Experiment Day 4 - Cleaning of the Master Bath

Today was a big change.  While you might think that cleaning the master bath was not a big step forward, you're wrong.  Since Husband had his surgery, some things have fallen away.  I was never a good housekeeper to begin with, but I work a lot and there are the kids, and well. . . I hate to clean bathrooms.  At the old house, we had a maid service that came every other week.  I had clean bathrooms during that time.  However, the larger mortgage with the new house meant we gave up certain luxuries like a maid service.  I miss it.

So, the toilet in the master bath was filthy.  We're in the process of trying to potty train the youngest.  I couldn't, in good conscience, put him on this filthy toilet.  See:

Today, I resigned myself to clean it.  I had to really, really, really scrub.  I wore gloves.  It was nasty.  But now I have a gleaming, clean toilet:

Then I moved further and cleared all the toys and clutter off the sinks, cleaned the giant mirror, washed the sinks and counters, and only put back what needed to be put back.  I cleaned the shower stall, which still needs a serious dose of Comet cleanser, swept the floor, and mopped it.  My bathroom now sparkles.  I don't dread going inside.  I don't worry that when I put my toothbrush down I will do so in a big glob of toothpaste left behind by the eldest child. 

I also cleaned the youngest's "training potty" which had been left unattended apparently since months ago when we last tried potty training.  We've been using the big potty with a smaller seat that comes down, but Hannibal really doesn't like it.  Shortly after cleaning the training potty and telling him, he's running to the bathroom saying, "Mommy, I go pee myself."  And he did, even pulling his underwear down and sitting, and going.  He got a sticker for that.  Success!  It's only early afternoon and I feel accomplished on my day off.

Experiment Day 3 - Minor change

Yesterday, all I got done was moving Igor's vintage Star Wars bank upstairs. Since we moved in, it has resided on top of the refrigerator in the kitchen.  I don't know why.  Probably because Igor didn't have a dresser.  Maybe because when you push the button it plays REALLY LOUD Star Wars music, then C3PO talks and then R2-D2 moves forward and pushes the coin into the bank.  Regardless, now that my father-in-law gave us a dresser that we put in Hannibal's room, Igor has a dresser in his room.  So last night I moved the bank upstairs and put it on Igor's dresser.  Today, I've had to hear it played at least 5 times.  (Didn't help that I gave each kid a quarter to try it out.)  Progress, albeit small.

Experiment Day 2 - Misc Kitchen Duties

Last night, after feeling somewhat accomplished for (1) announcing my experiment publicly and (2) actually doing a small thing as indicated in yesterday's post, my momentum continued:  I took Igor's "College Fund" bank (really an oatmeal box my sister made for my baby shower) upstairs to his bedroom dresser and put a few items of clothing away.  Not BIG progress, but we're looking for small things to move us forward, right?

Today's accomplishment?  Minor kitchen tasks.  Worked late tonight as I'm entering peak season at work and I'm already feeling behind.  When I came home, darling Husband was cooking dinner.  We enjoyed a fine meal of garlic bread, bowtie pasta with sausage and onions and peppers, and salads with croutons and candied walnuts.  Yum!  The sausage turned out to be Hot Italian, so Igor and I did not like it, but the rest (including little Hannibal) loved it.

Husband said he would do the dishes.  However, I emptied the dishwasher and loaded it.  I set the delay to start in the morning.  I am leaving him the big pots, though.  I emptied the kitchen trash, took it to the garage, and put a new bag in (quite amazing in this house, actually!).  Then I took the recycling to the bin in the garage.  It had been stacking up on the counter for several days.  It drives me crazy that they can't walk an extra 5 feet to put the recycling in the bin in the garage.  Instead, they stack it on the corner of the kitchen counter.  It makes the counter messy.  Usually, it stays until trash mornings (Tuesdays), but I've decided I'll try to take it to the garage each night.  The clear, uncluttered counter makes me feel less like my hoarding kin.

Well, off to watch Episode 3 of Season 1 of The Tudors on Netflix.  Then to bed.  Again, just miscellaneous stuff, but it's better than status quo, right?

Turning the House Into a Home - Day 1

In 1998, my husband and I had the worst year ever.  We lost my dad & his mom.  We both changed jobs.  We built a house.  We got engaged.  It was rough. 

Later, we got married and had our reception in the backyard of that house.  Our two boys were born in that house.  And 11 years after moving in, we finally sold the house and moved out.  We did many home improvement projects.  Mostly to sell the house.  We built a deck and didn't get to enjoy it for long before the house was sold.  I loved the house, though we outgrew it.  However, we didn't really make it into a home.  It was a house.

We moved into this house in August 2009.  I love the house.  It's twice the size of the last one.  There are plenty of projects that it will take to transform the house into the home I know it can be.  However, I don't want to wait until we're ready to sell it in 20-30 years before we actually do anything about it.  So, I've been thinking that I should do one thing a day in the house to help make it more homey.  It doesn't have to be big.  It could be as easy as emptying the trash can under my bathroom vanity.  Or putting my clothes away instead of leaving them in the basket in front of my dresser.

You see, I'm the child of two hoarders.  I have the "gene" on both sides of the family.  I lived with a grandmother who had lost a home to fire and felt the need to hoard because she'd lost so much.  I know I hoard a little - mostly clothes and paper.  I work to purge as I can.  But this makes it harder for me to make the house into the beautiful home I know it could be.

I'm also thwarted by the level of testosterone in the house.  My 3 year old is in active potty training.  My six year old likes toys that come in all sorts of little parts (Legos, action figures, etc.).  My husband is recovering from his second surgery this year.  My brother-in-law that lives here is a bit OCD to go along with what we think is Asperger's, but that doesn't mean he's clean.  (For example, Husband and I made a bet that Iago wouldn't remember that a cup of Coke on the table was his.  We were right.  He moved it from the table and dumped it, but put it on the counter for us to clean since it CLEARLY wasn't his.)

Anyway, join me on my journey.  Today's task?  I began logging the bills from the "bill file" into the computer to track them so I could toss some of the paper in the file away.  Not a big step, but it's all about baby steps, right?  We didn't start to walk by running first.

Husband - Another Surgery & Continued Recovery

Husband finally completed his PT sessions - after exceeding the regularly scheduled ones, they approved him for an additional 8.  He completed those, only to end up needing surgery for hidradenitis suppurativa.  In the surgery, they removed a section of skin under his arm (yes, the same arm) that was 15 cm  x 13 cm x 3.5cm deep.  He spent the night in the hospital and the following day they installed a wound vac.  Recovery time?  Approximately 8 weeks until he gets the first new layer of skin back.  Then, probably another 6 months until he's fully healed.  He's stretching so he doesn't get scar tissue that prevents him from stretching his arm all the way up - still painful from the titanium "nail" going through his rotator cuff, but necessary.  He is part of a clinic trial of a new wound care product, so he only needs dressings changed every Wednesday and he goes into the doctor's office to have it done.  He's healing well (now only about 1.3 cm deep and the wound had gone as deep as 4 cm at one of the initial visits).  But we've had to deal with canister changes for the vac, battery failures, mass leaks, and the smell.  The smell is awful.  I have invested in Febreze and am using it liberally on the recliner where he sleeps.  Someone told him to try dryer sheets, but another person told him they only made it worse.  So we deal with it. He's allowed to shower on the morning he goes in for a dressing change and we have a fun cling wrap and painters' masking tape adventure on those days.  But last week, when he leaked, he had to go in early and unexpectedly so he missed his shower that week.  He was happy today when he could shower again.  He has found some great ways to get "partial" showers, but they're not nearly as satisfying.

So, this has kept me busy.  Plus we hosted Thanksgiving at our house (thank you to my father-in-law who brought the smoked turkeys!) and my mom stayed for a week that week. . . I don't think it will be as long next time.

Lost Teeth

Igor recently lost his 4th tooth.  His first tooth he lost in kindergarten, at school.  They couldn't find it.  They sent home a wooden tooth fairy box shaped like a tooth and painted white with a hinged top that slides open to put a tooth in.  But no tooth.  So we wrote the tooth fairy a note.  The tooth fairy left a gold dollar and a note under his pillow.

The second tooth was lost at home, while brushing his teeth one night.  Another gold dollar under his pillow.

The third tooth was at dinner at home, while biting into something.  Another gold dollar under his pillow.

The fourth tooth was lost at school.  And he swallowed it.  It was a Thursday night and mom and dad were off to the Ohio State game, so we didn't take the time to help him write a note.  His uncle Iago watching them that night didn't remember either.  Husband thought that the tooth fairy might leave the gold dollar by the toilet (where the tooth might end up. . . ).  But in the end, the tooth fairy (whose humor is not quite the same as Husband's) left the gold dollar under his pillow.

In the morning, Igor comes down and says, "No note from the tooth fairy."  Mom says, "But did she leave you anything?"  "Yes, look!  A gold dollar.  Can I take it to school?"   "No."

Ah, tooth fairies and moms.

Revelations

"We need to be sure to get the boys to bed on time tonight," says Husband to me.  He is in the shower.  I am blow drying my hair as we get ready to begin our day. 

"Absolutely," I say, a little irritated because I had to turn the hair dryer off to hear him.  I have a schedule to keep, after all, with getting to my work training on time and being sure he has everything to take Igor to the doctor for his annual checkup and trash day. . . the list never ends.

However, his pronouncement to him comes as a revelation.  Personally, I want the boys in bed on time EVERY day.  It allows us some needed couple time and decompression time before we go to bed.

But tonight is important.  I knew that.  Tomorrow is the first day of school for Igor.  First grade.  My boy is growing up.  We had the elementary open house last night and he met his very pregnant teacher.  Then he stopped by his old kindergarten class to say hello to his old teacher.  The room seemed so small, like he didn't fit in it anymore.  Hannibal wanted to stay and play, but it was time to rush off to flag football practice.  (And I will only briefly mention the paper cut on the ear - yes, I said ear - that Igor accidentally gave his little brother.  Those kids have a knack for unique injuries.)

Big Spoon, Little Spoon

I appreciate that Husband unloaded the dishwasher this weekend.  However, we've been in the house a year and he still can't distinguish between the teaspoons and the soup spoons.  So he mixes them all up in the utensil drawer.  Yes, that bothers me.  It's not that hard to tell the difference.  One is big.  One is little.  See how they don't nest when you put them in the slot?  That's because they're too small or too big!

Then this morning, I go to get out my cereal bowl and he has swapped the cereal bowl location for the soup bowl location.  He has to know where these go - he gets them out when he cooks.  Maybe he's just messing with me?  But I was a little frustrated this morning.

Sleep Study

Iago has been referred for a sleep study.  Cost?  $3,700 for the first night.  If an additional night is needed, that's an additional $3,900.  Now, Iago does have individual insurance.  But there's a $1,000 deductible and then 20% coinsurance after that.  So we would need to fork over $1,000 at a minimum.  We're cancelling the sleep study and seeing if there are other options.  We just don't have the cash right now.  Ugh.

When it rains, it pours

Money woes.  First, the sticker shock of Iago's required dental bills.  I already gave up the grand I'd set aside for my 10th anniversary with  Husband to pay for phase I.  We're actually going to have to do a 12 month same as cash payment plan - and that's just for phase II.  There's still phase III that is waiting until January when we get the next $1200 maximum dental benefit.  Ugh.

Then there was my car.  Started making a thumping noise whenever I started it.  Took it in to find out the strap to the muffler had corroded.  Doesn't sound expensive.  Until you realize I need a whole muffler just to get the strap and they have to replace the pipe all the way back to the catalytic converter.  Shop down here wants to charge almost $400 to do the work.  My brother can get it done for $130 for parts + $45 for labor.  Worth it for me to drive all the way to Cleveland to get it done (even with gas prices as they are!).

Now, the sunroom walls are leaking.  We found a puddle on the floor and looked up to find the paint with bubbles and water dripping down the wall.  A quick look around the room and there are several spots where water is streaming down the wall from the recent rains.  Great.  It's the wall where the addition meets the original house.  In the relocation company's report, they had identified this as an issue, but the prior homeowner's had "fixed" the problem.  Our inspector seemed to think it was fine - and that water from the deck above would flow off in the right direction.  So now we need to see what the damage is here and see if our homeowner's insurance will cover any part of it.

I'm starting to think I need to get a second job.  But how do you do that?  My current job takes lots of hours already, I have 2 kids and a husband I'd like to see on occasion, and I'm tired all the time already?  Life sucks.

Trash

We are not a stereotypical household in some respects.  I live in a house with four males and yet I am typically the one who takes out the trash.  This is what makes Husband's arm-breaking accident all the more tragic - he was taking the trash to the curb because I was out of town on my one business trip of the year. 

Inside the house, when the trash in the kitchen fills up, it is typically myself or Husband who takes it to the garage.  With Husband's current injury, however, he is not able to lift the bag out of the can and so the task has primarily fallen on me.  However, Iago, I think is feeling somewhat guilty about the small fortune we will be spending on his teeth.  Yesterday, as we were leaving the house, he pointed out the kitchen trash bag that he had emptied and taken to the garage.

"I didn't know where to put this."  So he had placed it on the floor in the garage.  Next to the empty trash can. 

"Um, inside the empty trash can right next to it would be fine." 

"Oh. .. I didn't know if that's what that was for and I didn't want to put it there if it wasn't supposed to be there,"  he says.

It's TRASH.  Of course it goes in the empty trash can.  I didn't think that needed explaining!  But these are the details we have to outline.  I will take the positive that he recognized that the trash was full and took it to the garage rather than creating his own trash bag hanging from a chair in the kitchen.  That is a step in the right direction.

Dental Work

After months of nagging from Iago to Husband, I finally took over and scheduled Iago's appointment with the new dentist.  It was yesterday.  Apparently, Iago has serious dental issues.  To the tune of $6,500 AFTER dental insurance (which caps at $1200/year maximum).  Today, he's getting one crown and with yesterday's appointment that's $1,000 gone.  There goes my 10th anniversary trip with Husband.  Oh well.

After today, he'll still need 3 more crowns and 4 more cavities filled.  Oh, and did I mention that he has acid reflux that has pretty much eaten away at his top teeth to where he practically has no enamel left.  So we have to get him to the doctor to take care of the reflux.  He also has a deviated septum with "complete blockage" on one side.  Don't know what that means, but they recommended an Ear, Nose, & Throat doc (if his primary care doctor agrees and refers him).  And he might have sleep apnea.  This is when he chooses to mention that he's been thinking he's been having night terrors for some time.  Husband later tells me that he's been asking to see the doc for some time, too, because of the night terrors, but didn't want me to know.  But since Husband NEVER schedules the doctor appointments, how the hell does Iago think he's going to get to the doctor??? 

And part of me is pissed off because he's not my kid, he's my brother-in-law.  And now I'm not going to be able to afford an anniversary trip with my husband (which we both need for some reconnecting time) and we're going to be worried about money because we can't afford the $6,500 in dental work, much less the accompanying medical bills that are going to hit.  This sucks.  I don't have the time/energy/etc. to get a second job.  Oh, and I'll have to put off having my car checked out - though I think it needs some serious work, too.

Couch pillows

Should not be used for sitting on top of because the office chair is uncomfortable.  Or squished behind your back when you think you have pulled something.  These are my decorative couch pillows.  I'm sick of them looking like flattened pancakes!  As soon as I get them plump again, I find someone using them in the office chair or the dining room chairs.  Then they get covered with food.  Yuck!  Someday I'll have nice things, right?  But I'll be too old and senile to enjoy it.

Fraud alerts

On July 4th, I received a call to my cell phone from a 1-877 number.  I don't answer when I don't know the number.  I listened to the voicemail that was left for me and the only bit I could get was ". . . card ending in XXXX.  Call us immediately at 1-877-XXX-XXXX."  Okay, so the first set of X's was the last four digits of my credit card.  With all the scams out there, I NEVER call the number left on my voice mail and call the number on my card instead.

The nice lady at customer service tells me, "No, there's no fraud alert on your card."  So I assume scam.  After all, who would be calling me on July 4th.

Two hours later, I get another call.  This time I pick up.  Now they want me to "verify my identity" by giving them my name and zip code.  No way.  Again I call the credit card company using the number on the back of the card.  Good thing we don't do anything special on the 4th except enjoy our air conditioning!

"Ma'am, there's a fraud alert on your card.  Let me transfer you to that department."  And yes, there was a fraud alert because I used my card for 2 transactions - one for my glasses/contacts and one for Iago's glasses.  After I confirm that, yes indeed, I spent $466 and then charged another $130, we had to go through my remaining transactions.  Poor woman had to follow my sad life - following my doctor's appointment, we spent:

• $6.30 at Starbucks for a Venti Toffee Nut Nonfat Chai
• $30+ at Roosters for lunch before we tried to go to the pool only to find it had closed 15 minutes before.
• $18.99 at CVS for Bug Spray and Propel to take with us to see the fireworks
• $25+ the next day for lunch at City BBQ (Vince brought it home).

I did mention my life was banal?  The lady confirmed 3 times, "So these charges are indeed yours?"  Sadly, yes.  "We have removed the fraud alert from your account."  Thank you.  "Enjoy the rest of your weekend."  I'll try. . .but your quiet commentary leads me to think you're sad for me if this is all there is on a holiday weekend.

Of Pinkeye, Broken Arms, Fevers, & Thunderstorms

Haven't posted a lot lately.  I could use the old excuse that I'm busy and tired, but I'm always busy and tired.  I continue to have issues with my eyes.  We've now done antibiotics, antihistamines, and now steroid eye drops and artificial tears.  My eyes were better until I started wearing contacts again.  Now they're red again.  Good thing I'm seeing the eye doc for a follow-up tomorrow. 

Husband continues to rehabilitate his arm and rotator cuff from his surgery.  I can't believe he broke it in January, had surgery in February, and we're still having issues in June.  He now has to file an appeal to get more physical therapy sessions approved since he has almost reached the end of the 45 session limit.

Yesterday, Husband came home early because of pain in his arm.  Then he ratcheted up to a 101 degree temperature.  This morning, he doesn't have a temperature, but he isn't feeling well and is going to PT and then coming home.  Oh, and did I mention he's on antibiotics again because of a hole under his arm that the doctor isn't sure what it is?  He's had one before and they just cut it out.  They'll probably do that again with this one.

Husband is only sporadically sleeping in our bed, preferring instead the recliner.  This actually came in handy last night when we experienced torrential downpours and serious thunderstorms.  While Hannibal, the youngest, slept soundly through the entire night, Igor ended up sleeping on his dad's side of the bed.  With every crack of thunder, he was on my side holding me because he was scared.  They woke me up, too, so I can't fault him.  Some of them shook the whole house. 

All in all, it makes for a tired mom.  Oh, and I stayed home Friday for the worst headache I've had in years.  It went away (after copious amounts of medication) finally on Saturday.  I went back to work on Monday and now it's back.  Shhh. . . don't tell anyone.  I'm keeping my issues to myself since Husband is such a mess.  I'll make it through this week - well, until Thursday when I get my wisdom teeth pulled.

Laundry

What possesses men to take laundry out of the dryer that is still mostly wet, put it in the basket with the unfolded clean clothes, and leave it there to wrinkle and smell?  It would be fine if it were their own clothes - I have given up trying to have any control over what they look like (the adult men in the house; I'm still holding out hope for the little ones).  But when it's my clothes that they remove and throw into a basket wet and unfolded and don't tell me, I am not happy about it at all.  Now I get to rewash my clothes AND the boys' clothes all over again.  They just don't realize how much MORE work it is.  Maybe because they're not the ones who do it. 

Take this morning - Igor is understandably out of clothes in his closet.  It's a good thing I'd done laundry.  Husband says when I go upstairs, "I hope you did some pants for him because he doesn't have any for school."  Yes, of course I did.  I noticed the laundry hamper overflowing and did something about it other than pile it higher!

In over my head - and it's my own fault!

Husband has a sort of cousin (long-winded familial explanation avoided here) that is getting married May 10th.  I like said cousin and want to go to the wedding.  I've also made the mistake of volunteering to make favor boxes.  I took a couple of Wilton classes last summer and learned to make these fondant boxes.  I gave the bride-to-be a sample, with a daisy on top, and she loved them.  So now I am working on making 125 of them for her wedding.  On May 15th.

How many are done?  None, actually, are complete.  I have 125 daisy toppers made.  I have approximately 18 boxes & tops (to which the daisy toppers will be adhered) made.  I don't know how I'll get this done in time.  I made 9 tonight. 

What's the issue?  The colors.  I'm having trouble matching the colors.  The color blending process takes the longest.  And it only makes a batch.  Tonight's batch made 9 boxes.  And I spent 2 hours.  Let's see. . . that will be a while.  I'll probably spend all weekend making them.  And hope for dry weather - this past weekend was so wet that of the 18 I made, half collapsed into themselves and had to be thrown out.  Why did I do agree to do this??? 

Down a little - 1 pound

Well, I'm down about a pound.  Don't know how with all the fried food this weekend.  Two birthday parties.  Bought things for lunch this week.

Pinkeye

For the last couple of weeks, I've started to confirm that I get spring allergies.  The pollen count has been high and my eyes have been itchy and watery.  On Tuesday, I awoke to the familiar feeling of crusty, puffy eyes.  I went to the bathroom mirror and confirmed my suspicion - looking back at me are two red, angry eyes with yellow crusts in the corners and puffy eyelids.  I stayed home and called the doctor.  At the appointment, I was awarded a prescription for what the doctor referred to as "liquid gold," antibiotic eye drops costing around $22 after insurance.  I was also told to start taking an OTC allergy medicine and to come back if that didn't solve my problem.

Now I deal with South Park jokes and grumpily wear my glasses to work for the next 7-10 days.  If I had makeup, I would have to throw it out.  I already tossed my disposable contacts.  Now I need to make an eye doctor appointment sooner rather than later.  I have only one more pair of contacts.

And my head hurts from all the screen time at work.  So I'll stop blogging now and go rest my eyes before I head that direction.

Not posting weight anymore.

So I don't think I can go ahead with posting my weight anymore.  It's too depressing.  This morning I gained another 1.5 pounds.  Do the math.  I'm not happy about it.

Broken Pedometer

I finally put a new battery in my pedometer about a month or two ago.  And then last night, my pedometer stopped working.  The display went blank.  Now, the first battery lasted quite a while.  I can't believe I need to buy a new battery already.  So I think it's the pedometer.  I really like this pedometer, too.

I actually hadn't had the pedometer on for a while (because of the dead battery) and had started tracking again.  Only to find that I'm moving so much less than this time last year (on average about 2-3,000 steps fewer). That's likely one reason why I have gained so much weight.  So I need the pedometer to hold me accountable.  Guess I'm doing some online shopping.

Supportive Husband

Husband went grocery shopping last night and brought home the fixings for "noodles and garbage" for tonight's dinner.  He brought home Subway for dinner last night.  We both worked toward getting into bed just after 10 p.m., too.  He didn't last long upstairs and came back down to the recliner, but it was nice having him in bed for a little while.

295 lbs.

I'm going up again.  I said something to Husband.  His response?  "You need to look at your weight loss over the whole month, not just one week."  It was an extremely sensitive comment.  But my brain says, "Of course he can say that!  He's been consistently losing weight!"  Instead, I say, "Yes, but I've actually GAINED 1/2 a pound since we started!"  He says, "Oh.  Well we are coming off a holiday."  There's ALWAYS going to be a holiday, or a birthday, or some special occasion.

Then I share with him that I weight 43 pounds more right now than I did this time last year.  His response?  "That's a lot."  Um, yeah.  So he goes into "fix it" mode.  Which is what we need.  "Who's cooking dinner tonight, then?"  Well, there's no food in the house because we didn't have time this weekend to go grocery shopping.  So Subway for dinner it is and one of us will be going out shopping after the kids go to bed.

Ultimately, our issue is that we need to plan better.  Eat at home more.  Exercise.  None of which are we doing.  I have NO idea how he's been able to lose weight with all the jelly beans and chocolate he's been eating from the boys' Easter baskets.  Well, instead of being depressed and wanting to eat, I'm going to try to rededicate this week.  Let's hope for a positive return next week.

Taxes

I don't mind paying taxes.  That might sound wrong, but I appreciate the services I receive from my local governments.  My family has benefitted in the past (and in some cases, currently) from government-sponsored programs.  As a child, government cheese was a staple in our diet.  Now that I'm making decent money, I feel like I'm paying back for what I received.

However, I hate the process.  My husband has taken on the job of doing the taxes for the last many years of our marriage.  And he hates it.  He gets particularly upset when we owe money at the end of the year.  Which is the case this year.  Between federal, state, city, and school district taxes, we had to pay $3,300 this year.  That's a lot.  The good news is that we can afford it because my bonus check conveniently was paid on the 12th.  Next year, however, the bonus check likely won't be that fantastic and we shouldn't count on it to pay our taxes.  Which is why he needs to adjust his witholdings and we need to maybe consider talking to a tax advisor.  I shouldn't have mentioned that last night while he was figuring out our city bill (our city doesn't let us count all of the money we pay in the city we work if it's not the city we live in).  He went ballistic.  Oh well.

Husband gets depressed and sad every single time he does taxes.  He wants the big refund.  Personally, I would rather not give a no-interest loan to the government.  However, when we didn't get as big a refund last year, I went ahead and adjusted my withholdings.  Good thing I did - or we would owe even more this year.  I don't understand Husband, though.  I think he feels entitled to a refund and when we don't get one he is let down.  Though the bill this year is huge.  We need to make adjustments for next year.  Or I need to start hoarding money again as a contingency plan.

294.5 lbs.

Well, the 1.5 pounds found me again.  This last week has been stressful.  Not that I should use that as an excuse.  I just know that it was easier to fall back on old habits.  When we don't have time, we don't grocery shop.  We don't plan.  We eat out.
Last week, particularly over the weekend, I've been pretty stressed about work.  My annual processes are culminating - today's actually a big day.  On Friday, my family drama was added to my stress.  My mom is in the hospital and they don't know why she's having lung and heart issues.  They're running lots of tests.  I hope to hear more today.  Oh, and she's being evicted as well.  Not sure about all the specifics there, but my mom is a hoarder and that doesn't make her a great tenant for most places. She also lives with two smokers and I'm sure that isn't helping her lung and heart issues.  However, my mom is an adult and responsible for her choices.  I have to remind myself that.  Over and over and over.  Still worried about her, though. 

292.5 pounds - a 1.5 lb weight loss!

I'm surprised.  I was good last week - until Friday/Saturday/Sunday.  It was Easter weeekend - all that candy.  Plus I had a trip to and from Cleveland with the boys alone.  On the road, we do fast food.  We had my niece's birthday party - I only had ice cream and no cake.

On Sunday, we had cinnamon rolls for breakfast.  Then we went to my father-in-law's for dinner.  Traditional Easter dinner at my father-in-laws consists of:  roasted asparagus (yum!), Honeybaked Ham (yum!), kugelas (traditional Lithuanian potato/onion/bacon casserole served with salt and sour cream - yum!), applesauce, and Husband's grandmother's special Easter cake.  I feel stuffed just listening to the meal.  Imagine how I was after eating it! 

So, I'm surprised by the weight loss.  But I tried really hard during the week.  Since I lost weight, I'm not disheartened.  This morning, I was going to have my "usual" breakfast, but instead made the breakfast sandwich from the Biggest Loser cookbook.  Then I'll cut up some strawberries.  And I'll pack my lunch.

Maybe this week I'll start incorporating some exercise? Husband did order an appropriate extension cord for the treadmill for the basement.  That might help. . . I hope it comes in soon.

Missing my mommy alone time

I wake up at 5:30 a.m. every day.  I get my shower.  This morning, as I was about to put shampoo in my hair, there is a pounding on my door.  It was Igor.  He was awake and wanted to come in to brush his teeth.  I told him to go back to bed.

As I'm getting ready to blow dry my hair, Husband comes up for his shower.  Igor is ready to come in to brush his teeth again.  Husband lets him.  Hannibal cries from his room, so Husband goes to get him (still not showered).  Igor wants the big light turned off while he brushes his teeth because it's too bright.  Did I mention that I'm trying to blow dry my hair?

Husband brings back Hannibal and tells me Hannibal is "poopy."  And apparently it's been there awhile.  So, we get him changed while he screams.  I argue with Igor that his toothpaste tube was not empty and why did he throw it away?  I pack my toiletries for the trip to visit my sister this evening.  I'm taking the kids alone and leaving Husband behind. 

So now the kids are downstairs, done eating breakfast, with half an hour before Iago comes down to watch them.  Husband is just getting his shower.  And I have missed out on my precious, recharging, mommy alone time.  Oh well.

Celebrate the Small Successes

Yesterday, I tried Day One of the Biggest Loser JumpStart program.  With a few modifications.  For example, I couldn't find jicama at my grocery store.  Also, the calorie count is lower in their menu than what is recommended for safe weight loss for my weight, so I added a few additional calories.

The breakfast was so large.  You are supposed to eat a large breakfast to fuel your body, but my normal breakfast is a bowl of Fiber One Carmel Delight cereal.  This was a breakfast sandwich (egg white, cheese, English muffin, Canadian bacon), milk, and almost a cup of blueberries.  I ate while getting the kids their breakfast (blueberries, yogurt & English muffin with a smidge of cream cheese).  I also packed my lunch.  I don't know if it was the fact that I don't like plain blueberries OR that the breakfast was so large, but as I tried to finish the blueberries before I left, I had a small gag reflex.

Morning snack and lunch were fine.  I added a Green Giant Broccoli Single Serve to the lunch.  Afternoon snack was fine.  Then problems struck.  I was stuck at work for another 12 hour day again.  And I didn't have dinner.  So I hit the "snack station" that's one cubicle away outside my VP's office.  I had some popcorn and, yes, two of the mini-cinnamon rolls.

When I finally wrapped up at 8 p.m. and headed for home, though, I did NOT stop to get a fast food dinner.  That's my success.  I came home and made soup instead.  I'm proud of that.  And I'll focus on it.  Because today, I'm stressed and having my normal breakfast.  I'll pack my lunch and snacks.  But today's plan calls for sushi for lunch and that's not happening.  Oh, and yesterday - I fit almost all of it in with my Weight Watchers points for the day even though I didn't follow the plan completely.  (Yes, I'm mixing programs to see what works for me.  I liked Weight Watchers, but needed some help with planning meals and that's where the Biggest Loser stuff comes in.)

Monday night chores

I think all my blog posts should start, "I'm so tired."  After all, that's the way I feel all the time.  Maybe it's because I weigh almost 300 pounds???  How did I get here?  Ah, well, not going to dwell.  Today was a busy day: 

• Kidney stone follow-up with the urologist.  I've been told that most of the stones are gone, but that I still have calcification and so they recommend a yearly follow-up.  I can handle that.  Anything that doesn't involve a scoping is fine by me.   Don't want to go through that again!
• Work until 6 p.m.  We have a lot to do and I don't know how I'll get it all done.  Lunch at my desk - grilled cheese and tomato soup with a Pepsi.  Followed by peanut butter crackers.  Not healthy, I know, but available.
• Call mom and talk during the drive home from work.
• Come home, scarf down KFC that Husband brought home for dinner.  Not helping the weight issue.
• Help get the kids showered, clothes for tomorrow picked up, laundry folded and put away, and gathered a load of my own.
• Went grocery shopping.  Who shops at 8:30 p.m. on a Monday night?  You'd be surprised.  Bought lots of produce, planning on following the Biggest Loser Jump-Start program. . . with modifications.  Don't know when I'll have time to prep what I'm supposed to have for breakfast, lunch and snacks tomorrow.  But we'll see what I can get done in the morning with the kids.
• Filled the minivan with free gas from spending huge amounts of money on groceries.
• Got home, unloaded car, put groceries away while Husband finished folding laundry and iced his shoulder.  What?  No help?  Seriously?  I'm exhausted.
• Took trash and recycling out to the curb.
• Checked Facebook and updated the blog.

Can I go to bed now?  I'm beat.  And my pedometer (got a new battery over the weekend) is currently at 6378.  You're supposed to aim for 10,000 steps a day I hear.  Well, when I get to 5,000 I'm thrilled.  Oh, and I still have to go upstairs to bed, put my laundry away, and do my ablutions.  That's worth some more steps, I think.

Writing this all down has helped me get over how irritated I was that Husband didn't help me unpack and put away the groceries.  He did swap my loads of laundry and gather the trash for me to take to the curb (I'll ignore the fact that his gathering only includes the kitchen trash and excludes all the other little trash cans around the house).  I accomplished a lot tonight.  Tomorrow?  Work long hours, cook dinner, and go pick up our "new" patio furniture from the co-worker I bought it from once the kids go to sleep. 

294 lbs.

I'm going in the wrong direction!!!  Of course, I didn't really try very hard this week.  I noted yesterday that the only vegetable my kids ate was french fries.  Apparently, I'm that mom.  Well, we need to stop.  I made a grocery list yesterday and we were going to go after dinner, but things went horribly wrong at dinner and we just came home and put the kids to bed instead.  We'll send one of us (Husband or I) to the store tonight after the kids are in bed.  Probably me, as I need to pick up toys for the kids Easter baskets.  We only do one basket for the family with candy and then I'll do separate baskets for the kids to "find" that have just toys in them.  This limits the amount of candy in the house.  Then there will be the Easter Egg Hunt at my brother's for my niece's birthday party. . . well, we can't account for how much the kids will bring home then.  Last year, I threw it all out because it was all hard candy that's a choking hazard for the kids.  Well, time to go wake the kids.

Dinner with BIL

Husband and I took two days off work to coincide with Igor's Spring Break at school.  It doesn't feel particularly spring-like as the sleet and snow rains down on us right now, but Spring Break it is.  Today, our plans included servicing the minivan, shoe shopping, Husband's physical therapy appointment, and dinner with BIL.  BIL is my brother-in-law that doesn't live with us.  He hasn't been over since Christmas Eve.  I think you remember how THAT went.  If not, look at my earlier posts.

Unfortunately, BIL's car isn't working well enough to be driven on the highway (I don't know what that means or what's wrong with it, but that's the explanation I was given!).  So, poor Husband had to drive to the southern end of town after physical therapy to pick up BIL and  bring him to our home for dinner.  Husband and Igor are driving him home in the sleet and snow right now.

Husband brought home City BBQ for dinner.  I made strawberry cake with cream cheese icing for dessert.  Iago even joined us all for dinner.  Dinner conversation was non-existent.  Iago maintained his habit of completing his meal, getting up, washing his dishes, and excusing himself to his room.  We all retired to the living room.

Several times I attempt to engage BIL in conversation only for him to ignore me.  Husband talks to him about a job at the bar Husband's friend opened.  BIL shows no interest because it would conflict with his current job.  Igor takes BIL upstairs to see his new Star Wars room.  Husband and I argue because I was acting like a shrew by pointing out that BIL is being rude in not acknowledging me when I speak and because I hurt Husband's feelings when I made the comment that his brother has no ambition.  Well, he doesn't.

What irked me most is the lengths he goes to protect his brothers.  I get so frustrated because I can't say a negative word about either of his brothers without him jumping to their defense.  For example, I asked BIL how was work directly and he continued to watch the basketball game on the big screen instead of acknowledging that I had asked him a question.  Husband defends this by saying that BIL had been distracted by the basketball game and the kids.  So I shouldn't expect a dinner guest to engage his hostess in conversation.  Really?  Needless to say, Husband and I will continue to argue this point.  I've started realizing that Husband will always defend his brothers more than he defends his wife.  Mostly because he thinks they need it more - that I am fully capable of defending myself.  I guess that's fair.  But it really sucks to know you play second fiddle to your husband's brothers.  I know he loves me.  But he feels responsible for them.

Homecoming after Working Late

First quarter is typically my busiest time of year at work.  This year has been particularly challenging and some of the things I would normally have done by now have been delayed beyond my control.  This has been challenging because I had planned two days off (today & tomorrow) based on my original schedule.  I am still able to enjoy my vacation, though, because I stayed really late yesterday to complete what needed to be done before I left (two days later than the original schedule, but still within acceptable parameters).

In order to accomplish this task, I arrived at work at 7:30 a.m. yesterday (left home at 7:00) and stayed until almost 8:00 p.m. (getting home around 8:30), while working through lunch.  It was a long day and I was extremely tired.  Around 7:00 p.m., Husband called to ask if he should put the kids to bed.  I said, "Yes."  He then asked how long I would be and I thought it would be another half hour.  He decided to keep the kids up until I got home so I could see them.

I finish up at work, hit McDonald's on my way home for a quick  bite that I scarf down in the car on the way home, and hurry to get home to help put the kids to bed.  When I get home, I'm greeted by Hannibal, the 2 year old.  He runs up to me and hugs me and say, "I missed you, mommy."  My heart melts.

Then everything went downhill.  Apparently, the kids had been poorly behaved all night.  Igor stole the books that Hannibal was playing with and moved them.  Hannibal flopped to the floor and threw a complete temper tantrum, including hauling off and hitting his older brother.  That sent him upstairs for bed.  We then struggled through the nighttime ritual of tooth brushing, getting into pajamas, and stories/songs.  Husband snapped at the kids, the kids willfully disobeyed.  And my headache intensified. 

By the time we were done putting them to bed, I was angry at Husband.  After all, the kids were ill-behaved because they were up later than they should have been.  He should have just put them to sleep.  I understand that he wanted to let me see them because I do stress this time of year that I never see my kids.  BUT I was going to be spending the next two days with them. . . so I would have been fine.  Of course, we "discussed" our points of view in the annoyingly rational, adult way that we have and we're both ok now.  I see he was trying to be nice and the kids had been bad all night.  He sees that I was tired and just wanted to relax.  But it was still a rather awful night.

Free Pastry Day at Starbucks!

Today is free pastry day at Starbucks.  All I have to do is go to http://www.starbucks.com/freepastryday and print out a coupon.  Then I get a free Marble Loaf with my standard Venti Non-fat Toffee Nut Chai.  Mmmmm. . . and yes, I know this runs counter to my previous post where I need to lose weight.  One step at a time.  Maybe I'll only order a Grande. . .

In other news, I may have convinced Husband we should join the local YMCA instead of using the Ohio State RPAC facility.  The YMCA is probably 10-15 minutes away vs. the 45 minute drive to OSU.  As a family, we'd be more likely to use the YMCA.  And he's no longer working out at RPAC every day with his co-worker.  The YMCA has daycare available for when we want to work out.  I get a $250 annual allowance at work for gym memberships and the YMCA counts.  So this morning I'm looking into the costs and benefits.  Maybe with my bonus check?

Wet clothes

How do I explain to Husband that wet clothes don't get hung from my beautiful, cherry wood doors?  He went to the pool yesterday to rehab his arm.  This morning, I find his swim trunks and towel hung over the top of the laundry room door.

We had this issue with bathroom towels, too. We argued over it.  Now we have new towel racks in our bathroom for our towels and the kids' towels.  No more towels over the wood doors.  I guess we didn't discuss the laundry room doors and swim trunks!

At the old house, I didn't like it but didn't fight it as much.  The doors weren't real wood.  Here, though, the doors are beautiful.  I don't want water stained doors!  Any thoughts on how I can get him to stop?

292 lbs.

Well, I'm fat again.  Yep.  I knew it.  I haven't been watching what I eat, I've stopped working out, I stopped writing down what I eat, and now I'm only eight pounds away from that magic number.  I don't fit into any of my spring/summer clothes because I got rid of all of the clothes this size last summer swearing I would NEVER fit into them again. And here I am again.  Yuck.

There's a competition at work similar to the Biggest Loser.  I opted not to participate for two reasons:  1) I didn't want people at work to know how heavy I am and 2) this is my most stressful time of year and I don't want the added stress of a competition.  However, if I truly want to commit, I need to learn to deal with the stress in a healthier way. 

This, as I keep telling Husband, needs to not be a "diet" but a "lifestyle change."  We've tried together several times and his methods don't work for me.  I believe in moderation.  He believes in cutting out.  When he gets to a number he's happy with, he "takes a day off" from the "diet" and indulges.  Then we never get back on track.  I think, if I'm going to be successful, there are going to be a few things I need to do:

• Not worry about what husband eats or brings into the house (i.e., cookies, chocolate Chex mix, ice cream).
• Begin planning so that the default dinner isn't fast food.
• Allow myself time to work out.
• Be able to ask for "me time."

I've never been good at any of these.  Husband and I enable each other's bad habits.  But, I need to try.  I'm not happy where I am and while I know that losing weight is not the only thing that will lead to happiness, it will help me do the things I need to do to be more happy.  So, let's start over again today with a new journey. . .

Igor's pedometer & new-found love of B-ball

Igor has discovered his gift from participating in his school's walk-a-thon:  a pedometer.  Husband found it on top of the refrigerator (where all good things go to hide) while he was hunting for his work ID that he has misplaced.  Since then, Igor has been wearing it all day and loudly proclaiming how many steps he's had.  Just reminds me that I miss my pedometer - the battery has died and I need to buy a new one.  Just haven't gotten to it.

Igor has also discovered his mom's joy in March Madness basketball.  It's my favorite sport - odd since I almost never get to enjoy it due to the timing of peak season in my chosen profession - and it looks like he's going to really enjoy it.  We're watching Ohio State play Georgia Tech right now.  Go Buckeyes!  But I think Husband is a bit disappointed how excited that Igor gets over basketball compared to football.

Oh, and I think I'm going to start holding myself accountable by weighing in and posting every week. . . .we'll see how that goes.

Inside the Garbage Disposal

Iago has this insane idea that you should put things in the garbage disposal and run it for, like, a second and that mashes everything up and you can turn it off and be fine.  Ok.  I don't know if he has that idea, but he must.  Tonight, I was working on trying to make a color flow leprechaun for a St. Patrick's Day Green Velvet Cake I'm making for our work potluck on Wednesday.  I went to clean up all of my tools and the sink started backing up.  Hmm. . . I wonder what's in there?

Mind you, since the boys had been with grandpa for dinner, I had brought home McDonald's.  No cooking was done by me since the dinner last night.

I stuck my hand down the disposal and pulled out what was clogging it.  Imagine my surprise when I pulled out two cabbage cores and two potatoes.  By the way, cabbage, potatoes, and sausage is what Iago is making for himself and the boys for lunch this week.  Yuck! I guess the conversation about not putting potatoes down the garbage disposal really hasn't sunk in.  Just like many other conversations. 

Husband's Broken Arm - Part 3

Tuesday.  Day of surgery.  We are being pounded with heavy snow.  I haven't slept much because, well, Hannibal obviously has a stomach bug of some sort and was up most of the night.  I get a text message at the wee hours of the morning, followed by a voice mail, from the school district's automated notification system to tell us what we already knew - no school for Igor.  We get up early so we can be out the door by 6:00 a.m. since we're due at the hospital at 7:30 and with all the snow we're getting we wanted to get there early.

We drive the long, tortuous path to the hospital, avoiding crazy people who seem to have never seen snow.  The snow is falling in large, fluffy, wet flakes and sticking to the windshield wipers.  We pull into the parking lot at the hospital and then we carefully navigate across the street without slipping on the ice - what got us into this in the first place!  Husband is having what seems like post-traumatic stress over a fear of falling in the snow.

We get to the hospital.  We check in.  We pay the $300 co-pay.  Ouch.  Well, more points on my credit card to save up for the refrigerator. . . then we head up to the surgery waiting room.  Very few people there.  Except the older lady who is to help us.  She informs us the tracking screens up here are not working (these are screens where you can watch for your loved one's number and see where in surgery they are - preop, surgery, post-op, etc.).  I had packed plenty of things for my wait the night before:  deck of cards, magazines, snacks, iPod, etc.

Husband was 3rd on the schedule for the doctor (and last).  The doctor came out to talk to another family and stopped by to see us.  First time I'd met him since Husband has been shuffled between many docs at the ortho clinic.  He wasn't as arrogant as the other guy.  He told us it wouldn't be long.  I have Husband make a list of questions he wants me to ask the doctor after surgery. 

Doctor comes out again to talk to another patient and sees Husband still waiting.  He is a bit surprised and tells us they should have taken Husband back already for anesthesiology so he'll be ready for surgery.  One minute after the doc leaves, they come to take him.  And my wait begins. . . (more later, have to go wake the kids)

Husband's Broken Arm - Part Two

When last we left our story, Husband & I had discovered an infection under his plastic splint for his broken humerus.  Hannibal was puking all day.  That was Sunday.

On Monday, I go to work.  Husband gets taken to work by Iago and the kids.  He gets doctor appointment for 2 p.m., which means I get to take Hannibal to the pediatrician by myself at 1:30 p.m.  We'd had the appointment scheduled for Hannibal for a week because he'd been waking at night and complaining during the day about, "Knees hurt.  Knees hurt.  My knee's hurt."  I left work, went home, grabbed both Hannibal and Igor (thinking that maybe I could get the doc to look at both of them since they were both sick, too).  The doc basically tells me that he doesn't think there's a problem with the knees, but orders tests.  The puking is just a virus going around.

After the visit, I head next door to a Children's Close-to-Home to get knee X-rays for Hannibal and blood drawn.  He was a trouper - he didn't even cry until the second time they stuck him with a needle.  They gave him Batman stickers and that helped, but he was unhappy with me for holding him down for the X-rays and the bloodwork.  We head to Starbucks where I get the kids a cookie to split and chocolate milk.  I get my usual venti non-fat toffee nut chai.  Yum. 

Then I call my husband to see if he wants me to pick him up to take him back home.  He informs me that he is scheduled for surgery in the morning and yes, I should pick him up.  Surgery?  What???  Apparently, the infection was pretty bad, I think.  I call my boss and take the next day off work. 

When I pick up Husband, he calls his dad and BIL (brother-in-law not living with us) and tells them the details.  I get to overhear.  Apparently, the surgery is to put a "nail" into his arm the length of his humerus to heal the broken arm.  This will allow him to bring his arm out at a 90 degree angle to air out the infection, which we'll need to clean several times a day with hydrogen peroxide.

We get home, make arrangements for Iago to take care of the kids in the morning since we're due at the hospital at 7:30 a.m. and we're expecting Snowmaggeddon.  Good news was that school the next morning was cancelled.  So we could take the minivan with no worries.

Next Post - Tuesday.

Husband's broken arm - Part One

So, I've been away for a while.  Went on a business trip in January.  My one business trip a year.  Went to Florida.  While I was gone, Husband fell on the ice in the driveway while taking the recycling bin to the curb.  Husband broke his humerus (upper arm) on his right side.  It was a clean break and the ER put him in a splint and sent him home to see the orthopedist in a week.  I came home the afternoon following the break.  He couldn't shower, he couldn't move (his splint from the ER wrapped around his chest to hold his arm in place).

A week later, he saw the doctor.  Various opinions later, we were shifted from one ortho to the next and opinions varied from "you need surgery" to "we'll just splint it and it'll be fine."  The break was clean, but was healing a little crooked.  Finally, the "upper arm ortho specialist," the one with the dismissive manner, sent us home with a plastic upper arm splint, told us not to take it off for a week, and to let gravity do its job.  But we were not to remove the plastic splint for a week.  That's 2 weeks of no showers.  Well, we did figure something out with plastic garbage bags & duct tape. . . but it wasn't very effective and his right underarm could not be washed.

The following week, we got the go ahead to take off the splint and shower him.  Well, there are this fabric sleeves that he was wearing underneath the plastic splint.  We took the first one off.  It stuck a little and had a little blood and smelled bad.  But it had been there for a while.  So we dismissed it.  A couple days later, we attempted to do the same thing.  Again, blood and a little bit of yellow and a bad smell.  It was Sunday.  I told him to call the doctor the next morning as I thought he had an infection.  In the meantime, I put a dressing and some antibiotic ointment on it.

Meanwhile, that same Sunday, Hannibal threw up on me 7 times and threw up a total of 9 times throughout the day.  I was running out of clean laundry!  And, well, I'm not one who handles vomit well.  I almost joined him every time he did it.

More later. . .

Painting (continued) & Snow Delays

First coat of paint is on Igor's bedroom.  Now, we wait to see whether it needs another coat (it will) once it dries and how much touch up / trim work is required.  I finished up a full day at work, came home, had our Subway dinner, we bathed and put the kids to bed.  Husband went to the grocery.  While gone, I painted two walls.  He returned and decided to shovel the driveway.  I finished the other two walls.  Oh, yeah, and did 2 loads of laundry. . .

This morning, Igor's school is on a two-hour delay due to the weather.  I'm not looking forward to telling Iago about that.  He's not going to handle the change in routine very well.  Today is his grocery shopping day. . . he was going to take Hannibal with him to the grocery store after Igor got on the bus.  I'm not looking forward to the surly attitude I'll get.  Oh well.

Painting Styles

No, this isn't a post about what kind of art we like.  It's about how Husband & I have different styles and paces of painting.  If I was left to my own devices, I could probably get a room painted in a day.  Instead, it takes us four.  Yes, four.  Not counting prep work.

We are currently trying to transform Igor's room into a Star Wars-themed bedroom.  We have the bedding from Target.  We picked a dark blue paint to match.  husband patched the walls, sanded the patches, and even went over with a coat of the new paint on the patches to make them easier to paint.  None of that is included in our four days to paint.  Neither is the evening I spent taping off the room, with some help from Igor, some chaos from Hannibal, and the ceiling taped off by Husband.  We also removed the blinds and valance covers.

Day One - today:  We painted all the trim work.
Day Two - hopefully tomorrow:  We will complete the "field" painting and use a roller to fill in.  I explained to Igor that this is much like coloring in the outlines of his coloring books.
Day Three - hopefully Tuesday:  Redo the trimwork with a 2nd coat.
Day Four - hopefully Wednesday:  A 2nd coat of the "field" using the rollers.

This is our standard painting schedule.   Every room we've ever done has either taken 4 days OR a couple of days of vacation with a babysitter.  Most people don't take this long to paint.

Husband is a perfectionist.  And slow.  He went to pick up City BBQ for dinner tonight.  They're 5 minutes away from the new house.  While he was gone, I completed the lower trim of 3 walls and the complete surround of one window.  It's now his turn and he spends 2.5 hours to do the upper trim of all four walls (no outlets for him to deal with!) and the lower trim on the final wall.  It really shouldn't take that long.  And there's no discernible difference in results between his work and mine. 

Oh, and to think, my grandfather was a professional painter.  He'd be so disappointed!

Leaving the house today

Yesterday, we stayed inside for the holiday.  We napped, watched football, and snacked all day.  A very nice relaxing day since I had a migraine.  It helped that the Buckeyes won the Rose Bowl so Husband will be in a good mood for the remainder of the weekend.

Today, we have decided we should leave the house so the children don't get cabin fever.  We'll probably go to Der Dutchman (http://www.dhgroup.com/)  for lunch and then go browse the Amish Country Furnishings store (http://www.amishcountryfurnishings.com/).  I recommended the Rainbow Playsets (www.recreationsoutlet.com/rainbowplay.php) store, but Husband was more keen on lunch at Der Dutchmann, so Amish Country Furnishings it is. . .