The great office re-do is in progress at our house once again. James and I counted this week, and we're officially on our 6th desk/table/set of desks since we got married (almost 11 years ago). I'm happy to say, though, that I think we've got it this time. We've got 2 more shelves to find homes for in the shed or storage and I've got a pile of lesson planning odds & ends to put away in the closet, but then I'll post a picture. It's looking good...everyone has a space of their own, created to their specifications. Kayci has her own desk and some really cool drawers in addition to the shelves, so she can sit on her stool and work either on the desk or on top of the drawers. She's in heaven. Noble has 2 play areas just because he's got so many toys, but so far, he prefers opening and closing Kayci's drawers, crawling in and out of her desk, climbing up and playing with her easel...typical Noble stuff. James has his desk set up in the corner by the window, and we (finally!) bought a cabinet with doors so the computer components, cords, paper, etc. are behind closed doors and out of sight. The cabinet actually makes a little wall, so when James is at the desk he's pretty much off in his own world. I think this will help him feel like he's finally got his own space again--something that's been missing since we moved into the little green house. And then there's me. I got a wild hair and cleared the easel, trash can, recycle bin and Sami food, etc. out of the corner by my closet and placed my desk there. $10 lamp later, it's a nice little nook where I can sit and work and still be with the kids, have access to the kitchen, etc. We'll see how it works out. Right now, I'm in my new favorite corner of the house, in our bedroom. I've just started a huge project for PPCD, and my role is to input curriculum ideas, etc. into the computer. Well, I've got a whole closet full of curriculum ideas and boxes of files on top of that, and having the boxes out on shelves in the office wasn't really accomplishing the goal of getting me going. When Mom & Dad moved, she wanted a bigger sewing table so we traded her our office table (a 6-10 person dining room table--it's AWESOME!) for her sewing table, an antique Hoosier table. (I know, I know...I had a little fantasy that I'd go online and find out that Hoosier tables are worth big bucks, but nope, no treasures in the attic for Mom & Dad this time. Oh, well.) As it turns out, the table is a treasure for me! I wasn't sure what we were going to do with it but was sure that I wanted it eventually...you know how that goes. But the more we got into the office, the more I realized that if I'd move my files somewhere else, we could get rid of one whole shelf and free up a whole wall. And we're moving Noble into Kayci's room, leaving a whole wall of our room blank...so James moved the little Hoosier table in here for me. It's small enough to fit nicely in the corner out of the way, but big enough for the laptop and books/files. Earlier today I sat here for a few minutes to work on some writing, and with the curtain open and the sun streaming in, I felt truly at peace and just...happy.
I don't know if everyone's like this or if it's just us (well, ME!), but it seems like we've always got a project (or 3 or 4) going at home. This week alone, we're moving Noble into Kayci's room (which meant a whole reworking of her room, disassembling and reassembling the crib, which we still haven't done...), redoing the office, juggling furniture coming & going, making a new recycling center (which is either going to rock or flop...I'll let you know)...and we're still working on fixing the mirror on our antique dresser (turns out, the TV was holding it up all these years, so when we got rid of the bedroom TV, the mirror got all wonky and had to come down before it fell down). Our house is just an absolute wreck. Then throw in a sick baby, and the result is a house that's a wreck...a week later. Needless to say, we haven't gotten much accomplished on the work (well, my work at least) or home fronts this week. But there's always next week, right? :)
We're actually supposed to be at Mom & Dad's house this weekend, but Noble's fever threw a monkey wrench in those plans. If he stays fever free today, we may be able to run in tomorrow and take the load of stuff we've got for them. It's like we're all at a loss since Dad's surgery...but that's a story for another day. For today, life's good. It's 3:16 PM (hmm...Noble woke up at 3:16 AM this morning and I looked at James and said, "for God so loved the world..." and he finished it. He probably doesn't remember it, as he was sleeping at the time.) anyway, 3:16 PM and I'm in my PJs. So is everyone else, as a matter of fact. When we sat down to lunch--Kayci made sandwiches, ziplocs with our names and all!--James gave thanks for "pajamas at lunch." Kayci didn't quite get it, but it's actually pretty deep...what a gift today's been, not only to just BE at home, but to BE at home. No errands, no busy-ness...just doing a few things here and there as we can between playing with and caring for the kiddos. Right now both kids are asleep, and I'm savoring it as James is about to leave for a wedding in Huntsville (another casualty of Noble's illness...I was going to go with him). It's cool--the current Sammy is getting married and wants Sammy Bearkat to be at the reception. Enter James, who's always up for an opportunity to sport the orange. Originally, Sammy was going to walk down the aisle but Trent called a couple of days ago with the change of plans...my first thought is that Trent's bride--or her Mom--got wind of the Bearkat wedding appearance and weren't quite as excited as Trent. Sounds so James, doesn't it? :)
Oh, well...Noble's up. When Noble gets up, he's UP and moving. He only stops when he's sleeping. So I'm off...
