bugs in my feet

Today I responded to Caroline's shrieks to find her clawing at her foot and crying. "My foot is hurting 'cause it's got bugs in it!" She had ripped her sock off and was genuinely panicked.

From her position it didn't take me long to figure out that her foot was asleep. After a short foot massage and a long explanation she was happy to go back to her play. I was grateful it was an easy fix.

you've got mail

I love the feeling of excitement when something slips through the mail slot with my name on it. Especially when the return address is The Villages, Florida. What ever could it be? Could it be cold hard cash?  A check for yet another project around the house? Or maybe a recent recipe my dad tried? Or just a letter of appreciation for what a fine daughter I eventually turned out to be...

Today it was none of those things. Of course it was a newspaper clipping warning of the dangers of the sharks on North Carolina beaches. Of course. What else would it be?

They need not worry. In preparation for our upcoming vacation to the Outer Banks we are sponsoring a Jaws marathon, complete with homemade popcorn and ice cold lemonade. They will all be too scared to go past their ankles.

a day like no other

I know June 9th has to come every year. I know I don't want to be able to make it through without remembering. And with remembering comes the tears.

We should have an almost 5 year old little girl upstairs. And it really sucks that we don't. 

That is all.

goodbye fountain

So we inherited a ginormous concrete fountain in the center of our front yard. We could have made it work but winter of 2014 was a bit too much for it and the largest bowl cracked into about 5 pieces. It's been sitting in the middle of the yard that way for over a year. Today I made up my mind to change that.
I decided the best course of action would be to smash it into bits and put the bits into boxes. The woman with the spout was still in one piece but I couldn't lift her so I tipped her on her side and began rolling her very gracefully to the curb.
"Whoa, where do you want that?" I turned to see a large man approaching from the halfway house next door. He picked her up and set her on the curb for me and introduced himself to me as "Johnny" all in one motion. Then I pointed to the largest part of the bowl and jokingly said, "That one too."
He said to give him a minute and he would help me out. I figured it would take the entire afternoon. He showed up a minute later with a cold drink and a sledgehammer. In the time it took me to step inside to tend to a daycare kid that just got up from nap, he had the entire thing stacked neatly on the curb in liftable sized peices.

Me: "Oh my gosh!"
Johnny: "That's how I roll."

Very good to meet you Johnny.

sitting here

Wondering things like what is the best course of action when 6 inches of the zip-it breaks off deep in the drain? And how to quiet the instant water heater so my neighbor can sleep? And what exactly is the odd smell in the air in the addition?

I won't fix any of those things today but I do think we will start being nicer to our garbage man. He collected a bunch of stuff from us today while 3 adorable preschoolers sat a mere 10 yards away from him watching awestruck. He did not even crack a smile. 

Do you think he is a Coke or a Pepsi guy?

Update: The best course of action is NOT to break your zip-it. I closed up the drain and will wait to deal with this one when it's clogged.
The instant water heater was a quick fix over the phone with the manufacturer. Something to do with combustion rate. 
Smell is still unidentified. It may be a "house" smell.  

that was a close one

The electricians were back yesterday to fix the second floor electric. I guess the ceiling fans, tvs, xbox, playstation, clock, and charging stations were too much.
So after four hours of work for two guys and a RE-opened kitchen ceiling, we now have 3 breakers in place of one.
And THAT is exactly why you hire a qualified electrician to do all your wiring. 

a safe place

Things we put in a safe place so we would be sure not to lose them in the move but have turned up lost nonetheless:

1. Kevin's bag of shaving cream, razor, toothbrush, and paste. So he would be acceptable for church the next morning. Yeah....LOST.

2. Fitbit charger. Because I knew it was little but important and I would need it soon. LOST. (Ironically found in the box with the medicine cabinet items one day AFTER the new one arrived.)

3. Kevin's wristwatch. This turned up two days later in the washing machine. His safe place was the front pocket of his hoodie. Too bad his toiletries didn't fit there.

4. Essential oils in a large wooden box. No excuse.

To be continued...

how to buy a table saw

1. Use the Home Depot app to bring up what is available because the only money you have left is a line of credit there.

2. Take a look at the reviews to make sure it has at least three stars.

3. Cute colors like a neon green are a plus. Under 50 lbs is good too because you have to lift it.

4. Remember you're not good enough at home improvement yet to purchase anything that says Dewalt.

5. Seeing "large on off switch for accessibility and visibility" is a great comment to read in the product description. Very helpful to be able to see this when you are distracted by a lot of blood.

6. So filter what's left by lowest price first then select. 

Easy peasy.

the 15th birthday cake that wasn't

My sister and her ex-husband have usually tried to remain civil and share the birthday celebrations for their two children since their divorce. Well, my stunning and super smart niece Diana turned 15 on Wednesday. Her father was in charge of the cake.

He showed up at 8pm. With....a half eaten dutch apple pie.

And he saw absolutely nothing wrong with that. Just like the time he was put in charge of bringing the deep fried turkey to Thanksgiving. It arrived, minus a leg.

Happy Birthday Diana! Emma will be the first to tell you fondant is for the birds, but you deserve a cake just as special and unique as YOU! Here you go:

sister power: painting the back room

"Come paint the back room," I said to my sister. She wanted the plan. "We'll paint from 8am-noon," I said. "Sister power. We'll knock it out." I convinced her.

8am this morning came and I was still in bed. She had gotten her tax return yesterday and paid off her car. She had taken me to celebrate at the Winking Lizard. What did she expect? I'm over 40. She knows this so she woke me up with a phone call.

Two hours and one Home Depot trip later, I met her at the house. She put together the floor steamer while I prepped the back room. We debated whether the room had been primed. She convinced me it was. Two thirds a can of paint later she would change her mind.

The first coat was finished about 12:30pm so we took a break. There is only one moldy loaf of bread at the house so my niece chose Panera for lunch. She was very hungry from lounging on the loveseat watching The Office on DVD. We swung by the Habitat for Humanity ReStore on the way so I could check for a bathroom sink and a kitchen counter top. I struck out on both but they accepted my flush mount brass chandelier donation with a smile.

After lunch, we collected Caroline at Pizza Hut so Kevin could do his annual V-day shift. Back at the house we divided and conquered with Diana playing with Caroline, Dawn beginning the second coat and me steaming the wood floors in the foyer, living room, and sun room. I joined her after I finished up and by 4:30pm we were done.

We left my ALL WHEEL DRIVE vehicle in the driveway and headed home through a snowstorm. Her Chevy Aveo handles like a joke so she got to pay me back for all the times she's white knuckled it in the death seat of my car. She even did me a huge solid by picking up Jake and his friend on the way home. A quick stop at our neighborhood Subway and then Drug Mart completed the day. She dropped us off and headed home for a hot bath.

I'm glad we are almost done painting because I fear the next time I may be on my own.

that big box store, but not the one you're thinking

Recently I began working at a local superstore on the weekends to make up for lost daycare income. They hired me as a temporary hardlines toy merchandiser. I get a nice discount in addition to the minimum wage and I get to talk to other full grown humans. Win-win. After Christmas they asked me to stay on permanently(no surprise after I saw the competition) and I agreed.

Toys hasn't been so busy since Christmas but is starting to pick up due to tax refund time. On Saturday during one 5 hour shift I sold the last Barbie Dreamhouse, a Kawasaki Power Wheels, and almost talked a customer into a $400 elliptical. I was looking forward to a lot more of that, but...

During one of my last shifts in January, the grocery manager had pulled me to work in HBC(Heath and Beauty). I got completely absorbed in organizing makeup, which I don't even wear. There are at least 500 different L'Oreal lip products we sell and they all look the same til you read the fine print. Well, I did such a bang up job they told me today I have been reassigned permanently. They even gave me a key!

So today, in between watching the rest of an ADA Compliance Training video, I organized cold medications and pulled expired stock. There was quite a bit due to the night crew pushing the old stock to the back to make room for new items.

I also gave assistance to a few customers. One was visiting from West Virginia and forgot her Vicks Vaporub. She puts it on her feet at night to help her athlete's foot. She can't use the regular medication because her liver is "gone". She said she usually buys the ointment at the Dollar Tree 4 or 5 jars at a time. It does not sound like it is working.

At one point a Spanish speaking couple in my aisle got into a heated conversation over some pain reliever.  I speak un poco but heard enough "ella" to discern they were discussing whether to ask me for help so I approached them. He held up the Advil and said, "For headache?" I let him know the Tylenol was "mas bueno" for headache and they were grateful. He even reminded me that it should be "mejor."

All in a day's work, or at least, a five hour shift.

skipping the cake

Kevin and I have both put on quite a few pounds this past year. I guess the stress, lack of sleep, and spending every spare minute working on the house, shopping for the house, or worrying about the house have taken their toll.
Last spring his school had a weight loss contest so he spent this past holiday season bulking up with the intention of showing the largest loss and winning the big prize in the 2015 contest.
He lost a bunch of weight relatively easy once before by doing P90X and eating ham and peas for a few months. I stocked up on the peas thinking it would be the same this go around.
Well it's been 26 days and not much has changed about his eating habits. The week before last he spent his lunch break on teacher training day at the local Quaker Steak and Lube lunch buffet. He got meatloaf, mashed potatoes, gravy, and wings but he "skipped the cake."

He is down 7 pounds.

a pear by any other name...

FOLLOW UP: our tree is no dud. We pick pears after Halloween. They were juicy and yummy and filled the bed of the glass blocker's truck because I had no time to deal with them. He got cash and pears. Not a bad deal for a window. 

Original Post from September 2014
So we have a ginormous pear tree in our backyard. It is full of green pears. Squirrels are enjoying the crunchy pears. Us, not so much. I've done a lot of googling on how to ripen pears. I've asked everyone I know who might know how to ripen pears.

I've heard a lot of things:

• Pick them all on Labor Day.
• Set them on cardboard in the basement to ripen.
• Don't pick too soon.
• Don't pick too late.
• They must be chilled before the ripening process will start.
• Put them by ripe bananas.

My head is spinning from all the pear ripening information and I still am lacking one ripe pear.
Maybe our tree is a dud.

why, it's the natural choice, that's why.

Craftsman Entry by Carmel Interior Designers & Decorators Everything Home

I'm painting my house once. I hate painting. So after consulting famous web based designers lists of recommended whites, everything is SW 7011. Forever.

freezer meal exchange group followup

Original post here: http://familyof9.blogspot.com/2014/08/freezer-meal-exchange-group-experiment.html

This is the follow up. These are reviewed in the order of how we ate them. Despite what my family may have to say I still think this experiment was worth it and I am grateful to the ladies who participated.

What we got:

1. Chicken Paprika: Kids were expecting my high fat version made with skin on dark meat and real sour cream so this just pissed them off,
2. Chicken Taco Chili: Given to a friend recovering from surgery.
3. Breakfast Burritos: A very good idea I will steal and put less spice into, kids dipped in ketchup to take the kick out of them, these are great for a quick breakfast as they are running out the door.
4. Ground Turkey Chili: Pretty good but no one eats chili except me.
5. Cilantro Lime Chicken: A little heavy(for my taste) on corn and black beans which turned mushy in the slow cooker turning chicken black. I fished out most of the chicken and a little of the corn and black beans and stuffed inside flour tortilla Chipotle style.
6. Beef and Vegetable Soup: This was more like a stew and had the perfect ratio of vegetables to beef, a little bit of a sweet flavor, delicious.
7. Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole: I really liked this one but it was made with brown rice and no cream sauce so again, pissed off my teenage boys.
8. Beef Stroganoff: Sigh. Family much prefers my version.
9. Pasta e'Fagioli: An Olive Garden rip off. This was SUPER! I cooked it a night I had to run off to a training and it was quick and delicious. The next day the day care kids gobbled up the leftovers.
10. Chicken Cacciatore with Tortellini: The tortellinis were cooked to perfection and Caroline had 3 bowls! I called my sister over and she ate it up. She is very picky so that says a lot. By this point, when I say "it's a freezer meal" they boys are not interested so I don't have any feedback from them.
11. Stuffed Peppers:
12. Skinny Sour Cream Enchiladas: I was unsure what to expect after seeing lots of moisture in the bag but WOW these came out great. They were very creamy and chickeney but light on the spice. Day care kids ate them up as did my son-in-law. Two thumbs up.