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Getting Older
07.21.10 | Permalink | | Comments Off on Getting Older
I have operated under the
delusionhope that Gigi is the kind of kid who won’t turn on her parents as she gets older. That, while other children her age rebel and become sassy, my daughter will retain her sweet demeanor where her family is the center of the world and Mama and Daddy are the smartest people who make the best decisions, so why question them?
Well, reality has arrived. While I do still consider myself very lucky, we are beginning to see the rebel in our daughter. Right now, it is the small things: Choosing outfits, while always a decision making challenge, has become something worth crying about if things don’t go 100% her way. When asked to do something, instead of hopping up to follow an instruction, she needs to stretch (go potty, adjust her hair, put on chapstick, fold her blanket… )first. When given advice she will sometimes answer, “I know!” or, “You don’t need to tell me that!” in a very abrupt way. When we are stretched thin when completing tasks and assisting Jude and she is asked to wait for a moment before we can help her, she will say, “It is fine, I can wait,” but not in that way where you really think she is fine, rather she is being a passive aggressive martyr, complete with big watery eyes and slumped body language.
I have to keep reminding myself that this is a good thing. As she matures she is meant to start questioning Mom and Dad’s judgment, start taking risks and she should learn to trust herself. The only way she can do that is if we take a step back, and celebrate her successes and catch her when she falls. She has to do this while she is only six so that when a mistake is made, she also learns that Mom and Dad are always here to help her out and she needs to know that we are on her side, always, even when she is wrong. I have to remember that when she is sassy and rude, it is her way of pushing us away enough so she has that personal space to do her own thinking and figure things out. I have to realize that, to some extent, I already have to begin the process of letting her go.
Just when Gigi’s maturity and questioning starts to get to me and I begin to ask myself where my baby girl went, she crawls into bed with me. I hold her in my arms, and her body folds into mine. Her hair swirls around my arms and tickles my nose, binding us together. Her distinct little sleepy girl smell mingles with mine, and in our bed, we are one again. Here is the baby girl who I have held for years. We talk as we snuggle, about the future she imagines where she will be a ballerina and dressmaker and model. She will be unmarried and will not have children because right now I am the center of the world and she cannot imagine leaving me or this place and certainly can’t imagine ever finding someone she could love that could draw her away from this perfect heaven. In this place, nobody dies, leaves or grows up – our own Neverland – and we are family, just us, forever. While I hope she finds love and happiness away from us, for a moment, I buy in, believe and stay a bit, loving her and that special place I keep in her world, and I join with her, wishing it would stay the same for always.
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Details
07.09.10 | Permalink | | Comments Off on Details
This is the tile we are using as a backsplash in our kitchen. It is so beautiful and I am so anxious to see the final results!
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Hide-n-seek
07.08.10 | Permalink | | Comments Off on Hide-n-seekA life lesson for Jude was learned the other day.
When you are playing hide-n-seek with your sister and you’re not wearing anything on the bottom sometimes you get into tight spaces, like under a bathtub that is not fully installed, and you get scared and excited and then sometimes you pee yourself.
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Miles of Tiles
07.07.10 | Permalink | | Comments Off on Miles of Tiles
When we remodeled our house in Bellingham we wanted to honor the integrity of the house – it was a 1907 bungalow in need of some serious love. When we tiled the bathroom, we used teeny, tiny white one inch white square tiles. With white grout. It was beautiful! For about three days. On about day four, we noticed that the grout was changing color, first to grey, then to its final color: dirt brown. Every little particle of dirt, dust and grime that made its way into the bathroom became a part of the bathroom. No amount of scrubbing or bleaching would get it out! We vowed from that point on to NEVER use tiny tile, and certainly, NEVER to use white grout again!
With the new house, we have reflected on the mistakes we made on the first one, and are using the biggest tiles available (for a reasonable price) and the narrowest grout seam possible as well. In addition, the grout color is ‘almond’ so no matter how much grime or dirt makes its way into the surface we can always say that we chose that color on purpose.
At this point, I am happy to report that the tiling is nearing completion! With the super team of Bradley (who possesses the super tile cutting skillz) and Tamara (who is the master masticer/grouter/cleaner/sealer) , AKA Team LJ, on the job, we have only to complete the master bathroom and the apartment bathroom. Nearly done and it feels soooo good!
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House Update
07.05.10 | Permalink | | Comments Off on House Update
The master bedroom. The furniture piece is actually the bathroom vanity - we have three, one for each bathroom.
Jude's bedroom, the view is from the window looking towards the door. He chose the colors of 'boo' and 'oinch' which he announces as he shows his room off to guests. The orange is only in his closet, the rest of the room is a pale turquoise color.
The upstairs hallway is yellow and grey.
Naturally, Gigi picked pink. Eventually we are going to add some periwinkle outlines of flowers, swirls and plants, but for now she will have to make do with the awesome sparkles that are embedded into the paint.
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Kitchen with fridge and (uninstalled) cooktop.
Our kitchen, messy with power tools, paintbrushes, toys and building materials, soon to be replaces with apples, cooking utensils, pots and pans. By the end of the summer, we are hoping to have concrete countertops made by Bradley, but for now, plywood will have to do.
