— 1 —

Apparently my books expanded while they were packed away, because I have NO IDEA how I fit them all onto the available bookshelves at the old house. And now I need to go shopping for some more bookshelves but I think Mr. SJ might object to that. It’s not quite reached the level of towels, but it’s close (Warning: That link is so not safe if you object to profanity. Because there is a lot of it, but oh it makes me laugh.)

— 2 —

I think I’ll blame the ever-expanding children’s library on my need for new bookshelves, and it really won’t be much of a stretch now that I think about it. THREE of my bookcases are now housing assorted kid stuff instead of books. No wonder I can’t fit all of my books on what’s left to me! Part of the issue is that the closets in the kids’ rooms are practically useless – they’re really tall, and have one shelf above the hanging bar that’s too high for me to reach. I want SHELVES, not lots of wasted hanging space, so I moved a bookcase into each closet and use it for diapers, wipes, blankets, and that sort of stuff. The other bookcase is holding the kids’ books.

I think I’ll start with trying to convince Mr. SJ that we should add shelving to the one side of the kid’s closet, and then I can have two bookcases back. That would probably be enough, since I am trying to purge my book collection.

— 3 —

We had a super romantic Valentine’s Day lunch out at Chick-Fil-A. As I told Mr. SJ while we were eating, this is what counts as a romantic meal out when you have two children and you’re too cheap to pay for a babysitter. But it was a tasty lunch.

Our day was completed by having breakfast for dinner, and all I had to do was chop the onions and potatoes and crack the eggs. The rest of it was prepared for me, so all in all, it was a great Valentine’s Day as far as I’m concerned.

— 4 —

Over the last couple of weeks Mr. SJ has been finishing lots of small projects around the house. Things like hanging a mirror for me, and some hooks. Putting together some shelves for the basement. Running stuff to the hazardous waste disposal. Nothing that’s really exciting, but it all makes me happy to get it done.

— 5 —

One of our bigger projects this spring will be to get an electrician in to do some work. I’m excited to get some ceiling lights added to the kid’s rooms (well, we’ll actually install the lights, but we need to get it wired so lights can be added). There is also something with the outlets in the basement that I don’t remember the specifics (it’s in the house inspection report). The outlet on the kitchen island isn’t working and that would be nice – not something important enough that we’d get someone out just for that, but since we’ll already get someone for the other work, we’ll add that too.

— 6 —

One of these days I really need to finish our taxes, but I think it’ll have to be a time when Mr. SJ takes the boy out somewhere during the baby’s naptime. If G is inside, he wants to be near me. If H is awake, she wants to be near me. If they’re near me, they’re disruptive enough that it’s hard to concentrate, and taxes are kind of something I want to concentrate while working on. In order for me to have enough brainpower to feel confident about what I’m doing, I can’t do the taxes after they’ve gone to bed.

— 7 —

We’ve started going to a different grocery store (same chain, different location.) The deli is much nicer, and Mr. SJ prefers it, but I have never once found any meat marked down there. I find it all the time at the location we used to go to. I may have to convince him that we should still shop at the original one at least every now and then so I can check out the meat deals.

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary or Betty Beguiles for this week!

— 1 —

My parents are doing some rearranging of their home this week, due in large part to my mom’s need to avoid climbing stairs. That plus the fact that she admitted my dad has “semi-retired” makes me want to stick my fingers in my ears and chant “lalalalalacanthearyoulalalayou’renotallowedtogetold.”

I know many people around my age or even younger who have lost one or both of their parents but oh my lands, I do not like to think about losing them.

Hey! Wasn’t that a happy start to this post? I’d insert a joke here if I knew one to lighten the mood after that opening.

— 2 —

It’s been Super Bowl week here and I’m somewhat torn – I wish we’d been able to participate in some of the activities downtown, but the thought of actually driving down there, finding parking, fending off hoards of people and all that, makes me glad we stayed away, even if it might be the one and only Super Bowl Indy ever hosts. Plus we’d have either had to find someone to watch the kids, or take them with us, makes me think even more that this was just not the year.

— 3 —

We have no idea what we’re going to do for the game itself. We’ve always gone to a friend’s house, but they’re not hosting this year. We’ve been invited to an aunt’s house, but do we want to drive that far for a game neither one of us cares about?

— 4 —

Mr. SJ is in the midst of painting his office and it’s getting me very excited to paint more rooms. I even have some thoughts about stenciling below the chair rail in our dining room, but am wondering if I would not end up hating life if I start that project. I think it could be super pretty, but would it be worth the time investment? Hmmm, must ponder this and also drool over pictures on pinterest to see if they motivate me to do the work. I also have some thoughts about installing wainscoting below the chair rail, so it’ll definitely be awhile before I do anything because first I need to make up my mind.

— 5 —

I really cannot get over how mild this winter has been. Since we’ve been paying heating bills on two houses I am very appreciative of this mild winter too.

— 6 —

Assuming nothing goes wrong at the very last minute, we are supposed to close on the sale of our old house this coming week. So if the weather wants to turn harsh, I’m no longer dreading the heating bills at least. Or worrying about shoveling off a driveway at a second house.

— 7 —

We’re discussing plans for a Spring trip to visit my family, but I am dreading the travel. Driving would be awful. Flying would be awful. Which one do we pick? And even staying there will be somewhat awful – they don’t have a good space for us to sleep factoring in sleeping kiddos, so it’s fairly challenging.

But they do have a pool and I can see G-man going NUTS with excitement when he realizes he can swim every day.

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary, or this week visit Hallie Lord at Betty Beguiles

— 1 —

G-man has apparently had croup this week. I say apparently because I’m making my diagnosis via Dr. Google, since I didn’t take him to the doctor’s office to get a definitive diagnosis. Saturday evening morning he came into our room with a terrifying cough that sounded like a seal barking. Trying to Google “cough sounds like seal barking” at 4:30 was challenging because I could barely get my eyes to focus. Everything I read indicated that it sounds much more serious than it is, and our home treatments were the best bet, assuming he didn’t get worse.

— 2 —

I’m convinced that he picked up the virus that led to the croup at the doctor’s office when he went for his well-child visit. The irony!

— 3 —

My goals for the week quickly shrank to simply become “make it through while getting as much sleep as possible for everyone.”

— 4 —

The week also involved a lot of laundry. And when I say a lot, I mean A LOT OF LAUNDRY. There was no stomach bug or anything, but there was a leaky diaper on the guest bed (on the top, of course, so it included all the bedding, not just the bottom sheet.), a boy who figured out how to turn on the faucet in the laundry sink (the non-working laundry sink, which led to a small flood in the laundry room.), and copious amounts of snot.

— 5 —

Weeks like this are when I really really really really wish we lived near grandma. Either one, I don’t care which, just a responsible adult who is closely related so I don’t feel bad asking for help when bodily fluids are involved to that extent.

— 6 —

We watched a lot of TV this week, and I don’t even feel bad about it.

— 7 —

Now I’m just hoping for a healthier week next week!

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

Next week is our 9th anniversary, so in honor of that, 7 highlights from the past 9 years.

— 1 —

It’s surely obligatory to include our kids as the first highlight (or should that be two highlights, one for each child?) No matter. I can’t imagine our lives without them, and feel so blessed to have them.

— 2 —

Remembering how I told Mr. SJ that I was pregnant both times. With G, he knew something was up because I just could.not.stop.grinning. With H, I put G in a “Big Brother” shirt & then waited for his dad to spot it. Once he realized it wasn’t a hand-me-down shirt where the phrase was just coincidence, he was thrilled.

— 3 —

Our road trips together. In the past 9 years we’ve been to Cleveland/Pittsburgh, Washington D.C., New England, Florida, Arizona, Michigan, and Texas. Not in that order. They’ve all had highlights, and we’re looking forward to continuing on with road tripping in the future.

— 4 —

Making a home together. Whether in our apartment or either of our houses, I’ve loved working on it together and making it ours.

— 5 —

Working together to accomplish our goals. Paying off a student loan, paying off our truck early, saving for a house, saving for bathroom remodels, saving for furniture, saving for trips, etc. They’ve all been goals we’ve set and accomplished together.

— 6 —

Making our own family traditions. Simple things like weekend breakfasts made by dad, to what we eat on holidays. It’s easy to think such things are obvious, until I learn about what other families do & I realize that we do have certain things that are “our ways.” I love that, and look forward to building more traditions, especially as the kids get older and can participate in them more.

— 7 —

Planning for our future together. More trips, more big goals, and lots of hopes and dreams for the future make me excited to see what it holds!

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

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