Friday was a snow day. I had mixed feelings but it turned out to be a pretty descent day. No babysitting kids so I could get up at my leisure of sorts. The kids were up so I tried to grab a shower before dh left for the day.
Madison and I sat down and read a book together called Fish Out of Water. It was ala Dr. Suess style of sorts but didn't really rhyme. I would read a page and then she would read a page. She did very well. Then we did three or so pages of math and finished up a packet from two weeks ago. Now we can start on last week's packet.
Charlotte took descent naps. Around lunch time I decided we needed a feel trip to Chick-fil-A for lunch. We went through the drive-thru and came home so the kids could "picnic" in the living room. After that we picked up a bit and after that the timing got a big hazy.
We made homemade microwave popcorn thanks to this recipe at www.allrecipes.com I found this on Angry Chicken blog. Got some good stuff there. The kids really enjoyed making the popcorn and I presume it is that much healthier than the store-bought type.
Then I helped Matthew with his "I am God's Kid" poster. We can finish that tomorrow and then work on his other God's Kid projects and his book report which is due around the 27th. Which reminds me I forgot to get the poster board. Darn.
While the kids watched television, ate popcorn and drank hot cocoa, I finished the girls' sundresses. I'm pleased as punch with them and will post pictures with my sewing a sundress entry coming later.
We had sandwhiches for dinner and dh got home in time to take them to church. He took all four but the older two went for Adventure Club to make sandwhiches which the Pathfinders were taking out to distribute in the city this afternoon.
It was a nice lazy day and I really enjoyed spending some time with them one-on-one.
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Doctor, Doctor
Give me the news. I've got a bad case of ... visiting you!
One of the things they don't tell you is that the more children you have the more often you visit the doctor. Also, the older you get the more you visit the doctor.
I remember back in the day when I would visit the doctor once, maybe twice a year. Now we're at some sort of doctor at least once a month, or so it seems.
When I was pregnant with C, between the diabetes, AMA and general visits, I was going to the doctor one to two times a week at the end of my pregnancy. Good gravy, I never wanted to see a doctor again. Not to mention most of the appointments were down in the city and required me to pay for parking.
Now, it's just other stuff. So far this year:
January - one well child check up
February - one well baby check up, one physical
March - two well children check ups
April - one child's allergy
May - one well child check up, one child dermatology
That's almost $200 in co-pays right there. Too bad the medical threshold is a tad too high. We'd probably qualify. I think we qualify for 2007 though with the delivery and subsequent hospital stay.
So, if we all stay healthy, hopefully that'll be it for now. Aside from the fact that I need to get my hip check out, the skin spot as well as my hearing. Can't wait to get this all out of the way.
One of the things they don't tell you is that the more children you have the more often you visit the doctor. Also, the older you get the more you visit the doctor.
I remember back in the day when I would visit the doctor once, maybe twice a year. Now we're at some sort of doctor at least once a month, or so it seems.
When I was pregnant with C, between the diabetes, AMA and general visits, I was going to the doctor one to two times a week at the end of my pregnancy. Good gravy, I never wanted to see a doctor again. Not to mention most of the appointments were down in the city and required me to pay for parking.
Now, it's just other stuff. So far this year:
January - one well child check up
February - one well baby check up, one physical
March - two well children check ups
April - one child's allergy
May - one well child check up, one child dermatology
That's almost $200 in co-pays right there. Too bad the medical threshold is a tad too high. We'd probably qualify. I think we qualify for 2007 though with the delivery and subsequent hospital stay.
So, if we all stay healthy, hopefully that'll be it for now. Aside from the fact that I need to get my hip check out, the skin spot as well as my hearing. Can't wait to get this all out of the way.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Diary of a Sundress
I was walking through JoAnn's one evening after Karate class looking for some clear thread in order to sew patches on the honor sashes without needing to constantly change thread color. My friend J kindly told me about this rather clever invention.
On the way through the fabric section I saw something that stopped me in my tracks. Sundress material. And not just any material, but it already had the rouching and came in such cute patterns. Really, the only sewing that would need to be done is for a side seam, a bottom hem and some sort of shoulder strap.
BINGO!
The perfect project for this sewing novice. The store was getting ready to close and I wasn't in a frame of mood to actually shop for sewing projects so I vowed to come back. Frankly, I never thought I'd make it back because I do that a lot!
On a whim, I decided to return to JoAnn's while Madison was at a birthday party. It was excellent being out alone. I was somewhat overwhelmed in the pattern department so I skipped that but came home with the black and white polka dot fabric with red ladybugs and red 1/8" grosgrain ribbon for shoulder straps.
I washed my fabric and was ready to go. But my fabric wasn't. Either I didn't buy enough or it shrunk more than I expected but in any event, I no longer had enough for two dresses. So when I had a chance, back to JoAnn's I went for an additional piece. I was prepared this time. Brought it home and washed it right up. From there, I began working on Madison's dress.
I wasn't sure whether to sew the side seam or the hem first. I sort of thought perhaps it didn't matter as long as both got done but then I wondered if there was a proper order to ensure a nice outcome. After some research I found out to do the side seam first. After working with Madison's dress I began to think sewing was over-rated. I hate getting poked with pins. Ouch!
After some trial and error, I finished the side seam and hem. I worked with the 1/8" red gosgrain ribbon I had purchased for the straps at the recommendation of the counter lady. What a mistake. I had a really hard time working with that ribbon. It was difficult to tie and it didn't stay up on Madison's shoulders. I made the difficult decision to stop and get some different ribbon.
I returned to JoAnn's for a third time! After some careful searching, I found the perfect black ribbon with white polka dots and it was much broader. I was giddy with excitement! Back home. Fast forward a few days to snow day Friday which was really just some ice that melted by lunch time. I spent untold time taking out the red ribbons with my hand seam ripper and sewed on the new straps.
Voila! Instant sundress. So cute! Madison loved it and I must say the shoulder straps looked marvelous and fit so nicely. She wouldn't take the dress off LOL! I ran back to the kitchen to start Mia's. Hers went much faster and I was really pleased with the outcome. It's rather too long but I didn't want to reconstruct the entire thing. I figure she'll grow a bit before spring and perhaps she can wear it next year as well. I rolled the entire hem so I can let it out later.
So a lot of time, effort and a bit more $ than I intended to spend but the girls are happy and so am I. I do believe I'm going to go back and buy another amount of the blue fabric which has flowers and butterflies and make two more. I'm thinking of making a third for the baby but I haven't quite decided yet.
The Replacements
So, if my life were a mini-drama right now, it would be called the replacements. So many things are breaking down I don't know what's coming next.
First, the mouse stopped working. One night I stayed up late into the evening working on checking account stuff and it worked fine all night. Well, okay, so it didn't actually work fine. It had been sort of wonky for several days which I contributed to battery issues and replaced them. However, I did notice there was some battery leakage, but hey it still worked so it was all good, right?
Apparently, it wasn't. When dh tried to use the computer the next morning it was a no go unless you happen to know all the keyboard shortcuts. Which we don't.
So we hurried up and got a new mouse. Can't run a home without a functioning computer in my view!
I think that was a Sunday or so. Fast forward to Friday. At 5:30 am the alarm starts to sound. DH does his usual snooze thing. After a while I open my eyes as it looks rather bright and it's about 7a. DH usually has the kids out the door on the way to school about 8a so this was not good. I do believe they made it on time.
The big problem was that the power went out sometime after the alarm started sounding. It's like the coldest day of the year and we have absolutely NO power. BGE claimed it would be back around 10:30. So I trucked off to the LLL Breastfeeding cafe with the little girls. After spending 45 minutes trying to find it, I give up and head to the mall. I stopped at home quickly first to see if the lights were on. No and the BGE truck didn't appear to have any activity around it.
Long story short, the electricity came back around 2ish however, the computer monitor didn't come on. Oy! Again, computer problems. This time I had a typing job that was due so this was not good news at all. This was also the reason I couldn't find the breastfeeding cafe which was at a new location. I couldn't remember the name of it and I couldn't look it up on line or check my email LOL! That'll show me to wait until the last minute.
A lovely friend has loaned us her old monitor. We went from a nice, streamlined flat screen model to the old honking huge style. I have NO room on my desk to work which is *really* irritating but it's really nice having a monitor at all. We'll probably just end up replacing the computer soon. Perhaps when we get our surplus from the government. Sometimes it's a real benefit to have four children.
Next the following weekend the dishwasher wouldn't turn on. So we did an extensive search for a new dishwasher. Several days later we had one all picked out and then the oven went out. So I revamped my search for two new appliances.
Now this was very exciting because other than a new washer several years ago we have not had any new appliances. Who knew you could get so excited over appliances? It will be so nice to cook a meal properly without under or over cooking it. It will be just as nice to open the dishwasher and take out clean dishes rather than dirty ones.
Those should arrive next Wednesday.
The van's been in the shop as well. I was stuck without it for two days last week. That was a real joy. Hopefully that will be in good repair for a while. In the meantime, DH's interior driver-side door handle snapped off a couple weeks ago. You either have to climb over to the passenger side to get out or you can lower the window and open from the outside. However, this means you have to keep the car running. I find it a complete pain the rear and try to avoid using it at this time. I don't know how he stands it LOL!
So, now I just wait for another shoe to fall. Between stuff breaking down and all the doctor visits it's a wonder we're not in the poor house right now. Awfully close but still hanging by a string.
First, the mouse stopped working. One night I stayed up late into the evening working on checking account stuff and it worked fine all night. Well, okay, so it didn't actually work fine. It had been sort of wonky for several days which I contributed to battery issues and replaced them. However, I did notice there was some battery leakage, but hey it still worked so it was all good, right?
Apparently, it wasn't. When dh tried to use the computer the next morning it was a no go unless you happen to know all the keyboard shortcuts. Which we don't.
So we hurried up and got a new mouse. Can't run a home without a functioning computer in my view!
I think that was a Sunday or so. Fast forward to Friday. At 5:30 am the alarm starts to sound. DH does his usual snooze thing. After a while I open my eyes as it looks rather bright and it's about 7a. DH usually has the kids out the door on the way to school about 8a so this was not good. I do believe they made it on time.
The big problem was that the power went out sometime after the alarm started sounding. It's like the coldest day of the year and we have absolutely NO power. BGE claimed it would be back around 10:30. So I trucked off to the LLL Breastfeeding cafe with the little girls. After spending 45 minutes trying to find it, I give up and head to the mall. I stopped at home quickly first to see if the lights were on. No and the BGE truck didn't appear to have any activity around it.
Long story short, the electricity came back around 2ish however, the computer monitor didn't come on. Oy! Again, computer problems. This time I had a typing job that was due so this was not good news at all. This was also the reason I couldn't find the breastfeeding cafe which was at a new location. I couldn't remember the name of it and I couldn't look it up on line or check my email LOL! That'll show me to wait until the last minute.
A lovely friend has loaned us her old monitor. We went from a nice, streamlined flat screen model to the old honking huge style. I have NO room on my desk to work which is *really* irritating but it's really nice having a monitor at all. We'll probably just end up replacing the computer soon. Perhaps when we get our surplus from the government. Sometimes it's a real benefit to have four children.
Next the following weekend the dishwasher wouldn't turn on. So we did an extensive search for a new dishwasher. Several days later we had one all picked out and then the oven went out. So I revamped my search for two new appliances.
Now this was very exciting because other than a new washer several years ago we have not had any new appliances. Who knew you could get so excited over appliances? It will be so nice to cook a meal properly without under or over cooking it. It will be just as nice to open the dishwasher and take out clean dishes rather than dirty ones.
Those should arrive next Wednesday.
The van's been in the shop as well. I was stuck without it for two days last week. That was a real joy. Hopefully that will be in good repair for a while. In the meantime, DH's interior driver-side door handle snapped off a couple weeks ago. You either have to climb over to the passenger side to get out or you can lower the window and open from the outside. However, this means you have to keep the car running. I find it a complete pain the rear and try to avoid using it at this time. I don't know how he stands it LOL!
So, now I just wait for another shoe to fall. Between stuff breaking down and all the doctor visits it's a wonder we're not in the poor house right now. Awfully close but still hanging by a string.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)