Purple Scorpion Scrubbing Service

I'm 1.5 hours into a deep-cleaning kitchen project and I'm taking a quick rest to update you on my vacation progress. (And to give Shawn a chance to takeover scrubbing the stove grates with the steel wool.)

Remodeling update
The handyman team was here Thursday morning to look at the bathroom and give us updates on remodeling it. We're likely going to put in new flooring, new bead-board on one wall, an exhaust fan, a new vanity and sink, and possibly a new bathtub/shower. Whoa. Now consider that we only have one bathroom to service five people and things get interesting. We need to paint the bathroom, find all the parts and supplies and then schedule a time for the work to be finished. I'm hoping it might work during spring break in March and if it does, I might just take the kids somewhere for three days so we don't have to work around the inconvenience of no bathroom.

House prep
Yesterday was a day to do some odd jobs around the house to start getting it ready for market. We took apart one of the dining room chairs to determine how we were going to reupholster them. They are terribly stained and disgusting looking... I bought the fabric about four years ago, but we've never gotten around to doing it. So yesterday we pulled one apart, and found a horrifying nest of horsehair and boar's bristles under the seat!! Good lord, I had no idea that's how furniture was made. I expected foam and instead uncovered hair!!! Eek! Needless to say, I won't be visiting Dad's farm to stock up on new boar's hair. Instead, Mazy and I are headed to JoAnn Fabric tomorrow to get foam. We made a pattern for the new cloth covers and I cut out the six pieces we'll need. Each chair has about 124 tiny staples in it that have to be pulled out. That's kind of a pain. But it will be worth it when they're finished.

We also hung up two big pictures in the kitchen to add some color. I hung a cool new magnetic board my sister bought me for Christmas. I'm using it to display the boy's artwork. It was the perfect color for the kitchen.

Shawn's holiday party
Last night was the holiday party for V&H Construction. It was at Rube's Steakhouse in Montour. If you've never been there, you're missing out. It's one of those places where you cook your own giant piece of steak over their big indoor grills. My brother-in-law Eric always cooks mine for me. He's an excellent griller, and appreciates my "make it rare" taste. It was a bit crowded last night but Shawn and I sat next to a really nice farm couple from LeGrand. They were ISU alums and have children at UNI now. One of their daughters is interest in advertising so they gave me their phone number to let them know about summer internship opportunities.

Bo's black eye
Our niece Tori babysat the kids while we were at the party. Poor Tori was cheerleading all day at the regional wrestling match and then got off the bus and drove straight to her Grandma's house to babysit for us. While we were waiting, the boys were horsing around on the stairs (after being told by Shawn not to....) and Bo fell down them and landed face first on their stone tiles. No joke, it sounded like a melon hitting the floor. He cried for quite awhile, which is unusual for Bo. He hardly ever cries when he is hurt. His left eye is all red and bruised. It looks pretty bad. Fortunately our niece Becca, the nurse, was there and she checked it out. I love having medical experts in the family.

Purple Scorpion Scrubbing Service
So I told the boys if they helped me clean this morning I'd take them out to the farm this afternoon to see Kael and Grandma Katy and Grandpa Kevin. The next thing I knew, they had purple scorpions around their necks and said they were the "Purple Scorpion Scrubbing Service" and no job was too big. So I put those scrubbers to work! First they scrubbed the sides of the dishwasher. Then they scrubbed and scrubbed on Violet's high chair. Then they scrubbed the stove. Then they scrubbed the back door. Then they scrubbed the dining room floor. And then they scrubbed the kitchen cabinets!

Was it perfect? Of course not, but it was a tremendous help in getting the jobs started so Shawn and I could finish them. That Mazy is a strong scrubber! Bo is enthusiastic for a few minutes and then becomes a "swisher" just twirling his rag around and barely making contact. But they were happy and cheerful and that's all I really care about on cleaning mornings.

Honeycreek Resort
Plans are still not finalized for an overnight escape to Honeycreek Resort this week. I don't want Bo to miss his Valentine's Day party on the 14th so I'm not sure what we'll do yet. But I would like to get them down there.

Mazy's Food Adventures blog
Mazy and I plan on visiting several local eateries this week so he can get some new blog entries up. Jethro's BBQ in the Drake area is on our list. Stay tuned for his reviews.

Well Shawn is done scrubbing. I have 15 more minutes of cleaning before I run up for a shower and get the gang ready for the farm. Have a great week -- I know I will!