365 project: week 43

This week: We visit the shooting range, and Max is proud of his handiwork; my mom gets out the vote; we hit the pumpkin patch; and Barb and Kevin come for Grandparents' Day at school.

365 project: week 42

This week: The school's "fall fun fair" is anything but fun; the yard offers considerably more amusing pastimes; Loni and Klaudia share a sweet moment.

365 project: week 41

This week: Happy birthday to Mike! Also, fall comes suddenly; Loni is amused but Liam and Charlie are not.

365 project: week 40

This week: How to make a scarecrow, in seven easy steps. The garden is ready for winter, and we are ready for Halloween!

that sinking feeling

Replacing the kitchen sink has been on our to-do list for quite a while. It was pretty low on the priority list, but still there. The sink was made of some kind of black stone material that was impossible to clean, and the sprayer on the faucet, once engaged, was nearly impossible to turn off. The garbage disposal was scary, and the switch that powered it may have been a fire hazard (ahem). We dreamed of a bright, shiny, clean stainless steel sink. Well, apparently the Sink Fairy was listening to our secret wishes, because last week the faucet just snapped right off in Mike's hand, and since he was going to the trouble to replace the faucet anyway, we figured we would go in for a pound and do the whole sink.

By which I mean, of course, that Mike would do the whole sink. We waited until Saturday so he would have a full day to work on it, and in the meantime Mike watched video tutorials on plumbing and I scoured home improvement sites looking for the perfect sink. Once Saturday rolled around, we headed for the store, armed with a DS to keep Liam and Max busy and a Backyardigans video on my Kindle to keep Henry occupied. Yeah, it may have made us less-than-stellar parents, but it gave us the opportunity to actually think and make sound decisions. So we found what we needed, and headed home, and while Henry was napping, Mike toiled away. And went back to the hardware store because he needed a kinkier pipe (or something, I don't really know the details). And toiled some more. And cut a bigger hole in the counter. And toiled some more. You get the picture. Anyway, by the end of the night, we had something pretty special:

And this isn't just any sink, friends. It's a whole sink "system," which means it comes with its own specially fitted mini sink (complete with drain in the bottom, for if you want a pan of soapy water but you don't want to fill the whole giant sink), colander, and bamboo cutting board. It is so gorgeous that we have spent the day just gazing at it, and when one of us has to run some water, immediately afterward we are at the ready with a towel to wipe off any water drops lest a single spot mar its perfect surface. Okay, maybe we're geeks. But we're geeks with a fabulous new sink!