I know it is not new news about our recent add-on to our home. And, it's not technically an add-on but we closed in our garage!
But I can't explain how this has changed the Turner Household for the better!! It is almost as if we aren't the same family! HAHA!
First of all, my family of 5 sat at a small area in the kitchen. The original kitchen table only had 4 chairs and we usually have to pull up a step stool or an office chair if we all want to sit together. And to be honest, usually I would feed everyone and wait on them or we would have kids in the kitchen and Todd in the living room! It is also a tight area to have the family in. NOW: We have a huge table in the new big room that can sit up to 8, maybe even 10 and we have 6 chairs! We eat together, we do homework or work together and even clean together! NO JOKE!
Secondly, that small kitchen area and table was in constant use, which was tiring and very frustrating... not to mention it caused me to yell more than I wanted to! Mainly out of frustration at the time. Our table schedule was much like this.....
Morning: breakfast and folder signing
Midday: Cleared
After School: full of backpack, lunch boxes, papers and homework
Dinner Time: move school stuff and do dinner or do dinner around the school stuff
Nite: clean food and pull out backpack again and do homework!
NOW: This big new table is big enough to eat at and have homework at. We have plenty of room to have several things out and we have a nice refrigerator that has the cereal stuff and other easy access snacks ready to go! Now the kitchen stays clean and we use it for more of a adult conversation/dinner time! No more kids!! No more homework (unless they need quiet), no constant cleaning it several times a day! LOL!
I have more reasons... so if your with me, I am going to keep on telling ya!!!
Next, I love the space. We have a big U-shaped couch (with a pull out sleeper), this big table, a TV, a frig and a freezer. This takes up a little more than half of the room so the rest of the room is open and is great for playing games, doing puzzle, or for doing cart-wheels (my Addie does that none stop).
And last but not least, I love how we are always together as a family all the time. Tonight, Todd and Zander were watching a baseball game, Addie and Gabe were coloring and helping me match socks, and I was doing laundry, all at the same time and all TOGETHER! On the weekends we let the kids pull out the sleeper and have little slumber parties...and yes, last week the whole family had a slumber party in our new room! HAHA!
It seems that our YELLING has become a minimal now! And we seem to have our family all together majority of the time.
So you ask me what I am doing right now....well I am sitting at the BIG table typing this. Zander and Todd are having an coaching session while watching the baseball game, Addie is cartwheeling and Gabe is reading his book!
The money we have spent on this room as been so worth it. We should have done this years ago!!! But I am so happy we did it period!