Quick - Here's Everything

We are back from Disney World.

I am exhausted. And I have a lot to say. Many of those things I have to say also have photographs to go along with them.

See, before I left, Steve very kindly got me a new SD card for my camera. It's 32GB. The last one I had was 4GB.

I took my first photo of Steve, and then my camera said I still had room for over 4000 photos left.

So I was able to take many, many photos.

Here are a few:

The Last Time...

The last time we were there...

We looked a little different.

We liked different things.

We couldn't always walk, and we napped whenever we wanted.

This time we're older, and we're even more excited!

Packing - Part 2

I make lists.

It's a thing I do. It helps me cope. If I have a grocery list, I know I can rush in and out of the store. If I know what I need at the mall, I can go right to the stores and not forget everything.

The problem is, I keep so many lists in so many places, I can't keep track. I also sometimes make multiple lists. For example - this upcoming trip to Disney World I have been looking forward to. I know I've made at least three lists of what I should pack, and at least five lists of items I need to buy at the store for that particular trip.

When it was time to go to the store I went looking for one of those lists.

I couldn't find one.

I went digging through bags, and sorting through papers. I went leafing through the notebooks in my nightstand - I often keep notes and lists in there.

And I thought, for a minute, that I had found a "what to pack" list. It was right in front of the meal plan, the schedule of dinners I'd made last week.

But then I realized that the list I was looking at was... wrong. Sip cups? Diapers?

What I was looking at was actually a list I had made for our LAST trip to Disney World. It's four years old. It was right in there with pages of which T-shirts I packed for the boys, and which crackers to put in the carry-on. And pages and pages of weekly meal menus from 2008.

Packing - part 1

I start packing for vacations early.

I could say it's because I'm a nervous person, or I could say it's because I want to make sure I have everything I need, that clothes are washed and dried etc.

But the real reason is that packing lets me think about my vacation in a constructive way. It's like a pre-vacation, a kind of anticipation. Also, I get a sick thrill out of making lists and checking things off.

It's a problem sometimes, though. Sometimes I pack so early that it messes up my clothing rotation. And by that I mean I suddenly have nothing to wear, because everything is in a suitcase except the two dirty t-shirts in the hamper.

And I admit, I'm really excited for this trip to Disney World. I've been thinking about what I'll pack for ages, already.

But the other day I was going through pictures from our last trip, the one four years ago, and I realized something...

Most of the things I was going to bring I had worn on my last trip.

Now, I'm not usually a fashion diva. I take pride in the fact that I keep my clothes for a long time, wear them to shreds.

But this would be totally unacceptable.

Because when I look at photographs from our trips, I need to be able to differentiate. I need to be able to tell the difference.

So I did something I'm a bit ashamed of. I went to Target and I purchased a handful of inexpensive, plain T-shirts. Probably made in Malaysian Sweatshops.

The only consolation I have is that I will at least feel like I look cute on this trip. And that I will at least wear the shirts to shreds.

Growing Smaller

A sure sign that clothing manufacturers are manipulating their sizes to make people think they are smaller?

When I was in college I considered myself a size 8. I was a size 8 in everything. I had size 8 pants, size 8 shirts, dresses, skirts, everything.

In college. When I was 21. And skinny without even trying. If I had a digital photo I'd post it.

I'm almost 38. And yes, I work out. But I weigh pretty much the same as when I was in college. 

I went shopping for jeans. Pants. It's tricky, because I hate shopping for pants.

I am now, apparently, a size 4. Not only a size 4, but a size 4 short. At least at Target.

I swear I'm not shrinking. 

Can't Hardly Wait

Mom. 

Very soon, I will actually set my eyes on this cool lady. And I will take her on the Tower Of Terror. She's terrified already.

To Do Something Right...

...you've sometimes got to do it yourself.

At least that's what Andy is thinking about our kitchen. As you can see, he took the painting part into his own hands. What do you think?

Andy Painting Our New Kitchen

 Actually, the painters were awesome. They really did let Andy help (they paid him a dollar!) and they did the whole kitchen AND my new improved laundry room in less than two days, including drying time. From primer to... well, to this.

Try And Try Again

The first few weeks of school are always punctuated by forgetting. Forgetting backpacks on the bus, forgetting school folders at home, forgetting thermoses at school.

How do you get a kid to remember that he needs to wear sneakers on Tuesday, or to bring his library book on Friday?

Well, if you're me, you do this:

The first Friday this was up I asked Nick if he'd looked at this chart. He said yes. I asked if he had his library book. He said yes, he thought so. I said he should double check. Cut to his school library time, where I was a volunteer. Guess who didn't have his library books.

Seriously, there is only so much one can do.

Playing With The Camera

Krazy Kitchen Komplaint

When we dove in to this kitchen project, I promised myself I would not make every single blog post about the kitchen. People get tired of hearing about updates that don't affect them, or, more likely, they get tired of hearing people complain about things tied to getting a brand new kitchen.

I am lucky. I know this.

So I tried to limit myself to one kitchen-oriented post a week.

But I feel like I just have to add a little something here. A comment. A little, teeny comment.


This was not a good time for our toaster oven to conk out, or the microwave to begin making noises like a jet plane.

Explaining The Rules Of The Game

Old Photos...

... can be so heartwarming.

Gets Old Fast

I knew it would take a while, getting a kitchen redone.

I knew I was going to have to give a few things up for awhile. I knew we would have to make adjustments.

But I'm a bit tired of washing our dishes in the bathtub.

New Camera

When Steve told me he had ordered me a new camera that was heavier and bigger than my old one, I got nervous. Especially when he told me it wasn't blue.

And then the camera was delivered.

It's true, it's heavier than my old red camera. But these days cameras are so light, that it doesn't make a huge difference. It's also bigger than my old camera. But it's still small enough to sit in my back pocket.

Which, of course, I will not do, because I am sworn to protect this camera. I mean, to take care if it. To not just throw it in my bag and let it bang around.

You'll have to let me know what the photos look like. So far, I've only been able to try it out a little bit, with Andy's help.

Too Much Information

A notice came home from the school informing parents that a child at the school has been diagnosed with Whooping Cough. I mean, what is this, 1950?

All I knew about Whooping Cough was that there is a vaccination for it, and that, when you get it, you cough, and your cough makes a whooping sound.

So I looked it up.

It turns out that being vaccinated does not, actually, mean you can't get it. In this case, you actually have to get a lot of boosters, and even then...

Also, there are three stages to Whooping Cough.  The first stage, which lasts about two weeks, is like a bad cold. The actual whooping cough part is the second stage. So two weeks could go by where you think you just have a cold, or your kid has a cold and you're sending him to school anyway, thinking "sheesh, it's just a cold, we can't stay home for a cold!" and then, Hey! Whooping Cough!

Actually, I think there's a fever that should tip you off, but still...

I should never be allowed to research illnesses.

Last night I went on Web MD Symptom checker and typed in Fatigue. I got a couple of kinds of cancer, mumps, and nutritional deficiencies before "lack of sleep" popped up.

Happy Birthday Uncle Jamie!

You're awesome.

Jamie, As Andy Sees Him.

Bring Back The Ladybugs

I've posted about the Ladybug invasions that take place in the fall. We had a couple of years that were really bad, with hundreds of ladybugs in our home, coming out when the sun hit the windows.

Well, we now have a different kind of bug invading the place.

Box elder bugs, or maple bugs, are much larger than ladybugs. We don't have as many of them, thank goodness, because unlike ladybugs, they don't hide when the sun isn't shining. At night, when I'm sitting in bed reading or at the computer, they dive-bomb me, land on my pillow or in my hair, and when I sleep they crawl on the bed. 

When you crush them, they smell like grass. I've smelled that smell in the middle of the night and realized I had just crushed one in my sleep.

They don't bite, they're just there. All the time. Bugging me. 

And they're creepy. And no mater how many I squish in tissues and flush down the toilet, more keep coming in. I swear they're chewing through the walls or something.

I think it's a kind of karmic retribution for making such a fuss over the ladybugs. After all, they're harmless. I'll take them back. Really. And I will not complain. Just get these icky ones away from me.

Name That Baby!

Baby Fleen in a snuggly sweater.

No, really. Name it. I have a good idea, but I'm just not sure.

My Ceiling

As part of our kitchen project we are getting new lighting. The old lights were ugly and not bright enough.

We're also getting rid of the popcorn ceiling. It will still be in every other room in our house, but at least we'll have room where the kids can feel balloons are safe.


All this, however, requires a step where the ceiling looks like this.

Project Idea

I haven't quilted in a long time.

The thing about quilting is, it takes a long time.

I don't have a long time. And I don't have a consistant time. By the time I figure out where I left off in a projrct, I'm ready for bed, or to pick up the kids, or something.

I also have a lot of fabric, which I usually purchase by the fat quarter, or find by cutting up  old clothing items.

Recently, I inherited my Aunt Betty's fabric stash. She had a lot of fabric, and what's more, she had yards and yards of some of it.

It's been sitting in the guest room, piled up in boxes until I can get my act together and find a quick sewing project.

But the other day, I found a use for some of it.

Ta Da!

In case you can't make out what it is, it's a number of tents, or forts, in the boys' bedroom. They loved it. I'm keeping it in mind for the long winter days ahead.