Ashton is SEVEN!!

OMG readers. Ashton is 7 years old which means this blog is 7 years old! And I've been a MOM for 7 years! Oy...I need to sit down. Oh wait I am already sitting. There is no respite from this fact! 7 years, wow...A bigger wow is that I managed to get through this particular birthday without throwing a party! Woo! I don't know what happened - Ashton didn't really ask for one and seemed satisfied when I told him that we could just have a special day together. So that's what we did!

At 6:15 am on Friday, August 3rd, Ashton officially turned 7. He was not awake and I don't think would grasp the concept anyway. Once everyone was up Ashton opened his presents immediately.

Making him wait would only be torturing him and no one likes to be tortured on their birthday. Behold the sequence in which Ashton opens the Battlebots and look specifically at Alex's face:

This is what you call a strategic birthday present - it requires 2 players ;) And it's everything I hoped it would be, they battled away for hours on Friday and are still in love with it days later, which, for a toy, is a win.

Jason went to work and the boys and I went for a swim and to do some errands. When Jason got back, we headed to Fun & Games (Ashton's pick), which is kind of like a Chuck E. Cheese but with better games and cleaner. Shockingly, there was no one inside the dark arcade on a beautiful Friday afternoon ;) Basically you play the games, get some tickets, and trade them for cheap plastic prizes. A 7 year old boy's dream! Ashton jumped a lot.

 

Then back home for some more Battlebots (they are remote controlled robots that have magnetic pieces placed *just so* - when the bot gets hit by a competitor the pieces can fly off, I'll admit it's exciting):

Grilled hot dogs (Ashton's birthday dinner request), some cupcakes, picture attempts...

 

(He's making that face because he blew his candles out before we were done singing and he knew 

he should have waited - aw)

and that is the wrap on my little, er, BIG 7 year old!! 

I, of course, am still 30.

:)

Where was I? The first HALF of 2018

I can't remember if I've mentioned on this blog before, but I started a new position at Bentley at the end of last year and it has more or less taken over everything! Not in a bad way, I've loved the new challenges and can see even more opportunity on the horizon, so it's all good, but I feel like I've been operating at a blistering pace. A lot has gone by the wayside, including my little internet slice called A New Nill. I'm desperate not to lose this blog so this is my attempt to get everyone up to speed and stay flying after that.

Ashton
Ashton had a great Kindergarten year with Ms. Kuzinevich. She was everything we could have asked for in his first teacher. I think the best thing I can say about Ashton is what was on his ROSP at the end of the year (report on student progress). As background, the scale is 1-4 as measures of performance. A 3 (Meeting Expectations: This student consistently and independently
demonstrates mastery of/proficiency in the grade level standard) across the board is basically what we are told to expect this year. A 4 is rarer at this age (Exceeding Expectations: This student consistently and independently exceeds the grade level). Well, Ashton got a 2 (Still Progressing) in a couple places, namely spelling/phonics/word analysis. Mostly 3's in all the subjects and no academic 4's per se.

But where he did get 4's? As follows under:
* Displays empathy
* Respects self and others even in differences
* Demonstrates impulse control
* Demonstrates eagerness and curiosity as a learner
* Cooperates with others in play and learning

I like could not be prouder. Those are the things that you just can't teach. A fellow K mom wrote on my Facebook page:

Ashton is just good. He's willful, curious, and ever excitable. He's an amazing brother to Alex - teaches him things, helps him, and generally shows him the way. We are approaching his 7th birthday in a couple of weeks! In the meantime, Ashton is spending his summer learning to play golf, at flag football camp, and taking the tooth fairy to the cleaners. He's lost both his top and bottom sets of front teeth as of last night!

Height: 4 feet 2 inches (95th percentile. He was almost a head taller than a lot of his classmates!)
Weight: 55 pounds
Shoe size: 13, edging up to a Youth 1! WHAT?!
Clothes size: 7 (8 in some shirts)

Last day of Kindergarten: June 28, 2018

Ashton is recently into the magicians that he's seen on god knows what YouTube videos. Today is the talent show at camp and at 6:30 am he appeared at my bedside to show me a card trick and ask me if I had a black suit he could wear. He never stops talking.

Alex
Alex also never stops talking. He's a bit of an attention you-know-what. He's sometimes sassy and moody, and other times joyful and silly. And ooo-wee does he have a temper and it can change on the spot. Despite this lovely description of his demeanor (who could resist?), he's basically married. Her name is Charlie, she is about to turn 4 and they are classmates at CNS. He makes bracelets and pictures for her and once, constructed a makeshift iPad out of cardboard and stickers and would routinely "Facetime" her. She's next to him at the end-of-the-year preschool concert and well, it's become a thing. Luckily I like her mom because we've had a lot of playdates.

Last day of preschool (with Charlie): May 25, 2018

Height: 3 feet 7 inches (43")

Weight: 43 pounds

Shoe size: Just about 11

Clothes size: 4/5, 5

Alex has been spending his time learning how to swim and also dancing. He's quite the dancer. Every night after dinner we put on semi-inappropriate music (just top 40 stuff but the lyrics, as you may know, get questionable) and Alex is in his glory (see comment above about attention). If you don't believe me, watch this one (breakdancing) or this one (lyrical).

The talking
This deserves its own category because there is so.much.of.it.
"Mommy, lookatthis." (Said so fast it truly is one word)
"Mommy, come here."
"Mommy, I'm hungry."
"Mommy, I want a show."
"Mommy, can you help me with this?"
"Mommy, did you know..."
"Mommy, guess what?"
"Mommy, where is..."
"LOOKATTHIS, Mommy."
Mommy, Mommy, MOMMY, MOMMYYYYY!!

The boys and I just spent a long weekend together by ourselves because Jason was working and by the end I felt like I had been pummeled with words for three straight days. Everything is a giant conversation:

Ashton (to Alex): Do you want to be a grownup?
Alex: Yeah!
Ashton: Me too. Then guess what we have to go to college for 18 years. And we have to stay there by ourselves. But don't worry we will make new friends. But wait, is there food there? What grade will I be in? Will I have homework? You know I don't really know how to read. Or spell.
Me: You'll know how by then.
Ashton: Will I have my own phone? To keep forever?
Me: Yep and maybe even your own car.
Ashton: WHAT?! But I don't know how to drive.
Me: You will.
Ashton: WOW...[huge smile]...So Alex, do you want to be partners? We can share a room and have a sleepover every night. Are there toys there? What about games? How many? Will you come visit me?
** and on and on and on about what it will be like and where is it and all that. I couldn't even capture it all, and now that I've typed it I realize there's really no end to this except to say it basically never ended!! **

Other funny things...
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Ashton, trying to give Alex a writing lesson: “Alex, put a period! A PERIOD! Do you know what a period is? It’s your brain telling your pencil to stop.”

--- 

Alex: “Mommy, when I grow up I’m going to be just like you. Except, of course I’m a boy, and I can’t change that, but everything else will be the same.”

---

The boys were reluctantly eating enchiladas for dinner. 

Me (taking a bite off Ashton's plate): You guys, I don't care what you say, this is soooo good.

Ashton: YUCK!

Me: [annoyed] Come on Ashton, that is not nice, I worked hard to make these and you're not even trying it!

Ashton: But you said you didn't care what I say!

---

Alex calls bug bites "bug cuts" and seltzer/carbonated things are "spicy"

---

Me (again at a dinnertime when they are not eating): You know, someday you guys are going to have your own kids and you're going to work so hard cooking for them and be really be mad when they don't even try it.
Ashton: I'm going to cook? Being a great parent means cooking for your kids?

Me: Yeah, sometimes!

Ashton: Well then I'm going to be a REALLY great parent. When my kids say "Can we go to Toys R Us?" I'm going to say "YUP! Get in the car!" 

Alex: Me too Ashton! I'll meet you there.

Ashton: Well we are going to go almost every day.

Alex: Don't worry, I'll have my own car.

Me: Where are you going to get the money for all these toys and cars?
Ashton: Well of course, I'm going to go to work.

Me: You're going to have a job that pays you a lot?

Ashton: Yes. I'm going to be the boss. JUST LIKE I AM NOW. 
---
The boys ran next door to see if Kayleigh was around to play. They were told 30 more minutes. Ashton reported back: "She will be home in half a clock!"
---
I asked Alex why he had a band-aid on his stomach. "My tummy hurts."
---
Ashton: "I'm so thirsty. Like 100 times thirsty. I'm so thirsty I could eat a whole horse."
---

So we had a good spring, full of all the activities. Jason's been pushing the golf and I've been very into making sure the boys are strong swimmers. Alex is just about ready for the deep end and has been in lots of lessons since school ended. We had a full house for both Mother's and Father's Day weekends, we've hit Wayland Town Beach a bunch, we headed to Long Island for July 4th, and next week we are off for our annual BI summer vacation. Really hoping to start posting regularly again after that :) See you on the flip side!

Before and After: Board and Batten Transformation

Wow guys. How deep do I get into this? We have so massively overhauled the front downstairs portion of our house plus the staircase and upstairs hallway that I don't know where to begin. I guess a quick review of all that it entailed, in order:

1. Changing out old interior doors for new ones
Our back hallway was a sea of old doors with old hardware and most of them didn't close, had large gaps in the jambs, etc.

Before

Semi after

You can't tell but it brought us into the 21st century. The door guy was awesome but he does not do finish work, so Jason had a ton of painting and touching up to do (which he did some time after this picture was taken). I'll also note, all the doors had dated gold hinges and the knobs to the bedroom doors upstairs were gold too. We i.e. Jason changed every single one to a nice new silver. Because consistency.

Ok off to a strong start here.

2. Waiting patiently for the right piano and grandfather clock to come along (key decorating pieces)

Our foyer is kind of useless. I think I've talked about this in the past. What was once the original living room is now just a pass through to get upstairs which makes it hard to furnish. 'Tis a minor detail that no one plays the piano (yet) - when the right baby grand came along (holler at Robyn for that one!) I hired movers and it came home with us.

Before

After

Then I found the perfect floor clock on Craigslist. Nevermind I had to drive to Connecticut to get it (the things we do for love!). Then I had it painted.

Before and After

3. A new chandelier

The one that came with our house was not my favorite. What WAS my favorite was this huge wooden orb chandelier hanging at Jordan's furniture for $1,500. So what did I do? I bought a knock off from Home Depot for $400 that was kind of a gross brown and then had that painted too (by the same guy in the same color as the clock)!

Before

After

4. Crown molding upstairs

We have a double height entryway that has always been begging for some fancying up. Right after New Year's we had a very large snowstorm coming and a snow day had been officially declared. Around 9 am, the first heavy flakes were starting to fall. In a panic, foreseeing we would all be stuck in the house for HOURS, and with nothing to do, I said: 

"Omg today would be the perfect day for you to finally do the upstairs crown molding!" and Jason was like "But I don't have any of the materials." 

"Pshhh. So? The snow is only just starting. Go to Home Depot right now! Go babe! It's a race against time but you can make it!"

And while the roads were worsening by the second and everyone in Home Depot was frantically buying shovels, salt, and sand, Jason was marching out of the lumber aisle with strips of crown molding over his shoulder. That's just how we do. 

5. Painting

There's not much to this one. We hired painters :D In one day the walls went from the pre-existing beige to Sherwin Williams Mindful Gray @ 75%. Who loses sleep over paint colors? 

Since Jason was planning to do the custom board and batten shortly (a hybrid of roughly 56 inspiration pictures from Pinterest I had collected) we only had them roll 2/3 of the way down.

6. Refacing the fireplace

In the middle of the woodwork project, on a random day at a random time, Jason said "Well, I might as well re-do the fireplace now too."
"Wow! Awesome honey! Should we go look at some tile like right this instant? Yes, yes we should!" :D

Safety first

Before

After

7. Board and Batten installation
This, my friends, is everything. This was so involved and so extensive that I'm going to make a separate post about it. I have to, it deserves it. But this lucky post will see only the befores and gorgeous afters. Ready? Per usual they are a little off. I'm not a professional or anything.

Before

After

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 After

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After

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After

And some general lovely ones:

There is just beautiful woodwork everywhere! I love, love, love everything about it. It brings our living space up so much, to have this board and batten winding through the first floor, up the stairs and framing all the hallways. As I said, this project will soon have a post of its own because Jason did so much work on it, but for now I should think this is the most solid before and after post I've ever done. All the above steps were way more involved than I let on (i.e we had to re-do the frame wall after the new paint, cut our tiles to custom sizes for the fireplace, etc.) but of course Jason makes it look easy. So annoying. 

Next up: laundry room and guest room.

(What? You don't think we're finished, do you??) Happy weekend all!