The Little Buddy Blues

There are a lot of perks that come with being the baby of the family (I should know), and Nick definitely reaps those rewards. But, sometimes being the little brother can really stink. Like when your older sister doesn’t want you tagging along with her friends anymore.

My heart broke for Nick last night. Lainey’s friend stopped by to ask Lainey over to play. Nick and Lainey were in the basement playing together when I called down. An excited voice shouted back, “I want to go to Vika’s!” Unfortunately, it was Nick’s. Ugh.

Even though I told him he had to stay with me, he still scrambled up the stairs and hurried to untangle his inside-out socks. His face was set in earnest concentration that turned to panic as Lainey slipped quickly into her crocs and bounced out the door. I was hoping Lainey and Vika would escape down the block quickly, but Lainey stopped to get her bike from the garage, giving Nick enough time to get his shoes on and outside. He chased them down the driveway and half way up the block before finally conceding they were leaving him behind. Then he collapsed on the sidewalk crying.

I scooped him up, carried him inside, gave him a cookie, and let him watch TV. You know, the basic prescription for any broken heart.

This isn’t the first run-in we’ve had this summer with trying to separate Nick from Lainey. Unfortunately, while Lainey has several playmate options within arm’s reach, Nick does not.  So, when she runs off, there’s no one to easily bring to Nick. I think (hope) that will change when he starts school next fall, but for now he’s just left behind. And while often the other parents/playmates are happy to have Nick tag along, Lainey isn’t always down with that. And that’s okay. She needs to have her space and her time without Nick running at her heels. I’m just thankful that Nick’s a kid who could stand to eat a few more cookies…because I think there will be a lot more condolence sweets headed his way.

Hang in there, Little Buddy! Your day will come…

Kitchen Glory

The kitchen is DONE! Well, in truth, it’s been done for about 3 weeks, BUT they just finalized a few

minor punch list items yesterday, so I’m not that delinquent with this post.

Now, I understand that there are people in this world facing real struggle, but let me tell you, surviving those 10 weeks (yes, TEN WEEKS) without a kitchen was brutal for this pampered little snowflake. I almost wept with joy the day our contractor said I could start using the sink and dishwasher again.

While I never would have guessed it, the sink is my most beloved feature of the new kitchen—even more than my French-door, bottom freezer refrigerator—and I love that gorgeous piece of stainless steel. But, the sink, oh the sink, in all of it’s deep, full-sized glory is making cooking prep and clean-up so much easier! It can dump dirty dishes as I go, keeping my counters clear for other prep, and still have plenty of sink room to use the hanging colander or just simply washing my hands. And after the cooking is done, all of my pots, pans, and cookie sheets fully fit for soaking and cleaning. No more washing half of a casserole dish and then flipping to do the other half. Game. Changer.  

I also now have a double-oven, more cabinet space, and gray ceramic tile floors. Why a special call-out to the floors, you ask? Because they are no longer covered in white linoleum that even Cinderella’s mice armed with pure bleach and hopped up on Adderall couldn’t make look clean. Gray ceramic, on the other hand, hides all. (Subsequently, white socks are now banned from my house.)

Our new counter-height table gets delivered tomorrow—hurray, hurray—which just leaves us to find stools and window treatments! Then we can officially check the kitchen off our home renovation list. It’s been four years in the making, but worth the wait!

This photo doesn't give the sink the glory it deserves

Don't mind if I do bake things at two different temperatures

Hey there, coffee nook--thanks for freeing up precious counter real estate

One Tooth Down...

After three LONG months of wiggling, Lainey finally lost her first tooth on Wednesday. As her impatience grew with the tooth's slow progress in freeing itself, Lainey took to eating whole apples and--WHAM!--it was out within two days.

When we first found out the tooth was a bit loose, I asked Lainey how much cash she thought the Tooth Fairy would cough up for it and she said "two dollars." I thought that was reasonable, but so much time lapsed that I forgot about the conversation. So, on Wednesday, I mentioned that the Tooth Fairy would be bringing her a dollar that night, she said, "Oh. Just a dollar?," with just a hint of disappointment in her voice, but she didn't argue. When I was talking to Mark, I remembered the "two dollar" conversation and we decided to pony up. She was VERY excited to see the extra cash in the morning.

She has another loose tooth in the works (actually, this tooth was loose before the one she lost), so looks like Lainey will have another cash windfall soon!

I think she's adorable with one less tooth!