Grandma Eunice

My grandma passed away this weekend. About a week and a half ago, she had a series of small strokes and was not able to eat or drink. She passed away in her bed at home, in my mom and dad’s house. She had been living with my parents for the last several years, suffering from Alzheimer's.

Grandma was born August 23, 1924, she was 86 when she died.

My parents were babysitting Thad for us while we were in Wisconsin for a friends wedding when Grandma had her first stroke. Grandma and Mom were sitting outside watching Thad play on a slide. Mom asked Grandma if she knew who he was and Grandma responded “Thaddeus”. A short time later, she had a stroke and was not able to speak again.

While we all felt that it was time for her to go, it is still hard, especially for my mom since Grandma had been such a huge part of her life. I don’t think you are ever ready for you mom to pass away.

Grandma, we love you, but we know you are with your Savior and we will see you again someday.

Hello Dirt!

Thad has long been obsessed with the little tags that come in the pot when you buy a new plant. He goes around the backyard, retrieving each tag, and carries them around, using them to scrape the dirt in my veggie bed. As of yesterday, he has moved on to using a shovel in my veggie bed. We had been banished from our home by Justin, who was working on installing the hardwood flooring (I’m not sure why he wanted us out of the house, Thad is REAL good at helping). So we were hanging out in the backyard, making trouble. I watched Thad figure out how to use a shovel, and even though he was destroying my bed, I figured I shouldn’t stop little neurons connecting in his brain as he learned a new skill. (Please note that prior to discovering the fun of dirt, he had given himself a shower by walking back and forth under my just-watered-and-now-dripping hanging fuchsia). 

……And we’ll be getting our cucumbers from the grocery store now.

Taking a break from his destruction to make sure I had noticed the dob barking. Yes Thad, I hear him, thank you.

Checking the integrity of his work.

“What, Mom? Are you not happy about this?”

The filthy ear that I will have to wash. I’m sure he’ll cooperate. Ha!

The sweet dimple adjacent to the filthy ear. I forgive you!

Some of my remaining plants, pictures taken in case he comes after them next. :)

The Wall

At my parent’s old house, the house I grew up in, there is a wall in the kitchen that is covered with markings of all the kids’ heights. Over the years, 5 kids plus friends, cousins, etc, added up to a of of markings. It’s always made me sad that the wall is in that old house and not kept with my family. So, our idea for OUR family was to make a transportable wall. Justin screwed a board up on the wall in our garage, and we made our first lines.

Thaddeus, at a whopping 2 and a half feet tall

Going Green(ish)

Lately I have been thinking a lot about living simply, saving money, using homemade products, and eating more naturally. More on all of that later. One easy change was making my own laundry detergent. For a long time I have had an issue with the cost of laundry detergent and have felt disgruntled about having to spend 12 bucks to wash 64 loads of laundry. (Someone should pay ME to do laundry!) I have heard a couple of other moms lately talking about making their own detergent, and thought I would google it. Turns out most recipes are all the same as are the instructions. I used the recipe found HERE and the next time I made a trip to Walmart, I picked up all the supplies.

I was a little worried about finding the specific ingredients, but they had everything I was looking for (borax and washing soda in the laundry detergent aisle and soap in the soap/shampoo aisle). I spent a grand total of under 6 dollars, and made 2 gallons of detergent. Each load uses a 1/2 cup. I won’t do the math, but it is going to last me a LONG time, I usually do about 5 loads of laundry a week. Not only did I get 2 gallons of detergent, I have enough of my supplies left to make another 5 batches. To be fair, I should also add in the cost of the big bucket I store it in, since I bought it specifically for this purpose…so there is another 5 dollars, bringing it up to $11.00 total. I have been using it for a couple of weeks now, and it is working great, no different than standard detergent. For ease of use, Justin was kind enough to fill up an empty detergent bottle that is a more manageable size. So, score one for me and minimizing unhealthy ingredients while keeping a few of my dollars in my pocket instead of Mr. Walmart’s! 

Sweetface

Justin Lee – Happy 29th.

My darling husband turns 29 today, so I thought I would post a little something about how wonderful he is. He is not perfect, I can list several things I dislike about him, but my “like” list is quite a bit longer.

1. He’s tall and handsome. He has pretty blue eyes and a perfect nose.

2. He’s smart. The man has his PhD in Chemistry. In CHEMISTRY people. You remember that subject that you hated in college? He is a DOCTOR of that.

3. He knows everything. Literally. Everything. It bothers me as much as it bothers you, but it’s true.

4. He knows how to DO everything. Again. Really. He can build night tables from scraps of wood. He can install automatic sprinkler systems. He can pour concrete. He can construct stairs. He can rebuild a couch (yes, a broken frame on a couch, he opened it up, repaired it, good as new), He can cook, and I don’t mean he can barbeque a hamburger, although he does that too, I mean that he can make seafood pasta with a cream sauce.

5. No matter how much he fights it, in the end, he always lets me put my cold feet on his legs when we get in bed.

6. He takes care of gross things. The hair in the drain. The totally putrefied potato buried deep in the potato bag deep under the sink that had somehow liquefied into 100% nastiness…yeah, he took care of that for me.

That’s a hefty list of good things, but remember, not everything is good.

1. Neither of us are good at backing down. Which tends to cause arguments at times.

2. His belly button collects lint. I’m sorry Justin, it had to be mentioned, it’s weird.

3. He doesn’t do laundry. Actually, this could be on the good list, cause he folds things wrong, so I wouldn’t want him to do it anyway.

We have been through a lot in our years together, and there is no one that I would rather have spent that time with. He supported me in the hardest time of my life, those first couple of months after Thad was born. He encouraged me and gave me confidence. He is an awesome dad, always helpful and loving to our son. He really is my best friend. I love you Justin, Happy Birthday.

 

Spring? Is that You?