The weekend in review

What a weekend. It was so busy, but really nice too. I had my all-day scrapbooking event on Saturday and it went incredibly well. I did manage to pull it all together at the last minute and everyone had a good time. It was a long day and I was so beat when I got home, but my sales at the event boosted my spirit.

Mother's Day was very lovely. The older kids and my husband made me breakfast in bed, which was a first. I'd already received Drew's gift on Thursday when he got home from school; with the help of his teachers, he planted a flower in a pot that he decorated with his fingerprints and they made into ladybugs. It's sitting in my kitchen windowsill and I love it. Meg brought her gifts home on Friday. She made a card with a picture of me on the front, then there was a poem inside and a worksheet she filled out about me. It's so neat seeing her handwriting on things and what things about me make her happy (I read to her, and she mentioned that ALOT). Doug did take the kids Saturday to the mall and got me the Mike Lowell autobiography that I wanted. He also got me a Kevin Garnett t-shirt and get this....a very large Kevin Garnett bobblehead doll. It cracked me up so much that Kevin is on my bedside table. I have never been a big basketball fan, but since Garnett joined the Celtics, it's my reason for watching. I love him.

We headed to my parents to visit with my mom (my inlaws are away on a trip in the south, so we won't see them until they return). I always bring her a hanging plant and this year she returned the flora with some plants for my garden~a false indigo and shasta daisies. Then she dug up some more flowers from her gardens for me. We got them all planted yesterday afternoon. The kids had fun running around in my parents' backyard.

The rest of the day was a normal Sunday with laundry, groceries and baths. It was still nice to enjoy the day with my kids and hear them say they love me. And really that's what it's all about.

Why I need more coffee.

Our house saga continues. Ok, it's not so much a saga anymore. We're still dealing with the tenant issues~the loads of junk they left had to be stored and we had to send them a letter telling them that they have 14 days to come get it. Yes, we actually had to do that by law before we could toss it. Rather than risk a lawsuit in case we tossed something of "heirloom" quality, we complied. LOVE knowing lawyers who help me out. We had a neighbor with a lawn business clean up the yard (as the tenants never even bothered to rake the leaves!), our friendly painter repainted the most heinous rooms, and we had a cleaning service come last week to clean the rugs and the kitchen and bathroom (thank you Mom and Dad). Our open house on Sunday yielded a prospective tenant/buyer, and we have decided to work with her. She loves the house, her two kids love the house, and being there allows her kids to stay in their current schools come fall. I am hoping in the next several months to report that we're under contract to sell the home to her. That is our common goal, so I am breathing a little bit easier about it.

I became "that parent" yesterday. You know the one I mean. The one that the teachers cringe at because you take an interest in your child's eduation. The one that wants the best for her child and wants answers when it seems that isn't happening. But, sometimes you have to be "that parent". Megan has been evaluated on and off this year by the Gifted and Talented teacher at her school. We were not informed of this prior to her first meeting last fall. I don't know how many times Megan saw this particular woman before she even mentioned it to me very off-hand in the car one day. I didn't even know there was a Gifted and Talented teacher at the school. But anyway, I emailed Meg's teacher about it back then to see what the scoop was, and was happy to hear that they thought Meg warranted the evaluations. I mean, what parent wouldn't be excited? And of course we think she's incredibly smart and we're not at all biased (cough cough). Then one day Meg came home crying because the work with the teacher was hard and she didn't finish it. She told me she felt stupid. How do you explain to a 7 year old that they aren't stupid? That they just need to try, and all we ask is that they try? The invitations to work with the G&T teacher stopped coming after that. We were a bit frustrated, but what can you do about it? Then last week, the G&T teacher came to Meg's class to work with her G&T group individually and had Megan read to her. She told Meg that maybe she could come again this week (yesterday). No invite yesterday, again. Meg didn't say anything, but I could sense she was sad. So, I emailed the teacher. I wasn't harsh, just concerned that she is toying with my child. Her response to me today was quick. I won't bore you with the details of her response. Now I have some thinking to do. Do I let sleeping dogs lie, get Meg through the rest of first grade, and not make an issue out of it? Or do I push them to give her another chance, because I think she's matured over the course of the year? It's a hard issue for me, because I loved to learn (until I went to law school and it beat the love of learning out of me) and I want her to love it too. I want her to try her hardest and be proud of her work. She is of course only in first grade and maybe in another year she'll be a bit more mature and understand more of this. Sometimes I think I push too hard, and other times I think that I baby her too much. I don't know where to draw the line. And of course having three other children who need me means that I can't give her the 150% attention that she wants. Oh what fun this will be when all 4 of them are in school.

I am supposed to be working on my big scrapbooking day for Saturday. I have 13 customers coming to scrapbook. I am not at all ready. I have been spending what free time I have playing baseball with Drew, or hanging out with the babies, or going to softball games, or stressing about the other home. Nothing like waiting until the last minute to do things. I'm sure it will pull itself all together, but since my plan was to be all ready by now, I'm a little freaked out.

On the upside, Izzie was better this morning. She ate and drank and didn't cry the minute I put her in the living room. Hooray!

Life with Isabelle

Isabelle is the baby of the family. She was born 11 minutes after Annabelle. So I guess it should not surprise me that she sometimes behave the worst of anyone. I know she's only 15 months old, but let's recap the last 6 days with Izzie. Turns out she doesn't like much of anything anymore. She....

Does not want to be picked up;

Does not want to be put down;

If put down, will roll around on the floor and wail like she has been beaten;

If put down, will throw herself to the ground, head first, roll around on the floor and wail like she has been beaten;

Does not want to eat;

Does not want to drink;

Does not want to go in her stroller;

Does not want to go in the car;

Does not want kisses; will scratch your face if you kiss her;

Does not want you to kiss her sister;

Does not want you to pick up her sister.

Actually, it turns out that none of those things apply when Daddy is home. Just fun times for Mama. The joys of parenting.

A contest!

No, I'm not having a contest. The fine ladies at Chop. Stir. Mix are having a contest! Do you like food? Of course you do! So check them out, tell them I sent you (did you see what they're giving away? I'd LOVE IT!), and maybe send in a recipe. I've already given them one, and plan to do another.

So, rush right over, because the contest ends Sunday night!

One Step Forward, A Zillion Steps Back (EDITED)

Just when things might start to look up, they go downhill again. Let me start at the beginning.

We had our open house at our other home yesterday. When we had a broker and tried to sell the house before, no one ever came to the open houses. It was so depressing. So, we didn't have high hopes for an open house in the pouring rain yesterday. We were pleasantly surprised with the turnout though. We had people come with brokers, and some on their own. Most gave us their information so we could contact them, although one just left with barely a thank you. We have one person really interested in the house because it would keep her children in their current schools (the school system is being redistricted there), but we're not sure if she's ready to buy. While we're ok with a rent to own option, if the tenants opts out of the purchase, we're right back to where we are now, which is paying two mortgages. We'd rather sell the home outright. So internets, keep your fingers crossed for us. We could use some good luck.

So, that was the step forward. Listen to the step back. Last night, at 10:30 we were sitting down to watch Deadliest Catch on DVR from last week (I don't know why I enjoy chain smoking crab fishermen in Alaska, but it's riveting). We were enjoying some popcorn and relaxing when a loud clunk game from the garage. Doug disappeared out to check it out and didn't come back in. I finally hunted him down to see what was the matter, and he said it was his truck (a 2002 Ford Explorer) falling apart. The clunking we heard was a spring falling off the truck. This truck has been a nightmare. I won't bore you with the details, but we just had the wheel bearings on all 4 wheels replaced a couple of months ago. And it's had other issues too. So, this morning I am without a car as the Explorer just went off on a tow truck and Doug has my van. We'll go get a rental, again, later today. Argh. (EDIT: No rental. Truck will be fixed, to the tune of $600. Turns out, we only have the "basic" extended warranty, and the 2 springs that are being replaced fall under the "holy shit expensive" double dog dare extended warranty. GAH.)

To top it off, the twins have been IRRITABLE since Friday. Lots of crying and low grade fevers. I think it's just the molars they are getting but PUHLEASE....sometimes I have to leave the room and it would be swell if they wouldn't cry EVERY time. Too bad we can't go anywhere today to change their moods.

Chickens

My husband wants to get chickens. Yes, real, live fowl to live in our yard. Why you ask? For the cuteness? Um, not so much, because while they are cute as babies, they are ugly, ugly animals as adults. For the eggs of course. Yes, my city dwelling husband thinks that now that we own 13 acres of land we should have chickens. Good grief Charlie Brown.

I can see his point. We are a family of six. When we have say, scrambled eggs for breakfast or dinner, it takes a DOZEN eggs to feed us all. I am now buying the 18 pack of eggs. I don't even know how much it costs; I just grab them and put them in the cart. Given the economy, maybe having chickens is a good idea. It sounds like a great idea. But then I gave it some thought and came up with these objections.

1. Bird flu. Can we get bird flu from the chickens? Probably. Not something I want.

2. Who is going to care for the chickens? The husband who is working 10 hours a day, or the wife who is home all the time? Hmmmmmm.

3. Chickens get killed by weasels, coyotes, etc. A co-worker of his had 3 chickens killed recently by weasels. That isn't going to be easy to explain to my children.

4. Speaking of the children. I don't want them playing with the chickens, or in the chicken poop, or anything else disgusting like that. Eww. Granted, we'd build them a coop, but they'll still need exercise.

The list could go on. Our neighbors up the road are getting chickens too. That gave my husband even more reason to want the chickens. If Becky can get chickens, so can I, he reasoned. It was a look of glee in his eye while they chatted about chickens. I don't get it. I too am a city dweller, living in the country. I lived in Boston without chickens. I lived in New York without chickens. I grew up in Maine, WITHOUT CHICKENS. This is just something I can't wrap my head around. Now a cow for the milk.....that's a different story.

I love Maine, really, I do! And other stuff too.

I seem to complain a lot about the weather here in Maine, don't I? One would think I don't like it here, what with the 100 + inches of snow this winter, and mud season (which we haven't experienced this year!) and the flooding and whatnot. But, that is not correct. I love Maine. I was born and raised here. My parents are NOT native Mainers, but that doesn't matter. They've been here long enough I think to consider it all good. The snowfall we received this winter hadn't happened since the 1970s. I remember being a kid and having tons of snow to play in. The rain and flooding, well, those are issues that I've really only paid attention to as a homeowner because it affects me. Luckily, both of my homes are away from bodies of water so I am safe. But when I logged onto msnbc.com today, Maine was in the headlines because of the flooding up north. I can't imagine losing a home to floodwaters. Ick.

But I love being a Mainer (pronounced Main-ah). I love the mountains and the changing of the leaves in the fall. I love to look at the snow (and thankfully I don't have to shovel it anymore) and I couldn't imagine living where I didn't have four distinct seasons. Sure, summer is over on July 5th (and it only starts July 4th) but really, it's the place for me. So, even though I complain a lot about the weather, I'll just wait a minute and it will change. Not always for the better, but a change can't hurt, right?

Still no news on our other house. We're having an open house on Sunday to see what might happen. Since we'd still prefer to sell over rent, we may need to drop the price, again. The stress of it is starting to get the better of me. It's pretty much all I think about. Not good thoughts, I know.

Meg has her first softball game tonight. After only one practice. Should be interesting. She proclaimed this morning that she was going to hit a home run and I told her to concentrate on just getting a hit and running the right way on the bases. She always aims so high and then is disappointed when it doesn't happen. Maybe I'm a big fat downer to her, but I think sometimes that reality is better than rose colored glasses. I blame my husband for that. He is very much a "let's not sugarcoat it" kind of a person. Sometimes though, a little rose coloring is in order and we don't agree on that very much.

I had to dress up for the field trip yesterday. I don't dress up. I am at home in jeans and some sort of comfy shirt, every day, all day. Meg's teacher told them to wear "theater attire" and that was fine and dandy for them, but I figured that going in my jeans wasn't going to cut it. One little boy wore a suit! He looked so adorable. It was too bad that all the first and second graders didn't wear theater attire, because it was night and day between her class and the others from the school. Back to my need to dress up though. Oh my holy hell I was uncomfortable. Meg was wonderful, telling me how beautiful I looked, but I couldn't wait to get home and change out of my skirt. She was actually disappointed when she got off the bus yesterday and I was in my jeans. My inability to be comfortable with how I look is truly for another post, some day, maybe. I guess for now as long as my kids and husband think I'm beautiful, I'm good as gold.