October Braindump
This will be a large post. October was a busy, stressful month and this could get long. With pictures. :)
Virginia's 8th birthday party was on October 1st, so that feels like a good place to start. I found a Groupon for a swimming party earlier this year so she was able to invite a bunch of her buddies (we had around 22 kids, including our 3) to an indoor swimming pool. They had a blast and she got a lot of Monster High dolls. I am torn on these dolls. The idea is interesting, they are the teenage children of classic movie monsters. However, I am not impressed with the way the dolls work. They are so slender that in order to get the shirts on, their arms and hands have to be removable. I am not looking forward to the first peg breaking. But she and Natalie really enjoy them. She also received a variety of gift cards. I made her do a lot of shopping, over many days, before I let her use the Target cards. In the end, she purchased 2 tshirts and a new doll. It is a Hearts for Hearts doll. She chose Dell because "she is the most like me, Mom". She even pointed out that unlike the American Girl dolls or the Our Generation dolls, some of the money from these dolls is donated. I think I have done something right with this girl.
Sam and Natalie started swimming lessons on Saturday the 8th. Unfortunately, I was slow on the draw and didn't manage to get Virginia a place. I put her on a wait list for this session (4 classes) and for the next (6 sessions). She didn't manage to get into the first session but I did get her into the second one. So she started in November. Sam has finally conquered his water terror and is now enjoying himself in the water. At the end of the first session (October 29th) he was promoted to level 2 preschool. He was so happy. When I sign them up for the sessions beginning in January, I will need to take them out of the preschool classes but I have been told that the older levels teach similar lessons so they will go into level 2 youth.
The fall rummage sale that the twin's club puts on was October 15th. I did ok (took home $330.36, after the fees were taken out) but the take from the sale gets smaller each time. I don't have the big baby items to sell and the kids won't part with the big toys so I am stuck with clothes. Ginny's go to Nat so the larger stuff is out. It is getting to the point where I don't know why i bother anymore. Oh, well. It is better than a donation.
My mom came into town on Oct 13th, to help me with the kiddos. Bonnie and Larry arrived on Friday the 14th. We had a great time and she spoiled us all rotten. :)
Mom left on Wednesday the 19th. Thursday the 20th was an early release day, so I thought I would climb up into the attic to get the Halloween decorations out. The kids love decorating the house so I thought it would make the afternoon pass quickly. Well, go here to see how that worked out.
Chris came in late on Thursday the 20th for his sister Gina's wedding. The kids were flower girls and ring bearer in Gina's wedding. The weekend did not begin well. We headed to the rehearsal and got stuck in an awful traffic jamb. We arrived 30 minutes late. And it wasn't only us, Chris' parents (aka parents of the bride) were behind us. The rehearsal dinner was great. The restaurant had play packs for the kids set up in cute lunch boxes. They were distracted for most of the meal.
On Saturday, Chris took the kids to swimming lessons and I packed to head to the hotel. We reserved a room to make it easier since the kids weren't coming to the reception with us. We had arranged for a sitting service (I won 24 hours of sitting at an auction with our twin's club) to come watch the kids at the hotel while we attended the reception. The reception was at the Dallas Museum of Art and only 1 block away. After we checked in, I contacted the service and told them what room we were in and to tell the sitter to have her car parked using our room number. We ordered pizza to arrive at 5:45 pm (idiots arrived at 5 pm, seriously, what is the point of advanced ordering times if you don't pay attention to them?) and the sitter was to arrive at 5:30 and we were to leave at 6 and come back at 10. Well, 5:30 came and went. At 6, I contacted the service (www.quicksitters.com, don't bother looking for them, they seem to have disappeared in the last week) and asked if they had heard from her. The only way to contact them was via email, so I had to pay $15 for internet service for 15 hours (ripoff). Every time I called their phone number, I got a recording. And so, we waited. The kids were running around having a blast, watching movies and playing with toys. Chris and I were quickly getting angry. At 6:30, I sent another email. I got a response 6 minutes later that they couldn't find her, didn't have a back up, and that they were sorry for the inconvenience and they would honor the gift certificate in the future for the whole 24 hours. RAT BASTARDS! We were hosed! I noticed in the service books the hotel provides that they could provide child care, so I contacted the concierge to see if there was any chance of getting a sitter on such late notice. The man tried 4 services: 2 said no, 1 said not for 2 hours, and the 4th didn't call him back. I thanked him for trying and turned to Chris. We said, we are taking them with. So we changed them back into their fancy clothes, packed a bunch of coloring supplies and toys, called someone at the reception to explain what happened, and walked over.
The kids had a blast but they were certainly attention hogs. And, sigh, Virginia caught the bouquet. The girls danced a lot and Sam colored a lot. By the time 9:30 rolled around, the kids were dropping. Natalie laid down on a couch and cried because she was so tired. We gathered them all and headed back to the hotel. It took a while for them to drop but they were finally asleep by 11. I pulled every drape in the place as tight as possible and the twins were still up at 6 am. groan. We got dressed and packed up and were out of the hotel before 11 and headed to Cafe Brazil for breakfast. It was yummy.
The lovely bride, Gina, and groom, Bryan.
We weren't done with the day yet. It was our 12th anniversary on that Sunday. After we recouped at home for a while, we headed to Chris' parents house for the gift opening festivities. We bailed at 4:30 and left the kids there. We got to have a meal TOGETHER on our anniversary for the first time since 2008. We went to a place called Kona Grill in a swanky local mall (Northpark Mall). It was very good but later I remembered why I don't eat Thai influenced food. The spices don't agree with me at all. Chris insisted on buying some stuff at William-Sonoma for me (Marvel super hero cookie cutters, a Stormtrooper spatula, and a pancake batter dispenser) and a good time was had. We picked the kids up about 8:30 and headed home. He took off on Monday morning. Since we didn't have school on Monday, I made the kids take naps. I even managed to crash for 1.5 hours. I never nap so the weekend had taken its toll.
Then on Wednesday the 26th, at 11 pm, I discovered that the water heater had died. I was standing at the window to the back yard, waiting for our dog to come in so I could go to bed. I realized that the floor felt really cold. Then I realized it was not cold but wet. I bolted to the water heater, shut down the gas and water, grabbed a hose from the back yard, and began to drain it. I put down a bunch of towels to suck up the water. After a while, I realized that the water shut off valve was not shutting off the water. A slow trickle was still going into the tank. I then had to get dressed, find my best flash light, a vice grip plier, and a hand spade and find the water cut off valve. There are 2, one at the street (which I didn't have a key for) and one by the house (which is actually a pressure regulator but it will shut off the water). I shut the easy one off and went to bed. It wasn't easy getting everyone ready in the morning with out water or flushing toilets but I did it. I called the plumber (who made a bunch of money with the gas line leak a month before). He said he had a job to finish first but he would be out between 10 and 11. He came out and got everything fixed up. I didn't even have to replace the carpet and the drywall stayed dry. I shudder to think what would have happened if I had not noticed it that night. Thankfully, my brother was able to help us out cuz we had had far too many cash expenditures this month.
Bonnie and Larry came back on Saturday the 29th to join us for Halloween. Bonnie's birthday is on the 30th and she wanted to take the kids trick or treating for her present. The pic of the kids is here.
Thankfully, November has been far quieter.
Virginia's 8th birthday party was on October 1st, so that feels like a good place to start. I found a Groupon for a swimming party earlier this year so she was able to invite a bunch of her buddies (we had around 22 kids, including our 3) to an indoor swimming pool. They had a blast and she got a lot of Monster High dolls. I am torn on these dolls. The idea is interesting, they are the teenage children of classic movie monsters. However, I am not impressed with the way the dolls work. They are so slender that in order to get the shirts on, their arms and hands have to be removable. I am not looking forward to the first peg breaking. But she and Natalie really enjoy them. She also received a variety of gift cards. I made her do a lot of shopping, over many days, before I let her use the Target cards. In the end, she purchased 2 tshirts and a new doll. It is a Hearts for Hearts doll. She chose Dell because "she is the most like me, Mom". She even pointed out that unlike the American Girl dolls or the Our Generation dolls, some of the money from these dolls is donated. I think I have done something right with this girl.
Sam and Natalie started swimming lessons on Saturday the 8th. Unfortunately, I was slow on the draw and didn't manage to get Virginia a place. I put her on a wait list for this session (4 classes) and for the next (6 sessions). She didn't manage to get into the first session but I did get her into the second one. So she started in November. Sam has finally conquered his water terror and is now enjoying himself in the water. At the end of the first session (October 29th) he was promoted to level 2 preschool. He was so happy. When I sign them up for the sessions beginning in January, I will need to take them out of the preschool classes but I have been told that the older levels teach similar lessons so they will go into level 2 youth.
The fall rummage sale that the twin's club puts on was October 15th. I did ok (took home $330.36, after the fees were taken out) but the take from the sale gets smaller each time. I don't have the big baby items to sell and the kids won't part with the big toys so I am stuck with clothes. Ginny's go to Nat so the larger stuff is out. It is getting to the point where I don't know why i bother anymore. Oh, well. It is better than a donation.
My mom came into town on Oct 13th, to help me with the kiddos. Bonnie and Larry arrived on Friday the 14th. We had a great time and she spoiled us all rotten. :)
Mom left on Wednesday the 19th. Thursday the 20th was an early release day, so I thought I would climb up into the attic to get the Halloween decorations out. The kids love decorating the house so I thought it would make the afternoon pass quickly. Well, go here to see how that worked out.
Chris came in late on Thursday the 20th for his sister Gina's wedding. The kids were flower girls and ring bearer in Gina's wedding. The weekend did not begin well. We headed to the rehearsal and got stuck in an awful traffic jamb. We arrived 30 minutes late. And it wasn't only us, Chris' parents (aka parents of the bride) were behind us. The rehearsal dinner was great. The restaurant had play packs for the kids set up in cute lunch boxes. They were distracted for most of the meal.
On Saturday, Chris took the kids to swimming lessons and I packed to head to the hotel. We reserved a room to make it easier since the kids weren't coming to the reception with us. We had arranged for a sitting service (I won 24 hours of sitting at an auction with our twin's club) to come watch the kids at the hotel while we attended the reception. The reception was at the Dallas Museum of Art and only 1 block away. After we checked in, I contacted the service and told them what room we were in and to tell the sitter to have her car parked using our room number. We ordered pizza to arrive at 5:45 pm (idiots arrived at 5 pm, seriously, what is the point of advanced ordering times if you don't pay attention to them?) and the sitter was to arrive at 5:30 and we were to leave at 6 and come back at 10. Well, 5:30 came and went. At 6, I contacted the service (www.quicksitters.com, don't bother looking for them, they seem to have disappeared in the last week) and asked if they had heard from her. The only way to contact them was via email, so I had to pay $15 for internet service for 15 hours (ripoff). Every time I called their phone number, I got a recording. And so, we waited. The kids were running around having a blast, watching movies and playing with toys. Chris and I were quickly getting angry. At 6:30, I sent another email. I got a response 6 minutes later that they couldn't find her, didn't have a back up, and that they were sorry for the inconvenience and they would honor the gift certificate in the future for the whole 24 hours. RAT BASTARDS! We were hosed! I noticed in the service books the hotel provides that they could provide child care, so I contacted the concierge to see if there was any chance of getting a sitter on such late notice. The man tried 4 services: 2 said no, 1 said not for 2 hours, and the 4th didn't call him back. I thanked him for trying and turned to Chris. We said, we are taking them with. So we changed them back into their fancy clothes, packed a bunch of coloring supplies and toys, called someone at the reception to explain what happened, and walked over.
The kids had a blast but they were certainly attention hogs. And, sigh, Virginia caught the bouquet. The girls danced a lot and Sam colored a lot. By the time 9:30 rolled around, the kids were dropping. Natalie laid down on a couch and cried because she was so tired. We gathered them all and headed back to the hotel. It took a while for them to drop but they were finally asleep by 11. I pulled every drape in the place as tight as possible and the twins were still up at 6 am. groan. We got dressed and packed up and were out of the hotel before 11 and headed to Cafe Brazil for breakfast. It was yummy.
The lovely bride, Gina, and groom, Bryan.
We weren't done with the day yet. It was our 12th anniversary on that Sunday. After we recouped at home for a while, we headed to Chris' parents house for the gift opening festivities. We bailed at 4:30 and left the kids there. We got to have a meal TOGETHER on our anniversary for the first time since 2008. We went to a place called Kona Grill in a swanky local mall (Northpark Mall). It was very good but later I remembered why I don't eat Thai influenced food. The spices don't agree with me at all. Chris insisted on buying some stuff at William-Sonoma for me (Marvel super hero cookie cutters, a Stormtrooper spatula, and a pancake batter dispenser) and a good time was had. We picked the kids up about 8:30 and headed home. He took off on Monday morning. Since we didn't have school on Monday, I made the kids take naps. I even managed to crash for 1.5 hours. I never nap so the weekend had taken its toll.
Then on Wednesday the 26th, at 11 pm, I discovered that the water heater had died. I was standing at the window to the back yard, waiting for our dog to come in so I could go to bed. I realized that the floor felt really cold. Then I realized it was not cold but wet. I bolted to the water heater, shut down the gas and water, grabbed a hose from the back yard, and began to drain it. I put down a bunch of towels to suck up the water. After a while, I realized that the water shut off valve was not shutting off the water. A slow trickle was still going into the tank. I then had to get dressed, find my best flash light, a vice grip plier, and a hand spade and find the water cut off valve. There are 2, one at the street (which I didn't have a key for) and one by the house (which is actually a pressure regulator but it will shut off the water). I shut the easy one off and went to bed. It wasn't easy getting everyone ready in the morning with out water or flushing toilets but I did it. I called the plumber (who made a bunch of money with the gas line leak a month before). He said he had a job to finish first but he would be out between 10 and 11. He came out and got everything fixed up. I didn't even have to replace the carpet and the drywall stayed dry. I shudder to think what would have happened if I had not noticed it that night. Thankfully, my brother was able to help us out cuz we had had far too many cash expenditures this month.
Bonnie and Larry came back on Saturday the 29th to join us for Halloween. Bonnie's birthday is on the 30th and she wanted to take the kids trick or treating for her present. The pic of the kids is here.
Thankfully, November has been far quieter.