Crunch Time

August is always a busy month for us, but this August seems even more busy than usual.

Next month, we are hosting our Life Group (small group from church) and we still haven't finished our living room. So, along with everything else, we still have to finish the living room. The living room furniture is in the boys' room and our dining room, so really we have at least three rooms to finish.

We just got accustomed to our new, later schedule. Then on Saturday morning Jon called work to see if he could start early to make it easier to do traffic duty at church the next day. Instead of having him start early, they had him switch to third shift for the week. For the week! There went our schedule! However, God always provides. Mr. M. went home that afternoon. Jon is on third this week which makes him available for the visitation and funeral. There is also a rumor at Jon's workplace that they will have a new schedule bid soon. I have no idea what our regular schedule will be now.

So here's a glimpse of today and the next thirteen days:

Aug. 11 - We have to get the younger two girls home from my sister's (South of here) and the boys from my parents' (North of here). Jon has a Stage Right (drama ministry) meeting. Jon works.

Aug. 12 - Mr. M.'s visitation is from 2-4 and 6-8. We figured we would go during the earlier time, since we can. However, Puppy Dog has a dentist appointment at 2:30 in Urbana. Jon's mom also has surgery on this day. Jon works.

Aug. 13 - Mr. M.'s funeral at 10:30 AM, my grandmother's birthday, our fifteenth anniversary, and Kitty Kat's thirteenth birthday Jon's mom has a Dr. appt. and may need a ride?

Aug. 14 - Jon has a chiropractor appointment.

Aug. 15 - Jon goes back on second shift. Jon works.

Aug. 16 - We will probably have to go to all three services at church, if Jon is in a skit. Jon works.

Aug. 17 - Jon works.

Aug. 18 - I have a sleep study consultation at 8:45 AM. Jon works.

Aug. 19 - Jon has a dentist appointment at 4(?) We have a combined birthday party with our Life Group for the whole family at Young's Jersey Dairy. Jon's niece's birthday (15).

Aug. 20 - Jon's younger brother's anniversary (10th).

Aug. 21 - party for the above anniv. ? It may be moved to the 22nd.

Aug. 22 - Puppy Dog's seventh birthday. Jon works (?).

Aug. 23 - Birdie's eleventh birthday, church, and I think this is my week for nursery duty (if so, we attend all three services). Jon works (?). **I have a Sonflower Scouts leaders' meeting at 3PM.

Aug. 24 - first day of school, Jon's niece's birthday (3?)

Those are just the events we have written down on our calendar. I'm sure I'm forgetting something.

I'd better get to work!


**edited after receiving an e-mail.

Some of What We've Been Up To

We've been a little busy, lately.

Birdie, Monkey, and Puppy Dog were in our church's children's choir. This year they went by the name, Inside Out. Froggie and Kitty Kat didn't sign up for the Jr. High choir in time, so they didn't participate (on stage) in the Night of Worship this year.

Birdie and Monkey

Puppy Dog


all six children after the Night of Worship





We watched two of Jon's nieces last Saturday. While they were here, the children discovered some strange fungi (?). The children have been been observing the fungi each day. It dies off each day and then a new fungus is in the same area the next morning. Does anyone know what it is?





Birdie, Monkey, and Puppy Dog after their Inside Out award ceremony.

Kitty Kat, me, Froggie, Monkey, and Birdie after the Sonflower Scout badge ceremony

This is what our living room ceiling looks like right now. Little Bear says we made it naked. Actually, it's not even there. The old plaster ceiling was falling down, so we had to take it down. We're hoping to have the new ceiling up this weekend and get the living room repainted next week. We still haven't decided what color of paint to use. We have some ideas, though.

New Post Coming Soon

I haven't forgotten about all you wonderful people. I just haven't had time for Blogging. I'll be around to visit and post sometime soon, perhaps after we put our living room ceiling back up.

Lumber-Jon

Sunday, September 14 seems so long ago, doesn't it? Almost a full month ago, a part of our neighbor's ash tree fell on our roof. After a frustrating cycle between insurance, estimates, and unreturned phone calls, I talked Brandi into letting me do it myself (I promise I won't fall off the roof, honey!). And yet, I still don't have the job done. You may be wondering what is taking so long, and frankly, so am I. So if you could please tell me...

Mandatory overtime at work (I was not allowed by work to refuse), mandatory family time (no tree is gonna get between me and my kids), keeping my Sunflower happy (need I explain?!?), and lack of a spotter have all conspired with my general fear of falling (a very healthy fear, I might add) to keep me from getting back up on the roof to finish the job. Yes, I said back up. I was up once, which would be when I discovered my fear of falling. Not really afraid of heights, just afraid of falling. With a brother spotting me, I spent 3 to 4 hours up there with a chainsaw just cutting off the leafy branches. Today, for lack of a spotter, I am trying to break down the limbs into firewood, kindling, and compost.

Pictures of me usually look like this,

but I let Brandi (a.k.a. Sunflower) snap some of me while I was "on the job."

Carrying one of the many branches after stripping it to cut it up.

Cutting with POWER ! Arrr arrr arrr.

Halfway done with the little branches, now for the rest on the roof (still !).

Doesn't look too bad, but don't .....

... look down.

I Tried to Warn Him!

I really, did try to warn my husband about the hose that blew (Tickle for Tuesday). I called him on his cell phone while he was at work. He is not supposed to receive calls while working, so when it went straight to voice mail I just left a message. *Note to self: DO NOT DEPEND ON MODERN TECHNOLOGY! WRITE A NOTE NEXT TIME!

J. woke me up very early, ~ 4 am. He said something to effect of finding the leak the hard way. "I left you a message." "My phone was dead." Uh-oh, he didn't receive the message!

It turns out that J. went to Wal-mart after work and picked up some liquid hand soap. (In order to save money I have been diluting dish detergent for the kitchen pump and cheap kids' bubble bath for the upstairs bathroom. J. never said it bothered him, but now I know better.) When J. got home, he filled an empty hand pump. While filling the pump, a little went on the outside of the dispenser (or something--remember, it was really early my brain was fuzzy), so he wiped it off with his finger or hand. He then decided to prime the pump. He had soap on his hand and when he went to wash them, the cold water took the path of least resistance and came out the pipe that was supposed to be hooked up to the dishwasher. J. had to re-clean the cabinet and everything in it. Fortunately, it only took him two towels to do the job. He then proceeded to fix the line. He did this work with the soap on his hand. I guess he was tired, too. He didn't think to rinse it off in the bathtub. When J. got home he had plugged his phone in. After I had been up with him for a while, we heard his phone receive the voice mail.

A Tickle For Tuesday

My mom sent me an e-mail with a link to a monitor cleaner at the end of January. I put off following the link until tonight.

monitor cleaner

It turns out that it just had to be a "God thing" that I went to it today. I needed the humor.

I had decided to share the link, so I went to create a post. Just as the posting template came up, I heard what sounded like the pressurized steam being released from a paper mill. If you have been in the vicinity of a paper mill when this happens, then you know what I mean. If not, then imagine the weight blowing off the valve of a pressure cooker. The sound came from my kitchen. No little people were in the kitchen. I went to investigate and discovered that the water line to our dishwasher had blown off the hot water line under the kitchen sink. Steaming hot water was spraying (think high pressure) out of the pipe out toward the cabinet door and all over my hardwood kitchen floor. "Quick, grab some towels!," I hollered. Kitty Kat and Monkey came to the rescue. I tried to turn off the valve, but I wasn't strong enough. I had to go find a pair of pliers. Finally, I was able to turn off the water.

The two girls helped clean up the water from the floor, emptied the cabinet, wiped off each item they took out, discarded soggy items that couldn't be saved, dried the cabinet, and put everything away. Meanwhile, I changed my clothes and started a load of towels in the washer. Puppy Dog helped get me an empty basket for getting the load out of the dryer so I could change the loads around. He also took the full basket out of our tiny laundry area for me. Both boys wanted to be in on the action in the kitchen, but I kept shooing them away so they wouldn't get their feet wet and have to change again before bed.

It is now about 9:45 pm here and the kids are all in bed. They're only forty-five minutes late for bed.

Where were Froggie and Birdie? They were in a trance in front of the T.V. They were completely oblivious to what was going on a couple rooms away. It was probably a good thing though, they would have been scared.

Hmm...I guess I better go fold that laundry.

Brr. . . It's getting cold.

J. and I started putting plastic over the windows yesterday. We still have a lot of areas to cover to get rid of all the drafts. We're going to have to get more house wrap. We were able to cover the windows in our back porch room with enough left to cover two more windows. We still have eighteen windows in the upstairs to cover. If we cover the rest of the downstairs windows that is an additional twelve windows. Yikes, we have a lot of windows! We should save a lot on energy costs and be warmer if we get them all covered. They are nowhere near airtight.