So I suffer from Impatience. What's the big deal?

Today I used a drill bit for the first time and stripped out two screws with the screw gun which my husband then had to come and pry out of the wall. What I was trying to teach him through this whole incident was to do it himself. It takes him five times as long to correct my inability to use power tools then it would if he did it from the beginning. It is my secret weapon to get things done around the house. If I mess it up bad enough it will get fixed...hmmm.

My sister is coming in a week. You know what that means. I have an excuse to get all the little jobs done that I have been needing to do.

So, here is my secret tactic that seems to work really well. I try to do the job myself. I root around in the garage until I come up with something I think will do the job. By the time I find what I need I am near panic with frustration. I come in the house, take my inhaler, and say to my husband a few mumbly words he can't understand because his head is under the sink trying to repair my last "project". Then I get to start the job that I am not skilled at doing. I do not do well with screw guns as most of you already know. http://familyhiccups.blogspot.com/2007/03/how-to-use-screw-gun.html

I wanted a towel rack, a toilet paper holder, a hand towel rack, and handles put on the front of the cupboards in the kids bathroom. I cried out for help, and my patient husband came upstairs and proceeded to fix everything in sight. The problem was when I messed up one thing I would move onto the next thinking I could maybe do that one.

I do have to say that I am blessed to have a very handy, patient husband, and I should try to remember that. I get impatient sometimes. OK, the truth is I get impatient a lot. I should stick to the things I am good at, and let him do the things he is good at.

I surrender. I lay down the screw gun. It is a big sacrifice, but I think I can do it. Plus, the battery is dead.

Cookie Please

Today Steve and I were talking about some deep theological thing in our room...no really we were. Evan was running around as usual looking for something to get into. He came running out of my closet with a pad and asks his dad if he can have a cookie. I don't know why that kind of thing still embarrasses me. It is my husband and it was just a pad.

At least he didn't have my slinky undies wrapped around his neck, Evan not Steve, when someone came to visit like Tiffani did when she was his age. She came running out into the living room with my undies around her neck, which I must say were pretty cute at that time in my life. The man actually reached out and touched them and said, "Oh what do you have here?" I screamed in terror, "It's my underwear!" He jerked his hand back as if he had just received an electrical shock. Horrifying. Two year old children do and say amazing things.

While we were working in the yard I looked in the window and there was my Evan playing Tarzan on my curtain. Full blown Tarzan. Not just a little swing, a complete jumping out of the window swing, tearing the rod off the wall swing, bending the curtain hook strait swing, but not ripping it out of the wall swing. This action actually made Steve come out of his, "I am installing the sprinkler, I can think of nothing else at this moment box." When Evan sees Steve responding to something he is doing he runs~in the opposite direction of Steve and says, "Not a hard spank, Daddy! Not a hard spank." I would run too if I was two and a half feet tall and saw a six foot three man coming at me with a stern look on his face. When I come towards him he smirks, and then in all his wisdom immediately says, "Sorry, Mom. Forgive me."

Ian had an amazing fever, cough, etc. all weekend. He missed his soccer game and his pictures which broke his heart. Along with the fever came lots of needing me which is fine except I could hardly go potty without him crying by the door. The nice thing was him taking a nap for three hours a day which he never does. So, I actually got all my bulbs and flowers planted in the backyard. It is gorgeous. A few more touches and I'll post an "after" picture.

By last night the only thing I wanted in the world was a large bathtub with jets, a candle, and a margarita. I guess I would have settled for a beach get-away somewhere, but none were to be found so I settled for vanilla ice cream, a hot shower, and sleep~glorious sleep.

Made-Up Name

Last night at dinner we were talking about maiden names. We were talking about different women we knew and what their names were before they were married.

Ian looked at his dad and asked, "What was your made-up name, Dad?"

Evan's Song

Duck, duck, duck, duck, duck, duck, duck, duck, duck, duck, duck, duck, duck, duck, ten, eleven, twelve, duck, duck, duck....

Today was the first time I have heard Evan really sing. His heart was so quiet and sweet when we got in the car after going to the hospital to see my friend's new baby. So, he sang. Truly precious.