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    March 19

    The Yard

    I got the estimate on the fence today.  It was for $1920.  That's a lot of dough!  We should only pay half of it, but it's nice to know that I got a price from a reputable company.  Not that I don't trust the woman behind me, but....I really don't.  It's hard for me to trust someone when she's just pulling out friends of friends for estimates.  Now I need to call her and have a little talk.  We can either go with a decent company, like the one that gave me the estimate, or - and this is kind of what I want - she can pay for materials and my mom's boyfriend Dan and I will do all the work.  That is much cheaper for everyone all around, considering he can get the supplies for around $500.
     
    Anyhow...instead of working in the yard this morning, which I should have done, Alicia, Reece and I planted pretty things in hanging planters.  We spent way too much money on the flowers.  I need to find somewhere cheaper.  OSH was misleading with their signage.  Oh well.  They turned out so pretty! Here are some pictures:
     
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    March 16

    The Money Pit

    Do you remember that movie with Shelly Long and Tom Hanks called "The Money Pit"?  They were newlyweds who bought a beautiful fixer-upper mansion and the place literally started to fall apart around them.  What was supposed to be some simple upgrading turned into a major, expensive, months-long overhaul that nearly ended their marriage.
     
    Mike and I now own the money pit.  So far it hasn't harmed our marriage.
     
    Currently, I am working on getting estimates for the back fence.  It blew over in the bad weather.  The woman behind me (Michelle) and I are really getting to know each other.  Probably better than we wanted.  My insurance company has told me that if we file a claim our rates will probably go up, and it didn't seem like just a little bit.  Also, I got a letter stating that the fence needed to be fixed or they would be dropping us as we weren't maintaining to their standards. 
     
    Um, why do they think I called them in the first place?  This is why they work insurance and not for NASA.
     
    Since we bought this house not even 6 years ago, we have:
     
    1. Replaced the roof.  That was really fun as Reece was a newborn and having a new roof put on the house is not exactly quiet.
    2. Painted the exterior.  It was orange-tinted yellow with mud brown trim.  Very, very 80s.  We had it painted a pale gray with blue undertones and a white trim with a raspberry front door.  Suddenly, the brickwork was noticeable!
    3. Pulled about 60 juniper bushes out of the front yard.  No lie.  It's a small yard, but there were 45 of them in the lawn area alone.  There is now a lawn and some pretty bushes.  I have yet to finish the strip alongside the driveway.  Mike is always changing his mind about what he wants.
    4. Ripped out the carpet in the front of the house and replaced it with laminate.  I wish I had included the hallway in that one.  The kids have ruined the laminate already (as did the washing machine dumping all of its rinse water on the floor instead of out the drain - three times).
    5. Painted 2 bedrooms and the kitchen.  I have paint for the main part of the house, I just don't seem to have time.
    6. Replaced the dishwasher and the oven.  I have had, for faaarrrr longer than I care to admit (about 4 years), a new vanity/sink for the master bathroom sitting, still in the box, in the hall.  Every time I think I am ready to buy the flooring so I can install it, something happens and I can't afford.  Silly things, like Mike and I both breaking our legs 10 weeks from each other.

    The other day, I opened the bi-fold doors to the closet in the entry and they fell off in my hand!!  THAT was a surprise!!  Just one more thing to add to the list, I suppose...

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    March 05

    Too loud!!

    Just a few minutes ago Reece was upset because the TV was too loud.  It had gone to commercial, well a song, really, since it was Disney channel, and it was much louder than the movie that was airing.  It pretty much played like this:
    Mom:  "Wow, that's really loud."
     
    Alicia:  "Yeah, it is, but I like this song."

    Reece:  (Whining and squealing at high volume) "Turn it dooooooownnnn!!  It's too loooooooouuuuddddd!!!!"
     
    Reece proceeds to try to turn it down himself while his sister throws herself in front of the set with her arms spread out wide.  Pushing and pulling with some yelling commences.
     
    Reece:  "Turn it down!!  TURN IT DOWN!!"
     
    Mom:  "It's a song so it's okay."
     
    Reece:  "But Mom!  It's too loooooouuuuudddd!!!"
     
    Mom:  "Then come sit back here with me instead of directly in front of the TV so it isn't so loud."
     
    Reece:  "No!  I don't want to move!"
     
    And so it goes...common sense does no good in this house.  If it did, socks would make inside the hamper instead of next to it, towels would be hung on the racks instead of thrown crumpled below them and the butter would never be left out.
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