Hello there

I’m a little distracted because I just looked at my phone bill and whoops! went waaay over on the text messaging. I’m still used to it being UNLIMITED, apparently.

Anyway, we ate dinner at church yesterday and then, since it was now or never, took my mom up on her babysitting offer and went to see Inception. Liked it! It’s a little bit nuts! VERY fun to go on a throwdown date in the very middle of the week.

AND, not sure if I should be broadcasting this over the internets but, what the heck, we’ve got someone coming to see our house today and so we’ve been doing some deepish cleaning (and by ‘we’ I mostly mean my mom). We weren’t really planning on selling but ALWAYS talk about it and got a call from a friend (who happens to be a realtor) who has a buyer that may be interested. So, we’ll see… I do love my house but it’s a lot small. I’d love to be able to have houseguests.

And, along that note, I’d best be getting back to bill-paying and cleaning. And also, some (real) clothes would be nice.

Family-amly

(Remember that goose in Charlotte’s Web?)

Yes, a weekend full o’ family – minus my dad, sadly. My mom has been helping get my sisters settled in their new apartment and it is super cute. We all had pizza over there last night and my kids ran wild. They discovered sliding down the carpeted steps on their bellies, head first. (We don’t have stairs, maybe that’s a good thing.)

It was also the second meal of the DAY we ate with my brother and SIL. Which is just crazy since we haven’t seen them in, literally, months. (And we live in the same town! Can you say busy?!) We had hosted everyone for lunch here, after church. My mom cooked, always a treat.

This is the last week of summer break for my kids, perfect that Grandmommy is here to help fill it with fun. And I hardly know what to do with myself now that the sale stuff is done! (Take a long nap??)

Here’s to Monday, friends.

If I seem a little crazy

This was my living room this past week:

And, you can’t tell, but behind the coffee table is a laundry basket – the clothes are stacked up all the way from the floor right there next to the couch.  I dropped off 295 items today, tagged and ready for the sale.

Relieved.

Weary.

Headache.

PROJECT ACCOMPLISHED.

Not

So I’ve definitely been fighting something. It’s pretty miserable being the one responsible for a bunch of kids when you’re not feeling great. I couldn’t sleep, either, which just adds insult to injury. I’m much better today, though, since I did get more sleep last night. (Funny how those little things can add up to so much.)

This post is brought to you by Signing Time

Whoa nellie, we had quite the weekend. Our local playground was the location for a church-sponsored fundraiser kiddie fair on Saturday morning, which my kids obviously thought was the coolest thing ever. We had no idea – some friends just called to say they were there and (for us) it was a total surprise.

Although, the music should have clued us in. Anyway, Andy took the kids down, fresh out of bed. Only he can pull off wild bedhair, a wifebeater with basketball shorts, flip-flops and a cup of coffee in hand. At the park.

The kids “won” at several different games, prized with (gently used) stuffed animals. [Which may or may not disappear sometime in the near(ish) future.] All very exciting. And then we packed up, made a picnic lunch, and went swimming. Arianna and I haven’t been in a few weeks, so that was fun.

Yesterday after church we played the “lets-see-how-many-kids-we-can-cram-into-one-house” game and ate lunch with two other families. Good friends, good times. We made it home in time to clean up a little bit before GRANDMOMMY CAME! Always an Event around these parts.

She’ll be in town for a couple of weeks so there’s been much rejoicing. The fall children’s consignment sale drop-off starts Thursday, so you can guess what I’ll be doing this week. (Too bad my attic is about 1,000 degrees.)

And these are just because, taken this morning fresh out of the bath:

(Of course, she spit up five minutes later and had to be changed. Life.)

play now, work later

Yesterday we ditched the laundry and went and played instead.

I guess she’s having fish for dinner.

(All SOOC.)

Oh. Monday.

We had a fun-filled, busy weekend – friends, shopping, parties, church, swimming; all the good stuff. On Saturday Madeline and I stopped in at a trunk show and then bought a new vacuum. (Dirt Devil is now dead to me.) Which means my house is going to be clean really soon since I taught both Drew and Madeline how to use it and they love to vacuum.

Child labor. Love it.

(She also likes to play in the water do the dishes. The counter is a little, um, damp when she’s finished.)

So, yeah. Great weekend. Now back to reality.

Getting a little blogging in

Hello internets.  Just popping in to say we’re surviving our week, how about you?  Andy had an exclusive private party come into the restaurant the other night and got home at 4 a.m.  Which means I was left doing our weekly shopping by myself with the kids yesterday while he slept and it was HOT.

Walmart went mostly okay until the end, when the big kids were horsing around and all three toppled and fell on Madeline, she cracked her head HARD on the floor.  It was one of those times where every mother within a thirty mile radius turned her head to gasp.  Thankfully there was no blood.  Just tears; lots and lots of tears.

She was still up for a Sonic slushie, though, oddly enough.  (Happy hour, yeah!)

We went over to eat supper with some friends which meant two nights in a row I didn’t have to cook. Nice! There were plenty of plastic guns and ballerina costumes. I always love mid-week friends and it makes me wish our house was bigger.

Today we went swimming, as is our Thursday custom. It’s thundering outside and I’m about to grill up some chicken while waiting for the UPS man.

Hey, don’t forget tomorrow is Fun Mom Friday!

Tuesday cheers

I feel like we’re starting to hit that end-of-summer wall where everybody’s hot and everybody’s cranky. We haven’t had any plans the last several days, just trying to avoid the heat as much as possible – which makes for very long days at home. On the flip side, since I HAVE been home, I knew that the charge from Saks Fifth Avenue, keyed in downtown New York, was fraudulent and was able to alert my bank immediately.

Much as I wish I was, in fact, shopping in New York. Sigh.

Today is going much better. I broke down the co-sleeper that has been residing in our room for the past 9 months and got it carted up to the attic. She hasn’t slept in it in about two weeks so it was high time and I cannot tell you how nice it is to have the space back. I feel like I can breathe in here. There’s one tub of cloth diapers left and once that’s gone, there won’t be any baby traces left in my room. (But there’s PLENTY to be had in the girls’ room. So I’m okay with that.)

CHANGING GEARS.

Occasionally I blow-dry Adelaide’s hair, usually after I cut it. She brought me the hairdryer last night after her bath, and then Madeline begged me to do hers, too. I was wondering if her it would look terrible since I don’t take that great of care cutting her hair – waves are SO forgiving. But it didn’t look half bad! She LOVED her super-straight hair.

Of course, Adelaide had to have her picture taken, too.

Hairapy

So I’ve been saving this little tidbit until after I saw my friend Sarah in real life. We went out last night but the only decent photo I got was of this (SOOC):

Mmmmmmmmm. Yes, it was that good.

Anyway. Yes! I got totally new hair on Saturday. I showed my mom and Dolly on Skype but I know at least Mer will want to see… knowing the supreme importance of hairapy and all. ;)

And by the way, do you know how hilarious it is to have one’s 6-year-old take photos of oneself? So funny. Okay, here goes…

From the side (sorta):

With some ear tuckage:

And lastly, from the back (I won’t tell you how long it took me to figure out how to angle the camera and bathroom mirrors to get this):

(All SOOC.)

I’m still loving it. So now I just need to choose a new profile photo, yes?

Plans, they change

At the very last minute yesterday I decided to attempt the girls’ night out that quite a few ladies at church were going to.  Andy obviously was no help since he was already at work, but my babysitter was available and so I threw it together.  (Meaning I ran around and got the dirty clothes up off the floor and the dishes done.  I’m certain I’d be the kind of person that would clean before the maid came over.)  Oh, and I threw a dress and earrings on.

It’s a little bit not my story to tell, but I got a text from her saying she’d been in a wreck and would come when she could.  I texted her back asking her if she was okay and saying not to worry about coming.  It was getting late, anyway, and the restaurant was at least 20 minutes away.  In the end, she still came over but I stayed and we hung out with the kids and ate ice cream.  She needed a distraction and my house is clearly a perfect place to find one.

(If you know her, she really is fine.  It was a fender bender that took the fender straight off her car.  Drew declared it “totally ugly” which made for a good laugh.  I told her she should look for a new bumper on eBay, and she said maybe even a pink one.)

And never fear, I have another night out set for tonight, planned ahead this time.  I’m just meeting two friends for dinner, but it’s been two months since we went out last and so IT’S ABOUT TIME.  Andy will be home with the kids, which means there will be all manner of forts constructed on the bunk beds.  (Also their favorite place to read bedtime stories.)

Now if the laundry would just fold itself, I’d be all set.

Recovery Day

Anyone else have those?

It was stormy and gray here yesterday which means we were cooped up inside, trampling all over each other’s toes.  I find it hard to get anything done on days like that — the weather makes me beyond sleepy — and maintaining a positive attitude is an uphill battle.  And, let’s be honest, there were times I miserably failed.

On a happier note, Andy’s phone finally (FINALLY!) came so we took a little trip to deliver it to him at work.  He brought me some coffee and I ended the day on the couch with a book.  So there’s that.

Today, however, the sun is shining and there are dishes and laundry calling my name.  (And sorry about this being quite possibly THE most boring post ever.)

And here it is Monday. Again.

We met with our shepherding group last night (the last Sunday of every month).  A family in our group had invited us up to their house for swimming and pulled pork bbq.  The funny thing was, when we left our house it was POURING.

I had managed to get all our stuff, food, and the kids in the car before the rain started.  But, of course, the second I wanted to go out to the car, it was coming down hard and fast.  I wasn’t planning on swimming and didn’t even take my suit, which meant I would prefer my hair to be dry.  So I ran out with a grocery sack over my head.  Naturally.

(You know I’m never gonna live that one down – my kids are certain that if you put a plastic bag over your head YOU ARE GOING TO DIE!!! But drastic times and all that.  I don’t mess around when it comes to matters of such grave importance as my hair.)

We had a great time even though the heat, it was out to kill me.  (I was kicking myself for not bringing my suit.  Stupidest call ever.)  The rain had passed quickly and the kids got to enjoy lots of time in the pool and water games and good food and friends.

Sigh.  If only Monday wasn’t such a rude awakening.

We’re probably on some crazy story list somewhere

I am having SUCH a blah day. I mean, here it is 7:17 p.m. and I’m still in my pajamas. Yeah. (Although I did make a good dinner and colored with Madeline earlier.) We’re about to start picking up the tornado that is Drew’s room. (And maybe toss some of the excess up in the attic. Heh.)

But I popped in here first to jot down this little… situation… that happened here yesterday. We all went to swim day, which was so nice because it was so hot. SO HOT. Andy drove separately and left early to help a handicapped friend (like, to help clean the guy’s apartment), so it was just the kids and I on the drive home.

We walked up to open the front door and I grabbed out my house key, only to find it bent completely in half.

???

I stuck it in as far as it would go and then carefully tried to bend it back, crossing my fingers it would still unlock the door. Instead, it snapped in half. I fished it out with my teeth.

Just kidding. I really used my fingernail. I just thought that would be a funny mental picture. (Mom? I really didn’t use my teeth. I promise.)

Anyway, Andy still doesn’t have a phone and I have yet to give either of my neighbors a spare key (note to self: get some extras already), which means we were at the mercy of a forgotten unlocked window. And fat chance of that happening when you need it.

And also, IT WAS STILL HOT.

I circled around the house, but the screens are practically impossible to remove without tools. Then I remembered the bathroom window doesn’t have a screen, so I ran around to see if, hope upon hopes, it was left unlocked.

It went up! (And the angels sang!) Problem is, the lock was twisted so it caught and I could only open the window maybe 6 inches. I hoisted Madeline up and she was too big to fit through.

A visual, if you will:

I called for Adelaide to come try.

She really had no idea what she was about to be subjected to, but I picked her up and, quite literally, stuffed her through the window. She was just barely small enough and she cried. (I think she bumped her ear.) Anyway, in the end, she was fine and went to the front door and let us all in. WHEW! Andy didn’t get home for at least another hour so I was so, so thankful we were able to get in.

I spent the rest of the evening standing over the a/c vent.

(Not really.)

I’m seeing safety pins in my sleep

“You should see this clothes rack!” – 9:31 p.m. Sunday, text message to my friend Sarah (who is also consigning in this sale). I meant how utterly full it was, but little did I know that five minutes later, the whole thing would come crashing down.

A side view:

And then it crashed further, down to the floor:

I just had to laugh. I’ve been working on this sale for a few days and as you can see, it sort of took over my living room. A neighbor added some stuff, as did the girl that watches my kids. There’s also a bunch of Andy’s clothes that he apparently doesn’t wear anymore. But, obviously, the majority of it was mine. (What can I say? Clothes are my thing.)  I still had stuff from high school. (Clearly time to clean out.)

Anyway, I finally got everything tagged yesterday, the van loaded, dropped the kids off, and ran over to the sale drop-off location. It was such a huge burden lifted, I can’t even tell you.  There are a few stragglers that I need to put back in the attic but I’m just glad to have my house (and sanity) back.

(Why do I do these things to myself?!)

10 on the 10th (July edition)

1. I have several unrelated loose-endish things I’ve been wanting to jot down here, so Meredith’s 10 on the 10th is the perfect place for a random list!

2. We just came out of a very stressful week. I’m glad to be on this side. God is always faithful and always good.

3. I FINALLY took Arianna to get her first portraits done. (We always use Penney’s because it’s $5 for a whole package.) I was so good about doing the 6 wk, 3-6-9 mo, one year, 18mo, etc. pictures with the other kids but here she is, closing in on 9 months and I still hadn’t taken her. They turned out stinking cute. If you want a peek, I can email you the files but I’m not sure about the copyrights for posting them here.  Just let me know.

4. Remember I did that spring kids’ consignment sale? There’s an adult sale here next week and I’ve been procrastinating getting my old unused stuff and clothes ready to sell. It’s stressful adding such a huge project on top of four kids and a house. BUT, I want to use it for my personal clothing fund for the rest of the summer/fall, so I’m making myself get it done. And my, how my tastes have changed. (The sale is also taking household goods. Goodbye, attic miscellany.)

5. A couple months ago Andy and I went to a Crown Financial seminar and have been moving towards a cash system (as well as cutting various things out and downgrading others). It’s a lot of work but I know it will be worth it in the end. I will say that it’s amazing how much less we can live on with some effort and creativity.

6. Madeline has been begging me to wear her Easter dress again to church. It is in dire need of ironing, so I kept putting her off and then it was the 4th of July. So along with those items I need to iron for the sale, her dress must be done today. Need to get on that!

7. I took this photo of Arianna this afternoon and it made me laugh.

It also reminded me to mention that, yes, I AM still cloth diapering. (Probably about 85% of the time.) I’ve got a load washing right this very second.  (She’s wearing a GroBaby in that photo.)

8. Thanks to all you sweet bloggers who linked up to the first Fun Mom Friday. (And by the way, the linky will be open all weekend in case there are people still wanting to participate.) I hope you got a chance to click around; there were some good ideas out there!

9. Amanda wrote a good post on blog etiquette as it relates to commenting, so I wont rehash the topic (even though Mer and I were just discussing maybe doing a joint mini-series for the new-to-blogging-peeps). I KNOW that I could be better about it, but it’s also true that we only have so many hours in a day. For myself, I’ve considered turning them off altogether just because I’d waste a lot less time checking for email.

10. Since we’re not paying for anyone to be in Mothers Day Out or school during the summer, I hired a college-aged friend from church to come over a couple hours a week. I meant to work in the attic yesterday (for that blasted sale) while she entertained the kids, but instead Andy and I went to the bank, filled up his car, and grocery shopped. (I can’t decide how pathetic it is that we used our date to run errands.) But the funny part was, when we got home and parked, he opened the back of his car and the watermelon flew out, rolled down the driveway and across the street, landing in the ditch on the other side. (I was glad it had come from Aldi and wasn’t very expensive.)

So there you have it. Hope your Saturday is free of chasing stray watermelons!

Trying not to laugh while my hair was blowin’ in the wind

So I have to tell you about yesterday.  I had that PFT, which came back completely normal – so most likely no asthma. (Which is good but also means I have no idea why I’m still coughing; chronic bronchitis after all?)

Anyway, when I got to the hospital and checked in, the receptionist said to go to the info desk for directions. I asked the guy standing there and he said “Pulmonary. I gotta get you a chair.”

He left and a few minutes later came back with a wheelchair.

A WHEELCHAIR. I looked at him, said “seriously?! For an asthma test?!” His response was “well, they want you to have breath by the time you get up there.”

Um, okay.

I felt SO SILLY being pushed around the hospital. I could hardly keep myself from busting out laughing and had to bite my lip to keep from doing it. I felt so utterly ridiculous, being quite capable of walking and all.

(Except, after a few minutes being pushed around, I realized what he was talking about when we went hallway after hallway after hallway (where IS this place?!) with no end in sight. Yeah, I probably WOULD have been out of breath by the time I had walked to the moon Pulmonary.)

And also? He pushed that chair FAST.

The test itself was no big deal and I was out of there within the hour.  Which was good because Wednesday is my shopping day and there was still plenty of the afternoon left for that.  (Andy was off and he had the kids. Nice.)

Today we’re going swimming and then Madeline has her 5-year check up (she doesn’t know).  I started reading her Pippi Longstocking yesterday and so we’ll bring that.  And I’m sure we’ll stop to buy a watermelon and a Sonic slushie on our way home, as a post-check-up treat.

Your regularly-scheduled Monday blather

We had a pretty good weekend, especially considering we didn’t go anywhere on Saturday. (I did brave the heat to my mailbox, which should count for something.) I saw a drive-by of Dolly, otherwise known as my Costco-pajama-delivery-service. (Don’t you have one of those?)

The best day was Sunday. Andy sang a solo during the special music part of the service – his first one in over a year. Which reminds me, I never did mention he’s been offered free voice lessons at an area university to prepare for his master’s audition. So there’s that.

[We laughed in Sunday school when our leader asked if he ever sang to me at home. Andy singing at home is mostly vocal exercises that would drive anyone nuts. (Just ask Nicky.) We shared about the other day when I was in the bathroom trying to get my makeup done and he belted something out -- I was annoyed because I can't concentrate with someone shouting in my ear.]

We hung out with our Shepherding group in the evening, which is always fun and a sweet time of fellowship.  The plan was to play games but we ended up chatting the entire time.  (And most people stayed late, another good sign.)

Today we went back to the fountains, this time with friends. Which means we’re all a little sun-kissed and tired tonight (just the way I like it).