Just a couple of new pics...

Nothing new to say since we are finally over last week's flu. Eliana's temperature returned to normal on Monday so we have had a pretty normal week this week. Ellie's big excitement is that we painted her toes. She was sooo cute holding her foot out in front of her face so she could admire my artistry.
Meanwhile, Jayden who managed to avoid being sick altogether, was having a great time at his new soccer class that he LOVES!You can see the big glowing smile across his face. Dave was also enjoying the sunshine during Jayden's class. But, Dave might have been having a little trouble figuring out what to do with himself. He brought himself a book to read, but he took about 45 pictures of this 30-minute class! Not terrible, but a little excessive if you ask me! :)

I HATE SCHOOL!! Ok...not really, but....

Who ever heard of "CHOOSING" a kindergarten? You buy a house in a decent neighborhood and you send your kid to the local school, right? NOT!!! I can't believe how much time I have invested into searching the schools, reading School Report Cards (SaRC's) and talking to other parents over KINDERGARTEN!! But, still...I have. I visited my school of choice this morning. I am still pleased with the general program of the school, the people, the report card, the approachability, and most of all the location. This school, while not my home school, is significantly closer to my house than my home school. It is 2 blocks from here. When the kids are older, I might even let them walk to school (or ride their bikes) if they went here.

My home school is so far away that they would need to leave home 45 minutes early just to walk there AND they would have to cross several side streets without a crossing guard before getting to a crosswalk with a guard to cross the main street. Walking there is clearly NOT an option. Additionally, my home school has lower test scores in EVERY area than my school of choice. While that alone is not really a deciding factor for me, the higher numbers of socioeconomically disadvantaged students and English Language Learners is a huge factor. It changes the way classroom teaching is done and generally can lower the level of mastery of all students in the classroom. I feel Jayden and Ellie are going to need to be challenged academically in order to keep their interest. (I hope I am not sounding like I think my kids are smarter than the average bear, but aren't they?)

Never more than now, do I wish I had considered all of this before we bought this house let alone remodeled it to the point that Dave will never leave it! I guess it's time to suck it up and assume that I will have to let Jayden go to a lesser school for kindergarten and hope that he gets into the better school for at least his upper elementary grades.

Let me know you are out there! Tell me if I am being stupid over this and they will be fine no matter where they go...or that it does matter and I am at least doing the right thing by hunting kindergartens. BTW, did I mention that the district site spells kindergarten with a d instead of a t? Kindergarden...yep...we are growing a garden of kinders! :)

PICTURES!!!!

Ok! Ok! Ok! Here! Pictures of the house!!


This is one view of our family room. This shows the entertainment unit and the big empty space that we filled in with my desk and our kitchen table for time being. We will be moving my desk soon and eventually the kitchen table will end up in the kitchen. I know...don't go into shock over it...kitchen tables are SUPPOSED to be in the kitchen!


This is the same room from a different view. You can see that Jayden and Eliana are still eating breakfast at the same table...well...I know we have 3 of them, but only one in this room! :)

The couches in here are the ones that USED to be in our living room (downstairs) but they fit WAY WAY better up here. This room is upstairs by the way.


Here are 3 different views of the kids room. They are sharing for the time being. I originally thought they would each have their own room, but during the last few months at my folks' house, they ended up sharing and loved it. Since they were enjoying each other's company so much, I decided they could share here for a while, too. I know they will outgrow it soon and want their own space, but for now...








Two different views of the playroom. You can kind of get a feel for it by the placement of the little princess table. I love having the couch in there because it allows for grown-up seating while playing. Some of you might remember the little jungle-gym/slide do-dad under the window. It's the same one we had in the downstairs playroom. We have room for a LOT more toys, now, but I still need to go through them and weed out the ones that don't ever get touched and put some away so they are not overwhelmed by choices.


This is our almost finished upstairs bathroom. Featured here are double-sink countertops on an extra tall vanity (no...I have no idea why we needed the kids bathroom to have an extra tall vanity...they can't even reach the sinks!! We need some extra tall step-stools now!), a brand-new toilet that is just a wee-bit too far out from the wall (they had some trouble!), and expert tiling in the shower by the Awesome, Amazing Gary.

Now on to the downstairs...


My kitchen is almost done. I think it will be the first room that is completely done. This view is the finished side. From where I stood to take the picture and beyond, it's a mess...filled with things that won't stay in the kitchen and really not clean either. But, the newest asset to the kitchen is the addition of the backsplash. I think it really gives a nice finished look to the space. We also need to add some draw-pulls and knobs to the cabinets...YEAH...we need knobs so we can remember which way the stupid things open!! I can't tell you how many times I tried to open a cabinet from the wrong side! You just can't tell by looking at it!


This is the mess that Dave made of our living room. Since we have very limited garage space, he moved in here. Someday, this will be a formal sitting space.


The hall bathroom downstairs is the most done room. It still needs some fixtures like a towel rod and toilet paper holder. But, it's usable.




The outside needs a lot of work on the landscaping, but the house is painted and the retaining wall is up in the front yard ready for the grass.

Back of house

Back yard with Shayna checking things out before her morning pee.


Here is the front of the house. You can see the retaining wall there...Thanks, Gary! You do great work! Apparently, Gary has been staying up at night planning the next phase of our project and he has some great ideas for our impending front walkway and porch. I can't wait! :)

Dave has posted pictures of the entire construction process here:

http://picasaweb.google.com/cybertech


Enjoy!

The Power of Prayer

I believe in it!! Julie says yesterday's prayers for Kris helped and she is doing well. I remember that road with my mom. It was a long one with the surgery, chemo, radiation, and then the 5 years of medication that followed. The good news is, she is cancer-free at this time. Thank God!

Prayers today go to Michelle who had fibroids removed from her uterus today. She is doing well and expected to go home on Sunday. But, please put out those good thoughts for her in her recovery.

I'd also like to add a small prayer of healing to Rabbi Debbie's 2-yr old grand-daughter who broke her femur (that's the leg bone) and is in a half-body cast. I hope she heals quickly.

Peace and love to you and all of yours.

Prayers...

for Kris. Much luck to you on the new boobs!

WE MOVED!!!

So, a long time coming, but we have finally moved into our new/old house. We have STUFF everywhere and no place to put it! I know...unbelievable now that we have over 2500 sq feet of space, but we don't have storage facilities. There is a decided lack of shelving and cabinetry throughout the house. In fact, before I built some Ikea bookcases for the playroom, there were no storage units anywhere outside of the kitchen. So, we are having some difficulty deciding where to put our existing bookcases which are scheduled for replacement and how much to unpack before that happens.

BUT, we are here! Pictures soon. I still can't get them from Dave's computer to mine!