Termite Guy: “I added 8 new bait stations and put these little flags at each one. That’s a total of 31 stations all the way around the house.”
Me: “I’m not a big fan of the orange plastic flags on wire sticks. I can put something more subtle and decorative at each station if you need them marked.”
Termite Guy: “I’ll just push them all the way down to the ground. You’ll barely notice them.”
Me: “I’m just going to pull the ugly orange plastic flags out of the ground after you leave.”
(I actually said that to myself. There was really no reason to say it to him, he didn’t listen to me the first time.)
We’ve made a big change here at Casa Aqua (the name Casa Aqua is a long story. Suffice it to say we are no strangers to dehumidifiers and industrial carpet fans). We ditched our straight backed wooden slat chairs (as comfy as they were) and have purchased four office desk chairs for our kitchen table. Take a look:
Last year we experienced a shift in homework time-continuum as FavoriteSon tried different locations to complete his homework. Neither of my kids likes to be isolated during homework time. Neither of them want a desk in their room to do said homework. I’m sure it’s because they just can’t bear to be apart from me.
(convincing and heartfelt pause)
Bwahahahaha!!!
But seriously, this is a good thing. Because they both tend to “daydream” (code word for mild ADD) and I find myself asking “Are you distracted?” “Whatcha doing?” and “Status report, please.” when I see them doing anything BUT homework.
By the end of last year, FavoriteSon’s homework location of choice was MY reading spot:
Reading Spot
He complained that the chairs at both our kitchen table and our dining table made his back hurt. I couldn’t disagree with him. So, we sometimes let him do his homework while sitting here. By the end of these evenings, he was sprawled across the loveseat, eyes drooping, pretty much useless. We would send him to bed and wake him up early to finish in the morning. On the days we forced him to sit at a table, the whining was frequent and escalating, extending the time he spent doing the homework in the chairs of pain. (physical pain for him, a whole NUTHER kind of pain for us.)
This year, we had a plan. We took the kids to Staples and Office Depot to pick out chairs. FavoriteSon settled right into a $90 chair. A little steep, but we agreed with the condition that he N E V E R complain about the seating for homework again. And that he MUST A L W A Y S sit at the kitchen table to do his homework.
PinkGirl kept picking out cushy velour chairs FirstHusband and I vetoed every one, envisioning a daily task of removing crusty food from an increasingly hard and stained surface. ewww.
We finally found a $70 chair for her that was COMPLETELY adjustable. The seat goes up and down and tilts forward and backward. The back goes forward and backward as well as up and down. The entire chair moves up and down. And the arms are adjustable.
Of course, it didn’t match FavoriteSon’s chair. And while I’m not opposed to the quirkiness of this “office chairs in the kitchen” idea, I DO have some sense of aesthetics (aka decorating), so we opted to get two and two. FavoriteSon and I have the same chair and FirstHusband and PinkGirl have the same chair. (So what do you think? Do I need a more contemporary table now? I can’t decide.)
Two evenings of homework and so far, so good.
And yes. I am sure I see scratches on the floor already. But I do not care. This floor has had “character” for years now. When my kids are grown and have moved out, I will have a beautiful kitchen floor. But in the words Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen): “It is not THIS day!”
And I’m okay with that. This works for me – and my family.
You know, “The Home Repair Game.” I’m no good at it. I never win.
At first, only one tile was missing. The plastic and the duck tape were our attempt to postpone the repair for a few weeks.
It’s been a few weeks.
I’ve been trying to select tile. FirstHusband and I agree it should be “tan.” That’s as far as we got with the decision making process. After that, all tan looks the same to me. I’m trying to care, really I am, but seriously. Tan is tan.
I’m not even going to acknowledge the water damage behind the tile. I’m still in denial.
Amazingly, it was the same day “someone” threw this in my basket at Walmart! ($15.00)
Anyone?
Should I go “vintage” (or is it “retro?”) or “Walmart?”
I can’t seem to hang the new curtain, but I can’t seem to return it either.
FavoriteSon says I’m right. The 90’s did call.
PinkGirl says, “They’re both so beautiful, I just can’t choose!”
FirstHusband says “Go ahead. Change it. Although it’s the only decorating thing in our house I ever really loved.”
So. He’s no help. I asked him what type of artwork he might like to hang over our bed (there’s nothing there now). After he said the words, “velvet” and “blacklight” I knew I was on my own. I’ve always known where FavoriteSon gets it.
Although the photos show the EXACT opposite, the room seems brighter with the pale gold curtain. The flash didn’t go off. The room just looks darker (and smaller?) with the garnet curtain – it needed the flash. The garnet curtain never really matched the bottom wall color. The pale gold curtain is almost a perfect match for the top wall color. So why can’t I just change it already?
And yes, we are Nole fans. It is a garnet and gold bathroom.
