Clothesline Towels Smell the Best

Updated: It's 9am Wednesday morning and it's raining. So much for the grand warm weather plans. Guess today will be errand/grocery shopping/library day. And I guess I have to use our dryer.

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It's only Tuesday, but already things have slowed down a bit around here this week and for that I am thankful. I even have been able to hang the last 6 out of 8 loads of laundry. I can't tell you how good clothesline hung laundry smells. It's worth a little stiffness in the towels any day!

We had a nice weekend working our tails off Friday night & Saturday to get our whole house & yard company-ready for a large BBQ gathering here in the evening. The weather cooperated and we were all up way past our bedtimes. We did make it to church on Sunday, but then napped most of the afternoon.

I babysat both Monday and today, but the weather has been nice and that makes everything so much better with four young boys (even four young cranky boys). My boys and me have Wednesday through Friday free!! We will have to run a few errands & do some grocery shopping in there, but for the first time in quite a while, we have a chunk of free time. I am hoping to do some fun stuff with the boys during those days.

Now, I know that for the boys, every day is like a vacation... but compared to last summer, I feel like this one has been much more busy and less vacation/summer-break like. I'm really not complaining, as the summer has been just fine and the busy stuff has been mostly good stuff. However, with Andrew going into Kindergarten this fall... I really feel like I need to take advantage of this summer. Leaving the house with 2-4 boys at 7:15-7:30 AM everyday is going to get old fast when September rolls around. I know that there are always things that need to be done, but these warm fun months won't last long.

Wow - that was a little unexpected side tangent.

So anyway, with our house currently clean due to the BBQ, I am praying that I can maintain it so the rest of the week we can focus more on enjoying all that the warm weather has to offer. Maybe pool, maybe Gardens, maybe Splash Park, maybe picnic with friends, etc.... You get the idea. That's the plan at least. Who knows how it will play out.

Wanted: One Big Wheel; pre-assembled

Big big news here. Friday morning, AJ went #2 on the potty!! (He's going to hate reading this when he's older. I love you, AJ. Forgive me.)

It was very exciting. I was excited for obvious reasons. However, AJ was excited because for months now he has had an agreement with Marc. When we goes poopy on the potty, he was going to get a Big Wheel. Grandpa Dykstra has one at his house and it's the coolest! AJ has been talking about this promise daily now for several weeks... and yet it took him until today, with me reading a Lightning McQueen board book to him, for his end of the deal to take place. (ha... no pun intended).

As soon as he was finished he wanted to call Daddy. Even before he got his M&M reward. AJ told daddy the news, and I went into shopping mode researching and calling around to find a Big Wheel for Marc to pick up on the way home from work. Turns out there was only ONE in the West Michigan area that we could locate. So Marc went and got it during the day rather than waiting.

AJ was so excited when he saw the box. He was constantly monitoring and asking questions as Marc and his buddy attempted to assemble the Big Wheel. However, somewhere in the assembly, something went horribly wrong and let's just say that that specific Big Wheel is not going to be ridden or returned.

AJ seemed to be ok and understand things when Marc told him the news. And it's stinks we are out the cost of the bike... but I'm not sure we can even buy another one. I know, there is always an online option, but they are more expensive and shipping costs and wait time, etc...

So YEA for AJ acting like such a big boy! And BOO for a really hard to assemble product.

Still in Post Vacation Recovery...

We are still here... slowly emerging from a mountain of laundry. But at least that laundry is clean... and that's something isn't it!! Please give me kudos for that, because the rest of the house is atrocious.

It's been a busy week. I babysat 3 days this week as well as try to unpack and catch-up from vacation. Phone calls, paperwork, laundry, etc... The evenings have been full as well. Marc has softball practice Mondays, there were a couple nights out on the boat fishing, and I had a girls night out and a girls night in.

I also didn't have a car (in the shop) until Thursday morning. By then we were in dire need of groceries. So I ran the boys around most of the morning from store to store restocking our fridge, freezer, & pantry.

That afternoon, I just couldn't make them "go play while Mommy works" anymore. We decided to hit the city pool. It was a great decision!!! It was $3 for us all and so kid friendly, that it was no problem going alone with the two boys. Andrew was even big enough to manage the big slide all by himself. I got AJ down it once... then he was done.

Tonight is our first evening at home... and by that I mean Marc worked on the garage with his buddy and I folded lots of laundry. We are having a BBQ here tomorrow evening, so we are trying to get this atrocious house in "company shape" pronto.

But it's Friday night and we at least had homemade pizza. Something has to be normal, right? Truly hoping to get back into the posting routine soon. I miss it.

Happy Independence Weekend!

We are home from our vacation. It was a really nice get-away and break from the real world. The weather didn't cooperate with us at all, but even so, it was a great week. I'm sad that it's over already. Seems like I'd been thinking about and planning for it for so long and in a blink, it's gone.

We got home Saturday morning (really the middle of the night) and just recovered and did laundry most of the day. We did take the boys out to our local carnival/fireworks Saturday night. That was a lot of fun and we were all up way past our bedtimes.

Today was more unpacking, more laundry, more getting our house into some sort of livable shape again... along with a CVS run, playing in the sprinkler, cutting the boys hair, & eating a yummy dinner from the grill.

I hope to post about the actual vacation soon with pictures and everything, but for now, I wanted anyone who didn't know already, that we are home... safe and sound.

Today is the day...

...that AJ has been waiting for for months now. Seriously. We leave for vacation today! We are so excited. So when the blog is quiet for a week (like it's been so active lately anyway), you will not worry, but pray we are having a safe, relaxing, and much needed break from the real world.

By the way, while packing up yesterday, AJ packed up his little backpack with some toys then wore it around all day. He was ready!

Have a great week!

Sad Day...

Today our neighbors and good friends are moving away. I am sad to see my friend, Amy, go. But I think it's more sad to see Andrew lose his best friend, Gabe, who was his classmate and playmate everyday for the past year. I pray they get themselves established in their new home quickly and comfortably. They will be missed.

My Generation Grew Up on Michael...

I wonder if several years from now, people will sit around and ask each other where they were when they heard that Michael Jackson died. I know he got a little strange recently and I know I mostly now listen to conservative Christian music....

but c'mon... it's Michael!

I distinctly remember being at my Grandma's house (the coolest house e.v.e.r) and sitting upstairs in my cousin Lyndi's room.... who I just about idolized. We listened to a Michael Jackson record. And if Lyndi liked it, then so did I.

I also remember watching the Thriller video at an entirely too young age (I might have even sneaked downstairs to watch it) and then being terrified for several days after that my floor was going to burst right open at any given moment and zombies were going to climb out.

Billy Jean, Thriller, Smooth Criminal, the MoonWalk and so much more. A very surprising and sad day for fans of the King of Pop.

"This is the moment when Generation X realizes they’re grown up"

Quote by Gary Giovannetti

Very.Busy.Week.

• I am babysitting my other boys three days this week.
• I am trying to get everything bought and packed for our vacation since we leave this Saturday morning.
• We are trying to spend as much time as possible with our neighbors (Andrew's BFF) who is moving out of town this weekend. (*sniff*)
• And Marc is working his tale off.

That's my excuse for lack of blog content and housework around here.... although I did sneak the boys to the Gardens for a super quick trip to the Great Lakes yesterday afternoon.

Stinky.

Andrew has picked up enough of his surroundings to ask now and then about smoking. And, of course, we tell him how bad it is and all the negative things about smoking.

So the other day as we were coming out of the grocery store and we see a truck driving by with the driver holding a cigarette out of the window.

Andrew yells: Look Mom! There's a cigaretter cigaretting!

Happy Father's Day!

Nothing but the best wrapping for my hubby, who's a GREAT father!

In case you're wondering, it's a battery charger with rechargable batteries, and his two watches (that have been dead for a while) with new batteries in it.