Vacationing

I've been loving the last few days. The presence of the new Game Cube has kept Clint and the girls so busy that I've felt free to do whatever I want to do.

This included;
Playing Animal Crossing until Noon in my nightgown
Writing a letter to my good friend in California
Not cooking
Not cleaning (OK, I've done the dishes, taken out the trash, and made my bed, but that's only because I wanted to!)
Blogging
Hauling and stacking wood(it felt great to be outside)
Typing recipes into Publisher (the start of a project that could take some time)

I'm loving taking a vacation in my own house. It's something I NEVER feel like I can do. Maybe that's why I'm reluctant to go to the cabin. I know it will be great there, but I will have to decide in advance what stuff I feel like doing, and then I will have to bring it with me. There will be no phone, computer or satelite. Usually the absence of those things is what I love about the cabin but this time I feel like I will miss them.

Clint will get very grumpy if I keep resisting. He's been terrific this holiday. I took a 2 1/2 hour nap on Christmas Day, and he cooked dinner. I could say "Sure, we'll go to the cabin when you get everything ready". But I'm vacationing, and he's out working in 30 degree weather. I should be willing to help get our family to a place where we can all do something we like.

After all, with no phone, computer or satelite, I could finally get somewhere on Pride and Prejudice, and when the kids are sleeping I can play Animal Crossing. I could even scrapbook, if I have the energy to pack it all up to bring.

Gaming

I thnk I'm just not a big gaming person. Clint and the kids love the Mario Kart racing game. I think it's fun for about 10 minutes. Then I get bored with not being able to stay on the road. My driving sucks.

Rhiannon loves the Game Cube. She is far less into Gameboy Advance than Shelby or Gillian, so it's been interesting to see her so into the Game Cube. I've realized it's because it's social. She plays it as an interaction with several other people, instead of solo like a Gameboy. It makes perfect sense, because she does prefer interacting with others to solo pursuits most of the time.

Rhiannon wanted me to try Mario Party 5, because she knew Kart didn't do much for me. She got a little impatient with me, because I have no interest in playing if it will make the other kids unhappy because they can't play. And EVERYONE wants to play. It's been on pretty much all the time, except when I strongly suggest they take a break.

We sat down last night to play. Shelby graciously sat out so I could play with the other three girls. I liked it much better than the racing game. It reminds me of a 3D Candyland. You move around on spaces like a game board and play lots of mini games that are just a riot. The hardest part is that Tamzin is pretty much never the winner, and she cries about it. I keep trying to deemphasize the winning part, but the other girls get excited to see their skill improving, so they talk a fair amount about how they are doing in comparison to the others. Even Gillian cried last night, after spending much of the game in the lead, she had some unlucky breaks and lost almost everything. It really sucked. Obviously, winning is less about skill and more about chance, but how to help them see that? I can tell them, but it doesn't mean they will accept it.

The other game I tried and liked is Animal Crossing. Unfortunately, only one player at a time can play. Gillian taught me how to play yesterday morning while the others were sleeping. They all woke up and tried to get me to try Party, but I was obsessed with figuring out how to sell my peaches and shells to the storekeeper on Animal Crossing, and told them it was only fair that I get a turn on the Game Cube they'd all been on pretty much non stop!

After they went to bed last night, I played Animal Crossing again while Clint dozed on the couch. But all the Animals went to bed and shut me out of their houses, so I still haven't figured out how to sell my peaches and shells.

Computer Improvements

I installed Windows XP, MS Office, Publisher, and Norton AV on my old computer. I am trying to get it up to speed so someone will want to use it now and then, instead of having a waiting line to the new one. I decided to install XP because for no reason the old computer stopped recognizing the new one on the network. Very frustrating. The connections were still there, because it could get to the internet, and the new computer could recognize the old. But short of calling the tech out again (for $60 minimum) it occured to me that with Windows XP, the network wizard would get things running with a minimum of effort, and I know with that I could muddle through on my own. I also had to have XP to run my version of Office and Publisher, so it seemed like the best way to go.

Of course, after installing, everything was fine, and then for no reason the wireless adapter completely stopped working. Tech support at D-Link was incredibly rude, for the first time ever. They said the slot must be bad. So I uninstalled the drivers, had Tech Clint open up the computer and move the adapter to the one remaining slot, reinstalled the drivers, and...nothing. Called D-Link again, got a much nicer tech who said sometimes the connection disables itself for no reason. He explained how to enable it again, and I was good to go.

Clint was grumpy about the computer problem. He thinks the solution is to go a wired network. I am convinced this will work. We just have to be persistent. Eventually I will know all the things that can go wrong with it, and the fixes for them.

To Go, or not to Go?

Normally we head to the cabin immediately after Christmas, sometimes even on Christmas Day. In the past, this was because the Cabin belonged to Clint's Dad, and we would all meet up there for a very fun holiday of visiting and snowmobiling. But now, Clint's Dad is unable to meet us at the cabin. Sadly, his physical conditon is such that long trips are not comfortable for him.

Without Clint's Dad there as an anchor, none of the other extended family members have an interest in visiting the cabin. Last year we went up after Christmas anyway, and spent a wonderful long holiday snowmobiling, sledding, playing games, and just enjoying the pleasure of being together.

This year I was elected to host Clint's families' Christmas Eve function. Between preparing for Christmas Eve, and Rhiannon's birthday(12/23), and last minute Christmas preparations, I felt stressed about getting us all packed to go to the cabin as well. When we realized there was no snow there, we decided to wait and leave today, since that would take the pressure off me to have everything packed (it's not just the clothes, it's needing to prepare for a week's worth of cooking and activities that is so time consuming!).

But today, enjoying the morning here at home, I'm not sure I want to go up there today. We surely will head up there at some point this week, because after this week our regular schedule of activities starts up again, and it will be harder to get away. But I don't know when we will go. I kind of like leaving it as an unknown. Everyone always chastises me for not being more spur-of-the-moment. So now that I want to be spur-of-the-moment, I guess I'm confusing. Why should I decide? How about if we just go...later!?

The Happiest of Holidays

This Christmas has been the happiest holiday I can remember in ages. There was no moment when I felt unhappy, or overtired, or overworked, or overburdened, or disappointed, or unappreciated, or stressed.

As I cuddled up with Clint last night, and we recounted the highlights of the day, I was filled with an intense wave of Joy and Contentment. It was the pleasure of having spent a holiday free from sadness or negative feelings.

Which caused me to reflect on why that feels so rare and special. Is it something I am doing that causes there to be unhappy or negative moments in almost every holiday we have?

I will think about that later. For now, I am going to continue to enjoy my perfect holiday, and stretch it out for as long as I can!

Now I KNOW I'm boring!!

I had a great time at book group last night, as usual. I was half an hour late, becuase Shelby had her piano recital that afternoon. I had invited my brother over for dinner afterwards, forgetting it was book group night. Then, Clint had to work late, and didn't walk in the door until 7 p.m.

When Clint walked in I said a quick Hello/Goodbye and headed to book group I figured they would visit briefly, and that Chris would then head home.

So I was pretty surprised to walk in the door at 10 pm to find the two of them opening up a second bottle of wine and watching King of the Hill. I sat down with them to visit and we popped in a movie to watch. Fifteen minutes later, I made a comment on the movie and got no response. Dead silence. I looked over at Chris, and...


I started giggling. Then I looked over at Clint...


Hmmm. They must have been having a pretty good time while I was gone. Obviously they were all tuckered out!

The Nutcracker Ballet

I love the ballet. Someday I'd like to take the girls to Seattle to see the ballet there. I used to go when I lived in San Francisco. It was wonderful. So beautiful, and magical. It always left me feeling enthralled.

I love being able to take the girls to the Nutcracker here in town. It's such a fun story, one they can relate to well. I think that's the best way to learn to appreciate a fine art like the ballet. Have it tell a story that means something to you. The fact that it's familiar to them helps to make it meaningful. Our friend Lorena Perkins and her brother Casey were in the ballet, too, so it was fun to see them perform.

When it was over, Tamzin said "But what about the Little Red Hen? I thought the Little Red Hen happened at the end?"

She was remembering The Dance Class's production of Nursery Rhymes from a couple of years ago! She was very disappointed when I tried to explain to her that The Nutcracker doesn't have a Little Red Hen!

The Heat is On

It's old news now, but we had big excitement last weekend when the chimney caught fire. Clint was driving home from Louisiana. I was getting ready to go Christmas shopping, just heading out the door in fact, when we smelled burning plastic. I puzzled over it for a few minutes, and then remembered that the wood stove always smells like burned plastic when it gets too hot. It's a remnant from last winter, when I lit the first fire of the year, neglecting to notice Clint's singing Billy Bass sitting on the stove until it had melted into a steaming heap of stinking plastic. But that's another story.

When I went to check the stove, the damper bar and the chimney flue were RED HOT. I mean, like a blacksmith's forge. I could hear the sizzling of the creosote burning on the inside of the chimney. That's not uncommon, so it didn't freak me out, but the red hot iron sure did. The air vent had been left on high, so I turned it all the way down, to cut the air to the fire. I opened up the stove to find glowing hot creosote raining down from the chimney within. I ran outside to look and see if there were flames coming from the chimney, but it looked fine. I went back in to fool with the stove some more, to try to figure out how to cool it down. Then the girls, who had stayed outside watching the chimney, called out "Mom, the chimney's on fire". And it was.

Flames were leaping out the chimney, and the grate at the top of the chimney(it's to keep sparks from getting on the roof) was glowing red. I started to call 911, then changed my mind and called Clint instead. I just knew if he was here, he would know what to do without calling the fire department. If he could tell me what to do, we would all be saved a mess of trouble. He told me to call the fire department. 911 couldn't figure out which fire department to refer my call to. Funny, I thought the reason they changed our address to a funky 5 digit number 5 years ago was to put the county on a grid system so addresses could be easily identified by rescue vehicles. Well, it took at least 15 minutes for the fire department to arrive.

Clint called his father-in-law, who lives right across the river, after he hung up with me, and 70 year Gary was there hauling a ladder, climbing my roof and putting out the fire before the fire department even got there. Actually, he shut the damper on the stove first, and that was what cut out the flames. I guess I'd left the damper open, even though Clint told me to shut it all down.

When the fire department arrived, they really arrived. Three trucks and eight firemen. Gary was on the roofand there was no fire visible at that point. The firemen said they would have to get into the attic to make sure nothing was on fire. Clint, via phone, told me to tell them their was no access to the attic, and that they could see the chimney by removing the panelling in Shelby's room. They ignored that and decided to try to get into the attic, which had been sealed after the insulating company shot it full of loose insulation up there years before. While we waited outside, our brave heros found a firefighter small enough to fit through the small attic access door, cut the seal on the access...and determined it was not possible to get into the attic because of the insulation.

Instead, they used their handy dandy heat reading gun, shot it through Shleby's wall, and found that the temperature of the chimney was only 100 degrees. So they climbed on the roof, removed the grate, looked down the chimney, and said "This chimney looks pretty clean." Well, now it does. All the creosote has been burned off!

The grate that was protecting the top of the chimney was covered with creosote. That was what was flaming and red. What must have happened was that when I shut off the air to the overhot stove, the heat jumped up into the chimney and set it on fire, igniting the creosote that had built up on the grate. Had I turned it all down and left it down, it would have gone out by itself. I felt pretty dumb for not being able to figure it all out myself. But, I'm glad to know the fire department is there to help out. If anything else had caught on fire, we would have been glad to have them there.

Grandpa Gary's the real hero, though. He got to my house in less than five minutes and put out the fire in two minutes more. Then, he told me I had done the right thing to call the fire department, that we needed them there just in case. Still, I'm glad Gary was there.

Cavities for Christmas

Our Dental Adventure started in October when Gillian started complaining about her mouth hurting. Clint took a look in her mouth and pronounced "She has a cavity." I was amazed at his knowledge, never having seen one myself, and not realizing they would even be visible to the uneducated.

I made an appointment with our dentist, and took her in immediately. He found not one, but seven cavities! I was horrified! Shelby and Rhiannon have never had any cavities. Immediately guilt set in. I've let Gillian have too much sugar, too many sweets. I didn't brush her teeth for her til she was five the way I did with the older girls. She has soda several times a month...Guilt, guilt, guilt.

The dentist said she would need four appointments to fill the cavities, since they occured in all four sections of her mouth. Over the next few days, Gillian had two appointments, and they filled four cavities. Then I got the bill. $700! Ouch! I cancelled the appointments to fill the remaining cavities until I could regroup and figure out what to do. How were we going to pay the bill we'd alread incurred, let alone pay for three more fillings? And why didn't the dentist warn me what it was going to cost? They knew we were paying out of pocket!

Coincidentally, I had scheduled an appointment for the girls to visit the CBC Dental Clinic later that month. Turns out the Dental Hygiene program there does a children's day. For $30 they will do x-rays, a cleaning, flouride treatment, a dental exam, and even fillings...if that happens to be one of the areas of study for the students at that time. All of the girls were overdue for a checkup, and I thought this option would be cost effective. I decided to wait and hope they would fill Gillian's remaining cavities. The appointments were impressive. They did a good job, and the price was right. Unfortunately, they didn't fill Gillian's other cavities. And even worse, they also found that Tamzin had three cavities as well. They told me they wouldn't be doing fillings until February, and that I shouldn't wait that long to get them taken care of.

I was paralyzed. I called a number of dentists in town, trying to find someone less expensive, but couldn't find anything affordable. Finally, I decided to apply for state low cost medical insurance. I had been debating it for some time. We pay $349 a month for catastrophic insurance. That means hospital and accident insurance only. It doesn't pay for illnesses, dr. visits, well visits, prescriptions, vison, dental. And even if we need hospital care, there is a $1000 per person deductable before they will cover anything. Medical insurance options for the self employed truly suck. Since our income lately has been, well, low, I thought perhaps we could qualify for the state's $15 per month per child insurance program. So, I applied, and waited on pins and needles to hear if we'd qualified, feeling guilty the whole time that I was procrastinating on these fillings.

Last week I was ready to give up and just take the girls back to our regular dentist. I decided I was crazy to think we would qualify. I called them one last time... and was told my my coupons were on the way! I'm struggling between feeling elated to be able to get this stuff taken care of at a low cost (actually free) and feeling guilty because I don’t feel we’re that poor. I was just looking for something that would pay a portion of the expense!

I had to call a dozen dentists to find someone who would take medical coupons, and ended up at Dental Care Northwest in Pasco. They have been very nice, and gentle and kind to the girls. They actually found several more cavities on Tamzin than CBC did. They did half the fillings on both girls Tuesday, and will do the rest next week. They were able to do Tamzin’s first two without anesthetic, so she didn’t have to have a shot. She left the office thinking fillings are no big deal. I'm not so sure she will be so lucky next week. I think they did the easy ones first, maybe to get her comfortable with the procedure.

I'm just so glad it will all be over soon. I have been so worried about the whole thing for more than a month now. It's a great feeling to be getting it all behind us. We are now diligently brushing their teeth with straight floride every evening.

Interestingly, both Shelby and Rhiannon had no cavities, and not even much calculus buildup. The dentist said they both looked great. Maybe it's true, and everyone had a different tendency towards cavities. But I'm still planning to cut back on the sugar.

Hubby's back

Clint's been on an 11 day trip to Louisiana. He drove all the way there, fished a tournament, and drove home. Before that, he was home for 5 days, one of which was Thanksgiving, and before that, he was gone on a 9 day trip to California. We have missed him a lot! A few days is fine, I usually appreciate the space, but how do you go three weeks without sharing stuff with your best friend? We talked on the phone more than usual this time, mostly because we were both so worried about him driving cross country in December that I felt it was important to keep checking on him. But I couldn't tell him any of my good news or bad, because he's too distracted to respond much to the good, and it would only worry him if I told him the bad.

It was a really big deal tournament. It was the BASS Open Championship. The top 5 finishers in this competition go to the BASS Classic, which is the superbowl of bass fishing. He finished 20th, so he doesn't get to go to the Classic. Disappointing, but still a respectable finish.

He tells me he doesn't have another tournament until JUNE. I am putting it here in my Blog so I have WITNESSES. So, when he tells me in March that he has a really important tournament and he absolutely must go, and why am I surprised because there are always tournaments in March, I can say..."You said you didn't have another tournament until June. It's in my blog."

I know. It won't matter. Sigh.

That's OK. Probably by March I'll be ready for a couple of days alone anyway.

Maybe if I play my cards right I can get him to finish the remodeling before he takes off again!

What am I thinking? The remodel will never be finished!

Am I Boring?

I know, I know, I never blog anymore. I don't have an excuse...I just haven't been getting around to it.

There's been lots of stuff going on, but I haven't been inspired to jot any of it down. It seems like anything I could tell about what I've been doing would be ...boring.

Cabin Pics

We saw lots of mushrooms. It was cool, wet and quiet in the woods.


Tamzin made lots of exciting discoveries.
One of Tamzin's photos.

Let It Snow

I came across this great pic of Troy and Chloe out for a snowmobile ride.

Does this look like fun or what?!!

Back to the Cabin

We haven't been to the cabin all summer. It's funny, but when it wasn't ours, we spent all our time wishing it was. Now that it is ours, I haven't been able to feel excited about going.

Is is because I know I have to clean out every %#&$ cupboard in order to clean the place of mouse droppings? Or is it because nothing in it is really mine, so I have to clean, organize and keep order for stuff I don't necessarily even like (but can't afford to ...and don't have the energy to...replace). Or is it because I have been so overworked and stressed for so long that I'm unable to even contemplate going to a place where I will end up spending the majority of my time cooking, reading, and wandering in the woods?

Well, we went last weekend because Clint was worried that if we didn't get up there to shut off the main rooms and turn on the heater that the pipes would freeze. It's a real possibility once it starts to get cold up there. With the heat off, the cabin is no more than 10 degrees warmer than outside. If the pipes freeze, we'd be in big trouble, since it won't be warming up there again any time soon.

We had another reason to go, too. We still have several felled trees decorating our lot here at home, and there is a log splitter at the cabin that could make the job of cutting those trees for use in our wood stove this winter a whole lot easier. We even figured we could cut some wood up there in the forest while we were at it. We are required to keep the area around the cabin clear of debris, and there are always a few fallen trees around.

So, off we went. And, we had an awesome time. I finished the book I was reading, Dragons of Eden by Carl Sagan. I spent more time reading there at the cabin than I think I have in the last three months combined. Scary thought.

Tamzin was really into going for walks. She had a hard time waiting for everyone else. Finally the two of us went off on our own. She's actually a great explorer. She really notices the little things. I had my camera with me, and she insisted we stop and take photos of the mushrooms, lichens, mosses, and even the deer droppings. After first resisting taking a photo of deer droppings, I started to really get into it, taking photos of all kinds of little things.

Later, Tamzin took the camera and snapped some photos of her own. I think she has a natural eye for the lens. She snaps shots of things no one else would even consider. They aren't people, but hey, whoever said people were the only thing interesting out there to look at?!

I'm so glad we went. It was rejuvenating. I even enjoyed cleaning out those dropping infested drawers. I'm thinking I will go on a hunt for a few gently used quilts and prints at the thrift stores, and see if I can infuse a little of my own personality into the place next time we go.

What Life's Been Like Until Lately

Life in the Slow Lane

I'm loving this life! I'm a hermit, hardly going anywhere at all. I'm watching lots of TV, wearing my "around the house scuzzy" clothes, and doing lots of low priortiy tasks in a relaxed, laid back fashion. I'm in "hermit heaven"! I feel like I could go on like this forever!

I moved all my photo and jpeg files from the old computer to the new. They are so much easier to view, edit, and play around with on the new computer! It's amazing what a difference a faster processor makes.

I hooked my CD-RW drive back up to the old computer. I'm going to spend a few days backing up my important files. That task is way overdue.

I've had more dealings with Verizon and DLink(manufacturers of my wireless network hardware) tech support. DSL went down again, and after we got it running again, the router wouldn't interact with the old computer. After several hours of tech support, we finally figured out that my ethernet cable has gone bad. So now we're back to one computer with internet until I reject hermit status and go to the store for an ethernet cable. The tech was surprised I didn't have an extra just laying around. Hmm. Maybe I should.

Now I'm on the hunt for a Windows 98 SE startup or system disk. My computer didn't come with one, and I think reinstalling may be the only way to fix my problem, which is that the OS has a fatal exception error when I try to open Windows Explorer. Checked with Microsoft, and they charge even for email support, so I'm not going to email them to ask if they can send me a disk.

I cleaned my massive closet. I've loved my new closet so much, that after I moved in I was regularly spiffing it up to keep it looking as cool as it did when we first put up the closet system. But the last couple months of craziness killed that plan, and my closet had so much crap in it I could hardly get to my clothes. It didn't take nearly as long to get it back in shape again as I thought it would. Now that I can see my stuff again, I am feeling the urge to use it...scrapbook stuff, sewing stuff, beading stuff, workout gear...

I installed Sims Making Magic on the new computer for the kids. I bought it with Sims Deluxe about 6 months ago, then(wisely) decided it wasn't going to fit on the old computer. So I'm just now getting it onto the new one. It's pretty cool. It does so many cool new things. I'm going to have a hard time getting on the new computer for a while.

That's OK. Maybe I'll just go read a book.

Housebound

I have no idea why blogger recorded the title of my entry, but not the text. Now I can't even remember what I had to say!

Oh, that's right...I was stuck at home with no car. Clint took it in to have the heater and brakes repaired. Now I don't have to spend the winter bundled up and shivering every time I drive anywhere, like we did last year! Ahhh, the luxuries of a heated vehicle!

Getting Connected

All our Internet problems appear to be over.

Our Verizon DSL started working again last Friday. Apparently Verizon oversold their service, and they need to upgrade their lines. The rumour is we may be having problems like this off and on for the next few months. I ran into a number of other Benton City-ites while I was haunting the library to use their internet who were having the same problem. One person said she heard the issue was statewide. So, this might not be a good time to sign on with Verizon, if you were considering it.

The next order of business was to hook up the wireless network. Clint managed to get the adapter card into the old computer with little difficulty, but whenever we hooked up the router, neither computer could access the internet. Tonight he decided to take one last stab at it, and got it up and running, with a little help from DLink's 24 hour tech support line.

So now we have two computers with access to the internet, plus the capability to have a future laptop computer in the bedroom or some other remote location in the house, also hooked up to the net. Isn't technology grand?

Clint is the man of the hour. He knows nothing about computers, but he's so patient, he was able to make it work!

Banished!

I've been banished from the Internet! I feel like I'm living in an abyss!

My ISP went down on Friday. They are having problems with "the line" and "hope to have things working again in 48 hours". 48 hours means business days, so since I reported the problem on the weekend, I will be waiting until wednesday. Aaaaccck!

I don't get online every day, but when I CAN'T get online, everything I need to do sure seems like an emergency.

Poultry Palace

It's official. The new Chicken House is now complete. After 5 or 6 weekends of plugging away at it, Clint put the roofing on and finshed the yards. I'm telling you, this is a deluxe set up. There are four rooms (separated by chicken wire, of course). A large room for the main flock, two smaller areas for Shelby's breeding stock or specialty birds, plus a walkway between them with shelving for storage and plastic trash cans for feed storage. Each room has it's own yard, so there are three separate yards, each with an exterior entry door and ramps up to a bird sized entry into the building.

Shelby is in chicken heaven! I am happy because the birds like the additional space, and I think we will be able to keep the new house cleaner because of our design improvements, such as a droppings tray under the roosts.

Computer News

We took the plunge and bought a new computer! It's an HP 200 GB Hard Drive with 512 DDR SDRAM, DVD+RW/CD-RW drive, DVD ROM drive, 17" flat panel LCD moniter, and MS XP Home OS.

Now we want internet on both computers. To do that, I have to get them set up as a network, something I know nothing about. I think I'd like to go wireless. I don't think the old computer has a network card, so I'll have to do that. The little research I've done gives me the impression that I'll have to upgrade Windows on my old computer, which runs Windows 98, to at least Windows 98SE, or it won't be supported. So do I get a second license for the Windows XP, and use that? I thought I heard XP was problematic.

Then, can I even install a new OS without running into problems? I did some cleaning last week on the computer, and messed some stuff up. I moved stuff around and the computer can't find it. It's nothing major, just games, but I'm getting "fatal exception" every time I try to get into Explorer to clean things up. So, I think I'm going to have to resort to calling in a computer guy to fix it. I just have to decide whether to load a new OS first, or to wait and do it after. Could loading a new OS solve the problem with Explorer? Or could it make things worse?

Aargh! One more thing to do!

On the plus side, the girls are loving the games. Sims, Zoo Tycoon and Barbie Swan Lake are so much better on the new computer, and we got Age of Mythology, which Shelby is having fun with. Clint is very bummed, because he wants to use the new computer to get online, since the screen is so much better.

Our Weekend

Saturday morning Gillian had a soccer game, which we all attended together.

I spent the afternoon figuring out where our money situation is. I have to do this about every ten days or so. How come I never hear about anyone else doing this? It's truly incredible how many things we have to pay for. It takes the entire afternoon to balance the checkbook, enter all expenditures since the last time I did it, sort through and enter cash and cash card reciepts, open all the bills I've recieved and figure out what I can afford to pay, pay payroll taxes and any business taxes that have come due, estimate what our upcoming bills will be, including business and fishing expenses, and finally, calculate how much money we will have left to live on until the next time we get money.

Clint and Shelby spent the afternoon finishing the new chicken pen to the point that it could be occupied. Clint built nesting boxes, roosts, a door into their yard, a chicken-sizeddoor into the building, and a ramp. They love their new place. Much more roomy than the old one. Cleaner, too. It's still not done though. We have two more doors to build, and the brooding pen, storage shelves, and droppings pan.

Sunday morning we reluctantly fulfilled a family obligation and went to see Clint's nephew get baptized. Not being members of the church, we felt a tad awkward, but everyone was very warm and friendly, and Clint got to see some people he knew in high school.

Sunday afternoon we burned the burn pile, pulled goatheads, and cleaned the garage. I'm so glad to have that huge brush pile gone from my front yard! We burned lots of other stuff, too, like some of the leftover lumber from the remodel that won't be useable in the wood stove. I love getting rid of my yard garbage! We always seem to have way too much of it. And the garage! I'm SO happy to have that done. Well, it's not really done. The floors are swept and all the boxes and big articles are neatly stored. But the counter is still a wreck, piled high with all kinds of crap. Sigh. I'm hoping I can get Clint to come out with me a few evenings this week to chip away at it.

Quality Time?

The start of the school year tends to prompt me to evaluate how I've been spending time with my kids. Maybe all the talk about new activities and curriculums get me to thinking about all the things we've talked about doing together that have fallen to the wayside because something else was more pressing, or perhaps just more persistent.

It's no suprise that after such a busy time I would feel like I haven't been "doing enough" with my kids. Truthfully, I've been "doing" plenty; sometimes I think I should be awarded Chaufeur of the Year. Or maybe Activities Facilitator of the Year would be more concise. I guess the stuff that's been falling by the wayside is the stuff I like, and that's what prompted me to take a second look.

I decided, as part of my new, slower season of the year, that I wanted to set aside a special time with the girls to just do stuff together. Not "running around and going places" stuff (we always seem to make lots of time for that), but "hang out around the house and explore the wealth of interesting things we can do together right here in the comfort of our own living room" stuff.

I worried that the girls would think that I just want to "Do School", so I've assured them that this is optional; attendance is not required. For the last few days we've spent about 2 hours together each morning after Tamzin heads off to Kindergarten. We're reading Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. They are loving it, in spite of my concern that the language would be tough. Dickens paints the funniest pictures of his characters, it's hard not to enjoy the caricatures he creates. We've also done some drawing, read some myths, and started a timeline project. I'm really enjoying having enough time to just relax with the girls.

What they are really wanting is to use this time to do crafts. While I want us to do stuff we will all enjoy, I want to be able to enjoy it too, so I have been procrastinating about starting a major project (Gillian wants to build a paper mache city). I'm afraid that the planning, set up, and clean up of a craft like that will leave me feeling everwhelmed. We did a cutting and pasting project the second day and it took a long time to clean up for dinner.

Remember, I'm still recovering from the ride. Reading a book is so easy. I think tomorrow we should play some games. It's fun and easy, and the clean up is minimal.

Recovery

I feel like I've spent the last couple of months on one of those sickening fair rides that spins you madly in a circle. The ride slowed down, and stopped, and I've gotten off, but I'm still reeling from the effects of the ride. I know I can't expect any sympathy, because obviously I did it to myself. I'm not really sure how it happened that my life became too busy to be bearable. I feel compelled to mentally search through the events leading to my too busy summer, trying to figure out where I went wrong. I want to be able to keep it from happening again.

I thought I had it all figured out, after previous experiences like Mary Ellen's too busy weekend. You can say yes to too many opportunities, or allow yourself to be talked into one too many obligations, or refuse to let go of the little things when in the midst of a crunch time. I thought I had figured out how to keep those insidious little events at bay. But I didn't. I know it's stupid to obsess over what already happened, instead of looking forward to future days that will (hopefully) continue to get more comfortable. Am I a control freak because I want to keep myself from falling into the same trap again?!

I'm Back in Blog Land!

Boy I've missed blogging. I love hearing what everyone is up to. I love having the time to just sit and read what everyone's been up to.

I've been catching up on old posts on all my favorite blogs for the last few days. Guess I better post one of my own, too. I've got so much updating to do on my sidebar!

I've had three whole days where I didn't have anything major to do. Getting Gillian back and forth to soccer and Tamzin back and forth to Kindergarten, that's it. Talk about a vacation! I'm in heaven.

Today is busier, but I'm still managing to squeeze in a blog post AND not feel crowded!

7:45 am Munchkin to Dog Groomer
9:30 Gillian to Soccer game in Sunnyside
12:30 Home from Sunnyside (tie game 2-2)
1:00 pickup Munchkin from Groomer
1:30 Iron Rhiannon's costume
4:30 Gillian to playdate/dinner at Soccer Friend's house
5:00 Do Rhiannon's hair
5:30 Rhiannon to Chinese Dance Festival
8:30 Pick up Gillian from playdate

OOps. Where do I put dinner? Better go figure it out.

When will it get better?

My life sucks. Things have been crowded and overwhelming for so long I can't imagine it ever getting better. I haven't read anyone's blog in ages now. My house is a mess. I've had a headache every day for two weeks. I'm finally finished with "The Fair That Consumed My Life", and thinking that I can veg and relax and be lazy for a couple of weeks to recuperate, but my kids won't even give me one day. Each one has an agenda of stuff that they want to do, and I'm supposed to make it happen. Not next month, or soon, but tomorrow. If I try to say let me think about it, or we'll see, I get hounded endlessly. I hate my life.

My Sister Read my Blog

I feel like such a jerk.  I hurt her feelings and I feel so stupid for venting publicly about something that could cause hard feelings.  I tell myself I didn't think she would read my blog, but I did know she had read it a time or two.  When I made that post I hadn't intended to say what I did, but once I started whining I couldn't seem to stop.  I could argue that I didn't say anything that wasn't true, that I wasn't intending to be mean, or that most of what I mentioned Alesia and I had already openly discussed.  But I reread it after she told me, and I know if our positions had been reversed, my feelings would have been hurt, too.

I feel like such a jerk.  I'm sure it was important to Alesia to make a good impression with my friends, and it must be embarrassing to "overhear" me saying negative stuff about her. 

Of course, since I was whiny, my post didn't mention all of the things she's done for me since she has been here.  The truth is, she has bent over backwards trying to minimize the impact of her stay.  We have talked openly about every issue as it has arisen, and I have been impressed with how well we have worked out such details.  She has listened  carefully to me, and acted on my comments in order to make my life easier (Don't you just dream that your spouse could be so receptive?!).  When I said I hate unloading the dishwasher, she started doing it first thing every morning before I could get to it.  She has washed and folded more of my laundry than I have since she's been here, and if I am constantly cleaning up dishes and clutter, well, so is she.  She is always puttering in the kitchen taking care of something that needs doing.  Whenever I've told her we have a hard time getting to a task, she will step in and do it.  She has never once been in my space, and I've never felt like she was in my way.

That having 5 or 6 extra bodies around was bound to cause some stress was not news to either one of us.  But she now feels she has overstayed her welcome, even though we had initially agreed that a month was a reasonable time frame.  I didn't...and still don't feel she's stayed too long.  I realize now that I was worried because it didn't seem like she was getting closer making the next step.   I know she wanted me to tell her if I had any issues with her, but I didn't want to pressure her when I knew she was already dealing with so much.  My brother in law arriving was a catalyst moment, and it took a few days for them to evaluate their situation and make some decisions.  My whiny post came in the middle of that process. If I could have just kept my mouth shut for a few days, things would have been better.

 Now she's planning to leave, and even though she reassures me that it's not because of my blog, and even though we knew it was getting to be time that something needed to happen, that last thing I wanted was for it to happen like this, and I feel like I've totally blown it.

I wanted to be here to support her and help her out.  I knew she was considering some tremendous life changes, and I wanted to make it easier for her if I could.  I love her, and I like being with her, and I loved having her meet my friends, and enjoyed tremendously the idea that she could make a life up here, and connect with some of the great people I've been fortunate enough to get to know.  The last thing I ever wanted was to make her feel like she wasn't wanted.

See, I knew I was about to #%&@ something up.  I predicted it in my last post. I sure didn't expect it to be this.

I'm Tired & Whiny

I've had 11 (now 12, because my Brother in Law Ross has just arrived) extra bodies in my home for 22 days now.  I've been taking my kids to Chinese Dance, Summer Camp, Soccer Camp, Park Days, Sleepovers, and Play Days all summer.  I've been hosting weekly 4H meetings and frantically trying to get the kids ready for fair without really even knowing what I'm doing.  I've been trying to coordinate meals with people who are particular about what they eat, but who won't tell you in advance not to cook for them, or offer to cook separately for themselves.  My husband is either out of town or working like a dog in this heat, and so is usually rather grumpy, especially when I bring up the dreaded remodel projects still left to be done.

I'm watching my new home get "broken in" at an awesome rate because of the wear and tear of this many bodies in the house.  Frequent juice spills (my family doesn't drink much juice, but my guests do)  have invited ant invaders into my home for the first time in 12 years.  Even with my sister helping out a lot with the cleaning and some with the cooking, I'm spending much of my "spare" time trying to keep the clutter and dishes under control.  Clint is panicking at the numerous scratches and water spills occuring on the hardwood floor he worked so hard on. 

My 22 year old nephew is very careful not to contribute to the messes in any way, and works hard at staying out of the way, but doesn't seem to understand the concept of offering to help out with stuff in exchange for a free place to stay.  He will help if asked, but that is all.  Ditto with my teenage neice.  They are nice kids, but obviously weren't trained in the "Everyone who lives here must contribute something" theory of family life (this is what I tell my kids...it doesn't matter if you haven't contributed to the mess, if you are living in the house and enjoying the roof over your head, the computer, TV, and air conditioner, then you should be doing something substantial in exchange). 

My sister takes her whole family out of the house from time to time, to give me space, but it just makes me feel worse.  I look around the blessedly silent house and urgently want to clean and straighten and put eveything to rights and get my life back on track...but I know I can't, because it's not over.

Right before my sister & family came, my dad was here for 10 days.  My mom is planning to come visit soon.  Why would she not consider postponing her trip and givng me a break from visitors?  I have NO idea.

I'm not making it to the club anymore.  I can't find time to work out.  I'm not going to be able to finish this month's book group book because I'm only getting through about 10 pages a night before I pass out.  I don't get to read with the girls anymore because one of them  is always away at some activity, and because with their 7 1/2 year old cousin here they are having such an awesome time playing that they can't be bothered with stories.  But I miss it. 

Scheduling several summer activities didn't seem like a bad idea at the time.  We took the whole school year off; except for girl scouts and homeschooling we had no regular activities.  So a few short term summer classes seemed like a great idea.  Somehow, enough unexpected events have occured to completely overcrowd my life. It would be unfair to say it's just the visitors.  I would be overscheduled right now even without visitors. 

But it's hard not knowing how long they will be staying, knowing that they can't really leave because they have no home to go to.  What if they can't find a place for a long time?  They have very specific needs, and aren't receptive to the idea of finding a less than suitable place temporarily until the "right" place comes along.  While I can understand the hassle of moving twice, how long will we all be living under one roof? 

I think my sister was planning to stay a month.  But she isn't even close to finding the "right" place, and her husband just got here and still needs to look for work.  How can all that happen in one week?  

I'm sure I just need to develop the right attitude.  It's an excellent opportunity to practice Buddhist mindfullness and acceptance.  I should be proud that I have come so far that I can manage such a busy life and not fall apart, which is what I would have done five years ago. 

I'm just so tired. Not in body, but in mind.  My mind feels so crowded, I know I am going to start slipping.  I don't know what I will forget, or screw up, but it will be something.  Soon.

Busy Days

I WILL post to my blog soon! I need to learn to blog those short clever posts the way some of my fellow bloggers do! Maybe then I would post more often. Every day is so hectic lately, I hardly know which end is up. Still, I seem to find time to comment on everyone else's blog. What does that mean?

The Fellowship of the Ring

Shelby just finished reading Fellowship of the Ring, and wanted to watch the movie. So all the kids watched the movie, even Gillian and Tamzin. And NO bad dreams! Hooray! We've had lots of struggles with Gillian and scary dudes in movies, but she loved it and can't wait to watch The Two Towers.

Sisters are great

I like having my sister here. It's fun to be able to visit. Having eleven people living in one house is not without it's challenges, but the sister part is awesome. Especially since we agree on lots of stuff, like homeschooling. It would be tough if we didn't! Gillian is having the time of her life playing with her 7 1/2 year old cousin. He's active and rambunctious, like her, so they stay really busy together. And Tamzin plays along too, so they're a constantly occupied threesome. I always feel like I'm succeeding as a parent when my kids can play and have fun non stop from morning to night!

The Barbeque

I finally got to have a barbeque! I love having a few friends over for a relaxing evening of food, wine and conversation. Many thanks to my friends old and new for coming over and spending the evening with us. My kids had an outstanding time, and are wondering when we're going to do it again.

I think I need practice to be a better hostess, though. I felt like I was running to check on one thing or another just a bit too much. In fact, the party sort of ended and everyone started getting ready to leave while I was in the middle of figuring out why Rhiannon and Lisa were locked in my bedroom, playing in my closet! I think do better at birthday parties, where everything is prepared in advance. But Clint says you can't precook the BBQ food. I think I just need more practice!

Quality...or is it quantity...time

Dad's gone to a reunion in Buckley for a couple of days, so I grabbed the kids and headed off to Playground of Dreams to meet a few other homeschoolers. They had a great time playing in the water area, and lounging together with the moms on blankets in the shade. For me it was great to do something with and for the kids, and to have a bit of mental space.

Having visitors makes me feel mentally crowded, even when they are not the kind of visitor who actively gets in your space. So it was nice to unwind and visit with my friends.

Then I took the girls to see Harry Potter. It was very fun, just a little bit scary in a thrilling kind of way. We missed the show we had intended to see, and so spent a couple of hours doing little things in town...Shelby bought Pokemon cards at Toys R Us, I bought Rhiannon some shorts and Tamzin and Gillian summer sandals at Value Village, had a hot dog and frozen yogurt for dinner at Costco...and then we'd killed enough time and headed to our movie!

Today I'm going to take the girls to the Renaissance Faire, because they REALLY want to go. It will cost as much as the movies to get into, but once inside, we don't spend any money, except maybe on a bite to eat. They love the performers. They like to dress up, too.

I won't get the office work or backsplash grout done while my Dad's gone. That's what I'd intended. But hanging out with my kids is more fun anyway.

Dad's in Town

I do have a good excuse for not blogging lately. My dad is here visiting. He arrived last Friday, and will be staying until next Monday. He comes for a visit once or twice a year. He lost his wife, my stepmom, last year to cancer, and he's been lost and lonely ever since.

My dad is a really simple kind of guy. He doesn't have any hobbies, doesn't want to try new things, doesn't have a big social life, doesn't watch TV, doesn't read. His relationship with his wife was perfect because she was a big talker, so he could just sit and listen. When they used to visit together, Wanda and I would visit, and Dad would listen. He used to do minor household repairs for me when he would come to visit, and keep busy that way, but now his back hurts, so he doesn't.

So when Dad visits, mostly he just sits there. I've learned to just go about my daily stuff, but it's hard, because not much of what I do every day involves sitting, and he won't follow me around to keep me company, and it's pretty frustrating to make time to sit there with him and do nothing. I do find little projects to work on while I am sitting with him, but still, I can only sit there so long!

Plus, having a visitor means having to cook nice meals, instead of the thrown together quickies that are so common around here. We even had a little tiff about it. After three nights of big meals, I served a leftover buffet. We had SO MUCH FOOD! The kids like it because they get to eat their choice, and it keeps the fridge from exploding. But Dad wouldn't eat. He thinks he can get away with not eating because the food isn't set out formally on the table. Dad is a big beer drinker, and doesn't eat much. He probably only eats dinner with us most nights out of politeness.

Dad is not a big talker. In fact, he won't say anthing at all unless someone else says something to draw hims out. Normally I bend over backwards finding lots of little things to talk about. He will jump in and comment if I can find something to say of interest to him. Sometimes he'll even tell a story or two of his own. He's not comepletely unwilling to talk, just not interested in initiating conversation. In a strange twist of fate, I developed laryngitis Friday right before he arrived, so it's been a struggle to say anything at all!

The thing is, I love my Dad, and I'm glad he visits. I just wish it could be easier.

Poor Puppy

Poor Munchkin was spayed yesterday. I feel so guilty! She looks like she's been through hell, obviously feels rotten, and it's all my fault. When we first got her we had contemplated letting her have a few litters. I was seeing dollar signs, I admit it. $400 per puppy would be pretty cool. But, I'm not willing to go through all the work to get to that point, and I hated dealing with her first "heat". Yuch.

We've had a number of pets before this, and always had them spayed, and I never felt as concerned and guilty as I do this time. I don't remember them having any difficulty recovering. Maybe that was before I'd been through having a child go through a surgery ad difficult recovery period.

I think Munchkin's mad at me. She knows I'm responsible for how rotten she feels.

She won't drink any water at all. The vet said to allow water avery few hours as long as she can keep it down, but should I force her to drink if she refuses?

Summer Barbeque

The Girl Scout Cookout was so much fun, I think I should have a Summer Barbeque. I've been wanting to have a party and clebrate my new home addition for ages. I'm thinking the July 4th weekend, but maybe people are out of town for the holiday?

We can drink wine and play music and eat yummy snacks, and have a whole separate room set up for the kids so they can have a party, too! It would be really cool to have a theme. Me and the girls thought of doing a Midsummer Night's Eve Party, and had all kinds of great ideas, but I don't think I can pull something together that fast.

The kids love throwing themed parties. I think it's because they like to decorate. And do crafts. And make deserts. I wouldn't let them do birthday parties this year because they wore me out on themed parties last year. But to my suprise, the alternatives to a party ended up being no easier than giving a party would have been. So now they're really eager to plan something. Maybe I should let THEM pick a theme, and just let them run with it and see where we end up!

Books and More Books

I finished reading Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons for my book group yesterday. It was pretty good. What a relief to have a light read after Uncle Tom's Cabin and Cry the Beloved Country. Those were both great reads, but far more time consuming and thought provoking. I really loved Uncle Tom's Cabin.

One of my lifetime goals is to read as many classics as I can. I like the way they make me think about things. But it's also nice to take a break now and then too, and just read something entertaining. This morning I started reading Speak, a teen novel about a girl who is ostracized during her freshman year of high school for calling the cops on a summer party. It was so compelling I couldn't put it down. I finished it in one sitting. I'm thinking kids books might be an even better way to have a light read than trashy romantic novels. You can read one in a day, but they have real substance. I would call Speak a teen classic. Definitely worth reading.

The girls and I just finished reading The Moorchild, about a changeling trying to fit into village life. A good fantasy story with a relevant point about the perils of being different. We all liked it. One day I read aloud for over two hours because we were all so eager to find out what was going to happen.

Now we've started Great Expectations. The first few chapters have us laughing hilariously. Dickens is a master of caricature. His character are so exaggerated and bizarre, and funny! I hope the rest of the book will keep them this engaged.

I'm not sure what to pick up now...

Yardwork

There's nothing like having company over to get me to work on a project.

Our yard has been a weed infested, thigh high jungle all spring. With the Girl Scout Cookout looming on Sunday, I got my butt out in the yard and spend three days weed whacking. I ordered the new gas tank Clint needed to the lawn mower, and it got here in only three days, so he was able to mow the open areas. The yard is still substandard. Lots of bare dirt covered with holes, large stretches of weeds, no real landscaping of any kind. But it doesn't look too bad when it's all trimmed to a nice, traversable level.

So I'm happy.

The Big Fish

Here's Clint after Day Two of the tournament with his big fish of the day. (To win, you have to have the largest total weight of all fish caught over the three day tournament, with a limit of 5 fish per day). Clint weighed over 50 pounds for the three days.

Notice I've finally added photos to my blog!

And the Winner is...

The big news is Clint WON the tournament!!! Wooohooo! Uh-huh, do a happy dance!!!

Obviously I've become too jaded, because when he called the night before the final tournament day to tell me he was in first place, I couldn't let myself get excited about it. It's too easy to drop from first place to tenth place. But, no, my awesome studly husband brought in the biggest bag of fish two days in a row, and won the whole enchilada! He's a happy guy right about now. He's won his share of tournaments, but never one with a prize of this size. The prize? A bass boat, valued at $35000, and a check for $11,100. Hooray! I can pay all my overdue bills! He says he's going to sell the boat since we need the money (bless his practical little heart). Of course, we'll be lucky to get $25000 for it. But who's complaining. I might even be able to pay off a couple of credit cards.

On the Other Hand...

Mary Ellen was right. I have been wanting to go to Playground of Dreams. The kids want to see the new improved equipment. Maybe if others were going I could be convinced to abandon my hemit status for an afternoon of parkside socializing...

Being a Hermit & Loving It

Clint is off to a California tournament for 10 days. He left Friday. You might think I would want to kick up my heels and party while he's gone. Or attack long neglected projects with gusto. Or at least get together with my friends as much as possible. No, I've been happily nestled at home doing nothing. Well, not really nothing, but nothing that "counts". Reading. Making real breakfasts for my kids instead of bagels. Cleaning up each mess as it happens, instead of waiting until it's challenging. Taking my preteens to see 13 Going On 30 (ok, we left the house for that one!). Running. Reading an awesome book to the kids; we can hardly put it down (Among the Hidden). Pondering what I'm supposed to be doing with my life (this because we're so broke we're thinking I need to get a job to make ends meet). Making cheesecake and devouring it with my kids. Cuddling with Tamzin 'cause she's sleeping in my bed while Clint's gone (to keep me company). Having a family tea party with real china cups and teapot because Tamzin wanted to.

There are tons of things I should be doing. Painting those #%@ doors. Weedwhacking the devil cheatgrass in my yard that enters my house with every step, and threatens to destroy my new carpet! I'm feeling a little guilty that while I expect Clint to work eveyr available weekend on the house projects, I haven't started one myself since we finished grouting the tile.

But, I'm going to do my best to keep guilt at bay and enjoy every moment of my laziness. I'll be over it soon enough, and off on another round of endless "to dos".

Pollution's No Joke

We lost four fish to hardwood floor finish fumes. When I got home from the cabin, I noticed the water looking cloudy. When I asked Clint about it, he said he had changed the tank water, a task long overdue. I figured the cloudiness was because the water hadn't settled from the change. Next morning Shelby found four floaters in a tank of opaque water. Turns out Clint changed the tank before the finish went on. The poor things were gasping for air in flthy contaminated water. What a way to die (sob). Could I be partly responsible, too, since I've secretly been wishing all my fish would die so I wouldn't have to clean the tank anymore?

The Recital

Shelby and Rhiannon had their Spring Piano Recital Monday evening. We got home from the cabin with just enough time to shower, primp and go. I'm glad they care enough about making a good impression to want to dress up for it. There were a few kids wearing their grubbiest jeans...Somehow it seems to diminish the significance of honoring their accomplishments if you treat it like any other day.

They were both great! I was so proud of them! It's so hard to get up in front of a bunch of people all by yourself to perform. I'm so impressed with their ability after just two seasons of lessons. They both got awards too, which i know is so exciting for them, although they later asked me to explain what Best Rookie and Most Improved really mean, prompting a whole conversation about who got awards, why, and why I'm not sure such rewards are even a good idea! After all, Shelby wasn't REALLY a rookie, and Rhiannon has progressed very steadily since starting lessons, and didn't REALLY experience a huge "improvement", but a steadily increasing level of ability. There were four awards for 25 kids. I think the teacher just wanted to recognize them. But even they say they probably won't get awards next year, because they think the teacher will want to recognize someone else. I think they're right.

I love listening to all the kids play their pieces. The young ones with their simple pieces, the experienced ones who play eight page songs, even the ones who struggle and make lots of mistakes...They all deserve credit for making the effort! Most of all, I'm thrilled that Shelby and Rhiannon chose music lessons on their own, and are sticking with it not because I make them, but because they want to (OK, I do remind them to practice, I admit it).

Into the Woods

The girls and I were exiled to the cabin this weekend. Clint (and some hardwood floor guys he found to help him) sealed and finished the hardwood floor, and we were told we couldn't be here for a couple of days because of the toxic fumes.

Things were nice up in the woods. Very green, wet and rainy off and on, but not wet enough to keep us from taking walks and picking lupines. The girls gravitate to the creek, where they love rock hopping and exploring on the shore. Rhiannon was convinced that the opposite bank was much more attractive, and that we would have a much better time if only we could get to the other side. In mid-summer, you can cross the creek on rocks and logs, but right now the snow melt creates a raging torrent...not a good time to be attempting to cross the creek. Of course, she became so fixated on crossing the creek that she couldn't stop talking about it, and eventually made me grumpy! I wish I could trust them to be sensible, so I could just say "Go down to the creek and play". Instead, we all go together, so I can hover and warn them when they're getting too daring.

I was too worried about lunatics and robbers coming to get us, and was so careful about keeping the cabin locked tight at night that I locked us out of the cabin on one of our walks! I feel very secure now, knowing that the cabin is JUST ABOUT IMPOSSIBLE to break into! I was ready to break a window when the Ed, the guy who runs the little store, came and showed me how to take the hinges off the back door, and we were in. Very useful skill, that. I'm going to carry a hammer and screwdriver in my car from now on!

Meanwhile, back at home, Clint planned to sleep in the garage, but I convinced him that was silly whe my bother has a futon couch, so he went to my brothers and fell asleep sitting up on the couch because it was his bed for the night and the guys who were hanging out there that evening were all sitting on it! He spent the second night in his truck. Said he was more comfortable (it's like his home away from home, since he sleeps in his truck when he goes to tournaments).

Coming home was like Christmas morning. I walked in to see this incredibly beautiful floor, shiny, golden, and gleaming! We don't need to watch TV anymore. We like to just sit on the steps and admire the floor. It's corny, but it's so great to see such a beautiful result from all our(really Clint's) efforts. We'll get to enjoy looking at the floor a lot, since we have no furniture to put there anyway.

New rule of the house: No shoes in the house. Might as well preserve the floor as long as we can.

A Gap Toothed Smile

Clint is now back to normal. Thank goodness. They took out the stitches yesterday and said he's healing well. He can now smile normally, and when he does, he flashes the great big gap in his teeth. He says he looks like a true Benton City-ite now. He's trying very hard to be cool about it, but I know it hurts his ego to have a flaw in his normally handsome exterior!

Happy Mother's Day

I'm so lucky to be a Mom! Shelby cooked French toast for me for breakfast (and cleaned up after, too!). Rhiannon made me a Shrinky Dink bookmark. Gillian made me a Shrinky Dink card. My brother brought me a beautiful bouquet of multi colored roses, and my husband sweated all day sanding the new hardwood floor. Then, after finding out we'd overdrawn the checking account, are broke, and have essentially been living beyond our means for the last 5 months, we went out to dinner at Mongolian Buffet.

Too much time?

Do I have too much time on my hands? Or am I avoiding accomplishing something substantial? After the incredible high of finishing the long incomplete office file purge, I went on to tidy up every drawer and shelf in the office.

Then, I started working up a project history spreadsheet and a master builder reference spreadsheet...on a whim. I figured it would come in handy to have this information at my fingertips, on one document, instead of searching through files now boxed in the garage for project or contractor information. (This is how I spent the day that my list was missing). Of course, now THIS project is incomplete, so I will have to add IT to my "to do" list.

Then yesterday, I cleaned my closet. My closet has become the new receptacle for things that have no home. My office used to serve this function, but with the files and drawers so clean, I didn't want to "defile" the space. My closet, on the other hand, is so huge I've been able to dump stuff in there for a while before even noticing that there was a large quantity of STUFF in there with no home. So, instead of painting doors, or sanding floors, or painting bathrooms, or cooking real meals, I cleaned my closet yesterday. I even went through all my little boxes of miscellaneous stuff and got rid of various strange things I have been saving over the years. Of course, it's not going to the good will. Now my kids have these items. For them, my closet is a Mecca of neat stuff. Glass pigs, empty perfume bottles(saved for scenting drawers), cool scarves and evening bags from my retail buyer days, miniature dishes from Mexico, dice, shells, dried roses, sachets... And I'm still saving some of it because I'm an incurable romantic and I love the nostalgic feeling I get from perusing the pieces of my former lives.

I'm a Lousy Nurse

After 9 days of constant whining, I couldn't take it anymore. I couldn't keep asking my poor suffering husband to tell my how he was feeling. I couldn't keep pretending to be concerned about the numerous detailed aches and pains that have overtaken his entire existence since his dental surgery last week. I thought if I just kept being concerned, and interested, that he would eventually have had enough of whining and complaining. Like the theory about letting your kids eat all the sugar they want and they will eventually get tired of it? Well, he wasn't getting tired of it. In fact, the more I listened, the worse it got.

Understand that Clint is always talking about some malady. He's tired, or he has an upset stomach, or his knees are hurting, or his elbow is hurting, or his head is aching...It's always something. The thing is, usually I don't say much, because what am I supposed to say? I murmur something sympathetic, and then change the subject or go do something else, because in my view there's no point in dwelling on minor ailments. It's boring, pointless and a waste of time. But with his dental surgery, I thought I should make an effort and be really supportive, because it was pretty obvious that it was an awful deal. But I had no idea what I would be in for. Even when Gillian shattered her thumb and had surgery and pins she didn't complain like Clint has this past week.

Not only does he complain all the time, but he's constantly grumpy, and closets himself in the bedroom with the TV when he's home. I guess he feels he's too ill to give his kids any attention? So, finally I got irritated and told him what I thought. Told him I'd tried my best to be patient, but that I thought he needed to attempt to rise above this bummer mood and move forward, for all our sakes. He was pretty mad. Felt I was ungrateful, since he'd been doing hardwood flooring in spite of his suffering(for two days of the nine. He also fished two days, too.)

The next day, he was almost normal. Told me he quit taking the antibiotics, and felt much better. Said he thinks the antibiotics were making him feel ill. Then he left for a tournament. The question is, was he feeling better because he was getting better? Or because I quit coddling him? Or because I called him on his whiny behavior? Or because he quit taking antibiotics? Or because he got to go fishing?

Girl Scout Cooking

Sometimes being a Girl Scout leader is a drag. Like when I'm overwhelmed and don't feel like I have time to deal with all the details. Other times, it's awesome!!!

Yesterday, we had a GREAT Girl Scout meeting. Rhiannon wanted to work on a cooking badge, I've been interested in teaching the girls about outdoor cooking, so we decided to combine the two ideas, and it came out great!

The girls had lots of fun creating no bake yogurt berry pies, complete with decorations. Then they went to town with all kinds of creative smoothie concoctions. I wasn't sure they would be interested in inventing their own egg recipes, or that they would want to eat anymore after the smoothies and pies, but they were game to give it a try!. Each girl came up with a unique idea for cooking an egg, and then they learned how to use a camp stove to cook their creations! I was most impressed that the girls were willing to light the stove, as it can be unsettling the first few times.

Sometimes I worry that our troop is too small, but having fewer kids made this a fun and intimate activity, with every child getting a chance to create something special.

Finishing a Task

I've FINISHED cleaning the files!!!! Wow. I"m in shock. Progress on this project was so slow I was practically going backwards. I've gotten rid of so much paper! Now business paperwork for years 2000-2003 is neatly boxed and stored in the garage for the day the IRS decides to audit me.

The TOP of my desk is still a mess, but I could find anything in my files now. It's so clean, I'm thinking about printing out neat little labels for the file folders and the drawers!

Now, on to the next major project. But wait, I've lost my list. What am I supposed to be doing???!!!

Chelee's Hand Me Downs Rock!!!

I'm so lucky to be on Chelee's donation list! She just passed down a very comfy recliner to me! Chelee's furniture rejects find good homes with me! The girls pointed out we now own three comfy chairs provided by Chelee! Hooray! Maybe someday soon my entire family will be able to sit together in the same living space without someone sitting on the floor!

Dental Surgery Sucks

Clint had oral surgery Wednesday. Talk about trauma. This guy hates bodily invasion of any kind. He won't go to the Doctor or Dentist unless he absolutely has to. This time was one of those. He has a prosthetic front tooth that had come loose, and he went in to get it recommended. Instead, they found a crack in the root that was causing infection, and said the root would have to be removed and replaced with a steel implant set into his jawbone, which will then have to heal for 6 months before they can put in a new tooth. So this was step one, removal of the root and installation of the implant. They did icky things like cut a piece of the roof of his mouth off to use as a cover over the site of the root removal.

Poor guy. His gums, mouth, teeth, sinuses, and head all hurt. The dentist said everyone was different, and he could not say whether Clint would be able to work the next day. After half a day in bed, he tried going fishing, figuring it was less taxing that work, and came home sicker than ever with a thumping headache. Today he tried working, same thing happened. He can't eat much, can't smile. I can't believe the surgeon did not prepare him better for how out of commission he was going to be. Clint hates the fact that he's gets to pay $3000 for the privilege of receiving this torture.

Garden's Done

We finished planting our tomatos and herbs today. It looks wonderful. It's satisfying to see the results of our efforts in a neat, well tended bed.

Gardening

I've been avoiding my yard for a year now. Ever since I watched the bobcat destroy the plantings I spent years nurturing. The plantings that were finally lush and mature. The backhoe chewed up the lawn, leaving pocked and pitted ground everywhere. It's pointless to even throw out grass seed when the ground is so rough. Oh, and the backhoe destroyed the UG sprinklers Clint finally installed after years of hand watering, moving hoses, and watching my plants die from the heat. So what would be the point in planting anything new, when I will be practically hauling buckets by hand to get it all watered?!

I used to spend hours and hours out in the yard, fighting the weeds, struggling to realize this vision I had of a lush and inviting landscape. Now it looks like an armpit. So, I try not to go outside unless it's to get in the car and go someplace else.

But something in the weather made me feel hopeful again. I decided maybe I could just try something small. Just a little corner for some herbs and tomato plants (I had herbs, lots of them. Sigh.) I bought 4 tomato plants, 20 herbs(I love fresh herbs, and they're so forgiving of heat and drought, too), and enough annuals for the girls to fill a couple of pots each, as a kind of belated Earth Day project. They love gardening. At least the planting part.

After helping the girls plant their pots, we went to work on my little herb garden. I immediately lost two helpers. Gillian and Tamzin dug out the little plastic kiddie pool so they could play in the water. I helped them find soap and scrub brushes to get it cleaned up after a winter in storage, then went back to digging my little garden.

Envision my yard as 1/3 of an acre of bare dirt, knee high weeds, and construction rubble. And here I am, trying to prep a 4 foot square section for beautification. And it takes FOREVER because there is devil grass EVERYWHERE, and it has to be hoed, hacked, dug, and clawed out of the ground. It' s exhausting. Gardening is hard work. I'm ages away from the fun part, at this point. So it's no surprise that I lost a third helper. After hauling a couple of loads of rocks in the wagon Rhiannon went to play on the tramp.

Shelby and I kept plugging away. Shelby's been asking to plant a vegetable garden for ages. I just didn't know where to put it. It got so hot we finally had to quit. Maybe today we can finish digging devil grass and put our babies in the ground. Then we just have to figure out how we're going to water them.

Laying Hardwood

Our latest remodel project is laying our wood floors (yipee!!) Not having flooring has been my primary excuse for not having a big housewarming bash. (something I'm hoping to do very soon!)

It took us forever to decide between hardwood and laminate flooring. Well, it took Clint forever to decide(He wanted tile, but he's not the one who has to stand on it for hours every day. No thank you!) I would LOVE hardwood, but voted for laminate because it's cheaper and easier to install. I figure I've used up my "honey-do"s for the next decade or so, and didn't have the heart to insist on something so pricey and TOUGH to do. But, in the end, my terrific hubby decided only the real thing would do, even if he has to work like a dog to install it.

So we've been installing hardwood for the last two weeks. It goes very slowly, since the boards are only 2 1/2 inches wide, and each one has to be pounded in with a mallet. I'm the assistant, in charge of laying paper, stocking boards, and keeping the area cleaned up. It's a wimpy job; I spend too much time standing around. I know Clint thinks I'm helping, since he doesn't have to deal with laying out the boards, but I'd feel more helpful if I could actually hammer the boards in. I did try, but apparently I'm just too weak! Clint thinks he's turning into Thor with all the slegdehammering he's doing driving those nails in.

Now if we can just finish and get a sealer on it before we spill something on it and ruin it forever. We're working on it about 3 hours each evening, but sometimes get bogged down on small but essential details. Last night it took Clint all evening to develop a plan for the grade change that will happen between the entry tiles and the wood floor. He cut, planed, and sanded a transitional piece that will work perfectly. Tonight we should be able to make huge progress now that this hurdle is behind us!

Quarantined!

I've got a houseful of sick kids! After almost a week of off and on sore throats and stuffy noses(I thought it was hay fever), Shelby and Gillian developed a full blown fever, aches, ear pain and swolen glands illness. Tamzin has it too, minus the fever and aches. Shelby and Gillian spent most of the day in bed.

We have our share of colds, but rarely does it hit this hard. Today they are up and about, but still weak and congested. I'm concerned about keeping the congestion down so that ear or chest infections don't develop. I don't usually worry about that kind of thing, but this virus looks like it's not going to give up without a fight.

Rhiannon is happy as a clam that she's not also sick. Normally she gets every illness we are exposed to, and is the one who is the most ill. I think she may have already had it, since she had a cold over Easter weekend.

At least it's happening all at once, instead of one child at a time.

Cougars & Hunters & Bears, Oh my!

For the first time, we had Easter somewhere other than here at home. I'm so glad we got to egg hunt somewhere other than our own backyard, which looks like a cross between Lil Abner's dogpatch and a construction site. We hid 205 eggs in the woods around the cabin...it was very fun hunting those eggs! Hiding places are much different in the woods than they are here in shrub-steppe land!

We went on several hikes while we were there. That's always the highlight of trips to the cabin...wandering around in the woods. We saw plenty of evidence of deer and elk. We even came across an elk carcass. At the time we supposed it had been hit by a car and dragged itself off, only to be later scavenged by coyotes (the carcass was in pieces). But Clint later discovered from the local store owner that there are two cougars thought to have dens in the immediate vicinity. Kind of made my blood run cold to think we were just downwind of a cougar den...and the remnants of a previous kill. Apparently the forestry service is "watching" the den.

Then we had a bit of excitement when Rhiannon and Tamzin came back screaming from a walk just a short distance from the cabin with reports of having sighted a bear. Only Rhiannon saw it, but when she said "Look, a bear!" Tamzin turned and ran pell mell back to the cabin, screaming all the way. Clint and his brother went immediately to investigate, but were unable to find any trace of a bear. However, they took the precaution of taking all the cabin's garbage down to the disposal station in the nearest town, just in case the smell had been attracting visitors.

Why did the cabin have so much pungent garbage, you ask? Apparently the power went out, and had been out for perhaps a week or more before our arrival. Fortunately, they were able to get the lines repaired by that evening. So my father-in-law and brother-in-law, as first to arrive at the cabin, got to clean two fridge/freezers of all the yucky spoiled frozen fish, shrimp, meat, and other spoiled foods that were co-mingling in a smelly "soup". This was all tossed into garbage bags and left in the garage (we always cart the garbage away with us when we leave).

Papa Jo and Uncle Rob left the cabin four meals earlier than planned. So, I , as cook and menu planner for this weekend, had WAY TOO MUCH FOOD. Clint's male relatives can put away a lot of food. No bagel breakfasts for these boys. Every meal has to have at least 4 items, and it all has to be substantial. We're still eating food I had planned for the cabin. And, I couldn't leave any there. Had to bring it all home again, since Clint was worried the power would go out again.

This year I made an Easter Basket for Clint. I've never done that before. I'd forgotten how fun it could be to do mushy romantic things for your hubby. Clint hasn't a romantic bone in his body. Well, maybe he does, but his idea of romance is very...primitive. So, I gave up doing romantic things for him long ago, because I decided he just couldn't appreciate it. I'm not sure what inspired me to do the basket, but it was fun. We've been getting along so well these days, I guess I just couldn't resist doing something special. I filled it with treats I know he likes...sunflower seeds, beef jerkey, cashew nuts, potato chips, and trail mix with lots of tropical dried fruits. And he so didn't expect it that the girls had to point out to him that the basket sitting untouched at his spot was for HIM! He didn't say much about it, but I think he liked it, because he's eating all the goodies...Maybe it's true what they say about the way to a man's heart.

And what about the hunter? Well, my brother Chris and I took a hike together Easter morning while the girls played with their Easter stuff and Clint napped. It was a bit creepy, I'll admit, going hiking with the thought of a bear and two cougars lurking about. But we pushed onward at a fast clip, looking for an old log bridge we had hiked to once before. We were surprised to come upon an old man with two kids, all with rifles slung over their shoulders. Apparently they had been target practicing in the woods a short distance from the road.

Chris and I agreed, as we continued our hike, that the "hunters" frightened us far more than the possibility of cougars or bears. We walked loudly, though, to give wild things plenty of opportunity to run away...just in case.

Fit at 40

My goal was to lose 15 pounds and get into shape for my 40th birthday. I know this sounds dumb, but I thought I wouldn't mind wearing a Bikini one more year. I had almost reached my goal when the dread Easter weekend hit. Way too much food, way too many sweets, way too many leftovers. So I'm back to where I was two months ago...7 pounds from my goal weight and definitely not of the right shape to wear a bikini. Of course, no diet can give me breasts, something I have very little of, partly due to genetics, partly due to age, partly due to nursing more or less continuously for 10 years of my life.

On the bright side, I'm definitely fit! I'm running 4 to 5 miles three times a week, working out with weights, and feeling strong. And while the Easter weekend (and since then) has been very junky, in general I'm eating much better than before. Baby steps...

Where have I been?

I can't believe its been almost three weeks since I've posted to my Blog. Honestly, I just haven't had anything to say. I've been busy, but somehow everything I've been doing seems to boring to post!

Bar Stools

My newest purchase is a set of four bar stools for the kitchen. They are wrought iron(or wrought iron looking) with a wooden backrest and a moss green padded seat. SOOOO much more comfortable than an unpadded, backless stool! I know I should learn how to add photos so I could show you all, but it's not going to happen today. Anyway, now I can have people over and we can lounge around the bar in comfort. I think it's time to have a bash. A barstool warming, or something?

Remodeling

Clint is such a stud! Last weekend he built these awesome post/columns in the front entry. This weekend he built a back deck. How cool it is to have a builder for a husband! Now we don't have to use scaffold ramps to get to the doorways! And there is room outside my mud room door for people to take their shoes off before they come in the house. Hooray!!!

Clint looked mighty fine framing in the sunshine with no shirt on. Lusting after your husband is a great feeling...

Poor Munchkin

Munchkin (our 9 month old Miniature Schnauzer) is not herself. She could barely get around yesterday. It's as if she's in a daze. Then I remembered she was vaccinated on Saturday. Could she be having a reaction to the vaccine? Why do I vaccinate my dog when I don't vaccinate my children? I did think about it prior to getting it done, but I've heard such nasty stories about rabies, parvo, and distemper. She's feeling so rotten, she's not even barking:(

I Overdid It

Ok. Running 4 miles after a 4 month break was a really bad idea. I hurt in all kinds of places, some of them quite surprising. Like my shoulders. Who knew your shoulders were involved when you're running?! I think I'll cut back by a mile or so. After I recover.

Fair Season

The girls created a fair this weekend. Complete with rides and games. Attendees had to buy tokens to play the games, and earned tickets toward prizes. When they had enough tickets, they could choose a prize from the prize table. I won a matted print of a wild animal. Very cool.

Running

I've been so good about going to the club 3 times a week, but I'm not getting the results I wanted, and it takes up so much time, so I decided I need to start running again. I decided this two weeks ago, but each morning I managed to talk myself out of going. Too cold, too windy, too late in the day, I'm great at coming up with excuses.

Today, I finally did it! And I was able to run as far as I'd been running when I stopped last fall (just a lot slower!). I'm very excited. It's a great way to start the day. It must be the endorphins or something, because I'm in such a great mood now, it's not normal. Yes, as much as I hate to admit it, my normal personality seems to list to the slightly negative side, at least at home with my family. But I'm working on it.

Procrastinating

I hate those jobs I need to get around to doing, but really don't want to do. You know, the kind you keep putting it off?

I need to clean out my file drawers. I've needed to do it for about 2 years now. Sure, every now and then I throw away stuff that I come across that I wonder why I ever saved. But a lot of my saved paperwork is business or tax stuff. I used to box it up at the end of each year and stick it in the garage in case we ever got audited. But the last couple of years I've just been procrastinating! Now my file drawer is so crammed I can't get to stuff easily. I need to purge the old files!

But I don't want to! I want to scrapbook, or read a book, or blog, or bake something yummy, or start working on my disaster of a yard! Sigh.

Jack's Back

We're getting into the swing of this babysitting thing. Today Rhiannon is taking a turn babysitting Jack. Linda needed a babysitter for an extra day, and Shelby didn't want to do three days in one week, so Rhiannon offered.

Shelby had him for two days last week. She already has $100 that she wants to put in the bank. We took Jack to the park with us on Friday. As we get used to having an extra child, it gets easier to just continue with life as normal. And I'm so glad the girls can earn some money!

Spring Cleaning

Yesterday the girls and I cleaned the house. Not just a quick scrub and vacuum, but wiping down cupboards, dusting light fixtures, de-cobwebbing the ceilings, and even cleaning the fridge(ok, that wasn't planned, but the spilled milk and root beer was so gross I had no choice!).

I LOVE a clean house. Especially now, with the sunny weather, we can open the windows and let the fresh air in, and it's so bright, and airy, and uncluttered. It just feels good to be here, and that makes me want to do fun stuff. So today, I can play!!! Yipee!

Scrapbooking, or Why I haven't been Blogging, Part 2

Somewhere along the line I became taken with the idea of having all our family memories preserved in beautiful albums that are a joy to look through. When I was a child, my sisters and I frequently pulled out the family albums to reminisce about fun times; maybe that's why I value the concept.

I had always kept my photos in albums (you know, the cheap ones with sticky pages & magnetic plastic). Then, about 6 years ago I found out about scrapbooking. I was drawn to the idea of not just putting your photos in an album, but cropping and editing them, using only the best parts of the best photos, and adding titles and comments to the pages. It seemed like a great way to preserve those cherished memories.

So I bought a kit at Costco and dove right in. At the time I was a year behind in getting my current photos into albums. I loved the result, and became addicted, as scrapbookers do, to trying the new techniques, embellishments, and do-dads.

I hoped to eventually transfer photos from my old albums, which are now known to deteriorate photos, onto new, beautifully journaled pages. But life was busy. Every time I got "caught up", getting current photos into the album, I would quit scrapbooking for a year, and then have a backlog again.

Eventually, I didn't enjoy scrapbooking anymore; it felt like a task, a chore. I had this unattainable goal I wanted to reach, and it felt like I would never get there. While I was proud of each page I completed, it felt like a drop in the bucket.

This winter, I started scrapbooking at the cabin. There's lots of free time up there, and my wonderful husband was always willing to load 3 storage totes full of stuff into the truck to lug up there and back, even if I didn't get around to working on it. I think it was Clint who convinced me to try scrapbooking up there. He feels bad sometimes that he gets to spend time pursuing his lifelong dream, and I don't have the same opportunity (well, I don't have a lifelong dream, either, just lots of little dreams).

I've continued to scrapbook since returning from the cabin. I've discovered that since the house is bigger now, I can leave my stuff out without it getting in the way. I'm trying to let go of seeing it as an unfinished project. Instead, I'm trying to see it a bit like life. It's an ongoing activity, one that doesn't really have an end. Instead of spending a month each year working on it, I can do it a little at a time, when I have the chance.

I really do enjoy the opportunity to be creative, and I love working with the photos. Maybe someday I will be fast, but for now each page unfolds slowly.

It's a learning experience. Having a project waiting in the corner tempts me to neglect my responsibilities, as does the computer, or a really good book. I have to discipline myself to take care of business before I do the fun stuff. Each day I have to choose which extra thing I can do. Will it be computer? Scrapbook? Remodeling? Taking the girls to an activity? Having to choose is the hardest part.

Blogs and Kids

I know several of us were surprised that my blogging kids were linking to my friend's blogs, and perhaps a little concerned about what they might be reading. As it turns out, only Shelby has had any interest in reading others' blogs. We discussed it, and I decided that I am comfortable with her doing so.

I do not expect others to censor their blogs, nor would I wish them too. I think if some of you would rather Shelby not read her blog, you should let her know; you can trust her to respect your wishes. She and I decided that if she reads a post that seems inappropriate or makes her uncomfortable, she should skip it. I feel that I must trust her to make her own decisions about what she is comfortable reading. She loves being able to blog, and I can't see anything wrong with her hearing the stories of others.

In my opinion, the content I have observed in the blogs I have been reading is always candid, sometimes funny, sometimes sad, sometimes raunchy, sometimes clever and sometimes mildly inappropriate. I think my 9 year old would find it intensely boring. But for my almost 13 year old, perhaps it's a glimpse into a future she sees as not very far off.

It certainly isn't any more questionable than what kids are talking about in middle school. In fact, it's not unlike many of the conversations we have at home, where the kids may possibly be listening.

There are a few things I choose not to put in my own blog. Like not making nasty statements (well, not too nasty, anyway) about people I'm mad at because they may someday read my blog. Like not being too critical of my family because they may read my blog. Like not expressing just how mad I am at my husband sometimes because it makes me sound small and petty ( I wouldn't care if he read it, though!).

But I'm not planning to leave out sexual innuendo (if I ever post any), bad language, adult humor, or general griping and complaining about the happenings in my life. Because that's what makes blogging fun!

Home Improvement or Why I haven't been Blogging Part 1

I convinced my husband that it's time to finish our remodel. We started building an addition last January, and planned to be done in 6 to 9 months. We got a long way, and it looks awesome, but progress ground to a halt in late fall when Clint had several out of state tournaments. Then, work and holidays were the priority, then snowmobiling season and a lengthy family vacation at the cabin...with one thing and another, it's been months now since we've worked on a single remodel project.

Don't get me wrong...It would be great to get out and enjoy the beautiful spring weather, go to the park and enjoy some family outings, but I just want to get this house finished! I feel like I can't move on to any other projects, fun or otherwise, until we get this one done. I feel guilty pressuring Clint to finish; he would be happy to leave it as is indefinitely. But he will begin traveling soon, when fishing season starts, and I will be home alone amongst the unfinished projects, feeling irritated.

So last weekend Clint installed the tile around the new jacuzzi tub, and started to build concrete forms for the front porch. I spackled and sanded the door casings to prep them for painting.

This weekend Clint poured the concrete front porch (I got to help, wearing rubber boots in 10 inches of wet concrete, shoveling and pushing the stuff into place!) Saturday, and Sunday he started to build the front columns that hold up the entry roof. Saturday I grouted the tile after helping with the concrete(Clint helped me grout when he was done with concrete). Sunday I painted eleven door casings.

Clint was amazing. That guy can really build. It's hard not to be impressed with someone who knows what they are doing. And I know I'm so lucky because he can make this beautiful place for us. I'm jealous, too, because his efforts create this big, admirable structure, while my painting project, which kept me working about three hours longer than him, results only in white door casings. It's definitely the worst task I've undertaken since we started the remodel. Boring, time consuming, and not a visible change, yet still necessary. I would have put it off, but we hope to begin installing the wood trim soon, and it would be a nightmare to have to tape off the trim to paint the casings.

Next weekend we are supposed to start either the floor (wood? vinyl? laminate? we don't know) or the wood trim (doors, window sills, and baseboards), but we haven't purchased materials for ether project yet...