January Things

January has been very Januaryish, except regarding the weather which has been warm- and- green- and- rather weird- but- we'll- take- it- ish. No worries. A big storm is coming, supposedly (which probably means we will get two inches of snow but the kids will be all vamped up hoping for a snow day), and the temps will drop and maybe we'll get some pretty snow. But then we have to shovel. Toss up over here on how I feel about that. Otherwise though, January is January. Full of beginnings and hopeful organizing and sickness. So in and around the sinus infection, pink eye and ear infections that have been going around at my house the past couple of weeks, here's what's happenin'.

There is some basement demolition going on. Slowly. Mike tore out some of the end paneling because we had a gross incident which required a visit from Mr. Roto-Rooter, a few days before Christmas in the basement, that kind of yucked up some spots worse than they were previously. The plan is to fix this "finished" space up as a sewing/crafting room for me, but with a little "hang out" space incorporated (that may also serve as a "guest room" of sorts eventually) and a place to watch tv so I can sew but still hang out with Mike in the evenings. Right now, we're just taking some old parts down to the bones to see what is in good shape and what we need to do and just how many nickels we will need to rub together just to do a simple job here.

He also took out the bar that used to be in this nook. Might be replaced with a kids/Mama crafting table and storage or might be part of the "hang out" area. Waiting to see how things come together. At any rate, I will be pretty much doubling the amount of space I have in my current sewing room so I have no complaints as long as it is cleaner than it is now and it's warm in the winter!

While I have been busy trying to begin (once again in my adult life) to incorporate some exercise time into my week and scheming ways to make our house space more pleasant and beneficial to our family, my boys have been creating. Calvin, at church kid's club, got crafty with paper.

Mr. Tate brought this home from school. I think both of my boys show artistic talent beyond average and, while I'm not one to cry "genius" at every little thing, this one caught my eye for a 7 year old.

Meanwhile, the warm temps have brought Gigi several dates with her boyfriend, Charlie Dog. Isn't he gorgeous?

And I, in my infinite "I know a useful bargain when I see one" way, am buying this locker cupboard from Charlie Dog's mama for 50 bucks and rearranged my living room to suit. Hello there three cubbies which have excited my children into actually putting away their things! I like you. Too bad you remind me how BLAH my walls are, but stop pointing it out. It's not on the current list.

Something that has made the list is recovering this old desk chair, which has taken quite a beating from my kids in the last couple years. Of COURSE, I didn't look ahead of time to see how the vinyl was attached so I bought awesome, albeit fairly heavyweight, fabric to cover it with but now I am afraid it will tear without some fused interfacing. So, here the split seat sits until I get my next coupon for Joann's.

Maybe, I should now get off MY seat and accomplish something in the quiet while everyone is at school. 45 minutes is going to go awfully quick.