The Price we Pay

So, here is a thoughtful post for you today.

How much is convenience and price worth? You may remember me blogging about my experiences with a certain picture studio. I am not saying all studios of this franchise are like this, but dang if it wasn't completely frustrating!

The first time I went in, they were experiencing technical difficulties. Not their fault. I understand. We took some pictures. They got lost in the fix, and had to reschedule a re-shoot, because by the time we waited to try to fix it, then take the pictures anyway before fixing it, then fix it and discover the loss the kids were waaaaay past picture taking time.

Fast forward to a week later, where they are super busy, I wait for almost an hour an a half before I can actually get the pictures taken. By then, the kids are pretty much past the point of taking pictures, but we still get some decent ones. They comp me a few for the past technical difficulties, and send me on my way with a promise to call into the plant with a special request on one of the pictures to try to edit out a shadow in one of the poses.

Fast forward 2 weeks later to my pick up date. I take my children out of their car seats, haul them all inside to ask for my pictures, only to find they aren't there. When the lady at the studio calls headquarters to find out where they are, they were pulled to do the editing, and for some reason put on hold and never finished. They are at a complete stand still, not edited, not printed, and certainly not ready to pick up. It takes an hour to find all this out, on the phone with different people. They comp me some more picture, and tell me that they put a rush on it, and hopefully they will be back in a week. The studio lady says she will call me when they come in.

Fast forward to last week (which was 2.5 weeks later). Lady from the studio calls me and says the pictures are finally in. Apparently, they have been back for a few days, but no one bothered to call me.

So, my dilemma is this. They are cheaper than my previous picture taking franchise. They are closer than my previous picture taking franchise. And, the pictures are decent quality. But, how much frustration is it worth to save a few bucks and not have to drive the extra 10 minutes? Nothing in my experience with these people suggest anything will change.

Playing together

Kaitlyn and Dylan have been forced to play together. And, after about 2 weeks, they have finally realized that there might be other playmates in the house now that Kari is no longer the glue to entertain them, I mean, hold them together.

The unfortunate thing about them playing together is that they are my loudest children... And when they get together, they are loud together. Its not a pretty picture....

Although, it is pretty cute.... :)

Who lives in a Pineapple under the Sea?

My creative, craft loving, oldest child has decided that this week is a week of birthdays for her cuddle toys. Each day belongs to a different toy. During that day, she plays with them the most, tells them stories, gives them a gift made by her very own hands, then allows them the honor of sleeping with her at night (while the rest of the toys just sleep in the bed beside her). King Spongebob acquired his crown eons ago, in a previous round of gift giving. But, every King needs a throne! And, that is what King Spongebob got. In truth, I don't think she was planning on giving anyone else anything at first. King Spongebob was her "Not so imaginary" "Imaginary friend." Which was fine with me. They played together. Cleaned up together. Brushed their teeth together. I was even ok when King Spongebob started speaking for Kari, saying things such as "King Spongebob says Kari is Hungry" and "King Spongebob says Kari wants a treat." Ok, but not thrilled. However, King Spongebob (and his maker) almost got put in time out when the King started saying things like "King Spongebob says Kari doesn't have to clean up." Mommy does not do well when stuffed toys try to overrule her...

Gary got a "shell cap." That way, when it starts raining (indoors?), he can pull himself into his shell, under his new shell cap, and not get wet!

See? Look how thrilled he is!!!

Patrick got a brand spanking new pair of pants.

And poor ol' twisted Squidward got a new bracelet.

The place of honor on the dresser.

For those of you interested, I am not really all that fond of Spongebob. I think they are gross, and weird. Kinda the Ren and Stimpy for this generation, if you will. But, not quite as gross.... (Sorry for the blasphemy Piko....)

Bathroom Stories

As per request, I have a bathroom funny to tell.

I always tell the girls to go potty before we leave, or go to bed, or take a nap, or go downstairs, or go to the kitchen, or get in the car, or read a story, or brush our teeth, or eat dinner, or, well, you get the idea. You would think I would learn that no matter how many time I make them go before we leave, one will always have to go in the store, on the car, or on the road somewhere. I persist, nonetheless, in my requests, assuming that one day my persistence will pay off, and we will make it through a shopping trip without a trip to the restrooms. I will let you know when that happens, but don't hold your breath. So, they race to the bathroom, and whomever gets there first gets to potty first. Even though neither of them had the need, felt the desire, or even knew the bathroom existed 2 seconds ago, I say the magic word, and suddenly, their bladders are to the point of bursting, and if they hold it one more second they will explode. The slow poke will try to convince the winner that his need is far greater by saying, and I quote, "But, the pee pee is coming out!"

The End.

And Pouring

Is that man a glutton for punishment or what? Pop actually volunteered to come back and help with the pouring. Volunteered! Is that man crazy, or what? You would have thought he learned his lesson the first time. But Pop doesn't shy away from any opportunity to hang out with his son, be loved by his grandchildren, or to play with tools.... Put them all together, and we have a magnetic force greater than any man can resist. Its like he is made of metal shavings or something :) Its true, with all this work we have forced him to do, we may have taken 10 years off his life, but, I don't think he minds. He doesn't want to get much older than 80 anyway.... :)

The walls have been prepped. The floor has been dug and refilled. All thirty 80 lb bags of concrete have been loaded into the truck, unloaded from the truck into the house, and then (4 at a time) loaded into the cement mixer.... I'm telling you, no one needed a workout after that. And here they are, pouring the first load.

Sorry for the grainy-ness of the shot. Too much concrete in the air.

Hubby supervising as Pop is down behind the mixer spreading.
It's not all supervisory work... He had to get under the stairs to help spread. Yeah. Laundry that week wasn't pretty either. My poor washing machine.

Kari wanted to help. Kaitlyn just wanted to get in the way. So, Kaitlyn came upstairs with Dylan and I, and Kari stayed downstairs to help. She had the opportunity to trowel the concrete, and she was the official "water adder" to the mixer.

She loved that cool hose attachment.

Spread and smooth. Spread and smooth. That black stuff is a special layer over the pipe and gravel to help with mold/mildew issues.

Kari's after picture. Her hair, eyebrows, eyelashes, and shirt were a dirty shade of grey. Very similar to, um, well, concrete....

And, I know this has nothing to do with anything, but I have to feel bad for the poor stereo... Its been through quite a bit.

Yeah. That's who I feel the worst for in this whole scenario. The stereo. Definitely the stereo.

Recess Dilemma

Kari's story:

Kari: My 2 best friends were fighting over me at recess today. They both wanted me to play with them, but they didn't want to play together.

Me: So what did you do?

Kari: I went and made a new friend. His name is Christopher. And we became boyfriend and girl friend.

Me: ..... (pause) Um..... Ok. What do boyfriends and girlfriends do together?

Kari: They are nice to each other. They pick up stuff if the other drops it.

Me: Ok....

The end.

Martha Speaks

Have you ever seen that show on PBS? That's what this makes me think of. Sorta....

Actually, Dylan Speaks! :)

I am trying to translate in the back ground for posterity's sake....

Aprilynne

Yeah. We are on a first name basis, her and I. Me and She. Us... Not. She doesn't even know I exist. She doesn't know who I am, or where I am from, or what I do. But, I figured I would tell you all the things I enjoyed about her first two books.

I read this book based on a recommendation from a friend ('s blog). Of course, there is a quote from Stephenie Meyer on the front, so, it must be good, right? Actually, there were some similarities to Stephenie's book in that both are fairy tales come to real life, and there is a love triangle going on in high school. However, I found the main character, Laurel, to be less annoying than Bella (which is always a plus). The "high school" love thing is a bit annoying also. But, it's possible it annoys me so much because I have been married for over 8 years now and don't really remember that whole teen aged angst thing. There always seems to be one who is quite protective, and one who is more laid back, but... that comes with the territory I suppose. If both boys were exactly the same, it wouldn't be a good book.


The second book delves deeper into the characters relationships, as well as their history. You get more into the fantasy world. And you get to imagine and dream a bit. The love triangle gets a bit tricky. And you go through all that angst all over again. Blah. But, in a decently good way. By the second book, however, I was pretty hooked and really enjoyed the development going on.
The third book will hopefully be published soon (and in publishing talk, that means in the next year). Which, isn't soon enough, in my book (get it... my book?!?!)

I didn't want to give too much information, in case you haven't read them yet. I didn't want to spoil the surprise for anyone. Needless to say, they are quick reads (one book being 200 pages, the other around 250). They were very enjoyable, easy to follow, and very interesting.

I give them 2 thumbs, way up! And quite highly recommend them. :)

Empathy

I seriously have some of the best children. Ever. Seriously. Look at them! They are pretty cute. And, mostly well behaved. They are generally good sleepers. They aren't particularly sickly. They are usually good eaters (even if almost every meal starts with "I don't want that" they usually forget their protests and eat what is in front of them).

I also enjoy being a mother. When I am not being poked, prodded, begged, "accompanied", sat/climbed on, whined at, covered in some unsavory bodily fluid, or reffing a fight that is. I enjoy reading to them. I enjoy watching them learn (often times through no effort of my own). I enjoy cuddling (with those who like to be cuddled). I enjoy watching them play together. I enjoy watching them grow (even though I don't *really* enjoy that part). I enjoy dressing them up, and dressing them down. I enjoy watching them impress others, or hear other talk about how decent they are :)

But, lets face the reality here: Being a home maker, currently unemployed and not looking for work, a stay at home mom, is a hard job. And I do mean difficult in every sense of the word. There are days that it is physically hard: when I have a 25 lb bowling ball, er, I mean, son, who is fussy and wants me to hold him. All. Day. Long. There are some days when it is stressful: when children are sick or tired, and whiny and fighting all day long. There are days when it is emotionally hard: especially during those "growing experiences" (and believe me, I know... it will only get worse from here). There are days when it is mentally taxing: trying to get everything fit into the schedule, while making time for everything, and forgetting nothing. I know there are harder jobs. I know there are people who stand on their feet all day long in a factory somewhere lifting 80 lb bags of something 100 times per hour. Or jobs that are so stressful people develop ulcers and take Zantac for the rest of their lives. Or jobs that require math so far above my head, I start to wonder if someone fell asleep on a foreign keyboard because of all the strange numbers, letters, and symbols involved.

I am not saying my job is worse. In fact, it is probably better, because along with the bad, I get the good. I get the cuddles along with the sick child. I get the frustration of the teaching as well as the satisfaction of the learning. I get the headache of the planning as well as the fun of the watching/participating. But, every once in a while, it is nice to be noticed. Nice to be appreciated. I'm not talking about Mother's day, with flowers, and breakfast in bed (although that is nice :). I mean, just little comments. The "You know, you have a ton of patience to be able to deal with this kinda stuff day in and day out" that my husband recently said. Or the "Mothers of small children have to be so well organized" that a male friend at church recently said. Or the "Your children are so well behaved. They must be loved" from the random stranger at the store. Or the "Where is the me time when you are watching kids?" comment from another male friend who had babysat several small children over the weekend. Or the "Although I sometimes wish I could stay home with the kids, I will admit that it may not be all fluff and chocolates" comment from my hubby. You know, those kinds of things. They are nice to hear. Every once in a while. It almost makes you think they understand what you are going through. :)

Just Readin'

Dylan likes book. Specifically, he likes to tear the pages out of books. Then, tear those pages into little pieces. Then tear those pieces into little tiny pieces. Then put those little tiny pieces into his mouth and poop them out a few days later. True story. Thankfully, it has only happened once. I wizened up a little bit, and have hence kept a better eye on the paper books. I would love to move them out of his reach, but the girls like to read them, and he can reach just about anywhere they can without crawling on something. And encouraging my children to climb on things is not something I would win the World's Best Mother Award for, so, lets just leave it at that.

However, when I allowed him to play with the board books, this is what I found:

The boy likes to "read."

It's pretty cute actually.

Pardon the darkness. But, if I had taken the time to turn on the light, I would have missed that cute little opportunity.

Its even cuter when he is lying on the couch next to me.

I rest my case.

Smitten

While the girls were gone, this little boy and I had fun getting close.

I think I can officially say I am one smitten kitten. :)

Soccer

What better way to spend one of the rare cool (ish) summer mornings in Alabama then by playing with your new soccer ball?!?!

And, who doesn't play soccer in a leotard and shiny red shoes?

Don't know what she is doing, but I love the face :)
Action shot! Kari is patiently being the goal at the other end.

I'm not 100% sure she meant to do this, or that she had actually tried it before,

but, I love this action shot as well :)

Chasing it this way.

Kicking it that way.

They actually played decently well together.

Kaitlyn's kick got so close. Don't worry, Kari gave her another shot.

This was after Kari got hurt. It was a traumatic experience.

And, this was the plane they stopped to admire.

And this is little brother. (With a rather artistic reflection in the back ground,

if I do say so myself.... And I do)

Doing what little brother does best when he is stuck behind the glass door. And that is make sweet little smudge marks. I have given up wiping them off... Its just an uphill battle I figure I will never win, so why try, ya know?

Interesting technique.

Super Soccer Kick.

Run! Get it! Kick it! Play Soccer! Go go go!!!

It must not have been all that bad, cuz she kept doing it. (I also love the braid in the front)

Get it Kaitlyn!

Now he has taken to rolling around on the floor. Hey! At least he is happy.

Observe the smudge marks.

Goal!

The game tied. 1 - 1. A great time was had by all :)

And filling...

Bare with me. The basement pictures are slowly coming to a halt. But I figure I got you into this mess, and if I didn't finish, then you would be all incomplete, and would worry about how that basement is going, and it would keep you up at nights. So, I am gonna complete the project with you for the sake of your sanity. It's just the kinda girl I am. First we had the digging. Then, there was more digging.... And now we start to get to the good stuff. Filling in the holes :)

Early one morning before the work started.

Testing the trench and the pipe to make sure it was to grade.
Surrounded by gravel and filter fabric to keep out as much dirt as possible.

Gravel in the bottom of the sump pump pit.

Getting ready to gravel the whole thing in... Just holding down the fabric for now.Gravel on top to prep for the other filter and concrete.

All swept up. Getting ready for the pour.

I'm such a good cleaner. That's my job. I am the manual labor. And the cleaner.

Almost done! I know, I am excited too!