The Middle

Posted on March 8, 2009 by Momzoo

(scroll down for the first post in my painting series)

One of the nice things about my “painter” is that he is also my brother-in-law. It is much more comfortable to spend the day with a person I know and like than it would be a stranger. My kids also enjoyed uncle Jason being around. He is really fun and easy going, which is nice when there are 5 punks hanging around wanting to help all the time.

Here he is, Mr wonderful-brother-in-law surrounded by my punks…”helping”.

There goes my green walls…covered up by a nice milk-chocolate-pudding color.

Here is a good example of how good my painter is…notice…no tape

he does it free hand.

I am amazed at how he just sits up on that ladder, not even noticing the 20 foot drop…

Tomorrow…..”The Finished product.”

Before

Posted on March 6, 2009 by Momzoo

When we moved into this house 7 and a half years ago I promptly painted it. I had lived in enough “egg shell white” apartments and I didn’t want to live in an “egg shell white” house. I have always love the color green in all its forms so it was natural that I would pick green for the familyroom/kitchen area.

I loved the color. It was so different from the typical light tan and white everybody else had, and like I said before, I love the color green.

Over the years the paint became chipped in places and the base boards banged up. This of coarse naturally happens when you have 5 kids running around. For the last couple of years I have been wanting to paint. I painted the house myself the first time around and it was a huge job, our ceiling vaults and the highest of the vaults happens to be over the stairs, making for a very awkward and dangerous wall to paint.

Lucky for me I have a most wonderful and talented brother-in-law who does custom painting for a living, and this year we finally had the money to pay Mr. wonderful-brother-in-law to paint the house for us. As he was cutting in (or as us non-painting people say “doing the edges”) I remembered to grab the camera and snap pictures before my wonderful green walls disappeared.

These are all kitchen shots, the family room was already covered with dark gray primer by the time I thought to get the camera out.

Tomorrow…..”The Middle.”

Calming the Confusion

Posted on March 4, 2009 by Momzoo

Life around our house has been crazy and confusing. There has been a lot going on and so our normal day-to-day routines have been disrupted. for some people that is no big deal, they just cope and move on. For me it can be major! I am like a big ‘ol plow horse, slow and steady, happy to plug along day after day. When something changes can usually adjust, but when there are changes day after day after day it just completely throws me off and it can take days to get back to normal.

Because of the weeks worth of different, our home and family has been under some strain. My house doesn’t have the calm sense of well being that I try to create. So this morning as I was looking into my living room I decided that I was going to create some calm.

Here is the before picture. The living room isn’t dirty, just messy.

I looked at the clock and started my clean up. It took about an hour and a half, I had several interruptions. I am now home schooling my oldest, so I had to stop a few times to help her and then I had some surprise guests arrive for a short time. I know I could have done it in about half that time had I been uninterrupted.

Here is the room finished:

It is amazing to me how a quick pick up can change the feeling in a house.

(p.s. do you like the color of the walls…it is new! I have before and after pictures coming soon!)

Leisure vs Entertainment

Posted on March 3, 2009 by Momzoo

I was talking to a friend today about children and education and our society in general. She told me something that has made me think, a lot. She said there is a difference between leisure and entertainment.

Leisure, is quietly resting while doing something, sewing, reading, talking, playing piano, listening to music, gardening or using our minds in some way.

Entertainment is quietly letting something entertain us, T.V. (most, but not all of the mindless drivel that is shown on the tube these days) video games and movies.

Leisure rests us, quiets us, sooths our souls. Entertainment bores us, makes our minds restless and creates contention.

It made me think of the way I feel when I spend the day doing nothing, and the way my kids act when they are in front of the computer or T.V. all day. We are ornery, restless and contentious. Not all entertainment is bad, we need a little of it, but just a little. Our bodies, souls and families would be better served using our free time engaged in leisurely activities.