Obviously, if you read that last post, you can see that there was a lot more going on that weekend than just Josiah’s party. One of the main things that has kept me busy this last week was preparing for a garage sale that I was hoping to have (and am still hoping to have; we’ll see if I can pull it off this coming weekend). It is unbelieveable how much stuff we have around the house that we don’t really need! Of course, a lot of that is baby stuff, which we are just moving away from (let me know if any of you need something; we’d rather give it to someone we know than sell it to strangers) I already have three tables full, plus the jogger stroller and the car seat/stroller combo, and there’s about five more boxes I want to put out! I’m running out of tables! 
Also in order to facilitate the garage sale, I decided it was time to move the chicks to the “Adolescent Detention Center” and out of the garage (it did smell slightly of barnyard). This, of course, meant that I had to finish preparing the run (putting smaller-holed wire on it, so they couldn’t escape), which of course took up more time. If you recall, I was about 3/4 done when I had to stop work because I was beginning to resemble a lobster. I finally finished it on Thursday morning (wearing long sleeves) and the kids delightedly helped me carry the chicks down to their new home. For most of that first day, they wouldn’t venture out of the coop, and when they finally did, it was only on the board in front of the door. Finally, however, they braved the grass, and now I giggle every time I look out the window and see them jumping and fluttering around erratically, as if they just can’t believe their good luck at having grass to play in!
Then (joy!) Thursday evening before our weekly Bible study Peter and I went to the Country Lane Farmer’s Market. This is the first one this year, and I so love it! There is a tent from a local farm that raises Bison, and they serve cooked food that you can eat right there. Peter got a bison brat, and I got a bison hamburger. Yum! Then of course we had to get some fresh-made raspberry ice cream (they have the coolest ice cream maker; it’s got a two-foot tall tractor as the engine driving a belt that churns the ice cream. It coughs and sputters, and even though it’s toward the back of the lawn, you can always tell it’s running as soon as you get there ) I also scored some huge rhubarb (the guy actually gave me two bundles for the price of one – what a sweetie!) He also had heirloom tomato plants, which had me drooling, but I already have my brandywines for this year, so I had to pass. But he had a sign that said everything was grown “friendly” with no pesticides or chemical fertilizers. Yay! Can you tell I liked that tent?
Of course I had forgotten until the next morning that produce = work, and I had to chop all of it up and freeze it. But of course I made yummy rhubarb muffins right away for the next morning’s breakfast!
Then of course Friday was Josiah’s birthday, but I didn’t feel quite up to celebrating because there was the threat of Peter leaving, but we didn’t know yet if he was going or not. Plus I was going crazy about the garage sale, thinking I needed to have everything ready by the next morning. By lunchtime we knew for sure that he was going, so I kind of eased back on things and gave up on having the garage sale for that weekend. It was finally 80 degrees out, and I had promised the kids that when it got that warm I would get out the kiddie pool for them. So, even though it didn’t really feel super hot, they jumped and splashed in the frigid water, so excited to finally be able to.
This was Josiah’s first time in the kiddie pool, however, and he was not so impressed. In the bathtub, he unfailingly starts splashing before his body even touches the water. I was expecting this, and perhaps was not so cautious as I should have been. Needless to say, when his little bottom hit the water, he was not impressed with how cold it was, and after a half-second delay scrooged up his face and wailed! So I pulled him out and sat him next to the pool, where he eventually began to splash, but he was not super appreciative of his siblings splattering him every so often as they played!
After supper, we went birthday party shopping, and bought Josiah his present and the bubbles and balloons I mentioned in the last post. I was also feeling pretty “poor me” about Peter leaving again, so I picked up a box of frozen cream puffs (they are sooooo good! – and no soy or corn syrup! Yay!) They definitely helped to ease the pain
Have I ever mentioned my dependence on Walmart? I know a lot of people knock it, but it is a lifesaver for me: one-stop shopping means not loading the kids in and out of the van multiple times, and big carts with extra seats means I can actually have arms to check things out (and read lablels!) If a store does not have carts, I honestly can’t go there (I think I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve been to the mall since I’ve been a mom). So take heed, if you’re starting a shop, think of us mothers and provide carts!
Anyway, since Peter was gone I had to follow tradition and paint something (even though I was kind of pooped, I knew one of my faithful readers would call me on it if I didn’t ) So I picked an easy project – I painted the basement steps. To be honest, I only did half the job. I was intending to paint the facing side of the steps white and the tops a really deep blue (ok, ok, it really looks black); I only did the white part, but it looks fine because the steps were royal blue to begin with. And in my defense, I also painted one of the walls of the stairwell, which had been red (I’m not sure why; there is no other wall that color in the house. The other wall on the stairwell is the same blue as the steps and the rest of the basement. If you think that sounds odd, you probably have not seen the rest of my house. The people who built this house were very into painting – lots of color, lots of sponge painting. It actually looks pretty nice, but I prefer to tone it down a bit.
But I didn’t start that until Saturday. Meanwhile, Friday night after I put the kids to bed I was wondering what fun thing Peter didn’t like to do that I could do while he was gone. I had a few ideas, but what finally won out was washing the dishes and cleaning the bathroom. Not exactly my idea of fun, but something that desperately needed to get done. Oh, well. At least I had my cream puffs
Saturday was pretty jam-packed with stuff to do; as soon as I put the babes down for their naps I put a coat of primer on the stairwell, and also the first coat of red paint on the burn barrel (I don’t think I’ve mentioned that I was volunteered by my dear husband to paint my burn barrel red, white, and blue for the MERA float in the fourth of July parade this year. Apparently they’re going to shoot off fireworks in it during the parade. Luckily, I still had red paint left over from painting the chicken tractor, and some white spray paint from doing the wicker last fall, so I only had to buy a can of blue spray paint. Now it’s just finding the time to do it . . .)
So that was how I spent naptime, and I even caught a shower before they woke up for lunch. Then as soon as we were done eating, I took the kids over to Debbie’s so she and Esther could watch them while I went hunting for a new bookshelf (the kind with glass doors, so Josiah wouldn’t be ripping all of the pages out of our books – grrr! I’ve been wanting one ever since Sam was at this stage, but never could talk Peter into it.) So I borrowed Trev & Deb’s truck (a big old Silverado; I felt very big and mighty – if not super safe; you have to push the brake pedal completely down to the floor before the truck reacts!) and headed to the furniture store – no luck. So I headed over to Farm & Fleet, where I knew they had them (but they were the cheap Sauder assemble-it-at-home kind, which I wanted to avoid, but oh well). I was waylaid on the way by St. Vinnie’s (I had no kids; I must stop!) where I found “Master Boggle” – it has five rows of letters instead of just four. I can’t wait to try it out!
Anyway, on to Farm & Fleet, where I find that the only one they have left is the floor model, and so it’s $40 off – yay! I am all for scratch and dent deductions, because it will be scratched and dented within minutes of its being installed in my house anyway! So I pay for it and drive around to the warehouse, where the 19-year-old warehouse boy tells me that it will be a while, since they have to take it apart. I told them not to bother, just bring it out and throw it in the bed of the truck. He seems to like this idea, so he grabs his buddy and runs inside to get it.
Oh, and I forgot to mention, Peter had called while I was in the checkout lane, and I had to hang up on him because the clerk was giving me instructions. So while I was waiting for the guys to get my bookshelf, I called Peter back, but apparently he had gone back on the roof and was unavailable. So my brief brush-off in the checkout line was all I talked to my husband all weekend!
Anyway, so back comes Adam the warehouse boy with my bookshelf. After a brief moment trying to find some cardboard to lay beneath it, they slide it in and advise me not to stop or start too fast, and it should be ok (if they had been more familiar with the truck, they would have known that’s not an issue!) So I blithely begin my way home.
I should probably mention that it has been “30 % chance of showers” kind of weather all weekend, so we’d been having five-minute thunder showers followed by sunny skies intermittently for the last few days. So as I’m driving through Cameron, I notice that the pavement is a bit wet, and hope that the shower has passed. As I go by the stoplights, I see drops hit the windshield and start chanting “no, no, no!” but it stopped again right away, so that crisis was averted.
I called Debbie when I was almost home, and she said she’d come over and help me get the bookshelf into the house quick on her way to work (Thank You!) While I was waiting for her, I moved the kitchen table over so we could get through to the spot I wanted the shelf, and as I was passing the window I noticed that it had started sprinkling again!!! Thankfully there was a tarp that had blown onto the lawn (I still don’t know where it’s from) and I threw that up over the truck bed to minimize the wetness. Debbie arrived a few minutes later, and of course by then the rain had stopped (crazy weather!) and we got the shelf in without incident. I was trying to get the kids settled (Debbie had brought them all back with her) so I asked Sam to get a rag and wipe the water off of the bookshelf for me – which he did; but he started by wiping off the glass, and leaving the wood wet! I redirected him, and the bookshelf seems to have made it into our home unscathed.
But of course this began another project – I had to move books onto the shelf, and move the shelf (without glass) that had been there before into the bedroom, and then move the shelves that had been in the bedroom into the basement (and of course move and rearrange the books that had been on said shelves). Oh, and did I mention I hadn’t baked the cake for Josiah’s birthday party yet?
But somehow it all got done, and we had a fun little party. After the kids went to bed, I put the top coat of paint on the steps, and heaved a big sigh of relief and accomplishment. Then came Sunday . . .
) but they’ve been sick and Peter said we probably shouldn’t, since we just got over being sick. So it was just the seven of us (I don’t think Jessica has missed one of my kids’ birthdays yet – we couldn’t keep her away if we wanted to! 
