Moving along....

The tile guy made an appearance yesterday.  You know what that means- the end is actually in sight.  I mean, I can taste it, it's that close to finished.

Until today.

The tile shop received a call from me yesterday, to place an order for a few more sheets of accent tile.
At the end of today, the tile guy tells me he's going to need a few more of the floor tile so he can do the baseboards.
Seriously?  In an effort to be efficient, I also had him check on the rest of the tile to make sure I wouldn't have to call the shop a THIRD time.  If I can dial the store by memory, I'm done.  NOW.

Projects, I'm realizing, rarely go smoothly,  There's often a glitch or two that holds up one particular piece of the puzzle.  Not all of it is major, but when you just wish for the job to be over, seeing unfinished details can be like a dripping faucet.  I actually WANT to scrub the house and get it back to normal,  instead of living in chaos.  For three months we've lived with a laid back attitude about cleaning and putting things away.  That vacation is just about over kids.

Until next time, enjoy the photos from today's tiling session:

Thing 27

New York City is an amazing place.

Up until now we've only been able to discover it for a day at a time.  Blocking off an entire weekend to head in to NYC was something we'd been desiring for a while.  It would give us the opportunity to knock off several "must sees" without having to be constrained by train schedules or tired kids.

This weekend we finally accomplished that.  Charlie's 11th birthday provided the perfect backdrop, and we allowed him to choose the things he most wanted to see over three days.  The kids were troopers.  It's not easy walking in a big crowded city, going from place to place.  The parents didn't do so poorly either.

There were so many great moments throughout the weekend, and some not-so-great moments.  In order to keep this short and sweet, here are the highlights-

The great:

Visiting the Museum of Natural History ("Night at the Museum" takes place here.)
The Empire State Building, and seeing the panoramic view.
Seeing "Phantom of the Opera" on Broadway (such a quintessential NYC experience.)
Uptown/Downtown bus tour, and taking it all in.
Watching a half marathon run through Times Square.
Laughing with our kids over funny things.
Having poignant chats with the kids.
Tim Horton's coffee each morning (oh how I miss Canada!) and running into a lady who lived in Oakville- talk about a SMALL world!

The not-so-great:

Watching a man hang from an intersection light in Times Square during rush hour.  UGH.
St. Patrick's Day and all the craziness it brings.
Our first plan to get into the city not being viable and having to go to plan B immediately.
Realizing it's time for the "talk" with our seven year old when at the museum she spots two turtles "playing leapfrog"....

Some photos to wrap up the post:

                                            "You give me gum-gum" from Night at the Museum

                                          Looking at the Hudson from our hotel room.  Cruise ship in the distance.

                                                          Kids and I in Times Square.

                                                   Enjoying the Empire State Building.

                                                         Ready for Phantom to start

                                                                     We're ready too!

                                           "No soup for you!"  Have to go back for a bowl sometime...

                                                                   The Flatiron building.

Picking paint

You know it's getting close to the end of a reno when the contractor asks "have you chosen your paint color yet?"  I can see the light at the end of the tunnel folks!

The drywall is in and the waiting game begins.  Tiling begins next week, after the painter does his thing.  My friend who is the bomb on all things interior design (she helped me pick the tile), came over yesterday to help me choose a paint color.  Today I'm off to buy those cute little cans of color for "testing" on the wall.  Apparently with all the natural light, and white cabinets and counter, she agrees that we can get away with a more vibrant color.  Can you see me doing a happy dance?  No dull colors here, something bright and happy for when we're getting ready in the morning.  Have to get going...but here are the latest photos of the space:

                                            Vaulted ceiling with skylights = LOVE

                                          This is what my bedroom looks like- sad sad state.

Let there be light!

Light is such a wonderful thing.  It brightens a house, a mood and one's spirit.  God knew we needed it, which is precisely why he created it.

The old bathroom was dark and dreary.  What a sad way to start the morning.

The new bathroom needed some POW, which is exactly why we added skylights.  Every morning the light will greet us, and every evening, the stars will shine their brightest as we let them into the bathroom.  How exciting is that?

Flexibility is something I'm learning more about this week.  The  electricians have been here and the "original" plans I had for what outlets went where, is not necessarily going to fly.  Hmmph.  My goal is to have things make sense, while keeping a cleaner look (plugged in appliances hidden).  The way an architect designs is not always the way a home owner lives- often there's a big jump between the two.  Add to the mix that the walls weren't as big as I thought, and we have a small problem.  Much is being shifted and changed according to what's doable.  Luckily the guys are understanding, and able to walk me through the logistics.  Nelson should approve....

In the meantime, here are the latest photos for your viewing pleasure:

                                             3 skylights- don't mind the dangling wires...

                                           Plumbing is in- always a good thing in a bathroom.

                                                     The shower has plumbing too!

A WOW moment

Have you ever had one of those moments where you're just in awe of your child, and your God?
On the way to school this morning, I had one of those.

Audrey had been trying to recite her memory verse, which is due today.  I'd asked her to tell me what it was and this led to us discussing the scripture.  She then piped up "Mom, I know what this is talking about because we learned the story it's built around".  Exactly.  For the next five minutes she talked about Moses and the parting of the Red Sea.  Charlie was quiet, not interjecting a thing, and I drove in peace, tears falling down my cheeks.  My 7 year old was telling a beautiful story of how God placed Moses in what looked liked an impossible situation (and I wish you could have heard her inflection in the telling), "mountains around him, the sea in front of him, and the Egyptians behind him", and yet, he tells Moses "raise your hand" and the sea parts.  The rest is history, as they say.  Those five minutes were momentous for me today for two reasons- one, my child is learning about God and His Word daily at school, and I love seeing the fruit of that decision we've made as parents.  Two, God used this particular story today to remind me that when faced with daunting circumstances, when it seems there's no end, if you trust Him, he will ALWAYS provide a way out.  Our finite minds can't comprehend the ways he can work- who would have expected Him to part a sea????  Part of Audrey's memory verse was this: "Do not be afraid, be STILL".  It caused me to think for a moment about why he tells us to be still when we're fearful.  Any thoughts?  Could it be that when we're afraid, our instincts tell us to DO?  We go about trying to fix the situation, or change it, hoping for a better outcome.  And here he clearly gives us the opposite instruction.  This is huge.  If we're doing, we aren't giving up control.  He's sovereign, and he's wanting us to trust Him, and the best way to do that is to be still.  Wow.

Be blessed today- and may you have a Wow moment today too!

Over the hump?

For now, it appears all the major hurdles have been jumped.  Nelson and I have compromised on many decisions (the essence of marriage) and the stress is beginning to dissipate slowly.  There's a few things left to purchase, but for now they can wait.

The surprises up until now, have been few.  Today, that changed.  Apparently our attic, where the AC unit is housed ( retrofitted a number of years ago), has some things wrong that "aren't to code" and could cause illness and damage if not fixed.  Better to find this out now and get it repaired than deal with the stress of what could happen if we don't.  The joys of an older home.

The guys were hard at work on moving the window.  Originally there were two windows in the space.  One is being removed, and the other relocated to the toilet closet.  We're adding three skylights, so that will add plenty of natural light to make up for a window loss.  The lead guy asked me this morning "are the skylights in a good spot for you?"  I couldn't resist....."and if they aren't?" I asked jokingly.  Luckily, he laughed.

Here's today's progress:

                                                 The black is where the windows used to be.

                                           Large window covered up, soon to be my sink area.

                                                   The toilet will sit just below the window.

                                                           Ahhhhh......vaulted ceiling!