Washing Machine with update!

Update! The washing machine is fixed! The installers took the shipping bar out prior to putting it in the house. They are not supposed to do that. So the tub slid to one side and was caught. The GE guy fixed it, it took 1 min. I now really like the machine! It cleans fast and it seems to do a good job. Of course it did not get all of the gunk out of Celia's white shirt that had been sitting in our laundry basket since Friday. I think that she sometimes uses her shirts as plates...

2 months ago our washing machine stopped spinning, rendering it basically useless. I found myself hand washing my cloth diapers that day as I was in the middle of a wash. It took us 3 or 4 days to get someone to take a look at it. We have a home warranty so it was not that expensive to have someone look at it at least. The repairman determined it was the motor and unfortunately it would take 7 to 10 days to get it. 10 days later, many trips back and forth to our amazing neighbor's house to do laundry, our new motor arrived. A few days later I noticed leaking under our utility sink. I blamed it on Pete as he had just cleaned out his fishing cooler in the sink and admitted that he spilled a lot of water. I cleaned up and then later in the day the water returned. So not the sink, it was leaking from the washing machine. So... Another phone call to the warranty company, another service call. The tub was cracked, apparently the new motor was too powerful.
Okay.... So now we move on to getting a new washer, completely covered by the warranty company. The model they offered me was a top loader but very energy efficient and even took HE detergent. I looked at the reviews and the fact that it takes more time to actually wash clothes in these type of machines and was not impressed. Having to spend more time with wash was not appealing. So I found a washing machine that seemed to have good reviews, did not take the extra wash time and had a second rinse feature which is awesome for cloth diapers. The problem, because my warranty company viewed it is a downgrade ( technically it was not as the one they offered was most certainly a more energy efficient model then we had) I had to sign a special letter. So frustrated at this situation, I found a solution to having to find a way to fax or scan the emailed letter back. I took a picture of the signed letter, loaded it to a word document, and sent it off. No problem. The washing machine was ordered and delivered this past Monday.
The washing machine looked fine but unfortunately the outlet we needed to use, the one that was working an hour prior to the installation was no longer working. So we used an extension cord and plugged it in somewhere else. It appeared to work fine. 5 minutes after the installers left I started with my mountain of laundry, only to find that the machine went bananas every time it spun. I looked at the features and laughed at all of the "machine is whisper quiet during this mode". Finally I decided this was not normal and called GE. I was told that the only reason for this would be if the machine was not leveled or if the shipping bar was kept on. So more waiting for a repairman to come and deal with it. By the way GE was not willing to send anyone to look at it, they finally got rid of me by giving me a number to call. It was the home depot... I had to call my warranty company who told me it was the same service company we had been dealing with who installed the machine. So they sent them back, no charge of course, but another day waiting for repairmen between 1 and 5 who always came after 5. That repairman determined that it was not a leveling issue, it was missing bolts that hold the tub in place. We were told not to use it. So I called GE again on Thursday and was told that they could not send anyone out until Monday and that if it was not covered by warranty then there would be a service fee. What?? I sort of lost it at that point. Our warranty company did tell me that they will deal with it if that is the case.

So tomorrow for the umpteenth time I am stuck waiting for a repairman between 1 and 5. It is Halloween and I really do not want to wait past 5! If the guy does not have the bolts with him then he is likely going to see me throw a mini tantrum because I am done having laundry piled all over and waiting for repairmen.

11 Months

It pains me to know that Audrey is 11 months, 4 weeks from now I will be leaving her during the day. It is only for 6 months and of course it is not like I will be going to Siberia and not seeing her for literally 6 months, I will see her! But still... she is my baby, my last baby. Of course the funny thing is that Audrey will actually get more attention then she has now for the first month. She will have one on one attention from Mom Mom! Right now she sort of takes second to big sister who is a bit more demanding.

In anycase, I do not know how big she is. I know that she eats like she is training for the food olympics but yet she still seems to stay short and narrow! She is sleeping okay at night, well, okay, great for what she put me through for so many months. She gets up around 5 am to nurse and then wakes up for the day between 6 and 6:30. Lately she is having some teething/reflux issues and we are having some wake up times during the night but I have only had to go in once. She is wearing size 6 to 9 month clothes, 9 to 12 month pants are super long on her. Today I needed to change her shirt after one of her champion eating sessions and I grabbed a 3 to 6 month Carters onesie and go figure, it still fits.

She loves baby dolls and she will hug and pat her babies. I pulled out Celia's infamous pink potty that she trained in so that Audrey could get used to it. I let her play with it using the dolly. She had a great time, baby sat in it, then Audrey sat in it, then baby, then it went on Audrey's head... In anycase, fun times. The baby has also been in a little high chair and driven around in the stroller. She is a proud Mommy. Of course the babies are really Celia's pink baby and blue baby, but she is sharing. She is also very, very proud of her walking accomplishment. She gets this big grin on her face, raises her arms high in the air and walks. I am trying to push the arms down as really walking with your arms up high puts a person a bit off balance.

Audrey's speech is still hit or miss. She babbles frequently one day and then I do not hear a peep for a few days. She is signing though, so at least she is communicating. It will all come in time and if not then of course there are people to help her! She is very curious though and investigates everything, so maybe she is just taking it all in.

Is there anything cuter?

Oh wait there is, two of them!!

Look at what she can do

Fall

It has been awhile

I have not wanted to blog in awhile because honestly this past week or almost two has been awful for me.  I have been trying to make the decision to return to work or stay home.  It took me a lot of very sleepless nights, a lot of picking at my food, and a lot of conversations with anyone that would listen to come up with the decision to return to work until June and then revisit the decision.  It is not the perfect solution.  I would love to stay home but at the same time I do like my job.  I am a special education teacher and unfortunately leaving my job means that I will likely have to go back to school in order to teach again.  I do not have both elementary and special education certifications and most school districts are requiring special education teachers to have both.  I am grandfathered in and the state has no issues with my certification it is really confusion by districts according to the pennsylvania department of ed.  But when someone tells me, oh you can always go back to teaching if you resign. Well.... hmm... perhaps, but maybe not!  I thought about the fact that maybe it was ok.  Maybe I will never teach again.  But then I know that even if I stay home eventually I want to go back to work and the truth is, I can not imagine doing anything else.  Financially we are just on the edge, so really it will help us not dip into savings. 
I was almost manic over the past two weeks, excited about the prospect of just staying home and taking care of my girls.  But then something just didn't sit right with that idea either.  I looked into part time options and they really were not panning out.  That is something that I need to look in over the course of a few months, not over a few weeks.  There are possibilities and believe me, I am going to explore them!  But at the same point, I might just decide that I will go back to teaching for 6 months and then just be a Mom without any outside worries for another year.  I realize that I am going to miss out on Audrey's daily milestones, that hits me in the heart.  She will never be a baby again and I am going to miss a good chunk of it.  But someone told me that I am going to be here Mom forever and 6 months of it is simply that.  She also said that it is not quantity, it is quality time.  That hit me.  The truth is that lately I feel like I need something different.  I am not sure if that something is teaching, goodness this could be the wrong decision!  I am not perfect, I make the wrong choices.  But my plan is that I will go to work and when I am home, I am home.  If I have to let exercise go to spend time with my girls during these next 6 months, then big huge gulp, I will!  I am going to try to take minimal work home with me, maybe limiting it to one time during the week and then just on the weekend.  It will be a learning process.
My Mom, my amazing Mom, is going to watch Audrey through the end of December and then Audrey will start at Celia's daycare in January.  I am fine with December, Mom Mom will spoil her and she will get all the care she needs.  In January she goes into the big girl classroom, with 3 other little buddies.  In the past week though Audrey has been playing more with me.  She is interacted with me and her sister and taking turns.  She wants to play now and that makes me feel a bit better.  She is showing me that really she needs some play mates soon and so perhaps being in that situation when she is 13 months will be good for her.  Oh and she is finally babbling!!  I have been worried about her speech because for the most part Audrey has made little sounds, she is very quiet.  But all of a sudden we are getting a ton of babbling.  Oh and she is signing more, very hit or miss but today she signed help and then hit her chin.  I have been trying to teach her help, Mommy.  I think the hitting her chin was her approximation of Mommy!!
So I do feel super guilty about leaving Audrey and the week I go back I am going to miss her so much.  I have not mentioned Celia.  Yes, I will miss Celia but leaving Celia at school is familiar and she loves it there.  She does not want me to go back to school but when I mention that she will get to nap at school again she gets super excited.  I have enjoyed my year with Celia but honestly she thrives on the structure of school.   She has also been very trying lately and some days, ugh, some days I just think it would be okay to spend the three or four quality hours with her vs the quantity.  Sorry Celia, I love you to bits but when you chew me out because I would not wait for you in the hallway for the 20 minutes it took you to get dressed while holding Audrey and a laundry basket, it sort of rubs me the wrong way....  Again, love you to bits, but I am looking for the "4 is my favorite age" stage that everyone talks about. 

Celia's Birthday Party

 My baby girl turned four a month ago and we had her party on September 10th.  We just had family and our neighbors that are as close to family over for the party.   Next year I think I may skip the party and try for a special event of some sort, taking her to an amusement park or something of that nature.  I am not sure, Celia may have her own preference at that age!!

For her actual birthday, Labor day, we went to my friend's house for a picnic with her family.  She was so incredibly sweet and put candles in the angel food cake for Celia to blow out.  Celia thought it was fantastic.  Pete and I thought it was great that minutes after we drove out of her driveway, both girls were asleep.  Ok, until we got home and Celia was not happy to be woken up!!

I made a birthday banner for her birthday, hopefully one that will be used again and again for a bit.

I made the cake this year again, it was flowers, a girly cake.

Celia enjoyed the party and all of her gifts.  She received everything she wanted.  Mommy and Daddy got her a scooter as her main gift this year.  Mom Mom gave her Blue Berry Muffin, a nail polish kit, and some clothes.  Grandma and Grandpa, Paw Paw, her Great Granny, and her Aunt Susie gave her a lot of goodies.  She has Repunzel, Ariel, bride ariel and prince eric, and a pretty dress.   She also has a sticker book, Mercy Watson books and I really forget now!!  Honestly she made out very well this year!  She also has a talking piggy bank, a build a bear, a bracelet, and new kitties for her dollhouse.  Our neighbors went way overboard for her, and I mean way over board!!  My Celia needs to know she is very loved!  Oh and if you want to see what my sister gave her, go to the My Red Truck blog.  She also received a cute new monogrammed lunch box from my sister and her cousins.

It was a fun time!!