Two year-olds

Can’t live with them, can’t live without them. So true. You want do hear what my little punk did today? He almost cost me a minimum of $85 and a super-sized serving of humiliation. Apparently my little bugger turned off the power supply to the pool. I never knew that useful switcheroo even existed, hiding beneath a camouflaged outlet cover, on the side of the yard where he is not allowed to explore.

We had a very windy day yesterday, which resulted in a lot of leaves and twigs in the pool. I noticed it was very dirty this morning. I was surprised our handy dandy little automatic creepy crawly pool vac didn’t do its usual bang-up job. I thought, hey I’ll just manually turn it on and let it work some overtime. Click....nothing. Hmmmmm? I go to the main switch by the actual pump. Click...nothing. Oh crap! I can actually feel my bank account getting about $1000 lighter. Crap! I call Brad and ask if we want to try to figure it out, or just call a pool guy. It is old and is very quirky already. We decide to call around and get some quotes on just coming out and meeting our pool pump. $85. I call Brad and we go through a little trouble shooting over the phone. THANK GOD! I try the stealth grand master power switch as advised by my oh-so-clever husband. I can hear some phantom ticking immediately. I have a very good feeling about this. I walk back over to the switch of my preference and click...purrrrrrrr. Yes!

So we rejoice and groan over the antics of our little two-year-old boy. I realize as I type this that my husband is no real pool-mechanic genius. He just happens to have been a two-year-old boy before. How can I compete with that?

What my computer virus taught me

I’m sitting here all giddy, seriously I can’t stop myself from smiling. You see, I’ve just emerged from the land of the infected computer. It is so beautiful here I hope you all are enjoying an uneventful day. Take a moment to appreciate your computer’s health. Heck, back up some files just for the fun of it. Don’t wait for the dark cloud to descend upon your home and family because it is not a matter of if it will visit you, more a matter of when.

I seriously can’t believe I’m able to access the internet and type here again. Merry Christmas.

This is the second time I’ve encountered a debilitating computer virus/spyware/malware... whatever it is, it’s not fun. Coincidentally, both occurred in 2010. The first time this happened I was freaking out. I panicked and it rocked my world for a day or so, then I gave up and surrendered my computer to our local Data Doctors. They fixed it, but it came with a price. I licked my wounds, became proactive with backing up my files and creating a copy of my system’s image. I wanted to make sure that I never was in as weak of a position as I was on that day.

So on Sunday, when this happened to our computer again. I was in a better “boat.” Looking back 5 days ago, I can see how badly I wanted this problem to go away. I knew that Data Doctor was not going to be an option this time. I was going to fix it this time. I sent Brad out to get Spyware Doctor 2011 that same day. Wouldn't you know it wasn't the latest version. It was a feat to just get the updated version via computer to computer transfer. From the beginning to the end, it was one road block after another. After a day or so of it, my stress level returned to a “normal” state for me, I’m always running a bit high in that dept. (I’m working on that too, but that is another blog topic.) I had actually considered pulling an all-nighter on Sunday night. I had a representative that assured me that I could do it! He would be waiting to work on the fruits of my labor. He informed me that he would be there for the next 8 hours to work on my issue. It was 11:30pm my time. Thank God, I chose to toss and turn for the next 6 hours, instead of trying to fix it that night. It never would of been successful and I would have been one crab-apple-of-a-person to boot. I woke up relieved that my dream where my laptop lid broke off the computer was not a reality. Phew! I don't think I could of handled that.

I will spare you all the fascinating “geeky” details of the road to recovery. I’m glad it is over. It was 5 days of following email and phone advice, usually to no avail. Sometimes, I would be successful and I felt like I was making some progress. It turns out that today was they day that it got resolved. I was truly surprised. I think it was such a new issue, that the tech people were busy learning about it as new information came in about the “beast.” Hopefully, this “beast” will all be old info and be easy to deal with if it ever does pay you a visit.

I’m so excited to be able to publish this blog today. I learned all about patience this week. It was a brutal lesson, but quite effective nonetheless. I hope I’m not put to the test anytime soon.

Got java?

I was recovering from my 8 year old's sleepover birthday party. I woke up and started my coffee maker. Let me restate that. I woke up and attempted to start my coffee maker. It was broken. I was flabbergasted. What was I going to do? I had to have coffee. I almost cried.

But then I thought that cowboys somehow made coffee without a coffee maker. I'm sure I've seen it on TV.

This is what we came up with.




The chop stick contraption nicely held the strainer in place so that we didn't accidentally lose the grounds. I understand that this isn't an ideal outfit here, but desperate times call for desperate measures.

Short story: Coffee? Check. Caffeine level achieved? Check. A quick trip to Bed Bath & Beyond set us straight. Phew! God bless the automatic coffee maker. It is just one less thing. Yee-ha.

The mother of all procrastination.

My label maker is still in the box. I’ve had it for about 7 years. I think my problem is that I don’t want to “label” something until my system is perfect. Who wants to ruin a perfectly good label, right??? Also, I need to learn how to use it. So, to recap, I need to figure out the perfect organizing system, then I need a beautiful storage solution to label, then I need to learn how to use my label maker, then I need to make labels for all the solutions at once. I want to have everything ready and then go from unorganized to labeled in one afternoon. Oh yeah, I forgot, I need one afternoon uninterrupted.

I don’t think this is going to happen.

Enough is enough. This is my epiphany I had earlier this week. How can I be organized if I can’t remember what I store in which container? Once I put something away, I semi-forget about it. So logic would follow that is why I have things out, so I don’t “lose” them. I knew I had a reason for not picking up after myself....I like myself better already.

This week I have been looking around for smarter ways to store things that I have. I have thrown away a lot, donated some, and have gotten a lot smarter on what goes where. I had short things stored on high shelves, with tons of wasted space on top of that. My new best friend is an empty diaper box with a plain old hand-written label on it. There is nothing precious about this storage solution. I feel this sense of freedom knowing for sure what is in each box or tote. I’m hooked. Some people “love” their label makers (want mine?), I love an orange Sharpie and any old box.

All I see is love.

Well, one thing is for sure, working out at the gym is eating up my blog time. So is organizing my life. My waistline and refrigerator are thanking me. I have managed to make 10 cardio and 10 weight training sessions so far this month. Go me. Making it to the gym today was critical. I hadn’t been there for two days. I am still completely sore from Friday and I had stomach aches, etc. Wah, wah, wah. I was not in the mood. I managed to get myself there and I am so happy I did. I did take some measurements this weekend, and I am happy to report that a few inches have been lost. You will have to wait and see for Oct. 1st. I have gained a pound, hopefully, of pure powerful calorie-burning muscle.

As far as the refrigerator goes...I completely took it apart and cleaned the heck out of it. It is gleaming inside. My lovely neighbor picked up and delivered a fruit and veggie basket purchased coop style for me. As much as I like a bargain, I have my limits. 7 am, on Saturdays, is not for being productive. God bless Steve and Denise!!! See picture of produce above. I had this, plus another 24 ears of corn to put away. After shucking, cooking, cutting and freezing 24 ears of corn. I had a big mess plus the produce shown above to deal with. In typical Lauri style, I decided to empty the fridge and clean it, at that moment. My kids were worried for me. My husband was hopeful. My kitchen, once again, is happy and clean (it doesn't happen often.) I even managed to hit the corner in my kitchen where paper clutter and odds and ends go to die a slow painful death. I love that a photograph captures only the here and now, and not the baggage that I carry with me whenever I think of my kitchen. It is definitely a love/ hate relationship I have with the heart of my home. All I can see here is L-O-V-E!

Room Redo

Yesterday was a perfect day, well, pretty close anyway. I dropped the girls at the bus stop, we said our good byes, and then Brandon and I found some good buys at Kohl’s. I was armed with good sales, the promise of an extra 30% off on top of the sales, and a $10 off coupon good towards kids clothes. And, to top it off, my little guy was the best little shopper. What a gift! The short story is that my soon-to-be 8 year old's bedroom is gorgeous. I picked up a few items to give it a fun, fresh, organized look. I came home, cleaned, organized and set up Alison’s room in a record two and a half hours. Brandon slept the whole time. See....I told you it was perfect.

This morning, however, it is back to reality. I am missing my morning gym session due to the fact that my oldest woke up, throwing up. It is my fault, really. Yesterday morning, she said to me optimistically, “I’m not going to miss any days of school this year.” I should have knocked on wood.

Gym update: I have completed 5 strength training and 5 cardio sessions. I’m on track for my goal of 13 this month. I also think I am seeing a little bit of definition in my shoulder muscles. One way or the other, I will be working out today. It will either be a home workout or one that I do after dinner.

How low can you go?

I am referring to my online order total. One of the reasons that I’m happy to be home from our summer vacations is that I can dabble in my love for shopping online. Another secret revealed. I love to find a good deal, and then I love to make it even sweeter. Here is an amazing frugal tip that I was surprised to learn is unknown by many savvy shoppers. There is a website called www.retailmenot.com that allows you to often find additional discounts that can be applied to your order total in the form of a promo code, or coupon code. There are many other sites as well, but I always start with that site. Not every online store has discount codes, but it is worth looking into. I h-a-t-e paying for shipping, and these discounts will often save you that cost.

I am a stay at home mom, and I make no income, z-e-r-o, since I have made the choice to be home. I find that shopping wisely is my way of contributing to the family. I’ll share more of these tips in the future. When I do place an order, it is usually for merchandise that is about 50-75% off retail prices. Additionally, I often have a coupon that has a set dollar amount off when you spend a certain amount. For example, $25 off a $50 purchase. If not, I use a coupon code as described above. I rarely pay shipping. It is a rush for me to get things for such a great price.

Sometimes it doesn’t go so well, and I am robbed of the warm rush of retail therapy. Here is a specific instance that happened several months ago. The day started like any other day. I was checking email with my morning coffee at hand. I opened a “70% off” email from one of my favorite stores. I went to the site, very happy to see lovely things at such a great discount. I filled my cart with some pleasing choices. Unfortunately, I had no coupon to use, so I scoured the internet for additional discounts that could be applied. Hmmmm. No luck there. I tried a few expired coupon codes, okay many, and I kept striking out. This particular store always has a great coupon that accompanies great sales, but nothing could be found. I couldn’t pull the trigger on this order. The deal was not sweet enough. All of a sudden, a pop-up type box appears that reads, “Upon leaving please fill out this survey.” What????? I was just electronically escorted from the store. Hey, I’m taking this personal. How did I get this frugal? I’m blaming it on my parents.

Amazing frugal tip!!!

I’m sure most of you use both sides of your swiffer sheets. If you don’t, you should start. They work just as well on the “wrong” side. Here comes the amazing tip. After both sides are really dirty, for me that means it looks like we just got a new puppy, use the swiffer sheet on your garage floor. I can’t believe I never thought of it before. I’m so excited. Next dirty swiffer sheet is going to take a spin on my covered patio.

I guess this is so exciting because I would never use a new swiffer sheet on the garage floor or patio. I mean they are “outside” and are supposed to be dirty. I told this idea to my husband and oldest daughter. They seem to be missing something. They keep waiting for a punchline or something. Try this tip, I promise, you will like it.

How early is too early?

This is a question that I occasionally ponder. I’ve been known, once or twice in slow years, to decorate for Christmas before Thanksgiving. Shhhh. Shh. Quiet down, people! I haven’t had this conundrum for some time, due to the addition of our third child. It is such a double standard that the stores flaunt their trees before we say “Trick or Treat....Thank You...Happy Halloween.” Seriously, if you’re not having anyone over for Thanksgiving, it’s a victimless crime. And if you are, just don’t turn on the Christmas lights.

I present this question in light of packing for vacation. The intensity of my love for “early” packing is matched only by that of my hatred for unpacking. With the pull-back in the economy and the introduction of fees for checked bags, my propensity for early packing has been intensified. I believe that with all the laundry that I have to process for a family of 5, coupled with the fact that we have soooooooo many clothes, a week early probably wouldn’t raise too many eyebrows. If only I could wait that long.

Each and every item has been scrutinized, washed, folded, and in some cases ironed. My 7 year old recently asked, “What is that called?” “Honey, that is an ironing board,” I whispered. I’m not expecting a nomination for Mother of the Year for that one. This year on our 10 day family trip, we are not checking bags. Our toddler flies free as a lap child (pray for me), so we all have to absorb his belongings. I love a good challenge. I don’t watch Survivor on TV, but I imagine this is what it is like. It is all about strategy. My 10 year old is buckling down to finish the fourth Harry Potter book. She knows she can’t bring two Harry Potter books.

Anyone who has ever moved knows that when it comes down to the wire, moving day, and you think you have only about an hour of work left, in reality it is about 6-12 hours of stress-filled chaos. I guess I’m compensating for that last hellish hour. I’m not crazy. It is a form of self-love.