Progress is happening!

 Ok so it's slower than I'd like but given shipping delays and shortages of tradespeople who have the right skills to do the work I'm just going to have to be patient. I started planning the new kitchen in February, and ordered new vanity cabinets for three of my 4 bathrooms. Those came in, and then we had to wait 6 wks for plumbers who could find time in their schedules to install them. Thankfully they are now in! Just the first step on those bathrooms but at least I have working non leaking sinks now! 

This is the before

And the after!

I also took the opportunity to upgrade the flooring. It's a temporary option but there would have been holes in the flooring where the legs were from the old vanity cabinet. Peel and stick tiles but they were very easy to install, inexpensive and should work until I completely re-do the bathroom. Right now we're focused on clean and functional and will save up to put in nicer flooring in the future. I will patch and paint the walls sometime this year as well but right now my energy is focused on the kitchen.

That project has been delayed by shipping of my upper doors which were a special order. The main body of the cabinets is constructed so once that arrives is should go fast. I ordered the dishwasher which is taunting me un-hooked up just sitting there LOL.

We can't order the counters until the cabinets go in, or install the plumbing or electric until they are in. But we are doing all the other wiring in the house. Which we discovered had no grounding except for a few outlets and was almost all knob and tube upstairs. Glad we didn't burn down the place when we moved in with no heat in December! Until the new furnace went in we were using space heaters. Super shocking to see the condition of some of the insulation coming off of those old wires- all charred and crumbling. So I will feel 1000% better when that is completed. We are about 75% through the re-wire and boy is it spendy but completely worth it.

So some of my other plans have had to be scaled back as far as timing. We'll still do everything, just slower.

Some happy surprises. There is a beautiful Lilac near the carriage house, and also several gorgeous Peony plants. My absolute favorite.

The family is starting to settle in a little bit. Wrapping up the home school year today too. So looking for local summer adventures for my upcoming vacation. My new life isn't perfect but it sure feels beautiful right now. I'm taking it one day at a lime and making my environment 1% better every day. I figure at that rate I'll be settled in by fall and things will have fallen into place for this first phase of renovations.

Also making friends and learning to use my sewing machine and joined a Quilting guild! It's fun to re-invent your life.

Make a Change and Love your Life

 What is important in life? That you love your life and live it to the fullest. It's so worth going for your dreams. Make a change if you don't like where you are you won't regret it. In December we made a big move and bough a huge Victorian House in Illinois. I'm loving my new life here. Green trees, green grass, and a real wood house with space to live and create and enjoy living in a home with history and character and space for an art studie. Renovations in progress, more photos to come! 

Much time has passed

I have been very neglectful of my journal. Life is keeping me busy. Ben is almost 3 and a very busy little boy. My older kids are all doing well. Cassie is a senior in college, Max just started his freshman year in college,  Jake is a sophomore in HS and Nick is in 6th grade.

 I love my job as an RN working for a busy nonprofit clinic. I get to help people with their health every day. My boss is very supportive and my coworkers make the job fun. I am working 4 days a week which is challenging to keep up with but somehow we are making it work. Lane is home with Ben.
I have also taken in a friend of my daughter who needs some suport in transitioning to adulthood without a supportive family. She will be Ben's nanny while she figures out her plans for finishing HS and starting college. So lots going on but not a lot to write about.

The Happiness Project

I just started reading a great book called The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. The main premise is that by making small changes in your life and attitude you can increase your happiness. We all have a baseline level but she teaches you how to push yourself to the higher part of your range. I am going to test her theory out and try my own. You can try too and she also has a website with tools that are free that anyone can use. http://happiness-project.com/ The first part is to ask yourself the following questions so here are my answers: ▪ What makes you feel good? What gives you joy, energy, fun? - Reading - Being organized - Spending time with friends and family - Helping others - Music - Learning something new ▪ What makes you feel bad? What brings you anger, guilt, boredom, dread? - Being late - Having nothing to look forward to- lack of fun - Finances - When I can't fix something that someone else has to do for themselves but it impacts my life - Gossip ▪ What makes you feel right? What values do you want your life to reflect? - Family- I want to have my family do fun things together. I want to build memories to look back on and enjoy - My career. I love helping other people understand how to help themselves be healthy. I want to be the best RN I can be. - Beauty- I love an organized and serene and colorful home that feels WARM - Nature- I enjoy being outside as long as the weather is cool enough ▪ How can you build an atmosphere of growth—where you learn, explore, build, teach, help? - Get organized - Plan ahead - meal planning, schedule time for professional development -Join professional organization -Take a class for fun I'll be expanding on these questions but this is the first step.

Switching my profile to Google + today. Joyful Dreamer was the name I chose when I was deciding to start a journey to discover where I wanted to go in my life. I have achieved that goal, to pursue a career in nursing. And in the last 2 months I have begun the work of my chosen profession. I am really loving nursing. I work in a non-profit clinic, helping people who are the most in need of preventative healthcare. We keep them out of the ER and try to give them the tools they need to be active participants in their health care. I spend a lot of my time doing Blood Pressure Checks, Immunizations, Diabetes Education and just listening to my patients. I have a lot to learn but it feels like I made the right choice. I am not sure if I will move on in the future to complete my MSN, and become a CNM- Certified Nurse Midwife or not. I am leaving all options on the table and we will see what calls to me.

I am feeling very blessed these days. My children are thriving. Ben celebrated his first birthday. He is almost a toddler, cruising along the furniture and getting into everything he can get his hands on. He's pointing and talking and such a fun little person. My older children are all doing well in school. All of us have handled the transition from student to professional working mom smoothly. I owe a lot of that to my husband Lane, who has spent the last 2 months being a stay at home dad. He's currently looking for work and Ben started daycare last week half days 3 days a week so he can do that while Ben learns to be with other kids and caretakers. It's going very well so far and I am not stressed at all about being away from him while I'm at work. It has been everything I could have hoped for and I am so very thankful for that!

Hold on to this moment!

So often when I am with my children I think I want to capture this moment and remember it forever. But it is hard to hang on to the nuances of the memory. You lose the details even as you capture the big picture. Flash frozen a child is eating their first birthday cake, or discovering the magic of Santa. Today I had one of those moments. Cassie was watching Ben for me in the living room while I peeled apples for pie. I could hear him giggling as she tickled him and it was the sweetest thing ever. I wish I could have videotaped it, but the audio memory will have to do. The sound of Ben laughing and Cassie laughing back was so heartwarming. My children are all healthy,still living under my roof, we have food and a roof over our head, a nice warm house, trees decorated, cookies and other delights ready for the big day. I have a lot to be thankful for this year. Not the least is the sound of my baby's laughter. I am so grateful!

Well it's been awhile. Ben is now 8 months and still sweet as sugar. He started saying Mama on Saturday, first one of my kids to say that before dada. No teeth yet but he's getting mobile by rolling around. He won't stay on his tummy long enough to figure out the crawling but he can sit by himself. He is eating banana, applesauce, pears, sweet potato and yogurt now.

We are all ready for Christmas. Trees up and stockings hung and the kids are looking forward to a visit from their aunt and new cousin. My SIL is getting married a few days before Christmas and decided to pop down to see us for a quick visit. I am so happy for her and so excited to see her. Last time I was so wrapped up in school and NICU visits that I barely got to visit. I can't wait to meet her new husband and stepson as well.