My Name is Mud

Unfortunately, we just missed the cut-off for planting grass at our new house. Our landscaper didn't want to risk our newly planted grass dying in the hot and dry summer weather which was soon to be upon us.  We agreed to play it safe and wait until after August 15th to plant.  This decision left us with greater peace of mind about our new lawn's future, but also left us with a LOT of weeds and mud.  LOTS of mud.  As I look outside today for the second day in a row at the rain, and think back to our 4th of July gathering when it RAINED... it makes me a little bitter about the lack of grass and 'hot and dry weather'.  These weeds are growing JUST FINE. Hmph.  

I had my first experience scrubbing carpet on Saturday afternoon after one of the kids opened the sliding glass door and accidentally let in a wet dog, complete with mud-covered paws.  Everyone turned in unison and inhaled the same "AgHHH!" as we watched the dog scamper across the entire width of the room, leaving a trail of brown dog prints on the light colored carpet.  Luckily two guests, who happened to be dog owners, were much quicker to react then I was. They hustled over to the bar for wet rags and started blotting, while I sat, frozen and staring at the mess, thinking to myself how lucky it was that Ben had to run to the gas station and didn't see this little 'incident'.  Someone must have retrieved the dog as well, but I kind of missed that part too.  haha  Thanks again M & B for helping me clean up the mess!  It was spotless by the time Ben returned - whew!!! :-) 

Scrubbing carpet is one thing, but scrubbing concrete is not exactly the thing I pictured myself doing on a Sunday afternoon - but that's exactly what was going on here. During Saturday's get-together, the kids (5 total) went outside to play with strict instructions to STAY ON THE CONCRETE. Right.  In no time at all, they had mud tracked all over the patio, the sidewalk and the driveway - I'm talking COVERED.  Even the kids were covered.  I was plenty peeved at the kids for not following directions, but I wasn't too bent out of shape about the tracked mud, as I figured the rain would probably just wash it all away. HA! The next morning, when the sun was shining, I could see all the brown baked mud smeared everywhere.  Hence, the scrubbing.

Monday, as I was trying to get my crew out the door for a park outing, the mud monster (which is turning out to be ME) struck again.  I had to dash inside for one forgotten thing (of course), and when I emerged 20 seconds later, Jacob had driven a ride on toy through the mud and up on to the freshly scrubbed concrete, leaving those beautiful mud markings once again.  Aggghhhh!  I have to admit I may have overreacted a little by grabbing the toy and forcefully chucking it off the concrete into the mud, causing the steering wheel to pop off (I didn't mean for that to happen!), but seriously, a girl can only take so much in three days!  

After I got the kids strapped in the car, I took an extra moment to sit back in the driver's seat and prep myself to really enjoy the short trip to town - a trip with the kids physically restrained away from any MUD!   

PLEASE QUIT RAINING!!!!

Wailin' for Palin

When I opened my computer this morning and saw that Sarah Palin was resigning - I was shocked. I thought, why in the world would she do that?! But, after watching her speech and listening to her reasoning, I completely understand (and I'm thoroughly disgusted at the same time). The media attacks surrounding this woman since her involvement in the presidential campaign have been absolutely ridiculous. Malicious lies about her family, particularly her young children, have been spread and tolerated in the mainstream media for almost a year now. I can't say I blame her one bit for stepping down from office. At least she's big enough to admit that the kool-aid drinking media is a force she cannot stop. I believe her when she says staying in office will only continue to drain her personal and Alaskan's tax-payer dollars to set the record straight. I am so frustrated! Whether you are a fan of Sarah Palin or not, no individual should have to put up with this kind of constant and cruel media abuse!

We're In!

WE ARE IN OUR NEW HOUSE!!!  Whew  Talk about an eventful week.  We have been so busy around here that I hardly noticed we didn't have DSL until last night (haha right!)  The move started last Friday with only Ben and me doing the work – MAN’s work.  I lifted couches, mattresses, furniture – everything!  I was seriously dying and whining a lot.  Of course, it was the hottest day so far – heat index of 105 degrees.  105!!!  Nikki + humidity +hotness = one crabby girl.  I HATE HUMIDITY.  Ugh.  By the time Friday night rolled around, I had four layers of dried sweat covering my entire body, and I was so exhausted that I couldn’t really appreciate the greatness of our new shower. 

Saturday was better.  It was still freakin’ HOT and STICKY, but at least I didn’t have to do as much manual labor.  We also had a lot of help – THANK YOU EVERYONE!!!  I stocked our new bar fridge full of beverages (adult and kid friendly), which made the entire day a whole lot more enjoyable.  I think everyone appreciated the frequent beer breaks ;)  It was also very fun to get all the new furniture delivered – the house actually looks like a home.  WOW.    

I've also already met at least ten people from the new town.  All of them were men and all of them were from the Shellsburg Fire Department responding to my 911 fire call.... but it still counts, right?! HA.  That's right.  I had to call 911 the first time in my life - after being here for only TWO DAYS.  I was standing in the kitchen, minding my own business when I started to smell a 'smoky' smell.  I thought it seemed odd, but I also knew the DirecTV dude was downstairs installing stuff, so I immediately figured it was him creating the smell.  After it didn't go away after a few more minutes, I went down and asked him if he was doing anything to cause the smokiness - he said "I haven't done anything yet" (go figure).  As I rounded the corner into the rec room, I could actually SEE a haze of smoke and it reeked down there!  The DirecTV dude started trailing me around, trying to locate the source of the smoke - we couldn't figure it out.  DirecTV dude, who used to be a volunteer firefighter, tells me he thinks it smells like electrical burning.  WONDERFUL.  So, after reporting it to Ben on the phone (like what's he gonna do at work?), I reluctantly called 911.  

After the first fireman went in the house, I heard him say into his radio, "it smells like electrical or plastic burning".  Great.   All I could think of was all the new wiring inside the walls slowly smoldering away and turning into a massive fire, engulfing our new house.  UGH! When I heard more fire trucks barreling up the drive (WELCOME TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD!!!) I headed out to meet the captain of the department to explain what was going on.  He killed the power and headed inside with a couple more guys.  A few minutes later, they emerged holding a round, flat charred thing, reporting they think they found the 'source'. I had no idea what it was and after inquiring, I wanted to hide under a rock.  Chief's reply: "Someone turned on the bar microwave with the instruction manual still inside".  What!?!?!? I immediately blamed Jacob since the microwave is right at his level, which made me feel a tiny bit of redemption... but not much.  As they searched the rest of the lower level to be thorough, I stood outside 'visiting' with all my new buddies and feeling like a big ASS.  They reassured me to never feel 'stupid' about calling the fire department, and I suppose I it's true - the one time you don't call, you end up with a crispy house.    

Outside of the lower level still smelling a little like charred booklet (which is also a nice daily reminder of my embarrassment), things are shaping up pretty well around here.  Our garage looks like a cat 5 blew through, but the inside is looking relatively organized.  We are even having people over tomorrow to celebrate the 4th - I can't wait!  I'm making four kinds of salsa and a signature 'drink' to enjoy on my deck and patio with friends!!!  YAY!

HAPPY 4TH TO ALL.

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Stay tuned for the conclusion...

I'm starting to feel like the host of American Idol's final episode when he says "We'll announce the winner when we come back" - and he says it like 20 times before they ACTUALLY announce the winner.  That's me today.  Still not in the house.  How long does the 'eve' of moving last? Seems to be about a three day eve around here.  I realize it's difficult to tie up all the loose ends, patch any tiny paint problems and address random things here and there, but come on already!!!

The cleaning crew was scheduled for the house on Monday morning, but they got tied up somewhere else and got moved back one day.  This put it rather close to the wood floor dude putting on his final coat of poly that night, but they were planning on it anyway. Turns out, floors were too sticky when they got there to clean - so it was put off again. The next day, we stopped over to check out the progress and view the dried floor.  My heart sank when I saw BUBBLES all over the place.  Teeny tiny bubbles were dried in the finish of the wood floor in almost ever room, and lots of em.  GREAT.   When I called the builder (in kind of a huff) to ask if he had seen the finished floor yet (he hadn't), his response to my report was this: "ohhh no..."  oh yeah!  I do have to say, one of the things I really like about our builder is it's impossible to ruffle his feathers.  The man is calm about EVERYTHING.  I think I could tell him part of our house got blown away in a tornado, and his reaction would be the same logical, CALM voice methodically listing step-by-step instructions on how to get back on track.  No biggie.  I guess why that's he's in the business of building houses, and I am not.  I'd be going "What?  Are you kidding me!? I'm gonna have that wood floor guy's ass in a sling!"  ha   

If all went according to the 'new' plan, the floors should be dry and perfect this morning. Wood dude was scheduled to come last night for his final FINAL coat on the floor.  Cleaning peeps were there yesterday, and the house is SPARKLING clean.  Yes!    Meeting grandma at noon to give her the kids for three days (WOO HOO!).  Final walk-through with the builder is TODAY in the afternoon.  Furniture comes tomorrow.  *whew* I can see the light!

An ode to the commode

As excited as we all are to move into our bigger and better house, we are at the same time feeling a teensy bit sad.  Even though this house is small, has only one bathroom and no outdoor seating... it holds a lot of memories - GOOD memories.   For each thing that drives me nuts about this house, there are another ten things I really love about it.

I first heard of the saying "Love Grows Best in Small Houses" from Ben several years ago. At the time he said it, I thought he was just trying to offer some sort of consolation for not living in a big house, but I think there's actually something to it. For example, having only one bathroom to share between five people doesn't exactly allow for a lot of privacy or modesty.  My baths and showers are constantly interrupted by someone jetting in to use the facilities, a little face peeking around the curtain or sometimes the dreaded 'accidental flush'.  I've given up on asking the kids to knock before bursting into the bathroom while I'm in there.  In fact, I've pretty much just given up on closing the door in general - it's just easier that way.  It is not unusual for four people to be in our bathroom at once, and our kids don't know any other way! I firmly believe (silly as it may seem) that sharing only one bathroom BRINGS A FAMILY TOGETHER.

our current bathroom

I first observed this phenomenon many years ago in Oelwein, Iowa after I started dating Ben.   I was in high school at the time and very accustomed to having loads of uninterrupted time in the bathroom, and would never dream of bothering a closed bathroom door.  Ben's cousins (the S family) were a family of five, and upon observing their single bathroom etiquette, I was in disbelief.  It was not uncommon for their Dad to be in the tub, the oldest brother on the throne, youngest daughter brushing her teeth while the middle daughter primped in the mirror - and all of this with an open door where mom stood visiting with them from the kitchen!  Good Lord!  But you know what?  After I got past the initial shock, I found myself starting to admire and even envy the CLOSENESS and openness between these family members.  Now granted, I am well aware that the wonderful family dynamic existing in this household was not the sole result of having one location to 'do your business'.  

BUT IT DIDN'T HURT either.  

Back to today.  

As we prepare to move into our much larger home, a little part of me is worried about losing that daily interaction in the bathroom.  I know!  It sounds crazy, but it's true.  I highly doubt anyone is going to come brush their teeth in my bathroom while I'm using the toilet or taking a shower.  (And even if they did, the toilet has it's own little room to shut the door, so I wouldn't know they were there anyway).  They big boys will have a bathroom of their own downstairs, and little Jakey will have the hall bath (that is, if he ever graduates to underwear and actually has a need for a toilet), and Ben and I will have master bath all to ourselves.  I guess my habit of not shutting the bathroom door won't have to change when we move - since there won't be a reason to!  Our kids will be busy upstairs or downstairs or outside or in the theatre room or the playroom or the bonus room or WHO KNOWS WHERE!   *ugh*  :-(

Am I seriously getting down in the dumps on the eve of scoring a sweet master bath and tons of space?  What the hell is going on!!!?!?!?!

Ok. Ok.  I think I'm just nervous about moving and about CHANGE.  This move is going to be AWESOME.  Even though we're going to have several options of where we can shower or watch TV or hang out, hopefully we'll still choose to congregate together for whatever we are doing.  And with all this space, we can have lots of family and friends over all the time, causing - once again - a line for the bathroom!!!!  

*I hope so*

The final countdown!!!!

I haven't been able to sit down at my computer much lately due to all the PACKING and  moving we've been doing.  Our house is almost done!  In fact, if all is going well today, we should be doing our final inspection tomorrow!!  I can't believe it!

YAY.

The fact that I might be sleeping in my new bedroom by the end of the week just hasn't sunk in.  

YYYYAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!

I'm a little excited.

Happy Trails to You...

We are down to three cats, and  I've got mixed feelings about it.  When we moved to our current house almost seven years ago, the only pet we had was our cat SCOOBIE.  We've had Scoob since we lived in Denver, and before we had kids - Scoob was our kid.  Scoob went everywhere with us.  She made countless trips riding in the car with us to Wisconsin and back. I even took off work once to stay home with her after a rough vet appointment.   After we had a baby, Scoob kind of took a back seat.  She stayed home when we went places.  And by the time we had three kids, she was pretty much non-existent.  It didn't help matters when she started peeing on stuff in the basement.  She also had a tendency to come up and bite us out of the blue, which was rather annoying - and painful.   Hence, she now resides outdoors.

This is Scoob:

see how happy she is as an outside kitty? 

Not too long after we moved into this house, we decided to let the boys each get an outside kitten.   Will and Charlie picked out kittens from the local crazy cat lady (actually it's an old man named "Frosty"), and our cat population grew from one to three.  Dale Earnhardt Jr and Macy turned out the be two of the best darned cats a person could ever ask for.  They followed us around outside like puppies and they enjoyed every minute of being held upside down, tickle tortured and squeezed from the kids.    When Dale got hit by a car - it was horrible.   We took him to the vet where they successfully treated his head wound and broken leg, and we sent out Christmas pictures featuring our kids and a cat in a cast (had the picture been taken a week later, it would have featured two kids and three-legged amputee cat).  

The boys with Macy and Dale:

I'll skip right to the bad part which is this:  Both of these cats end up disappearing - first Dale, then Macy.  Just up and vanished!  As you can imagine, the kids were devastated.  We all were! We distributed flyers all over the place and waited and waited and WAITED for someone to call or for Dale to come back......  and nothing.  *ugh*

Since then, my heart has really hardened towards our outside cats.  It just doesn't pay to get attached to them.   Don't get me wrong, I love our cats and we take excellent care of them, BUT it's impossible to prevent them from wandering into the woods or the road or wherever they wander to where an unfortunate ending might await.    As you might have deduced from some of my recent pictures, we recently had two litters of kittens.  We had EIGHT kittens here - yeah, way too many.  After they were weaned, I published an ad (against the kids wishes) for free kittens to good homes.  Even though I knew it would be hard for the kids to give the kittens away, I knew it was the best thing.  We're moving and don't have an outbuilding at the new pad yet.  Plus, it would probably take some time to find them all new owners.  Right?  Ha. The next day a farmer called who was looking for some nice farm cats... and he wanted them ALL. Okay.  I guess.  It makes the most sense right?  Then the kitties can stay together.  Right? 

During discussions with the farmer we decided to give him the mama cat with all of the kittens. I knew it made sense, but I was feeling really bad about it.   But if that weren't enough, at the tail end of the transaction, Ben decided to include Scoob as part of the deal!!!  SCOOB!  

Ugh.  I'm still not over it.  I know she's fine, and she's hanging out with her cat buddies (and now cows and chickens), and probably having tons of fun on a farm.  Right?  Yeah I know - it's tough to put a positive spin on this one, but I'm really trying.  

Sorry Scoob. :-(