Stinking Cabinets!

So, as much as I am grateful for a roof to live under, and a rather large kitchen... I've been so annoyed with the kitchen cabinets. The layout makes absolutely no sense- I end up utilizing only 50% of of the counter space, and the cheap material that they cover with veneers to look like wood is peeling and coming off. I looked into getting new cabinets with a re-design, but that would pretty much require getting the whole kitchen done over, which means about $40K. Crazy, right? Then I thought I'll just update the look with new cabinet hardware, so I went to the store to get new drawer pulls. I was so excited about it until I took some of the old pulls off and found that the wood that was behind the hardware is a lighter color than the rest of the cabinets. So frustrating! I've tried cleaning the cabinets and even tried using a stain to get the little square space to the color of the cabinet, but both attempts were in vain. I'm at a loss.... I might have to just return the hardware I bought and just deal with the old pulls. Argh.

On a different note.... KCK played basketball yesterday for the first time in years. The night before, he actually went to go purchase basketball sneaks in order to play. Anyway, he came back all sore and tired- and last night, in the middle of his sleep, he woke up to gingerly touch his leg. I asked if he was OK and he said, "Big bruise... it hurts." in a rather sleepy but pathetic voice. He actually doesn't remember waking up to say anything to me. Funny.