Busy, busy, busy...

Hello everyone. I apologize for not posting on Thursday, I was extremely busy, as you'll see as you read on. We had company here with us, and well, when Grandma (Brian's mom) is here, you don't get much time to sit, let alone get online. I picked Grandma up on Tuesday. I got to her house around noon-ish. The roads were just beginning to get somewhat treacherous, and I was about 1/2 way to Johnstown, when my cell phone rang. It was the school calling; announcing early dismissal due to the weather & road conditions. While it only took me 10 minutes longer to get to Johnstown, to pick Grandma up, it took me nearly twice as long to get from her house to the school. A trip that normally takes about 30 minutes, took me almost an hour. We picked up Sarah & Andy, and headed home. Once here, we unloaded the truck, and settled in for the night. And settling in is completely relative. Because within an hour of us arriving home with the kids, Grandma went straight to work.

You see, I was dreading taking down our Christmas tree this year. On one hand, it was still looking rather beautiful, and I simply wasn't tired of it. But on the other hand, it was nearly 3 weeks after Christmas, and I simply was not looking forward to doing it. So within an hour, she started dismantling our tree. The kids brought up the ornament totes & boxes, and as she removed ornaments, I feverishly wrapped each one in tissue paper, and place them into their own little section. After we were confident all the ornaments had been removed, she & Andy began the daunting task of removing 4 strands of clear miniature lights from the tree. I had the unenviable task of "correctly" winding  said strands of lights and tie wrapping them to avoid tanglezation (is that even a word?)!! Being married to an electrical contractor, you learn fast how to "correct" wind cords, strands of lights, etc. And you learn what a tie wrap is too! So, as we finished taking everything off of the tree, Brian walks in, home from work. Just in time!! So after emptying the tree stand of it's left over water, Brian carried the tree out the door, and to the burn pile. There it will provide a nice "home" for wayward birds, and by spring, it will be dried out enough to burn! The tree is officially down, but I still have decorations that need to be put away. That was on Tuesday evening.

Wednesday came with a 5:45a.m. phone call from the school. We have a 2 hour delay. I turn my alarm clock off, only to be awakened again at 7:30a.m by yet another phone call from the school. School is now closed! Grandma & Sarah began cleaning upstairs; the play room first, followed by each of their bedrooms. I ended up doing laundry & desperately trying to clean out my laundry room, but got side tracked by having to take Andy to Urgent Care. I was just sure he had strep throat. Nope...just a cold/allergies/virus. Strep test was negative, lungs were clear, no sign of infection in his ears, throat, or sinuses. I was instructed to treat him with OTC meds; ibuprofen for pain (headaches, body aches) & fever, and Sudafed for nasal congestion & cough. So, by the time we got back from Sunbury, Sarah & Grandma had cleaned up their play room, the dormers, & hallways. The kids' bedroom's would have to wait til later. We had supper that night, kids got their baths, and Brian & I debated whether or not to keep Andy home from school on Thursday. In the end, we decided to let Andy make the decision; as long as he was fever free Thursday morning. He wanted to go to school. Bless his heart.

Thursday, Grandma started in Sarah's room. She is my messy child. Ridiculously messy. I resumed my work in my laundry room. I made the mistake of taking some spring jackets & hunting coats upstairs to the spare closet, and got side tracked with helping my mother in law in my daughter's room. I went through old books, jewelry, & clothes. I then moved out into their play room, where we have a hutch for all their books. I began going through those as well. We worked for about 6, maybe 7 hours straight without a break, except to use the bathroom. I made the kids ride the bus home, to give us more time to work unheeded. In the 10, almost 11 years they've been on this planet, I don't think I've gotten rid of ANY of their books. I made a pile of books, that were their favorites when they were younger. I made a HUGE pile of books to sell in a yard sale, and I made a smaller pile of books I want to give to my friend, Erin, for her girls. After the kids got home & did their homework, I made Sarah go up & help her Grandma finish cleaning her room. Andy stayed downstairs with me, and helped me make supper. We had homemade chicken & noodles (and yes, the noodles were homemade as well). By the time supper was ready, we were all starving. The kids helped Grandma do dishes, while I folded up the laundry that I'd begun earlier that day. It seems as though laundry is never ending at our house.

Friday came faster than Thursday did. But I guess that's a typical feeling after working hard the day before. Friday we had planned on starting in Andy's room. It was messy, but not nearly as bad as Sarah's. We'll just call Andy's organized chaos. His was mostly dirty clothes (if they don't bring their dirty clothes to the laundry room, they don't get washed...and we have a laundry chute), Lego's, K'Nex, & Matchbox cars. However, we did not get to his room at all that day. We concentrated instead, on getting the living room more together, so it would at least appear that we did something when Brian got home from work. We at least took 15 minutes to have a bite to eat on this day, unlike the day before. But again, by the time we had supper, we were both starving. Since Andy had band on Friday, I decided to pick them up from school. I gave Grandma the option of going with me, or staying home. She chose to come with me. I think she, like me, needed to get out of the house, even if it was only to sit in my truck for 20 minutes waiting on the kids to be dismissed. When we all got home from school, the kids scampered in to get their homework started, something about a Jamestown project (which they are still working on by the way), Grandma & I decided, for whatever reason, to start shoveling the sidewalks, driveway (not the entire thing, just up close to the house), and the porch. She & I were outside for over 2 hours, shoveling snow & getting some much needed fresh air. We filled my bird feeders, although I didn't have enough seed to fill them both completely full. We had planned on making steaks (for the guys), and salmon (for us girls) for our supper that night. By the time we came in, it was decided that we would order a couple pizzas from Pizza to Go. We all slept like rocks that night; not waking up til after 9 Saturday morning.

Saturday, I again, began working in my laundry room. Only to get pulled away, because Brian noticed some mold growing on the windows upstairs. He was concerned about how it might be contributing to the kids' allergies, so I grabbed some cleaning rags, some cleaner & up the stairs I went. I think when we put up blinds a couple years ago, to help with heating & cooling costs, that air wasn't able to circulate properly, thus leading to the mold growth. Never fear though, as it's been taken care of, and remedied by not putting the blinds completely down. The window panes are covered by the blinds, but the bottom of the window frame is clear of the blind allowing the air to circulate. Hopefully, that will eradicate the mold issue. After cleaning all the mold off, I decided to clean the windows & the bathroom mirror as well. Then I began on the piles & piles of books, on the floor, of their playroom. I brought in some of the plastic totes that I bought a couple weeks ago, and packed away one with Sarah's and one with Andy's books, one is full of toddler & preschool, as well as early K-2 paperback books, set aside for a yard sale. I boxed up the ones that I set side for my Erin's girls, and all I have left to do now is to pack up all the hardback books, for a yard sale, into a plastic tote. Then I'll begin the arduous task of packing up the 4 foot high stacks of the clothes, shoes, & coats, my children have outgrown over the last 2-3 years. I'm hoping to get to that soon, either today or tomorrow, while the kids have the day off. Grandma worked in Andy's room all day, along side Andy. They got his room done quick for two reasons; 1.) Andy was helping clean his own room, and 2.) for some reason, Sarah decided to help as well!! Grandma had wanted to go home last night, but by the time we were done cleaning, doing laundry, and fixing supper it was already after 7 o'clock. She decided to go ahead & stay one more night. Brian is taking her home as I type this. I will miss having someone here to talk to everyday, while Brian is at work, & I'll miss having her help around the house & with the kids, but it's always nice to get back to just being "us."

Today, I'm working on the final loads of laundry, & I think I may make some chocolate chip cookies. I think we'll have leftovers tonight for supper. I have a huge bowl of leftover chicken & noodles I can reheat & add a nice vegetable salad to for our meal. The kids are off tomorrow for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and while I am looking forward to possibly sleeping in tomorrow morning, the kids & I will have plenty to do. I want to get the rest of the stuff upstairs packed away, and get the rest of the Christmas stuff packed up & put away til November! Hope you all are enjoying the sunshine, but it sure is misleading. We've got beautiful blue skies, and bright sunshine, and it's only 22* outside!! I love it!! But we're expecting some rain in a couple days...wonder how slick the roads will get after it rains & then turns cold again?!

Anyway, I think I've said enough today. I'll be posting my weekly menu tomorrow. Take care!

Love & hugs to you all!