Tiny Houses

Since the whole November posting thing didn't work as it was intended, I kept all of Kim's prompts and will use them when I feel the need to write something. And today? I feel the need to write something, anything.

This summer I became obsessed with the whole tiny house movement. Now I don't think Jeff and I could ever live in a tiny home permanently. I mean, where would we put all of the children when they came to visit?  (And they better visit.) But when the house is full of people and all of their things, it is sort of daydreamy to imagine living in something that takes a couple of hours to scrub top to bottom and only have minimal stuff to put away. I also like the closeness. (Most days.) I even have a whole board on Pinterest devoted to the things. I have dreamed of building one in the clearing out back when the kids all move out. We can live there and open up "the big house" when people come to stay/holidays/etc.

The prompt is this:

Someone's paying you to move into one of those tiny house everyone is talking about. If you can survive a whole year in that house with just the things on this list, you get a bajillion dollars. Tell us how you fill in this List Of Things You Can Take With You:

• 5 books - I'm going to cheat here... my kindle. So as many books as exist taking up the space of one. Oh, and a sketchbook and a notebook.
• 3 outfits - Jeans, t-shirt, sweater, socks & black boots; yoga pants, t-shirt, sweatshirt, socks, sneakers; Skirt, flowy shirt, sweater, sandals. This is rough though. I'd like to think I could have more than 3 shirts and 1 pair of jeans.
• You have a fridge/stove/oven - but you can only take 1 counter-top appliance - My percolator for coffee. I can handle no microwave but don't mess with my percolator!
• 1 DVD collection of a TV show (your budget doesn't allow for Netflix) - It would have to be Gilmore Girls. I can rewatch that forever. 
• 1 childhood artifact - Meh. Don't need one. I'll take an extra outfit instead. Or, at least another pair of jeans.
• They will give you ONE subscription to a magazine - what is it? - Again, meh. But if I had to choose? Probably something like Entertainment Weekly. Can I trade this for a pair of flip-flops?

I've been trying to decide what the one thing I would have to bring would be. I mean, for this exercise I'm done but we all have that one thing we would need. One thing that serves no practical purpose but we just need to have. And right now, for the life of me, I can't figure out what it would be. My ipod? I'm assuming I'll have my phone as we aren't talking about moving into a cave on a deserted island. So maybe just put some music on that. I'm not a huge music person so that would probably be plenty. I don't know. So, what would you bring to your tiny house and what is one thing not listed you would HAVE to have?

It seems I have a lot to say...

The rain has been making me crazy and cranky and pairing that with PMS has made me what I'm sure is unbearable. Luckily the sun popped out yesterday while I was driving home and this morning on my ride in to work. I am much happier now. Also, a fabulous woman in the office made mini carrot cake cupcakes for another coworker's birthday today. That has made me smile. And eat. And maybe just one more because they are so small.

Alas, the sun has gone and more rain is expected. Have I mentioned how over the rain I am? It seems as if it will never dry out around here. The ark jokes are not even funny anymore.

The new house is lovely. I even bought some plants for the yard. Yes, it seems it's my year to garden. Maybe. I find I am willing to dig in the dirt about every five years. So as soon AS THE SUN RETURNS I will be digging. I hope it goes well since this will probably be it for many years.

The plants came from Flower Days at the Public Market. Somehow I've never attended this flower filled event. Unbelievable I know! I've lived in this area for about TWENTY YEARS... my God, am older than dirt... and never managed a trip downtown for the event. It of course it was cold and rainy on Sunday. The good news was it wasn't very crowded because of this. Even without the crowds I got very overwhelmed and probably would have left without buying anything but luckily I brought a friend who kept me calm. We did a walk through to survey the goods and then went back and purchased what we wanted. Let me just say, that was the perfect way to handle it. One, no carrying heavy pots around and two, better to price things and narrow down before actually purchasing. Still, by the end of the walk through I was completely overwhelmed and not sure what to buy. I had to refocus on what I originally wanted and then picked up a few annuals at the booths I was already buying from.

So what did I get? Well, the big purchase was two gorgeous Rhododendrons in the traditional light purple. They had some lovely maroonish ones but I decided to stick with the traditional that reminded me of my youth (so important in us ancient ones). I picked up a bunch of basil, mint and coriander. Also got some gerber daisies, poppies and begonias. Why have I never taken notice of begonias before? They were amazing! So lovely. Maybe once I get them in the ground or the rain stops falling I'll take some photos to put up here.

In other news, I've been baking tons with my new kitchenaid (thanks honey for the Mother's Day gift!!!) and new double oven. The kids are thrilled with the baking of course because it means yummy treats for them. The scale however is very unhappy with me. Well, too bad scale. I'm having fun, enjoying homemade treats and making people smile.

I've also gotten even more crunchy. We're still composting and recycling of course but now our garbage pickup takes even more recycling then the old one. We are down to about 2 - 13 gallon kitchen bags a week. For six people! And even then, one of them is usually not full. Also, there are still always extra people and kids around. I was a little worried that the kids would stop showing up now that we live further from school but that has not been the case. I'm so glad. I love having people hanging out everywhere. Makes me happy. (Plus, more excuses to bake!)

Oh, and on the crunchy front I'm going natural with cleaners and a steam mop to go along with the cloth napkins, hand towels and old rags instead of paper towels and napkins. I'm thinking I'll be making my own laundry and dish detergent soon. I know! Who am I?

The boxes are slowly getting unpacked. So far my cake pans and measuring cup seem to have gone missing in the move but those I can definitely replace. The living room hasn't been touched. Except the other night I hung a bunch of pictures on the nails left behind from the previous owners. Then I made Jeff take them all down because they were giving me anxiety. Yes, he agrees, I'm a freak. I have no idea why but I couldn't stand them hanging just randomly like that. I prefer them in a box until I have a plan of some sort.

The bedrooms are mostly done. The kitchen is done. The rest? Well, we're getting there. I haven't even started painting yet! I did manage to change the hardware in the kitchen though. It made it so much calmer and updated looking.

Sorry about the poor quality of the photos. The one that is probably the closest to how they look in real life is the bottom right. So the top two? Shiny worn brass that came with the house. NOT my style at all. Bottom two? Antique pewter. Ahhhh, anxiety gone. And the change also totally toned down the oak color. Looks much more mellow now. Now, tell me what you think...

Sitting at the dentist

So I'm sitting here waiting for all 4 boys to see the dentist which in of itself is no big deal. Unfortunately the children are annoying each other and whining and complaining. This is making me want to run away. One of the children, I will not name names, is insisting I bring him home when he is done. Oh, and btw, he's going first.

In other goings on, I'm not a fan of swyping long passages on my phone. It annoys me. This is why the grand idea I would blog from my phone all the time hasn't really worked out. Until today that is. This is what the waiting room with children has driven me to.

On the house front... we haven't had a single person look at our house in forever. Apparently the market is at a stand still in our area. No new homes on the market and no purchases. I'm hoping the weather will warm up and things will get going.

In the mean time I've been looking at home and design sites and blogs. I am not very bright when it comes to these things. See right now the thing to do is paint your woodwork white, paint your cabinets in the kitchen a light color, actually paint anything you've got - furniture, cupboards, etc. White is very in right now. So what happens in a few years when natural woodwork is back in vogue? You know it's going to happen. It always does. And how in the hell does someone with 4 boys and a bunch of their friends live in a white house? Boys are dirty yo. The other thing I'm finding is spray painted ornate mirrors and chandeliers. Do people not have dust and cobwebs in their homes? Am I the only one that just sees more stuff to dust?

I'm not so sure I'm cut out for this decorating thing.

My Taste

So I'm finding I really enjoy light, white, pink flowers, glass and cast iron accents. This is what is gleaned so far from pinterest. Never realized I liked white so much. Too bad I have all those dirty boys to house or I could try living like that a bit.

In other news, no takers of our house. Seems people don't even want to come look at it.

And if you'd like to know how my weekend is to begin, not with my pj's, a glass of wine and bad, canceled tv shows via netflix streaming. No, it's me racing home to take a certain 12 y/o to have his wrist x-rayed. In a snowboard accident last night he injured his wrist and although I thought it was just a strain - "Ice! Advil! Rest!" - the school nurse seems to think it warrants an x-ray. She even filled out a bunch of paperwork to PAY for the x-ray since it happened on a school sponsored trip. The doctor's office also feels confident enough that it is necessary to not warrant an appointment with them first. So I'm once again a neglectful parent for downplaying the whole incident.

www.pinterest.com

This is a fabulous site for putting together a sort of virtual mood board, or inspiration board or whatever you want to call it. I'm using it to post things that inspire me, things that I find beautiful etc. I'm hoping that at some point I'll be able to see a pattern and it may help me to decorate my house. You know, whichever house we end up in.

Please send

Please send good house selling vibes. Our house is being shown at 12:30 EST today.

Thank you.

Zebra Prints

So do people that have a lot of zebra print fabric around love zebras or hate them and want to see a simulation of their pelts laying around?

Guess what I did this weekend...

1. Paint


2. Paint


3. Paint


4. Paint

If you guessed Paint, you would be correct.

I did also go out with my wimmins on Friday night to celebrate someone's 40th birthday (not mine - ok, sort of mine too since 2 of said wimmins will not be able to return for my birthday next month). It was all fun and games until the birthday girl fell off the bull and bumped her head (this time I really mean it when I say - not me.). Alas, it was time for me to get home anyway. I had an early morning of home stores to spend my last paycheck.

I suppose we are closer to getting the house on the market but it feels like it will NEVER BE DONE. Never, ever. No really, there will always be another piece of trim to paint or put another coat on. The painting. It is going to kill me.

I am choosing to believe the Stadium Red is done. Almost done with the Arabian Sands. Have not started the Mushroom Bisque or the Pale Honey. I have just finished one can of bright white semi-gloss on the trim. I have not even begun in the bedrooms yet.

We are also replacing the floor in the foyer. The original wood floor was damaged one summer when we were out of town camping and came back to find the upstairs toilet leaked. That was oh, about 3 years ago. We are FINALLY replacing it. And the new floor is about 1/2 way in. So yay! for that.

We also are waiting on a contractor to put up some drywall around the two new doors we had put in last winter. What? You don't live with studs and insulation just hanging out in your kitchen for a year? What kind of people are you? I lived without walls in the stairwell for YEARS people. YEARS!

We may have different standards, you and I.

So, does anyone have an urge to paint? I might be able to help you out if that's the case.

CRAZYtown

So much is happening right now. Life is CRAZY in an all caps kind of way. Luckily, most of it is good.

As you may have surmised from previous posts, we are planning on putting our house on the market. We are hopping to sell in time to put an offer in on a house about 2 miles away. It's a move from the village to a country setting. As much as I've said I don't want to live in the country, I suddenly want to. Hopefully, it's not just the fact that I'm overloaded with socialization. With the constant sports since March I've been a bit burned out. I love the social season but I also love my winter hibernating. Unfortunately, that doesn't look like it's going to happen this year. Tyler joined the ski team. Ugh! Not only will I have to attend meets? races? whatever they're called, I will have to stand in the cold and they are all at least 30 minutes away.

If you're my friend on Facebook you hopefully saw the video of the talent show. Dylan and his band played a song he wrote. The 3 guitarists are all 12 and in 7th grade, the drummer is 13 and in 8th grade. I was mightily impressed. I see this as the beginning of a lifetime of concerts in my future. I may try to post it here later. I'm so proud.

Another thing I'm insanely proud of is the amount of work Alex and Tyler have put into getting the house ready. They have done everything I've asked and I haven't had to threaten or cajole or anything. They have been heaven-sent. Also, it is nice to have the extra muscle around. I haven't had to move anything more than a can of paint.

Oh, and thanks for voting. I went with Mushroom bisque for our bedroom. I think it will give the room a fresh but warm and cozy feel.

I suppose that's all for now. Have a million things to do!

New experience as a parent

I just realized in my almost 16 years of parenting, last night was my first time staying up all night with a puking kid.

Today was my first time cleaning up an entire gallon of paint off the floor.

FML.

I Need Your HELP! Please! Help me!

Look I'm back. And you can see the thing that drove me back here was I need advice. So basically, I'm back to get you to work for me.

Here's the deal...

We have decided to put our house on the market. This involves quite a bit of sprucing up. And sprucing up is code for painting. Now I love to choose paint colors. I love color. BUT! I have found that most people do not love the same colors that I love.  This is where you come in. If you were to buy a house. One with a freshly painted master bedroom. What color would you hope it would be? Or what color would not completely turn you off?

Additional information:

• Said room is large.


• Said room has high ceilings.


• Room has many tall windows.


• Room has substantial white woodwork.

Need to know anything else?

I'm Turning into "That" Mom

For ten years and four kids I've tried my best to avoid being "that" mom. You know the one. The one that when the teachers or administrators at school see you coming they groan, run and hide or roll their eyes. I've really tried to let them do their jobs and trust them. We live in an excellent school district. In fact, we moved to our current location BECAUSE of the school district.

But...

I have found one problem. I've let it slide most of the time. Or rather I've addressed the problem and then let it go numerous times. Individual teachers have made it easier to let the issue go. In 98% of cases they've done their part. The administration however has refused to do their parts. And now I'm done discussing the issue. I want action.

Maybe I should mention what the problem is. Yes?

The school refuses to challenge my kids. More specifically, my oldest two. They slide by without putting any effort in. They are happy enough getting mostly A's with the occasional B without doing more than the bare minimum. I am so not okay with this. Now that they are in 8th and 9th grade they need to learn how to work a little. They need to be in a more competitive academic atmosphere. They need to be with kids that work at school and take pride in their grades.

Here's the thing. My oldest's friends are all in honors classes. They have been since 7th grade. None of them understand why he isn't. His father and I don't understand why he isn't. The junior high has some formula they use to place kids in honors and apparently he didn't qualify. Even though he could do the work. We let it slide. I will admit, this was my mistake. I should have gone to the school back in 7th grade. I should have pushed. But I didn't want to be "that" parent.

Now he's in high school. He has 100 average in everything 5 weeks in and we told him he needed to talk to the school about getting into an honors class. He needs a challenge. Get this: He AGREED. I told him to pick one subject that they offer as honors. His choices: math, science & social studies. He chose social studies. Now honestly? That is the LAST class I would chose to take an honors version of. In fact, I believe that was my worst subject in school. But that's what he picked. He spoke to his teacher yesterday and his teacher said he was already looking at moving him into his honors class. All he has to do is ace his unit test this week. Only thing standing in his way? He hasn't cracked a book. Guess what we're doing tonight.

My oldest has also said he'd like to try for honors math next year. HIS OWN SUGGESTION. He doesn't want to do it this year because he thinks it might be too much all at once. I told him the longer he waits the further behind he's going to get. His response? Geometry is easy. You guys can help me get caught up. To which I replied, "Hell no. I can't do geometry. I'm the algebra lady." Yes, it's true. Geometry is impossible for me but I love Algebra. I know. Odd and GEEK. Whatevs. He says dad can help him.

So see, no need to be "that" mom. Son, taking action himself. I'm so proud.

Now, on to the second child. Oh dear son of mine. He has his head in the clouds most of the time. He is silly and goofy and a more than a little devious.  Good thing he's so handsome. Makes it easier not to kill him at times. Also, keeps the girls from completely dismissing him.

One other thing he is? A math brain. He is the child that would make me put addition and subtraction problems on our chalkboard at 3. For fun. And he got them right. He would demand more math when I was trying to make dinner. He made up his own math problems on white boards, chalkboards, paper. He could just "see" how numbers worked. He was also the one shouting out the answers to the multiplication problems when I quizzed his older brother before he could even comprehend what I just said. He is the one we've been trying to get into honors math since the end of 6th grade.

Last year we fought with the principle over and over. He would not budge. We were told we were forcing our son to do something he didn't want to do. That we would make him hate math. It was implied that we were being "those" parents. Then they conceded. He could take a math placement test at the end of August. A 90 or above meant honors math.

The fact is he got a 75.

Part of the problem was we were so intent on him studying for his Bar Mitzvah (on September 12th) and going to his Hebrew tutor's. We didn't push the math. The math he said he went over. The math practice test he assured us he could do. The day before the exam I realized the error of our ways and brought him to work with me. He worked for five hours. I showed him how to do about 30% of the problems. He got it. He took the exam the next day. He complained there was stuff on it not on the practice test. Four kids took the test.

I know at least one other didn't pass it with a 90. She got an 80. She studied all summer with three different tutors. He is not in honors math. This is a kid that WANTS to be in honors math. This is a kids that could do it if you just put him in the damn class. The school won't budge. I was going to give it up. After the exam I did nothing. But now he's bugging ME about it.

So now it's time. I'm making yet another appointment with the principal. I'm going to be "that" parent. I'm going to sit there and not budge from my position. I'm going to take a lesson from son #3 and be stubborn. So damn stubborn and not give up. I will not give in. I will wear him down. I will just not take no for an answer. I don't care about rules and guidelines. There are always exceptions. This is one of those exceptions. It is time.

Say Goodbye

I've decided that starting a home improvement project while your marriage is in disarray is not that bad of an idea. Really. Even if in the best of times you've learned you can't work together on such projects.

In the past my husband and I have found it best if he does the prep work. ALONE. Then I come in and do finish work. If I need him for some manly task (i.e. something I don't want to do), I leave him to it and return to oh and ah and finish what I was doing.

Works for us.

Last night however, we realized we had to rip out some nasty carpet. We've been wanting to for a while (since we moved in) but have put it off until the walls, ceilings, etc were finished as to not ruin what we suspected to be underneath - real wood floor. Well, last week we were on vacation and our upstairs toilet decided to leak while we were away. The result was a flooded foyer. Very wet carpet that has refused to dry in the damp, wet weather we've been having.

- beginning of serious tangent -

Say good bye you fugly carpet. Have I mentioned it was red? I suppose it was some 60's idea of cool to put white and black wallpaper that looks like nerves on the walls and have red carpet. The wallpaper came down a couple of years ago so now we have the look of crumbling plaster and red carpet. Really helps the plaster stand out on the floors.

The carpet still resides on the stairs and upstairs hallway. There is also a patch in front of the downstairs bathroom - much to my dismay.

- end of much too long tangent -

The ripping out went surprisingly well. The scrapping of carpet mat? Also went well. The pulling of staples? Fabulous. I am seriously amazed.

We still have more scrapping and pulling of staples and washing of boards. But I think it will be okay. I think it helped that we each did our own thing and stayed out of each other's way and helped when it was asked for. I'm not sure we've ever done those things quite so well before. Guess it says a lot about our marriage that we haven't been able to do that before. But it does give me hope.

Time

Time has become the enemy. There never seems to be enough of it. It just flies by and leaves me exhausted with nothing much accomplished. ("Yes", I hear you saying, "and yet here you are blogging." Shut it.)

There is suddenly so much I want to do but I'm afraid I'm using all my energy on the planning stage and there will be none left for the actual doing stage. (What is that you say? Why yes, I have done this before.)

I've started a decluttering sweep through the house and it is taking me much longer than they make it look on all those clean house type shows. Then I get disheartened and start doing other things like planning what I shall do when the decluttering is finished. And then of course, I must estimate costs on renovations and such to see what we can actually afford to do (nothing). And then I realize I'm still only halfway through our bedroom and the youngest kids' room is becoming recluttered and it was the only room almost finished. (Yes almost. Enough with the snide comments already. Geesh!)

So now I have two almost finished rooms. Ten not even started rooms. And I need someone to tell me - WHAT, in the name of Niecy the Style Diva do I do with all the sell/give away stuff until I finish the house? I was thinking of doing a 1 day sale with scheduled VOA pickup the following day but where do I put it all in the meantime???

And how do I finish the whole house by the last weekend in August? Especially since I will on vacation for one of those weeks? (No, I will not tell you which one.)

Do you find it odd that I hear your comments while writing? No, I wouldn't say I hear voices exactly. What I meant was... I suppose it's time to make dinner.

Still Snowing

Seriously.

The good news is, after not having a washing machine for a week. Yes, you read that correctly - a whole WEEK. I'm on the last load of laundry. And with my new front-loading wonder it has only taken seven loads since yesterday to get caught up. And that includes all the towels!

Hott!

Have you ever noticed how hott roofers are? And I do mean hott with 2 t's. Seriously. I've always gone for the smart guys. The funny, smart guys. But suddenly I'm realizing how insanely attractive a man who physically labors is. Men who can fix my leaking roof. Hott!

God! How did I not realize this before?

Obviously I'm an idiot.

In other news, DST is kicking my ass. And now with the weather acting all manic depressive I seem to be fighting yet another sinus thing. I do not like the fighting of sinus things. On the one hand, the children had the day off of school last week, Tuesday to be exact, because of the extreme, bitter -25 with windchill cold. Yesterday, also a Tuesday, it was 60 degrees. This turn of events makes me very happy even while causing my sinuses to plot my death. Unfortunately, as I mentioned the Mother Nature is feeling very unstable and while she is currently feeling manic in a mere 2 days time she is expected to plunge back into her depression.

I'm hoping the roofers manage to finish the job before the depressed mother returns as I like the stripping of clothing that the sudden heat wave has inspired. That and I have great hopes that none of them plunge to their deaths when the cold, ice and winds return. Also, a finished roof would make me greatly happy. Look! A roof that doesn't leak! Is it even possible?

Still not back

It's all an illusion. I'm totally not here. Not writing. Not complaining that life is spinning out of control. But I do have more bullets! Aren't you glad. *cough*

• The husband has scheduled help with the roof for March. As in, four weeks from now. He's lived in this area his entire life. He should know by now that March means Mad Angry Rainy Snowy Hell. And yes, I realize I used an 'S' instead of the 'C' but I couldn't come up with anything else. Back off.
• The birth certificate has not been found. I searched for an hour this morning. Not only was it not where it belongs, it was not in any of the eleventy million piles of crap residing in my house. The best part? When I informed the husband of this news, I got the impression he would try leaving the country anyway. So I mentioned "they" have been saying he won't get back into the country so please for all that is good and holy and my sanity, please do not do it. Then he laughed.
• And then? I killed him.
• He says he will send for us when he must remain in Canada for the rest of his days because this country won't let him back in.
• My husband, he is a joker. I can tell he is also planning on ignoring me and traveling to Pontiac, Michigan by way of Canada. Maybe it is just his way of getting out of fixing the roof.
• Regarding the search this morning, it caused me to be late to work. It also caused me to have a near panic attack because of all the piles of crap in my house. I'd like to go home with a giant garbage bag and toss it all. Without looking at it. But I know that I can't do that. Things might be lurking in the piles. Important things. Things we may need one day. Things like our birth certificates which I will surly find the moment he leaves the country.
• In other news, my youngest needs glasses for reading. Not a high stressor but a stressor none the less as he is not used to them and he will probably need them tied to a string to his wrist so he does not lose them.
• Another of my children is trying to kill us with the willfulness and tantruming and the being extremely difficult about everything. Everything like getting dressed and going to bed and putting on pajamas and brushing teeth and eating and breathing. I may just duct tape him to his bed and soundproof his room.
• A couple of weeks ago I received an e-mail from a Big Name Children's Book Editor. One I've had contact with in the past. One who was not impressed with my work. But suddenly an e-mail with her name attached arrived in my inbox. I saw it was regarding a manuscript I had never heard of. It was also addressed to a Big Time Children's Author whom I happen to know has a daughter that shares my first name. I also happen to know they sometimes collaborate on books together. I will admit to not letting Big Name Editor know immediately about the error. I read their correspondence (about 3 e-mails - apparently I was the only one who noticed the error) before doing the right thing and notifying the BNE of the error. It was a sad surge of hope that died a sudden and painful death. Sometimes fate is cruel.

Now I must get back to work. Nothing to see here. Move along. I'm not really here.

I'm not really back

I know. It's been a month and nary a word. In fact, yesterday I decided to toss out my blogging title and was trying to decide if I should just leave it up, abandoned, or delete the whole thing. Somewhere in the back of my mind I knew if I gave it up I would be back here typing. I'm not sure why I do that. The rebel in me just can't give up. As long as I recognize I'm giving up, I'll be back. You now have confirmation of what a freak I really am.

I shall now taunt you with the "things on my mind that I must get out or go mad". Starting from the present and working back...

• This morning I was woken at a bit after 5am (A!M!) to say goodbye to the husband. The one who is leaving for Michigan after work for a job. He's suppose to be back late tomorrow but he is driving to Michigan by way of Canada and the Great Lakes in February. February. Let's let that sink in.
• I proceeded to lie in bed and noticed a distinct dripping sound. As in, dripping into my bedroom (or so I thought).
• My husband returned looking for his birth certificate. No, we don't have passports. Not because we wouldn't love to travel to another country but because we can't even afford 6 passports, never mind travel expenses. Besides, trips to Canada have never required them but now, now I must budget in passports. I have a year to get them all. Well, to be truthful, I'm guessing more than a year since we have no immediate plans for a trip north next year but if we don't have them, we'll need them. Anyway, no birth certificate. I must locate it and bring it to him this afternoon after work.
• Husband also assured me the dripping was from outside as the wall is dry. I'm still guessing the drip in onto my ceiling in the attic and it is only a matter of time before it gives way and I have a flood in my room.

~side note of importance: Today is the first day in several weeks the temperatures have exceeded freezing. We have also gotten between 2 and 3 feet of snow during this time.
~another side note of importance: We have Spring plans for a roof replacement. One that the husband will be doing with help from any and every willing body as we do not have NINE GRAND to hire someone to do it. Although in the plan? We were only doing the porch roofs because I am afraid to let the husband on the very high main roofs since he has a habit of falling off ladders and such and the main roof is very steep and many, many feet above the ground. The roof above our bedroom is not a porch roof.


• I found evidence of yet another freaking mouse. I am tired of the mice. They need to leave now. The body count this winter has been high and I'm ready for the death (and constant cleaning) to be over.
• I have a child that has "fuzz" above his lip. FUZZ. I'm not ready for fuzz. He has also been having a growth spurt and every day insists he is taller than me until I prove him otherwise. Every. Day.
• I have another child that asked, "What is puberty?" When asked why he was asking such a question he replied, "Beacuse XX* said he was starting puberty." Now it is of great interest to the questioning party what exactly is happening to his older brother. I'm guessing so he will be prepared for when it happens to him. Each individual detail gets reported to me. I. DO. NOT. WANT. TO. KNOW. Really. I don't.
• The sports schedules are killing me. KILLING ME. And baseball season hasn't even started. GAH!

Must get ready for work now...
*to protect the innocent. Although, I'm sure it is obvious.

Update

I've been putting off updating and I'm not sure why. My brain doesn't seem to want to write anything lately. Expect a dull and lifeless entry and you won't be disappointed.

Jobs: I've had 2 interviews. (1 was moved from next week to yesterday) They both went well. I'll let you know more later. I feel hesitant to mention too much at this stage in the game. Just know that by the end of next week I will have a job. I'm just not sure which one.

Kids: I'm packing Zach (5) up to spend 2 weeks in Florida with my parents and my Grandmother. The other kids have all gone and now it's his turn although they have all gone for 1-1.5 weeks. Not sure how I'll handle him being gone for 2.

Spring Cleaning: Before my interview yesterday my mom and I started the littles' room. We took out the dressers and put in shelves and drawers and reorganized. I was surprised I only got 3/4's of a bag of clothes to give away and one full bag of garbage (plus one of the dressers is going to the curb). The room looks so much better though and when they get back from Florida we'll do the heavy cleaning. So? Three and a half rooms/areas done. Eight and a half to go. Ugh! I just killed all the accomplishment I was feeling when I tallied up the rooms left to go.

Entertainment: Just watched 40-year-old Virgin last night. Hysterical! The husband didn't even fall asleep. I cried more than once laughing so hard.

That is all. Must start endless weekend activities.

Update: I KNEW I should have kept my mouth shut. I just, just now, got a call as I was publishing this. The job I was offered yesterday is no longer mine. He found someone who could start on Monday. Ugh. I may not have a job come next week.

The Machine...

... it is WORKING!!!!

It is also on load 2 of 569,432. Guess where I'll be for the next 3 days.