Oops!

Somehow it's been over a month since I last posted!

Let's see.... We had Christmas, which was fun and Daddy had the day off unlike last year. We gauged things just right, and had a laugh when the gift from a sibling topped everything Mom and Dad, and Santa, gave. Zhu Zhu pets apparently go over big with my kids, and she had found a great deal so snapped them up since she had our family for Christmas. We had a huge play area for those things now with all the accessory sets she found for $3. (And there's no poop to scoop like with a regular hamster, my favorite part!)

Then we had New Year's. Mark had that off too, so we had his brother and his wife, as well as one of their friends, for games and goodies. Stayed up way too late but had a blast playing a game we've owned for over a year but hadn't ever played yet.

The boys started a new school when we came back from Christmas break. New routines, new rules, new friends. My morning starts far earlier than I like, although not nearly as early some people I know. They've adjusted really well and like their teachers. I found out too that since we're a rural school now, when William starts next year he'll be going full day, but the days alternate. So he'll ride a bus to and from with his brothers but he'll only go every other day. We were very happy to learn this since it means I don't have to take him or pick him up like we would have to if he had attended the school in town next year, those kindergartners only ride the bus one way as they are half-day school.

Then we had our pink-eye fun. Mark was the only one who didn't get it at all, but he's not home much to pick up fun things from the kids. Once that started to go away, I had a lovely sore throat and the resulting cough is finally starting to clear. I married the best man ever: he didn't fuss about the state of the house, he'd fill the humidifier before I could and get it all set up for me at night, he double checked to make sure I didn't forget my antibiotics... So I payed him back the best way I know how. I made sure his sock drawer was full. :-)

Latest is that my dad was over on my side of the state for a job and was able to come visit a couple evenings. True to Dad, a simple house tour turned into going under the house to check out my well pump pressure tank, because our water pressure was really screwy. Turned out that the cut on/cut off switch was bad, so he left instructions on what to get and then came back the next night to crawl back under the house and replace it. Of course, the pressure gauge is off too, which we didn't know until we had a pressure switch with a known cut on/cut off pressure point. But that's a lot easier to replace and is simply so you can observe the pressure, so I'll fix that myself later. We're very grateful that he would take the time to help us with our house, even if that wasn't our intent when we invited him to visit. I had several questions I had wanted to ask him, but wasn't expecting him to fix anything. I also came away with lots of information, which is just as appreciated.

I'm itching to paint my bathroom. That's right, the one I asked for opinions on yellow vs blue those weeks ago. Still hasn't been done. But on the docket is also a new skirt- fabric picked up yesterday that I've been in love with for a while, a quilt for Oren who is using a large baby quilt of his brother's currently, picking curtains and comforter for my room... Several organizing projects, the last few boxes to unpack, artwork needs hung. I need to map out the lay of the house, well pipes, septic, leach field, existing fencing and planting, and irrigation sprinklers so we can create the master plan for our landscaping. I need to find or build a bookshelf for my cookbooks. I need to rebuild the shelves in my pantry before they bend in half and break under the weight of the cans.

So many things to do, with so little time. Distracting, overwhelming. What to prioritize my time and money on? *Sigh*