Five Finds Friday (a lot of Otto and a little about a pipe bursting, also a bit about grilled cheese sandwiches)

Sort of makes my stomach hurt when the calendar says it is already well into MARCH.  

No.  Just – no.

funny

Otto has not yet learned to appreciate the gift of being clean.  The allure of being freshly showered pulls no sway with him.

If I didn’t remind him to shower, frankly, he never would.

More to the point, if it wasn’t required, it wouldn’t happen.

So after a recent such forced cleanse, I commented, “Man, you look so clean.”

To which Otto looked up from what he was doing and said, “er”.

“What?” I asked.

“Er,” he repeated.  “I’m not clean.  But I am clean-ER than I was.”

He’s dirty, but he’s honest.

fashionable

I had so much fun doing the Noonday Trunk Show.

It was EASY.

If you have never done one, you totally should.

Look at the lovely earrings and bracelets that I earned through the trunk show.

Hooray! Thanks to all of you who ordered gifts and jewelry, purses or scarves.  Thank you!

flavorful

London recently made the best grilled cheese sandwich I have ever had.

I’m sure she was motivated by some desire to be allowed to do something.  Or maybe it was love of her mother.  Whatever.  

Anyway.  

On this grilled cheese she had – cheese, of course – avocado and a just slightly runny fried egg.  

It. Was. Amazing.

Also, speaking of grilled cheese sandwiches.  My friends told me they attended a wedding last weekend and one of the meal options was — a grilled cheese sandwich bar.  

Guess what I’m having at my next party?

You guessed it.

A grilled cheese sandwich bar.

faithful

Monday morning this week I noticed my shower had very little hot water.  I assumed a daughter had reached the other shower before I got in mine.

When I asked at the breakfast table, no one had showered during that time.

At lunch, I had no hot water to wash the dishes.

I called my friend with answers for such questions and he suggested checking the heating element in the hot water heater.

Suddenly, it occurred to me that I had never noticed the hot water heater’s location my home.  (Don’t judge me.)

I looked in the obvious places.  

Then I shamefully texted my friend from whom I purchased my house.

“Uh, so where’s the hot water heater?”

Turns out, it’s in the crawl space.

Berg and I head outside, open the crawl space door and see the problem instantly.

Water pouring from a pipe.  Water that has been flowing for a good long time.  Water piling up in the crawl space.

Next thing I learned was how to cut the water off to my house.

Good things I was learning about my own house you guys.

I had been encouraged to purchase a home warranty when I bought the house and turns out – that was a good idea.  

The plumber couldn’t come until the following day.  Reminding all of us in this house what dependent people we are on running water and creature comforts.

I heart water.

Next day, the plumber arrives, repairs the copper pipe that burst and I only pay the home warranty deductible price.

My first home ownership issue was shockingly straight forward.

I’ll call that a gift.

London joked with me, “Home ownership – am I right, Mom?”

And I laughed.  

I’ve lived my entire adult life in homes owned by others.  Usually people I loved or cared for.  People who were gracious and kind.  Homes I was grateful to be living in.

But water pouring out of broken pipes in my crawl space or not, I still love home ownership.

feels

I write posts about how challenging a rough day of parenting can be.  (And that’s true.)  But obviously the good has outweighed the bad or more of us would have quit having kids by now.

And here was a sweet good –

Otto, his arm around my waist, my arm around his shoulder.  

He had been reading in bed too late and he couldn’t sleep.

He asked for Cedarwood essential oil on his feet because he heard our friend Brittani talking about it at his haircut today.  

They are listening, you guys.  They are.

Then, despite the late hour, he can’t resist telling me about the novel he is reading and the unkindest of the characters in the book and he just has to tell me what happened – and it’s not because I asked him.  It’s because the story is good.  And it moved him. And he’s been trained in the art of narration and it all just felt like something was working.  

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