Since we've been home..

we have relaxed. Ryan and I take turns sleeping in.

We've given the camera a rest too.

I painted and washed the exterior windows on the back of the house. Now they match the front of the house.
I organized and junked out our linen closet, craft closet, and under the bathroom sink.
I organized and reduced the clutter of both kids rooms. (I got 3 laundry baskets full of stuff out of Ethan's room!)

I have spent entire days reading. (Wonderful! )

I've worked one day shift. I have 4 more shifts scheduled in the last week of Aug.

Ryan has organized some of the office and worked on his hobby trading card website.

The kids have played, alot. Not outside too much. We have these Deer Flies at out house that pack a nasty and painful bite and seem unbothered by 'Off' spray. Their bites have left bruises on me! It's also been pretty cool most days. It even went down to 3 degrees outside at night a few times. I actually turned the furnace on for one cycle!

We did go to the beach once. Lots of little fish to be seen. Lots of crickets too. They make a really neat pattern in the sand as they hop across.

We went to the dentist (the whole family) for the first time ever for the kids. They just had a check up, not a cleaning. I've never had my teeth praised so much in my life. This dentist and his sister (the hygenist) LOVE teeth. They seem genuinely excited by them. The kids and I are cavity free! Ryan gets to have a repeat visit in October. My gums were so sore from my scaling and flossing, I had to take 2 doses of Advil. Ryan managed without any meds.

We went to the optometrist. Evleyn has the "same eyes as her Mom". She's farsighted, but 20/20 and will not need glasses at this time.

We went to West Ed Mall. Ryan took Evelyn to a movie about hamsters or gerbils or guinee pigs (pick a rodent) who were spies. He slept for part of it. Evelyn has not made any mention of the movie since she saw it. I think it was just that good!

We took her shopping for a new outfit for her first day of school. She chose well! A pretty pink shirt with tiny flowers all over it, khaki pants, and cute brown MaryJane shoes with pink flowers on them. She didn't really need any clothes, but a new outfit for school seems to be a tradition, so she got one. Photos to come in September!

We measured both kids. Evelyn has grown a centemeter since June. Ethan grew an inch since May. Evelyn has gained 3 lbs over the summer and is now the magical weight of 40 lbs. This means she can use a booster seat instead of the carseat harness. I plan to switch her seat over today.

I bought some stain for our back stairs/deck. I should put that on before Ryan starts work again. It's much easier to get things done when there is another person around to help supervise the kids. I submitted a request for an estimate for floors. We decided to do the 'teak' laminate with the vinyl. I'm hoping to see that done in the next 4-6 weeks. I continue to attempt to get someone out to fix our soffits. It's not going well. I'll try yet another exterior contractor on Tuesday.

I think I may work on repressurizing the water pressure tank today. The pump has been turning on way more than usual, and the gauge has dropped. It'll give my arms a nice workout on the bike pump! I also need to replace the valve at the bottom of the toilet tank. I thought it was just a build up of iron that was making it leak, but after I removed the iron, I can see the valve is warped and breaking down. I'm pretty sure I did this repair shortly after we bought the house. That seems like a short lifespan for a valve. I'll spend the extra $2 for the higher quality one this time.

How's that for a newsy update? To quote Jane Austin "Life is but a quick succession of busy nothings."