Goodness Gracious

July is basically over!  Craziness.  I have spent the last two days cleaning, purging and organizing our office.  In the next two months we are expecting several visitors and it was starting to become a catch all.  Willa was pretty cooperative while I was working, which was probably because she discovered markers.  I have a vision for how I want to finish the room, just need to hang some pictures, take out the computer and desk and find the right dresser.  So a few more things to do in the next couple of weeks, but at least I know what craft items I have and what projects need finished.

We got to get a sneak peak at the Blue Angels on Friday.  Willa was pretty excited about the planes.  She wanted them to C'mere.  She was also pretty excited about the petting zoo at the fair on Saturday too.  Not sure if she was excited as her dad about the corn dogs though.

I can't remember if I blogged about our free sod, but for the last three weeks B has been watering the heck out of and over 95% of it took.  The backyard looks great!  With the tree and swing set gone (well, we still have a few pieces to haul off) we actually have a yard to play in.

Seems like August is going to be pretty busy.....state softball, baseball games, visitors, firm picnic and few more audits.  I have the audit from Hell to finish this week and then I should be able to breath just a smidgin easier.  B is also back on the day shift which should make my life a little easier and increase our family time quite a bit.

So what are your plans for August?

One Small Change

A couple of bloggers I follow do one small green change a month and then at the end of the year decide which ones to keep, toss (ha ha) or work on.  I am pretty sure I talked about carrying my reusuable bags only for non-grocery trips, but I am proud to say that I slowly bought some on each grocery trip and now have enough to buy groceries.  I love it!!  Less bags to carry in and it's so much easier.  Anytime I use a bag, I empty the contents and then hang it ont he back door to take back to the car in the morning.  B does not use the cool bags so he continues to supply us with small trash bags.  It's so nice to not have to wrangle plastic sacks and I feel less guilty on my small shopping trips.  Plus I get $.05 off for each bag I use at Target.

Another small change we have made is our shower cleaner.  I will admit we were pretty dreadful at cleaning the shower.  B gave it a good scrubbing a while back and now we spray it either before or after we shower and it is maintaining pretty well.  Cheap and evironmentally friendly.  Win, win.

Shower Cleaner:

1 part vinegar
3 parts warter
A few squirts of shampoo
TBSP baking soda

So I haven't really done a change a month, but I figure I am 2-2 for on changes so I am on the right track.

Weekend Recap

For the long weekend we tried to balance some relaxation and busyness.  Our friend Liz over at Our Busy Bee wrote a post that is something we are also going through.  We had two situations this weekend that I think relate very well to her points.  But our weekend:

We went to the Farmer's Market on Saturday and got some Flathead cherries and zucchini.  I also discovered that I have a hard time looking at the homemade items without thinking, though they are nicely done, I could make it so much cheaper.  But it was nice to get out of the house and the morning was gorgeous before it got hot.  B made us a nice dinner and we relaxed playing outside.  We also let Willa stay up later than usual to watch B shoot off some of his fireworks.  Which may not have been such a good idea.

On Sunday, we (ok I) decided to change our locks since I had broken my key in the deadbolt.  During B's installation process we were offered some sod for our backyard.  Of course, laying sod on the hottest day of the year was probably not the best move of the century.  But for now we have a backyard and I am going to enjoy for as long as it lasts.  After that we headed to a BBQ that started later than planned and after about an hour Willa was done.  Stick a fork in her done.  We immediately evacuated the premises to save everyone's (ok my) sanity.  This time she slept through the fireworks.

Monday capped off our event filled weekend with the parade and the Voyagers game.  She sat still for the parade and the first three innings of the game.  After that she wanted to explore and was not content to watch anything.  Unfortunately, the 4th of July game is also the most attended game of the season.  B was ready to pack it in, but in this case I knew she just had extra energy and if we want to keep attending games we needed to stick it out.  An employee of the team thought she was pretty cute and procured a ball for her from the bullpen.  She was very excited to get the ball and to have Orbit sign it.  An instance where beauty will get you something.  About the 8th inning she was ready to rejoin the party and then chattered until the fireworks started.  She varied between covering her eyes and saying "Wow!"  I can't say I blame her, some were pretty bright.  We finally made it out of the parking lot and all crashed when we got home.

We have been figuring out on the fly what works for us and what doesn't, but at least we aren't those parents profiled on CNN this week letting their kids run rampant.  Thanks LZ Granderson.

But it was a nice weekend and I hope you all had a nice one as well.