RIP dryer

Well, for the last 6 years, I have reveled in the fact that I have a matching red Samsung HE washer and dryer purchased with a never-before, never-again, bonus I received from my previous employer. I was so excited to receive that bonus that I ran out and bought the set in cash and was giddy for weeks. 

Folks, the dryer died last weekend and a little piece of my soul shattered. It was a great dryer. It did things that I couldn't imagine in no time flat. 

Around our house we have had many a power surge. Unfortunately, I was drying a load of laundry during yet another surge, and upon return of electricity....the dryer spun, but no longer had heat. Our heating element and fuse was straight busted. 

Curses!

And it went out on a Saturday morning. A day when I was doing sheets and blankets in the whole house, and washing up clothes for our weekend getaway for the following weekend. After calling several repair men and getting a range of diagnostic fees ($50-$100 to walk in my house) and dates of repair (July 5-July 19th), I called my husband hysterical. He was sympathetic, but when I told him everything would have to be line dried...he quickly got in gear. Sunday morning, while we were away at church, he stayed home and purchased a new dryer, installed it, and had it running by the time we got home. 

It would cost more to fix it than it would just to buy another cheap one. And I just was not willing to pay another $1500-$2000 on an HE dryer to match the washer, especially since this year our lawnmower, dishwasher, computer, above ground pool filter and now dryer have all died. It's like an appliance graveyard up in here. 

What was once this....

is now this....

Positives: 

• I can now dry clothes!
• It is smaller which means the laundry room door can close while laundry is going
• It was cheap, so we paid cash
• Because it is smaller, I can fold the clothes on top of it and then put them away
• I still know the name of the paint I used

Negatives:

• It takes over an hour to dry a load instead of about 40 minutes with my other dryer
• It doesn't match and visually looks wonky when looking in the room
• I don't have any more of that paint and have to buy another can
• There is no light inside the dryer

All in all, I am happy. It doesn't match, but it is functional...and that is really all laundry should be I guess. Maybe once the washer dies, I can get the same brand washer and then it will match. Let's hope that doesn't happen this year!!!

BARRY MANILOW

One of my bucket list items is to go see Barry Manilow in concert! What are the odds that he would be touring this summer in Texas? Actually pretty good. We were able to get tickets and the day before the concert, he had to cancel because he got bronchitis. 

Ugh, I was devastated. But a few days later, he rescheduled for the end of June and I was again elated!!! So this weekend, my wonderful husband took off work to take me to see one of my favorite performers. 

It was so hot. When we left, it was 103 degrees here in South Texas. It is a covered outdoor theater, and there was a slight breeze, but it was still quite hot. I was concerned that Barry might pass out on stage or something. 

When we arrived, Josh bought me a Barry Manilow t-shirt, and I of course went straight to the bathroom to change into it. Thank goodness it was light because it was actually more comfortable than the shirt I was wearing. 

His opening act was Tom Cotter, the comedian that came in 2nd place on America's Got Talent last year. Josh and I are huge fans of that show and LOVED him. We were really hoping he would win, so when he came out on stage it was an unexpected surprise. 

Then Barry came onstage. It was amazing! He was full of energy, told interesting stories, and is just an all around amazing performer. We were probably the youngest couple there! I didn't care. It was worth it. 

Josh and I sang, we danced, we waved our glow sticks they gave everyone. Mark it off my bucket list and I would go again. I am, in fact, a Fanilow!!!

Summer activities....

In keeping with the theme of keeping the children busy, friendly, and alive this Summer, my mother and I decided to take the kids to the Houston Museum of Natural Science Sugar Land campus this past weekend. 

It was even better because we are members so almost everything for us was free. I must admit, this was a fun trip. It didn't take very long to go through everything and it was blissfully air conditioned. 

There were so many things to see there. 

I really thought the kids would like the Dig Pit, but I was wrong. Evidently they are too old for that. Who knew?

They had an inflatable planetarium with a foam floor. They welcomed us lying on the ground and gazing into the sky.

I was fascinated!

Since we were about an hour away from home, two hours at the museum was not "worth" the trip, so we ate at the Cheesecake Factory, which incidentally was a big disappointment, and then I googled a few things to do. 

I found a place called the Glazery, which was the perfect thing to do. It is one of those paint your own pottery places. The kids LOVED it. We stayed there for about an hour letting the kids create amazing works of art. Jansen really enjoyed "arts and crafts" time. The only down side is that it takes over a week to glaze the creations and to have them ready for pickup. We will be in San Antonio so my mom offered to go pick them up in a little over a week. 

It was a fun day for all!

Back to school shopping....

I am almost finished with back to school shopping!!!! June 26 and almost finished!

Caleb is going into intermediate school in August, and with having Autism and being quite different, I know he is probably going to get picked on a bit. Not to mention the fact that he is shorter and skinnier and hasn't really had a growth spurt. There will be many things that he could be picked on about, but I am determined it won't be that he won't be in style. 

I know that as I child, I was picked on for being chubby, having braces, glasses, etc...but my mom made sure that I always dressed nice. Not that I always had to have 15 different pairs of designer jeans, but I was matched, pressed, clean, and did have some nice clothes. 

Am I going to pay $80 for a pair of jeans for my boys? Um no. Thank goodness that nerdiness is in style right now so glasses and braces aren't a big deal if they have to have them. But what are the brands that are popular right now? American Eagle, Aeropostale, Hurley, Fox, DC, Under Armor, Nike, etc. 

So little by little I have been shopping, buying a couple of shirts or shorts at a time. I shop at Ross, The Children's Place, and PS by Aeropostale. Did you even know about PS??? I had no idea! And it has all the right kids' sizes. I shopped online there and used a coupon code and got 13 shirts and 3 pairs of shorts for both boys for around $150! Plus, I got free shipping. :)

Caleb's clothes include shirts from Aero, Nike, Adidas, Tony Hawk, jeans from The Children's Place, and Fila tennis shoes

Jansen's clothes include Aero, Nike, DC, and Ross shirts, shorts from Aero, and a space for a few more shorts and a pair of tennis shoes to come.

Caleb likes to wear only jeans to school and all of his jeans are too short. The Children's Place had a sale on jeans...$12 a piece, and they are the brand that fit Caleb the best. Jansen loves to wear shorts to school so I got several pair from Aero for less than $10 a pair. 

Caleb is finished, and Jansen only needs 2 more pairs of shorts and a new pair of shoes. Yay!

I love being able to get things on sale! A couple of the shirts were bought by my mother but the majority of these I just got little at a time. Almost finished!!!!!!!!!!!

Hat organization...

Baby steps...baby steps. 

While at the mall today with the kids seeing a movie and walking around, we visited Lids to check out some summer hats. 

While there, I saw the thing I have been wanting for months....the door hat organizer. YAY!

So, it's a start. I am not saying that Jansen's room is organized. As a matter of fact, it is far from it. Priorities people!!! But at least the hats aren't squished under the bed, thrown in the closet, left on the bathroom floor etc. Hopefully, the kid will remember to use it, and I won't hear, "I can't find my Texans hat!" anymore :)

Pool noodle light sabers...

Holy cannoli, as Summer cruises on I am constantly trying to find ways to keep the kiddos busy, active, and most importantly...alive. After church today, I came home to get dinner ready and the kids were just out of sorts. It was a rough day for Caleb, and he was really taking his frustration out on Jansen, who was fighting back. 

So I grabbed a pool noodle and some duck tape and made them some Star Wars light sabers and shooed them into the living room to fight the force within each other. 

It totally worked. They can't kill each other with a pool noodle. And they tried their best Jedi tricks on each other. It was even better for Jansen because he was spinning, jumping, trying tricks, and burning some calories as well as  "brother frustration". 

So this is how it works:

Take a pool noodle (you can get them at your local dollar store for $1) and cut it in half...

Use some duck tape and wrap it around the end. I did three rows of tape.

Don't forget to tape up the base...

Then I used electrical tape to tape 4 lines overlapping to the base. 

I cut three more strips and taped them around the noodle horizontally. 

Done!

Let the kids go crazy! 

We are going to take them outside tomorrow, add some sprinkler time, and let the kids go nuts. Fun times!

School supply readiness

Now I am fully aware that school just ended a mere 15 days ago (Can I get an AMEN?!) but I am always looking ahead. In this case, my oldest is beginning intermediate school in the Fall and my baby will be in 3rd grade. 

Sniff, sniff, my babies are growing up. 

Anyway, it is time to go ahead and start buying school supplies and school clothes. I know, that may seem ridiculous since the first day of school isn't until August 26th, but I have to think ahead. We have so many other things we are paying for this summer including a weekend trip with some friends, tutoring for Caleb, summer meds for Caleb (long story), and my summer school tuition, that I buy as much as I can as early as I can. 

This year, let me just say...what the heck?

Our district went to a universal supply list. All elementary schools in the district ask for the same things, all intermediate schools as for the same things, and both high schools ask for the same things. I must say, it is really helpful to have the supply list so early, but the difference in elementary school and intermediate school really opened my eyes!!!

First of all, I am finished with both kids' school supplies. Go me! Second, look at the difference:


Here is the intermediate group...

And here is the elementary group...

Jansen needed another lunch kit, so we bought that but it just wasn't included in the picture above. Both boys have backpacks that have held up beautifully and by the way, Caleb can't even have his backpack in class. Evidently they can only put their backpacks in their lockers and must only bring books and supplies to each class. Who knew?

It was actually refreshing to not have two elementary lists for the first time this year!!! This may never happen again, but my kids are prepared with supplies for the Fall!!! Thank goodness :)