Unmotivated

So here I am, sitting in my house that needs a good cleaning.  But I feel completely unmotivated...why?  Because I don't have a Kirby Vacuum.   On Wednesday some Kirby people stopped by and offered to shampoo my carpet, if I'd watch a demonstration.  So I let them in. Here's what happened:

First, the salesman asks to use my vacuum.  He vacuums with my Hoover.  He puts his vacuum together with a special little filter to catch all the dirt. He vacuums for about 2 seconds while I watch the filter fill up with dirt.  Lots of dirt.  He proceeds to change the little filter papers over and over, continually picking up dirt.  He only vacuumed a strip of carpet about 10' x 2' and pretty soon I have about 30 paper filters covered in dirt. 

The salesman proceeds to tell me that other vacuums don't have enough air flow to actually pick up anything more than surface fuzz and dirt.  He also informs me that all that dirt will wear out the carpet.  Using a Kirby vacuum will prolong the life of my carpet, and rather than spending $5000 on replacing my carpet in a few years, I can save money by spending $2495 on a new Kirby.  

That's right, a $2495.00 vacuum.  I thought to myself "It can't be $24.95, so it must be two-thousand-ninety-five dollars."

So here's the problem.  I'm totally convinced that a Kirby is an AWESOME vacuum.  And the guy practically had me convinced that it would be worth $2500.  Seriously, I was embarrassed by my dirty floors that I do vacuum regularly.  

So the guy left without making a sale (after giving me a lecture about how I shouldn't have to discuss this purchase with my husband because he wouldn't want me to spend that much money on a vacuum because he doesn't do the cleaning, and just wouldn't understand.  His wife can buy ANYTHING she wants for the house, because that's her job -- taking care of the house.  His job is to make the money.....etc.)  

However, he did sell me on one thing -- I want a Kirby vacuum.  Seriously, it was impressive.  So I've checked them out online and they have some refurbished vacuums for much, much less than a new one.  Still more than a vacuum at the store, but I'm pretty sure we need one....after all, our carpet is FULL of dirt.  

So that's why I'm unmotivated.  Why vacuum when it's not even going to pick up the dirt?  So instead of housework, I'm writing this kind of boring blog.  (:  I guess the moral of the story is this:  Don't watch a Kirby Vacuum demonstration or you may never vacuum with your Hoover again.

I just can't seem to come up with anything interesting to write these days.  After reading other people's blogs -- their funny stories and comments, I feel so boring!  But in an effort to update my records, here's what has been happening around here:

- Lots of visitors to our house.  This weekend we had 2 of my sisters and their 12-year-old daughters fly in to go to the Young Women's General Conference meeting.  It was unfortunate that Karen was pretty sick, but it was still great to see all of them.  We mostly just hung out and visited, ate out, and did a little shopping.  (No, really, just a few hours this time!)

- I've been working on a quilt made from old dresses that were sister-in-laws' when they were kids.  I've only made one other quilt before, and have very little sewing experience.  It will be a far from perfect quilt, but it's been a fun learning experience.  I'll post pictures later of the 60's-70's style quilt. 

- Andrew has been singing the "My Eternal Family" song constantly.  It's pretty cute.  He loves it because it's about "building."  He's still enjoying Joy School.  And we're all looking forward to some nicer weather to go to the park more often.  

- A few months ago I had Eric's speech and hearing tested.  His hearing was fine, but his speech was delayed.  They don't know for sure why, but it's likely that it's due to poor hearing the first year of his life due to reoccurring earaches.   So a couple of times a month a speech therapist comes and plays with him.  It's really fun and I've learned a lot from watching her.  Most of it is stuff I've heard or read, but it's so much more helpful to see a pro in action.  He's added several words to his vocabulary and a few signs too.  

Speaking of Eric, I have wanted to post this picture of Eric.  He looks like such a little boy now!  He's standing by the basketball hoop -- he love playing ball (or carrying one around, or even sleeping with one.)  He will shoot hoops for 20 minutes at a time all by himself, yelling happily when he makes a basket.  

How embarrassing!

So most of you know we're pretty clueless when it comes to home repairs.  Here's my latest "duh" moment:

Our water softener hasn't been working for years.  We don't even know if it's ever worked since we bought our house 5 years ago.  So last week I finally got around to calling someone to come and look at it.  Monday morning he came....and guess what the problem was -- it was unplugged!  Yes, that's right, it's been unplugged!  Argh.  I was so embarrassed.  The Water Softener guy didn't seem too impressed, or amused.  

So anyway, I'm admitting this because I want to know if any of you know about water softeners.  This guy said that because it's just sat their for years that it's not worth fixing.  (Something about the sponges growing algae and bacteria which could make us sick.)  He didn't actually look in the tank.  He just said it would need to be replaced.

Do you think he is just trying to sell us a $1000 water softener or is it really not worth fixing?

Happy Birthday Spiderman!

We celebrated Andrew's 4th birthday last week.  The day was full of fun -- pretty much wore me out.  I thought I'd gotten some pretty great gifts for him, and he received them graciously (after BEGGING for days to open them.)  Unfortunately a few days after his birthday, Andrew very kindly told me "I think I got the wrong stuff for my birthday.  But that's okay, Mom."  

I'm so glad he's so forgiving.  (:  

I do love that kid.  He makes me smile every day.  

Andrew's "favorite" foods ? ? ?

Last week I took Andrew to the Pediatrician.  I had to laugh at this conversation:

Pediatrician:  "Andrew, what's your favorite food?"

Andrew (without hesitation) replies: "Broccoli and log beans!"

So apparently Andrew already knows the "right" answer to that question.  It made me laugh because Andrew doesn't even like Broccoli.  And "log beans" are his new term for fresh green beans.  He thinks they look like sticks and he does love them.  But really, I'm pretty sure a more accurate answer would have been candy and ice cream.  

Winter Trip to the Zoo

One day last week was very sunny so we tagged along with some friends and went to the zoo.  A lot of the animals were not out and about for the winter, but neither were the people.  I liked that.  It was so nice to just walk around and see the animals that were there.  Below is a video of Eric growling at the Lynx.  His little kiss midway through the growling cracks me up.  Unfortunately, I took it sideways and I'm too lazy to figure out how to rotate it.  So rotate your head and enjoy.  (:

A Special Birthday Song

In my last post I mentioned Andrew's performance of a Spiderman song for the Joy School Christmas Program.  Well, on my birthday he told me that we would have cake and he'd sing Happy Birthday and Spiderman to me.  Here's the video of him singing Spiderman....it's great!  And just so you know, he's saying "I'm saving people...."  At first I thought he was saying "I'm seven people" and that didn't make sense.  He also says his key phrase "I'm a genius" a few times. Enjoy!

Joy School Program

This weekend Andrew had a Joy School Christmas Program.  It was full of spontaneity and surprises.  The program consisted of a short Nativity skit and a few songs.  Andrew didn't want to put his Shepherd costume on because he gets too hot in it.  Then he wouldn't even go "on stage" for the skit.  The highlight was when, at the end of the skit the kids sang some Christmas songs.  Andrew sang -- loudly.  The only problem is that Andrew sang a Spiderman song that he was making up as he went.  To top it off he also swung his arms and swayed to the music. 

I guess you can't expect too much from a group of 3 & 4 year olds.  Three of the girls did really great.  Another girl was crying because she suddenly wanted to be Mary.  And then there's Andrew, doing his own thing.  

You know it's a bad day at church when....

You know it's a bad day at church when several people up to you after the meeting to tell you "You're doing a great job."  

The meeting began with Eric standing in the aisle for the first 10 or 15 minutes arms folded, scowling, and "Umph"ing because he wanted his Dad who was on the stand.  When he started kicking the bench and then hit the guy in front of us, I finally let him wander up there.  That was okay until the first speaker stepped down and Eric decided he wanted to stand on the podium stool.  Thus began wrestling match#1 between Dad and Eric.  Unable to calm him down, Brian brought Eric down to me.  I took him to the hall.  We returned 2 more times to try and last the meeting out.  (Thank goodness for a kind friend who took care of Andrew during the fiasco.)  

With only a few remaining minutes of the meeting Andrew was laying in the aisle trying to crawl up to the stand.  I was hanging on to his leg.  So with only the song and prayer left, I let Andrew go up to sit on Brian's lap.  But Andrew decided he'd rather stand on the stool next to the podium and grin at everyone.  Brian tried to hold him.  I went up to the stand to help and tried to sit the last 3 minutes out.  But I lost the fight again, carrying Andrew out of the chapel.  

After the meeting more than one person came up to tell me what a great job I'm doing.  I even got a couple of hugs.  It did make me feel better to know that there were some very understanding people watching the whole mess.  But then while I drove home I thought "Must have really been bad."  

Before and After

In November some of my family came and helped us with a couple of big projects.  My brothers and Dad did some great work!  And their families were so supportive and helpful too.  Thank you!  I've been waiting to post before/after pictures until I finished painting one of the rooms. :

First project, our storage room.  What was once a big, cement room with cheap plastic shelves and a lot of stuff on the floor...

is now an organized food storage room with lots of shelves to fill!  

Next, I wanted to make a play room under the stairs.  So, this mess is what we started with -- an unfished closet full of piles of stuff.  

 

What we now have is a cute little play room, complete with a window in the wall.  I finally finished the painting (6 hours of work which took me 6 weeks to accomplish.)  Andrew had requested red paint...well it's a very small room and red seemed too dark.  So we compromised on light orange.  Not my first choice, but still fun for a playroom. 

When we put the kitchen in the room Andrew was very excited.  He said "Now we just need a couch in here!"  

Thank you to our wonderful family!  You're the best!