Two things got accomplished today: we got the window back in, which took most of the morning, and we got the subfloor fixed, which took most of the afternoon.
The evening was for family.
Sub
the boy
Monday Begins
We're making progress on our remodel -- getting ready for the big demo day on Saturday. Before that, a day of working with the electrical system in the house, replace the load center so we'll have room for all the lovely new breakers we'll need for our kitchen. Most of the trim and crown molding are down, as well as a few other things. And so we have a rare opportunity to offer the kids: you can kick, mark, drill, beat, hammer, and abuse the walls and cabinets to your hearts' content.
The Boy is especially taking us up on the offer. I give him a smaller drill with no bit and he runs around the kitchen, scuffing up the already scuffed cabinets and walls, explaining what he's doing the whole time.
But there's competition now, because now he's mastered his bike -- mastered in as much as a four-year-old can. Yesterday he did nine kilometers with the family in just over an hour; today he was waiting for someone to go to the quiet side street across from our house and watch him ride.
He wants so badly to join L and her friends in the neighborhood, but he just can't keep up. And they really don't make it easy for him all the time. K frets about this because E feels left out, but it's part of growing up, I think.
Today begins my summer break, and a busy summer break it promises to be. With a kitchen remodel, a boy eager to ride more, and a girl just plain eager -- busy indeed.
First Outing
Cousins
So they say. More or less.
Bedtime
Sometimes when it’s bedtime, we read. Sometimes, we talk. Sometimes, we play. Occasionally, we do all three.
The Help
Return to the Beach
Birthday
Celebration Day
His birthday is tomorrow, but we celebrated today.
Earnings
The Boy has become aware of money and all the things it can bring. While he's not quite dreaming of cameras, he has his own toys he thinks about.
"Daddy, I'm going to save some money and buy that set," he might say when we discovers some new car set that he simply must have. So he's set about finding ways to get money. It turns out, our neighbor will give him some spare change when E comes over hand helps him wash his truck.
"He scrubs the tires a bit," the neighbor explains, "and I help him out in his savings." Last week, he came back with thirty-five cents.
"Now I can buy my car!"
"Not so fast," we all want to explain, but it's difficult to explain to an almost-four-year-old what money really is, what value actually consists of.
Value is something, I guess, you have to learn yourself. Like when you drop some of your coins into the recycling bin that's half again as tall as you, when you realize that there's no way at all you can get that money back out without someone's dedicated assistance.
