Year 2, Days 246 & 247 & 248: Change of Plans

Mama said there'd be days like this....
It's been a bit overwhelming this week with lots of outside activities and home projects to accomplish.  Life got a bit complicated when our very kind friend told us on Monday that he really needs his barn back for the harvest season.  Yikes! I wanted to clear it out in August, but then we started the bathroom project and vacation.  So, we had to shift gears and start working on clearing out the shed first, before bringing boxes back to our house.  We don't have money, nor time, to really shore it up to my liking, so we are only putting the heavy duty, fully sealed boxes out there for now and no pictures.  But that means, all the cardboard boxes are going to have to fit in the garage, which, is not good because the termites are still very much active according to an exterminator who came yesterday and quoted us a hefty bit of money for that.  Ah, our budget can't handle all these "must do yesterday" projects!  Never mind that it took me 4 days to get to our history review in homeschool so we can forward for the year. Gah! So, I barely picked up my camera.  I got a few pics on my phone, blech.  But at least I am fully caught up the blog, right?  Today, Thursday, September 7th, was a much better day.  Maybe because I had a really good cry.  Maybe because for once I didn't go anywhere and no one came to the house to do something.  Ok, someone did come and tighten up the IPL wire and tomorrow morning the internet cable will finally be buried after 3 months of sitting on the fence! But, we are home.  And, you'll see, I got a project done and/or thought through as well.  One day at a time....

On Tuesday, we went to the Central Library downtown again for Pokemon' club.  This time, Abishai came with us.  He loved the big trucks, including this recycling one!  He played with them on these stairs in the theater area, taking them up and down the stairs/seats multiple times.

Then Abishai found this wavy "seat" and a friend to play with!  We practiced sharing and it went really well.  Gorgeous day outside by the way.

Looking southeast from the 2nd floor of the library.

Now southwest at the original library building.

Whoops! Trying to get in the van quickly because the meter was running out and the other kids had Bible class with Grandpa to come home to.

Playtime in the backyard.  Go get'em!

A boy and his dog, enjoying the backyard, the way it should be.

Oh wow! I put the stool from the other bathroom in here because I was emptying it out for that bathrom's renovations, and look what it did for Abishai!  He can reach the faucet!

Tippy toes, but he can wash his hands!  Wahoo!

6 mattresses! Plus a hydraulic bedframe and lots of misc. junk!  It's a huge shed, and I'm so glad we don't live in a subdivision with a HOA where they tell you what you can and cannot do in your yard, including what type of shed, the size of the shed, even what color the shingles can be!

Uh oh, someone found a hornet nest!  Spray and pray! Run!

Here's their exit hole.  Benaiah said there were maybe a dozen of them and it took a couple of days for them to die and/or find another home.  He sprayed and took care of the nest tonight before putting in the tubs.

Daddy had taken Abishai and Justin for a run to our friend's house for boxes, so they stopped at Taco Bell on the way back, even after consuming a good dinner.

I wish I knew the settings on my camera better because wow oh wow what a gorgeous harvest moon!  I could see all kinds of features on it, too!  I know other photographers did get some great pictures of it though.

Wednesday was gymnastics day.  But we saw the train that parallels the road stopped in the town the gym was in.  So we quickly dropped off Keturah and double backed to a parking lot nearby.  I'm not sure what was getting fixed but at least we got a good look at the cars for Abishai!

At first we thought this engine was pulling the train, but when we got up close, it was not hoked up to it.  Abishai immediately said, "Thomas!"  Well, it's an electric train, but the color is right!  I bet this stop is for grain, but I'm sure it doesn't take this long to do that.  It was still there when we left an hour later.

Keturah made some progress!  She can land her cartwheels properly, and she was practicing her kickovers!

Mrs. Christy had her doing back bends onto the mat and then she would help Keturah back up.  They also worked on pushing themselves away from the bar, which is the first step for a kip.  Oh, and they worked on doing forward rolls, standing up t the end without touching the floor with their hands, and posing at the end.

Every straight line becomes a road to Abishai and every object that you can put something in becomes a garage for his cars.

Later on at Bible Bowl, Abishai was adamant that he carry Daddy's nearly empty water jug home for him.  He had a great time running back and forth with a little guy, too.  And he saw Grandpa teaching a class about how to be a Godly Grandpa or Grandma!  THEN, Grandpa taught the same class at the other campus the next morning. Well, we get a text from Benaiah asking for one of us to go and sign off on one of his tests (standard procedure for everyone).  So, like a good Grandpa, he put into practice and scooted over there to sign the paper since he was the closest adult.  This was one of the first times Benaiah has forgotten to do something for class ever, so it was fine.  If this was a bad habit, or if he always forgot his lunch, then no, we wouldn't be helping me.  But this one time?  Sure!

Big storm clouds!  We didn't get dumped on although they do look pretty fierce.  Nothing like Hurricane Harvey or Irma etc which are/were category 5 storms (the worst they could be).  Harvey hit Texas and Irma is about to hit all of Florida.  It's pretty scary for our friends and family in these places.

Of course, Jared got up on the roof to get a picture for his Twitter feed.  Doesn't everybody's husband do that?  Lol!

Do you see that break in the clouds that looks like a bolt of lightning?  Pretty cool, eh?

We brought the kids home after Bible Bowl and then I went to Meijer alone so I could look at stuff without little kid distractions. And look what I found!  Yeah! Now I don't have to make a stop at PetSmart this weekend which is way down in Greenwood!

Messy chocolate!

So, this is my project.  And it mostly worked.  I wanted it to hide everything.  I got the width correct, but not the length.  So, I'll need to figure out how to use flat sheets like my friends suggested or buy the right length curtains or something.  I like the metal grommets.  It makes it open and close smoothly.  I don't think I'll return these because they match Keturah's favorite color perfectly.  She peaked into the boys' room and was quite jealous actually.  So, I didn't quite get it looking how I want to, but I tried.

We need to buy every single curtain rod and curtain for all the windows at some point because the previous residents took whatever there was.  Frustrating because it's hard to nail things into these plastered walls.

No blinds, no curtains.  We bought the blinds though, but need to find time to do it.  Fun fact is that I have never, ever bought curtains before.  We've always had hand me downs or used sheets and towels tacked up with thumbtacks to darken a room.  We never seem to have any extra money for this homemaking add on.  So, when I went last night to pick something else, I didn't know the standard measurements or how many panels it takes for a window, nor the price point for any of it.  I did pretty good though.  $32 for a pole and two panels, which is a whole lot cheaper than new doors for the boys' closet.

And my poor neighbors have to deal with me and a huge light in our sunroom until midnight every night because there are no blinds and no curtains in this room.

IPL guy tightening up the electrical wire.  He was done in 5 minutes, yeah!

"Hello, my name is Barry Allen, and I'm the fastest man alive!....They call me, 'The Flash!' "

Oh wait, here comes the Reverse Flash! Or Savitar! Or some other evil speedster.  Or is it Gorilla Grodd? 

And the process begins, again.  I'm quite nervous about those holes in the shed, but I don't really have a choice right now.  I don't like that my men have had to move these boxes 10 times, but I also don't have the mental capacity to do much with them.  I just need to remember that I DID go through every single box 1 1/2 yrs ago and gave away 1/3 of what we did have.  So, baby steps.

It's a huge shed and will swallow up a ton, I'm sure.  But not everything is in heavy duty rubbermaid brand totes.  We will have to store it in the garage for  now, in a way that the termites can't get to them.  It's a never ending cycle of rotating where the boxes go and how.

Hi! I was in the shed and Abishai came up to me with the horsey backpack/leash on.  He thought it was a cow.

Just climbing a ladder because he can while Keturah reads him a story and Benaiah joins in asking for a hug, which sadly, Abishai refused to.  Maybe next time.

More clouds.

Cutie!

I thought about it last night when I saw the sunset, but you never really see green tones in the sunset, do you?  I think the colors are just from the ends of the spectrum not the middle, but you do have greens in the grass and trees that are right next to the sky, so technically, you have the whole rainbow.

6 mattresses, all great nests for whatever creature could get up there.  Ew!!!!

That's all for now.  I'll show you the after pictures when we get all the stuff organized.  Most of it is "memories" or different clothing sizes for different people or the rest of my mom's crafting stuff, etc. It should be interesting to see if we can get it all in there and I'm praying that it stays safe.  We need to buy some locks and put a better door on it, too.  But, that's more money we don't have.  Being a home owner is super expensive!  But it's "ours" (or the bank's technically, mortgage) and we can do what we want with it without having to ask permission first, so that makes life easier in one way at least.