DDA Chapter 13

[bethbuchall]

Shower leak -- same shower. The new carpet pad hasn't been down two weeks yet. Andrew was trying to twist the shower head to pulsing or something like that, and evidently pulled on the whole shower head breaking it in the wall... Tons of water came out all over the carpet and pad. Randy first thought we would have to take the shower out (this is a huge shower with two heads, walk-in with no door etc. so it would have been terribly expensive) but he's hoping that he can get to it with some kind of tool he picked up at HD. But, he got the wrong size pipe so we aren't sure yet.

It made such a huge mess. The carpet is still pulled back and the fans are still going. We have to close the bathroom doors so that we can sleep it's so loud. If Randy can get it fixed, I might be able to get the new pad down and restretched before our friends get here Friday.... maybe.



That's a good question. Maybe it didn't like being powerwashed and having the windows cleaned? Know anyone I can have come in to "cleanse" it of the bad Karma before I go broke or lose my mind?

BTW -- I think unlimited texting was only $5 for Andrew's phone. It might be worth it to you to add it to DS's phone for peace of mind. Of course, he'd have to remember to look at it to see if you have texted him...

Oh, no! What a mess!

 

[my3princes]

Hope you alll have a great day...I called in sick to work...I have a terrible cold.

It seems to be hitting most of us

I hope you make lots of money and it doesn't make you feel worse. Do you feel any better today?



You are a good wife! His foot isn't long, just W I D E. Are your kids like that? BTW -- my feet looked like Fred Flinstone feet when I was pregnant with both kids. It hurt really bad to walk.

I'm glad that you're making progress on the house. I am so sorry about the shower though. Either that was a weak pipe or you've got one strong kid there.

Chris has very wide short feet. Nick and Colby's feet are on the wide side, but not as wide as Chris's (yet). Hunter's feet go with the rest of his body, long and thin.

I am feeling better. Each day seems to be a bit better. Thankfully I was never zapped of energy. Of course I have been getting a ton of sleep. Chris and the boys have let me sleep in every morning and Colby and I have had a nap each afternoon. That hasn't given me a lot of productivity, but I definitely feel better

 

[my3princes]

I have a couple of hours before I need to pick up Colby. I guess I'll jump in the shower then see what I can accomplish. The boys rooms are looking messy since I haven't been making them clean them each day. It's my fault, but I've been working so many nights that I've been trying to get some quality time in while we are at home.

 

[Tammi67]

Hope you alll have a great day...I called in sick to work...I have a terrible cold.

Feel better Anne Marie. I was up several times during the night with gunk settling in the back of my throat. I know, disgusting.

 

[Tammi67]

Anne Marie - congrats on 8000!

 

[Tammi67]

Marci - so sorry about the shower. Here's some that Randy can fix it himself.

 

[Tammi67]

So here's a thought. We don't have to continue this thread to 250 pages. We can stop posting here anytime we want and start chapter 14. I'm not a big fan of 13 either, ever since I put $13 of gas in my car and then immediately broke down on my way to PA for my wedding. Should have been a sign, huh?

Maybe getting out of Chapter 13 will de-possess Marci's house!

 

[tink2020]

to everyone battling respiratory crap. It seems to have gotten us all!


And for Marci!

 

[Tammi67]

Could someone please explain to me the difference between and IPod and any other of the MP3 players? I want to get Alyssa one for Christmas. I think the Nano would be better because of the screen, but the Shuffle is more along the lines of what I want to pay. I'd also like to get her the alarm clock docking station. If I get any MP3 player, can it still be docked in an alarm clock? I would load the CDs that she currently has onto it and when anything new comes along I will probably purchase them from Itunes. I'm considering the refurbed Nano but just wanted to see what you all thought.

 

[bethbuchall]

Could someone please explain to me the difference between and IPod and any other of the MP3 players? I want to get Alyssa one for Christmas. I think the Nano would be better because of the screen, but the Shuffle is more along the lines of what I want to pay. I'd also like to get her the alarm clock docking station. If I get any MP3 player, can it still be docked in an alarm clock? I would load the CDs that she currently has onto it and when anything new comes along I will probably purchase them from Itunes. I'm considering the refurbed Nano but just wanted to see what you all thought.

I haven't done a lot of research on any other MP3 players. My older two had small (inexpensive) MP3 players for a while. They didn't have much of a screen and were probably similar to the Shuffle. They did fine with them but really wanted IPods with screens and the ability to pick playlists, etc. They have had those for a couple of years and use them a lot. We don't have any docking stations, etc, but it seems that most accessories are set up to work with the IPods. If you have something else, it may or may not fit. Miles wants an IPod, too, but I don't want to spend that much on one for him yet, and I don't think he'll be happy with the Shuffle. Maybe I'll look into refurbed ones.

 

[babytrees]

Elizabeth - of course it's smart to worry about him. Even if it were stupid, you would still do it, because you're his mom. A very dear friend said something to me once and it has stuck with me. I'll try to remember it as my kids get older. Don't punish them before they do something wrong. You and DH are raising him well, are teaching him the rules and right from wrong. Give him a little. If he handles it, give him a little more. Keep giving, until he hits the wall, and then reign him in when he DOES screw up. Assume that the inevitable will happen. Go over the rules with him, should he choose to leave campus. Who should he contact or leave word with? Kinda like the "Don't ever drink when you plan on driving, but if you do drink call me to come and get you" speech. Tell him what he can't do, but them give him a way out when he does it anyway. Because you know he will. They all do.

Tammi-you put so brilliantly what I was trying to figure out how to say.

 

[babytrees]

I ordered a pair of sandals for Fred Flinstone aka my husband I ordered a 9 6E yep, 6E. He now has a pair of sandals that actually fit He wore them around the house tonight and said they felt like slippers.

Okay, I am trying to picture 6E...and I can't.

Great job finding sandals!!

 

[tinker1bell]

I am so excited. I went shopping last night and bought a built in dishwasher. For over 26 years we had had a Kitchenaid portable and it worked just perfect, but at the end, it was too much to fix so we got a Maytag portable.

I did not figure that Hal would ever want to put in more cabinets in our kitchen, so I did not figure we would need to look at built ins. Well, if he wants to install more cabinets who am I to argue?

I got a Frigidaire that you can put things on the top rack and it knows if the correct button is pushed that it will only wash the top rack. Since it is only Hal and I, sometimes I just need to do a quick wash and now I will be able to do that. He is even going to do the plumbing and electric so in a week I will have cabinets and a dishwasher all on the opposite wall from our existing cabinets in my red kitchen!!!

Last weekend he installed the wood/laminate flooring and it looks really nice. So once the cabinets are in, I will be taking pictures. Now to just convince him he needs to take the existing cabinets and replace them too!!!!

 

[babytrees]

I love the smiley!!

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

Hope you alll have a great day...I called in sick to work...I have a terrible cold.

Feel better, Anne Marie!

8,000!!!!!!!!!!!

Congrats!

Oh, no! What a mess!

Marci, I am sorry about the shower! What a mess.
I haven't looked into adding texting to the phones because all 3 of them are linked under one "umbrella" plan, so we would probably have to add it to all of them. I don't really want texting. DH called DS yesterday and of course DS didn't answer. He never even took his phone out of his backpack. He looked at it once we were back in the car after the game.

He left his jacket somewhere. He thinks it is in the band room. Well, it might have been in the band room last night, but I bet it won't be there today. That will be the second gray Gap hooded jacket he has lost. Of course he's not supposed to wear a gray jacket because it violates the dress code. There is some teacher (not one of his teachers, just some teacher in the halls) who kept griping at him every day that gray jackets don't meet dress code. DS doesn't go down that hallway anymore. I told him to say "I'm sorry, sir. My mom says we don't have money for another jacket."
NONE of the kids have jackets in compliance with the dress code because they aren't allowed to have hoods! Ever try to look for a solid navy jacket with no logo and no hood? He had a navy one last year with a hood but it is too small now. He wore a navy one today but it has a big old logo on it, and it has a hood. Hopefully he will find the gray one. His music folder disappeared last week and he hasn't managed to find that.

Today is DH's birthday. At 4:30 AM he was playing some sort of game that entailed dumping ice into a hard-sided mini cooler. I think the goal was to make as much noise as possible. I was too tired to remember that it was his birthday. DS tried to call him about 6:45 but he never answered his phone. I have no clue what we will do this evening because I don't know what time either one of them will come home. DS didn't even bother to bring his phone with him today. DH said his day ran long yesterday because they had fleet inspection on the trucks and that delayed him over an hour.

 

[babytrees]

8,000!!!!!!!!!!!

Congratulations!!

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

Terry, that sounds like a very nifty dishwasher! Yay for more cabinets, too!

So on the airfare front today:
Our flights are back up to over $800 for the 2 of us. I guess I am going to buy the ones I have on hold for $600 directly through AA.com, because the price on Orbitz is back up now.
I will keep watching and see if maybe the flight DS and I are on might become available for DH to switch to, otherwise DS and I will come home 3 hours before DH. He can try to go stand-by on our flight, but if we do resort airline check-in his suitcase will be on the 3 PM flight. Hmm. For an extra $10 I could check his bag under my name so all the bags would stay together. Maybe I will do that, so if he CAN get on the flight with us we won't be missing a bag when we get home. Very good. Problem solved.

 

[bethbuchall]

I am so excited. I went shopping last night and bought a built in dishwasher. For over 26 years we had had a Kitchenaid portable and it worked just perfect, but at the end, it was too much to fix so we got a Maytag portable.

I did not figure that Hal would ever want to put in more cabinets in our kitchen, so I did not figure we would need to look at built ins. Well, if he wants to install more cabinets who am I to argue?

I got a Frigidaire that you can put things on the top rack and it knows if the correct button is pushed that it will only wash the top rack. Since it is only Hal and I, sometimes I just need to do a quick wash and now I will be able to do that. He is even going to do the plumbing and electric so in a week I will have cabinets and a dishwasher all on the opposite wall from our existing cabinets in my red kitchen!!!

Last weekend he installed the wood/laminate flooring and it looks really nice. So once the cabinets are in, I will be taking pictures. Now to just convince him he needs to take the existing cabinets and replace them too!!!!

That is a neat feature that you can wash just the top rack. I haven't seen that yet. We have started looking at dishwashers, because ours is leaking. We'd have a new dishwasher by now if I were doing the dishes by hand, but since dh is doing the dishes, I'm letting him drag his feet. Our current one is a Kitchen-Aid that appears to be from the 70's. I know that it looked far from new when we bought the house in 1990. It's worked wonderfully until now.

 

[babytrees]

Could someone please explain to me the difference between and IPod and any other of the MP3 players? I want to get Alyssa one for Christmas. I think the Nano would be better because of the screen, but the Shuffle is more along the lines of what I want to pay. I'd also like to get her the alarm clock docking station. If I get any MP3 player, can it still be docked in an alarm clock? I would load the CDs that she currently has onto it and when anything new comes along I will probably purchase them from Itunes. I'm considering the refurbed Nano but just wanted to see what you all thought.

I can only really talk about other MP3 players. Cassidy and I have a screened MP3 while Abi has one without the screen. After using Abi's for a couple of days I am soooooo happy for my screen. Though Abi doesn't really notice the difference.

I have an alarm clock that can dock any MP3 player but it doesn't work very well...it was also an office freebie so whatcha going to do??

 

[bethbuchall]

Day 6: Casper, WY to Grand Teton National Park (Dinosaurs, Hot Springs, and Ice Cream (finally!))

Oh my, it’s been a while since I’ve written. I think I need a quick re-cap to remember where I am.

We started in Central NYS bright and early one Thursday morning on our long awaited adventure. We traveled through Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, and Colorado before ending up here at the C’mon Inn in Casper, WY.

In summary to this point:
Most of us loved the St. Louis Arch.
Sonic is GOOD!
Kansas is a long state.
Windmills excited me more than they probably should have.
Sonic is GOOD!
Colorado is a beautiful state, and we should have had at least one more day there.
The fates were conspiring against poor Girl in her quest for ice cream.
Sonic is GOOD!
We have finally arrived at that magical point in our vacation where everyone is truly in “vacation mode.” The hurry to rush through states is gone. We are all slowing down a bit.

Day 6 is going to be photo heavy again, so I’ll have to split it into a couple of posts.

A little “real life” did creep up on us this morning. It was laundry day. That’s bad! No, that’s good! (My apologies to Margery Cuyler…if you haven’t read That’s Good! That’s Bad!, you don’t know what you’re missing. It’s a picture book, so it won’t take you long…go read it.) Anyway, laundry may sound bad, but really it gave us time to just relax and enjoy the pool and hot tubs. There was no mad rush to get into the car early and hit the road. We had breakfast from the free breakfast area and then a little more for brunch. We were able to read the local newspaper and people watch from our sitting area. The kids all had a chance to sleep in. There were four washers and four dryers in the hotel, so the laundry was done pretty quickly.

The drive from Casper to Grand Teton National Park is relatively short…about 5 hours. BUT someone (that would be me) decided that it might be fun to head to Thermopolis, WY to see the hot springs there. That would add around an hour of driving time to the trip plus the time spent there. We were leaving late because of the laundry and relaxation. Decisions, decisions, decisions… Did I ever mention that my family is horrible at actually voicing their opinions and making decision (in case that decision inadvertently disappoints someone else)? So we made a non-decision at that point. We’d see which way I turned the car when we arrived in Shoshoni.

Before leaving Casper, we headed over to Wal-Mart to see if we could find a stylus for SmallBoy’s Nintendo DS. We had one, but it kept sliding out and getting lost. No luck with the stylus, but we did end up getting another big sub to split and some baby carrots for a little lunch in the car.
At the crucial point, I made the decision. We headed to Thermopolis. It ended up being the right decision. In keeping with the theme running through this trip, though, we wished that we had even more time to spend there than we did. We still didn’t really have a good feel for what we were going to do when we got to Thermopolis except for a fuzzy “go to Hot Springs State Park.” I did so much planning for this trip, but then we ended up just throwing a few things in along the way without any planning at all. Often those were the best parts, because there were no expectations. The drive to Thermopolis was beautiful! We marveled at the walls of rock and gorgeous blue sky and the lake along the way.

I don’t even know who first saw the sign for the Wyoming Dinosaur Center or who suggested that we go. None of my kids went through the dinosaur craze that many preschoolers do, though each of them had an interest at one stage or another. By following signs and a slightly confused Daniel, we found our way to this little building practically in the middle of nowhere. The Dinosaur Center contains a small museum and also offers bus trips out to their current dig site. The sun and heat were brutal that day, and we were more than 3.5 hours from our destination, so we decided not to go out to the dig site. Everyone agreed that we should spend the time and money to go into the museum. This ended up being one of Boy’s favorite stops on our vacation. Everyone else had a great time, too.