Lemons

Lemons. They have always been beautiful to me. The color. The texture. The shape. The way they smell when you cut them open. The way they wake you up.

Lemons. They're sunshine. They're bright.

Lemons. I like em.

Renovation Before&Afters

To know where you are going, you must first understand where you have been. It occurred to me, I forgot to post BEFORE pictures of the renovation.

Renovation task list (also known as the longest Honey Do list in our years of wedded bliss):

• Gut downstairs bath
• Gut upstairs bath 
• Give kitchen a facelift-new appliances, backsplash, crown molding, paint, countertops 
• Refinish kitchen floors
• Replace carpet in sun room
• Remove carpet on stairs and upstairs hallway
• Refinish upstairs floors and stairs
• Clean up basement
• Crown molding in sun room
• Crown molding in dining room
• Fan in living room
• Functional master closet

Basement Before: 

Basement After:

Stairs Before/After

Sun Room before/after:

Dining room before/after: 

Living room before/after

Downtairs bath before/after

Kitchen Before/After

Master Bedroom before/after:

Upstairs bath before/after:

Guest bedroom before/after

Jack's room before/after:

Oh, you want to see the outside too? It's not done yet, you jerk. :)

You Will Always Be...

I've been sneaking into your room late at night again. You look smaller curled up like that. I know that crib will soon become a bed and that bed will soon become a bigger bed in a bigger room far away from home one day. I know these things and I'm savoring this time with you.

Tonight you crawled up on the couch with me and nuzzled your tiny curl filled head into my arm. You giggled as I tickled you under your chin...the place that still gets you every single time even when you're upset. You laughed and laughed and laughed and I faded away to the most amazing space of motherhood.

I've been sneaking into your room late at night again because I know one day you won't want me there. You will want your privacy and that's okay. I want you to be independent. It is your right of passage. I want these things for you.

You've never been a snuggly baby, but when you're overwhelmed and overstimulated, you seek comfort nuzzled into my chest. If I could choose one place for you to be forever, it's there...nuzzled in my chest counting my breaths like when you grew inside of me for 2 months shy of a year.

I've been sneaking in your room at night to stare at you because for right now, you still look like my tiny little baby all curled up like that.

So This is What It's All About?

Tonight you took me back 24 years at the sprinkle park on a particularly humid Tuesday.  You took a little fall and were traumatized, but still didn't want to miss out on the fun. So I said screw dry hair and dry clothes and went for it running into the water just to get you to smile again. And you did. You smiled and threw your head back laughing as we spun around in the water.

The mature adults stared in disbelief as the water poured onto our heads like we were standing under a bucket of water. I received some blank stares from some women sitting in uptight self brought chairs. We laughed and laughed and laughed and suddenly it hit me.

This was life. This is what all the combination of moments that came before it led up to. Here on this random Tuesday at the sprinkle park...me looking a bit like a drown rat and your diapered body covered in mud from your fall through the one mud puddle in the entire park.

So this is what it's all about?