OK, so yesterday I held my first garage sale. I got up early, put out the sign by the highway (it was big, neon yellow with bold black letters), and got everything set up. As soon as it was 7am, I had a customer; a good start. As she was shopping, another lady stopped by. Things were looking good. But then the rain started off and on. People would come by, looking for something very specific - which I wouldn't have (movies, exercise machines, etc). One lady really wanted to buy Ryan's plants he had in the garage. He had to bring them home from his office because they had developed flies and it is not good to have tiny flies in a working lab with "science experiments" going on. So he brought them home and treated them with some pesticide. If I had sold those plants - I think Ryan would have killed me. I had another guy asking about my washing machine - I thought he was wondering what I was up to, so I told him that I was just doing some laundry - he apparently thought they were for sale; nope, just washing some sheets due to a leaky diaper. Sadly, by noon, it was raining quite a bit, my sign got too soggy to stay up and I closed my business. I guess it wasn't the best weekend to have a garage sale, but I gave it a shot. So at this point, I'm just going to sell the furniture on craig's list. I did get my garage swept out, a couple loads of laundry done, and ironed a few shirts. Not too bad.
Some good news - I sold my old clarinet. I met with the buyer in St. Louis (he lived about an hour from me). Claire was with me and we promptly went to The Container Store to buy something to store all of her art supplies in. We had been keeping all the supplies in a big, clear, plastic storage bin under her bed. It was hard to get to everything and she would make a big mess in the process. It was hard for her to clean it up and I was tired of doing it. Drawing, making plans, writing notes, etc, is her favorite thing to do around the house. So, we needed a better solution than the storage bin. Enter: The Container Store. I found a perfect solution that looks great. Claire is very excited about it. I need to take a picture of it and post it, but Claire is sleeping as a I write this; it'll have to wait until morning. So with my extra clarinet money, I bought my daughter an "office" as she calls it.
It's late and the baby needs to be held and put to bed. Hope you all have a fabulous day.
Sunday, September 9, 2007
Friday, September 7, 2007
Party Pooper
I told the kids this afternoon, as we were playing on the swing set, that since Dad was going to be camping with the Scouts, we would have a party tonight. Claire was very excited and William didn't have a clue. However, as the afternoon progressed, the kids started bothering each other. I had to break up a couple of fights and sent both kids to their rooms several times. Needless to say, I didn't much feel like having a little "party" tonight with these two monsters. We were going to make cookies, rent a movie and eat some popcorn. Now there aren't going to be any cookies, I'm putting the kids to bed in half an hour (at 7pm) and I'll watch the movie and eat popcorn in peace and quiet - alone. Claire keeps asking when the party is going to get started and I have informed her that I don't much feel like giving a party when she and William have been behaving so badly. Luckily for us, (and poor Ryan) these Scouting camp outs will be every month or so, so we will have plenty of time to "party".
I'm holding my first garage sale tomorrow. Ryan is really freaked out that I won't be able to handle it alone, but I think I'll be fine. I don't have a lot of stuff to sell, so it shouldn't last too long. It's also supposed to rain on and off around this area. We'll see how it goes. It's time to throw my stinky kids in the bath, read them a story and put them to bed.
I'm holding my first garage sale tomorrow. Ryan is really freaked out that I won't be able to handle it alone, but I think I'll be fine. I don't have a lot of stuff to sell, so it shouldn't last too long. It's also supposed to rain on and off around this area. We'll see how it goes. It's time to throw my stinky kids in the bath, read them a story and put them to bed.
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Salsa, Shopping and Scrapes
I know, I know - I haven't written in almost a week. We had a busy weekend and I wasn't always feeling well. I have been busy teaching the past two days and only now have some spare time as I wait for Claire to come home from school. So now that I have excused myself, I have a few things to share. Our labor day weekend was filled with housework and shopping.
It's at times like these when I wish we had a bigger car or a truck.
A little mulch on the couch thanks to our gardener, William.
A friend gave us this race car bed for William. He had been sleeping on the bottom trundle from Claire's bed. William just giggled with delight when they took the bed out of the car. Here the kids are taking a little break in the frame before I wiped it down.
William loves to ride on my back. He doesn't sit up, but likes to lay down, tuck his arms under him and totally relax as I give him a ride around the house. He is a very cuddly boy.
So I had planned to write yesterday, but I stayed pretty busy. I made some salsa using the tomatoes from out garden (it was very tasty).
And I did various housework, made dinner, took Claire in for her TB test for school, went to the office supply store, taught a private student and cleaned out the attic - not in that order. What didn't help was I had planned to have 15 minuets in which to eat my dinner before I had to teach an hour lesson. Well, right as I was pulling the casserole out of the oven, Ryan called from the train station to inform me that his car battery was once again dead and he needed a jump. We didn't have time for the jump, but I quickly picked him up, ate very quickly and was off. Here is a picture of Ryan's sad face as I went to pick him up - mind you this is the third time he's killed the battery in this car from leaving the lights on. He did the same thing to my car a few months ago. Can we say, forgetful?
The last thing I wanted to write about has to do with this last picture. While Ryan and I were laying in bed, about to fall asleep the other night, we somehow got into a conversation about being clumsy. I made the point that while my family may call me clumsy, I'm no clumsier than anyone else. Ryan did not agree. So I asked him, when was the last time you hit your head on something - he honestly couldn't remember and I couldn't remember when he had either. I told him, "well I don't do it that often", failing to mention that I had hit my head minuets earlier on the book case next to our bed while I was trying to crawl into bed in the dark. Nor did I remind him of the two concussions I have received from running into doors (one of which put me in the hospital). I then started to think about all of the dishes I've broken, the amount of food (flour, vanilla, sugar, etc) that I have dropped in the kitchen making a huge mess, the many times a day I run into furniture, corners, doors, etc. "Nah," I thought, "I'm no clumsier than you or anyone else". The next evening, while I was doing some laundry in the garage, I stumbled into a sharp, metal sawhorse, scraping the skin off of my shin. It wasn't a deep cut, but I think scrapes are sometimes worse than a cut. I called out for Ryan, who was around the corner in the yard and tried to stumble to him for help with the blood now pouring down my leg. Of course it's dark outside and as I tried to reach him around the corner, I stepped off of the driveway, turned my ankle in a dip in the yard and fell to the ground. Ryan was a little startled and asked what was wrong. I called desperately, "just help me!". The whole thing was ridiculous - it wasn't that big of a deal until I about broke my ankle in the dark. I'll tell you what, if I were a big person, I would have broken my foot/ankle several times by now. OK OK, so I am a little clumsy and I did slice my finger open last night on the food processor blade while trying to wash the dishes. I admit my clumsiness to Ryan, though it hurt my pride a little. I just attribute the clumsiness to the fact that I am much more active than Ryan - I mean, how many doors can you run into when you sit at a computer all day, come on! (and Mom, if I'm not mistaken, you have pulled a few of your own in the past and especially lately...)
Ryan cleaning the threshold with his two helpers. Claire is holding her calculator - she was calculating things all weekend.
We had to do some grocery shopping Monday - the kids love their goldfish crackers!
We went to Lowes to buy a new trashcan. The stupid raccoons kept getting into ours and we had to keep them in the garage. It would get pretty smelly in there. So, we bought a trashcan that can be secured easily. The kids took a ride in it in the parking lot. We got a few looks that said, "I can't believe those people have their kids in a trash can! Is that even safe? *scoff*". Oh well, the kids had a good time.
It's at times like these when I wish we had a bigger car or a truck.
A little mulch on the couch thanks to our gardener, William.
A friend gave us this race car bed for William. He had been sleeping on the bottom trundle from Claire's bed. William just giggled with delight when they took the bed out of the car. Here the kids are taking a little break in the frame before I wiped it down.
William loves to ride on my back. He doesn't sit up, but likes to lay down, tuck his arms under him and totally relax as I give him a ride around the house. He is a very cuddly boy.
So I had planned to write yesterday, but I stayed pretty busy. I made some salsa using the tomatoes from out garden (it was very tasty).
And I did various housework, made dinner, took Claire in for her TB test for school, went to the office supply store, taught a private student and cleaned out the attic - not in that order. What didn't help was I had planned to have 15 minuets in which to eat my dinner before I had to teach an hour lesson. Well, right as I was pulling the casserole out of the oven, Ryan called from the train station to inform me that his car battery was once again dead and he needed a jump. We didn't have time for the jump, but I quickly picked him up, ate very quickly and was off. Here is a picture of Ryan's sad face as I went to pick him up - mind you this is the third time he's killed the battery in this car from leaving the lights on. He did the same thing to my car a few months ago. Can we say, forgetful?
The last thing I wanted to write about has to do with this last picture. While Ryan and I were laying in bed, about to fall asleep the other night, we somehow got into a conversation about being clumsy. I made the point that while my family may call me clumsy, I'm no clumsier than anyone else. Ryan did not agree. So I asked him, when was the last time you hit your head on something - he honestly couldn't remember and I couldn't remember when he had either. I told him, "well I don't do it that often", failing to mention that I had hit my head minuets earlier on the book case next to our bed while I was trying to crawl into bed in the dark. Nor did I remind him of the two concussions I have received from running into doors (one of which put me in the hospital). I then started to think about all of the dishes I've broken, the amount of food (flour, vanilla, sugar, etc) that I have dropped in the kitchen making a huge mess, the many times a day I run into furniture, corners, doors, etc. "Nah," I thought, "I'm no clumsier than you or anyone else". The next evening, while I was doing some laundry in the garage, I stumbled into a sharp, metal sawhorse, scraping the skin off of my shin. It wasn't a deep cut, but I think scrapes are sometimes worse than a cut. I called out for Ryan, who was around the corner in the yard and tried to stumble to him for help with the blood now pouring down my leg. Of course it's dark outside and as I tried to reach him around the corner, I stepped off of the driveway, turned my ankle in a dip in the yard and fell to the ground. Ryan was a little startled and asked what was wrong. I called desperately, "just help me!". The whole thing was ridiculous - it wasn't that big of a deal until I about broke my ankle in the dark. I'll tell you what, if I were a big person, I would have broken my foot/ankle several times by now. OK OK, so I am a little clumsy and I did slice my finger open last night on the food processor blade while trying to wash the dishes. I admit my clumsiness to Ryan, though it hurt my pride a little. I just attribute the clumsiness to the fact that I am much more active than Ryan - I mean, how many doors can you run into when you sit at a computer all day, come on! (and Mom, if I'm not mistaken, you have pulled a few of your own in the past and especially lately...)
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Pictures and a hair cut
It's already late and I have to take care of a few things for Claire for school tomorrow, so I'll have to make this short. Yesterday evening, while hubby was at Scouts, the kids and I finished painting the old swing set a neighbor gave us. It looks a ton better. While we were out, we got very sweaty and sticky. William is a particularly sweaty person, so his long hair is always wet when we go outside. So I decided to just cut his hair myself last night and save the $10 having it professionally cut. I put William on the deck and quickly cut his hair. By the end, he was pretty unhappy about having hair stuck to his sweaty body and started crying while trying to get the hair off. So I stripped him down to his diaper and got out the hose. While he ran around the back yard laughing, I sprayed him from head to toe. I'm sure that if anyone drove by at that point, they would think that I'm this really mean mother, squirting my young child like that, but he loved it. Claire joined in a few minutes later and got fairly wet. Due to the nasty mosquitoes coming out, I quickly took the kids inside and William starts telling me he's cold. I went to get him dressed only to realize that he had pollen from the grass and hair still all over him. So I put him in the bath tub, turned on the warm water and he then proceeded to scream and cry that he was cold. I found this ironic - the ice cold hose water was great fun, but the warm bath water made him cold and miserable. I guess I can never win.
These pictures are of William (before the haircut) lounging, sleeping, and studying Dad's "National Geographic". The last picture is of William's Lego creation. Notice the symmetry and organization - he left it on the couch just like that.
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
A couple of thoughts
I thought of a few funny things that I wanted to write about; they happened yesterday. Poor William is having a very hard time with his business down under. For some reason, he gets constipated for a couple of days and then in one day, we have an explosion. Now I'm sure you're wondering at this point, "Why is the world is she writing this?" and I promise I have point. So last night while he was crying and working hard, I took off his diaper to give him some more room to work. I was about to put him and Claire in the bath, so they were both naked at this point. I asked Ryan to go find the baby potty since William won't sit on the big toilet and see if that helps him go. So while Ryan is rummaging around the attic for the little potty, I have a crisis on my hands. William runs off to his room and pees on the floor and while I'm trying to get him back in the bathroom where there is at least linoleum and not carpet, he climbs on his bed and pees again - this time emptying his bladder on his down comforter, two blankets, and pillow. All the while, he's crying because his bum hurts, Claire is dancing around naked in the bathtub and I'm trying desperately to control the urine situation. I'm also trying to get a diaper to put it back on William since Ryan is taking his sweet time in the attic, completely oblivious to the chaos in the house. While I'm taking sheets off of the bed to keep it from soaking to the mattress, William is now in the living room using the couch as support as he tries, to once again, poop. I find him crying then rush him back to the bathroom, pooping as he runs. I tell naked Claire to go find Dad, and put William back on the big potty. Now mind you, this all happened in less than a minute. I finally chase Ryan down, grab the potty, put William on it and success!! Only one carpet spot, two blankets, a pillow and comforter later, and we are done. William is sweaty with a tear-streaked face, I am flustered and upset, naked Claire is still happily dancing around the empty bathtub, and Ryan asks, "what happened down here"? So with both kids in the tub, the poo flushed down the big toilet and the pee cleaned up, I can now bathe a screaming William (I wouldn't let him take his blanket in the bathtub).
I can laugh about it now, but at the time, it was not fun. The other funny thing that was really not funny at the time involved our alarm clock. A student in Ryan's lab graduated and left this fancy alarm clock in his cubicle for anyone to take. So Ryan took it because it had a radio on it and our current alarm clock didn't. This alarm clock has two alarms, a radio and some other buttons that we don't know what they do. So last night, we climb in bed around midnight, exhausted, and just as we both fall asleep, the alarm goes off. NO!!!! Ryan turns it off, and we go back to sleep. A few minutes later, after we had both fallen asleep, it goes off again! By this point I'm getting angry and am about to pull the plug and throw it out the back door. Ryan turns on the lamp and starts punching all of the buttons, trying to reset it. I lay there with my eyes squinted shut, waiting for the clicking sound of the buttons to stop. Notice that I didn't restart it myself - I think Ryan instinctively knew that this new alarm clock was his idea and that if I touched it, it would end up in the backyard or trash. So he fixed it and we apprehensively went back to sleep.
When I think about it, these two events are really quite boring and these types of things happen all of the time, but when you think back about your everyday life over the past years, it's hard to remember what is was you did all day. I remember big events and a few other things, but the everyday happenings and details are lost in my memory. That's why I like this blog - it's a chance to write about these little events that I know I will forget in a year from now (or sooner). Just a thought.
I can laugh about it now, but at the time, it was not fun. The other funny thing that was really not funny at the time involved our alarm clock. A student in Ryan's lab graduated and left this fancy alarm clock in his cubicle for anyone to take. So Ryan took it because it had a radio on it and our current alarm clock didn't. This alarm clock has two alarms, a radio and some other buttons that we don't know what they do. So last night, we climb in bed around midnight, exhausted, and just as we both fall asleep, the alarm goes off. NO!!!! Ryan turns it off, and we go back to sleep. A few minutes later, after we had both fallen asleep, it goes off again! By this point I'm getting angry and am about to pull the plug and throw it out the back door. Ryan turns on the lamp and starts punching all of the buttons, trying to reset it. I lay there with my eyes squinted shut, waiting for the clicking sound of the buttons to stop. Notice that I didn't restart it myself - I think Ryan instinctively knew that this new alarm clock was his idea and that if I touched it, it would end up in the backyard or trash. So he fixed it and we apprehensively went back to sleep.
When I think about it, these two events are really quite boring and these types of things happen all of the time, but when you think back about your everyday life over the past years, it's hard to remember what is was you did all day. I remember big events and a few other things, but the everyday happenings and details are lost in my memory. That's why I like this blog - it's a chance to write about these little events that I know I will forget in a year from now (or sooner). Just a thought.
September
My husband and I have discovered something: September is the "catch-all" month. Fall is my favorite season; I love the changing of the leaves, the cooler weather, the fall decorations, the start of school, etc. I love making my home warm and cozy on those cool nights. I love baking pumpkin bread and other delicious treats that makes my home smell like cloves, nutmeg and cinnamon. I also love to go to small towns during their fall festivals and browse through all of the homemade items, candles, ornaments, etc. I love pulling out the sweaters and warm flannel sheets. For many, many reasons, I love this upcoming season.
However, back to my original discovery of September being the month for everything. Because of all of the holidays in the upcoming months, everyone and every organization wants to have all of their activities, orientations, meetings, camp-outs, etc. all in the one month of September. Ryan and I had plans to go to a couple of historic towns nearby to visit during their fall festivals. We also had plans to go to the Botanical Garden to enjoy the cooler weather as we browse the late blooms. It was also when we wanted to go on a one night camp-out. We had all of these fabulous plans. But then life happens. So now we have something almost every weekend (except for when my in-laws come in a few weeks, it will be our excuse to get out of all of these obligations for a week) that will keep us from enjoying our family outings and the fall season. Of course there are some activities I am looking forward to (all of my ladies' nights, book group, etc). But now that the husband is the Scoutmaster for our ward, it is taking over all of our free nights and weekends. Oh well, maybe I should just accept the fact that September will ALWAYS be busy; maybe there will be some time in October to enjoy the season as a family.
In the end, I'm ready for fall and all of it's wonderful events and changes.
However, back to my original discovery of September being the month for everything. Because of all of the holidays in the upcoming months, everyone and every organization wants to have all of their activities, orientations, meetings, camp-outs, etc. all in the one month of September. Ryan and I had plans to go to a couple of historic towns nearby to visit during their fall festivals. We also had plans to go to the Botanical Garden to enjoy the cooler weather as we browse the late blooms. It was also when we wanted to go on a one night camp-out. We had all of these fabulous plans. But then life happens. So now we have something almost every weekend (except for when my in-laws come in a few weeks, it will be our excuse to get out of all of these obligations for a week) that will keep us from enjoying our family outings and the fall season. Of course there are some activities I am looking forward to (all of my ladies' nights, book group, etc). But now that the husband is the Scoutmaster for our ward, it is taking over all of our free nights and weekends. Oh well, maybe I should just accept the fact that September will ALWAYS be busy; maybe there will be some time in October to enjoy the season as a family.
In the end, I'm ready for fall and all of it's wonderful events and changes.
Monday, August 27, 2007
New Piano and Groundhogs Part Two
The big day has come! Our piano arrived safe and sound this morning; we have been playing it non-stop. It is beautiful and we are ecstatic that it's here! This evening for Family Home Evening, we just sang Primary songs and had a short lesson on 'prayer'. Claire was in an ornery mood so when Ryan asked her if she thinks Heavenly Father hears our prayers, she said "No, he doesn't hear them. He's never given me anything I've asked for." She wasn't bitter or anything, she just said it matter-of-factly. It was kind of funny, but of course we had to correct her and remind her of things that Heavenly Father has done for our family. Then we sang a lot of songs and Ryan and I played some piano/clarinet duets. It has been so wonderful to have a piano in my home for the first time since I left home almost 10 years ago. And it doesn't hurt that it is a fabulous piano with a beautiful touch and tone. We are very happy with our purchase.
They drove the truck right up to our front door through our yard - yes, we gave them permission to.
The ramp from the truck to our door.
Notice the hideous linoleum - it will be removed when we replace the carpet.
Notice the hideous linoleum - it will be removed when we replace the carpet.
Man that thing looks heavy, I'm just glad I'm not moving it!
So happy! The first song on the new piano!
A little music to end the day by Ryan.
I had to go to three stores to find everything though. Seeing as how Christmas is almost here (are you kidding me?) all of the summer/garden stuff is gone and Halloween, Thanksgiving and yes, Christmas stuff is everywhere. Old Time Pottery is usually full of tacky lawn ornaments, but it has all been replaced with giant nutcrackers, tacky tree ornaments and badly painted nick knacks. So I had to settle for the only wind-blown lawn thing they had - an ugly tractor wind spinner. After I put it in the garden, Ryan ripped off the tractor and gave it to William. I wonder what Ryan would have done if I had bought that giant plastic frog? So we will see what becomes of Jerry the groundhog. Curse all of this wildlife!! Who knew it could be so annoying? Squirrels, groundhogs, raccoons, deer; what's next? We will keep you posted.
The lovely tractor wind-spinner (before Ryan dismantled it)
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