Happy Birthday Michael + Visitors!!

Happy birthday, Michael! He went to work on Tuesday and we made him falafel for his birthday dinner. I got him a neck & shoulder massager for his birthday because he keeps saying he needs to take up Yoga so his hunched-over job doesn't turn him into an old man. Westin and Bennett had helped me pick out a Neighborhood Beekeeping book for him, too. They like visiting the local bee/honey shop because if you find the queen bee in their observation hive then you get to choose a flavored honey stick.

I did an accent wall start to finish by myself this week, and I felt proud of my first solo power tool day! I put a geometric trim pattern on my green wall and painted it the same color green, to give it some texture. I also added some details into our half bath that I stenciled last week. Every week the house looks more like I've pictured it in my head. And now I know that I'm more comfortable with a miter saw and a nail gun than I am with a drill. I'll never understand that. I also took a curtain rod that the sellers had left, and cut a part off of it with my jigsaw so that it didn't look like a boob anymore. Then I sanded it and spray painted it, and now we can buy curtains for the front room. Except choosing curtains and rugs is too hard, so, I'll just keep adding curtains to my cart from a bunch of stores without ever really pulling the trigger for a while.

On Saturday, Ali and Matthias and Elise arrived! I love when family come to our house! We had just left an outdoor neighborhood birthday party (where Bennett spilled hot chocolate which bounced all over me and Westin... some days are just a bigger struggle than others), and we were so happy to come home to family getting here. Baby Elise is so stinking cute, and she and Camden seem like twins since she's so determined and mobile. She loves to stroke his hair... and then pull it. Hehe. We have to referee them but they are so cute to see together, especially on their little high chair dates. We're looking forward to their visit this week!!

 

Before and after!

Splotchy because I just painted it. But I love it!

Election week.
We look at red and blue state maps so much,
but it's important to remember that land doesn't vote and all counties are different.
This visual was helpful for me.
Also, following the election for days and then getting results felt like I stopped holding my breath for the first time in four years. The physical feeling I felt Saturday was so surprising to me.

I love this boy and he's such a sweetie. But he's also pretty high maintenance lately, and, well,
just had to document it. I don't want to scroll through this blog someday and just weep for my little people to be little again. I want to feel grateful these days happened and grateful for new stages...
pics like this will probably help :)

We finally got a new vacuum, since ours was working less and less every time we forced it to keep trying to do its job. I know this is disgusting. But you guys, it is so fun to vacuum with a WORKING vacuum.

Two weeks ago I didn't know at all what I wanted to do in here,
and someday I might do something different and remodel it more,
but this little temporary and basically free option is making me really happy.