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Monday, October 29, 2007
Ok, the weekend went pretty much as we expected. Not great, but with a happy ending.
I left work early on Friday to get groceries and run a few errands before picking up the kids. It was pouring rain.
Russ met me at home after I got the groceries put away and then we all went to BK for dinner as we had a couple more
errands to do at Lowe's and Target. We wanted to do another YouTube Friday, but we were just so tired, we couldn't even
focus.
Saturday morning the kids were up early. Consequently, so was I. They were rather loud too, so consequently,
so was Russ. As soon as we all got some breakfast, we set to work on the TO DO list. Top of the list included
picking up the toys in the play area and fixing the water heater.
Toys BEFORE:  Toys AFTER: 
So Russ got to work draining the water heater while I started picking up Little People and Monster Trucks (with a little
bit of Liam's help). Both boys had nasty coughs, so we were nursing them along all day too.
All was going well, until we heard an unfamiliar splashing sound in the basement. We noticed that the hose that
we'd put in the sink to aid in the draining was now on the floor with a happy little fellow splashing around in his new
lake! Jaxson apparently investigated the drainage system.
So, we quickly got the water out the back door without to much damage. It took forever to drain. Finally,
when it was empty, Russ set to work getting the old element out. Unfortunately, it was stuck fast. We needed a
bigger tool. Three trips to Lowe's later, AND a trip to our friend, Dave's, did not help. It was only after Russ
researched online that we discovered that we needed a special socket wrench to get the bolt off. It was my turn to go
to Lowe's, and with a little help, I found what we needed for $6.
The new socket only helped a little. We finally had to wedge a few different sized screwdrivers in behind the bold
to finally knock whatever was keeping it so tight, loose. Russ replace the new element without any trouble, and we began
filling the tank again.
This time, we had hot water, but only for a little while. By this time, it was also nearly 4:00, so we decided
to call it quits for the day, and start the process again in the morning to replace the TOP element. We thought it would
wise this time to let it drain overnight.
The next morning, you can imagine my unfavorable suprise to see an even BIGGER lake in the basement. Apparently
the hose, once equal to the level of the water heater, worked it's way out of the sink and onto the floor. Maybe yesterday's
flood wasn't Jaxson's fault after all.
So, once again, I had to start sweeping the deluge out the door. Unfortunately, this time, I also had to work on
getting the carpets dried out. At least all the toys were picked up.
Russ tried to get the top element free, but couldn't. Finally (after some "serious" debating) I told him to just
put it back together, and we'd work on it more on Tuesday when Mom and Dad arrived.
I worked on getting the rest of the house in shape. By 4:00 I had things pretty much ready, but was pretty tired.
Russ was coming down with what the boys had, and he wasn't in the mood to man the grill, so we coped out and got a pizza.
I tried to keep the boys up to see Aunt Dawn and Aunt Kate, but they didn't get in until about 10:00pm. I woke
Liam up to see them for a little bit. We all turned in around 11:30.
This morning, Kate left a little after 9:00 and I headed for work at about 9:40. Dawn's been home with the boys,
and I hope all's well. It should be a fun week!!
Monday, October 22, 2007
Don't you hate it when you type something all up, and then you do something stupid and erase it all????
Yes, that just happened to me. I had a nice blog all typed up, and then tried to do two things at once, and ended
up deleting everything.
So I'll try to start all over again...
Friday night, Russ and I did our usual "YouTube" surfing. We had a fun time, as usual and even found a juggling
video made by one of our friends!
Saturday we got a slow start. I did a few chores, but nothing that required me to get out of my pajamas.
The kids played together pretty well in the basement. They are starting to get along a bit better now, but Liam still
got caught biting Jaxson and had to go to time out. This seems to be a recurring issue, and one that I will be
SO GLAD to get through.
When the boys went down for a nap that afternoon, I made a big bunch of deviled eggs, and a huge batch of baked beans
to take to a party we'd been invited to. The bean recipe calls for bacon and pineapple and is just SO GOOD.
Right before we were heading out to go to the party Russ noticed a posting on our little online parenting forum that
we frequent. Our friends down the street were suddenly moving! He got a job with Microsoft down in Charlotte,
NC, so they are moving as soon as possible. I am sad to hear of their impending departure. However, they were
selling several things in their home to get ready to put it on the market. One of the items that perked our immediate
interest was their piano. Grant it, it's in rough shape, but still plays well. They asked $150, and I decided
it would make a good Chrismas present for Russ. His keyboard's volume control just went belly up recently, and he still
enjoys playing. I gave her a call to let her know.
It was funny, while I was on the phone with her, another of our friends was on her other line reserving her den furniture!
Once at the party, we ran into that other couple who were buying the furniture. We joked about being such scavengers!
We enjoyed the party, and played a good game of horseshoes. Liam had a great time riding around the yard in
the little girl's Barbie Jeep. He and the other kids (and there were quite a few present!) all took turns riding around.
Liam still has quite a ways to go before he gets his license. He can make it go forward, but has no concept of looking
where he's going and making a turn to avoid a collision. He nearly took out the lattice of their deck! (maybe it's genetic)
We did leave a little early though. Once the sun went down it was tough trying to keep track of the kids.
We followed the departure of several other families with kids. Both boys were worn out, and Russ and I just enjoyed
a quiet evening in. We watched a football movie. It was good, but I just couldn't stay awake to see the ending.
Now, little did I know, but after I'd fallen asleep, Russ had made plans to help this couple move the furniture from
our friends house in the morning. The gesture proved worthy though, since they had a pick-up. They helped us move
the piano (and outdoor playset) that we'd purchased, and then we helped them get their furniture into their home too.
This all started right around 9:15, and we fininished up right about lunch time.
I got the boys down for a nap soon after lunch. We put Liam in our bed, so we could set up the pine bed in his
room. We figured it'd be a good idea to have the extra bed for guests and get it out of the garage. Liam was beginning
to outgrow the toddler bed anyway. While I was putting the frame together, Russ went outside to use the power washer
on the new playset. Then he came in to help me get the boxspring and mattess set up. Finally, I got Liam's room
put back together. I put his little todder bed in Jaxson's closet, seeing as though Jax isn't quite ready for it yet.
About this time, Jax was ready to get up from his nap. I moved Liam from our bed into his "new" one, but he barely
stirred, so I let him sleep.
Then I went out into the garage to put things back together. I'd taken a bunch of stuff to the Thrift Store, sold
a few things at the consignment sale, and now that the bed was out of there, I had room to re-organize. Eventually,
I want to put in some shelves out there, but for now, a piece of plywood over a couple of sawhorses got things up off the
floor.
After the garage was done, Liam was up, and we were anxious to get out in the neighborhood and place a couple of geocaches
that we'd had in the works for a month or so. We knew of a couple of good hiding locations and wanted to claim them
before someone else did. So, we hid Suc-Seed - one that Russ had devised out of an interesting container - and Little
Lap's Super Hero Cache - one that Liam helped get ready in honor of his latest obsession. The hikes got our heart rates
up, but weren't especially long, so we did pretty well and got home about 4:30.
The boys played outside for a little bit. I moved the playset where I wanted it, and Russ helped me put the swing
part of it back on. I finished up the powerwashing. Just as I got the power washer all put away, Liam comes back
out, scoops up a handful of mud, and proceeds to paint it!!!! GRRRR.... Life with boys. Oh well.
Since we'd had quite a busy day, and were all pretty tired, I copped out, and stuck a couple of frozen pizzas in the
oven for dinner. No one seemed to mind.
Russ helped me get the boys ready for bed. Liam was pretty excited about his "new" bed, and wanted Jax to sleep
with him in it. That was a sweet gesture, but I told him that Jax would wiggle to much and keep him awake.
Once the boys were settled in, I read a little of the Geisha book I got from the library, but soon found myself fighting
to stay awake. Dawn called, and we talked a little bit and just wanted to touch base before her trip here.
So, our weekend turned out to be a bit busier than we'd planned, but we managed to get a lot done. This week will
be a long one, but I know we are all pretty excited about the family visit next week... not to mention Halloween too!!!!
Monday, October 15, 2007
October 12-14th, 2007
Last week was the Leprechaun Lilly’s consignment
sale so the week was a little hectic for Erin. On Wednesday she took the boys to Kiddos after work for gym time and then we
met for dinner. After dinner I watched the boys and got them ready for bed while Erin went to drop off clothes. On Thursday
Erin went back for shopping and I watched the kids and had pizza with them.
On Friday Erin went in to work to catch
up on some hours. I got up and had breakfast with boys and watched some children’s shows with them. I like a few of them as
much as they do such as A Big Big World, Read Between The Lions, Super Why, and Curious George.
I got the kids cleaned up and dressed and
then we headed to get Mommy at work for Lunch. We went over to the base McDonalds for lunch. As Erin was only working until
3:30 she took Jaxson with her after lunch. Liam and I stopped by Leprechaun Lilly’s at the fairgrounds to look for boots.
The pair Erin got for him although nice was too small. Oh well Jaxson may use them next season. We couldn’t find any Liam’s
size.
Liam and I then headed to the One Stop
Family Adventure Center on a side street in Leonardtown. It was REALLY cool. It was in a warehouse. It had a lot of moon bounces
that kids love but the highlight was the awesome GoKart track. Liam and I did 42 laps for 20 bucks as we had a Valu-Pak coupon
that let us know about the place in the first place. Liam was apprehensive after the first few laps. The cars only go 25 MPH
but on the track it feels like a lot of speed. One of the owners was there. He is a young 25 YO and he says his family has
all their money in the place that it will succeed. He designed the track and arc welding the whole course. He said when they
were testing the track and before they put the governors on the Karts were flying at 45 MPH. He broke three welds by contact.
He raced with us a few laps and lapped us twice in 6 laps and I was going full out. His niece who looked Liam’s age was riding
with him.
 
We then ran into the other side of the
building and Liam played in the various Moon Bounce rides. One was a big slide that Liam had no fear on. My favorite was an
obstacle course called the Playtona Speedway. Liam then built up the courage to go on the Go-Karts again. He said as long
as we went slow. So I took the first lap slow and Liam looked bored. I asked him if this was okay and he said faster Daddy
so we were flat out after that. On our last set of laps there were three cars out with another family and there two kids and
we had a blast racing.
 
 
When the kids were in bed Erin and I had
another fun You Tube Friday. The highlights were a mean Ronald McDonald getting kicked out of McDonalds and News Anchor bloopers
including our own local anchor Jim Vance. We didn’t finish until almost midnight.
On Saturday we had a lazy morning and then
I played with the boys and Erin did her volunteer shift sorting clothes at Lilly’s that didn’t sale. After she got home we
ordered pizza and I watched Kentucky UPSET #1 LSU in triple overtime of College football!!!
WOO HOO GO Cats GO!!!!! This is the best
team they have had in 30 years.
On Saturday night Erin and I watched Evan Almighty , the sequel to Bruce Almighty. It was a rare better sequel. We both enjoyed it Steve Carrell was really funny as the new
“Noah”. We even watched the bloopers and many extras in the DVD.
Sunday was Cook Top day. The cooktop arrived
early the week before so in the morning we took the old cracked one out and looked over the problem. We bought an identical
unit so we could compare the installation of the old versus the directions. There was a major problem with the way the old
one was installed. The Nylon expanders on the old one were removed thus removing the element of protection of the cooktop
from expanding during heating. We feel like over the years this put too much stress on the glass hence it cracking while the
heat was on high a few weeks back. Erin carefully looked over the directions and confirmed it while I unhooked the old ones
power source from the junction box while the circuit was shut off.
 
We then realized we needed another tool.
We called Dave to borrow a router or jigsaw. He wasn’t home so we decided to bit the bullet and stop by Lowe’s this was after
yet another stop by the fairgrounds for items that didn’t sell at the Lilly’s sell. Some of our item’s that should have been
slashed to half price in the last day were missed. Who knows if that made a difference on if they sold or not. At Lowe’s we
talked to a sales person who was very informative and helped us pick a decent jig saw for around the house jobs.
Once home after getting a few groceries
Erin and I took turns sawing open a larger hole to put the cooktop in so the expanders could actually do their job on this
new top. After that I spent a couple of hours trying to get power back. The original threaded nuts to clamp the wires were
driving me crazy. After a call to Dad Day I confirmed I was wired up right but he suggested to try caps of which I had downstairs.
I thought this a good idea and immediately I had proper contact so I taped of the caps and closed the boxes. We fired it up
and cooked some crabs. We watched a Little People Big World marathon with the kids and then a special about Walmart on CNBC
after they went to bed. It was a hectic weekend but at least the cooktop is replaced now and we have replacement parts in
case things break in the future. Erin is pretty sure she is not going to consign anymore. It is a lot of time and work of
which she has little of. We also decided that Liam is getting a little big for the Kiddo’s gym time so we may switch Jaxson
to Saturday mornings and alternate taking him.
Next weekend we will prepare for family
in for the Halloween holiday, as Dawn will be coming in Halloween as well as Grandpa and Gramma. Liam will be getting his
big boy pine bed. We will be going to a kid friendly bon fire party at our friends Aimee and Jeff too.
Monday, October 8, 2007
This has been a rough week. Tuesday, I got the call from daycare that Liam was sick. So, I left work early.
Then on Wednesday I left right after my morning meeting to return home to tend to sick kids. I was hoping to get everyone
back to where they'd normally be on Thursday, but then I was the sick one! So, we all just had colds. None of
us were down hard, but just down enough to have to spend time on the couch for intervals during the day. I did take
the kids to the doctor on Wednesday because Liam had suspicious itchy spots all over him. My first thought was Chicken
Pox, but he'd had a vaccine for that. I figured it was just chiggar bites from our Caching the Sunday before.
The doctor ruled out Chicken Pox too, but did give us some creme.
Thursday, my boss called me and asked if I planned to be in on Friday so I could do a particular task that only I could
do. I didn't really plan to be in on Friday, since it was my day off. Normally, I'd go in anyway to make up time
from all the sick hours I'd missed, but it was our Anniversary, and Russ and I had plans to go to the Horse Track in Laurel,
MD. I told him I'd try to make it in, but didn't promise.
When I told Russ about my work call-in, he told me I should go. I told him I would, but since it was our Anniversary,
he'd have to come with me! He did, and my task only took a couple of hours. We even made post time for the
first race, so it worked out well. We'd dropped off the kids at daycare (even though they still had coughs) and planned
to have our friend, Sue, pick them up, so we'd not have to hurry home.
Russ and I had a great time at the races. We only did $2 bets for each of the 10 races, and fared really
well. In one race we won $92!! See the table above. Problem is, that we didn't get any pictures. Our
digital camera proved to have dead batteries. I bought a disposable one at the gift shop (fortunately it was on sale),
but then dropped it, and the battery fell out over the railing. So, we didn't get any pictures, but oh well - we've
all seen horses before - right?? Our next problem happened at the end of the day. I'd gone to the truck around the time
of the 3rd race to change into shorts. Unfortunately, I locked the key in the truck! So, I called a locksmith,
but while we were waiting for him to arrive, a security guard drove past and asked me if we needed help. I told him
our problem, and he told me that he could easily get my keys out. So I called the locksmith back, and told him not to
come. Earnest, the retired jockey turned security guard, had our key out in about 10 minutes. We handed him a
$20 in gratitude and sighed with relief.
We were going to go out to dinner, but it was getting late, and we werent' really hungry, so we just got something light
at Arby's and headed home.
Sue and two of her daughters were watching the boys at our house. Liam was still up when we arrived, so I got him
wound down a little while the rest of us visited a while.
We were a little frustrated and down, because while we were gone some events in Doylestown happened that made us uneasy.
I'll spare the details here, but just say that Noah is having a tough time making decisions about his future after High School.
I'm sure many families have had the same argu - discussions. So, we're still dealing with that now, but have decided to just
let some time pass to let things chill out a little.
Saturday we got up and around to go to Bowles Farm for the Corn Maze. We thought about not going, but needed some
cheering up, and knew we'd run into some of our friends. Liam was excited about going, and our colds were a little better,
so we headed up to Leonardtown.
Like the past couple of years, we had a great time. We wandered through the corn maze, played in the corn pit,
chatted with the farm animals, rode the barrel train, and got some grub before picking out pumpkins and heading home.
The pictures say it all...
Aimee, Jeff and Emma
Steve, Dana and Avery
Rosalia and Liam
Some more of our friends who we met at the farm:
Mike (my co-worker) and his boys, Alfred and Alex...
Bill, Janet and Rosalia:
We thought about putting out a couple of new Geocaches on Sunday, but just stayed home instead. I had several home
tasks to catch up on, and had to do some final preparations for the Leprechaun Lilly's Consignment Sale. I think it
did us all good to just stay home and recouperate.
On with the week. Russ and I both work today, Columbus Day. Russ will be off with the boys on Friday.
We have Kiddos Playgroup at the Toddler Gym on Wednesday and that is always a fun break in an otherwise LONG week.
Monday, October 1, 2007
We had an up and down weekend to say the
least. Our friends, Paul and Sandie, might be passing through and wanted to visit,
and our friends, Carl and Jodi, were also in town and wanted to get together. We
also wanted to check out the Riverfest on St. Georges
Island, and I knew I needed to find time to finish my Leprechaun Lilly’s inventory!
As it turned out, we didn’t hear from Paul
and Sandie on Friday night, and Carl and Jodi had plans too, so we had Friday to ourselves.
We were happy to settle into our routine “Friday Night You Tube” fun. We
saw some pretty funny clips and had a nice time together late into the evening.
Saturday morning, the kids were up
early and hungry. So I got up too and made us some breakfast. Then they were happy to go in the basement and play, so I decided to get the laundry going, and put a sprayer
hose on the downstairs toilet (it’s used for spraying off diapers – I’ll spare you the details). I got it half way on, and realized that I needed another pair of hands, so I’d have to wait until Russ
got up.
Jodi came over after a while with
her kids, Caleb and Abigail. Her husband, Carl, was in a golf tournament that
morning. I thought it would be nice to have some pasta salad to go with lunch,
so I set a pot on the ceramic stove top to boil the noodles. Jodi and I were
carrying on our conversation and I happened to check on the noodles and noticed what I thought was a hair on the cooktop. Then I realized that it was not a hair, but an actual crack. In fact, when I pulled the pot away, there was a quarter sized crater in the top!! My surprised and paniced,
“Oh NO” made Russ come running. I knew it’d be expensive, and it wasn’t until
Russ started looking up options online, that I realized just HOW expensive… $700!!!
We didn’t dare get something different, knowing that if we did, we’d probably have to hire someone to install it… so
we just bit the bullet and placed the order. Russ even went to a couple local
stores to see if he could get a better deal, but nothing local could beat what he could get through the internet – even with
shipping.
So, after lunch, Jodi took her kids
back to the Navy Lodge for a nap. We agreed to try to meet up later if they didn’t
have any other plans. We also planned to Geocache together the next day. I put our boys down for a nap as well. Russ
then helped me get the toilet back together.
While the kids were napping, Russ and I
decided that we’d still like to go down to St. Georges
Island and check out the RiverFest. So,
when the kids got up, we left the house. It was such a beautiful day and we hadn’t
been down that way so it was a nice drive. We drove right down in to where the
festival was, and though it looked like things were wrapping up for the day, they certainly had a good turnout, so I’m sure
it’ll be a regular event. Russ and Liam were waiting in line to get a balloon
sword from the clown, so Jaxson (in the sling) and I walked out on the dock to check out the boats. On the way back, I went to reach into my pocket to get some cash to get a bite to eat, and accidentally
hit my phone that was clipped to my pocket, and you guessed it… into the bay it went.
Needless to say, the phone dive put a damper
on the remains of the visit, so after Liam got his balloon we left the festival. On
the way home though, we did swing by the Piney Point Lighthouse to grab a geocache.
We love that spot anyway, and it did us all good to just go through shells and rocks in the water for a few minutes
after finding the cache.
 
We were anxious to get back home anyway,
wondering if Jodi had called to give us an idea about evening plans. That is
why I was carrying my phone with me in the first place. Once we did get a hold
of her she let us know that they were going to a cookout on base. Additionally, we got
a hold of Paul and Sandie and they decided to spend another night in VA for a Rennaisance Festival - can't blame them!
This worked out fine and allowed us to run up to the phone place and report the dunking. Luckily, we’d gotten insurance, so now I “just” have to pay the $50 deductible.
The rest of our evening didn’t go too badly. Russ noticed a crack in his favorite mug that he’s been using for the past 20 years,
so we figured someone must have a voodoo doll against us or something. We laughed
it off, but I’m sure Santa will have to bring him a replacement! Later though,
we got an email from Noah’s mother telling us that he’d decided to quit the Tech Program he’s been enrolled in. They fault the teacher. Of course, this was disappointing
news, but what was most disappointing was the fact that earlier that day, when we’d talked to Noah on the phone, he’d lied
to us and mentioned that everything was going WELL in the Tech School Program. Obviously,
his dad gave him a prompt call to discuss the matter. My fingers are crossed
that things will work out for the best this year one way or another.
Contrary to the previous day’s “bad luck,”
Sunday was great. Carl, Jodi and the kids came over around 10:00 and had breakfast
with us. Then we all headed out to hit some Geocaches. We later met up with another Geocacher, Bob, too, and it was
just the best day to hit the trails, watch the kids, laugh, joke and enjoy the beautiful weather. We had a nice lunch together at a local 50’s diner, and cached all the way until the sun went down. We wrapped things up with some Ice Cream from Rita’s and then bid our dear friends
good bye so they could head back home to Virginia. We hope to visit them soon after the new year.
Liam and Caleb are good friends, and it is heartwarming to see them enjoy each other’s company so well. Caleb is a little younger than Liam, and his sister, Abigail is a little older than Jaxson, so we expect
the foursome to be quite hilarious over the next few years. Poor Abigail had
broken her leg on the slide a few weeks ago, so she was sporting a pink cast during her visit, but she got around really well
despite it! Kids are so resilient.
  
   
This week should be interesting. We’ve got a lot going on occupationally. Some opportunities
could arise, or simply be totally forgotten, so we hate to say too much more. Russ and I are going to a local horse track
on Friday to celebrate our Anniversary. We hope for nice weather like we had
this weekend, but will make it a nice day no matter what. The kids will go to
daycare, but then get picked up by our friend, Sue, and her daughters so we won’t have to rush home in traffic. We probably won’t place anything more than $2 bets just for fun, but who knows… maybe we’ll win enough
to cover the new cook top!!!
I never did get my inventory for the consignment
sale done either, so now it is CRUNCH time for that!
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