Taitai
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Post by Taitai on Jun 2, 2021 8:38:51 GMT -6
This is the month we get to visit the USA after 2 years of being away, PLUS we get vaccinated! Super excited. School is out or almost out for the O17 families. Anyone planning out trips or summer activities for the kids?? I’m so excited.  |
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Post by CoachTsWife on Jun 2, 2021 12:00:30 GMT -6
I feel so bad popping in when I've been away for a couple weeks. Life has just been crazy. duskymonkey I STILL DO NOT HAVE my stove. It was supposed to get here 2 weeks ago. Apparently they have it in stock, but they are moving to a new warehouse and I've been caught up in that mess. Meanwhile my stove and I are limping along. The stove top works fine and I've pretty much figured out how to get things to cook in the oven. Just have to preheat 15-20 degrees higher than I want, turn it down to desired temp once preheated, then add anywhere from 2-10+ minutes to cooking time. |
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Post by CoachTsWife on Jun 2, 2021 12:06:37 GMT -6
Taitai we leave later this month for a beach vacation with DH's family. I'm not crazy about vacationing with them, but after losing FIL last Fall it'll be good for everyone. We just have very different routines and discipline strategies than BIL/SIL so it'll be weird at times. Thankfully we have separate condos. So glad you're getting to come back to visit and get vaccinated! So excited for you all!
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Post by curmudgeon on Jun 2, 2021 13:44:38 GMT -6
Taitai so excited for your visit back to the US! We have a beach trip planned for early August. We live on the gulf coast, but I am excited to see a place with cleaner water and prettier beaches. We will probably do some shorter weekend trips here and there to close-ish areas in TX. I have been contemplating Disney for early 2022.
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danvers
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Post by danvers on Jun 2, 2021 16:46:45 GMT -6
Taitai I am so excited for you all. I’m sure the boys will seem so different to everyone 2 years out - social media and FaceTime just aren’t the same. All the memories will make quarantine worth it for your return. CoachTsWife is the stove situation due to Covid? And “like” was for the vacation, though the company might be trying at times I hope it will be a blast for you all too.
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Post by CoachTsWife on Jun 3, 2021 11:15:22 GMT -6
danvers, it isn't really due to covid. I did a lot of research and a ton of calling around and looking in stores. I found a couple I liked and went on a hunt to find either of them IN STOCK because several stores told me they could give me an estimated shipping date, but to not count on it. So I found one in stock and the store failed to mention that they were moving their warehouse to a different location and that might cause some delays.
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danvers
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Post by danvers on Jun 3, 2021 11:25:50 GMT -6
danvers, it isn't really due to covid. I did a lot of research and a ton of calling around and looking in stores. I found a couple I liked and went on a hunt to find either of them IN STOCK because several stores told me they could give me an estimated shipping date, but to not count on it. So I found one in stock and the store failed to mention that they were moving their warehouse to a different location and that might cause some delays. Oh sheesh. Ok. I knew Covid is impacting the inventory for new car sales right now and lumber seems to be impacted but didn’t know what other areas. I hope the oven eventually shows up! |
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Post by CoachTsWife on Jun 3, 2021 11:38:13 GMT -6
danvers , it isn't really due to covid. I did a lot of research and a ton of calling around and looking in stores. I found a couple I liked and went on a hunt to find either of them IN STOCK because several stores told me they could give me an estimated shipping date, but to not count on it. So I found one in stock and the store failed to mention that they were moving their warehouse to a different location and that might cause some delays. Oh sheesh. Ok. I knew Covid is impacting the inventory for new car sales right now and lumber seems to be impacted but didn’t know what other areas. I hope the oven eventually shows up! Covid is definitely impacting appliances as well, which is why I only chose one in stock. Still got burned.
The repair man I called to see if mine was repairable, said he has appliance parts that have been on back order for over a year now. I think most manufacturing took a big hit with covid and is having trouble recovering. If I wanted to fix my stove, he said I could, but the part was several hundred dollars and it would take months to get the part. Everything is such a mess.
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Post by duskymonkey on Jun 3, 2021 22:51:51 GMT -6
CoachTsWife Oh no...it seems like a quite a while ago when your stove quit or parts of it. That really sucks especially during Covid on top of it all. I did read that Covid is impacting many parts of manufacturing and supply chain much like curmudgeon dining table. You are certainly resourceful figuring out how to manipulate the stove. Did they even give you an ETA? I am excited for your vacation. It's tough vacationing with family or anyone else for that matter. Hopefully you can just chill out at the beach with the kids. I also haven't been posting much. With the threenager getting into everything and figuring out how to get to to things he couldn't before has be on my toes all day plus demanding more and more of my attention and breaking up fights with his big bro; it gives me little time for much of anything so everything has to wait till they go to bed.
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Post by duskymonkey on Jun 3, 2021 23:06:31 GMT -6
danvers the price of lumber is insane! We were pricing to built some raised beds and we were like seriously lumber is gonna cost what!!!??? It's been steadily rising over the past several years due to sawmills closing from lack of supply and Covid and housing demand just pushed it further and faster up. Housing market is insanity too. You are already on summer vacation right? I think we are on a similar break pattern.
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Post by duskymonkey on Jun 3, 2021 23:58:19 GMT -6
We had such a busy week already and they boys were so excited to have a couple of visitors for lunch on Memorial day! and so we were. We haven't seen our friends for over a year since they're in their early 60s and now that we're vaxed ( except for kids ) we feel much better and safer meeting up. It was nice for me to look forward to make a meal other than the usual for other people. It was also DS' birthday yesterday and he asked for a cake even though I told him he will be getting a cake when we have his party in a couple of weeks. I tried so hard to convince him to get a cupcake but he wanted a cake proper on his actual birthday so of course I made him one lol! Luckily I had a couple pints of leftover frostings in the freezer so I just had to make the cake and filled it with cherry at his request and smacked frosting on. They also had their first swim lessons today and it went really well! Both kids were so excited and had the best time and want to go back tomorrow hah! ETA... I finally found a great swimsuit for myself too and it arrived just in time last week and miraculously fit me well - although maybe I could've used a size smaller or maybe not. This is what I got link |
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Post by duskymonkey on Jun 4, 2021 0:07:20 GMT -6
Taitai I am super pumped for you...especially getting vaxed! It so easy to get them here now. So crazy that they are "paying" people here to get vaxed...meanwhile other nations are struggling with obtaining and distributing vaccines. My parents said they are at a complete lock-down now with Ramadan over and celebrating Eldil-Fitri which has been causing the surge in cases. My mom got her 2nd vax last week and my dad will get his I believe next week so I can breathe a little easier once they have met the 2 week criteria. Please tell me about your long flight. I really am hoping cases will subside worldwide by next year because I want to take the boys back to visit family and see my folks. It will be 3 years then. Hang in there with virtual school. It was really stressful for me, I hope your kids are better then my DS.
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Taitai
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Post by Taitai on Jun 4, 2021 7:46:22 GMT -6
duskymonkey What a super awesome sprinkle cake you made for your DS! Happy birthday to him!! So glad you were able to connect with friends again, and that your parents will be fully vaccinated soon. We have friends in KL, and the COVID situation there is definitely out of control, just like it is here. What caused the spike here was very one traveling for Thai new year (Songkran) in mid April, similar to the post-Ramadan/Eid spike in Malaysia. The numbers here are always the same day after day (very little progress), and I think they are trying to vaccinate people to get things under control, but there’s just a long ways to go. I just want school to resume to in-person by Aug. Fingers crossed that can happen! I’ll let you know how our long haul flight to the USA goes. The boys are a bit older now and more interested in movies/screen time, so I’m hoping it will be easier than last time, when they were 1.5 and 4….that was NO FUN. CoachTsWife I hope that you can get your stove soon! So many supplies in the world are messed up right now, especially with the shortage of shipping containers. I hope everything sorts itself back out this year. I’m also worried about inflation, I foresee that creeping up, which will result in the Fed raising interest rates to get that under control.
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Post by curmudgeon on Jun 4, 2021 8:08:47 GMT -6
DS2 sprained his knee over the Memorial Day weekend. He had been limping that evening and woke up refusing to put weight on his leg so to the pediatrician we went. She wanted to do an X-ray to rule out muscle infection since it was so swollen. He just twisted it somehow but he’s back to normal, running and climbing.
It is raining every day straight for the next 6 days and shows it letting up next Saturday. Which is DS1’s (small) birthday party. So I hope the forecast is accurate because we planned a pool party.
And lastly in the never-ending table saga, it has been built. Was in Ohio early this week and should make its way to me in roughly 7 days. After 6 months. Hooray! I can stop getting crumbs on the couch now.
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Taitai
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Post by Taitai on Jun 4, 2021 19:39:57 GMT -6
curmudgeon Like was for you finally getting your table, and happy birthday to your DS1! So sorry that DS2 sprained his knee though. The good thing is that kids are amazingly resilient and can bounce back quickly from stuff like that. Glad to hear he’s running around again! I’ll be hoping for no rain at the pool party 
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Post by curmudgeon on Jun 5, 2021 5:32:10 GMT -6
curmudgeon Like was for you finally getting your table, and happy birthday to your DS1! So sorry that DS2 sprained his knee though. The good thing is that kids are amazingly resilient and can bounce back quickly from stuff like that. Glad to hear he’s running around again! I’ll be hoping for no rain at the pool party I was very surprised how quickly he was back to normal! I would have been milking it for at least a week. Lol |
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danvers
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Post by danvers on Jun 8, 2021 18:02:22 GMT -6
The girls started swim lessons this week at the park pool. DD2 is doing much better about the water this time around so hopefully we can put her back in lessons full time at our rec center this fall. These lessons are led by kids from the high school swim team who are the nicest kids (and some former students!) but they are 16-18 year olds so actual teaching isn’t really happening. The girls have a great time though!
Also the Brood X cicadas are in full force here. I’ve been taking a nightly walk and my watch measured the decibels at 92 and above at most points near the woods!
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Post by curmudgeon on Jun 10, 2021 6:44:54 GMT -6
Taitai when this month are you traveling to the states? I was thinking about you and the long haul flight the other day. Thank goodness for tablets. 😆 hope you get to see family really soon!
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Post by curmudgeon on Jun 10, 2021 6:46:42 GMT -6
danvers I have seen several tiktoks of people trying to mow grass and do other outdoor things and just being covered by cicadas. How long is this supposed to last?
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Taitai
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Post by Taitai on Jun 10, 2021 7:04:02 GMT -6
curmudgeon Yes - we head to the USA later this month! It’s a 25 hour itinerary- Lord help us, lol. I think DS1 will be pretty easy to ral With, but I’m more worried about DS2 wanting to walk around the plane. Obviously with COVID, that is not a good idea. Hoping the flights won’t be too full! danvers - we get cicadas out here every year for a few weeks, and the sound is absolutely deafening! We can even hear it through our concrete walls! Hoping yours go away soon.
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Post by duskymonkey on Jun 10, 2021 23:35:44 GMT -6
curmudgeon happy birthday to your DS1 and hope you'll have great weather for your pool party. Super glad to hear DS2 recovered and is back to himself. Please share your table when you get it and you have your chairs already? I can't recall. It will be so great to finally sit at a table. Our dining table has been a workhorse for us and I really don't know if we can do without.
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Post by duskymonkey on Jun 10, 2021 23:53:59 GMT -6
danvers we have been on video calls with my sister out East and she was showing us all the cicadas outside in her yard and trees; thick as molasses oh my! I was already in the city at the last emergence and didn't get to experience it, maybe a good thing because I had a ground level garden apartment when I was in CT and I am certain they would've been crawling into my apartment. Are they around your property too? Nice to see you are able to get some activities for the girls this summer. Are you and your H attempting anymore DIY remodels this summer?
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Post by duskymonkey on Jun 11, 2021 0:10:53 GMT -6
Taitai I cannot imagine trying to keep DS2 still in his seat and he is a very light sleeper too so that would be awful. Will your boys tolerate ear plugs? How many layovers will you have? At least they can walk about then - that's if they are falling asleep at that time and they are small and won't feel as cramped and can stretch out across the seats onto you and your H - obviously not comfortable for either of you but if that will keep them in good spirits, personally I will endure it. I am hyperventilating thinking of your journey with the kids though. The flight duration may seem incredibly long but without kids I remember there were so many things to keep oneself entertained and the international flights have increasingly become ( I think ) much more comfortable in so many ways over the past 30 years. I do not envy you and your H. Sending you all the magical good transpacific flight experience your way, especially for your kids to behave.
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Post by duskymonkey on Jun 11, 2021 0:24:52 GMT -6
Earlier this week we had some wild weather! I had just gotten home from the boys swim class and grocery pick up and getting dinner ready when hubs asked me if I had gotten a tornado warning from my phone. I was like no - but my phone was like nowhere near me. Anyways I looked out the back door and saw what I thought like a tornado forming in the distance and hubs confirmed it certainly was one. I had never seen one in person before so wasn't too sure. Moreover when I saw it, it was just forming and it started to dissipate and as hubs and I watched it, it formed again and it was traveling toward us! I told hubs to get the grill started because I needed to get the boys eating dinner lol! So we stood outside grilling dinner and watching the tornado until it fell apart a few miles from us. It touched down several miles from us actually but we had a clear view and would have had time run to the basement if it was clearly heading our way. At that point I figured, there's nothing much we can do other than try to save ourselves. We probably would have grabbed our firesafe with our docs in them but that would have been it. Meanwhile, what were the kids doing? They went back to watching Thomas the Train after a few minutes of watching the tornado. PDQ  |
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Taitai
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Post by Taitai on Jun 11, 2021 7:13:46 GMT -6
duskymonkey OMG - that is a super clear shot of a tornado!! I’ve never seen one like that in real life, although I’ve definitely had to take shelter from them while growing up many times. My kids would have been so excited (and also terrified a bit) to see something like that from the back yard!! Also, yes - the travel is not going to be fun, but at least we only have 1 layover. It’s only 1 hour though, so we’ll probably be disembarking from our first flight and going directly to board our second flight. At that hour, it will be the middle of the night for our kids though, so it might be best to just get them back onto a plane and sleeping again. I heard the flights have only been 30-35% full, so here’s to hoping that we can get a whole row to ourselves! Thanks for the good luck wishes….we’ll need it 🤣😂😱😭
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danvers
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Post by danvers on Jun 11, 2021 11:10:01 GMT -6
danvers we have been on video calls with my sister out East and she was showing us all the cicadas outside in her yard and trees; thick as molasses oh my! I was already in the city at the last emergence and didn't get to experience it, maybe a good thing because I had a ground level garden apartment when I was in CT and I am certain they would've been crawling into my apartment. Are they around your property too? Nice to see you are able to get some activities for the girls this summer. Are you and your H attempting anymore DIY remodels this summer? 1. Cicadas still super loud. We only have a dozen or so trees on our property but can still hear them indoors. I think it’s supposed to “peak” this weekend and then they start dying off? H was swarmed mowing the lawn yesterday 😂 2. Funny you should ask about DIY as we are waiting to hear back from the bank right now about a small loan we’re trying to take out so we can start to add-on to the back of our house and redo ourtwo bathrooms. There will be a contractor involved because as good as H is on house projects this will be too much and need more experts then him, my FIL, and youtube. |
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danvers
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Post by danvers on Jun 11, 2021 11:16:16 GMT -6
curmudgeon I think the Brood X cicadas are supposed to peak around here this weekend? H is indeed swarmed on the lawnmower. It is very funny because it is not me 😂 Taitai all the thoughts and prayers for the traveling part of your trip. I look at our little 3 year olds who seem so big in so many ways and then something like a long car ride reminds me they are still very young and little compared to our older ones 😩 duskymonkey I have lived in the Midwest my whole life and never seen one. Such a cool picture but of course the boys were “meh” and thought Thomas was more interesting.
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Post by curmudgeon on Jun 13, 2021 12:23:50 GMT -6
We had DS1’s party yesterday and I am still exhausted. 6+ hours spent outside in 94 degrees and 89% humidity. But we survived! The kids had a blast. And I got to meet H’s BFFs “new” girlfriend. They’ve been dating for awhile but he lives kinda far so we don’t get together too often. But she’s the best. I love her and we exchanged numbers to hopefully get together again.
I told H we 10000% need a pool after this. So when we have pool parties we can enjoy the ac inside while others swim, instead of having no relief. (We always have his party at H’s aunt’s house and they usually leave so we can have the back to ourselves. But they are picky about inside guests and I don’t blame them)
I didn’t take any pictures either. I’m kind of sad but also was too busy visiting with people I haven’t seen in forever.
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Post by August Blooms on Jun 16, 2021 9:24:10 GMT -6
duskymonkey That’s crazy! What a cool shot, tornados are rare here but they do occasionally happen. I’ve never seen anything like that in real life! Taitai T&ps for you on your journey. Fingers crossed for a empty plane so you can stretch out and have a comfortable trip. How packed is your itenerary? Are you going to have any time to relax?
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Post by August Blooms on Jun 16, 2021 9:35:01 GMT -6
I’ve got a serious case of the blahs, DH works long hours and I’m by myself with DD1 who is in her second to last week of virtual school. My job is not busy or challenging and I’m turning 40 soon. I’m trying to figure out what I want to do. I found a graduate program that could lead to a masters but it’s big money and would necessarily lead to better job prospects.
The weather here has been super hot so it’s been nice to do a bit of work outside and enjoy the weather. Cases have been going down and they just finally opened up non essential retail and hopefully by July the girls can start up soccer. And it also looks like the Inlaws are planning a short visit on their way out of the country. I’m not particularly worried excited about it but they are fully vaxed and haven’t seen the kids in 2 years. I guess I have to finally clear out the boxes and do something with the guest room.
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