Kid Makeovers & More

BEFORE

AFTER
BEFORE

AFTER


BEFORE

AFTER

Well, the boys FINALLY got haircuts. I still haven't gotten Kira's hair officially cut. Douglas trimmed her bangs a little last month. That was pretty fixable, though. The Kira pictures demonstrate her two-part personality of grouchy gal and silly sis.

I knew I shouldn't have declared war against appliances. My toilet froze up the next day. I guess the pipes weren't insulated enough to handle the temperatures meant for Subartic zones that we experienced last week. It finally heated up to a cozy 30 degrees, and the pipes started working again. I'm glad we didn't have any busted pipes... just a useless toilet for awhile.

Even though it's a busy time of year, I'm trying to soak up some enjoyment. I found a book I made about 12 years ago that has a scripture, Christmas song, and story for each day in December. We've enjoyed reading and singing a little each night. My favorite moment was when Douglas sang Silent Night: "All is CLAM, all is bright". I said "All is clam? Check that word again." He tried pronouncing it a few different ways. I just thought it was funny that Douglas didn't know the word "CALM". Interesting.

Love the snow. Love that my tree is decorated. Loved the ward pajama breakfast Christmas party (even though Kiki busted an ornament on the gym floor). Love the giddiness in the air. Love that the Kindergarten kiddos anticipate the daily countdown to Christmas. Love how my kids are excited about gift-giving this year. Love that Kira says "ho, ho, ho:. Only 8 more days!

Appliance Mayhem

So you're supposed to learn a little something about home repairs and stuff, but I didn't think I'd be initiated so quickly. A few weeks after moving in, our disposal stopped working. I took it apart, cleaned it, did internet research, and realized it could not be resurrected. We've lived without it for awhile, much to my discomfort. When my parents were in town for Thanksgiving, my dad bought us a new disposal (YEAH!). A very welcomed, practical Christmas gift. Then my dishwasher started having issues. It flooded my kitchen. We were lucky to be in the kitchen when it started, but it was still quite the mess. I took apart the dishwasher, turned some knobs and ran it again. Wow- I fixed it! Well, not really. It still wasn't draining water. All I had done is turned off the water and washed the dishes with the old water still sitting in it from the flood before.

After a simple internet search, I discovered that there is a little "knock-out" plug on the disposal that needed to be knocked out in order for the dishwasher to drain. I took off the disposal, removed the quarter-sized-flood-causing plug, and put it all back together again. Note to self: Don't stop after step 7, when there are 9 actual steps.
On a separate note, the vaccuum died. We had to buy a new cheapy one today, but it works. Kind of. I accidentally vacuumed up part of a sheet in my excitement with having a new appliance, and busted the belt 3 minutes after assembly, but now things are good.

Me and my trusty screwdriver can handle it all. Bring it on, appliances. This is war.