It's Raining, It's Pouring...and more

Oh my gosh. I wish you could hear the rain outside right now (well...for those of you living in my town, you *are* hearing the rain). Wow. It's loud. It's a lot. And it's been raining ALL day long. Seriously. All day.

There is one great thing about listening to it pour - this year, as opposed to last, I am not worried about the siding on the house. I am not concerned the the gutter is overflowing and the water is splashing up on the house as it hit the patio. For the first time in a couple years, it doesn't concern me because, as you know, we had the house resided in vinyl siding in February. So bring on the rain - wood rot isn't happening here. :)

The downside to the rain right now is the gutters need to be cleaned. The leaves, I'm sure, are causing trouble which makes the gutters overflow during downpours. We usually do the fall gutter clean when we hang Christmas lights and we haven't yet gotten to that chore though, with the rain we've had for days on end, I'm not even sure when it will happen. I know that the first dry day will be the winner but who knows when that will be - we had hoped this past Sunday but nope. It was raining then, too. :) (Now don't think we are too weird. We have to get the lights up when it's A) dry and B) Dakota is home. It's not as easy as it seems. We don't turn then on until Thanksgiving weekend though.)

I cleaned the carpets today. Boy oh boy did they need it. Truthfully, it's time they were professionally cleaned but that isn't in the budget so I pulled out the Bissell and got down to business. It's hard to know from the filthy nasty mud water I pulled out that I actually *do* clean the carpets every 6-8 weeks. Kids and dogs are so hard on carpeting. It looks (and feels) tons better now. I just love how soft the carpet is on bare feet right after it's been cleaned.

OH! And this is cute; Kaylen has decided on a nickname she would like us to call her. Squirrel. Yes, that's right - she wants us to call her squirrel because they are cute and furry and she would like to hold one. I tell you - there is nothing better than a conversation with a three year old. So now I just have to remember to call her by her beloved nickname.

And speaking of Kaylen...her sensory issues were at full tilt today but especially in regards to her car seat. It was, you guessed it, "too tight". I suggested we give her a new way of looking at things when her body is giving her signals that she isn't ok....I said "How about if we call that weird feeling she gets "feeling squirrely". She loved that idea and used it several times. It was so much nicer to hear her say that than to scream "My seat belt is too tight! You have to fix it NOW!" *sigh* I do feel for her - she has so many issues with clothes, shoes, socks, seat belts...and lately, smells. It seems as soon as we make progress in one area, something new pops us.

In the past month or two smells really get her. She has complained of bad smells for a long time but as of late, if it is something she finds particularly offensive, she pukes. Yesterday the kids were eating breakfast at the breakfast bar when Kelton, after eating his lightly garlic salted bread (don't' ask - he loves it and insists on it with scrambled eggs), got too close to Kaylen and she complained. Instead of backing off he choose to breathe right in her face. Not even 3 seconds later, there was thrown up scrambled eggs all over. She just can't help it. It's the oddest thing. I am chalking it up to yet one more sensory issue in her long, long list.

To end on a happy note though Kelton enjoyed his Read-In Day. Tomorrow is "dress like your favorite book character" day though when I tried talking with him about it he seemed less than thrilled. I think he may be "booked out" for now. Who knows what tomorrow will bring - I'm sure to be scrambling in the morning to throw something together. It would be great if there were Indiana Jones books that he was reading - we already have *that* costume. :)

And in case you are wondering....the rain is still coming down. :)