Little Farmhouse Adventures

Another workend has come and gone.  We actually took the day off on Saturday and spent some well deserved time with each other, my mom and extended family.  Then on Sunday, I actually had a couple hours of me time while Aaron took the kids to the little farmhouse before I had to start work.  Monday we did spend all day at the farmhouse trying to get things done.

The day started out by laying, or attempting to anyway, flooring in the kitchen.  Thanks to the elderly nature of the house and maybe some ruler challenged previous owners, the floors and walls aren’t exactly level or even.  That made for some tough times when time time to install the laminate flooring.  We’re not novices.  We’ve done it two times before, but this one was definitely the trickiest.

We get about two rows down and I remind Aaron that we might want to get the dishwasher out of there before the floor reaches it so we don’t scratch up the new floor.  I know, I know….great thinking on my part, right?  After some glaring and pretty sure there were some raunchy mutterings under his breath, we start some dishwasher removal. 

Just a note – when removing a dishwasher you may want to make sure the electric AND the water is turned off.  The house has been empty for a while and by the looks of the dishwasher, maybe not even been turned on this decade.  So we start tugging and pulling and trying to find where everything is connected.

SNAP!  POP!  CRACKLE!  There was a bright orange flash and then we realize – OH!  There is where it’s plugged in.  Good.  Got that figured out.  We didn’t even have to go to the cellar and turn off the electricity at that point – it blew the circuit for us.  How convenient.

Then we realize that for some other reason the dishwasher is stuck.  I mean really stuck on the left side.  We just can’t get it out of there.  Aaron is all manly and lifting the countertop and when that didn’t work, he (and his sweating, bulging, very attractive muscles) start yanking it from side to side. 

 

Sorry – – had to take a pause there for a moment as I remembered that moment.  Ahhh…..

Anyway, back to the story.  We finally realize what is catching up the dishwasher.  It’s the feed hose to the dishwasher.  Of course it was.  Aaron decides to cut it and lays down on the floor and cuts that tube right in half.  Three points if you guess what happens next.  Wanna guess?  DING DING DING  You are correct – the water in the hose was pressurized and came spurting out all over. 

All I have to say is thank goodness I am married to a runner, because that man sprinted out of that kitchen so fast, out the door, and to the cellar to turn off that water before I even stopped gasping.  There was quite a dirty mess.  But despite the dishwasher putting up a valiant effort, we defeated it and sent it to it’s grave in our appliance graveyard (in the shed – we’re not really burying them – that would just be weird).

Needless to say the floor didn’t get too far so we’ll have more to do next weekend.  Anyone want to help lay some flooring down?

My Name is Susan and I Am Addicted To..

laundry.  That’s right.  I’m so ashamed.  My addiction is laundry.  I can’t get enough of it.  Whites, lights, darks….ahhh…..sheer bliss.  Sorting, folding, putting away….it just sends tingles up my spine.

Don’t mock me.  You just wish you had my desire for the laundry and the room it is housed.   Ahhh….the laundry room.  My dream home would have a huge, bright, crisp laundry room with a window covered by gingham curtains blowing in the gentle breeze.  There would be a door in the laundry room to step out onto the porch so I could hang my clothes outside and have them smelling sunshine fresh in no time at all. 

It’s a curse, I know.  This insatiable desire to do laundry is only quenched by loads and loads of dirty clothes waiting patiently to be cleaned.  Thankfully I do have three children who love to satisfy that desire.  From my 11 year old son, Adam, who is all boy and loves to sweat and stink up his clothes (and frequently forgets to empty his pockets of his pants and leaves money for me to find) to my 5 and 4 year old daughters, Riah & Mara, who seem to have entered the teen years prematurely with their frequent clothes changes during the day.  My desire to do laundry is always fulfilled.  When I look at my finished load for the day and feel a moment of sadness, I happily realize that [ala Scarlett O’Hara] tomorrow is another day and there will be another load for me to do.

I had to come back and edit after I just put tomorrow’s load into the washing machine because I had another thought.  I didn’t always love laundry.  I used to despise it.  I think my washing machine has something to do with it.  Aaron bought me a beautiful front load LG washing machine and when it’s done – – it plays a little song!  How could you NOT love a washing machine that sings to you when it’s finished working??? 

Organization has also helped me love laundry.  I finally worked out a laundry routine that works for me and my family and I’ve been using it for several years now. 

Monday :  Sheets & Towels Day

Tuesday : Lights (Aaron & Me)

Wednesday : Darks (Aaron & Me)

Thursday : Girls

Friday : Adam

Saturday :  (every 2-3 weeks) Whites

The LG washing machine has a delay start on it.  I can put tomorrow’s load in tonight and set it to run around 4:30 a.m.  It’s done by the time I’m downstairs at 6:00 a.m.  It’s an engineering genius.

So I will admit that my desire and addiction to laundry is probably directly related to my LG front load washing machine.  If anyone tried to take my baby away….I think I would go all WB (you can ask me privately what those letters stand for) on their booties.

Embracing Differences

Today’s mail held a piece of “Happy Mail.”  Some of you who have known me a long time know that Happy Mail is huge.  I love to get it and more importantly, I love to send it.  With today’s technology though, Happy Mail tends to come a bit infrequently. 

You can imagine my delight to open up the mail box and see a bright pink card staring back at me.  WHOO-HOO!!!  Doing my Happy Mail dance in the cul-de-sac and not caring who sees me (after all, hopefully we’ll be moving soon).  

I dance my way into the house with my pink card of anticipation.  I don’t look yet to see who it’s from – I like the element of surprise.  I sit down at my kitchen table and proceed to weed through the not-so-happy mail first.  A couple advertisements, junk mail, and an invitation to a Forever Families Adoption event at COSI later this summer.

The moment is here – the rest of the mail has been sorted and now I can concentrate fully on my little pink envelope.  I look at the return address and it’s from a very dear friend of mine.  She normally doesn’t send me any mail, so this was even more intriguing. 

I carefully open up the envelope and there is Sarah Palin staring back at me behind a Presidential podium.  The front of the card read: Sarah Palin could be our next President of the United States.  Then you open it up and the inside said: Guess there are scarier things than raising kids.  Happy Mother’s Day. 

I cracked up!!  Even if my friend hadn’t put her return address on the envelope, I would have known it was from her from the moment I saw the photo on the card.   

See, my husband calls me the Ultra Conservative.  I tend to see issues in black or white – I think when you stare too long at the gray you start to compromise your beliefs.  I vote Republican.  I am anti-union.  I am just, well, Conservative.

My friend, on the other hand, is a (GASP) Liberal.  She voted for Obama.  She is pro-union.  Politically she tends to veer off into way left field, while I run straight to the right. 

But I love her and she loves me.  I give her a hard time (lovingly and jokingly) about voting for Obama and she gives me a hard time right back for my voting stance.  I call her my LibNut.  She calls me Crazy.  🙂   

While it may seem like we have huge differences, and some may wonder how we even became friends, when it comes to the important things – we see eye to eye.  She loves Jesus.  She adores her family.  She tries hard to the best mother she can be to her children.  She prays for her husband daily.  She cares for her friends.  We are each others sounding board when it comes to mothering and marital advice. 

I look back and remember when I first saw her – I must admit my impression of her was kind of how I would imagine a Conservative might see a Liberal.  I thought she was too outspoken, and yes, even a little bit scary.  But the walls came tumbling down and I had the privilege of seeing to her heart.  Talking with her about her fears.  Hearing her voice the same concerns I have. 

Differences?  Yes, there are some – but the similarities are so much more important.  I thank God for bringing this woman into my life.  I am blessed to call her Friend.  (even if she is a LibNut)

New Old Information

We are still working on the little farmhouse every weekend.  Aaron and Adam just bought a new John Deere riding lawnmower, so there goes the whole reel lawnmower thing.  I think I will still mow around the house with the mower just for exercise. 

Anyway, Aaron was given the name of one of the previous owners of the home and it turns out they actually live just down the road!  He said they were really nice to talk to.  They raised three children in the home – just like we are.  They also gave us a little bit of a history lesson, which was very interesting.

First off, we discovered that what is now the back of the house, was originally the front because the road wasn’t where it is now.  It ran in front of the house by the tracks.  That’s probably why the back of the house has the marking for a porch. 

Second, we discovered the actual age of the house.  As I may have mentioned before, the auditor’s website had the house listed as being built in 1930, but after talking to them, we discovered that 1930 is the default age when they really don’t know how old the house really is.  I had a feeling it was a bit older than what they said, simply because the way the house was set up.  Didn’t feel like a home from the 1930s.  And, of course, I was right.  It was actually built in 1890.  A little bit older than what we had anticipated. 

Another interesting thing that I had right (yet again) was the addition where the kitchen and bathroom are.  I said that portion of the house looked to be 1960s.  And yes, I was right again (I just love saying those words).  The kitchen and bathroom were added in the 60s. 

I’m betting your next question is well, if the kitchen and bathroom were added in the 1960s…..what was it like in the 1890s.  Well, there would have been an outhouse.  [Side Note: Praise God for indoor plumbing]  And the kitchen was combined with the very small living room.  There were two fireplaces that were used for cooking and heating. 

It was very intriguing hearing what Aaron discovered about our little farmhouse.  Adam is now convinced that because the house is so old that somewhere there must be a treasure in the house.  I laughed….until I remembered that at his age I was absolutely certain that my parents 1875 brick farmhouse housed a magical treasure as well.  Ahh….like mama like son.

Godly Giveaways

So, I was driving home yesterday and heard something on the radio that I thought was just a bit odd.  Maybe I’m making more of it than it really is, but I must admit….it kind of rubs me the wrong way.

I was listening to 104.9 The River and heard an advertisement for upcoming Easter services at a VERY large church in the greater Columbus area.   They were talking about their services, the times, etc. but then I heard something that kind of struck me, as well….weird.  They started talking about all the giveaways they were going to be doing at their church over the Easter weekend.  Gift cards, items, etc.  I’ve got to tell you I sort of sat there in shock listening to the items they were planning on giving away.

What’s sad is that this isn’t the first time I’ve heard of a church doing this.  A few months back we got an invitation in the mail from a large church in our area that we no longer attend.  They were having some sort of grand opening weekend (even though they are an established church – they just built a new building) and it outlined upcoming weekend events at their church.  One was an Arts weekend, one was a Science weekend where they had exhibits from COSI on hand.  But the kicker was that they were going to be giving away a free trip to some glorious tropical island. 

Hmmm.  Really?  To me, if I was not a church going person and saw an advertisement like that, I would think – – gee…looks like tithes and offerings are going to fund someone’s vacation. 

Is this trend becoming the norm?  Do we really need to bribe people to come to church?  Silly me, but I thought that worshipping God and learning more about him was top priority.  Not whether COSI is going to have an exhibit or if I’m going to get something free out of it. 

I don’t know.  Maybe it’s nothing.  Maybe it’s just the way for churches to reach the masses, but I’m not afraid to tell you that it has totally turned me off.  I am more convinced than ever that we need God even more now – especially some of the churches.

They Are Unique

I’ve been reading Dr. Kevin Leman’s book Have a New Kid By Friday and it’s a wonderful read!  I am learning so much and starting to apply the principles.  I must admit, I was skeptical, especially when it came to Riah.  She tends to be my hard to discipline child.  She is so stinking happy and joyful that even when you discipline her – – she smiles.  It’s hard to know whether she is actually learning a lesson or not.

This morning was a bit of an eye opener.  I tend to be a “yeller.”  Not sure where it comes from – but all of a sudden one of the kids just gets on my last nerve and I can’t seem to stop myself.  I don’t know whether I am venting or truly angry.  But I have been paying more attention to my kids lately and realized that when the yelling starts, they just shut down and tune out.  Of course it’s not working – who is going to listen to someone who is standing there yelling at you?

So I’ve tried to change my approach.  Yes, I am still yelling from time to time – “RIAH!  Do NOT touch that pan!” or “GIRLS!  Don’t walk in the road!”  But I’m trying really hard to not yell at them when they get in trouble at home.

It finally sunk in this morning when I walked into Riah’s room.  I discovered that Chaos & Destruction had been at it again.  I save all the cards they receive for their birthdays, Riah’s adoption, and other special occasions in clear plastic totes so they can have them when they are older and have fun reminiscing.  They had taken ALL the cards out of the boxes and left them scattered all around the room.  I was FURIOUS!  Some of those cards don’t have their name on them, so when I put them back – I’ll just be guessing.  My first instinct was to yell at them, but thanks to Dr. Leman, I reined myself in.  I took them downstairs and simply explained to them that I was disappointed in the mess they made and was very sad that now I have to try to put them all back in the right box.  Not much was said then, but later, I realize how much it actually did work!

About 15 minutes later, I was pouring milk for the girls’ breakfast this morning and Riah was eating her cereal.  Mara was standing in front of the pantry and was very quiet.  She walked over to me standing by the fridge and looked up at me with watery eyes.  I asked her what was the matter.  Her little lip came out and the tears started falling and she said “I’m sorry, mommy.”  I said “what for, Mara?” not really knowing what she was so upset about.  She then replied, “I’m sorry for making a mess with the cards.”  I hugged her and told her it was okay.  I said that it was fun to look at the cards, and if she wants to look at them again, we can pull her box down and will look at them together.  She had been dwelling on it for those 15 minutes and leaving her alone to think about it made more of an impression on her than yelling ever would have.

That got me to thinking.  Each of my children requires a different form of teaching and discipline.  Mara absolutely HATES disappointing someone.  She doesn’t like anyone to be mad at her – but especially me.  Now that I know what works best for her – I can tailor my discipline and teaching to her style. 

Adam does NOT like priviliges taken away.  He’s almost 11 and he already feels out of control.  Letting him take over some decisions on his life and letting him have some say in what is going on, helps him to feel more in control.  Taking that control away when he does something wrong, that’s what impacts him the most.

Now Riah.  She is my enigma.  I don’t have a clue what makes her tick yet.  She is so happy, so joyful, so up all the time that it’s hard to find a method that impacts her.  It doesn’t help that she is the one who is my “repeat offender.”  She constantly makes the same mistakes over and over, so finding the teaching and discipline method that will help her grow into a responsible young woman is difficult.  Prayers would be appreciated on this, please.

Putting all this together brought another thought into my mind.  Does God view us the same way?  Does God see us as His wayward children that he has to teach and discipline in the way that impacts us the most?  What is the best way for God to teach me?  Like Mara, I do not like to disappoint those I love.  Maybe God uses that in me to help guide me, teach me, and even discipline me when I misbehave.  I only have three children to worry about – I can’t even being to imagine what God has to go through!! 

I’m going to continue to work on not yelling at my kids, and continue to find what makes them tick so I can be a better mother, teacher, and disciplinarian so they grow up into wonderful women and a wonderful young man.

It’s Been Reel

Saturday.  Aaron had a race this morning down in Dayton (which he did very well at – 1st in his age group – YAY!) and the kids and I were set to go over to the farmhouse.  It’s been a little while since I’ve been there.  My efforts have been concentrated on getting this house ready to go and keeping it “show ready” all the time.  Not exactly fun or exciting, but there you have it.

Today was going to be a get-a-ton-of-stuff-accomplished kind of day at the farmhouse.  I was going to clean out the kitchen so they could lay the new flooring in there next weekend.  I was going to put down the area rug in the living room since Aaron put the final coat on the hardwood floors last weekend.  I was going to clean the girls floor upstairs.  When Aaron came over after his race, we were going to powerwash the outside of the house and get some of the icky stuff off the stucco.  Then we were going to mow the yard. 

None of that happened.  I get to the house and was first enamored with all the beautiful spring flowers that were popping out in front of the farmhouse.  Awww…so pretty.  Then we got distracted by checking out the pole barn that’s being built as our garage.  Way cool.  We picked out some awesome colors.  Then it was time to go into the house and start the inside stuff first. 

What on earth?  My key is not opening the door.  I try it again.  And again.  And yet again.  Nothing.  No problem, right?  There are two other doors (for being a small house, we sure do have an awful lot of exterior doors) for me to try.  I try EVERY SINGLE KEY in the locks with no luck.  I try every single key yet again and nope.  No entry for me.  UGH.  Little bit frustrated.

So I decide to get some mowing done.  I’m not sure if I mentioned it or not, but we’re really going old school with our mowing.  Aaron purchased us two reel lawnmowers.  For those of you who may be too young (or just too techy) a reel lawnmower is the Leave-it-to-Beaver kind of mower.  No power.  No gas.  Just swirly little blades of grass cutting power. 

I got the entire backyard done and half of the left side.  Of course I chose the smaller portion of the 3.5 acres.  I think we’re a little bit nuts.  Most people would see the 3.5 acres as a reason to get a riding lawnmower – but nooooo…..not the Kramer 5.  We see it as a chance to get exercise.   I think Aaron figured it up and by walking and mowing, we could walk 19 miles using the reel lawnmower.  Good grief.  It’s going to take us all week to mow that.  Then we’ll have to start back over where we started.  We’re going to be a mowing kind of family apparently.

Okay, I will admit it – it was fun using it.  Watching the blades turn around and grass spitting out everywhere.  Hearing the little whir of the blades as they rotated.  The only downside is when you get a stick or twig caught up in it.  You get some power going behind it and hit a stick and you’re going to end up with some internal damage.  Yikes.  When it stops – it stops fast and hard. 

So that was our adventure today.  Can’t wait to see what next weekend holds for us!!

Be Kind ~ Please Rewind

Something I said in my post yesterday has been kind of sticking with me.  It has been bouncing around in my head all night long.  I even had a dream that centered around it.  I figured I’d better deal with it now rather than stew on it even more.  I’m a busy woman, you know.

Yesterday I wrote that God was sending me a big message that there are no rewinds in life.  We don’t get to push the pause and rewind button when we mess up.  That got me thinking about how nice it would be if there was such a button.  Could we erase some of the hurts in our life?  Would we do things over the same way if the rewind button was an option?

High School.  There are times when I would LOVE to do high school all over again.  No, not because I enjoyed it SO much that I just need to relive it.  [yes, that was sarcasm]  I didn’t enjoy high school.  Didn’t have many true friends.  There were people I talked to and I knew of everybody, but didn’t have true friends.  I would love to go back to high school simply as the person I am now.  No more wallflower.  No more shy girl.  Now I’m a pretty opinionated and passionate person.  I think I would enjoy the high school experience more if I was the person I am today. 

My Marriage.  This is one I would definitely do over and over again if I had the opportunity.  In fact I did do it twice – but that’s a story for another day.  I would love to relive my wedding over and over again.  This time though, I would NOT be standing in the dressing room about to get my wedding gown on and think I am fat.  Good grief.  How messed up is that?

The Birth of My Children.  I would definitely redo this one if I could.  I would love to experience the sheer joy of seeing my children for the first time in their tiny, brand new moments here in the world.   This time though, I would spend more time thanking God for their existence. 

The Death of My Dad.  This is one I don’t really want to do over again, but I would.  Instead of sitting there having a conversation about politics with my brother, I would have spent my dad’s last few moments on Earth telling him how blessed I feel that God chose that wonderful man to be my daddy.  I would have made sure he left this Earth knowing what a difference he made to me.

Those are just some of the big events that have happened in my life.  There are many other smaller, seemingly less inconsequential things that I would do differently.  Conversations, arguments, fights, mostly words that shouldn’t have been said.

I now realize that if God gave us do-overs, we wouldn’t learn anything.  There wouldn’t be any tough lessons to learn or hard decisions to make.  With do-overs in life, we wouldn’t need God.  We wouldn’t have any need to rely on Him for grace, forgiveness, and wisdom.  So I’m going to not worry about do-overs anymore and simply look to Him for help in making the right choices every single day.

Fashionable

This is going to be one awful, ugly, truthful post.  Because it needs to be said.

Ugh.  This morning I was getting dressed – – or trying to – – because I was actually leaving the house and going someplace other than the grocery store, library, and preschool.  I was going on a playdate with my friend and her daughter. 

As I was rummaging through my meager closet, my mind started wandering back to the day before I was married – before I had kids – before life sort of took me over – – – I used to be fashionable.  Stop laughing.  Seriously.  You’re making a fool of yourself now.

It’s true.  I did use to be fashionable.  I would go to the mall and spend hours picking out the latest fashions – even before my other friends were wearing them.  I still remember the awesome black and white stripe bell bottom pants I wore to work with these even more awesome black platform sandals.  I was young, I was hot, and I was happening.

I would shop at stores like American Eagle, Express, and Limited.  I wouldn’t think twice about dropping $175 – $200 on an outfit from head to toe. 

Fast forward 18 years, 1 marriage, 3 kids, and we won’t mention how many pounds and the clothes in my closet consists of sweatpants – mostly gray, some sweatshirts, and lots of t-shirts.  I have one pair of jeans that don’t even fit me well and a few skirts for church. 

Once I used to love getting dressed and now I absolutely can’t stand it.  I despise trying to find clothing to cover bulges and bags.  I get disgusted with myself and try to avoid mirrors at all costs. 

Why do I torture myself like this?  Of course I want that young, hot body back again, but pretty sure it’s not going to come back like it was before.  It’s kind of like a tough and hard message from God – there are no rewinds in life.  If I could rewind I would have put the doughnut down for goodness sake.  I wouldn’t have indulged as much.  Is there a way to fix it?  Of course.  Do I have the willpower?  Not by myself.  Do I even want to?  Until this moment – not so much.  This morning kind of sparked it for me.  I’m tired – no, make that FED UP – with how I look and feel.  NO MORE.  It ends today.  No more excuses – no more waiting for tomorrow – no more waiting for the magic pill to take it all away. 

One day I will be older and I will look back at myself at this age and I don’t want to say “I wish I would have looked after myself better at 36.”  I don’t want regrets.  I want to look back and say, “36 was a turning point for me.  It was the time I decided that I was worth it.  That I was a child of God and that He created me and look what I did with the gift he gave me – my body.  I chose the path of healthy living and treated my body like I was someone special.  Like I was a princess of the Most High. 

Today it stops.  No.  Today it BEGINS.  A feeling of self-worth.  A feeling of joy.

Chaos & Destruction Learn About Moving

A long time ago, when I used to write regularly on another site (which shall remain nameless because it was a cat fight every single day and I kept getting sucked in), I used to write about Chaos & Destruction.  I haven’t done that yet here, so you may be confused.  Chaos & Destruction are the nicknames we gave our daughters several years ago – pretty much after they learned to walk.  I am just imaging some self-righteous person now, sitting in their comfy chair reading this and saying, “I can’t believe someone would call their precious children those awful names.”  Well, I would say right back to those people – you haven’t seen the Cats. With Shoes. artwork on my daughter’s bedroom wall.  Nor have you witnessed the 17 phone calls we’ve had to make to poison control because our daughter can’t keep her hands, and mouth, off of stuff she’s not supposed to.  And let’s not forget the general chaos & destruction of the house.

Late this afternoon we had our first showing of our current home.  The house looked great – all clean, bright, and shiny (shout out to my purple sister – FlyLady) and Aaron and Adam went to pick up Adam’s new DSi he bought off Craigslist.  That left me and the girls waiting for the people to call letting us know they were on their way so we could head out and let them look in peace.

We’re sitting in the car getting ready to go and the conversation from Chaos & Destruction was HILARIOUS!  It went something like this:

Mara:  Why are we in the car?

Me:  Well, some people are coming to look at our house and we can’t be there.

Riah: Why not?

Me: Well, the realtor said it would make them uncomfortable so we need to go so they can look at it quietly.

Mara:  Are we moving now?

Me: No, not yet.  We have to sell our house first.

Mara: Why do we have to sell it?

Me: Because we bought the farmhouse and we’re going to be moving there.

Riah: When are we going to move our house?

Me: No, Riah.  We’re not moving the house – someone else will buy it and they will live there.

Mara: ARE THEY GOING TO KEEP OUR FOOD?  [I put it in caps because Mara has a volume control issue on her voice and pretty much everything comes out as a scream.]

Me: [stifling a laugh] No, Mara.  They are only going to buy the house.  We get to take all our food, our toys, our clothes, and even our beds.

Riah:  What are they going to sleep in?

Mara: They will have their own beds.  Mine is too small for them.

Riah: How are they going to move the house?  Will they dig a hole?

Mara: No, city [she pronounces sissy like city], if they dig a hole the house might fall in.  They have to dig a small hole and then everyone in the neighborhood will come and pull.  Not the cats and dogs though – they will just play in the yards.

[me really trying hard not to laugh again]

Riah: But why aren’t we moving the house?

Me: Because we bought the other little house and we don’t need two houses.  This house has to stay here so someone else can live in it.

Riah: I want bread and jam.

So that was pretty much the end of that conversation, but I think they finally understand what moving is all about.  So far it’s been pretty odd for them just moving bits and pieces at a time and still coming back to live in this house.  Some days I wonder why I have headaches – putting their conversations down in print sort of explains it all now.