Dishwasher to Eggs

Went online last night to see when that hose might arrive and it said it was already in my mailbox and had been since the day before.  Excellent.  So the little man and I set out to change the hose.  Youtube made it look very easy and it really was.  The hardest part was cleaning up all the insulation and rat bait that was under the dishwasher. 
We ran a whole cycle to make sure everything was hooked up and not leaking.  I also still had soap in there from when I ran a load that didn't get washed because of the not filling.  So the dishwasher got a bath today.  Happy to say we did good.  No leaks. 
This afternoon was the Easter Egg Hunt at the facility that my mom lives at.  So we headed on over and did the hunt.  The kids had a great time.  Now the little woman did not want to even go and has stated so for a couple of weeks.  She just knew that kid who found both golden eggs last year and a golden egg the year before that would find the golden egg again this year.  I opened my mouth and inserted my foot.  I told her the odds of that happening were astronomical.  Well guess what?  That kid went into the courtyard, walked right over to a bush on the other side and said "I found the golden egg."  And so it was.  I noticed that the youngest member of his group who hunted eggs in the little kids courtyard found the other golden egg.  Oy.  What can you say about that.  Anyway, we put in a guess on the jellybean jar and won second place.  Got a big container of chocolate.  And they had a raffle.  The little woman won the very last prize and it was a nice basket.  She shared with her brother. 
Mom had a good time watching the kids and eating the candy the littles didn't care for.  Then she got ahold of our box of chocolates and ate quite a few.  Probably a good thing.  I think she was unhappy that we didn't leave it for her.  But we did leave a plate full of mini snickers and butterfingers. 
All in all a good day. 

Fire Station Visit

The little woman had girl scouts tonight.  They toured a fire station and started working on their first aid badge.  She seemed more impressed with how many appliances they had at the station.  She thoroughly enjoyed the visit.
Afterwards, one of the other girls gave her an invite to a birthday party.  Wow.

While she was doing her thing, the little man and I toured the middle school nearby.  Hoped for a playground, but what we found was a track.  So he ran around the track once and then couldn't be convinced to walk around it with me. He liked how it felt on his feet.

Another Project Done

And the painting was completed. The contractor will be sending me a new bid for the work she discovered needing done.  She went ahead and asked about just painting the rest of the house.  If she paints the rest of the garage, it is going to really make the rest look dingy.  Maybe it is time to finish all this work and put it on the market. 
I'm not ready yet, but it may be time anyway.  Once the work is done it will look its best and be presentable.  If I wait another year it will start to show wear in other places.  Catch 22 for me. 
I will take a picture of the new painted siding tomorrow.

Small Steps Forward

The contractor got the primer put on the new siding today.  They do color tomorrow and then are done.  She is going to give me a new bid on some more work she sees that needs to be done. 
I got email telling me the new drain hose has shipped.  So excited about that.  I'm ready for the dishwasher to work.  Even if I am willing to continue washing by hand to save the shipping cost.
The little woman was sick today.  She started off with a headache and then threw up and then more headache.  I gave her ibuprofen and you could watch as it worked and watched as it wore off.  Really similar to what the little man had last week.  Except she did not sleep.  She did spend most of the day on the couch.  Tomorrow she goes back to school and I work a long day to make up for the hours missed today. 
The things I ordered for Easter baskets have either arrived or have shipped.  Guess I better get a couple of baskets.  We need them for the egg hunt on Saturday.

Hopefully the End

The technician from Sears came out today to hopefully fix our dishwasher.  As soon as he is down on the floor he makes a comment about having a rodent problem.  Seems a wire was chewed through.  He went out to his truck and got a part and and came in and fixed it.  Told me because he could fix it with the little part I was good.....no charge, but if it had meant the wiring harness needed to be rebuilt or replaced the warranty would not cover it because it was rodent damage.  Rodent damage is not covered in the warranty. 
Then he showed me the insulation under the machine.  Joy.  He set the machine to drain and he finished his paperwork.  Turned around and there is water on the floor.  The rat's parting gift to me was it chewed the drainage hose.  Seems this is where we came in.  And hopefully this is where we go out.  I have a new hose on order.  The tech wasn't going to do anything because I need an exterminator.  Nope.  I'm good.  I can replace that part myself.  I'm sure it would have been a lovely charge if he would have been willing to do it. 
So now I am waiting for the insulation to dry out a bit, so I can clean up the rat mess of insulation.  The part will be here next week and then maybe I will have a working dishwasher.  Oy.

Karma?

I picked up the little man from daycare and he is wearing pants.  He immediately tells me that one of his classmates peed on him.  Seriously?  I don't know.  I didn't get a note or an email or a call.  When we got home I just threw the clothes in the washing machine and figure it just may be karma for the little man and his pants down episode at the neighbors.  Boys!

Inappropriate

So I'm taking the little man to bed and he whispers that the trampoline house dad told him to not come back to their house ever again.  I'm like okay....what did he do.  He starts off telling me he was inappropriate, but won't tell me how.  I'm thinking well thank goodness he didn't hit anyone or bite anyone or kick anyone.  You get the drift. 
Takes him a couple of minutes because he is afraid he is going to be in trouble here.  So I calmly tell him that he won't be in trouble.  Turns out he took his pants down and exposed himself.  Oh yeah...he is going through this phase of isn't it funny when I show my penis.  I have been telling him for quite awhile that that is inappropriate and either he doesn't care or he doesn't believe me. 
So he just lost one of the places he can go to play.  Maybe that will sink in about it being inappropriate.  The problem is....when I asked him if he knew what inappropriate was he said no.  Now he has to have an inkling that it is misbehavior, but not more than that.  And at that point our conversation is over.  So I will have to bring it up again another time when he is receptive to talking about it.  Oy. 

It's Always Something

One thing I have noticed about any project, is that it always is something else.  So the repair guy from Sears was suppose to be out this morning to fix the dishwasher.  Yes, the dishwasher I bought just before Thanksgiving.  It is under warranty though.  But naturally I get a call and the technician is out sick.  So now he is coming on Tuesday.
The garage door was all taken care of yesterday.  When he plugged the opener back in, the outlet had no power.  It did when the opener was unplugged.  Janie also gave me a new outlet outside....I'm betting it still doesn't work because the one on the wall doesn't.
It is always something more.  As long as we keep moving forward I guess that is just the way the ball bounces.  We do have a nice garage door.  We have some nice new siding.  And Tuesday we should have a working dishwasher again.  Have I ever mentioned that I really don't like to wash dishes by hand?

Lularoe's

Brenda and I had talked about the little woman outgrowing all her clothes.  So Brenda went online and looked at her seller of Lularoe's pages.  She found a spectacular deal and had three pair shipped to the little woman. 
They are the softest pants ever.  The little woman didn't get overjoyed.  But I noticed on the second day she said she wanted those soft pants.  Score.  So I guess we need to get on a list so we can buy more when they go for super cheap. 
But for this moment in time we have enough pants to get through to warmer weather.  :)

Parent Teacher Conference

I had a spring conference with the little woman's teacher.  Now I don't necessarily enjoy these conferences.  But this one wasn't bad.  We talked about her behaviors....some that she exhibits in both places and we are both going "yes, exactly."  The little woman is very independent in her behavior.  If she doesn't want to do something it is very hard to coax her to do it.  And she is capable and smart.  She does not think so.  So we are going to keep praising her on her achievements. 
I made a comment about her not showing at school what she has learned. She doesn't show me either, but I listen to how she plays and it shows there.  She likes to play school with her dolls, brother, neighbor kid, etc.  And I am amazed.  Or she will read a hard word to me and I am floored.  After my comment to the teacher....the teacher exclaimed yes she has found this.  The little woman on Tuesday can't do grouping for adding two digit problems (i.e. 16+28=), but on Wednesday she did a whole page of three digit problems and missed one.  It all varies with her from moment to moment, day to day. 
She still wiggles in class, but must not be quite as much. She still wants to hug everyone and we are all going to keep talking about the bubble around other people.  The little woman does not have a bubble so she just hugs away. 
She was tested with a computer program and then again with the reading specialist beside her to slow her down.  Her scores increased by 50 points, but she still fit the criteria for the specialist.  The computer program showed where she really needed help and they implemented that and her reading jumped.  They did say it could be a coincidence, but they didn't think so. 
So basically the conference was positive.  The little woman is progressing.  Not completely meeting benchmarks, but getting there.  And we have things to work on. 

Impressed

So let me set the scene.  I have had many issues of late that have required the services of contractors and others.  Starting with the ants after we moved in.  Moving on to the rats and the damage they did.  That really called attention to the siding that needed replacing. 
It has been my great experience that contractors and people for hire are very hard to find.  They do not like to return calls.  They are known to not show up.  They are just a hassle.  But rats are more than I could deal with. 
So I had made quite a few calls and found Bill from All Season Pest and he is wonderful. He gave me the names of three contractors for the siding.  I really was not leaning towards Janie, but she was the only one I could get on the phone.  And when she showed up with her crew in tow I was relieved.  I was trying to picture this woman manhandling sheets of siding and just could not do it.  And that doesn't mean that a woman can't.  I just can't picture it.  Obviously I hired her. 
So about four weeks ago the little man thought he would get his sister's goat.  And he did.  He took one of her My Little Pony People and flushed her down the toilet.  Oh yes.  It got stuck.  And stuck it stayed. 
I have a woman contractor here who isn't super comfortable just using the bathroom in my bedroom.  She does, but she keeps asking if I got that toilet fixed yet.  So after the third time....I decided to get off my duff and make some calls.  I had posted on facebook looking for someone, but it hadn't panned out.
So my first and only call was to Sarkinen Plumbing.  The owner has posted in our sale group a time or two and I think I drive past his place of business a lot.  The woman who answered the phone was pleasant and told me she could get someone out today. Wait...what?  The phone got answered and I could have someone today.  Sold.  Absolutely sure I was going to pay for all that good luck.
Anyway Jeremiah came out when he was scheduled to, with a call before he got here.  He came in and told me what it would cost if it came out or went down with the auger.  He offered me a $50 coupon.  So while I was expecting almost $400 (Sears scare tactic to get you to purchase their new home security for all your appliances, etc), it only cost $250. 
Obviously the toy went on its way through the drain pipes.  Jeremiah did tell me it could have been $400 if he would have had to pull the toilet.  I'm just happy that didn't happen and that we have a working toilet again.

Fly By Day

Oh my gosh.  Worked a full day today starting at 7:30.  After work I quickly headed to town to pick the littles up from daycare.  Then we quickly headed back to Hazel Dell for Family Night where my mom lives.  Mom loved their dinner.  The little man did not think it looked appetizing. 
So after that we went back homeward and got them some dinner.  Then while they ate that we sat in the drive thru line at Dairy Queen to get our free cones. 
It was a busy day that went by pretty quickly.  ;p

Marti and Katie

Marti had invited me to lunch a couple of weeks ago when Katie was suppose to come to her work for lunch.  That day was the first day the contractors were here and I wasn't comfortable leaving.  So I didn't go.  Well Katie postponed.  So it got moved to today.
I'm a week into the siding and perfectly fine leaving while the contractors are here. So I left a little early so I could drop in and see Mona first.  She lives at the same place where Marti works.  So I had a nice catch up with her.
And then I had a nice catch up with Marti and Katie.  Marti and I didn't need much of a catch up since we just had lunch a few weeks ago.  It's been quite awhile since I have seen Katie.  So it was nice catching up.  Katie is moving.  Marti and Alan bought a cabin.  And I'm playing house with the littles.  We are all good. We reminisced about our bookstore days.  Katie is the reason I work at the bookstore.  Hard to believe I have been there 19 years and she retired 10 years ago. 

The Little Mountains

We stopped at Albertson's to get a donut and some money.  Needed a $5 bill.  When we got up to the cashier the little man started in with his goings on.  He told her all about going to jail to visit Daddy, up in the mountains...the little mountains.  Now it is an apt description.  It is a very small range if you compare it to the Cascades, the Grand Tetons, Mt. Hood or Mt. St. Helens. The cashier knew what he meant and didn't quite know what to say.  The little man was happy about his upcoming visit.
We arrived and then had to wait.  I think it was because of how many people showed up for that sitting.  Anyway we spent a good two hours visiting with Daddy.  And most of that was them playing games with him.  They behaved and had a great time.
What I noticed and I have noticed it before.  The bond and how it manifests itself.  The little man is a very sore loser.  He is willing to cheat to win.  But he could not cheat today and he did lose.  He sat back and you could tell he was unhappy.  Daddy told him you can't always win and then he was perfectly fine. I had commented on his extreme good luck...he wins most of the time even if there is no cheating involved.  So Daddy commented that is probably where the sore loser comes from.  Probably.  But the little man took it in stride when it came from his parent.  And then they continued on playing games. 
The littles are always better behaved for their parents.  At least initially.  They really want to please them.  And they love them. 
I'm just glad it was a good visit.  We go again next for an Easter family thing.  Mike put our names on the list and got the permission.  Mike is only allowed two family things in a year, so this will be number one.

Empty Dresser

My big accomplishment today was going through all of the little woman's clothes.  Pulled out all of the small stuff and that did not leave her much.  She may not be happy when she realizes all the pajamas are gone.  She does still have two nightgowns though and she seems to be liking those a lot lately. 
Amazingly enough most of the clothes were all one size.  I did find a couple of sixes in the pajamas.  It has always been that I find multiple sizes when I do a purge and always wonder how those super small things got past the last purge.  I still have no clue, just glad I seem to be over doing that. 
I didn't need to do the little man's dresser because he and I had just done that the last time we cleaned his room.  :)
Now to start the replacing of the small clothes.  Guess I will be looking for some deals.

Pants

Oh my gosh.  The little woman has outgrown like all of her pants in the past month.  They all make her look like a plumber.  So after they went to school, I went shopping.  I hit Walmart because the price is right.  We only have a couple more months of weather cool enough for her to wear pants. 
The only pants I could find there for girls was jeggings.  And jeggings will not do.  They had tons of shorts and Capri's.  Oy.
So after work I went to Fred Meyers and found some leggings that aren't Capri's.  Picked up three pair and that will have to get her through.  I did pick up two pair of Capri's at Walmart and some super cute tops.
Methinks we need to do a dresser purge this weekend. 

Oh Yeah

The little woman got a coupon this week for reading. The coupon gets them a free personal size pizza at Pizza Hut.  They earn them for reading so much, for so many days or just improving in class.  The teacher gives it to them.  Well I thought cool.  The little man has two and she had one from the fall.
Well I got looking at them closer.  They are only good for 30 days from when they are given.  That figures.  So the three we had are no longer any good. 
We did take her new one today and got her personal pizza.  Bought one for the little man and we were good for dinner.  And they were surprisingly tasty. 

Acting Out

Oy.  I was going to pay attention if the little man's acting out was related to life or food.  Or some combination thereof.  And then I forget.  We have another visit with Daddy coming up.  So if it is life related and I suspect it has something to do with it.....we need to make it real routine. 
We can't stop life from throwing us curveballs or having lots of big emotions about all kind of things.  But we can try and stabilize what we can.  It breaks my heart when I see the damage that life has done to the littles at such young ages.  And we are blessed.  I have heard some stories of children in the same sets of circumstances who have much more damage to their bodies, brains, souls. 
I will keep doing what I can.  And I will shower them with love.  And I will buy a new mop. 

A Quick Walk NOT

Yesterday we had asked Rebecca what she was doing today.  The little woman had girl scouts and the little man and I thought we might go hang out with her for that 40 minutes.  We got the strangest response.  She told me she has a headache and why.  Okay.  I'm not sure what that had to do with today, but we got the hint and made other plans.
So we headed down to the Burnt Creek Trail and did a pond loop.  Some people were feeding the ducks and let the littles feed them also.  Then we continued on.  At some point the little woman told the little man she didn't want to do something and that started the meltdown.  And from the meltdown came lots of yelling, tears and unfortunately a slow walk back to the car. 
Once back to the car and everyone had calmed down we hit the newly remodeled McDonald's.  Amazing how much better someone got as he got food in  his belly.  Methinks he is getting used to earlier dinners and needs food sooner.  Now I know this, but it seems every once in awhile I need a reminder. Next time we hit McDonald's first and take our food to the trail, eat and then walk. 
Then we took the little woman to girl scouts and we went to the dollar store.  We found some things to bring home with us.  He always loves the dollar store.  And I loved how he all by himself needed to change his choices and put some stuff back so he could get other stuff.  He was happy. 
We got done a little quicker than I planned so we just waited for Sissy in the parking lot at girl scouts. 

Replacing

One day at a time.  The old siding comes off, the tyvek and new siding go on.  I imagine if it wasn't the end of winter they might do all the tear down at once.  But the contractor has to contend with rain and the possibility of rain.  They are making progress though.  Here is to hoping for nice days next week.

And On

Joe came when he said he would and we loaded up his little pickup.  We dropped the old bikes at a metal recycler.  No point in paying dump fees for those heavy bikes.  Then to the transfer station to unload.  Didn't take us any time at all.  $21.95 was the fee and I gave Joe some money for time and gas.  He hauled all the wood away to throw on his burn pile.  Down to just a couple of things and I will slowly add those to the garbage cans. :)  Saved myself quite a bit over what the dump run guy wanted to charge me. 
The garage door guy came when he said he would.  Did his measurements, explained my choices and left to figure out the estimate.  It came in at just over a $1000 with labor and tax.  The little man had guessed $1000.  Good job little man. 
The siding contractor worked most of the day in the rain.  I think this project pushes into next week.  And that is okay.
I have a theory about contractors.  The ones who come in beat up trucks are the ones to hire.  They haven't charged people enough to buy those $40K trucks.  They want the work and are the ones who call you back.  My siding lady and the garage guy both drive old trucks.  Hope my theory is correct.  At least they both did get back to me in a timely fashion....more than I can say for a lot of other contractors.

Just a Couple of Pictures

One of the sunny days we were spending some time getting our Vitamin D.  Brought out the jacks and started teaching the kids how to play.  Now when I was a kid I was good at Jacks.  Not so much now.  But they were getting the hand of it.

This came in the mail last week. My sister must have known I was feeling blue and needed a little mail cheer.  We both love dragonflies. 

Super Productive Day

The siding was delivered.  The contractor and crew came.  One wall is almost all dismantled.  Funny thing is how there was no tyvek or something like that behind the siding.  There will be with the new siding.  Found rat trails.  And a dead rat.  It was just starting to smell so I'm glad we found it.  The guy who found it said there was a funky smell when he pulled a piece of siding off.  I commented about getting little whiffs in the house.  You know that what the heck did I just smell and then it was gone.  And then it would happen again.  Well now we know and are very appreciative of it being out of the wall and disposed of.  Think that was the one I heard last week.  The timing is right. 
Janie, the contractor cleaned up both sides of the house.  One side had stuff that needed to be in my dump pile and the other was weeds.  Looks so much better.  The purpose is for when they paint the new siding they have to have clear access. 
While waiting for the dump guy I managed to get a guy coming tomorrow on an estimate for the garage door.  And then I signed up for yard waste with the garbage company.  No more composting here.  I don't want anything that attracts rats and compost is something that does. 
And then I waited some more on the dump guy.  I'm down to all he has to do is haul the load to the dump.  Between what I did and what Janie did, all the clean up I wanted done is done.  He finally texted that he had just got off work.  I let him know he just had a dump run now and asked if he was coming.  And I got no response.  Okay then.
On facebook we were talking about house expenses...roofs, siding, etc.  And I just got a wild hair and asked Joe how much his little truck would hold. He said not much, but he was willing to help me.  So I think if I pull the yard debris back out and put it in the new yard waste bin coming on Friday, the rest may fit in his little truck.  I never have an outrageous dump run. 
Now I just need to find a plumber. But I feel like I am on a roll. 

One of Those Days

It has been a gorgeous day today.  Sun and in the 60s.  I have been out in it and got my Vitamin D. 
But my day started with realizing there is no water going to the dishwasher.  Oy.  I can't hear it leaking anywhere but it has to be right?  Okay I will look at it tomorrow when they take the old siding off.  Should have a better look then.
Today was clean up.  I had already started, but got a lot more done today.  A guy was coming this afternoon to help and take a load to the dump.  So I have put all the dump stuff in a somewhat neat pile on the driveway.  Finally at 4 I text him.  He tells me he's waiting on his truck so he might make it tomorrow and since he will work first he can get a bolt cutter from work.  Wait...what? 
In the midst of pickup I had a brief conversation with Jodi.  I asked her to ask Josh if he could mow my yard.  She said she would when he got up.  Well that is the last I heard.  I even messaged him myself on facebook.  Messenger said he had been on just before, so I know he uses it.  Nope, nada.  So I assume that is a no. 
I'm pretty sure the contractor is going to show up tomorrow since she has been very good about emailing and letting me know what is going on.  And they have a bolt cutter to cut that padlock off the side gate.  I just feel kind of bad that they will have to work around the pile of garbage on the driveway. 
I do not know why I have such bad luck with getting people to help especially when I'm paying for it. So I am in the market for a new person to perhaps mow for me.  And I really need to buy a truck and haul my own dump stuff.  Just seems more practical to pay someone else rather than pay the expense of buying, maintaining and insuring a truck.

A Blast From the Not Too Distant Past

My brother needed me to do an errand for him at his house.  So we motivated rather quickly for us on a Saturday morning.  Then we went to the grocery store and we were back home by 11 a.m.  Most Saturdays we aren't even dressed and moving yet by that time. 
So while we were at the grocery store I see this very familiar woman.  That red and blonde hair swept up.  As we are walking up to her I asked her if we used to know her.  She looked at us for a minute and then it all clicked. 
It was Beth from our CPS days.  She was our case worker.  She was so happy to see the littles.  Usually once a case is closed and barring reopening she never sees the people again.  So she could see how much the  littles have grown.  And they were more than happy to share with her how old they were and what grade they were in. 
The little man was 14 or 15 months when I was granted guardianship of him.  The little woman was just a little over 3.  I remember her encouraging us to have the little woman tested the same time we had the little man tested for growth and milestones.  It is why she got some speech therapy just before she turned 3. 
Beth was one of my biggest supporters in our move to town and getting daycare set up and all the other things that go with raising kids as a grandparent.  I have really missed her. 
She was so happy to see us and I was so happy to see her.  She still works doing the same thing.  Here is to hoping we never have to cross paths with her job again. 
She was sad to hear about papa dying and she correctly guessed the cause.  She was sad that Mike is still struggling.  But she was happy to see that we three were still a nice little unit. 

I Laughed

Language Alert...use of real anatomy words and not.
Oh my gosh. So the little man has Nerf guns. And he really likes to shoot us.  And so he has been told that until he stops doing that and shows control he is not getting a bee bee gun for Pat's  house.  He thinks the Nerf bullets don't hurt.  Well sometimes they do.
We are in the car and he says he is going to shoot his penis.  I tell him it will hurt.  He doesn't believe me and does it.  Guess what....it hurts.  I'm trying not to laugh because I know it does hurt, but he kind of deserves it.
A little side note...the other day he asked me what a ball sack was.  So I told him and explained how it holds the testicles and the slang for those is balls.  Hence ball sack.
After he is done lamenting the pain in his penis I say well good thing you didn't hit your ball sack.  And so he took that as a challenge.  You guessed it. 
Why do I have children who just don't believe me?  I guess we all have to learn life's lessons the hard way. 

Chatting With Heidi

I have worked with Heidi since my first day. She is the one who originally hired me to work rush weeks as a cashier at the bookstore.  I eventually landed in the warehouse and she became the fiscal person.  She is always very sunny and happy.  She has a great big heart and is friendly to every one.  I have seen her talk angry customers down and it is just her way.  She projects a lot of empathy even when there isn't anything she can do for that customer. 
We have been facebook friends for awhile.  And every once in awhile the two of us manage to connect for a private chat.  Mostly we are both so busy that the timing never works out.  So tonight I had time and she had time and we chatted.  We didn't have anything serious to talk about.  Just life in general.  Reminisced about some of the people who have passed through our bookstore lives.  Oh we miss May. 
Heidi feels the bookstore losses more than I do.  I learned a long time ago that people at work are like your work family, but when they leave.....mostly they are gone.  Like that old adage that people are in your life for a reason or a season. 
Facebook seems to keep us connected a little longer.  For me, I end up unfriending after awhile if that is the only connection and it really isn't much of one.  I don't want to live in the past too much.  Nice to have memories, but I'm busy making them.
So I loved having that time to connect with Heidi.  It is hard to have longer than a minute and a half conversations at work. Heidi is a lot of things that I am not.  She is very outgoing and social.  She is crafty and organized.  She is patient.  I guess opposites attract or big hearts hear each other beating.  And it is always nice to connect with people who ground me and make me smile..  Thanks Heidi. 

High Hopes Dashed

Well I haven't heard it again.  But the insulation is still in the hole.  So I assume that means the stupid rat is still somewhere in the house.  My thought was it is the one that tripped Drew's trap.  And if that is the case, it will not even go near my trap.  Rats learn pretty quickly.  Dang it.  Hopefully it went out some other way and is gone.  Maybe back over to the other neighbor's house.  Since he caught six in  his shed, you have to wonder what is in his shed that the rats like. 

Rat Saga Continues

I'm sitting at the computer and I hear it.  And it is loud.  I'm looking for the cats and hoping it is just them like it has been for the last month.  Nope.  I quickly go outside and everything looks the same at the closed up hole that allowed the rats in. 
Come back in, sit down and hear it again.  Damn.  So I take a deep breath and wish it hadn't snowed.  The new siding would have been on.  But instead it has been bumped till next week.  Oy. 
Just before I head to Clark I decide to go out and check the hole one more time.  I have a big pile of insulation.  Now what I wonder is if the pile is outside and filling the hole, does that mean the rat is still inside?  Did he just go in and decide this is a good space to live in and wanted to make sure the others can't.
My neighbor Drew was outside so I chatted with him for a minute.  His trap had got tripped, but no rat.  He said the neighbor on the other side of him has caught six so far though.  At least I am not the only one with rats. 
The little man and I reset the trap and hope for the best.  But if this is the one who tripped Drew's trap, he won't get caught in ours.  Guess we need Bill the pest guy to come back and throw some more bait in the hole. 

Sunny

It was just a glorious day.  It started off really cold, but it was beautiful.  The sun was out in all its glory. 
So after school/daycare/work I took the littles to the park.  We haven't been for awhile.  The days are getting longer and it was a warm day. They spent over an hour playing on the tire swing and running the play structure.  The little man showed me how he can climb up and down the rock wall with no help whatsoever.  Last fall he needed help with the down.  I had to tell him where to put his feet if he was going to climb down as opposed to jumping. 
That wore off a nice bit of energy and then we were settled down at home mostly.  Love when a day works out like that.  And me, I sat on the bench for that time and enjoyed getting my vitamin D and watching all the kids play and the dads on the basketball courts with kids. 

A Wee Bit of Progress

I contacted a local guy who does side jobs.  He is going to come on Sunday and take a load to the dump for me.  So I have started getting ready.  Filled the recycle bin with some stuff from outside.  No point in paying dump fees for recyclables.  Started collecting all the crap the kids have laying around outside.  I'm of the mind that if it has been left out all winter...it is now garbage.  The front looks much better.  Now to get the back done before Sunday.  Making progress.

Birthday Celebrated

My brother will be gone over his birthday.  So we celebrated last night.  We had family dinner.  Pizza from Papa Murphy's and it was pretty good.  We brought the German Chocolate cake and left the leftovers. 
Pat got a new sun canopy for camping, some splatty targets for shooting, a cool lighter for camping or lighting charcoal and a small lantern for his tent.  Mom was most fascinated with that lantern.  She kept asking who it was for.  Maybe she needs one.  I loved the lighter.  It had somehow found it's way into my bags....methings a little man helped me.  Anyway its barrel is bendable so you can aim it where you need flame. 
I still have to get him something.  It is just when the little man is done shopping....he's done and it is better to just be done. 

A Break From Facebook

I think I am in need of a break from facebook.  Aunt Traci just recently broke up with her boyfriend and she has been posting a lot of those memes that are just sad.  And a few would be okay, but she posts way more than she should....as far as they aren't doing her any good, but keeping her down.  And so I was thinking boy she needs to take a break from facebook. 
Obviously I am not completely over that seasonal slump.  So one of Cassie's Aunts posted on her page about showing Jazz something.  And it just struck me.  Wow.  Jazzlynn is so blessed and she doesn't even know it.  Cassie's family from here mail her things.  They make nice comments on Cassie's page about Jazzlynn and now Niklaus.  And they should.  But as I keep saying Cassie has four children.  You can't tell that by her facebook page though.  On her life events she shows two, count them two babies with number one being in 2014. 
Not one of Cassie's relatives, except Aunt Traci, has asked about the littles.  Shoot Cassie doesn't ask about them.  And I got tired of always being the one making the effort so I stopped.  And with my stopping so did the contact, unless it is a birthday or Christmas. 
I had already unfriended most of the relatives because it made me too sad.  To see all the picnics and family gatherings right here in our area that the littles are never invited to.  We didn't even know about them until after wards with all the pictures on facebook.  Now granted, the littles are not sad.  They don't miss what they don't know they don't have.  I am sad and I miss what they don't have and should. And since I unfriended all the cousins I don't see what they miss.  And it helps.  But I can't in good conscious unfriend Cassie to not see the rest of it. 
So I think I need to take a break from all of facebook.  Yeah, that will probably last all of two days.  I can't change what is.  I can only change how I react to it, but if I don't see it I have nothing to react to.  Except that what I always have to react to. 

Sunny Saturday

Aunt Traci was up and gone before the rest of us got up.  Woke up to glorious sun.  Knew it was going to be a nice day.  The littles played with the kids on the block.  And then it was time for the little woman to go to the cookie booth.
Today they sold at the local Walmart.  When I picked up the little woman the leader said they had sold around 100 boxes of cookies.  That is pretty good for a two hour shift.  Hopefully tomorrow is as well.
Then the little man and I went outside to get some sun.  We played with his Nerf guns.  He has a lot better aim than I do.  We only lost two bullets.  Well one actually.  We know where the other one is.  It is in the neighbor's gutter.  Got our Vitamin D anyway.
We also watched "Coco" again because it was On Demand.  Parts of it still make me sad.  Funny how the littles were watching to see if I was going to react to the sad parts.  Guess they have figured out me and crying at sad parts of movies.

As a side note.  I dreamt of Karen last night.  She came back from the dead and we were having a lovely conversation.  Sam and Sammi were ignoring me though.  At the end of the dream I realized she hadn't come back, but I had  joined her.  Very weird. 

A Free Evening

Aunt Traci is down for a week or so.  So I thought I would utilize her and have her babysit for me.  She choose today for that to happen.  So she took the littles out for dinner and to the Dr. Seuss thing at school.  They all enjoyed it.
That left me with a free evening.  Since we only planned it on Thursday....there really wasn't time to find something to do.  I tried to set something up with my brother but he had other plans with Rebecca and her kids.  And that is a whole other blog entry. 
Looked online and saw that there was the Vancouver Night Market going on.  So I did check it out.  There was some interesting art, but not enough to make me part with any money.  There was some jewelry..but nothing that made me part with my money.  And then I left.  I was there for all of twenty minutes and saw the whole thing. 
So I headed to the grocery store because I do love grocery shopping by myself.  Still managed to spend almost $100 even without the littles's input.  Got home and realized that Aunt Traci had the key and they were at the school. 
The little man had pushed out the screen earlier in the day so I checked to see if he locked the window.  He had not.  I climbed through and have decided that I am getting too old to be doing that.  But I was in and got the groceries put away before they got back.
So while not how I would have planned my evening...it was all right. 

Successful Shopping

I really expected that Mom would do her usual sleep and not want to get up to go shopping today.  I haven't managed to take her shopping in a long time.  I will arrive and be ready and she will either not wake up or just tell me she is going back to sleep. 
Today however, she got up and off we went.  We hit the mall and found the items that she wanted.  And then I suggested Olive Garden for lunch.  Normally it doesn't matter where we go she will find fault with it.  It doesn't taste like it used to or they changed something.  It is just part of the routine now. 
So I was pleasantly surprised when she was happy with absolutely everything at Olive Garden.  The salad was good, the breadsticks divine and our entrees just right.  We each had a glass of wine.  I kept my mouth shut when she said that it was obvious she hadn't had any alcohol in a long time so just a bit hit her.  She does at least one happy hour a week at her place of residence.  It's all good. 
Then I took her home and walked Will around the square.  He wanted me to.  She wasn't happy about it.  She really dislikes him.  I don't know what she sees that I don't.  I think he is a nice old guy.  And so while he took a rest on our "walk", I walked her back to her room and then collected him to finish the square. 
She was suppose to take a nap, but my Sagely email said she did activities all afternoon.  Me, I got a nap before it was time to play with the littles.