Flashback Friday: Something about painting in July

July 2004.  I was away from Bill and the kids for the first time ever I'm pretty sure.  I was in Oklahoma City, attending the National Organization of Mothers of Twins Club convention as a delegate from our local club.   I was lucky enough to attend it with a few other friends from the club as well......boy, was that FUN!!  Even though there are plenty of things I cannot remember from 6 years ago, I do have plenty of fond memories from that trip.  My friend Gina and I were able to take an afternoon and go see a movie together...I think it was The Notebook?

Anyhow, Bill took time off work to take care of the kids and he decided to finish up a project that had been sitting idle for oh, 6 years?!  When we built the house we planned for a very small, but functional 1/4 bathroom right off the living room.  Knowing we'd have kids and they would need to wash up frequently, we figured close to the kitchen would be ideal.  Well, we moved in and I was newly pregnant with Gregory and Jacob and that was one room we didn't need to finish in order to move in.......we called it a closet and a closet it became.  And did we ever shove stuff in it.  It was kind of one of those 'be careful when you open the door, something might fall out on you' kind of closets.

Along about this time, 6 years later, we had decided we wanted to move.  We had contemplated adding a second story to the house but the layout of our house kept that from being a very viable solution, plus the thought of climbing stairs for 20 years wasn't too exciting in our book.  We also were thinking about building a multigenerational home with my parents and began looking in areas where land was suitable for that kind of set up.

Either way, the one remaining room in our existing home needed to be finished.  If we stayed and built on, our 3 boys could have definitely used the bathroom, and if we were going to move, well, the new owners would probably appreciate a finished 1/4 bathroom rather than a concrete floored closet.  And so, Bill went to task and surprised me!  When I got home, the bathroom was all done.....painted, tiled floors, a sink, toilet and mirror, all installed.  The boys were so proud of themselves!!

I had to look twice at the one above.  I saw the carpet and shuddered.  Wait a minute, we didn't have carpet in the hallways...that stained thing was an extra piece they were using to work on!  Whew!

Out of order, but this one above was taken before any paint was applied!

The boys were so excited to show me their handy work when I got home.  And notice how patient we were when they were small?  I love the video snippets we have from when they were so little.  It reminds us both of how life was with sweet little innocent boys.  Granted, they are still innocent, but the baby sweetness and chubby cheekness has gone away, and that part is sad.  However, they are still eager to help when given the opportunity and they still remember their handiwork, years later!!  Thank you boys for my surprise!!