Thursday, August 29, 2019

Konmari, Projects

I am definitely one of those people that loves the Konmari method for decluttering. I love it so much that I do it at least once a year, sometimes more. The "sometimes more" often happens when I'm in need of a project (or a lot of them). Going through every nook and cranny of my house helps me see what I've been forgetting, like gluing a piece of counter back on or going through our 72-hour kit for expired food. (It's been 4 years since I last looked at it. Oops.)

I've realized this summer that I do love working in the yard as long as I have a definite goal to work toward. Today, it was cleaning up the side yard. I have 1 pile of stuff for the dump, 1 for the trash can, and 1 for D.I. I finally cleared off the rocks that were covered in random stuff! I also cleaned out behind the shed and stacked all our project pallets neatly.

Now that I'm almost done going through the house, I have a long list that will hopefully keep me busy for a while. The problem areas are looking so much better now, and that makes me happy.

Thursday, August 22, 2019

Kindergarten, Disney

Aside from installing the new dishwasher, not much has happened in the past week. We definitely need to rent/borrow a trailer to get rid of a bunch of junk from the yard. Most of it is from the trailer, which is DONE except for the outside! I don't know when we'll get around to painting it, but the inside is so much better and actually usable as an office.

Katie started Kindergarten yesterday. She was so excited that she wore her backpack all morning. It was weird to have her gone all afternoon. Once I get Samantha down to 1 nap, hopefully around Thanksgiving, I may even get 2 hours alone. Since the trailer is done, I plan to fix a bunch of little things that we've been putting off for a while.

I've been watching some really old Disney movies that my brother shared with me. Holy cow, some of them are weird, like acid trip weird.

The Heads are coming to visit today. I'm exhausted because I went to bed late, mowed the lawn, went grocery shopping, and made bread all before 11:00. I think I need a nap with the little ones. We'll see how that goes.

Thursday, August 15, 2019

Better, Weaning, School, Dishwasher

I had a few days where I really felt yucky, but I'm almost all better now. Thank goodness! I can stand having a cold for a week, and it sure beats throwing up any day.

My other 4 kids were really easy to wean, but Samantha is giving me a run for my money. I have successfully gotten her down to 4 feedings a day, but she won't take much from a cup or bottle. I am determined, though, because I have NO desire to breastfeed any longer. 1 year is long enough, and this is my 5th year, so I deserve to be able to get back into shape and not worry about accessible clothes. Whether she likes it or not, I'm taking a 2-day trip at the beginning of September, and I am not taking her with me! Though I might sound optimistic here, the weaning process has caused me a lot of stress and worry so far. Aren't I supposed to be better at this by now? Apparently not.

James started school on Monday and the boys yesterday. I can't believe I'll have 3 in school in a week. Katie goes in for Kindergarten testing today and starts next Wednesday. The past few days have been a little rough. I don't know why I expected things to get so much easier when school started. So far, Katie has been really bored with  no one to play with, so she invents things to fight about with Lewis. Samantha, of course, has been a bit cranky due to the weaning process. Ugh. This will pass, but it's not very fun right now.

I thought I had fixed our dishwasher, which has been giving us trouble for a few weeks now, but I was wrong. The motor died, so we got a new one and will install it in our spare time. (Ha ha.) James still has to do mosquito abatement, so that will take up Friday/Saturday. We'll get it done, though. We have unfortunately done this before.


Thursday, August 8, 2019

Parties, The Lair, Sick

Saturday, Joseph and Kenny went to a birthday party. Katie was really bummed about not being able to go since it was at the Rec Center, but she eventually got over it after taking it out on me.

We've been working on our ancient trailer. I don't know if I mentioned it before, but it was 300 bucks, so that probably says a lot for how dilapidated it is. We got a lot done on it this week, though. James and I worked together to prime and paint the cabinets and some of the walls. I put the boys to work on cleaning out the cabinets with disinfectant wipes. I put on another coat of paint today, so it's almost looking nice enough that I don't feel like I'm going to catch some disease by going in there. (Yes, it was that bad.)

James and I have both had nasty colds this week, so he took Tuesday off to take care of me. Because of our illness, we missed the neighborhood party on Monday night. Oh well. I felt really weak and tired all of Tuesday, so I could barely do anything and just wanted to be alone. I'm still on the mend. This cough is keeping me awake at night and annoyed during the day. Still, it's been a while since I really got sick.

Grocery Pickup at Walmart includes school supplies! I'm really excited about not having to go in the store for any of that stuff. The kids find out who their teachers are today and get to meet them on Monday. School starts next Wednesday!  Hopefully, I won't spend the rest of the summer sick.

Thursday, August 1, 2019

Belcher Reunion, Guns, Splash Park, Weaning

We spent Saturday in Heber for the Belcher reunion. It was pretty fun, but a tough day. It's always really hot by afternoon, and there's nowhere to sit and cool off. That means I leave feeling kind of crummy, though nothing like last year at 8 months pregnant! The kids really had fun getting candy, bidding on stuff in the auction, and playing in the sand. There is always really good food, too.

James met with people to sell one gun before and one after the reunion. It worked out great, and he was able to buy one better gun from the money he got (and then some).

Since it's the almost last week of summer, I took the kids to the splash park in Naples. They all loved it except for Lewis. He wouldn't get anywhere near the water! I thought he would have changed his mind since last year, but nope. Samantha even crawled out into the water for a little while.

I had a bit of a rough week without having quite enough to do. I decided to start working toward my weight goal and to complete two denim quilts. The quilts will be done by the time school starts, but I won't reach my weight goal for a while, the earliest by the end of this year.

I've just barely started weaning Samantha, and it's really tough so far. I can't tell if she hates the sippy cup or what's in it, but I am determined to get "my body" back. Breastfeeding is great, but I'm done with it after nearly 5 years. I want her weaned by the time she turns 1, so we are on track for that whether she likes it or not. The first few days are always rough.