House and Trailer improvements

Winter has not been cooperating. Finley told me the other day that she was angry it hadn't really snowed yet. Some snow would have been nice. Then my slave-driver husband wouldn't have had an excuse to have me out helping with the siding all morning. We got as high as we could without double-stacking the scaffolding and then I quit and came inside. I should be glad that the weather has been letting us get more work done, but my hibernating instincts are high right now, and I feel a bit like a grumpy grizzly bear.

 We did have a few days of cold, wet weather, so on Christmas Eve, Chris took the opportunity to pull out the old dishwasher we never used and install a cabinet. One of the things I really like about my husband is that he cleans as he works on a project. Notice the clear floorspace. He rarely leaves a mess to get tracked around or tools scattered to be tripped on or lost. It makes renovations or construction so much more manageable.

 Here is the new cabinet installed next to the old, nasty sink cabinet.

 After the kids were in bed that night, we even put up another cabinet over the counter and moved some shelves. Having some 'extra' storage space (that is not an open shelf) in this trailer is a big deal to me. I am waiting for the kids to go back to school to school to see how I can really reorganize things in here...

I guess my break is over. Chris want me back outside to scratch heads together. We're not sure how to put up the siding when we don't know how we are finishing out the porch beams yet...

Comic Relief

Our cat, Max

It's been a rough few weeks, with sickness on top of sickness, Z with a head injury, and more trips to doctors than I care to think about, all on top of the busyness of the holidays... It's times like this when a little comic relief is welcome and helps snap you out of a negative train of thought.

One of the greatest things about living out in the country and having animals is that they provide some great comic relief. For example: the chickens must see me as the food fairy, because every time I go outside, they all come running and follow me around until I feed them or they are convinced that I won't. Today, I walked into the playroom, and a chicken saw me through the window and came running up to trailer. Silly chicken.

This summer, Chris and I were having an argument and resolution didn't seem to be anywhere on the horizon. It was a dark night, so I went outside to sit and look up at the stars and try to get my emotions under control. After a while, I saw some movement out of the corner of my eye, and I looked to find not ten feet away from me, a skunk. I scrambled up out of my chair, away from the skunk, and back to the trailer as fast as I could. I grabbed a flashlight, and Chris and I, reunited with purpose, went searching for the skunk.

Another night, I was frustrated about some random thing. I walked through the kitchen and saw Bruno, our (former) beast of a rooster, framed by the black night, staring at me through the kitchen window. It was so out of of the ordinary, it made me laugh. And (somehow) made me realize that most of the time, the things I get all bent out of shape about aren't that big of a deal.

Nice try, kid.

Joe- "Mom, did you know that there's something wrong with my 'wahoo' thing? Listen: Weeeehoo! See? I don't know what's wrong. Maybe I should stay home."

Snippet from Finley's school program...

Monday Morning Report

Monday morning. Fin and Joe are off to school, and Z is watching Diego, and I can take a moment to drink my coffee and relax for half a moment. I am ready for life to be dull for a while.

Joe caught strep last week, so Monday found us in the doctor's office with him. By Tuesday, it was obvious I had it, too. Zivah managed to take a face dive running through the kitchen Tuesday afternoon. I thought she had broken her nose, but thankfully, all she is sporting is a bruise.

(Notice the flashlight and toy gun in her hands. This is week two of her carrying them around nearly constantly.)

I finished Joe's hat.

Saturday, Chris got the trim up around the windows and door on the back side of the house, so on Sunday, we got started on the siding. Here is a picture of Terry and I doing all the work while Chris takes pictures. Okay, so really, this is a picture of Terry doing all the work while Chris takes pictures and I just sit and watch.

Siding on the back is complete!

At some point last week, we managed to decorate the cactus for Christmas. I haven't had the energy to do much else other than put up the advent calendar. I hope the kids forgive us if we don't string an ungodly amount of Christmas lights all over like we did last year. But I suppose I should at least try to get the socks put up somewhere... We'll see.

Pop Up Fun

Ever since I brought home a how-to pop-up book from the library this spring, Finley has used the basic pop-up technique to make cards. Usually, she makes the cards for some one who has gotten hurt to try to help them feel better. This latest, Finley made for Zivah after she fell and smashed her nose on the floor.