I got nuttin'

I haven't updated.  Because nothing much is going on.  Really, it's pretty quiet at Casa de 'burbs since the hot water heater drama.  Just the usual drama of children, pets and the impossibility of keeping a neat home. 

We have friends who have drama, some more than others.  Nearby friends moved from one apartment to another in the same community due to the insanity of their downstairs neighbors and I assisted with toting belongings a little. 


Friends from California are relocating here, making them nearby friends.  They were out this week to house hunt and I babysat their wonderful 2 year old son so they could go fill out paperwork and look at a couple of places. 

We're happy for all parties, well, we're happy that our west coast friends are coming here but I totally understand how very difficult it is to move away from where you grew up, especially as a parent. 

I think the worst moment of my mother's life was when Scott, Zoe and I were all in the shuttle to LAX from their house on the day we officially moved to Vancouver and Zoe waved out the window "Bye Gramma!  Bye Gramma!" 

Having built in friends makes things easier when you head to a new place, they can tell you where the good places are and what to skip or are willing to accompany you to a place neither of you have been.

My parents are arriving on Thursday for a visit.  The kids are excited and I'm cleaning.  It doesn't matter though, since nothing stays clean.  What I'm going to do is send Will to a friend's house on Wednesday, run around and clean my house, then make the kids sit on the floor and look at the wall until bedtime.  I'll hustle them off to school on Thursday, meaning no one will be able to mess up the house until after we pick my parents up from the airport.  Then they'll at least see that the house is picked up before it goes back to it's normal dog hair covered state. 

Pass the mop.

Amanda's beauty tip of the day:  If you find your skin is getting very dry in the winter, test the humidity in your home.  40%-45% is ideal, lower than 30% and you'll need to do something to fix that.