May 22

Today we ran a whole bunch of errands. 

First up, dropping some paperwork off at the elementary school and early childhood center to finalize the kids' enrollment in school for the fall.

At the early childhood center, Lily spotted this bench and asked to have her picture taken.

I love that my kiddos are so well trained that they ask to have their pictures taken at places that are obviously photo opps. Also, look at how happy they are. Lily is beyond excited to be going to preschool in the fall. Every once in a while, she will randomly tell me, "Mommy, thank you for signing me up for preschool!"

This is Parker the Panda, the early childhood program's mascot. Again, Lily asked for this photo. The kids decided that Lily and Eli should be alone in this picture because they haven't been to preschool yet.

This Parker photo features our two preschool graduates.

Later, the mailman brought a new light fixture I ordered for the kitchen. Do you remember the old one? It was possibly original to the house, which means circa-1968. It was a ceiling fan with four lights, but there was something wrong with the wiring of the fixture that meant it burned through light bulbs after 3 or 4 weeks. It gets expensive - and annoying! - to replace light bulbs that frequently, so we resigned ourselves to having perpetually burned-out light bulbs. Since we are currently saving money toward a kitchen renovation, we chose to live with the ugly, burned-out fixture instead of buying something new.

Finally, though, I realized that having an ugly, dim, non-functional light in my kitchen was crushing my soul, and I discovered that I could buy a perfectly functional light on Amazon for less than $150. Done.

When the mailman brought it during naptime, I was doubly blessed. All it took was a few text messages to my electrician brother-in-law to ensure I wasn't going to burn the house down with aluminum-to-copper wiring, and this was my new view: 

Aside from the open trash drawer, I think it's not  too shabby! Now I need to decide if I want to go to the effort of installing a temporary back splash and doing a concrete veneer on the countertops. I have the supplies, but I'm not sure if I'm willing to try to carve out the time when we hope to have a new kitchen in a year or two.

As I type that, I realize I should probably just go ahead and do it. Anyone want to come watch the kids (or take them!) for 3 or 4 days so I can actually do it?