I know we are still a new family when I still count in months the time that Abate and Fantu have been here with us. Twenty months. Such a short time. Such a long time. So many changes and yet some things still so new. Abate and Fantu just fit so well into this family, it seems as though they were always here. Yet it seems such a short time ago that the house was quiet and empty. I had felt that a 900 square foot house was more than enough space ( our houses in Ireland were even smaller). Storage wasn't an issue and it was so easy to keep it clean. Now the garage has been taken over for living space. Last winter my car was kept all snug and dry, this winter I'm scraping off frost and freezing for the first ten minutes of my drive. The garage also serves as storage for those things that I know I need to part with but just haven't been able to let go. It's a playroom with TV and Wii, toys for Caleb (so many he's outgrown) the computer, a small chest freezer ,the old sofa and recliner. It's a mess, it's disorganized, it really needs help.
My kitchen has always been a bit too small, but I made it work. Storage wasn't bad, plenty of cupboard space. But now with the amount of food I buy each week, the extra glasses and dishes we need, I have things stacked on top of the microwave and the refrigerator. It's hard to open the backdoor more than halfway because the recycling bins are in the way. I find myself forever tripping over dog beds and dog bowls and dogs. My refrigerator is falling apart. One of the veg bins hangs crooked and the freezer door handle is always falling off. It's packed full after a trip to the grocery store and empty 2 days later.
I can't stand messy counters or stovetops and find myself wiping them down constantly. It seems I've kitchen gremlins that come in there every few minutes and make a mess. They must be the ones eating all the food I buy too. I know it's not any of us eating it because I seem to constantly hear I'm hungry, there's nothing to eat! I've always had the plan to one day remodel the kitchen, but I think now I will wait until the house is empty and quiet again. I can't imagine going through the inconveniences of a remodel with a family to kept fed. Something to look forward to and plan for down the road.
The bathroom was just remodeled right before the kids arrived. It's small and it's the only one. We have been able to make it work though by keeping everyone on a schedule. At least we were until a broken water main sent silt into the water supply and messed up my new bath faucet. Now the shower doesn't work and it takes 30 minutes to fill the tub for a bath. This takes lots of creative scheduling. Gatesville has got to do something about the antique water mains and towers. This is the second time we have had this problem and it is ruining the plumbing in our house and is going to cost me a small fortune to get all the repairs made.
The kids rooms are nice and they both have plenty of room and closet space. Now I just need to get them to actually use their closets. Fantu puts everything in her chest drawers. I have to double check that she hangs up her few dresses that she has. Abate was just the opposite- he hung everything up in his closet until he realized that was going to be too much work every week. So now it all just sits on the spare bed in his room until he decides to clean then it might get put away. Luckily he doesn't have that many clothes right now to wear as he has grown so much in the past two months. He has very few things that fit and all we do is buy new things. Last week it was new shoes. He outgrew his other pair it seems overnight.
Abate is wanting to re-do his room. It was originally decorated for the two of them - we thought 9 & 10 year olds. Well it's just Abate's room now and he's 14 and wanting something more to his age and taste. We hope to do something in the next few months.
Mine and Alan's bedroom is a disaster. Mis-matched furniture, an assortment of duvet covers that don't match the drapes. I did have a beautiful room but upgrading to a queen size bed and surrendering my antique beds to my older girls left me with a mix of old and newer stuff. This is also the bedroom where we all seem to hang out. It's not unusual for me, both kids and the dogs to all be on the bed watching TV or doing homework. The room may be messy and a designers nightmare but oh is it comfy! I do have plans for it. The room really needs a closet overhaul- as in demolition and reconstruction. I don't know who built those closets but I can tell you a women had no part in the design or construction! This was a project I had hoped to do sometime this year. Well we decided to take a nice summer vacation instead. It's time for Alan and the kids to experience the all-american road trip.
I know you are all thinking - Alan drives a truck for a living and you are taking him on a road trip? Yes! He never gets to stop and see the sights along the way. No backroads, no giant balls of twine, no souvenir shops. I can't wait, I LOVE ROADTRIPS!!!
So anyway twenty months as a family and we are hanging in there. The house may be falling apart (it is nearly 56 years old after all) and we seem to be constantly busy. But through it all - the ups and downs, ....
we are having fun in our cozy old house!
And isn't that what matters?
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