Visit by the Plutas

We had a very productive weekend which was mostly accomplished through a visit by the Plutas, a family friend from Wisconsin. Matt, Barb and their son Adam came drove down Thursday and stayed through Sunday.

I threw out the idea to them about coming down for a visit...and since Matt likes stuff to do, I put together a list of projects where I needed an extra hand or needed his expertise and equipment.

Since Leandra had to work on Friday and Saturday, Barb and Adam played a big hand in keeping an eye on Aria while Matt and I were taking care of projects. Here is what we finished (for the most part):

- Picked up and installed a new dishwasher. Delivered the old dishwasher to a salvage yard. (The old dishwasher needed $200 in repairs and we opted to spend the extra money for a new one. At least we would have a new appliance in the house if we moved.)
- Addressed a leak in the roof. We had a downpour the day after we patched it up so I'm hoping that everything is fixed.
- Fixed the recoil on a chainsaw (three times!) and cut down part of a birch tree in my front yard that was dead, as well as cut and move the logs and branches.
- Cut and installed trim in the upstairs bathroom and downstairs living room. (We ran out of trim so I am going to have to finish up a small bit later on.
- Did some yardwork, mostly weeding my garden and putting some mulch down where it was getting low.

This may not seem like a lot, but these were pretty time consuming projects. Along with some general errands that needed to be run, our time was maximized for most of the weekend.

I can't say how much I appreciate their help. By myself, I would have been gettign things done through the process of trial and error...with an emphasis on "ERROR." Throwing my daughter into the mix would have had me wokring to get these done in small bits. With Barb and Adam watching over Aria, Matt and I were able to plow through each of these tasks.

We did make sure to have some fun over the weekend. On Saturday night, we drove out to Bosse Field out to watch an Evansville Otters baseball game. While Leandra and I have been to a couple of games over the years, it was the first for the Plutas...and Aria. Luckily for us, they won.

Juggling with a Baby

It's been awhile since I last posted. With a baby taking up the majority of our time, and a job search that has been less than fruitful (so far), I haven't made posting a priority. I thought I would use a couple of free minutes to share a story from this last Monday.

Before Aria was born, I had jumped on the opportunity to take on a second Group Kick class on Monday mornings in Newburgh. The class already was in place, but the current instructor was looking to drop it. Since I had the time and need the money, I jumped on it. Because of scheduling, the first class I would teach would be Monday, June 6.

Around the same time, Leandra called the Toyota dealership to get our Yaris cleaned (as part of an added package when we purchased the car). The soonest they could get our car in was the morning of Monday, June 6.

After Aria was born, we called her pediatrician to schedule her two-week check-up. As it turns out, it was scheduled for the morning on Monday, June 6.

So we have a problem:
Car cleaning: 9:00 am
Kick class: 9:00 am
Doctor appointment: 9:40 am (on the other side of town)

Being a one car family, here is how it worked out:

6:30 am: Wake-up and eat breakfast.
6:45 am: Clean out the car and take out baby seat carrier
7:10 am: Drove to Toyota to drop off the car and pick up the loaner. Leandra started to wake-up to start feeding Aria.
7:45 am: Arrive home. Install seat carrier. Mount bike rack and bike. Grab helmet, gloves, water bottles and air pump and throw int he car.
8:05 am: Leandra takes a quick shower. I change Aria's diaper.
8:20 am: Load Aria into the baby seat and put her in the car. Leandra looks for a form for the doctor that I had already grabbed and put in the car.
8:25 am: Leave for Newburgh
8:45 am: Arrive at Bob's Gym Newburgh. Unload bike and related gear.
8:50 am: Leandra takes off for doctor's appointment.
9:00 am: My class begins. No one tells me how the sound system works (every gym has a different system) and the first three tracks are muffled and "staticy." After 15 minutes, I finally get someone in the fix the issue.
9:25 am: Leandra arrives at the doctor's office.
9:40 am: Doctor's appointment
10:10 am: Class is done and I am changing into bike gear. I get a phone call from Toyota saying that our car is done. I text Leandra seeing if she wants to meet me there (it's a quicker commute for me). She agrees.
10:40 am: i arrive at Toyota. Leandra is not there and she should have beat me there easily. I call her and find out that she mis-read my message and thought i was coming home. Leandra cuts Aria's feedig short and drives down.
11:00 am: Leandra arrives at the dealership. She swaps the keys while swaps the bike rack and baby seat into our car.Leandra brought some shopping bags and we contemplated making a quick run to do some needed grocery shopping until...
11:10 am: Aria is still hungry and has a complete meltdown. I drive as fast as I legally can to get home.
11:25 am: I pull in the driveway. Leandra grabs the keys, runs inside and preps herself on the recliner in the baby's room. I grab the baby seat, bring Aria inside, take her out of the seat and deliver her to Leandra's lap. CRISIS AVERTED!

Long morning. I'm sure there are more to come.