Four Year Old Turned Valley Girl

Having two boys I thought it would be a number of years before I got to hear the high pitched chattering full of “like” and “so” in every sentence. You know, when either one of them (or both of them!!!)  inevitably brings home a far too cheery girl I absolutely can’t stand so that I flinch every time she says the word “like”. Well SURPRISE!!!!

Instead of turning 5, Little Moo has gone full valley girl. I suppose it would be more appropriate to say valley speak since clearly he is not a girl.  His sentences are riddled with “so” and “like” and he frequently talks so fast we can’t understand him. Where on Earth did he get that from?!?!

I brought it up with Zippercow later in the evening.  We listened to him tell multiple stories using his “likes”’ and “sos” and I turned to Zippercow and asked “So, like, where do you think he got that from?” and he replied “I don’t know. He’s like, a little weird”

Oops!

The Shoes I Hope Never to Wear

 

Today our Littlest Moo had surgery. It was very minor, the biggest concern was actually the anesthesia and he did wonderful! I tried really hard not to dwell on it a lot before hand and could feel the little hands of panic at the fringes of my thoughts but was successful in putting off any panic attacks. Maybe I’m not a great mom because I wasn’t spending hours worrying about it but for me there are just some things in life that just need to be done and we can’t invest too much time worrying about it. That isn’t to say that I wasn’t a bit concerned about the anesthesia but we have a very healthy and strong little boy so I was confident he we be just fine.

This was reaffirmed once we checked into the Pediatric Surgery Unit. I’m not sure what is says about me, but I actually was more upset seeing all the other kids waiting. The waiting area was really full and some children seemed to be there for outpatient procedures like our Littlest Moo and then there were families waiting and at least one teenager who appeared to be a cancer patient. When we entered there were two young boys (about 10 and 7) pulling what appeared to be their little sister  (18 months?) around in a wagon. She was dressed in a gown and clearly had her hand prepped for an IV. They were being super sweet and I thought it was nice that they were pulling her around. After we went to sit down the boys came to sit in the waiting room right next to me. We were letting Littlest Moo play and the older boy asks me his name so I told him. He told me he is cute and I thanked him. He asked what Littlest Moo was there for. I shared that he was going to have surgery. He asked me “What’s wrong with him?” to which I told him “They just have to clear his tear ducts.” He responded with “My little sister has Cancer, she’s having her first surgery right now” And all I could say was “That’s no good, I hope it goes well” I couldn’t even look at him and I was trying not to cry.I believe I said something to the effect that “ I bet you are a great big brother”.  I had no idea what to say to this little boy. I was so disappointed in myself. I like to think of myself as nurturing, someone who could have engaged this young child in conversation and keep him company while he waited for his sister to get out of surgery. Sure I couldn’t promise his sister would be okay but I could have done better than “that’s no good”. It was then that I REALLY looked around the room. There were clearly VERY sick children there waiting for surgery and families anxiously awaiting their child’s surgery be completed. What were there for was so… not a thing. Sure it was something he needed done but so minuscule in the grand scheme of things.

Littlest Moo did so well. He was carried away for his surgery with his little purple cow, didn’t even cry and when he went to recovery he was already awake. This upset me some because we weren’t there when he woke up, but he more than recognized us, wanted us to hold him and most importantly wanted to EAT.  Then we had to just entertain him until we could go. This room was difficult too because it is just a bunch of beds in one room where the children recover from surgery and I did see from other children what I feared Littlest Moo would do. There were some very upset children who were hurting. Meanwhile Littlest Moo was clapping and asking for more animal crackers. The bed next to us was the little girl who had cancer surgery. She had been in there for more than an hour and was just waking when we were leaving.

We are  thankful that if our  son has to have surgery, it is to unblock his tear ducts and is otherwise a very healthy boy. Our hearts go out to all those families and children and I hope to never be in their shoes.

Insanity One Brick at a Time

Ta Da!!!! The patio is done! After some issues with materials we FINALLY have a patio off our back slider door and as far as I’m concerned it is absolutely fabulous! It took Zippercow a couple weekends to excavate the site for our latest project. It got a little rocky. Literally.

Everyone got in on the action! Child labor laws only apply if they aren’t related by blood right?

This rock boulder required a neighbor to come over so the two of them could lift it out of the ground. It left a little something behind…

A gaping hole!

Sure we were already digging most of it out but this one of course had to continue out into the lawn the we were NOT going to dig out.

Fortunately we were able to fix it so that Zippercow could do this

Do you know what is more fun than building a 216 sq ft patio in pouring rain??? Just about ANYTHING. Fortunately we have some wonderful friends and family who were stupid  wonderful enough to spend their entire Saturday helping to move 8 tons (literally) of landscaping materials in the pouring rain.  I’m truly glad they were there because otherwise Zippercow and I would have been up until midnight trying to finish it (we were NOT going to pay for another day for that vibratory machine!) and if it were just the two of us it may have resulted in a trial separation.  I kid, I kid… Kind of.

So are you ready for the big reveal???

First a before…

Awww! Little Moo was so… little!

And now!!!

Drumroll please…

Ta Da!

Zippercow already  is enjoying sitting on the back patio! He can’t really move and is quite delirious so I left him there. But it’s okay. There’s an umbrella!

A Greener Yard One Tree at a Time…

You should probably multiply that times 16 to be more accurate. Sadly we haven’t had much luck with planting trees. Last year we received 10 trees from the Arbor Day Foundation and we were so excited about putting trees in our nekked back yard. Then none of them grew. Not. One. Single. One. Out of ten, really?!? For a whole summer we had a bunch of nicely edged spots in the yard with dead twigs sticking up out of the dirt. We let them hang around hoping they would grow but no such luck. I think a rabbit may have even taken off with one of the “trees”.

So this year we thought we would try again. We purchased 6 trees. So far we’ve had much better luck. mostly.

We purchased 3 Red Bud and 3 Hydrangea Trees. The Hydrangeas were SUPER excited to be alive and are doing great. They are small still but I swear much like my children I can ACTUALLY see them growing before my very eyes! The Red Buds aren’t nearly as excited, but surely are growing. Well some of them that is. Out of our six trees only four of them seem to be growing. Enter our newest addition.

Remember that community yard sale I couldn’t shut up about? We bought a tree. Yep at a yard sale, can you believe it!!! I’m sure it will forever be known as the yard sale tree.

So apparently we have to kill 12 trees to get 5???  We are hoping to get another one to replace one of the ill looking Hydrangea trees. With all the forests that exist who knew it would be so difficult to grow trees! I think we’ve learned we need to buy slightly more established trees. Sure they are a little more expensive, but it might mean they stand a chance against us!

In other exciting news here are our Lilacs we are growing in the front of the house.

Don’t mind the weeds around the lilacs. We are planning on putting river rock in the flower beds so I haven’t been keeping up on top of weeding.

Um, okay I confess. I’m am terrible about weeding. But at least the lilacs don’t seem to care!

It’s Coming!!!!

In less than a week it will be here, and I am so excited! That’s right everyone, this Saturday June 11th  the Liberty Lake Yard Sales are on! Zippercow and I look forward to this every year. It has been a tradition and it is our “date” every year. Sure some years we’ve gone perusing with friends but we do not take the children with us. What is so great about the Liberty Lake Yard Sales you ask? Well what isn’t?!?! It is a large community with tons of yard sales and vendors.  We spend HOURS wandering the neighborhood scoping out great deals. Some years we find great deals, some years the only thing we buy is a bag a kettle corn from the corner vendor, but it is still fun to run into people we know and enjoy the morning outdoors.  Here are some of the great things we’ve scored

We found the dimmer switch with remote for $15 which is an awesome deal. Zippercow installed it in our bedroom. Mood lighting sure, but mostly it allows Zippercow to turn it off from the bed. Apparently everything needs a remote?

Over the range microwave. I think we spent $80 which is a good deal but it also allowed us to get rid of the one on our counter (which we sold thus offsetting the cost of the new one) and since counter space is at a premium in our kitchen this has helped me out tons!

Napkin holder. Sure it isn’t anything exciting, but I think we spent $1 (maybe less) for something that helps keep the napkins from blowing away. Because nothing says classy like the plastic package of napkins plopped on the counter!

And let us not forget Yard Sale Brita! May it rest in pieces. This find saved us money for YEARS!

I know that we’ve found kids items and household this and that over the years, but those are the things I can remember off hand. Being the frugal gal I am, yard sales play an important part in saving our family money.  And for me this community sale is like the Black Friday of yard sales. So if you are in the area, check out the Liberty Lake Yard Sales. Just Follow the signs!