Category Archives: Accomplishments

Last Two Week’s Accomplishments – School Holidays

15 Tuesday Nov 2016

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The boys had next to no school last week what with Election Day and Veteran’s Day so things got a bit behind.  But, time continues to march forward.

  • I went for early voting with just the baby, which was so much more convenient that having to take all the kids on their day off.  (This is the end of any election discussion.)
  • I had parent/teacher conferences for the oldest 4.  The last one will be this week.
  • The older three boys started Adventure class, which will continue until the end of this year.
  • Soccer is done!  It’s not that I mind soccer, just that this frees up three evenings a week + Saturdays.
  • I signed up the three soccer players for spring soccer.
  • I purchased a few pairs of pants for the boys, which should finish our clothing needs for the time being.
  • I went to a tag sale (local Temple for charity).  I got three pairs of GAP jeans ($3 each), three shirts ($1 each), and nine books (@ $1 & 5@ $2).  I didn’t find as many items as last year, but their inventory is quite random and I did well on the items I did find.  The hard cover books, in particular, were quite a steal.
  • I fixed the kitchen sink that was dangling; it turns out the counter weight was stuck.

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Last Week’s Accomplishments – Halloween 2016

01 Tuesday Nov 2016

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This week was pretty much all about Halloween.  Sports continued.  Bike club ended for the fall; Adventure class will start next week.

The boys complained that we were never going to carve pumpkins.  We’ve had essentially no precipitation since last winter and are officially under “Extreme Drought” conditions.  But, once the pumpkins were purchased, the rain and cold set in.

We choose Halloween costumes.

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Last Two Weeks’ Accomplishments – October 2016

25 Tuesday Oct 2016

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We’ve been busy.  Lots on the schedule and the weather has been gorgeous so we’re trying to maximize our time outside before winter bears down.

  • I purchased Halloween candy.
  • We identified what everyone wants to be for Halloween and purchased a few necessary items to make that happen.
  • We went to the local hay maze where this year they had potato cannons.  Those were very popular!
  • 5th grade math mornings started (finally – all the Monday holidays!)
  • We installed blinds in the bedrooms.  They’re helping both with light control and insulation now that its getting colder.
  • Over the two weeks, we had 6 soccer games, 4 soccer practices, and 2 baseball clinics.
  • We attended one play date.
  • 3rd grade math mornings, 5th grade sports, and swimming are ongoing.
  • I attended preschool back to school night.
  • I hosted a ladies evening get together.  The boys were very cooperative as I was the only parent home.

Last Week’s Accomplishments – Still Catching Up

11 Tuesday Oct 2016

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I realize I’m a little late on this, but here it is.

  • I back posted a few more Monday’s worth, including April grocery numbers.  This catches me up to mid-July, which isn’t as bad as it sounds as I’ve gotten many of the weeks since on time.
  • Math mornings started.  These will run weekly through the end of the school year for the older three.
  • It rained all day Sunday, which washed out baseball.  This was our first real rainy day in a long time – heavy, steady rain (not hurricane Mathew) – and it was welcomed.
  • But, Thursday was beautiful.

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  • I finished cleaning up the garage enough to finally get the cars in.  We were waiting on the driveway top coat anyway, and I got it done before the rains came.
  • We had extra mulch placed in the play area to make it deeper so the boys hopefully won’t wear down to the weed barrier as easily.
  • We had two trips to the dentist.
  • I got my hair cut.
  • We got a mirror hung over the fireplace.

Last Week’s Accomplishments – Consignment Sale Shopping

04 Tuesday Oct 2016

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Things are cranking along now.

  • We had our first Math Night of the year.
  • I ordered blinds for the bedrooms.
  • Two of three soccer games (and a practice) were rained out this week, but we really do need rain.
  • Baseball was also rained out.
  • The forecast, even at 9:00 was for rain on Monday, but it was beautiful and rain never materialized.
  • Since it rained Saturday, I was able to go to one of the local consignment sales.  The pants are for the boys – two pairs of Gap chinos, one pair of Gap jeans, and one pair of Land’s End pants for $2 each.  I’m not sure they’ve even been worn.  They’re pretty big, ranging from size 7-14, but someone will wear them eventually.  I’d have bought some items in the size 5-7 range, but as expected there wasn’t much selection.  Everything else is for the baby, ranging from 12m-2T from left to right.  Total spent: $39.25.

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  • The dishwasher got replaced! (All is well so far; check back in another week.)  Once it was removed from its slot, the faulty areas & discoloration were evident.

September Accomplishments

27 Tuesday Sep 2016

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It’s been a while since I posted one of these.  The start of the school year has been hectic.

  • Preschool started
  • We went for mini golf and bumper boats.  This was supposed to be a summer activity, but it hadn’t happened yet.
  • Soccer, swimming, fall baseball, and bike club started
  • We got the play structure fully put together

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  • The replacement dishwasher was delivered.  Unfortunately it hasn’t been hooked up yet.  I’m not sure which is worse – waiting for a new dishwasher while the broken one leaks or knowing that a new one is in the garage, but you can’t use it yet.
  • The elementary boys had their school photos – very early in the year so they’re in shorts.
  • We had elementary back to school night.

Last Week’s Accomplishments – Back to School 2016

30 Tuesday Aug 2016

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Today is the first day of school!  Getting through the summer was an accomplishment in itself, but other things did happen last week.

  • I did some more work setting up the kitchen.  Specifically, the extra shelves I had requested arrived.  Unfortunately, two were an inch and a half too long so we’ll have to trade them in for the correct size.  Fortunately, they were filling space that will be used to expand in the future.  The largest shelf I ordered went into the base cabinet, and I did need this one to finish putting things away.

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It was a bit of a puzzle to get these shelves so tight, but I persevered.  The slot at the bottom is for a large roasting pan whenever I make that investment.

  • I took the boys to the pool.  Hopefully we’ll get in one more trip this week before they close for the year Labor Day Weekend.
  • I took the boys for haircuts and a new shoes (three needed them).  Always good to get this stuff done before school starts.
  • Two participated in the End of Summer Soccer Clinic.  I had to get a new pair of soccer socks so we could promote both to their next sizes.
  • I’ve started hand watering the patches of lawn that irrigation isn’t covering adequately.  I had set the sprinkler up initially, but had watering is even more focused and not that much more time consuming.

Last Week’s Accomplishments – Time to Unpack

23 Tuesday Aug 2016

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Most of what I did last week focused on unpacking.

  • The kitchen is fully unpacked, with the exception of a few items.  Those will go on additional shelves that I’ve requested from the builder.  All the other shelves have been adjusted to fit our things so the six I’ve requested should finish things off.  I’m happy to say that all our kitchen stuff fits with room to spare.  Its been nice to be able to finally put things away, vs keeping them in their boxes to ward off basement dust.  I’ve used most things, but they always went back in their boxes after washing since I didn’t have space to store them in the kitchen.
  • My related, big accomplishment was to finish off the pantry.  I added a few more shelves, a mat for under the electrics, and some end dividers for shelves that might get things that could tip over.

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  • It’s not completely done.  The stand mixer needs to come out of its box and onto the shelf with the other electrics.  And, the items on the floor under that shelf need to go – sell, Freecycle, trash – along with another box of kitchen stuff.  But, we’re pretty close and very useable.
  • I feel the pantry will be very helpful with so many people.  This is something we added by adjusting the floorplan prior to construction.  Basically we slid over the kitchen wall to make the kitchen 5′ smaller so we could add the pantry, plus two other areas (to be shown later).

Aside from unpacking:

  • Our oldest had baseball camp.
  • The oldest three had a golf lesson.
  • I sold a few items we weren’t using on replacements.com.
  • I’ve made two trips to Bed, Bath, & Beyond for typical new house stuff.  Thankfully I have a seemingly infinite supply of their coupons so I’ve been able to maximize the amount off each time.
  • We went out to eat for a very belated anniversary dinner.
  • I went to Target to purchase most of the school supplies I didn’t already have.  That being said, moving means I have to actually find those things I know we have.
  • I ordered headphones (a school supply) for the twins on Amazon.  I fixed our address with Amazon.

Last Week’s Accomplishments – We’ve Moved

17 Wednesday Aug 2016

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Well, this post is a bit late in the day.  But, that’s better than not at all.

Really, the big accomplishment of the past month is moving.  I packed most of the house (much to the surprise of the movers).  While this does take more time, I prefer to do this because I can label the boxes better and stand a better chance of finding things during the unpacking process.

Some other notes of interest:

  • Swimming finished for the summer.  For the first time ever, someone (actually two people) passed a level over the summer.
  • Baseball & golf are ongoing so we are still booked most weekday evenings and therefore haven’t gotten back to organized dinners.
  • Thankfully, though, we have eased back to dinners made at home.  We got a little tired of the constant restaurant / takeout menu at the height of the move.
  • I ordered new backpacks & lunchboxes.  After many years ours were getting too small, smelly, worn, etc.
  • I added another missing grocery post:

Sorry for the lack of pictures.  I need to find the wire to connect to the computer for downloads!  Hopefully by Thursday.

Last Week’s Accomplishments – BBQ Time

13 Wednesday Jul 2016

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Summer rolls on.

  • Swimming and golf lessons continued.
  • We BBQed some more – hamburgers this time.  We were going to BBQ the turkey also, but the rain forced that into the oven.
  • I reviewed the light fixtures at the new house and saw some of the paint.

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  • I cleaned out more of the school year papers.
  • I packed a few more boxes.