Normal - Nothings

Well, let's see. I'm reading Twilight again for my book club on Thursday. I've read it before, but I still find it hard to put down once I start reading. I've tried limiting myself to five chapters a day, but that didn't work out so well today. I figure it's fine as long as the kids get fed (right?). The last time I read it, I finished the series (all three books) in like three and a half days. Crazy. Luckily it was a weekend, so Kurtis could pick up the slack for me. Ha ha.
This week well, not too much happened. I went to the grocery store. Weeded the garden (wait, no, that was Kurtis). Um, I took Zach to his soccer game. I don't think anybody won. Nobody scored. But he was running around after the ball instead of just standing around licking leaves, so that's an improvement.
An update on potty training Kaleb. He pooped in the potty at church today! He never does that. I let him run around half naked to see if that would help him potty train. He pooped in the living room and peed on the kitchen floor because he has issues about holding down his own wiener! It's annoying. But then after that adventure, he would go in the potty while he was naked. But if I put big boy underwear on him and his pants, he would pee in his pants. I don't know what to do with that kid. Maybe I'm just not ready to give up diapers. Wait a minute! Yes I am! I've been changing diapers for almost seven years straight! By the way, I don't let him run around naked any more. He always says, "Can I have my pants back now?" When I take them away. I think we'll try it again when it's warmer.

I'm really no fun...

Okay, so I wanted to comment on being mint chocolate chip last night, but it was way, way late and I had to teach Sunbeams in the morning, so I went to bed instead. I hate it when I stay up so late. My friend had that little quiz on her blog. I thought it was funny, so why not. I took the quiz and you know how sometimes there are like two answers that you could choose? Well, that's what happened to me and it told me I was vanilla. Whatever. I don't think I have a calming influence on anybody. Besides, I don't even like vanilla ice cream. I took it another time, and only changed one answer and I got mint chocolate chip. Well, okay. It's a good flavor, but it's not my favorite. Then I was just messing around and took it again. Suddenly, I was chocolate. Which is sounded sort of like me. I don't remember what it said, really. Something about being sexy and fun (I think - I really don't remember). I'm so not fun. Ask my kids. You know, I'm the kind of mom who will stop them from jumping off kitchen bar stools because I really don't want them to break their legs.
This week nothing happened. Monday was laundry day, Tuesday I watched my niece and took Zach to soccer practice and went to choir practice, Wednesday I didn't do anything cool, Thursday I volunteered at Riley's preschool, Friday I went to a costume fitting for the movie I'm being a "featured extra" in, Yesterday we weeded the yard because it was finally warm enough to go outside without a coat or jacket. Oh, and the most exciting thing of all - (imagine a drum roll) Kurtis' brother-in-law came over and helped us fix the toilet! Yay! It works again! (to be read as if I had tears in my eyes)I'm so entirely excited and would just like to thank Ryan for all the hard work and help and support that he has given us during these hard times of only having two toilets. I don't know how we survived, but we made it. Thank you. (blown kiss) Thank you. (Another blown kiss) Oh, and Zach had a soccer game on Saturday. His team won! It was their first win, so go Red Dragons!

Apparently, I'm fresh and new. And you are?

Mint chocolate chip ice cream wakes up people's taste buds, and you do the same thing when you walk into a room. The chocolatey bits represent your sweet, flirtatious side, and the minty flavor represents your high energy level. You are smart, witty, and you make a great first impression. Your friends value your advice, because you tend to see things from a fresh new perspective.

This is Kurtis. Hmm. You're as popular and relaxing as vanilla ice cream. You go with the flow, and get along with all sorts of people. You appreciate peace and simplicity, so you sometimes find crowds and loud noises overwhelming. You are a chilled-out, calming influence on the people in your life, and your friends appreciate how supportive and flexible you are.

I Want My Toilet Back!

Our toilet has been the bane of my existence for a month or two now. I can't think how long it's been since it worked. Let me explain. Our house has three toilets, so we are not hurting for having one on the fritz, but it's still no fun. Any way, the kids' bathroom toilet leaks sporadically from the bottom (at least, I think it's the bottom). At first, we thought it was leaking from the tank and we could just replace the bolts. This did not help, but our bolts are shiny and new. Very pretty. Then I thought, well maybe it's the wax seal under the toilet. I shared this brilliant new information with my scientific-mined husband (who, by the way, sucks at home improvement). I told him that we should lift the toilet off the floor and have a look. I know I am freakishly strong, but I don't think I can lift the toilet by myself, so I asked if we could do this together. For whatever reason, he didn't really want to pay any attention to me, and would just be like well we need to call a plumber. I would rather not pay for something we could do ourselves. Then like Monday or Tuesday this week, the toilet downstairs had water all around to bottom of it, too. I just thought that we had another wax ring leak, so I called my husband at work and told him the other toilet might be not working with the same problem. He decides to "Google" it. He comes home and tells me he thinks we probably need to get a new wax seal for the toilet. I looked at him, kind of blankly and said, "I've been saying that for a month, now." He is so infuriating sometimes! I have to tell you he does this to me a lot. I will tell him we should do such and such, and he's all Mr. Skeptical. Then his boss (whom he is really good friends with) will say, "You guys should do such and such." If he does that, Kurtis will come home and say, "Steve says we should do such and such, and I've been thinking about it, and I think we should." Ahhhh! Anyway, so we were all set to finally fix my toilet (yay!), but we can't get the plastic thingy that attaches the water line to the tank and you make it really tight so the tank doesn't leak to come off! It should just screw off. Maybe I could cut it off. Hmmm. Alas, no toilet fixed for me this weekend. Oh, and we started potty training Kaleb. He's starting to get it as long as he is not wearing any pants or underwear. I don't know what to think of this, but at least he's making progress! At the start of the week he would cry hysterically when we put him on the potty or told him to sit on his little one. So, the naked baby is a good thing. It can only get better - hopefully. :)