The past week has left me in a state of disbelief. I'm amazed that a cut on my finger rapidly turned into something very serious. So lets add cuts to my list of things that will send me running to a doctor now. First on the list is mosquito bites after that fun little incident where I had an infection making its way along my veins last year.
The big lessons from my recent experience are these: 1. NEVER EVER EVER take skin and put it back over a cut, unless you want to spend a few days at the hospital. 2. Any red streaking coming from a bite or cut should send you running for medical attention. If you aren't sure, see a doctor. The wait and see approach with thing such as this is a dangerous game. 3. Ask around and find out which of your local hospitals have a reputation for bad care and mistakes and then make a mental note to avoid those facilities at all costs.
I started to write the story of how I landed myself in the hospital on Sunday but an infectious disease dr. asked me to please stop using my right hand to type so I could allow that hand and arm to rest since they had just been ravaged with a pretty serious infection. So the story sits partially written in my drafts folder. It may be a two or three part story, it's that bad.
Thinking back on the past week really upsets me. It clearly illustrates that even when we think we have everything under control we really don't. And honestly, if Bryan hadn't woken me up from the couch where I spent most of my Friday I might not have realized quickly enough that I really needed medical attention until things, which were pretty bad, had gotten to a point that was far worse. You know you're in a fix when an urgent care doctor freaks out and tells you to get to an ER right away.
So I've been spending the past four days at home trying to recover. But I'm awful at resting so I keep doing things like laundry, straightening things and worrying about making sure Madeline doesn't fall too far behind with her schoolwork.
Simple tasks that require two hands or run the risk of exposing my finger to germs are pretty much off the table. I haven't changed a diaper since maybe last Thursday. I can't exactly cut wrapping paper with scissors (I'm a lefty that can only cut right handed.) and that pretty much leaves me unable to wrap gifts. It's a good thing I wrapped most gifts before this happened but I still have plenty to go. I won't even be able to bake cookies since I can't risk my finger coming in contact with the cookie dough.
The past few days I've been feeling like I just want all the Advent and Christmas stuff packed away. I shared this feeling with Bryan and he actually decorated one of our trees when he came home from work today and then helped me to get our family room tree decorated. I feel a little better now that our trees are decorated, but I'm still not feeling that Christmas spirit. It just doesn't feel like we're less than a week out from Christmas.
Showing posts with label random musings. Show all posts
Showing posts with label random musings. Show all posts
Thursday, December 19, 2013
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
Where has the last week gone?
I feel like it's been ages since I have even touched the blog. We had a busy weekend followed up by a busy week and the next thing I know it's been over a week since I posted anything on the blog. And in some ways we can even say this looks a bit like procrastination.
First, I have a bit of Jesse Tree Ornament Swap news. For swap #2 I have no contact information for Wendy J. (ornament #5) and Erin (ornament #18). If either one of you see this please email me so I can send you the email I sent everyone else on 10/12 that contains all of the swap details. While I have contact info for everyone else, I still haven't heard from many of you. Please send me and email so I know you got the email I have sent. I'm not someone who adheres to the "no news is good news" line of thinking. Instead I'm waking up in the middle of the night here and there wondering if some who signed up for the swap had second thoughts and haven't communicated it to me.
Last week Katie turned two. She's two already! I have the hardest time believing that she's two, but then she throws a little fit or something and I believe it. She certainly acts like a two year old. We had a party for her on the 13th and then cake on her birthday a few days later. Katie loves cake!
Bryan was sick last week with a double ear infection and now I'm not feeling to well either. The past few days my throat has been sore and I feel like one of my ears is filling with fluid. Katie had a bit of a cough and cold last week with left her feeling a bit grouchy.
Katie, Ellie and I had a bit of a pumpkin picking hay ride fail last Monday. Clearly choosing a day when everyone was off from school to do a hay ride was not the brightest idea. We ended up buying pumpkins from the market area and ditching our plans for the hay ride.
I'm really surprised that Madeline is only a week or two away from wrapping up all of her classes for the first quarter. Some days haven't been the easiest, but we're getting there. There are some changes I'd like to make for the remainder of the year so I'm going to have to take a little time to sit down and see what I can do. We're using Seton for our homeschool because 1. I was able to get her enrolled and have books delivered quickly when we made an 11th hour decision to pull her out of the public school system days before the school year was set to begin. 2. It's an accredited program which makes my husband feel a lot more comfortable with our decision to homeschool. 3. I know people who use the program who have all had good things to say about it. Now there are plenty of aspects about Seton that I like, but there are some things that I'm not necessarily thrilled about. I don't particularly like their science and history books so I need to find ways to tweak, supplement and substitute while still preparing her to take their tests. And then, there's the dilemma of my child not being very fond of memorization which is a huge part of the religion course. Right now we're having Ellie work with her on the memorization. Ellie is a pro when it comes to memorization so I'm hoping her method of quizzing her older sister will work. So far it's getting her somewhat better results. I think it has an additional benefit of Ellie learning the material, too.
I got an email from Ellie's teacher yesterday asking me to organize the class party for Halloween. I can't believe how quickly the end of the month is coming up on us. I'm a little surprised at how few parents volunteered to help out with supplying treats for the class parties. Of course, with all of the restrictions the school now has on sweets, there isn't much on the list of approved food items. The school even changed it's policy on how many parent volunteers are allowed to help with the parties. Just two parents per class. Years ago we were allowed to have five or six. This new way of doing things very closely resembles the way things are done at our local parish school. I really disliked the way they sucked the fun out of classroom parties and it looks like the public schools are now doing the same. Another reason to prefer homeschooling to a traditional school. I'm just fine with having some goodies and fun to celebrate a holiday or feast day.
When I get a little more time I'll update the blog with some pictures of the birthday girl and some of the other happenings of last week. I just don't have the energy at the moment to sort through photos, edit and water mark them and everything else that is associated with me adding them to this post.
First, I have a bit of Jesse Tree Ornament Swap news. For swap #2 I have no contact information for Wendy J. (ornament #5) and Erin (ornament #18). If either one of you see this please email me so I can send you the email I sent everyone else on 10/12 that contains all of the swap details. While I have contact info for everyone else, I still haven't heard from many of you. Please send me and email so I know you got the email I have sent. I'm not someone who adheres to the "no news is good news" line of thinking. Instead I'm waking up in the middle of the night here and there wondering if some who signed up for the swap had second thoughts and haven't communicated it to me.
Last week Katie turned two. She's two already! I have the hardest time believing that she's two, but then she throws a little fit or something and I believe it. She certainly acts like a two year old. We had a party for her on the 13th and then cake on her birthday a few days later. Katie loves cake!
Bryan was sick last week with a double ear infection and now I'm not feeling to well either. The past few days my throat has been sore and I feel like one of my ears is filling with fluid. Katie had a bit of a cough and cold last week with left her feeling a bit grouchy.
Katie, Ellie and I had a bit of a pumpkin picking hay ride fail last Monday. Clearly choosing a day when everyone was off from school to do a hay ride was not the brightest idea. We ended up buying pumpkins from the market area and ditching our plans for the hay ride.
I'm really surprised that Madeline is only a week or two away from wrapping up all of her classes for the first quarter. Some days haven't been the easiest, but we're getting there. There are some changes I'd like to make for the remainder of the year so I'm going to have to take a little time to sit down and see what I can do. We're using Seton for our homeschool because 1. I was able to get her enrolled and have books delivered quickly when we made an 11th hour decision to pull her out of the public school system days before the school year was set to begin. 2. It's an accredited program which makes my husband feel a lot more comfortable with our decision to homeschool. 3. I know people who use the program who have all had good things to say about it. Now there are plenty of aspects about Seton that I like, but there are some things that I'm not necessarily thrilled about. I don't particularly like their science and history books so I need to find ways to tweak, supplement and substitute while still preparing her to take their tests. And then, there's the dilemma of my child not being very fond of memorization which is a huge part of the religion course. Right now we're having Ellie work with her on the memorization. Ellie is a pro when it comes to memorization so I'm hoping her method of quizzing her older sister will work. So far it's getting her somewhat better results. I think it has an additional benefit of Ellie learning the material, too.
I got an email from Ellie's teacher yesterday asking me to organize the class party for Halloween. I can't believe how quickly the end of the month is coming up on us. I'm a little surprised at how few parents volunteered to help out with supplying treats for the class parties. Of course, with all of the restrictions the school now has on sweets, there isn't much on the list of approved food items. The school even changed it's policy on how many parent volunteers are allowed to help with the parties. Just two parents per class. Years ago we were allowed to have five or six. This new way of doing things very closely resembles the way things are done at our local parish school. I really disliked the way they sucked the fun out of classroom parties and it looks like the public schools are now doing the same. Another reason to prefer homeschooling to a traditional school. I'm just fine with having some goodies and fun to celebrate a holiday or feast day.
When I get a little more time I'll update the blog with some pictures of the birthday girl and some of the other happenings of last week. I just don't have the energy at the moment to sort through photos, edit and water mark them and everything else that is associated with me adding them to this post.
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
Hidden Productivity
The past several weeks I've been exhausted. It's the kind of exhaustion where I'm too tired even to read anything that has chapters. And considering that I love to read and spend a fair chunk of my precious little free time with a book in hand, it's something that it hard for me to accept being unable to do.
My kitchen is a mess. Should I take a few minutes to clear some of the mess away, I find when I go back into the kitchen that the small progress I have made was for naught as a bigger mess than the original one is now in its place. I suspect that goes with the territory of homeschooling one of my children and having a husband home five days a week. It's like shoveling a walkway in a blizzard. Flat out pointless.
And the laundry, sigh. I'm pretty sure Bryan is close to having no clean clothes that he can wear to the office. Somehow Ellie manages to have clean clothes for school and I've been hacking together outfits for the baby. I'm not sure what Madeline is wearing, but it doesn't matter since she's home, right? Me, I just grab whatever seems to fit right.
Somehow we're managing to survive on the food we have around the house. Just yesterday the dinner I planned to make was derailed at the last minute when we discovered that we had just enough angel hair pasta for one child instead of a family of five. So Bryan, who we can call "my hero," saved the day by speedily dialing for a pizza.
Can I tell you just how amazingly grateful I am for God's marvelous culinary gift of the pizza? Oh Pizza, if I had any ability to write poetry I'd slap together an ode to you! While many other items in the pantry make me want to curl up in a dark corner of the house and hide for weeks, you are there for me.
Ah, a cool dark corner. I would be so grateful to have some nice cool overcast days. For some reason the sun seems to be beaming into the back of my house with an intensity that makes me feel like we're under a magnifying glass. Ordinarily I like to let the sunlight pour into the back rooms but lately I've been trying unsuccessfully to keep it out. It's odd, but I never realized just how hot the back of our hose gets from the sun. I seriously feel like I'm living in a green house.
Despite my present dislike of the sun and the warmth it brings, my lack of energy to get the house in order, and our being forced to forage for food because I have not visited a grocery store in who knows how long, I am, in fact, being productive. You just can't see it. Much like my broken toe that is mending itself, I hope.
I have a tendency to always push, push, push myself even when I'm exhausted. Rest, is something that I usually say I'll do when I die. Of course, a couple months ago I thought about that and realized even then I probably wouldn't rest. Should I find myself in the blessed company of the saints some day, I imagine that I'll busily spend my eternity interceding for others. So I've decided that maybe it's smart to slow down once in a while and get some rest when it's clearly needed. I have a toe that needs to heal and my present exhaustion is yet another sign that rest is what my body needs right now. So I'm doing my best to catch naps when possible and to just rest when I can. I keep telling myself that eventually normal order will be restored.
My kitchen is a mess. Should I take a few minutes to clear some of the mess away, I find when I go back into the kitchen that the small progress I have made was for naught as a bigger mess than the original one is now in its place. I suspect that goes with the territory of homeschooling one of my children and having a husband home five days a week. It's like shoveling a walkway in a blizzard. Flat out pointless.
And the laundry, sigh. I'm pretty sure Bryan is close to having no clean clothes that he can wear to the office. Somehow Ellie manages to have clean clothes for school and I've been hacking together outfits for the baby. I'm not sure what Madeline is wearing, but it doesn't matter since she's home, right? Me, I just grab whatever seems to fit right.
Somehow we're managing to survive on the food we have around the house. Just yesterday the dinner I planned to make was derailed at the last minute when we discovered that we had just enough angel hair pasta for one child instead of a family of five. So Bryan, who we can call "my hero," saved the day by speedily dialing for a pizza.
Can I tell you just how amazingly grateful I am for God's marvelous culinary gift of the pizza? Oh Pizza, if I had any ability to write poetry I'd slap together an ode to you! While many other items in the pantry make me want to curl up in a dark corner of the house and hide for weeks, you are there for me.
Ah, a cool dark corner. I would be so grateful to have some nice cool overcast days. For some reason the sun seems to be beaming into the back of my house with an intensity that makes me feel like we're under a magnifying glass. Ordinarily I like to let the sunlight pour into the back rooms but lately I've been trying unsuccessfully to keep it out. It's odd, but I never realized just how hot the back of our hose gets from the sun. I seriously feel like I'm living in a green house.
Despite my present dislike of the sun and the warmth it brings, my lack of energy to get the house in order, and our being forced to forage for food because I have not visited a grocery store in who knows how long, I am, in fact, being productive. You just can't see it. Much like my broken toe that is mending itself, I hope.
I have a tendency to always push, push, push myself even when I'm exhausted. Rest, is something that I usually say I'll do when I die. Of course, a couple months ago I thought about that and realized even then I probably wouldn't rest. Should I find myself in the blessed company of the saints some day, I imagine that I'll busily spend my eternity interceding for others. So I've decided that maybe it's smart to slow down once in a while and get some rest when it's clearly needed. I have a toe that needs to heal and my present exhaustion is yet another sign that rest is what my body needs right now. So I'm doing my best to catch naps when possible and to just rest when I can. I keep telling myself that eventually normal order will be restored.
Monday, July 15, 2013
Miss Me?
I've been MIA for about a week and a half now, right? I feel like I've abandoned the blog. Last week was our parish VBS so I was pretty busy with that from just before the 4th of July when I began setting up the school and tying up some last minute VBS items. Once I made it through an exhausting week of VBS I had to jump right into putting together an American Girl party for Ellie's 8th birthday. I really need to realize that throwing a birthday party at my house just before or right after or even during the week of VBS is nothing short of overwhelming. Add in taking my sister-in-law to create a baby registry (for her, not me) and you can call me exhausted. On the whole it was a great week (8 days if we want to be specific) filled with lots of good things that kept me busy.
Since about last Wednesday I've been feeling like I just can't get enough sleep or rest. I wake up in the morning and I feel like I'm going to pass out within two hours and spend the rest of my day feeling like I'm dragging. I was hoping to spend some time relaxing today but that never happened. No rest for the weary! The heat wave that we just entered isn't helping either.
I have lots I want to blog about, but it's probably going to be another couple of days before my poor neglected blog has any sort of interesting content. I am wondering how some bloggers who seem to be busy all the time manage to crank out amazing blog posts with gorgeous pictures all of the time. Maybe they don't sleep.
Since about last Wednesday I've been feeling like I just can't get enough sleep or rest. I wake up in the morning and I feel like I'm going to pass out within two hours and spend the rest of my day feeling like I'm dragging. I was hoping to spend some time relaxing today but that never happened. No rest for the weary! The heat wave that we just entered isn't helping either.
I have lots I want to blog about, but it's probably going to be another couple of days before my poor neglected blog has any sort of interesting content. I am wondering how some bloggers who seem to be busy all the time manage to crank out amazing blog posts with gorgeous pictures all of the time. Maybe they don't sleep.
Friday, November 23, 2012
Because I'm Not the Only One
Yesterday I logged into my blogger account to wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving and post a picture of my family to go with the post. I freaked out when I got this message telling me that I had maxed out my free photo storage space on the blog. I then freaked out even more when I saw that they wanted me to spend a minimum of $2.49 a month to buy extra storage space for my photos. I was more than a little peeved to see that if I had started to buy space before April 24th of this year that I would be paying a mere $5 a year for this space. The cheap-skate in me really bristled at the thought of spending money for a ability to upload pictures. While I don't have to, I already spend money for a KareninMommyland.com domain which redirects to this page on blogger.
Bryan insisted on buying the storage so I could still add pictures while I decided what to do. I contemplated possibly switching over to my domain and just having everything redirect from blogger. That may still happen sometime down the line, but I'm sure moving over 1,000 posts will take time.
Shortly after Bryan forked over $2.49 for my photo storage and I STILL couldn't upload pictures through blogger, I started thinking about ways I could add pictures. I knew there was an add picture using a url feature so I did some experimenting. I found that you can't add a photo to Facebook and use the link on there to add your photo to blogger. Then I recalled that I had a PhotoBucket account which I used to use when I spent way too much of my time on a Gymboree message board ages ago. Turns out that PhotoBucket works like a charm, offers twice as much free space as Blogger and makes photo editing nice and easy.
I'm pretty sure that I'll be canceling the photo storage that I just purchased. So if any of you find that you maxed out on photo storage you might want to consider using an alternative source for hosting your pictures if you don't want to pay $30 a year to upload pictures.
Just be aware that you may find that you're out of photo storage when you least expect it. I know I was surprised when I got the message yesterday and I think B-Mama over at G-Ville was, too.
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Fewer Gifts Means More Thought
For about three years I have been cutting back on what I buy for the girls and every year I find myself on Christmas Eve taking a few of the presents I had brought for the girls and setting them aside for later because there was simply too much under the tree once gifts from my parents, my brother and other family members were added to the mix. It seems like the more the girls get the less interested they are in any of what they got. I'm convinced that it can't be a good thing to have so many gifts that you whine about having to open all of them.
I experimented with the stockings last year. Instead of testing the strength of the sock hooks I use to hang our stockings on the mantle, I decided at the lat minute that each of the girls would get the following in their stocking: 1 candy or treat item, 1 toy, book or DVD, 1 faith based item, 1 candy cane and a $5 gift card to Target. I was concerned that the girls would be disappointed that the stockings weren't filled to the brim, but instead they were quite content with what they received and actually played with the things they received. Going forward I'll be sticking with this five item stocking stuffer list.
The three Christmas gifts idea seems easy when you think about it--just buy three gifts and you're done, but I'm finding that it requires me to put more thought into what I'm buying. Rather than just buy several things each of the girls wants, I have to stop and think about what I should buy and whether or not what I select will be the best choice. I have determined that each of the girls will get one gift that kind of skirts the three gifts idea a bit. They will all get a package with several books as one of their gifts. The girls love to read [Katie just likes to chew on them and tear pages] so I know they'll be happy with a box of books. I am now down to my last gift pick for Madeline and Ellie. It's just a matter of picking that final item. Oh, and as much as I hate doing it, each of the girls will get one small $10 or less item from Santa which will likely be a book or a small toy. I can't express how much I dislike the Santa farce.
So overall, I'm finding that what I thought would be so easy is a bit more difficult than I had imagined. I do feel a lot better knowing that I'm almost done shopping for the girls and I already have most of what I purchased wrapped. I suspect this three gift limit will get easier over the years as I get used to buying them less.
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Ten Minute Tuesday
Ten minutes of what's on my mind...
Rachel Balducci started this Ten Minute Tuesday idea on her blog so I decided I'd join her. Most of my blog posts wind up in my drafts folder these days because ten minutes simply isn't enough time when you have a million and one things to do. At least that's how it feels these days.
Katie is teething and that means we're all being treated to lots of screaming these days. Poor girl isn't very happy with those teeth ruthlessly tearing through her gums. One of the bottom ones that was coming in is all the way through now. So we're now waiting on three more teeth that are nearly in. Once we get past this latest round of teething she will have eight teeth. My baby is turning into a toddler with a lots of teeth.
I need to do some baby proofing. Katie has been going around the kitchen and showing me all of the wonderful things in our cabinets. On Sunday she drove me crazy going from one cabinet to the next for about 15 of the longest minutes you can imagine. By the time I cleaned up one mess she had created two more. When Bryan came home from picking Madeline up at youth group I was quite relieved.
I've had the hardest time finding new sandals. Yes, I know that everyone else went sandal shopping nearly two seasons ago. I'm a little behind. We're going to Disney World in less than two months and I need new sandals that don't have torn up insoles. My sandals took a beating the week of VBS.
I'm working on a schedule to keep the house clean. So far my Mondays are going well. I'm getting the bathrooms cleaned and taking care of the sheets and the laundry that need to be caught up after the weekend. Now I need to focus on a plan to get the house dusted on a regular basis and some sort of solution [trash can, maybe] for all of the clutter on my kitchen countertops.
I'm room mom for Madeline's class. I wanted the job for Ellie's class but I didn't get picked. I'm praying that Ellie will make a few good friends soon. Madeline, of course, has already made a ton of friends at school.
Speaking of Madeline would you believe she's letting the teachers call her Maddie? I could have screamed when she told me that. I refuse to call her by that name because we know several people who had golden retrieves named Maddie. Grrr.
Time's up. Look at that I managed to write up a blog post that I'm not going to review before I hit publish. Now it's time for me to face the reality of my messy kitchen.
Rachel Balducci started this Ten Minute Tuesday idea on her blog so I decided I'd join her. Most of my blog posts wind up in my drafts folder these days because ten minutes simply isn't enough time when you have a million and one things to do. At least that's how it feels these days.
Katie is teething and that means we're all being treated to lots of screaming these days. Poor girl isn't very happy with those teeth ruthlessly tearing through her gums. One of the bottom ones that was coming in is all the way through now. So we're now waiting on three more teeth that are nearly in. Once we get past this latest round of teething she will have eight teeth. My baby is turning into a toddler with a lots of teeth.
I need to do some baby proofing. Katie has been going around the kitchen and showing me all of the wonderful things in our cabinets. On Sunday she drove me crazy going from one cabinet to the next for about 15 of the longest minutes you can imagine. By the time I cleaned up one mess she had created two more. When Bryan came home from picking Madeline up at youth group I was quite relieved.
I've had the hardest time finding new sandals. Yes, I know that everyone else went sandal shopping nearly two seasons ago. I'm a little behind. We're going to Disney World in less than two months and I need new sandals that don't have torn up insoles. My sandals took a beating the week of VBS.
I'm working on a schedule to keep the house clean. So far my Mondays are going well. I'm getting the bathrooms cleaned and taking care of the sheets and the laundry that need to be caught up after the weekend. Now I need to focus on a plan to get the house dusted on a regular basis and some sort of solution [trash can, maybe] for all of the clutter on my kitchen countertops.
I'm room mom for Madeline's class. I wanted the job for Ellie's class but I didn't get picked. I'm praying that Ellie will make a few good friends soon. Madeline, of course, has already made a ton of friends at school.
Speaking of Madeline would you believe she's letting the teachers call her Maddie? I could have screamed when she told me that. I refuse to call her by that name because we know several people who had golden retrieves named Maddie. Grrr.
Time's up. Look at that I managed to write up a blog post that I'm not going to review before I hit publish. Now it's time for me to face the reality of my messy kitchen.
Thursday, June 7, 2012
Recent Ponderings
Most of my week so far has been consumed with doing things for this year's vacation bible school. In just a month VBS will be here. It's amazing how quickly time flies when you're up to your eyeballs in things that need to be done.
My house is a big mess. Spending lots of time working on paperwork and taking care of a baby who I suspect is teething will do that to a house. I managed to get the house looking presentable enough on Monday only to see it descend into the type of mess that looks like a clothing and paper bomb went off.
I thought I was doing pretty well today. The house was slowly getting put in order and I was tackling the pile of laundry that needed to be done. Of course, I can only do so much with Katie on my hip and only one arm free.
I decided to take a break from VBS and house straightening to visit the hand me down mess in the basement. I don't know if it's been three or four weeks now, but I'm beginning to wonder why I've purchased so much clothing for the kids. Am I insane? Possibly.
While I was in the basement, the doorbell rang. VBS is full, so I naively thought that the person at the door is someone I was hoping not to have to talk to. The person is nice, but I knew I wouldn't have the patience to deal with who I thought it might be. I sent Bryan upstairs to answer the door and it turned out that the person at the door wasn't who I thought it was, instead it was someone looking to register for VBS. And, the best part was he invited this woman into my VERY. MESSY. house.
Two things came of this. First, I didn't have the heart to tell this woman that VBS was full and so I accepted another registration putting the total up to 110 children for a program that maxes out at 100. Then, I'm pretty sure I was insulted [but didn't realize it right away] when the woman insisted that I give her a receipt for the VBS payment when I have no system for issuing receipts. After she left it dawned on me that she didn't necessarily trust that her cash payment was going to make it to where it belonged. I have to say that I've never run across this situation. I guess I just assumed that since the parish trusts me to voluntarily run this program and handle the money that I was considered trustworthy.
On my way back from the front door utter mortification began to sink in. My living room was covered in laundry that I had sorted into piles to be folded this morning. The landing of my steps had packages that arrived today. My kitchen was just a mess. Pots and pans on the stove, mail and school papers on the countertop, dishes on the table, and boxes from a delivery containing VBS stuff was on the kitchen floor. And, the dining room table had lots of VBS paperwork piled up.
Directing VBS seems to be one of the ways in which I get to cultivate patience and grow in humility. I really could do without the little mortifications that come along with this job. There's a small handful of people out there who have seen my incredibly messy house. I suppose I should just offer it up and keep focus on the good I am trying to accomplish while my house falls into a state of disarray. Tomorrow I'll be trying to get the house back into order.
My house is a big mess. Spending lots of time working on paperwork and taking care of a baby who I suspect is teething will do that to a house. I managed to get the house looking presentable enough on Monday only to see it descend into the type of mess that looks like a clothing and paper bomb went off.
I thought I was doing pretty well today. The house was slowly getting put in order and I was tackling the pile of laundry that needed to be done. Of course, I can only do so much with Katie on my hip and only one arm free.
I decided to take a break from VBS and house straightening to visit the hand me down mess in the basement. I don't know if it's been three or four weeks now, but I'm beginning to wonder why I've purchased so much clothing for the kids. Am I insane? Possibly.
While I was in the basement, the doorbell rang. VBS is full, so I naively thought that the person at the door is someone I was hoping not to have to talk to. The person is nice, but I knew I wouldn't have the patience to deal with who I thought it might be. I sent Bryan upstairs to answer the door and it turned out that the person at the door wasn't who I thought it was, instead it was someone looking to register for VBS. And, the best part was he invited this woman into my VERY. MESSY. house.
Two things came of this. First, I didn't have the heart to tell this woman that VBS was full and so I accepted another registration putting the total up to 110 children for a program that maxes out at 100. Then, I'm pretty sure I was insulted [but didn't realize it right away] when the woman insisted that I give her a receipt for the VBS payment when I have no system for issuing receipts. After she left it dawned on me that she didn't necessarily trust that her cash payment was going to make it to where it belonged. I have to say that I've never run across this situation. I guess I just assumed that since the parish trusts me to voluntarily run this program and handle the money that I was considered trustworthy.
On my way back from the front door utter mortification began to sink in. My living room was covered in laundry that I had sorted into piles to be folded this morning. The landing of my steps had packages that arrived today. My kitchen was just a mess. Pots and pans on the stove, mail and school papers on the countertop, dishes on the table, and boxes from a delivery containing VBS stuff was on the kitchen floor. And, the dining room table had lots of VBS paperwork piled up.
Directing VBS seems to be one of the ways in which I get to cultivate patience and grow in humility. I really could do without the little mortifications that come along with this job. There's a small handful of people out there who have seen my incredibly messy house. I suppose I should just offer it up and keep focus on the good I am trying to accomplish while my house falls into a state of disarray. Tomorrow I'll be trying to get the house back into order.
Thursday, March 8, 2012
I Found My Old Blog!
Shortly before Ellie turned one year old I started a blog. After the first blog post, I couldn't figure out how to get back into the blog and it took me a bit of time before I found my way back. After I got back in, I once again forgot how to log into it and so my little fledgling blog was abandoned. Three years ago when I decided to give blogging a try once more I couldn't find my original blog. I was disappointed because I had like the blog's not incredibly creative name "The Adventures of Madeline and Ellie." So I decided that I would shake things up and start a new blog with the innovative and uber creative title that you see above. (Proof that I'm not as creative as some people might claim.)
Iwas looking for excuses to not fold the laundry had a few spare minutes today and decided to use the google machine to search for my abandoned blog. It wasn't until I used the title of the blog and the year it was written that I was able to find it. I kept getting all these pesky returns for some blog called Karen's Adventures in Mommyland. Apparently this hack of a blogger has two kids who she claims have the same names as my girls. She even calls her baby Elsie! Oh wait, I'm talking about myself again, never mind.
While my original blog is only two posts long, I still enjoyed looking back on it to see where I was nearly six years ago. Now I have to try and see if I can get back into this blog and find a way to merge the posts onto this one.
I
While my original blog is only two posts long, I still enjoyed looking back on it to see where I was nearly six years ago. Now I have to try and see if I can get back into this blog and find a way to merge the posts onto this one.
Monday, January 23, 2012
Bits and Pieces
It seems like time gets away from me most days and it leaves me with things I want to write about but no time to actually write. Excuse my total randomness as I try to get some of the ideas out of my head and into a readable format.
Katie seems like she's simply not amused with any of the baby items we have for her like the playmat, bouncy seat and exersaucer. Rattles spread out on a blanket also do not amuse. It seems nothing makes this sweet baby girl happy the way she is when she's in my arms. She's exhausting me, but I'm happy to hold my sweet chunk of a baby. When she sleeps she's heavy like a toddler who's trying out passive resistance.
Yesterday was a LONG day. I had to get up early to teach my religious ed class. I don't like to wake up on cold mornings when there's snow and ice on the ground. When I arrived back at the house to the sounds of a hungry baby, I also had to take a call from my mom. Not sure what it is about Sunday mornings, but my mom and dad sure love to call me just as I'm getting home to ask if they can stop over for a visit. We had no real plans, so I said yes and the house descended into the usual tailspin of frantic cleaning so the place would look presentable-ish. I should note that the house typically looks like it was bombed by most Sunday mornings. Two days of Bryan at home and a full day of the girls at home will do that to our house. I think it's a disaster area worthy of condemnation, but Bryan tells me this is what happens when you LIVE in the house. I'm not buying it. Between the stress of having to get the house straightened on short notice plus the total sensory overload from the NOISE, NOISE, NOISE of the visit (It's loud enough that I often wish I could hide somewhere when my parents come to visit.) I don't know if it was the Starbucks coffee Bryan got me (first one that's tasted like it actually had coffee in it in several years) or the excitement from the day, but Katie was WIRED last night. It was after 11PM last night when she finally went to sleep. Typically she's in bed for the night by 9PM.
Today I decided to check out the show I've seen other bloggers raving about. So I queued up Downton Abbey on Netflix and watched the first two episodes while Katie demanded that I hold her. I knew nothing about the show other than other people liked it a lot. By the end of the first episode I could sense that I had found a new guilty pleasure type of show. It's certainly would get labeled a "Karen show" by Bryan. According to Bryan, I like to watch shows and movies that no one else would watch. Surely movies like Anne of the Thousand Days, Washington Square and Mrs. Brown couldn't have been made only for me. Give me some good period costuming and chances are I'll be hooked.
With the exception of a chicken, I have all the food we need to make dinner for the rest of the week. I made up a shopping list yesterday and remembered to take it to the stores with me this morning. Katie and I managed to get all of the shopping done before it started to rain.
I think I need to move Katie to a convertible car seat soon. She takes up most of the shopping cart at the grocery store and Sam's Club. The only store I can take her to where her seat will fit on the top of the cart is Target. I'm tired of being limited in how much food I can buy when I'm shopping by myself because I'm working with limited space. Pretty soon I'm just going to have to wear Katie in the Bjorn carrier so I can utilize the cart more effectively.
I managed to get four more boxes of diapers for the baby with the 30% off deal from Amazon Mom. I followed the advice of a commenter who had mentioned tweaking her subscription to still get the 30% off deal. I played with the settings and managed to get the order to go through and I upped the quantity to four instead of one. I'm probably set with diapers until July or August now.
I got caught trying to kill a few house plants. I have three plants that I'd rather not have, but I won't toss a live plant. Lately I had beenaccidentally deliberately forgetting to water them. One of them is nearly dead, one is hanging on (it's been through Karen induced droughts before) and the other has a few brown leaves. Bryan noticed that Yao, our bamboo plant in the kitchen was looking a little droopy and asked when I last watered it. He's not in favor of passive plant murdering, so I had to water it. I suppose I should water the other two plants as well. I tried. I failed. Now I'll have to live with the plants happily mocking me with their leafy green presence that my attempts to off them have been thwarted.
I have several reviews that I need to write. I just need to find time to sit down and write them up. Maybe I'll get some spare time here or there later this week.
I've been procrastinating on what VBS program to use this summer. Or, maybe, I'm just busy with the baby. I'm trying to decide whether we should maintain the status quo and continue using the Catholicized version of the protestant program that the parish has been using for years and just adding some Catholic flavor to it in the arts and crafts room, or I can take a chance and give one of the Cat Chat VBS programs a try. I have to have a meeting with the DRE soon and make a final decision. I did go to Sam's Club and get the pricing info for the drinks and snacks that we'll need. At least I'm doing something to prepare for this year's program.
I'm hungry and Katie's sleeping. I need to get myself a snack before she wakes up.
Katie seems like she's simply not amused with any of the baby items we have for her like the playmat, bouncy seat and exersaucer. Rattles spread out on a blanket also do not amuse. It seems nothing makes this sweet baby girl happy the way she is when she's in my arms. She's exhausting me, but I'm happy to hold my sweet chunk of a baby. When she sleeps she's heavy like a toddler who's trying out passive resistance.
Yesterday was a LONG day. I had to get up early to teach my religious ed class. I don't like to wake up on cold mornings when there's snow and ice on the ground. When I arrived back at the house to the sounds of a hungry baby, I also had to take a call from my mom. Not sure what it is about Sunday mornings, but my mom and dad sure love to call me just as I'm getting home to ask if they can stop over for a visit. We had no real plans, so I said yes and the house descended into the usual tailspin of frantic cleaning so the place would look presentable-ish. I should note that the house typically looks like it was bombed by most Sunday mornings. Two days of Bryan at home and a full day of the girls at home will do that to our house. I think it's a disaster area worthy of condemnation, but Bryan tells me this is what happens when you LIVE in the house. I'm not buying it. Between the stress of having to get the house straightened on short notice plus the total sensory overload from the NOISE, NOISE, NOISE of the visit (It's loud enough that I often wish I could hide somewhere when my parents come to visit.) I don't know if it was the Starbucks coffee Bryan got me (first one that's tasted like it actually had coffee in it in several years) or the excitement from the day, but Katie was WIRED last night. It was after 11PM last night when she finally went to sleep. Typically she's in bed for the night by 9PM.
Today I decided to check out the show I've seen other bloggers raving about. So I queued up Downton Abbey on Netflix and watched the first two episodes while Katie demanded that I hold her. I knew nothing about the show other than other people liked it a lot. By the end of the first episode I could sense that I had found a new guilty pleasure type of show. It's certainly would get labeled a "Karen show" by Bryan. According to Bryan, I like to watch shows and movies that no one else would watch. Surely movies like Anne of the Thousand Days, Washington Square and Mrs. Brown couldn't have been made only for me. Give me some good period costuming and chances are I'll be hooked.
With the exception of a chicken, I have all the food we need to make dinner for the rest of the week. I made up a shopping list yesterday and remembered to take it to the stores with me this morning. Katie and I managed to get all of the shopping done before it started to rain.
I think I need to move Katie to a convertible car seat soon. She takes up most of the shopping cart at the grocery store and Sam's Club. The only store I can take her to where her seat will fit on the top of the cart is Target. I'm tired of being limited in how much food I can buy when I'm shopping by myself because I'm working with limited space. Pretty soon I'm just going to have to wear Katie in the Bjorn carrier so I can utilize the cart more effectively.
I managed to get four more boxes of diapers for the baby with the 30% off deal from Amazon Mom. I followed the advice of a commenter who had mentioned tweaking her subscription to still get the 30% off deal. I played with the settings and managed to get the order to go through and I upped the quantity to four instead of one. I'm probably set with diapers until July or August now.
I got caught trying to kill a few house plants. I have three plants that I'd rather not have, but I won't toss a live plant. Lately I had been
I have several reviews that I need to write. I just need to find time to sit down and write them up. Maybe I'll get some spare time here or there later this week.
I've been procrastinating on what VBS program to use this summer. Or, maybe, I'm just busy with the baby. I'm trying to decide whether we should maintain the status quo and continue using the Catholicized version of the protestant program that the parish has been using for years and just adding some Catholic flavor to it in the arts and crafts room, or I can take a chance and give one of the Cat Chat VBS programs a try. I have to have a meeting with the DRE soon and make a final decision. I did go to Sam's Club and get the pricing info for the drinks and snacks that we'll need. At least I'm doing something to prepare for this year's program.
I'm hungry and Katie's sleeping. I need to get myself a snack before she wakes up.
Saturday, December 24, 2011
The Blab
Ever since I was a child, I have been a notorious blabber mouth. I have the hardest time keeping gifts a secret. In an effort to keep Bryan's gifts a secret I have wrapped most of them in boxes that disguise what is inside. It's a tactic that helps me a bit. When it comes to gifts for the kids I try to stick with telling them we're buying stupid things that no kid would want such as toilet paper and soap.
Tonight has been a particularly difficult night for me and keeping secrets. First, I nearly blabbed to Bryan that I brought him the sauce he likes for wings when Ellie scurried up to my bedroom on a covert mission to hide a gift Bryan bought at Buffalo Wild Wings when he picked up our take out order. I so badly wanted to tell him that I was just there yesterday and got the sauce he and I like. Keeping my mouth shut has been incredibly difficult for me. I know if I tell him I got the sauce for him and me (we like different ones) that it will spoil the surprise of what he got for me. It seems that it's nearly impossible for him to surprise me when it comes to gift giving. Either I guess it or the girls blab. (Wonder where they got that trait!) Even worse, was the fact that I left the link open on my laptop with the temporary membership pass to the aquarium. I'm hoping that Madeline didn't notice it when she was getting ready to watch the Advent Adventure videos for tonight, but the slightly surprised look on her face makes me wonder if I ruined my brother's surprise for the girls. He got us a family membership to the aquarium for Christmas and he wrapped up a printout of the temporary pass for them.
I need to make it another thirty or so hours without blabbing. At this point I'm hoping I don't reveal anymore gifts. If only I could keep a straight face when people try to guess what I got for them I'd be in good shape.
Tonight has been a particularly difficult night for me and keeping secrets. First, I nearly blabbed to Bryan that I brought him the sauce he likes for wings when Ellie scurried up to my bedroom on a covert mission to hide a gift Bryan bought at Buffalo Wild Wings when he picked up our take out order. I so badly wanted to tell him that I was just there yesterday and got the sauce he and I like. Keeping my mouth shut has been incredibly difficult for me. I know if I tell him I got the sauce for him and me (we like different ones) that it will spoil the surprise of what he got for me. It seems that it's nearly impossible for him to surprise me when it comes to gift giving. Either I guess it or the girls blab. (Wonder where they got that trait!) Even worse, was the fact that I left the link open on my laptop with the temporary membership pass to the aquarium. I'm hoping that Madeline didn't notice it when she was getting ready to watch the Advent Adventure videos for tonight, but the slightly surprised look on her face makes me wonder if I ruined my brother's surprise for the girls. He got us a family membership to the aquarium for Christmas and he wrapped up a printout of the temporary pass for them.
I need to make it another thirty or so hours without blabbing. At this point I'm hoping I don't reveal anymore gifts. If only I could keep a straight face when people try to guess what I got for them I'd be in good shape.
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
People Will Buy Anything
I have a severe dislike of infomercials and commercials that assume the viewer is a complete idiot. As I watch intelligent programming I get bombarded every few minutes with commercials that I find insulting. There are commercials selling knives to people who are incapable of cutting through a tomato. Really? Since when did cutting into a tomato become difficult? Apparently, for the portion of the population who can't figure out how to cut into a tomato (We're not talking about a pineapple or a coconut here, folks) the ad wizards have come up with many products to solve this vexing problem. They now sell knives that can cut through tin cans AND tomatoes. Maybe I'm doing something wrong, but I have yet to have a need to slice tin cans open. I guess someone out there is totally unaware that a thing called a can opener exists. Those things do a bang up job when it comes to opening a can.
Commercials that promise to solve the age old problem of using a pesky blanket irritate me. As I lay on the couch with my coffee bean throw blanket, I can't help but look at the television perplexed that there are people out there who can't figure out how to use a blanket. It's not rocket science, simply place the blanket over yourself and you're golden. Maybe my kids are just geniuses, but they have been able to use a blanket since they were old enough to crawl. For those who can't figure out how a blanket is supposed to work they sell this irritating product called a Snuggie. The commercials for this product make me want to scream. As if Snuggies weren't bad enough for the blanket using impaired they have now come out with a new product. It's a Forever Lazy. The commercial for this ridiculous product made me wonder if it was a joke. Granted, I saw the commercial rather late at night and thought maybe it was intended as a spoof. After discovering that it was a real product I can't help but wonder 1. WHY would anyone want this? 2. Do people realize this thing is basically a sleeper for adults? and 3. Is using a blanket really that difficult? Not to mention why would anyone want to buy a product called Forever Lazy that pretty much insinuates that the person who uses it is a lazy slob?
These idiotic products and their commercials have lead me to believe that people will buy anything. It's actually rather sad. I suppose if I were a more opportunistic person with no conscience I would prey on the feeble minded and create a stupid poorly made product and market it as the solution to a problem that doesn't exist. And if you are one of those people who are taxed by the difficulties of using a blanket, drop me an email. I've got these great recyclable, multifunctional carrying devices called plastic bags that I can sell you for the amazingly low price of $5.95 each. Contact me within the next two weeks and I'll toss in two more for free.
Commercials that promise to solve the age old problem of using a pesky blanket irritate me. As I lay on the couch with my coffee bean throw blanket, I can't help but look at the television perplexed that there are people out there who can't figure out how to use a blanket. It's not rocket science, simply place the blanket over yourself and you're golden. Maybe my kids are just geniuses, but they have been able to use a blanket since they were old enough to crawl. For those who can't figure out how a blanket is supposed to work they sell this irritating product called a Snuggie. The commercials for this product make me want to scream. As if Snuggies weren't bad enough for the blanket using impaired they have now come out with a new product. It's a Forever Lazy. The commercial for this ridiculous product made me wonder if it was a joke. Granted, I saw the commercial rather late at night and thought maybe it was intended as a spoof. After discovering that it was a real product I can't help but wonder 1. WHY would anyone want this? 2. Do people realize this thing is basically a sleeper for adults? and 3. Is using a blanket really that difficult? Not to mention why would anyone want to buy a product called Forever Lazy that pretty much insinuates that the person who uses it is a lazy slob?
These idiotic products and their commercials have lead me to believe that people will buy anything. It's actually rather sad. I suppose if I were a more opportunistic person with no conscience I would prey on the feeble minded and create a stupid poorly made product and market it as the solution to a problem that doesn't exist. And if you are one of those people who are taxed by the difficulties of using a blanket, drop me an email. I've got these great recyclable, multifunctional carrying devices called plastic bags that I can sell you for the amazingly low price of $5.95 each. Contact me within the next two weeks and I'll toss in two more for free.
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Things You Can't Do With One Hand
Lately Katie has been wanting me to hold her quite a lot and I'm discovering the multitude of things I cannot accomplish with a single hand. I've had more than a few days in the past week where I wondered how different life would be if I had just one additional arm. Sure, buying clothes would become a real challenge, but I would be able to get so much accomplished.
Here's my list of things you cannot do with a single hand.
1. Fold laundry
2. Sweep the floors
3. Clean a bathroom
4. Send a text message. Ok, maybe this one is possible with one hand but not all of us are blessed with great coordination.
5. Blog. I simply can't type up posts using just five fingers. My thoughts are far too rapid and fleeting for one hand to keep up, plus I suck at hunting and pecking on a keyboard.
6. Wrap Christmas presents.
7. Cut things out.
8. Operate a hot glue gun.
9. Load and unload the washer/dryer. Actually, I can do this but it's a painfully slow process and I wind up dropping clean clothes all over the floor as I try to get them into the dryer.
10. Make a bed
11. Wash Ellie's hair
12. Measure out a dose of Katie's Zantac.
13. Take a decent picture with my camera.
14. Fix Ellie's hair for school
15. Comfortably read/hold a book.
Mind you, I'm not constantly holding Katie, but I seem to always have other things I need (or want) to do while I am. Nine times out of ten I would much rather be holding my chubby little Kitty Katkins in my arms, but for the ten percent of the time that I really need to get things done, I wish she would just be content to veg out next to me in a bouncy seat and be content. For the most part she's a very laid back baby, but she certainly has had some days where crying seems to be the only thing she has on her agenda. It's amazing how a crying baby can just sap your energy and at times your spirits.
Here's my list of things you cannot do with a single hand.
1. Fold laundry
2. Sweep the floors
3. Clean a bathroom
4. Send a text message. Ok, maybe this one is possible with one hand but not all of us are blessed with great coordination.
5. Blog. I simply can't type up posts using just five fingers. My thoughts are far too rapid and fleeting for one hand to keep up, plus I suck at hunting and pecking on a keyboard.
6. Wrap Christmas presents.
7. Cut things out.
8. Operate a hot glue gun.
9. Load and unload the washer/dryer. Actually, I can do this but it's a painfully slow process and I wind up dropping clean clothes all over the floor as I try to get them into the dryer.
10. Make a bed
11. Wash Ellie's hair
12. Measure out a dose of Katie's Zantac.
13. Take a decent picture with my camera.
14. Fix Ellie's hair for school
15. Comfortably read/hold a book.
Mind you, I'm not constantly holding Katie, but I seem to always have other things I need (or want) to do while I am. Nine times out of ten I would much rather be holding my chubby little Kitty Katkins in my arms, but for the ten percent of the time that I really need to get things done, I wish she would just be content to veg out next to me in a bouncy seat and be content. For the most part she's a very laid back baby, but she certainly has had some days where crying seems to be the only thing she has on her agenda. It's amazing how a crying baby can just sap your energy and at times your spirits.
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Keen Powers of Observation
On more than a few occasions I have been known to get things a little mixed up. Last night I was certain that I typed up my Small Successes post under this blog. I distinctly remember making sure that I wasn't under the Catholic Faith Adventure blog that I have for my religious ed class. Then, I went and confirmed after I set it to publish this morning that it was set for this blog. Turns out that in my coffee charged pre-sleep deprived state that I failed to realize that I wrote the post on the wrong blog. HOW exactly did I miss that? The odd thing in all of this is blogger still didn't publish the post at the specified time.
Friday, February 18, 2011
Carrying Only the Essentials
Ellie had the day off from school today so we had one of those days where we could do something fun while Madeline was in school. Now that Ellie goes to school for a full day, I don't get many days like this with just the two of us.
Our morning started off with a trip to the pediatrician for an ear recheck. She had an ear infection almost two weeks ago and we needed to have her ears checked to make sure the infection was gone. I'm happy to report that her ears are back to normal.
While we were there I noticed many things. The poor girl who was walking out of the office with her throw up bowl, the little boy who was making trips to the bathroom every 5 minutes, and a lot of babies who were toted around in their car seat carriers by parents carrying diaper bags that may be too large to fit in a carry-on compartment of a plane. In the nearly 9 1/2 years that I have been a parent, I have never been able to understand this phenomenon.
Then we went to the zoo with my parents. Given that it's a day off from school for a lot of kids, and it's also one of the warmest days we've seen in a while, the zoo was rather packed. Ellie zipped through the zoo at hyper speed, seriously this child pauses for maybe 3 seconds at each exhibit. Once she's seen the animal she's had enough. Not being an agile five year old, my parents and I had to navigate through the crowds of strollers and the lesbian couple (the things I notice that often times I wish I hadn't). In our navigating, I noticed once again the huge overstuffed diaper bags. Some were for tiny babies, and others were for toddlers. Honestly, I don't get it. Nosy person that I am, I noticed in one stroller an open diaper bag, presumably it was open because it had too much stuff and couldn't close, which had what appeared to be a 3lb can of powdered formula. Are you kidding me? When my girls were eventually on formula, a can that size would take about 2 1/2-3 weeks for them to consume. Why does one need something so large for a trip to the zoo? Do some parents fear that they will be trapped in the zoo?
I guess I just don't get it. I carried a diaper bag with Madeline. After a month of carrying my larger bag which wasn't very large, I moved to a very small bag that contained a pacifier, a few diapers and wipes in a portable changing pad, a bottle if we were going to be gone a long time, a burp cloth, nursing pads, my wallet and keys. When I had Ellie I started out with the super small bag and then decided it was easier to just put her bare necessities in my purse. If we went somewhere for a long day, I'd bring the bigger bag and pack enough diapers and wipes for the day, a small blanket and a change of clothes.
Maybe I'm too much of a minimalist, but I don't see the point in being weighed down with a lot of unnecessary stuff. I did keep a small bag in the car that held emergency diapers, wipes, pacifiers and other items that could be needed in a pinch, but I didn't carry them. Once in a while I'd need to dip into my emergency supply, but I never felt like I needed to lug it around with me.
Our morning started off with a trip to the pediatrician for an ear recheck. She had an ear infection almost two weeks ago and we needed to have her ears checked to make sure the infection was gone. I'm happy to report that her ears are back to normal.
While we were there I noticed many things. The poor girl who was walking out of the office with her throw up bowl, the little boy who was making trips to the bathroom every 5 minutes, and a lot of babies who were toted around in their car seat carriers by parents carrying diaper bags that may be too large to fit in a carry-on compartment of a plane. In the nearly 9 1/2 years that I have been a parent, I have never been able to understand this phenomenon.
Then we went to the zoo with my parents. Given that it's a day off from school for a lot of kids, and it's also one of the warmest days we've seen in a while, the zoo was rather packed. Ellie zipped through the zoo at hyper speed, seriously this child pauses for maybe 3 seconds at each exhibit. Once she's seen the animal she's had enough. Not being an agile five year old, my parents and I had to navigate through the crowds of strollers and the lesbian couple (the things I notice that often times I wish I hadn't). In our navigating, I noticed once again the huge overstuffed diaper bags. Some were for tiny babies, and others were for toddlers. Honestly, I don't get it. Nosy person that I am, I noticed in one stroller an open diaper bag, presumably it was open because it had too much stuff and couldn't close, which had what appeared to be a 3lb can of powdered formula. Are you kidding me? When my girls were eventually on formula, a can that size would take about 2 1/2-3 weeks for them to consume. Why does one need something so large for a trip to the zoo? Do some parents fear that they will be trapped in the zoo?
I guess I just don't get it. I carried a diaper bag with Madeline. After a month of carrying my larger bag which wasn't very large, I moved to a very small bag that contained a pacifier, a few diapers and wipes in a portable changing pad, a bottle if we were going to be gone a long time, a burp cloth, nursing pads, my wallet and keys. When I had Ellie I started out with the super small bag and then decided it was easier to just put her bare necessities in my purse. If we went somewhere for a long day, I'd bring the bigger bag and pack enough diapers and wipes for the day, a small blanket and a change of clothes.
Maybe I'm too much of a minimalist, but I don't see the point in being weighed down with a lot of unnecessary stuff. I did keep a small bag in the car that held emergency diapers, wipes, pacifiers and other items that could be needed in a pinch, but I didn't carry them. Once in a while I'd need to dip into my emergency supply, but I never felt like I needed to lug it around with me.
Friday, December 31, 2010
Good Riddance 2010
I can't say that all of 2010 has been a bad year because it hasn't. We've had lots of great times throughout this year, but on the whole, it's been a year filled with losses and events I would have happily avoided.
Our family lost six members in 2010. Our most recent loss was Bryan's grandmother who passed away this Tuesday. Some of the losses were expected. We knew Bryan's grandmother wasn't well and hadn't been so for a while now, so we can't say we were surprised or caught off guard by her passing. However, it doesn't make it any less sad. My children no longer have a living great grandparent. Several of our losses were totally unexpected. The loss that sticks out the most to me is that of my Aunt Florence. If you had told me this time last year that she would no longer be with us I wouldn't have believed it. Same goes for two of my uncles.
There were plenty of other unexpected things that cropped up in this past year that I think we could have done without. I would have been happy to not have termites, but I suppose finding them before they could do any damage was probably a very good thing, even it if was a very costly discovery.
Despite all the losses and annoyances that have cropped up throughout this year, I'm not blind to all of the good that has come of this year. Our children have been happy and healthy. Ellie has hit some milestones like learning how to swim and read. And Madeline has been doing plenty of things that make us proud. She had her first straight A report card this year. She also was chosen for the school safety patrol and chorus. She even decided to be an altar server so she could be involved at our church. It does my heart good to see that I've raised a child who wants to contribute to her community.
I'm hopeful that 2011 will be a year with less sadness and loss than this year has been. I wish you all a happy and healthy New Year. I pray that God will bless us and keep us all in the coming year.
Bring on 2011!
Our family lost six members in 2010. Our most recent loss was Bryan's grandmother who passed away this Tuesday. Some of the losses were expected. We knew Bryan's grandmother wasn't well and hadn't been so for a while now, so we can't say we were surprised or caught off guard by her passing. However, it doesn't make it any less sad. My children no longer have a living great grandparent. Several of our losses were totally unexpected. The loss that sticks out the most to me is that of my Aunt Florence. If you had told me this time last year that she would no longer be with us I wouldn't have believed it. Same goes for two of my uncles.
There were plenty of other unexpected things that cropped up in this past year that I think we could have done without. I would have been happy to not have termites, but I suppose finding them before they could do any damage was probably a very good thing, even it if was a very costly discovery.
Despite all the losses and annoyances that have cropped up throughout this year, I'm not blind to all of the good that has come of this year. Our children have been happy and healthy. Ellie has hit some milestones like learning how to swim and read. And Madeline has been doing plenty of things that make us proud. She had her first straight A report card this year. She also was chosen for the school safety patrol and chorus. She even decided to be an altar server so she could be involved at our church. It does my heart good to see that I've raised a child who wants to contribute to her community.
I'm hopeful that 2011 will be a year with less sadness and loss than this year has been. I wish you all a happy and healthy New Year. I pray that God will bless us and keep us all in the coming year.
Bring on 2011!
Monday, November 22, 2010
Putting my thoughts where I can see them
Sometimes I have so much to do that I just feel like I'm spinning and subsequently can't get anything done. Today is one such day. I have what feels like an incredibly jam packed week ahead of me.
Ellie finally went back to school today. Yay! She was out for the entire week last week so I'm very happy to see her go to school today. Her going to school meant that I was presented with a several hour stretch to get some things accomplished around the house.
Since she's been gone, I have visited the Acme for sour cream and green apples (totally unrelated food purchases, in case you are wondering), cleaned the stove top and kitchen sink, begun to seriously thaw the turkey that is being cooked tomorrow, moved the turkey for Thanksgiving to the fridge, cleaned hand-me-down mini fridge and confirmed that it does, in fact, work, gathered up the recycles, sorted the laundry and raked some of the leaves in the back yard. It is just a little after noon and already I'm exhausted. Madeline has half days at school all this week so I have just 70 minutes until I need to pick her up at school.
I feel like I have far more to do than I have time to do it. If I pick something up to put it away, I walk past several other jobs that need to be done. Sometimes I stay on task and focus on the job I'm doing and other times I take a stab at doing some or all of the other job. It's days like this when I wish I volunteered a little less.
Tomorrow is Ellie's Thanksgiving show at school. Once that is finished, her class will have a small feast with the parents and we will go home. At home, Bryan needs to prepare a turkey for Madeline's class feast that will be held on Wednesday. I will need to take care of a few things regarding that feast and will have to send a reminder email to all the parents who are contributing food to the feast (I'm room mom, so I'm responsible for this feast.).
Wednesday will see me running Madeline's class feast and ensuring that everything runs smoothly. Then there's Thanksgiving day preparations to worry about. I have to get the house in order, wash the china which has been sitting in the china closets since Christmas, and make a pumpkin cheesecake.
Once Thursday gets here, I have little that I need to do. I will try to get to Mass in the morning and after that I will spend the day staying out of the way while Bryan prepares dinner. I'll make the side dishes and make sure the table is set but the turkey is entirely his deal. Bryan and I will also celebrate our anniversary this Thanksgiving. It's hard to believe ten years have already passed.
So my mind is spinning as I try to tackle what feels like a thousand things at once. I see stacks of books that I want to read or need to review that I just don't have time for at the moment. There are Christmas cards I want to slap mailing labels and stamps on, but I don't have the time to gather the new addresses of those who have moved in the past year. I have gifts that I want wrapped and checked off my to do list for Christmas. In short, I'm trying to cram way too much into a short period of time that is already totally scheduled.
Ellie finally went back to school today. Yay! She was out for the entire week last week so I'm very happy to see her go to school today. Her going to school meant that I was presented with a several hour stretch to get some things accomplished around the house.
Since she's been gone, I have visited the Acme for sour cream and green apples (totally unrelated food purchases, in case you are wondering), cleaned the stove top and kitchen sink, begun to seriously thaw the turkey that is being cooked tomorrow, moved the turkey for Thanksgiving to the fridge, cleaned hand-me-down mini fridge and confirmed that it does, in fact, work, gathered up the recycles, sorted the laundry and raked some of the leaves in the back yard. It is just a little after noon and already I'm exhausted. Madeline has half days at school all this week so I have just 70 minutes until I need to pick her up at school.
I feel like I have far more to do than I have time to do it. If I pick something up to put it away, I walk past several other jobs that need to be done. Sometimes I stay on task and focus on the job I'm doing and other times I take a stab at doing some or all of the other job. It's days like this when I wish I volunteered a little less.
Tomorrow is Ellie's Thanksgiving show at school. Once that is finished, her class will have a small feast with the parents and we will go home. At home, Bryan needs to prepare a turkey for Madeline's class feast that will be held on Wednesday. I will need to take care of a few things regarding that feast and will have to send a reminder email to all the parents who are contributing food to the feast (I'm room mom, so I'm responsible for this feast.).
Wednesday will see me running Madeline's class feast and ensuring that everything runs smoothly. Then there's Thanksgiving day preparations to worry about. I have to get the house in order, wash the china which has been sitting in the china closets since Christmas, and make a pumpkin cheesecake.
Once Thursday gets here, I have little that I need to do. I will try to get to Mass in the morning and after that I will spend the day staying out of the way while Bryan prepares dinner. I'll make the side dishes and make sure the table is set but the turkey is entirely his deal. Bryan and I will also celebrate our anniversary this Thanksgiving. It's hard to believe ten years have already passed.
So my mind is spinning as I try to tackle what feels like a thousand things at once. I see stacks of books that I want to read or need to review that I just don't have time for at the moment. There are Christmas cards I want to slap mailing labels and stamps on, but I don't have the time to gather the new addresses of those who have moved in the past year. I have gifts that I want wrapped and checked off my to do list for Christmas. In short, I'm trying to cram way too much into a short period of time that is already totally scheduled.
Monday, October 25, 2010
SHARK!
I think the stress of keeping up with the balancing act I've created for myself must be affecting my dreams or something. I can't remember what went on this past Friday but it yielded a very interesting dream.
I seldom, if ever, dream about blogging. It's just not that important to my subconscious, or so I thought. I woke up around 4AM Saturday morning because of a dream I had about my blog. Not this one, and not the one I created for my religious education classes, but my shark blog. Yes, that's right, the blog of my dreams is a shark blog.
I haven't actually done a Google search to see if anyone blogs about sharks. I'm sure that someone must have a shark blog. I can't imagine why I even dreamt about a shark blog, let alone one that I created.
I told Bryan about it and he had quite the laugh. He wants to know when I'll be starting up the shark blog. I told him I doubt it will be anytime soon, if ever, but he thinks I should just run with the idea.
Without giving the blog away (I know many of you are on the edge of your seats wanting to know more about the shark blog) everything about my dream blog, I'll give you some of the details. The blog features a daily post about something relating to sharks. Maybe it's a picture, or maybe it's a fact or interesting article. The blog had a header and background that was created by me using photographs I took. (Imagine that! In my dream world I'm a shark photographer, too!)
I'm still surprised that the blog of my dreams is a shark blog of all things.
I seldom, if ever, dream about blogging. It's just not that important to my subconscious, or so I thought. I woke up around 4AM Saturday morning because of a dream I had about my blog. Not this one, and not the one I created for my religious education classes, but my shark blog. Yes, that's right, the blog of my dreams is a shark blog.
 |
| The girls and I in a shark at Epcot three years ago. |
I haven't actually done a Google search to see if anyone blogs about sharks. I'm sure that someone must have a shark blog. I can't imagine why I even dreamt about a shark blog, let alone one that I created.
I told Bryan about it and he had quite the laugh. He wants to know when I'll be starting up the shark blog. I told him I doubt it will be anytime soon, if ever, but he thinks I should just run with the idea.
Without giving the blog away (I know many of you are on the edge of your seats wanting to know more about the shark blog) everything about my dream blog, I'll give you some of the details. The blog features a daily post about something relating to sharks. Maybe it's a picture, or maybe it's a fact or interesting article. The blog had a header and background that was created by me using photographs I took. (Imagine that! In my dream world I'm a shark photographer, too!)
I'm still surprised that the blog of my dreams is a shark blog of all things.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Gaining clarity from delusion
I'm sure this probably seems incredibly odd, especially since I have actually blogged in the past two days, but I miss the time I used to carve out to blog more regularly. I'm really not sure what has been happening to my days lately, but they feel like they pass by in the blink of an eye. Perhaps it's all the little things I've been doing to fill my time that make it seem that way.
My delusional thoughts from the summer that I'd have more time than I'd know what to do with while both kids are in school for a full day have proven to be dead wrong. My mornings are rushed as I scurry to get the girls and myself fed, showered, dressed and out the door. Thanks to inconveniently staggered start times I get to fret about how late Ellie will be for school on a daily basis. Madeline cannot be dropped off until 8:40AM perunreasonable public school rules. Inevitably I get stuck behind the over protective concerned parent in the drop off line at least three days a week. These parents are the kind who cannot drive away from the loop until their darling little child has entered the school building and are totally out of the parent's line of sight. They drive me insane as I watch the minutes tick by on the clock as Ellie's prospects of getting to school close to starting time quickly fade. While I'm not the biggest fan of sending Madeline to the public school I am confident that when I drop her off and speed away drive to my next stop that she is safe and under the competent supervision of the four educators who are stationed at the drop off line.
Once I get Ellie to her school I scurry her off to her classroom door. Now that she's a big kindergartener she has decided that she's really too big and cool to hug and kiss me goodbye when her classmates are around. So on an almost daily basis my baby is trying to thwart my attempts to say goodbye. Clearly it's time for a new model who needs me and isn't embarrassed to admit it.
Most days I go home and do what I can to get the house cleaned and in order. Some days I wonder why I bother when I know the house will start to revert to it's current state as soon as Ellie followed by Madeline and Bryan return home. I realize now that my hopes for an immaculate home are nothing short of a pipe dream. After nine years of fighting a losing battle to have a spotless home I am starting to come to terms with the fact that having a perfectly kept home will likely have to wait for a different season of my life. And as shocking as this revelation has been for me, I think I can accept it. I'm still going to try to attain an more orderly house, but I'm not going to fret when the house doesn't look perfect. Once when I lamented to Bryan that I wanted the house to be perfectly clean all the time he laughed and told me that it's not going to be clean all of the time because we live here. He wasn't telling me that we're just a bunch of slobs who can't or won't pick up after ourselves, which is how I interpreted his statement at the time, but rather he was telling me to stop running myself into the ground trying to attain the impossible. Yes, the house can be clean, but as long as we're living life to the fullest we're not going to have a house that looks like it belongs in a magazine.
And the mystery of the vanishing time? Well, I've come to realize that maintaining the house, volunteering for school and church related things, and taking the girls to and from school take up a lot of time. I have the odd hour or two here and there during the week, but I simply don't have hours of my day that are devoid of activity. I thought I'd have time to sit and watch a documentary here and there or read a book but so far I haven't had that kind of time in almost two months. As crazy as it may seem, I think I have more time and more flexibility when the girls are at home.
My delusional thoughts from the summer that I'd have more time than I'd know what to do with while both kids are in school for a full day have proven to be dead wrong. My mornings are rushed as I scurry to get the girls and myself fed, showered, dressed and out the door. Thanks to inconveniently staggered start times I get to fret about how late Ellie will be for school on a daily basis. Madeline cannot be dropped off until 8:40AM per
Once I get Ellie to her school I scurry her off to her classroom door. Now that she's a big kindergartener she has decided that she's really too big and cool to hug and kiss me goodbye when her classmates are around. So on an almost daily basis my baby is trying to thwart my attempts to say goodbye. Clearly it's time for a new model who needs me and isn't embarrassed to admit it.
Most days I go home and do what I can to get the house cleaned and in order. Some days I wonder why I bother when I know the house will start to revert to it's current state as soon as Ellie followed by Madeline and Bryan return home. I realize now that my hopes for an immaculate home are nothing short of a pipe dream. After nine years of fighting a losing battle to have a spotless home I am starting to come to terms with the fact that having a perfectly kept home will likely have to wait for a different season of my life. And as shocking as this revelation has been for me, I think I can accept it. I'm still going to try to attain an more orderly house, but I'm not going to fret when the house doesn't look perfect. Once when I lamented to Bryan that I wanted the house to be perfectly clean all the time he laughed and told me that it's not going to be clean all of the time because we live here. He wasn't telling me that we're just a bunch of slobs who can't or won't pick up after ourselves, which is how I interpreted his statement at the time, but rather he was telling me to stop running myself into the ground trying to attain the impossible. Yes, the house can be clean, but as long as we're living life to the fullest we're not going to have a house that looks like it belongs in a magazine.
And the mystery of the vanishing time? Well, I've come to realize that maintaining the house, volunteering for school and church related things, and taking the girls to and from school take up a lot of time. I have the odd hour or two here and there during the week, but I simply don't have hours of my day that are devoid of activity. I thought I'd have time to sit and watch a documentary here and there or read a book but so far I haven't had that kind of time in almost two months. As crazy as it may seem, I think I have more time and more flexibility when the girls are at home.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
What a week!
I can't believe almost an entire week has past by since I last posted anything here. I've been so busy with so many things.
On Friday our pool was closed. I haven't been in it since the last week in August, but I felt sad to see the pool closed for the winter. I am however happy that I no longer have to worry about Bryan setting off the pool alarm that we have on our sliding glass door. I won't be listening to the ear piercing alarm again until May. I guess that's something to celebrate.
This past weekend was Madeline's soccer tournament. Her team wound up being the only recreational team in the tourney and the girls who are all U-9 with the exception of one player were put in the U-10 bracket against travel teams. We were a bit concerned that the girls would be totally outclassed but they actually did pretty well holding their own against the travel teams. Out of three games we only won one of them, but they managed to score goals in each game. Madeline scored a goal against a travel team from our soccer club, and she was goalie for a nice chunk of time during the game that our team won. During that game she made a lot of awesome saves. It amazes me that such a small kid can protect such a huge net.
On Monday the girls and I went to Stone Harbor for some dental fun. We were all scheduled to have our teeth cleaned. I was partly dreading the visit because Ellie hasn't reacted well to going to the dentist ever since she had her frenulum snipped at the pediatrician's office to eliminate her tongue tie issue. Much to my shock she happily hopped in the chair and allowed them to clean her teeth. Everyone in the office was amazed at the total change of heart on her part. The best part of the whole visit was finding out there are no cavities. Yay! I hope I can continue on my streak of not developing any new cavities.
I even took the girls to the beach on Monday to take pictures for our Christmas card. The outing didn't go well. The girls weren't too happy to be wearing sweaters and jeans on an 80 degree day. The picture outing went bad when Ellie sat on a sticker bush with big stickers that went though her jeans and stuck her. She was not a happy camper and for a little while we were under the impression that she had part of the sticker stuck in her tush. Poor kid is never going to sit on the beach again without looking first.
Tuesday was my crazy day of trying to get the house in order after having a busy extended weekend. I got the laundry under control and cleaned a lot of the house. I managed to do most of that before my parents came to visit for the afternoon. I don't know where that awesome burst of energy came from but it was great while it lasted.
Today my parents came to visit again and we went up to my Uncle's house to go through his belongings. Before you think I'm odd and rummaging through other people's things, I should clarify that this is the uncle who passed away in July. My dad is handling his estate and asked me if I could help him move some things out of his house. Going to his house was kind of like going on a scavenger hunt. I got to rummage through a lot of debris (and I'm being kind with my description) and find some tools and books that could be of use to us. I'm now the happy owner of a hatchet (which I don't intend to bury--I'm so punny today), a rake, a mini fridge, four hammers and a bunch of other stuff.
I'm continually amazed at how quickly time passes these days. It's so hard to believe that October is nearly at the midway point.
On Friday our pool was closed. I haven't been in it since the last week in August, but I felt sad to see the pool closed for the winter. I am however happy that I no longer have to worry about Bryan setting off the pool alarm that we have on our sliding glass door. I won't be listening to the ear piercing alarm again until May. I guess that's something to celebrate.
This past weekend was Madeline's soccer tournament. Her team wound up being the only recreational team in the tourney and the girls who are all U-9 with the exception of one player were put in the U-10 bracket against travel teams. We were a bit concerned that the girls would be totally outclassed but they actually did pretty well holding their own against the travel teams. Out of three games we only won one of them, but they managed to score goals in each game. Madeline scored a goal against a travel team from our soccer club, and she was goalie for a nice chunk of time during the game that our team won. During that game she made a lot of awesome saves. It amazes me that such a small kid can protect such a huge net.
I even took the girls to the beach on Monday to take pictures for our Christmas card. The outing didn't go well. The girls weren't too happy to be wearing sweaters and jeans on an 80 degree day. The picture outing went bad when Ellie sat on a sticker bush with big stickers that went though her jeans and stuck her. She was not a happy camper and for a little while we were under the impression that she had part of the sticker stuck in her tush. Poor kid is never going to sit on the beach again without looking first.
Tuesday was my crazy day of trying to get the house in order after having a busy extended weekend. I got the laundry under control and cleaned a lot of the house. I managed to do most of that before my parents came to visit for the afternoon. I don't know where that awesome burst of energy came from but it was great while it lasted.
Today my parents came to visit again and we went up to my Uncle's house to go through his belongings. Before you think I'm odd and rummaging through other people's things, I should clarify that this is the uncle who passed away in July. My dad is handling his estate and asked me if I could help him move some things out of his house. Going to his house was kind of like going on a scavenger hunt. I got to rummage through a lot of debris (and I'm being kind with my description) and find some tools and books that could be of use to us. I'm now the happy owner of a hatchet (which I don't intend to bury--I'm so punny today), a rake, a mini fridge, four hammers and a bunch of other stuff.
I'm continually amazed at how quickly time passes these days. It's so hard to believe that October is nearly at the midway point.
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