Spring Break

The kids got a full week off for Spring Break this year. We tried to make all sorts of plans to go somewhere and everything kept not quite working out, so we had some adventures here.

We only had one day that was really nice outside, so we went to the Hogle Zoo. Sophie had never been to the zoo before and had a great time. I decided to pull her in the wagon so we could bring along a picnic lunch. I thought the wagon was going to roll over us all coming down a few hills, but we managed to survive with only a few bumps and no major wrecks.

Jack is almost the size of a gorilla. The kid is really starting to stretch out. He had one sad moment when he picked an animal to ride on on the carousel that didn't move up and down. But he survived and will probably always notice such things on all carousels he rides in future. It was funny how he couldn't believe it and kept asking why they would even bother putting on a non-moving animal. This is from the kid that once picked to sit on a bench on a carousel with his grandma (who is not a fan of going around and around anyway). He has apparently changed his stance on this. Bella saw the peacocks for the first time and has decided she would like to be one for Halloween. I have seen the baby peacock costumes by Tom Arma, so I will probably try and figure something out based one those. If she doesn't change her mind, it will be pretty funny.

Sophie thought all the animals were great. She would repeat their names as we told her and point and laugh. She had a ton of fun. She liked the carousel, she liked part of her lunch-which is a success in my book.

She had a great time until the train, which concerned her greatly...She didn't cry, but she looked like this most of the time. Twas hilarious.

On Wednesday, we all went to the Children's Discovery Museum. The museum has a kid sized town full of activities. There is also a big water table with plastic bubbles to play with and all sorts of arts/ crafts, and tactile exploration things. Jack went a few years ago on a school trip and seemed to really like it. The biggest hit was the rock wall. The wall wasn't too high, so most of the time the kids spent going across vertically. They did it so many times they could barely move their arms. I love to see that level of exhaustion. We were at the wall for at least an hour, then went back again as the last thing we did. There was a play vegetable garden right next to it for Sophie to play in while Jack and Bella crawled all over the wall.

On Thursday, we met Nate for lunch and went to the Disney Store. Then on Friday, I surprised the kids by taking them swimming. I was a bit apprehensive because last year Sophie was not so fond of the water. So I warned the other two that we may not get to stay as long as they would like if she hated it. But she didn't, she loved it. She didn't mind the splashing or going under water or being carried around. She liked the deep better than the shallow and loved going around the lazy river. We swam until all pruny and water logged. There are no pictures because my camera isn't water friendly. I was pretty tired by the end of the week. And so it wasn't so bad when they went back to school and I got in a few naps.

Nine is Fine!

Jack is nine years old today! Nate and I started the festivities last night. After Jack fell asleep we moved him out of his bed and changed the bedding to new Star Wars sheets and a quilt I had made him. He usually sleeps in a nest of blankets, he said he woke up while it was dark and searched for all his blankets until he just decided to crawl under the unfamiliar quilt on his bed to warm up-crazy kid.He got out of bed early as well, I returned from water aerobics around 7:15 and everyone was awake and ready to tear into some presents. I have tried year after year to convince him to not go for all of them in the morning, but wait until evening and spread them out during the day, but I have not been successful.
He was delighted to receive remote control helicopter from Nate and I, along with a new bike. His sisters got him a lacrosse set and Bella is dying to play.

Then at just after 8, I let him call his grandma and grandpa so he could open their gifts while they listened on. They were good sports, it was 7 am there. Anyway, he was thrilled with everything but really freaked out about the Giant Lego Star Wars Republic ship. My mom has a good story about the legos. They went on clearance at her Wal-Mart after Christmas. Things go on clearance there that don't seem to go on clearance here. Well, the price was better than the original, but still pretty high, so she watched and watched for them to drop lower. They never did. She came down here to visit, and when she went back, all the lego sets were gone. Then she went back a few days later, and they were back, but still not marked any lower, she decided to scan one anyway just to see if they hadn't marked the tag yet. And they hadn't! She called very excited to tell me she had gotten this huge lego set for like 75% off! And if you have a kid who loves legos, you know they are expensive and almost never go on sale. So there has been much excitement all around about this particular set. It paid off, Jack is very very very excited.

Thus far the kid has had a great day and currently I am making a football field cake. I remember being nine fondly, and I hope he does as well. This is the last year of single digits, it is really flying by. Love you Jack!

We survived the flood

It was a long and no fun process to empty the crawl space, dry it out, and fill it back up, but we survived and most everything is back in it's place.

About a month ago we bought a new couch. Our old couch sat near it in our over crowded living room until Saturday when Nate attempted to take it to the D.I.. They wouldn't take it because of a rip in the fabric. Who knew? So now I need to find out about other disposal methods, this is on my todo list.

Jack got his Wolf! I am so very excited about this. We worked on it regularly all year. It's really one of the few things I have procrastinated on. I am really grateful for my years in Primary as a scout rep that taught me what I needed to do with Jack in Cub Scouts. He loves doing all the achievements and is so excited to go into Bears. I am so proud of him.
We also dyed Easter Eggs. I am really bad a holiday celebrations. This is one we never miss though. Which is ironic, because although the kids love dying eggs, they loathe eating them. Nate and I are then left with a lot of hard boiled eggs to consume. Nate does pretty good making them into sandwiches and such, I on the other hand only really like them plain. Sophie would only try them with the shell on.


This year we did tye-dye eggs. Basically the egg is wrapped in a little swath of fabric and then you drip dye all over the fabric with an eye dropper. It goes a little slow, but the kids liked the result. The really dark egg is the dinosaur egg Jack made by mixing all the colors of dye. He is torn because he really wants to eat it, but then remembers he doesn't like eggs. I keep encouraging him to just eat it anyway.


I sang in Stake Choir for Stake Conference this past weekend. I really liked it, I had forgotten how much I loved choir when I was in high school. It was interesting to sit on the stand and watch everyone, including poor Nate being accosted by Sophie in the very back. When she is tired she gets a bit violent.

Nate and I are still spending Wednesday nights obsessed with LOST. Lat night's episode was good, looks like Faraday will be back soon. I loved the Hurley/Miles Empire Strikes Back scene. Except for all the hating on the Ewoks! I was seven when Return of the Jedi came out and I loved them! Makes sense being seven and all. And now I can't tell if they were foolish or not, too much nostalgia involved.

Jack and I have started watching the new season of The Deadliest Catch. Honestly, I don't know why I love this show-I just do. Really if we ever lost the Discovery Channel I would be really tempted to spring for cable. Anyway, the new season just started and I tape (yeah, no DVR either, we live in the stone ages) it so Jack and I can watch it the next day-it's on too late for either of us to catch in real time. Something about the drama of who will find the crab, who will have catastrophe after catastrophe, and Mike Rowe's very dramatic narration totally suck me in every season. And I don't even like to eat crab.

Get Out Your Waders

I began the day early. Opening the door and getting ready to leave for water aerobics at six greeted me with three inches of snow on the car. It was so difficult to go clean off the car while I was warm and in flip flops. I was awake though and I must like water aerobics a lot, because I cleared off the car and went. Obstacle one-conquered.

Nate has a big project he's been working on at work, so he was all ready to go when I got home just after seven. Of course, all the kids got up within moments after I got home, so we ate breakfast then headed downstairs to snuggle, watch PBS Kids and read board books. Sitting on the couch I heard a strange drip drip drip. My first thought was to investigate. Then I thought no, truthfully, I don't want to know what that noise is. I want it to be melting snow, so that is what it should be. I sat for a few more minutes and sense kicked in and I realized I must investigate.

So, in this house we have three bathrooms. Two on the top floor, one on the bottom, none in the middle. The kids are reluctant to use the bathroom on the bottom floor. It is in the laundry room and they must pass the opening to the crawl space. Now the crawl space has a door, it just hasn't been installed yet. It's been waiting a good long time, at least two years I speculate. I am thankful they are afraid of the crawl space, because that means I can stash stuff there and they don't investigate it. Anyway, back to bathroom usage. I don't use the bathroom on the bottom floor often either. I have decided I can count going up and down the stairs as exercise, so I do that. That leaves Nate, who does use the downstairs bathroom. Now, Nate is definitely the most meticulous and observant person in the house. That is important to know.

It is also important to know that the downstairs toilet is stupid. It leaks occasionally. Meaning months can go by, no leak, then all of the sudden, constant leak. Nate has made attempts, and we are lured into believing the leak is fixed, when all of the sudden, it is back. The leak seems to generate around the base of the toilet. This indicates to me the wax seal has an issue. My solution is to turn off the toilet and ignore it's existence. This works for me as it frees me from cleaning said toilet.

Back to my investigation of the drip drip drip. I open the door to the laundry/bathroom and discover the floor is covered in water. Sophie comes running in after me and proceeds to water slide across the floor unexpectedly. I pick her sopping self up and realize the toilet is overflowing everywhere in a very slow fashion. Instantly I panic a bit. I've got one kid drenched with freezing water and two others laughing. "Wow, did you see how far Sophie slid mom!" Once I realize where the water is coming from, I know I need to bathe Sophie, after all, toilet water is toilet water. So, I get dirty towels to sop up some of the water, turn off the water supply to the toilet and then get upstairs to put Sophie in the tub. In all of this, Jack manages to get ready and leave for school. I don't even remember him going, I know, great moments in parenting. At this point, I need to confer with another adult as to the next course of action. The toilet bowl is completely full, and I realize it can't stay like this. And water is everywhere, though curiously not next to the door or on the carpet. So, I get Nate on the phone and explain the situation. He is alarmed, but stays on while I flush the toilet and assess the damage. Now, across from the toilet is an unfinished shower stall. I store empty boxes and bins there. I have been meaning to clean it out for ages. I have a deep and abiding love for Rubbermaid bins. Ever since I moved from home to college I have acquired quite a collection of them. Nate, in the past gave me a hard time, like my stuff was too good to store in regular boxes. Bins are uniform, I like that. And now, I have a lot of dry stuff, thank you Rubbermaid.

So, also in the laundry room are a few bins waiting to go into the crawl space. So I decide to get them out of there and put them where they need to go. This is when things got worse. I turned the light on to the crawl space and saw standing water everywhere. Water had leaked out of the toilet, under the washer and dryer, through the wall and down into the crawl space, there was a mini waterfall going as I took it all in. The crawl space isn't really full, but there were a lot of things sitting in all that water. Then onto the next thought, how am I supposed to get that water out of there? I really don't want Lake Toilet Water under the house. I found the phone as fast as I could and called Nate back in a total panic. I quickly explained and he quickly said he was coming home. He works twenty minutes away.

I began moving stuff to the difficult side of the crawl space. Blessedly the space is divided in two with a concrete divided about 10 inches high in the middle. And only one side was flooded. But I call the unflooded sided difficult because there are all sorts of vertical supports for the load bearing wall they support. I moved stuff until Nate got home, then he took over the rearranging. I escaped the situation by going to buy a Shop Vac. I think there are a few things houses should just come with. Shop Vacs are high on the list. So are lawnmowers. And long metal pole things that turn on your irrigation water each spring. When I returned I was calmer. I decided despite the inconvenience and surprise, it will be good to get a few things cleaned out and rearranged. And Nate and I have decided to replace the offending toilet. Really, we hate it and it needs to go. And we may finish the lower bathroom, which would make me very happy. And there was no damage to the wall behind the washer and dryer where all the water came through. At first I wanted to figure out how to seal that off, but if we did seal it off and have another flood, would the water just go into the family room? Also not a good place. Of course the ideal thing would be no more water disasters. But with the washing machine, a sink, toilet, water heater, and possibly shower in one room, I will not be shocked at another flood. But I will be armed with my Shop Vac.

Belated

Seems as though I've been late in giving birthday and holiday wishes lately. I have no good excuse. But to try and make up a little, here goes:

Happy Birthday Uncle Rick!

Happy Birthday Terry!

Happy Birthday Jennifer!

Happy Birthday Jeff! I know, I only have one sibling and here I am so late. Hope the job hunt is going well.

Happy Birthday BeckyG! I will email you again about times to go out.

Happy Birthday Alice! Since it was yesterday, this isn't too bad. Hope your insurance rates go down!

And, I know I have missed several niece/nephew birthdays. But I am not sure how many-sorry, pathetic, I know. So happy birthday to all of you!

Happy Anniversary Vanella and Tim! That went by fast.

Also, Happy St. Patricks Day to all. The outfit Sophie is wearing belonged to Bella. Bella loves it when Sophie wears her old clothes. She got this from Uncle Rick and Aunt Becky, who adore all things Irish.

Playing Along

From Holly's Blog:
So, here's how it works: the first 3 people to leave a comment on this post will receive, at some point during the year a handmade gift from me. What it will be and when it will arrive is a total surprise! The catch is that you must participate as well. Before you leave your comment, write up a pay it forward post on your blog to keep the fun going (or copy and paste like I did). Then come back, let me know you're going to play and sit back and anticipate the arrival of your gift! Come and play!

How can I not play this game! First, I love things other people make for me! Second, I love to make all sorts of things!

So if you would like, join in the fun, follow the rules and get going!

Update: I still need at least one more participant! Marsha and Cliff have yet to start their own blogs, though I will definitely be sending them consolations prizes for their willingness! I am really excited to get started on this! Thanks to all!

In which I can't complete a thought...

I keep thinking of stuff I want to blog about, then when I sit down in front of the computer, it falls out of my head. So, in order to ease the pressure that has clearly built up, here is a list of randomness.

Food and eating in general. I am tired of eating, or coming up with stuff to eat, or horror of horrors going somewhere to eat. My mom and grandma were here for a week, and everyone hates choosing where we will go to eat. Why is this? I have no idea. But I really want to subsist on cereal and peanut butter sandwiches. I think this would make the deciding much easier. Problem, I think I am the only one who lives here that loves cereal and peanut butter sandwiches, every one else just tolerates them.

Water aerobics. I have been going in the early wee morning hours lately. I realize I love water aerobics because my lack of coordination is not so obvious when most of me is under the water. And I love floating in the pool, so relaxing. And I have been sore for weeks, so something must be working.

Winter, snow, freezing wind, and other such nonsense. I am so ready for the weather to stop teasing me. We had a few days that reached 60 degrees last week, twas divine. Then slam, snow coating the lawn and car again. Then biting, cold, bitter, piercing, frigid wind. I just want a few months of jeans and t-shirt weather. No bundling needed. And I want to put away all the cold weather gear, I am tired of the way Sophie decorates the house with it.

Book Club. We read Gone With The Wind last month and I really liked it. I had lots of memories of watching the movie at Grandma McMenomy's as a teenager. It's good to see how my perspective on it all has changed over the years. And the things that have stayed the same. Though, I am still perplexed why Scarlett loved Ashely, in the movie he was not handsome, and in the book, he is pretty pathetic. She just goes after him because she can't have him, then when she can, she doesn't want him. Can be applied to so many things.

Furniture. We are at a point where most of our stuff is nearing twelve years old. So, some stuff is looking pretty shabby, namely the couch. I am having a terrible time finding a new one that I like. Part of me wants to get something very nice that will last years and years, mainly to avoid looking again. Part of me wants to get something fairly inexpensive and plan on not living with it too long because I am bad with commitment. There are many other furniture issues, but I can only concentrate on this one right now.

Lost. I love lost, I look forward to it every week. We don't even answer the phone or door while it is on. So why is there no new Lost next week, isn't it sweeps? Good thing I have The Office to look forward to as well.

Speaking of the phone, I didn't even realize the new dial the whole ten numbers thing went into effect this week until it was mentioned at Book Club on Wednesday. And I still haven't made a call yet this week. I find this hilarious. The Young Women can't believe I don't have a cell phone, after this week, are we even sure I need a home phone?!? Well, people have called here, so I suppose I do, it's just funny.