Well....
My new favorite cleaning product is Bio-Ox! My Suzanne-decimated carpet is really clean and the stains are gone! Greg and I spent several hours vacuming and shampooing yesterday, and her carpet came out really nice. And it has a rather pleasing citrus aroma now. I know it won't last, but now at least I have a product to use as soon as I encounter another "gift."
Next...the windows and sliding glass doors that she loves to press her nose against!
Get your Bio-Ox here...
Monday, April 28, 2008
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Carpet Watch 2008
7:55 a.m. and Suzanne is still asleep. This is quite remarkable in that she is normally up between 6:30 and 7 and it is sunny today. I guess we really tired her out the last few days with our many and varied activities.
Let's start with Wednesday--on second thought, let's totally forget Wednesday and move immediately to Thursday. Kirk had his spring musical program Thursday evening and he was given a speaking part to perform. This isn't the first time Kirk has been in the spotlight. When he was 4 he played the peddler in the Pelican Gathering Preschool play, "Caps for Sale." He was also an extra in a soon-to-be-released movie called "Multiple." You can check him out on the Internet Movie Database website... Kirk Brown - Child in Park. He had a speaking part in the 2nd grade production of "The Frog Prince" back in February, and now he snagged a role as one of the narrators in the musical "Glow." It's about fireflies. Kirk has occasional moments of shyness, but overall he's pretty outgoing and likes to be in front of the crowd.
Suzanne sat there during the entire program trying to imitate the hand motions that were a part of the songs. She really got into the music and clapped enthusiastically after each song. Her teacher tells me that she loves circle time in school, especially when they sing. In fact, there is a little boy who refuses to sit with his legs crossed and his hands in his lap. Suzanne got so annoyed with his flopping around that she got up, walked across the circle to him, and firmly helped him cross his legs and put his hands in his lap. Then she marched back to her own spot and sat down. Woe to the kid who disrupts Suzanne's circle time!
Friday was baseball, of course, and for once it wasn't rainy. Kirk had a bit of a meltdown when he didn't get to play the position he wanted, but Suzanne was happy. She likes to sit on the end of the bench with the boys, and many of them have had a couple of years to get to know her, so they don't mind.
Yesterday we went to the Home & Garden Show at the Clark County Fairgrounds. We like to go to events there because it is
1. Easy access from I-5
2. Plenty of parking
3. The Clark County Dairy Women make wonderful milkshakes
We go to the fair every year and we occasionally go to concerts in the Amphitheater. Last year we saw ZZ Top and Chrissie Hynde. The ZZ boys are darned old and apparently quite deaf, but Chrissie Hynde (who is pushing 60) sounded great and was wearing these killer boots that I would love to have. Not being a rocker chick, however, I would probably look quite silly.
But back to the H&G Show. I have a system for choosing which booths to stop at. They have to talk to me first. If I make eye contact and they don't at least say hello, I don't stop. C'mon, if you are in sales and you can't at least squeak out a howdy, you should probably find another career.
I found a fun guy to talk to at the Bio-Ox booth. No, this is not compost created by oxen, it is a cleaning product that is supposed to take out odors and all manner of organic stains from virtually every surface in your house. As I told the guy, I don't care if it removes stains from my toilet, all I want to know is will it take out poop stains from the carpet in my daughter's room. That's it--if the poop comes out, I will buy some. He showed me how it works on red wine, soy sauce and tea, and how it cleaned the carpet pad as well as the carpet, and its ingredients are water, hydrogen peroxide and orange oil, and a bunch of other stuff that I don't remember. Now, perhaps I'm grasping at straws, but I bought a bunch of it in the hopes that my carpet could be saved. After we got home, I mixed a sprayer full and tried it out on some kitty barf, poopy spots, and a stain of indeterminate origin. I have to say that I'm rather amazed because everything came out. I had to scrub on a couple of stains, but overall I was pleased with my test. We are going to put some in the carpet shampooer today and really give it a test drive.
I'll keep you posted on the Bio-Ox situation. Gotta go now, though--it's pancake day at church and Kirk hates to be late...
Let's start with Wednesday--on second thought, let's totally forget Wednesday and move immediately to Thursday. Kirk had his spring musical program Thursday evening and he was given a speaking part to perform. This isn't the first time Kirk has been in the spotlight. When he was 4 he played the peddler in the Pelican Gathering Preschool play, "Caps for Sale." He was also an extra in a soon-to-be-released movie called "Multiple." You can check him out on the Internet Movie Database website... Kirk Brown - Child in Park. He had a speaking part in the 2nd grade production of "The Frog Prince" back in February, and now he snagged a role as one of the narrators in the musical "Glow." It's about fireflies. Kirk has occasional moments of shyness, but overall he's pretty outgoing and likes to be in front of the crowd.
Suzanne sat there during the entire program trying to imitate the hand motions that were a part of the songs. She really got into the music and clapped enthusiastically after each song. Her teacher tells me that she loves circle time in school, especially when they sing. In fact, there is a little boy who refuses to sit with his legs crossed and his hands in his lap. Suzanne got so annoyed with his flopping around that she got up, walked across the circle to him, and firmly helped him cross his legs and put his hands in his lap. Then she marched back to her own spot and sat down. Woe to the kid who disrupts Suzanne's circle time!
Friday was baseball, of course, and for once it wasn't rainy. Kirk had a bit of a meltdown when he didn't get to play the position he wanted, but Suzanne was happy. She likes to sit on the end of the bench with the boys, and many of them have had a couple of years to get to know her, so they don't mind.
Yesterday we went to the Home & Garden Show at the Clark County Fairgrounds. We like to go to events there because it is
1. Easy access from I-5
2. Plenty of parking
3. The Clark County Dairy Women make wonderful milkshakes
We go to the fair every year and we occasionally go to concerts in the Amphitheater. Last year we saw ZZ Top and Chrissie Hynde. The ZZ boys are darned old and apparently quite deaf, but Chrissie Hynde (who is pushing 60) sounded great and was wearing these killer boots that I would love to have. Not being a rocker chick, however, I would probably look quite silly.
But back to the H&G Show. I have a system for choosing which booths to stop at. They have to talk to me first. If I make eye contact and they don't at least say hello, I don't stop. C'mon, if you are in sales and you can't at least squeak out a howdy, you should probably find another career.
I found a fun guy to talk to at the Bio-Ox booth. No, this is not compost created by oxen, it is a cleaning product that is supposed to take out odors and all manner of organic stains from virtually every surface in your house. As I told the guy, I don't care if it removes stains from my toilet, all I want to know is will it take out poop stains from the carpet in my daughter's room. That's it--if the poop comes out, I will buy some. He showed me how it works on red wine, soy sauce and tea, and how it cleaned the carpet pad as well as the carpet, and its ingredients are water, hydrogen peroxide and orange oil, and a bunch of other stuff that I don't remember. Now, perhaps I'm grasping at straws, but I bought a bunch of it in the hopes that my carpet could be saved. After we got home, I mixed a sprayer full and tried it out on some kitty barf, poopy spots, and a stain of indeterminate origin. I have to say that I'm rather amazed because everything came out. I had to scrub on a couple of stains, but overall I was pleased with my test. We are going to put some in the carpet shampooer today and really give it a test drive.
I'll keep you posted on the Bio-Ox situation. Gotta go now, though--it's pancake day at church and Kirk hates to be late...
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Snow in April
It hardly ever snows in Washougal, but it snowed off and on all last week! Fortunately it managed to stay about 40 degrees and sunny during Kirk's baseball game, but the rest of the time it was snowy and/or rainy.
I'm not complaining, of course, because my mom will not hesitate to remind me that she still has an unmelted snowbank in her backyard from the many feet of snow that dropped on Klamath Falls since December. It's just that it really isn't supposed to do that here, and so snow causes quite a stir.
Personally, I'm more annoyed by the unrelenting wind that makes traveling across the I-205 bridge a bit of a roller coaster ride. It is unnerving to have to steer into the wind to keep the car from sailing off the opposite side of the bridge. But that is just what Suzanne and I did on Friday as we took a field trip to Lake Oswego to go to a DS Mom's Coffee and meet with a speech therapist. As it turns out, I'm doing several things right, which comes as a pleasant surprise to me. She had a nice handout, which talked about how we learn speech and the different ways to learn new words. Suzanne is picking up words more easily now, so now is the time for Greg and I to really work hard at it.
In fact, Suzanne's beloved Dancing With The Stars is helping with words and counting! Last night they were giving the scores for one of the dance couples and Carrie Ann said "Eight," then Len said "Nine" and then before Bruno could speak, Suzanne shouted "Ten!" Suzanne was more generous in her score than Bruno, because I think he only gave them an eight.
Poor Greg--he used to really like having a little snuggle time with Kirk when he was little. They would get on their jammies and get in bed to watch a little TV and I would find them both asleep. Soooo cute. He likes to do that with Suzanne, but she always outlasts him. When I go upstairs now, Greg is usually snoring away and Suzanne is either sitting up watching TV or roaming around. One time, I found her on the floor at the foot of the bed snuggled up with a pillow and one of her dad's shirts. Still awake, though. What is exceptionally funny is when this happens with the 3 of them. Then I will find Greg and Kirk asleep and Suzanne in the middle, wide awake. I am the only one in this house who can outlast her.
Gotta go and teach Kirk how to clean his bathroom. He wants to do chores to earn Wii games, so we'll see how long his enthusiasm last...
I'm not complaining, of course, because my mom will not hesitate to remind me that she still has an unmelted snowbank in her backyard from the many feet of snow that dropped on Klamath Falls since December. It's just that it really isn't supposed to do that here, and so snow causes quite a stir.
Personally, I'm more annoyed by the unrelenting wind that makes traveling across the I-205 bridge a bit of a roller coaster ride. It is unnerving to have to steer into the wind to keep the car from sailing off the opposite side of the bridge. But that is just what Suzanne and I did on Friday as we took a field trip to Lake Oswego to go to a DS Mom's Coffee and meet with a speech therapist. As it turns out, I'm doing several things right, which comes as a pleasant surprise to me. She had a nice handout, which talked about how we learn speech and the different ways to learn new words. Suzanne is picking up words more easily now, so now is the time for Greg and I to really work hard at it.
In fact, Suzanne's beloved Dancing With The Stars is helping with words and counting! Last night they were giving the scores for one of the dance couples and Carrie Ann said "Eight," then Len said "Nine" and then before Bruno could speak, Suzanne shouted "Ten!" Suzanne was more generous in her score than Bruno, because I think he only gave them an eight.
Poor Greg--he used to really like having a little snuggle time with Kirk when he was little. They would get on their jammies and get in bed to watch a little TV and I would find them both asleep. Soooo cute. He likes to do that with Suzanne, but she always outlasts him. When I go upstairs now, Greg is usually snoring away and Suzanne is either sitting up watching TV or roaming around. One time, I found her on the floor at the foot of the bed snuggled up with a pillow and one of her dad's shirts. Still awake, though. What is exceptionally funny is when this happens with the 3 of them. Then I will find Greg and Kirk asleep and Suzanne in the middle, wide awake. I am the only one in this house who can outlast her.
Gotta go and teach Kirk how to clean his bathroom. He wants to do chores to earn Wii games, so we'll see how long his enthusiasm last...
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Progress...sort of
WARNING!
This post is going to be about poop. If you don't want to hear about it, then leave immediately. I realize that while this is a big deal to me, it is probably not a big deal to you, so here is fair warning...
I have the "Hunter Nose." It's kind of long and pointy (thanks, Dad) and consequently I have a good sense of smell. My nose leads me to many places and today it led me to my very own bedroom. I opened the door and there was my sweet, smiling Suzanne dressed in a pretty magenta top with nothing on the bottom. I asked her where her pants were and she said "all done." I was thrilled that she answered a question with actual words that I could understand. My joy at this was short-lived, however, once a bit of aroma begin to waft past my nostrils.
After a little bit of detective sniffing, I found both her pants and her pull-up (we've graduated to pull-ups) in the bathroom. Pants on the floor, poopy pull-up in the potty! She knows that poop goes in the potty, so she gets credit for that, but a partial demerit for including the pull-up in her total deposit. She has all the pieces, if only we could get them in the right order...
On a lighter note, it is baseball season again, which is really fun as long as it isn't raining. Our first game was on Friday and it was a balmy 65 degrees. Our next game probably won't be quite so nice as rain is in the forecast for Saturday. We'll just cross our fingers and hope for the best.
We had visit a couple of weeks ago from Max and Landon. It was great having Landon around and he and Suzanne really hit it off, but the best part was getting Kirk to play catch with Max. Kirk hasn't really wanted to work at baseball this year, and Max managed to light a fire under him. Kirk wants to really learn to pitch this year, just like his cousin Max and his Grandpa Frank, and he's really working hard now. Thanks, Max, you helped out more than you know!
Big sigh...I must go upstairs and put away all the clothes she took out of the drawers. She was using them to count with (good) but left them in the middle of the floor (bad).
This post is going to be about poop. If you don't want to hear about it, then leave immediately. I realize that while this is a big deal to me, it is probably not a big deal to you, so here is fair warning...
I have the "Hunter Nose." It's kind of long and pointy (thanks, Dad) and consequently I have a good sense of smell. My nose leads me to many places and today it led me to my very own bedroom. I opened the door and there was my sweet, smiling Suzanne dressed in a pretty magenta top with nothing on the bottom. I asked her where her pants were and she said "all done." I was thrilled that she answered a question with actual words that I could understand. My joy at this was short-lived, however, once a bit of aroma begin to waft past my nostrils.
After a little bit of detective sniffing, I found both her pants and her pull-up (we've graduated to pull-ups) in the bathroom. Pants on the floor, poopy pull-up in the potty! She knows that poop goes in the potty, so she gets credit for that, but a partial demerit for including the pull-up in her total deposit. She has all the pieces, if only we could get them in the right order...
On a lighter note, it is baseball season again, which is really fun as long as it isn't raining. Our first game was on Friday and it was a balmy 65 degrees. Our next game probably won't be quite so nice as rain is in the forecast for Saturday. We'll just cross our fingers and hope for the best.
We had visit a couple of weeks ago from Max and Landon. It was great having Landon around and he and Suzanne really hit it off, but the best part was getting Kirk to play catch with Max. Kirk hasn't really wanted to work at baseball this year, and Max managed to light a fire under him. Kirk wants to really learn to pitch this year, just like his cousin Max and his Grandpa Frank, and he's really working hard now. Thanks, Max, you helped out more than you know!
Big sigh...I must go upstairs and put away all the clothes she took out of the drawers. She was using them to count with (good) but left them in the middle of the floor (bad).
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