Going Stir Crazy

We've been spending a lot of time inside the house, due to the extremely cold weather.  The children have managed to accomplish quite a lot of school work.  They have also been doing craft projects, tumbling on the mat that they received for Christmas, playing various board games and having fun. 

Overall, the house has managed to be reasonably clean and we've been eating healthier foods.  I've even managed to get some exercising in this last month.  Mike has worked diligently keeping the snow out of the driveway (parking for 5 cars) and off of the sidewalks.  He has also almost completed the drywall work in the master bedroom.

I still haven't found the foot pedal for my sewing machine.  It's disheartening.  This is perfect weather for getting lots of sewing projects completed.  Almost all of the kids activities were cancelled last month and I haven't managed to get any of the necessary sewing done.  In desperation, I purchased dish towels, even though I had the material waiting for me to make them.  I hand sewed one of Steve's bedroom curtains, but the material is so heavy, and my skin so dry, that my fingers were bleeding.  His second curtain is but out and pinned, but awaiting stitching. 

I even resorted to bribery.  I've offered a fairly substantial reward to any of the children who locate my stupid sewing foot pedal.  It's here somewhere.  I saw it twice before Christmas, so it did make the move to this house.  The younger girls and I are going to make a concerted effort to find it this week.  If we can't, I'm going to price a replacement.  I know that it will be extremely expensive and hate the thought of spending money on an item simply because it's misplaced, but there are many projects that need to be completed. 

The Big Move

We finally managed to get most of our possessions into the project house.  The kids and I moved a ton of boxes and the small furniture using our SUV.  Thankfully, the project house is really close to the other house, so we didn't have too far to go between trips.  There were a few goof-ups along the way....a bookcase fell out of the back of the vehicle, we got Amy's bed caught in the staircase because I forgot about the sharp turn into the living room at the bottom of the stairs, not being able to find any of my shoes Sunday morning on our way to church that were presentable.  I ended up wearing Michael's flip-flops instead of the paint splattered tennis shoes.   

The project house isn't finished yet, but it feels so good to be living there.  Mike and I still do not have walls in the master bedroom, so we're sleeping in the family room for a short time.  Katie was away at college during the move.  When I called to ask her if she was coming home for the weekend and to warn her that her bedroom wasn't finished, she mentioned that she planned to work on her room and would crash on the family room sofa.  She was a little surprised to discover that Mike and I would be sleeping in the same room with her.  Surprisingly, she decided to sleep on the top bunk in Paige and Allie's bedroom.

During our second night in the "new house" Madelyn discovered a bat flying around in the basement.  It startled her, but she wasn't afraid.  Mike went down to open all the windows and turn on the lights so the bat would fly outside.  The next night, she found another bat in the basement.  She managed to capture it in a new, but it escaped when she tried to open the window at the same time.  Mike eventually got it outside.  The following night, a bat flew over MY head in the family room.  I threatened to move everyone back to the old house if Mike didn't get the soffits and facia put on the house to get the structure totally enclosed.  Mik worked on the project for three days, but got everything enclosed.  It was a scary job because he had to climb 90+ feet on a ladder to reach some of the areas.  We haven't seen a bat since he got finished, so everyone is happier.

The apple trees on the property are loaded with apples.  I've put up over 100 quarts of applesauce and sliced apples.  We also made apple juice and I put up 36 pints of apple butter.  We've been eating apples almost every night.  I think that we'll try drying some apples to snack on and use in granola next.  Since I didn't manage to get any other fruits this summer, it's a blessing to have so many apples available.

We've started the final preparations at the last house, so we can get it on the market.  I'm so happy to be able to move without trying to sell a house where we're living.  There are some walls to paint in more neutral tones and a few other little projects left.  Mike is taking next week off of work, so we can finish it quickly.

New Beginnings

The end of August and beginning of September have been a blur of activities and changes.  We began our new school year the day after Labor Day.  I love that Michigan students don't return to classes until after Labor Day.  It provides a little more time to get outside and enjoy the warm days before the business of fall.

Madelyn, Paige and Allie are being homeschooled this year.  Madelyn is a high school freshman!  She's taking a full load of classes and plans on testing out of the classes with the local high school next fall.  After much decision making time, she's decided to take biology, algebra, English/literature, American history, Economics, piano, and Spanish.  She's using Rosetta Stone for the Spanish through a local homeschool group.  Madelyn is also taking an art class once a week with the homeschool group.

Paige and Allie are studying Spanish, keyboarding, spelling, English grammar, U.S. geography and history, earth science, reading, math, and piano.  They are both taking ballet class and karate class in the community.  A local homeschool partnership is providing art and P.E. classes once a week.   Both girls have been enthusiastic about their school work and are completing everything between 12 and 1 o'clock each day.  It's such a blessing to finish our school day early!

During our vacation, we bid on a foreclosed home.  We closed on the house last Thursday.  I love many of the homes features and look forward to seeing some of the work completed.  We can't really do much work on the interior until our contractor gets the new roof on the house.  In the mean time, all the kids went over to the new house to work in the yard this weekend.  After 10 hours of hard labor, they are making a dent in the "secret garden" area of the yard.  Here's a list of some of the things they found in the overgrown garden:

A folding-lounge-chair style lawn chair
30 metal hanging basket containers
a plastic chair
40 maple saplings in containers
26 Rose of Sharon
100 plastic planting pots
12 seed planter trays
15 cement blocks
a metal flask
assorted trash
many, many vines (the vines are being referred to as "Devil's Snare")

While they were working on the yard, the neighbor's daughter told Amy that our yard is known as the trash yard.  Amy mentioned that it was no longer to be used for trash and that it was going to be known as the beautiful yard from now on.

 I've been painting the exterior of our current home.  We decided to go with a light grey house, white windows, medium gray window frames and doors, and charcoal foundation.  Mike took a huge extension pole and attached a roller for me to use to paint the second story.  I managed to get most of the second floor, but Mike is going to need to go up there on ladders or scaffolding to get the windows and touch up my roller painting.  I have about 1 more day of painting and then MY part of the exterior will be done.  It's been exhausting work, but I have rediscovered many muscles in my back and arm!

I'm hoping to get over to the new house this week to paint the dining room.  We have removed most of the ugly wallpaper in the kitchen already.  Joe wants to help clean, paint and design the kitchen in the next few weeks.

Joe has had three meets for cross country and is doing very well.  He has taken first place on his team in two of the meets.  (The one that he didn't win, he made a wrong turn and had to backtrack.)  He's planned out his goals and is making huge progress on meeting his expectations.

Long Day

Mike and I drove separately up to Amy's apartment and moved all her stuff. I made multiple trips in the van, while Mike repaired Amy's car. We are so thankful that her car is now repaired. 650 miles later and all of her belongings are scattered throughout the house. The kids helped me unload the van and carried some stuff upstairs to the room that Amy will share with Katie. They carefully stacked boxes up in a nice empty area of the room. When I arrived with her futon, they discovered that the empty floor space was for Amy's "bed". She graciously offered to sleep on the couch tonight, until the boxes are unpacked and the floor is once again visible.

Last night, Amy's boss asked her if she was interested in replacing her at the library. The supervisor spoke to the head of the library, suggesting Amy for her position when the supervisor leaves in 6 weeks. Amy was also granted an interview with the head of the library. Amy is very optimistic about this job possibility.

I got up early and placed a roast in the crock pot with seasonings and spoke with Steve about what to prepare as side dishes. I turned the crock pot on, but forgot to check that it was plugged in! Mike ran to the store and purchased pre-cooked barbecued beef to replace my uncooked roast. The house smelled wonderful with the spicy beef and cooking roast. Because I am not allowed sauces on my diet, I had a cold grilled chicken breast. They are getting a little boring. But the results are worth the loss of tasty interesting food.

Doctor Visits

My husband's employer switched insurance carriers in January. The policy is almost identical to the previous policy with one big exception. Mike and I need to have yearly physicals or pay a penalty of $12/week. The last day to get the physical was March 1. Due to the move and life in general, Mike and I didn't get our physicals. Yesterday, we learned that the insurance company is giving us a second chance to schedule our yearly physical. We now have until August 2. Mike is excited about saving the $48/month. I'm dreading the physical. How much weight can I lose in 2 months?

The last time I went to the doctor was after having had strep throat for 4 weeks and needed an antibiotic. I ended up at a non-emergency, walk-in clinic. The only doctor who lists me as a patient is my ob/gyn. Allie is 5 1/2 years old and I haven't seen the ob/gyn seen since she was born.

Now that we are in a new community, it's time to start searching for a new pediatrician, a doctor for Mike and I, and a veterinarian for the dog and cat. Yuck!

Sewing Projects

Last Monday, I heard the words that no sewing mom likes to hear. "Mom, I don't have any summer tops or shorts that fit." The weather was predicted to be hot and steamy all week. Poor Paige and Allie (who wear the same size) had almost completely outgrown their summer clothing. I am a bad mom. Both girls have grown 2" since January. Any normal mom would have purchased summer duds for her children (or planned ahead and sewed some outfits in the early spring.) Not me. I wait until it's 90 degrees and my kids have to wear corduroy slacks and long sleeve shirts.

Throughout the week, I managed to complete two short sets for each girl and two nightgowns each. They had been wearing blanket sleepers and flannel nightgowns. The girls are much more comfortable and are sleeping better too.

In my defense, the material stash was still in boxes in the basement, hidden underneath tons of stuff that belongs in a garage. Frankly, I've been too overwhelmed (and lazy) to deal with the basement. My time has been much better spent watching Judge Judy. Now that I have completed my legal training and am able to predict the rulings, I will HAVE to tackle the dreaded basement!

We're supposed to get a lot of rain this week, so Joe dragged all the material boxes and seasonal clothing upstairs. Madelyn should have quite a bit of summer wear, but the boys will need more clothing. Hopefully, a lot of projects can get completed and the basement will have some order.

Hot Humid Days!

We're having unseasonably hot days this week. Sunday, we went to my niece's confirmation and then attended my nephew's confirmation party. It was so hot and humid that everyone who was packed into my van was a little crabby. Mike replenished the air conditioner fluid, so at least the air conditioning was working. After we got home and realized that the temperatures were going to be hovering around 90 all week, we made a decision to spend this week at the beach.

We haven't found many lakes that have public swimming access in our new county. I did discover a lake in a neighboring county about 30 minutes away and a small beach about 8 miles away. The small lake was free admission, so we tried that one first.

The drive to the lake was fun. We crossed a long covered bridge and visited the county seat, which has many well maintained older homes (1800-1900's). The lake is small and the beach area only about 50' x 20'. Fortunately, we had the lake to ourselves most of the day. There are a number of picnic tables under trees and one area of the beach actually gets shade. I'll need to remember that next time!


Katie is in school this week and Amy is living in an apartment a few hours away. It was weird to go to the beach and only need to keep track of 5 children. My father-in-law picked up the boys this evening and will keep the boys until later in the week. The boys will be fishing and pursuing other manly activities. The remaining girls will be sewing, doing facials and manicures.

Nature Hike

Last weekend, Mike and I took a drive throughout the town to learn more about the area and various neighborhoods. We noticed a nature preserve located near one of the rivers. This morning, we took the kids to hike the trail. The weather was beautiful with sunshine, cool breezes and a moderate temperature. The trail is approximately 1 mile and meanders through woods, swamps, and the river bank.

We searched for mushrooms, but didn't find anything edible. Allie noticed a fungus and was disappointed that she couldn't bring it home for supper.

The youngest two girls were a little noisy, so we didn't see much wildlife. We did hear a number of birds and saw swans and Canada geese in the river. Paige was fortunate enough to see a yellow butterfly.



I was surprised not to see any spring flowers. It shouldn't be too much longer before they are out in abundance. I'd like the kids to make nature journals this year. Next time we visit the preserve, we'll bring nature guides and do more identification of plants, etc.





Towards the end of our walk, we discovered a number of huge vines. The kids spent some time trying to climb up the vines.





Paige decided that climbing the vine was too difficult, so she bounced on it pretending that it was a bucking bronco. Yee Haw!



We drove through the park/petting zoo near our home and were able to see the ducklings and goslings. I think the parents take the babies to a quieter area of the river when school is out because the park gets so busy. The female mallard duck was mistakenly named Melvin early in the spring. "Melvin" is the proud mother of 10 ducklings.

First Day of School

Katie attended her first day of school today. It seems kind of weird to have her gone during school hours. The school audited the classes that she did in our home school. Most of her classes were accepted without any problems, except her history classes. We've been following a classical approach to history. The public school only accepts United States history and World history. They would have like to see African history and social studies.

Katie was able to sign up for non-core classes for the remaining 6 weeks of the school year. She's taking creative cooking (which should be interesting because she doesn't cook), choir, web design, business law, and something else with computers that I can't remember, and composition.

Her classes went well. Katie felt that the classes were easy and would pose no difficulties for her. A number of students approached her and introduced themselves. A couple of students walked her to her next class. She mentioned that everyone seemed friendly and helpful. (She even stated that living in our new town isn't so bad!!)

I'm sure that there will still be a period of adjustment, but I'm so relieved that she had a good beginning.

Potential Job

Katie has a job interview tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!!!She is so excited about the possibility of working again. She has experience working with the product, so hopefully she will go well. If she is hired, she won't be going to the public high school.

Sending a Child to Traditional School

My oldest two children are bored and lonely. I should have used an exclamation point to emphasize this point. It's bad. Katie doesn't even want to get out of bed in the morning and cries herself to sleep each night. We had hoped that segment two of driver's training would help her at least meet some people, but it didn't work out. She has dropped off job applications all over town without any success.

Yesterday, I asked her if she would like to be registered in the local public school. She has almost completed her high school work, so I'm not concerned about academics. She is a homeschool senior this year and is ready to graduate. We talked about the pros and cons of going to high school for social reasons. It was finally decided that I will be trying to register her next week. We are going to try to register her as a junior, because I think they would have a hard time taking her as a senior so close to graduation. We don't want/need the diploma, but would like her to meet some people her own age. If she likes it, she may go back next year to take classes that she enjoys and ones that may help her with the ACT and SAT, which we forgot to take due to the timing of our move.

After our conversation, Katie seems a little more optimistic. I'm glad that she is willing to try something new and hope that she has a good experience. She's taken classes at the community college, so she might find the students immature. If she finds that she doesn't like the public high school, I'll tell the school system that she is being homeschooled next year and send her to the community college.

Spring Weather

Once again, the sun is shining and the temperatures are in the 60's. Hurray! Mike and I spent some time walking around the yard and mapping out the things we would like to do this summer. The raised garden beds will need to wait until next summer. We're going to expand the size of the privacy fence. Here's our "To Do" list for this year.

* Install privacy fence in back and side yard
* Build fire pit
* Build storage shed
* Lay railroad ties to surround parking area
* Bring in more gravel for parking area
* Install fireplace on patio (we already own this, so the expense will be limited)
* Purchase and put together new trampoline
* Purchase sandbox
* Build sidewalk from parking area to back patio
* Power wash and stain deck
* Repair pump in hot tub (Unless the money runs out)
* Build and install bench around one large maple
* Bring in mulch
* Purchase and install clothes line and poles

Boy, the list seems a lot longer when it's written out. It should be fun getting everything accomplished. The older children will use the yard a lot more when some of these projects get done.

Dark Days

It's been kind of tough around here lately. My oldest two children are very lonely and really miss living near their friends. Their closest friends have also moved away from the area, so even if we had stayed in the old town, they would still be lonely.

Joe and Madelyn hung out at church with the youth group on Sunday. Both of them had a good time and are beginning to meet more of their peers. Kate and Steve haven't been able to make any connections in the area. I've been scouring the local newspaper in search of activities that they could join, without any success.

Now that things are getting more organized, I have more time and am also a little lonely. I'm hoping with the weather changing that we will be able to get outside more often. Being cooped up hasn't helped our situation.

Mommy Over-load

It finally happened. I had a melt down...not a crying, screaming event, just an overwhelming feeling of not knowing where to put anything. Yesterday, Mike was off from work, so we spent the morning deciding on furniture changes and storage solutions. Mike purchased a new bookcase for the family room. We're moving the to storage cupboards out of the dining room. One will go into Madelyn's room (next to the two bookcases) and the other will go down to the basement to hold sewing supplies. Two smaller bookcases in the family room will be moved near the fireplace and the armoire with the game system tv and game systems will go where the smaller bookcases were. I can't describe my feelings of joy at unloading and moving all of these full bookcases. The armoire weighs a ton empty, so it will need to be emptied also before it can be moved.

The new bookcase was planned to go on a wall next to three other large bookcases and it was supposed to butt up against a side wall. The bookcase was 1/2 inch to wide to fit in the hole. Last night, Mike and I emptied and moved the three large bookcases. Each shelf contains 2 rows of books. I'll let you imagine the amount of books that were piled on the floor.

Update

Tuesday, Mike and I spent the day at the old house packing up the remaining odds and ends which were of course scattered throughout the basement and children's bedrooms. It took us a lot longer than we had planned. Mike stayed until around 11:00pm completing the job. What a great guy!

We managed to move a second moving truck full of stuff last Wednesday. While pushing a cast-iron wood burning stove (that had previously been in our garage) up the ramp with Mike and the boys, I turned my ankle and hobbled around for the remainder of the day. We were still unloading the moving truck at 6:00 pm. Mike sent me off to purchase take-out pizza for our supper, while they finished unloading. I was gone for 1-1/2 hours. The pizza place was so busy that it was necessary to drive around the parking lot twice to find a place to park. When I returned to the starving people at our house, I discovered that they were so tired the final boxes were simply placed in the dining room. Then the storage units and armoires were shoved in front of the boxes. A 18" aisle was left to get to the bathroom, upstairs, and Madelyn's bedroom.

We had planned for the storage units to go to the basement. But, the family bailed out that night and I can't move the units downstairs by myself. No one had time to assist me in moving the units the remainder of the week. Out of frustration, I placed the storage units on one wall in the dining room and began unloading boxes in the units on Saturday. By 10:30 Sunday night, we were able to see the table top and actually eat at the table again. There are still some boxes shoved against the walls, but the room is usable. I'm hoping to be able to complete the unpacking in the living spaces this week.

Amy and Kaitlyn worked on Paige and Allie's bedroom on Saturday. They got a lot of the boxes unpacked and all the toys placed back on shelves and in the closet. The two youngest girls have way too much stuff for their bedroom. I may make some large ottomans for the living room and family room with storage under the cushion for the remaining toys. The ottomans would also bring some of the girls toys into the main living areas, so the girls wouldn't be bringing down plastic tubs from upstairs. Allie doesn't need another fall down a flight of stairs this month.

We managed to do a get in a good school day today. I'm working with most of the kids in a group instead of doing individual lessons. The assignments are a lot more fun for everyone and take so much less time. We're focusing on geography for social science for the next two months. We'll be cooking many new ethnic meals and listening to folk music. I love geography.

Housewarming Gifts

My lovely mother-in-law purchased new everyday dishes for me when we moved to this house. She had planned to buy a Kitchen Aide mixer for me, but Mike bought me one for Christmas.

After she noticed that I used rooster material for the curtains in the kitchen and dining room, my mil got us this ceramic rooster to sit on the counter above the sink and below the window. It adds a beautiful touch of color to the kitchen.

Small Towns

Our "new" home is in a small town of about 17,000. Life moves a little slower here. People are more interested in their neighbor's comings and goings. One of our neighbors spends a lot of time watching us from her back porch where she has cigarette breaks. It drives my kids crazy. Mike has suggested that the kids wave to her whenever they notice her staring at them. Hopefully, we will meet her when the weather changes and our family spends more time outdoors.

Steve had a friend spend the weekend with us. The three boys (Steve and his friend included Joe in many of their activities) wandered the town and walked to several different stores. I overheard Steve mentioning some "cool" shops downtown. He also bragged about some of the things that there are to do here. It's a good sign. Maybe we need to have lots of company until everyone in our family finds their niche here.

On Saturday, we all walked to the library which is within easy walking distance. The children's librarian greeted us when we entered the building and asked if we had any questions. She spent 25 minutes telling me about upcoming events at the library, inviting our children to activities that were appropriate for their age groups, and proving information about community locations and events.

I was impressed with the size and variety of children materials offered. The adult section was weak. I'd much prefer that the children's room selections be better if only one area could be good. The librarian explained that they do a lot of ILL books. The limit on materials is 20 per card. Quite a change for us who normally had 40-50 books out per card at a time. It should not be too much of a hardship due to our close proximity to the library.

We attended the local Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod church on Sunday again. My youngest three girls attended Sunday School. The congregation was very welcoming and the children felt less like out-siders than the previous Sunday. The pastor's wife spent a long time talking with me about the church and community and invited me to attend several community groups that she enjoys. On Saturday, a member of the congregation visited our home to welcome us and ask if he could answer any questions we might have about the church and area.

The warm welcome that we are receiving in the area is very different from the normal behavior in the larger city where we lived previously. Not the the people in the other city were unkind or rude. There is just a sense of intimacy in a small town. Everyone knows everyone else. I think that we will enjoy living in this area.

Update

Things are beginning to look like home around here. We've been able to enjoy family dinners around the dining room table again. Most of the children are adapting to the new house. Allie surprised me on Saturday. She came downstairs crying. When asked what was wrong, she stated that she wanted to go "home". I explained that this is our new home. She replied, "It would have been easier to paint our old bedroom pink."

I have some pictures to post, but haven't located the camera cable that connects to the computer. Hopefully, it will turn up soon. There aren't that many boxes left to empty before we return to the old house to get the last couple of loads of stuff.

Today, we all went to church in our new town. The service was uplifting, contained a "meat and potatoes" sermon, and remained reverent. The liturgy used was the one from my childhood. The sermon contained law and gospel. It was like coming home. I'm looking forward to visiting again next week.

The church was very welcoming. When we arrived (the size of our family always draws notice) several members greeted us and welcomed us to church. After the service several other members talked to our family. We were invited to join then for fellowship/coffee, and the member who sat in front of me said that I should join their choir. I explained to one woman that we would not be going to fellowship/coffee time because Mike had to go to work. She walked away and returned a short time later with cupcakes for our family to take home to enjoy later.

There were only a few children (other than mine) at church. The temperature was very cold this morning, so I'm hoping there are normally more children in the congregation.

Stage 1 Completed

Mike and I decided to split our move from house to house into a couple of separate days. Monday, Mike picked up the moving van at 8:30am. We were both pretty tired because the water heater's safety valve broke and disturbed our sleep. It took about 1/2 an hour to clean up all the water that sprayed throughout the basement.

My mom picked up Paige and Allie at 8:45. The two girls spent the day with my mom, my sister, and my nephew. My mom took them to the grocery store to pick up special snacks for in the afternoon, before they headed off to my sister's house.

I dropped Katie off at work at the library around 9:00am and then returned to the house to help load the moving truck. We started loading the appliances and were pleasantly surprised when my in-laws arrived with their pick-up truck. They spent the entire day helping load and upload furniture, boxes, and other other household stuff.

A friend had offered he son to help with our move and I told her that I would pick him up around 11:00am. Packing up the truck took a lot longer than I thought that it would! We picked up our helper around 12:45pm.

Katie was finished with her job at the library at 1:00 and then needed to clean the home of our neighbor. My sister (who was already babysitting my youngest two children) picked Katie up from work and dropped her off at the neighbor's house.

I picked up a pile of Hot-N-Ready pizzas for everyone for lunch on our way to the new house. Another wonderful surprise was waiting for us at the house. A friend who works with Mike was waiting for us. He unloaded all the heavy stuff with Mike. Due to all the wonderful help, the first truckload was emptied in about 30 minutes.

Everyone had a bite to eat. Mike and the two boys climbed into the moving truck and headed back to our "old" house. My in-laws followed Mike in their pick-up. They loaded up the truck with most of the remaining furniture, the swimming pool, lawn furniture, and grill. My in-laws filled their pick-up with dining room chairs and end tables. Kaitlyn was done cleaning, so she met Mike at the old house. Some of her friends arrived to help load the trucks, so the load went fairly quickly.

My two girls were getting a little loud at my sister's house, so I drove back to her house (1.25 hours) and picked up Paige and Allie. We had some time to kill (and I don't have a house key to the old house) while we waited for Mike to meet us at the old house. The two girls and I sang songs in the car while we waited.

After Mike arrived, we dropped off the moving van and picked up Mike's car. We finally returned to the new house around 11:00pm. Paige and Allie slept in the car during the entire trip.

We were all tired and some of us are still sore today, but the move went really well. Mike offered to drive Kaitlyn into work in our old city the next morning. They needed to leave at 7:30am. What a kind, thoughtful man!

Did You Know

Did you know that 46-year old, out-of-shape women should not help shove/carry huge upright freezers up tricky basement staircases? I may never walk upright again.