Don't you wish you could see someone's to-do list? I do - so here's mine. Please post your own so that I can be all nosey.
Accomplished Today:
*Toddler taken for a long nature ramble, fed three meals and given a bubble bath.
*New puzzle played with.
*Friend's child babysat.
*Three boxes of books packed.
*Hydro and Telephone/Internet providers given new address and installation tech appointment set up.
*Borrowed canning equipment given back.
*Supper made for husband who works all night.
*Washed, peeled, cored and sliced 15 apples and made homemade applesauce.
*Knitted mug cozy finished for another friend's care package.
*Several loads of dishes washed, dried and put away.
*Preschool Montessori activity prepared for tomorrow and set up at the table.
*Plans made to go swimming tomorrow morning.
*Mailed an envelope of up-to-date great-grandchild pictures to my grandmother.
*Chicken defrosted for lunch tomorrow.
All I Can Think Of:
*I didn't know the electrician was coming today to fix the outlet, and I missed him.
*I skipped my 5k run.
*Samuel wore a diaper instead of underpants much of the day because of all the recent accidents.
*We're out of bread.
*My son had cheese, plums, mushrooms and a glass of milk for supper at his insistance, and I was too tired to argue.
*A glass bowl that belonged to my grandmother got broken.
*I forgot Clara's well-baby appointment and will likely have to pay a fine.
*I missed the first day of mother's Bible study class.
*The television was on way too much.
* I have no desire to deal with all of the leftover turkey in my fridge.
*Samuel wouldn't pray with me before bed, so I prayed, and it was a begrudging, sorry kind of prayer.
What Tomorrow Holds:
*We're going swimming.
*We need to visit the library and return books/take out new ones/photocopy a few pages.
*I have to get more packing boxes.
*We're having chicken curry for lunch; I need to prep that in the morning before swimming.
*I should start a grocery list.
*I have Tupperware to return to two separate people, and a book to one of them as well.
*I need to deal with the 'no bread' situation in some fashion. Make bread? Do I have time?
*The quilted placemat I'm making for a little girl needs to be done except for the binding.
*I have to call the student loans people to change my address.
*ALL of the laundry washed, dried, folded and put away.
*Sheets changed on our bed.
The Rest Of The Week:
*We need cat food and peanut butter. And dish soap and garbage bags. And probably other things. Go shopping.
*Clean the microwave and the bathroom.
*Buy wood filler for the walls and touch up the paint.
*A friend is recovering from surgury for breast cancer; Samuel and I were going to make and bring her cookies.
*Make red felt lobster claws for a friend's daughter who is dressing up as a lobster for Hallowe'en.
*Source what I need for my own children's Hallowe'en costumes.
*Finish all of the paper shredding and return the borrowed shredder.
*Organize transportation to the country church where David is preaching.
*Figure out a solution to our 'second broken camera in as many months' issue. Ohmyheavens.
*Blanch and freeze the two big containers of spinach in the fridge.
*Make broccoli soup for Sunday afternoon after church.
*Take winter bedding out of storage.
*Schedule a phone call to my sister.
*Go to the post office to get a 'mail forwarding form'.
*Renew my passport.
*Reschedule the well-baby visit.
*Fill two prescriptions.
*Pack our books. At least. Maybe also kitchen stuff I don't use frequently.
*Figure out what the ownership transfer fee is on our new car.
*Call my grandmother.
*Buy clothespins before they're taken off the shelves because it's winter.
*Are we or are we not doing something for Michaelmas this year? Yes? No? Decide.
Showing posts with label Daily Schedule. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Daily Schedule. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
Thursday, March 22, 2012
A week in badly taken pictures
 |
| Friday - David finds a Sens jersey at the Dollar Store for only $3.50 - and his lifelong dream of posing for this picture comes true. |
 |
| Saturday afternoon - Deborah and Payson's baby shower. |
 |
| Sunday morning after the service. |
 |
| My Sunday night project - a new split-pea filled heating pad. |
 |
| Monday - grocery shopping. |
 |
| Tuesday - that moment when you're hanging up laundry and ask yourself: "who am I in mourning for?" |
 |
| Wednesday - the cat re-evaluates the meaning of life. |
 |
| Thursday - Waaaaay too pregnant to contemplate trekking to the park to kick a ball. Plan B? Painting with potatoes! |
Friday, February 24, 2012
When I woke up Wednesday morning I was determined that I would get something small checked of my list of 'things to do before the baby comes'. I decided I would tackle the squeaky rocking chair and all of the creaking doors with WD40, and lo and behold it worked. Ten minutes of labour = a much more relaxed me. Why did I put that task off for so long?
This morning I felt just as productive. I remembered how wonderful the non-squeaky doors had felt to accomplish and with that in mind I tackled two more little jobs that had gotten swept under the carpet for too long. We have a very nice maple dining room set but one of the chairs had a spindle between two legs that had fallen off and needed to be re-glued. In the meantime we'd replaced that broken wooden chair with an old pink office chair. The thing was, I never got around to gluing the wooden chair. I had wood glue, I had time, I just never put the two together and chose to live with the ugly pink swivvle chair instead! This morning I spent, oh, maybe a minute and glued the spindle back on. Once that glue sets we will once again have a functional, and significantly more attractive, dining room set.
The second thing I did was fix the taps on the back of the washer. Several months ago I had had to pull out the washer to attend to a leak and when I re-attached the two hoses to the hot and cold water taps I somehow mixed them up. I realized it right away, but I just didn't fix it, figuring a few loads of hot wash wasn't going to harm anything and I would get it later in the week. Except, of course, that I didn't get it until this morning, weeks and weeks later. This means every single time I did a load of laundry in the past several weeks, I've washed and rinsed it in hot water - think of the energy I've wasted! The switching of the hoses required maybe five minutes of fiddling with a wrench and it was done.
I felt a million times more productive with those two small tasks done this morning than I have with almost anything this past week!
This morning I felt just as productive. I remembered how wonderful the non-squeaky doors had felt to accomplish and with that in mind I tackled two more little jobs that had gotten swept under the carpet for too long. We have a very nice maple dining room set but one of the chairs had a spindle between two legs that had fallen off and needed to be re-glued. In the meantime we'd replaced that broken wooden chair with an old pink office chair. The thing was, I never got around to gluing the wooden chair. I had wood glue, I had time, I just never put the two together and chose to live with the ugly pink swivvle chair instead! This morning I spent, oh, maybe a minute and glued the spindle back on. Once that glue sets we will once again have a functional, and significantly more attractive, dining room set.
The second thing I did was fix the taps on the back of the washer. Several months ago I had had to pull out the washer to attend to a leak and when I re-attached the two hoses to the hot and cold water taps I somehow mixed them up. I realized it right away, but I just didn't fix it, figuring a few loads of hot wash wasn't going to harm anything and I would get it later in the week. Except, of course, that I didn't get it until this morning, weeks and weeks later. This means every single time I did a load of laundry in the past several weeks, I've washed and rinsed it in hot water - think of the energy I've wasted! The switching of the hoses required maybe five minutes of fiddling with a wrench and it was done.
I felt a million times more productive with those two small tasks done this morning than I have with almost anything this past week!
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Beauty For Ashes
A terrible start to Lent in some ways, full of worry and all that, but a great start in so many others!
1. I didn't freak out that Samuel had tantrums before his nap, after his nap and before bed but I did stress that my wool diaper covers, which I've lanolized twice in the past week, leaked again today and also that I sincerely do not have enough diapers to cover TWO bums and have GOT to do something about that.
2. But then again, when all I could manage today was using WD40 on the squeaky rocking chair and all the creaking doors in the apartment, I felt seriously productive. But then I got to worrying about the chemicals in the air...would they hurt Sam?
3. But THEN I managed to actually get the garbage out before the truck came! Hallelujah!
4. And made the worst devilled eggs in history. Seriously, even Samuel wouldn't eat the yolks. They were gross. And I missed my friend's going away party...
5. But I made it to church for Ash Wednesday, Lord! And that 30 minutes refreshed me to no end!
Little steps, little steps, stop worrying, Amy, God has it covered.
1. I didn't freak out that Samuel had tantrums before his nap, after his nap and before bed but I did stress that my wool diaper covers, which I've lanolized twice in the past week, leaked again today and also that I sincerely do not have enough diapers to cover TWO bums and have GOT to do something about that.
2. But then again, when all I could manage today was using WD40 on the squeaky rocking chair and all the creaking doors in the apartment, I felt seriously productive. But then I got to worrying about the chemicals in the air...would they hurt Sam?
3. But THEN I managed to actually get the garbage out before the truck came! Hallelujah!
4. And made the worst devilled eggs in history. Seriously, even Samuel wouldn't eat the yolks. They were gross. And I missed my friend's going away party...
5. But I made it to church for Ash Wednesday, Lord! And that 30 minutes refreshed me to no end!
Little steps, little steps, stop worrying, Amy, God has it covered.
Thursday, January 5, 2012
The great SAHM discussion continues
Wow, so, is anyone still reading these? I mean, talk about mental diarrhea, which is a very unpleasant visual...
Yesterday at work I had an unexpected (but very nice) visit from the treasurer, who wanted to know what my plans were regarding whether I was/was not returning to my job after the baby was born. There was a lot of humming and hawing on my side, and a lot of gentle, insistent questioning on hers, which essentially boiled down to: 'you're going to have to give us something to go with here, Amy, since we need to know if we're hiring someone, if we're training a volunteer (or, more likely, several volunteers to handle what I manage in a week) if we're going to pile this on the rector or what.'
And, while this was perfectly reasonable to ask, and in fact was expected and anticipated, I still felt anxious and slightly backed into a corner for an answer. I tried, as nicely as possible, to explain that A) I was an idiot and keeping that in mind B) I don't know.
So, um...eventually we decided on a 'trial' of sorts. I would take the Summer of 2012 off, which would give me four months after the birth. During this time I would see how things went, and so would the church, and if in September we both agreed that I could handle the workload again and they still felt they needed me, I would return, albeit probably by working at home.
It was the chicken's way out, for me at least. I KNOW I want to be at home, but at least this way I have an 'out' on the off chance that I can't make it work. If I truly cannot manage without my salary, well, I can figure it out later, right?
Yesterday at work I had an unexpected (but very nice) visit from the treasurer, who wanted to know what my plans were regarding whether I was/was not returning to my job after the baby was born. There was a lot of humming and hawing on my side, and a lot of gentle, insistent questioning on hers, which essentially boiled down to: 'you're going to have to give us something to go with here, Amy, since we need to know if we're hiring someone, if we're training a volunteer (or, more likely, several volunteers to handle what I manage in a week) if we're going to pile this on the rector or what.'
And, while this was perfectly reasonable to ask, and in fact was expected and anticipated, I still felt anxious and slightly backed into a corner for an answer. I tried, as nicely as possible, to explain that A) I was an idiot and keeping that in mind B) I don't know.
So, um...eventually we decided on a 'trial' of sorts. I would take the Summer of 2012 off, which would give me four months after the birth. During this time I would see how things went, and so would the church, and if in September we both agreed that I could handle the workload again and they still felt they needed me, I would return, albeit probably by working at home.
It was the chicken's way out, for me at least. I KNOW I want to be at home, but at least this way I have an 'out' on the off chance that I can't make it work. If I truly cannot manage without my salary, well, I can figure it out later, right?
Friday, August 19, 2011
I happened to be in the Dollar Store today and the part of my brain that makes logical decisions was temporarily shut down due to maintenance issues, so I picked up a box of felt tip markers and thought "You know, these would be great for my 16 month old to colour with." And I bought them.
I also bought some yarn at the Salvation Army Thrift Store that I'm excited to share! Meet a new pair of baby booties:
And a baby jacket:
I also bought some yarn at the Salvation Army Thrift Store that I'm excited to share! Meet a new pair of baby booties:
Monday, June 6, 2011
What does a housewife do all day? - June 6th Edition
5:30 ish - I'm awake, but barely. It seems as though someone small is screaming something at me. What is he saying? WHAT? Oh, milk. Right. I go back to sleep.
6:00 ish - The small screaming person has been replaced by a boy jumping up and down on the bed. David, bless him to the bottom of his selfless heart, gets up and drags the boy into the livingroom and away from Mama, who is holding on to the thought that if she could just get ONE MORE HOUR...
7:00 - There's a monologue coming from the livingroom that sounds as though Samuel is systematically tearing apart my house while being poked repeatedly by a sharp object. David is not handling this well. I finally call for the boy and he comes in to lie across my head and nurse.
7:15 - David tells me the bad news. He has a doctor's appointment in the city, an hour away, and he is not bringing this tired and grumpy child with him. This is very bad news.
7:16 - Adding to the bad news, I remember that the church photocopier broke last week and I called a repairman to come fix it today, forgetting that I was scheduled to work a shift at the cafe today. And am apparently parenting as well. And I don't have a car. How is this going to work?
7:17 - "Bring me my planner and the phone" I croak (lovingly, of course) to my husband, who has morphed from the selfless head of an adoring household to a villan intent on saddling me with a hysterical toddler who is breaking in molars before my very eyes.
7:18 - I start by calling the cafe owner to see if I could come in later, once David gets home from the appt. No answer. I try the other cafe worker to see if she could cover my shift for an hour. No answer. I panic. I run through the list of people who have keys to the church who could go in and meet the repairman for me this afternoon and end up calling one of the pastors who agrees to go from 1:30-3:30 to work on a sermon there, but then has to leave.
7:40 - 8:00 I start calling friends who may be able to watch Samuel for an hour during the overlap between when I have to work at the cafe and when David gets home from his appt. C. is a 'no'. M. is a 'no'. I'm starting to worry. A. is a 'no'. I'm running out of ideas. David puts the boy down for a nap.
8:00 - David leaves for his appointment.
8:10 - My father calls to talk to me about something completely unrelated to my current crisis and I unload the problem on him.."You'll figure it out." he says. I'm not sure, I've been awake for over an hour and I haven't left my computer or my phone yet.
8:45 - I realize I've been calling the cafe owner on his work line, not his cell phone, and he's not at work till 10am, which doesn't help me. I can't find the cell # anywhere.
8:50 - I finally get a hold of the other employee and SHE has the cell #. I call the owner and explain that I cannot make it to work on time.
9:00 - I collapse, exhausted. I need a coffee or something.
9:15 - I get a hold of David on his friend's cell phone just as he's walking in to his appt. to let him know the situation. Then I get ready for the day.
9:16 - Wait, has the baby eaten yet?
9:17 - I try to think back over the past few hours...foggily in the background of the 7:00 sudden wake-up I remember something about 'half a banana'. Did David say that all Samuel ate for breakfast was half a banana? This is no good. He's going to wake up soon and be ravenous.
9:18 - My fridge has no groceries in it. I was supposed to go grocery shopping tonight. I have to bring Samuel to his music class - he can't eat peanut butter before the music class, and peanut butter is my 'you're ravenous and grocery shopping isn't till tonight fall back food".
9:20 - I throw together a make-shift meal we can bring with us that consists of tomato slices, carrot sticks, bread and butter and a can of beans. And I make a cup of tea.
9:30 - My friend A. calls. We missed each other last night and need to catch up, and this may be the only time today so I talk while I try and make a dent in my pile of dishes.
10:00 - Samuel wakes up in a terrible mood. I'm trying to get us ready for music class, which we're now very late for. I take off his diaper to change him and he pees on the carpet. So I take him to the bathroom, where he pees again. Then, off the toilet, he pees on the carpet again. While I'm trying to hustle him back into the bathroom he pees on the floor. I'm frantically trying to get my son, aka, The Sprinkler, onto some sort of pee-holding recepticle. He runs into the hall and pees. I grab him, grab a diaper, and bring him to the bedroom where I discovered...he just pooped all over me. Back to the bathroom, washed, back to the bedroom, dried and diapered. Change my clothes, dress him, pack the diaper bag.
10:30 - David walks in. He got out of the appt early. Mid-stream change of plans since Samuel is now crying to eat. I microwave the beans and get a plate together. Music class plans are scrapped.
11:15 - I take some time to eat as well, give David the run-down on Supper plans, etc., grab my purse and go to work.
11:30 - Work, technically 30 minutes late but also 30 minutes before my boss expected me after this morning's phone call!
11:30-2:00 - Managed the store for two and a half hours. Church calls at 1:30 to ask me what the password is for the wireless connection. I do not know this information. I look less than bright. Many phone calls and random guesses later the minister is frustrated with me and I'm frustrated in general. Still no one is online at church.
2:00 - I get off work an hour early and race home. Samuel and David are out, and all of my laundry, carefully hung on the line, has been SOAKED by the rain.
2:15 - The boys get home from returning library books and getting the mail just as I'm heading off to the church to handle the wireless crisis and, hopefully, not have missed the photocopier repairman.
2:55 - I make it to the church just in time to catch the repairman. After he's gone I head to the computer store to pick up the tower for the church (the hard drive, apparently, went kaput. The technical term for it.)
4:45 - Home again. Make supper. A fast one, the turkey broccoli casserole I save for extreme situations: (A defrosted bag of pre-cooked, cubed turkey. Spread it in a casserole dish. Cover with washed broccoli florets. Stir together 1 can cream of broccoli soup and a can of milk and pour over top. Sprinkle parmesan cheese. Bake) Then a bit of family time in the livingroom.
5:45 - We try and take a minute in our busy days to pray together as a family, and grace before meals offers us that opportunity. Then we sit down to a meal together.
6:15 - Samuel and I take a little walk to the local ice cream parlour and have a scoop of vanilla after dinner.
7:00 - Home again, pop the baby into the bath while David puts away the leftovers from supper.
7:15 - Samuel is into bed for the night. I consider and then reject the idea of washing the dishes, hanging some more laundry and having a bath myself. I settle on having a cup of tea while David lies in bed to pray with Samuel until he falls asleep.
8:00 - David is asleep. Samuel is asleep. I'm still awake...but not for long
6:00 ish - The small screaming person has been replaced by a boy jumping up and down on the bed. David, bless him to the bottom of his selfless heart, gets up and drags the boy into the livingroom and away from Mama, who is holding on to the thought that if she could just get ONE MORE HOUR...
7:00 - There's a monologue coming from the livingroom that sounds as though Samuel is systematically tearing apart my house while being poked repeatedly by a sharp object. David is not handling this well. I finally call for the boy and he comes in to lie across my head and nurse.
7:15 - David tells me the bad news. He has a doctor's appointment in the city, an hour away, and he is not bringing this tired and grumpy child with him. This is very bad news.
7:16 - Adding to the bad news, I remember that the church photocopier broke last week and I called a repairman to come fix it today, forgetting that I was scheduled to work a shift at the cafe today. And am apparently parenting as well. And I don't have a car. How is this going to work?
7:17 - "Bring me my planner and the phone" I croak (lovingly, of course) to my husband, who has morphed from the selfless head of an adoring household to a villan intent on saddling me with a hysterical toddler who is breaking in molars before my very eyes.
7:18 - I start by calling the cafe owner to see if I could come in later, once David gets home from the appt. No answer. I try the other cafe worker to see if she could cover my shift for an hour. No answer. I panic. I run through the list of people who have keys to the church who could go in and meet the repairman for me this afternoon and end up calling one of the pastors who agrees to go from 1:30-3:30 to work on a sermon there, but then has to leave.
7:40 - 8:00 I start calling friends who may be able to watch Samuel for an hour during the overlap between when I have to work at the cafe and when David gets home from his appt. C. is a 'no'. M. is a 'no'. I'm starting to worry. A. is a 'no'. I'm running out of ideas. David puts the boy down for a nap.
8:00 - David leaves for his appointment.
8:10 - My father calls to talk to me about something completely unrelated to my current crisis and I unload the problem on him.."You'll figure it out." he says. I'm not sure, I've been awake for over an hour and I haven't left my computer or my phone yet.
8:45 - I realize I've been calling the cafe owner on his work line, not his cell phone, and he's not at work till 10am, which doesn't help me. I can't find the cell # anywhere.
8:50 - I finally get a hold of the other employee and SHE has the cell #. I call the owner and explain that I cannot make it to work on time.
9:00 - I collapse, exhausted. I need a coffee or something.
9:15 - I get a hold of David on his friend's cell phone just as he's walking in to his appt. to let him know the situation. Then I get ready for the day.
9:16 - Wait, has the baby eaten yet?
9:17 - I try to think back over the past few hours...foggily in the background of the 7:00 sudden wake-up I remember something about 'half a banana'. Did David say that all Samuel ate for breakfast was half a banana? This is no good. He's going to wake up soon and be ravenous.
9:18 - My fridge has no groceries in it. I was supposed to go grocery shopping tonight. I have to bring Samuel to his music class - he can't eat peanut butter before the music class, and peanut butter is my 'you're ravenous and grocery shopping isn't till tonight fall back food".
9:20 - I throw together a make-shift meal we can bring with us that consists of tomato slices, carrot sticks, bread and butter and a can of beans. And I make a cup of tea.
9:30 - My friend A. calls. We missed each other last night and need to catch up, and this may be the only time today so I talk while I try and make a dent in my pile of dishes.
10:00 - Samuel wakes up in a terrible mood. I'm trying to get us ready for music class, which we're now very late for. I take off his diaper to change him and he pees on the carpet. So I take him to the bathroom, where he pees again. Then, off the toilet, he pees on the carpet again. While I'm trying to hustle him back into the bathroom he pees on the floor. I'm frantically trying to get my son, aka, The Sprinkler, onto some sort of pee-holding recepticle. He runs into the hall and pees. I grab him, grab a diaper, and bring him to the bedroom where I discovered...he just pooped all over me. Back to the bathroom, washed, back to the bedroom, dried and diapered. Change my clothes, dress him, pack the diaper bag.
10:30 - David walks in. He got out of the appt early. Mid-stream change of plans since Samuel is now crying to eat. I microwave the beans and get a plate together. Music class plans are scrapped.
11:15 - I take some time to eat as well, give David the run-down on Supper plans, etc., grab my purse and go to work.
11:30 - Work, technically 30 minutes late but also 30 minutes before my boss expected me after this morning's phone call!
11:30-2:00 - Managed the store for two and a half hours. Church calls at 1:30 to ask me what the password is for the wireless connection. I do not know this information. I look less than bright. Many phone calls and random guesses later the minister is frustrated with me and I'm frustrated in general. Still no one is online at church.
2:00 - I get off work an hour early and race home. Samuel and David are out, and all of my laundry, carefully hung on the line, has been SOAKED by the rain.
2:15 - The boys get home from returning library books and getting the mail just as I'm heading off to the church to handle the wireless crisis and, hopefully, not have missed the photocopier repairman.
2:55 - I make it to the church just in time to catch the repairman. After he's gone I head to the computer store to pick up the tower for the church (the hard drive, apparently, went kaput. The technical term for it.)
4:45 - Home again. Make supper. A fast one, the turkey broccoli casserole I save for extreme situations: (A defrosted bag of pre-cooked, cubed turkey. Spread it in a casserole dish. Cover with washed broccoli florets. Stir together 1 can cream of broccoli soup and a can of milk and pour over top. Sprinkle parmesan cheese. Bake) Then a bit of family time in the livingroom.
5:45 - We try and take a minute in our busy days to pray together as a family, and grace before meals offers us that opportunity. Then we sit down to a meal together.
6:15 - Samuel and I take a little walk to the local ice cream parlour and have a scoop of vanilla after dinner.
7:00 - Home again, pop the baby into the bath while David puts away the leftovers from supper.
7:15 - Samuel is into bed for the night. I consider and then reject the idea of washing the dishes, hanging some more laundry and having a bath myself. I settle on having a cup of tea while David lies in bed to pray with Samuel until he falls asleep.
8:00 - David is asleep. Samuel is asleep. I'm still awake...but not for long
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Saturdays Around My House #3
What I did on Saturday
an essay by Amy E.
We woke up and went to the graduation service of a friend of ours who has successfully completed his BA in Religion and is in the midst of the pastoral search that David and I will be doing by this time next year. A sobering thought. The service was long, but we ran into an old friend on the way out and agreed to have lunch later in the week and catch up on how school is going for him and what his plans are for the Summer. Then we went down to Canadian Tire to look at Tupperware storage bins, which I am amasing a collection of as I try and get the storage room into order. Said storage bins were on 'sale' at $10 apiece, which is ridiculous, and so we went to the grocery store and bought some bread and cheese. Samuel let me know in no uncertain terms that he needed food STAT by eating through the plastic wrap on the cheese before I could stop him and swallowing a giant piece, plastic and all. Bad mother. Quite a bit of cheese and a piece of bread later he was ready to keep going and we headed over to the thrift store because I'm always on the look out for half a dozen items - usually quilts and bags of yarn, but the Superstore in the area also donates all of their sale items to the thrift store and you get brand new clothes for very very little. I buy a lot of Samuel's clothing that way. And someone in town owns a lot of OshKosh boy's stuff because Samuel has several pairs of overalls and shirts at about a dollar each. And OshKosh never seems to wear out. Then we started home, stopping once to nurse and once for Mama to get a hamburger and buy Daddy lunch, and then stopping in at the soap store to price their castille soap and again at the natural health food store to buy a little bag of whole wheat flour and something else I'll blog about later. My flour, a lovely big bag of it that I bought a few months ago had WEAVILS in it, which just bothered me to no end. I threw it all out, but really...weavils? Didn't they sort of die out with petticoats and irons you heated on the stove? I think Little House on the Prairie mentions weavils. And we kept staggering onward and gave Daddy his cold hamburger lunch and then made it home, four and a half hours after we had left. Samuel went down for a nap and I helped a friend write his sermon for tomorrow and had a cup of tea. Then Samuel was up again and we went to get Daddy from work and take a walk town to the next village, as their United Church was having an all-you-can-eat roast beef dinner. My gentlemen told me it was my Mother's Day meal out, which I was very happy with, and was even happier with my card and a very pretty necklace they had picked out together. We all ate too much, even Samuel, and then walked home, stopping in at the garden centre to look at their herbs. I had a bath with the lovely new bath salts my mother sent me, and then put the boy down to sleep and sat with David while we watched a Frank Peretti short film: "Answers For Atheists". And now I am off to bed. What a nice, and exhausting, day before mother's day.
Thursday, May 5, 2011
May 3rd
On the way into work on Tuesday I saw this one, perfect red tulip.
On the other hand sometimes you get a little bee thrown into the mix.
And that makes the funny looks all worth while!
Monday, May 2, 2011
Where's the 'Spring' in MY step?
Sheesh. I tell ya today has been turning out to be a day I would classify as a solid D- (because I don't like to think of a day as 'failing' unless, you know, I accidentally killed the cat or something.) and I can't wait to go back to bed tonight and just close my eyes on it.
I woke up in a undefined panic and cold sweat at 5am. With a start. And I couldn't get back to sleep so instead of lying in bed worrying about everything I could think of I got up and did two loads of dishes, made a pot of tea and ate some oatmeal. My kitchen looking marginally less disastrous I made a mental note to ask David to take out the garbage if he accomplished nothing else all day FOR THE LOVE OF PETE TAKE OUT THE BLESSED GARBAGE. And then I watched Anthony Bourdain make a fool of himself for 30 minutes before heading back to bed at 6:30. I was freezing and I couldn't figure out why but I blamed the livingroom window, which had been left open a crack. After an hour back in bed I was still cold, and now I was grumpy and overly tired, too. Which was no excuse to tell David to 'take care of your son and LET ME SLEEP', I'll admit, but I was so tired. So when Samuel crawled into bed with me and his little hands and feet were like ice I started wondering what had happened to the heat in this house. And then David cavalierly announced that he closed the bedroom window, which had been left open, all night long, leaking hot air out to the backyard and freezing my poor little boy who is sick and doesn't sleep with blankets. Grrr.
And I fell into a restless sleep and dreamed bad dreams until David woke me 45 minutes before I had to be at work and I ran around like crazy throwing things into the slow cooker to make lunch and showering and trying to find clean socks. Today is the federal election, so I knew I had to find my voter card, but it wasn't anywhere to be found. Neither was my passport or ANY VALID ID at all, and although that was no reason to throw a cardboard box onto the floor in a fit of exhausted rage, I stand by my principle that things are easier to find in a hurry if you PUT THEM AWAY. And I was not in charge of putting away passports after the trip last week. Ahem.
And with various articles of clothing sort of on and my purse in hand I hurried out the door and to work at the cafe for three hours, during which a whole bunch of boring and stressful stuff happened. Then I got to go grocery shopping and come home and put everything away and make food for everyone and supper for David. And separate and freeze the meat and eat something and every time I walked into another room it presented me with another opportunity to clean. I go into the bathroom to get the cleaner for the kitchen and the cat has peed all over the floor, for example. And 50% of the seeds I started for my garden this year have spontaneously died. And there are no clean clothes in my house except for a bathrobe. And someone told me I was wearing 'mom jeans' and David's vacation pay never arrived in the bank and I have gone to the grocery store twice in the last week and forgotten baking powder every time.
ARRRGGGGHHH. Pull the covers over my head and go back to bed! But first go vote. Grr.
I woke up in a undefined panic and cold sweat at 5am. With a start. And I couldn't get back to sleep so instead of lying in bed worrying about everything I could think of I got up and did two loads of dishes, made a pot of tea and ate some oatmeal. My kitchen looking marginally less disastrous I made a mental note to ask David to take out the garbage if he accomplished nothing else all day FOR THE LOVE OF PETE TAKE OUT THE BLESSED GARBAGE. And then I watched Anthony Bourdain make a fool of himself for 30 minutes before heading back to bed at 6:30. I was freezing and I couldn't figure out why but I blamed the livingroom window, which had been left open a crack. After an hour back in bed I was still cold, and now I was grumpy and overly tired, too. Which was no excuse to tell David to 'take care of your son and LET ME SLEEP', I'll admit, but I was so tired. So when Samuel crawled into bed with me and his little hands and feet were like ice I started wondering what had happened to the heat in this house. And then David cavalierly announced that he closed the bedroom window, which had been left open, all night long, leaking hot air out to the backyard and freezing my poor little boy who is sick and doesn't sleep with blankets. Grrr.
And I fell into a restless sleep and dreamed bad dreams until David woke me 45 minutes before I had to be at work and I ran around like crazy throwing things into the slow cooker to make lunch and showering and trying to find clean socks. Today is the federal election, so I knew I had to find my voter card, but it wasn't anywhere to be found. Neither was my passport or ANY VALID ID at all, and although that was no reason to throw a cardboard box onto the floor in a fit of exhausted rage, I stand by my principle that things are easier to find in a hurry if you PUT THEM AWAY. And I was not in charge of putting away passports after the trip last week. Ahem.
And with various articles of clothing sort of on and my purse in hand I hurried out the door and to work at the cafe for three hours, during which a whole bunch of boring and stressful stuff happened. Then I got to go grocery shopping and come home and put everything away and make food for everyone and supper for David. And separate and freeze the meat and eat something and every time I walked into another room it presented me with another opportunity to clean. I go into the bathroom to get the cleaner for the kitchen and the cat has peed all over the floor, for example. And 50% of the seeds I started for my garden this year have spontaneously died. And there are no clean clothes in my house except for a bathrobe. And someone told me I was wearing 'mom jeans' and David's vacation pay never arrived in the bank and I have gone to the grocery store twice in the last week and forgotten baking powder every time.
ARRRGGGGHHH. Pull the covers over my head and go back to bed! But first go vote. Grr.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
April 28th
Today I broke out my bike and rode to work instead of walking. My bottom is, um, not as fit as it used to be. I blame the child. On the other hand it only took about 20 minutes to get to work and that significantly lessens the stress on my sore feet and the time crunch in my agenda so all in all, I'm happy I still have the bike and took the time to WD40 it up this morning.
And after six and a half hours at the church trying desperately to catch up with having taken a week off I came home and walked to the grocery store, where, I'm thrilled to tell you that my bill was $43.12 but I saved SIX DOLLARS using coupons and only paid $37.12. I'm incredibly thrilled by this! I've never been a big coupon person but recently I've been ordering them online and then snipping them out when they arrive and heading off to the store. When something is on sale it really makes a difference; I mean I saved (between the coupon and the store sale) three dollars off my laundry detergent today. Gosh, I'm a nerd.
And then we came home and made supper and brought it to Daddy, Samuel and I. Pasta with tomatoes and mushrooms and some chocolate chip cookies and fresh blackberries. Samuel ate and ate till I thought he would burst. And after supper David went back to work and Samuel and I went to check out Cinema Politica, a little film club that meets in town and screens free films, complete with free popcorn! Tonight's selection was Finding Farley, which wasn't bad but skipped around a bit. Mind you it only lasted about an hour, but it just seemed as though they cut a lot out that should have been there.
We got home, through the beginnings of a good East coast storm, and Samuel fell asleep.
And that was my day.
And after six and a half hours at the church trying desperately to catch up with having taken a week off I came home and walked to the grocery store, where, I'm thrilled to tell you that my bill was $43.12 but I saved SIX DOLLARS using coupons and only paid $37.12. I'm incredibly thrilled by this! I've never been a big coupon person but recently I've been ordering them online and then snipping them out when they arrive and heading off to the store. When something is on sale it really makes a difference; I mean I saved (between the coupon and the store sale) three dollars off my laundry detergent today. Gosh, I'm a nerd.
And then we came home and made supper and brought it to Daddy, Samuel and I. Pasta with tomatoes and mushrooms and some chocolate chip cookies and fresh blackberries. Samuel ate and ate till I thought he would burst. And after supper David went back to work and Samuel and I went to check out Cinema Politica, a little film club that meets in town and screens free films, complete with free popcorn! Tonight's selection was Finding Farley, which wasn't bad but skipped around a bit. Mind you it only lasted about an hour, but it just seemed as though they cut a lot out that should have been there.
We got home, through the beginnings of a good East coast storm, and Samuel fell asleep.
And that was my day.
Monday, April 25, 2011
Prepare to be bored-ed.
The trip is 22 hours long and we leave in, oh, about 4 hours. I have at least one huge load of laundry to do, a bed to strip, a bath to be had, lunch to be made, bags to be packed, shoes to be cleaned and stored away from clothes, carry-on luggage to be separated from checked luggage and all that that entails (does the baby need an abacus in the next 22 hours? How about pajamas? What is our food plan?) and, of course, everyone to bid farewell.
Naturally, because I am excellent at procrastinating and general disorderliness I am squeezing in a last blog post and debating whether or not to have a second cup of tea. Plus there is leftover spinach dip and tandoori chicken pizza in the fridge and I'm thinking about a raid. It will have to be covert because if that little baby sees Mama eating he'll want it too.
That little baby who woke up this morning with a temperature and green mucus pouring out of him! Hurrah! A nice Spring cold to herald us home to New Brunswick!
Naturally, because I am excellent at procrastinating and general disorderliness I am squeezing in a last blog post and debating whether or not to have a second cup of tea. Plus there is leftover spinach dip and tandoori chicken pizza in the fridge and I'm thinking about a raid. It will have to be covert because if that little baby sees Mama eating he'll want it too.
That little baby who woke up this morning with a temperature and green mucus pouring out of him! Hurrah! A nice Spring cold to herald us home to New Brunswick!
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Our train leaves tomorrow at 2:30pm and, after some consideration, I'll be glad to board it. After all, you can't go home, no matter how much you may try to. Neither David or I can believe it's been a week already. We arrived on Monday and I feel as though we never stopped for a moment.
Monday - plane lands and we get in the house around 9:30pm so exhausted we all fall asleep partially clothed.
Tuesday - Spend the morning with my friend Amanda and our babies battling the Ottawa bus system and trying to figure out how to use my loaner cell phone. Buy some diapers, do some much needed shopping and home by 2:30 in time to re-pack the diaper bag and head out shopping with my mother. Back for dinner. Call my grandmother, Nan, to plane a time to see her. Fall into bed exhausted.
Wednesday - Spend 4.5 hours with Nan visiting and having lunch. Book time with our friends the Hannas to see them for dinner the next night. Out for supper with Amanda and for a quick visit at a few shops on the way home.
Thursday - Head to the other side of town to see my sister for a few hours and wander the Bayshore Mall. Buy a few thank you gifts. Dinner with the Hannas.
Friday - Out of the house early to spend the day with David's family, having lunch, letting Samuel play with his cousin and heading out to the Ottawa experimental farm to visit the brand new baby farm animals. Dinner with David's family and home by about 8.
Saturday - Spend a few hours in the morning seeing Amanda. The afternoon with David's family at a giant indoor amusement park called Cosmic Adventures where Samuel had a fit over the giant pit-o-balls. Home early enough to cook a special 'thank you for hosting us' dinner of lemon rice and chicken Marbella for my parents.
Sunday - Up early for church. After church have lunch with the minister and his family at the Newport Restaurant (home of the Elvis Sighting Society, it seemed appropriate to visit a place where the 'King' lives!) to devour chicken tandoori pizza and too much spinach dip while discussing the perils of ignoring trinitarian doctrine. Take several hours to get home. Have a 'thank you for coming to stay with us dinner' from my parents.
Monday - Everybody bathes, packs, gets laundry done and leaves in plenty of time to catch the train at 2:30.
I wish we had had more time, but at the same time, I think we got to see the people who mattered the most. It would have been nice to go to Rev'd Hanna's Presbyterian church that we've never visited, and to see their daughter and new grandson. I would have liked to visit David's aunts and uncles in town, and to take a day trip up to my family cottage. And it would have been amazing if we could have managed a few days in Toronto as a side trip, seeing our old church family there as well as friends who live around the city. But, ultimately, we're happy with how the trip went. I'll upload pictures soon.
Monday - plane lands and we get in the house around 9:30pm so exhausted we all fall asleep partially clothed.
Tuesday - Spend the morning with my friend Amanda and our babies battling the Ottawa bus system and trying to figure out how to use my loaner cell phone. Buy some diapers, do some much needed shopping and home by 2:30 in time to re-pack the diaper bag and head out shopping with my mother. Back for dinner. Call my grandmother, Nan, to plane a time to see her. Fall into bed exhausted.
Wednesday - Spend 4.5 hours with Nan visiting and having lunch. Book time with our friends the Hannas to see them for dinner the next night. Out for supper with Amanda and for a quick visit at a few shops on the way home.
Thursday - Head to the other side of town to see my sister for a few hours and wander the Bayshore Mall. Buy a few thank you gifts. Dinner with the Hannas.
Friday - Out of the house early to spend the day with David's family, having lunch, letting Samuel play with his cousin and heading out to the Ottawa experimental farm to visit the brand new baby farm animals. Dinner with David's family and home by about 8.
Saturday - Spend a few hours in the morning seeing Amanda. The afternoon with David's family at a giant indoor amusement park called Cosmic Adventures where Samuel had a fit over the giant pit-o-balls. Home early enough to cook a special 'thank you for hosting us' dinner of lemon rice and chicken Marbella for my parents.
Sunday - Up early for church. After church have lunch with the minister and his family at the Newport Restaurant (home of the Elvis Sighting Society, it seemed appropriate to visit a place where the 'King' lives!) to devour chicken tandoori pizza and too much spinach dip while discussing the perils of ignoring trinitarian doctrine. Take several hours to get home. Have a 'thank you for coming to stay with us dinner' from my parents.
Monday - Everybody bathes, packs, gets laundry done and leaves in plenty of time to catch the train at 2:30.
I wish we had had more time, but at the same time, I think we got to see the people who mattered the most. It would have been nice to go to Rev'd Hanna's Presbyterian church that we've never visited, and to see their daughter and new grandson. I would have liked to visit David's aunts and uncles in town, and to take a day trip up to my family cottage. And it would have been amazing if we could have managed a few days in Toronto as a side trip, seeing our old church family there as well as friends who live around the city. But, ultimately, we're happy with how the trip went. I'll upload pictures soon.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
What does a housewife do all day?
Sometimes I get to the end of my day and I think "so, what did I do today? What did I accomplish? Why does my bathroom still look like that? What's for dinner?" Actually, that's everyday. And yet I hear from books and media and even other people that they just don't know what a housewife *does* all day. I suppose the easy answer is, I keep house. I clean and cook and care for my son. I'm out of the house a lot, which I imagine surprises people because it seems as though the image of a housewife conjures up someone chained to the stove, but I have a life that involves a lot of running around. It's hard to think what to say to the question "what do you do?" because the answer is so multi-faceted. I thought perhaps to clarify a bit I would just keep track, for one day, of what I did, step by step. I tried to keep David's schedule out of it as much as possible, except where we intersected in some way, because he has a busy life as well and, well, no one ever seems to ask him what he does all day.
8:30 am - David gets up at 6:30 with Samuel but lets me sleep in till 8:30, which was lovely, and then brought Samuel in to change him. We nursed and cuddled and the three of us lay in bed for an hour having 'family time', which pretty much consists of talking and playing 'where's that baby gone?' with the blankets. And we started listening to a Charles Stanley sermon.
9:30 am - The baby is very sleepy and needs his first nap, which is my cue to leave the room since David does nap put-down around here much better than I do. I make a cup of tea, eat some left-over jello for breakfast and wash two loads of dishes. I field a phone call from a friend who's off to grad school interviews today and then get dressed.
11:00 am - Samuel wakes up from his nap and we nurse and then have some cereal. I get together everything I need to run errands and then get him dressed and in his outdoor gear. We head off to pay the rent, go to the bank and return library books. I also need to buy a gift so we spend a bit of time browsing the shops, also hopefully giving David some time to himself.
2:00 pm - We get home and undressed. I have a sandwich for lunch while Samuel plays in his crib quietly. Then we nurse again and David takes over to put him down for an afternoon nap. I make another cup of tea and sit for a minute - walking for three hours with a 22 pound weight strapped to your chest is a little draining.
2:30 pm - With Samuel down for his nap I put some stock on to simmer and do another three loads of dishes. I peel and core the older apples in the fruit basket to make applesauce. I also take the time now to return a few phone calls and give the livingroom a quick tidy.
3:30 pm - Samuel is up from his nap so we nurse and cuddle a bit before I change him and bring him out to play. We feed and water the cats and turn off the cooked applesauce to cool.
4:30 pm - I write up my grocery list, gather grocery bags and wallet and get ready to head out grocery shopping while David stays home with the baby.
6:00 pm - Home from grocery shopping I take over from David who has to get to the hardware store before it closes. Samuel gets into his pajamas and watches me put away the groceries, freeze the applesauce and start a pot of soup with the stock. This is always the worst time of the day because he never goes down for bed easily, so we spend a lot of time nursing and patting. I toss a frozen pizza in the oven for supper.
7:15 pm - Samuel finally falls asleep, so I have a moment to update my blog. The soup is ready to be blended (It's roasted carrot and ginger soup) which I do quickly so that it doesn't wake the baby. Then I pour it into containers to store for lunch tomorrow. David gets home and we eat our pizza together and get a chance to catch up for a few minutes.
8:00 pm - I take some time to gather up our dirty laundry and head to the laundromat to wash clothes. I take my new magazine along to read, since this is my 'me' time.
9:00 pm - I get back from the laundromat and put away clothes, shower and get into pajamas before knitting a few rows on a new hat for David.
10:00 pm - I have paperwork to get done for a meeting tomorrow at 9am, so I settle down to finish it as quickly as I can.
11:15 pm - Samuel wakes up for his first night feeding. That's my cue to stop working on meeting paperwork and head off to bed.
Looking back at it I'm still not really sure how productive I was today, and when I look at my house you'd never guess in a million years that I worked hard all day, didn't really rest very long at all, and am tired after being awake and on the go for 15 hours straight. There are still dishes, the rugs didn't get vacuumed, so much needs to be done, but at least, now, I have some idea of where my time goes. I wonder if this would be a useful exercise to do even once a week?
8:30 am - David gets up at 6:30 with Samuel but lets me sleep in till 8:30, which was lovely, and then brought Samuel in to change him. We nursed and cuddled and the three of us lay in bed for an hour having 'family time', which pretty much consists of talking and playing 'where's that baby gone?' with the blankets. And we started listening to a Charles Stanley sermon.
9:30 am - The baby is very sleepy and needs his first nap, which is my cue to leave the room since David does nap put-down around here much better than I do. I make a cup of tea, eat some left-over jello for breakfast and wash two loads of dishes. I field a phone call from a friend who's off to grad school interviews today and then get dressed.
11:00 am - Samuel wakes up from his nap and we nurse and then have some cereal. I get together everything I need to run errands and then get him dressed and in his outdoor gear. We head off to pay the rent, go to the bank and return library books. I also need to buy a gift so we spend a bit of time browsing the shops, also hopefully giving David some time to himself.
2:00 pm - We get home and undressed. I have a sandwich for lunch while Samuel plays in his crib quietly. Then we nurse again and David takes over to put him down for an afternoon nap. I make another cup of tea and sit for a minute - walking for three hours with a 22 pound weight strapped to your chest is a little draining.
2:30 pm - With Samuel down for his nap I put some stock on to simmer and do another three loads of dishes. I peel and core the older apples in the fruit basket to make applesauce. I also take the time now to return a few phone calls and give the livingroom a quick tidy.
3:30 pm - Samuel is up from his nap so we nurse and cuddle a bit before I change him and bring him out to play. We feed and water the cats and turn off the cooked applesauce to cool.
4:30 pm - I write up my grocery list, gather grocery bags and wallet and get ready to head out grocery shopping while David stays home with the baby.
6:00 pm - Home from grocery shopping I take over from David who has to get to the hardware store before it closes. Samuel gets into his pajamas and watches me put away the groceries, freeze the applesauce and start a pot of soup with the stock. This is always the worst time of the day because he never goes down for bed easily, so we spend a lot of time nursing and patting. I toss a frozen pizza in the oven for supper.
7:15 pm - Samuel finally falls asleep, so I have a moment to update my blog. The soup is ready to be blended (It's roasted carrot and ginger soup) which I do quickly so that it doesn't wake the baby. Then I pour it into containers to store for lunch tomorrow. David gets home and we eat our pizza together and get a chance to catch up for a few minutes.
8:00 pm - I take some time to gather up our dirty laundry and head to the laundromat to wash clothes. I take my new magazine along to read, since this is my 'me' time.
9:00 pm - I get back from the laundromat and put away clothes, shower and get into pajamas before knitting a few rows on a new hat for David.
10:00 pm - I have paperwork to get done for a meeting tomorrow at 9am, so I settle down to finish it as quickly as I can.
11:15 pm - Samuel wakes up for his first night feeding. That's my cue to stop working on meeting paperwork and head off to bed.
Looking back at it I'm still not really sure how productive I was today, and when I look at my house you'd never guess in a million years that I worked hard all day, didn't really rest very long at all, and am tired after being awake and on the go for 15 hours straight. There are still dishes, the rugs didn't get vacuumed, so much needs to be done, but at least, now, I have some idea of where my time goes. I wonder if this would be a useful exercise to do even once a week?
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
The Daybook - February 9th
Today...
I am thankful for
I am wearing
My husband's jeans and a cable knit sweater.
I am eating
Wonderful warm bean stew with bacon and onion. And tea, always tea, friends!
I am listening to
Channel 737 on my television - we get this neat digital service that runs commercial free music according to theme and this is the Christian station.
I am reading
Philip Yancey's Soul Survivor: How my Faith Survived the Church.
I am praying about
The basic necessities of life: what we need and what others need too.
My mind is wandering to
A dear friend who is suffering.
My family is
Winding down after the day. David is resting, Samuel is peacefully sleeping, even the cats have stopped bothering me for more food. Quiet falls.
I am thankful for
Help with the dishes, simple compliments and Samuel's improving health.
I am wearing
My husband's jeans and a cable knit sweater.
I am eating
Wonderful warm bean stew with bacon and onion. And tea, always tea, friends!
I am listening to
Channel 737 on my television - we get this neat digital service that runs commercial free music according to theme and this is the Christian station.
I am reading
Philip Yancey's Soul Survivor: How my Faith Survived the Church.
I am praying about
The basic necessities of life: what we need and what others need too.
My mind is wandering to
A dear friend who is suffering.
My family is
Winding down after the day. David is resting, Samuel is peacefully sleeping, even the cats have stopped bothering me for more food. Quiet falls.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)