updates like crazy--yes it's a long post.

First the good news. Cailin is back home with her mom and dad and sisters. Breathing much better. Less stuff to suction from her nose. Much better. Seriously prefers to sleep in someone's arms over sleeping in her bassinet. Seems to expect everyone in her home to realize that she is--hello!--an only child, uh, except she has two sisters who had a great vacation sleepover at gramma's but really missed their mom.

Second. That great vacation sleepover at gramma's house. No, I didn't take any photos of the three days and three nights Breanne and Janey spent with us. Because a) I was too busy taking care of two girls, which is hard work or perhaps more accurately, physical constant fulfilling tiring rewarding work and we should all worship or at least proclaim loudly praise for women who stay at home and raise wonderful children or women who raise wonderful children and work outside of their homes, and b) Stu and family would have felt bad that I took pics of Jessie's family on their sleepover vacation but not his/their family on their sleepover vacation. gotta keep it fair. sure. Because I am a mom.

Anyway. I learned a few things or perhaps one very important thing from Audrey's and Ellie's sleepover--mostly that nobody is going to get any sleep if we all (and by 'we all' I mean me and JoJo and two little girls) try to sleep in Jack's and my bed.

Which brings me to a slight interlude--the guest room remodel. I gave serious thought to a guest room and realized that all of our guests will be our granddarlings, so we assembled our boys' bunkbeds (made by Jack many years ago), tossed on the quilts I made for those same boys several years ago, and moved in a few items with serious kid entertainment value, and while we haven't hung pictures yet, I'm telling you, people are happy to vacation here.

Yes, there is a birdcage lamp.
When Breanne first came to visit and saw the bunkbeds and the kitchen and the tv, she declared, "Gramma, it's a house in a room!"
And so it is.
The House Room.

Many, many totes and totes of monkey puppets and dragon puppets and princess puppets

And of course, princesses and kids and furniture.
Yes, that is a monkey next to a Princess Jasmine who has !gasp! lost her hair.
And her pants.

These are a few favorites--
For Breanne, the dog leash (an entire day spent on the leash was almost--almost--too much for even JoJo who became a different dog, tail and head down until freed from the restraint of leash which freedom resulted in much leapy and racing full speed through the house) and the hoppytaws (aka donuts).
For Janey, orange soda.
For both, Grampa's bedtime reading of, "Are you my daddy?" (cwazy gwampa),
which led to much speculating about other versions of a new book written by Breanne,
"Where is my mother?" (or daddy or sister or costume or princess or GWAMMA!"

Even the cat likes the new arrangement. Finally someplace JoJo cannot jump onto.



Speaking of Jo, this is Janey's view of her favorite dog--
RUFF



And this is Breanne's puppy.
She's very good at creating puppies, you know.

All in all, we had a delightful three days and three nights. My favorite comment was Breanne's pure joy when I told her Grampa had bought some chocolate milk and she exclaimed, "Oh, finally!" My favorite events of the vacation occurred each time Janey wore out from all of the excitement and climbed into my lap with her blankie, snuggled down against me and dropped off to sleep in just minutes. There is something remarkably healing about the sweet smell of her soft curls and her deep even breaths.

~~~~~~~

Back to the updates--number four. We finished the study. Except for hanging pictures.

The brioche and library red look good with the new floor.

This is Jack's new desk/work area. He has been very busy in there. And happy.

This is my desk. It's a table Jack built for me for our first real home years ago. I probably need to refinish it sometime, but that will include cleaning off all of the memorable stains.

And check out the adorably practical lamp that Jack picked up for me at Target.
I am becoming a fan of Target.



And this is part of the bookshelves. There is something so very satisfying about looking at my books. Textbooks or novels or how-to.

And there you have it. We have officially remodeled the whole house. It feels like ours.

Don't tell Jack, but the other day, I was doing some laundry for Jessie in the basement of her house that was built in the 1920's and I couldn't help but think of Breanne telling me that she thinks basements are scary. I asked what was scary about basements--mine has just Jr and the drummer and the playroom and theatre room and Grampa's shop down there. Then I went to her basement which is a typical basement in a house built in the 1920's with old peeling plaster and a flaky ceiling and spiderwebs and pipes and furnace and that part under the stairs that is still dirt.

And I thought, hmmm, this basement of hers could be a great space if we just sheetrocked the walls and ceiling and painted it a cheery yellow and put down some commercial grade floor tiles in a checkerboard pattern--maybe in gray-flecks and yellow-flecks.

Seriously, don't tell Jack I even mentioned that.