Been Busy

Well...we've had a lot going on these past few weeks. After spending 2 weeks in Arkansas (Hello, Little Henry!), we made it back home safe and sound. The plan was to get home and get ready for school, because I wanted to start on September 1, 2009. Well...that's not happening.

I decided to take an additional 2 weeks off before starting school again. We will officially start on September 15, 2009. Both the girls and I needed these additional days to finish unwinding and to also get some extra stuff done that we normally don't have time to do.

I have had the girls doing "chores" everyday for at least 1 hour, sometimes up to 5. We are reorganizing our school drawers, shelves, desks, etc. They have also been scrubbing cabinet doors, walls, base boards, refrigerators, counters, bathrooms, book shelves, etc. Niah has been cleaning inside the drawers and cabinets in the kitchen and reorganizing them. Kiahna has been organizing the shoes, helping to fold and sort the laundry, and scrubbing the floors. Aliya has been learning how to clean the bathrooms "with real soap"...I used to only let her use water and a sponge. If they complain or delay in doing their chores, they get to do an extra one. I have been happy to have the house in better shape. It also keeps them from becoming too lazy and unmotivated--THAT would make starting school harder if all they were used to doing was watch TV and tease each other.

Speaking of chores, we are now having to vacuum up to 4 times a day (instead of just 1 or 2) because Isaiah is crawling. HE REALLY IS!!! It's hard to believe that he actually is mobile. He started crawling while we were in Arkansas. TJ got to see his first few scoots! Now Isaiah is moving a long pretty fast. However, his gear is stuck in FORWARD. He will crawl into the tiniest corner and cry because he can't back himself up. It's really cute to watch him!

The kids would like to convince you that all we do is chores...BUT we have found time to do some fun things, too. Besides all the fun we had in Arkansas, we have spent a lot of time at the zoo and the park as well as play dates with friends. TJ and I are going to take the kids to the Tiger Safari this weekend. TJ has been wanting to take them there for YEARS. He plans to take them camping if they're open (they haven't decided yet if they are going to open up the camping sites over the holiday weekend). Tomorrow we are going to the park for a picnic. Thursday we are going to have some friends come over to play, and Friday we are going to the zoo with some more friends. It's going to be a fun filled week! Oh...and we still are going to do chores!

For some big news...we finally have a home telephone. I know...I know. It's shocking! We haven't had a home phone for almost 3 years. The main reason being that I hate the idea of spending more money on phone service when we already pay enough for cell phones. It took a lot of time (over a year now!) to decide to finally get hooked up again. My cell phone doesn't have great reception in our apartments. It has been very frustrating to always have calls fade in and out...not to mention all the dropped calls! I also wanted the kids to have access to a phone in case of an emergency. My cell phone would not be the phone to use for an emergency simply because you would waste precious time finding it! I also have a hard time hearing my cell phone ring. If I have the phone charging in my room, I can't hear it if I am at the computer desk. If my phone is at the desk, I can't hear it ring if I am in my room changing Isaiah or folding laundry. Having a home phone at least solves THAT problem!

For more exciting news, I finally took Aliya to an optical shop today and ordered her prescription sunglasses. She is VERY excited about that! We have tried to find some sunglasses that would fit over her regular glasses, but we never could find any that worked the way we needed them to. Now she will have her own REAL pair, and she's excited! I'm excited that we don't have to pay for them--they are covered by our insurance! That makes me happy!

Also during our break, I have been using this time to bake and cook some NEW things. The next item on my list are bagels! Niah is excited about that, because she LOVES bagels! I have also learned how to sear food. I know that sounds simple if you have always known how to do it, but I have not. I didn't know that you had to have the pan VERY HOT. I always kept the pan on med to med/high and then the veggies or meats would boil instead of cook/sear. I have also been experimenting with cast iron cookware...it's a well-kept cooking secret! It really does make the food taste better!

In my "free time" I have been completing several sewing projects. We recently have had to move Isaiah's mattress to the lowest setting, so I had to adjust the hem on his crib skirt. I have also repaired bedding and made curtains. I still need to make another basket liner for Isaiah's changing table. I'm sure there are more things that I would love to work on, but I'm running out of time. It will have to wait until our next break.

Well, I think that about wraps it up. We have been busy, but in a good way. I actually feel like I'm on vacation...not the Bahamas kind...but the kind where you do something different than what you normally do everyday.