Like I said, he rocks

Is it Fall yet? Not pretend Fresno Fall, I mean full-blown Autumn. MMMM...... Autumn. The air conditioner broke in one of the 4 zones in our house. It just happened to be the boys zone (wing).

Usually, our air conditioner is very Johnny-on-the-Spot with the cold air. The boys and I are known to cuddle under blankets while the air conditioner is working to get the temperature from 83 degrees to 81 degrees. Anything cooler than 81 and you have to put a sweater on (and a beanie and mittens). So when the boys' zone was holding steady at 84 even though I had the air set at 81 I knew we had a problem. Kevin didn't (want to) believe me. For some reason the air conditioner would work when he was there and as soon as he went back to work it would stop working (just like the mechanic).

The point of the story is I finally convinced him that the combination of the non-functioning air conditioner and the (close to) triple digit forecast for the weekend meant we had to call the air conditioner guy.

He came, he saw, he charge a hundred bucks. A hundred bucks to guess that the problem was a faulty flapper (how very 1922). A hundred bucks for a guess, I'm definitely in the wrong business. How about another $420 to actually fix the (hypothesized) problem? Sure. I know the economy is bad because 4 years ago we would have just bought another house. Instead my man climbed up into the attic and started banging around (with the help of one of his buddies via iPhone).

I was his Tool Girl, running up and down the stairs (luckily I can use the climb), bringing tools and switching from one zone to another. And I discovered this real estate right above my closet. Just what I need, more storage.



Anyway, after seventeen trips up the stairs. A number of adjustments. He fixed it!!!!! for now

Kevin really is amazing. He will still have to replace a part but he just saved us hundreds of dollars in labor at the very least.

How about this for music to my ears:
"Is there anything else you want me to take care of?"
"I'll do some laundry."
"I already took care of it."
"It is all put away."
"I made you coffee and packed you a snack."

Trying to wrestle the beast.

The junk/paper/chaos beast that slowly takes over the corners and crevices of our house. The beast fills up drawers with junk, covers counter space with odds and ends and drapes itself across any open area. FlyLady says these are Hot Spots. With the amount of paper we receive for Kindergarten and our general life of chaos, our laundry room is a HUGE Hot Spot for the beast.

It is not strange for this room to look like this.
BOYS LOCKER

I think the problem is about TOO much storage. Too much counter space, too many drawers (two junk drawers in this room, another one right outside and 4 more in the kitchen), and too much counter space.

I wish this was all laundry on the floor. It is some combination of dirty clothes and random things that need to be taken care of. And you can see the top of our locker....
We needed help. With all of this storage we were still struggling to keep track of everything coming in and out of the house during the week.
So after a lot of thought and shopping, I bought this.....
The point of this is to sort, organize and plan. Papers, uniforms, borrowed/forgotten toys to return to friends, out-going mail, coupons, etc. is organized into the day that it needs to be handled. It is also a good way to keep track of homework, not to mention a quick way to know what to grab in the morning. If I am traveling early in the morning, everything Kevin needs for the day is right there. On Sundays I write checks, sign forms, prepare mail, and coordinate the weeks activities with this thing. No question, a good use of $20.

The other problem is the lingering mail situation. So I bought this.....

This came from Lillian Vernon and is a tool to keep the other Hot Spot (that drives me crazy because there is not a door to shut out the chaos), the kitchen counter. Mail and school papers and toys and phones and keys love chilling on the counter. When Kevin is working I pile stuff up there for him until it makes me so crazy I move it to the laundry room (productive, I know). Kevin leaves behind bits and pieces for me when I am working. This is a place to not only leave incoming mail but also put magazines and kindergarten newsletters and other propaganda that needs to be considered. So I added this...



This is not a storage facility. Everything in this thing has to be dealt with on a regular (if not daily) basis. Read it, deal with it and move it along. Things with a longer shelf life (BILLS) go right into the bill organizer to be handled at the end of the month. Receipts go into the receipt organizer to be dealt with or tossed.

More than these new fixtures, I am trying really hard to get us to just deal with things right away. Otherwise the beast is going to move back in and I am going to leave for the loony bin.

Wonders you can cease now, I'm amazed

Today at a birthday party Patrick wanted to ride the ride that goes straight to the ceiling and bounces around. Frog Jumper...or some such thing. 8 tokens (!).... are you sure? He was sure.



Maybe he'll be my roller coaster buddy yet.

A room of one's own

This summer we had to make a change. Keith was climbing out of the crib every night but we were still shopping for furniture. So, his mattress came out of his crib and onto the floor. Safer than the base jumping off the crib right?


Then I had a nervous breakdown. My child who was previously a great (no Mommy exaggerations here, he was down by 7:20 pm and I had to wake him up at 8:00 am) sleeper would not stay in his room! I tried everything, longer nap, earlier nap, no nap, earlier to bed, later to bed, reading in bed, milk in bed, extra silkies in bed, no silkies in bed..... One very teary night (for both of us) I remembered something I read in a friend's blog. I got out the screwdriver and swapped the master bedroom locking door handle with his non-locking door handle.
And I locked my son in his room. For real, don't try this at home. The screaming and crying was one thing, the room thrashing was a whole other thing. He tore things off the wall, he broke his night light and his soother, he destroyed anything he could reach. At that point I moved everything within his reach out of his room. A couple nights later he went down much better and has been more (relative term, eh?) cooperative ever since. He's persistent though, he checks the door every night, if we forget he will meander downstairs and make himself comfortable on the couch. So we lock it every night and unlock it before we go to bed.

Not to be outdone by his mother's ingenuity (borrowed though it might be), Keith committed himself to locking me out whenever the opportunity presented itself. This is especially funny in the morning while I am trying to do a million things to get ready. The height of funny occurs when he locks me into his bedroom. Ask Kevin, it was hilarious (so funny, I forgot to laugh).

But now, now is the time for a transition. He's going to the boys' east wing (as opposed to the baby west wing, where he was. Don't you think calling areas of your house "wings" is kind of high faluting? The North Wing oh, yes that's the children's wing....). This project has been in progress for quite some time. Long enough that these flooring photos were difficult to find and any pictures (I know they exist) of the painting process have proven to be elusive.


The length of the project and Keith's fondness for sleeping half on and half off the crib mattress means I am so ready for this room to be done. One might even say, excited.
The room isn't even close to being completed (wall hangings, window coverings, closet, bedside table, etc.) but I love it. Patrick called it "fabulous". And he spoke what I was thinking, I want this to be MY room.

The blue trundle was on sale for $99. Despite my (limited on the English but long on the design advice) delivery guy's judgment, I like the blue trundle.


This little corner will be his reading/hiding spot. He loves making gates and nests and corrals for himself.


He already parked his cars in his closet.



And he was excited to get comfortable. Especially with the BIG surprise, silky sheets.

This weekend we potty train. If you want us, we'll be right here... potty training... all weekend......

Early Intervention

What's grosser than gross?
Finding the your five year old's life-long booger collection. Early stages, but a booger collection all the same.

What's grosser than that?
Finding your 18 year old's life-long booger collection. Try cleaning that one without a chisel. Kind of gives me something to look forward to, no?

Mother of boys.... every boy has one, the key is early intervention.

The World According to Keith

Milk was meant to be consumed at the temperature of one's body. Cold milk will be promptly returned to the server.

Sharing is one sure way of losing things near and dear to your heart. A more effective alternative is to make sure there is enough to go around before consuming your treasures. Hand out the candy and blankets to make sure no one is trying to take yours (especially your brother).

Yelling at the neighborhood from your second story window is a great way to pass a few minutes in the morning or an hour at nap.

If management does not provide you with an en-suite bathroom, your closet works well as a urinal.

The art of hiding is undervalued by many. No matter how many times someone calls your name nor how many times s/he walks past your hiding place, you must remain quiet. Particularly if you are hiding in your secret gum chewing eating spot. However, questions about the temperature of your milk should be promptly answered.

Horses. Contrary to popular view, a horse doesn't neigh. A horse says "Yee Haw!" Go ahead, try to argue with me, I've seen a lot of pictures of horses in my time.

Accessories are essential, shoes are optional. When watching Mamma Mia, don't forget your guitar and finger cymbals. Sunday School is a brilliant opportunity to roll out accessories...swim goggles, knight's helmet, whatever your heart desires.

One name per couple max. Rachel and Steve=Uncle Steve. Let's conserve precious brain space, you know I mean Ben, even if I call all of you Jon.

Happy Birthday Patrick!

Dear Patrick,

My Knick-Knack. What a big week for me you. Kindergarten and your fifth birthday! Watching you is like a dream come true. I am so proud of you. You are a smart, kind, and creative boy. I am proud of how much you love God and your deep understanding of the importance of human kindness. It even rubs off on your brother (which is amazing most days).

You have proven to me that you have the heart of a leader. Not because you are bossy (although you do seem to excel in that area) or have a lot of friends. I see you as a leader because you work to lift other people to higher levels, you get people to follow you and you care so deeply about other people. The other day I caught you trying to convince your brother to call you Mom, nice try.

When you were born, I immediately saw you as you are today, a strong brave boy, ready to take on the world. And here you are, exactly as I had imagined. I love you for all that you are and everything you so clearly want to be.

The other day you played a joke on Uncle Robby. It reminded me of Daddy, a silly sense of humor, always ready to joke and laugh. Don't get me wrong, it was so naughty to trick Robby into drinking a water bottle filled with soap.

You are an amazing person and I am proud to be your mom. I love you.
Mama Lou