bits n' pieces

Hullo. Miss me much? If you've been wondering where I've been, don't worry. It hasn't been anywhere special or exotic. If you must know, we've been getting our butts kicked by our kids. I don't want to talk about it other than it's been a real doozy being a mom and dad lately. As you might imagine, we are tired. The above picture pretty much says it all except add 2 more kids and take away the dog. I tend to not blog when the kids and other atrocities have got me down.

HF is currently on "vacation". Romantic ideas of a weekend getaway or even home improvement projects have been replaced by romantic ideas of sleep and consoling one another. The most exciting thing that has happened was when HF almost kidnapped someone else's child. We were shopping at a big second hand store. We were looking for an old bookshelf that we could restore for the kids' room. HF was minding our 4 year old son. He was tired and just sort of robotically keeping track of Luke. They stopped to look at a pile of junk toys. Another little boy about the same age as our son was also there looking at toys. When he picked a toy up to look at, HF snatched it from him and put it back on the shelf. The little boy whimpered and picked the toy up again. HF again took the toy from the boy, put it back on the shelf, said "No, we aren't looking at toys" and took him by the hand and began pulling and tugging on him to get him to keep following us. The little boy resisted and protested (thank goodness) and began to cry. HF was saying, "Comeon Luke!" Meanwhile, I am watching him man handle someone else's child and am quite enjoying it. The little boy's mom began to take notice so I said, "Uh, HF? That's not our kid. . . " He looked over at our real kid that was standing next to him on the other side, grabbed his hand and rushed away, leaving that poor mom confused. It was hilarious. I think it was fairly obvious that he was mixed up and not a kidnapper, but he felt horrible about it anyway. I told him he should've "badged" everyone and said, "It's okay. I'm a cop." I always tell him to do that. He gives me a disgusted look. Probably because he thinks I'm serious.

Anyway, while HF is home on his staycation, I'm sure he would love to rest and play. Well, he has another thing coming if he thinks that's going to happen (evil laughter)! I have another honey-do list. Wanna see?

1.   fix electrical problem in laundry room
2.   fix upstairs bathroom fan
3.   build children's bookshelf for their room. See instructions here.
4.   clean out vents
5.   hang framed pictures in children's room
6.   hang closet doors in guest room
7.   hang curtains in living room window
8.   clean carpets
9.   buy me a piano and get it moved from there to here
10. clean up balcony garden
11. wash windows
12. clean out basement window wells
13. pull out fridge and dishwasher and clean underneath
14. whatever else I might dream up

What kind of a person would I be if we didn't have some fun too:
1.  camping
2.  plenty of date nights.
3.  take kids to see Toy Story 3
4.  bbq's with friends
5.  possibly a one night getaway at a B&B