a while ago: Ben's second new car

So remember at the end of January Ben got a new car?  Well, there was a minor issue with it and so we brought it back to the dealership while we were in Florida, after having it for about a week and a half.  Without getting into details, there was an accident as they were bringing it through the car wash.  We have heard the actual story now and there wasn't any negligence, just a series of unfortunate events.  

They ended up getting us a new one.  They tried to say they'd just fix it, but Ben negotiated a new one.  Sure, this whole process could have been a bit easier but as a whole it hasn't been bad.  The sales guy that Ben worked with was especially helpful. Ben wanted a specific color and so that took a bit longer, but we finally got the new one about a week and a half ago.  I've driven this one too!  The roads were snowy with the last one and so I didn't want to be the one to get in an accident...which does seem a bit funny in hindsight.

Tuesday: wax museum

 It's been a busy few weeks as Isaac has worked really hard on his wax museum speech and paper.  Tonight was the culmination, with all the students dressing up and doing their thing.

Isaac was Benjamin Franklin.  He did a really nice job.

During his speech:

After his speech, posed while waiting to do his speech again:

They did half the students at a time, so we walked around during the first half; Isaac was a character for the second half.

Saturday: a busy day

Today was rather busy.

First I volunteered with the black belt candidates at the Children's Advocacy Center.  It's a really cool place, although also really sad that we need it.  We learned about what they do and then helped them do an assortment of things.  It felt like we had slightly too many people, but for the most part everyone had something to do.

After a somewhat fast lunch I took the kids to the school play.  It's a 5-8th grade play and they did a good job but at the same time it wasn't amazing.  We could hear them better this year and the kids loved it so it was a nice time.

I came home and crashed.  I'm not completely sure why, but I was going to take that nap and no one was going to stop me.

This evening we played some games online with some friends, which is always fun.  Tonight was Spacebase and 7 Wonders.  We think Joshua might enjoy Spacebase, so it might be added to our collection

soon.

Friday: kitchen and boot camp

I continued working on the kitchen today.  I went through another cabinet and got rid of several old mugs.  The shelf was running out of room and so some had to go, so I chose the ones I don't care about the most.  There was only time for one cabinet today after everything else, but it was still nice.

Black belt boot camp was this evening.  I like boot camp.  I'm still bad at several things, but I'm all set for the first test next Friday.  At the end I was sparring with someone and we don't have pads on so we're trying not to hit each other (too much).  Well, we did manage to hit each other and now I have a huge bump on my leg.  I probably should have put ice on it right away, but everyone is always so worried about not hurting each other that I just shook it out and continued on.  (And really, it will be fine.  There's swelling but not an absurd amount and then I'll have a nice multi-colored bruise.  And then it'll go away.)

Thursday: the mundane

I did my chores this morning along with taking a walk with a friend.  After nap time I continued working on the kitchen, doing two cabinets.  I didn't get rid of much, but they were pretty dusty because I never wipe them down.

I also spent way too much time arranging these shelves.  I took the stuff off and moved the shelves more times than I care to admit, but it was hard to figure out a plan.  (Also, why don't the shelving holes go all the way to the top and bottom?)  I wanted to move the instapot higher as it was on the bottom shelf with the lid on the second-to-bottom shelf with the lids.  I don't use it that often and the top was a bit annoying with the lids.  So now things are in a somewhat better order how how often I use them, although the top shelves were more just by size.

Wednesday: O:CtH, pinewood derby

This morning I ignored several of my to-do list chores and worked on the kitchen.  I feel the most productive when I get some of Operation: Clean the House done, I think because the results are so visible.  I know my other tasks are important, but half of them will show up again the next day.  I'm also ready to be done with the kitchen.  The deep clean is important so I'll keep going, but seriously.  It's a small space with so much storage.

Anyway, I started with the freezer (in pretty good shape), moved on to the cabinet above the freezer (I got rid of a bunch of stuff from the back), and finished up under the fridge (dusty).  I did finally get rid of two sticky notes that were in the freezer.  Some child had put them in the fridge for a while, and then a child wanted to see what happens if you freeze them.  (Spoiler: not much.  I was surprised they stuck the whole time though.)

This evening was Pinewood Derby.  Isaac got first place and was excited.  Joshua didn't place and while he expected that going in he was rather sad afterwards.  Joshua does have big plans for next year already.

Tuesday: errands

Well, I did a lot of errands today that I was only partially expecting.  They were important errands, but errands nonetheless.  Then I forgot Isaac's piano books.  I brought everything else we need to wait for piano lessons, but missed the most important thing.  I remembered this ten minutes in advance, so Isaac stayed at the school and I ran home to get the books.  We hit the lights well and I was back in 15 minutes.  Annoying, but successful.