Oh No, Oh No!

I was so sleepy on Friday afternoon.  Or was it Friday evening?  I don't remember but I'd been working hard all day, trying to get to the things on my list of things to do that I haven't gotten done.  I owe several people some replies or 3D printed things and I've been trying to get to them but I've had challenges either finding models that match the specific need or I just can't find a model that will print well.   

I'm not giving up, but it's taking me longer than I'd hoped.  Designing a model to match the need would be ideal, but since learning Fusion 360 has been on my list and has also been repeatedly made lower priority to other things, I don't have the necessary skills to get the level of precision needed for the model.   But that will happen...eventually.  

So I fell asleep and my husband was going to wake me up.  He tried, but I just couldn't wake up, even knowing I was going to miss putting this blog post up.   No matter, I'll write it on Saturday, only I forgot.   So I'm two days late now and I don't even remember what my children did on Friday so I'll have to give an update on what they did on Sunday as soon as I post this.

Hangers Bigged Up

When I had children friends of ours gave us a huge number of clothes hangers that were children-sized.   For many years we didn't take advantage of all the hangers because we either had babies, toddlers or children who preferred to get clothes out of their drawers as opposed to the closet. 

Gradually we transitioned and for many more years, we used those little hangers.  Only now, the children's shirts are too large and they fall off all the time.   So yesterday I got new hangers for each of their closets.   They were indignant, saying they both liked their hangers.   They were plain white, I wasn't sure what the connection was they felt, but I assured them they could keep both (in the storage area where they could find them in a bin in the back should they ever press the point.)

Today, I swapped over way too many things on hangers from small to normal-size.   Hopefully, they'll prefer this over having their clothes fall on the floor from time to time.   Actually, who am I kidding, they never cared if their clothes were on the floor.

The Big Boy Update:  My son is looking forward to his trip to visit Mimi and Gramps.  My mother has been talking with him about what he wants to do and it sounds like they have the schedule will be full.  He's hopeful that one of their neighbor's granddaughters will be there at the same time.  The last time he visited he spent time with one of the grandchildren and he and she had a lot of fun.

The Tiny Girl Chronicles:  Tonight my daughter came downstairs with the new one-piece pajamas on and complained that they were too big.   I asked her if she remembered our size predicament at the store.  We could either pick 7-8 (and she was nine) or 10-12 (and she was close to ten).   One was going to be too small and the other would be too big and it would be better to grow into something than have something already too small.   The elastic around the ankles made the pajamas workable even though she was definitely too small inside them.

Cleaning Day, Try Two

Our house stays relatively clean, but it does become out of whack after a while with what feels like four children home for the summer given all the mess that seems to accumulate.   They aren't that messy, but forts, slime making extravaganzas on the porch and spending time with friends in the garage when it's raining and inside not being an option, and things just get out of hand after a while. 

My daughter isn't that messy and does try to clean things up, but some things are a little out of her league and would be highly frustrating to her to clean on her own.  The garage slowly became a mess after weeks of hangouts in there with the garage door open.   They had done beadwork, making bracelets and necklaces and beads had rolled places in the large space that is the garage. 

There were food wrappers—which should have been put in the trash can beside the area there, but somehow, children being children, they didn't make it.   Water bottles had been left at our house as had shoes and socks around the trampoline, something I still don't understand.   We have had upwards of ten pairs of shoes at times in varying sizes and the children must keep coming over with other pairs.   

So today, while my daughter and her friends were taking ropes and hanging them in the tree in the front yard to create makeshift seats, I swept all the debris up into a pile, put the trash in the trash, the recycling in the recycling, and made five times the available space just from getting things out of the way.  

That was only one area.   The children did some of the work and tomorrow they will have more work to do.   They are grumbly about this and I tend to get frustrated and lose my temper when I tell them that they expect me to clean up after them?  Is that what their expectation is?  Because if that's what they think, they have another think coming. 

The day ended with a massive pile of things covering the breakfast nook table.  Tomorrow that will all go away with their help and then they have to clean their rooms.  They're going to love that. 

The Big Boy Update:  I caught my son's friends standing in the basement today with the door wide open—in close to ninety-degree, high humid weather.   They ran out when they saw me.   They were back in just a few short minutes later.   They have been banned from using that door now. 

The Tiny Girl Chronicles:  My daughter was outside in her pajamas all day today, despite being told to put on clothes multiple times by both her father and me.  Then, tonight she tried to go to sleep in those same, now dirty pajamas.   She was told if she went outside with pajamas on again, she would be taking them off and would be left outside with no clothes on.  So I sure hope she remembered to put on clothes tomorrow. I think she will from the gasp of horror she emitted when she heard the not idle threat. 

The Tarp

My children had talked about putting a tarp over the trampoline when they wanted to have a sleepover the other night.   I said to them that while the trampoline had a mesh wall around it, putting a tarp over it wasn't something that could happen because anything we had that was large enough, would fall into the center of the trampoline from sheer weight if we were even able to get the edges over and off the side. 

They didn't need a tarp, I had followed up because if they wanted to sleep outside, we'd make sure it would be on a night that didn't have rain predicted.   They were a bit sad a this but since there was nothing to be done about it without putting excessive weight on the netting, having complex tying down schemes, and possibly not even being able to find a lightweight tarp that would work—and we weren't going to buy one—they had to go with the open trampoline plan if they wanted to sleep out there at night. 

The trampoline zips up completely and the mesh from the sides connects seamlessly with the bottom surface of the trampoline, so when they're zipped in, they won't be available for vicious rabbits or rabid deer that are too afraid to come near the house now that the neighborhood has been developed.   In short, they would be quite safe, except from rain. 

Today I was up in the craft room and I looked at something I'd seen lying in the back storage closet where we keep the toy and clothes overflow.  There are things in there from when the children were much younger and the clothes need to be gone through and handed down. It's a bit of a mess in there and it needs some cleaning up.   I had seen something I'd ordered from China and had hoped would come in at the size I'd specified and was surprised that I actually got what I had paid for.   I pulled it out and thought I'd mention it to the children the next time they got bored. 

So when I walked by it tonight something clicked.  It was a parachute for a group of children who would stand in a circle and hold on to a looped handle at one of the seams of the very colorful segments.  Everyone would lift the parachute up and down and feel the air resistance.   Then, on the word of the teacher, everyone would lift up, step inward, pull the parachute behind them and sit down.    The parachute would make a bubble around the group as the air slowly let out. 

Was the parachute big enough to be a tarp?  It was round and it had pre-made handles.   Would those handles be something I could connect to the top of the mesh wall's poles?   Yes, and yes, it would work.  I couldn't believe my great good fortune.   But how to attach it?  I didn't want to damage any of the trampoline or the parachute.   

I decided to pull out the huge rubberbands I had and see if I could connect the parachute to the top with them.   That way if any stress happened, the rubber bands would just snap.   After a half-hour of tying up the parachute and we had a trampoline with a parachute on top.   It's a lot of fun to jump up and down and feel the parachute push the air out of the area after you pushed it up with your head and hands.   What an unexpectedly fun discovery in the back closet from years back. 

The Big Boy Update:  My son did not want to take a break from dinner as he was in the middle of a game online with his friends.   I was putting rubber bands on the trampoline when I saw him walking around from the back porch with something in his hands.   He had brought his soup from the kitchen outside (because he would get in trouble had he carried it through the house,) had gotten his headset, and was right outside the door by his computer with his headset on, talking to his friends and eating Mimi's soup for dinner.   He figured out a way to do both dinner and be involved in the game at once. 

The Tiny Girl Chronicles:  My daughter loved the parachute on the trampoline.  She wanted to spend the night outside but her brother said it was too hot—it was.   We suggested finding a cooler day and making plans to set the parachute up again then.

Failed Sleepover Again...

My daughter wants to have a sleepover so badly.   She tries to have them with her brother, but he changes his mind about it at the end of the day every time and she always ends up disappointed.   The other thing she's tried to do is coordinate a sleepover with our neighbors, which has almost happened but each time has ended up not for various reasons.  

Today, they had talked about having a sleepover on either their back porch or the trampoline.   We said we were fine with it but again tonight, right after it grew dark, it rained for a short period of time.   They went out in their pajamas, now in the clear weather but with a wet trampoline, carrying glow sticks and colored flashlights.   

They spent some time out there and then decided they were going to sleep over in the garage.   The garage that was intolerably hot and humid, I might add.   I was asked if I could move my car out of the garage and I said that no, they weren't going to put sleeping bags down on the floor of the garage where the dirty car had been driving in and out.   

That was fine, they said, they would move some things out of the way in the small half-sized garage which was filled with things from their play over the past weeks.   They didn't manage to move much, but we put some music out there and they spent a while until Rayan and Keira decided to go home around ten o'clock. 

Some day my daughter will have a sleepover again.  She just loves the idea of having a friend over.   I hope it works out for her.  We're up for it if we can make it happen. 

The Big Boy Update:  My son likes wearing long sleeves and long pants, even in the hot, summer weather outside.  I offer cooler clothes to him from time to time, but he just likes wearing clothing for cooler weather.  

The Tiny Girl Chronicles:  My daughter has begun to not respect the dog's wishes, forcing herself on her and forcing her head down or hugging her in ways the dog tolerates but doesn't really like.  It's taking it's toll and I've been speaking to my daughter about wanting the dog to want to spend time with her and if she keeps it up, she is going to find out the dog isn't interested in spending time with her.   She said she can't help it, but she also said she understands and will work on it. 

Names I Like

The Tiny Girl Chronicles:  We are on Round Two of "Names I Like" from my daughter.   She wanted to tell me the names she really liked today and wanted to know if I was going to write them down.   I told her I could if she wanted and then she asked if I was going to be putting them in the blog.  I said I could do that as well, too.   

She has heard me talk about the value of documenting things so you can refer to them in the future.  Her idea of, "the future" is a little shorter in length than mine is at this point in my life, but I said I would document the names and put them in the blog.  

I don't know in what situation these names would be important to her.  I'm guessing they might be cat names or names for people she and Nora or Keira are using for the games they play together.   If the names had two parts to them I would suspect Warrior Cat names because of the series of books she likes.   In this case, I think they just have a nice sound to her. 

Leeva, Elemy, Summer, Alix (female), Gilidise, Samira, Audra, Eveinlin, Eleven, Ninelet

The Big Boy Update:  My son has decided it would be nice to go visit Mimi and Gramps the last week before going back to school.   He had a good idea that it might be good to change things up and get his mind reset from summer relaxation here before starting the new school year.   I thought it was a good idea too.   We'll confirm with Mimi and Gramps to see if that works with their schedule. 

Flapjack

Swearing happens in this house.   For the most part, the swearing is done by me or on rare occasions, my husband.   The other time swearing happens is when splinters are being removed from my daughter, in which case lots and lots of words ring out in short succession.   I don't know if the dog swears, 

My son has reached the age where he is considering the coolness of swearing.   He gets online with neighborhood friends and plays games.   The team games he's playing involve competition and of course, you don't always win.   Or, perhaps someone pulls off something extra impressive or you have a victory or any other number of reasons that to my son, might be cause for exclaiming and possibly using a swear-like word. 

Only he's not allowed to swear, so he's been working on alternatives.  Maybe some of the alternatives are common these days, like "frick," which we outlawed after it was becoming so prevalent it was appearing in every other sentence.   The latest one he's been using though is rather funny to me.   I keep hearing him yell out, "Oh, flapjack!" from the computer.

The Big Boy Update:  My son gets frustrated when he has to stop doing what he's doing to come to dinner or go to bed or any number of things that interrupt what he is currently doing.  The one thing he never seems to mind though is being completely silent when we tell him we're recording for Filament Stories.   He's pretty supportive of the work we're doing, which is super sweet of him. 

The Tiny Girl Chronicles:  My daughter also is supportive of what I'm doing with Filament Stories although today she told me she thought it wasn't a good thing to buy the printers because we needed to buy food and pay bills.   I told her we would never spend money we needed to have to pay our bills and especially to keep everyone fed.   I don't know if she was worried, but she seemed to feel better when I told her that.