I'm an Addict

I'm addicted to creating. I didn't realize how bad it has been, my jonesing for something to create, until I decided enough was enough and dug through the garage tonight, getting the sewing machine and a box of unfinished projects out.

The one thing I decided I don't really enjoy sewing anymore is diapers. Which amuses me, since that's what I started sewing after a long hiatus. Too bad so sad, I have too much diaper making fabric (albeit at the storage unit for the moment) to not make them for the kids. And maybe sell some.

I've been trying to think of something to make for our landlady, who is expecting a baby in October.

I haven't sewn much of anything for over a month ... I pulled out the skirt I started for Kiddo that matches Bitty's green ladybug dress. I put the waistband on backwards. Brilliant. Made friends with my seam ripper again and took it off, then put it back on correctly and hemmed the skirt. It took about an hour to finish, even with the flub, and now I'm going to finish matching pants for Little Mister. maybe we'll even get a picture of the 3 kids in their matching outfits sometime soon! I had this vision in my head of them all wearing them at the hospickle when we brought home Bitty, but obviously that didn't happen! lol

Well, it's done!

We've moved out entirely. Finally. I need to go get contracts signed for the renter next week and then she gets to clean and move in and get it ready to sell.

As we were leaving yesterday after we finished packing (finally), one of our neighbors stopped by. He is an older gentleman who grew up in the same town as my dad. He and his wife are just wonderful and I'm going to miss them a lot. But Kiddo is really going to miss him -- he always gives 5 to the kids at church, and he teased her every Sunday by calling her any and every name of different animals but the one she's actually named after. Yesterday, when he called her Bird and said, "You're my favorite girlfriend." ... she started bawling. I followed shortly thereafter. But today we finished moving everything out.

One of the newer neighbors whom I've never met came outside while our kids were playing today. My the family loaded the rest of the stuff in the van while we talked a bit. Their kids were so excited to see my kids out there, they HAD to come out. He volunteered to take a truckload over to DI for us. So we loaded up his truck with DI stuff, Virgil's van with trash (he took it to the dump), and the moving van with everything else.

As I did the final walk through today to make sure we had everything, I tried really hard to hold it together, but gut wrenching sobs still escaped me. I'm just glad I left the kids downstairs while I looked around!

I remember moving in with Kiddo and being so excited to have our own space. I remember sharing my first kiss with the husband on the couch in the living room (his friends decided they wanted the couch and came and got it today). I remember the fire the husband started on our balcony before we got married. I remember our wedding day and settling in as a family. I remember moving my office out of its room so his daughter could visit us there. And that's the last time we've seen her. I remember JapanBoy's visit with his family, dinners with my parents, date nights at home with the husband, bringing my babies home from the hospital ... the scary things, the fun things, the exciting things, the sad things ... I still have all of those memories, but it was really hard to leave today.

But I am looking forward to making new memories in our new place. Once I've unpacked a zillion boxes and purged more stuff.

Friday Fave Five!

1. KC helping out packing Kiddo's room yesterday. Kiddo and I were both overwhelmed with it, and I couldn't really maneuver around in it at all while I was pregnant or wearing the baby, so it really was a huge help to have her handle it.

2. Got the paperwork turned over to the buyer for the condo. Now it's just a waiting game. We'll be out this weekend and have a renter moving in for a couple of months next week, who will do the deep cleaning, stage the house for showing, and pay the HOA dues as her rent. Good deal for her, and I don't have to do the deep cleaning myself, so I never have to go back to the house!

3. I picked up a Bissell SpotBot recently because, well, with a toddler with poosplosions and renting a place to live, we decided we needed something to deal with the leaks besides just me and elbow grease. It got out red NyQuil the husband spilled at the condo the year we were married. Not kidding. It also got rid of the poop messes from the other night at the rental, and the spaghetti sauce mess from Kiddo, so hey, it's doing its job! Plug it in, turn it on, and a few minutes later, you are stain free.

4. Bitty is 2 months old this week! She's such a great baby -- usually very easy going and sleeps well. She's smiling more this week and flirting with me and Kiddo, and sitting nicely with Daddy. She gets mad when Little Mister climbs on us though. And I don't blame her. He's a rough and tumble boy!

5. Kiddo has been babysitting a lot and is usually doing a great job. She's having a hard time with all the changes right now, as are the rest of us, and she's still pretty patient with me and with Little Mister. Yesterday when I had to run to the bank, I managed to sneak out and get back before he noticed I was gone, leaving the kids home for 5 minutes by themselves. Successfully! Bitty was asleep and the other two were watching a movie. Kiddo was pretty proud of herself for handling that quick trip alone, and I am proud of her, too.

15 Things I Learned Today

1. The doctor's office will not have the correct essential medical testing equipment when you go in for the second time in 2 weeks because they didn't have it at all the first time. They assure you they have it two days earlier on the phone, so you go in and wait. For a long time. While being texted every 2-3 minutes by your 11-year-old. They will have ordered something you can't possibly use because it's made of latex, to which you are allergic, and which the doctor's entire staff knows. They will have to track down a silicone version instead and call you when it comes in. This item in silicone is something they've never heard of, so you're wondering if this is really ever going to work. This appointment lasted nearly 90 minutes. Last time's was over an hour as well. If the next visit fails again, I'm billing them for my time.

2. Toddlers will poop and give themselves diaper rash when Mom accidentally took ALL of the diapers and wipes with her to the doctor's appointment.

3. Relief Society presidents and friends are fabulous to come through with diapers and wipes and bring them to the 11-year-old and 15-year-old babysitting the 2-year-old. The girls still had to change him though.

4. 15-year-olds will take what you say literally. When you say, "Just put together boxes and put Kiddo's stuff in them," they will pack everything in boxes. Even trash. (But you won't care *much* because it got done and you didn't have to do it! and you can fix it while you help Kiddo unpack.)

5. Adolescent girls will come up with ways to get paid in ways you never imagined for helping around the house. We are probably minus a bunk bed and mattress, and will need to get Kiddo a new frame for a twin bed. lol At least it will fit in her room better.

6. My car locks automatically as soon as you turn the key, whether the engine turns over or not, and that is something you should tell people who have your keys. KC didn't know that and locked us out of the car.

7. Husbands will come to your rescue.

8. Husbands don't like being called multiple times when they're driving in heavy traffic.

9. When you feel like you need to check your bank account before you leave for the day, you'd better do it or you will find out later that an unexpected bill came through the account the day before and you are now in the hole by over $100. And they aren't done charging their NSF fees.

10. Zions Bank will post cash deposits the same day, even after 5.

11. Zions Bank is about 2 blocks from our new place.

12. Husbands don't like being told, "It's leftover night," when they didn't like the dinner in the first place (hence the reason there were leftovers).

13. When Mommy is grouchy, kids cry and husbands hide.

14. The husband's computer has a new virus on it. I wish he'd quit reading manga.

15. Moving is hard on 11-year-olds, too.

Little Mister Has an Attitude Problem

So, one of his favorite foods is French fries, and during the week leading up to the move and during it, he had more of them than normal ... and his diapers got grosser and grosser. He had poosplosions twice a day and just wasn't feeling well. I finally realized that whenever he had them, he was doing worse, so we cut out potatoes and things improved dramatically. He misses them and asks every time we leave the house. It's pretty sad.

Well, the other day there was a rain storm. I *love* walking in the rain and wanted to head out in it, but even I am not crazy enough to do so with a toddler and a new baby. So we went for a quick drive instead, and I drove with my window open so I could still feel the rain. I was suffering from a major caffeine withdrawal headache and, though I plan to get off the sauce in the next couple of weeks, wasn't prepared to head into a busy weekend with that headache to start it off. It happened to be Happy Hour, so we headed to Sonic for a vanilla Coke.

I also ordered ice cream.

Little Mister was excited when I asked if he wanted ice cream. "Ice ceam? Ice ceam? Uh, sure!" (which is how he answers most yes/no questions if the answer is yes.) (oh, and while he can't drink milk, he can still eat cheese and ice cream without problems.)

Then he asked for "fwen fie." I said, "No, I didn't order any French fries. They make your tummy sick, remember?"

He grunted. And then said, "Stupid."

Yeah, dude. Food allergies are stupid.

What I'm Grateful For Part Two

At the second hardware store last week, I saw a former neighbor of mine. She didn't look like she'd changed at all in the 13 years since we met! Not fair. We only talked for a few minutes, but she did tell me she'd divorced the guy she was married to when I lived next door to her. Oy. He was SUCH a flirt and said inappropriate things all the time to me back then, both before and after I married my ex-husband, though it was worse before. I always felt bad for her, because I knew if I'd said yes, he would have cheated in a heartbeat. Shortly before she left him, I'd run into him at Hollywood Video and, foolishly, gave him my number. He called me a few days later for a booty call. Yeah ... Even though I was single at the time, it was not going to happen. MEN. He never called again.

Not that I'm glad they divorced, but I am glad she's no longer in that situation where her husband disrespected her so publicly. She was always such a sweetie and deserved oh so much more.

Guess what? So did I.

Dentists and Tithing

I took the kids to the dentist today. While we were waiting, I heard the gal at the desk talking about all the dental work another family needed -- 4 girls, all needing tons of it done, and quite expensively at that. I just kept thinking, man if we have to do dental work the rest of the year, we're up a creek because our flex spend is gone after having the baby.

So we went back and both kids are cavity free. YAY!!

As we left, a thought came to my mind. "This is one of the blessings from paying your tithing."

I'm not saying that other family didn't pay theirs (they are LDS), but that this specifically is a blessing we had this dentist visit because we'd paid ours.

We'll see how things look next week for the husband and I. I have a couple of sensitive teeth, so while I hope I won't have to have anything done, I'm not counting on it.

But I'll still pay my tithing.