What to do when......

The oven still isn't fixed.....

Many of you have heard our saga about the oven. When you are a family of four, the oven plays a very important role in day to day life. Simple things like heating a frozen pizza (Wade and my favorite Sunday night cuisine) can't be done. Of course when the stove top doesn't work either, as ours didn't, you literally can't even boil water. Our lives have had lots of sandwiches in them lately. Finally yesterday the GE man came to "fix" the oven. Apparently lighting hit the building a couple of weeks ago and "fried the motherboard" in the oven. Yes, I am still speaking of my oven and not a computer. Apparently ovens come really high tech in MN. I can guarantee that my gas oven in GA didn't have a motherboard, father board, or any other kind of board on it. The parts were ordered.....another week. And then it was to be fixed yesterday. I was going to broil pork in BBQ sauce with fresh corn on the cob and a baked potato for dinner as a celebration to have the oven back "on board" so to speak. It took almost 2 hours to broil thawed pork. I am not talking honking huge slabs of pork either, just the thin cutlet kind. 2 hours is WAY too long when you have small kids. Needless to say, the kids couldn't wait on the pork so they had trusty ol' dino chicken nuggets with their baked potato. Wade and I held out and waited until the pork was done. I must say, 2 hours is TOO LONG to wait for adults as well!!! So, it is back to jumping through the corporate apartment hoops to let the appropriate people know that the oven still isn't working properly.....and then waiting for the appropriate people to decide on the appropriate action to take with the oven (I for one wouldn't mind dropping it out our 5th floor window and getting a new less sophisticated one....then again I am from the south!!)


Minnesota doesn't have consignment sales??

Barbara was telling me that registration for the "Mother of all consignment sales" is on Friday. My heart dropped a little. I am at a loss for how to find clothes for my kids. Since having children, I have bought consigned and sold at consignment sales. Therefore, I have always broken even or made money on clothes each season. It does take some skill and you have to love the thrill of the hunt to stay in line for 2-3 hours at a time to check out. This is done sometimes with or without children. So, I find myself far away from the consignment sales that have clothed my children, rather nicely I might add, for four years. I now scoff at "sales" in stores. "You expect me to pay $4 for a shirt" I think to myself. My mind always goes back to the consignment sales, "I could get that shirt for $2 or less." Today the kids and I went shopping for next summer's clothes. Yes, all the summer stuff is on clearance (not clearance enough for me) here and fall stuff comes out on July 20th. "What", I thought...."July 20th...In GA we still have at least 3 more months of warm weather from July 20th". Oh well. Not so much here, I guess. Anyway, I was able to find Sam some shirts at the Children's Place and Gymboree that were reasonably reduced....again, not consignment sale prices....but more than 60% off. Maddie, seems to be another story. Then again, I am really picky about her clothes. I want her to still look like a little girl. So, my dear Georgia friends...think of me when you are "tagging and hanging" and when you are waiting in lines. I will really miss going "consigning" with you this year!! Barbara, I guess the "shopping fearsome fivesome" will be reduced this year :(

Your son thinks he is a "Rescue Hero"

Sam has recently really gotten into the Fisher Price Rescue Heroes (that are no longer made and you have to find on eBay..yeah for Mommy) and Planet Heroes (thankfully some of these are still carried in stores). I have found him some of the Rescue Heroes at random consignment sales last year and saved them up. Then, I give them to him all along as surprises. It as been a blessing since we moved to MN. Anyway, Sam thinks he is a "Re-q he-o" and that he is going to "save word" (Rescue Hero....saving the world). He runs around saying "Me's He-O". Of course in his mind, saving the world equates to bopping Sissy on the head with something or running up and down the hallway yelling (no wonder the neighbors love us, huh?). But he enjoys it all the same. Wade keeps telling me that this is what little boys are suppose to do. I am used to little girls playing dress up and dolls, not running around saving the world. So for now, I just keep Maddie out of harms way and let him save the world all he wants to....I guess someone needs too!