War Wounds

4:55pm at a coffee shop, Drew puts down his textbooks and stands up to make his way home. 

5:00pm Rachel gets a call "Eh, Rach...I'm so sorry, I'm going to be late for supper. I just stood up and hit my head on a bookshelf. There's blood like everywhere, the manager is really concerned, I think the cut might be a little deep. Gah this is so embarrassing..."

Manager takes Drew four doors down to a little clinic, Drew gets stitched.

5:30pm Drew walks in the door with 2 stitches, bandage, hilarious hair net thingy, a choppy doctor haircut, and blood caked on his forehead and glasses. But that was fast, huh?

"Actually, I'm really glad I had this experience. Now we know exactly what to do when one of our boys inevitably needs stitches -- it's no problem!" says Drew.

Two days later.

6:30pm, the entire Addington family is at a restaurant with five other adult friends. Jonathon finishes his yogurt and greens, Drew releases him to go run around with his bros. He takes two steps -- the second step lands him head-first onto the corner of a shelf. 

Manager takes Drew, Rachel, and Jonathon down the block to little clinic, Jon gets stitched.

7:00pm Jonathon and crew are back at the restaurant!

Jonathon was so brave! He voluntarily said "Xie Xie" (Thank you) to the doctor! I guess if you've had brain surgery twice 3 stitches is nothin'. What an great little fella that Jon.

The Manager of the restaurant not only stayed with us through the procedure, he also paid for it. We are now obliged to be regular patrons... not a terrible obligation considering it's a pizza trattoria that also sells real chocolates.

Our friends were clutch. Drew and I left the restaurant about 12.01 seconds after Jon fell, without saying goodbye to Titus & Mike or giving any instructions. "Yeah, we got 'em, you guys go." Our friends knew just what to do!

One Man Awakes, Awakens Another

Today, I am doing housework. BORING!

But my soul is flying! and dreaming of and enjoying my Love! I can't even explain... how my heart is springing, leaping, and swooping just thinkin' about Him. There's adrenalin, energy... expectation. It's like your wedding day but 100x better. While doing housework. See, this Love makes even the mundane awesome.

One man wakes, awakens another

Second one wakes his next door brother

Three awake can rouse a town

And turn the whole place upside down

Many awake will cause such a fuss

It finally awakes all the rest of us

One man awakes with dawn in his eyes

Surely then it multiplies

p.s. this band Leeland is fabtab.

Goal: Use Stuff I Already Have

In an effort to save money, we've been aiming to use the things we already have rather than buying new stuff, even if the things we have aren't optimal. You can help by holding me to it, ok?

Examples:

In winter we wear several layers. I could have used some new thick fleece shirts to serve as the insulating layer between my inner wicking layer and outer sweater. But I thought, I could just use my cardigan sweaters instead. So I wear...long sleeve shirt + long sleeve shirt + cardigan sweater + long sleeve shirt + winter sweater. 

We have two cribs and a portable kids' tent. Originally we had Jon & Mike in cribs and Titus in the tent. Mike started escaping from the crib, so we needed to switch him to the tent, where he can be zipped in, never to escape! Rather than buying Titus an interim toddler bed, knowing we'd only use it for awhile and then probably do bunk beds, we modified Mike's crib into a toddler bed. It's a little short for 3 year-old Titus, but it's ok and we can avoid buying another bed.

In the kitchen, I do my best to open the fridge and cupboard, see what's there, and use it up -- resisting buying new food/ingredients for whatever we feel like eating on a whim, and preventing leftovers or fresh produce from rotting and non-perishables from piling up in the cupboard. By using all of what we already have, nothing is wasted.

We want to carry the mentality that ugly but functional stuff is fine. I don't have any nice or matching dishes or sliver ware. The dish drying rack is rusty. The boiling bot is a beat-up thin old junker. The wok gets rusty. Jon's high chair try has been jerry-rigged to remain functional. The kids' stroller is mold and dirt-stained, bent, with paint drippings all over it (long story), but it still rolls. The Christmas tree is leaning against the wall because it's missing a footing. I believe every pair of underwear Drew & I own has a spattering of holes. But it's all still working -- why replace it?

I hope my few ideas here have inspired you to use what you already have as well. Remember, hold me to this goal, ok? Let me know if you've found any other smart ways to avoid waste.

Here's one last example. Recall the moldy bed? I found that the mold was only on the outer half inch. Rather than junk the whole thing, I ripped off the moldy exterior. In the past couple days I've been trying to dry out this giant sponge with sunlight and fans, and it will go back on our bed tomorrow. Savings $79!!! That's HUGE guys!!!

It also made a fun foam jumping mountain for the boys.

The Princess and The Mold

The test for a genuine princess is whether or not she can discern green foreign matter concealed under a mattress. Recall the Princess and the Pea. There are other materials which can be substituted for the test, so long as they are biotic, greenish and imperceptible. 

While changing the sheets, the laundry maid sensed that it was time to rotate the mattress. (see footnote 1) She discovered biotic matter hidden under the place where Prince Drew sleeps. The green stuff was concentrated on the bottom side of the mattress, permeated a bamboo mat below, and even affected the bottom-most wooden bed planks.

Poor Prince Drew had been suffering from intense night sweats during and after mono, providing plenty of moisture and warmth to incubate the...testing materials.  

Having discovered the stuff under the mattress, the laundry maid is now a genuine Princess!

(see footnote 2)

I just haven't picked out my tiara yet.

Footnotes:

1. Mattress. Actually, it's not a mattress, it is a 4" piece of foam that we call our bed. Pretty funny and ironic considering that Drew used to be a mattress salesman at Sumberland Furniture! Our foam is quite comfortable, though certainly not as comfortable as say, a Sealy or Stearns & Foster mattress from Slumberland. So if you're in the market for a new bed, I certainly recommend a mattress (a Slumberland mattress) over a piece of foam. And definitely go for the additional mattress protector, it will save your bed in the event of mono night sweats.
I had to say this so I wouldn't get in trouble with Mark V. Hey Mark! 

2. Princess. According to my dear ol dad, I already was a princess. That's his nick name for dear ol daughter.