It's coming along....

....but slowly.

We are listing our home for sale (if all goes as planned) in mid August. That's the plan. The plan is actually very complex... and I don't feel like sharing all the details... but we are going to 'test' the market this fall and see.

I fluctuate regarding my feelings about moving. Sometimes I am excited for the adventure, the newness... and sometimes, like today, I would rather just stay. I love our house. It is so stinkin gorgeous (to me) even though it doesn't have all the amenities we wish it had. (like a large yard or dining room) I wish we could just zap this house to a bigger lot! ha

I'm like that lady at the garage sale selling her babies clothes. That onesie for $2.oo because it was her baby's - but really it is worth about .25 - that's me. I think our house is worth FAR more than the comp says. I keep saying how gorgeous it is compared to.... (fill in the blank) and I can't believe we have to sell it for 'so little'.

(Like that rant????)

Here is what I have cleaned, staged and actually taken pictures of:
yes... that's a tiny little toilet room. But it is clean. And shiny. tada!



I have also cleaned, staged and packed the nursery, but the carpet needs shampooing, and the curtain rod needs tweaking, so no pics of that yet. My son's room is cleaned... but not completely staged, so none of that yet either.

Mommy's dirty little secret

We are planning to list our house to move. This involves a lot of cleaning out on my part. Things we live with just don't look so good around the house when it comes to showing the house.
Soooo... as many of you have done, I'm packing up all the excess clutter and moving it to a storage garage across the street to clear and de-clutter the house.

This is simple when it comes to movies, games, books, clothes..... but there is one little tiny problem..... TOYS.

This is my solution:
First of all - the most favorite of toys are left here in the rooms, but neatly hidden and tucked away.
Second of all, the junk and broken toys are thrown in the trash.
These two steps are going over well with the children.

There is another category of toys that is a little more dicey though. The toys that we will keep, but don't need to be in the rooms right now, and the toys that need to go to thrift stores because they are outgrown, or no longer loved.

The problem is.... the kids think the toy they haven't played with since they were one is now their favorite toy. So as I pack the thrift store box and the 'to the storage garage' box... I tell them they are both going to the same place. The storage garage. But they are not.

We make a run to the storage garage, they see the boxes going in and they are okay.
Meanwhile, I have secretly been dropping the things that they didn't remember they had until I dug them out of the recesses of their closets and under the bed to charity.

What will I do when we eventually unpack, and miracle upon miracle, they actually ask for one of those unused toys??? No problem. I will just tell them it must have been lost in storage or during the move. Am I planning to lie to my kids... I guess so!! :) I'd rather blame it on the storage facility than on me. But, honestly, I don't think I'll ever have to deal with that. I can't even remember what is in the bags and I just packed one yesterday!

Now that you know my secret..... shhhh! ;)

Here's Lady!

I told you we got a dog at the beginning of June. Here she is:


Starved, bony, skittish. Unsure. But happy to be in a safe place. A home.
She was abused, her nails had grown into circles - all the way back up into her paw. She was shaved down due to matted fur. She didn't even know how to go up or down stairs - and she is 8 years old. I think she was caged and not allowed to roam.

And... yes, I know... this isn't the best picture, but here she is now. She is getting fatter, growing her hair out... looking more like a ....dog. She is still a little jumpy. We're like..."c'mon Lady... relax!" But maybe that will come. :)

it's a sign...

..that perhaps you have waited too long between cleanings of the bathroom when your five year old walks in on you and says, "What's that smell?!?!", while scrunching up her nose.

"Cleaning products", you say.

"Hhmmph! .... never smelt that before!" as she spins and walks out of the room leaving me to seriously ponder my household skills.....

Thanks honey.... there's nothing like a start to the day that makes me question myself as a capable adult and parent! ha!:)

crazy weekend - in review

Here's a quick snapshot of the weekend. I had no idea we were in for what happened!

I decided late Friday, that since I'm clearing out our home of clutter and baby stuff, I'd host an impromptu garage sale Saturday morning. Usually I plan a couple of weeks for garage sales, but somehow pulled this one off in a matter of hours. And you know what?? Signs got made and hung, customers came and pretty much cleared us out, the change box had enough change for all the purchases and my house got emptied out. That's a good day my friends, a good day. But that was just the start.

The kids had their very first lemonade stand. It was a success! So much so that we ran out of lemonade and had to switch to peach tea, and then eventually we ran out of cups and had to close the stand. Now that is a great first time for the kids! They made plenty of money to split up amongst themselves.


I almost got struck by lightning. I really am not kidding you. Won't forget that anytime soon. I knew one of our afternoon thunderstorms was rolling in and I still had a card table at the edge of the garage. I ran out to get it as I heard the first few drops of rain falling - hoisting the metal legs above my head as I swung the still open table into the garage. As soon as I set it down and stood back in the open garage door about to grab something else, the whole garage and outside flashed a blinding light all around me and at the EXACT same time a thundering boom sounded above my head. See... lightning is supposed to come before thunder - not at the same time. So, I knew it was literally right on top of me. I was shaking from the scare and ran in the house. The garage wouldn't shut. I thought maybe the lightning struck the house. I ran into the house to make sure that everyone was okay (Patrick was using a power saw in the basement - was he okay?? - he was) But it was seriously scary. (that's the short of it - but you get the idea. I'm pretty sure you can not physically be closer to lightning without getting struck. My ears hurt (rang) from the boom for about 20 mins.

I had a sandwich and soda for dinner - and I made the bread and the soda. Now, I know, it is not really novel to make bread. But I made the soda! Yum! I was so proud of myself!


We decided to list our home (as in for sale). Yes, that's right. Move. (my family doesn't know this yet - and I hope I get to tell them before they read it on here...)
So we spent other hours of the weekend, caulking baseboards in the basement and packing boxes for storage. Well - let me be clear. We are going to try to move (in this market) and see what happens. One of those 'walk through the doors until God closes it' kind of thing. We love where we are, so we could live here for years to come if need be.

I took care of someone's house while they were on vacation - (watered yards, garden, etc.)

Okay - actually all this happened on Saturday. I'm drawing a blank on Sunday right now, but let me tell you - it was a busy, crazy, but great weekend. Life if sooooo full - but I'm loving (almost) every minute of this adventure.

I forget who said this but I once heard, "Life is either a daring adventure - or nothing at all." That's great!

random lady talk from a party..

....produces really weird conversations. This is a snapshot of a discussion, and I thought it was particularly funny, because, alas, I am one of those wives!

Pastor's wives and Doctor's wives:

~ Both have husbands that work holidays - because some needs just don't take a holiday

~ Have hubbies that work both really amazing, and really yucky, hours - depending on the day and/or season

~ Both have hubbys that get 'emergency calls' late at night, that ... frankly...aren't really emergencies

~ Husbands may have to work a weekend here or there...

~ Both spouses help to heal or better the people that need them

~ Both have people walk up to the family in public and talk to the husband... and then talk to you (the wife) and/or the kids like they know you..except you have no idea who they are. This can be especially interesting if they tell a story about you or the kids. "I heard you went to California this year, that's where I'm from... my aunt and uncle used to live on the coast and....." (mmm... thanks for sharing in the middle of this store with my four kids in tow... but nice meeting you!)

~ Both husbands do a lot of ministry

So... I was laughing because I can relate and think this is funny. Plus, it just goes to show when women get together we can literally talk about anything... no matter how off-the-wall. PS: sis - hope you enjoy - it made me think of you, since you also, were one of the wives! :)

Hope your Friday is going well! Have a great weekend!

Dishwasher soap update

Okay, so I didn't tell you about the soap until I knew it worked. It worked.

And then... over the July 4th holiday weekend...it stopped. The soap was leaving a film and nasty-ness on all our glass things! RRRRRrrrr!!! The cascade left a film on the plastics, the natural stuff, a film on the glass! Frustrating.....

Sooooo... I did something that is supposed to fix the problem. You add citric acid. (you know - the stuff added to applesauce or banana baby food so they don't turn brown, also a form of Vitamin C)

So the recipe is as it was, but with the same amount of Citric acid as salt:

1/2 cup each: Washing Soda and Borax
1/4 cup each: Coarse salt and Citric Acid

Shake your container and still use one tablespoon per load.

It seems to do the trick and solve the problem. We will see... we will see....

kids perspective...

I was regaling the kids with stories from the past at breakfast the other day.... and then I said,

"When GG (my mom their g-ma) was a little girl...."

And then Vivianne interrupted me with, "But GG was never a little girl like me... she's just a grandma!!"


I guess, even though they know I was a little girl (to some extent) and that GG is mommy's mom.... GG herself was never that little!! hahahaha!