The Point of No Return......

Here is the last picture of how the kitchen used to look......in the past.

We may have still had a chance to turn back at this point, but we are beyond that option now.

I spent all weekend packing it up, getting rid of stuff, and making piles of stuff to keep, in order of importance.

In a fit of ruthless sorting, I just threw the kitchen curtains away!

I should have done it years ago but just hadn't gotten around to it.

Check that off the list.

And now all the stuff I sorted in order of importance has been carried to the basement and put haphazardly who-knows-where.  So I guess I will get a chance to second guess my values at some point in the future.

I am already thinking of that time as the "digging out" phase.

How the kitchen used to look.  Goodbye forever kitchen.  It's been......real.

Last night, frustrated with the lack of enthusiasm that immediate, visual results always give us, we decided to mix it up a bit.

The cabinets are all plastic-ed off, taking away our access to regular forks, plates, glasses, etc.

The kitchen was pretty empty and bare.

So what did we decide to do?

Well.........

Running a chalk line where we want to cut.

We decided to get rid of about half the wall separating the kitchen and living room--that's what!

This was not a fast process, as we were learning as we went.

But next time it will be much faster.

Score those lines.  Make them deeper.  Deeper than that.  OK, now go over it again.  Harder.....

The Grand Finale wondered if we should be doing this, probably because they have learned to recognize anything classified as more work right off the bat.

What did we have to lose but gaming time and sleep, respectively?

We forged ahead, as we are wont to do.

A luck would have it, is a load-bearing wall.

Me and my shaaaaaaaaa-dow, going blindly forward, come what may.

This means we have to leave the studs OR put in a header across the top to support the weight.

The weight of the house.  Yikes.

I opted to just leave the studs in.

Why?  Because I'm tired, mostly, because I don't want to cause problems with the roof, but also because there was no where to go but up.  Remember?

Even with the studs still there, it will be better than it was before..  No point in going straight to the top.  Up is enough for me.  I like that about me.

Not fast--but the results are electrifying. *Not literally*

"I will sand them down and paint them", I said.  

"We can put shelves in, hang crystals from the top. ...or something," said I.

The Angel made the argument that to do it "right", we should put in a header and take out the studs.

By now it was getting late and I pointed out all the extra time, expense and general pain and agony this would include.

We agreed the studs could be fine, what with all the extra air and light, and we can always do more later.

*Like that will ever happen*

(Friends just know this stuff.  It does not have to be spoken aloud.)

Since it is obvious by looking at our walls that there are people who like to punch holes in sheet rock, The Angel designated a time for us to get this our of our systems.

I'm not naming any names, but I am certainly hoping we got this out of our systems.

Put yer money where your mouth is, boy.

Oddly, they were hesitant to punch through, on purpose, so to speak.

"But I'm not mad.....now"

They soon got into the spirit, though.  One of the most important things they have learned with The Angel, and all boys need someone in their lives to teach them this, and I believe it needs to be a man, is not to be afraid to get in there and do something.  Especially when you have the self confidence to know that even if you mess things up, and you will, that's okay.  You can also fix it.

You will make mistakes, but that's okay, you can fix them.

This is a lesson that really cannot be learned to early, in my opinion.

Not to mention, if you are aware of the time and effort it will take to "fix" whatever it is, it *may* deter you from making mistakes more than once.  It also *may* not, but that is up to you, isn't it?  As the Master of your own Destiny, it's all up to you.  Think it over and decide, then do what  you think is best, knowing that you will be held accountable for it and you will also be responsible for making it right.

This is life.

Soon the first side looked like this.

Living room side done.  Neatly.

Once we knew where the wires were, we were ready to start on the other side.

This entailed getting my spice and "goodie" cabinet off the wall and moving a counter.

Which would have been fine except that I had already packed away all the extra Wal Mart bags and couldn't find them, so we had to cover what's left of the kitchen table with all my spices, baking supplies, cake mixes, chocolate in assorted forms, etc.

And I thought I'd thought of everything!

This is how my life goes all the time.

I just consider it a learning experience that never stops.

In for a penny, in for a pound--it's our motto.  I believe this often happens with the realization of the  birth of twins, but I could be wrong about that.  See the intercom system just hanging there?  I DID THAT.  IF you have never torn something out of your house I think you will enjoy it a lot.

I even had some fun walking around and pointing at stuff and saying things like "Okay, 1970's intercom system:  GONE."  "Cabinet-over there." *Pointing*

And it happened.

I did not look back or feel any regrets, but then that's not really ever been my thing either.  I've also gotten very good at it, but then I've had a lot of practice.

All I did was make a mental note to get some more bags for the Shop Vac, which I love dearly.  Did you know they are not any more expensive than vacuum cleaners?

Not to mention, much more versatile?  Fun fact.

Soon I could see light through the (straight, neat) cut in the sheet rock on the kitchen side.

The light at the end of the tunnel has been found.

Then it became a kind of race, which with twins, is par for the course.

Almost there!

Since they had done the first side so neatly, they got to knock the whole other side out.
It was fun.

And that, my friends, is how it is done.

The boys also found renewed energy once they could see the end of this journey in sight.

They sawed faster AND did not hit any wires that would have electrocuted them.

WIN-WIN!!

Then, drumroll..............

Ta-DA!!!!

It was open.  It was light.  Air moved through.

And my oldest baby said "I feel like I can breathe better now."

Which was totally an illusion, because dust was everywhere.

However, we all felt the same way.

Illusion or not, it was much better this way.

After that, we decided to make it bigger.

Because that's just what we do.  

We fly by the seats of our pants, and we do it well!  If I ever get questioned on this method, I just refer to it as a "lifestyle choice" and that seems to be acceptable.  *wink wink*  No one can question anything called a "lifestyle choice" now.  Well, they can, they just no longer have the nerve.

Amateurs.....*dissolves into giggles at the insanity that now passes for real life*

We decided on this size, minus the last space on the left because we have wires.  Wires which we now have to cover up but we know how and it will be easy.  No sweat.

Wires are good as long as you don't cut them, which we did not.  Sorry I keep mentioning this but it is an opportunity I am taking to thank God once again that we all survived.  I tell myself things will be fine, and I remind myself that we do have insurance and even an emergency room, but you know.......I still stay prepared in case of ........unexpected results.

The way the kitchen will be from here to eternity, probably.

So now we return to the really dirty work of scraping and sanding.

Okay, that was a lie.
 We have to start that again, as we have been lazy and dragging our feet.

Still.  Tonight it is back to it, the last of the ugly stuff.

Well, that and finding where we put the plastic forks, plates, glasses, etc.

The adventure continues......as does The Grand Finale's education, which is getting to be quite impressive.  If you are into real men who know how to work with their hands and do it right.  
That is also a lifestyle choice.  One I make consistently.  I highly recommend it, but as always, you are free to make your own decisions.
Good to keep that in mind these days.

Sweet Life......

I hope you had a great mother's day!  I have spent the entire weekend going through and making piles.  A lot of stuff got pitched.

But I made progress and watched old movies.  I have yet to take a shower today, but it's been a great day.

I think we have unrealistic expectations of what make great days.

Or maybe that's just me.

If that made you think, it might be you too.

Plastic up and ready to scrape the ceilings in the kitchen.

Though my house looks like this and I'm going to have to put the coffee pot in my bedroom for the foreseeable future.......despite the fact that my sugar and flour and CDs are packed into a tub with some plastic plates and cups..........I had a great day.

I worked, which has been hard on me but good for me.

I got my house in order, so to speak.

And I listened to some of my favorite mellow songs in the world.

I sang.  Jack sang too.

And it occurred to me that I have a sweet life, all things considered.

I am grateful for it.

So here is one of my favorite songs, going out to my own Rock Star and Rockette, during this lovely time in their sweet life.

I am putting it here because I know they will see it in time to dance in their own house that is sweetly and phenomenally prepared for our Charli-girl.  Before things get........hectic.

Dance.

Consciously make a lovely memory to remember always.

Count your blessings.

Listen to your mother.

This one's on your old mom, who *may* be the world's leading DJ when it comes to soft rock love songs.

:D

Nobody ever did it better than Paul Davis.  Nobody.

This Is A Test.....

A test of my strength, I say.  One third of the way through with this project finds the living room and hallway ready for mud to be blown upon the scraped and sanded ceilings.  The walls are ready for paint once the ceiling mud gets done.  I say one third because I'm counting both demolitions as a third each and the "new" part, painting and putting down new flooring as one.  Because I think believe it will be so much easier I won't mind it at all.  I need to believe this.  Do not bring me down.  Not at this point.  I beg of you!

So we decided the smart thing would be to just go ahead and get all the dirty stuff over with.  Which is why tonight finds me throwing everything I don't really, really need in boxes and storing it in the garage for the duration.  By "duration" I am unclear on whether I mean the duration of this project or the duration of my life. I am not washing any of it. I am in no mood for that now.  I am  Just stuffing it in boxes and getting it out. \

I've been so tired I told them at work that I was pretty sure I was approaching zombie-hood.  It's like my life is exploding, which normally I can handle.  But it's happening on all fronts and I'm behind everywhere, and I can't find anything but my tools, my purse, and the bills.  That's it!

My car has been recalled for a starter, which GM (whatever THAT means now) was kind enough to send me a letter.  It said to call a dealer.  So I called a dealer, and now it will take several weeks to get the parts.  That would work perfectly for me because I really don't have time to deal with this anyway, except this means that I have to keep the papers in my purse and they are getting frayed.  And I'm afraid I'll lose them too.  I used to be organized.  At least I used to believe I was organized.  My perception of reality is being revised.

All this being up past 8 pm is very hard on me.  Last night I went to sleep at 6 pm.  Seriously!  Yeah, I woke up about 7:30 but only because I sensed someone on my porch.  Turns out, I can sleep through the
Angel coming into my house, talking to my dogs, yelling downstairs for the boys, and then sanding quietly for I-know-not-how-long while I sleep like the dead.  I guess I really needed the sleep!  Oh well. I think they were all just normal sounds.  I only wake up when something different happens because I am a well trained machine, but only when it's necessary.  That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Welcome to my crazy life.  Don't take off your shoes.  Really.  It is for your own safety that I say this.

And yes, that is a piano in my kitchen.  Don't ask.  Not that those of you whom have ever moved a piano would.  

I assume that later, when everything is new and clean and.......blank, and I can again lift my arms and find the dish soap and stuff, I will find renewed strength for duties such as these.  I believe.  I can pass this test.  I think I can, I think I can.

If not, I guess the kids will have to go through it when I die.  This seems perfectly fair to me because if it weren't for them, I wouldn't have all this stuff anyway.  Which reminds me, Rockette, I have a lot more room in the garage for storage than it looks like.  Luckily, I have kept my box cutter safe and now need to go put it to good use getting rid of empty boxes stored here for safe keeping by our own Rock Star.  Say goodbye to those empty boxes for drum kits and GPS systems, Rock Star.  Unless you show up very soon to plead for their lives, they are ending their time on this earth.  It's not too late if you pick up the phone right now, but the best you are going to do is to have them safe and filled with the debris that's been hanging on the fridge for the last several years.  Or cake plates.  I have, like, 6 of those suckers and I know for a fact that I just took the magnet of you in kindergarten off the fridge.  It could be much worse......you should know that I even got rid of those empty jars I was saving for pinterest projects.  ( I can hear various women friends of mine moaning and wondering if I still have them right now.  Can't you?)  Hurry on over, girls.  I've got stuff everywhere I would just love to send home with you.

Onward.  Tomorrow we will don our trusty trash bags and filter masks and reduce our kitchen to a blank, if not a clean, slate.  That popcorn is not going to scrap and sand itself!  I am quite excited with my new shop vac.  I carefully dust it off every night after I sweep the floor with it 3 times.  Or so.

And to all the mother's out there, Happy Mother's Day!!  Whether you are one or have one, or both, I hope you have a most blessed day and weekend.