Protected: A year later

When I moved in, it was decided that anything that went wrong, would instantly become my fault. Things that broke before I moved in, well, that was Heidi’s fault. Windows that were shattering when nothing was anywhere near them, Heidi did it.

Then there was the washer and dryer. They would both randomly stop working. My fault. Obviously. Usually the fixes were easy-peasey. Then the washer really died. So, out we went to purchase a new one. Once Chris installed the new one, we realized there was another problem…it rattled so bad that the entire house shook. It danced itself right off of the platform it sits on. Lyz would sit on it during the spin cycle to keep it from trying to escape.

Chris was angry at it. And since everything that goes wrong is my fault, I called up Lowes to see what we could do about the mutant washer. The first phone call lead to them saying someone would be out the next day. We had to cancel that appointment due to something coming up. So I call again. The woman then asks me “Did you remove the shipping bolts?” What is a shipping bolt? Chris, did you remove the shipping bolts? What’s a shipping bolt? I’m betting we didn’t remove the shipping bolts. The washer had been in the house for more than a month…shaking and causing earthquakes. In less than two minutes, and a little bit of manpower, two shipping bolts were removed, and the washer was calm and boring.

The dryer…I can now reattach a dryer belt in less than two minutes. Or, less than five if Beckett is assisting. The error message pops up (usually because someone-not naming names-spins the drum the wrong way) and my name is called. Grab a chair, pull the dryer out and onto the chair. Pop the back open, shove my arm in the tiny hole and bammm…done.

A few weeks ago a new error message popped up. This one took some googling. It seems the thermister (don’t ask me what that means or what it does, that is not important here) was malfunctioning. I watched a couple of youtube videos and reassured myself this is something I can do, and ordered the new part. We limped through for about a week, just walking by and resetting the dryer each time it popped up that error code. We learned that certain dryer settings let it dry for longer than others before the error code popped up.

But on Tuesday, the error would pop up within 30 seconds of you hitting start. Guess that means I need to actually replace the part now. I grabbed my phone, uploaded the youtube video, grabbed a crissycrossy screwdriver (Hey, I can fix things, there is no need for me to learn the actual words for any of the tools), and attacked the dryer. I got two seconds into the project before I screamed for Avery—I had her climb in behind it to unplug…no need in electrocuting myself.

I took the back off. I took the top off. I called again for Avery when I took off the front. I needed someone to hold it in place while I took the last screw out, or it was going to crash.

The little piece with the red and blue wires going into it is what needed replaced. Total cost: $6.89 and one hour of my time.

Once I got everything back together (using my careful diagram of screws that I had created and put Delaney on guard over so that Beckett wouldn’t ruin my organizational skillz)

I dried a load of laundry without ever hitting reset. It was amazing.

Ketchup Post #1-4th of July

Posted on July 10, 2014 by mingomama

Times change. Traditions Change. If you know me, you know I hate change. But even I agree that sometimes, you have to change things up, as to not get stuck in a bad place. So…our 4th of July changed.

Joni, Lyz, Avery, Delaney, Beckett and I all stuffed ourselves into the car and off we went to…

HERSHEYPARK!

We all have season passes to both Hershey and Dutch Wonderland so that we can flit in and out as we so choose. What a perfect day for us all to go together!

We started the day at the Boardwalk.

But it was kinda chilly…so we moved on to the rest of the park after only a few hours.

We also learned that Beckett is not like his sisters. Avery and Delaney have no fear. None. They want to do all the things. They know how to stand in their shoes to make them just tall enough for the next ride up. They flipped and flopped in the wave pool. They did their best to push me under all of the water spouts in the lazy river. They wanted to do allll the big water slides.

Beckett…well…he tolerated the lazy river. Mostly because he was on Lyz’s lap and not really touching the water. The wave pool…I will have scars on my shoulders from him digging his nails into me while I tried (and failed) to prove to him that the water was not going to hurt him and that I would keep him protected from the big waves.

Then it came time for him to ride real rides. By real rides I mean the super kiddie rides that Avery isn’t even allowed to ride anymore because she is too big. This is also how I proved that there is no real blood relation between me and Beckett. The carousel? It is my favorite ride in the entire world. Beckett seemed to like it too…

Until it started moving

We had a blast all day. Taking turns with partners for each ride. Taking turns hanging out with Beckett or Delaney and Beckett, depending on the ride. Eating lunch and dinner. Feeding the ducks and fishes (One of the few things Beckett REALLY liked doing) Seeing how many drinks we could drink (we get refillable cups at the beginning of each season!)

A few pictures…
Can you find Lyz and Avery?

Then it was time to head out to the car to watch the fireworks. They set them off across the street from the parking lot. Beckett did amazing all day long. Because he is SO BIG, we often forget that he is less than two years old. He was a trooper, skipping his nap, and just being fun all day. He lasted until we stopped his stroller right in front of the car…

He was toast. I managed to get Mr. Light Sleeper from the stroller, to his car seat, without waking him. And he slept through the entire fireworks display.

The girls climbed on top of the car to watch, while the rest of us sat on the curb.

It was a truley amazing day. I am blessed to have this wonderful people in my life!

Random June 2014 Photos

Posted on July 3, 2014 by mingomama

The day Avery dared herself to try raw zucchini pancake batter

The day we pretended a dunk tank was really a pool

The day one slushie wasn’t enough

The day they didn’t think I needed a nap

The day Riley thought I would feed her if she sat in the high chair

The day we put a little too much soap in the washer

The day she got her first first place ribbon

The day we found out how yummy these are

The day he started making this face

The day the boy stole my chair

The day softball felt very long

The day Delaney was too lazy to move her cup

The day I woke up on a trampoline with Avery’s foot on my butt

The day Beckett threw Avery’s flip flop into a decorative creek

The day we built a spider house

The day I bought an air conditioner and carried it and installed it ALL BY MYSELF

The day he pulled all the phones off their cords setting off really loud alarms

The day we celebrated Lyz’s birthday

The day we discovered that making lots of pancakes for dinner is AWESOME

The day we busted out the Jake pool

The night that I thought they were just too cute and I had to take a picture of them