It is official.

We are getting flooring for our living room and dining room. We have floors in there currently, but it is the subfloor and you may have noticed, it doesn?t look so hot. I don?t want to go into the whole story, but if you ever run into my mother or mother-in-law they will probably jump up and down over how exciting it is that we are finally going to do something about our floors.

We are getting caramelized bamboo flooring. It will be delivered sometime next week and sit in the house for two weeks and then we will rearrange our lives so it can be installed.

You know, sometimes I can see a light at the end of this tunnel. And I keep thinking about all we have accomplished so far.

Our kitchen renovation was maybe the biggest project we accomplished to date. Sure, Fuller?s room was a big to-do, but the kitchen? plumbing had to be rearranged, electrical was moved from here to there, and we ripped out the floor to put in something that was actually level.

The kitchen island adds so much counter space and the dishwasher is a treat (keeping Fuller out of it is not). I wish we had more natural lighting, but the fluorescents above the cabinets, against the wall, really look good.

I?m going to upload pictures to kitchen-renos.com because I really want people to see Damon?s painting on the exposed brick.

We did our kitchen 5 years ago and I still like it. Now, on to the next thing. Floors!

I wore socks to bed the other night. I had to find my fleece pullover last weekend. I wore a jacket to work today. I had to wear it to walk to the car this afternoon. And I am wearing socks and shoes instead of sandals.

The seasons are changing, fall is either here or making its way. This means it is time to go through the clothes and swap out the light, airy garments and find the heavier, cozier ones that will keep me comfortable as Old Man Winter starts to move in.

I don’t mind really because with the change in the weather, some neat things happen. The leaves change, the backdrop behind my house becomes alive with color, the corn maize is open, and Pumpkin Spice Lattes are in season.

I like fall.

On Tuesday I found out my friend is having a boy. At one point she asked me what I thought they should name the baby. I threw some names out there, but really I don’t have a certain love for any specific name. I know they will come up with something nice when the time comes.

Damon got to name Fuller. I only get to name any girl babies we have. Damon also named our dogs. I named our iPod shuffle.

Damon has a knack for naming dogs. He has a history of giving interesting and neat names to the family dogs. Dogs he has named: Dizzy, Big Man, Lively, Maple. Those are all great names.

If you don’t have a Damon to name your dog, check out Alldognames.com – Dog Names for all kinds of dogs. I love that they have a list of the popular names for dogs and what makes me chuckle is that the number two name on the girls name list is Bear (number four on the boys), after Bear Bryant. I am pretty sure that would not be a name that Damon would use to name one of our dogs.

I wanted to name the dog Darla. I got to name the iPod Darla. Oh well.

When I was little, we had a friend who stayed with her grandmother in the afternoons. This grandmother’s house was at the other end of the alley and was a kind of a hang out for us all. This grandmother would usually have some sort of snacks for us and usually it was popsicles.

One of the funny stories about my sister, Austina, is the time she went up to this grandmother’s house and asked, “Mrs. Edwards, do you have any popsicles?” Mrs. Edwards replied, “No sweetie, not today.” And then Austina pushed past her saying, “I’ll just go check” and went into the house to look in the freezer. I think Austina was four.

Well, that story isn’t why we keep popsicles in the freezer, but it was something I wanted to share.

The reason why we keep popsicles in the freezer is because we have to have something to stop the swelling and bleeding in Fuller’s mouth when he falls and hurts himself.

This evening he was playing nicely with his See ‘n Say and he fell. The See ‘n Say knocked him in the mouth. (I think it was out to get him from the beginning.)

There was blood and there were tears. I quickly checked his teeth- none were loose, none had moved, all were still in place- and went to the freezer for a popsicle.

The cold helped stop the bleeding and the swelling. The orange flavor stopped the tears.

When I dreamed about becoming a mom someday I knew there would be bumps and bruises, skinned knees and knot on the head. I just never realized there would be so much blood coming from his mouth.

Maybe I could use a popsicle myself.

Damon likes projects. Recently when we go to the lake for our vacations, he has started taking projects with him that keep him occupied and allow his creative juices to flow. You all remember the fun we had with his hammock stand, right?

Well, he keeps talking about building a boat. I find this interesting and think if anyone can do it, Damon can. But then he wants to actually sail this boat.

I have a fear of sailboats that stems from sailing with my dad in New Hampshire in a small starfish sailboat. Or is it sunfish? Anyway, we tipped over and I remember the discomfort very much. I even think something struck my ankle and it hurt.

I guess I need to follow the advice of equestrian riders and just get back up on the horse. I think I am going to need to learn to sail.

I know knots are an important part of boating. I figure, since I can crochet, I should be able to tie knots. One of the great crochet resources I have is the internet. So, how about the internet for knots?

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Fuller is starting to take an interest in photography. Mainly, whenever we take out the camera, he rushes as us to check it out. He understands now that he should smile or give an evil glare when we take his picture, but he really wants to check out the camera.

A few days ago Damon cleaned out some boxes and found our old 35 mm point and shoot. Damon put batteries in it and let Fuller play around, pressing the button and setting off the flash.

The funniest moment last night was when we were getting Fuller ready for bed. He was sitting on the changing table and pressed the shutter button. The flash went off, right in Damon’s eyes. Fuller had a look in his eyes and a determination in his face that said, “Ha! I meant to do that.”

Maybe we should put some film in it and sign him up for JPG magazine.