Memorial Day weekend

As seems to be required for any 3-day weekend when the weather is at least somewhat nice, we had a cook-out yesterday. Dan's aunt and three of his cousins, and three of his fraternity brothers and their families came over in the afternoon, Dan made beer-can chicken on the grill and then cooked sausages and hot dogs, and everyone brought way more food than we could possibly eat over the whole weekend, much less in one afternoon. Memorial Day weekend weather in northern Michigan was always iffy when I was growing up, but Cleveland weather has turned out to be much lovelier. The kids played outside for a long time, and once the sun moved to the front of our house and our backyard became shaded, the adults went out as well. Dan even allowed a Steelers corn-hole game set to be used in our driveway. But the most important part, probably, was when we put the training wheels on Greyson's old bike for Reece, and Dan took him for a ride around the block. I predict Reece will be ready to have them taken off by the end of this summer, if only his legs grow enough for him to actually reach the ground while on the bike.

I managed to drop my camera right before filming this video, and I think this proves I need a new camera! Hopefully you can still get the essence of the experience. And the cuteness.

I'm leaving babyhood behind, too

I recently realized that it won't be too long before I no longer have a need for anything involving the word "preschool". I know Reece still has another year before kindergarten, but I also know how amazingly fast time goes these days. Because the boys are 4 3/4 years apart in age, we have had someone under the age of 5 in the house for over 9 years now, so for nearly a decade my main identity has been "mom of at least one small child". As much as I'm enjoying the freedom involved with having older children, I find I'm mourning the loss of that time and identity. I've taken to watching videos from when Greyson was 1 1/2-3 years old, because that was a time when I felt particularly close to him and he was still a "baby". Dan was deployed twice during that time, and Greyson's and my world was relatively small and simple then (at least compared to now). Our friends had kids Greyson's age or younger, or no kids at all, so he didn't get the older child influence that Reece gets from his cousins and brother. We didn't live close to many friends or any family, or even to many activities, so we spent a lot of time with each other. Or at least that's how it appears in the videos and my memories. Now, we very rarely do things just as a nuclear family, and I wonder if Reece is missing out on something because of that or if he's got some advantage because he gets to be out in the world and with others so much more than Greyson did at his age. I'm just hoping that so long as the family is happy, the details don't matter. Maybe that's why our earliest memories don't start until around the age of 4!

House renovations, stage 0

I've decided it's time to begin chronicalling the impending home improvements here at Phillips-Turner central. If nothing else, I hope this forces me to take pictures along the way, rather than just when it's done or not at all (my usual M.O.). For anyone who doesn't know, we began with grandiose ideas of renovating the kitchen/breakfast nook, the master bath/closet area, the mudporch and garage, and adding on a bedroom over the mudporch. Then we found out how much that would all cost and, combined with the drop in home values and assessing what NEEDED to get done versus what we WANTED, we edited that down to the mudporch, garage, and new room. I'd much rather have started with the kitchen, but our small and now VERY leaky garage made the kitchen a want and the garage a need pretty quickly.

So where are we now, you ask? (If you're still awake.) We found an architect/contractor we like, have finalized the drawings & plans, gotten a solid budget estimate, applied for a cash-0ut refinance through the VA plan (which allows for 100% cash-out, just FYI for any veterans), had the pest inspection done, and the appraiser came by this morning. Estimated start date on tearing up the back yard is mid-June. As you look at the following "before" pictures, please pay special attention to the quantity of kids' toys & bikes on our lawn, thanks to the aforementioned small and leaky garage. They might as well be accessible while being rained on is my feeling.

Basically, the plan is to extend the mudporch (by tearing it down and rebuilding it onto the existing foundation) to about where the width of the sidewalk ends and then attach the new garage to the new mudporch. The back entrance to the house will then be facing the sidewalk. Where the garage is now will be grass that will extend the entire width of the property.

The blue tarp is really just keeping the rain inside the garage to a steady drip rather than a deluge.

Inside the mudporch.

The french doors are going to be removed and that area will be filled in with wall. On the other side is the living room, and my plan is to use the well area from the french doors to do a built-in cabinet that could house a TV or books or whatever. I hope to post the drawings in the near future, and then it might be easier to understand the whole plan.

Mom's Day activities

I had the best Mother's Day weekend ever! I got to spend it with my kids AND my mom. It started on Friday, when Reece's class held a Mother's Day tea for all the moms (and grandmas). Reece met my mom and me at the door with a huge hug, then escorted us to our seats. We had real china-type settings and cloth napkins, the kids sang, and we got homemade popsicle stick picture frames with a picture of us with our child/grandchild, red carnations, and homemade bracelets (which I wore to work, proudly). Greyson gave me three coupons: one for breakfast in bed, one for a free dinner that he'll make for me, and one for a massage. I was awakened on Sunday morning by Greyson (with Dan's help) bringing in scrambled eggs, toast with jam, and coffee on a tray. Thanks in large part to my mom and Dan, nothing was under or over cooked. :) Then, after we did our usual Sunday School routine, I took my mom to the Indians/Tigers game. The weather was lovely, although I underestimated the power of the sun and now have a very red nose, and the game had enough exciting moments that we didn't doze off or anything. Although I would have liked it if the Indians won, it made my mom happy that the Tigers did, so my gift to her was complete.

We did have one incident Sunday morning that led me to have thoughts of chucking it all for life without children, when both kids whined and complained and talked over each other trying to convince me that I was torturing them by making them go to Sunday School. I even told them during the 3 minute car ride to church that I did not want to hear ONE PEEP out of either or I would take away Wii for a MONTH. Then, when we were in the classroom (I teach in Reece's room), Reece said to me, "Can we all say nice and loving things to each other on the way home so we can have a happy ride, since we love each other?" And I could feel the anger and frustration actually melt away, which has never happened so instantly before. THAT, my friends, is what it means to me to be a mother. Becoming a better person through interactions with these bizarre and amazing creatures who, right now, depend on me for so much.

Family time

We had an awesome four days while Nick and his girlfriend, Daniella, visited last week. Lots of eating and talking, some drinking and playing games, and a break from real life. I was shocked when Saturday evening arrived and I realized they'd be leaving the next day. Sunday it was hard to come back to reality! I think the boys, in particular, are going through withdrawal. Both Nick and Daniella spent lots of quality time with all four boys, which is a sure-fire way to their hearts. Apparently at one point they were all playing in Greyson and Reece's room and some of them got buried under blankets. Tonight, the remnants of that were still around (and will be until my grant is finished, probably!) and when Reece saw a lump under one of the blankets, he said "I'm going to tackle Daniella" and proceeded to jump on top of it. I could tell he knew deep down that she wasn't under there, but he lifted the blanket off the stuffed animal it was covering just on the off-chance that some miracle had occurred.

We had so much fun that I only have two pictures from the entire visit, and these were taken right before they left: