Michael is finally out of school for the holidays, and after going almost four and a half months without ever taking a full day off from him studying, we are both glad for the break. We went to Kansas City this past weekend with his parents, who had reserved some rooms at a hotel on the Country Club plaza, famous for its Christmas lights display and shopping. Eli and Dylan loved going up and down in the “Skyscraper” they believed they now lived in – poor guys – we’ve been switching locations quite a bit this year.
The second highlight of that weekend was getting to visit a new Trader Joe’s that has opened in Kansas City. I’m not really an emotional person – I don’t cry usually when I say goodbye to people, but I have to say, walking in and being greeted by TJ’s produce section and seeing the red baskets was almost overwhelming. We tried not to act too excited as we threw all sorts of things in our basket and looked around saying, “What else do we need? What else do we need?” I was bummed though that they were out of chocolate mandarin oranges.
As for the rest of this break, we are laying low here at home, which is to me the best kind of break, especially when you have kids. Life changes when you have an extra set of hands to carry the load of three little ones. For one, I am finally getting to tackle my bedroom. If it takes the last ounce of energy in me, I am determined to take down the two layers of wallpaper that have been taunting me and replace mini-blinds with bamboo roman shades. We are also planning to paint the room a calming shade of Martha Stewart grey. The room itself has a lot of potential – hardwood floors, windows on two walls, but beyond that it’s felt like a sea of cream – walls that need repainting, creamy blinds, and cream furniture and bedding.
One little tip I found yesterday on the internet for those who are hankering for some torture as they contemplate taking down wallpaper – dipping paper towels in water, wringing them lightly, and pressing them onto the wallpaper did wonders for making the original wallpaper come off. I just sprayed water over the paper towels every five to ten minutes and kept it soaking for about an hour before I took a stab at it, and while it didn’t come off in sheets, it was much better than peeling centimeter-thick strips off one by one.
