Aloha Friday

A couple weeks ago, I took Jolly Green Daddy, Sprout and Small Fry to a local farm to pick tomatoes and strawberries.  We had a lot of fun, and then we had Homemade Strawberry Preserves and Roasted Tomato Sauce.

My question is:

Do you enjoy going to Pick Your Own Farms?  What do you like to pick?

I have picked strawberries, tomatoes, blueberries, apples, peaches and pumpkins.  I love going to You Pick It Farms.

Thank you for joining me for Aloha Friday.  Feel free to join in the fun at An Island Life.

Aloha Friday

Yesterday afternoon, I flushed the toilet in our most used bathroom to find that it was draining very sluggishly.  It was gurgling and wasn't filling right too.  Ugh!  Time to get the plunger.  No change.  I poured a gallon of very hot water down the drain.  It drained, but didn't help.  Then I used baking soda and vinegar (that stuff is amazing), still nothing!  Uh Oh!


This was the final blow for this toilet and off we went to a big box store to get a new one.  We had replaced the toilet in our master bath with an American Standard Cadet 3 Right Height Elongated toilet.  It had been recommended to my parents by their plumber, so we went with that one.  Jolly Green Daddy and I installed it on our own and knew we could do it again.  So when we went to get our new one we were looking for the same toilet.  We found the same toilet and it's "brother" with a dual flush.

Picture from American Standard

So we brought home our new dual flush toilet and waited for the kids to go to bed.  We were getting ready to install our new toilet.  We took out the old one and found that the flange that the new one was going to be attached to was broken.  It looks like when they redid our tile floor they broke it!  And just did what they could to make work.  Grrrrr...

Looks like another trip to the hardware store.  JGD comes back with a new flange and a repair kit.  When we look at what we have in the floor, we finally decide that it is time to call a plumber.  Ugh!  So now we are waiting for a plumber to come and fix our flange and install our new toilet.  And Sprout is wondering why the potty is in the backyard.

So my question is, what do you do around the house and what do you call/hire someone to do for you?

As I discussed above, I do most of the minor plumbing in the house and electrical.  When it comes to rewiring, repiping, flooring and other complicated tasks, I call someone.

Thank you for joining me for Aloha Friday.  Feel free to join in the fun at An Island Life.

Aloha Friday #3?

Hmmm... it's been another busy week around here, and I have been making many resolutions to try to improve... well everything.  Yes, I know I beat myself up too much, but I'm working on it.

I have so many questions for the blogosphere right now, I am having a tough time choosing one.  In a post earlier this week, I mentioned that my family went from a 1 income family to a no income family (in December).  Well, as of this week, we have a part time income (I think), so maybe it was just time for us to be honest with the cosmos so that we can change direction.

Okay so my question for this week...  Do you budget?  And if so, do you have any tips for someone who is just getting started in the world of formal budgeting (and working with someone who doesn't understand the meaning of the word)?

Aloha Friday

I really like the idea of Aloha Friday.  Not only does it give me the chance to check out new and different blogs, but I get to "converse" with other adults.  Thank you to Kailani for creating this great meme.

A couple posts ago, I talk about my great plans for this week.  Well, so far I have accomplished none of them.  I really do want to accomplish something, but at the same time when Sprout takes a nap, it is far more appealing to take a seat and have some "me time."  I really do want to help get my house organized (I accept that I am part of the reason it's not). 

My question to you this week, is what do you to get organized??

Night 1 (Aloha Friday)

I was going to wait to post this until I found the cord for the camera, but I just have to share.

I woke up this morning to my little one babbling in her crib (as she does every morning).  But this morning was different.  Soon after I woke up, I heard a "thud" and then crying.

Yup, you guessed it... she escaped.  I knew it was coming, but I was hoping that she was happy enough just hanging out and reading books in her crib, that my little monkey might opt to stay in her crib.  Alas, she did not make this choice.

After her escape, we decided to convert her crib to the toddler bed.  Come to realize we didn't buy the toddler rails because I would love to move her into a double bed (but I'm not buying one right now).  So she is in a daybed, surrounded on 3 sides.

We survived nap, and when I heard her chatting and went to get her I was greeted at the door.  She was clearly ready to go.

Now, I am sitting here trying to pretend that I am not listening obsessively to the monitor to try to figure out if she is getting out of bed.

After seeing a few blogs linked up to Aloha Friday I decided to join in.  So my question to you is, what did you do to help ease this transition for you or your child?