One step at a time. . .

Looking at my last post I realize a lot has changed and no one knows!

We were thwarted in our attempts to accomplish anything electrical the first week after our trip, so instead I pulled weeds out front. This was my biggest accomplishment. Of course everywhere I pulled up a weed ten more have sprouted in it's place. Stupid never-ending job.

We also had an inundation of flies, and had two mornings of "icky bugs" that were all found and erradicated. This led to my "no fly left standing" policy. I keep my water vacuum filled and at the ready. About three times a day I turn it on and spend five minutes sucking up all the nasty little varmints. The first day I scored about 25, I haven't yet beat my record, but I still have plenty of time.

We also had the blessing of having Robyn come to stay with us for a little while. It's been a wonderful experience so far. She makes little to no trouble, and provides my husband with hours of entertainment because she brought her RC helicopters with her. :)
She has also been amazing in giving us free baby-sitting for a couple of date nights. I try not to abuse the gift, but it's a hard temptation :)

Bitsy keeps growing like a weed. She's now so long that when she's stretched out on her toddler bed she almost touches the edges. . . AHHHHH!

Thus a few changes were required. Rearranging the room was the first part.
We had to get another bed anyway since we needed a real one for Robyn, and we will need it when we are approved to be foster parents, so we broke down and bought a new bunk-bed. It's a twin on twin, but it was sturdy and a good size. I was amazed at how many of the lower bunks were hard to get in and out of. We went with one that had enough space so that we could sit upright on the lower bunk.
We decided to buy new, because the best price we could find on craigslist was 150 and they needed work. This one was 197 and brand new. We also got a new dresser because each child has to have their own. Sam Levitz furniture was great in giving us a discounted price on the dresser. The sale had ended on the fourth of July weekend, but they brought it back just for me.
The only thing we need now are the mattresses :(
(They will have to wait for next paycheck, because even on craigslist the prices are too high for now.)

This weekend also marked the first major "furring out" portion of the electrical project. Seen here are the two foot spaced studs and framing around the windows. Then we will run the wires, put in the new outlet boxes and cover everything with drywall and then paint and it will be as good as new.
This was the easiest option available. The other option was cutting into the walls (plaster and brick) so that we could run the wires through conduit to the outlets. This is amazingly expensive. We ended up using more wood than we thought because I hadn't figured in all the pieces we wound need, but hey, we knew it would be much more than we thought, so all is well. :)

Lastly, our family is still surving and thriving. We're having a blast. Jason started his new job as a service writer and is enjoying the interactions with customers. He's also learning a lot about sales and the managerial perspective.
I'm doing a few sewing projects and just working hard to keep the house half-way decent.
Alisabeth is learning her letter sounds through starfall.com and is enjoying listening as words are sounded out to her.
Robyn is about to start school and has gotten everything she needs, including an amazing deal on a used TI92 from a pawn shop for 1/2 the price of a new 83 model (very old and out of date).
She's the queen of good deals!!

Foster classes are at week 7, we are still waiting to be assigned to a licensing worker so we can start the interview process, but it will come in time.

We also started receiving "Bountiful Baskets." For $15 we get about 25 lbs of fruit and vegetables. Plus I bought an extra 48 ears of corn for $11. We can't choose which fruits and vegis we get, but it's always great quality and it forces me to learn how to use new things. Last night we had taco salad for dinner and the only thing we purchased separately for it was the hamburger.
Life is good.