Hand Wash Only

Nope. Not talking laundry here. Actuall, I referring to the way we do dishes here in Drosche Land lately.

About two weeks ago we suspected that our dishwasher was leaking. Upon pulling it out and inspecting it we found out that yes, it was leaking indeed. To top it off, it wasn't something simple like a hose or anything. Nope. That's now how we roll here. Instead, the leak was coming from some hidden, indeterminable place underneath the dishwasher itself. 

So, after discussing it and weighing the options, Amy and I decided not to have someone out to look at it. Realistically that would come with an exorbitant cost and would likely result in the confirmation that repair would be too costly, thus meaning replacement was the better option. So, not having the money to replace it immediately, we decided to wait. 

Enter the hand washing. It's not bad really. I mean this is how people washed dishes for how long until the dishwasher was invented?  Surely we can last a little while as we work to save up for the replacement. Right?  Right.

This all has just brought to mind how short-lived appliances can be. 7-8ish years seems to be the lifespan though. Our dryer is making a lovely screeching noise when in use and may turn in its notice before too long. Crazy.  If something had to give up on us, I'm glad it was the dishwasher since that is a cheap and easy fix.  Well, the waiting and saving up is cheap and easy. I've been in the need of a dryer before. It's not pretty. Relying on the sun and wind to dry out your semi-privately displayed underwear. Not pretty at all. 

So for now we are thankful for the little things like appliances that are easily replaced by manpower.  That and the realization that 5 people go through a lot of dishes and maybe we can reevaluate how we use dishes and be more conservative in our usage. The One-Cup-A-Day Rule will be in full effect this summer once we are all home.  That's a sure thing.

All is well, dishpan hands and all, in Drosche Land. 

That Darn Cat, uh, Dog!

This post has nothing to do with the Disney movie.  In fact, I'm not sure I've seen it, or at least I haven't in years.  But its name lends for a clever post title!  On with the post!

So you know we've been keeping the dogs outside during the day lately.  All was going fine.  They stayed out most days unless it was rainy or cold.  We had very little problems with it.  The amount of dog hair we were encountering inside was diminishing.  The dogs were getting exercise (we told ourselves), and all was going well.  Until yesterday that is. 

See, Rex likes to dig.  We've had minor problems with this in the past but have managed to fill in the holes.  It was one of the concerns we had when we decided to keep them outside.  But it seemed to be going well, he seemed to be stopping.  There were no new holes.  Life was good.  Argh.  Yesterday that dog dug next to and under one of the new, smaller raised beds we made.  Said bed (ha that rhymes) is collapsing and is now filled with the displaced dirt.  Argh.  The liner we put down to prevent weeds is also torn and wonky.  Argh.  Needless to say the dog (I'm too mad to speak his name) will no longer be left outside during the day.  Nope.  Nada.  Never again.  My biggest fear is that, once we get everything planted, he will dig and eat it all up.  Then I'll really be angry with the dog.  

So, now what?  He's back to being an inside dog during the day.  We have to decide if he will get to stay out or if he has to be kenneled.  We'll make a decision on Monday.  For now though repairing the damage is on my to-do list for this weekend.  It won't be too hard.  Plus, we intend to get the carrots planted this weekend anyway.  But still, it's the principle of the thing.

That dog.  Argh.

I've never had a dog that digs before.  I don't even know how to combat the issue.  Any good tips or tricks?  He can be out if we are home or outside.  Just not for extended times.  My guess is he gets distressed or bored and is looking for something to occupy his nervous energy.  So apparently he decided to be an amateur archaeologist.  Argh.

Anywho, I'm over it now.  Just had to vent.  The next step in what I am now referring to as "Project Bountiful Harvest".  Meanwhile everything is coming along nicely and growing like crazy inside.  Exciting prospects here on the Drosche Farm!

All is well, holey, in Drosche Land.  

Farm Livin' Is the Life for Me!

Green Acres?  The classic show from the 60's?  Come on, someone has to have seen it.  I loved that show when I was a kid.  In the 80s that is, when it was in reruns on Nick At Nite.  I'm not that old.  If you have no clue what I'm talking about, look it up somewhere.  I wonder if Netflix has it?  I doubt it.  Hulu?  Hmmmm.  But I digress.

So, we may not be living on a farm per say, but I'm one pair of overalls and a pitchfork away from it.  See, remember the last post about the raised bed?  Well, it's still sitting.  Lying in wait.  Last weekend we had the cousins over since Amanda and her family are getting ready to move.  Packing with 3 kids? not fun.  So Amy and I invited them for a sleepover so they could pack.  Turns out 6 kids in Home Depot is a ton of fun.  You get a lot of stares and quizzical looks.  The funniest thing was the fact that they all could have been our children.  The hilarity of that fact was brief though as I realized how old it made me feel.  Anywho, where was I?  Oh yeah, last weekend.

So we used the 5 older kids as slave labor volunteers to help in our backyard makeover.  Stella enjoyed sitting outside with us all and watching.  The kids helped to sand and paint a picnic bench we have from Granny and it turned out great as you can see below.  I don't remember the name of the color, the kids picked it out, but I'm in love and am referring to it as Smurf Blue.

After that we all planted the seeds we had purchased at Home Depot (I knew that previous tangent started with an actual purpose).  We may, and by may I mean truly did, have over bought seems and  underestimated the amount of space we have.  But we got them all started anyway.  Except for the carrots.  Turns out you can't start them in a separate place, they have to go directly into the ground lest you get crooked roots and thus, crooked carrots.  Who knew?  You learn something new every day!

So, in our dining room, in little starter pots we have a variety of seedlings that have already begun to sprout.  Corn (yes corn, we're stoked about it), flowers, green beans, jalapenos, rosemary, onions, watermelon, tomatoes, and a few others I can't quite remember at the moment.  See what I mean?  We may have too many seedlings and not enough space.  But we'll deal with that when we get to it in a few weeks when it's time to transfer.  We have plans, and bricks, to put in a few more smaller beds.  Until then they'll just hang out in the dining room.  It should make for an interesting Superbowl party this weekend that we're hosting!  But that's a topic for another post.

See, I told you  we're practically farmers here.  Impressed aren't you.  In just a few short months we hope to be enjoying a fruitful bounty (that's farmer talk for crap-load of veggies)!  We're excited and the boys have loved checking on the seeds' progress every day.  It's cute and I think it will be a great learning experience.  Probably not just for them, but Amy and I as well!

So, there you have it.  Farm life.  Right here in Drosche Land.  Next step?  A goat.  I've always wanted one.  Maybe not such a great idea with our crops though.  Darn!  Chickens?  Eh, 2 dogs and 3 kids is probably enough!

All is well, planting and sowing, in Drosche Land.

Beginning the work on the bench

A group effort

The finished product!

I used some of the blue paint to paint our stone path

They're beginning to sprout!

Out Back

So, you know that Amy and I are always ones to suddenly start a home improvement project.  Just on a whim.  Out of the blue.

Sometimes it's thought out and planned.  Other times it's spur of the moment.  Sometimes it's a grandiose project that spans several days.  Other times it's a short adventure, lasting only a few hours.

You might recall some of our past projects.  Painting the living room and entry.  Painting the kids' bathroom (and then painting it again when we listed the house), tiling the living room and entry, building a deck, or the most recent project - chalkboard paint.  Well, this past weekend was a glorious 3-day weekend and we did our fair share of relaxing.  However, we can't go that long or have any extended break without getting involved in something.  Come on, you know us better than that.  So, lo and behold, Monday morning it began.

It has its roots in our frustration at the amount of shedding that Rex does.  Oh dear is it a lot.  A lot.  A lot.  A lot.  See, I had to write it 3 times in bold, italics, and underline to get the point across so you are aware of just how much it is.  I just can't believe that one dog can shed that much!  Anywho, I digress.  He sheds, you get the picture.

So, Stella is nearly crawling (we're like a week or so away!) and it is killing us to think about the shedding and her impending mobility.  We can't get rid of the dog.  I don't fee like wrestling him down to shave him bald, plus he might get cold.  Brushing doesn't seem to help.  Our options are limited and running out.  We decided to get them out of the house more.  Maybe that will help.  Less time inside, more time to run around.  More exposure to varying temperatures to help.  We're at the end of our rope here dear readers.  

So, we ventured out on Monday to the lovely Home Depot in search of a doggy igloo, you know the one I'm talking about.  Well, in case you didn't know, they don't sell those at Home Depot.  At least not the one near our house.  We didn't want to tackle building a doghouse or dog run so we were once again limited and desperate.  Then, in a moment of beautiful inspiration, Amy had an idea.  We'll move down one of their kennels (the big one they can both fit into) into the back yard and take the door off.  Bingo!  Problem solved, plus it was FREE!  

Meanwhile, we have 100 concrete pavers that we put down in our backyard when we first moved in.  Just to the right of the patio.  It was a quick and easy attempt to extend the patio.  However, it was also done hastily and, dare I say, lazily.  We didn't have quite the knowhow or funds to do it properly.  We didn't level it correctly or lay down any kind of barrier.  So, over the few years you can imagine what we have now.  Wobbly, uneven pavers with weeds and grass growing on, in, and around them.  NOT the picture we had in mind when we created it.  So, it's been bothering us for at least a year but we haven't decided what to do to remedy it.  Until this past weekend that is!  Up came the pavers.  Some were re-purposed to lay out a platform for the dogs' kennel/house.  The others sacrificially gave their lives so they could each be broken in half and used to build a (drumroll please) raised bed!

Woo hoo!  We've always wanted one and now we are well on the way to having it.  It's laid out and build (with barrier thank you very much).  We are now waiting to purchase the soil and seeds after we do a bit more thinking and research about what we'd like to grow.  Again, this project is all the more better because it was FREE!

I know what you're thinking though.  What about the big empty space where the pavers were that is devoid of grass and holds the potential to turn into a huge mud pit when the next rain comes?  Good question and no, we are not installing a mud wrestling pit (bummer).  Nope, we bought grass seed to plant.  The grass in our backyard is nearly all dead, I'd say a good 75% gone, after the massive drought/heatwave we had 2 summers ago.  This is our first step to re-grassing (yeah, I'm sure that's a word and a home improvement term) the backyard.  We'll start with this small area and then move on to the rest of the yard later.

See, now aren't you proud of us?  Not only are we hard at work on another project, but it only cost $15 for the grass seed.  I'm pretty sure Dave Ramsey would approve.  We figured that since we have finally, fully decided to stay here (we love this house and the area so much) forever, it was time we focused a bit on the backyard.  So, we will continue to revamp over Spring Break and into the summer.  Stay tuned to see what lies ahead!

So, that's it.  I'm pretty stoked about it all.  It was fun to get out there and work.  Reclaim our backyard from the jungle I had let it become and see our vision come to life!  Hopefully the work will continue to stay on this path of easy, fun, and inexpensive!  Below is a picture of how the raised bed looks now!

Upcycled, revamped, and FREE!

All is well, one more project begun, in Drosche Land.

Chalk It Up

Hey! I hope that 2013 is treating you well. 9 days in and all is well here in Drosche Land. We've all returned to school and have settled back into our schedules and routines quite nicely after a much-needed vacation. I hope that the same can be said for you dear readers.

This past weekend we decided to take it easy. We were still coming off of vacation, the kids and I were tired from returning to school, and Amy was mentally preparing to return to school herself. So, we decided to stay in. It helped that we had torrential downpours all day Saturday, making for the perfect weather (cold and rainy, my favorite) to stay indoors.

But you know us. We aren't always content to sit around for long without much to do. Often Amy and I end up throwing ourselves into some kind of project. This particular Saturday would prove to be in keeping with our tradition. Luckily it ended up being a very quick and easy project. Affording us the pleasure of having gotten into and completed something without having to make too much of a mess or have a long-term project emerge from a quick idea.

Sitting at lunch Saturday I commented on how I had been thinking that we should paint a wall in our kitchen with that chalkboard paint. You know the kind right? Turns any surface into a readymade chalkboard? Well, said wall is a small wall that creates the nook our fridge sits in. It's where we hang our calendar and have always had some kind of menu/shopping list/memo board going on. What better place for a chalkboard wall than that? Amy was onboard from the get-go. I quickly researched the cost in order to make sure we could financially support another harebrained idea. $10 for a pint of paint? Not too bad. Plus we had rollers and brushes so it would really only be $10 for the project! Score!

So, Jackson and I (the boys needed some time away from each other lest they end up napping or in time-out) headed out to Home Depot after lunch. We moved the fridge and luckily we didn't have to unplug it, the cord stretched just enough to allow access to the area behind it. Another positive point in this project. 2 easy coats and 2 hours or so later and the wall was finished. Technically it wasn't finished as it needed to sit a few days before using. Flash forward to yesterday when the required 3-day wait was over.

We were all pretty excited to try it out. Amy had wrangled up some chalk and an eraser so we were all set. It worked! The boys had a blast writing and drawing on the wall and Amy and I have a place for notes/reminders/menu items. An all-around winner!

So, all is well with another small home improvement project down. Sure, there are many larger things that need to be done but for now we sit a relish in a successful job well-done! On a side note, you should totally try this chalkboard paint out. We have another pint (I bought 2 just in case) that we are currently trying to think of projects with which to use it. We'll see what happens! See the pictures below for the finished product and the boys putting it to good use!

All is well, now with chalk dust, in Drosche Land.










- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

The Dingo & The Drainpipe, Revisited

So yesterday I'm outside doing some much-needed yard work (finally).  As I'm mowing I notice something at the mouth of the front drainpipe.  Upon closer inspection it was clearly the remains of some small animal.  Worry not, this post does not include a picture.  I guess the readers here and people on Facebook were correct, it wasn't a mental illness or pica-fueled craving for metal that caused that stray dog to mangle my drainpipe.  It was pure animal bloodlust.

I can envision the scenario now.  Small woodland creature (likely a mouse) innocently scurrying around, midmorning.  Along comes the stray with this little buddy.  A chase ensues, there's nowhere to go but up (my drainpipe).  The stray, now crazed and maniacal vigorously attacks the innocent drainpipe until the confused homeowner (me!) appears out of nowhere and chases him away.  The mouse either mortally wounded or trapped in the drainpipe meets his/her end.  Flash forward a week or so and the heavy rains we have washes the evidence out.  The saga is finished.

I'm really glad that I had not started the disassembly and replacement of the drainpipe, that would have been an extremely unpleasant surprise.  It would appear as though my procrastination has come in handy for once (Amy is now rolling her eyes).  Woo hoo!  So the mystery is solved and I felt it my responsibility, dear readers, to share and update.  I know you, as I,  were still baffled and racking your brain in a Sherlockian attempt to figure it out!  :)

All is well, one less mystery but still one more busted drainpipe, in Drosche Land.

A Dingo Ate My Drainpipe!

Ok, so it wasn't a dingo exactly.  But a stray member of the canine species did in fact maul, mortally wound, and possibly consume a portion of my drainpipe this morning!  Now that I've hooked you with a catchy title to the post that is both current events and a pop culture reference, I'll proceed with my story.

So, we were sitting in the living room this morning chillaxin' and watching DVR, cause that's how we roll in the summertime here in Drosche Land.  Suddenly there comes a strange sound and it's loud.  So loud that Amy swears it sounds as though it's on our front porch.  I'm sure it's the neighbors or something but I get up to check anyway.  I open the front door and lo and behold there's the aforementioned canine, hard at work gnawing on my aluminum drainpipe.  He looks at me like, "Oh crap!" and he's got a little furry friend at the end of my driveway who I can only assume was the look-out of the duo.  I'm too shocked to do anything other than shut the door to quickly inform Amy of the incident I just witnessed.  I open the door again to shoo him and he looks back at me, "You again!  Crap!".  I holler at him and he begins his retreat, meeting up with his short friend before hightailing (get it, tailing) down the street.

I'm left there standing in front of my house gobsmacked (my new favorite word, it seems to be everywhere lately).  I turn and survey the damage (see pictures below).  Seriously?!  Why?!  The only thing I can assume is that he was chasing something that ran up the doomed drainpipe.  That or he suffers from a form of canine pica and had a craving for a metallic mid-morning snack.  Either way I'm left with a mangled drainpipe and a partially dug up rosebush.  Looks like I have a fun new home improvement project to work on and I'll be learning how to install a drainpipe!  Fun!  Stay tuned for that post.

In the mean time I'm hoping it doesn't rain for a few days or I'll have another issue on my hands.  Just another fun adventure brought to you by mentally unstable stray animal!

All is well, drained, in Drosche Land.

The scene of the crime!

Poor rosebush, pardon the weeds!

Poor drainpipe!  It never stood a chance!

         

W is for Weeds

Stop.  Reread the title.

See, this is not a post concerning illegal substances!  Shame on you for thinking otherwise.  I thought we knew each other better than that.  After all, we have been through 22 posts together this month (not counting Sunday Snapshots).  But I forgive you, the title could be misleading at first!  :)  On with the post.

I've never professed, nor will I ever, to have a green thumb.  I want to grow things.  I like the idea of it.  Gardens, flowers, vegetables.  But plants and I don't always see eye to eye.  One just needs to think back (or read back if you're new here) to the sad story of our nectarine and lemon trees (see here and here).  Of course I don't take full blame for our inability to keep plants alive and well.  The one downfall to building your own house is the lack of mature trees, for a few decades at least.  That means our backyard gets full sun, all the time.  Amy's rosebushes (the only plants that thrive here) get shade and sun alternately throughout the day.  Come to think of it, I don't have anything to do with those.  Hmmmm?  Maybe it is me?  But I digress.

The one thing I am a pro at growing, is weeds!  I am skilled in keeping a yard-full of a wide variety of weeds happy and healthy.  Being a homeowner, specifically one without gardening skills, has truly taught me the meaning behind the phrase "growing like a weed".  True stuff!  The drought of last summer that killed off the majority of my grass only seems to have aided said weeds in taking root (ha!) and taking over.  I will say though that since we hired a lawn service to help do what I'm too busy inept lazy, well what I can't do, the weeds have been brought under control somewhat.  I need to give them a spring treatment and hopefully that will help too.  In the meantime though, it is what it is.  I'm still holding out hope that the grass will experience a renewal and return to claim its rightful place in our yard.  Wait and see.

Do you garden?  Successfully?  Have a green thumb?  Or are you like me and experience poor gardening luck.  Any weed-killing secrets?

At least this one has a pretty flower for me to enjoy!

All is well, albeit gardening challenged, in Drosche Land.

R is for Recycling

Well, I'll start of by saying that this is the 2nd time I am posting this today.  I didn't get around to scheduling it so I wrote it this morning.  My first post to not be scheduled.  I know I wrote it and I know I published it.  Somewhere along the way though something happened because when I just checked on it to schedule some posts it wasn't there!  Well, it was there, but it was blank!  I'm bummed.  A whole day gone with no "R" post.  Luckily I caught it in time so I can still make it, but I'm still bummed!  :(  On with the post!  I can't remember it all but I thought it was good so I'll have to make do with what I can remember and what comes to me now!

I've always wanted to recycle.  You know, help the earth out and all.  But honestly, it was a lot of work. Our neighborhood didn't collect recyclables and I am too lazy busy to collect, store, load, and transport things across creation to drop it off.  Sorry earth, it just wasn't happening.  Luckily though a few months ago our neighborhood announced that they would begin picking up recyclables!  Woo hoo!

Who knew there were so many different kinds of plastics?  Who knew you couldn't recycle a pizza box?  Well, now I do.Turns out there is a ton of stuff that's recyclable.  Before we were taking out a bag of trash about every other day.  Overflowing trash cans were then left at the curb twice a week.  Such is no longer the case here in Drosche Land!  I'd say well over 60% of our trash is recyclable.  We now only take the trash to the curb on the weekend and it's only ever half full at most.  The recycling trash can though?  That's always over flowing.

Now don't get me wrong.  I'm all supportive of going green, but I'm not always perfect at it.  We don't do all we could/should.  We recycle, use better light bulbs, use ceiling fans, a programmable thermostat, turn of the lights.  Basic stuff, we do what we can.  But I do have weaknesses.  I leave the water running when I brush my teeth.  I'm very particular (remember the "O" post) about how I sort laundry so I run small loads, but I do adjust the load size (when I remember).  But hey, I'm a work in progress and any little thing helps right?

We're about to embark on a whole new level of green here in Drosche Land though.  We will be using cloth diapers (gDiapers) with Stella.  With the boys we used the regular disposable.  But we're older and wiser now.  We've possibly also blissfully forgotten all about the amount of diaper changing.  So we've decided to inch a little further into the green.  I'm excited.  I feel helpful.  You're welcome earth!

Do you recycle?  Have you gone green?  Totally or, like us, partially?  Used cloth diapers?  Well, whatever you do, congratulations!

Our recycling bin!  And proud of it!

All is well, going green(ish), in Drosche Land.

Nothing

No, it's not what this post it about. That would be quite boring right? Nope, instead this post's title refers to our Spring Break and what we've done over it. Or rather what we haven't done. You'll recall I was previously debating what to do for our annual Spring Break Project. At the top of the list was redecorating the boys' bedroom. Well, that didn't happen. Or ideas exceeded both our budget and time frame so we decided to put it off until further notice. Maybe summer? See, Amy only had 2 days off this year so we didn't have a ton of time in which to accomplish a lot. Monday she worked and I headed to the Rodeo with the boys and her family. Tuesday and Wednesday she was off and we decided that 2 days at home, doing nothing, was just what we needed. Well, not nothing actually. We successfully watched the entire 7th season of Deadliest Catch. Totally addicting. It never fails to amaze me what these guys do to get crab and the loads of money they make doing it! Whenever we watch I am left in awe, and hungry for seafood. But I digress.

Today Amy returned to work and I stayed home with the boys. I asked her, as I always do, what she'd like me to accomplish. She said, "nothing". For good reason too, her reason being that soon Stella will arrive and our time to enjoy nothingness will be gone for quite a while. So, going against every urge I had not to, I did just that. Nothing. I sat on the couch and proceeded to work on cleaning off the DVR. I am now caught up on Revenge. Love it! I also pinned a ton of stuff to Pinterest and browsed there a while. Oh, and I also started catching up on writing reviews on Yelp. Laziness aside I did do a load of dishes, one of laundry, and I registered the boys for the next school year. So I wasn't totally useless! It's amazing just how much you can get done by doing nothing.

Tomorrow my plan is much the same. Amy's brother Adam is in town from Nebraska for the first time since going away to college and her family is coming over to the house so she can make her famous pizza for dinner! Then Adam and I have plans on going out. To where I don't know? So my last day of Spring Break will be eventful.

All in all though I think nothing might have been the best option for us this year. It's definitely a first and I do have extreme trouble doing nothing. Maybe I needed the practice? Do you ever find yourself unable to sit, relax, and do nothing? Amy says that I'm often up and running around doing any number of things. It's a sickness I guess. One that I may never overcome, although I think I made pretty good strides this week!

All is well, nothing more, in Drosche Land.

Bunkmates

Well, it's time for the post I originally planned when I realized I'd missed our Blogiversary.

This past weekend, since we had some extra time on our hands due to the holiday, we made our usual impromptu plans. Well, it was sort of impromptu, it was something we'd discussed before and had been thinking about for a while. We got the boys bunk beds. See, they are perpetually going through a phase where they're sleeping in the same bed. Despite the many ways we've tried to get them to sleep in their own beds, they always wind up together. Sometimes they'll wake up in Braeden's bed, other time in Jackson's. It's beginning to not work out though. They're getting bigger and take up more room. Also, Jack is one of those sleepers who moves around, a lot. So neither of them was getting a good night's sleep. This makes for rough mornings for us all! So we decided on bunk beds, ones with a full bed on the bottom and a twin on the top. That way, if they continue to insist on sleeping in the same bed, at least they'll have ample room to do so and sleep well at the same time.

As I mentioned before, we've been thinking about this for a while. Stella's impending arrival has just moved things up a bit. When Stella joins us, the boys will need some space of their own. The house will soon be overrun with baby paraphernalia and girl stuff. They'll need a place to escape from all of this and play. Plus, they won't be able to have their Legos and other small toys out and about where Stella can get to them. Bunk beds will open their room up and give them a place to play.

So, Monday afternoon we ventured out. We knew exactly what we were looking for so it didn't take long. While we searched the boys enjoyed testing out all of the bunk beds! Later that night the beds were delivered and assembled, just in time for bedtime! It really did open up their room and they are in love with them. Luckily, no one has fallen out of the top bunk (as I did when I was little, breaking my arm) or fallen off the ladder. Braeden claimed the top bunk, with Jack all too happy to have the big bottom bed to himself. They switched during the week, as we'd expected they would and they do seem to be sleeping better. This morning though, they were both in the bottom bed together! It was only a matter of time! Luckily we know it is big and comfy enough to hold them both! So, another big step for our growing boys. Bunk beds. Wow. I can't believe they're old enough to have them! But, as you can see from the picture below, they sure a cute in them!

All is well, double decker sleeping, in Drosche Land.

Sunday Snapshot - 2011 in Review

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

So last night we rang in 2012 in low-key style at home.  Jack made it to 8:00, Amy to 9:00, and Braeden to 9:30!  After the kids were all tucked in I spent the time half watching New Year's TV and reading.  The ridiculously large and spectacular fireworks show put on by various neighbors woke Amy up right at 12:00 so we did get to have our kiss and ring it in together.  I don't know how much combined was spent by the neighbors we watched but I'm glad it was funded by their wallet and not mine!  I totally plan on getting a "Resolutions" post out but I'm not sure if it will be today or not.  2012 has already kicked off busily as we finish tidying the house and knocking out the last of the laundry.  We have been dog-sitting one of Amy's Mom's dogs so we have to return her and then pick her Mom up from the airport (Adam has gone off to Nebraska for college and she's on her way back from there).  After dinner with her it will be time to rush home for baths, bedtime, and lunch prep so we can be as fresh and prepared for tomorrow as possible.  Both Amy and Jack resume tomorrow and I have a half-day in-service so Braeden is coming along and will wind up somewhere while I'm in meetings, we go back on Tuesday.  So we will see if there is time tonight before bed for another post but I wanted to get out this Sunday Snapshot because I have been looking forward to it for about a week as I reviewed 2011 in pictures!  I originally planned on doing 12 shots (like I could stay at a limit that small!), one for each month.  However that quickly proved impossible as I couldn't sum up every month and its activities in just one photo.  So I'm hitting each month and including a picture for each of the major events in that month, some have a few more than others.  But I'm pleased with the selections and will post them now before I add more!  Looking back 2011 was a busy and fantastic year!  I hope 2012 will be more of the same!  Enjoy!
 
All is well, picture perfect, in Drosche Land.

January 2011

 We began readying Margaux's room in mid-January.  Yes I know the adoption has been called off, but it was a big part of the first half of 2011.

January also brought Braeden's first 100 Day homework!  100 thumbprints!

February 2011

 Valentine's Day!  The kids had been dying for Pillow Pets!  They are still in love with them!

Ok, no big event here but I LOVE this picture of Jack from one of our trips to see our nephew Jared's basketball games!

March 2011

 March saw the addition of Rex to our family!  I can't believe how little he was or how much he's grown!

During Spring Break we did our annual home improvement project, the floors!  It was hard but totally worth it and I am still in love with tile floors (especially now after getting a Dyson).  I wonder what Spring Break 2012 will bring?

 April 2011

 In April sports came to Drosche Land as Braeden began playing soccer!  Turns out he loved it and was pretty good!

Easter!  I love Jack's face, he gets so much pleasure simply from hunting for eggs!

May 2011

 Braeden turned 5!  Wow!

May proved to be quite Braeden-centric as he also graduated from Pre-Kindergarten!

June 2011

 June began with our trip with Amy's family to Beaver Lake, Arkansas!  It was an excellent time and the kids still ask when we are going to Arkansas again!

I also put my mad deck-building skills to use in June!  Granted a storm as since taken the canopy from us, but I am mentally working on a solution to do this spring/summer thanks to some clever spying on a neighbor whose canopy suffered the same fate as ours!

July 2011

 Another vacation?  Don't mind if we do!  This time it was with my family to Galveston!  

 July also saw Amy start her own blog (find it here) about her love of cooking and the adventures of a busy mom feeding her family great food.  I'm highly recommend checking it out!

August 2011

 

Amy turned 30!  We took another fun trip to our favorite stop - San Antonio's Riverwalk to celebrate!

 

Another school year began!  Braeden in Kindergarten (what?!) and Jack in Pre-School 3!

September 2011

 More sports as Braeden started T-Ball and again not only loved it but was good!

 Jack turned 4!  Wow, 2 old kids in the house!

Braeden lost his first tooth!  He lost another in November so they're just falling out now!

October 2011

 The annual trip to Dewberry Farm to pick the perfect pumpkins!

I got my new iPhone 4S!

 Between having a superhero and a Storm Trooper present on Halloween we were definitely safe from danger!

 #3 is on their way!

November 2011

 I turned 29 31!  Happy Birthday to me!

Adam and I had an awesome trip to Las Vegas for his 21st birthday over Thanksgiving Break!

December 2011

 Our annual Christmas Eve family photo!  Love it!

Another blessed Christmas.  Between Braeden's DS from his birthday and Jack's Christmas gift of a Leapster we rarely see them anymore!  :)  Gaming has entered Drosche Land full force!

Let Me Entertain You

So, it is FINALLY Christmas break!  Well, actually yesterday was the first official day of break, but let's not split reindeer hairs.  I'm back!  I haven't forgotten my slightly neglected but much-loved blog.  The week before Christmas and the week before the end of the school year are always crazy busy so blogging (sadly) fell to the rock-bottom of my list.  But anywho, I'm back!

Christmas Break, well at least the beginning of it anyway, means it's time for the annual Christmas Party for Amy's Center!  And we host it!  I love this and live for it all year long, well at least from November until December.  It's not a ton of work, mainly just massive house cleaning due in part to the previous, and aforementioned, crazy week which leaves our house disheveled and in need of tidying.  This year though I get to bust out our brand-new Dyson for the event!  Christmas cleaning, is there anything better?

Yesterday I mowed and cleaned up the front and back yards in preparation for the kids coming so they could play outside and run around.  Then last night and this morning it poured.  But hey, that's what a loft is for right?  The perfect place to banish entertain the kids!  I have also been plowing my way through copious loads of laundry and am oddly only about halfway done!  Today on the agenda is vacuuming (Dyson-filled fun) and lots of it.  I also have to clean the bathrooms and the kitchen.  Oh and making a batch of Chex Mix!  I think that's it although I am sure something will be added to the list throughout the day.  

Tomorrow is sure to be fun as it always is.  I do enjoy hosting the party and having everyone over.  I am always trying to think of another occasion when we can host something, but living so far out makes it somewhat difficult.  Oh well, it just makes this even all the more special.  An added bonus is that we cater the food from La Finca our favorite place just across the street!  Yum!

Well, I had better start some of the tasks on today's list so I can begin checking them off!  Dyson, Tide, and cleaning supplies are calling my name!

All is well, the host with the most, in Drosche Land.

Neverending Story

So, is this post about (A) the classic 1980's movie or (B) the mundane household chore of laundry?  If you answered B, then you are correct!  Although, answer A is one of my favorite movies.  If you haven't seen it, shame on you, you really should.

Anyway, back to laundry.  I'm a nerd, I love doing laundry.  I'm quite particular about it as well, Amy often teases me about my sorting, folding, and hanging rules.  I typically do all of our laundry on the weekend but lately with Saturday T-Ball games, birthdays, and just the general busyness of life I have been working on laundry throughout the week, doing it whenever I have time.  I'm sure this is what many people do, but it was an adjustment for me.  However, it does fit the fact that with 2 adults, 2 young boys, and 2 dogs there is always, always, laundry to be done.  Clothes, sheets, towels, etc.  So, even though I am usually hesitant to change, especially when it is one of my routines (I have some OCD tendencies) I have been trying to change the laundry schedule here so it doesn't pile up and take over the house every weekend.  Then Amy went and dropped a bombshell on me this past week.  It was one I would have come to realize sooner or later, but still, it hit me.  With a baby on the way that is a ton more laundry to add in!  Factor in all of the baby clothes, diaper cloths, towels, and everything else it adds up.  Plus, if the baby turns out to be a girl then that is a whole new story!

So, I have a few months to mentally adapt to the impending change as well as to put some new routines and procedures through trial and error.  So, while not a riveting (or too interesting) dilemma, still just part of our daily adventures here!

All is well, freshly laundered, in Drosche Land. 

The Beginning of the End

Of summer that is.  See, today was the boys' last day at home for the summer.  When you're a teacher's kid, or at least our kids, you return to school at the beginning of August when the teachers report back.  Yes, in a way this gyps them out of 2 weeks of summer vacation, but it is what it is.  Overall it was an easy-going day for us.  The boys woke up, as usual, at the crack of dawn.  They played and watched TV for a bit and I (finally) finished the deck.  I know, I blogged about it long ago, and technically it was finished.  Today I just put the finishing touches on in the forms of borders around the edge to give it a good look and keep critters (i.e. bunnies) out from under it.  Then I took the boys to the neighborhood pool, had lunch, and they took a great nap.  After that it was snack time (cake because it was after all the last day of their summer and I'm a push-over).  Then more playtime and our day wound down.  Nothing spectacular but relaxing nonetheless.

Although I do have the usual (for me that is) guilt over not having done more this summer.  We could have made playdough, gone to the Zoo, swam more, done more home improvement projects, had fun craft projects, etc.  I do this at the end of every summer.  The only saving grace for me this year was the fact that this was the "Summer of Vacations" here in Drosche Land.  A week-long trip to Arkansas, the beach at Quintana, and then a weekend at a Galveston beach house.  Easily the most vacationing we've ever done in a summer.  This did make for a fun and memorable time, not to mention the fact that it provided us with a couple of hundred pictures!

Do you go through this end of the summer blues?  Yes, I know there is the usual "wish it could be longer" but I'm talking about the self-inflicting of guilt for the things left undone.  Maybe it's just me, I do it at the end of the school year with my students too.  There is always room for some coulda, woulda, shoulda.

Tomorrow they go to school, per their request, for "Pajama & Movie Day".  They are stoked!  That means tomorrow will be my last day alone for the summer.  What are my plans?  I'm not sure.  Part of me says I should lay around and watch TV (I'm almost done with the 2nd season of Brothers & Sisters on Netflix), relishing in the bliss of nothingness.  But then again part of me says I have to do something productive.  We'll see which wins out!  I have a feeling laziness and a bit of guilt will be the dominant forces tomorrow!

All is well, nearing the end, in Drosche Land. 

Stuffed

No, I didn't eat too much.  Although I do need to get a bit more in control so I can get rid of the vacation pounds in time for the new school year, but that's a topic for another post.

No, I'm talking about something that everyone, at least I think everyone, has.  A dirty little secret in their house.  Their junk drawer.  Come on, you know you have one somewhere.  A place where stuff seems to land, get crammed, temporarily stored, or otherwise accumulates.  Ours in in our kitchen, the hub of our house.  So much goes on there it's easy to understand how it can quickly get filled.  Having a junk drawer, in my opinion, is alright.  It's just that when it gets difficult to close, or requires extensive force or maneuvering to open, it is high time it gets an overhaul.  Well the time came this morning for the Drosche Land junk drawer to be cleaned.  I knew it would be an undertaking, but 45 minutes?  Seriously.  Before you judge me to much (don't, again you know you have one somewhere) or get self-conscious about your drawer, I will continue this post with pictures.  Enjoy!

 Said drawer, innocent looking enough on the outside.  But on the inside . . .

A chaotic nightmare, desperately in need of an extreme makeover!

 

 Purged of its treasures.

 The contents, carefully organized and grouped.

 Seriously, how did all of this fit in there?

 A couple of coupon/receipt organizers.

 An accoutrement of home improvement supplies.

 Sticky, dirty hands?  We've got you covered.

 A kitchen essential, these get a pass!

Random assortment of gift cards!

 You never know when you'll need to write a note, or many notes.

 Coupons, because that's how my awesome wife rolls!

Kids' stuff, most of it probably confiscated contraband.

 

 Many extra key rings.

 If you're in the market for a great neutral paint color we can help.

 A collection of office supplies.

 Numerous crayons.

This is probably one of the most random things, used to trim dogs' toe nails.  It's a hassle and we've maybe used it twice, but it seems to be a staple in the Drosche Land junk drawer, always winding up in one wherever we live!

 

 Scentsy - of course!

Need hot sauce?  I just can't remember the last time we ate at Taco Bell?

 

 

Because you never know when you'll need a quick tutorial on how to use a tile cutter or electric griddle!

 

 Of course there was a pile for things that didn't fit anywhere else!

 This is my favorite thing that I found in the junk drawer.  I have no clue what it is, so of course I kept it!

Ahhhhh, cleaned out totally.  I may have gone a bit overboard in cleaning it out, but that's to leave room for the many things that will soon begin to reside here!

So, 45 minutes later I had a cleaned out and well-organized junk drawer.  Of course I had to leave a few random objects in there with the essentials (like the mystery object).  But that's what makes a junk drawer fun and unique - the little weird odds and ends you find in there.  Honestly most of what I found got thrown away.  The rest (finally) got returned to where it belongs.  Of course it will fill up again, who knows how long it will take?  But that is the nature of junk drawers everywhere right?

All is well, with a not so "junky" junk drawer anymore, in Drosche Land.