Here he is. Hard at work.Isn't that an amazing before and after?
The worst part was underneath the kids' sandbox.It had grown a disgusting ring of mold. Ewwww.
That washer was like magic--all clean again!Andrew and I have been saving our Christmas money and decided we want to buy a new patio set now. That was our date Saturday night: we went out to dinner and then shopping. We found the set we want, but it won't fit in our car, so we'll have to wait until we can borrow a friend's truck before we purchase it.
While Andrew was working on these two big projects (which took most of the day), I was cleaning and de-junking. The kids were happy that they got to watch tv and play video games while mom and dad worked. :)
We're hoping to have the house up on the market in the next couple of weeks. Originally when we decided to start looking for a new one, we thought we'd try FOR SALE BY OWNER for a couple months, just to see what happened. It's not like we have a deadline or are getting transferred, right? But as the time draws closer to actually putting it up, I'm having hestitations. I don't think we're knowledgeable enough to do it ourselves. How would I show the house? What if we make a mistake? It's nerve-racking. Maybe we'll just end up going through a realtor. I'm still not sure. I'd love to save those commission fees.
Church went pretty well yesterday. I can't remember if I told you about my new responsibility there--I now teach the 14 and 15 year old young women. I am SO excited about it. Last week was my first lesson with them and it went really well. They are very fun and we had some good discussions. This week I only had two girls and one of them didn't feel well, so wasn't into participating much. Hopefully next week will go better.
Brandon wore a little sportcoat to church yesterday. Grandma Cuca gave it to him a long time ago, but he's just now growing into it. He looked so handsome. I should've taken a picture! He got lots of compliments, too. "You look so sharp!" "Nice jacket." "You look like you're ready to go on a mission." This morning he got dressed for school in jeans and a polo shirt and asked, "Mom, can I wear this jacket to school today?" I tried to convince him that it didn't match and wouldn't be appropriate PE attire. "Aw, man. But I wanted to look nice."
Last Thursday, I got to go into Brandon's kindergarten class to do a dental health presentation there. They'd already had two hygiene students talk to the class, so I thought we'd do a dental experiment involving an egg, toothpaste, and vinegar that shows the effects of fluoride. It was really fun to be in Brandon's class. He's such a cute kid. I had the class sit in the circle area and reviewed a little bit about why it's important to brush, etc. I'm very much into class participation, so if a child would raise his/her hand, we would talk about whatever happened to come up. I'd be a terrible school teacher. We'd just be off on tangents all day. Anyway, one little boy raised his hands and asked about gold teeth. All of the other kids got really into that question. "Do you still have to brush your teeth if you get gold teeth?" Well, they can't get cavities, but you can still get gum disease, so yes, you have to brush. "If I get a gold tooth and it falls out, with a gold tooth grow back?" No, sorry. "What happens to your gold teeth when you die?" Well, they usually just stay in your mouth.
It was so funny. I'm sure all the kids went home and told their parents that they learned about gold teeth in school that day. Hope the experiment sunk in a little bit.
While Andrew was working on these two big projects (which took most of the day), I was cleaning and de-junking. The kids were happy that they got to watch tv and play video games while mom and dad worked. :)
We're hoping to have the house up on the market in the next couple of weeks. Originally when we decided to start looking for a new one, we thought we'd try FOR SALE BY OWNER for a couple months, just to see what happened. It's not like we have a deadline or are getting transferred, right? But as the time draws closer to actually putting it up, I'm having hestitations. I don't think we're knowledgeable enough to do it ourselves. How would I show the house? What if we make a mistake? It's nerve-racking. Maybe we'll just end up going through a realtor. I'm still not sure. I'd love to save those commission fees.
Church went pretty well yesterday. I can't remember if I told you about my new responsibility there--I now teach the 14 and 15 year old young women. I am SO excited about it. Last week was my first lesson with them and it went really well. They are very fun and we had some good discussions. This week I only had two girls and one of them didn't feel well, so wasn't into participating much. Hopefully next week will go better.
Brandon wore a little sportcoat to church yesterday. Grandma Cuca gave it to him a long time ago, but he's just now growing into it. He looked so handsome. I should've taken a picture! He got lots of compliments, too. "You look so sharp!" "Nice jacket." "You look like you're ready to go on a mission." This morning he got dressed for school in jeans and a polo shirt and asked, "Mom, can I wear this jacket to school today?" I tried to convince him that it didn't match and wouldn't be appropriate PE attire. "Aw, man. But I wanted to look nice."
Last Thursday, I got to go into Brandon's kindergarten class to do a dental health presentation there. They'd already had two hygiene students talk to the class, so I thought we'd do a dental experiment involving an egg, toothpaste, and vinegar that shows the effects of fluoride. It was really fun to be in Brandon's class. He's such a cute kid. I had the class sit in the circle area and reviewed a little bit about why it's important to brush, etc. I'm very much into class participation, so if a child would raise his/her hand, we would talk about whatever happened to come up. I'd be a terrible school teacher. We'd just be off on tangents all day. Anyway, one little boy raised his hands and asked about gold teeth. All of the other kids got really into that question. "Do you still have to brush your teeth if you get gold teeth?" Well, they can't get cavities, but you can still get gum disease, so yes, you have to brush. "If I get a gold tooth and it falls out, with a gold tooth grow back?" No, sorry. "What happens to your gold teeth when you die?" Well, they usually just stay in your mouth.
It was so funny. I'm sure all the kids went home and told their parents that they learned about gold teeth in school that day. Hope the experiment sunk in a little bit.
13 comments:
Wow that pressure washer is amazing! Our driveway could sure use a nice cleaning! I love before and after pictures too. So much fun!
Brandon did look so cute in his jacket yesterday! Too funny about the gold teeth too. Were any of the kids in Brandon's class sporting gold teeth yet? ha ha ha.
Talk to you soon
Natalie
I'm looking for a patio set right now too! There's always some on Craigslist in our area for cheaper than the stores, but I'm still waiting for the right one at the right price.
I have a dental question for you. How come I've been told not to brush my teeth too hard, but then I go to the dentist and the hygienist scrapes my teeth with all her might using a sharp metal object. Can my soft bristle tooth brush really brush off the enamel and my hygienist doesn't?
Amy--very good question. An overzealous hygienist actually can remove enamel with her instruments. But used the right way, we just remove the tartar and plaque that have built up. The big difference is that in a six month period, those metal instruments scrape your teeth once, but your toothbrush rubs them about...360 times or so. That frequency really can wear down the enamel if you brush too hard.
Natalie--No grills in the kindergarten mouths yet. :)
You are welcome to use our truck. Brandon did look adorable yesterday.
-Nicolle
Wow - I love that before and after picture - kind of an all-around image of brushing teeth, brushing patios - just keeping the world clean! Is Andrew gone this week? I remember Brandon had a cute little light, light, light, light blue (like the teddy bear) sport coat - is that the same one?
Love you,
Mom Sweat
Wow - very impressed with the power washing. Can I use that on my whole house??:) The gold tooth comments were hilarious - -my nephew just got a silver one that he calls his "pirate tooth". I guess if it were gold, it could be a "rapper tooth" (better choice than "pimp tooth"). Your new calling sounds fun -- built in babysitters, man!! I'm looking forward to hearing about your house selling and buying adventures...maybe you can give us some tips for the future:)
One couple's experience re selling a house:
Go with a good realtor; he/she will be well worth it.
Let him/her show the house, not you.
And if problems come up with closing, like your buyer can't sell his house by the deadline, etc., the realtor has been there, done that, and can really come to your aid.
We would have been lost without one.
We've never power washed. Was it hard?
Do the results last even after hard rain?
Do tell!
Nicolle--Thanks for taking my subtle hint about borrowing "a friend's" truck. :)
Jayne--It was hard for Andrew to figure out how to get the washer going. Which hose went where, etc. It was our first time also. But once we got it going, it was fine. It was time consuming and his arms and shoulders were sore the next day. I'm not sure how long the results last, but so far it still looks amazing, even after the rain this weekend.
I didn't know you were planning on selling so soon. How exciting! Have you started looking at homes online or driving around town? That's always fun, the lookey/dreamy stage. As far as For Sale By Owner goes, we tried that w/ our first MN house and had a buyer, but then it fell through and we had to go w/ a realtor since our house was being built and we had to get it sold. For Sale By Owner can work under the right circumstances, but I wouldn't put myself through it if the market in my area isn't pretty brisk. (My 2 cents!).
Hey! You changed your comment settings we don't have to type "WIFFERMUGGIN" or some such word! Hooray! I would inevitably do it wrong and have to sign in all over again.
Hey! You changed your comment settings we don't have to type "WIFFERMUGGIN" or some such word! Hooray! I would inevitably do it wrong and have to sign in all over again.
Oops! Now I left two comments. Sorry! Accidentally pushed the button twice. See, even now I have a hard time!
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