'Spring Cleaning,' or 'The Process in Which the Houghs Determined Which Items Around Their House Would Look Nicer in Someone Else's Household'

We've been spending a lot of our free time digging through crap lately.

And not the crap that fills either of our kids' pants, either (though we've been doing our fair share of that, too).

No, readers, I'm talking about the crap that is destined to wind up in our upcoming garage sale slated for March 12th. It's a huge ordeal, but we've got a ton of crap that needs to be offloaded as soon as possible in order to make room for more crap that we don't need.

A huge - if not the biggest - part of this whole garage sale preparations thing has been sorting, pricing, and categorizing baby clothes. We have a hell of a lot of baby clothes, much more than I think either of us thought possible. Our kids didn't even wear half of them. We received so many name-brand, high-end clothes from the parents who brought their kids into Kristina's class while she was at Primrose - some of them brand new - that our kids maybe more an outfit once or twice before they grew out of it and it went into storage. So the condition of these piles upon piles of baby clothes, in general, is 'like new.'


We're hoping that brings in the masses on March 12th.


There's a never ending supply of clothes in our house - things the Cannonball hasn't grown into yet, or else has grown out of and Abby can't wear yet - and we're hoping that we sell all of it so that we can make room for the eventual additional piles of kid clothes that we'll have to buy in the future.

'Cause that's how having kids works, folks: the turnover rate for clothes, toys, and gear is ridiculous. They outgrow things quickly, so you're constantly having to get rid of piles of crap, only to turn around and have to purchase more piles of crap for them. The cycle never ends (until their 18, I suppose, when you can throw them out of your house).


Anyway, besides kid clothes, toys, and gear, we're dumping a ton of other random crap.

I'm trying to sell a few swords (we'll see how that goes), a bunch of random kitchen and household items, piles of old knick-knacks and collectibles, old luggage and handbags, maternity clothes, office supplies, electronics, and a ton of other nonsense that has been sitting in the garage just waiting to escape our house.

Prepping for this garage sale has been a constant chore, but hopefully the pay-off will be well worth the effort we've been putting into it. Cross they fingers.

- Brian

New Beginnings

So, back in November, I lost my job. I decided to wait until now to disclose this information, because I really didn't need anyone taking pity on me. The truth is they did me a favor. No details are really necessary, I'm pretty sure they just needed to make some cuts considering I wasn't the only one let go that day and they had recently been slashing at everyone's hours. Their loss. The only thing I regret is that my children equally were tossed out and are now missing out the socialization I believe is crucial, even at a young age. Alayna especially loved going to school and thrived on learning during circle times and playing with her friends. Regardless, being home with them has been the best job ever and I think a great chance for them to bond with one another. Hence, they did me a favor.





Thus far, I find myself much less stressed and more motivated to take care of my own things. To think we actually live in a clean house now. Imagine that. I've been working hard at getting the girls out to the library's weekly toddler time and story time. We've met up with her old friends for play dates. Not to mention attending church more frequently. Alayna's need for socialization seems to be good for my soul. I still try to give her some daily "school-type" lessons. We go over letters and numbers and she's doing well. And we try to keep up on the art projects. But, it still doesn't satisfy me.


Now that the holidays are over, we've decided to put Alayna back into school part time. It's really all we can afford and I think full time is a bit much with me being home. Not to mention, it would be incredibly boring for Abby to be home alone that much. So, for 2 days a week, 4 hours at time, Alayna now goes to Star Child Academy (Primrose's enemy). Yes, this is the place that, as of late, has taken all our old stomping ground's enrollment. I love it!

As I knew she would, Alayna took to it like she'd been going there her whole life. She's such a social butterfly. And I can even watch her online, as well as, allow the grandparents onto the school's system. Quite the perk!

So, there you have it. A great start to a new year. A new job for me, a new school for Alayna, and Abby is growing and moving like crazy.

-Kris

Back to the Grind

Hey again, gang...

Well, I decided I couldn't stand to be away from work any longer. A month of summer without having to shout over the voices of others and stop kids from doing things that I wasn't doing until college wasn't all what it was cracked up to be. Or whatever.


My school invited me to take part in the Jumpstart Program, which is a week-long, get-to-know-the-school program for incoming sixth graders. Our first days were pretty good - it's mostly a bunch of science experiments and other camp-ish type of stuff, which is fine by me. This program's funding my upcoming Christmas tattooing sessions with the Sausage Pad and my brother.

Speaking of school, my own kids are heading back to Primrose... which is so awesome I begin to well up just thinking about it. As cool as my kids might be at times, it's still pretty awesome having them kicked out of the house and letting someone else get headaches dealing with them. Besides, I'm sure the Cannonball misses socializing with kids her own age, and it'll be nice having Abby adhere to somewhat of a stricter schedule.


Kris is going off maternity leave this week as well, which means her four month super-summer vacation has officially come to a close. She also celebrated her birthday (Aug. 3rd) in a relatively low-key fashion - just a cheesecake (decorated by yours truly) and dinner with the Fam, seeing how we sprung for the desk a little earlier in order to make sure we had ample time to set it up before we all headed back to our respective occupations.



Speaking of occupations, if mine ends up not panning out, I think I might be able to fall back on cake-decorating. The Pirate vs. Hippopotamus cake I made Kris this year was, I think, a major success. There is definitely a little cake-smith in these, old veins...

- Brian

Teacher Depreciation Week

My wife works at a real, fancy school.

Regardless of the holiday, she always ends up coming home with tons of loot. Christmas, Valentine's Day, President's Day - I don't care what the event may be, she brings home the gift-bagged bacon.

Me? Not so much.

Now, I've got nearly 120 students under my command. She has, oh, 23 or 24. Something like that. While her van can barely contain a day's worth of "thinking of you!," the plunder I receive from my school and my students - throughout the duration of a school year - can usually fit into my pocket.

This was once again illustrated last week, which those in the loop call 'Teacher Appreciation Week.' Preggosaurus works with adorable scamps, and these scamps have parents who can afford to pay the $250 a week daycare costs associated with an upscale daycare facility. As such, these parents aren't afraid to sling about $50 gift cards and mind-blowing gift baskets like 'scuse me ma'dam. Teacher Appreciation Week this year was no exception: gift cards, flowers, chocolates, lotions, candles - general chick stuff in general, but none of it cheap.

An impressive haul, to say the least.

...And what'd I get from my school and my legions of 'adorable scamps'? Check it out:

Gift #1: A Rock

Awesome, a rock! Oh, wait - the rock has a rub-on label on it: "Our Teachers & Staff Rock!" I get it - that's hilarious!! Plus, with a label loosely affixed, the rock is magically transformed into a paperweight! How clever!!

Gift #2: Pad of Paper w/Pen.

Thanks for doing your job. Now here's some things that you can use at home to remind you of doing your job. But at home. Enjoy.

Gift #3: Pen (with a Hand)

Plain ol' pen? I don't think so! This one has a hand where there would otherwise be some sort of convenient clip of some sort. Man, I'm gonna write with this sum'bitch all the time!

Thanks for the appreciation, dearest employers, parents and students. F.Y.I., - next time, I'll take the gift card.

Depressed,

- Brian

Kid Sitting on Random, Bearded Old Guy's Lap, Vol. II

Well, I think they'd take our parenting merit badges away if we didn't have pictures of our kid sitting on some old, bearded guy's lap for the holiday season.

Spoiler Alert: I don't think this was the real Santa Claus, because these pictures were free. I'm sure it'd cost a lot to sit on the real Santa Claus' lap, seeing how he's somewhat famous and all, and I'm sure a lot of kids (and maybe adults) out there would love to sit on the real Santa's lap...

See ya in Vol. III, Old-Guy-Who-Somewhat-Resembles-a-Fictional-Character-Connected-to-a-Religious-Holiday!

- Brian

Teacher's Pet

i think its every dad's primary goal, as a parent, to raise a kid that turns out like the Fonz.

not necessarily by playing out to the stereotypical italian greaser typecast... i'm talking about in terms of coolness, here.

my own daughter, as it were, is not the Fonz. let's get past the part where she's not a greasy, italian guy and focus on the fact that she's not nearly fulfilling her 'cool' quota at school.

she's a toddler now, and has been in the toddler classroom at her school for a few months now. however, as it turns out, the kid doesn't necessarily 'play well' with the other kids in her classroom. she prefers - get this - the company of the teachers instead.

that's right. the teachers.

so we raised a teacher's pet.

not necessarily the coolest thing we could've done as parents. not only is our daughter a teacher's pet, but she also seems to get beat up in school quite a bit. now, i realize that these scrapes and 'owies' are the result of other toddlers getting over-excited when she comes into the classroom in the morning, as they do like her and all; what bothers me is the fact that she doesn't clock one of these kids back when they give her an overly-aggressive bear hug.

yes, she's smaller than most of other diaper-clad hooligans in her room. that's fine. being small doesn't necessarily mean you need to be pushed around.

look at yoda - that guy rips up bad guys for a living. and i'm pretty sure yoda and my daughter are the same size.

...of course yoda has the force going for him. i suppose i should get my daughter's metaclorian count tested.

- brian

Emergency at Santa's Workshop

So, at Primrose we've been practicing for about a month for our big Christmas concert. My preschool class had to perform 3 songs, and there were 3 other classes doing the same. It's a pretty big event, so we hold it at the nearby elementary school and fill their auditorium with parents. And every year, I guess it's a great turn-out that includes cookies and cocoa with Santa. So, I encouraged Brian to bring Alayna to watch me and my classroom and get some complimentary pictures with the fat man in red. Unfortunately, for all involved, Santa was running late and Brian wasn't feeling good, so I told him to forget about it and we'll do pictures later at a mall or something. So, me and my colleagues hung out behind the big curtain with a good quantity of children under the age of 5.....waiting.....

And finally, we get the wonderful news. Santa is not coming! My director held her composure very well with the exception of her ears turning bright red refusing to hide her anger. And she decided to not only make the assistant director be the bearer of bad news, but make all of us stand in a line with her on top of the stage in front of God knows how many parents. We were pretty much waiting to get stuff thrown at us. Luckily, that did not happen. I did see a lot of pissed off faces though. We were then encouraged to go out and mingle. I love being thrown to the wolves. But, the few people I did talk to were pretty cool and took it gracefully. Probably because we promised Santa would show up at the school next week.

Boy, I hope so.

-Kristina

Goodbye Kindercare

After a year and some odd months and after my wonderful summer of maternity leave, I have made the final decision to NOT return to Kindercare. It wasn't a hard decision to make either. The opportunity awaiting me had far better benefits and it's right around the corner from where we live.

So, down the road a little ways, a preschool classroom is awaiting my arrival in a week. This independently owned daycare has offered me $1 more an hour, 4 longer shifts a week instead of 5 so I can stay home with Alayna an extra day, and a discount on childcare! So, things are finally looking up in this neck of the woods. The only downfall is we have to suck up putting Alayna in a family run daycare in the meantime while waiting for a space to become available. I'd feel better about this if I could understand half the people I've met with. Wish us luck as far as that goes. But if its temporary, I can live with it. Without a doubt she'll be coming to work with me when she turns 1 year old. Thank you Primose Schools !

-Kristina