Happy National Crayon Day!

Today is National Crayon Day. My kids don't color much anymore, but for many years, they treated every day as if it were National Crayon Day at my house! In fact, we could easily have been Crayon Headquarters!

Olivia ... Master of Disguise

The Night Sky

My little grandson had to spend a week at Riley Children's Hospital in Indianapolis last December. Riley's has gone sugar and salt free. They've got boatloads of candy and chips in their numerous gift shops and restaurants, but you can't find a drink with real sugar or a packet of salt anywhere on the property! I like water, but every once in a while, I wanted something with flavor ... and sugar. When the craving became severe, I'd walk to nearby Eskenazi Hospital, where they sold "real" drinks (and their cafe's had salt!). 

I spoke to a lot of other parents during that week. All of them had a child that had been in the hospital for many months. Some of them had been there for over a year. Some had traded back and forth with their spouse so that one of them could be at Riley's and the other could be home to take care of their other kids ... or to just try to keep their job. All of them, it seemed, had a critically/chronically ill child. I felt almost guilty that, despite his burns, my grandson was perfectly healthy. He would recover without any memory of that week, and the scars will be minuscule by the time he's grown. I was worried about his pain and the possibility of skin grafts (which he fortunately didn't need), but unlike those other parents, I didn't have to worry about his quality of life or the possibility he wouldn't make it.

December is a terrible time to be in the hospital, but Riley's (and Indianapolis) bent over backwards to bring some Christmas joy into the children's lives. Children and their parents, who might not have had a reason to smile for a long, long time, got a few moments of happiness at each thoughtful gesture. I think the parents needed those brief respites even more than their children. The kids have to endure the medical procedures and overcome their circumstances, but anyone with a child knows it hurts more to watch your baby in pain than it is to be in pain yourself. I'm quite certain every single one of those parents would have traded places with their child in a heartbeat. 

It always seemed to be dusk when I'd walk to Eskenazi, and every time, the sky was ablaze with color. I couldn't help but wonder if those other parents, exhausted from months (or years) of worry and stress and grief, ever took a moment to look up and notice the beauty painted on the world's largest canvas. I really hope they did. 

Somebody Found Their Easter Present

The ears were too big for his little bean,

the mustache pacifier needed washing first,

and the bunny wasn't exciting enough ...

but the cellophane was a hit!

Happy Easter!

I was curious as to how a rabbit delivering baskets of candy and eggs became associated with the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus, so I looked it up. As far back as 3,000 years before Jesus was born, other religions and cultures celebrated their gods and spring by painting eggs as a symbol of fertility and rebirth. In the 16th century, German's brought this tradition to America, and Christians used this symbolism to celebrate and explain the resurrection of Jesus to non-believers.

Whatever your beliefs are, and whether or not they are religious in nature, I hope you have a nice Easter ... and maybe even a present from the bunny!

From the World's Smallest Bedroom

To the world's coziest office!

Had I been the one to build this house, I would have added about five feet to it's width to make the smallest bedroom a bit larger. As a bedroom, it borders on almost being too small to function, but I love it as my office. The extra wide window floods the room with light and affords a view of the flowering trees in the front yard. It may be small, but I think it's absolutely perfect!

I Apparently Didn't Win ... Something

I cleaned out the glove box in my van yesterday. Among a decade's worth of registrations, insurance cards, and repair/maintenance receipts, I found this note in an envelope. I have absolutely no idea what this is in reference to, but one this is certain ... I didn't win. 

It's in Thing 2's handwriting. I'm hoping she'll remember because I'm stumped!

Yesterday's Lunch

I went to the grocery yesterday afternoon. Fitting all the food in the freezer was a bit like playing Tetris. I moved, rearranged, shoved, and prayed. In the end, I managed to get everything in except for the three-quarter empty tub of mint chocolate chip ice cream. So, I did what any frugal consumer would do ... I ate it!

The inner child in me was thrilled to finally get to eat ice cream for lunch and the armchair-engineer in me was proud of the fact that I managed to cram 15 sq/ft of food into 10 sq/ft of space. Yesterday, victory was mine!

Oh, Olivia ...

My Mudroom Renovation is Complete

As you step into the house from the back door, this is what you now see ... but it didn't always look like this. When I moved into this house last fall, I used this space as my office. It was functional, but it was not conducive to writing!

My son asked if he could move his bedroom to the basement, and I said yes. We moved his furniture downstairs and I moved my office furniture into his old room. We're both thrilled with the change. The basement bedroom is much larger than his old room, but his old room is the perfect size for my office. When I moved into this house, I already knew what I wanted to do to transform the mudroom from blah to "how cute!", but I had to put those plans on hold because I was using it as my office. Now I was free to execute my vision. 

With the furniture gone, I had an messy tangle of internet equipment and wires. First, I drilled a hole in the bottom of the upper cabinet, which was well over an inch thick (they don't make cabinets like this anymore!). I "hid" the modem and cords in the cabinet to get them out of sight. I drilled another hole through the top of the cabinet (which was also over an inch thick) so that I could set the wireless router on top. It wasn't fun to drill those holes, but at least I can be certain those cabinets are sturdy enough to hold whatever I put in them.

Then, I added bead board .,.

Next came a really cute bench ...

a ladder shelf with baskets ...

then molding and trim ...

I secured the coax cable and gave everything a couple of coat of white paint. When the paint was dry, I hung coat hooks, and re-hung the white picture frame a little higher (to clear the molding that wasn't there when I originally hung the frame). Lastly, I attached a black wire basket attached to the top of the ladder shelf, and hung a die-cut "Give Thanks" above the shelf ... and the room is done!

I'd like to find a couple of throw pillows and a jute rug for the floor, but I have rugs by all the doors, so those things aren't a necessity. I'll just keep my eye out and pick up those items when I see something that strikes my fancy. Even without those final finishing touches, I am very pleased with how well it turned out!