Friday

tip-o-day

It surprises me when I hear people saying they 'hate' to do laundry.
Then I realize that if I spent and entire day doing laundry I might feel the same way.

Instead of spending all day Saturday running loads of laundry and folding and stacking and storing, try this --do one load each evening or every other evening during the week.

To do one load of laundry takes only several minutes over the course of your regular evening. Here are some tips to make the whole process seamless.

- Gather your load in the morning and toss it in the machine in your way out to work.

- When you get home - flip on the washer and go make dinner.

- After dinner - toss the clothes in the dryer and go tidy the kitchen.

- When you get ready to sit down for the evening, grab the load from the dryer and fold while you watch a show, help with homework or listen to music.

- Just stack the folded clothes in the basket and set them near the stairs or hallway to your room.

- When you head to bed, take the basket and stick those couple items away in drawers and closets.

Without really doing much extra - you're done. By the time the weekend comes, the laundry is under control leaving you time to go do something fun.

happy happy day

29.
o my.

you do realize that now you can say "pushing 30"

Happy Birthday - TheDaughterTheTherapist!

Does anyone else see the interest in the fact that these kids just purchased a station wagon?
hmmm.

Friday

tip-o-day

Don't forget to clean your washer and dryer as you do your other appliances.

Just because your machines may be tucked away in a closet or the basement is no reason to let grime and lint build up.

You don't want your home laundry to look like an unkempt public laundry mat. Any place were cleaning is the primary purpose (such as your bathroom and kitchens) should be maintained to the highest of standards.

An excellent example of this is when Ferris comes home from his college apartment* and says "Why do I feel so much cleaner when I get out of our shower here at home."

For top loading washers - wipe the area around the tub and up under the lid. Any dirt left here can be transferred to your clean clothes. For front loaders - be sure to occasionally wipe the inside of the glass door and all around and under the door gasket. Mold and mildew can develop here if left moist. Also with front loaders be sure to run bleach loads regularly. Clean the top and around the dials of both types of machines to keep them looking new and shiny.

For the dryer - lint is really the enemy. To keep lint at a minimum, be sure not to use too much detergent. Clean the lint after EVERY load. And every so often vacuum out any areas you can reach where lint may collect. You can even buy a special attachment for the vacuum to reach way in under the lint screen.
Remember excess lint in the dryer is a fire hazard.

The outside of the dryer should only require the occasional wiping off. If you have laundry detergent spills there ...for goodness sakes - wipe them up immediately.

Your laundry machines take very little exterior abuse, and can look like new even after a decade of use with minimal care.

* a most tidy college apartment I might add

umm...

Today the house is filling up with ladybugs.

What the hell...
What's with all 'the nature'

Perhaps this is Mother Nature's way of making me look forward to the dead of winter.

Nice try.
I'll just get out the vacuum now.

please just tell me to shut up

but seriously.
How many chipmunks do you see in a day?
No, really -- I want to know.

I have seen 4 so far today.
It's 1:00 pm.
And I have been inside most of the day.

This can't be good.


*note... the chipmunks I saw were outside

Picture this

If you haven't read yesterday's post, please do first.
Go ahead, I'll wait.........

It's a beautiful day out, so we've let the fire in the wood stove die down for the day. I went out to gather more firewood for tonight, as I anticipate it will get chilly when the sun sets.

I am being very cautious as I take each log - as you can well imagine.
My cell phone was in my pocket.
On vibrate.

Do you have a visual?

a chipmunk encounter

I am getting really tired of rodents around here.

This morning I went out to the wood pile... ya know, to gather wood.
We have a rather large wood pile left over from last seasons stocking up extravaganza.
So, granted the wood has been there for awhile.

There was a chipmunk under the last log I grabbed to fill my cart. I screamed - he ran.
We both moved on with our day.

A few minutes later, safely back in the house I realize I had forgotten the ash drawer down by the wood pile. As I rounded the corner of the garage to approach the wood storage area - a chipmunk screamed at me. Have you ever heard one? They sort of chirp. This chirping rodent was clearly not happy.

As you may know we have already spent some time attempting to decrease the chipmunk population around here.
There is really only one thing left to do.

Yes... I spent the afternoon surfing realtor dot com.

G'nite

yes...I meant to post last night.
oops.

yes people... more babies pictures

Today we had a Sunday afternoon party - we had the fam over for the 1:00 game - oh and to celebrate my birthday. Which is today. I am 48 now.
(let me know if you need my address or paypal account)

My amazing wife supplied me with a custom mimosa this morning while we had 5 minutes where The Girls overlapped their nap times.
We didn't have any orange juice so she creatively substituted with baby pear juice.
I think we have a new cocktail here folks. This one is a keeper.

(Notice the bottle drying rack in the back ground. My SIL brought that with all the baby toys. She knows me very well. I just love the thing)

After that some folks came over - here is The Daughter The Therapist snuggling with Thing1 and Thing2.


and... more gratuitous pictures.

our baby play with the babies

Ferris suprised us by coming home for the weekend.
The babies were very happy!

another day in babyland

Today will go down as the day of the poop.

My goodness -- there was so much pooping today.
My well travelled wife thinks its because they have truly settled in (you know how it can be when you're away from home...).

To get out of the house and have some fun, we took the girls to I kea today.
Babies just love I kea.
We have their nifty double stroller - which is perfect at a store like this with its wide ailse and easy access elevators.


We stopped to have a bottle before we left. See that little blue round thing there... we got them toys of course.


After some further pooping, napping, eating and playing - the girls are currently fast asleep.
Here is my baby-loving wife having a nice glass of red to cap off the day, in her spit up covered shirt.

whew... day 1

ok people ... we survived day 1.
i am too tired to capitalize.
kidding...kidding... we are having a blast.
(shh... their parents may have wifi way down there on their tropical island)

FREE dog has already gotten the drill down
babies are basically cheerio dropping devices.

nesting

The twins are coming.
Tonight.

You see... parents of twins need to take time out... for themselves, for each other. They need to reconnect, relax, perhaps drink too much and sleep too much.

That's where we come in.
The babies will be here this evening and will stay with us until next Tuesday!

The babies parents (SIL and BIL) will be somewhere warm and sunny sipping silly frozen cocktails in pineapples out of curly straws.

We have been getting ready all week.
It's so exciting.

Since there are two babies - we are both taking time off from work and will tag team all aspects of baby care.
Since I am very anal organized I have set up changing 'stations' on two floors. Each with its own set of diapering supplies. We have also designated the dining room to be the feeding and playing area. The kitchen sink has been disinfected and is bath ready.

We have cribs set up on the third floor -where we currently have studio/office space. But since there may be times when one baby is fussy and the other needs some rest - we have set up an alternate snoozing place in Ferris' bed.
Wouldn't it be a hoot if he shows up unannounced in the middle of the night and finds a baby in his bed.

I plan to post pictures each day. Let's see if we remember how all this baby stuff works.

I was a little tipsy

We went to a small soiree last night at a friends home.
The evening was lovely - and there was MUCH wine.

We got home on the early side, it being a school nite and all, so I flipped on the football game while we were getting ready for bed.
Just background noise while I got out my PJ's, turned down the bed, removed jewelry...ya know - routine stuff.

I slowly began to realize that I don't really understand the game commentary.
I am a little tipsy.

I focus a little more on the sounds coming from the TV.

Hmm, am I more tipsy than I thought?

I look up at the game, as if adding the visual will offer some clarity.
Nope - still don't get it.

Why does it all sound so foreign to me...
I turn up the volume.
Surely louder will make it clearer. Yeah.

Wait!
I finally realize why it sounds foreign.
It is!

The game commentary was in Spanish.

I checked the station ...twice. It was the major network NBC station.
Am I missing something? Are you all watching football in Spanish?
No entiendo.

Friday

tip-o-day

If you put fertilizer on your lawn, don't ignore your soil pH.
If your soil is too acidic you are basically wasting your money on fertilizer.
Balanced soil helps the lawn to absorb needed nutrients. Spreading lime on your lawn can reduce acidity, known as making the soil sweeter, and also helps to quicken composting of organic materials. Even if you don't fertilize, this can make a big difference in the overall health of your landscape.

You can have your soil tested, usually for a nominal fee, by your local extension. Some garden centers will test it for free, or you can buy a home tester - tho both these methods are somewhat hit or miss. Or you can wing it and simply add some lime.
Its a pretty good guess that your lawn needs it anyway.

I like to lime in the fall - tho you can do it any time of year. Spend the extra buck or two on pellitized lime, unless you want to look like a powdered donut when you're done.

Don't forget your vegetable garden as well!
If you incorporate composting materials in your garden beds (and why wouldn't you) then it's most likely a dusting of lime is a good idea. Tho different types of plants prefer different soil pH - so you may want to test for best results.

Take some caution before adding lime to planting beds, especially those with shrubs. Many shrubs like Rhododendron or Azalea are acid loving so adding lime would be detrimental. Some plants like the Hydrangea will bloom a different color depending on the acidity in the soil. Hydrangeas in acidic soil will bloom blue -- if you add lime (and I think you need to do this quite a bit) you can get the color of the bloom to change to pink.

Lime is inexpensive, environmentally friendly, and safe for kids and pets.

What's your temperature

Fall is here. It's getting chilly.
So what's your temp?
You know...how low does it have to go before you will submit and turn on the heat?