An added bonus today!
The below pictures are becoming a tradition each year (along with the printed out grade signs). So just for fun, here are the ones from last year along with this year’s so you can see the differences.
2012
2013
2012
2013
Relief
Relief. That is the pure emotion I felt yesterday when walking back home from the bus stop in our new neighborhood. It was the first day of school for Mason, and I think the whole family was nervous – nervous to truly start the new beginning. Even though we moved to Rhode Island a year ago, we didn’t really immerse ourselves in the community in which we were renting. We knew that once we bought a house, we would get settled and really START! New house, new neighborhood, new local haunts, new school, new friends, new traditions. It’s been a long summer, though, of travel and fixing up the house. We’ve been eager to meet our neighbors, but were very nervous since the only ones that we had seen were the older people who have lived here forever.
But all that changed as we came across the horizon on our walk down to the bus stop. We saw tons of kids! And lots more parents! Behold – neighbors! They DO exist! As we walked up, everyone looked over at us and… (cue nerves!) immediately smiled and raced over to introduce themselves. So many friendly people. And the best part? Two second-graders – one of which is a girl in Mason’s class! And a boy kindergartener that is in Cooper’s class (and his morning peer mentor group!) It really could not have gone better.
Mason went to school very nervous but came home a confident, happy girl. Apparently her teacher is great – good reputation and all! And she seems to already be BFF’s with the neighbor. (We’re already discussing playdates after school!) Cooper had orientation yesterday, and we got to meet his teachers and see the classrooms for his peer mentor group and his Kindergarten. His teacher is a legend, and she seems on top of getting learning in while having fun in just 2.5 short hours. Can’t wait to see how my little guy grows this year! His description of his first day today when he got off the bus? “Best day ever in the universe!” I’ll take that as a good sign.
Here are my kiddos on their first days of school.
A Room Fit For Guests August 25, 2013
It’s been long enough. Time for another house update! Sorry for the delay. After pushing so hard before we moved in and then doing the little things to help us settle in, we were not in any mood to take on larger projects. But we had a deadline – visitors! Nothing like having company to motivate you to get things done. And so two weeks of craziness ensued.
The guest room before…
Cooper called it “The Pirate Room” because he thought the ships on the wallpaper were pirate ships. There were also muskets and fowl. Either way, it was U-G-L-Y! In the first picture you can see the glue coming through the wallpaper too. It was just hideous, and when we bought the house, we knew this would have to be one of the first rooms done.
This room became my baby. I stripped wallpaper over a two-week period. If I got off work early, I’d come home and strip wallpaper. If I had an hour free in the evening, I’d strip wallpaper. If I had time between loads of laundry, I’d strip wallpaper. I tried a new removal process this time, and while it took longer, it was not as frustrating. And I really felt it was more efficient. We bought a Scunci Steamer several years ago. We never used it. EVER. We tried to sell it at several yard sales. It never sold. Must have been fate because after reading Young House Love’s steamy foyer blog, I figured it couldn’t hurt to use our own steamer that we couldn’t seem to part with. The Scunci Steamer is very small, so it runs out of water pretty quickly. I could usually completely remove one strip of wallpaper per refill. I did not score the wallpaper as we had done in the kids’ rooms, and I think that helped the paper come off in larger pieces. I also used no chemicals in the guest room. Just hot water. Once I got all the wallpaper removed, I went back over all the walls with hot water and Dawn soap to get the last of the glue residue off. Then it was ready for primer.
The during…
It was an ugly mess! The worst part is that as I was taking down the wallpaper, I noticed we were having the same ceiling problems we had in Cooper’s room. As it got wet, you could just wipe the paint off. I knew that normal latex paint would not stick to it since we found out the hard way upstairs. I asked the guy at Benjamin Moore, and he said it is most likely calcimine paint. The easy cure besides removing it all is to use an oil-based primer. Time to open the windows and go for it! Then it was finally time for the real paint.
I knew I wanted a lavender room. It was stuck in my head as the perfect color for a guest room. But finding the right purple can be quite a task.
The three lavenders I originally tested were (from left to right) Violet Dusk, Misty Memories and Violet Mist (all Benjamin Moore paints.) The Violet Dusk had too much pink in it. Misty Memories had too much blue in it. I loved Violet Mist but I wanted it a touch lighter. I ended up asking to have it lightened by 25%. Once I got it on all the walls, I knew it was going to be exactly what I wanted. Perfecto!
So after 2 weeks of stripping wallpaper and one very busy weekend of priming, painting, and styling, we officially had a guest room…
We still need more art for the walls and a few throw pillows for the bed, but I love how it turned out. The bed is from IKEA, and the rest of the furniture are antiques from Jeremy’s parents. I especially love that we painted the shelf unit to make it look more built-in than it already was. I had originally wanted to paint the built-in drawers too, but since the wood matches the rest of the furniture, we decided that could be put off. My mom and Jeremy’s parents have already slept in there and all have loved how comfortable it feels. That is exactly what I wanted – a true guest room for our favorite guests! So don’t be shy! Come visit and see what we love about Rhode Island!
Finding Good Today August 8, 2013
It’s been awhile since I’ve done a post true to my blog title. This week seemed like the perfect time because I’ve been struggling with my calmness and patience. The kids were at Meema’s Mimi’s (her new moniker) last week, so we’ve been trying to get back into our camp routine since Monday. It hasn’t gone well. It’s funny that no matter how much I miss them when they’re gone and how awesome it is to not have to worry about staying on their schedule for an entire week, when they come back there is a day of lovey dovey times and then it all gets back to normal. Kids not wanting to go to camp; kids complaining of snack options; kids not wanting to go to bed on time; kids fighting; mom yelling…
This week has been especially hard because Cooper has not wanted to go to camp. He has cried two mornings, and it’s always a fight to get him out the door and into the car. But finally this morning, we all kept our cool. I gave them time warnings – 10 minutes until we leave, 5 minutes until we leave, 2 minute warning. It definitely helped Cooper understand how much time he had left to play rather than just telling him it’s time to go, which usually results in a meltdown. We all got in the car without screaming and off to camp we went – no tears!!! It was my personal victory today – one that I desperately needed. And even though it is a humid cloudy day after multiple days of gorgeous 75-degree weather, I’m feeling better mentally than I have all week!
P.S. It also helps that I finally finished removing all the wallpaper in the guest room last night and will be painting this weekend! Before and After coming next week – just in time for the first overnight guest (Mimi!) to use it.
Full of Surprises August 2, 2013
Last weekend was the reveal of one of the biggest surprises we have ever done for the kids. They were totally in the dark about our plan to take them to Hershey Park. In their minds we were meeting Meema at a Panera in Pennsylvania to do the transfer so they could spend a week at “Camp Meema.” Little did they know they were in for such a treat!
We started our drive Friday night and stayed at a hotel in Allentown, which got us within an hour’s drive of Hershey. For the kids, a stay at a hotel is exciting enough. They love hotels! From the elevators to the continental breakfasts of waffles and cereal boxes to the chance to sleep with Mommy or Daddy (double beds just aren’t big enough for Jeremy and I to share, so we each sleep with one kid.) Saturday morning, we headed out pretty early to get to Panera to meet my mom. We even took a very back road to get there to avoid any Hershey signs. After breakfast at Panera, we still had some time to waste before the park opened, so we moseyed through the grocery store to “find snacks for their trip.” Finally we couldn’t hold off any longer. We suggested that we had some time to kill and would they like to go to a park before getting back in the car. The promise of a playground is always a “YES!”
Into the car we squeezed with Meema. Jeremy noted that he thought there was a pretty big park around the corner. As we drove, the Hershey signs were everywhere. I asked Mason what one of them said, and she read it out… “Hershey Park.” We played it cool. “Oh who knew? Do you guys just want to go to Hershey Park?” The look in their eyes was priceless. “Yes! Yes!!” they screamed. Surprise 1 complete.
After parking, riding the tram and measuring their ride levels…
…. it was time for Surprise 2. As we were getting a family photo by the Hershey sign, up walk Nana and Papa. The kids were speechless! It was so awesome. Cooper told me it was going to be the best day ever! Mason was so grateful! I loved giving them this surprise day.
We had Surprise 3 as well, but it was leaked out pretty quickly – Kristin was coming too! Cooper thanked me several times for the surprise day at Hershey. And Mason was over the moon. What a day! Here are some more pictures of the fun at one of our favorite amusement parks…
All in all, a fantastic day!!! While it was not a commercial-worthy surprise like those Disney ads, it sure made Mason and Cooper’s day. And therefore it made our day too. I’m thinking one big surprise a summer like this – time to start thinking up what we’ll pull off next year!
Find Good In Every Day 