Painting Advice

I was back at it again yesterday. I'm determined to finally wrap up this painting project that began 2 years ago! Yeah, the time I had the ladder incident and ended up in the ER. But I needed to face my fears! I needed to get this project off of my mental "to do" list. I’m also really pushing myself to get this inside project done before I get going on our outside projects.

I took a couple of days off a little over a week ago to work on this. However, that Friday ended up being completely consumed with many other tasks that needed attention. Including tasks I hadn't planned on, like my car suddenly breaking down and requiring immediate service. Thankfully it wasn't as bad as we, or the service tech, though it would be. Instead of a transmission we were back up and running (the same day) after some wiring was fixed. We also "saved" a good $1500... that we don't have and certainly didn’t want to spend on the car even if we had it. I then ended up taking the next Monday off in an effort to make some headway, and I did. But I needed more time and I just can't seem to carve out time from our weekends or evenings.

I got so much done yesterday! It is all really coming together and all I have left is a few small – very small – projects/areas. My goal is to get one of them done by the weekend and that will wrap up the kitchen and dining area. Just to be able to say that I'm done with "this space" will feel so dang good. Not to mention, it looks really good too. Finally it looks “finished”.

As I was painting last night I had a little helper. Spencer was at the table eating a snack. He was talking my ear off and thoroughly entertaining me. At the time, I was painting above the cabinets in the kitchen... a good 10' off the floor and just a bit out of reach, even for me. The ladder use is limited given that the counter, stove, and refrigerator are in the way! So, I was standing on the counter.

A few of the many things I heard...
"Momma, that is a bad idea!!!!"
"Momma, that is a really bad idea to stand on the counter!"
"Momma, you are not supposed to stand on the counter!"

Once I had moved and was painting from the floor.
"I bought that roller (paint roller I was using) with Mommy and I was really patient!"
"I pretended to paint my hands and cart while we were shopping."

Birthday Celebrations

We've had our family celebration. Next up is his big party.

Carie did a knock out job on his invite!

Happy Birthday Spencer

Spencer Rylan,

I can't believe it, but you are now 3 years old. You cannot skip 3 and go straight to 4, even though you've been telling people you are 4 for months now. Finally in the days leading up to your birthday we had convinced you that you would be 3 on your birthday. Now when asked, your response is that you are "3 on your birthday".

I also thought it was funny that whenever we wished you a Happy Birthday, you would wish us a Happy Birthday in return. We've had so many birthdays lately that I'm sure it is confusing. In the last two weeks alone we've recognized no less than 8 birthdays!

We had our little family party to celebrate your birthday. And because you are all about wrapped gifts, we managed to wrap up your big gift from us. Mommy and I had fun figuring out how to wrap your bike. It took many boxes and rolls of wrapping paper, but we did it. You noticed it the next morning. You thought it was cool. You checked it out and then left it alone. I was amazed at how long it took for you to suggest that it was time to open presents. That morning you got to open your gifts from Mommy & Momma, something from your sisters, and the gifts from our friends in St. Louis. You kept saying "this is from St. Louis!?!?!?"













Saturday evening we had some friends come over for dinner and cake. They also brought you a cool gift, and they didn't need to!!! Mommy made a rocket cake so she could practice for your party next weekend. You thought it was pretty cool and especially liked all of the frosting! It seemed like that was the defining moment for you. We have cake and candles; it must officially be my birthday! Maybe we should have had cake for breakfast?

I was impressed with how Mommy's practice cake turned out. I think I'll be really impressed with the real deal next weekend. Unfortunately I'm not a fan of cake! We just need to remember ice cream next time!















After the dust of the day had settled we realized that a package had arrived from Grandpa and Yia Yia. We could have waited to have you open it, but we were very excited to see what was inside. We knew that Yia Yia had been working on something special and we had no idea what it was. You opened the package to discover a really cool quilt made just for you. We all enjoyed looking at your quilt and all of the fabric that was chosen. It is a very nice and very special quilt that you will enjoy. You may just look at it for a while before you use it, just as you did with your yarn blanket. But now, that is all you want to be covered up with.

Sunday morning we slept in a bit. We missed Sunday school but made it to Church. We then went out to a new (to us) restaurant for lunch and everyone very much enjoyed that. Sunday afternoon we got outside so you could try out your new bike. You hopped on and pedaled down the street like you knew what you were doing. You did great with your pedaling and steering, and mildly okay with your braking. All we seem to need to work on is returning home! These wheels aren't a license for you to ride down the block to stop and play.















We love you silly boy, we love you very much!

Happy Birthday Carie

Happy Birthday to my sweetie! So far she says she is having a great birthday. I hope it continues!

This past Saturday we had a sitter and we went out, just the two of us. That was nice! She also got to sleep in and I picked up some special breakfast. Both of which seemed appreciated.

Last night the kids and I wrapped all of her gifts. The kids helped a lot with the wrapping and they were so proud. They can't wait for her to open them!

The kids - all of them - slept through the night last night. That isn't all that unusual except recently there have been some really bad nights. Carie much appreciated the full night sleep!

This morning Ellie & Spencer woke on their own and Carie heard them talking before she went up to get them going. They were happy! Abby woke up soon after and they were all in a great mood this morning. No grumpies at our house!

After school drop-off's Carie, Spencer & I went for breakfast at Brue&&er’s . That was really good!

Tonight we'll go out for dinner as a family, Carie’s choice. She'll open her gifts, with assistance I predict. I also predict that we'll end up doing that prior to dinner as the kids are beyond excited. Kids will go to bed near their bedtime, hopefully. We have one last gift to wrap for Spencer's b-day and we hope to finish that up tonight. That will be a bit of a challenge I think. I've promised her that we'll watch L0st tonight! What a treat to have L0st & Gray’s airing new episodes tonight. We are also excited to have a new T0p Chef to watch. Hopefully we can restrain ourselves and get to bed before midnight!

We Aren't Alone

It appears that there are many people who are surprised at the recent events...

One recent afternoon I was at school in the Kindergarten wing. We were hanging out and playing indoors during recess since it was raining outside. One of the K teachers (not even “our” teacher) asked how it went and if he was asked to return. She has a daughter that is in preschool now (at the preschool Abby & Ellie were at last year). Her kids are also way off the growth charts and she’s talked with us about the disconnect between size, age, and society’s expectations. I simply said that he wasn't selected. Both teachers involved in the conversation were absolutely shocked.

Carie took a small gift and goodies up to the school secretary yesterday for Secretaries Day. She is an awesome lady, a huge asset to the school, and very much respected. She asked Carie. Carie simply said that he wasn't selected and didn't go into any of it. She was absolutely and genuinely shocked. Here I figured that she would already know.

Last night at soccer we were talking with a parent whose youngest son was a peer in the program (at a different school) last year. She asked. I said he wasn't selected. She flipped out and couldn't believe it. I think she thought I was kidding.

After the girls’ soccer game last night I happened to notice the family with the twins. I guess we’ve known that the older boy (Abby’s classmate) plays in that league. On Wednesday’s the boy’s play right after the girls’ games. But what I was shocked to see was that the 2 ½ year olds (must be almost 3 if they are going to be in that program) twin boys were sitting in their strollers (two single strollers). They were just sitting there… in their strollers… just sitting there… outside at the soccer field. That is a great asset to be able to sit and be still. It is necessary to be able to do that at certain times. But outdoors - at a soccer field with plenty of nice safe green space to run and play – and a bazillion soccer balls? I’d be delusional to think that Spencer (or either of the girls’ at his age) would consider sitting in his stroller for that hour… or even long enough for it to be worth the effort of bringing it.

This morning Carie, Spencer & I went out for breakfast. There was a woman (a Grandma) working at a nearby table. She was clearly enjoying watching Spencer and another little girl a couple of tables over. Spencer and the girl were flirting with each other. She mentions that she has a granddaughter and a grandson that is about Spencer's age. Of course we are curious what "about his age" meant since people always think he is older than he is. Turns out, her grandchildren are just a bit older but it was clear that she thought that Spencer was older than he was. She commented on his development and his communication skills being well beyond where her grandchildren are at. This assessment coming from a total stranger with all of 20 minutes of distracted observation. Carie and I just looked at each other and laughed.

Maybe Spencer “isn’t ready” because he’s an active and silly boy. Neither of which are going to magically change in the next year. I wouldn't want him to change! That doesn’t mean that he can’t follow directions or participate in group activities.

The Mom Insinct

Last week Spencer went to what Ellie called "preschool roundup".

Spencer will go to preschool next fall, that is a given. Where he will go was still up in the air. We had registered him at one location and we were looking into a second location. The second location was the program that Abby & Ellie went through when they were 3. It was an incredible program and we'd love for Spencer to have the same opportunity. But to do so they have to go through an interview/screening process and get asked to return as a peer model.

We had no idea if Spencer would be selected or not, but we thought we'd give it a shot. Things have changed since Abby & Ellie's time. The teachers we had gotten to know had moved to another school (within the district). We knew they had moved and we were encouraged to send Spencer their way. There was now only one class at our "home school". There is a new set of teachers that we don't know, which is okay. And this year the forms didn't allow you to select your top school choices, they automatically assigned you to your home school.

When Abby & Ellie went through the interview process there were a lot of kids there. There were an amazing amount of kids for just two spots per class. Last week, there were only 4 kids and they were looking for two 3yo's and two 4yo's. It perplexes me why there were so few kids. Yeah, there are 3 fewer classes, but Carie and I agreed that even with that consideration there were significantly fewer kids there for "preschool roundup".

But it was clear that one of the (nearly) 3yo's wouldn't be asked to return as a peer model. It might very well be Spencer, I don't know. At pickup, after their 1 hour of preschool, we were told that they would call that afternoon.

That morning at drop off Carie discovered that the 4yo had been asked to return (an uncommon practice) as a 4yr old peer model. That 4yo has a younger sibling who is now interviewing for the 3yo program. They also have an older sibling who is in Ellie's class. Seems like a no brainer to me. That is one spot gone, one remaining.

But then I'm thinking how cool it would be if Spencer were asked to not only be in the 3yr program but also asked to return for the 4yr old program. How lucky would he/we be to be able to be in this program for his entire preschool experience!?!? I tried reigning in my big plans. After all, he first needed to be selected for the 3yr program.

The call came later in the afternoon. He wasn't selected. While that was a huge bummer, the vague reasons given didn't seem to align with what we know of our boy. Of course we stewed about it a bit. Of course we tried to blame ourselves for his lack of "readiness". What did we do wrong? Our conclusion was nothing. Why do we have apply blame? We were still struggling with the alignment of their reasoning and our gut feelings. We couldn't make them jive. Our mom instincts were raising red flags and saying no way.

Then yesterday afternoon I was at school picking up the girls from club. While I was there I was talking with some of the parents. One parent had, what appeared to be, a set of twins with her. She also has a son in Abby's class. I didn't know that she had 2 1/2 year old twins. I'm sure I've seen her with one of the younger boys before, but not both. She happened to volunteer to me that one of the boy's will qualify for services to be in the 3yr old preschool program next year and the other boy has been asked to be a peer for that class. Well, there ya go. That would be the second - of two - spots!

Now, I know nothing about these boys. Nothing at all. I was with them for all of 10-15 minutes and I'm probably mostly remembering the boy who will qualify for services more than the other boy. But, come on. Spencer isn't ready? We aren't 1st time parents. We've been through this before. Carie and I both think that Spencer is far more ready and far more fits the personality that they are looking for in a peer model than Abby & Ellie ever were. That isn't to say that they didn't do great. But now we are (a bit) wiser.

I was livid, to say the least. Why even go through the motions? And most of all, why not be honest with us? It is totally possible that they feel he "isn't ready". It is entirely possible that the two that were selected are more qualified than Spencer. Entirely possible. It could be that they just feel that the two other kids would be the best fit for their class next year. I can accept that.

But with all of this other information at hand I'm have a really hard time trusting them. Why not just be honest? I'm sure there are many other PC statements that they could use that wouldn't indicate that a child is lacking in some area.

I called the coordinator this morning. I wasn't as clear and confident as I would have liked to have been. She didn't even have the information from the schools yet. I'm not even sure she has any involvement or input in the process. But our information is now being forwarded to the individuals I want it to be forwarded to.

If we do choose to apply for next year, as we were encouraged to do, I think it is possible that we'll consider requesting a specific school. We had an awesome experience with those teachers and after talking with our current K teachers, those preschool teachers are highly praised. And I know that we can trust them.

Kid Speak

What a weekend... and it is only Saturday morning. I took yesterday off to get some things done, specific things. Well, I have yet to start those specific things. It was a busy day and we accomplished more than we even knew we had to accomplish, but not my projects. But we'll go into that later.

It is a nice day and it isn't raining. Kids were getting ready to go out and play. Carie mentions to Spencer that we need to get clothes on him before he can go outside. It may be nice out, but underpants aren't going to cut it. Spencer, in all seriousness, replies "I'll be just fine".

Kids dressed and outside.

Carie and I then begin discussing (because really, as parents do you ever finish a converastion?) what we'd like to do tonight, sans kids. Kids are more than thrilled that sitter is coming over later this afternoon!

Spencer comes inside (from the backyard) and runs down stairs. He has something very important and exciting to tell us, we can see it in his body language and hear it in his voice... "I got close to a jackrabbit and it pooped out a marble".

He then hands Carie a marble. Thankfully it wasn't covered in poop!

Hey Ellie

Yesterday morning we woke to the sound of...

Spencer: (said in a loud voice of shock and amazement) "Hey Ellie, there is a bike in the bathtub".

Everyone else was asleep, including Ellie. She had no recollection of him talking to her.

My first foggy thought was, oh (insert profanity) we are so busted. You see, this would be his bike for his 3rd birthday that doesn't happen for nearly two more weeks.

And yes, his bike was in the bathtub! Why? Well, for many many reasons. It was previously in the back of the van, but then we needed to use that space for something else - like groceries - and he would have totally seen it then. Not to mention soccer season has started and we are all in and out of the back of the van for soccer gear. I also wanted to clean it up a bit and get training wheels on it. Once it was all ready to go we were going to take it over to storage.

So I came up with the brilliant idea of the bathtub! It fit perfectly. I wanted to scrub it down anyways. It isn't like the kids use the bathtub very often. Don't worry; they get cleaned now and again via the shower (the preferred bathing choice in our household) in the main bathroom. The bathtub, located in their upstairs bathroom, just isn't used very frequently. We are so maxed out on space that the bathtub was the most viable option to hide something that large! It worked for a good long time. I have no idea what possessed him to look behind the shower curtain that particular morning when the rest of the household was still asleep.

But instead, we were busted. I had just bought training wheels the prior afternoon. I had already cleaned it up.

And then we hear him say "Why is Ben's bike in the bathtub?"

YAY! He totally thinks it is Ben's bike. Our next dilemma was 1) does the bike just disappear (I’m noticing a trend here) or 2) do we "return" the bike to Ben or preferably his mom?

We went with the disappear approach and this morning Spencer was all like where'd Ben's bike go? I want to ride it! You want to ride Ben's bike? Cool! I guess you'll like it in TWO WEEKS buddy. But oh, I have no idea what happened to the bike. It isn't there anymore? Really? Hmmm… I wonder what could have happened to that bike.

We could have, and almost did, go with the return approach but I didn't really want to involve Ben if we didn't have to. I think it would have been way confusing to Ben. He and his sister are all amped up for their birthday next week and I just didn’t want him to 1) have to get that it wasn’t his and 2) have to count on him to keep that secret for two whole weeks.

Is That Snow?

The spring soccer season has begun. You can see the excitement on all the kids faces. We've got 2 games under our belts but it appears that today's game has been cancelled (as it should be) due to SNOW.













Yes it is April. No it isn't April fools day. Yes it is snowing. It started snowing yesterday morning and is supposed to continue throughout today. Unfortunately it isn’t continuous snow and it isn’t accumulating at all. While I'm bummed that they won't be able to play I am not bummed that we won't be sitting outside in this cold wet weather.

We have tickets to a baseball game on Sunday afternoon. I was able to score some free tickets for us and some friends. The grand plan is to go to Church, grab some lunch and then go to the game. While we’d really like to pack a picnic style lunch and go to the game, I suspect that we'll bypass the game and go out to lunch. The weather isn’t looking good and I think we’d hear much complaining. But next week is supposed to be better. Unfortunately this week was spring break!

Rumblings Of Fear

There is really only one thing in life that I totally fear. Sure, there are many more things that I'd avoid at all costs, but there is only one thing that breaks my heart at the simple thought of the possibility.

My ultimate fear is losing my children, my partner, or my children losing one of us.

That pain becomes so real and so possible when I witness other families being separated for long periods of time or when a family has lost a loved one. This is especially true when young children are involved.

Recently one evening I thought it would be a great idea to abandon the ritual of watching one (or many) of the shows awaiting us on our DVR in favor of checking out the Movies on Demand section. It seemed like a fantastic idea at the time. We easily found a movie that looked promising to both of us. We settled in, watched, and very much enjoyed ourselves. Except a large part of the plot, that should have been clear to us before making our selection, was that this young girl loses her mother and her world is turned upside down. Overall we both enjoyed the movie. While it all ends wonderfully, the girl still lost her mother. I know it was "just" a movie. I was still a basket case! Because seriously, that is a reality for many families. Kick in the (familiar) fear that this reality could be us!

It has now been 5 months since the car accident that took a precious 11yo girl from her incredible family. Man that was a hard one to swallow and I'm not even her parents, sister, brother, grandparent, aunt, uncle, cousin, or best friend. But I knew the family fairly well and I am a mom. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think of Ashley and her family. There isn't a week that goes by that I don't send up a prayer and light a candle for them. Tears flow easily for them. Tears flow easily in fear.

Another biggie for me is fire. I know far too many people who have been affected by a fire. I'm always making sure the space heaters are being used properly. I'm always making sure the floor vents aren't covered up with rugs, towels, or clothes that the kids have discarded in the bathrooms. I do need to test the (hard wired) smoke detectors. The kids are old enough that we should create an evacuation plan. We need to do this! I worry that this isn't enough. I worry that there may be nothing we can do to prevent such a thing.

I get so sappy witnessing families being separated (or even reuniting) as they serve our Country. These families are making huge sacrifices. I think about the kids. I think about how hard it would be for me to be separated for that length of time. I witnessed my uncle deploying while my aunt and their children remained strong and supportive. On the outside they were much stronger than I! It is so hard to even imagine what it must be like. I again think of the kids and the sacrifices they are making.

Generally speaking all these fears hang out at bay and don't rule my life. But they are most defenitely there. They are triggered by certain events and then rational side of me tries to regain composure.

Oddly last night my fears were mildly triggered by an unusual event (for us). We had gone out to grab something to eat and give the kids an opportunity to run and play. It has been raining, the kids had been cooped up inside all day, it is spring break, and everyone needed to get out of the house.

At about the same time we arrived, another family had arrived also. Though the dynamics seemed off and we were puzzled at first. Then another adult (male) joined them and gifted the 2 young kids (age 4 and almost 3) gender specific cheap toys. It was soon clear that he was "dad", the woman was "mom", and the role of the 3rd adult was still a mystery. But not for long! Throughout the time they were all there the 3rd adult would suggest different ways for the dad to interact with the children. Instead of suggesting that the almost 3yo “tell mom that she is mad at her for eating all the french fries”, the 3rd adult suggests that the girl tell her mom that “she would like some french fries please”. And perhaps there is a more appropriate way to address your 4yo son who just beat the crap out of my 2yo son. I didn't want the boy to "get in trouble", but seriously. My boy can "hold his own" and he may be physically bigger than your son, but that doesn't make it okay. I guess he could have chosen worse words than "wallops" when explaining to his son why he shouldn't do such things. Why can't it just be that we shouldn't do those things? Why can't it just be that it isn't kind and it is hurtful? Why can't that be reason enough?

After a bit the dad tells the kids bye (all stoic) and leaves while the mom, kids and other adult remained. The other adult is busily writing notes on a packet of papers. It becomes pretty clear that this was a supervised visit for the dad. It is sad if this was his "best behavior" as a parent, after all he knew that he was being critiqued. Carie and I were then grateful to one another that while we may not "get it right" as often as we'd like, we haven't gotten it so wrong that we need supervision. Not that my bar has been adjusted.

Then today I finally did it, I finally took a look at the Sex Offender Registry. There is a big to do around here because a federal law will change the way our state classifies sex offenders. I've been in denial for long enough, so I checked it out. I don't know what I was expecting. I don't know how, or if, this will change how I parent. But my search returned 3 - Level 3 - sex offenders. One of which lives literally blocks from us. Another lives next door to the indoor soccer complex where we were just this past weekend (with a bazillion other kids) for soccer pictures. The third has absconded!

I then looked at my parent’s neighborhood and my search returned 17 - Level 3 - sex offenders. None of which are quite as close as ours, but still... 17. I found 16 for my brother & SIL, 17 for Carie's sister & BIL, and (not surprisingly) 41 for Carie's brother & SIL's location.

Whether it is 3 or 41, bottom line is we need to continue to keep our kids safe, even if it is out of fear. As long as my love for them is what drives that fear and it isn’t the fear that is driving the love.

Duck Says Moo

Spencer was playing with their little Leap Frog radio thing and he happened upon some of the songs. At one point the tune of Old McDonald started.

Us: Spencer, what animal is on the farm?
Spencer: Cow!
Us: What sound does a cow make?
Spencer: Mooo
Us: Not overly impressed. I mean, he knows this stuff. Moving on. Spencer, what other animals are on the farm?
Spencer: Duck!
Us: And what sound does a duck make?
Spencer: Mooo!
Us: Hmm, let's refresh. What sound does a cow make?
Spencer: Mooo!
Us: If a cow says moo how can the duck say moo too?
Spencer: Because the duck is inside the cow's tummy!

Makes perfect sense now!

The Litter Box

I've been asked for pictures of the finished product. I'm certain the curiosity is driven by the color choices! :)

The virtual tour: The view is from the hall outside the "laundry room".
► In its rearranged state; we now have the washer & dryer immediately to the right upon entering the room. Realistically you don't even have to "enter" the room. Open the door and there it is! LOL
► Next to the washer (on the left) we have a cart that contains all of our laundry supplies. We've had this cart for years and continue to love it.
► Then there are bins to help sort and organize things like rags and laundry that is stained and (ought to be) in the process of stain treating/re-washing. These bins are a new addition to our laundry process and I really like them. I don't know how Carie feels about them. :)
► We then have the garbage can. We want a garbage can in here but have yet to come up with the ideal spot. Like we have a lot of choices! Before it was right inside the door, which had its pros & cons.
► In the far right lower corner (next to the plumbing) you'll see the remains of the previous dryer vent. I think this new system is working great so I should probably get rid of those pieces. In reality, I'm sure they'll be there for a long while to come.
► Along the back wall are clothes hampers. These are currently here for a trial period! Before they resided in the (small) closet in our bedroom. But, that system was really working better than anything we had tried before. So if this doesn't work, they will return to our closet and all will be right with the world.
► Along the left wall is the furnace & hot water heater. You'll notice that the door to this room does not and will not open all the way. This is as far as it goes folks. The poor hot water heater has a big ding in it from the door knob.
► Behind the door is a nice little corner for shit to collect.
► We added more lights to the room. There was quite the discussion on what lighting to get. Thankfully Carie went simple and got what I wanted. They aren't fancy, by any stretch of the imagination. But they are decent, they provide really nice light, they were only $5 each, and it is a utility room the size of a litter box!
► The "laundry room" really extends to the hallway. There is a long hallway between the family room and the kids play room with doors to the laundry room and a bathroom. We've got a shelf installed right outside the laundry room that gives us a place to hang up clothes.
► Yeah, the door is green and you may even see some of the blue-ish color. This is an extension of the kids’ playroom which has a few fun bright colors. Don’t worry; our whole house isn’t like this! Comparatively, the rest of the house is pretty boring.





















Colors up close!











My handy little helpers!
(I have no idea what Ellie is doing with her leg)

Back To Normal?

I think, perhaps, that Spencer is getting back into his normal sleep routine. That is, the incredible sleep routine that he was in pre-paci disappearance. It has been a pleasant surprise to notice the huge changes in the past week.

Naptime and bedtime are going much more smoothly for everyone.

It is nice, very nice.

He is also wearing big boy pants and is feeling very proud of himself.

Family Weekend, Damnit

As we headed into the weekend we didn't have any firm plans. We had a lot of options swirling around in our heads, options of things that must be attended to sooner rather than later. Surely this would be the weekend to tend to those things, right? Ha! Instead it turned into a weekend of family fun! Anything to avoid the inevitable!

Saturday morning both Carie and I got to sleep in. We are pretty sure all the kids slept in as well. When Spencer woke up he went into Abby & Ellie’s room instead of coming to us. Abby & Spencer then went downstairs to do some bonding over their kid shows. At some point Carie & her radar ears heard some noise and just as she went to check it all out she was met by Ellie on the stairs. I, the sleeping dead, didn't hear anything for a little while longer. While we've (mostly me) gotten to sleep in on several occasions before, both of us getting to sleep in is a new experience. The kids are growing up!

I then had the brilliant idea that we ought to attempt a movie at the movie theatre. I was actually pretty sure that Spencer would do okay. I was more worried about the girls', Ellie in particular. So we checked out the trailers and talked about options. After everyone was on board to the whole plan we finally figured out that going later in the day, after Spencer's nap was the option that would work best. Unfortunately the phone rang later in the day and Ellie was invited to a friend’s house to play. She was then less than happy with us about requiring her to go to the movies with the family.

So in the meantime I decided that it would be the perfect time to tear apart our laundry/utility room, er box. Seriously, this room is the size of a small litter box and it contains the furnace, water heater, and the washer & dryer. I'm sure Carie was about ready to be done with me and my grand plans, but she went along with it all nicely. Ideally we needed to move the (stacking) washer & dryer to provide access to the furnace that needs some professional attention. For some reason they need more than a 12" clearance to do their job. If we were moving it, we might as well also do x, y AND z. Right? So we got all the moveable stuff cleared out. The girls' and I then began painting. This was probably their first big opportunity to paint walls of the house - with permission - and they had a blast. Long ago we had bought some fun paint from the cheap bin at the hardware store. The bin that contains mixed paint that people had left behind. So we began painting with this really cool orange color. After all, it was just the laundry/utility room and it needed a bit of splash! We painted as much as we could reach before calling it a day. We then got cleaned up and headed to the theatre to see the H0rt0n movie.

Everyone had a blast at the movie! We enjoyed yummy movie theatre popcorn, some pop, and even some candy while taking in the movie. There were, of course, the inevitable scary parts. I thought they were funny, but for a 5yo who is absolutely terrified of shots it wasn't so funny. Then near the end there was a line "eating rainbows and pooping butterflies". Carie was all like "seriously?" I looked over at the kids and then said that maybe they didn't catch it? Not 3 seconds later Spencer inquisitively said "poop butterflies?" Great! After the movie it was well past the dinner hour so we went to that play place for food and fun as promised.

Sunday morning was our usual routine. After lunch Spencer went up for his nap and the girls and I went to finish up the laundry room. We had moved the beast of the washer & dryer into their new location which then opened up the last section for painting. To help balance out the darker orange color, we decided to paint the other wall a yellow. We had a couple of small cans that we had also gotten from the cheapo bin so I mixed those two cans together (as planned) and it made a really cool yellow and complimented the orange very nicely. The girls had a blast painting again. I think they were on cloud 9. I was pleasantly surprised with how well I handled their painting help all weekend. It was a fun activity for all 3 of us!

Later that afternoon we got a call from some friends inviting us to dinner. They had promised their 3y0 that they'd go to that play place for dinner and wanted to know if we could join them. Sure! Unfortunately we were just there the night before and we try not to visit with regularity, but we'd love to meet up with our friends. The kids had a blast and we really enjoyed talking with our friends... for 2 hours!

We then went and checked out a bike I had spotted on CL. We were very surprised to find this bike in superb condition. It was perfect - exactly what I had been looking for over the past many many months. I did feel a little guilty because the family that was selling it should have asked for way more than they did. But now we have an awesome bike and the timing couldn't have been more perfect. We'll get it cleaned up, get some training wheels on it, and somehow wrap it up for Spencer's 3rd birthday. It is amazing how these things work out! We had found a new bike that we had settled on and figured we’d wait to see if it went on sale. Sure enough, that day it went on sale and now we have an even better bike at a better deal. We don’t even have to assemble it!

After getting the kids into bed we finished getting the laundry room back in working condition. The washer & dryer had been out of commission long enough and the laundry was most likely piling up. Thankfully, in this process, we were able to clean out the dryer vent and get it all hooked back up properly. It was clear that whoever hooked it up before missed the mark, which would totally explain all the lint that would accumulate in the laundry room!

Now our laundry room is freshly painted, bright, clean, organized, and just a nice place to be... if you have to.

Those other things, we’ll, they’ll have to be tended too soon!