When the principal called and told me the school board had approved my hiring, the first question I asked was who I'd be working with. You see, both cooks from the school retired last year and that meant an entire regime change. I was a bit nervous as the other person hired would be my constant companion in a rather small space for the next....well....20 years or so at least, depending on retirement age. The name the principal gave me was not unknown nor was it a surprise, but I had never actually spoken to her.
It turns out I had nothing to worry about. Miss T and I get along swimmingly. We are just different enough to give us something to talk about all day long and just similar enough to share feelings on important matters as well as a slightly twisted sense of humor. We spend most of our day chatting and laughing but when the time comes for quite neither of us takes issue with it. We work equally hard and both take suggestions from the other with ease.
I fully believe the Lord has blessed me with a good work companion and a new friend.
People keep asking me if I like my new job. The truth is- I do. I enjoy seeing the FarmHands going about their days. I enjoy being in a building full of kids. The faculty is a great group and not a day goes by without a good laugh brought to the kitchen by a teacher or secretary or such. I like cooking. It's easier when no one can whine, "But I don't like that!" and expect you to do anything about it. I love that the answer to that one is always, "Then don't eat it." There is a learning curve that I'm in the middle of. There is stress. There are times I feel I might pull my hair out, but for the most part, I truly enjoy what I do. The waking up at 4:45 am, I could do without, but it's a small compromise.
My other concern with working outside the home was that life on the Farm would fall to pieces. Dishes would pile up all week and garbage would never get taken out. The bathrooms would grow a fine layer of mildew and stink to all high heaven. Laundry would set in the hampers until everyone ran out of clean underpants.
You see, for the past 15 years, Husband and I have had a serious division of labor. He's handled all the outside chores while I've kept house, cooked, and looked after the children. We've been very 1963 and happy with the arrangement. I've never really mowed the lawn or used the weed eater. He doesn't know how to load the dishwasher and was a bit apprehensive of the front load washer.
With my return to the work force things have changed. The change has been rather seamless and I've been pleasantly surprised. Husband gets the kids ready for school in the morning. He does washes dishes daily. He folds laundry when necessary. He made friends with the vacuum. He's even cooked a few meals here and there. Mister Mom he is not, but the weight of the inside of our house is not resting solely on my shoulders. In all honesty, I think my Summer of Recovery helped ease him into this new role.
I get home around 1:40 pm and he leaves for work at 2:10 pm giving us a full 30 minutes of time to catch up on our days. Not ideal, but better than missing each other entirely and being forced to communicate solely via email through the week. I'm getting used to cramming all the information he needs into the first few minutes I'm home each day and I try to relax and enjoy our brief time alone every afternoon.
But once he's gone- it's me time. Time truly, honestly, just for me. I could hurry up and clean the bathrooms or strip beds, but instead I unwind. I sit and read or watch something targeted entirely at adults. I guiltlessly scan Facebook or Pintrest to my heart's content. Then, at 4 o'clock, the bus pulls up and life stats all over again.
It's not easy, but God has provided small mercies to buffer all these changes and I am extraordinarily thankful.
Showing posts with label Turn and face the strange ch-ch-changes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Turn and face the strange ch-ch-changes. Show all posts
September 8, 2012
July 7, 2012
Have I really thought this through?
I've just realized that I'm a little over a month out from starting my new job. This is going to come with some serious changes in the FarmFamily house hold.
First of all, I'm giving up my morning duties and Husband will be taking over. He will be in charge of getting the FarmHands up and ready for school. He will be making breakfast, brushing hair, and running them out the door to the bus stop. He will be kissing good-bye and making sure everyone has their back pack & lunch box.
While he's doing that, I will be making breakfast for 20-40 children.
I'm going to have to re-work when and how I cook at home. For the past 15 years lunch has been our big meal of the day. I've cooked what most would serve for dinner at noon so Husband would have a good meal before he left for the day and there would be leftovers to send in his "lunch" to work. Now I'm going to have to cook of an evening or make serious use of my new, uber-fancy crock pot Husband got me for my birthday. I cannot leave the poor man to live on frozen pizza and pork burgers for weeks on end.
With BabyGirl in cheerleading, we'll have to accustom ourselves to numerous trips back in to school to pick her up after practices or drop her off for games. She'll have to learn to get her homework done in study hall. Late nights after basketball games will become her norm.
But the thing that concerns me most (at the moment) is how I'm going to adjust my sleep schedule. I'll still have to accomplish everything I've always had to do in the few hours after the FarmHands get off the bus before they go to bed plus some extras what with cheerleading tossed in the mix, but I'll need to get my self to sleep hours earlier than normal. I can't be up until 11:30 folding laundry and still be at work by 5:30 the next morning.
Things are going to be different. It's going to happen rather suddenly. We'll all have to make serious adjustments.
I guess it's not just Mom who's returning to the work force. It's a family affair.
First of all, I'm giving up my morning duties and Husband will be taking over. He will be in charge of getting the FarmHands up and ready for school. He will be making breakfast, brushing hair, and running them out the door to the bus stop. He will be kissing good-bye and making sure everyone has their back pack & lunch box.
While he's doing that, I will be making breakfast for 20-40 children.
I'm going to have to re-work when and how I cook at home. For the past 15 years lunch has been our big meal of the day. I've cooked what most would serve for dinner at noon so Husband would have a good meal before he left for the day and there would be leftovers to send in his "lunch" to work. Now I'm going to have to cook of an evening or make serious use of my new, uber-fancy crock pot Husband got me for my birthday. I cannot leave the poor man to live on frozen pizza and pork burgers for weeks on end.
With BabyGirl in cheerleading, we'll have to accustom ourselves to numerous trips back in to school to pick her up after practices or drop her off for games. She'll have to learn to get her homework done in study hall. Late nights after basketball games will become her norm.
But the thing that concerns me most (at the moment) is how I'm going to adjust my sleep schedule. I'll still have to accomplish everything I've always had to do in the few hours after the FarmHands get off the bus before they go to bed plus some extras what with cheerleading tossed in the mix, but I'll need to get my self to sleep hours earlier than normal. I can't be up until 11:30 folding laundry and still be at work by 5:30 the next morning.
Things are going to be different. It's going to happen rather suddenly. We'll all have to make serious adjustments.
I guess it's not just Mom who's returning to the work force. It's a family affair.
May 3, 2012
Intense Auburn
Yes, Ladies, it's that time again. Time to slouch off the sweats, break out the skirts and lip gloss, and let the Hot Mama inside you shine!!Ordinary Sarah and I were chatting on Facebook a few weeks back & I suggested we break out the defibrillator and give new life to the HMR. This was a mostly selfish request because for the past few months (Winter is tough on a girl), I've let things slide. The flat iron is rarely out of the drawer. My foundation has lasted months longer than normal. I've almost forgotten how to apply eye liner.
This leads me to my HMR question of the week: What do you do to spice up your look? What makes you feel shiny and happy again? When you've had enough of the day-to-day drab, what style fix to you immediately reach for?
Mine is hair dye. Almost always. I treat it like lip gloss. If it's good, it makes me feel like a million bucks. If it's bad, it's only temporary. I have been every color under the rainbow...red, auburn, brown, black, purple, and an unfortunate blue that turned green. The only thing I haven't tried is true blond.
In desperate need of a pick-me-up last weekend, I hit the home hair dye aisle at our local Mega Mart. I decided to go "Intense Auburn" thinking it would be reminiscent of all the times I tried to dye my hair red in college. It always turned out sort of red with purple undertones. Apparently they've changed the dye formulas in the past 15 years because "Auburn" wasn't the key word in this dye. It was "Intense."
In fact, as soon as the towel came off my head, I hopped right back in the shower and shampooed my little heart out. The Auburn I was so looking forward to had more of a Bozo the Clown tone to it at first. But after a good shampoo and blow dry, it wasn't too bad. In fact, 2 days & 2 more shampoos later, I'm really happy with it.
Husband doesn't understand my need to experiment with color, but he's a boy. What do they know?
Let's hear it. What are your go-to look changers?
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Bring the Hot Mama Revolution to Twitter! #HotMamaRevolution
April 24, 2012
I have confidence
First of all, if you have never seen The Sound of Music, the majority of this post might not make sense. And if you fit into that category- shame on you. Go out & rent it & watch it right now. Otherwise I may have to ban you from my blog....or at least shoot you dirty looks through the computer.
This is the song that was stuck in my head half the day today. (The other half it was it was Somebody That I Used To Know by Gotye.)
I had to work at the K-12 building today. Yesterday I found out that the time I'm going to get to train for my job next year has been whittled down from the 2 weeks or so we were expecting to 2 days. To be entirely honest, this terrifies me. I have learned a lot working on and off the past 3 1/2 months, but there's still a lot to learn. Mainly it's the paper work I still have to get a grasp on. I've dabbled in it, but haven't had to do the vast majority of it just yet.
I talked to the head cook about it today while I was working (the lady in charge of both kitchen works at the k-12 building- I will be the head cook at our school, but she's head of the district). She told me not to worry about it. She plans on being at our school quite a bit the first few weeks of school next year to make sure we're handling things well.
I took a deep breath and decided I need to quit worrying. I need to have confidence in myself and stop second guessing the decision to go back to work. It was not a step taken lightly nor was it a step taken without prayer and forethought. It is something I can do. It is fully within my capabilities. I know what I am doing. But I have a tendency to psych myself out. That's when this song popped into my head.
And then I remembered the end of the song. Maria is dancing through the streets of Hapsburg (I think) proclaiming, "They will look up to me and mind me!" when she comes to the gates of the Von Trapp estate.....and she falters, barely choking out the last words. That is me, through and through.
Without further ado, I have confidence.
What will this day be like?
I wonder.
What will my future be?
I wonder.
It could be so exciting
To be out in the world
To be free
My heart should be wildly rejoicing
Oh, what's the matter with me?
I've always longed for adventure
To do the things I've never dared.
Now here i'm facing adventure
Then why am I so scared?
Captin with seven children
What's so fearsome about that?
Oh, I must stop all these doubts
All these worries
If I don't I just know I'll turn back
I must dream of the things I am seeking
I am seeking the courage I lack
The courage to serve them with reliance
Face my mistakes without defiance
Show them I'm worthy
And while I show them
I'll show me! So!
Lets get rid of all their problem
I'll do better than my best
I have confidence
They'll put me to the test
But I'll make them see
I have confidence in me
Somehow I will impress them
I will be firm but kind
And all those children
Heaven bless them
They will look up to me
And mind me
With each step I am more certain
Everything will turn out fine
I have confidence the world can be mine
They'll have to agree I have confidence in me
I have confidence in sunshine
I have confidence in rain
I have confidence that spring will come again
Besides what you see I have confidence in me!
Strength doesn't lie in numbers
Strength doesn't lie in wealth
Strength lies in nights of peaceful slumber
When you wake up-
Wake up! It's healthy!
All I trust
I give my heart to.
All I trust becomes my own.
I have confidence
In confidence alone.
I have confidence in confidence alone!
Besides what you see I have confidence
In me!
I had to work at the K-12 building today. Yesterday I found out that the time I'm going to get to train for my job next year has been whittled down from the 2 weeks or so we were expecting to 2 days. To be entirely honest, this terrifies me. I have learned a lot working on and off the past 3 1/2 months, but there's still a lot to learn. Mainly it's the paper work I still have to get a grasp on. I've dabbled in it, but haven't had to do the vast majority of it just yet.
I talked to the head cook about it today while I was working (the lady in charge of both kitchen works at the k-12 building- I will be the head cook at our school, but she's head of the district). She told me not to worry about it. She plans on being at our school quite a bit the first few weeks of school next year to make sure we're handling things well.
I took a deep breath and decided I need to quit worrying. I need to have confidence in myself and stop second guessing the decision to go back to work. It was not a step taken lightly nor was it a step taken without prayer and forethought. It is something I can do. It is fully within my capabilities. I know what I am doing. But I have a tendency to psych myself out. That's when this song popped into my head.
And then I remembered the end of the song. Maria is dancing through the streets of Hapsburg (I think) proclaiming, "They will look up to me and mind me!" when she comes to the gates of the Von Trapp estate.....and she falters, barely choking out the last words. That is me, through and through.
February 8, 2012
An actual post with a little bit of fluff at the end.
Yesterday Husband and I made a life changing decision. We had our television satellite disconnected. This may not seem like a big deal to a lot of you, but it's a really big deal around here. We had it turned on 2 years ago and I wasn't truly thrilled with the idea. Husband was tired of Netflix & wanted to watch local channels without the disruption we constantly battled with our antenna. The only problem was, once we get more than 3 or 4 channels at a time, all our brains shut off & we become giant couch slugs consuming hours upon hours of mindless trash television every day. During the summer it's not a big deal since we spend so much time outside, but during the winter months we watch enough television to give the Nielsens a heart attack.
It was also costing entirely too much each month. We were paying nearly $70 a month to have mindless garbage pumped into our home. That's not OK. Especially when you figure up that the same amount over the course of the year could pay 6 months car insurance- something you have to have in exchange for something you really don't need.
Everyone keeps telling me, "You don't really need satellite when you've got Hulu and streaming Netflix, and YouTube," but we don't have those things. If we're lucky we might have an antenna that will pick up local channels every once in a great while. I'm hoping for just enough signal to get me Downton Abbey on PBS and some Curious George for Bitsy every now & then. If not, no big deal.
But this major change is going to have a serious effect on the FarmHands (am I using "effect" properly? I always get effect & affect confused). Last night, when they discovered the change, the boys burst into hysterical sobs. "You mean we can't watch Phinneas and Ferb anymore?! Why did you turn it off? When is it coming back on? This is No Faaaaiiiiiirrrrrr." But once the immediate heartbreak was over, we sat down & read 2 chapters in The Magician's Nephew and a few Bible stories from the coolest Bible Storybook EVER (thank you, Inkling). I'm pretty sure they'll survive, but it may be a hard few weeks as we readjust.
So far it hasn't bothered me, but then I spent most of today at work. (Here's where the fluff starts.) I haven't had a chance to feel the loss. Give me a few days & a few more missed episodes of Glee & check again; I may take up drinking.
You may remember that I've been subbing as a cook at the FarmHand's school since just before Christmas. Today was my fourth day on the job. I really enjoy it but it's going to take some serious getting used to-being on my feet all day. My biggest issues is the dress code. You can wear any kind of shirt you like (preferably a t-shirt) but you have to wear white or light khaki pants. If you've ever spent a great deal of time in a kitchen, you know white is not a good idea. And personally, I think white pants are a mistake period....unless you're name is Heidi Klum and you have legs that go on for years.
Let's add to this the fact that the one pair of white pants (stretch jeans) I've found have a black tag & front pockets that stand out through the fabric like neon lights saying, "Look at my upper thighs! Look at my upper thighs!" Oy.
Next order of business (yes, this may be the post that never ends): my lower back has been out of wack since Saturday. It needs to pop just above my tail bone but flat out refuses to do so. At times I'm pretty sure a nerve gets pinched because I'll have a sharp pain that runs down to the back of my knee. It's driving me crazy. I've tried hot baths, heating pads, yoga, ibuprofen, muscle relaxers, and laying in every possible position. Nothing has worked. BabyGirl & Husband, on the other hand, can pop their lower backs with a simple twist. Since mine's been bothering me, I'm pretty sure they've conspired to drive me crazy by showing me over & over & over & over again just how easy this task is for them. And today, after I got home from work, Bitsy turns to me & says, "Look, Mommy. I tan pop my back," and starts wiggling in all directions.
I hope they've reserved my padded cell, 'cause I'm gonna' need it.
It was also costing entirely too much each month. We were paying nearly $70 a month to have mindless garbage pumped into our home. That's not OK. Especially when you figure up that the same amount over the course of the year could pay 6 months car insurance- something you have to have in exchange for something you really don't need.
Everyone keeps telling me, "You don't really need satellite when you've got Hulu and streaming Netflix, and YouTube," but we don't have those things. If we're lucky we might have an antenna that will pick up local channels every once in a great while. I'm hoping for just enough signal to get me Downton Abbey on PBS and some Curious George for Bitsy every now & then. If not, no big deal.
But this major change is going to have a serious effect on the FarmHands (am I using "effect" properly? I always get effect & affect confused). Last night, when they discovered the change, the boys burst into hysterical sobs. "You mean we can't watch Phinneas and Ferb anymore?! Why did you turn it off? When is it coming back on? This is No Faaaaiiiiiirrrrrr." But once the immediate heartbreak was over, we sat down & read 2 chapters in The Magician's Nephew and a few Bible stories from the coolest Bible Storybook EVER (thank you, Inkling). I'm pretty sure they'll survive, but it may be a hard few weeks as we readjust.
So far it hasn't bothered me, but then I spent most of today at work. (Here's where the fluff starts.) I haven't had a chance to feel the loss. Give me a few days & a few more missed episodes of Glee & check again; I may take up drinking.
You may remember that I've been subbing as a cook at the FarmHand's school since just before Christmas. Today was my fourth day on the job. I really enjoy it but it's going to take some serious getting used to-being on my feet all day. My biggest issues is the dress code. You can wear any kind of shirt you like (preferably a t-shirt) but you have to wear white or light khaki pants. If you've ever spent a great deal of time in a kitchen, you know white is not a good idea. And personally, I think white pants are a mistake period....unless you're name is Heidi Klum and you have legs that go on for years.
Let's add to this the fact that the one pair of white pants (stretch jeans) I've found have a black tag & front pockets that stand out through the fabric like neon lights saying, "Look at my upper thighs! Look at my upper thighs!" Oy.
Next order of business (yes, this may be the post that never ends): my lower back has been out of wack since Saturday. It needs to pop just above my tail bone but flat out refuses to do so. At times I'm pretty sure a nerve gets pinched because I'll have a sharp pain that runs down to the back of my knee. It's driving me crazy. I've tried hot baths, heating pads, yoga, ibuprofen, muscle relaxers, and laying in every possible position. Nothing has worked. BabyGirl & Husband, on the other hand, can pop their lower backs with a simple twist. Since mine's been bothering me, I'm pretty sure they've conspired to drive me crazy by showing me over & over & over & over again just how easy this task is for them. And today, after I got home from work, Bitsy turns to me & says, "Look, Mommy. I tan pop my back," and starts wiggling in all directions.
I hope they've reserved my padded cell, 'cause I'm gonna' need it.
December 6, 2010
Why do I do these things to myself?
It's quiet time at our house. Bitsy is sitting on my lap watching Nick Junior and "texting" on an old cell phone her Uncle Little B-I-L gave her last night. She's letting me hug her and smell her hair all I want....well, she was until I typed that, then she hopped down and ran to the TV because the best show of all time just started: Olivia.
Kork posted something on Facebook today about getting her oldest signed up for Kindergarten. Next fall, Bitsy will start Preschool. I'm not sure I'm OK with this. She's my baby. I'd keep her that way indefinitely if I could. I fear what the next few years will bring. I don't do well with change.
Husband really wants me to return to work in some form after Bitsy starts full time Kindergarten. The thought boggles my mind. Sure, we could use the money....with four kids how could we not? But I wouldn't even know where to begin looking. I'm not the Mary Kay, Longaberger, Tupperware type. I don't have the flexibility to go into peoples homes and hawk my wares. I'd love to try my hand a Etsy, but doubt that would be enough to put marshmallows on the table much less bacon. I really have no marketable skills.
I dropped out at the end of my second year of college. I had no real desire to finish school. I have no real desire to go back now. I have no clue what I'd even want to do given the opportunity. It's kind of a horrifying thought.
I'm not the type of mother who wants to spend 24 hours a day 7 days a week in the company of her children. I have serious guilt about this. I'd love to be a homeschooling mama with a line of ducks following me about on nature walks and learning adventures after we finished our vocabulary lesson at the breakfast table....but I know myself. Homeschooling around here would turn into serious headbutting and an eventual spiral into hours in front of PBS kids hoping they learn something...anything.
I have a tendency to feel like a lousy mother because I so desperately wanted to stay home with my kids but on the same hand so desperately want them to leave the house and go to school every day. And now the thought of leaving the house to pursue the almighty dollar is even more daunting.
I realize I'm worrying about something that is a good year and a half in my future. Worry does no good. I cannot change anything about my future by worrying. So I'm hoping to dump all this here in the blog ether and hope it stays here.
Kork posted something on Facebook today about getting her oldest signed up for Kindergarten. Next fall, Bitsy will start Preschool. I'm not sure I'm OK with this. She's my baby. I'd keep her that way indefinitely if I could. I fear what the next few years will bring. I don't do well with change.
Husband really wants me to return to work in some form after Bitsy starts full time Kindergarten. The thought boggles my mind. Sure, we could use the money....with four kids how could we not? But I wouldn't even know where to begin looking. I'm not the Mary Kay, Longaberger, Tupperware type. I don't have the flexibility to go into peoples homes and hawk my wares. I'd love to try my hand a Etsy, but doubt that would be enough to put marshmallows on the table much less bacon. I really have no marketable skills.
I dropped out at the end of my second year of college. I had no real desire to finish school. I have no real desire to go back now. I have no clue what I'd even want to do given the opportunity. It's kind of a horrifying thought.
I'm not the type of mother who wants to spend 24 hours a day 7 days a week in the company of her children. I have serious guilt about this. I'd love to be a homeschooling mama with a line of ducks following me about on nature walks and learning adventures after we finished our vocabulary lesson at the breakfast table....but I know myself. Homeschooling around here would turn into serious headbutting and an eventual spiral into hours in front of PBS kids hoping they learn something...anything.
I have a tendency to feel like a lousy mother because I so desperately wanted to stay home with my kids but on the same hand so desperately want them to leave the house and go to school every day. And now the thought of leaving the house to pursue the almighty dollar is even more daunting.
I realize I'm worrying about something that is a good year and a half in my future. Worry does no good. I cannot change anything about my future by worrying. So I'm hoping to dump all this here in the blog ether and hope it stays here.
September 20, 2010
Sniffing the fumes of lovelieness.
Imagine if you will, a young couple moving into the first home they've purchased together. It's a lovely home. Some would call it a starter home being of the 3 br, 2 bthrm variety, but this young couple plans on living out their lives in it. It's a simple house with enough light to make the wife happy and when she is happy so is he.
Imagine again, if you will, that the couple is asked by the company who put their house in to allow a year before they paint the walls. This year will give the house time to settle & that may cause the dry wall to crack a bit in places. After that year the company will send someone back to repair any cracks and then the couple can paint to their hearts' desire.
Imagine one last time that the couple is expecting their second child just weeks after moving into the home and their third before the one year waiting period is up. What do you think has happened to the paint plans? You guessed it. They've been put aside to leave more time for napping and diapering and potty training and putting up fence to corral the new livestock.
Seven plus years later & the only rooms that have been touched are the kids' rooms and the kids' bathroom. One room is bright pink and the other 2 are light green. The rest of the house is still sporting spray-on-primer-white.
Things need to change, folks.
Yesterday we went to Wal-Mart after attending Husband's family reunion to look at water seal for the FarmHands' play ground equipment. Instead we left the store with 2 gallons & one quart of paint from the "oops" shelf. You know the paint people have mixed then change their minds or get it wrong? It's half price. Choosing the color scheme of your home around other people's mistakes is an interesting way to go.
And even more interesting are the rooms we've chosen to paint. Last night Husband painted my laundry room. No one ever comes in our front door. Our side door is the normal point of entry and it leads into a small mud room that is part of my laundry room. It leads from there into my kitchen. My mud room/entry way/laundry room is now a lovely shade of purple. I wish it had a name, but alas, "oops" paints are nameless. Perhaps I shall name it Dusty Amethyst.
The second room we painted is less a room and more a hall way. It's the hall that opens off the kitchen and runs between the kids' rooms with their bathroom in the middle. It is now a yet-to-be-determined shade of dark gray. I think it's more purple than gray. Husband says it's a blue gray. The kids are split on the matter.
In all this, the thing that strikes me odd is that our kitchen, living room, and master bedroom are all still primer-white. Don't most people paint the public areas of their homes first? I think there is something wrong with us. I'm hoping this color infusion will lead to more color bleeding into the kitchen and living room...but I'm not holding my breath. We've averaged a room every other year so far. That means the house should be done around 2016 or so.
In totally unrelated news, BabyGirl came home with a Silly Band today. When I asked where it came from she said, "Kyle gave it to me. You know, my ex-boyfriend. Someone threw it at him so he just gave it to me."
"So he just gave it to you but he's not trying to get you back, right?" I asked....tentatively.
"Yeah."
"OK. Just checking. When was he your boyfriend?" I only found out about this "relationship" last week or so.
"Back in third grade." Yeah, way back in third grade...last year.
"Why did you break up?"
"Oh, because he only wants girls for their money......and he was cheating." Oy. They sure do start out young. And I'm not really sure I want to know what constitutes "cheating" when you're 8. I'm really hoping it means he chased another girl during tag at recess.
Imagine again, if you will, that the couple is asked by the company who put their house in to allow a year before they paint the walls. This year will give the house time to settle & that may cause the dry wall to crack a bit in places. After that year the company will send someone back to repair any cracks and then the couple can paint to their hearts' desire.
Imagine one last time that the couple is expecting their second child just weeks after moving into the home and their third before the one year waiting period is up. What do you think has happened to the paint plans? You guessed it. They've been put aside to leave more time for napping and diapering and potty training and putting up fence to corral the new livestock.
Seven plus years later & the only rooms that have been touched are the kids' rooms and the kids' bathroom. One room is bright pink and the other 2 are light green. The rest of the house is still sporting spray-on-primer-white.
Things need to change, folks.
Yesterday we went to Wal-Mart after attending Husband's family reunion to look at water seal for the FarmHands' play ground equipment. Instead we left the store with 2 gallons & one quart of paint from the "oops" shelf. You know the paint people have mixed then change their minds or get it wrong? It's half price. Choosing the color scheme of your home around other people's mistakes is an interesting way to go.
And even more interesting are the rooms we've chosen to paint. Last night Husband painted my laundry room. No one ever comes in our front door. Our side door is the normal point of entry and it leads into a small mud room that is part of my laundry room. It leads from there into my kitchen. My mud room/entry way/laundry room is now a lovely shade of purple. I wish it had a name, but alas, "oops" paints are nameless. Perhaps I shall name it Dusty Amethyst.
The second room we painted is less a room and more a hall way. It's the hall that opens off the kitchen and runs between the kids' rooms with their bathroom in the middle. It is now a yet-to-be-determined shade of dark gray. I think it's more purple than gray. Husband says it's a blue gray. The kids are split on the matter.
In all this, the thing that strikes me odd is that our kitchen, living room, and master bedroom are all still primer-white. Don't most people paint the public areas of their homes first? I think there is something wrong with us. I'm hoping this color infusion will lead to more color bleeding into the kitchen and living room...but I'm not holding my breath. We've averaged a room every other year so far. That means the house should be done around 2016 or so.
In totally unrelated news, BabyGirl came home with a Silly Band today. When I asked where it came from she said, "Kyle gave it to me. You know, my ex-boyfriend. Someone threw it at him so he just gave it to me."
"So he just gave it to you but he's not trying to get you back, right?" I asked....tentatively.
"Yeah."
"OK. Just checking. When was he your boyfriend?" I only found out about this "relationship" last week or so.
"Back in third grade." Yeah, way back in third grade...last year.
"Why did you break up?"
"Oh, because he only wants girls for their money......and he was cheating." Oy. They sure do start out young. And I'm not really sure I want to know what constitutes "cheating" when you're 8. I'm really hoping it means he chased another girl during tag at recess.
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