Our counter tops

The next step in this whole kitchen process went well.
It was very hard for me to go counter top shopping. In my "dream house" I would want one of two types of counters--neither one is practical for kids who are doing homework in the kitchen. So I had to "settle" on granite. Grant fell in love with the granite we got from the moment he saw it--it really was love at first sight for him. I, however, liked the safe option. Then I kept looking at the one Grant liked and slowly it grew on me. This might sound ridiculous---and probably nobody else sees what I see in it, even my cabin-going family might think I am crazy, but there was an area of the granite that reminded me so much of the bathroom sink at the cabin. And it made me think of my Grandpa who just loved rock formations and the layers of sediments etc (I tried so hard to harness that energy from him when I was in my geology class at BYU, but it never worked...rocks look like rocks to me). And after seeing all of that in the granite, I was hooked and there was no going back--it just has too much nostalgia in it.
They came yesterday. We are all so excited about them. Even Ben set up his homework on the desk in the kitchen (even though we don't have any lights in there yet--at one time I think he was doing his homework by the light of the moon). I love that they are lighter and brighten things up. I could be happy living in a house with everything inside being white, with splashes of color coming from cute pictures of my kids on the walls and vases of fresh-cut flowers in every room.
So in the end, I love the counters. I think they are just beautiful and I can understand why my Grandpa had such a fascination with different rocks.

Her First Hair Cut

Karmin got her hair cut for the first time yesterday (she's had a couple of trims though). I keep having to say to myself, "She's still the same person. She's still the same person." Oh that hair. I love her hair. It has always been...so her. I never understood why people would let their girls have their hair in their faces. I thought it looked so awful (and really I still do), but then we had Karmin. Her hair was always in her face. And there was nothing we could do about it and nothing she would let us do about it. And then when we could do something about it, it would fall out minutes later or she would nap on it and we would be starting over again anyway. So for years it was just in her eyes. It finally got long enough that she could blow it out of her eyes. I loved how her hair grew at different rates and so the layers she had were perfect. But, it has gotten to the point that she was going to start sitting on it---and that is just not right. Plus it has been quite the struggle to brush it lately. It was time. And maybe it doesn't look like much, but I cut about 5 inches off
So here is before:

And here is after:

Living in Drywall Dust

White dust has been everywhere for many months now in our house. Our first big project is almost over, so now I am starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. There will be, one day, within this calendar year, a day that everything in our house will have a place, and everything will be in it's place. And I am so excited.
So here is an overview of what we are doing: Project #1: build a permanent wall at the bottom of the stairs to separate the upstairs from the downstairs. Project #2: make the boys room into a kitchen. Project #3 make the kitchen into the boys room.
The wall at the bottom of the stairs is up. It just needs texture and paint and then the door installed. And the new kitchen is almost done. If everything goes as planned on January 27th, I should be able cook in my new kitchen (let's hope I feel well enough to cook). All of these pictures are of the same corner at different stages of the process. (That is a picture of Ben when he was 5---and yes he does have a witch and a crocodile tied up to his bed---doesn't every child?)
Grant has done almost everything by himself (I guess with the help of some little hands--little hands that helped a lot though). He didn't do the electrical or the cabinets. The floor looked so beautiful once he was done that I was (almost) sad to have to hide it all with cabinets. The lines were all perfectly straight. He has so much patience. I am a perfectionist in some areas. I will not leave things until they are just so. And then there are other areas that if I cannot get it perfect, I get so tired (no matter if I have only worked on it for 5 minutes--it really drains my energy) and then I just want to get it done no matter what it looks like. Tiling would be one of these areas for me---so would drywalling, texturing, etc. I don't think I would last one row. I guess if I did it, it would be in the category of a mosaic. So what I am saying is that I am pretty proud of the amazing job he did. The cabinets are beautiful and I am SO excited to use them. Our wire shelf has been functional, but I am excited to move on.
I hope to never have to pick out counter tops again and lights. That was a beast and whether it looks good in the end or not the picking out is done. So far what is here looks good.

So Grown Up

(Just a note, Ben is laughing in this picture)
Our baby boy is all grown up now--at least he looks it. And apparently I forgot to tell Grant that we were taking this big step, so Ben was all grown up with no warning for him.
Ben got braces. Old kids--teenagers get braces, not my sweet baby. Grant and I were both surprised how much it initially affected us. This seems like it is such a big step to growing up. His pictures will always be different now. It is just a reminder that time isn't standing still. Our kids are growing up all the time and one day they will be all grown up. It is okay now that it has been a few days, and really they aren't that noticeable especially since there is only four of them, but still it is the idea.
They gave him a choice between gold or silver brackets. Really? Who in their right mind would use gold brackets? When they gave Ben the choice, he was on the fence. I was so glad that he didn't go for the gold. It worried me for a second that he would choose gold since it means rich and piratey. But as soon as he said he didn't know, I piped up saying that silver would probably be a good idea. He then chose orange bands (is that what they are called?).
So this is his first round of braces. He will have these on for about a year and a half. Then he will get a full set of braces a couple of years after that. He wouldn't let me take a picture of him. So Grant and Karmin pinned him down and tickled him while I took a picture. Then he was okay taking a picture as long as somebody else was in the picture, but I guess Lydia didn't feel the same way.

Cold Medicine

Today was the much anticipated big day for Trevor. He had his surgery to put tubes in his ears and to remove his adenoids. I have been waiting for this day for months now. I mean putting my kids under anesthesia is not my favorite thing to do, but I am so looking forward to the results. He has had so many ear infections in the last 14 months. The poor kid always sounds like he has a cold and probably should be quarantined.
When we got there, it took a bit longer because they heard something in his lungs. They ended up giving a breathing treatment to him to clear it up. I'm still not sure what was wrong or if there is something wrong, but it all worked out in the end. He was awake when we finally got to go see him and feeling pretty yucky. He laid low for the rest of the morning, but after awhile he was nearly bouncing off the walls. I think he is doing just fine now. I'm so thankful that everything went well, and I am so excited for no more ear infections, hopefully less colds, and reduced allergy problems. Thank you to everyone who showed so much concern and love for Trevor. He definitely felt love today!

Somebody's Older!

Lydia is 18 months (yesterday). But this means that she could go to nursery today. She just doesn't seem old enough to be going in. I don't know what it is, but she seems so little still. They called a new nursery leader and I think there are only 2 other people in the ward that Lydia would do as well with (being my sister-in-laws). I was so thankful to find out that the new leader was in there since Lydia knows her so well. It was our first time that we were ever able to just drop a child off on their first day and pick them up at the end of church. With all the other kids, we (meaning Grant) had to stay in there for months before the kids were okay with him leaving. I guess she cried once, but then was fine. She mostly played by herself. If all the kids were at one end of the class, she was on the opposite side of the room playing. But that is Lydia. She is pretty independent and will take some time warming up to everybody. And when I picked her up she was wearing one of the teacher's necklaces. I warned her that Lydia is pretty stubborn and loves to wear jewelry---even if it belongs to someone else--she wants it for herself and will cry until she gets it. Grant will miss her sleeping in his arms during Priesthood. She really wasn't a bother during the last two hours of church (sacrament is another story), so it is kind of sad to see her go, but I think she will do just fine and enjoy the play time with other kids. (Here she is with her dad--her favorite person:)
Grant was finishing up the floor last night and I was giving long-overdue haircuts (read as: nobody was paying attention to what Lydia was doing) and all of the sudden she came into the bathroom with this: (sorry about the dirty face--it was right before baths, and sorry for the naked baby. Usually I don't like those pictures especially on the blog, but that bouquet of suckers is classic.)

A New Year

Just because it was a new year didn't mean that we needed to do something different (although a few different things crept in throughout the night). Every year we let the kids stay up until 12:00 EST, so they can watch the ball drop in NYC. This year they scored with being able to eat ice cream (something that happens about 2 times a year in this house) and drinking sparkling apple cider (I much more prefer grape--it's on the list for next year).
Grant's been working really hard on getting our kitchen floor tiled (we have a deadline to meet). So after the kids went to bed, he went to work. I watched movies and kept watching them. I actually stayed up past midnight---which NEVER happens. The floor looks amazing and is basically done (just in time). I'm ready for a new year. 2010 was great, but I am closing in on the end of my first trimester and hoping that brings some wanted relief.