Makes you think all the world’s a sunny day

This weekend we valiantly attempted to achieve what I’ve dubbed as the Suburban Trifecta. Also known as, trips to Target, Costco, AND Home Depot all in the span of two days while maintaining our sanity. Sadly, we didn’t make it to a Target, but we did go to IKEA, which I think can easily sub for one of the other three in terms of what we aimed to accomplish. Yesterday we bought a sink — this one — which was our first tangible purchase so far for our kitchen remodel. I say tangible, because we’ve spent some other money, a deposit for custom cabinets that are being built as we speak, but we won’t see them until August when they arrive with Roth’s parents. Which means that yes, the kitchen remodel is really happening!

Since I last wrote about it, we’ve pared down our plan into two easily digestible (and more affordable) phases. Phase One is scheduled for early August, and over the course of a week, Roth, his dad and another dude will focus on the kitchen. They’ll demo the existing cabinets, replace the floor, install a gas line for the stove, install new cabinets and counters, put in the sink and accompanying garbage disposal, and the peace de resistance, the addition of A DISHWASHER. It’s a lot to tackle in a week, but I’m confident they can get it done. Likely there will be some finishing work left for just Roth and I to do, like putting hardware on the cabinets, but the framework for turning our kitchen into a polished, more functional space has me downright giddy.

I’m not sure when we’ll take on Phase Two — transforming the adjoining laundry/utility room into a breakfast nook/laundry/pantry — but likely it won’t happen until 2011. We will probably splurge for the new washer and dryer this year, though, in order to take advantage of some rebates and tax credits. And also because I’m starting to hate our current leaky washer with the fire of a thousand suns. Roth has always hated that freight train (the spin cycle shakes the whole house, and just drills down into his brain, he says — uh, dramatic much?), but we do so much more laundry now that it’s time. Ditto, putting in a dishwasher.

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I think if you follow anyone from the Pacific Northwest on Twitter, then you’re already highly aware that we’ve been experiencing a severe lack of summer around these parts. I won’t bore you with the details, but essentially the weather has been total crap. I was pretty bummed to wake up Saturday morning to more gray skies, and as such, prepared myself for yet another inside day (outside of running aforementioned suburban errands, of course). But later in the afternoon, the clouds burnt off, and the sun appeared, and it was warm enough to spend a few hours outside!

I admit, I was a little overenthusiastic — this is what happens when you live on a planet that experiences so little sun — in thinking the sudden change in weather was sprinkler-worthy, but that didn’t stop me from putting Rowan in a swim diaper and slathering him up with SPF 30.

With sneakers! Classy.

Rowan didn’t really know what to think of the sprinklers. He’d previously showed so much interest in the sprayer I just assumed he’d automatically love the sprinklers, too. It took some coaxing — mostly me counting 1-2-3 and then jumping over the sprinkler like some sort of crazy person — to get him to come near, but eventually he felt the cool drops on his skin, and he laughed like a maniac at my antics. Next up: getting him in a pool!

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Several months ago we downgraded our cable package to the very basic channels, just the networks, in order to save some money when our finances were much tighter than they are now. I’ve mentioned to Roth that we could probably upgrade our package to again include more channels, but honestly, we’ve found that we don’t really miss cable all that much. We still manage to watch everything we want to watch, thanks to most programming being available online, and there’s no shortage of movies on Netflix’s Watch Instantly feature, which we enjoy through our Xbox 360 and Xbox Live. Roth was concerned he wouldn’t be able to watch most of the World Cup games without ESPN, but our basic cable package includes the CBC, which airs all of the games. So, win!

A feature of our Xbox Live subscription is access to streaming music through Last.fm. Most weeknights, after Rowan’s bath but before settling him down for bed, we turn on the Lady Gaga station and have an impromptu dance party in the living room. It’s a wild scene, let me tell you. Other times, though, we’ll opt for more mellow music, like the Joshua Radin or David Gray station. But my new favorite station is the ’90s tag, which we spent a good two hours listening to on Saturday night. It was such an eclectic mix of early ’90s dance with mid ’90s grunge, and I knew — and loved hearing — every single song. Roth knew every song, too, and I remarked at how strange it was to listen to this familiar music together, but to know it happened in a decade that didn’t include knowing each other yet. Like, how could he also know all the words to “I Alone” by Live? Did he also sing Weezer’s “Say It Ain’t So” from the top of his lungs in his bedroom when no one was home? Blind Melon, Oasis, Hootie and the Blowfish, too? My mind = blown.

I’m curious, what’s your favorite song or group from the ’90s?

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Apropos of nothing, this is my new favorite photo of us.

Rowan’s expression kills me.

Posted on June 28, 2010 | Category: Uncategorized | 7 Comments