Just a Quick Update

This is just a quick update. We've been super busy, and I am hoping that I'll soon finishing taking the pics and posting them here of our work on The Hangout. We got the back room done; Hubby finished sheetrocking it, I did the taping and mudding and sanding the walls, Hubby sanded the ceiling for me. Then I textured, primed and painted in there. That was a lot of painting, as the original colors we started with didn't cover well and weren't good colors-- redo! Rather, redone.

I also textured, primed and painted the water closet (aka a bathroom, but the tub isn't hooked up and there's no hot water, so "water closet" is a more fitting term). I also installed the sink (yesterday). Hubby bought the ceiling light today and is working on priming and painting the main areas of The Hangout. He already primed and painted his little "office area" wherein he put his antique desk that he purchased during the huge "barn sale" at our favorite antique store a couple miles from here. Hubby's mood has improved a great deal with the work becoming more visibly progressive, and I feel a great sense of satisfaction with my therapeutic work and a sort of 'closure' with having started on the place and finishing my portion.

This past weekend, Girl had her friend over, and they were the first to have an "all nighter" in The Hangout (a two-night, at that). With a twin bed, a cot, and a small space heater, the girls were quite happy and comfortable and had an absolute blast. They rode bikes, ate fruit from the property, talked (mostly our Girl chatting non-stop), ate, ran around, did each others hair & make up and nails, and all that other "girly" stuff. It was such a pleasure, not only to see how much our Girl enjoyed having her friend over, but in that her friend is very polite and a positive role model (she's a year older than Girl). They also did a lot of drawing, listening to music, and watching "chick flicks." I think it'll be a memorably experience for both of them.

Our Boy is doing quite well in the public high school here. We're very pleased with this high school, as they have high expectations of their students and strongly encourage parental involvement in the student education. By the 3rd week of school, Boy had gotten himself his first "Girlfriend." Can you hear me screaming? Heheheh. We've told him he can go to Homecoming if he gets his grades up-- at the time he had two F's and a C and an A. I just looked at his grades (I love technology!) and he's worked hard and now has 2 A's, a B, and a D. Given the strength of the curriculum, I'm very pleased. At home, his attitude has improved and he's been far more. . . compliant with chores and having a positive attitude. There was a brief couple of days last week where his mood was crappy, and when I told him, "If the PS3 [a game system] is going to be a problem, we can just ground you from it," in response to his negative attitude. He said, "I'm just angry and under strain, okay?!" I told him that those feelings means there's a problem, and we need to find out what that problem is so we can fix it. I 'suggested-told' him to think about it for a bit and see if he could figure out what was making him so upset. He went to his room for about 10 minutes or so, came back out and said, "I think I know why I'm angry." I motioned to his chair to let him know I was ready and willing to listen. He sat down and started talking about school and what he hears and things that have happened to his friends (such as kids being taken away from their parents and put into foster care, attempted suicide, etc), and that he wants to "go beat up those bad parents." I nodded to acknowledge his feelings, and then said, "Well, would that do any good for anyone?" He didn't have to think about it long. "No." So I asked him what he thought might be a better way to handle that negative energy, to make something positive happen from all that bad stuff. I shared a couple of examples of bad things that have happened, and what people did to make positive changes. By the end, Boy said, "I don't feel angry anymore. I feel very sad!" and he had red eyes and looked like he was ready to cry. My sensitive, tenderhearted boy. What a blessing! Since then, he's been far happier and back to his good ol' self.

Today I found my rollerblades in the storage unit, which I'm extremely excited about. I can rollerblade again! I haven't been able to do that in years. With having lost about 30 lbs since last December, I am feeling considerably better and more active. Still get tired, but I am in much better physical shape, for sure! I do need to get new wheels and a new brake for both skates, as they are the ones I used the day after I gave birth to our daughter. . . over a dozen years ago! And, that's what I'm off to do right now, go find new wheels and then go to the park in town.

I'll post a pictorial update before too long, and I'm sure that will be an exciting entry!

Enjoying the sun, though we have started using the heat. We managed to make it a few days into October before using any heat whatsoever. Incredibly rare, sunny whether has stayed with us.

~Cedeham~