day by day

For the most part, we've settled into our home and it feels pretty good.   Most days, it does.  Most days it feels like we're in our own little corner of paradise.  We are secluded from the hustle and bustle, the kids have acres and acres to play on, we have a spacious home where we are no longer crawling on top of each other (except when everyone and the dogs want to be in the kitchen at the same time!), and the community is welcoming, friendly and has such a great, happy small town feel.  We're close to bigger cities... just 15-20 minutes from numerous cities with great shopping.

Other days just feel... off.  Other days it feels like a big mistake.  It feels isolated and foreign and unfamiliar and messy.  The "other days" are easy enough for ME to handle.  I know that we've landed in this spot for a reason.  I know we felt the need to move, to pick this place- this house- this town- for a reason. I know this is part of our journey and His plan.  But when the kids are feeling the "other days", it makes it so hard as a parent. 

Hudson has had the hardest time adjusting, and this doesn't surprise me.  I spoke with his teacher before school started and voiced my concerns.   He's quirky.  He doesn't play "typical" boy games like most of the boys did at his old school.  He sometimes has a hard time recognizing personal space. He can be obnoxious and not read social cues when people are all " You're being obnoxious, get out of my face... I'm over you".   He is immature for his age.  Even moreso being a boy.   My heart ached for him starting school.  I prayed the other kids would be accepting and find the good in him and realize his silly, sweet personality and heart were worth getting to know- quirks and all.   I was also terrified about his school work- he tends to want to do everything PERFECT and it paralyzes him into not doing ANYTHING at all.  He can be stubborn and refuse to do his work (Writing especially... he can sit for EVER saying he's thinking about what to write nad never get anything down on paper.)

As I've always done with the boys since they started school, I asked them each day who they played with at recess, and who they ate lunch with.  The first day of school I was so excited to know Hudson made a new friend right off the bat- Luke.  After a few days, it appeared he was no longer playing with Luke "because he wants to play cops and robbers and I want to play house!"  There were days he could name a few kids he played with, and there were days he said "I don't know...." hesitantly, only to finally admit he played alone.  My heart broke.  We discussed compromising and trying to play something the other kids wanted to play, but he was set on playing "house" or "wild baby animals".   He didn't want to play cops and robbers, or puppies and dogcatchers, or dinosaurs with the other kids.  We discussed that it was his choice- he had to decide if he would rather compromise and have friends to play with, or play alone and play what he wanted to play. 

The first week of school he brought home a paper that was incomplete (nothing even started on it) and a note stating that he refused to do any writing.  Another paper had a sentence on it with a note stating he completed with SIGNIFICANT help from the classroom aide.   I started having him write after school... I printed random, silly pictures off google and had him write 5 sentences about the pictures.  

I emailed his teacher last week and asked how he was doing- how school work was going and how he was doing socially.  She told me she was seeing the same things... that her class was full of great pretenders and the kids loved pretending, but Hudson wasn't wanting to try playing what everyone else was playing.   She recommended having him see the school counselor who can informally help him meet friends with a "friendship group".    She also said work completion was difficult- she could tell he was very bright but has a difficult time demonstrating it.

On Friday, I spoke with his teacher at the homecoming parade and she said that since we'd emailed, he seemed to have done a 180.   She had moved him next to Luke, and they seemed to be motivating each other to do their work.  He also had made a couple new friends that she noticed him playing with (He did tell me one day "I can't wait to go to school tomorrow... I have a new friend named Grace!"). 

Porter seemed, to me, to be taking everything in stride.  He made friends at football, and he always said he'd played some game or another with kids at recess.  He's enthusiastic to complete his homework as soon as he gets home.  When we went to the homecoming football game, he was greeted by a group of kids who ran up to him to have him go off and run around with them.  He seemed like he was doing fine. 

Tonight, however, he broke down.  All day he has been rotten to his brother and I had had enough.  I sent him to his room and went upstairs to let him know how I felt about his behavior... that he was being a bully, that the way he treated his brother was not how he would ever think of treating a friend or classmate, that I wasn't going to allow one of my kids to be a bully and that he was not going to be playing with friends until he could learn to be kind to his brother.  He started bawling.  And sobbing. We hugged and I let him calm down and asked him what he was feeling... he said he felt invisible. He said he had no friends.  He felt invisible at home and at school and that he's felt like he didn't fit in ever since 1st grade.  I asked about the boys he played with at the game and it seems like they're friendly, but this boy already has "good friends" that he's obviously been friends with for years.  I realized... maybe this isn't as easy for him as I thought.  Yeah... he isn't going to be able to jump into class and be good friends with anyone right away, and that can make you feel invisible and like such an outsider.  It takes time to build up those relationships and get to know someone well.  I explained to him that I felt very much the same... that I don't have any friends here and there isn't a school for moms to go meet other mom friends.  I let him know I understand how he feels and that the change is going to be hard for awhile until we let people get to know us.  

 So... day by day... day by day.   I know there will be good days and bad days.   I'm trying to roll with the punches here but some days I am afraid we made a wrong choice.  Most days I know we didn't... most days I know I won't regret this.  Most days I know we've opened up our kids to many more opportunities here.  But some days... some days I hate the messiness of this transition.  I hate the heartache my babies feel as they adjust.  I hate the behaviors and attitudes it brings out in all of us as we try to internalize our fears and worries and sadness and loneliness.   I look forward to the day where we feel like this is 100% home... where we belong... where we feel welcome and comfortable and familiar.

Day by day... day by day.

saying goodbye

Tonight the boys and I had a good cry over all the changes going on.   We've had a rough few days- they've been GOOD days, don't get me wrong- filled with fun and hard work and exciting changes, but not a whole lot of "family connecting time".  

I was tucking them in bed tonight and reminded them to get to sleep quickly so they didn't sleep in too late tomorrow and miss us before we left for the airport.  They both started bawling- but not because we're leaving- because we're moving.  They're SO upset about leaving our neighbors.  And truthfully, I am too.  And I know our neighbors are as well... last weekend we sat out on Gary and Linda's new deck and had a few drinks and the kids played Bocce ball with Gary and Ryan.  Linda got choked up watching the kids play- she said that's what she wants her back yard to look like- people over there having fun, kids playing.  She said she always thought she'd get to watch our kids grow up.  And that Amelia just has this special spot in her heart- she just adores her.  

Gaw.  I'm about crying now.   We just LOVE our neighbors.  And the Kelleys--- our kids have grown up together!  They're like siblings.  Its going to be so so hard to leave them. SO hard.  I know that changes are hard but will bring lots of new, good things into our lives, but it really sucks to have to say goodbye to people we love so much.

I tried to explain to the boys that goodbye doesn't mean we won't ever see them again.   Its like our family- we don't live next door to them, but we still love them and still see them.  Same goes for the Pattons and Kelleys.   We will always love them and miss them, but we can always call them or email or text them and see them if we want!  We just have to make time for it.   Porter wanted to get a picture of them, so I told him we'd make sure to take pictures with them before we move so we can put their pictures up at our new house.  I told them that Gary, Linda and the Kelleys will ALWAYS have a special place in our hearts because they were a big part of our lives the past 7 years.

I'm also so nervous about our new neighbors.  Its hard to think of a move as if we are "trading" off one set of neighbors for another.  It kind of is.  Moving is give and take... compromise.   We're trading off a smaller house for a larger one.  We're choosing a home that suits us better.  But, the trade off is we're also trading in our neighbors, community, school as well.  So, we have to pray and hope that what we're trading ends up being good for us.   So far we really like our new neighbors but we don't know them well enough to know if they are truly down to earth type people.  My gut feeling right now is that they won't really be people (wives) that I hang out with and get close to, but so far our kids get along SO well and love each other.  Time will tell.

I'm trying to remind myself that we've been so blessed with amazing neighbors and we're so lucky to have people in our lives that make it hard to say goodbye.

new babies bring new houses....

What is it about new babies and new homes coming at the same time?    7 years ago we moved from our first home to my mom's house while we were trying to close on our current home ("H House" is the nick name I gave it).   We had a 10 day old baby.   I slightly lost my mind. I documented it quite well back then and it makes me laugh thinking of all the craziness we went through.  

Eloise is not quite a month old and we have an accepted offer on a home that is pretty close to our dream home (ok... not DREAM home... because well, I can dream pretty damn big, but this house is perfecto for us!).   I'm going to attempt to blog more often and document our process to moving into "Apple Creek"

For the past few years I've been itching to move... out of Jackson.  Out of Michigan.  Well, we went back and forth for some time about moving to North Carolina.  After our recent trip to the coast for spring break, we finally decided that instead of moving to North Carolina, we are going to stick around Michigan.   We would miss the Great Lakes, Mackinaw, sand dunes, camping, family, etc.... we just can't leave.  Sure, winters suck... but that's when you plan a vacay somewhere warm in the dead of winter!    We decided that once we are settled into a new home and have our finances all set up (aka... all of our grown up responsibilities that our financial advisor has us investing in such as IRA's, life insurance policies etc....), we hope to invest in an oceanfront rental in North Carolina.  It'd be an investment, and we'd also be able to use it for vacations as well... so it's a win win (and somehow I'd like to make it a work expense and do something like offer it up to my team members as a reward/incentive/rank congrats etc).  We'll see how that pans out.  First focus is on getting into a home on land for horses and kits to run.

Where was I going here?? Oh yeah, Michigan.  So, we decided to stay in Michigan but neither of us *love* Jackson... and since a job does not hold us back here, we decided we're going to head on out.  We casually have been browsing the market to see what was out there... we've looked at a handful of houses over the past few months but nothing was "right".  We need land for a few horses and quads.   And we need a larger house because... kids (and dogs).   We'd find THE PERFECT property, but the house was small/weird layout/needs too much work, or we'd find THE PERFECT house and it was not on land or something.

We hooked up with a friend who is also a realtor in the area we had decided to move to.  On a whim, we decided to have her take us to see 4 houses that had been on our watch list on Realtor.com.  One house had my eye for sure after I saw the floor-plan on the realtors website, but I wasn't planning on making any commitment this soon.   We knew we weren't going to send the boys back to Michigan Center this fall and were okay with finding another district for a year, or homeschooling, or driving them to the school we planned to move to.   We knew with our list of "must-haves" that it might take awhile to find the right property.

When we walked into Apple Creek I'll be honest... the oak trim and doctors office colors in the house really blocked my mojo.   I was hesitant.   I liked the house.  I really liked the house.  I just wasn't sure if I was supposed to find THE ONE.  We spent some time there and honestly, I kind of felt like I did when I walked through H House the first time.  Kind of like... ehh it's okay, but I'm not moved.

We spend the afternoon and evening discussing the houses and the more we discussed it, the more we thought about it, the more we felt like this was the right one.  I began moving ourselves into the house in my mind.  My brain started decorating and remodeling and I saw myself watching the kids play in the woods and looking out my office window at my horses in the pasture.  We really started to fall in love.

We set up another appointment to go back to the house and walk through again, this time bringing Ryan's dad and my friend LeeAnn.  I wanted other opinions.   I wanted someone to tell me if there was something I'd end up hating in the long run, or to point out things I might be missing.  In the meantime, I spoke with our mortgage person and got our finances in order.

The kids came with us to the house and after a good hour and half of checking everything out, we realized we wanted to put an offer in on it.   Ryan's dad- Mr. Negative- had a paper to write a list of anything he thought could be a "con" about this house.   Before we left he said "Well... I don't have anything on my paper....".   I'm pretty sure this house is meant to be.

The next evening we put in an offer and heard back from the sellers within an hour.  We negotiated back and forth and within 3 hours we'd settled on an offer and they accepted.  Kind of surreal!  I'm anxious to get the ball rolling.   Our realtor is out of town this week and the following week we're on vacation, so getting both of us there for inspections is proving to be tricky.

So, here we go again... new baby, new house.  Hopefully this transition won't be quite as stressful or crazy.  We're not planning to list our house for sale until we move into the new house, which will make things a lot easier.  The thought of packing up 4 kids and 3 dogs and getting the house in show condition makes me cringe.  The only downside is the house will be empty when it shows, and that means all the awful dings and marks and scratches on the walls from 7 years of living will be loud and clear HAHA!

Amelia's Big Girl Bed

I'm not exactly sure how we're already to this point.... packing up the crib and busting out a big girl bed.   It's breaking my heart, I tell you! The last one is bittersweet.   So bittersweet.

I've been putting this off for awhile now.   We moved Porter into a twin bed when he turned 2.  Hudson we moved at 18 months.  Last weekend Ryan went out of town and that night, Amelia decided to show me her skills in scaling her crib.  She's officially on the loose.  I had been browsing Pinterest with ideas for her big girl room so I was getting excited at finally just changing things over.  I decided to go for it.

Originally I'd wanted to use the headboard I bought that matches her dresser.  However, after a botched attempt at putting a full sized bed in her room, I decided a twin was better suited.   She has a long dresser (which takes up room) and her big dollhouse and stable, and I plan to put an Expedit shelf in there as well.  So, twin it is.

Her room is pretty "vintage" inspired, so of course a Jenny Lind bed is only appropriate!  I scoured Craigslist and found one 2 hours away, by Lake Michigan.  You know what that means... ROAD TRIP!   I'll document that separately, because that's quite a story.

So, I got her bed home and set up, and she was so excited about it!  She keeps calling it her "Bunk Bed"   I love it.  She's doing pretty good so far staying in bed.  Naptime is probably the hardest.  But, lately she's been scaling back on naps as well.  She still needs them (seriously!!) but instead of her typical 2-3 hour naps its been a quick hour nap and then she's still grumpy. BOO!

I've already ordered a quilt from Pottery Barn Kids, and a bunch of different vintage sheets and pillow cases from Etsy and eBay.  I can't WAIT to pull her room all together!  It's going to be DARLING!

Super duper ruler....

just in time for Back-to-School!

It's been awhile since I've shared any of my crafty goodness here.  Actually, it's been awhile since I've felt like I've actually "been" here.... not just posting data and milestones and random things I want to remember.   I mean, BEING here... writing down my voice, my story, my feelings.  GAH.  This summer has gone by too fast, and well, to be honest, life seems to be flying by.  Scary, kind of.

Anyhow, in the past week or so I've had this itch to get some projects done around the house.  Not projects that have been on the To Do list for awhile.  No.  Projects that literally JUST popped into my head.  Like... HEY I should do that!!

I want to add more color to the house.  I'm so bored of bland, blah colors. I want some punches of brightness, some mis-matched vintagey items.  I need to spice it up a bit!

I do have color throughout the house but... not a lot.  Its just a few items here and there.   Here are some inspirational pictures I have pinned.

My short list is this:

-Sand/stain the kitchen table top (check... and .... FAIL.  See story to follow)
-Paint kitchen chairs (aqua?  teal?  grey-ish aqua sea-foam?)
-Paint hutch in dining room (cream, distressed heavily, and add colorful vintage paper to the back of it, and some bright, fun, vintage knobs)
-Paint coffee table and console table in living room (matching kitchen chairs, possibly)
-Make new pillow covers for pillows in living room (vintage fabrics, mis-matchy florals and patterns)
-Paint front door (hmm.... again, aqua?  Is this too much aqua????)

Ok so how did I get on this topic?  The title of my post here is Super Duper Ruler.  Uhm. Yeah.  So, I also am addicted to pinning really neat DIY and Knock-Off ideas for Pottery Barn.  So I decided on a whim to make this awesome ruler for measuring the kids....

It's a little darker than I had in mind, but I guess that's what you get when you use Espresso stain instead of the recommended Walnut.  Advice noted.  However, I did not seal it, so maybe it'll fade in time??

The kids each have their own growth charts in their rooms (made of canvas, painted my yours truly), so I just held those up to this chart to transfer their measurements.  I am thinking I'll keep their measurements on both and let them keep their canvas ones for keepsakes, and this one will grow with the family.  I'm envisioning grandkids on it someday??   EEK that's freaky to think.

So there ya go... a little fun, decorating, diy-ness for the blog.  Finally.

Room Swap

I swear our house is forever revolving rooms.  If it isn't kids moving rooms, I'm rearranging.

Let's see.... Porter went from the "blue room" that is now currently Amelia's to the "guest room" and then into Hudson's room for a bit and is now back in his room- aka the "original guest room.  

Amelia's room used to be the guest room (the 2nd guest room... remember, Porter took over the first guest room).  

The guest room moved to the basement and took over my office.

My office moved to the other half of the family room. WHEW.

We decided to swap the playroom (a smaller room off the living room  with my office space in the basement.  This would give us a family room/playroom space in the basement as well as the guest room/laundry room down there.   So this week I spent my days trying to organize the rooms and get everything switched over.  

Since flooring isn't in the budget, I decided to paint the basement floor.  Half the basement is carpeted (the guest bedroom and family room area) but this other half of the basement is just the concrete.  So, I painted!  It looks so much better.


Please don't mind our jankety paneling and missing ceiling tiles.   The basement is so far down on our list of things to re-do :) :)

So, my office is now upstairs right off the living room.  It is a much better fit, and it actually freed up an entire corner in the living room!  I spent a lot of time today trying to go through things and organize, but have a looong way to go!   Its hard to cram photography/office/household papers/scrapbooking stuff all into one little room without it looking cluttered.   I have a HUGE stack of the boys' artwork to go through and hope to get my scrapbook stuff straightened out so that I can attempt to jump back into that little hobby every once in awhile.   I'll have to post "after after" pictures once it's all organized and decorated.   I'm thinking of velcroing a skirt of some sort under the countertop so that you don't see the clutter/storage under there?  

piles and piles and piles and piles

I hate piles.  I hate the piles that accumulate and appear out of nowhere when the house was just clean the day before.  Where does this stuff come from?   

I like my house clean.  And tidy.  And uncluttered.  I hate clutter.  Yes, I know I have small children and a newborn at home... but I still try my darnedest to keep my house looking nice and organized.  Some days I feel SO accomplished and proud... I get so much done.  Other days... not so much.   Today, after lunch, I realized that today was the latter.  Lots of piles.  (and... instead of cleaning them.... I take pictures of them and label them and blog them.  Yeah.   That's probably part of my problem....)

Becoming a Family of 5

To read Amelia's birth story, visit the baby blog!

After Amelia was born, I had been without sleep since waking up Saturday morning.  I'd been without food for almost 24 awake hours.  I was starving!  I ordered dinner and then when we were moved to our mom/baby room the visitors poured in.  Ry's dad, my dad and Della, Heather and the girls, Lori, Don and their girls and Katie all came to see Amelia.  I was so exhausted I was pretty much delirious throughout the few evening hours.  I couldn't get out of bed as I was a "Fall Risk" because of my numb leg.  I just laid in bed, ate dinner, tried to hold a conversation with visitors and not fall asleep.

Ryan left around oh... 8-9pm (I really don't remember... sometime around there?).  I had a nurse come in before he left so I could attempt to walk to the bathroom.  Success!  My leg was back to life!  After he left I fell asleep before 9:30.  Amelia was a great sleeper... she woke at 11:45 and then went right back to sleep until 4am or so, and then was up at 7am.  I felt like a new person the next morning!

There were so many nurses coming and going, and the pediatrician and anesthesiologist and Dr. P came to check on us.  I couldn't keep track.  They had assumed I'd stay until Tuesday, but I was really feeling quite good and wanted to just get home and resume life.  I wanted to relax in my own bed, or on my own couch, and have my boys around me instead of being isolated at the hospital.

Dave stopped by in the morning and then LeeAnn came by not long after.  Ry and Hudson also came for a bit before he took him home for a nap.  Ry, Hudson and LeeAnn had lunch with me and then they all took off.  I rested a bit with Sis and was told if everything checked out at her 24 hour check at 2pm we could be discharged.

Ry picked Porter up from school early and came to get us from the hospital.  We were on our way home around 3pm!

Spring Break "Staycation"

Okay so it hasn't really been a "Staycation" as much as "days we don't go to work or school so we kind of just loaf around and do random things".  Ick.   I had hoped to plan some actual activities for the boys this week (aka... going fun places like a museum etc) but at 36 weeks pregnant I'm just slightly exhausted.

Monday we ran to the post office (I sold a book on Amazon and ooops forgot to mail it!!) and then picked up McD's and ate at the park.  The boys had fun and I guess that's all that matters.  I attempted to get them to nap but Hudson was the only one who succumbed to sleep.  Meaning- I didn't nap therefore I was really grumpy that evening.

Today we attempted to have a big playdate with some friends but woke up to rain and storm.  Then one friend wasn't feeling well and had to be around home for a serviceman, and I didn't hear from the other, so I told Jess to come on over and I made myself decent and headed to Meijer to pick up some snacks, milk etc... On the way there I ran into Sadie at the end of our road- turns out she was still coming over, rain and all!  So she and her 3 boys joined us at Meijer and then we spent the afternoon at my house.  It wasn't too bad for 8 kids in the house!  It did get sunny early in the afternoon so the big boys got to go outside and play.

Jess and her kids hung out until nearly 4pm and once Ryan got home at 4:15 I laid down for a 2.5 hour nap!  EEEK!  I was exhausted and my feet were swollen and hurt.  The boys were exhausted too, and bedtime tonight was a MESS!  I had hoped to go visit a friend and her son in Lansing tomorrow but not sure if I want to skip rest time again!

I've been trying to get some little projects done around the house.  This past weekend Ryan got the Christmas lights down off the house,  Meanwhile I've been working on little decorating (aka Pinterest) projects around the house.  I made some baby bibs, embellished some burp clothes, made a cute spring wreath and a wooden pallet-type art for the mantle.  I'm still not done with the art- not sure what to paint/write on it.  I'd like some kind of quote, inspirational or family/home related... but just not sure.

I finally got my "new old van".  It is nice to have an easy-to-get-into vehicle again (I have been driving the truck).  Ry keeps saying I'm never satisfied with my vehicle but that's only because he keeps asking "Do you love your van" to which I reply... "No.  I like it, and I'm glad I have a vehicle that is running and is in great shape and fits the kids, but it's a van and, well, I don't really LOVE vans."  LOL!  I'm not trying to sound ungrateful, just truthful.  I DON'T love it, but it works for us and the price is excellent and it gets me where I need to go.  What more do I need?  Love is not required for a vehicle.  HAHA!

Today the kids were all playing with the rats and I noticed Cricket had a lump on her chest.  I did a little googling and it sounds like she has a mammary tumor. :(  I knew that tumors (likely it is benign) are common in female rats if they are not spayed (our females are not... its like $80+/rat to spay them and their life expectancy is only 3ish years) but I didn't think it'd happen this soon.  They just turned 1 year old.  So... I'm going to call around to vets and see what we should do about it.  I'm torn between thinking maybe we should have just spayed them, because if we do any type of surgery it will likely cost the same amount or more (and I'm not paying that much for surgery!).  I did read online some vets are cheap for rodent tumor removals (as low as $35) but I'm sure that won't be the case.  If that is what it comes down to I think we'll just have to have her put to sleep once the tumor gets too large for her to get around.  Poor Crickey!

Top O' the Mornin'!

Aren't these little leprechauns sooo cute?    I love all the different faces the kids come up with. :)

So it is "top o' the mornin"" for me.  Its lunchtime and I'm taking a break from being productive around the house.  Duncan is at the groomer getting his hair lopped off (short.  SHORT! Because I don't want to have to deal with the groomer for a few months).  I'm sure he'll feel so much better than being so shaggy in this heat!

I got the rat cage cleaned out... had to wait for Ryan to be able to bring it downstairs and outside to give it a good scrub down.  It was stinky!  The new cage is too big for me to carry.

Ry and his dad are scoping out pressure washers.  Is it ridiculous or what that I'm super excited to get a pressure washer?  I have so many things I want to spray down and it seems like an effortless task... stand and spray.  First up is the house.  There are spots of moldy stuff on the front and it looks so skanky!  I also want to spray down the driveway, privacy fence (so I can stain it) and the treehouse/climber (so that can be stained too).

Porter has been so into playing t-ball/baseball and I'm feeling bad I didn't get him signed up.  He really wanted to play coach pitch but I kind of felt like we should wait until maybe next year to do more sports stuff.  I feel like he always ends up dis-interested halfway through and when you're paying $40-$60 a sport, it adds up.  Today, though, we taught Cooper how to fetch the baseballs and bring them back!  He's a pro.  :)  I sat behind Porter with a cup of treats, Porter got Coop's attention and hit the ball and Cooper chased it like crazy.  He brought it back to me, dropped it beside me and got a treat.  I passed the ball off to Porter, he got Cooper's attention and the process continued.  He caught on after about 3 rounds of this.  YAY!  Up until now Porter had to play with 3 baseballs so he could hit one and Cooper could run around with one in his mouth.  And Porter would have to chase down his balls.  We got smart... now Cooper brings em' back!  He's a good outfielder.  HAHA!

On the list today (since it is sunny and GORGEOUS out) is washing all the sheets and hanging them on the clothesline (saw our neighbors are in on this clothesline kick too... their sheets are out hanging as well!) and hopefully play around with the new pressure washer if they ever get back home!

Sick Day

Last night Porter was up from about 3-5am just acting like an insomniac... he was playing in his room, coming into our room and talking to me etc.  I was so ticked because I was not getting any sleep and he was having a hard time sleeping.  GRRRR.

Well, he woke up at 6:30 this morning and puked.  Ick.  So, the boys and I are home from work/school/preschool today.  I'm feeling pretty lucky because I think this is the FIRST time either of the boys have been sick since school started.  Me, on the other hand, have been sick like crazy all fall and through New Years-ish.

We watched a movie and then I put them boys to work cleaning the house.  WHEW we were sooo productive!  We only spent about an hour and a half (maybe 2 hours) cleaning but by the time we were done my feet and hips and back ached SOO bad.

Our list of accomplishments:

• picked up living room
• vacuumed living room
• hudson washed off the coffee table
• vacuumed foyer
• vacuumed stairs
• swept dining room and kitchen
• the boys mopped the dining room and kitchen
• unloaded and loaded dishwasher
• scrubbed out the sink
• cleaned off/de-cluttered the countertops
• washed the countertops
• porter took out the garbage from the ktitchen
• porter emptied all the garbages upstairs
• cleaned porter's room
• cleaned rat cage (like... deep cleaning... stuck the whole thing in the shower and washed everything!)
• vacuumed porter's room

WHEW!  I feel like I did a heck of a lot more than that.  All 3 of us took a nap afterwards and it was much needed!  

Kids in the Kitchen

Part of the boys' chore (err... "teamwork") responsibility is to put away the clean dishes.  We aren't (or haven't been) super strict on daily jobs but whenever things need to be done and the boys are around, they are expected to help out.   Porter's job is to empty the dishwasher and put them away, while Hudson's part of the job is to put away the silverware.  Uhm... so it's not uncommon for our cabinets and drawers to look a little... ehhhh... discombobulated HAHA!  It cracks me up to open the cabinets to get a cup or a plate and to find a sight like this.  

And you know what cracks me up even more?  Is finding Hotwheels Cars in random places.  I found this van in the fridge one afternoon and by evening I found it in the freezer.  Weird kids.