I'll try to be brief

Since it's been a VERY LONG TIME since I've updated this blog and it's not because we haven't been doing anything worth writing about, but rather that we've been so busy that I haven't written, I'm going to make a list of all the noteworthy events in our household.


1. Jade ran in a 1-mile race and won 1st place in her age group, 3rd overall for female racers.


2. We celebrated Halloween with parties, parades, and trick or treating resulting in so much candy that Logan told someone we'd been to every house in the whole world and that he had about a million treats.


3. We closed on our new home.


4. We scrubbed our new home top to bottom and painted the cement basement floor. Now our kids can roller skate down there all winter.


5. We moved into our new home.


6. We enrolled Logan at his new elementary school.


7. We unpacked and put our house together in less than a week. I can't stand to live in disorder.


8. I started teaching piano lessons again.

9. We put a water softener into our new home. Hard water is the WORST!!! I've used a TON of Lime Away and haven't even made a dent in some of the hard water build up on the counters and in the master shower. The toilets and sinks are clean, thanks to a pumice stone.


10. My grandmother passed away peacefully at 90 years old... the last of my grandparents.




10. We enjoyed visits from all of my siblings who came into town from out of state for the funeral.



11. We celebrated Thanksgiving with visits to Nate's parents' house and mine. It was nice to visit my parents' house without all of our stuff cluttering it up! Aeris really misses them and she was so thrilled to be there that I let her skip her nap.

12. We decorated for Christmas. The last few years, I've struggled to find space for all my decorations, and now it feels like I don't have quite enough. I LOVE THIS HOUSE!!!


So that brings us to today, where we are trying to create some routine after a pretty crazy year. I hope it won't be so long before you hear from me again.

This is what our kids can tell their friends at school tomorrow

How did our kids get the VIP treatment with the local fire department? They made a house call yesterday morning.

The day started out pretty normally. Breakfast once. Breakfast again... (LOVE living at grandma's house:). The kids were downstairs watching Saturday morning TV. Nate was sleeping in. I was upstairs enjoying a chat with my mom while Aeris played. When the smoke alarms went off we both assumed it was a malfunction. REALLY, how many times do your smoke alarms go off when there's an actual fire??? Jade came running up the stairs, "everyone needs to get out of the house!"

We were assuring her that everything was okay when Nate came up, looking dazed. "Something's wrong with the smoke detectors," we told him.

"Ummm no. There IS smoke in the basement."

So, at this point, we're supposed to follow Jade's advice, right? Of course, my curiosity to blame, I went downstairs instead. Sure enough, the laundry/storage room, hallway, and Logan's bedroom had a lovely smoke layer covering the ceiling, and it reeked of something burning. There was no heat though, no flames, and it wasn't difficult to breathe. I sent the kids outside in their pajamas and bare feet, and then proceeded to change out of my own pajamas and grab jackets, shoes, and pants for them. Duh. I guess all those lessons on fire safety have just gone over my head.

The fire department, thrilled to have some excitement on a quiet Saturday morning, came with three engines, one battalion truck, and an ambulance, all with sirens screaming. They used a fan to blow out the smoke, checked every room in the house, as well as every light, both furnaces, and the dryer in the basement. The last thing they checked was the washing machine in the basement, which apparently had burned up it's belt or something. With the source found and determined safe, our dramatic event drew to a close.

The kids loved keeping warm in the fire truck and can't wait to tell all the kids at school that "their house was on fire and they got to dress in the captain's clothes in the fire engine." We'll see if the story ends up embellished even more by the time school gets out tomorrow.

This post is for the AMAZING inventor of flu mist

Whenever we talk about our favorite seasons with our kids and someone brings up fall, the color drains from Jade's face. "I don't like fall." she says.
"Why not? Your birthday is in the fall." we remind her.
"Yeah, I know. And I like that. But I can't stand flu shots." At this point she talks on and on about why shots make her miserable. We, of course, then explain why shots are good for us.

I have several great flu shot stories to tell about Jade. Last year's took place the first week in November and I wrote about it on this blog. My favorite story to tell though is the year I took her up to a clinic at Nate's workplace. I told Jade nothing about why we were there. We waited in line for 45 minutes or so. When we reached the front she began to pay attention to what happened there. I completely avoided her questions. Finally it was her turn. She took one look at the lady at the table, then at me, and took off running. Some nice bystander kept a hold of Logan for me while I attempted to round her up. I brought her back kicking and screaming. Apparently we made such a scene that Nate's co-workers all went back to work to tell him about his daughter's performance.

We went last Monday for this year's shot. I brought along reinforcments, since I had learned the hard way that year at the clinic not to try it alone. I figured between the nurse, my mom, and me, we should be able to hold her down long enough for the poke. But, I have no story to tell because all three kids got flu mist this year. Jade's eyes brimmed over with tears just for a second and then it was over. No Pain = No dramatics. WOW! Maybe now she won't dread fall.

Movie Review: Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

This movie got three thumbs up from the viewers at our house. The only disappointment was that the food they kept catching in their mouths had no substance. Tricky 3D!

Babies, Babies

There are so many new babies at the zoo this year. I knew the chance to see them as babies was passing us by, so we made a trip just before winter arrived. (It snowed the next day!) I've been to the zoo lots of times, and I always enjoy it, but it seemed like the animals were more active this time. Baby Zuri the elephant put on a little show with her ball.

The monkeys screeched and jumped and swung from their vines. The black bears wrestled. Those adorable little amur tiger cubs snuggled with their mother and attacked their toys.

It was Aeris's first visit to the zoo. Though her favorite of the animals was the cats, she actually thrilled the most in seeing that there was so much water. At every cage, we'd point at the animals, and all she was interested in was "Water! Water!"The kids had fun using the map to plan where to go!Of course the train ride was a hit.

Surprise!

When I told Jade there was no way I could pull together a big party for her birthday this year she didn't question it. That's when I knew I needed to do it. More than any other year. The best part was, she would have no idea. She has been planning surprise parties for her toys for years, so I knew she would LOVE it. And actually, the preparations were minimal. I sent out Evite invitations and we had the party at a park, so there were no decorations. I made a cake for dinner on her birthday and she didn't ask why I had her decorating a bunch of cupcakes too. I put the favors together the night before and planned some outdoor games. Not everyone could come, but she didn't know who I'd invited, so there was no sadness about who wasn't there, just the thrill of seeing the friends who did come. It was a great day!

I Miss My Clothes

Of all the things packed away in the POD or in one of the many boxes piled up in the basement family room here at my parents' house, I think I miss my clothes the most. I brought only what would fit in our luggage. Since it was early May when we moved, I do have some for cold weather and some for warm weather, but there's just not as much variety as I'm used to. I brought my favorites, but by the time we're out of here they'll no longer be favorites because I'm going to be so sick of them. That goes for the kids' clothes too. At least Aeris's clothes bins are here. And that's good, because as fast as babies grow, she'll be needing the next size up for the winter.



And we still have no idea when this little adventure is going to end. I wonder what qualifications you need to handle short sale negotiations at a bank. I'd really like to get that job so I can find out WHAT IN THE WORLD IS TAKING THEM SO LONG! AND WHY IN THE WORLD THEY CAN'T GIVE US A STRAIGHT ANSWER ON WHERE THE FILE IS AT!



I've been patient. I'm DONE with patient.