oh the projects

It's quickly becoming clear the dirty little secret of home ownership

There are always projects to be done

Someone may have suggested making a list

Someone may have thrown an itty bitty tantrum and declared

     We will live here forever!  We don't need a damn list

Grateful for inlaws with awesome tools like powerwashers.  

Watched Jesse for a few moments then decided it looked like fun

He wouldn't let me use it near the house

Apparently I did it too slowly and someone was feeling nervous I would damage the side of the house

Love the immediate results- wooo hooo clean deck!

But then, a tiny bit of dirty grime flew up and hit me in the face

I realized I was covered in tiny polka dots of dirty grime

and just like that I was finished

4 people, 8 hours and our flower beds look fantastic

We filled up 13 bags of lawn "trash" 

And created 3 distinct piles of kindling for the fire pit

Who knew their were rocks hiding under the ivy?

Up Next:
Sealing the deck
and Painting the basement
Wonder what else we'll stumble upon

A few of my favorite things

Hello swinging on the front porch, watching a storm roll through

why yes, that is a citronella candle

the mosquitoes are attacking. 2 candles, lots of bug spray 

and I still get new bites every day sigh

Hello sunlight streaming into my bathroom

first major project: ripping down the glass shower doors

best decision ever, so much grossness lived under there 

Hello lovely view as I drink my coffee

still don't know what kind of trees those are

still convincing Jesse not to taste the berries for "research purposes" 

 Hello Washer and Dryer!  My new BFFs!!!

it's been a long 3 months of hang drying clothes

Hello soft clothes that snap back into place after drying

Hello ingenuity (following the cursing) of an electrical plug that is 3 inches too high

Hello sunglasses!  Who put you in the medicine cabinet?

living in that awkward place of some stuff here, some stuff there

some stuff disappeared

with each box unpacked it feels more and more like home

Hello Monday!

Excited/nervous for the first week with a full roster

     12 toddlers are a whole new ballgame after only having a handful on any given day

Excited for completely more house projects (laundry!!!)

     and having a whole day on Friday to spend in my house

Excited for more visitors

     loving showing off my home

Linking with Lisa to start the week

In Hindsight

After a weekend spent cleaning and cleaning and cleaning, I'm so glad we didn't buy a fixer upper house.  That being said we invested...

a day steam cleaning the carpet in one room (Granted, its a biggish room, with lots of nooks and crannies making me grateful the cleaner came with hand tools)

a day scrubbing grout- cause ewww...7 magic erasers later and the heebie jeebies are gone

a day working in the yard and did not get the grass mowed or the landscaping weeded

     however, we did pull out the ugly satellite dish, and create a big giant burn pile- yay

a day scrubbing down walls and cursing renters who put nails, hooks and staples into old fabulous wood trim

a few hours beginning to scrub down the kitchen at which point a certain someone (me) gave up after dog hair was found inside the fridge

I have never been an animal person and I'm pretty sure this experience is confirming that 

This whole owning a house thing is a lot of work

but I love, love, love it!

I'm grateful for...

the Lice Center of Ohio and their free head checks: even teachers.  Such a relief to know my kiddos (and me) are lice free
     especially when a certain toddler now knows if she claims her hair is "itchy" she gets to avoid 
     nap for a few more minutes


texts that say, stop by after work for some boxes
     and confidence in driving my car full of boxes.  If I can drive across country without being 
     able to see out my mirrors, a 5 mile drive across town aint no thing


the entertainment provided by my facebook friends
     it amuses me to see each side of the political spectrum represented so passionately


the double hug:  first just a regular hug, then a tight extra squeeze from a classroom alumni

a man who kisses my cheek and whispers I love you as I'm falling asleep
     even if it does wake me up for a bit

Toddler Room Tales

Just the other day I was musing that my kiddos weren't being funny...seems they heard that as a challenge and brought their A game this week

To the kiddo with the burgeoning foot fetish:
I don't think she wants you to touch her feet
Do you hear how she is telling you No!
Stop touching her feet
Your friend is trying to give you a message, I need you to respect it
If you don't stop touching her feet I will need to help your body 
     screaming, thrashing toddler
I'm sorry this is making you angry, but you needed help.
If a friend tells you to stop, you need to stop touching her feet!


We may or may not be threatened by a lice outbreak from the older classrooms
     Yes I have been super itchy thank you hypocondria
     Yes I come home from work everyday and make Jesse check my hair
     Yes I have been alternating: letting my hair get super dirty gross and shampooing it like 
     crazy with Coconut shampoo, cause the rumor is lice hate both those things
So picture this:  nap time, rubbing a cute toddler back helping him fall asleep
All of the sudden he starts scrubbing at his head like crazy
     (sidenote:  older sibling in the outbreak affected classroom)
Are you itchy?  Head nodding
Deep breath and a quick glance through his hair (yay for little boys and short haircuts)
Turned out to just be a toddler trying to avoid falling asleep   whew!


and courtesy of a toddler parent...
How was the storm that rolled through?
     Appropriate response of how it was loud but we talked about being brave cause we know 
     we are safe at school
Ignoring me completely going on to say...
Yeah a big reason we switched schools was cause of the storms
We figured you guys are in a bigger building, you probably don't lose electricity often
     assuming he wasn't serious I responded...yeah you know how clintonville is
Blank look
     Do you live in the community?
Yeah we live in UA
     also known as land of underground powerlines that rarely loses power
     very unlike clintonville, land of powerlines through the back of properties cleverly disguised 
     by big trees that like to fall down

Do you have shadows in your bed?

We're saying goodbye to kiddos left and right this time of the year
Unlike our birthday celebrations which we have down to a science,
Our last day celebrations are much more a bit of this and a bit of that
     with random toddler tantrums thrown in

It's their special day, we do all of their favorite things, shower them with hugs and kisses
For our most recent graduate, this involved reading (and rereading) our collection of monster books

including The Great Monster Hunt by Norbert Landa
The first book this kiddo every asked me to read,
when he was finally warming up to us and the classroom
I read this one book for a solid hour yesterday
Each time I finished he piped up it's not a monster, its a mouse!  Read the Monster Hunt again?

Savoring the last moments with this kiddo
We poured so much into him
He grew so much in a year
Hate that he is moving away

Of course I will keep reading your favorite book
After the third reading, the conversation began
     I scared.  Shadows in my bed
     Do you have shadows in your bed?

Note:  I do in deed have shadows in my bed.  After many nights of waking up in panic, staring into the darkness of the room, I went out to buy a nightlight.  Its a retro pink glittery lava lamp and I love it.  It makes the shadows go away

But who needs to bring baggage like that into a classroom.
Enter important life lesson time
     and the conversation that kept repeating for an hour


Yep, sometimes I have shadows in my bed
When I feel scared, I take a deep breath, and feel really really brave
If I'm still scared, I turn on a light- that makes the shadows go away
If I'm still scared I ask for help, from my mom or my dad or a friend

Much head nodding followed by...
I scared.  Shadows in my bed.
You have shadows in your bed?

By the end of the hour the conversation began to look different

I scared.  Shadows in my bed.
You have shadows in your bed?
You feel brave.  I feel brave
Mom and dad help me

the anatomy of a spontaneous roadtrip

Prequel:
Survive raging thunderstorms, power outages and hysterical parents while their toddlers wonder
     "Carri, why is a tree rolling across the parking lot"
      oh please, please avoid my car
Run around like a maniac, completing my to do list by 4 pm
      Fun adventure bike riding to Farmers Market
      Detouring to see the ginormous trees that fell across the road, smashing cars

      Sewing, packing, procuring beverages
      Airport Run
      Invent decorations from materials gathered from CVS
             Tissue paper, wrapping paper and streamers go a long way

we may have gotten a little artistically inappropriate with this by the end of the night

Party like a rockstar celebrating a dear friend's last weekend as a single lady

The Spark of an Idea:
Wake up barely avoiding a hangover:  Winner!
Count my lucky stars that I have power and a hot shower
Begin remembering just how long my work was closed last time power went out
     a whole week:  it took them 4 days to restore power and 1 day for cleanup
Begin wondering what am I going to do for the next few days if I don't end up working

The Moment of Rationality:
phone calls ensued
3 trusted confidants
     all who sent me to voicemail
ten minutes of waiting for a return call
deciding to go ahead and pack
     cause i can always unpack
one last glance at the clock

Throwing Caution to the Wind:
Hit the Road Jack, Don't you come back no more, no more, no more, no more

10 miles south of Columbus my first returned phone call
     the advice:  do it!  it'll be a blast
40 miles south of Columbus, second returned phone call
     the advice:  a bit more rational, but do it!  Hit the road!  Yay for road trips!
5 miles north of Cincy, final returned phone call
     the advice:  you've already left now haven't you- ha!  he knows me well

Sent to the Nashville Crew along with

what are yall doing tonight?

     want some company?