Continuing in my lazy ways of the past two weeks, I have no creative title here. Feel free to make one up.

Yes, it's Wednesday, and yes, I should be writing a "What I Like" post but I just have to comment on the fact that I've been gone for 2 weeks now and I'm still consistently getting views.  You guys are awesome!  I know I haven't been lately, and I really am hoping to get back to posting nearly daily.  Things have been a bit crazy with settling in to married life, adjusting to changes at Man's job and preparing for changes at my job but that is no excuse and I WILL work harder!

I can't say much on the job front at this point since I'm not sure how or when the changes are happening, but I'm excited to get to stay with a company I know and like while still moving on to bigger and better things and hopefully some new challenges!

As for married life, things are good great!  Our oldest worried a lot before the wedding that things were going to change and somehow her life was going to be turned on its top but Man and I have worked really hard to make sure things haven't changed and we're all settling in nicely.  I told our oldest the only things that would change would be that we would each wear a wedding band and my last name, and I really wasn't too far off.  I've never been a big advocate of living together before marriage, but when there are kids involved, I really do think it's the best way to go.

So, while there are still many changes coming (my job, hopefully finding a home that's big enough for all 5 of us plus our zoo, etc.) and I know there will be many rough times down the road, I really am so lucky to love such a wonderful family!

Really, it's there a better sight to come home to?

Hungry, hungry hippos, er, umm, something funnier. I just don't have it today.

Wolfey is about the most impatient animal you've ever met.  When he needs outside he follows me around and whines until I open the door.  When he decides it's time to come inside, he stands at the back door and barks (not constantly, just every couple of seconds like he's rushing you along) until someone lets him in.  When he's hungry he grumbles (he seriously sounds like a grumpy old man) the whole time I'm making his food.  Man frequently tells Wolfey what a jerk he is being when he does these things and while I don't like the name calling, it's pretty much true, so I let it go.  Since we started giving Brady wet food he's started doing the same thing, though he meows instead of grumbles (by the way, we found THE BEST cat food).  Brady's food just has to be dumped into a bowl, but since it's refrigerated we have to let it warm up a bit, so even though his is the first I get out at feeding times, he is the last to be fed and he does NOT like having to wait!

As I was preparing the animals' food they both started in.  Man told Wolfey what a jerk he was being and I told Brady what a pain he was being and all the while Lolly was sitting patiently and the following ensued:

Man: "Good thing at least one of them is patient!"

Me: "There's no need for her to get worked up, she knows she'll eventually get some food."

Man: "Who would have guessed that out of the three, Lolly would ever be the good one?"

Me: "I meant she knows if we don't feed her she'll just go counter surfing!"

You'd think 3 weeks would be enough time to recover from having the girls for 3 weeks.

It's not.

And in two short days we'll have them again.  I miss them like crazy and can't wait to have their smiling faces and laughing voices filling the house again, but I also can't believe how these last three weeks flew by so quickly.  I'm still not back to myself after the weeks of our little one waking me in the middle of the night to help her potty, fighting with our oldest over makeup, clothes (did I ever mention that she has the immodesty of a toddler.  10-year-old body hanging out all over the place is NOT okay with me!) and anything else she could challenge me on and Wolfey and our middle child breaking my heart but I'm getting there.  I have high hopes that I will be back to blogging daily here shortly, but in the mean time I'm taking my New You to help me sleep better and my greens for energy and just plugging away!

It's better to be pissed off than pissed on

Living in a small three bedroom house where one bedroom is used as an office for Man, we have three girls stuffed into one bedroom like sardines.  Okay, it's not quite that bad since it's a big bedroom, but it's still tight quarters with three girls, three beds, three wardrobes, you get the point.  Consequently, bunk beds are a must.  For some reason, our youngest insists on being on the top bunk and although some may question the merits of putting a 6 year old on the top bunk, it's worked out pretty well.  Until this week.  Sunday night, just as Man and I were getting into bed, we heard our youngest giggling.  We thought she was having a dream (she frequently talks in her sleep) and didn't think much of it, but she just kept going, getting louder and louder until we were worried she would wake her sisters.  Finally Man went in to quiet her down and she told him she'd wet the bed.  We're still not sure why she laughed when she woke up in a wet bed but I talked to her the next day and she told me the reason she peed the bed was because she was afraid she wouldn't be able to make it down the ladder from her bed.  We talked about better ways to handle it and agreed that from then on she would call for me if she had to potty during the night and I would help her down from her bed.  It sounded like a great idea until she started calling for me every night.  I haven't slept through the night since Sunday night and last night, for some reason, between the two of us, I was up 3 times during the night for restroom breaks.  Don't get me wrong, I'd much rather go running to get her out of bed than have to change her sheets in the middle of the night, but I could really use a good night's sleep.

I'm one of those people who really needs my sleep.  I can go a couple nights with less sleep, but the longer I go, the grumpier I get.  Today, I'm pretty grumptastic.  I was at the point of saying she couldn't sleep in the top bunk any more when my foster friend had a brilliant idea.  She suggested we get our youngest a touch light to mount at the top of the ladder, so when she wakes up she can hit the light and climb down on her own.  I'm not sure why I didn't think of it on my own, but it's genius.  I plan to pick one up tonight and stick it up there before bed time, and I'm really hoping to get to sleep through the night tonight!

You really do learn something new every day

Okay, I actually wrote this in...oh...March?  I thought for sure I had published it the very next day.  Today, I got into my drafts folder because I wrote something yesterday that I wanted to finish and publish and found this staring at me!  It's good information, so I definitely want to share, so you'll just have to wait on the other post!  Enjoy your education for the day!

My washer crapped out on me.  My high efficiency, top of the line, didn't-get-any-better-than-that-when-we-bought-it-five-years-ago washer.  I don't know about you, but to me, five years just doesn't seem like that long for a washing machine.  Especially when for over three of those five years it was just my laundry and I'm not a dirty person.  I mean, it's not like I play in the mud for a living.  Another almost year of those five years it was just me and a toddler.  Again, not a ton of dirt.  Admittedly, I do have more dog hair going through my machine than most people, but I'm pretty anal about cleaning it out regularly and running vinegar through the machine pretty frequently (about once a week) to flush everything out.  So, I called a repairman.  I was thrilled that we didn't need to replace but a little surprised at the problem...I've been using too much detergent!  I use HE detergent, in the amount recommended on the package (although, admittedly, on the rare occasion that I do have something really dirty in there [think rags used to clean up doggy messes], I have been known to add a little extra detergent).  The repair man was super helpful (if you're in the greater Cincinnati area, try Morris Appliance Repair.  They're prompt, friendly and super helpful.  And no, they didn't pay me for this endorsement, they were just that good!) and gave me a little lesson on doing my laundry.  Apparently in an HE machine, you should only use 1/4 to 1/2 the amount of detergent recommended, even though you're using HE detergent.  And you should never use traditional detergent.  Really.  If you have some left over, give it to a friend.  It will save you money in the long run!  So that doesn't sound like much detergent, and you may be wondering how your clothes will get clean with that little soap, but think about it - an HE machine uses WAY less water, so it won't be able to rinse out as much detergent.  So really, how can your clothes get clean if you use too much soap?  High efficiency washers don't clean your clothes with soap and water, they work based on the friction your clothes create when tumbling around in there.  So there you have it - stop overusing the soap.  You'll save your washer and save yourself money on detergent, too!  By the way, this is also a good reason to only run your washer when you have a full load of laundry.  If you don't have enough fabric in there, you don't have enough friction and your clothes won't get clean.  So there you go, saving yourself money on detergent, plus on water and electric but not running your washer as often since now you'll only do it when you have a full load...man, I should start a money saving blog with all these great ideas!

UPDATE: Yeah, because I have time for that, when I didn't even take the time to realize I never published this post!  Hope you learned something, anyway!

Damn cat

The dogs sleep gated in with us so Brady can have free reign of the house during the night, since the dogs rule during the day.  Every morning when he hears Man and I stirring, Brady comes to the gate at our bedroom door and starts meowing.  When I get up to let the dogs out, Brady usually stays put next to the door and the dogs go by without encounter but some mornings he stands crosswise in the hall so we cannot pass, meowing like he's distressed that the dogs are coming toward him.  It's like he can't figure out that the dogs couldn't care less if he's there or not, as long as they can get to the back door to go out to potty.  I can't decide if he thinks he's so special that he just can't wrap his head around the fact that the dogs don't care or if he is literally scared stiff!

I have some really awesome family

Two of my cousins came out to the house yesterday to work on our AC unit, which has been peeing all over our basement floor.  Correction: my cousin's husband and my other cousin's boyfriend came out.  They're not even technically family, but they still do these awesome things.  Turns out the drain line was damaged so they repaired it and updated it so Man and I can do maintenance on it ourselves.

Another cousin (who is also, legally, not a cousin, but is my aunt's ex-husband's son and chooses to stick around our family, because that's just how great we are!) is coming out next week to work on some plumbing issues we have and install our new dishwasher.

BBS has been busting her hump preparing things for my bridal showers.  Yes, showers.  As in, plural.  And BBS is taking the lead on both of them.  She has recruited an aunt or two from each side of the family and they've been working like mad women to ensure I have not one (my wedding), not two (my shower) but three (my second shower) special days.

BBS and hubby threw a 4th of July party yesterday and not only invited Man and I (who were the only ones there who were kidless, since our girls are with their mom) but waited dinner on us (since I had to work) and then raved about the strawberry pretzel salad Man made in which the jello refused to set up, so it was more like strawberry pretzel mush.  We had a great time and although the kids struggled with waiting until dark to set off the fireworks, we still got to see some of the prettiest ones!

For the past several weeks, Man has dealt with a grumpy, sleep deprived, over-worked-and-under-paid, confused and weepy Karen and taken it all in stride.

I've really been struggling lately with trying to find a balance between work, home, wedding planning and starting my It Works! business, but with such an awesome family, I know it will all work out.  I am so lucky to love so many amazing people!

And this is why I love you

Text conversation between Man and I:

Me: "We keep saying we're going to put that wine in the fridge and then not thinking about it when we're home to do it.  You're home and I'm thinking about it.  Just saying."

Man: "Ok.  It's in the refrigerator."

Me: "And this is why I love you :)"

Man: "That's why?"

Me: "Because you humor me and don't question my ridiculous logic, all the while spoiling me by enabling me to drink on a work night?  Umm...yeah."

Me: "That and the millions of other reasons why you're amazing!"

Man: "If you say so."

Yep, he's all that and modest, too!

I've become one of those women

It was purely unintentional. I just realized it. And I think I'm going crazy. I've lived on my own for so long I've learned to take care of just about anything around the house on my own. Yet somehow when Man moved in and started helping with things I became I've if those helpless women who relies on her man to take care of her. The biggest problem, though is not that it's not me, but that it's causing fights between us. I can admit I've spent a good portion of the past weeks (since Man started his new job and is helping around the house less) irritated with him. But there's no reason to be! Man said he'd install the new under sink trash system we bought (it's one I'd those ones that slides out for easy access) weeks ago but it's been sitting in the garage ever since. Yesterday Lolly got into the trash and Man and I both ended up irritated, though for different reasons. Man was upset with Lolly for getting into the trash while I was upset with Man, because the whole mess could have been avoided if Man had installed that darn trash system. But today it hit me: why am I upset with Man when I could have installed it just as easily? Yes, Man said he'd do it and should have done what he said he was going to do, but it's my house too and it's about time I start acting like it. I'm so lucky to love a Man who puts up with me getting irritated with him and lets me come to these realizations on my own instead of beating me over the head with them! For the record, I installed the new trash system this morning.