Things to Remember

After just over a year, our dishwasher died.  It took over two weeks for the technician to come out and tell us this, then we had to wait for the reimbursement, then another three weeks for our new unit to be installed.  The day finally arrived, and we were all excited!  Mostly my poor, dry, hands.

The new unit quite possibly has the highest capacity of any machine we've ever owned.  My biggest complaint is the lack of time estimate.  At least on the old units it was a turn dial, so you could see if a cycle was almost done, but not on this one.  Between the repair man recommending dishwashing liquid, and then seeing a video of someone who had to spend a chunk of change for a plumber when their pods failed to fully dissolve, I decided to use a bottle of liquid detergent in between each box of dishwasher pods.  

The liquid* is actually the perfect viscosity!  It flows easily, but isn't messy or drippy.  I've been happy, so far.

Cynthia, Chelsea's mom, sent me a very cool German book that I've been enjoying, whenever I have an occasion to wait.  The first pages reminded me of Christin! <3

Billy is replacing each computer, as each birthday arrives.  So far he's built himself a new one (with William inheriting his old one) and Emily.  The twins should be getting theirs this month, depending on how quickly the motherboard comes in.  Our old computers were built in 2017, so it was time for a new round.

A new shiny machine!

Billy was a big fan of the cooling fan.  Really.  He was very excited to get it and test it out. lol.

Sadly, while Billy was fighting one of the components in the computer, on the table, he did not use delicate pressure on our ailing dining table, and managed to break off not one, but two of the legs.  = (  He ordered some parts and got it repaired before our Murder Mystery party, but it was an awkward week of eating dinners in the kitchen.  The repaired table is much sturdier though, and I don't have to push in the legs after every meal now. lol.

Grace loved the hats from Kristy!  She and Juliet each got two coordinating hats from her get rid of stack!

Alice's parent teacher conferences took place early in the day, so the twins ended up tagging along, and sat on the stairs (so that I could see them from each station) entertaining themselves while Alice accompanied me to each meeting.

Grace and Juliet got matching frames, they are different colors, but the same shape.  They decided to dress the same for picture day, and omg, do they look alike!  In this picture it's Juliet left and Grace right.

I volunteered to help at the second hand bookfair.  It was so well done!  A few weeks before, the librarian sent out a request for gently used book donations.   The books were spread out on tables and displayed on shelves.  Paperbacks were 50c, most hardcovers $1, and a few select books were a couple of bucks more, but nothing was over $5!  The librarian also put out bookmarks, pencils, stuffed animals, and a few other novelty items.  The kids loved it, and some of them left with a pile of  'new to them' books!

The bookfair always does best when parents are able to come in with their adult money, so on the next reading night, I've volunteered to help again, since there were so many books left over!  

If I have to be awake in the cold and dark, at least I get to hear some good music.

Another set of pictures of the progression of the new school building! 

The twins picked out a tiny crockpot at the thrift store.  I offered to buy it for them as a Christmas gift, but they wanted it immediately, so they spent their own money on it. lol.  They have gotten quite a bit of use from it so far though!  They intend to bring it to their birthday party, at the bounce house, so we'll see how that goes.

In addition to chocolate, it also does cheese! So, one night after we had enchiladas, I fried up the remaining corn tortillas and we had nachos for dinner.  It was a big hit!

Grace found some Hello Kitty Boba tea at five below.  She bought it, and liked the tea part, but was not a fan of the slimy boba balls.

The twins 'raced' to see who could put together the puzzle the fastest. I don't know who won.

Billy found a Cajun-Japanese seafood place that he wanted to try out.  I am not a big fan of Cajun cuisine, because they season everything, and it's just too spicy for me.  I ended up ordering miso soup and sushi.  The sushi was really good, and the roll size was just right!

One of Grace's friends gave her a hello kitty clip, and of course she wanted to wear it!  I don't think it lasted her the day though, because she had gym that morning.

Alice is driving to pick up Emily (and starting tomorrow, William) from track each day, so it feels really good that she's getting in her hours!  She might not be finished before her birthday, but at least we're making progress!

The warmer temperatures, and return of the sun, have me in a much happier, more hopeful mood. We just came off of spring break, but I am ready for summer break already!

later days

*my first bottle was from Aldi. I don't love the smell, so I'm trying a new brand in the next rotation.  I'll try to remember to report back.

All the Other Fun Bits!

This post is where I stick all of the other fun, interesting, or miscellaneous photos from the past few months, to offer more of a complete picture of our life!

Zoe got to come over for a while just before school started!  Lots of all my kids' parties involve playing together online, while sitting side by side!

Juliet got a cute little box card from Avia!

Grace got an LOL popup room from Avia in the same letter!

Our dishwasher was out of commission for a few weeks.  Thankfully we have the extended warranty, but we are somehow already two years into it!!!?!

I requested a replacement sharps container for the syringes, they ended up sending me 8!!! We will get through them over time, but they are bulky for sure.

We've had a run of bad weather this year, ended up in the basement, again.  = (

Grace was impressed by her ramen noodle length!

At the palliative care thrift store, we attempted to go to the Christmas store, but missed the Christmas in July sale and it's too early for their regular hours.  So, while Alice ran back in to get something she'd passed on, Emily and I visited their garden!  It was really pretty.  We might have to come back here for her senior pictures!!!

Leading up to her birthday, Alice came with us to all the thrift stores and yard sales.  We found lots of goodies at the rummage sale. = )

Grace found a twin to one of Juliet's stuffies at a thrift store.  We didn't buy it, but she wanted a picture to show Juliet. = )

During this shopping trip, Alice talked me in to Chick-fil-a, using some of the free points we earned from her birthday party.  It was a hard sale, let me tell you. ; )

I think this was supposed to be a seahorse, but am not 100% sure.

Emily came home with some fun algebra homework!  Each letter is worth it's position in dollars and you have to come up with $100 words.  I shared it with my mom and sisters, and Haley's family enjoyed it so much they sent us some words too!  We worked on it several days before she had to turn it in. = )

When the new Hello Kitty happy meals came out, Avia sent money to spoil the grandchildren, so they got dinner there one night.  I don't know what I ate, but tomatoes from my garden were probably involved! = )

My children have gotten so good about replacing the milk carton in the upstairs fridge, that one day while I was at Aldi, I had no clue how many we had in the basement!  It was an amazing feeling, but luckily Billy was home to give me an idea of how much I needed to buy.  After bragging about it, I found that one of them also place the empty roll of toilet paper underneath the extras, instead of recycling and refilling it.  oh, children.  

I took a picture of some rocks so that the kids could compare.

To the milk chocolate candy rocks that I bought at Horrock's.  All of them thought they wer pretty cool, and enjoyed pranking their friends, by eating 'rocks' at lunch.

Juliet had what looked like a gash on her leg, luckily it was just a piece of wet leaf!

However, Grace did have a small injury in the same spot!  Thankfully, hers was already bandaged.

The girls "hanging" around one afternoon.

A cute 'five minute' hairstyle that came across my feed. ponytail -> divide into thirds -> braid one third -> braid with other two thirds -> loosen plaits!  Next time I'll start with one of the other sides, since the braid didn't show up until the fourth twis!

 Today was another fun hairstyle: pumpkin! I personally liked the better the first way.

But grace really wanted some fabric on it, so we found an orange sock!  

I can't wait to see how well it stayed (or didn't) when she gets home today!

later days