Bathroom and Patience Renovation

We're living through another renovation project at the moment.  In the scale of some of the things we've done over the years, this is a relatively minor one.  (And when I say "we", I really mean that my husband does 99% of the labor part.  I do help out with financial end and the keeping up with the running of the house and children.)  Anyway, "we" are completely redoing the half bath that is attached to our master bedroom. 


We've lived in this house for nine years this September.  This has always been a sad little room. It hasn't been helped by the fact that two summers ago, I thought I'd paint it aqua.  I got a few strokes up on the wall and realized it was awful.  Dan told me he would just go over it with some paint in the garage left over from when the previous owners painted it.  Except it wasn't that paint.  It was what we had used to paint our sunroom a few years before that.  At that point, we both mutually decided it was only the half bath, afterall.  No need to fix it.  But this spring I decided- no more! Because, after all, while it is just a half bath, it is convenient whenever someone has the stomach flu in the middle of the night.  That, in and of itself, meant it deserved more respect than we were giving it. We were going to paint the bedroom and completely re-do the half bath.

(Just an aside, don't you love to hate those brats you see on House Hunters who walk through McMansion after McMansion saying things like, "I'm not sure the kids can share just one bathroom?" or "It's kind of disappointing the master bath doesn't have two sinks." Let me tell you something. All five of my family members shared ONE bathroom in the house I grew up in.  And it had ONE sink.)


We (and by "we" here, I am now referring to me) picked out the new paint color, sink, toilet, vanity, light fixtures, faucet, and cabinet back in May in one afternoon. And it's all been sitting in the garage...until this week.

    Behold - a thing of beauty!

Dan's been on vacation for the past two weeks.  After getting back from our beach vacation last week, he painted our bedroom first.  I picked Benjamin Moore's "Owl Gray".  Man, I am really interested to know how a person gets the job of naming paint colors!  I would like to fill out the application.


We've never had curtains for our bedroom in our 13 years of marriage.  My kids' rooms, on the other hand, have always had them.  For some reason, it was much more fun to pick out their curtains.  For us? Not so much.  But last week, I summoned my strength and patience and took an hour to pick out bedroom curtains at Target since they were 20% off with their Cartwheel app.  I also had to buy rods since, ahem, we didn't even have those.  I think they call your adult card carrying into question if you don't even have curtain rods in your bedroom by the time you're in your forties.


Do you ever do something small like this in your house and wonder why in the hell it took you so long to do it?  Me too. We stood there admiring them and I said with delight to Dan, "It looks just like a real bedroom now!" 

The depressing thing was that I got to spend all of one night in my "real bedroom" before he started on the attached bath.  And then everything in the half bath was promptly moved into our no longer beautiful peaceful haven of a bedroom.

    Just keepin' it real, folks

I was impressed by how quickly he gutted the room.  I'm always optimistic at the beginning of every reno project, thinking to myself, "This is going to move right along!"  I obviously never learn my lesson.  This is pretty sad, considering a grew up in a house where my dad did any project that needed to be done himself.  He built the house himself.  I should know by now that it never moves right along for the duration of the project.


When everything was pulled out, Dan informed me we would in fact have to put in a new floor because the previous owners had not tiled under the vanity he had just taken out.  I still wasn't discouraged, because he had told me this was a very real possibility beforehand. Plus, I hated the old floor. It's a very small room, so I knew it wasn't going to be that expensive.  Off we went to Lowe's, with our twelve and ten year old in tow, because you know how much kids this age love to consider grout colors.


Still, I was in good spirits. I'm a pretty decisive person (I'm not sure if you know, but one hour for curtains at Target IS actually quite impressive), so I knew I could knock out the choices quickly.  I settled on porcelain tile lickety-split and moved on to grout color.  No problem.  I liked the one they show in the picture. Sold. Then we had to decide on the adhesive.  And the subfloor.  And the spacers.  And the trowels.  And sponges.  It was at this point that I started to get antsy. And frustrated.  Did I mention that in addition to being a pretty decisive person, I'm also a pretty impatient person?  Yeah, I didn't think so.  I don't brag about that one as much.


At this point, Dan had a question about the subfloor.  He was waiting to ask a salesperson who was helping two of the slowest people in the universe.  So I, being pretty decisive, decided to take charge and find someone else who could help us.  Have you ever seen King of the Hill?  Yeah, I was Hank wandering up and down the aisles calling, "Hello? Hello?"  At this point, the salesperson Dan had been waiting on helped us re-choose our adhesive, which meant we had to pick out a different type of grout, etc., etc.  My  10 year old son, who is the least patient of all four of us, had now given up hope of ever getting out of Lowe's alive. 


We finally got up to the check out with two carts and realized that we brought my car and may not be able to fit the subfloor panels inside.  My husband sensed that I was ready to blow at this point because I had stopped talking.  By smashing the kids side by side with no space between them, he managed to get the panels in the car.  On the way home he mentioned he was going to have to borrow a tile saw from someone.  I gave him a look and asked, "You don't have a tile saw?"  (In my defense, he has a million tools and has laid all our other floors.)


I recouped a bit when we finally saw the inside of our home again.  At this point, Dan started looking at YouTube videos.  I gave him a look again and asked, "Have you never done a tile floor before?"  This question may seem strange, but he has done EVERYTHING to the three houses we have owned, including a complete kitchen renovation, building a deck, turning a screened-in porch into a sunroom and putting on two new roofs.  I just assumed that at some point before I knew him, he had done this too.


"Well, no," he admitted, "But I can."


And that's the thing.  I know he can, but everything takes so much time with a renovation project.  And it's so hard if you are patience-challenged, like me.  And I always forget.  It's like the pain you feel at childbirth.  Your brain protects you from remembering so that you might do it again some day.  This special brain-protecting mechanism is why everyone in the world is not an only child.  And it's also why people continue to do home improvement projects.


As I type this post, he has finished cutting porcelain tile (with a saw he borrowed) and has the floor all configured and put down with no problem.  But, oh yeah, the floor has to sit afterwards for 24 hours to properly adhere to the floor.  So there's that.  So I'll have to be patient again tomorrow. 

 See how God gives you plenty of opportunities to practice what you're not good at?

Kim

Mending Flaws

In certain situations, music does something to me.  It doesn't even have to be a scenario that I'm highly invested in.  It can be a bunch of third graders singing a song or the right soundtrack at a crucial part of a movie (or even, I'm embarrassed to admit, commercial). Put the right words set to the right tune at the right time and I feel my throat start working and my eyes welling up.  It's all over for me. I've had time to work at getting it under control over the years.  I hate crying in front of other people.  Sometimes I don't look at the choir when my daughter is performing because I'm embarrassed to have other people see me with tears in my eyes.

I had it happen to me again tonight.  At the end of mass, we sang "America the Beautiful".  I knew the singing of this song was coming.  It's always in the lineup over the Fourth of July weekend. I know patriotic songs have a special way of almost always doing me in. I should have been ready  for it.  I was going along and doing fine, but then we got to the line, "God mend thine every flaw," and I felt it coming on.  I hadn't really been thinking about that particular lyric until that moment. It kind of snuck up and sucker-punched me.  Gulp.  My eyesight started blurring.  I managed to get it together so that no one noticed (or so I like to think).

It was that line.  "God mend thine every flaw."  Yep, we're flawed.  I think no matter what side of the political/socio-economic aisle you sit on, we can all agree on that. Just look at the news.  I love this country, but in times like these, it can be hard to see anything but our flaws.  It's so easy to focus on them.  But here's a secret no one tells you about flaws that you have to figure out for yourself in order to become an adult: Everything and everyone has them.  Every person, family, organization, country, and philosophy has flaws.  The work we do to mend them is the most important work there is.  I think it has a lot to do with why we're here.  Anyone can sit back and point out flaws.  The real work comes in trying to make things better.


It's easy to think we can't fix the problems in America.  But it's the work we do to try that's important.  Along with our flaws, we have so many amazing assets like all our freedom to try and make things better.  Trying to mend our flaws sure beats the alternative. I'm pretty sure it is one of the things that makes America special. So yes, God mend our every flaw.  That's a sentiment I can get behind and get a little emotional about. So even though you didn't see my eyes well up tonight, I'll own up to it with no shame.

Happy Fourth of July!

Kim

The Thing About Waterfalls

Okay, so it's finally summer.  We've had more than our fair share of rain so far.  It has hampered a few plans and even a little swimming, although my kids will swim even if it's cold or rainy.  My only rule is no swimming if there's thunder or lightning.  Still, it would be nice if the water was warmer and the sky sunnier.  It's been bumming everybody out around the area.


But here's the thing I'm remembering today: no rain=no waterfalls. 


On our first trip to the wine trail in Southern Illinois (read about that HERE), we did a few smaller hiking trails in Ferne Clyffe State Park.  We went there because:


A) The trails were easy and we had no real "hiking" gear and...
2) It was close to where we were staying and...
Third) I saw a little video on You Tube of the waterfall at the end of one of these trails. That did it.  I was sold.


The weather was absolutely beautiful for that trip last summer.  Sunny and not too hot.  But that meant no waterfalls.  We got to where the waterfall was supposed to be, but - you guessed it - no rain = no waterfall.

Fast forward to my Spring Break eight months later.  We went back down south.  I was hoping for good weather, since it was Spring Break after all.  It wasn't like we were going to make it to Florida or anywhere else sunny that week.  My kids still had school, even though the school where I teach had Spring Break.  We decided to go back down simply because we had the opportunity.  My parents kept the kids for the night, and we were off. We had dinner with my brother and headed back to our bed & breakfast.  But this time it stormed like a beast the night we were there.  We listened to the rain pounding on the roof all night.  It hit me the next morning that since we had no particular plans, it would be the PERFECT time to go back to Ferne Clyffe.


I can't tell you how uplifting this little hike was!  Once again, we did not have any serious hiking gear (as evidenced by my shoes here).

It gave us such an emotional boost to see this.

            Waterfall selfie!

So here's the thing about waterfalls.  You have to endure some rain first.  I'll let you draw the conclusion there.

Kim

Pokemon Party (Although I Have No Idea What Pokemon is About.)

  About 15 years ago, my nephew was very into Pokémon (as were several of the boys in my classroom) when it was in its heyday. Many years later, it's funny that at the beginning of third grade this school year, my son picked out a Pokémon backpack and had no idea what the show concept was. He just knew he liked what he saw on that backpack.  He does know now what it's all about now, thank you Netflix. When his birthday finally rolled around in May, I asked what kind of party he wanted.  The answer, of course, was Pokémon.

           It's Pikachu!!!!

I didn't really understand what Pokémon was all about 15 years ago, and to be honest with you, I really don't get it now.  But I learned enough to put together a kick butt Pokémon party for my son and three of his friends.  Two years ago, we stopped inviting the whole class because:
1. Hardly anyone RSVP'd until the day before - kind of late to help with purchasing stuff for the party.
2. This gave me all kinds of anxiety that no one was going to show up at all until the day before the party.
3. You can do more with just a few close friends who you know are coming.
 
I found all kinds of good ideas for a Pokémon party on Pinterest. Oh, how I adore my Party Ideas Board on Pinterest.  You can follow my board HERE if you would like.  My son wanted to go to our local Children's Museum with his friends, so we did that first.  This was so much more economical than formally having a party at the same venue in the "party room".  At $5/person we paid $35 for the admission for the boys and my husband, daughter, and me.  We had held his party in the "party room" at the Children's Museum several years ago when he was in first grade.  Beware of the "party room" in birthday venues.  They are ridiculously expensive for a basically what is just a room with tables and chairs - more if you want them to provide the "extras" like the cake and goody bags. We also hit the free zoo playground that is right next door to the museum afterwards.

After the museum and playground, it was back to our house for pizza and cake.  But not just any pizza - Pokeball pizza!

I don't really know that much about Pokémon or understand the significance of the Pokeball.  I think  the Pokémon guys come out of it?  Maybe.  Anyway, the nice people at Papa Murphy's pizza were nice enough to copy the pictures I found on Pinterest of these pizzas.  I had bought a Papa Murphy's fundraising card from a former student, so I actually got two Pokeball pizzas for the price of one! 

Only having a few kids makes it easier to do a nicer goody bag.  I made these from yellow bags I found at Dollar Tree (2 for $1, so only $2 for the bags).

Inside we put a Pokémon t-shirt from Target (my son already had this one), some candy that may or may not have been bought on super clearance after Easter in these yellow cups I got at Dollar Tree (6 for $1), 

And these:

Oh, yeah.  You know what's coming next!


Nerf gun war!

This was epic!  At least that's what one of the boys said.  I don't know that I've ever heard such a ringing endorsement of a party activity before.

The boys stayed until about eight in the evening.  During that time, they also played basketball, baseball, soccer, and kickball.  They all went home sweaty, exhausted, and happy.  If that's not the hallmark of a good party, I don't know what is.  Apparently, it doesn't matter if the hostess understands the nuances of the theme.

Kim

Happy 2nd Anniversary AAB!

My wedding anniversary is only four days before my blog's anniversary.  This always helps me remember An Antisocial Butterfly (AAB) was born on June 18th, 2013.  It was a scary thing to publish those first few posts.  I'm a pretty private person and sharing personal things can be terrifying for me at times.  But this year brought me two of my most viewed posts, Just Like in Real Life (Why You Won't Hear Me Complain About Facebook) and The DNA of My Story.  I really loved both of these pieces and was glad they were read by so many people. 


My other anniversary (13 years of marriage) got me to thinking about what makes the longevity of something successful.  I try to make my marriage a priority in my life and feel like most of the time, I do a good job with that.  Time and effort are both key in making something positive last. 

My husband and I got away for a night the week before our anniversary. 

But when I looked back over the frequency of my posts to the blog, I feel bad.  I've neglected keeping up.  I'm not happy with the time or effort I've put into writing.  I've got to try to change that since writing does make me happy.  And that was the whole point of starting AAB to begin with.  Not money or reach.  Writing was the point.  Yes, life gets in the way of that, but without it, I'd have nothing to write about. 


So, more time and effort into the blog!  That's my goal.  Happy Anniversary An Antisocial Butterfly!  I promise I'll try to do better! 

Kim

Chalkboards and The Universe

 Chalkboards.  I love them. Maybe it's the teacher in me?  Maybe it's because it's another way to decorate with words?  Whatever the reason, it all started when I saw how easy they were to make on Pinterest.  I bought a nice frame and used chalkboard spray paint on the glass.  It became the herald of upcoming big events at our home.

 Then one of my first graders gave me a little one with a hanger.   I hung this one on my door or propped it on a stand and changed what it said.

This made me realize the diversity of these little gems.  Soon I was pinning ideas on Pinterest and copying them.  You can follow my Pinterest board, "The Old Drawing Board" here if you're interested.

 Then I ordered some chalkboard markers from Amazon and discovered a whole new aspect to the chalkboard art thing.

I may have even chalkboard-ed my slow cooker when it needed a new look <sheepish grin>.  Check out this post if you want to know more about that. 


And then we made this chalkboard planter this weekend for my son's teacher for Teacher Appreciation this week.

So it's fair to say, I've gone a little chalkboard crazy this year.


Recently, I'd been wanting to update the office/computer area in our kitchen and was thinking about painting a wall with chalkboard paint.  I had been talking to my husband about building a frame around it.  He wasn't super keen on the idea since we've talked about putting our house on the market (even though we have about a million things to do to it before then).  Our dream would be to live in the country in a farmhouse, but finding the right house in the right location for the right price has been no small trick.


Then this happened.  I saw this chalkboard on the Facebook page of a small antique/thrift store's page in my city.  And I had to have it. 

It's from an old Fire Department in our city.  I love that.  

When I brought it home and had my husband hang it up, I experienced a moment of doubt.  I was afraid it didn't really "go" with our kitchen.  I said to my husband, "But it would look great in an old farmhouse."  He agreed.


My daughter thought this was great.  She immediately asked if she could draw on it and then spent an hour drawing some character from Teen Titans Go.

I think it came out pretty good!

So I'm going with the whole, "If You Build It, They Will Come" theory.  We don't have our farmhouse in the country.  But I think if you put things out into the universe, sometimes the universe comes around to your way of thinking.  And if not, I'll still enjoy my chalkboard.  I've got all kinds of plans for it.

Kim

The Luau in Winter

My daughter turned 12 last month.  So that means we've got one more year before we have a teenager in the house.  It's not much to hang onto, but I am -with both hands- nevertheless.  She, of course, wanted to have a slumber party.  What else?  Let me pause to thank my own mother for letting me have many slumber parties.  Thanks, Mom.  Also, I'm sorry.  Her birthday is early March, but we had it the weekend before in February so we could have her family party closer to her actual birthday.




She wanted a luau theme. I began to think of it as "The Luau in Winter". (See what I did there?  Instead of "The Lion", I went with "The Luau".  I'm sure Peter O'Toole would appreciate that.) At this age, there are (thankfully) no games, crafts, or activities to set up.  They just want to be left alone. We did buy some props to take their pictures in, but other than that they danced, put on a fashion show, and had a mock trial of some kind that was hilarious to eavesdrop on while I was cleaning up the kitchen.  That meant the theme had to lend itself to food and goody bags.  I am pretty happy about this because that's the portion I like about party planning.  Another piece of good news - her class at school is relatively small.  There are only six girls in the class including her.  So everyone was invited.  And everyone attended.

 Hawaiian pizzas from our local Casey's and homemade Hawaiian pulled pork were the main dishes.  We also had a dried fruit mix of bananas, mango, and pineapple.

There isn't much that is easier than pulled pork for a party, I've found.  Toss it in the crockpot and move on.  It makes the house smell great too.

 I made these Hawaiian cupcakes from regular white cake mix and icing, pineapple, coconut, and maraschino cherries.  Super easy and pretty!

I've used these tiered stand for dozen of things over the years.  They're very versatile.

We ordered these plastic coconut cups from Amazon and personalized them with a paint pen.  The girls got to take these home in their gift bags.  They also used them at the party, so we didn't have a thousand plastic cups to throw away, and everyone knew which drink was theirs.

Okay - the gift bag!  I love a good gift bag.  I bought yellow paper bags at Dollar Tree, added some green fringe for a grass skirt, glued on a fabric flower and finished them off with some hula-themed stickers at Hobby Lobby.  My daughter and I worked on these together.

I mentioned I love a good gift bag, but I love filling the goody bag almost as much. It's the kind of challenge I love to work out.  I don't want to throw in a bunch of candy and junk they'll never use, but I also don't want to spend a mint. Besides their coconut cup, we did a pair of Dollar Tree flip flops (practical for summer), some Pixie sticks (not at all practical, but you have to have some fun), a tube of tropical Chap Stick (practical for dry lips), and a bottle of water with a Hawaiian punch flavor crystal package (practical because most of them had volleyball practice the next day).  

One other thing we did that I ended up really pleased with was to buy a Dollar Tree frame (pink or purple crystal lined) and put the picture I took of all of them inside it.  I just uploaded it at Walgreen's that night, picked them up the next morning, popped them in the frame, and voila' - a keepsake from the party.  

This is on my daughter's dresser now.

They had a fantastic time which was the whole point.  I have no idea

what time they fell asleep because they were sequestered to sleeping in the sleeping bags in our sunroom.  I left them with the message that they did not have to go to sleep, but they were not to keep the rest of us from sleeping. ;)  I've got to hand it to them, they were very well-behaved.  

An interesting side note - while they were having their luau inside, here's what it looked like outside:

Not very tropical, but it didn't dampen their spirits at all!

Kim