I came home yesterday and saw that our new neighbors have subscribed to the Walmart pool movement. You know the one. I've referred to it here before. The one where a blue bag of water sits on the lawn. The one where I think to myself, "You know, growing up with a pool, you had to have a deck and a fence and locks so that kids couldn't get into it and drown." At least on theirs, it has a cover to keep debris out.
Still, I detest the blue Walmart pool. I detest the Walmart pool as much as I detest those blow-up holiday decorations that people pin all over their yards. (One is one thing. To have acreage helps. Around here, we're not even sitting on a quarter of an acre and the houses are mostly ranches. The blow-ups look like the Stay Puffed Marshmallow Man taking over New York City.)
Hubs and I were discussing this very bag of water the other day. We were walking and I'm glad to say that other than the people across the street and one person around the corner, we are Walmart pool free in our neck of the woods. Still, when you really look at it, it is an adult wading pool. I mean, as an adult, you look pretty silly sitting in a plastic shell. You look so much cooler sitting in a slightly higher (in this case, though there are ones that are deeper that the one that the neighbor has installed) blue saggy blop of thick plastic filled with city water. Theirs has a filter and pump and all that. They are serious about it. Oy. Hubs said that he saw them putting it up and thought of me. I came in and asked if he could hear God audibly laughing.
As a bonus, we have the neighbor next to us who decided to install a wall of wood in his wife's flower bed, right next to our driveway. Hubs says that's okay. It'll provide a lovely home to the voles who have taken up residence in one of my flower beds. Double oy.
Showing posts with label TFTT. Show all posts
Showing posts with label TFTT. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
Tales from the Trenches: A PSA for everyone who drives.
We had gone to the Home Depot and were on our way to soccer. We were in a rather congested shopping district and were stopped at a light. Suddenly, I thought that water was being thrown on me. I looked over and saw the wiper blades going on the very large SUV next to me. (I was in my RAV which isn't tiny. At least we weren't in the Yaris. It would have given the entire car a bath!)
I had just been washed by windshield washer fluid.
The woman in the passenger seat looked horrified as I was wiping blue fluid from my arm and across the top of my door.
She did not open her window.
She did not apologize.
They drove away in traffic as fast as they could.
I know that they didn't do it on purpose, but I would have rolled the window down and apologized profusely for spraying someone down with blue chemicals.
Please make sure that if you have a hankerin' to wash the windshield at a stop light, please make certain that the cars next to you have their windows up first. I have gotten over spray through the moon roof, but people don't see that open and certainly don't expect the fluid to fly over their car and 1/2 way over mine.
My daughter would like me to kindly remind everyone that if you go to a drive-in restaurant, please remember that those who are sitting in the cars next to you aren't enjoying the cigarette smoke. She's smoke sensitive (Instant bronchitis anyone?), so she is very tuned into whether people are smoking or not. The last two times we stopped by our local (YUM!) drive-in, we've had to roll the windows up because of smokers. YUCK!
I had just been washed by windshield washer fluid.
The woman in the passenger seat looked horrified as I was wiping blue fluid from my arm and across the top of my door.
She did not open her window.
She did not apologize.
They drove away in traffic as fast as they could.
I know that they didn't do it on purpose, but I would have rolled the window down and apologized profusely for spraying someone down with blue chemicals.
Please make sure that if you have a hankerin' to wash the windshield at a stop light, please make certain that the cars next to you have their windows up first. I have gotten over spray through the moon roof, but people don't see that open and certainly don't expect the fluid to fly over their car and 1/2 way over mine.
My daughter would like me to kindly remind everyone that if you go to a drive-in restaurant, please remember that those who are sitting in the cars next to you aren't enjoying the cigarette smoke. She's smoke sensitive (Instant bronchitis anyone?), so she is very tuned into whether people are smoking or not. The last two times we stopped by our local (YUM!) drive-in, we've had to roll the windows up because of smokers. YUCK!
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
Tales from the Trenches: Sidewalk Chicken
When we went to the outlet mall yesterday, we found that people played sidewalk chicken with K and me. Now, I know that it wasn't my imagination because Hubs was a couple of paces behind and actually watched it.
We were in the Pepperidge Farms Outlet Store, K and I were off to the side walking down the wall of product and a woman walked from the middle of the store and started walking straight at me. Knowing that I wasn't standing in front of product, I continued on with K following. The woman finally got to me and then announced, "Well EXCUSE ME," and decided to walk around us. We didn't walk in front of her. She was trying to get in line. We were walking in the opposite direction. She veered to us, then wanted us to move and that would put us in the way of other people. Needless to say, the craziness got me, K and Hubs the heck out of that store. Nothing was purchased.
Later, we were walking down the sidewalk, saw people coming, so we "skinnied" over as we always do when we walk at night. The people fanned out, took up the whole sidewalk, then started walking straight at K and me. We ended up having to stop to allow them to pass. As they did, I said, "I'm so sorry. Excuse us." (Politely BTW.) Hubs said, "I can't believe it. I've seen it happen to you now twice." It's not like we were misbehaving, looked as if we were trouble or anything.
Hubs insists that it is because I'm short.
I have it happen on a fairly regular basis. People in stores have walked right in front of me and have gotten into line right ahead of me, regardless to the fact that I/we (me and K) are in line. I'll be looking at things (The Crayola Store in Easton PA and the bookstore specifically come to mind) when I/we are looking at something and someone will reach over top/in front of or skinny between me/we and the product. At Crayola, K and I had our hands on some shirts and were looking at them when a woman walked through us (the store didn't have many people in it at the time) to which I replied, "I'm sorry. I believe that we might be in your way."
What are your experiences? My daughter is quiet and well-behaved. She is not jumping up and down and obnoxious in stores. In fact, people have stopped us to laugh at discussions we sometimes have. Yes, we are Christians and we try to be loving, let people in, get things for folks, K picks things up that people drop all of the time, but what makes us people that folks feel that they can disregard and walk completely over? I mean, K will be taller than me very soon. Kiddo and I now wear just about the same shoe size. Will they plow her over when she towers over her mama?
Give me your thoughts. Do you have the same thing happen?
We were in the Pepperidge Farms Outlet Store, K and I were off to the side walking down the wall of product and a woman walked from the middle of the store and started walking straight at me. Knowing that I wasn't standing in front of product, I continued on with K following. The woman finally got to me and then announced, "Well EXCUSE ME," and decided to walk around us. We didn't walk in front of her. She was trying to get in line. We were walking in the opposite direction. She veered to us, then wanted us to move and that would put us in the way of other people. Needless to say, the craziness got me, K and Hubs the heck out of that store. Nothing was purchased.
Later, we were walking down the sidewalk, saw people coming, so we "skinnied" over as we always do when we walk at night. The people fanned out, took up the whole sidewalk, then started walking straight at K and me. We ended up having to stop to allow them to pass. As they did, I said, "I'm so sorry. Excuse us." (Politely BTW.) Hubs said, "I can't believe it. I've seen it happen to you now twice." It's not like we were misbehaving, looked as if we were trouble or anything.
Hubs insists that it is because I'm short.
I have it happen on a fairly regular basis. People in stores have walked right in front of me and have gotten into line right ahead of me, regardless to the fact that I/we (me and K) are in line. I'll be looking at things (The Crayola Store in Easton PA and the bookstore specifically come to mind) when I/we are looking at something and someone will reach over top/in front of or skinny between me/we and the product. At Crayola, K and I had our hands on some shirts and were looking at them when a woman walked through us (the store didn't have many people in it at the time) to which I replied, "I'm sorry. I believe that we might be in your way."
What are your experiences? My daughter is quiet and well-behaved. She is not jumping up and down and obnoxious in stores. In fact, people have stopped us to laugh at discussions we sometimes have. Yes, we are Christians and we try to be loving, let people in, get things for folks, K picks things up that people drop all of the time, but what makes us people that folks feel that they can disregard and walk completely over? I mean, K will be taller than me very soon. Kiddo and I now wear just about the same shoe size. Will they plow her over when she towers over her mama?
Give me your thoughts. Do you have the same thing happen?
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Tales from the Trenches: My problem is one that most people would love to have.
My child reads.
She reads a lot.
It isn't generally a problem, unless at bedtime.
Last night, she was fully engrossed in the book, "Socks" by Beverly Cleary. She went to bed at 8:35 PM. I went in at 9:09 PM for the final tuck. There was low light. There was a reading pillow. There was a flashlight. There were huge eyes looking at me while a mouth was saying, "THE BOOK IS SO GOOD THAT I JUST CAN'T PUT IT DOWN!"
"It's 9:09 PM, and you can read until 9:15 PM."
"Okay, Mom!"
:tick, tick, tick:
I went in at 9:22 PM and the reading situation hadn't changed.
"K, you HAVE to go to bed!"
"Okay, Mom!"
"Now."
So, she finally put the book away. Turn now to this morning. Oh my heavens. It was a bear of a morning. She wouldn't get out of bed. She wouldn't get ready. She didn't feel well. She had a headache. She had a stomach ache. She had every complaint, but then wanted chocolate.
She went to the bus stop with a cup of dry cereal. Yup. That's all we could manage for breakfast.
This evening, we had a talk.
If she wants to read, she can go to bed at 8:00 PM and read until 8:30 PM. That's what she did tonight.
Incidentally, she just finished the "Socks" book. She said that it was wonderful and funny.
She will be up at 6:15 AM, bright eyed and bushy tailed.
She will get dressed, make up her bed, tidy a few things in her room and write her spelling words 3x each. (She chose to finish her book this evening and that was the trade.) Her bus comes at 7:40 AM, so she'll have plenty of time to work with AND! have breakfast at the table.
I have a readaholic. It's not a bad thing, unless we're talking about a tired kid in the morning that won't move.
Have a great night!
She reads a lot.
It isn't generally a problem, unless at bedtime.
Last night, she was fully engrossed in the book, "Socks" by Beverly Cleary. She went to bed at 8:35 PM. I went in at 9:09 PM for the final tuck. There was low light. There was a reading pillow. There was a flashlight. There were huge eyes looking at me while a mouth was saying, "THE BOOK IS SO GOOD THAT I JUST CAN'T PUT IT DOWN!"
"It's 9:09 PM, and you can read until 9:15 PM."
"Okay, Mom!"
:tick, tick, tick:
I went in at 9:22 PM and the reading situation hadn't changed.
"K, you HAVE to go to bed!"
"Okay, Mom!"
"Now."
So, she finally put the book away. Turn now to this morning. Oh my heavens. It was a bear of a morning. She wouldn't get out of bed. She wouldn't get ready. She didn't feel well. She had a headache. She had a stomach ache. She had every complaint, but then wanted chocolate.
She went to the bus stop with a cup of dry cereal. Yup. That's all we could manage for breakfast.
This evening, we had a talk.
If she wants to read, she can go to bed at 8:00 PM and read until 8:30 PM. That's what she did tonight.
Incidentally, she just finished the "Socks" book. She said that it was wonderful and funny.
She will be up at 6:15 AM, bright eyed and bushy tailed.
She will get dressed, make up her bed, tidy a few things in her room and write her spelling words 3x each. (She chose to finish her book this evening and that was the trade.) Her bus comes at 7:40 AM, so she'll have plenty of time to work with AND! have breakfast at the table.
I have a readaholic. It's not a bad thing, unless we're talking about a tired kid in the morning that won't move.
Have a great night!
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Tales from the Trenches: Germaphobia and the nose blower.
I've told all of you before that I work at an art gallery. My main job is display, but at times like this, I have nothing to do so I'm just doing sales things. (Generally I do a combo, but now we're really slow.)
I had a customer come up to me yesterday, hand over a gorgeous handcrafted cutting board while still clutching a used Kleenex. :ewww!: I took it from her, thankful that Purell was nearby. Then, she lifts said used Kleenex and with the gale wind force, starts blowing her nose right in front of me.
1. Yuck.
2. We all know that Kleenex can give out under extraordinary force tests such as these. We've all experienced the Kleenex blow-out.
3. I was directly in front of her.
I very obviously stepped down a giant step (I would have gone further, but that would have called for me to burrow into the wall) and the look on my face was probably not that good.
We have a bathroom.
She could have turned away.
I have a box of tissues and would have been happy to offer her a back-up wall of protection.
:scrunchy face:
I did a beautiful job wrapping her gift, wished her a good day, then promptly Purelled my hands and the pen that she used to sign with.
:even scrunchier face:
We really need to teach people better manners.
:the scrunchiest face:
Aren't you glad that I'm not a teacher? God allowed me to see my limitations and guided me to other places.
Thankfully.
I had a customer come up to me yesterday, hand over a gorgeous handcrafted cutting board while still clutching a used Kleenex. :ewww!: I took it from her, thankful that Purell was nearby. Then, she lifts said used Kleenex and with the gale wind force, starts blowing her nose right in front of me.
1. Yuck.
2. We all know that Kleenex can give out under extraordinary force tests such as these. We've all experienced the Kleenex blow-out.
3. I was directly in front of her.
I very obviously stepped down a giant step (I would have gone further, but that would have called for me to burrow into the wall) and the look on my face was probably not that good.
We have a bathroom.
She could have turned away.
I have a box of tissues and would have been happy to offer her a back-up wall of protection.
:scrunchy face:
I did a beautiful job wrapping her gift, wished her a good day, then promptly Purelled my hands and the pen that she used to sign with.
:even scrunchier face:
We really need to teach people better manners.
:the scrunchiest face:
Aren't you glad that I'm not a teacher? God allowed me to see my limitations and guided me to other places.
Thankfully.
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Tales from the Trenches: Don't worry, I'll bend down.
My daughter is growing.
And growing.
And growing.
This is where I remind you that I'm 5' 1".
This morning, I woke up about an hour later than I usually do. My alarm usually goes off at 6:09 AM with two options to have alarm smack-downs, then up at 6:30. Since I failed to set the alarm, I did not have that this AM, but with the bus coming at 7:40, we had enough time. (And I even had to pack lunch!) I ran down and grabbed K's uniform parts off the line, started packing her lunch and grabbed up breakfast for her. I was brushing her hair, she popped up to brush her teeth and then she stopped.
She bent down for me.
"Mom, don't worry. I'll bend down for you." You see, it's getting harder and harder for me to part her hair without her being seated.
My baby? She's growing older and taller.
:smirk:
I even bet that she'll be taller than me. That's okay. Hubs told her that she'll be 6' 4" (which she won't be) and I'll still be putting her into time out. All she could do was to laugh. I told her that I didn't care how tall she was, she just needs to remember that I'm mom.
A short mom.
Have a great day!
And growing.
And growing.
This is where I remind you that I'm 5' 1".
This morning, I woke up about an hour later than I usually do. My alarm usually goes off at 6:09 AM with two options to have alarm smack-downs, then up at 6:30. Since I failed to set the alarm, I did not have that this AM, but with the bus coming at 7:40, we had enough time. (And I even had to pack lunch!) I ran down and grabbed K's uniform parts off the line, started packing her lunch and grabbed up breakfast for her. I was brushing her hair, she popped up to brush her teeth and then she stopped.
She bent down for me.
"Mom, don't worry. I'll bend down for you." You see, it's getting harder and harder for me to part her hair without her being seated.
My baby? She's growing older and taller.
:smirk:
I even bet that she'll be taller than me. That's okay. Hubs told her that she'll be 6' 4" (which she won't be) and I'll still be putting her into time out. All she could do was to laugh. I told her that I didn't care how tall she was, she just needs to remember that I'm mom.
A short mom.
Have a great day!
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Tales from the Trenches: The dreaded school mornings.
Once school started back up, K has absolutely every excuse in the book to NOT get ready in the morning. (She was perfectly fine during break.)
"I feel like I'm going to throw up."
"No, for real this time."
"My foot hurts. Look at the bruise that I have."
"My head hurts."
"Real bad."
"My stomach hurts."
"Real bad."
"I can't stand up straight."
I understand that we're going through a bit of a thing this year. Getting her up and ready for school is more painful than a mouth full of root canals. This morning, she was running so late, that she had no time to brush her teeth.
"That is it. K, I'm telling you what I am going to do. We will NEVER have a morning where you can't brush again. I woke you up at 6:30 AM and now it is 7:40 AM. I'm letting you know that if you do this same thing tomorrow, I will wake you up at 6:00 AM on Wednesday. If you do the same thing Wednesday, I'll wake you up at 5:30 AM on Thursday."
"Okay, Mom. I promise. I won't do it again."
As it is, my alarm goes off at 6:09 AM so that I have two alarm clock smack-downs before getting K up. I snuggle in with her. We talk about stories and whatever it is that she wants to talk about. It is a school lunch day, so we had extra time since I didn't have to pack a lunch.
No, it isn't because she doesn't go to bed early enough. She goes to bed at 8:30 PM, but no later than 9 PM. Bedtime remains the same for non-school nights.
For the love that is all good and right in the world, mornings wear me out. K called me this afternoon to tell me about her social studies grade. "Mom, number 8, 9 and 10 were 5 points each." Gulp. "How'd you do, babe?" "I got 5, 5 and 5." "That's great! How did you do on your whole test? What grade did you get?" "22 out of 22! I got an A!" Turns out that K was sweating her social studies test grade. She said that she was convinced that she was getting a D when she actually scored perfectly. We discussed how that may have affected her behavior and about how she needn't sweat these things. She just needs to do her best.
She has decided that she wants to wake up at 5:30 AM tomorrow. I begged her to please wait until 6:20 AM. We have her alarm set, which is always set for 6:30 AM, but we've pushed it back a bit for her. She is looking forward (at least for tomorrow) of getting up and getting moving earlier.
Me thinks that she wasn't too fond of the idea of a cranky mom at 5:30 AM. We've discussed how nice the mornings are when she can take advantage of the extra time and chill with a little bit of cartoons before the bus.
Let's hope this plan sticks.
ETA: The morning went well. K got herself up at 6:30 AM. She was delightful. She had breakfast, made her bed, brushed her teeth and we even had extra time to tie a headband in (a two people job with this one.) She has city wide writing assessments this week, so I'm glad that she shuttled off happy, fed and well. No complaining of the typical morning ailments, either. I hope that this is a permanent situation, but something tells me that it probably isn't. I'll take it while I can get it.
"I feel like I'm going to throw up."
"No, for real this time."
"My foot hurts. Look at the bruise that I have."
"My head hurts."
"Real bad."
"My stomach hurts."
"Real bad."
"I can't stand up straight."
I understand that we're going through a bit of a thing this year. Getting her up and ready for school is more painful than a mouth full of root canals. This morning, she was running so late, that she had no time to brush her teeth.
"That is it. K, I'm telling you what I am going to do. We will NEVER have a morning where you can't brush again. I woke you up at 6:30 AM and now it is 7:40 AM. I'm letting you know that if you do this same thing tomorrow, I will wake you up at 6:00 AM on Wednesday. If you do the same thing Wednesday, I'll wake you up at 5:30 AM on Thursday."
"Okay, Mom. I promise. I won't do it again."
As it is, my alarm goes off at 6:09 AM so that I have two alarm clock smack-downs before getting K up. I snuggle in with her. We talk about stories and whatever it is that she wants to talk about. It is a school lunch day, so we had extra time since I didn't have to pack a lunch.
No, it isn't because she doesn't go to bed early enough. She goes to bed at 8:30 PM, but no later than 9 PM. Bedtime remains the same for non-school nights.
For the love that is all good and right in the world, mornings wear me out. K called me this afternoon to tell me about her social studies grade. "Mom, number 8, 9 and 10 were 5 points each." Gulp. "How'd you do, babe?" "I got 5, 5 and 5." "That's great! How did you do on your whole test? What grade did you get?" "22 out of 22! I got an A!" Turns out that K was sweating her social studies test grade. She said that she was convinced that she was getting a D when she actually scored perfectly. We discussed how that may have affected her behavior and about how she needn't sweat these things. She just needs to do her best.
She has decided that she wants to wake up at 5:30 AM tomorrow. I begged her to please wait until 6:20 AM. We have her alarm set, which is always set for 6:30 AM, but we've pushed it back a bit for her. She is looking forward (at least for tomorrow) of getting up and getting moving earlier.
Me thinks that she wasn't too fond of the idea of a cranky mom at 5:30 AM. We've discussed how nice the mornings are when she can take advantage of the extra time and chill with a little bit of cartoons before the bus.
Let's hope this plan sticks.
ETA: The morning went well. K got herself up at 6:30 AM. She was delightful. She had breakfast, made her bed, brushed her teeth and we even had extra time to tie a headband in (a two people job with this one.) She has city wide writing assessments this week, so I'm glad that she shuttled off happy, fed and well. No complaining of the typical morning ailments, either. I hope that this is a permanent situation, but something tells me that it probably isn't. I'll take it while I can get it.
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Tales from the Trenches: I have tools and I know how to use them.
I'm on the display staff at an art gallery. My job isn't just taking a pile of miscellaneous art and twirling it around into a sellable arrangement of goods. Sometimes I have to use tools.
Yes, tools.
Sometimes they involve power.
Today, while I was cruising around with my library cart filled with all sorts of hardware, I picked up my drill to use it. An older lady asks me, "Is that your drill?"
"Yes."
"Do you use it?"
"I'm part of the display staff here, so yes I do."
"Bless your heart."
Okay. :tip of the head:
Over the years, I've had a number of men stand and watch me. They feel the need to critique my form with tools.
"You need to hold the hammer here."
"Oh, you have a drill. Huh."
"You know, I think that you are stripping the head of that screw."
Thank you. I really wanted the peanut gallery. Occasionally, I have poor form. Sometimes I hold the hammer a little closer to the head to have a bit better control when displaying, oh-- I don't know, expensive and breakable items. Gentle handies, that is.
I just giggled when she said that to me. I'm thinking that the gentleman at her house does all of the repairs. Well, that's at least the ones requiring tools. What would she think if I told her that I have my own set of tools at home?
Smiles in my day:
- Our cousin, Janeen, is being induced and we will have a new baby soon! She left me a 5 AM email asking for prayer.
- I woke K- up by playing the Meow Mix commercial really loud. She laughed and laughed. I told her that I need it as a recording to use every morning. It is her favorite jingle.
- K- woke me up at about 5 AM laughing and laughing in her sleep. I left her to laugh. I figured that she was having an awesome dream and far be it from me to interrupt that.
- I rolled my ankle in a hole in the backyard a few days ago. I couldn't figure out why my ankle was hurting, but then I remembered being so relieved that the foot didn't break again. I have a strip of tape wrapped around my ankle and that has tamed the angry tendon. I got out a lot easier than Rachael with the bolts and screws. :S
Have a great night!
Yes, tools.
Sometimes they involve power.
Today, while I was cruising around with my library cart filled with all sorts of hardware, I picked up my drill to use it. An older lady asks me, "Is that your drill?"
"Yes."
"Do you use it?"
"I'm part of the display staff here, so yes I do."
"Bless your heart."
Okay. :tip of the head:
Over the years, I've had a number of men stand and watch me. They feel the need to critique my form with tools.
"You need to hold the hammer here."
"Oh, you have a drill. Huh."
"You know, I think that you are stripping the head of that screw."
Thank you. I really wanted the peanut gallery. Occasionally, I have poor form. Sometimes I hold the hammer a little closer to the head to have a bit better control when displaying, oh-- I don't know, expensive and breakable items. Gentle handies, that is.
I just giggled when she said that to me. I'm thinking that the gentleman at her house does all of the repairs. Well, that's at least the ones requiring tools. What would she think if I told her that I have my own set of tools at home?
Smiles in my day:
- Our cousin, Janeen, is being induced and we will have a new baby soon! She left me a 5 AM email asking for prayer.
- I woke K- up by playing the Meow Mix commercial really loud. She laughed and laughed. I told her that I need it as a recording to use every morning. It is her favorite jingle.
- K- woke me up at about 5 AM laughing and laughing in her sleep. I left her to laugh. I figured that she was having an awesome dream and far be it from me to interrupt that.
- I rolled my ankle in a hole in the backyard a few days ago. I couldn't figure out why my ankle was hurting, but then I remembered being so relieved that the foot didn't break again. I have a strip of tape wrapped around my ankle and that has tamed the angry tendon. I got out a lot easier than Rachael with the bolts and screws. :S
Have a great night!
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Tales from the Trenches: Why do I have to be the meanie?
I will start by saying that I love my husband and he is nothing but an absolutely wonderful father. He is very involved with K-, knows and helps with her school studies, takes her on trips with just him and her, takes her to the doctor if that appointment falls on his day, cares for her when she is ill so that I can go to work and she loves him dearly.
With this, occasionally, I am put in the position of being the meanie. It is not a place that I like to be. Discipline is a must, though.
The other day, K- had been tired and a bit unwilling to cooperate and Hubs had told her that he wasn't going to get her a prize. Now, he is the prize dad. I am notsomuch the prize mom. Good behavior is expected with me. Good behavior is rewarded with dad.
I think that we need to hit a middle area.
At any rate, K- came to me and asked about the prize. "It has nothing to do with me, K-. That's up to you and dad." "But he sent me to ask you." I asked him about it and he said that it was up to me. "Um, no. This is your deal." "But (get this) you are the disciplinarian."
What? It is true. I have to put on my mean mommie hat and sometimes have to force K- to finish homework, household tasks and so forth. Tidying her bedroom is a weekly hassle. Grant you, it is much better than it was and a 10 minute tidy would really take care of the job. I feel like I am pulling hairs out one at a time in some weird unpublished torture to myself. Oh sweet heaven, sometimes I just want to do it for her, but I won't. I'll take the agony over making it easy. Sometimes three hours later, that 10 minutes worth of work gets done.
It's a bummer though. As the mama, I am home more often and am looked at as more the disciplinarian. I run a tightish ship at the House of Bailey's Leaf. We both want K- to be respectful, responsible and thoughtful. She is absolutely all of those things. It is because of discipline that she is, though.
When she gets older, will she hate me or respect me for having to be the meanie?
Smiles in my day:
- Lil Mak is fighting off a virus and until she can successfully keep food down, they will keep her at the hospital. My brother does not have insurance for her, so this will be a rather costly stay for them that they didn't expect. They've made payment arrangements, but I'm hoping that they will go forth and secure insurance now.
- I texted my brother Billy about Lil Mak's condition. While I did break the "don't contact me" rule that he laid out after I got on him about his screaming and swearing at Mom, he did contact Mom to find out what Mak's issue was and was going to leave work to sit at the hospital with Dump and Renee. I laid out an olive branch and though there was no reciprocation, at least I wasn't poked in the eye with it.
- K- ran into Noggin (Billy's son) at the pool today and they got to talk for a bit. It did her heart good to be able to see him. He's enrolled in school where they are living and I think that he is looking forward to starting school there again.
- Laying out a prayer request and y'all pray without ceasing. Thank you much for that!
Have a great night!
With this, occasionally, I am put in the position of being the meanie. It is not a place that I like to be. Discipline is a must, though.
The other day, K- had been tired and a bit unwilling to cooperate and Hubs had told her that he wasn't going to get her a prize. Now, he is the prize dad. I am notsomuch the prize mom. Good behavior is expected with me. Good behavior is rewarded with dad.
I think that we need to hit a middle area.
At any rate, K- came to me and asked about the prize. "It has nothing to do with me, K-. That's up to you and dad." "But he sent me to ask you." I asked him about it and he said that it was up to me. "Um, no. This is your deal." "But (get this) you are the disciplinarian."
What? It is true. I have to put on my mean mommie hat and sometimes have to force K- to finish homework, household tasks and so forth. Tidying her bedroom is a weekly hassle. Grant you, it is much better than it was and a 10 minute tidy would really take care of the job. I feel like I am pulling hairs out one at a time in some weird unpublished torture to myself. Oh sweet heaven, sometimes I just want to do it for her, but I won't. I'll take the agony over making it easy. Sometimes three hours later, that 10 minutes worth of work gets done.
It's a bummer though. As the mama, I am home more often and am looked at as more the disciplinarian. I run a tightish ship at the House of Bailey's Leaf. We both want K- to be respectful, responsible and thoughtful. She is absolutely all of those things. It is because of discipline that she is, though.
When she gets older, will she hate me or respect me for having to be the meanie?
Smiles in my day:
- Lil Mak is fighting off a virus and until she can successfully keep food down, they will keep her at the hospital. My brother does not have insurance for her, so this will be a rather costly stay for them that they didn't expect. They've made payment arrangements, but I'm hoping that they will go forth and secure insurance now.
- I texted my brother Billy about Lil Mak's condition. While I did break the "don't contact me" rule that he laid out after I got on him about his screaming and swearing at Mom, he did contact Mom to find out what Mak's issue was and was going to leave work to sit at the hospital with Dump and Renee. I laid out an olive branch and though there was no reciprocation, at least I wasn't poked in the eye with it.
- K- ran into Noggin (Billy's son) at the pool today and they got to talk for a bit. It did her heart good to be able to see him. He's enrolled in school where they are living and I think that he is looking forward to starting school there again.
- Laying out a prayer request and y'all pray without ceasing. Thank you much for that!
Have a great night!
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Tales from the Trenches: Giving of the first fruits.
This week at Vacation Bible School, I'm in charge of running the Missions project. I gave the director a quick overview of past projects that I had done and she and Rev. K chose for me to do a kid-friendly food collection to benefit a local charity.
The first few nights were a little thin. The director was very sad, but I told her that things would start to come in. They started coming in today. 13% of the items donated have expired, including some from 2008. I know that I've touched on this in regard to the collection that we do at the school each year.
Cleaning out the cupboards just for numbers kills me.
We're to give from our first fruits. Particularly in this case, we're collecting for those in need. If we wouldn't see fit to feed our families expired evaporated milk, soup from 2008, boxes of potatoes and so forth, why would we think that people who are in need would be wanting the cast offs?
For K-, I went to the store and purchased things that I knew that she loved. I wanted her to not only give, but to sacrificially give. I bought her favorite cheesy crackers, fruit snacks that we don't buy but she loves, gold fish, banana chips (which I thought she liked but she doesn't) and macaroni and cheese. I loved the initial, "Mom! I love those!" I loved it because I knew that to her, she was truly donating something that was a love of hers.
For this evening, I'll be going down to my shelf in the basement to find more things to donate tomorrow. I need to beef up the givin's.
Yes, I'll check the dates.
Smiles in my day:
- My MIL took K- to her very first county fair. They had a truly lovely time and turns out that K- was a clown in the children's circus. She played games and won lovely things. She had a grand time and reports that she was thankful and let grandma know so.
- K- is having a fantastic time at VBS.
- The grocery is across the street from the church and I was able to dash in to get a sandwich before the evening began.
- The church sponsors a uniform swap and I was able to swap 3 uniform pieces for 3 that fit.
- I'm getting to know a lot of people from the church is this week. They kind of seem happy to have me there. That's always a good thing. The very beginning started out a hair rough, so I'm glad that it all shook out.
- Grandpa's house appears to have sold. I'm so glad that my dad won't have to go through another never-ending house for sale saga like they did with Poppy's house. That took 2 1/2 very long years. I don't think that they even buried a St. Joseph in the front yard.
Have a great night!
The first few nights were a little thin. The director was very sad, but I told her that things would start to come in. They started coming in today. 13% of the items donated have expired, including some from 2008. I know that I've touched on this in regard to the collection that we do at the school each year.
Cleaning out the cupboards just for numbers kills me.
We're to give from our first fruits. Particularly in this case, we're collecting for those in need. If we wouldn't see fit to feed our families expired evaporated milk, soup from 2008, boxes of potatoes and so forth, why would we think that people who are in need would be wanting the cast offs?
For K-, I went to the store and purchased things that I knew that she loved. I wanted her to not only give, but to sacrificially give. I bought her favorite cheesy crackers, fruit snacks that we don't buy but she loves, gold fish, banana chips (which I thought she liked but she doesn't) and macaroni and cheese. I loved the initial, "Mom! I love those!" I loved it because I knew that to her, she was truly donating something that was a love of hers.
For this evening, I'll be going down to my shelf in the basement to find more things to donate tomorrow. I need to beef up the givin's.
Yes, I'll check the dates.
Smiles in my day:
- My MIL took K- to her very first county fair. They had a truly lovely time and turns out that K- was a clown in the children's circus. She played games and won lovely things. She had a grand time and reports that she was thankful and let grandma know so.
- K- is having a fantastic time at VBS.
- The grocery is across the street from the church and I was able to dash in to get a sandwich before the evening began.
- The church sponsors a uniform swap and I was able to swap 3 uniform pieces for 3 that fit.
- I'm getting to know a lot of people from the church is this week. They kind of seem happy to have me there. That's always a good thing. The very beginning started out a hair rough, so I'm glad that it all shook out.
- Grandpa's house appears to have sold. I'm so glad that my dad won't have to go through another never-ending house for sale saga like they did with Poppy's house. That took 2 1/2 very long years. I don't think that they even buried a St. Joseph in the front yard.
Have a great night!
Monday, July 2, 2012
Tales from the Trenches: Teaching financial responsibility to an 8 year old.
My daughter is a spender. She gets it from her father. Hubs is a spender. He has said that if he was in charge of the finances, we would not have the savings that we have.
You know, I believe him.
When cleaning K-'s room (for and with her), I found that while she had the bills in the money jar, I found change everywhere. After we were done cleaning and all the change had been found (I think), we dumped the jar out, K- counted all of it and found that she had $30.00. I told her that I would allow her to spend $5.00, but that we were going to go to the bank to open an account and that she would put her $25.00 in there.
We went to the bank, she went to the counter with me and I asked her to tell the gentleman what she wanted to do. "May I please open a bank account?" :insert grin of bank teller: "Of course!" She told him about the money that she had and that $10.00 came from Grandpa when he won $20.00 on the scratch-off's. She said that he took his $10.00 and bought more lottery tickets. :insert laughing from the bank teller: We talked about the ability to direct deposit her allowance into her account just like Dad gets his pay check direct deposited. "Absolutely! What jobs do you do?" "Well, I do a lot of work." :insert Mom shaking head: "I take out the garbage!" "You do!" "Yup!" "Well, that doesn't sound like fun." "Oh, it is! I get to take the cans to the street!" He looked at me and laughed. "Just wait until she sees how much fun it is to haul a city can in the snow!" He laughed some more. We got the account opened, her money deposited and I now have her allowance deposit scheduled for deposit each "payday." That would be Friday. ;) I can cancel the deposit of the week if the jobs weren't done. I think that after K- sees the dollars add up in her account, she'll know that working for a few bucks isn't such a bad thing. I did tell her that no work or if we have to pester her = no pay or not as much pay. I told her that her dad and I wouldn't get paid if our bosses had to beg us, too.
Later, we went to the store to find a treasure for K- to buy with her money. We found that a local craft store had some Webkinz, but sadly, people had stolen the codes from many of them. That made her mad when she realized that someone stole the codes. She decided that she wanted to go to Toys R Us to check out their goods. You and I both know that $5.00 hardly purchases anything in the Land o' the Giraffe, but it took K- a hard lesson to learn that. She left teary, saying that everything was just "too spendy." We had a discussion before we went in that she could only spend what she had and that I would not add money to hers for her to purchase something out of her price range. She did do one bit of pleading about, "You can buy me this one and give me extra for that one." It wasn't obnoxious and I didn't cave. (Hubs is the caver.) Turns out that we tried a store down the road from TRU that she was fairly determined that she didn't want to go to, but then she found them-- a stash of beautifully kept Webkinz, all codes intact AND! for $3.25 each. She even had extra money to purchase fake hair braids stuck onto bobbie pins. (I make them sound glamorous, don't I?) You should have seen the look on the face of the cashier when she pulled out her change purse and it was all in change. She would have counted it, but in the interest of NOT having the people behind us throw things at us, I counted it out for her. You know what? She still had change remaining. Her frown did turn upside down and she decided that store wasn't such a bad thing at all.
Later, I sat her down and told her that if I went into the store to buy something, only had a certain amount of cash in my hand, the store wouldn't let me get more just because I wanted it. (We'll skip credit cards and lines of credit for now.) I told her that sometimes you can't buy what you want because you don't have the money or it is too expensive. I also told her that it can pay to shop around. (The three stores we went to were on the same road and in about a 1 mile strip.) We didn't tour the county for a deal, but we went within a reasonable distance.
I'm trying to teach her to save and to be responsible with money. If you have any ideas, do share!
Smiles in my day:
- Listening to my people giggling and laughing about some misadventures that happened in their good day of fishing, despite the 92 degree heat, battery dying for the boat motor, the loss and regain of an oar, the near loss of K-'s new fishing pole, the hassock falling out of the truck and gaining speed as it rolled down the boat ramp. It had been, er, used (lightly and not soiled), so I have to admit that I'd rather have it roll out of my truck than to tip over in it. That part had them laughing the hardest!
- We had a busy day and the time went by quickly.
- Despite the moderate drought we are suffering through, I'm keeping the plants going. I do have a flower basket that is in the medical care unit of the backyard as the intense heat finally got to it in a big way, but everything else seems to be holding on. I would love a break from watering. That and the rain barrel needs a filling. We have squash blossoms, collards growing like crazy, tomatoes happily hanging, peppers peppering, ground cherries ripening, corn moving upwards, green beans sprawling onwards and potatoes holding their own. The butterfly bushes are blooming, despite the weather abuse that they've suffered from this year. Eeek!
Have a great day!
You know, I believe him.
When cleaning K-'s room (for and with her), I found that while she had the bills in the money jar, I found change everywhere. After we were done cleaning and all the change had been found (I think), we dumped the jar out, K- counted all of it and found that she had $30.00. I told her that I would allow her to spend $5.00, but that we were going to go to the bank to open an account and that she would put her $25.00 in there.
We went to the bank, she went to the counter with me and I asked her to tell the gentleman what she wanted to do. "May I please open a bank account?" :insert grin of bank teller: "Of course!" She told him about the money that she had and that $10.00 came from Grandpa when he won $20.00 on the scratch-off's. She said that he took his $10.00 and bought more lottery tickets. :insert laughing from the bank teller: We talked about the ability to direct deposit her allowance into her account just like Dad gets his pay check direct deposited. "Absolutely! What jobs do you do?" "Well, I do a lot of work." :insert Mom shaking head: "I take out the garbage!" "You do!" "Yup!" "Well, that doesn't sound like fun." "Oh, it is! I get to take the cans to the street!" He looked at me and laughed. "Just wait until she sees how much fun it is to haul a city can in the snow!" He laughed some more. We got the account opened, her money deposited and I now have her allowance deposit scheduled for deposit each "payday." That would be Friday. ;) I can cancel the deposit of the week if the jobs weren't done. I think that after K- sees the dollars add up in her account, she'll know that working for a few bucks isn't such a bad thing. I did tell her that no work or if we have to pester her = no pay or not as much pay. I told her that her dad and I wouldn't get paid if our bosses had to beg us, too.
Later, we went to the store to find a treasure for K- to buy with her money. We found that a local craft store had some Webkinz, but sadly, people had stolen the codes from many of them. That made her mad when she realized that someone stole the codes. She decided that she wanted to go to Toys R Us to check out their goods. You and I both know that $5.00 hardly purchases anything in the Land o' the Giraffe, but it took K- a hard lesson to learn that. She left teary, saying that everything was just "too spendy." We had a discussion before we went in that she could only spend what she had and that I would not add money to hers for her to purchase something out of her price range. She did do one bit of pleading about, "You can buy me this one and give me extra for that one." It wasn't obnoxious and I didn't cave. (Hubs is the caver.) Turns out that we tried a store down the road from TRU that she was fairly determined that she didn't want to go to, but then she found them-- a stash of beautifully kept Webkinz, all codes intact AND! for $3.25 each. She even had extra money to purchase fake hair braids stuck onto bobbie pins. (I make them sound glamorous, don't I?) You should have seen the look on the face of the cashier when she pulled out her change purse and it was all in change. She would have counted it, but in the interest of NOT having the people behind us throw things at us, I counted it out for her. You know what? She still had change remaining. Her frown did turn upside down and she decided that store wasn't such a bad thing at all.
Later, I sat her down and told her that if I went into the store to buy something, only had a certain amount of cash in my hand, the store wouldn't let me get more just because I wanted it. (We'll skip credit cards and lines of credit for now.) I told her that sometimes you can't buy what you want because you don't have the money or it is too expensive. I also told her that it can pay to shop around. (The three stores we went to were on the same road and in about a 1 mile strip.) We didn't tour the county for a deal, but we went within a reasonable distance.
I'm trying to teach her to save and to be responsible with money. If you have any ideas, do share!
Smiles in my day:
- Listening to my people giggling and laughing about some misadventures that happened in their good day of fishing, despite the 92 degree heat, battery dying for the boat motor, the loss and regain of an oar, the near loss of K-'s new fishing pole, the hassock falling out of the truck and gaining speed as it rolled down the boat ramp. It had been, er, used (lightly and not soiled), so I have to admit that I'd rather have it roll out of my truck than to tip over in it. That part had them laughing the hardest!
- We had a busy day and the time went by quickly.
- Despite the moderate drought we are suffering through, I'm keeping the plants going. I do have a flower basket that is in the medical care unit of the backyard as the intense heat finally got to it in a big way, but everything else seems to be holding on. I would love a break from watering. That and the rain barrel needs a filling. We have squash blossoms, collards growing like crazy, tomatoes happily hanging, peppers peppering, ground cherries ripening, corn moving upwards, green beans sprawling onwards and potatoes holding their own. The butterfly bushes are blooming, despite the weather abuse that they've suffered from this year. Eeek!
Have a great day!
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Tales from the Trenches: Spring sports season, Earth Day and snow.
Last week, which was the first week of soccer, it was warm. It was in the low 80's, I had K- dressed up in minimal clothing for the game (short socks, camisole under jersey), sprayed her with sunscreen, packed water and snacks in the cooler and off we went for me to score a sunburn. (Oops.) This week, I packed the child with as many clothes as I could get on her (think of Randy in A Christmas Story) and I had on my deep winter walking jacket, wool/fleece & leather gloves, a winter hat, wrapped in a wool blanket and I was STILL cold. The wind, the drizzle and the cold were biting.
On the positive end of things, K- scored a goal last week and helped with a goal assist this week. Despite weather (and some major flak for making her wear an emergency poncho under the jersey), she pulled it out and made it happen.
She just finished up swimming this past weekend. I've been able to send her out with slightly damp hair other weeks, but this week I needed to make it bone dry. Brrrrr.
On a positive note, K- passed her swimming exam and was bumped up to the next level. This probably doesn't seem like a big deal, but it usually takes her 2 seasons to pass to the next level. She only started Level 3 this February. I think that her success was partially due to the smaller class. K-
s class was smaller to begin with. It had 8 kids, but then dwindled down to 4. It was nearly, but not quite, private lessons. For $50.00 for 8 lessons, that just can't be beat!
Unsports related, after swimming, we cruised out to see Hubs and the Earth Day celebration at the park. It was cold and rainy. We were helping to pack up and I sent K- off to make a kite. I got up there, was watching what she was doing and one woman in the tent lit up a cigarette. K- looked at me and I was gently pulling her back. "Oh Ma'am, she can finish." "Oh, she's okay." "No, she can finish, it's alright." "Ma'am, I'm sorry, but my daughter is very allergic to smoke." She turned around, saw her mom with a cigarette and yelled for her to put it out. I felt bad, but my child's health was far too important. When we went to leave, the lady came to apologize. She was in tears. "Ma'am, I'm so glad that you said something." I told her that I didn't want her to worry about it, but I've spent far too much time in the doctor's office with K- not to remove her from that somehow. Turns out that she has allergies (actual anaphyllaxis) from perfumes. She said that she felt so dumb to not even think. To her credit (and I told her this), it was the end of the day, it was cold and rainy and it probably was just habit. For whatever it is worth, I don't think she'll do that again.
Since we had a threat of 2" of soggy, heavy snow, I went and covered annual dianthus, mums and my blooming soapwort with heavy pots. While we didn't get the snow, 35 minutes east of here had a Winter Storm Warning yesterday. Crazy! I'll have to go pull my pots this morning, before I cook my little plants.
Now if you'll excuse me, I must go put on my coat and untied shoes to do dances with pots. Have a lovely day!
On the positive end of things, K- scored a goal last week and helped with a goal assist this week. Despite weather (and some major flak for making her wear an emergency poncho under the jersey), she pulled it out and made it happen.
She just finished up swimming this past weekend. I've been able to send her out with slightly damp hair other weeks, but this week I needed to make it bone dry. Brrrrr.
On a positive note, K- passed her swimming exam and was bumped up to the next level. This probably doesn't seem like a big deal, but it usually takes her 2 seasons to pass to the next level. She only started Level 3 this February. I think that her success was partially due to the smaller class. K-
s class was smaller to begin with. It had 8 kids, but then dwindled down to 4. It was nearly, but not quite, private lessons. For $50.00 for 8 lessons, that just can't be beat!
Unsports related, after swimming, we cruised out to see Hubs and the Earth Day celebration at the park. It was cold and rainy. We were helping to pack up and I sent K- off to make a kite. I got up there, was watching what she was doing and one woman in the tent lit up a cigarette. K- looked at me and I was gently pulling her back. "Oh Ma'am, she can finish." "Oh, she's okay." "No, she can finish, it's alright." "Ma'am, I'm sorry, but my daughter is very allergic to smoke." She turned around, saw her mom with a cigarette and yelled for her to put it out. I felt bad, but my child's health was far too important. When we went to leave, the lady came to apologize. She was in tears. "Ma'am, I'm so glad that you said something." I told her that I didn't want her to worry about it, but I've spent far too much time in the doctor's office with K- not to remove her from that somehow. Turns out that she has allergies (actual anaphyllaxis) from perfumes. She said that she felt so dumb to not even think. To her credit (and I told her this), it was the end of the day, it was cold and rainy and it probably was just habit. For whatever it is worth, I don't think she'll do that again.
Since we had a threat of 2" of soggy, heavy snow, I went and covered annual dianthus, mums and my blooming soapwort with heavy pots. While we didn't get the snow, 35 minutes east of here had a Winter Storm Warning yesterday. Crazy! I'll have to go pull my pots this morning, before I cook my little plants.
Now if you'll excuse me, I must go put on my coat and untied shoes to do dances with pots. Have a lovely day!
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Tales from the Trenches: Yellow hello!
The pollen. Oh dear me. The pollen. My vehicle is a lovely red. Well, it was. Now it is a yellowish orange.
Pollen.
My people are taking their allergy meds (thank you God for those) and sometimes pollen is just too much for what the meds can do.
:snuffle:
I understand.
We still do our 2 1/2 mile walk/ride each night. K- has now started taking the neighbor girl with us, which is a great motivator for K-. When we have no E-, there is a lot of whining. I'm glad to take E- any night she wants to go. Yesterday, we had high winds. The girls pushed with their little leggins up the big ole fat hills against the wind (yes, you can thank me for that Bob Seger earworm later) and no whining whatsoever.
I do think that they probably slept well.
Hubs and I have found that keeping up with the girls has increased our exercise level and dear sweet love, I was walking like an osteoporotic woman yesterday because my hips, butt and thighs hurt so badly. Good times.
My foot started hurting.
We pressed on.
In other news, I've found plenty of other volunteer tomatoes in the beds. Of course, I didn't realize what that batch of "weeds" were last night until AFTER I plucked most of them. Oops. That's okay. I left the 1/10 behind that I didn't get in the first swipe and even gave them a lovely watering.
The seeds that I planted in my greenhouse last week are coming up. So far, the Marvels of Peru are winning. I still have portulaca that I seeded sitting on the wait to be transplanted. Ground cherries, nicotiana and some pear tomatoes are peeking up. I'm still waiting for the jasper and sweetie tomatoes, as well as the mini bell peppers. They will all pop up in time.
Now if you'll excuse me, my bathroom required a bit of a bleach spray down this AM, as the vinegar, baking soda and Bon Ami weren't really going to do the trick on the grout. Must press on and get it scrubbed before work.
Good day, all!
Pollen.
My people are taking their allergy meds (thank you God for those) and sometimes pollen is just too much for what the meds can do.
:snuffle:
I understand.
We still do our 2 1/2 mile walk/ride each night. K- has now started taking the neighbor girl with us, which is a great motivator for K-. When we have no E-, there is a lot of whining. I'm glad to take E- any night she wants to go. Yesterday, we had high winds. The girls pushed with their little leggins up the big ole fat hills against the wind (yes, you can thank me for that Bob Seger earworm later) and no whining whatsoever.
I do think that they probably slept well.
Hubs and I have found that keeping up with the girls has increased our exercise level and dear sweet love, I was walking like an osteoporotic woman yesterday because my hips, butt and thighs hurt so badly. Good times.
My foot started hurting.
We pressed on.
In other news, I've found plenty of other volunteer tomatoes in the beds. Of course, I didn't realize what that batch of "weeds" were last night until AFTER I plucked most of them. Oops. That's okay. I left the 1/10 behind that I didn't get in the first swipe and even gave them a lovely watering.
The seeds that I planted in my greenhouse last week are coming up. So far, the Marvels of Peru are winning. I still have portulaca that I seeded sitting on the wait to be transplanted. Ground cherries, nicotiana and some pear tomatoes are peeking up. I'm still waiting for the jasper and sweetie tomatoes, as well as the mini bell peppers. They will all pop up in time.
Now if you'll excuse me, my bathroom required a bit of a bleach spray down this AM, as the vinegar, baking soda and Bon Ami weren't really going to do the trick on the grout. Must press on and get it scrubbed before work.
Good day, all!
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Tales from the Trenches: Hooray for the rain barrel!
Yesterday, I hooked the rain barrel back up. It really was only a three second job, but I did find out that somewhere over the course of our non-existent winter, the spigot on/off widget had broken. No fear! Ace Hardware had what I needed, it was a $5.00 replacement and this one is infinitely more substantial than the one that came with the rain barrel.
Rain barrel, you say? Why yes. We bought a water urn from Home Depot last year. We've absolutely loved it and for K-, it seems like second nature to water the plants from the rain barrel, as opposed to the municipal water source. (We only had to do that twice last year.)
Last night, we did have some sprinkles. We had absolutely nothing significant, but our rain barrel was 1/3 full when I checked it. Hubs was even shocked when I told him how much water we had collected! I watered the garden (collards and two separate plantings of peas) as well as the Sweet Peas (flowers.) I filled the watering can all the way up so that when it does storm in the next day or so, the winds won't make it go by way of Mary Poppins. We're ready to collect more! I've got seedlings to get rolling here, so to use the rain water on them will also be a rather lovely thing.
Eee! So excited that the rain barrel is working again!
Have a great day!
Rain barrel, you say? Why yes. We bought a water urn from Home Depot last year. We've absolutely loved it and for K-, it seems like second nature to water the plants from the rain barrel, as opposed to the municipal water source. (We only had to do that twice last year.)
Last night, we did have some sprinkles. We had absolutely nothing significant, but our rain barrel was 1/3 full when I checked it. Hubs was even shocked when I told him how much water we had collected! I watered the garden (collards and two separate plantings of peas) as well as the Sweet Peas (flowers.) I filled the watering can all the way up so that when it does storm in the next day or so, the winds won't make it go by way of Mary Poppins. We're ready to collect more! I've got seedlings to get rolling here, so to use the rain water on them will also be a rather lovely thing.
Eee! So excited that the rain barrel is working again!
Have a great day!
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Tales from the Trenches: We survived this one.
Y'all, it hit 25 degrees last night. Well, it really probably hit lower, since that was the temperature at about 7 AM. Hubs did dances with sheets with me and I think we may have pulled it off.
I think that the butterfly bushes may live to see another risk of frost. I do believe that will be Thursday and Friday night.
Why are we so crazy about the running of the sheets? Many years ago, we had a delightful tulip tree in the back yard. We planted it, as it had been a gift from Hubs' parents to us one Easter. She sat there (her name was Bethany) and did nothing for 4 years. I mean, she got some leaves, but she just sat there. There was no outward growing. It hit about 4 1/2 years after and Bethany took off like a rocket! She was getting so big that I had to trim a few lower branches. She was about 6 years old when the May 26 hard frost hit. I came out and all of the tulip tree's greenness was wilted.
They dried up that day.
They fell off the following days.
Then she started to re-leaf. Hubs' comment was, "Oh no! It's leafing out on next year's leaves. That is it. The tree will die." "Nah! It's doing great." It seemed to be. Then the leaves started wilting.
And they dried.
And they fell off.
And she died.
:(
So, dances with sheets? It works for us! How did you fair during this cold snap?
Have a great day!
I think that the butterfly bushes may live to see another risk of frost. I do believe that will be Thursday and Friday night.
Why are we so crazy about the running of the sheets? Many years ago, we had a delightful tulip tree in the back yard. We planted it, as it had been a gift from Hubs' parents to us one Easter. She sat there (her name was Bethany) and did nothing for 4 years. I mean, she got some leaves, but she just sat there. There was no outward growing. It hit about 4 1/2 years after and Bethany took off like a rocket! She was getting so big that I had to trim a few lower branches. She was about 6 years old when the May 26 hard frost hit. I came out and all of the tulip tree's greenness was wilted.
They dried up that day.
They fell off the following days.
Then she started to re-leaf. Hubs' comment was, "Oh no! It's leafing out on next year's leaves. That is it. The tree will die." "Nah! It's doing great." It seemed to be. Then the leaves started wilting.
And they dried.
And they fell off.
And she died.
:(
So, dances with sheets? It works for us! How did you fair during this cold snap?
Have a great day!
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Tales from the Trenches: Friendships gone Facebook.
Hubs and I don't do Facebook. No offense to all who do, but we're anti-Facebook.
Y'all, we're in a minority.
There have been several occasions in the recent years that I've found out about different happenings with family and friends long after, because I was told, "Oh, I posted that on Facebook." They forget that I'm not one of a number of friends that they have on Facebook, so thus I'm left in the dust. I don't mean to make it all about me, but I miss the days that the telephone would ring and tell me the latest news with that member of my family or a friend.
Don't get me wrong. I understand Facebook being convenient and people getting together with people that they haven't seen in moons because of Facebook. I've also see the other side where a friend actually lost her job because of Facebook.
I've missed baby pictures.
I've missed job updates.
I've missed family updates.
I've missed requests for prayer.
I've missed praises.
I've missed frustration regarding class situations with one of K-'s friends.
I've recently missed information regarding a friend's mission trip abroad.
I've missed a lot of things.
How do you feel about Facebook? Do you miss things?
Y'all, we're in a minority.
There have been several occasions in the recent years that I've found out about different happenings with family and friends long after, because I was told, "Oh, I posted that on Facebook." They forget that I'm not one of a number of friends that they have on Facebook, so thus I'm left in the dust. I don't mean to make it all about me, but I miss the days that the telephone would ring and tell me the latest news with that member of my family or a friend.
Don't get me wrong. I understand Facebook being convenient and people getting together with people that they haven't seen in moons because of Facebook. I've also see the other side where a friend actually lost her job because of Facebook.
I've missed baby pictures.
I've missed job updates.
I've missed family updates.
I've missed requests for prayer.
I've missed praises.
I've missed frustration regarding class situations with one of K-'s friends.
I've recently missed information regarding a friend's mission trip abroad.
I've missed a lot of things.
How do you feel about Facebook? Do you miss things?
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Tales from the Trenches: Discussing Chardon with K-.
Many of you know that we live in Northeast Ohio. Chardon is a jog down the road, but it certainly isn't states away.
Hubs told K- this morning that it's just up the road from where he grew up.
Afraid to think that K- would go to school, hear something and not know what the deal was, Hubs and I discussed the Chardon shootings and deaths with her. I discussed with her how I've been at her school during lock down (real, not drills) on two separate occasions (one a child out of control and one special needs child thought to have gone missing) and I told her how everything is immediately buttoned up. She feels good about lock downs. She knows the drill and even giggled that they have to hide under the tables in the art room. I'm glad that she feels safe. I'm glad that they've built lock downs into their life so much that it is second nature, the kids don't panic and know exactly what to do.
Still.
I admit that until lunch yesterday, I had no idea what had gone on. I plopped K- on the school bus yesterday morning, went to two different groceries, got ready for work and left. The radio station, a locally funded station, made no mention of the shooting whatsoever. They may have considered that the media outlets were so incredibly saturated that at that point, people may need something to take a break. Apparently, the feeding frenzy for information became so much that my friend said that they even had a breaking news bit on the fact that they were setting up a plastic table for an expected news conference.
How sad it was this morning to hear that a second student has died.
We explained the shootings. We explained the deaths. We explained that the child may have been made fun of. We explained that even though Daddy and I were made fun of all through school, it didn't make us pick up a gun and shoot anyone.
"But why did he take a gun to school?"
"I don't know why. I can tell you that Mr. B-, Mrs. B- and all the teachers and staff at school work very hard to make certain that you are safe. You should probably thank them today for all of their hard work."
I'm sure that there will be more questions. We'll be there to answer them. Until then and beyond, our condolences to the families who have lost and our prayers for the children hanging on and all those affected.
How would you deal with the school shooting story with your child/ren?
Hubs told K- this morning that it's just up the road from where he grew up.
Afraid to think that K- would go to school, hear something and not know what the deal was, Hubs and I discussed the Chardon shootings and deaths with her. I discussed with her how I've been at her school during lock down (real, not drills) on two separate occasions (one a child out of control and one special needs child thought to have gone missing) and I told her how everything is immediately buttoned up. She feels good about lock downs. She knows the drill and even giggled that they have to hide under the tables in the art room. I'm glad that she feels safe. I'm glad that they've built lock downs into their life so much that it is second nature, the kids don't panic and know exactly what to do.
Still.
I admit that until lunch yesterday, I had no idea what had gone on. I plopped K- on the school bus yesterday morning, went to two different groceries, got ready for work and left. The radio station, a locally funded station, made no mention of the shooting whatsoever. They may have considered that the media outlets were so incredibly saturated that at that point, people may need something to take a break. Apparently, the feeding frenzy for information became so much that my friend said that they even had a breaking news bit on the fact that they were setting up a plastic table for an expected news conference.
How sad it was this morning to hear that a second student has died.
We explained the shootings. We explained the deaths. We explained that the child may have been made fun of. We explained that even though Daddy and I were made fun of all through school, it didn't make us pick up a gun and shoot anyone.
"But why did he take a gun to school?"
"I don't know why. I can tell you that Mr. B-, Mrs. B- and all the teachers and staff at school work very hard to make certain that you are safe. You should probably thank them today for all of their hard work."
I'm sure that there will be more questions. We'll be there to answer them. Until then and beyond, our condolences to the families who have lost and our prayers for the children hanging on and all those affected.
How would you deal with the school shooting story with your child/ren?
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Tales from the Trenches: Helping themselves.
When checking the bank accounts this AM, I noticed a debit of $500.00 that I did not authorize. Since it was on the same day as Hubs purchase of the boat trailer, I asked him for details. He had no idea and that sent me off to phoning the bank. The bank rep was very kind and hated to tell me that the withdrawal was from Social Security regarding benefits from someone that I knew who died. My aunt had me close out her account to avoid Social Security problems and instead, it cost me money. The deposit account was closed, so they went to the next best account with my social on it-- the account that Hubs and I share. Her money deposited just a few hours after her death, but because there was a few hours difference and the bank neglected to tell me that a deposit had occurred from Social Security on that same day of account closing, they helped themselves to my personal account with my husband to retrieve their funds. Nice. My aunt was determined I would flip her account upon her death to be certain fraud and additional deposits wouldn't occur and in doing so, I may be eating that $500. in the end if someone else files against that account regarding her estate. Super.
This is post 2 of the day. Keep reading!
This is post 2 of the day. Keep reading!
Tales from the Trenches: OverCHARGE!
On Sunday, I went to Target to pick up a few things. Here's my count from them:
Covergirl Simply Ageless Foundation- marked $12.09 on the shelf. I did a flick scan on that as I was cruising through the store and it scanned as $13.99. I went back to the shelf, took a photo of the product display with the price and took that to the register. They didn't debate the photo, gave it to me for the shelf price, took my coupon for $1.00 off and all was well.
Q-Tip 625 count with bonus 170 pack- peg marked $3.89. There were several pegs stocked with the same thing and all were marked $3.89. I cashed out, started looking over my bill and found that I had been charged $5.49 for the Q-Tips and went to customer service. She had to call, informed me that someone count have "moved the product" and I understand that, but in the end, I wasn't crazy and I was given the $3.89 price. I had a coupon for 30 cents I had used and told her that I had been pretty happy at $3.59 for all of the Q-Tips, but not at $5.49.
If you've added correctly, you'll see that on only two things, I was overcharged $3.50. That is an overcharge of 21.9%.
I went to Staples to stock up on some of their sale school supplies. We'll be having a fundraiser at school and one of the prizes is school supplies for the following year. I got my items, I cashed out, I checked my bill and there was an item that was to be 50 cents ringing for $2.99.
Not again.
I went back to the peg, read it carefully and saw that while the whole peg was stocked incorrectly, it was only the single pencil sharpener and not the dual sharpener that was on sale. I grabbed a sale sharpener, took it back up to the cashier and he apologized profusely. "I should have caught that." "Sir, it isn't your fault. The peg is stocked wrong." In the end, I switched it around and was given the credit back to my card.
If you've figured correctly, you'll see that I was charged $2.99 for a 50 cent sale item. That is a huge over-ring. Grant you, that wasn't the exact item on sale, but it was stocked incorrectly.
My husband reports that each time he goes to Walmart, there is always at least one overcharge on just a small handful of items. Long ago, I worked at a grocery store. Our scanning was inaccurate, so weights and measures (AKA the state) took away the scanning privileges. As a result, I can now do a 10 key adding machine with great speed. Still, if the penalty was so severe then, why can't it be that way now?
What about you? How is price scanning going on in your life? Seems as though I'm at customer service a whole lot.
Covergirl Simply Ageless Foundation- marked $12.09 on the shelf. I did a flick scan on that as I was cruising through the store and it scanned as $13.99. I went back to the shelf, took a photo of the product display with the price and took that to the register. They didn't debate the photo, gave it to me for the shelf price, took my coupon for $1.00 off and all was well.
Q-Tip 625 count with bonus 170 pack- peg marked $3.89. There were several pegs stocked with the same thing and all were marked $3.89. I cashed out, started looking over my bill and found that I had been charged $5.49 for the Q-Tips and went to customer service. She had to call, informed me that someone count have "moved the product" and I understand that, but in the end, I wasn't crazy and I was given the $3.89 price. I had a coupon for 30 cents I had used and told her that I had been pretty happy at $3.59 for all of the Q-Tips, but not at $5.49.
If you've added correctly, you'll see that on only two things, I was overcharged $3.50. That is an overcharge of 21.9%.
I went to Staples to stock up on some of their sale school supplies. We'll be having a fundraiser at school and one of the prizes is school supplies for the following year. I got my items, I cashed out, I checked my bill and there was an item that was to be 50 cents ringing for $2.99.
Not again.
I went back to the peg, read it carefully and saw that while the whole peg was stocked incorrectly, it was only the single pencil sharpener and not the dual sharpener that was on sale. I grabbed a sale sharpener, took it back up to the cashier and he apologized profusely. "I should have caught that." "Sir, it isn't your fault. The peg is stocked wrong." In the end, I switched it around and was given the credit back to my card.
If you've figured correctly, you'll see that I was charged $2.99 for a 50 cent sale item. That is a huge over-ring. Grant you, that wasn't the exact item on sale, but it was stocked incorrectly.
My husband reports that each time he goes to Walmart, there is always at least one overcharge on just a small handful of items. Long ago, I worked at a grocery store. Our scanning was inaccurate, so weights and measures (AKA the state) took away the scanning privileges. As a result, I can now do a 10 key adding machine with great speed. Still, if the penalty was so severe then, why can't it be that way now?
What about you? How is price scanning going on in your life? Seems as though I'm at customer service a whole lot.
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Tales from the Trenches: How am I going to know when the cherries are ready?
Aunt Donna had a love for cherries. She shared that love with K-. I would get weekly calls. "Amy, the cherries aren't ready yet." "Aimmmmmmmm-eeeee! The cherries are ready! Bring K- over and I have some for her."
Aunt Donna taught K- how to spit cherry seeds. Now, it sounds and is a disgusting habit, but I figured if that was what they were going to do, I'd at least spot them so that they didn't hit pedestrians with flying cherry pits/seeds. "Hold on. Hold on. Okay-- now!" They would sit on her bench, spit them from the 7th floor balcony and you would hear the little 'ting' when they hit.
On Sunday, I was walking through the produce section with K-. Tears suddenly started running down my face. "K-, how are we going to know when the cherries are ready?"
Aunt Donna taught K- how to spit cherry seeds. Now, it sounds and is a disgusting habit, but I figured if that was what they were going to do, I'd at least spot them so that they didn't hit pedestrians with flying cherry pits/seeds. "Hold on. Hold on. Okay-- now!" They would sit on her bench, spit them from the 7th floor balcony and you would hear the little 'ting' when they hit.
On Sunday, I was walking through the produce section with K-. Tears suddenly started running down my face. "K-, how are we going to know when the cherries are ready?"
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)