Our week in five

// ONE //

I wanted to thank everyone who has taken the time to read my blog posts and for all of your kind comments about the blog. It means the world to me that someone other than myself and Mr. L are actually reading what I write (and that Mr. L’s proof-reading efforts are worthwhile). I started writing this blog as a way to keep my wits about me after deciding to stay at home with the kids. When I was working as an attorney, I was on top of everything—I could whip out memos in minutes, navigate the internet like a pro, and use big words when I spoke to other people. I was going to write, “big words like ___ and ___,” but quite honestly, I can’t even remember what those words are. But the point is, I sounded (or at least felt like I sounded) smart.

I feel extremely blessed that I can stay home with Lamborghini and The Dot, especially this day and age when there are so many two-parent working families. We, like a lot of other families I know, make sacrifices so that I get to have this privilege, and I really do appreciate that I have the choice to stay home. But I must admit that while I go to bed every night and think about how thankful I am for each day I get to spend with my kids, my brain sometimes feels like it is shriveling up. I often struggle with how to reply to simple text messages or social media comments (see the blanks above) and I’m cringing internally when I try to have a conversation with someone and can’t express what I’m trying to say. Anyway, this writing project helps me feel a little bit like an adult every once in a while. Lol. Thanks again for the encouraging feedback. ♥

// TWO //

Now to discuss the most important day of Lamborghini’s week: Wednesday. Also known as the day Lamborghini got to ring as many doorbells as his heart desired.

Because that’s what Halloween is about, right? I really think he could have cared less about the costumes and candy. He would race to every door and frantically search for the doorbell. When people answered the door, he would inquire about whether their doorbell was broken, why they had two doorbells (one was a wireless doorbell at kid-height), and, in one case, he yelled, “Why don’t you have a doorbell?!” He’s already scoping out the doorbells he plans to ring next year.

The funny thing is that The Dot got the memo about Halloween. She held onto her trick or treat bag like it contained the crown jewels, and she would NOT let anyone help her with it. I heard “Mo!” (her “no”) more times that night than I do when I ask her if she wants to go to bed. Since Halloween, she has decided that she does not care much for Skittles, but she does like Butterfinger bars, Reece’s Pieces, and M&Ms. So basically anything chocolate.

It poured rain all Halloween night, so the kids’ trick-or-treating only lasted for about an hour. But it was the perfect amount of time for us. The cardboard airplanes I made for them were a hit, although they were a bit cumbersome to walk around with in the rain. I think I’ll go a bit simpler next time.

And with another Halloween behind us, Lamborghini woke up from his nap on Thursday and stated matter-of-factly, “I want to eat my house.”

And eat it he did.

We are sad Halloween is over, but are looking forward to the next holiday . . . . and our next construction project:

// THREE //

Ok, so now that Lamborghini’s doorbell obsession is out of the bag, I have to mention his favorite toy. The wireless doorbell that we purchased off of Amazon. Unfortunately our exact brand is no longer available. This one is similar in case you are interested (photo links to Amazon product):

It works just like a regular doorbell, but it’s battery-operated. Plus it comes with thirty-six melodies to choose from in case you don’t want the standard “ding-dong” noise. Lamborghini is partial to the can-can song. Yup—the tune to which the line of cabaret ladies (and now Lamborghini) kick up their legs. Mr. L and I can tolerate it up to about twenty “rings,” but then we insist he either hand over the doorbell for us to destroy or move on to another song. Although I sometimes lament the day I gave him the doorbell, I love how much he loves using it. I’m mentioning it here because it would be a good quick-fix for anyone whose doorbell is broken. There are more of you out there than you would think! Believe me, we know.

// FOUR //

It cracks me up that I am snuggled up in a blanket right now and wearing long sleeves when this is what we did earlier this week:

As you can tell by the fact that both kids are fully clothed, we had an unplanned stop at the splash pad before it closed for the season. We would do this almost every other day during the summer, so the kids naturally expected a splash pad day even though it was 85 degrees outside.

They had tons of fun. Lamborghini likes to pretend he is a race car (imagine that) that changes colors when he runs through the water. The Dot doesn’t appear to have a specific purpose in mind, but she sure does like the water. I had to pull the plug on the fun when I noticed The Dot stopping every minute or so, shaking uncontrollably, and then running around screaming with joy. Luckily it was a sunny day, so they warmed up on the walk home. And they took a GREAT nap that afternoon.

// FIVE //

Oh! And to continue with the door/doorbell theme, my mom sent me an interesting article titled “A Simple Trick to Make Your Home Worth $6,000 More.” Apparently Zillow conducted a study of homes that sold across the US and determined that homes with black or charcoal-gray doors sold on average $6,271 more than homes with traditional wooden doors. Who knew?

 

So the photo above is actually a photo of my back door, which I painted black earlier this year. I WISH I had a photo of my black front door, but I don’t have a black front door! I really really wanted to paint my front door black when I refinished it in the spring, but I decided to keep it the mahogany color by coating the wood with spar urethane. It was an awful project that I didn’t even bother to document because I was so frustrated the entire time. Maybe I’ll paint the door black the next time it starts to look dingy. But our doorbell is working!