General Chat thread

[AlyssaEimers]

Sometime in the next few years DH and I want to do a mission trip to Africa. While we're there we'll do a safari also. Since it costs so much to get there we'll combine the two trips into one.

How fun. Don't you wish we had all the money in the world so we could do whatever we wanted?

Finding time for our relationship definitely is a challenge. Dh works night -- 10:30 to 8:30 and sleeps from about noon to 8ish. I'm working mornings when he's awake. When he gets up at night, I'm winding down. The last three years he worked weekends AND nights. It seemed the only time we saw each other was in the shower. He was able to change his schedule to have weekends off, so that gives us a little time to talk, work on a project or even head to a yard sale. We're doing something big this year though. We've planned a couple's only vacation, spending time exploring in the southwest, just us.

Oh my, that must be so difficult.

We tried to grow some tomato plants this year but failed. The plants grew and we got maybe 4 cherry tomatoes off of one. We don't have a good spot for a garden in our yard as it's on a hillside. We planted the plants at the edge of the yard and the ravine. I think they didn't have enough sun. DH trimmed some branches back and maybe we'll try again next year. If anything it was good deer food since they nipped the leaves off. My gpa and parents have a garden so we get stuff from them. There seems to be an overabundance of tomates from their gardens. I love garden fresh tomatoes so we've been eating on those. You could make zucchini bread. I love sauteeing zucchini and onions in butter then put mozzarella cheese on top. Very unhealthy but oh so good!

You should come help me liven up the gardening board My garden has done pretty well this year, but I can not get zucchini and other squash to grow. We have some sort of bug that eats them. They leave alone my tomatoes and peppers, but eats the squash and other plants like them.

[Jules]

Sure, Missy, you can stow away in my suitcase. However, if we're taking a metro I may have to downsize to a backpack. it could be a tight squeeze. I'll need someone to help me use up my spare 5K words a day!

Meg, how was the violin lesson? I play the piano and did take a year or so of lessons with one of the kids. I don't quite have the ear for it. Piano is all about hitting the right note combo. The tuner makes sure it sounds right. Violin, on the other hand, offers more opportunity for slightly flat of sharp... I tended to take advantage of them.

Bonita, that sounds like fun. I love having a big group over and then wandering around visiting with everyone. I kinda don't like cleaning up later/next day though. Dh and I used to teach a high school kids class. Before that I had worked in nursery and 2-3 graders and my favorite -- junior high girls. They're a hoot. Almost adults one minute and just a little kid the next.

For some reason, my reply ended up with no thread to read and I had intended to chat at a couple more of you, especially Kristi. All I remember is that I'm so sorry you're having to job hunt and hope you find one day before yesterday!
j

[AlyssaEimers]

Sure, Missy, you can stow away in my suitcase. However, if we're taking a metro I may have to downsize to a backpack. it could be a tight squeeze. I'll need someone to help me use up my spare 5K words a day!

Meg, how was the violin lesson? I play the piano and did take a year or so of lessons with one of the kids. I don't quite have the ear for it. Piano is all about hitting the right note combo. The tuner makes sure it sounds right. Violin, on the other hand, offers more opportunity for slightly flat of sharp... I tended to take advantage of them.

Bonita, that sounds like fun. I love having a big group over and then wandering around visiting with everyone. I kinda don't like cleaning up later/next day though. Dh and I used to teach a high school kids class. Before that I had worked in nursery and 2-3 graders and my favorite -- junior high girls. They're a hoot. Almost adults one minute and just a little kid the next.

For some reason, my reply ended up with no thread to read and I had intended to chat at a couple more of you, especially Kristi. All I remember is that I'm so sorry you're having to job hunt and hope you find one day before yesterday!
j

I think I enjoyed the 4 and 5 year olds more. I do not mind the singles though. With the singles, DH is the one who is actually teaching, so that part is less work for me. Having 30 singles over was lots more work for me though.

[meggyrn]

Violin went well. My teacher said "you didn't practice at all this summer did you?" I said "nope, not really." She did say it because I was doing bad, she was saying it because I can not play for four months and pick it up and play with no problem. I think this will be my 5th year playing. Violin was something on my bucket list. I found a teacher, then DH got me a violin one year for Christmas. I really enjoy it. I play in the recital with the little kids. It helps my teacher a lot to have a leader. We have a lot of fun at lessons. It's kind of a social hour for both of us and don't take it too seriously. I took about 8 years of piano growing up and I still love to sit down and play. It's a great stress reliever for me. The same person that teaches me violin teaches my girls piano. It's great because she comes to the house. She was here for 3 1/2 hrs the other night with the girls. I don't think she had any lessons after us so she spends a lot of time with each girl. She is such a sweet lady and does this because she enjoys it, not for the money. When I started with her I asked how much she charges. Her answer was "I don't charge anything, just give me what you think is fair." Last year she'd even pick my children up from school on Wednesdays because I was working and couldn't. She even offered to stay with the girls while we are in Nicaragua. She really is amazing.

[AlyssaEimers]

That is so amazing!

[BazandSam]

Just wanted to pop in and say hi as I have been MIA from this thread and then wondering...
does anyone have any good ways on working on getting a 1 year old to sleep at night? We have been trying to get a routine down and Sebastian is not having it at all. He's been horribly fussy when it comes down to wind down and go to bed.

Thansk much in advance for any ideas

[myyams]

Meg, I love those colors. Can you please tell me how you got the wall paper border down? Our landlord left us with butterfly border wallpaper and I tried peeling it off but it kind of tore and left some brown parts behind. Please share!

[AlyssaEimers]

Just wanted to pop in and say hi as I have been MIA from this thread and then wondering...
does anyone have any good ways on working on getting a 1 year old to sleep at night? We have been trying to get a routine down and Sebastian is not having it at all. He's been horribly fussy when it comes down to wind down and go to bed.

Thansk much in advance for any ideas

How do you try to get him to sleep now? Do you co sleep, or does he sleep in his own room? We started all of ours out in their own bed. Just lied them down, closed the door, let them cry for a few minutes and then they were asleep. I know not everyone is a fan of that, but it is what works for us. Because we did it when they were little, there was no adjusting to it. Different times when they did not calm down quickly I would go into their room and sit in the rocking chair (with the baby still in their bed) and sing songs or read out loud until they fell asleep or calmed down.

I have babysat over night a few times for a toddler that has only ever slept with her Mom and Dad and it is terrible to try to get her to sleep without them.

[Jules]

Nicky, getting toddlers to sleep isn't one of my best skills. However, a couple things I've finally learned are:

1. Start bedtime at the VERY first sign of tired. If I let them stay up another half hour they have a second, third or fourth wind and were up for hours.

2. Have a bedtime snack. If you're nursing that's probably a given. Some of my kids relaxed with a bath. Almost always reading a couple stories seemed calming. My oldest loved you to read out loud -- whatever you happened to be reading. She'd doze off after about 8 or 10 minutes of a quilting book or a philosophy book.

Bedtime for toddler -- ten steps to sleep without tears This articles has some tips that might help out.

SOOOOOO, this morning I was talking with Missy. Somehow the conversation turned to spiders and how Robin (my 17-year-old) had bravely rescued me from the spider nest in my cupboard. Yesterday she eliminated an ENORMOUS, BLACK, SHINY spider from that same shelf and a friend. I had innocently grabbed the can of steel cut oats and touched that icky, sticky web. Ewww! And the web maker scurried across the back of the shelf. Shriek!

In my bubble world, I am not afraid of spiders. They do lots of good things, like eat mosquitoes and flies. They build really pretty webs that gleam in the sunshine. However, all it takes to burst that bubble is one small eight-legged arachnid moving across my line of vision. You guys may have heard me Monday morning.

Missy reminded me of another of my "pest stories." I'm saving that tale for her to tell. Being reminded of it left hair standing up clear down my back! Did you know that hair can stand up between your shoulder blades? I didn't. lol

Anyone else have a pesty story that begs to be shared? Let's hear them!

[meggyrn]

Meg, I love those colors. Can you please tell me how you got the wall paper border down? Our landlord left us with butterfly border wallpaper and I tried peeling it off but it kind of tore and left some brown parts behind. Please share!

What I do to get wallpaper off is peel off the top layer which it sounds like you've done. If you can't get the top layer off use a scorer. It's a tool that has sharp little wheels that will cut holes in paper. Then I spray the paper down with DIF wallpaper remover and let it soak. There are also other removal things you can use like fabric softener and water (smells much better than DIF) and other homemade solutions. After it's soaked I take a putty knife and scrape it off. That should get that brown stuff and glue off. You'll probably still have some glue left on the wall. I took a bristle brush and scrubbed the walls with dish soap and hot water, then wiped it down with a rag with soap and water. After all that I just washed it down with hot tap water and that seemed to get everything off. Good luck. It's just a job that takes time. I find it a very good stress reliever.

Nicky...sorry I don't have any advice for you. I always joke I got the girls at good ages. They were all potty trained. Hope you can find something that works.

Julie...I don't really like spiders but I don't mind them. They freak me out when they are huge. We had a huge wolf spider in our garage last spring. I took a pic and he was so big his eyes glowed at me. I got DH and he took him outside. I do feel guilty killing them. Our DD's had a spider in their shower a while ago so I went up to look at it. Youngest DD was afraid it was going to jump down while she was showering and bite her. It was a teeny tiny daddy long legs. Those guys are hard to get picked up so I ended up squishing him and felt bad. I really don't like snakes. I don't like the startle effect they cause when you first see them. After that I'm fine and can watch them if I know where they are. My fear has gotten much better. Before I'd gag when I'd see them. The other day we were walking through our backyard barefoot and a snake slithered past. We have a pond in our backyard and with our drought the critters are trying to find water anywhere.

I bought a sample quart of paint yesterday and painted one wall. I love it!! It's a different color than the pic, not as orange. It's called "Earthen Jug." I think I'm going to do an accent color around the fireplace of the blue in the pillows. Now I have to wait and get the paint 40% off this weekend and have DH paint the ceiling. Then I can do the rest. I bought a new ceiling fan/light last night and we are going to try to repaint the brass around the fireplace.

We have an appraiser coming tomorrow morning to appraise the house for refinancing. I hope the mess of my painting projects will go to our benefit and he'll see we are updating the house. I should probably pick up some since they take pics.