It Could Have Been Worse

This week has been rather trying. Andy has been a little under the weather and has still had to work a lot of hours. He even had to deliver some wine last night and then broke down three times an hour away and in the pouring rain. I was sorta glad I was home and dry. But I felt so bad for him because I know he felt awful.

We also attempted to get our dvd player in the van serviced this week. Turns out it's an off-brand and so they can't get any parts to fix it and so it's just plum dead. To replace the whole unit would be $950. So, obviously, we aren't going to do that. We could do a cheaper ($350) repair version since the monitor does still work, but we aren't going to do that, either. All that to say, we've been without the van for a while, which is a small logistical nightmare. But thank goodness for in-laws with an extra one.

Madeline fell Thursday and a small side table toppled over on top of her and somehow she bit a small chunk out of her bottom lip. Slightly bloody, slightly traumatic. Then later she had two accidents in her pants (I think on purpose). After that I'd had more than enough and told her no more underwear, only diapers. Mommy can only be potty trained for so long. Except that same night Andy didn't know I'd had enough and put underwear back on her and she peed - again - all over the floor and her favorite snuggle monkey. Sigh. Of course she didn't want to go to bed without it.

And, poor little Adelaide has been running a low-grade fever and teething. She's been fairly miserable. Which tends to make Mommy a little miserable as well. She refused to fall asleep last night and then when she finally did, she woke up a few times during the night (which she hasn't done in months). Poor baby. But she's much better today. I, on the other hand, feel a little like I haven't slept in a week. Third cup of coffee, coming right up.

Also this week (Wednesday, I believe) I had friends over for a playdate and of course the painters would choose to show up right then to paint that hideous pole. It's technically the wrong color (it was supposed to match the walls but we're apparently out of that color), but the pole is still a far cry better from what it was:



And, unfortunately, we had to bow out of an afternoon invitation for chili and pumpkin painting today - what with a sick husband, a teething cranky baby, car repairs, and all. The kids are now happily perched at the kitchen table playing with Play-doh and I'm happily looking forward to their naptime.

Miss Spider

Miss Spider's Tea Party is a great read-aloud children's book. It was given to us as a gift at some point although I'm not sure who it was from (bless that dear soul).

It's such a great little book. Very, very clever and fun poetry. I actually enjoy reading it to my kids, which really is saying something.

Brown is for Boys, Apparently

This morning Drew was going around the breakfast table listing family members and telling us that "Daddy is a boy, Mommy is a gwirl, Drew is a boy, and Madeline is a gwirl." (Adelaide wasn't mentioned, but she was asleep. Outta sight, outta mind.)

Andy said, "Yep, that's right. Do you know why?"

Me (thinking): "Bah! Oh no! Here we go..."

Drew: "Yeah, Daddy has brown eyes and Drew has brown eyes."

Well that makes sense - Daddy and Drew are the ones with brown eyes so that must make them boys. Perfect logic.

So I asked, "Adelaide has brown eyes, what is she?" (Trick question *wink*)

Drew: "Adelaide's a boy."

Me: "No, Silly! Adelaide is a girl!"

Well, at least he's consistent...

Home Box Office

Next time wait until they're in the car before you tell them where you're going.

I sort of made the mistake of telling my kids about our upcoming trip a little too soon. They demanded all day yesterday to know where Grandmommy was. I said "you have to go to sleep and wake up ___ times and she'll be here."

I doubt they understood what I meant. It was slightly frustrating.

Anyway, this morning they were, again, listing all the people they're going to see. And go to Lily's house. And then Drew said a name I had no idea who he could possibly be talking about.

"And Kapurple!"

Me: "uh... who?"

Drew: "Kapurple!"

Me: "WHO?"

Drew (quizzical look, trying to sound out a name): "Kirp!"

Me: "Oh! Kirk, yes, the new baby Kirk!"

Drew: "No." And then, "Kirper."

Me: "OH! COOPER!"

Drew: "Yeah! Cooper!" (Looking proud.)

Oh, yes, we'll see Cooper, too.

(And I'm sure Brite is the only one who will find this post entertaining.)

Free Stuff and Finished House

A friend from church invited me to go with her to this children's clothing exchange that was held tonight at her in-law's church. There was a whole lot more than just clothes, oh yes ma'am. Anyway, we walked in to this huge fellowship hall overflowing with people, tables upon tables piled high with clothes, gear, shoes, toys, and every kind of kid item you can well imagine.

Best of all, it's all free.

FREE. Did you get that? FREE.

So I jumped in to the madness and started grabbing and bagging. A lot of the older sizes were not worth much but a lot of the newborn to 6 month stuff was new or gently used. Since I don't have a baby in that category (although I did pick up a bag full for Adelaide and several random things for Madeline) I just started bagging things for a local friend that just had a baby girl. She can just throw out what she doesn't like because hey! it was free!

And I'll be doing the same after I go through what I got for us because I really wasn't paying a whole lot of attention beyond hey! it's all free! Just grab and sack! I mean, who really knows what ended up in those bags.

I also picked up an exersaucer for Adelaide - because it was free - and because we didn't have one. I borrowed one for both Drew and Madeline but never thought it was worth actually spending money on. So now we have one for the two months Adelaide will use it.

And, on a totally different subject, I'm happy to report that the curtains I found at a warehouse on Saturday (for $8!!!) match our living room perfectly. I could not be more thrilled. About curtains, at least. A few more finishing touches and the house will be finished.

I thought I'd never see the day.

Y'all come over now, ya hear?

A Parade of Updated Pictures

For my friends far, far away.






How does one come by such hair?

Oops

I had this great post about how Madeline's decided she is potty trained. She's hasn't worn a diaper for two days (her choice) except for naps/bed and even told me she had to go during prayer meeting Wednesday night. (I thought it was a ploy to get up and play but then she really did have to go.)

And then last night she had quite the accident - although she was in the bathroom at the time, playing with the soapy water in the sink. She probably went in and saw the gleaming soap bubbles and got sidetracked. At any rate, it was an ACCIDENT. No details necessary.

Well and the other reason I didn't post last night was because I fell asleep on the couch, watching Pride & Prejudice on dvd. Sigh.

Oh, and...

Did I ever mention that we don't have a dishwasher at this house? First time in my married life that we haven't had one.

Figures.

No kids - dishwasher.

Three kids - no dishwasher.

Is that some sort of cruel joke?

Evening Ramblings

Last night Madeline woke up around 11:00, crying, so I went in to see what was the matter. I was expecting something like 'my tummy hurts,' but instead it was (sobbing), "I want my monkey!" And then she said, "it's on the furniture," (still sobbing). I realized she calls the couch, "furniture," obviously because we have been quite the broken records lately with all of our 'get your feet/shoes off the furniture,' and 'stop jumping on the furniture,' and 'the furniture is for sitting on,' etc. But it was cute and yes, I went and got her monkey from the furniture.

This morning the crew came out and dug up our side yard and put in all new outgoing plumbing. They, oddly enough, left the old pipes laying around. So when Andy called and said, "Yeah, apparently the pipes were all corroded," I said, "Yes, I know. They left them for us to look at." So, here's hoping we never have sewage problems again.

Also, they were about to use the big yellow shovel truck when the kids and I left for the park this morning and both kids were scared to death of it. I would have been, too, if I were three feet tall. It was partly due to the fact that it was driving up towards the house and we were walking down to the van - at the exact same time. Madeline was on the verge of hysteria. Later she woke up (again) during her nap, crying, and she said she was 'scared of the tractor.' But by then the workers had come and gone and I could happily tell her the 'tractor' was finished and had gone bye-bye.

And, while on the subject of today, I made Mexican Chicken Corn Chowder for dinner - one of Andy's favorites. And since soup can only be best enjoyed with Hot Crusty Bread, as soon as he walked in from work I shooed him out the door to go buy some Hot Crusty Bread and oh by the way, would he please take Madeline with him? It could be a tender father-daughter moment.

They walked in with said bread, some Tabasco sauce (since Andy likes his to be Piping Hot Mexican Chicken Corn Chowder), and a bright orange pumpkin. It might be a little on the splotchy side, however. And I'm sure it will sit, lonely, on the table he dropped it on since we have more pressing things to do in this house at the moment. Such as hang pictures and sew curtains. But the bright/cheery/splotchy pumpkin can sit and remind me that Fall has come at last.

Coming Soon, to a Ch@ttanooga Near You

Sewage Disaster Update: the mess is gone, the smell remains. (In the bathroom, at least.) I need to go buy some bleach. I will save you the trauma of posting any pictures. You can thank me anytime.

Moving right along.

Now what was it I was going to blog about?

Oh yes, that's right. My mom is flying here to help me (and the kids) drive down to Ch@ttanooga. for a Grand Ole Visit, otherwise known as a Big Week o' Nothing But Fun. If you happen to be a friend who lives in that Wonderful Town, er, City - send me an e-mail or give me a ring and I'll add you to the Calendar o' Fun.

I first need to get my brakes checked and the van dvd player fixed, obviously. Because I don't think I could survive the trip without my friends Buzz and Lightning. Oh, and Benedryl, he's my friend, too.

At any rate, I don't think I need to tell you that I CAN HARDLY WAIT.

OH! MY! WORD!

A nightmare, of sorts, just passed through this house.

I was finishing up putting together the upstairs bathroom this afternoon, all three kids asleep. I hung a shelf, a few pictures, the curtain rod. With all the drilling going on, there was quite a bit of dust so when everything was in place I also cleaned the bathroom. (Which I hadn't done yet, I admit.)

But then.

BUT THEN.

I went downstairs to put the cleaners away and to throw away the rest of the trash. About half way down the steps I noticed a black, watery, foul-smelling pool at the bottom of the stairs. I had no idea what could possibly be happening but jumped over the puddle to find it had leaked all the way down the hallway from the bathroom off of the kitchen. And I found a bubbling, overflowing toilet oozing black sewage into my house.

I'll pause a moment for you to gasp in horror.

I frantically went looking for my phone. I was finally able to get a hold of the landlords, who called the builder, who called the plumber, etc.

And we (the kids and I) left straightaway after naps to a friend’s house for pizza. Because like I’m going to stay within a mile of a house overflowing with sewage.

[Also, they apparently had sewer problems before we moved in; this was a surprise but not an utterly complete one. We obviously have very old lines that need some, uh, modernizing.]

Long story long, we stayed the evening over at our friend’s house and Andy even came and ate and helped with kid control (she was also watching two neighbor kids as well as her own four). A lot of the time we were also on the phone with various service people and the builder to get a plan figured out.

Once the plumber was finished, the cleaners were supposed to come and do their thing. HOWEVER, at first they said they weren’t going to make it until 10 pm and then around 9 they said they couldn’t make it until first thing in the morning.

Did I mention we’re talking about standing sewage in our house? Like an inch and a half worth and it was seeping through the living room carpet that is, oh, barely TWO WEEKS OLD?

Thankfully, there is a family in our church that owns a cleaning business. Andy really didn’t want to leave the house overnight in such a condition so he called the man to ask what we should do. It ended up that he and Andy cleaned up the entire mess themselves. He’s Our New Best Friend.

It only took two and a half hours.

I now have a clean upstairs bathroom, and a VERY clean downstairs bathroom, kitchen floor, and hallway.

And I’m a little scared to flush the toilet.

Kids' Rooms

However, do not be deceived. There are other parts of the house (i.e. my bedroom) that are still a huge and confused mess.

Drew's room:





Girls' room:



(I still haven't finished that last curtain in the girls' room, but at least the rod is up.)




Also, since we are the first renters, I got to choose the paint but I didn't in fact paint the rooms myself. Lest you think I've been slaving away with a paintbrush.

Hitting the Moving Wall

Moving is frustrating, there's no way around it. Well unless you're the queen and all the little worker ants move everything for you and all you have to do is show up, eat, and look pretty.

Anyway, I'm now to the point where I feel like I'm walking around all day asking myself, "now what am I going to do with this?" And after the, say, forty-seventh time, this house is starting to get on my nerves.

Have I mentioned I like things neat and tidy?

Andy sent me out for a much-needed break tonight and he put the kids to bed. And since the kids are asleep, I'd better get back to work since this kind of quiet time is, well, precious.

True that.

At the dinner table earlier, Drew was bossing Madeline so I asked him "Drew, are you the mommy?"

He answered, "No. I'm the Drew."

Must. Read. This.

If you're a married female, click here AND SCROLL DOWN TO "LIVING VINE." (I can't get it to link directly.) I think it's uplifting to all married women, even if they don't have any kids.

#100

A hundred things about me, in honor of this being my hundredth post. It’s mostly completely trivial and useless information, naturally.
You can just pretend you're interested.

1. My middle name is Marie.
2. I was born in Spain.
3. I drink a lot of coffee.
4. I drink it sort of like warmed up coffee ice cream.
5. I need less sleep than my husband or kids.
6. I have 23 first cousins.
7. I have twin sisters that are 9 years younger than I am.
8. I was a history major.
9. I lived in France for a semester.
10. My husband can sing, and sing well.
11. I’ve used the same kind of shampoo, etc. since high school and maybe even junior high.
12. I’m loyal that way.
13. I’m a huge fan of the epidural.
14. I know what a gerund is.
15. I was an English major before I switched to history.
16. I have a married brother.
17. My kids do not have any cousins (yet!)
18. I’m a little obsessive about clean kitchens and bathrooms.
19. Tide with bleach is my friend.
20. I cannot garden to save my life.
21. I can’t stand product information or barcode stickers and peel them off of newly purchased items RIGHTNOW.
22. I like bananas when they still have a tiny tinge of green.
23. I am fairly handy with a drill.
24. I did gymnastics when I was little.
25. I broke my hand in second grade doing a back handspring in my front yard.
26. I played volleyball in junior high.
27. I got really lost in Venice, Italy, once.
28. I learned to ski when I was three.
29. I never go skiing.
30. I had an art minor in college that I never finished.
31. I had my first baby when I was 23 and ¾.
32. I prefer my toenails to be painted.
33. I love to go shopping.
34. Shopping with Andy isn’t much fun.
35. Shopping with my kids is also not fun.
36. If I can help it I never leave the house without mascara on.
37. I love hot drinks in the winter.
38. I prefer the look of fall clothes to summer clothes.
39. I can’t go to sleep without Softlips chapstick on.
40. I should wear my glasses but I don’t.
41. I love carbonated drinks.
42. I prefer white wine to red.
43. I had braces in junior high.
44. I worked at Chili’s in college.
45. I also worked at LensCrafters in college.
46. I love chips n’ salsa.
47. My dad’s favorite number is 47.
48. I miss my old Bible study.
49. My favorite dessert is banana creme pie.
50. Three of my grandparents are still living.
51. I love to visit them.
52. I love to travel.
53. I took piano lessons as a child.
54. I like chocolate better than vanilla or strawberry.
55. I love to read.
56. I love to sew.
57. I used to draw.
58. My mom had me take tennis lessons one summer.
59. We had a chocolate lab named Challi.
60. [deleted]
61. I love to have friends over.
62. I’d rather do the dishes than the laundry.
63. I know how to crochet.
64. I don’t know how to knit.
65. I was a Girl Scout.
66. I love their cookies.
67. I love to bake bread.
68. When I was little we went to Colorado every summer and every other Christmas.
69. We lived in Korea when I was in first grade.
70. My mom home schooled me that year.
71. I didn’t like it much.
72. I still own a pair of rollerblades.
73. I haven’t worn them since before college, I’m sure.
74. I don’t usually read food labels.
75. I love going to the movie theater.
76. I love going out to lunch.
77. My kids make me laugh.
78. My husband also makes me laugh.
79. I was a total procrastinator in college.
80. I don’t have a dishwasher anymore, *sigh*.
81. I wrote my senior paper on the shifting role of American women during WWII.
82. I still have a copy.
83. I strongly dislike fish and mushrooms.
84. Don’t care much for olives, either.
85. We went to Savannah on our honeymoon.
86. That was going to be our first daughter’s name.
87. But we changed our minds.
88. I love fondue, although we rarely have it.
89. I’m allergic to cats.
90. I’ve been to Hawaii.
91. I wish I knew how to smock.
92. I love pumpkin-flavored food.
93. I know three other little girls named after my name.
94. I cut my husband’s hair.
95. I cut my son’s hair while he eats a lollipop.
96. I like organization.
97. I don’t like to move.
98. I love to eat out.
99. I love to take pictures.
100. I love smelling my kids’ heads after a bath.

"It's like a birthday party in my mouth."

- said Andy about the supreme pizza we had for dinner tonight. (Hafta check out all the local eateries, obviously.) He was giving me flack for my dislike of all things mushroom.

AND!!! The 'room darkening' roller shades came in the mail today. As soon as we heard that merry news Andy drove straight over to his parents' house and picked them up. You can bet your bottom dollar they are already installed and hanging happily in Drew and Madeline's bedroom windows.

SLEEP IN, MY CHILDREN, SLEEP IN.

See?

Here's what our living room looked like this morning:



Here's what it looks like now:



I'm going to bed.

[Also, that hideous brown pole - the painters forgot to paint it so sometime soon it will match the walls and hopefully blend in.]

Update: Day 4

Welp, we moved. Mostly. A lot of our stuff is still over at Andy's parents' house, which we are collecting here and there.

I've moved a lot of times in my life and this was probably the worst. As hindsight is always 20/20, we should have waited a week to move and inspected the house first. It wasn't quite ready for inmates. Since we've been here, we've had the shower worked on twice (imagine moving all day only to find that the hot water coming from the only shower faucet is a very small trickle), both the vanity light and an electrical receptacle installed in the upstairs bathroom, and we still don't have any towel bars up in the bathroom. Which is convenient for, say, hanging up wet towels. So the bathroom wasn't ready when we moved in but it is now, as of today. (Well, minus said towel bars.)

The other major issue has been the utility room, otherwise known as the bane of my existence. We're using it for a lot of storage, and then it also has the laundry area stuff. This house hasn't been lived in many many years, so that room had all the years' worth of bugs, webs, dirt, and grime that you can imagine. Loads and loads of spider egg sacs and even a dead rat skeleton. Yeah, I know.

So basically that room was holding up all progress because everything sitting in the other rooms needs to be stored in there so that we can eventually place all the furniture where the boxes and extra mattresses are standing. We didn't move the furniture in first thing like normal people, but we sure learned a lesson.

So today my mom-in-law and I scrubbed down the rest of the utility room - used her shop vac (what a blessing that thing has been), filled in the holes and the floor cracks with Great Stuff, wiped down the shelves, sealed the window, etc. Also she scrubbed down the laundry machines because the way they were, well, let's just say they weren't going to be cleaning anything. A white shirt would have come out maybe brown.

Now all we need is some body builder-types to come in and move all the junk - I mean stuff - into the storage area and we might see some major progress tomorrow.

Also, this kitchen is about half the size of the one in Ch@ttanooga. So even though a lot of the kitchen is unpacked, I have to pare down and become really organized and efficient. All things I like, so I'm actually looking forward to a streamlined kitchen, even if it is going to be somewhat of a process.

Well I'm sure there is lots more but I need to get to sleep. The kids have been waking up Early. (No shades or blinds on their windows yet and the morning sun hits that side of the house. Makes for one groggy mama.)