Unfortunately, I have not found my nice sewing scissors.  I made due with a cheap pair that I keep in a travel box, for when I’m trying to kill time while waiting on DD6.  Yes, now she’s six years old!  Of course, now while I wait for her I’m occupied with her newborn sister.  So I don’t need any kind of travel box.

I’m hoping that the search for the missing scissors will motivate me to keep unpacking.  It’s often boring.  But it is also like whatever I find is brand new again.  This morning I found a nice pair of pants in my sewing stuff.  They don’t need mending.  So there is no reason at all for them to be there, except that we just stuffed things in boxes to save them from the floodwater.

DH and I have traded spots.  My sewing stuff is now downstairs.  And his computer stuff is supposed to go upstairs.  Right now however, I am still clearing that area out.  And it needs paint.  I was painting it when my grandmother became ill and haven’t managed to get back to it.   Anyway, he’s not really moved in there yet.

UPDATE:  I found the scissors and busted out several more baby carriers in a mad rush of sewing.  It is fantastic to have several of them.  There are always at least two in the hamper.

Refrigerator Parts

Actually, it wasn’t the drawer itself that broke.  But the cheap plastic parts that hold the gliding pieces in place.  I think they were already broken, or very weak.  Because I didn’t hear the snap of breaking plastic.  They just rolled out when I was putting the drawers back in.

Dirty Refrigerator

Nasty huh?

I tried to clean the refrigerator a few times while I was pregnant.  But I never got further than one basket or shelf at a time.  So we messed it up much faster than I was cleaning it.

I usually clean it out with diluted vinegar since it’s non-toxic.  But I’ve recently become a fan of Simple Green.  It doesn’t give me a headache.  Yay.  So I used diluted Simple Green.

Clean Refrigerator

I did not get in there with a vacuum, old toothbrush or q-tips.  So it is actually not clean to my specifications.  But I have a newborn and a five year old.  So I’m willing to accept imperfection.  It is at least, far more sanitary than it was before I cleaned it.

I left the broken bits on the counter for DH to find.  He handled this remarkably well.  I thought he’d get upset.  But he didn’t.  He just said, ah well, it is ten years old.  Then he managed to take out the drawer and bottom shelf and put them back in so that they weren’t slanted.  I’m not sure what he did, since those pieces were broken.  But it worked.

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Still Unpacking

I have made myself a to do list for today.  I’ve decided not to look beyond any task that I can’t finish quickly, or today.  I doubt I’ll get through it.  But I’ll make progress.  Completed so far:  dishes, laundry, bathed baby, got DD5 off to school safely.

I am finally getting sick of having nothing on the walls.  I have been holding off on hanging any artwork until we’ve unpacked and the furniture is arranged.  But of course, it looks like a bunker in here.  And there are three rooms that are in pretty decent order:  both bathrooms and the master bedroom.  The two bathrooms actually look pretty good.  The bedroom is currently overcrowded.  But that’s another story.  So I’ll probably hang one thing.  It can keep me and the baby company while I clean and unpack.

Adding to my monstrous task list is the mothball disaster.  We have received eight bags of children’s clothing.  We love this usually.  And I ‘ve been holding off shopping for the girls to see what is in the bags.  Four of the bags, the ones containing baby clothes, were full of mothballs.  Wtf?  Seriously, naphthalene in baby clothes?  Putting poison on the clothing of the smallest most defenseless humans on the planet?  This makes no sense.  And if I had any idea there were mothballs inside, I’d have said, thanks but no thanks.

But alas, the mothballed clothing was already here.  I washed it.  I washed it again.  I finally spread it out all over the porch to air.  I nearly threw it in the trash.  No reason to pollute my car and donate poisonous clothing!

Mothball Cleanup

The moral of this story:  never say thank you for clothing hand-me-downs without opening the bag first.  If mothball smell comes out, politely decline, do not pass go, do not collect $100.  I wasted an incredible amount of time cleaning these nasty things, stunk up my washer and washroom, and got a horrific headache.

I finally got the odor out by first airing the clothing, then soaking in hot water and washing soda.  Then cleaning.  So there is the how-to.  It works.  I don’t recommend trying it.  Just throw that stuff in the trash.

I would really like to sew something.  In order to do this I must finish unpacking.  Getting to the sewing part could take several more days, spread out over weeks.  So off I go.

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I can pretty much count on having one hour in which to do some cleaning, in the morning, while DD5 is at school and DD-1 takes a nap.  Needless to say, I’m not getting a lot of unpacking done.

I have decided to carve out some me time, for the sake of sanity.  This morning, I took a bath.  I always get clean, eventually.  But not necessarily all at once.  I may wash my hair in the the sink in the morning, then tie it up in the afternoon and take a five minute shower.  That method gets the job done, but isn’t terribly rejuvenating.  DH wasn’t home.  So I put DD-1 on a towel nearby.  She’s usually very calm if water is running somewhere.  So she didn’t fuss at all until I got out.  I should really buy one of those indoor fountains. But there is always the washer, dishwasher or shower running anyway.

Oddly enough, our water bill has gone down by $8.  I find that an amazing tribute to the efficiency of the new washer.  DH mocked me and said, “Yes, you’re saving money.”

Well, no, I’m not that naive.  Given the cost of the washer purchase, we won’t recoup our money on it for years.  But I’m glad to have clean clothes and use less water.  I’ve done my environmental good deed for the day. Though I do hope that the electric bill will go down as well.

I updated DD5s blog yesterday, for the first time in months.  And today I started one for DD-1.  I do this so that they’ll have a record of what they were like when they were small.  And because I do not wish for this blog to be strictly a mommy blog.  Sure, I mention them, post their pictures, talk of domestic life.  But if kept current with their antics on this blog, the blog would quickly become dominated with all the things children do that is interesting to parents and has high potential to bore the heck out of anyone else.

Also, I like keeping up with the technology when I have the time.

I was going to write something else.  But of course, I have forgotten.  Interrupted sleep is Hell on the short term memory.  I forget constantly why I left one room to go to the other.  “What is it I came in here after?”

I have about six half-filled Rubbermaid totes.  If I can combine them in some logical way, it’ll look like I’ve done a lot of work around here – and make me feel better.  Getting them put together is a challenge because I’ll need to haul them downstairs, which is seriously noisy.

Doing laundry at a friends is what got me interested in having a front loading machine.  Jennifer’s is really quiet.  Although, eventually, I ended up with a really noisy Kenmore.

I researched all the advantages of a front loading machine.  And at first, I thought they were just plain overpriced.  But I was won over by the fact that the front loading machines use about one third of the water per load than the top loading machines.  The monthly energy savings is something like three to five dollars – not enough to seal the deal for me.  But the environmental impact of 40 gallons of water per load compared to about twelve was a quantity I found persuasive.  I do at least two loads of laundry daily.

Laundry is not typically a chore that I mind.  I like the feel of fabric.  And I can turn on the washer or dryer and then go off to do something else.  And right now, I use these appliances as baby soothers.  DD-1 loves to listen to the sound of the washer.  In the mornings, I usually lay her down in front of the machines on a blanket and do the laundry.  She gets really drowsy and usually falls asleep as soon as I move her to her little nest.

Baby likes the washing machine.

DD-1 wears cloth diapers.  I was hoping that she would escape the sensitive skin that is so common in our family.  But she has not.  Consistent use of disposable diapers gives her a mean rash.  And me too – on my hands.  Real cloth diaper devotees carry around a wetbag to carry the dirties home.  But I use disposables when we are out and cloth at home.  I do have a wetbag though, that I use to hold dirty clothes and burp clothes.

Getting to my point, the washer, a Kenmore 4027, has temperature control and a heating element.  So the diapers always get appropriately hot water.  I typically use the whitest-whites setting.  My plan is to use the sanitize feature, which gets even hotter and takes longer to run, once a month.  But at the time of this writing, I haven’t tried it yet.

I did a lot of research before buying this washer.  I had intended to get a different model from the Sears Scratch and Dent online.  But discovered after hours of shopping that I would need to go to the store to schedule a delivery.  This information was not posted on the website in any logical manner.  I only discovered it when I called the store to ask about delivery.  Kind of defeats the purpose of buying it online doesn’t it?

Right, no way in Hell was I going to drive 50 miles (one way) with a newborn to look at a washer when I could just buy a cheaper, well reviewed new one online and have it delivered and installed the next day.  To which I say, Sears service rocks.  We’ve had our dryer serviced by Sears Repair before and were happy with them.  Anyway, I purchased online and scheduled the whole thing in a few minutes.  And it arrived the next day with two very cordial installation men.

Why I am writing so much about my washer?  Somebody might need to buy one.  Also, because when I posted about it on Facebook a number of people had something to say about it.  And Google reports over a million searches on washing machine per month.  So washing machines must be of some interest.

The things people seem to dislike about front loading washing machines are the noises of the less expensive models, and the potential for odor.  I am not bothered by either of these issues.  I leave the door open overnight so the washer doesn’t get a stale smell.

I washed it for the first time last night.  Total work time was about ten minutes.  But draining the water out took about fifteen minutes.  And running the clean cycle took 50 minutes.  I put the drain tube into a bowl and went about my business, then came back later and put the cap back on and ran the clean cycle.  So including wiping down the rubber gasket and rinsing off the filter, it took about ten minutes out of my evening.

I woke up and heard the washer still running, then stepped into ankle deep water.

Flooded Basement

Ugh.

I called to DH while I was trying to turn the washer off.  He usually doesn’t wake easily.  But he came into the room right away and told me to get out.  I started throwing towels on the floor.  It was a mess.  DH turned off and unplugged the washer.  And we threw down towels and pulled out the steam cleaner and the wet-dry vac to sop up as much of the mess as we could.

In the morning we called the insurance agent.  A cleanup crew arrived shortly after.  They tore out the flooring and put down extremely noisy and hot dehumidifiers.  It was awful.  The four of us spent the night in DD5s room since the main floor of the house and basement were ruined.  The next night the girls and I camped out with MIL.

Wet Floor and Dehumidifier

Then we moved into a hotel for three weeks.  Of course the contractors were all very cheerful and reassuring that we’d be back sooner.  But that is never how it works out in my experience.  The damage is always more, the work delayed for one reason or other, blah, blah, blah.  And of course, when you’re suddenly displaced from your home it feels like an eternity.

I would have preferred to stay with MIL and FIL.  They are awesome with the girls.  But DD5 had school.  And I kept having to drive back and forth to let contractors into the house.

DD-1 cried constantly in the car.  I thought my ears would bleed.  Newborns always potty, or need to burb, or become ravenously hungry when strapped into a carseat.  Gaah!

Baby Hates Carseat

As it turns out she also has reflux.  So she was beyond miserable.  Not that the rest of us were having a great time.  DD5 said her room was stupid because we moved a ton of stuff into it – to rescue it from first the water, then the repair work being done.  Rather, DH moved everything.  Because I was occupied with the girls.  And since it all had to be done immediately, all of our belongings were stuffed into bags and boxes with no rhyme or reason where they lived in a storage pod for the duration.

We did eventually end up with repaired and freshly painted walls, and new flooring.  And now we’ve moved everything out of the pod and reclaimed the driveway.  And we’re slowly unpacking everything out of the garage and tossing out as much of it as we can stand.

Unpacking

On the upside, the new flooring looks great.  And we’re decluttering en masse.  I generally donate a trunk full of stuff every month, or more often.  But being pregnant and then having a newborn put me way behind in the purging.  At the point when DD-1 was born, only DD5s room was looking good.  Everything else was overcrowded.  And quite a bit of it still is.

Ceramic Tile in Bathroom

Amazingly enough, DH and I now have a functional closet.  Our closet is oddly shaped.  I would like to change the direction of the shelves and rods on his side of it.  But he isn’t having it.  So I just removed the bottom one and replaced it with a shorter one that goes halfway across.  Now the closet holds his shoes as well as mine.

Organized Closet - Looking larger than it actually is.

I dumped my hanging space (still in progress) and set it up to be dominated by the shoes and bags that I love.  Though I really want my scarves and haven’t located them yet, and a few blouses.  Most of my clothing needs to be folded, not hung.  DH has to dress for work.  So he needs a lot more hanging space.

Such is the saga of our flood.  It will be ongoing, until we finish unpacking, purging and rearranging.

Front Porch

We had the house assessed a while back and the assessor said that the porch would sell the house, but sadly he hardly ever sees anybody using their outdoor spaces.  Not so for our family.

Technically speaking, the house is considered on the small side, 1900 square feet I think.  But we have a wrap around porch that spans the front of the house, out a few feet on one side and out and around the corner of another.  On the back of the house we have a deck.  So I have never felt deprived of space.  We have a basement too, that DH mainly uses.  I do not love basements.  I like to be out in the fresh air and natural light.

Okame Cherry Tree

DD and I spend most of our time out here on days like today.  I am sure that I have waxed poetic about the porch before.  I have always wanted one.

Right now the porch is dirty.  DH has been talking about pressure washing it and the house and driveway for about a year.  And it could use a coat of paint.

DH just hacked back the bushes in front of the porch.  They had grown up past the railing, which I like.  The giant bushes hide the porch from the front and make it quiet.  But now that they’ve been pruned to about three feet, the porch seems to have grown, even though the bushes did not extend onto it.  What an odd perception.

Blah-blah, blah-blah.  Really, I am just enjoying Spring.  Both kids have Spring Break next week.  So I am trying to find many fun things for DD to do.  So far we have a family visit and a trip to a bouncy house scheduled.  I also plan to take her to the park and library.  And maybe if DH is not horribly busy, I can take her to have lunch with him.

For anybody who needs to know, the secure connection at the Forsyth County Public Library requires WPA2/TKIP.  Not AES.  And Service Pack 2 for XP.

Yes, I’m sure you wanted to know that.  However, that has been my morning, the upside of which is that I can now vacate the distraction of my house to this location which is relatively free, and very clean.  I say relatively free, because we pay taxes.

I am also free of the distraction of any typical social network, i.e. Facebook, and Yahoo Groups.  That’s sort of a bummer, because I just tried to shut off my Yahoo Group notifications and will have to wait until I get home.  But since the idea is not to read them anyway, not a big deal.

DH wants to go away for a few days over Spring Break.  His idea of a good time is going to a remote local with either nothing to do except golf, or absolutely nothing to do.  This does not work for me managing a five year old.  She needs bounce houses, and swimming pools and movies and trains and things.  Otherwise, she’ll be a miserable little child who would be happier at home with her friends and her stuff.

Anyway, we’re looking for a place where everybody can be entertained that isn’t incredibly far away.  Atlanta, of course, has everything, but is too close.

Weed-whacking Equipment by dvs

DH was super-industrious this weekend, which culminated in the breaking of a somewhat expensive garden tool.  Ugh. These projects always spawn more projects.  On the bright side, the cars are all freshly maintained.  And the part of the yard that doesn’t require the broken tool looks terrific.

DOWNSTAIRES LIBRARY EMPTY SHELVES by Yuba College Public Space

I didn’t give much thought to how entirely convenient it is to have a library five miles from the house.  It’s almost on on my way to and from DDs school.  I might drive a mile or two out of my way to get there.  But that’s incredibly close compared to driving fifteen miles one way with no other reason to be in that location.

The wifi sucks, however.  And in the area near the children’s section, there are tiny chairs and tables, and one lounge area for grown-ups that is not conducive to laptop use.  I made it work.  But it wasn’t comfortable.  I downloaded a document for an alternate setup to connect with the counties wifi.  I hope that I can configure it next week, and that it will work consistently, rather than intermittently.

I saw several college or high school looking students with laptops.  If I have time, I’ll inquire of somebody else with a laptop if they have good service.  I have found that asking the library staff yields very friendly dialogue, and an absolute dearth of useful technical information.

I could use the library computers.  But that rather defeats the purpose of owning a laptop where I can have all of my information, instead of just what is hosted.  Also, part of what prompted me to have a laptop is that the library computers have annoying pop-up screens reminding me of how many minutes I have left, do I want to renew, blah, blah.  It’s distracting.

On the other side of the library, nowhere near the children’s section are rows and rows of computers and laptop hosting stations.  That’s terrific if you’re studying for an exam and don’t want to be disturbed.  But it isn’t great for me who wants to go there after school with my child and work while she browses the children’s books.

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