Wednesday, May 25, 2016

Mishaps

nibbling on this thumb looking at Spring
Looking at our Spring book.
new solution to missing books (i hope!) just a block of wood w/chalk paint sweet kiddos in horrible lighting i love those little ears AHG leader gifts (homemade beeswax candles) C's awards (couldn't get up front this time for better pics) K's awards (again couldn't get better pics)
The weather here in Idaho can't seem to make up it's mind. One day it's rather hot like summer and then the next day it's chilly and windy like early spring. It's funny going through my photographs and seeing Baby F go from wool sleepy sacks to short sleeved cotton shirts in a matter of a few days.

Speaking of summer like weather. We tested out our air conditioning recently to make sure it was working for when the hot weather really hits. In case you didn't know, I am not a hot weather person at all and typically suffer from cabin fever in the summer instead of in the winter like most people. I stay inside our air conditioned house only to poke my head out in the late evening to check on the garden or go for a walk. But back to our air conditioning test. It failed. The air was blowing in the house but the a/c unit outside wasn't even turning on. We called the maintenance men and well, long story short, it turns out our dogs killed the a/c unit by marking on it. I knew dog urine was strong and destructive but corroding metal?! Good gracious! Now I praying that they don't make us pay to replace it.

After spending nearly two weeks of frantically trying to find lost library books (which later appeared in the girls' momento boxes kept under their beds) I decided we needed to do something to prevent this all too common mishap from happening again. Going with "less is more" I started out by limiting how many books they each get. I think one of the problems was that they would get so many books each week that it was hard to keep track of them. Then I designated a book basket for library books only. Since we usually forget our due dates I decided to get a little creative and make a sign for the basket to remind us (along with how many books we have). I just took a small block of wood, drilled a hole in it and painted one side with chalk paint. The I attached it to the basket and used a chalk pen to write the important info. We'll be using regular chalk in the future but the chalk pen was just what I had on hand at the moment. Now let's see if this new little system provides us with a solution to those pesky missing books. I'm crossing my fingers!

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Comments (10)

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I feel ya on the library books! We have a special spot for ours as well but every once in a while we do a frantic house search for the 1 that's missing. You should see if your library has an online system that sends you an email a few days before they are due. That has been amazing for us.
1 reply · active 461 weeks ago
Oh I wish our library had that system! Ours is pretty old school :(
What a great idea! I had a friend who only let her kids check out 10 a piece. Then she knew she had to bring 20 books back to the library every time. I TRY to do that, but I am such a pushover for "just one more" I like your basket idea!
So sorry about the a/c, my husband is just the same with the heat. Love your solution to the library book problem. I keep thinking we need to have a system, and I keep not doing that.
We do a similar thing with library books. My girls are each allowed to check out 5. That's the rule. We can go as often as you'd like but you may only check out 5 each time. That way I know exactly how many books I have to find and what they are. I put a reminder in my phone for the return date. That way we don't have crazy big late fees like we used to. So silly to pay for library books!

By the way,, in that first picture, baby F looks just like his mama. :) Gorgeous!
We have struggled with the library book return as well. I'm worse at it then my daughter too. I'm not sure if your library would have it, but I have found the online system to be helpful. Our library allows us to log into our account from home to see what books are checked out and when they are due back.

I am with you on the deep heat of the summer. I hope they get the A/C fixed soon!
Great idea for the library books. Could use that system around here. I am in Canada and this past weekend was as hot as the equator. I know I looked it up! A week ago the cookstove was on. Can't keep up with it. Little one month old is sleeping all the time in the heat, wish I could.
I limit library books as well- usually to the child's age.

Have you looked into a window swamp cooler? In a dry climate like you and I live in it works remarkably well and uses almost no electricity. With rebates you can get them basically for free (I have a neighbor who actually got two free ones last summer using rebates). They're easy to install and even if they are not free they pay for themselves very quickly. We almost never use our a/c now except on the hottest days. We have had ours for about 3 years.
1 reply · active 461 weeks ago
I have never heard of that. I amreally curious now and have to look into it. Thank you!
Oh my gosh, is that an ingenious idea!!!

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