My dishwasher has been acting up lately. Spots, streaks, tarnished silverware, cloudy cups. It was gross. I tried using more detergent, less detergent, different detergent, dishwasher cleaner, hot cycles, heated dry, no heated dry, EVERYTHING. I was at my wit's end with this dishwasher. So I called maintenance.
They sent out a nice man to fix it. Except the moment he came in, he said, "Is there a film or cloudy appearance to your dishes?" And when I answered "yes," he just looked at me like he already knew (and of course he did) and explained to me why this was happening. He checked my dishwasher too to be sure the element wasn't covered in something, but he concluded that my dishwasher was new and there was nothing wrong with it. The problem lies with the water pulsing THROUGH the dishwasher.
Apparently Ft Campbell cleans the water just enough so that is is passable for drinking water. So that cloudy appearance isn't from my detergent. It's dried calcium. That weird crap that floats in the bottom of my cup after my ice cubes melt? That's calcium too.
The maintenance man said that his sister used to live on post and quit using her dishwasher altogether. It was more trouble than it was worth. And it's true. I tried a white vinegar solution on it yesterday that he heard was rumored to clean it up for a bit. But after I ran yesterday's dishes last night? They were dirtier than ever. I had to wash them all by hand this morning. There was even food stuck on some of the dishes (which I've never seen before). It's like the dishwasher KNEW it had been ratted out so it was going to completely stop performing. Ugh.
So I'm going old school and washing everything by hand with filtered water. I'm sure I'll be changing the filter twice as often now that I'll be using it more than usual. I also have to bust out my resusable ice cubes so we don't accidentally ingest the nasty water while we're drinking. This really stinks. I can't say that I would expect the government to spend the extra money to install equipment capable of eradicating this problem (maintenance man explained it would cost about $4,000 per house), but to not even mention this disgusting issue upon move-in? It makes me wonder what else is going on here that I'm just not aware of yet.
This is just a random mish-mash of a little bit of everything
9.24.2011
Things seem to continually get a little wilder around here day by day. It could be the fact that Sam crawls everywhere.
Or that he figured out how to open up cabinets and drawers (I could not possibly count the number of times he's pulled Steve's thin mints out of the pantry and got caught chewing the box).
It could be that he pulls up on anything that looks relatively stable to him (generally speaking, he is not good at eyeballing stable objects).
I also caught him climbing UP THE STAIRS this morning. (I caught him doing this one other time. He made it onto the first step, got distracted by my screaming when I saw him, and konked back and smacked his head on the floor.) Looks like I gotta buy that second baby gate.
In other Sam-related news, we are pretty confident that he has a gluten allergy/sensitivity/intolerance/WHATEVER. While I have not had this confirmed by a certified, licensed physician, I have done my homework, as well as some very elementary trial-and-error food testing and ruled out all other possible allergens. Gluten free is going fairly well. Breaking him of his Cheerio addiction was probably the toughest part. Luckily, Chex is gluten free as well, and since the Cheerios essentially taught him how to chew, he is pretty awesome at not choking on Chex.
We finally painted our front door! I meant to take pictures of it when I had my two trial blues up there, but Steve got very motivated and started painting it the final blue before I could snap a shot. The first two blues were WAY too smurfy. I was afraid that a darker blue would make our doorway look like a black (or blue) hole and be too dark. Now I am really liking the color. I just gotta make a nice orange-Auburn-fall wreath to compliment its lovely hue.
I have somehow managed to cook dinner every night this week with things that were already in my pantry/fridge/freezer and pass them off as true dinners. Either I had a lot of good "staple" ingredients, or I'm a heck of a salesman. I'm leaning more towards the salesman. When Steve asked me what was for dinner last night, I replied, "Well, I'm roasting some sweet potatoes in the oven and I thought I'd also add a toasted slice of sourdough bread (totally the day-old stuff that was on sale) with some Italian meats with cheese sprinkled on top." Ding! SOLD. I basically put sandwich meat on top of some day-old-sell-it-now-or-throw-it-away-bread and grated some cheese on top of that, slid it in the oven for ten minutes and called it awesome. I have a feeling that Second Baby is going to throw a total kink in my plans of being this slide-by-the-seat-of-my-pants-housewife.
What's for dinner tonight, you ask? How about some hot dogs that I just defrosted, rolled up in crescent rolls that I almost forgot about and grate some cheese on top of that? HAH! BAM!
In other news, we sent out birthday party invites for Sam's first birthday. We did this not because we think anyone from Georgia or Alabama or Pennsylvania or California (yes! We know people that far away!) is actually going to drive all the way to the middle of nowhere (our current residence) to go to a first birthday party, but more so to give our family and friends a picture of Sam and let them know that he's survived his first year with us as his parents. Come to think of it, this party is definitely more for us than him. Yes, he survived infancy with the two of us, but WE survived his infancy too. And changed countless diapers. And had sleepless nights. And totally loved it. He is so worth it.
Also, baby's first black eye!
Luckily he didn't acquire this lovely shiner in a moment of parental neglect. He was wandering his way into the fridge while I was putting breakfast items away, and his arm slid out from underneath him, causing his face to break his fall into the bottom lip of the fridge. Nice. Of course, being the overprotective parent that I am (hahaha), I immediately picked him up and told him to shake it off, it was nothing but (yet another!) fall into the floor. But then I noticed the blood and felt preeeeeetttyyyy bad about all of that. So. I'm hoping this clears up in time for his birthday. (It totally should, right? Right?)
Or that he figured out how to open up cabinets and drawers (I could not possibly count the number of times he's pulled Steve's thin mints out of the pantry and got caught chewing the box).
It could be that he pulls up on anything that looks relatively stable to him (generally speaking, he is not good at eyeballing stable objects).
I also caught him climbing UP THE STAIRS this morning. (I caught him doing this one other time. He made it onto the first step, got distracted by my screaming when I saw him, and konked back and smacked his head on the floor.) Looks like I gotta buy that second baby gate.
In other Sam-related news, we are pretty confident that he has a gluten allergy/sensitivity/intolerance/WHATEVER. While I have not had this confirmed by a certified, licensed physician, I have done my homework, as well as some very elementary trial-and-error food testing and ruled out all other possible allergens. Gluten free is going fairly well. Breaking him of his Cheerio addiction was probably the toughest part. Luckily, Chex is gluten free as well, and since the Cheerios essentially taught him how to chew, he is pretty awesome at not choking on Chex.
 |
| He has also started giving me these half-ass smiles whenever I pull out my camera, thus the lack of Sam pictures. What gives, small person?? |
We finally painted our front door! I meant to take pictures of it when I had my two trial blues up there, but Steve got very motivated and started painting it the final blue before I could snap a shot. The first two blues were WAY too smurfy. I was afraid that a darker blue would make our doorway look like a black (or blue) hole and be too dark. Now I am really liking the color. I just gotta make a nice orange-Auburn-fall wreath to compliment its lovely hue.
 |
| Please try not to be too jealous of our need-refinishing-rockers and our lovely landscaping. We're what most folks would call "slackers." |
I have somehow managed to cook dinner every night this week with things that were already in my pantry/fridge/freezer and pass them off as true dinners. Either I had a lot of good "staple" ingredients, or I'm a heck of a salesman. I'm leaning more towards the salesman. When Steve asked me what was for dinner last night, I replied, "Well, I'm roasting some sweet potatoes in the oven and I thought I'd also add a toasted slice of sourdough bread (totally the day-old stuff that was on sale) with some Italian meats with cheese sprinkled on top." Ding! SOLD. I basically put sandwich meat on top of some day-old-sell-it-now-or-throw-it-away-bread and grated some cheese on top of that, slid it in the oven for ten minutes and called it awesome. I have a feeling that Second Baby is going to throw a total kink in my plans of being this slide-by-the-seat-of-my-pants-housewife.
What's for dinner tonight, you ask? How about some hot dogs that I just defrosted, rolled up in crescent rolls that I almost forgot about and grate some cheese on top of that? HAH! BAM!
In other news, we sent out birthday party invites for Sam's first birthday. We did this not because we think anyone from Georgia or Alabama or Pennsylvania or California (yes! We know people that far away!) is actually going to drive all the way to the middle of nowhere (our current residence) to go to a first birthday party, but more so to give our family and friends a picture of Sam and let them know that he's survived his first year with us as his parents. Come to think of it, this party is definitely more for us than him. Yes, he survived infancy with the two of us, but WE survived his infancy too. And changed countless diapers. And had sleepless nights. And totally loved it. He is so worth it.
 |
| GOSH he loves his daddy. |
Also, baby's first black eye!
Luckily he didn't acquire this lovely shiner in a moment of parental neglect. He was wandering his way into the fridge while I was putting breakfast items away, and his arm slid out from underneath him, causing his face to break his fall into the bottom lip of the fridge. Nice. Of course, being the overprotective parent that I am (hahaha), I immediately picked him up and told him to shake it off, it was nothing but (yet another!) fall into the floor. But then I noticed the blood and felt preeeeeetttyyyy bad about all of that. So. I'm hoping this clears up in time for his birthday. (It totally should, right? Right?)
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Second Baby
9.12.2011
So, you might remember me introducing Second Baby to you a couple days ago.
We found out about this little bean the weekend we moved on post (WAY back in mid-July). I didn't want to say anything until I had an ultrasound picture in my hand verifying that there was, in fact, only one tiny person occupying my belly (the twin factor in our families is EVERYWHERE). But getting said ultrasound picture was QUITE the journey...
Turns out that finding a good doctor is much easier said than done. I won't go into details. But I will say that I now have a reputation at the doctor's office. And a new doctor. So.
I don't know if I'm technically in the second trimester now or what. I have no clue what type of fruit this baby is in relation to its size. Basically, Second Baby is getting shafted in true Second Child Fashion. I'm running after an almost-ONE-YEAR-OLD (Jesus help me) and trying to put the rest of our house together before Sam's birthday party in approximately one month. !!!
Life is busy. But it's good. So so good.
But can someone please tell me how we went from this:
to this:
to this:
Notice how the happiness level seems to be directly proportional to the amount of sleep everyone is getting?
First picture- probably an hour and a half at a time, IF that.
Second picture- maybe two hours at time. (In case you're wondering, Sam did not give me that Christmas gift I wanted so badly.)
Third picture- twelve to thirteen hours of uninterrupted sleep EVERY NIGHT plus two naps a day! We are ALL! SO! HAPPY!
Of course we'll still be happy when Second Baby comes along and ruins our beautiful sleep schedule. We feel much more prepared and educated than we were when we had Sam. We know that the sleepless stage doesn't last forever (although it sure as hell feels like it does!), life will eventually strike a nice balance, and everything will turn out fine. We know we're blessed and we can't wait to see who this little person turns out to be.
By-the-way, Steve is predicting this baby is a girl that will look just like me. He is basing this prediction solely on the fact that the baby currently has an oversized head (like myself). So. Any guesses? We can let you know the results in about 28 weeks or so.
We found out about this little bean the weekend we moved on post (WAY back in mid-July). I didn't want to say anything until I had an ultrasound picture in my hand verifying that there was, in fact, only one tiny person occupying my belly (the twin factor in our families is EVERYWHERE). But getting said ultrasound picture was QUITE the journey...
Turns out that finding a good doctor is much easier said than done. I won't go into details. But I will say that I now have a reputation at the doctor's office. And a new doctor. So.
I don't know if I'm technically in the second trimester now or what. I have no clue what type of fruit this baby is in relation to its size. Basically, Second Baby is getting shafted in true Second Child Fashion. I'm running after an almost-ONE-YEAR-OLD (Jesus help me) and trying to put the rest of our house together before Sam's birthday party in approximately one month. !!!
Life is busy. But it's good. So so good.
But can someone please tell me how we went from this:
 |
| GAH! Newborns are so scary! |
to this:
 |
| SLIGHTLY less scary. |
to this:
 |
| He's like a freaking TODDLER. |
Notice how the happiness level seems to be directly proportional to the amount of sleep everyone is getting?
First picture- probably an hour and a half at a time, IF that.
Second picture- maybe two hours at time. (In case you're wondering, Sam did not give me that Christmas gift I wanted so badly.)
Third picture- twelve to thirteen hours of uninterrupted sleep EVERY NIGHT plus two naps a day! We are ALL! SO! HAPPY!
Of course we'll still be happy when Second Baby comes along and ruins our beautiful sleep schedule. We feel much more prepared and educated than we were when we had Sam. We know that the sleepless stage doesn't last forever (although it sure as hell feels like it does!), life will eventually strike a nice balance, and everything will turn out fine. We know we're blessed and we can't wait to see who this little person turns out to be.
By-the-way, Steve is predicting this baby is a girl that will look just like me. He is basing this prediction solely on the fact that the baby currently has an oversized head (like myself). So. Any guesses? We can let you know the results in about 28 weeks or so.
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I am in SHOCK
9.10.2011
I walked in on Sammy the other morning STANDING UP in his crib.
And now he pulls up on EVERYTHING.
This has led to more than a few boo-boos over the past few days...
BIG BROTHER.
Yes. I KNOW. No one was more surprised that a tiny human was inhabiting my innards than ME. Sam took the news well. Heck, he got a new onesie out of the whole deal.
There s/he is. I'm only about 12 weeks along, so we don't know gender (and we probably won't find out again, thanks to a three-month supply of gender-neutral newborn clothing). And in case you think you have super-ultrasound-reading skills like Steve, that is most definitely a FOOT right there. Ahem.
 |
| This was pretty much my expression. |
And now he pulls up on EVERYTHING.
This has led to more than a few boo-boos over the past few days...
He must be getting ready for his new, upcoming job:
Yes. I KNOW. No one was more surprised that a tiny human was inhabiting my innards than ME. Sam took the news well. Heck, he got a new onesie out of the whole deal.
There s/he is. I'm only about 12 weeks along, so we don't know gender (and we probably won't find out again, thanks to a three-month supply of gender-neutral newborn clothing). And in case you think you have super-ultrasound-reading skills like Steve, that is most definitely a FOOT right there. Ahem.
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I should say something
9.06.2011
For a little while now- ok the ENTIRE SUMMER- I've been moaning and complaining about the heat, the heat, and the overbearing heat. I think we all know where I stand on summer. I'm so over it. Get out. Move on. I can't bear to wear tank tops and sweat through my tshirts ANY LONGER.
Well, someone heard my many complaints. While we had temps in the 100s last week, we got RAIN this weekend. And not just a little rain, a LOT. I literally smushed two patio chairs together and pretended I was in a hammock during the rain storm. It was that relaxing. And with the rain came some cooler temps. We currently have HIGHS in the SIXTIES.
I'm sorry, did you get that? THE SIXTIES. As in, Fahrenheit. I'm beside myself with joy.
I'm sure this whole Fall Showcase is just a tease, but I'm living it up.
Sam on the other hand.... Well, let's just say that I swapped out his 9-month clothes for the 12-month hand-me-downs and the child only has 2 pairs of pants. So Sammy is rocking his sweats nonstop. Of course, I don't want him to feel out of place, so I wear stretchy pants too. You know, just so he feels better about his wardrobe situation...
Well, someone heard my many complaints. While we had temps in the 100s last week, we got RAIN this weekend. And not just a little rain, a LOT. I literally smushed two patio chairs together and pretended I was in a hammock during the rain storm. It was that relaxing. And with the rain came some cooler temps. We currently have HIGHS in the SIXTIES.
I'm sorry, did you get that? THE SIXTIES. As in, Fahrenheit. I'm beside myself with joy.
I'm sure this whole Fall Showcase is just a tease, but I'm living it up.
Sam on the other hand.... Well, let's just say that I swapped out his 9-month clothes for the 12-month hand-me-downs and the child only has 2 pairs of pants. So Sammy is rocking his sweats nonstop. Of course, I don't want him to feel out of place, so I wear stretchy pants too. You know, just so he feels better about his wardrobe situation...
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