Farm Trip

Samantha’s class had their annual petting farm fieldtrip this past week and we all tagged along.  It really is a cute place, even if it is far away (it’s out past East Troy).  I was hesitant to bring Carter, I thought he would be pushy and make it hard for the littler kids to have a good time, but he fit right in, and did great.  He and Samantha spent most of the day like this:

He caught chickens for her:

And of course for himself.  And I totally regret getting him the transition lenses – they don’t work so well for outdoor pictures. You may not have known this, but Carter is a goat whisperer.  Actually, the goat was probably trying to eat his face.  The pony rides are always a favorite.  There was no hanky panky this year, like there was last year.  Even Ben got to ride.  He thought he was too cool to hold on though and then blamed the handler when he almost fell off.  Look at that evil eye. The hayride is always fun.  You know, they smash a thousand 3 and 4 year olds in a trailer and take us for a 10 minute ride.  Good times.  This is Sammy’s BFF of the moment, Anya. Mike has always wanted a pot belly pig for a pet.  Although the kids enjoyed giving this one a little bum rub, I can’t get over the nastiness of the whole thing.  There will be no pig pets for me.  And as a random side note, turkeys have to be the ugliest creature on the face of the earth.  This one looked like it stuck its head in a bowl of wax and then drip dried.  I guess that rules out turkeys as pets too.  Too bad, they could really come in handy as food storage…

One tooth-less kid

Carter lost his first tooth tonight!  It’s been loose for a little while now, and it finally came out tonight!  It’s a good thing, because he already has the replacement coming in behind it.  Here’s hoping that it straightens out now that it has a little bit more room!

He was so proud! Then he started feeling a little bit queasy…And it went downhill from there. He went pale, got cold and clammy and headed for the bathroom to hug the toilet.  Apparently the sight of blood makes him sick.  The kid can break a leg and not break a sweat, but show him a little bit of blood coming from his gums and he loses it.  Go figure. My baby’s growing up!

The princesses

I think that girls are hard-wired somehow to love princesses.  I personally don’t remember ever being in love with them.  That may have had something to do with the media black hole that is the 80’s and early 90’s for me.  Maybe I just missed them when I was at that vulnerable age.  Anyways, back to the topic… Me and the kids went rummaging the other day and Samantha brought along some of her money in case she found something that she loved.  She still had $8 in her pocket when we were done.  We had to run to Wal-Mart to pick up Carter’s new glasses (he broke the first pair already) and that money was just burning a hole in Sammy’s pocket.  She would look at anything brightly colored – at one point checking out the razor isle.  Lip gloss, brushes, you name it and she was trying to buy it.  Finally we got to the fish isle.  Turns out you can buy pretty much everything you need to set up a goldfish bowl for about $8.  Meet the princesses –Ariel, Aurora and Bell.  Apparently Bell looks like a grandpa to Carter.  Don’t ask me who is who, because it changes on a daily basis. 

I was trying to set her up for the eventual death of one of them by just mentioning how one would probably die fairly soon.  For the next few days, she would say “I’m just going to go see if one of them died”.  Then a surprised “they’re still alive!”.  I hope don’t expect them to last long with how much she feeds them and the trauma that they go through on almost a daily basis.  Who knows though?  Maybe they will last forever and she can take them to college with her.  Although by then she may have to change their names. 

Night at the zoo

Tonight they had a special night at the zoo to celebrate the new butterfly exhibit.  Please take note, I am blogging about something within 24 hours of it happening.  It may never happen again.  Anyways, since I am a single mom this evening, I thought we would get out of the house.  I’m glad we did.  There were crafts, which Carter was very focused on…If only real bugs were this cute.  Ben got to use markers, which pretty much makes the night a success for him. I love, love, love this picture of Ben.  He had no idea what to think of the train.  When the conductor blew the whistle, he jumped in my lap and didn’t leave for the rest of the ride. As for the butterflies, apparently they thrive at temperatures rivaling those at the gateway of hell. With 178% humidity. I got my camera out to get a picture of Samantha holding one and everything fogged right up. So imagine her holding a cute little butterfly, and you get the picture. We lasted about 10 minutes in that sweaty sauna. 

All in all, a successful day. I don’t see what’s so hard about single parenting. Kidding! I know it’s not all butterflies and tattoos.  

Did I mention there were tattoos there too?  That last sentence would probably make a lot more sense if I had. 

Worth it.

Tonight out of the blue, Ben came up behind me, gave me a hug and said “I love you mom”.  Of course it wasn’t that clear, but it’s definitely what he said. It’s the first time he’s just said it without me saying it first.  I have to say it totally melted my heart.  These little moments are what makes it all worth it. 

Story time!

Once upon a time there was a bathroom. It was an ugly bathroom. An ugly bathroom in an ugly house. It sat, unused and unclean for months while it waited for a new owner to come and save it from it’s ugliness. It had a pink toilet. And a pink sink…And yes, a pink tub. And a nasty floor. And tile that was covering moldy walls that were caving in. This bathroom was tired of looking so bad and feeling so unloved. One day, the new owners that it had dreamed of came along. That bathroom was hopeful as they quickly got rid of that pink toilet, cleaned up the place, and put in new flooring. Soon after came a new white vanity. And a fancy electrical outlet.

But then the progress stopped. That poor bathroom watched as every other room in the house was painted. It became even sadder when the upstairs bathroom was finished and the owners stopped using its shower. Month after month it sat there, half finished, with 4 of its faux tiles popped off where the outlet now sat. It started to think that it would never be pretty. It tried to get some attention by turning off all hot water pressure in the winter, leaking under the sink, and even springing a wax ring leak under the toilet (unbeknownst to the owners).

Then one day, the owners' uncle – Sam, I think it was, sent them a check. And soon after that check came, a nice man named Scott came. Scott cut out that nasty faux tile, pulled up the floor and tore that bathroom apart! Then, a nice man named Tom, and his plumber friend Derek came along and make it all look new! They replaced pipes and hung drywall. They tiled the floor and shower and put in a new tub. By the end of the month, that bathroom felt hotter than a teenage girl headed to prom!

And so, without further adieux, let me introduce the star of our story, Downstairs Bathroom!I love the trim in the shower. It’s kind of hard to get good lighting in there, but you get the gist. I have to toot my own horn here – this was the first time that I have ever used our miter saw on my own. And if I do say so myself, that is one fine looking laundry chute.

I have to admit, it’s now one of my favorite rooms in the house. Come stop by and cop a squat (is that really what it’s called?)! Or just wash your hands, or whatever.

Stay tuned for the story of upstairs kitchen/family room.