I have a few minutes before the kids go to sleep and I thought I would take pictures off the camera and post them but I can't find the cord.
Painting has taken much much longer than we anticipated. We are nearing the end. The second floor is done. The main floor is nearly done. I think there are just a few touchups and some trim painting. The basement needs a second coat and trim painting. I want to burn these paintbrushes when we are done and not look at one for a very long time. In addition to the painting there were a lot of little jobs that needed to be done. We needed to finish the banquette area, repair the outdoor lights, and numerous other things that I wish we had done earlier. The kids haven't done much because I don't want them painting. They did some window washing today and cleaned floors.
Cora has been doing a decent job of staying out of the way. She's not as bad as she could be. I do think a few of her clothes have paint stains from not staying away enough. She has spent a lot of time playing with Nyla. They were playing chase/hide and seek earlier today and squealing so loud that glass nearly shattered. She also joined Bohdin and Nyla in the bathtub today when their play involved washing toys. Right now the three of them are watching something on the other computer.
The other night Cora placed a cup of water in the middle of the hallway. I told her it wasn't a good spot because it blocked the path. She walked over and made a show of going around it. Then she turned to me and said it was fine. Another day she had food in her hand and her mouth. I told her to go to the table to eat. She finished chewing, swallowed, and said she wasn't eating after showing me her empty mouth. She then ran off with the food in her hand.
Nyla has been making progress with her reading. She read 42 words the other day. When she is in the right mood she works hard. Since that day it has been hard to get her to agree to read much.
Monday, December 31, 2012
Friday, December 21, 2012
Hurdles
The past few weeks have been so busy. We decided to have the movers come before Christmas so it would be easier to get the house in move out condition. Buddy had wanted sooner and I wanted later so the week before Christmas was a good compromise. Once that was settled we needed to move Christmas up because it was important to the kids to have a tree. The tree is too big and bulky to take up precious cargo space in our personal vehicles. Once the decision was made I had a bit over a week to pull Christmas together quickly. That wasn't the only thing we did.
On Tuesday we saw M- and W- for the last time to say goodbye. The kids had a lot of fun at their house. Those boys are so wonderful. Tuesday evening Grandpa stopped by for the night. We went to dinner where Bohdin talked to Santa for the first time ever. I thought of him scared at the sight of Santa as a little kid and how far he had come when he actually requested to see Santa. Nyla was all over Santa and asked for a Tangled dress which she later regretted. Luckily Santa didn't bring the Tangled dress. Cora is less scared of Santa than Bohdin at that age but she still kept a healthy distance. After dinner Bohdin played his new game courtesy of M- and W-.
On Wednesday, the M- family came to visit. I thought it would be a farewell visit but they want to see us one last time. Hopefully that works out. Again the kids had a great time and it was hard to break up their fun when it was time to go.
The next few days were spent on Christmas prep and moving prep. I had a list of things I wanted to make the kids for Christmas but couldn't complete the list. I made Nyla pants from Tangled fabric but haven't made a matching hair band or shirt yet. I did complete two stick horses for the girls and a dress up stand to organize their clothes. I wanted to make a few additional costumes but ran out of time. I had started building a bed for Bohdin in October with Buddy's help and that needed finishing. It was never meant as a Christmas present but since it was done on the day we celebrated I told him Merry Christmas when I set it up in his room.
Cora received a lot of Mickey and Minnie things which pleased her enormously. Bohdin received a lot of books which he enjoyed and Nyla received a mix of items. I don't think I could choose a favorite. They liked everything quite well.
It was a huge relief to have Christmas done. I felt like I had three hurdles in front of me and Christmas was the first one. The next one would be the packers that came three days later. Once Christmas was over all of my attention needed to focus on getting the house ready. We did a lot of decluttering and organizing. I also painted Bohdin's dresser, a shelf, a small table, and two small chairs. Bohdin is sad that he will be losing his colorful room. His new room will have white walls. Part of the reason I made the bed is so that it would be colorful. I also wanted him to have a lot of book storage since he enjoys reading so much. I painted his dresser in 10 different colors per his request so he could have color in his room when we move. Nyla is sad that she will be losing her pink room but I didn't start soon enough to remedy her problem.
The movers arrived Wednesday morning and worked hard. I don't even remember what time they left. That night was the first night I could go to bed at a reasonable time because nothing needed another coat of paint or a bit more cleaning. They arrived Thursday morning at 8am and left close to 9pm. It was a long day. Now we have a mostly empty house that we can paint and finish cleaning. We will have plenty of time to get this work done and if we work hard we may be able to take a short vacation before driving to Kansas. Buddy is exhausted and still has one day left at work. After working so hard these past few days I'm not sure I'm willing to do a brutal schedule in order to have a few vacation days at the end. Perhaps after a short rest we will both feel energized to tackle this last hurdle.
On Tuesday we saw M- and W- for the last time to say goodbye. The kids had a lot of fun at their house. Those boys are so wonderful. Tuesday evening Grandpa stopped by for the night. We went to dinner where Bohdin talked to Santa for the first time ever. I thought of him scared at the sight of Santa as a little kid and how far he had come when he actually requested to see Santa. Nyla was all over Santa and asked for a Tangled dress which she later regretted. Luckily Santa didn't bring the Tangled dress. Cora is less scared of Santa than Bohdin at that age but she still kept a healthy distance. After dinner Bohdin played his new game courtesy of M- and W-.
On Wednesday, the M- family came to visit. I thought it would be a farewell visit but they want to see us one last time. Hopefully that works out. Again the kids had a great time and it was hard to break up their fun when it was time to go.
The next few days were spent on Christmas prep and moving prep. I had a list of things I wanted to make the kids for Christmas but couldn't complete the list. I made Nyla pants from Tangled fabric but haven't made a matching hair band or shirt yet. I did complete two stick horses for the girls and a dress up stand to organize their clothes. I wanted to make a few additional costumes but ran out of time. I had started building a bed for Bohdin in October with Buddy's help and that needed finishing. It was never meant as a Christmas present but since it was done on the day we celebrated I told him Merry Christmas when I set it up in his room.
Cora received a lot of Mickey and Minnie things which pleased her enormously. Bohdin received a lot of books which he enjoyed and Nyla received a mix of items. I don't think I could choose a favorite. They liked everything quite well.
It was a huge relief to have Christmas done. I felt like I had three hurdles in front of me and Christmas was the first one. The next one would be the packers that came three days later. Once Christmas was over all of my attention needed to focus on getting the house ready. We did a lot of decluttering and organizing. I also painted Bohdin's dresser, a shelf, a small table, and two small chairs. Bohdin is sad that he will be losing his colorful room. His new room will have white walls. Part of the reason I made the bed is so that it would be colorful. I also wanted him to have a lot of book storage since he enjoys reading so much. I painted his dresser in 10 different colors per his request so he could have color in his room when we move. Nyla is sad that she will be losing her pink room but I didn't start soon enough to remedy her problem.
The movers arrived Wednesday morning and worked hard. I don't even remember what time they left. That night was the first night I could go to bed at a reasonable time because nothing needed another coat of paint or a bit more cleaning. They arrived Thursday morning at 8am and left close to 9pm. It was a long day. Now we have a mostly empty house that we can paint and finish cleaning. We will have plenty of time to get this work done and if we work hard we may be able to take a short vacation before driving to Kansas. Buddy is exhausted and still has one day left at work. After working so hard these past few days I'm not sure I'm willing to do a brutal schedule in order to have a few vacation days at the end. Perhaps after a short rest we will both feel energized to tackle this last hurdle.
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Sick
I'm having trouble posting pictures and don't have the time to mess with technology that doesn't work. I copied most of my post before losing it so I'll just paste that. I'll come back another time about Bohdin's birthday.
Monday at gymnastics I was working on Nyla's Christmas present. The next thing I knew she is standing right next to me. She told me she wasn't feeling well and the next instant threw up all over me. The vomit was everywhere. It was on her, the floor, and me. I cleaned her up a bit and we left. Two other moms were nice enough to shoo me off while they cleaned the floor. I had to drive home with Bohdin's coat draped over me since I had only underwear on. It turns out that Cora's throwing up from the week before was not vaccine related. It was contagious. Nyla threw up a few more times that afternoon. I took Cora out Monday night so we could pick up supplies for Bohdin's party with his friends on Wednesday. When I was at the store I started feeling a little queasy and had to come home. Buddy was already feeling bad. It was a rough night. Only Bohdin and Cora were feeling fine. The next morning I told Bohdin to stay as far away from all of us as possible hoping he wouldn't catch it. He threw up a minute later. Cora was the only one feeling well. With the exception of Bohdin we were feeling better by Tuesday evening. Bohdin developed a fever on Wednesday and wasn't completely better until Friday. His party was cancelled. We saw M- and W- today to say goodbye and we'll see more friends tomorrow. It's a shame that the party didn't work out. We'll try our best to see S- before we leave.
December is always a busy month and this time even more so because of the moving. The packers will be here next week and there is a tremendous amount to do before then. We've moved Christmas up to the 16th which leaves even less time to get things ready and I lost several days with the illness. I'm making many of Nyla's presents this year and I've only completed one so far. I'm in the process of building Bohdin a bed which has to be done before the movers come. I also want to paint his dresser before then. I need about 8 more hours in each day for the next week.
Last Monday at gymnastics I discovered that Nyla has her first loose tooth. She is beyond excited. She can't wait to exchange her tooth for money. Nyla's first two teeth popped up on Christmas day five years ago. It would be ironic if she also lost her first tooth on Christmas day.
Saturday, December 1, 2012
Really Busy
We're in the final crunch of getting the house ready before we move. There is an overwhelming amount of things to do in addition to the holidays and just daily life. Nana and Papa came for Thanksgiving help us out. The help was so needed and appreciated.
This week we've been busy painting, working on the fireplace, and various odds and ends. In addition Nyla developed a high fever after receiving the varicella vaccine on Wednesday and Cora threw up about a dozen times after her MMR vaccine. They're both fine now.
Today was Bohdin's Lego League presentation. Two of the kids couldn't make it which we were aware of so the girls stepped up. The two remaining boys on the team aren't talkers. Bohdin did his two lines. He had them memorized very well but had trouble remembering to say them loudly and slowly. The team did a great job. We'll have one last get together on Wednesday for a farewell/birthday party.
