Death and Creativity

ON DEATH

Sad but true--we experienced a little death at our house in the last couple weeks. After we worked so hard to plant our little garden (and I admit, we did put things in the ground before Mother's Day by a few days, but still), we had a cold snap that did our tomatoes and peppers mortal harm. I chanced it by not covering them, and I lost. They did NOT survive.

So we had to find replacements for them all. It was actually touch and go for a bit with the new plants (I think they may have suffered a bit from the cold at the nursery as well), but I think they are pulling through at last. It seems that warm weather is here to stay. So hopefully that means a good yield after all.

ON CREATIVITY

So how do you celebrate living four years in the same house you were SURE was only going to be a two to three year house? You decide to paint several rooms and shake things up a bit. After looking at the same yucky builder's paint on the walls for four years (while saying in my head that it didn't matter because we weren't going to be here long), I decided enough was enough. The past few weeks have seen some big changes on the upper floor of the Tolman abode. We redecorated the girls' room, moving and painting furniture and adding some things, and swapped rooms for Josh and Jack, taking down the bunk bed in the process. And we added new colors to all the rooms.

And here is something I have discovered about myself and creativity. While washing out paint brushes for about the seventh time, I realized I don't really like messy creativity. My creative juices tend to lean toward things that don't have to be cleaned up. I don't really enjoy cooking, mostly because I don't like that when the meal is finished, I still have a messy kitchen to tackle. Sewing and scrapbooking are the same for me. Once I have finished the project, there is still a lot of work required. This project was no different. Messes everywhere--not to mention all the living going on in the house at the same time (laundry and the like). Boy was I glad to put the finishing touches on this project and get back to normal. I think I will stick with my preferred non-messy forms of creativity for a while now like singing, writing, dancing, etc. I get to express myself and there is no clean up after it's done.

Check out all that laundry right in the middle of the paint paraphernalia.

But even though I didn't love the mess, I do love the finished product. Feels almost like a new home.

The girls did a complete change. Gone are the pink butterflies of their younger years. They hope this look (complete with new desks that Emmie is loving--she insisted on being in the shot doing her homework) and these colors will take them into their teenage years gracefully.

My favorite feature of Jack's room is this little $20 desk from IKEA. Gotta love IKEA!

Josh is really happy with his final product. He "designed" his wall layout on his new white board before we hung anything to make sure it was just right. His walls are a little busy for my taste, but he loves it. And that is what matters. This wall, in particular, is his favorite. Each piece of art work is an original by him.

Our bathroom was a beast, taking three gallons of paint to cover the streaks.

And finally, our bedroom. I got a little brave after painting so many things before and opted for a navy blue accent wall behind our bed to offset the light cream I chose for the other three walls. I LOVE it. Now I just need to find the perfect accent piece for over our headboard. I am thinking a beautiful white wreath or some poignant statement in white vinyl or something. Still a bit undecided.

Now that it's all done, I won't be opening a paint can for a while. But I am happy with the final product. I guess we can stick around here a while longer.

A Post For Grandmas

OK, I guess everyone else can take a look too. But we wanted to post a couple videos of Jack hitting the baseball at his little league game for both Grandmas to check out. He is on the Twins team and he is having a pretty good time with it. We have decided that Jack likes baseball OK enough. But he really loves "yucking it up" (as Kris would say) with all his "cronies" in the outfield. He is funny to watch. He LOVES being in the middle of everything. And he ALWAYS runs faster racing his teammates into the dugout than he ever does trying to get on first base.

And he is all about the uniform. He checked out a baseball book from the library and he studied it intently to know how far the pants should go up over the socks and other essential facts. He's having a great time.

Ahhhh, Spring!!

How good it is to welcome spring. It means being outside--working the land, working our family. I love the beginnings of spring. Whenever I spend time in the back yard, particularly with my kids, I think about our pioneer forebears who worked this same land (or land very similar) as they made their way west to fight, both physically and spiritually, for the truths I now enjoy. With this garden, we are gaining so much more than a few yummy things to eat. We are gaining a connection with the past and a strength for the future. I love spring.

Emmie's Happenings

A few thoughts about my little Emmie. She is really growing up to be a lovely young lady. This week we celebrated her 11th birthday. She is on her countdown now to Young Womens. A couple weeks ago she decided to run for the office of Judge of JA Biztown, a little day-long field trip where the 5th graders "run" a town to learn about careers. She ran a whole campaign, with posters (the picture below was on one of them), buttons, and a speech. I was really proud of all the work she put into it. In the end, she didn't win. But she had a GREAT attitude about it all and I think it was a great experience.

She also just graduated from the D.A.R.E. program (the drug-free education). I just thought this was a cute picture so I am including it here.

For her birthday, she started her day with breakfast in bed. We decided to celebrate with a luau theme. After breakfast, she opened her gifts and then headed off to school.

After school, she decided to have pizza for her birthday dinner. {Now, I have a word to say about this pizza. I am not that discriminating about food. But I have to draw the line somewhere. When we first moved here, our realtor told us about some great pizza in the area that is cooked in the local . . . gas station. Really??? We ordered some right away. And let's just say, it wasn't the most favorite meal I have ever had. We haven't ordered it since. Until last Friday--because that is what Emmie requested for her birthday dinner.

Can you see the grease associated with this cardboard covered with cheese?

This is the most I could get myself to gag down before turning to a safe ham and cheese sandwich.

I think the rest of the family enjoyed the meal. Jack contends it's the best pizza he has ever eaten {are you kidding me?}, but I can hardly look at it. I know a lot of people around here love it, so my apologies to them. It's just not my favorite.}

Emmie also started her own little blog [link to the right]. I am happy to have her spread her wings a little. She is actually a pretty clever little writer with quite a lot of potential. However, I am also her protective mother. So I am keeping it under my administration. It is an invitation only blog. She really wants to have visitors, but I am keeping it pretty guarded. So, if you would like to visit her blog (and I encourage all friends to take a peek), please drop me a line or comment on this post that you are interested and I will send you an invitation. Who knows what we will find there. She is pretty entertaining.