Author Archives: Chrissie

He’s Back!

Yes, Kevin has finally returned home.  Thank goodness!

Turns out, the last two weeks were nothing more than an extended vacation because he never got to do his project.  No, he guesses he got about 4 hours of work done over the last two weeks.  He did, however, read three books, watch 10 movies, and eat more sushi than he cares to remember.  Yeah, suffer, suffer.  So he’ll have to go back in a few weeks for take two but I won’t worry about that now.  He’s home and all the McLaughlin ladies are over the moon!

A Girl And Her Dog

For the most part, Leina does not like having her picture taken.  I suppose this is my fault.  I may, perhaps, have taken slightly too many pictures of her when she was little so now when she sees the camera she flees in blind panic.  There are, however, a few exceptions to the general aversion she holds to having her picture snapped.  She is more than willing to have her picture taken if it 1) involves making a funny/obnoxious face; 2) involves trying to capture her while running/jumping/rolling; or 3) involves Artie.  So, lately we have lots and lots of shots of her and Artie.  This, I don’t mind at all and the latest photo session revealed this beautiful photo.

 

Could they be any cuter????

Could This Day Be Any Longer?

Things get so topsy turvy when Kevin is gone on a trip.  Normally I can’t wait for the weekend and it just flies by.  So much to do in a mere two days!  The week days drag along and then bam-o, weekend over.  But now?  Oh my goodness this has been the longest Saturday in my life.  We have nothing to do, no where to go, and no one to see.  Of course it’s raining so it’s just me and the girls sitting around and I think we’ve somehow managed to freeze every clock in this house.  I can hardly wait till Monday because we have gobs of stuff planned for the week. School, play dates, swim classes, dance, meetings – you name it, we are doing it!  But the weekend?  That’s just one very long stretch of time.  Sigh.  Look at that.  Only four minutes have passed since I started writing.  I’m telling you, this day is never going to end.  And then, of course, there’s Sunday just looming there waiting for me.  Ugh.  I hope Kevin is having fun touring temples and eating sushi.  The bum.

A Few Pictures

Well, my parents are back in LA but they left behind them two very happy grandchildren and a beautiful kitchen.  My dad noted how “lucky” it was that we just happened to have gotten our IKEA cabinetry delivered right before they came.  Yeah, real “lucky” dad.  No planning on our part at all.  Nope.  None. 

Anyhoo, there were boxes of unassembled cabinets to be hung and my dad never could pass up a project waiting to go so he and Kevin began Phase II of the great kitchen remodel.  As you may (or may not) recall, Kevin and I attempted Phase I and it wasn’t very pretty.  It took a very very long time and involved many tense conversation about alignment and extra parts.  Lets just say I was a little burned out on the whole process.  But Elmo proved to have the fresh blood we needed to plow back into the mess.  More importantly, it meant I could step back and let Kevin and my dad work together.  This worked out very well. 

Of course, I forgot to take a “before” picture but really, you aren’t missing much.  Just picture generic oak cabinets, worn and very dingy.  Then were promptly removed leaving a very large and empty wall.  See Exhibit A.

Not so impressive, right?  Well, demolition was the easy part people.  It got much harder after that.  There was hammering, aligning, squaring, lifting, grunting and all sort of labor like stuff going on.  I’m a bit foggy on the details here because, well, I was out shopping.  But I was here in spirit!  Really!  I can even prove it!  See, here I am holding the entire microwave up with one hand while my dad and husband do other cabinetry stuff.

It was work I tell you, work!  Ok, maybe there were a few screws helping me out there but I did help.  Anyway, after they were all hung and the hardware attached and the microwave moved and the hinges damped and the sides installed and the molding leveled it looks something like this…

That seriously rocks, no?  I’m in love love love with them.  They are so white and purty.  I could sit at my kitchen table, sipping coffee, and stare at them for hours.  Not that I do that or anything.  ‘Cause that would be weird, right?  As you can see, the base cabinets are a hodge podge right now.  That’s Phase III.  I’m still staring right now.  Where was I?  Oh yes, along with these cabinets, my dad also finished up the ones over by the fridge.  I can stare at these beauties for hours as well.

Ok, ok, I did a bit of staging and arranged the magnets but can you blame me?  Again.  Lots of loving of the cabinets going on.  To try and give you the feel for it all, here’s a pull back shot.  I just realized this is before hardware but I think you get the picture.  Go ahead, grab a cup of coffee and graze with wonder upon my new kitchen.  I know I do!

It’s Coming Down!

Right now, even as I type, Elmo and Kevin are downstairs demolishing my kitchen.  Literally, everything but the kitchen sink is coming out.  I’m having a hard time with all the chaos.  Nothing is where it should be so trying to find something as simple as a coffee mug requires a crazy amount of work.  I’m trying to keep my eye on the big picture but the idea of putting everything away is a tad daunting.  Lets just say, I have far too much kitchen stuff.  It’s amazing how many things one acquires over three years.  I’m taking the opportunity to purge, purge, purge.  Yes!  Hopefully by the end of the day today, the construction phase will be over and I can begin putting the tattered pieces of my kitchen back together.

While Papa slaves away over our cabinets, Tutu has taken charge of the kids.  Everyday they are writing a new story together, drawing pictures or reading library books.  Pretty much kid heaven if ever there was one.  This frees me to pace around the kitchen anxiously wondering how I’ll ever get all this stuff packed away.  Life is good!

I forgot to snap a “before” picture but I’m sure I’ll post an “after” shot.  Prepare to be wowed…

Not Home Yet

So this is the new site.  Why, you ask?  Mostly because I am a horrible speller.  It’s true, really, I don’t mind admitting it.  Our old blog program didn’t have a spell check and I was too lazy to type everything in Word first and then paste it over to the website.  Instead, I just tried to use short small words that were easy to spell.  But man did I want a spell check.  So now, voila!  Spell check!  Isn’t it lovely?

Of course, I’m totally not used to how this blog looks and feels now.  It’s all so new and strange and, well, blue.  Kevin claims it is a work in progress so I suppose it will eventually morph into something familiar.  But right now, it just feels a bit odd. 

Anyway, today is the first day of spring break and it is lovely.  Blue skies, sunshine, and happy daffodils bobbing in the wind.  I took the girls to the zoo where Leina attended zoo camp and Kulia and I wandered about stalking the animals.  Actually, that isn’t quite true.  Kulia wasn’t so interested in the animals.  Really, all she wanted to do was climb on the rocks along the trails.  Yup, that’s right.  I stood on the side of the trail and watched her scramble up and down a set for four rocks for about 40 minutes.  I couldn’t drag her away from those rocks to save my life.  All she wanted was to climb rocks.  Sigh.

She also decided she really doesn’t like zebras.  Come on now kid, zebras?  They are totally benign.  They don’t have sharp teeth or claws, they don’t smell funny or throw their feces at you, and they are the least exotic animal at the zoo looking like a horse with stripes.  But Kulia wouldn’t even walk past their enclosure or look at them.  She keep insisting that they were too “sneaky”.  Yes, that’s right, the large grazing zebra were declared “sneaky” and soundly rebuffed by my youngest.   A love of boulders and sneaky zebras.  That’s my baby for you!