Living Like Pioneers

I recently read a post on BoufMom9's site about how her new house doesn't have a dishwasher. She captured some great shots of all her children (all 9 of them) pitching in to wash dishes. I commented on her blog something along the lines of "I can't imagine not having a dishwasher." I jinxed myself because I spent Sunday afternoon handwashing our dishes.
Oh, don't worry. My dishwasher is fine. It's the water heater that has crapped out. When I left for work at 6 a.m Saturday I had a nice, hot, steamy shower. When I returned that afternoon all I wanted was a hot soak because it was freezing all day (think snow and maybe 20 degrees). I cranked up the hot water and prepared for a scalding bath (my favorite... the bath is not hot enough unless my skin turns red). It wasn't that hot. So as I soaked I grumbled a little thinking either a) Hubby took a shower right before I came home or b) one of the cats managed to move the temperature gauge on the water heater (it has happened at least twice). A little later Hubby asked if I had hot water during my bath. Turns out he didn't have hot water when he tried to take a shower.
Sooooo... after numerous phone calls to my father-in-law that night, he and Hubby figured out the problem. My in-laws came over first thing Sunday morning and Hubby and his dad set out to quickly fix it. First, the moron at Home Depot gave them the exact opposite of what they asked for. Instead of a left-threading thermal cup he sold them a right threading thermal cup. (I know, I know. I sound so handy. I'm just repeating what Hubby told me). Then a trip to ACE Hardware resulted in our typical luck. The part we needed can only be purchased at a plumbing store... and those stores aren't open on Sundays.
So... I boiled hot water to wash our dishes. I boiled water so my daughters could have a warm bath. I washed my hair in ice cold water in the kitchen sink. I feel clean... but still a little cold. My father-in-law, bless his heart, is expected back here any minute with the proper parts to fix the water heater so we don't have to buy a new one. Did I just jinx myself again????
UPDATE: Oh, it's just my luck. My father-in-law spent the morning trying to track down the part we need. A friend of his who is a plumber made some calls and found out our water heater is currently part of a class action lawsuit. All the parts have been pulled off the shelves. Now we have to call the manufacturer and make them overnight the part to us. And so, our luck continues.

A Grammar Break

I am not an expert on grammar. In high school and college I loved the literature portion of English classes, but could barely diagram a sentence to save my life. Still, having spent 10 years as a journalist, I grasped an understanding and appreciation for correct grammar.
Sure, you could go through my blog and find errors. I'm more likely to end a sentence with a preposition than rework it into a proper format. Still, there are certain words and phrases that drive me nuts.

• "For certain" or "For sure"

As in, "I'm not for certain" or "I'm not for sure." I picked up this pet peeve from mother. She was constantly annoyed by a high school friend of mine who would always respond with "I'm not for certain" when he didn't know an answer. Take out the "for" please. You're not certain, you're not sure. I think it was a regional thing because once I moved away from my hometown I never heard that phrase again.

• "Completely destroyed" or "Totally destroyed"

News reporters love to use those two phrases. Here is my beef: how can something be partially destroyed? It can't. Thus, the house that burned down is destroyed. Period. Whenever we hear that phrase during the news Hubby looks at me waiting for my rant.

I have no idea what inspired today's rant. For some reason those phrases have been stuck in my head lately. As I said, I'm no "grammarian." I have slip ups, just like everyone else. I don't judge people who use those phrases. I just really needed to get that off my chest!

Monsters and Aliens

I think this Halloween could be the year my daughters have a full-on freak out. It happens to all kids at some point, right? I remember when my sister was little and a babysitter took us trick or treating. At one point my sister turned around, saw a "monster" behind her and could not be consoled for quite some time.
Last year I was extremely concerned about how my daughters would handle Halloween. My solution? My four little witches went trick or treating in broad daylight. It was barely dusk by the time we returned home. For the remainder of the evening they handed out candy to the other ghouls and goblins, and seemed fine viewing the monsters from the safety of a house.
This year, however, they're more aware of "scary" and what it means to be frightened. They're more vocal about their feelings and they're not afraid to be afraid. We have one neighbor who goes all out on Halloween. He has scary music playing in his garage. He chases trick or treaters with a fake chain saw. I'm not sure my girls are ready for that. We will likely have to skip his house.
My daughters are excited to dress up for Halloween. They're going to be flowers this year. They can't wait to go door to door and say "Happy Halloween!" (Wait until the remember candy is part of the deal!) I want them to retain their enthusiasm for Halloween and will do my best to make sure this year isn't too spooky for them.

The Tale of the Pink Ballerina Slippers

Once upon a time there were four sisters who were obsessed with shoes, even though they were just four years old. Any time they received new shoes they fought over who would wear which pair. (When you're shopping for four you're rarely going to find four of the same pair, especially when the shoes are from second-hand stores).
One day, soon after the little girls finished eating lunch, the doorbell rang. The little girls watched Mommy talk to the man in the brown uniform. "Mr. Brown" then handed their mommy a box. What could it be? What could it be?
Mommy opened the box and discovered it was a present from grandma and grandpa. While Mommy was grateful to see her little girls had received new shoes, inwardly she groaned a little because she knew a fight was inevitable. First the little girls pulled out a pair of Dora shoes. They were all very excited because they had outgrown their previous pair. Then Sue Sue saw swim shoes for next summer. This made her happy because her feet always end up with scrapes from the bottom of the pool. Then Tortilla gasped. "Mommy!" she cried, "Look! Ballerina sl--. "
Before Tortilla could finish her sentence Cakes had grabbed the treasure... pink ballerina slippers. Tortilla burst into tears and Cakes eagerly slipped the shoes on her own feet. "But Mommy," Tortilla cried "I want the ballerina slippers. PLEASE!!!"
Mommy had to think fast. "Well, Cakes is taking her turn right now. Cakes, you need to share." "No," Cakes said. "These slippers are mine." "OK," said Mommy. "Here are your options. You can wear the slippers until the oven timer beeps and then give the slippers to Tortilla, or I can put them away." Cakes didn't say anything.
Mommy set the timer for 10 minutes. When the timer beeped, Cakes excitedly pulled the slippers off her feet and handed them to Tortilla. Tortilla danced and twirled on the hardwood floor in the kitchen, desperately trying to enjoy every minute of her 10 minute deadline. When the timer beeped again, Tortilla looked a little sad, but took off the slippers and gave them to Roo. Roo twirled and jumped and ran around the house. Ten minutes later, Roo turned the slippers over to Sue Sue with no objections. Sue Sue walked around on her tippy toes with a huge smile on her face. Ten minutes later the timer beeped again, and it was time for dinner. Throughout dinner each of the four little girls talked about how much fun it is to be a ballerina.
The moral of this story: sometimes my daughters surprise me with how willing they are to share.

Please Tell Me Why....

A few things have been bothering me lately. Maybe some of you can explain them to me.
Why:

• Do all four of my daughters like salad, yet refuse to simply eat vegetables?
• Does my pickiest eater think cucumbers are the best thing ever, but hates chocolate milk?
• Does Tortilla accept a carrot every time one is offered to her, but always chews it and then spits it out?
• Can they only tolerate organic mac and cheese and have serious stomach problems if they eat cheap mac and cheese? (OK, I think I actually know the answer to this one).
  
• Do my daughters like quesadillas, but are reluctant to try grilled cheese sandwiches?
• Do my daughters like hummus, but don't care for my homemade spinach dip?

I suppose if I knew the answers to these questions I would be a parenting expert and would probably be racking in millions with my own talk show!

Giveaway Winner

The winner of the Nature Valley Granola Nut Clusters prize pack, as selected by Random.org, is....

• #12 Jenna

Congratulations, Jenna. Your prize pack will be sent out soon. Thank you to everyone who entered. Also a big thank you to My Blog Spark for providing the prize pack. I'll have another fun contest coming up soon.

Giveaway: Nature Valley Granola Nut Clusters

There's a certain point in the day in between lunch and dinner when my daughters need a little pick-me-up. Finding the right snack can be a challenge. They can spend weeks eating the same thing day in and day out and then decide they don't like that particular snack anymore. So I was thrilled to receive a package yesterday from My Blog Spark containing Nature Valley's new Granola Nut Clusters.
There are four flavors to this new snack: Nut Lovers, Roasted Almonds, Roasted Cashews and Honey Roasted Peanuts. Each treat combines nuts, granola and a touch of honey for a yummy mix of sweet and salty.
I'll be honest, here. My stomach does not tolerate any nut other than peanuts. I tried the Honey Roasted Peanut variety and it is delicious. Just a few "clusters" curbed my snacking instinct. According to the package, a serving size is about 7 clusters, which contains 140 calories and 7 grams of fat.
I put the other flavors to the "quadruplet test." My girls enjoyed each cluster flavor and asked for more. Roo said "it's better than chocolate," which I think is a pretty amazing review for a four-year-old. The best review, though, may have come from my pickiest eater. Sue Sue opted not to try the Roasted Almond flavor, which was their first sample. She rarely tries anything new, so I thought I might have to make this a "triple test." When I opened the bag of Nut Lovers clusters, she made a bee line for the table, popped it in her mouth and (through a mouth full of granola, peanuts and pecans) said "this is tasty."My prize pack also came with a sling backpack, stainless steel water bottle, flashlight and binoculars. (Hubby claimed the binoculars the second he saw them).
Thanks to My Blog Spark and Nature Valley, one of my readers can win the same Nature Valley Granola Nut Clusters prize package. You'll receive all four nut cluster flavors, plus the backpack, water bottle, flashlight and binoculars.
Here's how you enter: leave me a comment telling me what your family does to enjoy nature. Please make sure you leave your email address in your comment so I can contact you if you're the winner.
Want additional entries? (leave a separate comment for each additional entry)

• Become a follower of Buried in Laundry (or let me know if you are already a follower)
• Blog about this giveaway with a link back to this post
• Tweet about this contest and include @quadmama

The contest is open to U.S. residents only. You must have an email address to enter. The deadline to enter is 10:00 a.m. MST Sunday Oct. 4, 2009. The winner will be selected by random.org. The winner will have 48 hours after notification to send me his/her mailing address or a new winner will be selected.