Goodbye 1996!

1996 was a fine year. I'll recall chanting cheers of pride with the rest of my graduating class in the Lewistown High School gym for all of my days. "Ninety-six! Ninety-six! Ninety-ninety-ninety-ninety-ninety-six!" Fashion, however, left quite a bit to be desired. Both in terms of clothing (I could scan in some yearbook photos here for dramatic effect, but I believe I'll spare myself the humiliation) and apparently in terms of home decor.

Not only was I graduating high school in 1996, but I would also come to own a home that was being constructed just as I was tossing my cap and giving my salutatorian speech. And the nice folks who made the construction decisions certainly were smitten with the home styles circa the mid-nineties. And when I say that, I mean that they loved mauve and country blue.

When we first saw the house, we couldn't help but be knocked down by the amount of mauve and blue---- stencils, light fixtures, bathroom colors, and the kitchen. We've effectively removed it little by little and piece by piece. And this past week was the time for the 1996 to be removed from our kitchen. Oh happy day.

Here's a look at Joshua working in the kitchen after they had removed the old countertops. He was "all up in the business" of the contractors who were working at the house on Friday. And by that I mean he was under the sink with the plumber and right beside the carpentry contractor who was attaching the counters and backsplash. As you can see, his Longaberger basket full of tools was at his side. And yes, it does irk me to no end that he is using one of my favorite baskets as a tool box. In case you wondered.

After an extra month-long wait and a couple of thousand scolds of Joshua to "get out of their way" and "get out of the kitchen", this is what we ended up with. New counters. New sink and faucet. As I'm sure you'll notice, the rugs don't come anywhere close to matching, but I need to get some new ones. I've since added (thanks to my mom who most certainly knows how to outfit a kitchen) towels and placemats for the table that match perfectly. I believe it's safe to say that the apple didn't fall too far from the tree in terms of wanting things to go together....hence my issue with Gymboree.

So that was Friday.

Saturday was a long awaited day....the day that Mom, Libby and I were headed to the Hotel Hershey to enjoy a morning at the spa courtesy of our husbands who were so thoughtful as to purchase gift certificates for us for Christmas. What a special day we had. The chocolate massages were heavenly, but I'll tell you that what I most enjoyed was being able to just talk to mom and Libby (albeit over the whir of a Medela pump during some of the time) without having to interject something to the children. Not one sippy cup was filled during our day together. Not one potty chair emptied. Not one diaper changed. We just got to be grown ups. We giggled. We ate sandwiches and whoopie pies out of Mom's packed cooler. We spent too much money at the outlets. We had a ball. And we're already hoping that the guys will make this an annual event. That one will go down in history as one of the most fun!

And to wrap things up, here are two pictures of Lauren. Have I mentioned how smitten I am with her?