Do you have a list of things you need/want if you were to suddenly acquire some "extra" money? I know I do. Most of them are pretty boring things, and will take awhile to actually do (if they ever get done...)
Screen in our back porch so we can actually use it without sharing it with all the mosquitoes, spiders and dog hair.
Fence in the remainder of the yard and "snake proof" it.
Buy a dining room table. We're a family of five, soon to be 6, and our table seats 4 with no way to make it bigger. We bought it at a garage sale for $20, 5 years ago.
Paint the interior of the house.
Take out our existing garden tub and put in one twice the size.
Buy D a big, flat TV for his 30th birthday next spring.
Pay off our mortgage. (Currently our only debt.)
Take a vacation that does not involve driving to someone's house that we are related to.
Now that we've sold our other house, we plan on doing #1 & #3 immediately and putting the rest toward #7. We'll be saving up for #2 in the spring though and I plan on trying to sock away some money for #6 after that.
At 4 PM today we will sign over our first ever home to another couple. That little blue house was our first big purchase together and the place we brought our first 2 babies home to. We had lots of wonderful memories there and hope the new family is as happy as we were.
Good-bye!! We'll miss you but not that additional mortgage payment. ;)
My kids have been brutally honest and extremely funny lately. Some gems:
We were all in the master bathroom yesterday and O stepped up on the scale. I said, "Wow - you weigh 32 lbs! You're getting big!" and then O said that it was d's turn. d said he didn't want to get on the scale so O said, "It's your turn, Mama!" I said no thanks!! O said, "Yeah, you WAAAY too big!" and d said, "You might crush it or something." Thanks guys.
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Yesterday we read one of our many books on being a big brother and a few hours later I noticed d was staring at me very intently. When I asked him what was the matter he pointed and said, "When C was a baby he drank milk from THOSE and not from a bottle!" (the book had a bottle fed baby) and I concurred. We talked about it for a minute while O listened very carefully. Then, his eyes got very big and he exclaimed, "You have JUICE in 'er TOO?!" I think he was a little disappointed when I explained it didn't quite work like that.
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This morning d & O were running around with their "laptops" and getting in their "cars" and going to work. Then they were coming home and putting their shoes on and getting back in their cars and going to rugby. They said that that's how you play Daddy.
This will be a how-to post for those of us with red, clay dirt who still want to have a plentiful garden. Before we start, you should know a couple things.
1 - This was our first year for a garden. 2 - D did 90% of the actual gardening. 3 - I kill every house plant I've ever owned.
Ok... here we go...
First, we have a couple things in our favor. Most important, we have a very large yard and could commit a large space to gardening. This allowed us to plant a LOT of plants so even if there were several that didn't make it, we still had lots more. Secondly, we had a wet spring and a mild summer. This is just luck, obviously, but it allowed us a longer growing season and a big batch of lettuce in the spring. Unfortunately, we're getting a LOT of rain again now that it's fall, and that's not boding well for our tomatoes. However, we've had so many that we don't care too awful much at this point.
Things we did right: 1 - Picked a location for our garden that would drain well and got plenty of sunlight, but also had some shade so the hot Alabama sun wouldn't bake our food on the plant in July and August.
2 - Bought a big tiller and tilled the garden under several times before planting. Our red clay was hard as a rock and a hand tiller just wouldn't do it.
3 - Used compost as fertilizer. We have a compost pile out in our garden and D tilled it in with the dirt before planting. We didn't use any commercial fertilizers at all, just the compost pile.
4 - No pesticides. This is just personal preference, but I prefer no pesticides on my fruits and veggies, especially if I'm going to grow them myself. We had the luxury of this because we had SO many vegetables and if the bugs ate some there were still plenty left for us. We also have a lot of birds, and they loved eating the bugs out of the garden.
5 - A good gardener. I can't take much credit for this at all. D tilled the garden, put up the fence, planted, weeded, and picked - several times a week. If it were up to me, we wouldn't have fared nearly so well. (Especially after he killed the water moccasin under a tomato plant!) Once the stuff came inside, it was largely up to me to figure out how to use it, save it or get rid of it but D did make pickles and puree pumpkins. I cut up and blanched so much squash and shredded so much zucchini that we should have some all winter. I've also tried a lot of new recipes so that was good, even if they weren't always good.
6 - A fence. We just put up a simple wire fence and you might not need one, but we have a lot of rabbits, turtles, raccoons, possums, and various other wildlife that help themselves to our yard. The fence helped keep at least some of them out. We did have a little muskrat friend that came nearly every day to eat the pumpkin vines that were growing through the fence. He was cute.
7 - Water. While the spring was really wet, it did get pretty hot in July and we ran the sprinkler every night to keep the plants going. In a normal year we would probably need it more, but this year seemed wetter than normal and not *quite* as hot, although it was still HOT.
What we want to do different:
1 - Seed selection!! Next spring we need to pick our seeds a little more carefully. Not so much lettuce, not so much squash, more peppers, more corn, more watermelon. Not so many tomatoes.
2 - Mesh. We need to put mesh around the bottom of the fence and slightly buried underground, to keep the snakes out.
3 - Weeding. More of it.
4 - Canning. More of it. We made (a lot) pickles this year, but we recently acquired a pressure cooker so next year we can use more produce.
There you have it. I think we can attribute our success this year to two things: D's hard work and a lot of luck. We'll see if next year follows the same pattern.
I'm not even going to tell you how many got thrown straight into the compost pile. We've had so much rain that many of them are splitting. This is ONE day of picking! We pick about 3x a week. (we = D.) This should give you an idea of just how many tomatoes we've been dealing with! We've given a LOT of them away, but this last batch isn't particularly pretty so we'll probably dry most of them.
* I'm watching an old Project Runway, and while I like the show, it has never been more clear to me that I have NO interest in being fashionable. Also, I don't get it most of the time...
* I think Peso believes the kids are his brothers and not people. He jumps on their heads, tackles their legs and generally just attacks them. Luckily, he doesn't use his claws. Unluckily, I can't say the same for his teeth.
* I think I'm going to take my kids to Sonic for dinner tonight, because D isn't going to be home and now I don't have to cook.
* D's rugby game doesn't start till 8:30PM and the game will last about 2 hours, and it's at least a 2 hour drive home. I am overly worried about him driving home that late after a day of work and a strenuous game.
* I'm watching my belly bounce around like there's an alien in there. I'm 28 weeks today. Time is ticking...
* I'm in the 3rd trimester. It's almost October. How did that happen? This may have been the fastest summer in history!
* I can't decide if life as you know it is over when you have kids or if your life is really just beginning... It's almost like 2 totally separate worlds. Both really good in really different ways. Opportunity cost comes to mind. (it implies the choice between desirable, yet mutually exclusive results)
* We only have 6 tomatoes in the house, and I can see dozens of red tomatoes on the vine. I'm ignoring them. We've eaten, cooked with and given away so many dozens of tomatoes that I can hardly stand to look at them.
It's hard to believe that just 9 months ago, I posted about being unsure about whether or not to have more children. Now, here we are, clearly having made a decision; and I'm actually certain about our future plans.
Obviously, we decided to have one more baby. One LAST baby. I've never been more sure about a decision. So many mothers waver and distress and wonder over these kind of decisions. More kids? No more kids? I know I agonized over it.
I wasn't sure I would EVER know when it was the right time to stop but boy was I wrong!! Since I saw those 2 lines on the pregnancy test I knew that this was it. I've tried to enjoy all of it, but it hasn't been easy. I suffered through morning sickness and exhaustion- assuring myself it was just this one last time. I'm trying not to agonize too much over the weight gain. (Trying.) I tell myself I have plenty of time to work it off in the future. I'm reveling in the kicks and twirls that Little L does to make herself known.
It can, however, be hard to enjoy things that aren't particularly enjoyable and I'm already ready to meet Little L. At the same time, I don't want to wish away the last trimester of my last pregnancy.
I know it will be more than a little bittersweet when my last baby is no longer a baby. I'm looking forward to giving birth again, hopefully on my terms this time. I'm looking forward to one last nursing relationship and teeny sleepers and soft newborn skin.
It makes me sad to know that this is it. I'll have those things one last time and then that part of my life is over. In spite of the sadness, I know that we're done. Physically, emotionally, mentally, and financially: it's the right choice. I've never been sure before - even while in morning sickness hell or the throes of labor pains - I've always been unwilling to say that we were done. I just feel it this time; I know we're done.
Isn't it amazing how one little thing can start the whole day off on the wrong foot?
D won't be coming home today until well after the kids go to bed because he has rugby. He also informed me that he was planning to go to the AWAY game on Friday. Which means he's taking off of work early - even though he hasn't made it home before 6 any day this week so far.
We got into an argument over that because we have an agreement that he's in for HOME games this fall and not away games; plus it made me crabby enough to nitpick other stupid stuff: forgetting to put the trash bag in the can, and giving the kids huge slices of watermelon (= huge mess).
Of course that made him crabby too, and before you know it I'm angry, he's irritated, we're both feeling picked on and he's gone for work and I'm teary at the bleak prospect of a long day with no reinforcements. (and feeling guilty for being naggy and irritated yet also feeling like I have a right to be)
Wouldn't it be nice if it stopped there? Somehow it seems to bleed into other aspects of life. I find myself irritated with the dog for shedding too much, and annoyed with the baby for pulling all the books off the bookshelf - AGAIN. I feel sullen and crabby and snappish with the children, and then - of course - it starts to rain so there's no way to go outside and play. And I feel put upon, like it's a HUGE BURDEN and a PERSONAL SLIGHT that it's raining.
I hate moods like this.
So, I put the baby down for a nap (because if you got up at 5:30 you'd need a nap by 8:30 too...) and I put the bigger kids in front of PBS and I'm writing this and trying to improve my attitude. I can't stop the rain, but I can drink some iced coffee and pet a purring kitten while watching the news and try to snap out of this mood.
Of course, while I was writing this I was trying to ignore the "destroying sounds" coming from the play room and finally gave up and found the 2 year old on top of the toy shelf, in a puddle of pee, and all the toys on the floor. It's amazing the trouble he can get into in 15 minutes, with me literally steps away.
*sigh* I'd be lying if I said I handled it well.
It might be a long day.
Oh, and rain? If you're going to ruin my day could you rain all evening, so practice might be cancelled too? Kthx.
Since Little L is coming in early December, I feel extra pressure to have everything bought, wrapped and ready before her arrival. I am an early shopper anyway, because I HATE entering stores after Thanksgiving. This year I've already started my shopping list, I even made a spreadsheet to keep track of everything. I haven't BOUGHT anything, I'm hoping that The Other House will sell SOON so we can actually afford a Christmas. But... here's what on my list so far:
d:
Santa told me that d would be getting a new bike for Christmas this year. From us he'll be getting: A blue angel. He had one previously and it broke. He's been asking for another one for awhile now.
Robots movie. Last year all the kids got 2 books each, but we have SO. MANY. books that this year we're going with movies. (Each child has a full 3 shelf bookshelf in their room, including the baby.) The new movies will come in handy on our next 2 day drive. I'm getting sort of tired of hearing the same movies over and over. and over. and over.
O:
Santa said he'd be getting O a rocket ship like this one.
We haven't decided what to get O yet, each child will get a "big toy" from Santa and 2 toys from us.
O is totally in love with Mickey Mouse so this is the movie he'll be getting.
C:
Uh, poor baby C. Santa said he has something special in mind, but hasn't quite decided yet. Probably this car.
We haven't decided what to get C either. He has a lot of toys to choose from here at home already. Suggestions for an 18 month old?
Now, Santa does stockings but I have it on good authority that the boys are getting various types of shrinkydinks. And Little L will be getting some hair bows that Mrs. Claus picked out herself. Santa also usually brings new toothbrushes, a few pieces of candy, and other various little things.
I don't know what to ask Santa for, for myself. What's on your wish list this year?
It's been one of those days where the children don't want to wear pants, have crushed goldfish into the carpet, and one child doesn't like the sheets on his bed and another child won't take a nap unless half of his toy box is sleeping with him.
The grass is too long to go outside thanks to D working overtime - thanks to the house deal that fell through. I'm rethinking ever moving here - thanks to the water moccasins we've found this week. We have a huge, beautiful, deadly yard. *sigh* And until we sell the other house and have money to screen the porch and fence the yard there's not a lot I can do about it. You know, cause we're a little preoccupied with eating and having electricity and all that.
And these kids need to go outside. Yes, there are parks. Too bad that involves getting dressed and driving and trying to keep track of them in a public place. I'm so extremely exhausted the last 2 weeks that I'm wondering if there's something wrong with me other than "Being7MonthsPregnantWith3Kids."
I realized this morning that in 90 days Little L will likely be here. Ninety days people! December sounds so far away - but 90 days sounds like a deadline or something. Not that far away. Close enough that I wish I wasn't so tired, so I could clean something. But, my pelvis hurts, and my back is iffy, and I'm tired. So tired. Cleaning can wait. Maybe nesting will come along at some point in the next 90 days and give me some energy.
Ohhhh, and have I mentioned that I'm going to try and have a natural birth this time? Don't laugh.
OK - seriously. I know what I'm getting into this time, I've done this before. I know about how long my labors are. My plan is to stay home for as long as I can, but not so long that I have the baby at home because NOTHANKS! I think I can manage through the contractions much better if I'm not in bed and focusing on the pain. This is the plan; but I'm flexible. If it gets to the point that I honestly can't take it anymore, then I'm still open to getting an epidural. I've had them before and definitely think they are great. For some reason, I've just always wanted to have a natural birth and this is my last chance. So, I'm going to give it a go. That wasn't off topic, was it?
(PS-I'm watching a first time mother RIGHT NOW on Birth Day and she said her contractions are at a 5 or 6 (on a scale of 1 to 10) and scoffs, "They're still not bad! Like a gas bubble!" Bwahahahaha! That's not a 6 if you ask me!)
I don't know where I was going with that jumbled post... I keep getting interrupted by children who are supposed to be - but clearly AREN'T napping.
You know those Hot or Not lists in magazines? My version: Hot: Baby movements Not: So much movement at 4AM that I'm up for good.
Hot: Good doctor appointments Not: Ear infections
Hot: Potty trained children Not: Potty relapses during company
Hot: A clean house Not: Cleaning
Hot: A new computer Not: Moving all bookmarks to new computer
Hot: Caring family Not: Family that thinks you should go to the dr just because you have a mild sore throat and OMG YOU COULD HAVE FLU and sends you emails about healthy people who died from said flu.
Hot: Realizing that everyone makes their own choices for their own reasons. Not: Saying things that are derogatory about other people's choices, and thinking that it's not insulting.
Hot: Working outside the home as a mother. Hot: Working inside the home as a mother. Not: Putting down either of those choices or implying that the latter is actually NOT working.
I've been absent, I know... My last post was on September 1st, and today is the 8th, so that's really only a week. Will you forgive me if I update you on all the goings-on AND show you adorable baby clothes?!
Updates first:
HOUSE - After the headache and expense of buying the materials to make the repairs that the FHA Inspector insisted upon for the sale to go through, we were informed that, "Oops! They actually didn't get the loan. Too bad for you." The house is back on the market. I don't think I need to say how I feel about this.
PARENT'S VISIT - My parents got here Thursday evening and left this morning. I'm so sad that they're gone again. It was WAY too short a visit. They were super helpful while they were here, as usual, and I felt bad that they did so much for us on their vacation.
NIGHT AWAY - We stayed in our town for our night away, partly because of money and mostly because of time. By the time we got everything else done it was noon on Sunday and D had to go to work Monday afternoon. We went to a nice lunch, went shopping at Target (see baby clothes below!!) then we got a nice motel room and I even took a short nap before we headed out to see a movie (The Hangover - which was hilarious btw.) We went to dinner after that and then just headed to bed. The next morning we slept till 7:30 which is ridiculously late for US and went to breakfast at Cracker Barrel and then headed home. We took my parents out to a fun place here in town with the kids and went bowling (which tunred out to be not as fun as we hoped and D and my dad took the kids home early for lunch and a nap.) I took my mom out to lunch and shopping (BRU and Marshall's! I got TWO new purses. Woot!) and then we went home so D could go to work. The kids made us PAY for our night away by waking up a combined total of 7 times last night. My parents left this morning and they're probably exhausted from the constant flurry of activity that is 3 boys under 5 years old.
COMPUTER/VIRUS - I got my new computer, a laptop that we got a great deal on, on Friday. Finally... virus free.
Next, CLOTHES!! You would not believe the awesome deals we found, and all the cute gifts we've gotten too! All the clothes pictured are ones that we've received in the last week, or bought over the weekend. Little L will not be without clothes!
Well, except these first 3. These 3 are things that I bought! I bought this dress at TCP not too long ago. Couldn't resist. I think I might have paid full price.... I got this adorable little onesie at TCP too, and it might be one of my favorite newborn outfits. The gray polka dots! The ruffles! The teeeeeny little bow! Swoon! The hat! It's so cute! I can't think of anything else!
SALES:
We visited Wal-Mart, Target, Babies R Us, and Old Navy. There were tons of summer clothes on sale!
Everything in this picture was $1 apiece.
Everything in this picture was UNDER $5. Several of these things were $3.50 and the New Year's onesie was less than $2.
Everything in this picture was under $10. One is a 3 piece and will likely be Little L's coming home outfit. It's newborn size. The other is a 2 piece and it was just too stinkin' cute to resist.
These are all the outfits my mom bought for Little L. The four 2 piece outfits were "buy one, get one 50% off." and they are SO. CUTE. The pants were buy one, get one for a dollar, so two were $5 or less and two were $1. One is a 2 piece set so that's 5 pair of pants/capri's for less than $12. And these?! How cute are these?!
GIFTS: Most of these outfits were from one of my Aunts, my parents brought them down with them. So sweet!! A couple are from my sister, Little L will be her first niece, although she has 3 daughters of her own.
Bask in the cuteness!
These are something I call sockshoes, also from my sister. They are so cute I just can't explain it!
I have to go lay down now, so I can recover from the super sweet sugar shock that these clothes have induced in me! I can't wait to have a BABY to put in them!!!!
*sigh* If I seem absent it's because my computer has a virus. I can't read or comment on your blogs and it's driving me nuts! I can write on my own blog, but this d*mn virus is keeping me from yours!!
When I get all fixed up (i.e. get my new computer) I'll be back...
