Hullabaloo

Just thought I would mention that Cranium Hullabaloo is a great game. Sorry, no pictures, the boys played in their jammies (aka only underpants in the summer) tonight, so I wouldn't want to put them on the internet. (I'll save them for later in life when a little embarrassment is needed.)

What else is new?... My company has decided to "optimize efficiencies" or some sort of nice way of saying get rid of a few folks. This is not bad news, we're still doing well and a strong Fortune 100 company. And it doesn't affect my department much, I'll just have to learn some new computer systems since one of our partner companies apparently has a better way of underwriting and it's too expensive to maintain IT for both systems. But they will be making some cuts in the claims department where I used to work, so it seems that my recent move to Underwriting was a good one!

I'll also share a little more info on the big school room/office reorg. I'm sitting here now and it is so cool. It wasn't too bad having the computer in our bedroom, but now everything just feels more "normal". The boys love having their toys in their bedroom. They have lost a little square footage for playing, but they do have their beds to play on. I made that bunk bed myself, and made it extra sturdy and tall so that it would be good for forts and tolerate rough playtime. Also, as they get older they tend to wander around the house looking for private, quiet space to play alone. And as they get older, school will take up more time, so we decided it was important to have a more permanent and comfortable space for school work. I know lots of homeschoolers make do with their kitchen tables, but that's just not our style. It took us a few hours to come up with an arrangement in this room that would accommodate the computer desk, computer chair, three small desks, two bookshelves, two dog kennels, AND a big comfy chair. The big comfy chair almost didn't make the cut, but I insisted that she have a good place to sit and read to them, and we eventually worked it out. It feels and looks great, and we'll definitely post some photos once everything is put away (she is in the midst of making lesson plans and organizing shelves). Give us a couple more days.

Oh, the best part? - This whole thing cost us nothing. Okay, maybe $12 for the new plastic bins in the boys' closet (all of their clothes are there since their dresser had to leave to make room for the toy shelves). But I didn't have to paint, build, or buy anything significant, and yet it feels brand new. This is truly HGTV-worthy.