Latest installment in the Money Pit Series...

So, barely a month after we got the new fridge, our washer died. Just like that. It made a horrible clanking sound, emitted this horrible smell, and refused to agitate or spin anymore. Praise the Powers That Be that it occurred during the final rinse cycle of the diaper load, and NOT during the pre-rinse! Ick. So I only had to wring out and drip-dry an already clean load. PLUS the diapers were the last in the line of the week's laundry, so everyone had clothes to wear for several days before I would have to resort to hauling the laundry down to the nearest river and beating it on rocks.

Mr. Pickles is such a good bargain shopper.  He is also a scrupulous user-review checker.  We read lots of reviews for various machines, and found one that was hands-down the most popular.  So many of them had people who either loved it or hated it -- for this one the overwhelming majority raved about it.  So after we made our choice, Mr. Pickles saw from a flyer that it was on sale at one appliance store, but after more research he discovered that Sears will match a sale price, plus add a discount!  So, to Sears we went, and made a salesman there very happy, as we decided to purchase the matching dryer and a 3-year warranty.  (we figured we might as well get a new dryer too -- the old one was needing two cycles to get some loads dry)

To prepare for the arrival of my new toys we had to clear a path through The Dungeon Of Death.  I wish we'd taken a "before" picture -- it was a true disaster.  I'd had to carve myself a path through the carnage with a machete just to get to the laundry machines.

The somewhat-cleared Dungeon Of Death (and occupant)

The Dungeon (sans death)

AAACK!

We took the opportunity to finish a couple quick fix-it projects that had been piling up.  Here is Mr. Pickles teaching Miriam the essential skill of how to use a power drill.

Then he took apart the old washer for fun.

ewwww....

ooh! a secret entrance!

breaking appliances is fun!

So the new machines arrived the day after we bought them -- and I had been bracing myself for the possibility of a week without clean laundry!  I have to state my amazement at the physical prowess of delivery men.  They just look like ordinary dudes, and yet they're able to wield and maneuver these giant UNwieldy machines into place in a matter of a few short minutes, including hauling them up and down several stairs.  Both these guys and the refrigerator guys had this cool harness thing that they wore -- it had a long strap that attached to a buckle on the front of each guy's harness.  They would run the strap from one guy's harness, under the machine, to the other guy's harness, then squat down while they tightened it.  When they stood up, they could easily lift the machine between the two of them, only using their hands to steady it.  I'm sure it was still heavy, but they made it look easy-peasy.  I wish I had thought to take a picture.  It was really cool to watch.

Anyway, the machines we chose were LG high-efficiency machines -- I'm convinced the LG stands for Laundry Goddess because these things are AMAZING.  Everyone I knew who had an LG machine raved about them, and now I know why.  They get the clothes SO CLEAN.

Quality Inspection in progress

I had to adjust the valves for the water intake so that the warm is actually warm, but I had to do that with the old machine anyway.  I'm also concerned about the low water -- I wonder how well things are getting rinsed.  (WARNING: Non-parents do not read to the end of this sentence: I've noticed when I wash diapers that they're covered with a fine sand even after an extra rinse.  But they smell extra-clean, so maybe it's more of a lack-of-filter issue than a low-water-level issue.)

the clear top is SO COOL

The dryer is great too.  I can't tweak all the settings quite as simply as I can with the washer, but so far I've been able to figure out how to choose the settings I need for whatever load I'm doing.

The only cons I can think of to these machines are that a) the washer seems to be a lint-making machine -- I'm afraid it's going to be rougher on our clothes; and b) the cycles take a looooong time.  But!  They sing a cute little song when they're done, so I always know when a load is finished.  All in all I like my new toys. :)

Finally, when life gives you a messy basement...

...make a blanket city!

Next on the Money Pit list is a new oven -- we're at the point now where we have to kick it sometimes to make it work. :)

Daniel is Two picturefest!

So, even though it hasn't been over a month since the event yet, I thought I'd post about Daniel's second birthday. :)

I can't believe our baby's two.  Even with another baby on the way, I still think of Daniel as "the Baby."  I catch myself calling him that all the time.  I'm trying to train myself out of it, so that Daniel doesn't get confused.  However, whenever I ask Daniel where the baby is, he always pats my belly, so maybe I needn't worry.  I always go through premature anxiety when the baby is about to be displaced by a newcomer.  Although there are so many siblings now that I really needn't worry that anyone will go neglected or feel left out. :)

Anyway, here's our new big boy!

doesn't he look all growed up?  sigh...

The day started off right, as far as Daniel was concerned. I took the kids to Mass -- a birthday tradition that I'm trying to get started. (There's no tradition like a new tradition! ...sorry, MST3K joke there) After Mass we bought donuts and a helium balloon for Daniel, and idea for a toddler birthday that I got from another mom. He was very happy. Donuts are his favorite thing in the WHOLE world.  Then we just had fun the rest of the day, declaring it a family holiday.  (i.e. no school, hooray!)

since we were having his party the next day, I didn't do a special dessert for his birthday dinner -- he got birthday ice cream which was just fine by him

got that whole candle-blowing thing down!

mm-mmm -- good to the last drop!

I like buhdays!

the morning of his party he got an extra-special pancake -- I think he wolfed it down in less than a minute

gotta get this boy a bigger chair!

We had a great time at his party!  We invited a couple families, which means in our circle of friends that our house was full of kids everywhere. :)  It was awesome.

opening a Lightning McQueen car -- definitely the hit toy of the party! (you can tell what's the hit toy b/c that's the one all the kids fight over)

 Daniel loved all his presents -- they were all something a 2-year-old boy would love, even the clothes:

Batman jammies!  with a cape!

even Joseph picked out something Daniel would love -- a mini flashlight of his very own!

I have the power!

So, now Daniel is very two!  He throws the occasional tantrum when the planets don't align according to his wishes, but all in all he is very easy-going, compliant, and oh so affectionate.  He's developed a special relationship with my upper arm -- he is always coming over and giving me mini-hugs. :)  It's very cute, before the bruising sets in.

His language is also developing by leaps and bounds.  I haven't noticed if he's at the new-word-a-day stage yet, but he is definitely trying out lots of new words.  And the words that he can already say he is now perfecting, particularly adding final consonants.  For example, he can now say "bonk" instead of "buh."  His "hello!" is also very clear -- I'm fairly impressed that he's already mastered the "l" sound -- that's a tricky one.  We still have lots of frustrating moments of miscommunication, such as when he's trying SO HARD to tell me something Very Important about how one of his siblings wronged him, and I just Don't Understand and so he collapses on the floor into a puddle of angst.  Once again I wish I had learned more Baby Signs to teach him.  Oh well, next kid!

Daniel is such a gift to our family.  We're so blessed and grateful to have him!

we love you, Chunkles!

Ah, summer!

It's been HOT.  Like, typical Virginia step-outside-into-an-oven hot.  For a long time it seemed summer couldn't make up its mind whether it was really serious about arriving or not.  Usually by June I'm longing for death.  Or at least a good blizzard.  But we had so many days in the low 70s -- too cold even to go to the pool!  Mind you, I'm not complaining.  I really enjoyed having the windows open while we could.  But the kids, the poor deprived waifs, continually pointed out that we had hardly been to the pool since it opened at the end of May. 

We still managed to glean some appropriate summer fun despite the coolness of the days, though.

what's summer without playing in the sprinkler?

yay!  I'm wet!

wheee!

And of course, there's also eating ice cream cones outside.

mm-mmm! chocolate boy, my favorite flavor!

that would be the sugar hitting the bloodstream.

 Summer seems to be here in earnest, now, so it's back to the pool!  Yippee!  Of course, mean ol' mom has decreed that no pool trips will be made until the requisite amount of schoolwork has been completed in a timely manner (we haven't quite finished yet, sigh).  We'll see how that works as an incentive to get moving in the mornings.  Have you noticed how hard it is to feel diligent on a summer morning?

Dear maternity clothing manufacturers,

I would like some new maternity shirts.  Here are my qualifications:

-They must have sleeves.
-They must not be see-through.
-They must cover my underwear at all times.

Is this really too much to ask?  Judging by all the shirts I tried on the other day, I can see that my demands are completely and totally unreasonable.  However, I am not a street walker advertising for business -- I am a mother who thinks she deserves to dress with a little dignity intact. 

I have a feeling other pregnant women feel the same.  I noticed that most of the shirts on your clearance racks were ugly and skanky.  I wonder how long before you figure this out.

Sincerely,
A Mother of Five

P.S. My above qualifications are what I would have been willing to settle for.  What I would REALLY like is something that is cotton, pretty, not a tent, and does not require another layer underneath.  (This is summer, after all -- who wants to wear an undershirt when it's 95 outside?)

Random stuff

This week our parish held its Vacation Bible School.  We only call it Vacation Bible School because all the other Christian churches have a Vacation Bible School and it's a recognized brand name, I guess.  It's really more like Vacation Faith Formation With an Emphasis on Saints and the Sacraments, which doesn't quite have the same ring.  So, VBS it is.

We use the K4J (Kids for Jesus) program.  It's really excellent.  We've been coming to this for years and the kids LOVE it.  Joseph was a newborn the first year we came.  He was in the Pre-K group and he did really well!  He sulked whenever I told him it was time to go, so I guess he was having a good time. :)  Miriam is old enough to be a "Captain" now, which means she gets to help out the campers at the different stations.  Captains also get their own faith formation and adoration times, which is totally cool.

I volunteered to help out this year, and got assigned to help with the snack station.  Somehow this evolved into my being in charge of snack station.  That's what I get for showing up to meetings!  So now I get to keep 80 children fed and happy each day.  Two other women did most of the grocery shopping, for which I am extremely grateful.  I did end up dragging all 4 kids to Wegman's for emergency food supplies the other day, though.  People talk about how much they luuuurve Wegman's.  I think I would like it more if I didn't travel with an easily-bored entourage.  A grocery store with its own zipcode really demands a solo shopping experience.

I'm really not made to be in charge of things.  All through the days leading up to VBS I was really stressing out.  How many plates will we really need!  How many extra should I plan for!  What about kids with allergies!  What if we run out of Goldfish crackers!  What if they hate snack and refuse to eat!  So I decided that for the sake of my peace of mind, in the future, I'm not going to volunteer to "help out" until the very last second, when it's too late to be put in charge of anything, ha ha!  (I'm grateful I can use the baby as an excuse for this.)  I love just helping -- it's fun to be with other moms and talk with the older kids.  And I like feeling useful.  I just don't like having all that responsibility and stuff.  Choleric I am not.

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So Daniel has developed a couple more Cutisms as his language continues to expand.

bew? -- pool
gub! -- bug
pake -- crepe

He also will declaim this long sentence with lots of syllables, ending with whatever he's really talking about.  So he'll say, "A-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-aw-be-bee??" when he's asking for a strawberry.  It's like he hears us saying long strings of things and then finishing with the REALLY important word, so that's how he talks.  It's quite funny, and, like almost everything else he does, very cute.

Perfecting the two-year-old tantrum, not so cute.  Thankfully his siblings know how to distract him when he loses it.  Thank heaven for big sisters!  I don't know how I would ever manage without them!

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Note to self: when it's 100 degrees outside the day after a huge thunderstorm and 400,000 people are without power, don't expect to be able to buy a movie ticket for a new release 20 minutes before the show.

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Another note to self: when it's 100 degrees outside the day after a huge thunderstorm etc etc, don't expect to be able to find a parking spot anywhere near an entryway to the mall.


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Final note to self: be very, very grateful, despite the lousy radio and non-existent TV reception, that one lives in a valley with underground power and phone cables.

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When Joseph is upset with someone, he will call them "you silly eyeball sandwich!"

We have lots of silly eyeballs in this house.

Happy Father's Day!

I love this picture because it captures the essence of what makes Mr. Pickles such a great husband and father: he's patient, generous, hard-working, a good example, and so loving.  Our boys are SO lucky.

Katie's First Communion

Our bitsy girl made her first Holy Communion in May. (Do you think it's too late to send the invitations?)

It's funny how precedents get set. She wanted special shoes with heels like Miriam had (but which we weren't able to find in time, weep weep), and she wanted her hair put in rag curls like Miriam's was (which we did).

She was so ready to receive Jesus.

I was so happy Miriam's dress fit and didn't need alterations!

 This moment before the Mass was hilarious -- all the girls were oohing and ahhing over each other's dresses, tripping around the room excitedly, while all the boys sat around looking uncomfortable and just dying for the things to start happening already.

Because Katie was one of the smallest in her class, she was second in the procession and got to sit in the very front row!  I have to admit I was impressed with how well she behaved herself in Mass (it's always a crap shoot with her). :)  All the kids were very sweet and pious and well-behaved.  The congregation, however....  I swear I've never been to a louder Mass in my entire life, even on Easter Sunday.  It was SO disturbing that it makes one seriously think of asking for a private first Communion from now on.  Either that or hiring ushers with military training.

And then the party afterwards was a madhouse.  Fortunately all the kids got to eat first, since they were starving.  By the time we finally got to the line, though, it had been strip-mined.  So after saying a few quick congratulations to some of our friends we headed home for a private celebration. 

We stopped at the grocery store and Katie got to pick whatever treats she wanted.  Then for dessert after dinner I made cupcakes to decorate.  One of our containers of sprinkles had some shapes that actually looked like little crosses, which Katie was very excited about.  So even though I did no planning whatsoever (maternal guilt maternal guilt maternal guilt), she was still very pleased with her special day!

I'm so happy we made the decision to put her in CCD a year early -- she was really ready for this moment.  I'm thankful that she can receive all the graces she needs to help her grow into the person God designed her to be!

Out with the Old, In with the New!

Before:

please note the missing front grill, protruding drip pan filled with sludge (not pictured), dust-bunny-covered side, sagging door, and front right corner propped up with sections of flooring because wheel is broken.

After:

bing!

the kids watched the delivery from a safe perch, while I hovered and battled dislodged dust rhinos.  all our food is in the coolers and bags on the floor there.  I way overestimated the amount of ice we needed -- I have a huge bag in the new freezer still!

homeboy's already raiding the new fridge!

Something still doesn't seem right....

ahh, better! (I removed the ice maker since we don't have a water line in that wall, and I'd much rather use that space for, you know, storing food)

So, details: we got it from the Sears outlet, which means it's in as-is condition, which means it came pre-dinged so we didn't have to stress about the first dent/scratch/permanent marker art the kids were going to make.  Score!  Also the freezer section smelled like a barn.  But after a thorough baking soda bath, it's all good!

And quiet!  We hardly know when it's on, unlike our old dinosaur of a fridge.

And is it cold!  Our ice cream is solid as a rock, which isn't so good when you actually want to eat some.  But at least we know our fridge is no longer a salmonella incubator!  Yay!

The BoyZ' Room Redux

So after weeks of searching on Craig's List for a new dresser for Mr. Pickles, I came across this one and just COULDN'T pass it up, considering the boys' room decor:

now you can be annoyed by the fact that we didn't mix up the bottom two drawers

It was too perfect for their room!  This thing came well-used and obviously well-loved.  It's already dinged and scratched up, but it's very solid and totally worth the $20 asking price.  We rearranged the beds again to fit it -- I would have taken a picture but that day was laundry day and the beds were unmade and, therefore, unphotographable. :)

It feels SO good to have a real place to put the boys clothes all together, instead of in some insufficient drawers, on the floor, in a cardboard box, and in our nightstand!

Next on the wishlist: a box spring for the girls' bed so we can get their mattress off the floor and into their frame and have some under-bed storage space, yey!

Photo dump!

Lots of random little moments from our life, each of which deserved a post of its own, but, well, here we are.

First entry: a new Pickle pet!

heebiejeebieheebiejeebieheebiejeebie

These monstrosities in our basement in the summer and regularly threaten small children (and squeamish adults) foolish enough to use the downstairs bathroom.

Okay, now that you're awake, here is some relaxo-vision provided by the littlest gherkin.... quite literally:

I'm curious to know how he got himself into this position... while sleeping...

I forgot to mention that for Mother's Day, Miriam gave me a set of wind chimes, which is awesome in itself. BUT! The gorgeous glass globe on top LIGHTS UP IN THE DARK, which kicks the awesome up a notch:

AND it changes colors!

low lighting and small children do not a sharp photo make

 Katie's really gotten into her music lately.  She asks to practice every day, and is really progressing.  She is so ready for lessons -- we're hoping to start her off this summer!

ahh, Theory, my old nemesis, we meet again

Okay so one of the reasons we need to move into a bigger house is so we have more room for the books.

Barbara Cooney is one of my favorite illustrators.  Herge is fast becoming a new household favourite :)

homeboy REALLY loves Tintin

I'm so glad we have reading children.  I keep hearing complaints from parents about these mythical children who don't like to read.  Who wouldn't love to read?  My idea of the perfect day is a bright window, a steady supply of iced tea, and a stack of books.  (If there happens to be an ocean outside the window, all the better!)


So Daniel has this habit of eating part of his dinner, then searching for an available lap to finish the rest.  At first we thought it was because his booster chair was getting uncomfortable.  But now I think it's just because he's such a snuggle bug.  The other evening he rejected both Mommy's and Daddy's laps in favor of big sis's:

she very willingly obliged.  she was so tickled he chose her!  (note my new, honkin', thirsty-pregnant-momma water bottle -- I go through about 3 of these a day, not counting drinks at meals!)

Finally, the pool is open!! The pool is open!!  We went for the first time on Sunday.  (Saturday we were busy shopping for a new fridge -- huzzah)  And of course, with the first pool trip of the summer comes...

the first pool toes of the summer!

Poor little Daniel's tootsies were raw and bleeding.  I can't find Joseph's water shoes from last year (which ought to fit Daniel now) -- our basement/dungeon where we store the swim stuff is quite the disaster.  But hopefully we can dig them out before our next pool trip.  I guess I should have let them run around barefoot on concrete for a few weeks beforehand to condition their sensitive skin!

At least we postponed the first sunburns of the summer, although I'm sure that's coming....

whack! whack! whack!  I love my brother!