Tea With Stephanie

is finished I cannot upload photos. For some weird reason my current poor windows XP machine decided that all USB devices should stop working. My new Windows 7 box is nearly done, we just need to finish adding applications and get all my files copies over to it.

I have many photos to share especially of my garden and my dining room. My garden is very much a work in progress and makes me happier nearly every day. Today I weeded out my front garden bed and even moved a tree/bush to a better spot so it will be happier.

While problem solving earlier in the month for Treanna we found out that since she lost her little CD player (or had it taken) she has had a more difficult time getting to sleep. So we let her borrow a boombox that was sitting doing nothing. She started sleeping a bit better almost immediately. Somehow, I am still not sure exactly how, Alaric conned her into letting him borrow the boombox and turning it up loud enough they could both hear it. Thus 2 children who start sleeping better at night.

Now that we are seriously evaluating everything Devin and I realized we had a nice little stereo system in our room that was literally a dust catcher. We just hardly ever turned it on. With the rearrangements we have a far easier time getting access to music we want than the children do. So we offered it to Treanna. So she redid her bedside table to make room for this and I helped her move it into her room.

Now so far today, the first day of spring break I have hardly seen my children. For the most part they have been going back into their rooms to do things in their. For the last hour the only thing I have heard at all from the children is the muted echoes of their stereos through closed doors. Quiet, solitude and possibly a glimpse of the future.

I have been a reader of Apartment Therapy for a few years now. I came really close to participating in the Spring Cure last year but could not decide what to do so I skipped it. Well this year because of a variety of circumstances I am going to participate. Mainly because if I don’t take some before and after pictures I might forget what all things were.

In the next 2 months (hopefully less) we are going to be drastically rearranging our entire house. The back room/computer room is going to end up being gutted even more than it has been. Our bedroom is going to be trimmed and streamlined and put into that room. I am also going to be emptying out my things from the upstairs bathroom which includes finding a new place for my dressing table. The dining room is going to be tweaked as we are still unhappy with how the storage has worked out in that room. The end result should be a much more livable arrangement.

The main purpose for this is that we are making room for my mother to come and live with us. We are very excited but we know that the decision was not easy for everyone. It is for the best but there is a lot of work involved in making this happen. I am proud of how much she has been already doing.

 Of course there is much more happening in my life but a start is a start for blogging again. I will be taking some “before” photos.

I have a deadline of a few weeks to make as much happen as possible because I am taking a temporary job for about 2 months.

Some days you feel like if you had a camera or a tape measure you could actually watch your children grow. In the last 10 days both of my children have filled out to the point where pants that fit are too tight. On top of that they both probably grew about an inch. Treanna seemed to have grown about an inch in the length of her arms alone. With the cooler weather I have started going through their clothing with a more critical eye. Well it got to the point by this past weekend where neither child had any clothing that fit. On a suggestion of a friend I got a coupon and took them to the OshKosh store in Woodinville with the plan that if we did not find things there we would head to Target. I of course made a list and went through their clothing a bit before we went to try and see what they both really needed. I determined that each needed 2 pairs of jeans and a zippered hooded sweatshirt. Well I found those plus a pair of sweatpants for each. They are both happy and it is obvious they grew as the clothing was the next size up (A a 10slim and T a 14slim) and they both have a good couple of inches in length to grow before they get too short again. They love their new sweatshirts and even wore them to school today.

Yesterday and today I helped the children put their clean clothes away and went through everything in their closets and drawers. Anything they refused to wear or I didn’t like went out the door. They each have nice clean clothing hanging and in their drawers. Alaric still has a few things that will fit for the next couple of sizes. Treanna got her next size box completely cleaned out, everything fit that was in their. Their might be a single pair of sweats that are still too big but I am going to try washing them to see if they shrink first. It still amazes me to realize just how much they both grew in the last month alone. Having them try on all their clothing really made the difference. I know what fits them now. For example I did not know that a red shirt of Treanna’s was really a 3/4 length sleeve. She has grown that much since springtime when we put the shirt up til autumn.

As for the Tinkerbell cup. Well that is an interesting story. I went to a Tupperware party and won a prize for free merchandise. Unfortunately I had already bought the only things I needed/wanted from the catalog so had to stretch a bit to find something else. So I got a Tinkerbell cup for me. It is fun and makes me remember to drink my water. The kids were slightly disgusted by it but I am amused so don’t care. Apparently I am already known as the weird Mom so I guess I am good. 

Now to continue my tear through the house. I have rearranged kitchen cupboards and cleared out some stuff but have more to do. I have cleared out my clothes and got rid of everything that doesn’t fit, doesn’t go with anything else or I just won’t wear. Have done some work on the dining room but have the living room, the front room and my craft area to go. My craft area especially needs it as the shelves in my cabinet seemed to have fallen down. Perfect excuse to dump more stuff from the cabinet. Am I really going to ever do that project? Time to ask the hard questions. I have 4 1/2 weeks before we leave on vacation so need to have my decluttering done by then. The week after we get back is fall clean up. I want a very large and distinguished pile by then, as well as whatever can be donated or freecycled before then.

There is a blanket of dead leaves over my grass. There seem to be dead dry leaves everywhere around my house. It took quite some time to clean them out of the carport today. There are lots and lots of spiders and their little egg sacs everywhere too. I cleaned off the cobwebs and what spiders and eggs I could find while cleaning up today. I spent about 2 hours cleaning out my carport. It has been home to spiders, garbage and other junk for most of the late spring and all summer. Today I decided enough was enough. I have a very large and distinguished pile of trash ready for fall cleanup already. I even managed to clear off several shelves of things that were just out there and replaced them with a small cabinet that had doors that was already in the carport. I still have more to do but the carport was swept, cleared out, moved around a bit as needed, and now my car is even parked in it. I actually think I cleared it out enough that we could park both cars in there.

The kids seem to be doing well back at school. Not a lot of homework which is slightly throwing off the evening groove. So far I have been enjoying my time to myself and have actually gotten some overdue things done. I don’t necessarily feel like I have done enough. But something is better than nothing. Most importantly I am not feeling behind on anything really. We even have begun to tweak the evening routines so things get done around the house but on a regular basis and no one does too much. So far we have been working on it only this week but it seems to be going better. Of course we have a new incentive in the house to really get things done. Devin got an Xbox for his birthday. Granted it is an older system and not up to date but heck it is fun. The kids have been enjoying Mech Assault and Devin has been enjoying Halo. The other game that came with the one we bought was Syberia. I have been wanting to play this game since before it came out in 2002. It is a different kind of game than others I have played before. Some of the game play was frustrating but I enjoyed it overall. I actually finished it completely last night(I love the online hint/walkthrough websites!).

I am glad that I decided not to really buy the children any school clothes yet. They both just had or are having a growth spurt. Alaric has outgrown nearly all his pants in the last 2 weeks. Luckily he still has a few until I can figure out where he is at. I have decided to just wash what clothes they have more often and get rid of things that are definitely too small. Then we will go from there as we figure out what they really need and would wear.

In other news it is official we are actually taking a “family” vacation. In November all 4 of us are going to be flying to Las Vegas for a week. Granted Devin will be doing some work in there somewhere but it is mostly vacation. We are all excited and looking forward to it. I am even trying to get the kids some swimming lessons before we go down so we can actually take advantage of the swimming pools if the weather cooperates.

I really should have updated more just was not sure which of the many things to update.

We went to an Aquasox game in Everett the beginning of the month. We even saw the Goodyear Blimp and I took a picture.

Otherwise we are just ramping up for school in about 2.5 more weeks. We in fact just got their teacher assignments in the mail on Saturday. Treanna is getting her first male teacher. She is excited because that was the teacher of one of her best friends last year. Alaric is getting a teacher we know but not really well. He knows her so he is happy as well. Today we picked up a few more things for him for school including the requested 64 color crayola crayon box for Alaric. His teacher says she would rather have that than the other crayons and colored pencils on the list. Easy enough as currently it is easier to find the 64 color crayons than a 24 count colored pencil set.  Clothes wise both kids are pretty much set. Treanna needed shoes and a new coat. The coat was procured at Costco last month when I found it for a really good price. The shoes we had to get already as her other tennis shoes had holes in the bottom. Otherwise she had LOTS of clothes so many we actually made sure everything had something to go with it and only kept stuff she really liked. Alaric needed another pair of jeans and a couple of t-shirts which we got today. He has plenty of other clothing but may need another pair of jeans or 2 in October or November. For September I told them they can wear capris and shorts as long as the weather cooperates. Might as well wear out all the clothes they already have before they grow anymore.

I do want to get the kids in swim lessons next month if we can. It might be a bit tough as they seem to go pretty fast in this area but it can’t hurt to try. I have tried teaching them myself and other than getting them to not be afraid of the water we just have not made much progress. They can kind of float and kind of dog-paddle.

I have been working on the dreaded chair project as well as getting some other house stuff done. Really we have been enjoying our summer. We have even been doing some crafts. Not as much as we would like but some. I have been filling up the garbage and getting some yard work done. I have lots of stuff that we need to trash yet out in the carport. I have a feeling that the pile for fall cleanup will be rather large. I got the upstairs closet cleaned out. I put away the Christmas china and got rid of the old christmas china. Still have a small pile of stuff that has yet to be put away but progress has been made.

I am writing this blog post on my regular desktop computer. I have a good start to things being back in their places. To be sure things are upgraded and I still have many more programs and things to get set up. For some odd reason my calendar and contacts did not transfer well. I don’t want to lose them off my handheld so am holding off a sync until I figure that out.

In addition I was finally able to get my organic strawberries. The store has been out the last few times I tried to get them. So with a rain check in hand I bought 4 pounds of organic strawberries. Last night they were had with Tillamook oregan strawberry ice cream and dark chocolate syrup. This morning they accompanied crisp waffles with a light dusting of powdered sugar. I am so glad I discovered that my egg slicer would slice strawberries, it makes nicer slices than I could ever do on my own. The strawberry slices looked quite lovely on the waffles dusted with the powdered sugar. Of course to wash it down I made a single mug of Irish Breakfast with a splash of milk and a dash of sugar.

A friend recently gave me some very yummy jams and jellies and I made scones earlier in the week to try them out. Very tasty indeed. I currently only opened the peach and cherry jams but they were wonderful. Also in the basket was some blackberry fizz concentrate. I have been having it all afternoon with some lemon-lime seltzer and it is very tasty and interesting. I think I will like it very much. The other thing of note in the basket was some apple walnut chutney. I like a lunch I have had at a couple of tearooms called a “ploughman’s lunch” which consists of a cheese thingy, a cold meat pie, some crusty bread, some chutney and a green salad. I would love to do this for myself for lunch I just don’t know where to get the cheese thingy. I currently cannot even remember what it is called. I could probably eat this daily for a week or 2 before getting tired of it or running out chutney.

For the final little update on the chair saga. All 5 of my school type chairs now have upholstered seats. After picking up sanding discs for the sander and a large pile of paint samples we made a decision. I shall sand all the chairs and then primer them. Then we shall paint them in Laura Ashley paint in a lovely light beigish/brown color called Wicker Chair. I could not locate a sample of said color online or I would share it. I now have a grand total of 1 chair sanded and ready to be primered. I am continuing the search for a better dining room table though one of my wonderful sisters is going to give me one that would be perfect to sand and paint to go with the chairs.

I know its been a while.

1st off my main computer is still not quite working. It is rebuilt and installed and ready to receive my profile. However that is where we seem to be bogged down. It is not liking transferring my profile. So now we need to figure out a different way to transfer all my data and settings over. However I did get a chance to paint the case with the last of the light green spray paint I had. So it is a much prettier color than beige.

I have made progress on the craft room. I have worked on the chairs and even covered quite a few with the fabric. However the 1st attempt at a new finish looked terrible. However we are now looking at paint so I will be sanding, priming and painting the chairs.

I have a pile of things to get rid of. Things in the carport and elsewhere. Slowly things are coming together and it is not quite as messy in the house.

My peonies are blooming. My columbine has gone nuts. Plus quite a few things that I can’t remember what they are are nearing blooms. My yard needs more work but it will get done gradually.

I know I have more but will work on those over the next week or so.

Today is just a good day. I did well going to yard sales this morning, the weather is beautiful. I picked up yet more clothing for myself, a gorgeous heavy glass cake plate cover and a rolling duffel bag to replace the giant suitcase we have that almost always goes overweight.  I don’t feel as beat up by the allergies. Its just good.

I also called and ordered my Victoria Subscription today, which I know added to just how wonderful I feel.

I think I am going to head outside and plant the little fern and the shasta daisies I bought at a yard sale today. The daisies should do well in the back yard and I will have yet another spot where no weed can grow!

 Yesterday I helped my girlfriend plant her plants for her yard we bought earlier in the week. I still have a couple more to help plant but we should be able to finish that up fairly quickly. We did have fun earlier in the week going to Flower World to pick them all out. We were there for several hours and still didn’t find everything we were looking for.

Devin got back from his latest trip safely. In fact when I got up in the morning he had left me a box of bombay chai tea and a cute card on my dressing table. I really liked the card and it just set the mood for the entire day.

My fabric for my dining room chairs arrived. It is a bit darker of an olive green than I originally thought it would be but I think it will end up working out well. I started to recover one but discovered that the finish is coming off the chairs so they need to be redone, so Devin was right that it would be nice wood. Plus my staples I had on hand for the staple gun were a bit too long. So I need to get staples, some furniture stripper, and then a stain/finish for the chairs so I can recover them. I am figuring on stripping and making padded seats for my current chairs as well. Then I will have 2 sets of 5 chairs that will coordinate and be comfortable to sit in. I still have my 2 french chairs I want to reupholster as well but those look a lot more involved so will wait for a while yet.

In other house news, I am still looking for a desk 48-51 inches wide to put in the library. We have tried the library table but it currently just holds another computer. So we decided to just bow to the inevitable and get a desk for the computer there. That way we will have more room in the library to walk through or work.  I will have to get rid of yet more furniture and chairs soon as they appear to be taking over the house. Good thing I didn’t go get even more of them!

Yes my shoes are still staying tied!

This past week was interesting as it has involved far more paperwork than usual. I have been working steadily on the files, made sure Taxes got done, organizing my desk, and made sure everything got out for clean up.

Wednesday I decided my kids needed a day off, especially Treanna who is doing the state tests, so after doing some shopping they made their own dinner and played Lego Star Wars on the computer for the rest of the evening. They both seemed to just be able to focus for the rest of the week better.

Thursday I went to Seattle with my friend S. We went to Macy’s, rode the monorail, and then went up to the observation deck at the Space Needle. We had a lovely day. It was our first real outing in quite a few weeks. Treanna got a bunch of new clothes passed onto her from a friend so we went through her wardrobe and pulled things out that were too small or just didn’t go with other things. She likes a lot of her newer clothes.

Friday night we watched the Prestige. It was far better than I expected. I still can’t quite get over David Bowie playing Nikola Tesla. That was awesome. It was creepy and just confirmed that stage magic is just odd.

The weekend has been pretty quiet. However Devin brought me back some See’s Lemon Truffles from his latest trip. He said he went to the largest mall he has ever been in. The truffles were delicious and I even shared them.  I am also slowly getting the files put away back in the file cabinet. This will be a long process as I am redoing our non-filed files. Everything has been just dumped together so this is a process of sorting everything so we can actually find it.

Today we went for a walk in the afternoon and it was not too cold and just overcast. It was gorgeous and I just love all the lilacs that are beginning to bloom. I really need to make sure I get a few bouquets for the house.  I was hoping that I would be over this cough/cold. So far I am mostly better but it is just taking a lot longer than I would like to get rid of this. It is just lingering on. Unfortunately while I am feeling better all the time I don’t sound better. So I am being careful to not get sicker.