Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Busy

We are a fairly busy family. Not as busy as some, but not as hectic as others. However, this week we are just slammed with stuff to do. We have been going non-stop since last Friday. Here's a little recap and preview.

Friday: date night with hubby

Saturday: T-ball, shots, birthday party

Sunday: confirmation in Hanford/party with family

Monday: anniversary, saw Lifehouse and Daughtry in concert

Tuesday: progress reports due at school, subbed in 8th grade, drove to pick up kids from Tiff in Madera

Wednesday: minimum day to get ready for Open House, ran errands across town, Open House for 2 hours

Thursday: will drive to Chowchilla to pick up mom for Grandparents' Day

Friday: class is in charge of Mass, have Grandparents' Day activities, class is in charge of hot dog lunch, spend afternoon with mom, take mom home

Saturday: T-ball, shots, Casino Night for school

Sunday: Sleep all day. Hopefully. Doubtful considering the two small children I live with.

One day at a time. Despite the "busi-ness," it has been a good week.

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Where'd he go?

I lost Hudson. Funny, I know, because the child always makes his presence known. But for a few weird seconds tonight, I couldn't find him.

Eric was not feeling great and went to bed early. I stayed up to watch Glee and correct some papers. Hudson (the Night Owl Forcey) spent 45 minutes getting out of his bed and coming into the family room with me.

We snuggled for a bit. After all, he was gone for a night, and I missed him. (I need to write up our anniversary post another time.) Then I put Hudson solidly back in bed. Finally, he stopped coming out to see me. I watched Glee in peace.

As is my routine, I always check on the kids before heading to my room for the night. As I went into the kids' room, I could see that Hudson's covers were rather askew. I figured he managed to get himself completely twisted, but when I got closer, I could see that he wasn't in his bed.

My next thought was maybe he snuck into our bed on my side since I wasn't there. I peeked around the corner of our room, but Hudson wasn't on my side. That is when the little prickles of worry started, but I figured I'd check Eric first.

I couldn't see Hudson at first glance, but as I got closer, I could see that Hudson was firmly glued to Eric's left side sleeping peacefully. The crazy thing is that Eric had no idea he was there. Either Eric is REALLY tired or the baby is really sneaky. I think it's a little bit of both.

I picked Hudson up and put him back in bed. As nice as it is to have the house to ourselves for a night, it is also nice to have everyone back in their bed where they belong!

Sunday, April 25, 2010

Potty

This could be a total fluke, or it might be the start of Hudson's potty training, but he spent the entire day without a diaper, and he did not have a single accident!

I wasn't intending to start potty training him right now, but he has been complaining for over a week that his weenie hurts. "My weenie hurts, Mom!" But it comes out sound like, "Ma weenie huwts, Mom!"

There doesn't seem to be anything wrong with his weenie, and it is not hurting him to pee, so we aren't really sure what's up with this. However, he seems to be better when we take his diaper off. This morning I went to change him, and Hudson informed me that he didn't want a diaper. Hmmm. Okay, I thought.

Amazingly, that child made it all day until 4 p.m. when we had to put a diaper on him to go out of town. Every time we asked him if he had to pee, he said yes and peed in the potty like a big boy. He even pooped on his little potty seat.

I am not deluding myself into thinking he's got this figured out, but it was a pretty cool step towards diaper freedom. I don't care either way since the child is only 2 1/2, but it wouldn't surprise me if he just made up his mind that he's done with diapers and that's that.

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Comfortable?


How can this possibly be comfortable? I guess Hudson didn't mind, however, because he was OUT! I think he looks like he's doing a swan dive in bed!

Sunday, April 18, 2010

Grizzlies


We went to a Grizzlies ball game today. Baseball is not Eric's or my favorite sport for a few reasons. It is slow, it is somewhat boring unless someone gets a hit, and it is usually hot.

Today was tolerable in the mid-70's sitting in the sun. I'm just not a sun person. Give me gray, windy days any time.

Anyhow, it was a fairly fun day. Oh, the reason we were there in the first place is because Evan read 10 books and earned two free tickets.

Evan must have asked 514 questions during the game, and he kept up a running commentary about what was happening on the field. Hudson liked the mascot, Parker. If he couldn't see him, he kept asking where Parker was.

The best part was that the Grizzlies won! Not a bad afternoon.

Thursday, April 15, 2010

Energy

We had a man come out today to do an energy analysis on our house to see where we might be able to save money. Let's just say that our PG&E bills are outrageous.

He walked around the house with this little sensor thing that showed where there were hot spots in our ceiling and walls. Then he talked to us about some practical things we can do to lower our bills such as switching to a gas dryer, getting rid of the refrigerator in the garage, and turning off fans when we aren't in the room.

The big thing we'll need to do is get a whole house fan installed. We've talked about it before, but we've never taken that step to see if it would be feasible for our house with all the vaulted ceilings. Apparently it would be a great help.

It was also good to hear that while we need our attic insulation to be "fluffed," we have plenty of it. The hot spots are pretty easily fixed by having someone spread out the existing insulation to cover the bare areas.

Eric and I are working on some things to save money. If we do all these suggestions, we will be on the right track. It makes me excited!

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Peepers


Can these eyes get any bigger?! It's just one of the reasons why he gets away with all that he does!

Mr. Food


Giant Hamburger from Mr. Food

My mom bought me a Mr. Food cookbook for my birthday. I wanted to reassure her that not only had I looked through the book, but I made one of the recipes as well!

Tonight we had Giant Hamburger. It was super simple and pretty tasty. You basically put the beef mixture into a pie pan, bake it for 30 minutes, add cheese and serve on a giant loaf of round bread. The house smelled really good. The next time I make this I will cut a bit more off the bread. It was a bit too large. Other than that, it was a winner.

Along with keeping my house cleaner as of late, I like having meals prepared and ready for my family. That is another thing that makes me feel more successful as a wife and mom.

The best part was when Eric walked in the door and said it smelled good.

Thanks, Mom! I like the cookbook.

Sunday, April 11, 2010

Accomplishment

I thoroughly enjoyed my week of vacation. We did several fun things like visiting Grandma, seeing the stampede, having a picnic, playing in the park, going to the zoo, going to the movies, and spending family time together.

I am also pleased that I managed to get many things done around the house. I always have ambitions to keep a neater and cleaner house. We all seem to be more at peace when the house is kept up. A messy house makes me feel like a failure as a wife and mom. A messy house is not something you can just hide behind a door. It's there looking at you every day reminding you that you aren't keeping up. It's hard to ignore when the dishes are piled in the sink and the laundry is overflowing the hampers.

Rather than dwell on my shortcomings of the months past where my house is concerned, I am going to list all the things I managed to do this week, because I am truly proud.

Kitchen: Organized and cleaned out the glasses cupboard. Organized the medicine cupboard. Organized two utensil drawers. Swept and mopped the floor. Kept the sinks free of dishes each night. Emptied the dishwasher promptly. Cleaned off the top of the stove (this one was major!). Kept island free of clutter. Kept computer counter free of clutter. Put all Easter stuff away. Planned and cooked meals each night. Clipped and organized my coupons.

Boys rooms: Cleaned and organized playroom. This didn't take more than an hour because I just did it a few months ago. It just needed updating. Cleaned and organized boys' closet. Washed bedding. Made beds everyday.

Our room: Spent 15 minutes clearing off my desk each day. Made a memory box for each of us for things that need to be saved and cherished. cleaned out three dresser drawers of mine. Washed bedding. Made bed every day.

Bathrooms: Did a deep clean on both bathrooms. Swished and swiped each day. Organized cupboards and drawers in master bath.

Other: Did at least one load of laundry each day. I even washed the shower curtains! Made a large pile for donation that is growing by the day as I find more stuff to give away. How is that possible?

I managed to read a book this week. I played with the boys. I spent time with my husband. I did a lot of housework, but I wasn't a slave to it.

When I am feeling down about the state of my house (which I know will happen), I need to look back at this post to see just how much I managed to accomplish in one short week.

Things that make me happy: Empty hampers, empty dishwasher, empty sinks, empty island, empty dining table, empty desk and made beds!

Saturday, April 10, 2010

Angels

I had an interesting thought earlier today. I was super irritated yesterday with the car breaking down and then being trapped at home all day. I was bummed that I didn't get to go to Hanford to have lunch with Eric and the boys. That was the part that bugged me the most.

The thought I had today was this: what if this happened for a very specific reason such as keeping us safe? Maybe had we gone to Hanford something terrible might have happened to us like a car accident. Maybe our guardian angels were watching over us to keep us safe from something that could have been far worse than being home safe in our house where there is food, tv, comfort, and security.

I guess what I am saying is that I was feeling a bit guilty for being so irritated over something that was beyond my control. I need to learn to take things a bit more in stride. The car not starting was certainly not the worst I have faced. In fact, it was small potatoes compared to some things that happened last year.

I had a day at home with my boys. I had Eric helping with the situation by making phone calls. I had dinner out with my family. I have so many blessings. I need to always remember that.

Busy Day

I don't like writing posts without having pictures to go along with it, but I haven't taken many pictures lately. I guess I'll just write tonight. Normally I use this as an excuse not to post anything, but then my mom complains that I haven't updated the blog!

We were up and out of the house by 9:15. Off to get allergy shots and then to Evan's T-ball game. He did a great job with several hard hits and some great catches playing first base.

Before having lunch we had to run to a grocery store to buy wipes because Hudson pooped. I had one diaper in my purse, but no wipes. Yeah, I know. Classic me. The diaper bag is in the back of the van which is in the shop. We are in the rental. But even if the diaper bag was with us, there would have been no guarantee that it would have contained either diapers or wipes. I am super organized like that!

I put Hudson in the trunk to change his diaper, and then we ate at Sweet Tomatoes for lunch. I could drink their ranch dressing. I love that stuff!

We did a little shopping to buy Eric some new shirts. Then we stopped by the Honda dealership to get a few things out of the car that we forgot (school keys...gonna need those on Monday). Then we dashed home to get the stroller before heading to Big Hat Days. I love BHD's because Eric and I went there for one of our first dates eight years ago.

We walked around for two hours and signed up to get an efficiency evaluation of our house. Our PG&E bills are outrageous. I am always excited about something that could potentially save us money. The two gentlemen we talked to were really nice and passionate about energy efficiency. Plus they were nice to the kids...and not in a fake way.

Back home, quick trip to the grocery store, spaghetti for dinner, load of laundry, and run the dishwasher. Now I am just about ready for bed.

We were busy today, but it was a good day.

Friday, April 9, 2010

One of those days

I was really looking forward to today. The plans were to get up, get moving, visit Hudson's Godmother for a bit, and then head off to Hanford to have lunch with Eric. So much for plans.

Everything started out well. I got up at 8ish, put a load of laundry in the washer, took a shower, swiped the bathrooms, cleaned a little more of my desk, and got the kids breakfast. I took the time to do my hair and makeup, and I even put on jewelry! Kids had their teeth brushed, hair combed, and shoes on by 10.

At 10:15 we headed to the garage. I kept trying to open the car doors with my keyless entry, but it wasn't working. I figured it was the battery in the clicker. I then tried to open the doors by hand, and that didn't work! I started getting nervous so I tried the ignition...and nothing. Not even a click.

Made a call to Eric. Had to get AAA worked out because I couldn't find my card anywhere. Eric handled that on his end. I sat in a chair in the garage and watched the kids ride their bikes until the Man got to the house to jump the car.

The car started fine, but a few second later, a big "pop" sound happened and black smoke poured out from under the car. Yikes!

To make a long story short, my trip to Hanford was canceled, I had to wait for another guy with a tow truck to come and get the car, I had to search for the warranty information for the car, and to top it off, Hudson set off the panic alarm for the house.

The noise scared the pants off Evan who was pretty upset. I managed to get it shut off and scrambled to find the number to the alarm company to tell them it was a false alarm. I really didn't need a visit from the police department today.

Then we waited and waited to see what was going on with the car. Eric came home in time to get us to the car rental place. I can't be without a car on Monday. Eric's schedule is not as flexible as it used to be. I'm driving a Buick. It's nice, but it's not my van. (I never thought I'd say that!)

I hate these types of days. The bummer is that I was really looking forward to having lunch with Eric. We had dinner at Japanese Kitchen, so that helped. And the boys both fell asleep very easily tonight. That helped as well.

Last day of vacation kinda sucked.

I did, however, get some more cleaning accomplished. I washed both shower curtains and organized the kids' closet. I'm stacking up a nice pile for donations. How is it that I always have stuff to donate when they call? You would think I would have gotten rid of all that needs to be purged from my house.

Despite the weird day, I have had a very nice vacation that was fun and productive. Got a lot organized and cleaned. That feels good.