...there's more. This son was not her only child. She lost three others at birth and blamed herself...come to find out, there were high radiation levels on the air force base where they lived.
If anyone has a right to be depressed and bitter, it's her. But she has nothing but high hopes for her ex-husband and wishes him well. Talk about grace.
I've been a bit naggy with Kennon lately because toddlerhood is is no joke. But don't you know that I saw him in a new light that morning. I know how good I have it. He is an amazing husband and father.
Thankfully the person in front of us needed a price check so that I could hear this woman's story. I don't think that was a coincidence. Just a sweet little 8th grade teacher for Chesterfield County. She needed to share her story and I needed to hear it...you never know what people are going through.