Oh, the Random Places This Post Will Go...

As a pairing to the picture I posted on February 22, here's a picture from our new house. I call this one, Cardboard Chaos. THANKFULLY, my home no longer looks like this. Jim and I were apart for a few weeks, and we were so thrilled to finally be together again- and we were also faced with no choice but to work like crazy the first few days we were here so our home could be livable before the girls came on Sunday morning. So, last night was the first night we'd been able to really just hang out with no other plans since we both got to SF on Thursday afternoon. Moving in was actually pretty fun, but a lot of work- work made MUCH easier with the help of Jim's dad and his brother Brian. And Grandma had her hands full alone with the girls in Minnesota, too. So, last night Jim and I finally had a night to ourselves, with nothing that had to be done. We put the four Koch kids to bed, threw on our pajamas, grabbed ice cream, and watched the second-to-last episode of this season of Monk. It was great to just be. Ahhh. I told Jim last night I was really grateful to have our house unpacked to the point where the main things are done- everyone's closets are in order, the kitchen is done, etc. Now, though there's still boxes and things to be done in every room, it's all more of a matter of personal preference now- everything we need to live is done, now it's just about decorating and details, which I can do at whatever pace I choose. Yes, these boxes are beautiful, but in time, they will go. Yes, the sage wall in the living room is...what it is...but in time, it will go. I will not be sad. Even though I play "Guess That Switch" every time I try to turn on a light in this house- There are like, ten different sets of lights to turn on, and I still have no idea which switch is which, and I've turned on the garbage disposal instead of the light above the sink no less than 12 times... We really are feeling quite at home here already, and it's great.

Speaking of our house, a great number of you have asked to see pictures. I have this dream, which fuels my passion to get the job done, and I really want to post before and after pictures- barren house to fully finished rooms, room-by-room as I get it done. **Warning- don't hold your breath- it could take me months before you see every room.** Anyway, it's for my own chronicling and recollection for the future, but I'd love to post pictures that way, so you can see them then. Most of the rooms will stay the way they are, except with our stuff in them, but there will be a major transformation in our living room/dining room. OK, not too major, but, a change, nonetheless. The previous owner built the house and while here, I guess he wished his living room was even bigger, so he tore out the wall and closet by the front door to make the room seem larger. The benefit to a single guy with an entire house to himself? Bigger living room. The downside to a family of 6 moving in? No closet for our stuff and coats. Our coats now reside in Hudson's room. He doesn't mind. I do. Jim's putting back the closet sometime soon, which means new paint, and we're also changing the flooring on the main floor too. The carpet is great- a nice neutral beige, a nice pile so I get personal satisfaction and instant gratification in vacuuming- seeing how pretty it looks with fresh vacuum tracks... But the carpet runs from the living room right into the dining room- seriously. I have 4 kids and there's beige carpet under the table. It's got to go. I'm not that interested in having a bottle of Resolve attached to my hip. That place is reserved for H-Man. SO, all of that to say, if you still want to see some pictures of our barren house, pre-stuff, email me or comment and I'll send you a link to some pictures. Otherwise, I won't take time to post them now.

And now for more randomness... For those of you who have asked, Nutella is an incredibly tasty spread made with Hazelnuts and cocoa. It's best described as hazelnut butter with chocolate. It looks like frosting, tastes like chocolate hazelnut wonderfulness.

Oh, and another thing I've meant to say as an FYI. I realized a while ago that many of you in blogger land have no idea how we pronounce our last name. If my mind deteriorates with age, I know I'll never forget how to spell it, because I'm forced to repeat it at least once or twice every time someone asks. Our last name is Koch, which is pronounced "cook"- and is actually the German word for "cook". There, you've learned something international for the day.

I will make no apologies for the randomness or the length of today's post. I've only had 50% of my daily allowance of coffee and now I'm off to enjoy the rest before everyone gets up. We may even go out today...we'll see.