Saturday

I did a lot of little projects today that have made me quite pleased. Sometimes, I think I need to have some accomplishments in order to prove to myself that I am indeed moving forward. So, I did some things that I have been meaning to do or been thinking about doing for some time but I have put off because of any of a hundred excuses.

My first project of the day was to repair a screen. This was not a put off project. This was one that needed to be dealt with ASAP. My little boys sliced the screen and then climbed out onto the roof in order to rescue a stuffed animal because they couldn't wait the 20 minutes it would be until I got back home. BB was the one who sliced the screen but the other two climbed through it, so I figure that makes them all guilty, and thus they would all pay for it. It's a good thing I have been giving them an allowance because they have some money and can feel this right away. BB was arguing with me that he would rather work it off than pay for it outright. He didn't want to part with any of his dollars but I told him depending on the cost, he would do both. I didn't have a clue how much a screen would cost. The other boys did not have much money left from their allowance but they also did not actually do the cutting so I figured they would pay what they had and it was fair. I had to do some explaining and reexplaining to PH at Home Depot when I gave his money to BB instead of the cashier...he insisted that the change BB got back from his $10 bill should then be divided. I got out a pen and paper and did the math. Tough but valuable lessons.

Then I put the screen on and BB did some appropriate cutting of the screen and put it back in the window. I think BB's stress level went down because he had been complaining that we should have taken care of this on Thursday (when PH had more money, I suspect). But once it was done and he still had some cash left over and was able to buy himself something, he was pretty happy.

I have some friends who have offered me a large TV and at some point, we will make arrangements to bring it over and get it set up. However, I have my other TV that is still fully functional, if you have a remote or a pencil with a good eraser. So, I decided that I would move this one upstairs to my loft area but in order to hook up the satellite, I need to move the bookcase. So, I decided that I would prepare for this eventual acquisition and I moved this 9 foot tall bookcase. It's not so bad if you take all the books off of it and take the shelves out and sort of walk it. I have done it before. What amazed me was that once I had moved it and put all the books back on, the loft area just opened up so much and I really like it. Plus, my kids actually sat down by the book shelf and proceeded to look at books for a long time, even commenting how they need to put them back. I was speechless.

In the throws of this victory, I decided to conquer another hefty task. I have a huge mirror that is to hang over my dresser. It has been in the garage because I didn't think I could carry it by myself, let alone hang it by myself. I decided I would try and get it as far as I could. I managed to get the thing up the stairs and hung on the wall. Its so heavy that I am using two hangers to hold it. Apparently, I did not get them real even so the mirror is slightly off but I have decided that I can live with the 1/2" discrepancy. BB surprised me again by cleaning the mirror for me.

Apparently, I wore myself out. We have begun reading CS Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia Book 1 The Magician's Nephew. The kids were squirrely and starting to fight a lot so I started reading earlier than usual. We got in to the book so much that we only had 1/2 a chapter to go til the end of the book but my eyes and my voice couldn't take it any longer. So, my daughter said she would read. I fell asleep. She thought this was absolutely hilarious.