Spring Snowstorm

After a week of gorgeous spring weather, where it actually approached 70 a couple of times (but didn't quite get there), we were hit with a surprise sneak storm. So we celebrated the first day of Spring by dragging out our boots and heavy coats again, finding gloves and then just watching all the mess fall outside. This is the most snow I've ever seen at one time here. Pretty crazy. So we popped popcorn, pigged out on whatever we could forage and just stayed home. The power was fine, but it was a challenge to get the dog to do her business instead of leap around like a crazed rabbit and eat snow, especially in the middle of the night. But Erin got a huge kick out of Lily's antics from the warmth of her room, watching from the window. Ian's favorite parts were making a really strange snow pinnacle (not really a snowman) and the snow fort they figured out this afternoon. He said it was really warm in there, out of the wind. He and the inventive HC got Lily in there too. cute. Erin opted to stay inside for the second round and washed all of her play dishes in the sink with some soap bubbles. But you can see for yourself. ;) Of course, it's supposed to be all melted by tomorrow or Tuesday and spring temperatures will come back. We'll just have to wait and see on that one, because we're not taking anyone's word for it.

Muddling Through

For big, happy announcements, Saturday was Anniversary Day for me and my HC. 6 Years! Crazy! On Friday we had an appointment to have the kids' pictures taken, for a Child Abuse Task Force fundraiser. Antiquities: Unique Portrait Fundraiser. They dressed the kids up and had the neatest props. Got some really sweet pictures. For our $10 donation, we get the sitting and a free 10x12 of the kids posed together. Then for an extra couple hundred dollars, you can get all the poses and a few pictures. But they are really wonderful pictures; just wish we could justify the expense! I'll be going back on the 30th for our "portrait selection appointment."
Since we were in town for the portrait sitting (my HC met us there in his unit), we decided to have our night on the town a day early and save some gas (Tahlequah is a 45 wind-y, long drive from home). So we went out for Chinese! Woo hoo! It's been a Looooong time. It was a little tricky with the kids' allergies, but Ian loves boiled shrimp and fruit and rice, so that what he loaded up on. I couldn't peel shrimp fast enough for him. Erin was not hungry, having enjoyed her Burger King french fries from earlier that afternoon. Ian was too busy on the playplace and the slides and tunnels to think about eating, so he was ravenous for dinner. (We can't go to Tahlequah unless we stop at the BK play place; it's a Rule. There will be mutiny otherwise and who can pass up a chance to expend all that energy?)
So we had our chinese....mmmm.....culinary delight. My HC took cranky Erin out, so he didn't get his seconds, but it was good enough (and inexpensive enough) that we have plans to return. High praise indeed from the selective HC. I love chinese food....sesame chicken. Mmmmm. And the dumplings with spicy sauce.
Then I got to pick out my anniversary present: a new sewing machine! Woo hoo!



Had an old one, but with bobbin case difficulties. Ended up being unrepairable. So I've been diddling with my new machine. HC got a new drill, so the loose siding is fixed on the house and some other odds and ends on The List are taken care of. Who knew all we needed was a drill to complete these onerous tasks?
Meanwhile, we are proceeding with our homeschooling plans for next year. We've checked the state laws (surprisingly lax, compared with Florida), perused curriculum, and will start homeschooling this summer (lightly, don't worry) when kindergarten is finally over. I am optimistic and confident about our educational future.
My HC is also looking at pursuing a degree as well. We are currently talking to admissions, etc, trying to see if it's something that's realistic for us right now (or should I say, him, since he'll be doing all the work). We are grateful that he has an employer that is excited and very encouraging about further education and is willing to work with his employee/students. HC was very impressed with a coworker in his 50s who just completed his Bachelor's degree.
My HC is taking it slow. No commitments yet, but we're just checking it all out.
Prayers would be great, especially about finances. I am hoping for a bunch of student aid, since he's working full-time and we's po'!
Still waiting for house to sell, though there is genuine interest from people moving due to road construction and widening. The gov't is buying their houses to tear down for new lanes and they are relocating, hopefully to our house! But first they are waiting on state to pay before they can buy. Who knows how long that could take? But it's good enough to keep our hope alive!
That's about it. We are pottytraining at our house. Having graduated the dog, we are working on the ErinNoodle.

Back in the Saddle

With much fanfare and celebration, we are so joyful to have a computer again! Talk about withdrawals. After spending months in the library waiting on the slow computers and spending 45 minutes trying to pay 3 bills online, I am beyond relieved to be able to do it at home (and it's so fast!). Now the only problem is that we've managed to fill our time with other things and have to rearrange again to remember to check the email every day.... hope to get our new pictures downloaded and figure out this windows 7, then we'll be back in business for sure. ;)

Fudgie

Ian and I try to read almost every night before bed. I would like to say that it is because I am such a model parent and blah blah, but really it is for several reasons. One reason, though not the most important, is that I get to reread the kiddy stories that I've carted around for years and years. Another reason is that it gives Ian a chance to settle down after romping all over the house horsing around with Daddy. It's good for the sweat to dry off before bedtime. I also love it when something tickles him and he just grabs his middle and laughs his head off. There's not much better than that. And it's hard to predict what will set him off, other than body parts or body functions. He is 5, after all.
My HC of course, thinks I just like to hear my own voice. But nobody listens to him when he gets in those moods. ;)
We have read Stuart Little (he liked the first half, but lost interest in the last couple chapters) and several Bobbsey Twins books (now he has a renewed longing to go to the circus...and I think I caught him saying "Swell!" once). We've also read all of the Junie B Jones Kindergarten books. We're going to wait a bit to start First Grade. But for some reason, I decided to try him on Judy Blume. So we started "Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing." Fudgie is now his favorite topic of conversation. At the chapter about Fudgie's 3rd birthday party, he laughed so hard he rolled off the bed and into my lap (I was sitting next to the bed in a kiddy chair). He still mentions it from time to time, the funny parts. Tonight we are reading the last two chapters. We'll see how that goes, but I think "Superfudge" is in our future. I can't wait until he gets older and we can start Chronicles of Narnia. But in the meantime, any suggestions or favorites? Try to keep in mind that we are PBS kids and don't even like the Disney movies with death and sadness (Lion King? Bambi? Fox and Hound?) That's curbed a few that I've thought of. Thanks!

Into the Fall

Things have been different at our house with the death of our computer. The desk is used for papers and bills, free time is used playing inside and out and all my daily websurfing is being replaced by other things, like reading on the treadmill. A good thing, believe me. I find myself composing blogposts in my head at odd times. Like the third night in a row of no sleep when everyone had the flu a couple of weeks ago. What misery!
Now we just have lingering obnoxious coughs. Erin says "Blesh" after every one of them. I guess she thinks they are sneezes?
Ian got his cast off yesterday. In September, he fell off the monkey bars at the big playground (a rare treat for his kindergarten class) and broke his elbow. Thankfully, it did not need surgery and seemed to have healed nicely after 4 weeks in a water cast (we love water casts!!! No itching at all and nice long baths without having to keep anything dry...). Ian's face was comical yesterday as the nurse came at him with the saw to cut off his cast, but he got through it. Now he just has a puny little arm and has to be reminded that he can use it. The first thing he did after getting the cast off was to wiggle a bit and say "Hey! I can touch my ear!"
He is enjoying being able to turn over easily in his sleep and being able to wear long sleeved shirts again, since it was 34 last night here and a bit chilly.
Erin is just buzzing right along, asserting herself at every opportunity, yet still managing to be charmingly adorable at the same time. She is wrapped around Daddy's finger so tight he bounces. This year she was Little Red Riding Hood for Halloween and everyone made much of her cuteness. Ian was a quiet ghost and didn't get it that everyone kept calling him Casper.
My HC is still having fun at work, though the driving all over the place gets old, naturally. The real estate agent wants us to lower our asking price again, but we're not going to. She is not happy with our decision, but we'd rather stay here with our currently manageable payments than end up with nothing left over to purchase again and have to rent the exorbitant prices that are now so normal. Even in our little town, a 2 bedroom rat hole is renting for 5 or even $600 a month. No Thanks! So that's frustrating, but at least we LIKE our house! It's just in the wrong town!
Also trying to save up for Christmas, which is increasingly hard, as anyone can attest. The holiday season always seems to turn into a giant Excess Party, where money and meaningless gifts are flung about in abandon. For the rest of us, who struggle anyway, we wish that others would realize what a big deal it is for us to buy our 20 Christmas cards and finagle the postage to send them. Last year there were some hurt feelings from a few that didn't get a Christmas card from us. I didn't have the energy to explain that we only got 20 and had to ration.
It is so tempting to just gloss over financial difficulties, but so much of normal worldly life is about glossing over and faking prosperity. It's also hard to hear others whine about their difficulties and how Christmas is 'so hard' when they only have $x amount to spend on their kids this year because money is tight and blah blah blah. It's hard to feel sympathetic when you know they make $1,000 a month more than you and eat out every day for lunch.
And now the self-pity part of my post is through. We are grateful for what we have. It could be so much worse. It's just a bit frustrating to see the piddly amount in the savings account, since we've been saving for 8 months.
And there's a fair share of guilt since it was my turn to go to the dentist this time and took a big chunk out of the kitty. I would feel no such guilt if it was my HC that had to go to the dentist. And yes, I really needed to go to the dentist and now all my teeth are fixed, etc. But still! Argh!
In happier news, it looks like we will be having company for Christmas and we are all very excited. Maybe this time there won't be an ice storm and the power won't be out for a week. ;)
Other happy news: we are done mowing the grass until next spring! Yay! Now as soon as we get a freeze, all the flies will die. That is what I'm truly waiting for. Hope everyone is doing well. I miss interacting with everyone. I just wish I could post pictures. That is truly the worst!

New Schedules

Well, we have officially gotten into the swing of school and the new job. Erin is increasingly hard to keep busy, since she is constantly saying stuff like "Daddy door. Ian door." Which means that they've gone somewhere without her (through the door). The nerve of those guys! I've been on a housecleaning kick because it makes me feel like we'll sell the house quicker if everything is clean. The real estate agent came to take new pictures of the house since it's been on the market since Feb of 08. And those pictures show dead grey grass. Unfortunately, we've done a lot of work on the house since those first pictures, but she likes the old pictures of the unpainted kitchen cabinets and drab walls better than my paint jobs, so those pictures are still on the description. I'm sure if anyone does come to tour the house, they will wonder if they're at the right one.
Ian still says that kindergarten is long. No nap time, so I guess they work instead. The new teachers are....serious. It's a big change from pre-K because they were young and bubbly and enthusiastic about everything. In K, you're lucky if anyone cracks a smile. Not too crazy about that, but there's nothing I can do. They've also told me that Ian is immature, but he did just turn 5. It's hard for me not to get a little riled at that, but a lot of the class is 6 or turning 6 soon, so I guess that would make a difference. I comfort myself with the fact that Ian is smoking the rest of the class's butts in reading. He is also finding it hard to make friends. Several reasons being: Daddy was a cop in town and so has arrested a lot of parents and relatives; Ian can smoke everyone's butt at reading; he has food allergies, so he brings his breakfast and lunch every day and has faced ridicule because of it. So there's no friends there, really, but it just makes us want to move! New start, new teachers, new classmates! It would be really nice. But until then, we will deal with teachers that really need an attitude adjustment and look annoyed and tired all the time.
My HC is loving his new job, even though it takes a lot of hours and we are both bone tired every night. Movie nights are now only on the weekends. We don't even watch tv. He is also becoming quite the filing guru. I am very proud of him. We are still excited about visiting the dentist when our insurance starts.
The kids are recovering from the first school-borne illness. Ian got a cold and a stuffy nose. He still has the stuffy nose, but feels fine. Erin got it and it turned into a raging ear infection. The meds prescribed gave her raging diarrhea and rash, so she was taken off of it. Now we have to go back to the doc's on monday. I really dread these dr visits. I hate sitting there for 2 hours just to be told to keep drinking fluids and taking tylenol. Waste of time!!
In the meantime, we are doing ear cleaning with prescription drops because I don't believe anyone has ever seen the inside of Erin's ears. All 3 of the doctors and specialists that have tried just say "There's too much wax in there to see." After I got annoyed and asked a nurse how to fix this problem, I got a scrip, instructions and plenty of help. Gee, why didn't anyone think of this before?! Honestly. Is it small towns or what?! Ridiculous!


Lest I get all het up again, I will brag about my brilliant HC. The people next door moved and left a bunch of junk, including 2 broken headboards to twin beds. My HC took them apart and used the lumber to make me a coffee table! I love it. I get to stain and varnish it and I'm so excited. We are completely table-less in our living room and now we have something to put our glasses on instead of the floor! And we have something for the kids to snack at and color at (not on, Erin!) and it's a gorgeous wood. I have none of this ability and am amazed that my HC would be motivated and able to do it. The staining and glossing are done and we are so impressed. It's a bit darker than I expected, but that way it won't show Erin's scribbles too badly. ;)
Now I think I've caught everyone up to now, having skipped a week or two. Can't believe that next week is September!!
And congrats to my friend Rachel for delivering a gorgeous baby Elias last Thursday! Mommy and baby are doing great and should be home by now. Thanks for all the prayers! The fun has just begun, Rachel, but I know that you're enjoying every bit of it.

Job, School and Grandparents!

To be short, since I'm sitting in the library and my hoodlums are being hoodlums, my HC started his new job, which has so many initials, I'll just keep him as my HC. This was his first week and he's been busy, but he really likes it. I think he likes eating lunch out even more, since he can eat whatever he wants without the guilt of our munchkins and their food allergies. He had pizza. Twice. sniff sniff. I think I've forgotten the taste of cheese. sigh.
So that is going wonderfully. Still no bites on the house, which makes my HC's commute rather miserable. And school is starting next week. We were hoping to have been moved before school started, but you do what you've got to do. Ian is excited about his new teacher, since we know her from church (it's his Sunday school teacher) and he's got some friends in his class, so that's even better.
And Gramma and Papaw are coming to visit! That's the best! They'll be here for his Meet the Teacher and for his first few days of school, so we are all excited about that. And there is the promise of Red Lobster. Mmmm...
And did I mention that my birthday is Sunday? August is turning out to be a pretty spanking good month. Now if we can just hold out until payday. Transitioning to one payday a month stinks, but we'll get used to it. :)
And my bestest college friend, Rachel is due for her first baby in the next couple of weeks. So August is good for more than just me. So if you're eating a pizza or a really good mouthful of cheese, think of me and enjoy a little more. And if you see a little bundle of joy at church or the grocery store, think of little Elias and how eager we all are to see him when he manages to come out into the world.