i got schooled by my four year old.

As I was tucking Ethan in tonight, I was stressing to him the importance of "soft feet" in the morning. You see, I am blessed with a child that keeps to himself in the morning and lets the rest of us sleep in. When Ethan wakes up, he goes downstairs to have a snack and watch PBS Kids. But some mornings I hear him, thundering like a herd of elephants as he runs to the kitchen and back to the TV. So I was asking him to have "soft feet" and not make so much noise when getting his snack. So then he asked me to set his snack out and I of course, trying to foster independence, told him that he knows where we keep them, he could get it himself.

Then he says, "But Mom, the noise from my feet is when I have to run into the kitchen to get my snack. That is why we are having this problem!"

Point taken. He wins that round.

BTW, I realize I have hardly blogged lately. I will soon change this. But not tonight. :)

the bank always strikes twice.

Just got a letter in the mail from the bank that holds our Home Equity Line of Credit--our account has been frozen (no longer able to draw money out) due to a decrease in housing values in our area. Um, yeah. Aren't home values decreasing just about everywhere? And how does this impact my ability to pay on a loan that is owed?

This has happened to us before, believe it or not. Last year, when we were just about to pull the trigger on the kitchen project, we were informed that the HELOC we had for 5 years (and never used, I might add), was being closed due to home value decreasing. Okay, fine. We just went and got another one without a problem.

Fast forward to now. We haven't used the entire HELOC amount we were approved for and had no intention of doing so. We didn't ever use it like an ATM--we used it for the remodeling of our home only, figuring that we would get the value out someday (like 20 years from now). I needed to get a little more out of it to pay a no interest for one year purchase at Lowe's--a bill I hadn't been paying (because it isn't due until November) because I had been sinking all I had into paying off the HELOC. Now I have no way of getting the money I needed to pay that Lowe's purchase off and I haven't even made headway on it because I figured that I should pay the loan with interest first.

And to top it off, the freeze was effective on July 17. Yep, got the letter today. Would've been nice to know on the 17th. This is such a wimpy way out for these banks--they force us to go electronic on everything but if there is something negative to report (canceled account, bounced check), they send it snail mail thus ensuring they have at least 5 days in between the event and you finding out about it.

Jerks.

a few of my favorite things...

I haven't been blogging much lately because I have been a cleaning freak. When Ethan had mono I spent the week cleaning and organizing closets, my scrapbook room, my laundry room, etc. It was so satisfying! I found a couple cool things that I am loving right now so at the prompting of my sister, here they are!

1. Shoe organizer


I found this at Storables but they also have it at the Container Store (my favorite store!!). I got it in chrome but this one (in bronze) is on sale now for $20! It holds 18 pairs of shoes and each tier spins so you can find what you are looking for easily. Plus my kids think it is fun so they actually put their shoes away!

2. Closet rod dividers


Some might say this is the pinnacle of craziness but I think it is amazing! I got these at the Container Store for 99 cents each. I wrote on them with dry erase marker and organized my closet. I have categories for tanks, short sleeves, cardigans, hoodies, pants, dresses, skirts, etc. You get the idea. It not only helps me find things, it also helps me put clothes away--there is a hanger in place for everything!

3. SIGG water bottle


I have two of these--one is 20 ounces to take out with me and the other is 33 ounces to keep at home. I love the way tap water tastes out of these! I keep them in the fridge filled up so they are nice and chilly. Plus, you don't have to worry about any gross chemicals leeching out into you water. And you can wear your ecofriendly badge proudly when carrying one around. :)

thump.

Olivia just jumped out of her crib. I have been dreading this moment for quite some time. We heard a huge thump and ran up there--she was standing in the dark screaming and seemed a little confused as to what just happened.

I tried to reinforce the idea that we stay in our beds, not jump. I didn't do that with Ethan--and it was terrible. I don't want to go through that again. Hopefully she scared herself tonight by falling and won't try it again for a while. But knowing Pibs, she will soon realize how much freedom can be found by not being caged.

Time to start looking for a big girl bed!

who has he been kissing?

Ethan has mono! Seriously. I was shocked--I didn't know that little kids could get mono. He has had a high fever since Friday morning so I took him in yesterday--mono. He is on an antibotic to help with the lymph infection but other than that there isn't much to be done for the mono. She said he will most likely start feeling better in the next few days. Needless to say, it has been a miserable few days at the Olson house. Now I'm just waiting for Pibs to get sick!

Jay took yesterday and today off work so we could do some fun family stuff. Yeah, we aren't able to do much of anything, except break up fights between the kids (apparently you can fight just fine while having mono). And now Jay is feeling sick! He is still in bed with a really sore throat and the start of a summer cold.

I was able to clean and organize Ethan's room and our bathroom linen closet and I must say, I feel a little high from it. Really! I get really juiced up when I do a really good cleaning that results in good organizing. And I didn't spend a dime--usually my organizing requires a few trips to the store. Jay and I have bets on how long the clean will last. My money is on a week.

That's it from our part of the world. I feel like melting but I sure would love to be at the pool with the kids. Maybe soon!

good for a laugh

A friend introduced me to literal music videos a while ago and this one is by far my favorite! It is good for a laugh. Sometimes I find myself singing the words in this video instead of the actual lyrics!

the first of many difficult questions

Tonight Ethan asked me how babies come out of mommies tummies. Hmm. I was utterly unprepared for this question. I answered it as best I could, hoping he wouldn't move on to the next question that I knew would come. But he didn't rest--he asked how babies are made. WHAT?!?!? He is FOUR. Isn't that too early to expect a decent answer out of a parent? I really hadn't thought about this topic because I figured I had at least another five years before I'd have to answer it--guess not. I did okay with my answers and he seemed satisfied, at least for now. Ugh.

Today was Olivia's 2nd birthday! She was very sweet today. We've had a busy week of playdates and park time. Olivia's most favorite activity is sitting in a swing. She calls it the "whee" and will pull and tug on me to get me to push her. She also will take a swing at me when I try to remove her from the whee. I was going to buy her a swing for her birthday but then I found the very one I was going to pay full price for at a garage sale--for 2 bucks! I don't normally garage sale but the rush of finding the swing was exquisite. Might have to do it more often.

Ethan and I have been working on being respectful lately. When I tell him no or won't let him do something that is against our rules, or when he isn't listening to me, he gets angry and yells at me about how I am ruining his day, destroying his day, making him so frustrated, etc. I am trying to get the point across that despite those feelings, I am still in charge and deserve his respect. It is a tough concept for a kid, especially a talker like Ethan. But we had a great day today. He listened, obeyed, and was very respectful all day. I praised the crap out of him and told him the specific things he did to show respect and how told him how thankful I was for such a great day. Hopefully that will hammer the lesson home for him and we can continue to have great days like today. Sometimes I look at him and can't believe he is my little boy--he is getting so big!

Tomorrow we head up to Baker for camping with Grandpa Jimbo. Ethan and I are going; Pibs and Jay will stay home. Pibs at a campground is a little difficult to handle. Plus, it is fun for Ethan and I to have a special thing to do together, and I love camping so it works out for everyone. We'll swim, throw stuff in the lake, eat tasty food prepared by Camp Chef Jimbo (seriously, he made homemade pesto last time), throw more stuff in the lake, stay up super late and get up super early, chase after fish in the lake (I will only be spectating this one; I hate fish--but Ethan is passionate about sea creatures so I try to keep this a secret), and throw more stuff in the lake. Anything that isn't tied down. I think most kids respond really well to alone time with one of their parents and Ethan is no exception. We will have a blast.

That is about it from our homestead. It has been almost a month since I've blogged! I'm not even sure why I haven't posted. Just didn't have anything interesting to write about I guess. I'll post pics soon--they are on the other computer.