Promised Updates

I've promised updates when I'm feeling more normal, and thankfully, more normal arrived this morning. :)

My mom had her teeth all pulled yesterday and is recovering. She is feeling surprisingly well and looking forward to pretty dentures in about a month. We were joking this morning about how they'll probably be the best looking teeth she's ever had. :) She's able to talk well, not in pain, and enjoying fruity milkshakes and tomato soup!

Pluto has made himself an outdoor cat. Thankfully, there is a barn with a loft full of hay to keep warm in and a host of animals for company. His offenses? Well, laziness, it seems. He hasn't had a box in the house for over 5 years and has done well to go outside when the need arises. Until recently. David had to rip up the carpet, padding, molding, and even some of the wall board in our library. The kiddos enjoyed helping with the foam padding stuck under staples... Tack strips are no fun. We've prematurely spent much of our income tax return on some clearance maple flooring from Lumber Liquidators, tools for laying the flooring, putting up new molding, primer (to seal the floor) and while we have to do a little repainting anyway, have decided an additional $20 will be worth it to change the wall color from a very libraryesque dark purple to a very homeschoolroomish sunny yellow. That is to be David's Christmas project... that and installing a second hay loft and another door in our barn! Structures that don't require building permits and can be altered to one's liking apparently have a life of their own!

We've also had our bathrooms measured for vinyl flooring. Pluto isn't the only offender. Our kids who don't always make it to the potty on time, use far too much toilet paper, and enjoy splashing wildly in the tub make carpet a dreadful choice for a bathroom. We always knew the day would come when we'd have to put something else down. That day has arrived. We're living with subfloor in both bathrooms until our library is done and we can have an installer do the bathrooms. DIY tile would be cheaper, but who wants to clean grout or wants their little ones to fall on wet tile? We also like the idea of having someone else do the work and having it done in a day. That will be a nice change to all of our projects!

So today, I have to shape up a house that has been left to the kiddos for a day, plan the Christmas meal, do a little shopping, get our Christmas letters printed and sent (late) and and and... the list seems endless! Best get to work!