Any suggestions

It isn't that I don't like Jim. I do really. He's in his late 50's. Jovial. Almost cute in a basset hound sort of way. Talks in a sing-songy sort of voice like I'm in preschool. Usually timely. But he's expensive and I'd rather not see him since we've had other contact lately.

He's Mr. Sears man that comes. He came recently for the washer, but left my wallet about $150 lighter. Now it is the diswasher.

Here's the problem: dishwasher runs through entire cycle. Sounds and seems to work normally. When I unload, the dishes are mostly clean (unless I put a really gunky pan in there). But there is a white film when it is finished. It is very apparent on the clear glasses. They aren't etched per se, it looks like the soap didn't rinse off. The dishes same thing if I hold them up to the light. They aren't sparkling and shiny like the ads proclaim. They are mottled, yet clean.

Here's what I've done so far: Using Cascade powder and a rinse aid all the time. Tried a full thing of soap and tried very little - same result. Checked the softener to make sure it is cycling. Checked to make sure the water is good and hot when it starts. Took apart the spinning thing at the bottom to check the filter (per the booklet). No change. I'm at the end of my rope. And I don't want to see Jim. And it doesn't seem to be a major problem to result in contact with Jim and watching dollar bills fly away in the Sears van. Help!!

Ok... I'll do it. But this might be the last one!

1. Where were you 3 hours ago?---in the kitchen making Mira's lunch
2. Who are you in love with?---my husband and family
3. Have you ever eaten a crayon?---Nope.
4. Is there anything pink within 10 feet of you?---yes, the fleece shirt I wear most mornings over my pj's until I shower
.5. When is the last time you went to the mall?---two weeks ago. But I only go to the mall maybe three times/year!
6. Are you wearing socks right now?---yes
7. Do you have a car worth over $2,000?---yes, three of them. My husband loves vehicles.
.8. When was the last time you drove out of town?---on Sunday to IL for sp. mtg.
9. Have you been to the movies in the last 5 days?---no.
10. Are you hot?--- 'Hot' or hot? I'm almost 43, so I'm not 'hot'. And rarely am I hot...
11. What was the last thing you had to drink?---my morning cup o' Joe!
12. What are you wearing right now?---pj's, aforementioned pink fleece shirt, socks, and the crocs I can't live without.
13. Do you wash your car or let the car wash do it?---I run it through the car wash about once/month (using the cheapest option always which almost irritates D.)
.14. Last food that you ate?---french toast
.15. Where were you last week at this time?---here I think (the days run together for me)
16. Have you bought any clothing items in the last week?---shoes for all the kids
17. When is the last time you ran?---last night playing hide and seek with Lisi (it is really fun with puppies)
18. What's the last sporting event you watched?---the Super Bowl
19. What is your favorite animal?---dogs - no question. I even smile big seeing them leaning out a window in another car
20. Your dream vacation?---Warm, sunny, loved ones, water nearby, and good food
21. Last person's house you were in?---Swenson's in Chicago - a wonderful time
22. Worst injury you've ever had?---a sprained ankle is all...
23. Have you been in love?---Definitely.
24. Do you miss anyone right now?---yes
25. Last play you saw?---Door County - A Room with a View
26. What is your secret weapon to lure in the opposite sex?---Oh, this one is very funny. Me? chuckle, snort, tee-hee. Ok... not my looks for sure. Maybe humor?
27. What are your plans for tonight?---managing homework, playing a game, talking to my hubby
28. Who is the last person you sent a facebook message or comment?---I don't have facebook.
29. Next trip you are going to take?---Not sure yet!
.30. Ever go to camp?---not 'camp' per se. But I did camp with my family a lot as a child.
31. Were you an honor roll student in school?---sometimes
32. What do you want to know about the future?---I don't. I'm living today and thankful for it.
33. Are you wearing any perfume or cologne?---no. au naturale!
34. Are you due sometime this year for a doctor's visit?---Yes, mammogram in three weeks and a physical should be set up, but I don't feel like I need one.
35. Where is your best friend/s?---refer to my '100' list. I don't have one except for Duane.
36. How is your best friend?---He's perfect for me
37. Do you have a tan?--no.
38. What are you listening to right now?---the dishwaswer and washer
39. Do you collect anything?-- not now. I decided I don't like 'stuff'
40. Who is the biggest gossiper you know?---a very loaded question I won't answer
41. Last time you got stopped by a cop or pulled over?---about two or three months ago. Warning only!
42. Have you ever drunk your soda from a straw?---yes (that's a dumb question)
43. What does your last text message say?---from my brother saying someone had married
44. Do you like hot sauce?---not hot hot..medium.
45. Last time you took a shower?---yesterday morning! I'm heading there next
46. Do you need to do laundry?---not really. I did it all yesterday.
47. What is your heritage?---Too many to mention. All American I guess.
48. Are you someone's best friend?---I don't think so...
49. Are you rich?---Very much so. But not with money. And for that, I'm thankful.
50. What were you doing at 12AM last night?---zzzzzzzzzzzzz Oh wait! I think that's when T. was sleepwalking looking for the bathroom and immediately after that Mira was YELLING in bed that her leg hurt (growing pains I think)

Observations...

Nothing too earth-shattering with the kiddies today..

1) Lots of tears. Manny sat in Devin's chair during open centers and he was so troubled he couldn't accomplish anything except wipe his eyes. Maggie stayed up until 10 and was so tired she started to cry. Stupid parents.
2) Keri got really, really close to my face and just stared at my cheek again. I always get the willies as it feels like she's ready to kiss me. Or maybe she's wondering where my makeup is? Or maybe I look old? (refer to earlier posting).
3) Jason still likes glue. Or boogers. Anything to peel off his fingers. Sides of head now shaved and a huge mop of hair on top. Ethan said to me as soon as I walked in the room. 'Doesn't Jason look weird today?' Quite frankly yes, but I couldn't say that.
4) Hazel looked dreadfully sad. I asked her why. Grandma left to go back home to KS today. I told her to write Gma her feelings.
5) A big argument ensued on the reading carpet. Kyle was reading. Manny was mad. What's the problem boys? Kyle said, 'Manny is my reading partner'. Manny said, 'I asked Kyle to be my reading partner but he asked me first and I want him to be my partner not me be his partner'. WHAT?
5) Grace came and said there's a problem at the other table. Who is causing the stir? Mira! She's being mean to me. Mira turns around and looks at me with a very nervous, yet impish grin. I just looked at her and she said, 'ok, I'll be good'.

Back to boring

This post won't be as exciting as Lisi's last week. But hopefully, we don't have that much 'excitement' for awhile! A great past weekend. Friday, pizza and good times at friends. Saturday, friends came to see us. Sunday, was best of all as it was a special in IL and then time after with loved ones. The camera accidentally stayed home so no pictures to share!

Now back to reality. I'm off to kindergarten in less than an hour. There possibly will be a posting with another conversation, observation, or incident that has to do with unruly children. Stay tuned...

"The Bus" - part II

She said 'here comes the bus!'. I know what that means. That big, yellow, loud thing is going to roar around the corner and three of my favorite people in the world are going to come down those steps. The big lady that yells at me and loves me didn't put on my green leash, so I just raced down to the corner as fast as my puppy legs could take me. The bus stopped! The door opened. WIDE! Big enough for a puppy! The bus was full of loud, crazy kids that sounded like they wanted to play with me! A very fun golden retriever puppy!!! And so I did what every other little puppy would do. I ran onto the bus! Joy of joys! I finally made it! Kids! Noise! Crumbs! Oh no... the big lady is yelling my name. LISI! LISI! So I did the safest thing possible. I crawled under the bus driver's seat. That way he'd protect me from that big lady that yells at me and loves me. I got waaaaay under, but unfortunately for me my tail was sticking out and so she (can you believe this?) pulled me out by my tail! Ouch. Then she grabbed me by the scruff of my neck (like my dog mom used to do) and hauled me off the bus. Rats. It was fun while it lasted. And you can just bet I'll try to do it again the first chance I get!!!


(From the big lady that yells and loves) This follows up an experience with Lincoln at approximately the very same age. Only that time we had no kids on the school bus and I happened to be completely unclothed when I saw him get on the bus... so at least this time I was better prepared!

Grandma

I wonder what this guy would think if I leaned over and punched him in the nose? That thought came to me around noon today. Trevor has been needing to get his glasses adjusted very badly, so I told him I'd pack a lunch and take him at his lunchtime to get them adjusted. We walked into the eyeglass store and a very good looking young man about 25 was there with a big smile. He makes small talk with Trevor about baseball, school, etc. as he's adjusting his glasses. Then he wanted to look behind his ears to see if they wrapped around sufficiently. He says, 'look that way towards the wall', and Trevor looks to the right. Then he says, 'look over towards mom or is it grandma?' and right then and there I about clocked him.

This is on the heels of another 'incident' at Kohl's a year ago that had to do with senior citizens discount. I realize my birthday is coming up, but really!!!

L'Oreal anyone???

Nice weekend

Enjoyed a great spring weekend! Friday night Malory came to spend the night and Trevor went there. It really works out nice for the kids to do the switcheroo. Sat. we had a nice dinner at the P's and a good visit. And yesterday, was a family day to celebrate Rayna and the other two too! We took a long bike ride and a picnic in the woods. I'll post a few pictures since the camera is sitting right here. And C... I know this posting is as exciting as 'watching paint dry'. Sorry for that! Maybe next time...

Eight years ago today...

Was sheer joy. Rayna Lin Debelak was placed into our arms in China. I'll post a couple pictures so you can see our little peanut that has blossomed into a lovely young lady. We are so fortunate for the privilege of being parents to such a precious daughter. We love you Rayna!

Sounds

Just outside with Lisi for the last walk of the night and I heard something that gave me pause. Something I love to hear. And then I thought of three things I love to hear and three things I don't like to hear. Here goes:

Pleasant - frogs croaking in the pond, a perfect blend of a cappella voices singing hymns, and the giggles of our three kids

Not so pleasant (for me anyway) - wind chimes (of any kind), Harley Davidsons (I know... I live in Milwaukee area - home of the HD), and too loud of music in a car next to mine

There are lots more of good and bad sounds, but those just popped into mind immediately. And yours????

Avoiding the cleaning

I'll post some pictures as a diversion. My goal is to hit the house top to bottom today. So far the kitchen is done...!

Some pictures:

* Kids playing 'puppy'. Lisi was very confused when she couldn't fit in the crate.

* Rayna at her classroom "Poetry Cafe". The kids read their poems and then we ate doughnuts. How great is that?

Alarm Clock

by Rayna Lin Debelak
Alarm clock, alarm clock,
Too loud, too loud,
You make me jump and shriek,
You make me wake up too early,
I push my covers off,
And pull my clothes on,
And go back to bed.
Yikes! It's school time!
Oops! I missed the bus.
Next time I will remember...
to get dressed and go turn off
the alarm clock and eat and go.

(I find the poem interesting in that she has an alarm clock she never uses...!)

* Ella went too since I had her a bit yesterday. Now she's one spunky monkey!

* Lisi growth update for you dog people out there.

And... it was nice to have a visitor stop by yesterday. You know who you are and we appreciate all you have done. I'll leave it at that.

And it is spring... glorious spring!

Car chatter

Coming home from the Y tonight... (Trevor and Mira talking)

A long time ago you were alone without us right mom? Did you miss us? Oh! I know who you missed the most. Who? Mira! Why? Because she's the funniest one. Mom? Did you know what we were doing before we came? No. We were up with God peeking down at you seeing if you were good or bad. You can't be in heaven unless you're dead. Well we were there waiting for God to send us down. We were peeking through the clouds. There is a really bad place you go to if you aren't good. Mom? Can we say the word? Sure. Does it start with 'D'? No, that's Devil. You're thinking of a word that rhymes with 'well'. Oh yeah now I know. But it never ends, right? Right. Just be good, right? Right!

I think I got it almost verbatim.

Uncle Sam...

Got his piece of our pie. Duane crawled into bed at 2:35 this morning. Whew for another year!

Great weekend

Enjoyed our very cold (and almost snowy) weekend! Friday night, the kids and Duane went to their elem. school's carnival. It cost almost nothing and they came home with bags of little (cheap junk from China) trinkets that I'll be either vacuuming up or throwing away in a few weeks after the lustre has worn off of them. I enjoyed my 'date' with the newspaper and took Lisi for yet another walk. Sat. my folks came in and treated us to lunch out at Noodles and the IMAX. Saw the Grand Canyon. I rafted it in '87 (ok, now that just made me look reeeeaallly old) with my brother, his girlfriend at the time (who now happens to be a favorite sister-in-law), her twin brother, parents, and a host of other friends. Anyway, it was neat to ride down memory lane. Then today we had a wonderful helpful morning and then after a little nap and walk, spaghetti at Duane's folks. So a very nice time again. Gma D. leaves for a 15 day trip to Europe this week. We hope they come home safely!

Now back to getting tax stuff lined up so Duane can cram and do them tomorrow night! It is tradition at our home to do it that way. Don't ask me why...!

Happy Birthday to Lana B!

Happy Birthday to a friend that moved far away. Thanks for all you mean to me.

Normal programming from the Editor

Whooeee! If any of you know my husband, you would hardly believe that he'd actually put a posting on a blog! In fact, he did it after I went to bed last night and you can't imagine my shock and big eyes as I read what he wrote! He was really chuckling this morning over it and my utter disbelief that he actually did that. Quite honestly, I thought it was a 'note from the blogspot chairman' whomever that is... or thought someone hacked into our account.

Anyhoo... I've been "Judy" today. It took me three+ hours and I still have to do the kitchen floor. But the house is CLEAN! A great feeling. And I saved some buckeroos too.

Pouring rain again. They say maybe 2". Can we say... mud?

And today Trevor reminded me that it would have been Lincoln's golden birthday (10 on the 10th). Lisi has filled a gap that he left, but it still isn't the same. I miss the old guy a lot some days. Especially when I call Lisi to 'front' (coming from a far distance and sitting down right before you no matter what you are doing) and she looks over at me like, 'why are you yelling mysterious words to me like that?'. I have lots of training with her yet. The kids wanted a supper theme to go with dogs tonight. I suggested having a bowl of dog biscuits and they all giggled.

Now back to the soap suds...

MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIRMAN

And now a message from the Chairman of the Board of the Debelak Diaries.

Apparently, in the recent past, an event intended to be kept confidential was publicly disclosed within the Debelak Diaries. Duane (that would be me) prefers to operate in a low-profile environment and not have dirty laundry broadcast on the world wide web.

In an effort to maintain good relations with the Reporter, Critic, Editor, Cartoonist, and Publisher of the Debelak Diaries(that would be Linda), I will not request removal of the original post. However, I believe readers of the blog will potentially benefit from a more detailed and accurate summation of the event.

At about 11:45 a.m., I was proceeding westbound in the left lane of I-94 from the Marquette Interchange. While typically alert for various freeway hazards, I may have been lost in house design thought. At the Miller Park interchange, I glanced in the rear view mirror and noticed a fully marked Milwaukee County Sheriff's Department Chevy Tahoe closing at high speed with take down lights operational.

I quickly signaled and moved into the center lane. Unfortunately, he followed suit. I then signaled again, moved into the right lane, and then moved far over in the right emergency lane. As he came to a stop behind me, I could see him calling in my plate (or calling in for back-up support). I used this valuable time to roll down my window and ready my license.

In short order, a very large crew cut Deputy stepped out of his vehicle and purposefully approached me.

At my window, he bellowed:

DO YOU KNOW HOW FAST YOU WERE GOING???!!!

No Sir.

YOU WERE GOING 70 IN A 50 MILE ZONE!!!!!!

ooohhh Noooo....

At this point, he grabbed my license and marched back to his vehicle.

Fearing the worst, I started formulating feeble plans to minimize the damage.

Within two minutes, he stomped back, returned my license, and declared:

IF YOU KEEP DRIVING LIKE THIS YOU WILL RUIN YOUR GOOD RECORD!!!!!!

Yes Sir.

**** Note that the warning was verbal, not written ****

While driving away at slow speed, I called Linda to inform her (I assumed it was just her) of my good fortune.

In a blatant attempt to increase web hits, she published this information and exposed me to embarrassment and ridicule. Additionally, this may violate my unwritten and unspoken rules regarding confidentiality.

While seemingly innocuous, this could establish a dangerous precedent. As I am a very infrequent reader of this blog, I kindly ask my supporters (if any) in the blog readership to discreetly alert me if I am not discussed in anything but the most favorable terms.

I would like to thank the Editor for allowing me to clarify the recent event and share my overall concerns.

We will now return to normal programming.

Flashing lights (revisited)

He yells into the phone, 'we're even! we're even!'. Uh... how? Why? What are you saying? 'We're even! he yells again. Think about it!' (I hate things like that especially coming from Duane as he's a pretty smart guy and it makes me appear really loopy.) Hmmm. OH!!! You got picked up? 'Yes! A great big shaved-head Milwaukee County Sheriff picked me up. I didn't realize how fast I was going and he said it was 70 in a 50 right by Miller Park. He walked back from his car 45 seconds later and yelled,'if you keep driving like that, you're going to ruin your good record. So, SLOW DOWN!' And then he threw his warning on Duane's lap and marched back to his car.

I look at this like a $218 savings! (usually $109 per ticket these days).

So happy day for us. And hopefully, we keep our records clean.

Confetti!

You know that stuff the movers use to pack fragile items? The shredded newspaper... well we have someone here that could work for North American Van Lines. In the last two days I've had the front 1/3 of the garage nearly knee-deep in ripped papers. Fun! Exciting! I'm not bored anymore. After I left Lisi out for 10 minutes this morning while I was urging the kids to get through the morning rush before school, I realized, 'oh no, I left the newspaper box down at her level'. And so I tore outside and there she was looking very guilty. Unfortunately, I started cleaning up before I realized I should take a picture of the bedlam.

But! I learned something. I am not leaving the papers at puppy-dog-eye-level anymore!

Right now I hear her unloading the recycle bin. Lucky for me it is just milk jugs.

Sunday best

Every year since 2000 when our kids first came, I've taken the annual before-special meeting picture. Here's is 2008!

We had a great weekend and lovely day yesterday. There is nothing like sitting in a nice room surrounded by people you love hearing things that give peace. It was wonderful.

Will post pictures from Rayna's swim meet (she placed 2nd in her group) and the before meeting shots.

Now on to mopping the floor and folding some more laundry!

Couple extra pictures

Alan, Darin, and my nephew Nathan from last Sunday night.

And Lisi after her bath today!

Friday already!

This week went fast. Will post some pictures I finally came downstairs to download. Just gave Lisi her last bath in the laundry tub. She's grown so much her head hung over the edge and we had the Dog Bath Sea on the laundry room floor. Tonight we have our sp. mtg. company! And then Sunday is the big day of course. Will be great!

Rayna has her swim meet tomorrow. I hope to post her teeny self in competition!

We've been busy with trying to figure out a very workable and yet affordable house plan. Duane is really into it, so I just add input as he needs it.

Enjoy the spring weekend you all!