The Remodel, Day 17

Great day, progress-wise!

The bathroom is ready for greenrock. (That's sheetrock w/ mold resistant stuff in it, but ours isn't green, so I don't know why I'm still calling it greenrock. Good thing this isn't an official This Old House remodel blog or we'd be getting letters from angry drywallers.)

The living room is ready for heating.

There's a tent in the kitchen. How cool is that when you're seven and five and two? WAY cool.

We're going to "live" in the first bedroom for a while when we move in. It's backed against the wall w/ the wood stove, so nobody will freeze in the mornings.

The "shop" has been relocated from the living room and deck to the master bedroom and back deck. Hence, the room and safety aspect for the tent in the kitchen.

OH! And have y'all ever seen a Big Lots FURNITURE?!?!? Oh holy bat crap. This place is amazing! It's Big Lots, which we know and love, but it's ALL furniture. And I'm talking WOWSA, this place is nifty, FURNITURE! Anyhow, I've been looking for a futon mattress for several weeks now. We just wanted a thin (read: cheap) all-purpose pad. You know, something to keep the children from slipping between the bars on the futon frame. A place to, in true futon fashion, pass out when we just can't push on any more. Although we salvaged the frame from the curbside, we wanted a new mattress because... well, c'mon, futons aren't for the prudish... SO. Back to the story, futon mattresses are ridiculously overpriced! Did you know that? Ugh. We found one place online that sells them for $139, but when you add the seventy bucks shipping, there's no savings. So we popped in there yesterday. The conversation (may all future purchasing conversations emulate this one) went something like this:

Me: (openly drooling at the displays) Wooooowwww...
BLF Guy: Can I help you, ma'am? Lamps? Couches? A bib?
Me: Yeahhhhh... I need a futron mattress... and one of those barstools... no. No barstools. Just a futon mattress. Do you have those?
BLF Guy: (chuckles quietly) Yeah, what kind would you like?
Me: Cheap.
BLF Guy: The $79 one, then!
Me: Wow, you're good!

And he headed off to retrieve a lovely, cheap futon mattress for me. I followed slowly, wanting desperately to TOUCH THINGS, but knowing I was covered in grease and would leave many easily identifiable finger prints by which to track me down and make me pay for damages. But ohhhhh.....

BLF Guy came back with a HUGE mattress, rang it up, and then (BLESS HIM) carried it to the pickup for me. *happy sigh*

One. More. Change. To the cabinet order.
I'm not even going to venture a guess on the fridge.
The stove-related eye twitch is back.

But those are Zorak's things to handle. I'm good to go, otherwise.

We have a new mascot. He is The Poor Lizard that walked under a piece of paneling on the deck. He didn't make it. He did, however, dry out quite nicely, and James has adopted (?) him. Absconded with him? I don't know what you call it, but it's a boy and his pressed lizard remnants, and they are quite happy. Now if he'd quit leaving the thing standing upright on the banister (the critter is only three inches long, but it's disturbing to walk out there at night and be greeted by it in its three-legged dance of the dead pose!)

John is learning some not-so-fun lessons in personal responsibility. For instance, if you have gloves and you insist on putting them somewhere other than the tool table, you will lose valuable play time until you retrieve them. Your brother will lovingly help you look, but that offer caps out at three occasions per 24 hour period for the same. pair. of. gloves. Your mother stops speaking coherently after the fourth such occurrence, and you'd rather just suffer than ask her to help you look. However, last night as we headed out, he proudly announced that his gloves were on the tool table and aren't we proud! (Yes, sweetie, we are. These lessons are no fun at all, but you're learning them well. Good Job.)

Smidge decided yesterday that he'd really like a nap and since nobody seemed ready to go for a ride in the pickup with him, he just climbed onto the bench seat, folded his arms, and laid his head down. It was precious, but it broke my heart. I want my baby to fall asleep in my arms, not at some hard table. May this phase be over soon so we can get back to our regularly scheduled snuggling.

Midwife's appt today. Better get on the ball!

Kiss those babies!
Dy

He grabbed the camera!

Without further ado, here are some shots from the Forever Home!

The fun part of having such a long driveway is that you can ride in the back of the pickup to check the mail!
Ta-Da! Here we are, officially recognized by the US Postal Service! (Great job, guys!) The rocks in the wagon are now decoratively piled around the base of the post.
It took Smidge a bit to catch his breath at the bottom and answer when I asked if that was fun. I caught this shot just as he was breathily saying, "YES!"
This is for Donna. It is what passersby see from the road. With the leaves dropping considerably, you can *almost* see the house (but not quite). All that's really visible is one of the meadows, the barn, and our pickup. I tried to catch the sunlight before it left the treetops, but the boys had my attention up to this point.

And now, I really must get some rest. Thanks for stopping by the Front Porch.
~Dy

The Remodel, Day 16 Reprise

Zorak and James had a great time working together this morning. Zorak was, I think, a little surprised with the maturity and growth of his eldest spawn. He beamed, glowed, and in general, raved about how helpful and quick James is, how intuitive and on the ball he is, and what an excellent hand he makes. *he he* Ayup, he's growing up, that one. Of course, James also played in the sawdust when his plumbing apprentice work was done. It's important to have balance in one's activities.

John and Smidge had a wonderful morning of sleeping in, dressing slowly - it's imperative to do things slowly when you are two and five - eating eggs and sausage until they both sported some impressive puppy belly, and they were more than ready to head to the House when it was time to go. John picked Smidge's favorite CD (Freddy Fender) for the drive. We sang. We talked. John's a neat kid. He loves to smile, and he gets a lot about the good things in life. Smidge sang and squeaked from the back seat, just happy to have a book and good music.

I'm not entirely clear what we did today. We worked hard, but a lot of it was grunt work (at least on my part, it was). The boys and I did get the mailbox post hole dug and the post set. They put the numbers on the box once it was up, and then enjoyed a celebratory wagon ride down the steep-very-steep drive from the mailbox toward the house. If I can convince Zorak to retrieve the camera from the Suburban, I'll post some pictures.

Cabinet Guy called to check in. Bless him. I was supposed to call him back yesterday after we'd played around with the new fridge and were happy with the final layout, but since it never arrived, I didn't call. He knew the fridge was originally supposed to be delivered Wednesday, so he was a little stunned to hear it still wasn't here today. He listened quietly, then asked if they were going to go get it and bring it to us today. *no* Did they schedule a delivery for Monday? *um, no* What did they do? *they told me to call the warehouse myself on Monday and schedule a delivery* OH NO, says he, that's hogwash! (Says he - I don't use that phrase.) He handled it immediately and scheduled a deliery for us for Monday afternoon. Whew. Maybe, just maybe, we'll have an order in soon!

Oh, I got to fondle my faucets today. Serious perk. Even covered with fingerprints and plumber's putty, they're lovely. *deleriously happy sigh*

Tomorrow is HUGE. It's big. It's scary. It's coming. And it's going to be oh-so-good. I can't wait, and I really truly hope that Day 17 at least remotely resembles the To Do list sitting beside me at the moment. Keep yer fingers crossed!

And as always, kiss those babies!
~Dy

The Remodel, Day 16

The poor fridge guy got to the house this morning, only to find that the warehouse crew hadn't put ours on the truck.

Of course not.

*sigh*

Oh, but we can call "first thing Monday morning" and talk to them. Yeah, if we didn't have a midwife's appointment in Birmingham, we could do that.

*grrrr*

On the upside (there must be an upside to these things or I'll lose my mind!) James and Zorak left the house this morning at seven and had some great one-on-one time, breakfast in a cup, and now they're working on plumbing together. Gotta love that kind of stuff.

I stayed behind with John and Smidge, who desperately needed their rest. They are finishing up breakfast now, and we'll head out as soon as they're done.

Today should be a lovely day.

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

The Remodel, Day 15

In short, this was a rough day. Full of ups and downs. That's exhausting.

The boys were amazingly wonderful. I wish I had the words to convey how much we truly enjoy them, but mere words fall flat. They're just so very good, and we appreciate them more with every passing day. Even Smidge, at two, is a joy and a team player, and a wonderful, helpful child. We're in awe, and in love, and oh, so thankful for them.

If only the rest of life were so deleriously easy to enjoy! We do enjoy it, but it takes a little more effort to stay chipper.

We keep setting parameters and defining goals so that upcoming scenarios can be managed. Inevitably, however, we have yet to hit on a *black or white* scenario. Not once has anything come in within the parameters we've set. If we set a price range scenario (say, x we'll buy it, y we'll finance it, z we'll pass on it), it's going to be the cubed root of x plus y plus z, somewhere in a grey area that we didn't see. If we set a feature parameter (we need it to have a and b, but that's all, everything else is flexible), we will, without fail, have picked the only two parameters that are mutually exclusive and simply do not co-exist. If we set a timeline... yeah, who knew such-and-such company uses the Chinese calendar??? There's just not been an easy, no-brainer since we've started. We don't mind, so much, but we have begun to look at one another and mutter, "OK, this is getting weird. Even for us, it's weird." We would do well on The Price is Right, which is fun.

The stove we decided upon... is not available until late January, at the earliest. I guess GE didn't quite count on the power of their marketing team? We can't wait until late January for a stove, so we won't be getting that one. On the upside, the second choice stove is available for delivery next week, and we can get the 48" range (vs. the 36" we'd have bought today), with two ovens instead of one, and a broiler, for the same money. This one has no proof setting on it, but hey, will it kill me to let my bread continue to rise on the counter? I think not.

John was t-i-r-e-d today. The upside: John was s-n-u-g-g-l-y today.

The fridge was not delivered today. On the upside: It will be here in the morning.

I have heartburn that would bring Spawn to his knees. But, on the upside: I know why!! :-)

I could go on, but you get the picture. There were a few major glitches in the day, and I had to cut it short for all of us before I completely lost my mind. They were unavoidable, unforseeable, and simply caught us offguard. That, too, however, has its upside, as it means we were home and snuggled in early enough that tomorrow's way-early wake up call won't leave us all growly. There's some Zen mastery lesson to be learned from today, but I haven't the energy to decipher it. Discuss amongst yourselves, if you'd like. I'll kick back with my coffee and listen.

The tub is in and plumbed. The toilet is ready to go. The sinks are roughed-in. We need to buy light fixtures for the bath, but we have the tile for the floor ~ got it on clearance! woohoo! Seriously, it's going to be peed on daily for the next two decades... inexpensive and waterproof are just the ticket for that!

The two-oven range means we won't need to buy a wall oven, or a wall cabinet to house it, so I think we're going to scootch the island over a bit and put a kitchen couch against the far wall. Aunt B has this great couch beneath one of the windows in her kitchen, and it's a wonderful hang-out spot for folks to gather. I'd love something like that, and we may have room now. We'll block it out tomorrow and see.

I called the Cabinet Guy to make the change in the island and will pick up the official changes from him tomorrow. We may have cabinets by Easter! I Suspect he is beginning to Doubt my capabilities (and possibly my intelligence), though, so we might want to hurry before he writes us off as asylum escapees.

Zorak has found his groove, his happy spot, his rhythm. It's great to see him rambling forward and enjoying the work. He's not only the provider for our home, but the carrot that keeps us moving forward, the glue that keeps us together, and the warmth that lets us know we're safe. So, it feels good to see him happy and know he's enjoying what he's doing. Because he is doing so. much.

Tomorrow... um... well, we're getting breakfast at a drive-thru. There's a coffee pot at the house, too, so we're all set there. Other than that, I'm not sure what the game plan is. Maybe a little drywall, a bit more framing, and a whole lotta plumbing. I'm on ditch-digging duty, for the most part. And clean up duty (the irony in the fact that I have done more vacuuming at that house in the past month than I've done in our own place in the past year is totally not lost on me). But whatever we do, we'll be one day closer to camping out in our Forever Home. The leaves are beautiful. The days are clear. It's coming together.

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

I love being The Mommy

The boys and I stayed in today. We needed a day of rest rather than recovery alone. It was wonderful.

We made pumpkin cookies and pizza. We told stories. We washed an obscene amount of laundry, and put it all away. We read a bit of The Borrowers and began a bit of Witches (James is a huge Roald Dahl fan. John tolerates it because he gets to snuggle.) Smidge has stopped screaming at me while I read aloud, so we're getting back into the swing of sharing books. Three down, one to go. Maybe Emily won't mind the spoken word so much? (A mom can hope, can't she?) Although, the boys still ask me not to do voices. Even if the book is written in dialect, they'd rather I correct the pronunciation to our own than to have to hear me do voices. And I always thought I had a decent speaking voice... ah, well... can't win 'em all.

Zorak came by for lunch on his way to the house. He took the time to play on the floor with the boys before he left. That had the same effect as slapping those little remote cars onto their chargers for 60 seconds - fully recharged and ready to go. I think Zorak enjoyed it, too.

We cleaned bathrooms, tidied living spaces, jumped on the bed. Patience was in huge supply and low demand today (funny, that correlation). We ate supper at six, and near the end of supper the boys *gasp* asked to go to bed!

Of course, it's nine now, and we've just finished with the whole bedtime routine. Fifty-six teeth to brush, floss and rinse (Smidge doesn't have all of his yet). Three faces to wipe, three heads to comb. Three sets of jammies to don, and three sets of clothes to maneuver to the hamper. Three short books to read, and three chapters from a longer book. Three stories to tell of how this critter, or that shirt, came to live in our home. Three sets of hugs and kisses, given three times over, for each boy and all his soft toys. More stories. Water to drink. Bathroom breaks. Kisses for Emily. Just one more chapter... Yes, bedtime is an event, not a specific time. But it's worth it to see those fully sated little eyes as they peer over the fuzzy blankets, and droop, bit by bit, to sleep. Content. Safe. Loved.

I don't know why I'm always tempted to gyp us all on this last leg of the evening. Sure, I'm exhausted and want nothing more than to curl up and read in the quiet lull of a long day. But this is the big daily payoff. This is the cumulative total of the day's tips, so to speak. It's worth heaving ourselves up one. last. time. To cuddle. To kiss. To serenade with a song or enthrall with a tale. That deep, rich sigh of sleep as it overtakes a child is the ultimate payoff for any day. Why on earth work hard all day and then pass up on that? No, it's worth the last push at the very end. For everybody. And I get to do it tonight. Every night. Thank you, Zorak, for making me The Mommy. I love it.

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

Our Little Knight Will Be Fine

Thank you for your prayers and thoughtful words. They mean so much, and John smiled a big smile when I told him people were praying for him and sending him hugs. He got one for each of you and by the time he had them all, he was a giggly mess. Thank you.

We had a great visit at the dentist's office. They got us in, treated him so well, checked him out thoroughly, and sent us off with a handful of cream packets for his lip and instructions to call if there's no improvement by Friday morning (or even if there is and we just want to have him looked at again before the weekend).

His lip is pretty bad off, but it isn't directly from the Novocain reaction. The best our dentist can piece it together, the reaction John had in the office made his lip itch. Since it was still technically numbed, however, he couldn't feel just how hard he was scraping and gnawing to make the itch stop. Until, of course, the Novocain wore off and he was left with a pretty heavily lacerated lip. And because he's not much of a complainer, he never said it itched. The only thing he said was, "I wish it would stop feeling fat. It's getting annoying."

John seems to feel tremendously better now that he knows what's wrong. And now that he knows it'll go away, he's not quite so self-conscious about it, as well. His spirits were up today, and he asked if we could go to the house after lunch.

So that's what we did. The boys dug for bugs and helped throw more stuff on the fire (talk about the eternal flame!) I did clean up duty from the work the guys did last night (they're making great progress! The laundry room was being framed out and the pipes going into the main bath when the boys and I left! WOOHOO!)

We got home later than I'd have liked, but early enough for a warm bath, a good supper, and some songs before bed. That is just what Dr. Mom ordered, and will help everyone cope better.

We picked up a few read alouds when we visited the bookstore the other day (will blog about that in the morning - I think we've found our Alabama equivalent to Maryland's *Bay Books*! Yippee!) We decided to hold off on reading Farmer Boy until we're camping out at the house, so we've started with The Borrowers. It's good to have our noses in a book again. Life just doesn't feel quite right without that time each day.

And ya know what? This mama is tired. I'm going to clean my mouse and take a hot shower.

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

My Gentle Knight

John is five. He is the most genuinely sensitive of the three boys, in the truest sense of the word. His empathy is powerful enough to move mountains. His tears are healing and soulful. His laughter wells up and spills over. His desire to fight dragons of all kinds and defend his loves is fervent and true. He is the first one to know when someone else needs a hug, often even before the person in need is aware of it, and he's right there to offer it with all his heart. He would rather snuggle than wrestle; rather sing than speak; rather do than watch. Life is there for the savoring, the taking and the sharing, according to John.

He is also the child to whom most things happen. Allergies? John has them. Freak chemical accident? John got hit. Piss Poor ER staff and a fight just to be seen for the chemical accident? That's my John Baby. (He wasn't "fussy enough", according to them, to have had contact that needed attention.) The child that goes down for a nap after a wonderful morning and awakes an hour later with a fever of 106, unable to breathe? John. Cause of the 106 fever turns out to be double ear infections, upper and lower respiratory infections, UTI, kidney infection and strep - all totally asymptomatic until the fever hit? That would be John. The list goes on... If it's weird, difficult to address, absolutely terrifying, and leaves us absolutely exhausted with frustration and the pain of not being able to make it better, it seems it will attack John.

And he handles it all. so. well. "Does it hurt?" We ask him. He says, "No. Only when..." and goes on to list the times it hurts, which boils down to anyone else saying, "Hell yes, it hurts! Make it stop. Cut it off. Shoot me." But not John. For him, it only hurts occasionally... which is always, but that's not how he sees it. He gets sad, and seeks the comfort he so readily gives at any other time. And he waits for us to make it better.

Tonight is one of those nights. Tonight is actually mild on his timeline of events, but I'm just wearied by it. He had a reaction to the Novocain at the dentist. It began to dissipate by the time we left and aside from his fatigue and exhaustion from our schedule recently, he was pretty okay this afternoon. We stayed home, though, as he wasn't feeling 100%. I called Zorak as we left the dentist's office to let him know I needed to be Full-Time Mommy today and our mail box hole will have to wait. He sent his love and blessings and extra hugs for John.

At supper, something was bothering John. He was hungry, but not eating well. This was more than just tired - something was *wrong*. We talked a bit and I asked him about it. He showed me his lip, which had swollen to four times its normal size in the previous hour. (It hadn't looked like that before.) Oh. Wow. It looked like a large blister, ready to burst, beginning inside his mouth and spreading to the outer part of the face. He never complained, just pointed out that it was "irritating" and made it difficult to eat.

I gave him some Benadryl as we prepared for bed. It didn't touch the swelling or wateriness, but did knock him flat out. He fell asleep with his head in my lap as I was tucking him in for story time.

Well, he has no fever, no rashes, no swelling of his throat or tongue. He's not cold or vomiting, or experiencing labored breathing, and not in enough pain to wake him... so I am letting him sleep. I'll give him some Motrin if he wakes during the night, and continue checking on him every few minutes. He did get up to use the restroom, although he's so out of it than when he was done, he put the lid down on the toilet and sat there, cross-legged, until I asked what he was doing. He just shrugged. I took him back to our bed so I'll be able to keep an eye on him. The blistery-swollen part now extends from the corner of his mouth, along the bottom lip all the way to the middle of his lip. It's worse, but he's still sleeping peacefully.

He has two more visits to the dentist which will require work. Naturally, the front teeth that need to be done are on opposite sides of his face, and can't be done simultaneously. (It's the repair and capping of the front ones, which are chipped and in bad shape.) I don't know what they'll do for him, but Novocain is probably out of the question. And if this is from the Novocain (I'm still not sure - with the way it came, then went, and then returned with a vengeance), the thought of putting him under a general anesthesia is even more terrifying than trying to make him tough it out without a local. It's going to break our hearts, no matter what we need to do. And he'll be so brave, no matter what he needs to do. Our gentle, sweet knight and his big-scary dragons...

I would not trade places with anyone in the world, but God, do I hate this part.

Kiss those sweet babies.
~Dy

A Few Words on Vocabulary Terms

I have been using the term "hillbilly" quite frequently lately, and it dawned on me last night (as I muttered to myself, "We are such hillbillies...") that my intended tone may not convey well on-screen. I do not mean it as a condemnation. It's more a descriptor: yuppies, donks, grandmother-types. Rednecks, yankees and hillbillies are among my regular descriptors, as well.

I'm not 100% clear on this delineation (or on anything right now, so bear with me), but there is a difference between Rednecks and Hillbillies. I think it's mostly geographical, and therefore also somewhat due to the available market. For instance, clothing: rednecks wear cowboy boots more often and hillbillies wear work boots; hillbillies wear overalls and rednecks wear Wranglers. Hillbilly hats seem less stiff than redneck hats, and I wonder if that has to do with the humidity.

Both subsets of society are phenomenally creative when it comes to solving household problems. Bailing wire figures prominently in both. Duct tape does seem to be favored more heavily by hillbillies, however, while electrical tape seems to be the adhesive tape of choice among rednecks (or at least the ones with which I'm most familiar). Caulking has, so far in our experience, remained a predominately redneck fix-all. We haven't seen it used as extensively outside redneck territory.

Both groups resent paying exorbitant prices for services and products, and I'm not talking about grumbling while they fork over the cash. They resent doing so, and will not pay. They'll just make one up rather than part with their hard-earned cash for whatever dodad or thingamajig they need. Don't push 'em, because they'll do it.

If you throw in a case of beer, they'll make it spew flames.

If you bring food, it's a party!

I have to say we (Zorak and I) much prefer redneck music to hillbilly music, but that's an acquired taste, and I am sure the boys will grow up thinking the banjo is the most commonly used instrument known to man. *sigh* Every good redneck knows it's the steel guitar. Geographical issues. There's not much to be done about that.

And that's the thing. We like rednecks and hillbillies. We have chosen to make hillbilly country our home, second to redneck country (which we loved, but couldn't make a living in, and abject poverty just isn't quaint, no matter what the kitschy plaques say), and far and above yankee territory. Sure, they make the more cosmopolitan crowd cringe. That's okay. I'd rather have an old hillbilly or redneck pull over on the side of the road to offer me assistance any day. There's no trying to get reception on the cell phone, or help waving down a cop. He'll pop the hood, break out the bailing wire and duct/electrical tape and I'll be back on the road with a hat tip and a smile in a jiffy. There are many other things to love about the redneck/hillbilly society:

You will not leave their homes hungry if they have anything to say about it.

Whittling. 'Nuff said. That's just cool.

Food and a case of inexpensive alcohol (or, referencing the exorbitant pricing note above, homemade liquer of some vintage), and you've got yerself a party for any occasion. Nothing fancy. No speed cleaning of the house, because everyone's going to gather around the bonfire. No need to clean up because there are dogs that will take all the scraps.

Everybody's Mama can COOK. And I mean COOK.

You will never be without the aid of a pocketknife, and probably a choice of several to choose from to fit your specific need.

You're only company once. Then you're family.

Ma'am is not a derogatory age-related term. It's directly connected to the fact (assumed until you prove otherwise) that you're a Lady.

Manners matter: respect your elders, take your hat off at the table, say please and thank you, and don't spit on the floor.

Private property is just that. Home can be a safe place. There's no "flee your home" doctrine in redneck or hillbilly territory. You know where you ought not be and if you go there without permission, you're in trouble.

So, you see, I do hope I haven't upset anyone with my Hillbilly references. I do love our new Hillbilly Roots. It's just that I don't particularly like having to fix the customary hillbilly handiwork when I'm on a tight schedule. This makes me growly. It also makes me laugh, though, and that's what I've tried to share. Again, tone does not always convey.

And on that note, I am going to be late for our day if I don't get off this computer!

So kiss those babies, y'all. And their mamas, and hug those papas, and enjoy having a Hillbilly, Redneck Day! Make someone smile!

Dy

On the boys.

~John is reading short sentences now. He's thrilled. (So am I!) He climbs in bed each morning with a few books in hand, and we read while we wake up. He’s a lot of fun, and so incredibly affectionate. This is good time for him, and he needs it. His daily "reading lesson" while we're in this stage is his morning letter (a tip I gleaned from MFS a few years back). He loves taking those few quiet minutes together each morning to read a note just for him. It's good one-on-one, and it's... well, it's just good. All the way around. I love this life.

~James helped me measure and mark the mailbox post Sunday. That got us talking about angles and degrees... the next thing you know, we've marked up many boards with angles and bisections, equations and notes, and the kid owns the concept, the math, and the process of figuring this stuff out. He had a blast, and carried his "math board" into the back to show Zorak. We never did get the mailbox post finished, but we accomplished oh, so much more.

~Smidge is talking better and more regularly. He’s such a joy. I can’t believe I was so afraid of having a third child. If I’d known it’d be *him* I’d have probably tried to have twins! He’s so smiley and sweet, so exeuberant and full of expression. He loves to follow the daddy longlegs around the FH (Crissy, you would not believe the sheer quantity-in-bulk we have there!) and talk to them. If you blow gently on them, they hurry, and he thinks that is the. funniest. thing. He tried blowing on me the other day, though, while we were walking down the hill. Methinks I was moving a bit too slowly for his toddler pace.

Kiss those babies!
~DY

The Remodel, Day 14, The Highlights

New:
~All the necessary components of the bathroom are now... *drum roll, please* in the living room! But hey, they're ON THE PROPERTY! It's a glorious bath-in-a-box (er, boxes, actually). I must say, with a bit of imagination and x-ray vision, it's beautiful.

~The fridge is on order. It'll be here (good Lord willing) on Wednesday. No more living out of the cooler half of each week. Yay!

Not New:
~I can't even discuss the stove right now without having a palsy overtake my right eye. Something must give. Soon.

~We stopped by the cabinet shop at Home Depot today to see Gary, who had asked us to stop by, and he was gone. Of course. Jon, Emily, and Missy were also unavailable to assist us. That, evidently, makes up the whole kit 'n caboodle of Decatur's Home Depot cabinetry department, yet not a one of 'em was there. Weird. I have, however, decided the bookshelves in our living room would make wonderful kitchen cabinet stand-bys. So not all is lost. It's just taking a while.

Weird (and probably unnecessary):
~There was a strange odor in the neighborhood today. It smells like all the dogs in the county gathered for a fecal compilation contest. My first thought was that the septic had backed up, but no, that's not it. Then, of course, we peered cautiously into our Hillbilly Toilet (the one that's sitting on the front porch, awaiting execution) to see if anyone mistakenly used it sans plumbing. No, that's not it (whew - I cannot say how glad I am that this wasn't it!) We thought perhaps it was the polecat that met its fate on the main road a few days ago... but this isn't a bodily tissue odor, not even for a skunk. Something terrible seems to have happened to someone, or something, in the neighborhood - brownie pranks gone wrong, or Junior went off his meds and is running amok with the prunes... something. It is not, however, on our property, or our doing. THAT'S a relief! It also, however, means it's not in our power to make. it. stop. NOT such a relief...

~Have I mentioned lately how very much I love our bathroom faucets? They're my Happy Spot right now. I wanted to hang them from the ceiling as a motivator, but Zorak thought that was a little weird, even for me. Still, I can look at the picture on the box and give off small, happy sighs over those beautiful little faucets. Really, I love them.

Cool Idea: Now that we've been here seven months, and have a pretty good average to base this on...
~The boys and I have decided to take the money we would spend this week on late fees at the library and hit the used bookstore to fill our library basket. That way, while the money will still be gone, at least we can keep the books. Zorak made a Marge Simpson-like groan when I mentioned our plan, but the boys think it was a stroke of pure genius. We can't wait.

Well, now it's quite late, and there are so very many things running through my head, but I have a huge "S*** to Do List" for tomorrow (yes, that's the title at the top of the page), and so I'd best get going so I can get it all done with a smile on my face and a spring in my step. Or something like that. Truthfully, I'm looking to not yell at anybody. If I can do that, we'll call it good. But it sounds so much better the first way, no?

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

On Selling Products (More for the "How to Lose A Sale" file)

I don't know what it is with us and salespeople, but...

So we talked with Buford at the Lowe's in Decatur about cabinets.

October 30th: We took our sketches, CAD drawings, measurements to Buford. We had all the details ironed out. Please give us a quote. We would like to order this week. He said it might be ready Monday, but would be ready "by Thursday at the latest". Sounds so simple...

October 31st: I call to check in. It's not ready. That's okay, it's short notice, and it's a holiday. He'll call us Thursday to go over the quote.

November 3rd: Haven't heard from him by six, so I give him a ring. Still not ready. It will be ready tomorrow.

November 6th: (I gave him a couple of days so he could be the one to call us.) Ahhh, no. Buford is off today. Here's your file... but, uh, it's not been worked up.

Yeah.

Ya know, please leave him a note to go ahead and cancel the quote. We'll go with someone who would like to work with us. Thank you.

*sigh*

Who knew it would be so hard to spend money???

Dy

A Funny from Last Night

We were at B&C's house for supper, just getting ready to head out. I asked the boys as they got to the door if they needed to go potty. James said, "Oh, yes, I do." And proceeded to keep going out. the. door.

I called him back and said, "Hey, Buddy. The bathroom's that way!"

He laughed sheepishly and mumbled, "Oh yeah, I'm used to being at the Forever Home."

Evidently he was headed for the nearest tree...

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

The Remodel, Day 13

We have subfloor in all the pertinent parts of the house! It's starting to look like somebody intends to live there one day!

Woo-Hoo!
Dy

The Remodel...

I don't know what day it is, twelfth? Now that Zorak's schedule has changed, things are a bit wonky. We get a half day of work in every weekday and then our full weekends. I feel like we're either there, or on the road. (And I would dearly love to know who sneaks in and trashes the apartment while we're gone!) We are, however, only about two weeks out from being able to move in. THAT is exciting. Doesn't translate well into words, I fear, but that's okay.

Yesterday we helped Ben & Claudia get their washer and dryer settled in, enjoyed lunch at the BBQ joint just behind their house (Sweet!), and then worked on our house for the rest of the day. Just around sunset, they came driving up for a visit. You'd have thought the boys had spotted Santa flying onto the property! "They've come! They're here! They're really here! They've come!" They shouted and cavorted with gusto I haven't seen since... well, since Christmas.

They stayed and visited for a bit. The boys ran amok. Their little David is quite a trooper - I don't know how he keeps up with the rest of 'em, but he sure does. Ben played with the fire and the boys. Claudia visited with me while I got a little work done. Zorak got to talk Building Things with Ben's dad. When darkness settled on the ol' homestead, we broke out glow sticks for the kids and threw some supper on the grill. (Yakitori for the boys and "steak on a stick" for the grownups! Yum!)

Zorak told Ben's parents that he really appreciated their positive feedback, as it helps to hear from someone that we aren't insane. They both instantly cracked up and announced, "Oh, no, Dear, you ARE insane! But it's good because you're doing it together." Heh Heh. Yeah, they get it.

They headed out to put their boys to bed and do more unpacking. (I think seeing our house in its current condition helped Claudia feel a little less overwhelmed with her place, which is all ritzy with walls and floors and such.) We stayed and worked until eleven, when the boys simply couldn't hang any longer. They all fell asleep as we loaded them into the Suburban, so the ride home was awfully quiet.

It's going to be another long day. We've enjoyed snuggle time and a light breakfast, and now they're cuddled on the couch together watching cartoons whle I decompress over coffee. Zorak's out there now, and I am giving the boys a little down time before we head out this morning. It's so good.

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

Quick Post Over Coffee

Good Morning! It's a lovely, cold Friday morning. Everyone is still asleep, and while I should wake them up so we can get to the house early... I don't wanna. My inner introvert is about to become a neurotic mess from the utter lack of down time or time alone or time with a book. So, I'm sipping an overly-creamered cup of scalding hot coffee and enjoying the sounds of morning traffic (enjoying it because I won't have to deal with it once we're Home - yay!)

The house is coming along. Today is Zorak's every-other-Friday off, so it'll be a full day at the pad.

Chimney guy came. Chimney guy refused to speak to me. This guy simply did not care to speak to a woman about these things. I hovered beside Zorak and fought off flashbacks of living in NC many years ago, while Zorak talked with him about stuff us womenfolk just couldn't possibly understand. (What? You mean like the fact that a liner for the chimney probably shouldn't cost as much as the one you're trying to sell us? Yeah, I feel dumb.)

We've decided the previous owners were either severely manic, or possibly suffered from Multiple Personality Disorder. It's also possible they were just total hillbillies and knew what they were doing but didn't care. The wood stove in the basement is connected to the chimney with three different types of stove pipe - none of which is the right stuff for the wood stove in the basement. One piece is actually for a range - as in, a kitchen range. It's not even the right size (the difference, of course, being made up for with duct tape - possibly leftovers from their kitchen remodeling project?)

Good news: the wood stove in the basement is a monster stove in decent condition that can be used.

Bad news: it can't be used in it's current configuration.

That's not too bad. We can either buy a stove kit from the store and put it in the living room for now, or we can line the entire chimney and add the right size pipe and use it from below. Or we can buy a new wood burning stove and pretend the one in the basement is for baking wayward children into pies.

Emily has migrated up under my ribcage - waaay up under there. I think she may be an amazon child, which will help keep our freezer full once she begins hunting, but in the meantime, I'm wondering just how many organs can get stuffed up into my throat before cutting off all breathing function. Other than that, though, feeling great, doing wonderfully and getting absostinkinglutely huge.

And so, I'm off to get caught up reading and writing. Y'all have a great day, and please know that if I don't call, comment, email, or send smoke signals, I'm not ignoring you, I'm buried in the house somewhere.

Kiss those babies!
~DY

Longer Than Summer Solstice

That's how yesterday felt. Our morning careened out of control, then came back between the yellow lines and we were all okay. Then, out of nowhere, came The Afternoon...

It all began simply enough. Zorak would head to the house to work. The boys and I would head to Home Depot in Decatur to pick up the will call items we'd purchased. Now, first off, these items had been purchased one evening, but then the staff decided they really couldn't get them together that night and so they voided the transaction, but said they'd hold the stuff for us until the next day. The next day we had to round everything up again, and pay. But they did let us pay and said we could pick up the will call items the next day. ooookay...

1:29PM - The boys and I arrive. They can't find the transaction. Not even using the will call sheet I had on hand. Then they find it and will be "right out".

1:50PM - Ohhhh, no. Sorry. They're out of 3/4" tongue-and-groove OSB. They'll have some Friday, though, so we can come back then. But they have the tub.

2:00PM - Oh, wait, they can't find the tub. No, they have the tub, but it's way up high so it'll be a little while before they can reach it.

While we wait, I inquire as to whether we could somehow pick up the OSB from another Home Depot store. No, they aren't connected. Oh. OK. If we void this transaction and refund our money, would another store honor the discount code we'd used? Angela, who is the absolute BESTEST MOST WONDERFULLEST EMPLOYEE at the Decatur Home Depot, called the one in Madison (NW of Huntsville) to find out. Yep. They will do that.

An hour later, I have a refund and Angela is well-acquainted with James, the only child who was awake during this process. Yay.

3:05PM - But, um, where's my tub?

I guess the guys had spent the last hour and fifteen minutes looking for the lift thing to get the tub down. They finally found it - parked right there in front of the pickup.

3:30PM - Here comes the tub. (Which, not related to yesterday's adventure, is not a deep tub, nor even a nice tub. It's a regular tub. I'm disappointed, but don't know how to handle emotional reactions in engineers and so simply opted to voice my disappointment and leave it at that.)

The guys load it. Upright. Straight down the middle of the bed. And tie it with twine.

"Um, I know y'all do this for a living, but don't you think that might tip if I, um, turn?"

The guy scoffs a bit and says, "Oh no, we do it like this all the time. It's fine. See?" He grabs the tub top and begins to wiggle it. It sways like Old Glory. "Hmmm..."

They turn it around and begin to lay it down. With the tub at the tailgate end of the bed, facing the cab... think drag racing parachutes. More twine.

Me, feeling quite awkward by now... (I've been there nearly two hours, I have to pee, and I don't trust any of them to stack lumber properly by this point) "You know, I have about a half hour drive on the highway. I, um, well, don't you think that'll cause a bit of drag?"

The guy glares at me and says, "You're going to have drag no matter what!"

This pushes me to quit feeling awkward and get a bit bold. "I'm aware of how drag works, as well as how to lessen the coefficient, and that. is. not. it."

At this point, a Specialist walks out and the guys ask him how he would load the tub. He takes one look and says, "Well, NOT like THAT!" I smirked and walked back to the cab while he helped Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dum get it loaded properly.

3:55PM - We head out with a tub that has been partially mangled (but I don't notice that until we got to the house). Call Zorak to let him know I'm on my way. He suggests taking 565 to 67 instead of coming down 65.
*blink* *blink* What??
"Aren't you coming from the Madison store?"
*snort* Explain the status, Ohhhhh, okay.

4:45PM - I dropped off the tub, kissed the boys, and headed to Madison. It's rush hour now, but that's okay. I have names. I have written authorization to do this. I will have OSB soon.

5:21PM - Coming up the road, the train lights begin to blink and the bumper-to-bumper traffic grinds to a halt as the bars descend. I'm close to the front and have a good view. Totally bummed that I'd left the boys at the house - they'd have enjoyed this.

5:22PM - Is the train slowing down???

5:25PM - Train. Stops.

5:50PM - Train resumes forward motion, and enough cars have left the line that I'm near the front. Yay. Forgot I was driving a standard and stall. Crap. Got going. Yay!

6:20PM - The train really backed up traffic in all directions. Finally made it the two or so miles to the Madison Home Depot. Both contacts are at dinner. This is where I start getting a little wobbly, and my ability to laugh and say it's okay is starting to wane a bit.

The rest of this is a blur, but I can say that the folks at the Madison Home Depot are phenomenally organized, kind, helpful, and really really normal. I love them. They got it all set up, cleared, and ready to go.

7:09PM - Loaded the pickup (which dropped like a low-rider with the load), slapped her on the tail(gate) and sent us on our way with the admonition to put more air in the tires (which had been squished flat like pancakes).

The drive home was not good. I was tired, emotionally and physically. I could not get into a turn lane to come around and ended up going all the way to another town I didn't want to go to before I found a place with air. It was eight before I got back to the house.

We worked for two and a half hours longer, then came home. And I crashed. I'm pretty sure yesterday was at least 36 hours long. It had to have been.

But did ya notice we have the OSB now? *grin*

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

Neat Things About Kids

There are a lot of neat things about kids. Namely, they're kids. They aren't hung up on *whisper* not asking awkward questions. If they want to know. They ask. Until we squish that habit out of them. They will laugh at anything remotely funny. Or gross. Or embarrassing. Pretty much anything will make them laugh. Until, once again, we incorporate "social protocol" into the situation and stifle their laughter. They willingly help when asked, offer when not asked, and wait to be asked. Until we insist that they "do it right". Then, not so much.

But I like kids. And while I do think discussions of ovaries are best not shared in public, and the Top Ten Things That Gross Me Out list should probably be saved for an hour (at least) after eating, I'm good with not entirely squishing things out.

OK, please don't burst into giggles when the elderly man at the table next to us passes gas. Please. Because if you start, your father will start... and one of you will eventually pass gas, at which point the giggles will be so bad someone will fall off the chair. And then there's no help but for me to hide in the bathroom until it's time to leave.

And help is help. It's the love that stems from it, not the end result. To be trite, the end justifies nothing, really. The process is where the meat is, and the end will come of its own accord long, long after we're gone and forgotten. The covers are lopsided, the floor has wet mopped specks stuck to the kickboard, and the TV screen is smeared worse than when it was just dusty. But there's laughter, pride, and effort - and those are the things that will eventually bring the skills up to par. In the meantime, yes, it looks like we hired a maid service from the home for the comatose. It's okay.

Because the kids live here, too. And I'm so, so glad.

When we left Home Depot yesterday, two boys rode in the truck and James decided to ride with me because I had "nobody to talk to except Emily and she just doesn't talk much yet". I'm sure y'all can see that perspective plays a huge role in how that situation could be viewed. But he rode with me, and we had a great time. We talked about what it's like to be a boy and to be a girl. His perspective on what it's like to be a boy cracked me up, floored me, left me in awe, and really warmed my heart. He shared secrets with me (he has secrets?!?!? ack!), and I told Mommy stories. With no other interruptions, it was so nice to reconnect with my sometimes-exacerbating seven year-old. The drive felt rather short this time.

We talked about how important it is to look out for one another, and we played some "what if" games revolving around situations that might arise while playing on the property. I asked him how he would feel if he was doing something dangerous and John came and got help. He said he'd rather John tell him first that it was dangerous and give him the chance to do the right thing. OK, well, what if you were certain it was not dangerous and were determined to do it, but he came and got help? Would you appreciate that he cared enough to keep you safe?

"WOW!" he said, "that's a hard question! If I didn't know it was dangerous, then I wouldn't think he needed to be getting help, and I probably wouldn't appreciate it at all!"

Wow, I didn't think he had the ability to sort through it like that.

And so, the discussion ensued as we drove along the marshes and river bends. It was good. I like having two vehicles, and might see about rotating the boys around so Zorak and I can add in some one-on-one time with each boy over the days. We've missed that, and they've missed the attention that comes from it. If we stay flexible and alert, solutions will avail themselves to us.

And today is a busy, busy day! But right now, Zorak is at work, John is up, and the other two are asleep, so I'm thinking this is prime time for a little one-on-one with this one. I'd love to hear what he has to say.

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

How The Grinch Saved Halloween

Whew, that was a close one! I realized Sunday night, around ten o'clock, that Halloween was Monday! Monday! Noooooooooo!

Pumpkins? Nope.
Costumes? Nuh-uh.
Candy? Shyah, right.
Decorations? OK, if you're still asking at this point, you're not getting it. ;-)

We might as well have been living in, oh, August, for all the Halloween preparations we'd done.

Sadly, my Inspector Gadget-like children, who must have some sort of hearing magnification devices implanted in their little heads, heard me moan, "Oh great. Tomorrow's Halloween." (Nobody was supposed to hear that!) Well, now I was busted. Trapped. Bouncing, joy, and overall enthusiasm ensued in the back seat of the pickup. Yeah, I'll never get away with ignoring it now.

So yesterday we got up, talked about Halloween, stalled, baked pumpkin, stalled some more... Googled "Holiday Coloring Pages" and printed off a few for the boys to decorate and put up on the door (stall, stall, stall). LB called and we exchanged pumpkin baking ideas. She wasn't any better prepared than I was, but she was enthusiastic about it. Well, cool! She helped me get my energy channeled, and we were OFF!

To the store for costumes. Just have fun with it. Pick whatever you want. If we have to put something together, we will. It'll be okay. I'll make you some play clothes in the spring, ok? OK!

The defaulter's list got pretty high:
Green dragon-dinosaur looking thing. James said, "I don't think I'm quite that kind of an adventurous kid."

Reddish-purple dragon with awesome huge gold wings and twisty purple horns (like the one in Sleeping Beauty!) John was awed. Then suddenly made a face. "Mom, that's a girl. No." What?!? It's a dragon! Dragons don't have gender! "Maahhhm!" he says, cocking his eyebrows at me and pointing at it, "It has eyelashes." Ohhhhh... good point.

Smidge was easy. Fuzzy, orange tiger suit. Soft. Snuggly. Did I mention fuzzy? He was in heaven.

We left the store with Batman, Superman and Tiger Cub in tow. And buckets. And candy. Zorak was nearly subjected to a pirate costume, but that would've been more for my own entertainment than the actual Halloween spirit. The boys pointed out that he didn't have the boots to go with it, though, and vetoed the suggestion.

Then it was off to find pumpkins. No small feat, but we did it. The lady at the Church Of Outrageously Priced Pumpkins thought the boys were adorable, wanted to get rid of her Outrageously Priced Pumpkins, and the boys clinched the deal when they picked out a pumpkin for Emily. Awwww. We walked out of there with armloads of pumpkins for a fairly decent price. Yay!

Since this is an apartment complex in a nice part of town, we guessed that it would be inundated with ghouls and Licensed Disney Characters in search of a sugar high. We picked up many, many bags of candy. James made a reversible sign: "Welcome! We have candy!" on one side, "Sorry, we're out trick or treating." on the other. We stayed home to carve pumpkins and play for a bit. No visitors. Hmmm. Weird. Well, let's head out and recon a bit. Not a soul in the neighborhood. It was as if the Child Catcher from Vulgaria had scoured our complex! So we drove over to a few areas and the boys had a lovely time.

They were so good to Smidge, helping him up the steps, reminding him to say "Thank you", proudly showing him off to the onlookers and announcing that he is their baby brother! They laughed, giggled, held our hands and hugged us between houses. Zorak and I roamed around behind them, grinning like fools. They pounced up to doorsteps, talking about all the decorations, complimenting the homeowners on their webs and lights. This is parenthood at one of it's most relaxed, enjoyable moments. Your children have the opportunity to be ill-mannered little heathens, and they don't take it. Ooohhhh, that's nice.

We came home, watched Ice Age, and then, to bed. Happy Halloween, indeed.

Although next year, I hope to be a wee bit more prepared. I mean, this was short-notice planning, even for me. And now, on to ignore November until the 23rd or so! Weee!

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

The Remodel, Day 11

Things were swept. Things were bought. Things were laid down.

Boys were not bathed (but were soaked and scrubbed thoroughly this morning! Ew!)

Supper at the Waffle House. Yum. Have I neglected to mention that there is a Waffle House just a four minute drive from the house? Talk about serendipity!

The Chimney Guy comes on Thursday and that will tell us whether we can camp out there next weekend or not. I hope we can, as we need the extra working hours. The boys would think it's a riot, too. If, however, he tells us that he wouldn't smoke a cigarette near that chimney and we need to fill it with concrete and never speak of it again, well, then that's okay, too. It just means I get to call Northern Tool and buy a cast iron wood burning stove for the living room. *evil cackle*

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

The Remodel, Day 10

Zorak got up early to go work on the house. The boys and I were going to follow after we'd done our thing. But they all piled in the bed, and it looked so warm and inviting... So Zorak came back to snuggle.

I love that he'll do that. We won't ever be able to snuggle exactly like that again, with the sun coming through the slats at just that angle, with just that gentle morning glow illuminating three small pairs of smiling eyes. The smell of little children, the feel of their downy hair, the giggles and grumbles as they burrow like Very Large Rodents under the various corners of the comforter... tomorrow they'll be a day bigger. Tomorrow will be special, as well, but it won't be today. I'm glad for today.

And then it was off to work!!

Zorak headed out, hitched up the house a bit and decimated the subflooring that has caused me no end of grief. If I thought for one minute I could talk him into it, I'd buy him a Roman Gladiator outfit to wear while he works...

The boys and I ran to the store, then to our Wonderful Neighbors' home. We reconned the place for them, set off bug bombs, took some pictures, and headed to the FH. On the way out of their place, I noticed that the road directly across from their house leads straight to ours! A bridge is out right now, so it's closed, but that'll make the distance even less once it reopens! What fun!

At the house, the boys played. The boys worked. The boys ate like little men and sucked down Gatorade with a satisfying sigh. Zorak worked. I worked, then cleaned, then worked. Then cleaned. Then realized I was doing the equivalent of mopping the entryway to Graham Central Station in a blizzard and quit.

I did have to rest a bit today - don't know if it was dehydration, exertion, or random misalignment of the cosmos, but I felt a bit crampy and sore. So I sat in the Comfy Mommy Office Chair and spun in circles for a while. Then I lined up the big boys with hammers and directions to "give a little smack" to the nails along the floor joists. Oh, man, that's pretty fun! James said, "This is like playing whack-a-mole, but the moles aren't very smart." Smidge needed a job, too, but I'm not having that many hammers flying in all directions (two eyes = two hammers, no more). I set him to gathering the screws Zorak took from the kitchen floor and gave him the magnetic dish to keep them in. Wow, who knew? Another raging success in the Work-is-FUN category! They got a lot done, and I didn't feel like too much of a sluggard.

We stopped work around seven to hit the feed trough (aka - buffet, Chinese/Mexican buffet this time! Not a combination I'd have written the business plan for, but it was really quite good!) We thoroughly enjoyed eating together, telling stories, praising the boys for a Day Well Done. It's a good way to end the day.

Zorak headed back to the house to work a bit more. The boys and I came home. They're in desperate need of bathing, so I was in a mad rush to get back before they all passed out. Alas, tonight, they are snuggled in, out cold, and still in depserate need of bathing. It'll keep. They can shower in the morning - and then do it all over again! YES!

I think next weekend we might be able to camp out at the house! That'll mean no blogging, but it'll also mean a WHOLE LOTTA WORK. And a Very Cool Experience. All the way around, it'll be good.

It is SO coming together!

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

Oh. My.

What a day. It was pretty much a waste until the very end, so I'll focus on that part. The rest involved an exploding coffee thermos, a ruptured trash bag, 20 minutes straight of vomiting in the car (my own dumbass fault, I accidentally inhaled coffee... And then it got weird), exploding poop diapers, traffic jams that go on for over 15 miles with no end in sight, fruit flies, and children who fall asleep just as I arrive where I need to get out. Not once, but twice. That wasn't all, and it wasn't the worst that happened today - but that whole Intentional Living thing? This is when dedication to the philosophy gets put to the test.

We ran home so I could shower and change, then Zorak picked us up and we headed out to the house to put the jack posts in and get things secured. We had supper on the porch. We stoked the fire and watched the sparks as if they were the most beautiful July 4th celebration ever. We managed to lift the floor 1/4 of an inch (and will now give it 24 hours to settle before lifting more). That was good. Exhausting, but good. (See? I told you it got better!)

Zorak tried to get an AL driver's license, but that didn't go so well. After waiting there for three hours, they told him they wouldn't get to him that day and sent him packing. Argh. Talk about frustrating!

However, he did have time while waiting to hop across the street to where there was a mongo yard sale. He's not a big yard saler, really, so imagine my surprise when he called me from there to see if I was nearby... Because he'd found a table and chairs he wanted me to see. Hmmm.... I whipped the Suburban around, got mildly lost two or three times (still learning the ropes, or something like that), and pulled up to find a yard sale that could be seen from outer space.

The table is solid wood (probably pine, but it's THICK, THICK wood). It has four chairs, and a full-length bench! This is exactly, precisely, specifically, to-the-gnat's-netheregions, what I've wanted to put in the kitchen!! Serendipity! Joy! The chairs are stout, heavy, strong, and well-made. The set is exquisite (although the finish is very dark, so that'll come off... You know, when we need a project to do around the house). The Piper's Fee for such a sweet deal? $40. And we have the pickup to load it into! Happy, happy day!

Tomorrow begins The Remodel, Day Way Too Close For Comfort. I'm getting a bit nervous, and it's killing us that we don't have Our People, or Our Places to call on. Community is a good, good thing, and something it's easy to take for granted until it's not available. But it's okay, we will probably always be doing something interesting, and we will not always be New To The Area. That's such a comforting thought - this is the last time we'll have to be New! See? Another good thing!

Ooo, and on that note, I think Zorak just had an epiphany. I'm going to go pick his brain.

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

Pictures for Thom ;-)

No pictures of the house tonight, but here are a few shots of

The Reason We're Doing This...

The pre-flight checklist...

The joy of takeoff!


The space to enjoy a hard-earned break...

The opportunity for a little communing with nature... and books...

It's easy to have fun when this is your motivation...

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

The Remodel: random bathroom thoughts

Wow, y'all have great ideas! Thank you for joining in!! Here's the bathroom skinny so far. The house has 1 3/4 baths, with the toilet/shower/sink bath being off the master bedroom. The full bath is the "main bath". It's in the hallway amidst the bedrooms, and we started with the main bath just because it had a tub - we'd rather wrangle kids in the tub than the shower. (It also turned out to be far less structurally damaged than the other bath, thankfully.)

It was a small bathroom (5'x8'). When the door was open, it cleared the toilet by less than an inch (never open that door if someone might be sitting!!) The vanity was just to the left of the door (the 5' is the depth as you look in, and the 8' was the width). The vanity took up all the space from the wall to the door jamb, front-to-back, side-to-side ~ a vast expanse of counter with one lone sink in the middle. The toilet was *right there* to the right of it, in front of the door. The tub was hidden behind the door when the door was open, and the tub spanned the width of the bath on the far right-hand side. That was it. Step in, scootch one hiney cheek onto the vanity counter so you can shut the door, and then step into the tub. Small, compact, and considering everything (except for the rot and such) pretty efficiently laid out for the space constraints.

What we've done/are doing now:
1) That door? Gone. Putting in a pocket door so we don't hog space in the bath or seal off the hallway. Yay!

2) Everything else is gone, down to the joists and studs now. The back wall to the right, which housed the back of the tub, was removed and a new one built a foot farther out. That took a foot from the fourth bedroom, but eh, we'll use the bathroom more often than a fourth bedroom. No regrets, there.

3) The 24" deep, single sink laminate vanity will be replaced by a 22" deep marble twin sink vanity. We'll have to shave a half inch off the ends of the top to make it fit in the 5' space, but that's better than going with one sink instead of the two we'd really like (there'll be a lot of people at the sink every day for the next umpteen years). To get a double sink in a solid surface counter that isn't custom made *cha-ching*, it has to be just a hair over 60", minimum. We're shaving the hairs off right at 60", so we're getting creative. This will give us just a bit more cubic space at the entrance, double sinks, a solid surface counter, and I can get a stock 60" vanity cabinet to put in there. WOOHOO!

4) Toilet. Well, it's a toilet. I know there are myriad options, but this isn't one I wanted to wrestle. It's going to catch urine. The urine of four teenaged boys. And their friends. We went with the one-piece toilet, for obvious reasons. :-)

5) Bathtub/shower. I started with the standard, "what'll fit in there that's in stock?" approach. Zorak, however, had other plans. I like his plans much better than mine. I do love a bath. I do love a deep bath wherein I don't have to roll from side to side to keep warm. Bless him for thinking of that. We'll use the tub/shower combo daily. It's a good investment. And there's already a second shower via the master bath, which is going to get the whomperdine Tuscan Villa Resort treatment in the spring sometime. *cheesy grin*

6) Flooring. It was molded (as in green, not decorative) vinyl over rotted MDF. Lovely, cushiony sensation to walk on, but not much to look at. Not terribly inspiring for those with a chronic fear of falling through the floor, either. We have to jack the floor up about 1/2" over the next few days (another surprise, but not too bad - we'll work in the kitchen while the house is getting it's, erm, tummy tuck). When that's done, we'll put in tile flooring.

*decadent sigh* This is so. much. fun. hee hee. Although, honestly, I much prefer the planning over the shopping. Ugh. Too many faucet choices. Too many things to consider that I didn't ever think about considering (and would rather not start now, but there's that whole "matching accessories" thing going on in there...) However, when you find the CSR at Home Depot or Lowe's who really enjoys the projects and his area of expertise, it's quite painless.

Oh, Lighting. Lighting has me a bit stumped. I think we'll go with a sealed, recessed canister light in the ceiling over the bath/toilet area. And I'd prefer to do the side-lighting on the vanity than the glaring overhead circus bulbs we've always lived with. However, with such a span, I'm not sure if maybe we'll need lighting in the middle, too? I don't. It's tempting to buy eight dozen of those round touch lamps and hook 'em all up to The Clapper or something. Something that doesn't require more shopping in order to plan. *grin*

Anyhow, that's the thing on the bathroom. It's not "This Old House" quality remodeling, I'm sure. But it's ours. And it's safe now. Y-a-y.

(Patty, the back deck is a prime spot for a hot tub!! It's not in the immediate future, but it's on the map, definitely! Mmmm, that sounds so heavenly right now...)

Thank you for sharing your great ideas and suggestions and - as always - cute stories. This is a fun phase in our life right now, but it's exhausting. So it's nice to come home at the end of the day, plop down with a cup of coffee and enjoy being greeted by your comments and emails. Thanks!

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

Bath question.

Do you think a 44" tub is too wide (from the wall, sticking into the bathroom) to put in a 5'x9' bathroom? It's curved, but I can't find the dimensions of the shallower end bits, just the part that sticks out the farthest.

It's a really great looking tub, and that's a lot of room (you could pile four children, or two adults in there quite easily)...

but there's not a lot of room in the room...

Ideas???

Other than that, a quiet day, and as you can see, it's well after midnight. I'll blog more over coffee in the morning.

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

So Normal, It's Scary

Today was...

It was...

Um...

That was nice! I hesitate to say it aloud, but I think we might be getting into... you know, that thing... that's like a rut... only... Not Bad. (Starts with a G, but don't say it!)

I'm amazed the difference going to bed before three AM makes. I've actually been hitting the hay around midnight, giving me a solid six hours sleep. That most likely has a lot to do with the new flow to our days. Or at least, my new flow. The boys are their typical rowdy, frolicking, playful, happy selves. I'm just no longer grouchy with them about it. This might be worth making a habit, eh?

You will not believe this, but we did math today. That makes two days IN A ROW that we've done both Language Arts and math! We almost feel productive. *sheepish grin* The boys also had several spurts of independent reading, which was nice, as I hopped on the bookwagon and did some of my own, as well. (Currently reading The Oxford Book of Gothic Short Stories and Don Quixote. Finished Quicksilver, and am reminded why I swore after finishing the Aubrey-Maturin series that I would not pick up another book with sequels. Now I have to go back to the library and try to find the second book.)

Lunch was yummy: rice with broiled pork chops and sliced apples. Supper was easy tonight: roast in the crockpot with 'taters, pintos with garlic, sliced cucumbers, and for dessert - ice cream with sprinkles! The roast came out like prime rib! I felt like I could take on Betty Crocker herself and only get mildly whooped.

James improvised a "new knot" today, then tried it out by making hammocks to sling from the top bunk. They worked! The boys spent a good four hours of the day suspended, swinging freely between the beds. It was like a gargantuan butterfly garden at hatching time!

Zorak is back out at the FH, doing his thing. Tomorrow he'll take a break and take the boys to Pioneer Club so I can pester the Lowe's guy on faucets and bathtubs a bit more. That's just not something best done with children in tow, so I truly appreciate the reprieve!

And here it is, a little after eight - the house is clean, the boys are all asleep, laundry's caught up... I'm going to go play!

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

Not "too" normal, but good.

Today was Smidge's New Patient dental visit. He was none too compliant, but very sweet about it. I guess that's something. He loved the tongue cleaner, though... and by hanging him upside down like a bat, we got him to laugh enough to count his teeth. The hygienist let the boys shoot the water gun (man, why weren't dentists that cool when I was a kid?!? Everyone in that office is amazing!) And we go back on Thursday for the boys to have their work begun. This is more time than I care to spend at the dentist's office, but it's good stuff and needs to be done. We have a lot of catching up to do. Weeee!

The boys and I ran errands this morning after the dentist's visit. They were wonderfully helpful and have been so patient with all the upheaval. Then, for a special treat, we headed to a matinee to see Wallace & Grommit. YIKES! It has, evidently, been a long, long time since we've been to the theater! The cost of taking the four of us to a matinee was more than I'd have anticipated for taking all five of us to an evening show. No wonder Netflix is so popular! However, you'd have thought the boys had fallen through the Looking Glass and into some magic land. It was worth it. The boys wanted to sit Up Front. Oh, I've never been able to understand my poor mother quite so well... *sigh* So we started out in the front row, and within a few seconds everyone voted to scootch back. I'm glad it was their suggestion, and I have no idea how in the world I could ever stand sitting *that close* to the screen!!

We'd talked ahead of time about some of the inappropriate things they might see in the movie, and at one point James did lean over and whisper, "I'm glad you warned us about that. It would have been embarrassing if we weren't prepared for it." Yeah, I know. But in all, the movie was cute. We got a lot of laughter out of it, so it was good. It was a bit loud - for all of us - and pretty overwhelming for Smidge (although he sat in my lap and laughed quite a bit).

Zorak is out at the Forever Home tonight, doing a little solo work. He called a while back to say it was coming along nicely. I think he's enjoying the process, and that time alone is good stuff, really. There's just something very fulfilling, I think, for a man to tend to his own home - a sense of satisfaction in making it not only safe, but nice for his herd. The upkeep, hearth-warming, bookshelf-stocking, and general sustenance are my realm, but this - the roots and foundation building - this speaks to his desire to provide in so many ways. I love seeing him this happy. (And on a purely selfish note, I truly adore being the recipient of his love and the focus of his desires. I'm so blessed!)

Oh! Big News!! Our Wonderful Neighbors From AZ, Ben & Claudia, closed on their house today! They're now Alabama homeowners, and I had to giggle when she called because my first thought was, "The commune gathering has begun!" Yay!! They were still waiting for a moving van to come available when last we spoke today (because, you know, reservations mean nothing in that world...) I don't envy them the move, but boy, oh boy, are we excited for them to be close again!

That's about it. We enjoyed a day of reading, talking, working and playing. We hugged and giggled a lot. It was good. It was Intentional and wonderful. Oh, it was also COLD, so the boys got to wear their new coats Aunt B sent them. Everywhere we went, the old guys gravitated to them to comment on their "cowboy gear" (the coats are these awesome, tan suede-like coats w/ cream fleece lining, cuffs and collars - very cool, indeed!) The boys simply beamed and beamed. We sure do appreciate it when strangers find a kind word and a smile to share with the little ones. I don't know if they know how much it means... or perhaps they do. Sure makes the days a bit brighter, regardless.

And since Winter simply refuses to wait for me to get on it and finish those scarves, I think I'll take this opportunity for a little quiet time to do some knitting (haven't sworn in twenty or so rows!!)

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

Oops, technical correction...

Never blog so late at night!

"calibre" is not the correct word, referencing the .22's mentioned in yesterday's post. It is actually the "Super Colibri .22", and is available from Aguila. They rock. They're seriously quieter than you would ever expect, and are a lot of fun to shoot.

I apologize for winging it on the spelling.

Dy

The Remodel, Day 9

Ahhh, today was better. We installed the "First New Board" in our Forever Home. It went in (say it with me) The Bathroom. The boys signed their names on it. James titled it, and Zorak dated it. We got pics, of course, since (God willing) we'll never see it again after we're finished. It's lovely.

Zorak then proceeded to finish replacing the rotted boards, chalking the line for the new wall, planning venting. (Side note: were you aware that every drain is supposed to have a corresponding vent? Sinks included. We've ripped out a lot of sinks before and have yet to see one - this house is no exception- but it's true. One of the things a vent will do is prevent other drains from gurgling when you flush, drain, or run water in your pipes. The more ya know...)

I ripped up carpet and padding in the study and dismantled the erstwhile coat closet turned* utility room. It's ready for framing the last wall and will get subfloor and rough-in during the week. It's going to be strange to see the house with internal walls again someday.

While Smidge napped, the boys explored the Joys of Flight. There's a swinging monkey bar on their swingset and I guess they tired of leaping from the swings themselves because suddenly James came galloping up the steps, shouting, "I FLEW!! And I SAT in THIN AIR!" He was so proud (and wasn't bleeding), so we congratulated him and went back to work. Not ten minutes later, James came bolting into the house shouting, "John tried to fly, but gravity kicked in and he's HURT!" Well, John was up and walking, but a bit bruised and obviously uncomfortable. It seems their flying scheme involved the same stunts tried by children of every generation since the invention of the monkey bars: hang by some appendage, start swinging, and let go at the height of your swing! They don't even have playmates to teach them these things on the school grounds! Some curiosities are simply genetically ingrained, and we comfort ourselves with the knowledge that if it weren't for that drive, man would still be using the donkey cart for transport and crossing oceans on the occasional land bridge rather than by boat or plane. The sound barrier would still be unbroken, and our world would not be as rich as it is.

We sat for a while and I told them a Mommy story about my exploits on the monkey bars when I was a little girl. Within a few minutes, the tears had dried and been replaced by giggles, snickers, and all-out guffaws. Soon, they were off to perfect their landings and I meandered back into the house feeling like I'd just glimpsed something pretty special, thankful that it didn't include capes or a trip to the ER.


The boys played and played and played. Then they came in for snacks and a movie. The movie picking session wasn't your Classical Homeschooler's media event daydream. Among the selections from which to choose were such classic titles as Pollyanna, Old Yeller, The Adventures of Huck Finn. The choice? By unanimous vote (even Smidge raised his hand in the air and said, "Me! Me!") they picked Tom & Jerry. Well, for five bucks and an hour's peace, I am SO good with that. Plus, we don't have any problems with these cartoons. We enjoyed them as kids. (And we've had The Talk about anvils and, on a similar vein, ordering anything, ever from ACME.) Charlotte Mason can help me bridge the gap after we're moved in. Right now, we're in survival mode.

Wow. The video is about an hour long, and they did not stop laughing. At all. James had tears running down his cheeks more than once. John was laughing so hard he choked. Smidge giggled so hard, for so long, that he had to lay on the sleeping bag. The laughter was so non-stop that Zorak and I found ourselves chuckling three rooms away; not because of the video, but because of the boys. That was five bucks well spent.

We threw out more stuff, pulled more nails than I can count. It was a wonderfully productive day. Then, to unwind a bit and provide a little cheap entertainment (because little boys, and big boys, love to see things explode) we took one of the commodes out to the field... and shot it. The calibre .22's aren't tough enough to do any damage to it, but your basic .22LR will do the trick on the tank. Even those will only chip the bowl, though, so we'll take the shotgun out next time. (Yes, shooting is legal out where we are. We checked first.)

We dined at Chez Taco Bell, enjoyed a wonderful evening together, and the boys were comatose by the time we pulled into the apartment parking lot at eight. It was, truly, a great day.

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

*edited b/c Jess pointed out that I hadn't used the, erm, best term to post on the 'net. *blush* Thanks for watching my back while I'm too tired to think straight!*

The Remodel, Day 8

We have ordered neuralizers and they should be in by Tuesday. After that date, we will have absolutely no recollection of Day 8 in the remodel. We have agreed to leave no written record so that it will remain that way.

~The Demolition Crew

The Remodel, Day 7

Full day today, and we're all pooped. But the main bathroom is ready for subflooring and rough-in!!

***Pause here to do my Caddyshack gopher dance!!!***

We had to yank the entire master bath today. The shower came out and it was worse under there than we'd anticipated (if you can believe that). I think we wriggled something else loose, too, because then the sink began spewing water and we figured we'd might as well yank it all out. Let it dry. Work on it tomorrow. While it wasn't what we'd hoped to do today, it was on the radar anyway. So, better now, and we have more room to maneuver and work. So, it's good.

Our construction dumpster *finally* arrived this afternoon! We've had some serious Bad Neighbor action building up on the front porch, the balcony, and in the living room, and were running out of places to put the torn out materials, so its arrival today was cause for celebration. The driver was great! The boys had a blast watching him drop the container from the truck, and he showed them how it all works. Good stuff, there. And I'm so thankful he could get over the culvert! WooHoo!

The boys are really hanging in there. They love, love, LOVE the pickup and spent a great deal of time hanging out in the bed for snacks and Just Because. They also spent several hours throwing tile off the balcony into the dumpster that finally arrived. We threw the tub in and made that the "target" for them to aim for, and it was definitely a fun-filled time! They did great, and the front porch is nearly cleared off now (I kept their ammo fresh by bringing the stuff out in a wheelbarrow).

Zorak had to throw the big stuff overboard. I tried one, and while it wasn't too heavy to lug up 'n over, it did catch on my belly on the way up. I'm not terribly coordinated at the best and thinnest of times, but this thing really seems to jut out there. So, Em and I decided we'd rather go hang out with Spartacus and do subfloor duty. :-)

Oh, guys, it's starting to look So. Good.

And FALL IS COMING! (Yes, yes, I know it's been "fall" for a month.) There are little spurts of red and orange popping up on the property. The sunlight filters through the leaves so beautifully, and there's been a (yay!) breeze all day! It was all I could do not to grab a blanket and a cup of coffee and curl up on the balcony to stare into space. (Well, and my aversion to getting beaned by toppling acorns helped curb that desire a bit, too... what is the velocity of an acorn at the end of a 40' fall, anyhow?) Oh, but it is a gorgeous time of year to gut a house!

Zorak needs the computer to do a little HomeWork, and I've got to go hose off and pamper myself with a little reading before bed. Tomorrow is a big, big day! Yay!

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

Oh, I almost forgot. I think Zorak lost it today. We went to lunch at a quaint little diner in town. (It is THE only sit-down restaurant in our town.) As usual, the boys attracted a lot of attention, and as usual, at least one person just had to ask if we've figured out what causes that yet. Zorak laughed and said, without missing a beat, "Of course! Why do you think we have so many?" I nearly choked on my okra, but the Questioner laughed heartily -- and stopped asking cliche questions. GO ZORAK!

Gearing Up

We are learning that it is difficult to switch gears so drastically, and so often, but we are learning, which is good. We spend three days working non-stop on the house, with very little actual interaction with the boys (which we hate, to be honest, but it's a necessary evil for the short term), then spend the next four days trying to get back in the Normal Groove. So far, it's been on that last day that we hit the groove, just in time to gear back up for another three-day round of work.

Today was significantly more Intentional than yesterday, and we all felt the difference. I am so thankful for today, as it regenerated our spirits, soothed our rough edges, and infused us with a renewed enthusiasm for the coming days' work.

Today we read counting stories to Smidge; we sang Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star to Emily (at least that's what we think we'll be calling her); the boys and I explored the world of genetics and albinism, the realm of the whales, and the mysteries of numbers. Today the boys and I talked more, touched more, laughed more, and played more than we have all week. We also did an inordinate amount of laundry, general housework, cooking, and baking (wheat free gingerbread cookies!!) I got more sleep last night, which made a tremendous difference. The boys took their time savoring the delicious parts of the day, and sharing them with us. That was nice, as well.

Tomorrow begins another round of frenetic activity. This weekend is a big push. I'm not sure what we need to have accomplished by Sunday evening, but it looks pretty big from the sketches we've done so far. It's a little scary, and I know that we've undertaken a truly astronomical task, considering the circumstances, but it's still do-able, and still quite thrilling. And we've only got three weeks and one day to have it in a condition which will allow inhabitation. Eek. That's both good news and really, really scary news! Since I'm fairly well-rested at the moment, it seems brighter than it might otherwise feel. Remind me of this Sunday night, when I'm dead on my feet and convinced we'll have to live in the basement for the next ten years, ok?

All is well, but I promised myself I'd get to bed at a "decent hour" tonight, and well, that has long since passed... so, to bed.

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

Why People Hate Car Salesmen

You know, I enjoyed selling cars. I really did. My boss was a maniac, but I adored him. My customers were the best folks in the world. And there was never a dull moment. The hours stunk, the stress was high, the pace was gruelling, and I wouldn't want to try to pull it off with children who need me at home. If, however, I was a single male, I would still be selling cars and having a blast doing it.

I didn't sacrifice my moral standards to make a sale, either. After a while, people even stopped making me stand by the Amway/Quikstar folks at social functions and welcomed me back among the living. But I do understand why, as a general rule, car salesmen carry the stigma of a leper in polite society:

They just have to push those envelopes. Just have to. The sales and management staff are the mental equivalent of a showroom full of four year olds who reach for the cookie jar not five seconds after you told them "no". They know better. You've told them better. But they just. have. to. try.

And that, honestly, pisses people off.

Zorak is in Georgia right now, yes, at nine o'clock at night, seething pretty heavily.

He's been in the market for a pick up that would work well as a commuter, and also for hauling materials for the house. He's been looking for over a year. We have the cash, but wanted to finance it to help build our credit and keep assets fluid for the remodel of a home. (We've always known we'd have to remodel whatever we bought, so we just counted on it.)

Today he found one. He researched the vehicle. He called the dealership. He asked all the right questions, including the phrase "out the door". They couldn't finance the vehicle (older truck, low price), so he arranged his own financing in a matter of minutes, called the dealership back to let them know he's on his way (198 mi. one-way drive), picked up the cashier's check and headed out.

Of course, once he got there, took it for a drive, ascertained that there's not a frightening amount of Bondo on the thing, etc. He said he'd take it... and they broke out the Alpine Air, the charge for tires, doc fees, etc. It came in much higher than the out-the-door price he'd been quoted.

Yes, I'm sure they thought he'd be an "easy lay", as the term goes for pushover customers. He's very nice, and does not come across as confrontational. But come ON, people. If you want someone to bring the money to pay for your little stunts, ya might wanna let them in on it to begin with. Personally, I'd have ridden them a bit on the sales price, to begin with, and then we'd have had a throw-down over the details later. But Zorak is very upfront, very honest, and right now, he's very pissed. He is tired, he is cold, and he would much rather get back on the road to come home before midnight than sit there in studville (aka the showroom) and haggle like he's buying a blanket in Mexico.

Out. The. Door. That means, literally translated, "What, precisely, are you going to take from me, down to the last penny, so that I can walk out the door with a vehicle?" *sigh*

Poor guy just wants a pickup.

I just want my husband home, safe and sound.

So then he could kiss the babies, too...
Dy

****Update: He did lay it on the table and tell them to either make it work or give him the check back. He's driving home in the pickup, but had to go to Wal-Mart to buy a ramp because they're mad and wouldn't help him load the bike into the bed of the truck. I'm so glad he didn't have to use those insulated coveralls tonight!****

I wanna be a deeenntist!

We took the boys to the dentist today. It's been a long time coming, and it was... well, dentally speaking, it was far worse than I'd anticipated. However, the experience itself was wonderful from beginning to end. The boys were so excited to meet their dentist, and they bounded ahead of us into the office to announce their arrival. (I did put in a lot of overtime working them up to that, too, but it was well worth the effort.) The staff was phenomenal. Well, James' dental hygienist was phenomenal. John's was above average for your normal dental cleaning experience, but paled in comparison to the one James had. No complaints all around, though, as it was far, far, far and away better than any experience I ever had as a child in a dentist's office! (We did request the really nice lady for the next visit, though. *grin*) Yay. One more wonderful resource secured, and one less thing to worry about. That feels really good.

I didn't blog about our Normal Day because it was... well, pretty Normal. We wandered around a bit. We read a stack of books in bed, then headed off to the table to have snacks and make sock puppets and cards. We ate. A lot. We caught up on laundry, read and talked some more.

Part of the deal was that there were to be no overalls that day. The older two and I wore sweats and loved it. Smidge kept hauling his overalls from the closet and trying to get into them. Then he'd stand at the door and cry, "House!" Hmmm. We snuggled in informal shifts and spent a lot of time feeling like we ought to be doing something over at the house. The boys commented on it. I agreed. When Zorak came home from work, however, he wanted to run to the house for "a couple of hours" (alone), but I think the choking noise emanating from my throat hinted to him that it would probably be better if he'd take bath duty and let me find a dark corner to hide in for a bit. It was a good day, but boy, oh boy, it was draining. I think I need a few hours of q-u-i-e-t. That might help.

After the dentist appointments this morning, Zorak headed back to work (bless him for helping me herd the kittens at the doctor's!) and the boys and I headed to Costco. We needed food, in a bad way. One simply cannot go two weeks straight in a household of five without ever setting foot in a market, and expect there to be food in the house at the end of those two weeks. That is the official result of our experiment, anyway. So, we splurged. We had a great time. We got smoothies on the way out and laughed and giggled. We do very well when we're on-the-go, I've noticed. Anyone else do that? It'll be nice when we do just as well on-the-couch, though.

And this evening, we loaded everyone up and worked on the house for a few hours. Zorak finished removing the bathroom wall (we are moving it over 12"), and I hung out in the living room with Spartacus doing subfloor duty. The house no longer smells!! A great deal of the persistent odor that's refused thus far to subside seems to have been the cat urine/bong water soak the previous owners had put into the carpets. It's like Carpet Fresh for the socially deranged! The house is also harboring a lower relative humidity than it's probably had in at least a decade: the balcony door is splitting! We're keeping it to use as our humidity gauge. Now we just need some enigmatic liquidy substance we could use as a barometer and we're set.

The Dumpster Guy is bringing us a construction dumpster tomorrow. We can get the toilet out of the front yard now! WooHoo! (The neighbors were starting to get a little worried, I'm sure.) Tomorrow Zorak will head down to do his rough plumbing calculations greek greek greek mostly greek to me. The boys and I will head to church for Pioneer Club. The decision to keep the boys in PC while all this is going on has been a Very Good Decision, and while it's not-so-great to lose an evening of work, it's worth far more for the boys to have that positive consistency each week. Good stuff.

Pickles and Ice Cream, anyone? Poor (wonderful) Zorak is at Wal-Mart as I type, trying desperately to find a body pillow for me (and it sounds like tonight's excursion will not end with a pillow, either - who knew body pillows were considered "seasonal"???). I'm going to hit the hay, anyway, and get some shut-eye. If I go now, I might get an extra pillow from his side of the bed without much of a struggle! :-)

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

Happy Suit

Do you have a favorite outfit or shirt? One that makes you feel your best, your most adorable, most approachable -- your Happy Suit? I had one, years ago, that made me feel that way. It was a sweatshirt/jeans outfit that I simply adored. The sweatshirt was grey and teal. It had a soft caressing texture on the inside, and the jeans were slightly baggy (but in a comfy, darnit-this-is-cute sort of way). When I wore that outfit, I felt absolutely magazine-model-casual-attire stunning.

Then I'd see a picture of me in that outfit. The tangible results were shockingly different than the rose-colored vision I carried around. It was, in a word, horrid. The sweatshirt neckline does nothing for my head (or sweatshirts in general, for my body), and the jeans had that "yeah, I've lost about eighty pounds, but don't want to buy new clothes until I know the weight's going to stay off" hang to them. No matter how nicely the hair/makeup/nails were done, this outfit just screamed, "I do not care what happens to me!" No wonder Zorak never beamed lustily at me when I donned my Happy Suit. It probably wasn't such a Happy Thing for him to have to be seen in public with me in it, and he showed no remorse when the sweatshirt received it's culling from the herd.

Well, I've found a new Happy Suit. And, I fear, it probably does about as much for me as that last one did, but darnit, I just don't have to be photographed when I've got it on. But I do plan to live in it until Spring, just because. It's soft. It's fuzzy. It's roomy. And it's probably ugly, too, but that's okay. I got some great jeans to go with it...