Thank God for my Laptop

I finally got my laptop fixed about two weeks ago. Which has been a saving grace, because my basement where my office was is a construction zone! I sure can't wait until my husband gets my office finished.

Then yesterday the unthinkable happened. My main computer crashed. I can't figure it out. I'm afraid it may have been a virus, but I don't know. I don't have a few hundred bucks to have someone come look at it right now. So I guess I'll be living off my laptop for now.

I'll be glad when all this remodel is done too. We still need to put down wood floors in the front room and hall. Then in the basement we need to install our windows to make that room a master bed room, so the oldest can have our old room. Then fix up the family room a bit. Last finish building my office. Then the remodel will be on hold until we can pay off the cards and save the big bucks to build the down stairs bathroom, expand the side of the house for the kitchen and remodel it, and remodel the upstairs bathroom. That's not to mention that we still need a show.

Some days I think we would have been better off buying property and building from scratch. I probably would have spent the same.

Head Wounds Sure can Bleed

We have had one very interesting day!

To start off with my Birthday was yesterday and I spent most of it here in my recliner with a nasty chest cold. I also was up most of the night coughing. So it was out of sheer exhaustion that I slept later than the kids this morning. My husband also wasn't feeling good, but still stayed up till 1:00 in the morning getting the hot water hooked up in its new place.

I finally crawled out of bed this morning, mind you I never do this. When the kids, especially the two year old, gets up I'm up! There is no hitting the snooze button with her. So to say the least I was happy and ready to scream when I got up and walked in to where the kids were.

My oldest had managed to make sure everyone had the biggest possible bowl of cereal. So much for that lasting another week.

Then I walked into the bathroom and wanted to faint. I had forgotten to put the bottle of children's Tylenol back into the medicine cabinet last night. The two year old had managed to climb up on the bathroom counter and got the bottle. She had managed to get it open and drink what was left. I ran for the phone, found the poison control number online and called it. The lady was very sweet. We even got a few laughs out of it. But there was only 1/4 of the bottle in there and she would have had to of drank more than half a bottle to be a real concern. So she just warned me that Jamie may get a tummy ache, but really should be fine. Well the little brat was fine all day.

Then Grandma and Grandpa came over for a visit and to help us out with moving this furnace from the basement to the boys closet, so it gives me more room for my office.

James hollered out the door to call our oldest home from playing with the neighbor girl. He started running home. Suddenly I hear my son screaming at the top of his lungs as he is walking up the porch, and his father is already telling me to get him a rag. So I grab a couple paper towels and run to see what the ruccas is about. Christopher is screaming and blood is dripping down the front of him. James quickly grabbed the paper towels and covered up his head. He didn't let me see it. He just said "He needs stitches. Let's go." Fortunate for us my parents were visiting, so they could watch the two younger ones. It wasn't until we were in the car that I truly got to understand what happened. The neighbors had pruned their trees and the end of one branch caught him just right and sliced the side of his head.

We get to the immediate care and he is still crying and letting out a few screams. Even as they were numbing and cleaning him he would let out whimpers or cry so hard he'd get worked up. The doctor kept asking, "am I hurting you?" Christopher would just tell him no he was just scared because he didn't want to get stitches.

At one point I had to set down. I hadn't eaten lunch yet so I was already shaky, but when I saw them lay back the flap of skin from his scalp to clean it............ It makes my head hurt to even think of it. Eleven stitches later it was finally over and we headed out. On his way out the nurse gave him a sucker. He was fine after that, that was until about an hour ago when the numbness started to wear off. Now his head hurts.

I about had a heart attach when I got the bill. My husband and son were already out in the car when I got done with that. I told James the amount of the bill, and he told Christopher "you better make the most of that sucker. That was a $300 sucker kiddo."

When we got home James jokingly pointed out to Christopher how he had now stained our new front deck. Oh well, the pleasure of having children. They have to leave their mark for you to look back on in old age and remember those moments.

I told James when I got home, "I think we need to put Justin in a bubble. He is the only one that nothing has happened to this weekend." James, Jamie and myself have been sick, Jamie drinks more than recommended dose of children's Tylenol, and Christopher slices his head open on a tree branch. Yikes what a weekend!

Spring!!

I am sitting here right now, looking out my beautiful bay windows my husband built me and enjoying the view. It's raining outside and making the grass grow green. I can't wait for the flowers to bloom. Then again I don't really have any flowers to watch bloom. That's another project.

I got the painting done in my front room yesterday. Now I'm ready to move the furniture out of here and start putting down the wood floor. I can't wait until these projects inside the house are done.

Then the weather should be nice enough for us to move outside and finish the siding, painting, and the yard this summer.

Daddy Did Great

I had nothing to worry about. I had my genealogy conference on Saturday. That same day was try outs for my oldest boy who we've entered into Little League.

The day before I was working to make sure that I had everything for the conference. Then that night I went over everything with my husband that would need to be done that day. Made sure we had directions where he was going. Made sure he was aware that they would need to get around early enough to go buy our son some cleats before going and everything else.

Well Saturday morning I was up at the crack of dawn. Got around, packed up, kissed my husband good bye and reminded him to put the meat I set out to thaw in the fridge later. I'm not sure that he really heard me, but he did take care of it.

So I had a wonderful day at the conference. Learned a lot. Meet a lot of great people and a few who are interested in Heritage Makers. On the drive home I'm wondering what I will see when I step in the door. Will my daughter be dressed in a hideous outfit. Will there be a mess, not that it maters with the mess of remodeling anyway or just what will I come home to. I was pleasantly surprised. I walked in to find them sitting in the front room together. Jamie is in a matching outfit, the house is as I left it that morning, and the hamburger meat is in the fridge.

So I asked my son how try outs went, and got the painful stories with a smile that said he still had fun. Then I asked my husband how he did with the kids. He told me that when they were shopping for shoes and at the game, the kids really were great. They had fun. But when they got home they drove him crazy. I couldn't help but laugh. "Now you see what I go through all day and why I want to start up a mommy group and get out of this house once in a while!" He just smiled, "yea I know. I don't doubt it."

Mommy Help! Final Report

Well the two week menu is just about over, and I'm ready to start planning my next one. It was a great way to make sure I had our meals planned ahead and that I spent less money.

Benifits:

1. Less trips to the store!!! Loved that!
2. Spent less money. (I spent a bit more on the initial grocery trip to restock my pantry with spices, pastas and such) I only made one more trip to the store and spent another $40. Compared to 4-5 trips, spending at least $40 each time on tip of the initial shopping trip.
3. Stayed very close to my budget.
4. Came home with everything I needed at the store. No coming home says "oops, if forgot to get..... &..... &........ That's never good. Especially when you spent your full budget.
5. Spent less time in the kitchen, trying to figure out what to make
6. Even complicated meals seemed less of a hassle since I knew how much time I would need for each meal, I could plan my day around it.

Downside

1. One day planning
2. One day shopping
3. One day packing and freezing

So as you can see the benifits made the planning well worth it. So I need to do my planning again today or tomorrow.

Bathroom Duty, UGH!!!!

Okay I know it's that chore that all of us hate! But it is the most necessary room, along with the kitchen, in a house to keep the cleanest. It is also the most germ infested room in the house. I was just cleaning the bathroom a while ago when I tought about this.

One of my first chores as a pre teen was cleaning the bathroom. I guess my mom thought if I could learn to do that with out much trouble, then I would be just fine as a mother and wife. Which comes with cleaning up after the males in the family who don't quit hit their target, and no offense guys, but you really are not always perfect at target practice. It would also prepare me for cleaning up after my children when they get sick.

But there was one tip that my mom passed on to me for dealing with this nasty chore. Thank you Mom! She always told me that it was best if I waited until I was just ready to take my shower. Then clean the toilet and sink and then clean the shower while I was in there to take a shower. This way I could clean up imediately after cleaning in and around the iky toilet after the guys and clean the shower while I was in there so I didn't have to worry about getting my clothes all wet doing it.

It became such a pattern in my life that I never gave it much thought. Then for some reason I thought about how my mom got me started doing that. So if you are stuggling to clean the bathroom because it turns your stomach then take my moms advice to heart.

So thank you Mom, for all the wonderful things you did to prepare me for this sometimes exhausting task of wife and mother.