Time to switch out car seats

Today at the doctor's, P was 17.8 pounds. Woohoo!!! Of course, we also found out that he is 27.75" long. The car seat we have had him in only is "good" for kids under 26". Oops.... Better pull out the new one! I'm looking for a car seat cover for him and ran across this lady's stuff on etsy.com -- I gotta get in touch with her! http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5348263

C and D in the pool

The water temperature was too cold for my blood, but C and D thought it was at least okay.

Decluttering -- can I really be having fun??? Part 2

Today I took six boxes of stuff to a consignment shop -- and did not come back with anything new. They took everything but about 6 items. Fantastic to me!!!!!! I even let go of a punch bowl set that I had bought in 1986 as a preteen. I don't know why I bought it then (at Woolworth and with my saved allowance money), but maybe it was something that I cherished and that made me feel more "grown up" to own -- sounds crazy but that's the only thing I can remotely think of. Like owning it really made me any different. I've used it since then, but not recently, and I have punch cups that go with my vintage party tray sets. I don't need it to tell me that I am all grown up now (my two munchkins do that quite well, thank you!) so.... off it went.

I called a collectibles place in town to see how interested he was in our vintage Fisher Price toys. He wants to see them, and seemed quite interested, so now I just need to find a date to take those down to him. I'm hoping maybe he will want the NASCAR collectibles that D is ready to part with. If we can clear those three categories of items out, I will have "reclaimed" (that's how my mom terms it) about 28 cubic feet in our house -- at least 12 for the stuff gone to the consignment shop, 6 for the vintage Fisher Price (maybe more), and about 10 for the NASCAR stuff.

In addition to all that (yes, we have been working hard to get things organized), we have placed all the outgrown or not needed kids' stuff in an area to price and "unload" at the kids' preschool consignment sale. If it bugs me too much before then I will take it to the consignment shop or the kids resale clothing place just to clear it out. At present, that pile is (no joke) filling up the room underneath a curved staircase in addition to a 5x3 area in our basement. Maybe another 60 cubic feet????? You know, the smaller the child, the bigger the equipment -- why is that?

Then there are some items that are going to be Freecycled. Things like collectors tins, gardening chemicals (not keeping these around since I have little ones!!!!), mismatched glassware, craft supplies, etc. I think I honestly have three or so paper ream boxes of those tins to get rid of...... and a big bag of fabric/yarn...

Long Time No Blog

Sigh -- I guess I've been far too busy.... life got busy, I guess. A high school friend emailed me a week or so ago and asked me if everything was okay -- she missed reading my updates. I took that time to mentally note that I needed to get back to blogging, so here I am.

This was the month for dentist visits and thus bills. D went in for his regular checkup and has had to veneer his tooth that he chipped while a child. That takes two additional appointments -- three if you count the appointment to get the color matched. C went to the dentist for a checkup and had to go back to get a cavity filled (a tooth did not form correctly in utero, he chipped it on something hard, and a cavity set in). I had a checkup and had to have a filling (first one in about 20 years, if I remember correctly). That makes seven visits to the dentist .... not to mention we think P is teething. I guess only time will tell for that, huh?

We recently got back from a visit on Hilton Head. It was our last leftover banked week from our South African timeshare, and it was SO well worth it. D's parents came from Nebraska, and his "East Coast sisters" came for part of the time. If you ever get the chance to stay at Island Links, do it!!! This is the second year we have been there, and I can honestly say that I am so tempted to buy there. Well, except for the $995 annual maintenance fee for the three bedroom unit. OUCH!!! It's a good ways from the shore itself (about a 25 minute semi-brisk walk) but that is no problem. The walk is beautiful and almost 100% shaded. Possibly the best part about it, though, has to be the pools! There is a fountain-thingy for the kids (the one that shoots streams of water randomly), a large pool that has a kiddie area that has a sloped entry (like walking into the ocean) that also has cool water features and neat "big pool" areas, and a smaller "lap pool" that is mainly for adults. What is absolutely amazing is that the pools are so warm that you have absolutely no adjustment when you enter them. You could almost work up a sweat in the pool if you swim. You think I am joking, but try it yourself and you will know I'm not. Of course, another highlight for me is that we were there during the gardenia blooms that encircle the pools and hot tub. At twilight, the experience was heavenly. The air temperature was just right, the slight breeze blew the fragrance of the gardenias across the pool as you leisurely swam. See http://www.rebamanagement.com/view_resort.php?ID=06222005054625 or http://tinyurl.com/3t5bx4 for pictures/description.

OK -- that's enough in this posting.... More update later...... honest......