Week in the Life - Day 7

Sunday, April 29, 2012

0645 Wake up.  It’s the last day of Week in the Life – yay!  Coffee and computer.  Unlike most Sunday mornings, we are actually not watching HGTV this morning.

0745 Tell the girls to make themselves lunch and get ready for the horse show.  Ron wants to go to 9:00 mass so I have to get ready too.

0845 Leave for the stables.

0905 Arrive at mass – only a few minutes late and not nearly as late as I thought we might be.

1010 Whew – that was a long mass.  Father was on a soapbox today.  “Going to mass every week is the most important thing a Christian can do.”  Guess it’s a good thing we didn’t decide to skip today.

1030 Bagels and Starbucks while we wait for the boy scouts to get back from the campout.

1050 Pick up Ryan, Trevor and Tyler.  They were waiting for us actually since they got back to Subway early.  Oh well.  Take Trevor and Tyler to their grandma’s house (she lives on the mesa near the buffalo!) then go home.  Stealth Patrol won 4 ribbons this weekend – 2 first place and 2 third place.  Yay!  Ryan also said they had plenty of food.  Whew.  I was a little worried.  We bought everything on the list but it just didn’t look like enough.  Thankfully I was wrong!

1130 Home.  More cleaning for the party.  Ron is hanging pictures to make it look like someone actually lives here while I clean the fountain.

1:30 p.m. Ron leaves to take the cardboard (moving boxes!) to be recycled then pick up the girls from horses.

2:00 p.m. Ron called.  Do I want him to go to the grocery store on his way home?  Yes!  Then I can continue with my bathroom cleaning.  Whew!

4:00 p.m. Finishing up the last food prep, just in the knick of time.

4:15 p.m. First guest arrives.  In total we had 7 people and 2 dogs come.  The dogs kept climbing in the fountain which totally reminded me of Josh and Alex and the kiddie pool they had to “swim” in.  The evening was lots of fun – our first official party here in California.

After the party, it’s time to do the dishes and clean up a bit then go to bed.  My legs and back are killing me from so much time walking and standing on the hard floors, even with my shoes on.

Week in the Life - Day 6

Saturday, April 28, 2012

0645 “Sleeping in” today.  Go downstairs for coffee then come back up for computer time.

0830 Leave for volleyball.  Stop at McDonalds on the way.

0900 – 1000 Watch volleyball games and talk to Cate. 

Once home again, the girls clean up for the party tomorrow.  Then Ron heads out for a bike ride while the girls and I run errands.  We go to Payless first to get shoes for Felisa for First Communion and Bella finds a new pair of converse shoes too.  Then we go to Game Stop to look around.  I convince Felisa she should wait until we get closer to Big Trip before she buys a new game.  We’re hungry so we go to In-n-Out Burger for lunch.  We have one last library read-a-thon certificate to use for a free burger.  Then finally back home again.  Time to read some more and I finally finish my book!

4:30 p.m. Ron calls for a pick up on Corbett Canyon so he can get home in time to get ready for the benefit dinner at school tonight.  I make macaroni and cheese for the girls for dinner before we leave.

5:30 p.m. Arrive at school.  The tri-tip is delicious!  Ron is hungry from his long ride so he eats 3 plates.  There is extra tri-tip leftover so we are able to buy a hunk of meat to serve at our party tomorrow.  Friends sitting next to us (Jennifer and Barry) win $500 in the drawing.  We ended up as a “Top 10” Loser.

9:00 p.m. Home.  The girls are awake, watching Cats and Dogs on DVD.  Ron and I go upstairs for computer and tv time of our own then bedtime.

Week in the Life - Day 5

Friday, April 27, 2012

1215 Can’t breathe!  Wake up to use my inhaler.

0615 Wake up.  More crazy dreams last night.  Where does my brain come up with this stuff?!?  Go downstairs to get coffee

0625 Ron has lots of questions for me this morning.  He is filling out his financial paperwork for his 2-year review at work.

0715 Young House Love has posted early today.  Yay!

0730 Not that it mattered any – still running late!  Too bad I didn’t rally myself early enough to get a shower before I take the kids to school.  I decide to put on my workout clothes instead.  Maybe I’ll walk or something this morning.

0750 Downstairs.  Making lunches.

0805 Time to go!

0811 Passing the bus stop early today – the kids are still out there, waiting.

0815 Drop off kids.

0820 McD’s for breakfast

0830 Decide to just go to bootcamp.  I’m already dressed for it and it’s a better workout than I’ll do on my own and I have plenty of time to get there.

0845 At the park.  Read my book while I’m waiting.

0910 Time to get moving!

0945 Regretting my decision to come to bootcamp.  I should’ve gone for a walk.  It would’ve been so much easier!

1019 Survived bootcamp.  Heading back home.  Once there I sit out on the patio to finish my breakfast and read a couple more chapters of my book.

1045 Okay… time to get up and get something done.  Maybe I should work in my office today.  I haven’t  been in there to work on anything since we got home from Spring Break.

1055 Cleaning off my desk is not taking as long as I thought it would.  Hmm.  Maybe I should read some more with all my extra time!

1115 Must. Stop. Reading!  Decide that a shower should be next on my agenda.  But first I feed the birds and try to brush the grass clippings (they were mowing at the park today!) off my knees.  Good thing these are black pants!

1140 Ah – much better.  Check email and Facebook while I comb my hair.

1156 Hmm… what should I wear today?  Check the weather – 66 degrees and sunny.  Not too bad.

12:00 p.m. Getting hungry!

12:04 p.m. Email from the school – the Shamrock Thrift Store needs donations.  How timely.  I was just thinking earlier that I need to clear out the donation box before everyone comes next week.

12:05 p.m. Go downstairs.  Warm up chili and a baked potato from last night.  Decide to have a salad as well (salad for me anyway which is just lettuce and dressing!).  Read a bit while I’m waiting for the food to warm up then pack up the food for the campout.

12:54 p.m.  Lunch is ready.  Read again while eating.

1:15 p.m. Time check… I have about an hour before I pick up the kids.  What should I do?  Flat Stanley’s home work or Project Life?  I know if Felisa were here she would want me to work on Stanley.

2:00 p.m. Computer freezes up so I decide to just go ahead and head into town now.  I stop at Subway, Jamba Juice, and Starbucks.

2:40 p.m. Arrive at school.  Read my book while I’m waiting for dismissal.  Joy calls with questions about Camporee.

3:00 p.m. School’s out.  Let’s get going!

We go home to change clothes then load the food and Ryan’s gear into the car.

3:30 p.m. Time to go!

3:45 p.m. Arrive at Subway in Pismo – our troop rendezvous point.  As usual there is lots of last minute stuff – paperwork, questions, etc.  Ugh.  I wish this group could get their act together.

4:20 p.m. Leave Subway.  Time to take the girls to the stables for riding lessons.

6:10 p.m. Home from horses.  Bella and Felisa bring in the trash cans and the mail.

Ron comes home from work.

6:50 p.m. We’re at Ventana Grill for dinner but the wait is more than an hour.  Bummer.  We get drinks at the very crowded bar while we wait.

8:45 p.m. Felisa calls.  She wants to know when we are coming home.  I told her we will be on the way soon.

9:05 p.m. Home.  Girls are in bed (Felisa is waiting in our bed upstairs).

Bedtime!

Week in the Life - Day 4

Thursday, April 26, 2012

0600 Wake up.  Ron is getting ready for work.  I’m not ready to get up so I go back to sleep.

0630 Wake up again.  Go downstairs to get coffee then come back up to check emails, Facebook, etc.

0737 Time to get up!  Running late this morning.  It’s raining as I’m getting dressed.

0750 Go downstairs.  Definitely running late.  Good thing I have the day off from making lunch (all three signed up to buy lunch today).  Start a load of laundry.  Ryan is looking for his track uniform.

0801 Rally the troops – it’s time to go!

0816 Dropping the kids at school.  It is a slow-moving car line this morning.

0829 Leaving McD’s, breakfast in hand.

0838 Back home.  It is definitely raining harder up here at the top of the hill than it was down in town.

Eat breakfast and check email/Facebook/blogs again.  Order the Shutterfly book for Eleanor’s birthday gift.  Hear noises outside – see Janice and Bud back again, this time with a Uhaul truck.  Rotate the laundry (there’s the socks I was looking for this morning!).  Wash the crockpot.  Go freezer diving to find meat for the chili.  I have too much leftover bread.  What can I make other than bread pudding?

0945 Get the taxes ready for the mail while the meat is defrosting a bit.

0957 I have over-taped the envelope (I think it’s a hereditary condition!) and given the birds a snack.  They don’t seem to like the new flavor of bird bars (suet).  I hear happy bird sounds behind me as I’m heading back inside.

1002  Camporee menu review and looking at grocery store flyers.  Looks like Albertsons is the winner.

1018 Wait!  I need chili recipe before I go to the store in case I need some ingredients.

1029 Might as well get started on the chili before I leave.  Oh and I need to start the baked potatoes too!

1035 It totally turning out to be chili weather today.  And I didn’t even know that when I planned the menu.

1048 Okay.  Done for now.  The bigger chunks need to defrost more before I can cut them up.

1058 Leaving to run errands.

1103 Oops- went the wrong way.  Guess I’ll go to the other post office.

1108 There are lots of cars at the post office.  Hope there’s not a long line inside.  Once inside, an older German gentleman in line behind me showed me a 2^nd form I was missing to mail my certified tax return.  The postal clerk was nice as well.  He showed me the new cherry blossom stamps.  Somehow he had guessed that Ron was a Marine which led to me telling him we had moved from DC.  A retired Marine was at the window next to me and he jumped in to tell a story about challenge coins.  I had no idea people actually challenged others to show their coins.  (If you don’t have a coin, then you must buy the drinks.)  I figured it was just a military urban legend.  All in all a very interesting trip to the post office!  An example of how life is different in a smaller town.

1121 Leaving the post office.

1126 It has stopped raining and you can see blue skies over the ocean.

1129 At school.  I get an email that track is cancelled.  Hmm…now how shall I work our afternoon schedule?  I almost forget about Bella’s piano lessons in my plans.  I should be able to bring Ryan shopping for the Boy Scout food now instead of doing it myself.  Better to be able to involve the scout whenever possible!

1141 Gift cards purchased from the office.

1151 Yikes!  Just met the mail lady coming out of the driveway as I’m going in.  That blind corner scares me sometimes – I’m always afraid something like this will happen.  Luckily we met on the straightaway and passed with no problems.

12:30 p.m. I give up!  I have been searching online for the clothing storage idea I had seen that I wanted to use for Ryan’s room.  I can’t find it on Pinterest or in a google search.  What was it?  Cubes?  Shelves?  Crates?  Argh!

12:35 p.m.  Watch NCIS on dvd while sewing Ryan’s new rank badge on his shirt.

12:55 p.m. Watch more NCIS while I cut up more meat for chili, eat lunch (leftovers from CJs), and fold laundry.

1:48 p.m. Still folding laundry…

2:35 p.m. Getting ready to sew the hem on Ryan’s new scout pants but wait!  What time is it?  Ack!  It’s time to go to school to pick up the kids.

2:42 p.m. Leave for school.

3:18 p.m. Home.  No track meet and no talent show dance practice today.  Ryan and Bella have snacks and do homework.  Bella grabs a snack and gets ready for piano.

3:41 p.m. Time to leave for piano.

3:55 p.m. Arrive at piano.  The silver knob on my gear shift is missing – apparently it has fallen off while I was driving over.  Luckily I find it on the floor and am able to stick it back on.

3:59 p.m. Bella goes inside for her lesson and I wait in the car.  I check email on my phone and then I read my book.

4:19 p.m. Hear a train going through the valley.

4:49 p.m. Home from piano.  Felisa shows us a lizard with no tail that she found.  Then the kids take the trash cans out to the curb and dinner is eaten in shifts.

5:21 p.m. Ron called – he is on the way home.

5:44 p.m. Ryan and I head out for his guitar lesson.

5:46 p.m. Pass Ron on the way down the hill.

5:53 p.m. Arrive at the music shop.  My mind was wandering as it does, thinking about this and that, and I almost passed it!

6:00 p.m. Ryan goes inside for his lesson and I stay in the car, reading my book while I wait.

6:30 p.m. Lesson over.  Time to go shopping for Camporee food.

7:23 p.m. Done shopping for the campout.  Spent $52 for 4 meals for 4 boys.  Not too bad.

Once home I remind Felisa it is her turn to do the dishes.  Ryan packs for the campout.  Bella is finishing her mission report.  Looks like it may be a late-to-bed night for everyone.

8:45 p.m. Put away my laundry and get ready for bed.  Check email/Facebook/Pinterest one last time and work on updating Week in the Life to my blog.  I’m still only on Tuesday!

9:47 p.m.  Tired.  Ready to shut down the computer and go to sleep.

Week in the Life - Day 3

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

0600 Wake up to the sound of rain.  Go downstairs for coffee and have a coughing fit.  Before he leaves, Ron asks me to mail out the VA state tax return.  I go back upstairs with my coffee and snuggle back into the warm covers for some quality laptop time.

0710 Out the window I notice some cool clouds as the sun is rising in the East so I go outside to take a picture.  It's not raining at the moment but the radar looks like some heavy rain is coming.  It will probably arrive just in time for bootcamp.

0715 Updating my blog.  Still on the morning of Day 1.  I must be "talking" too much if it's taking this long to type it all up!

0729 Time to get up!

0740 Dressed and downstairs.  Time to make lunch.

0808 Leaving for school.  Something smells stinky outside this morning.

0819 Dropping kids at school.

0823 Stop at Office Max (they don't have what I'm looking for) and Albertsons (for a donut! and a copy of the sale ad to check prices for Boy Scout campout shopping this week).

0840 Completely inhaled that donut in no time.  It is starting to rain a bit.

0842 Check the bootcamp blog for any location changes.  It says 6 a.m. class at the bandstand but nothing about 9:15.

0843 So here I sit just wasting time again.

0853 Three rounds of solitaire later (I lost 1 and won 2) it is not raining so I might as well head over to the park.

0915 Still no rain - working out at park today!

1023 Done.  Completely sweaty and exhausted.

1027 Cancel out all positive effects of the workout by getting breakfast at McD's.

1031 Stop at Valero for gas.  $4.21/gallon today.

1042 Farmers Market.  Buy strawberries, carrots, and broccoli.  Asked someone about zucchini - they said about another month and it will be out.

1054 I am feeling stressed out about my To Do List this week.  I think because everything on it is a big project that will take forever.  And there are several of them!

1102 Home.  It is humid today from the rain.  Put away the food.

1115 Go upstairs.  Check Facebook/blogs/email while I eat my McD's sandwich.

1145 Notice Bella's lunchbox in the kitchen.  Oops!  I call the school and Gail says the 4th grade is eating right now.  Should I take it to her?  Some would argue that bringing forgotten items to school does not allow the children to learn responsibility.  Oh well.  I'll take it.

12:12 p.m. Back from the lunch drop.  Bella was very happy to see me.  She actually *ran* over to get it!  FYI, I checked the mileage to school - 3.5 miles each way.  And now I can finally shower.

1:00 p.m. Re-write grocery and shopping lists with forgotten items from yesterday's no-list shopping trip.

1:20 p.m. Trying to get the tax forms ready but I can't figure out what I'm supposed to mail exactly.  Also, a W-2 seems to be missing.  Guess I'll have to postpone this task.

1:36 p.m. Kelly calls.  Horseback is cancelled for today.  Why does it always rain on Wednesday?

1:41 p.m. Not getting anything done around here so might as well to school...  I can go to Albertsons on the way and pick up a couple healthier snacks.

1:48 p.m. Decide I should bring a jacket in case it starts to rain again.

At Albertson's I buy almonds, hummus, and tostitos.  Pick up some flowers for Gail and Anne in the office - it's Administrative Professionals Day and those two ladies have been so nice to me as I adjust to life here.

2:20 p.m. At school.   Deliver the flowers.  It is raining harder now of course - right at dismissal time!

2:30 p.m. School's out (early dismissal day) and track practice is cancelled.

2:40 p.m. On the way home.  At home, put away food.  Discover that my red pepper in the fridge is rotten.  Darn!  If I had known, I would've bought a fresh one.  Guess I'm not having hummus and pepper for a snack today.  Kids are doing homework.  Felisa finishes first.  I'm feeling lazy so to distract Felisa from bugging Bella, I offer to watch an episode of Wildfire with her (an Amazon prime perk -free TV episodes).  I have 45 minutes to spare before dinner, right?

4:15 p.m. Wildfire is over.  Time to make dinner.  Felisa helps a little.  On the menu for tonight - 4 cheese chicken pasta.

4:20 p.m.  Dang! I forgot to run the dishwasher today!  Fill it up and start it.

5:20 p.m. Dinner is ready for the oven.  I have been sampling and it is delicious!  Very yummy and cheesy.  Can't wait!

5:25 p.m. Waiting for the oven to preheat, catching up on today's notes in my notebook.

5:27 p.m. Fold a bit of laundry.  I've been behind on folding all week!

5:36 p.m. Casserole is in the oven and the folding basket is empty!  Woohoo!  Go upstairs to work on my blog again.  Still on Day 1...

6:21 p.m. Ron is home.  Dinner time!

After dinner it is Bella's turn to do the dishes.  Ryan and Felisa are playing a board game.  I remind Ryan to practice his guitar.  Time for me to go upstairs and get comfy.

8:30 p.m. Girls come upstairs to say goodnight.  I'm working on the application to re-finance the Prius then work on more blog updates.  I am finally starting Day 2.  Ron is reading tonight- Catching Fire.

9:00 p.m. Ryan comes up to get his MP3 player that was charging on my computer and say goodnight.

9:03 p.m. I'm too tired to work anymore.  Time to watch a bit of TV and go to sleep.

Week in the Life - Day 2

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

0605 Wake up.  Ron is in the shower.  I was up at 0430 to use my inhaler.  Seriously wish I could sleep through the night without waking up wheezing.  Go downstairs to get coffee then crawl back into bed before Ron leaves for work.

0705 I guess I should work on typing up yesterday's notes of the day...

0729 Time to get up...  :(  I really don't want to!

0733 As I'm starting to move around I am feeling how sore I am from the workout yesterday.  Sore legs and abs.

0741 Going downstairs.

0742 Oh look - it's my day off!  All the kids signed up to buy lunch today so I don't have to make any lunches.  Yay!

0750 Since I'm not making lunch, I guess I should do something productive while the kids finish getting ready for school.  Fold some laundry.

0753 Oops- forgot I need to put the chicken in the crockpot before we leave.

0805 Time to go.  We are driving the Prius today since I have to take it to the dealer for an oil change.

0818 Drop kids at school.

0839 Panera in San Luis Obispo for a breakfast treat.  Coffee and a 4-cheese souffle.  Yum!

0851 Leaving Panera.

0855 Dang! I forgot to bring my shopping lists!  I knew I was going to forget.  Grr!

0858 Park at Target to wait for my appointment time.  Try to re-create my lists for afterwards.

0905 Ron called - testing my recall of userIDs and passwords.  I have the credit card number memorized and I can remember phone numbers easily (if I dial them myself -auto dial works against this super-power of mine for sure!) but this quiz was a bit of a stretch.  Hope I got them all right!

0912 See a guy carrying a flower that he must've picked.  Watch him walk across the parking lot.  He gets into a car where a girl is waiting.  Awwww... so sweet!

0915 List making is complete for the moment.  I can't remember everything.  Drat!   Now it is time to eat my cheese souffle and drink my coffee that is finally an acceptable temperature and no longer scorching hot.

0940 Checked my email and Facebook, won 2 games in a row of solitaire, and finished breakfast. Guess I'll head over to the Toyota dealer now.  Maybe they can get me in a bit early.  I really should learn to be more efficient with these morning windows of time.  When I made the appointment I figured I would have things to get at Target before my appointment but since I don't have my list and I don't want to spend money needlessly (you all know the Target $100 rule, right?) I decide to skip it.

0955 All checked in... just waiting now.

1035 Mission complete!  Off to New Traditions and Home Depot.  I was able to make good progress on my Flat Stanley picture selection while I waited so that will make Felisa happy.  She really wants Stanley to finish his scrapbook so he can go back to school!

1040 At Home Depot.  See a lady putting her dog in the cart, complete with bed so he is comfortable.  This seems to be a California thing because I haven't noticed it in other places.  Why do so many people bring their dogs into the stores with them?  They even do it at grocery stores!

1056 Found the bucket for Felisa's tomato plant from Brownies but no luck on the worm poop from Terracycle.

1100 At New Frontiers.  Run into a friend outside.  It's funny that she also calls it Whole Foods without even realizing it.  I told her I was glad to find someone else who thought it was so similar.

1123 Stop at Michaels to get tacky glue (the boy scouts used all we had to make their patrol banner a couple weeks ago) and found some felt flowers for Bella's mission project.

1138 Heading home.  It has started to cloud up.

1155 Home sweet home.  Time to put the groceries away.

12:00 p.m. Check my shopping list to see what I forgot.  Ear drops, juice, and gift bags - nothing too critical but still frustrating.

12:02 p.m. Check the laundry status.  Two loads are full.  Unload the laundry chute and Ryan's basket and check around Felisa's corner for other dirty clothes and now the dirty laundry is overflowing!

12:08 p.m. One load is in the washer.  I'm feeling hungry.  What's for lunch?

12:15 p.m. Travis calls asking questions about his upcoming trip to Chicago for work.  Unfortunately for him I never went too far from Evanston while at NU and don't know much about good places to stay (and bad places to avoid!) in Chicago.

12:50 p.m. My sewing projects today are not going well.  The patrol banner is fine but everything else is ending up a bit iffy.  I think it is time to eat!

12:51 p.m. Plug in my laptop to charge after my morning at the dealer.

12:53 p.m. Head out for lunch.

1:07 p.m. Carl's Junior.  Chili Cheese Fries - yum!

1:13 p.m. At the library.  Park and eat.  I am SO hungry!

1:22 p.m. Ahhhh... much better.  Now I can go find some libary books to check out.

1:52 p.m. Done at the library.  Have a message from Dr. Z that he needs help with boards of review at the meeting tonight.

1:57 p.m. Having a sweet craving- Starbucks time!  I do opt for decaf though in hopes of avoiding more crazy dreams tonight.

2:12 p.m. Home but only for 30 minutes.  It would've been better if I could've waited longer for lunch but oh well.

2:58 p.m. At school to pick up the kids.  Today's activities are track practice for Ryan, talent show practice for Felisa and for Bella.

4:44 p.m. Finally home from school.

Move wet clothes to the dryer and start another load.  Cook rice and broccoli to go with the chicken.  Kids are doing homework.

5:30 p.m. Dinner time.  Ron got home just in time.

5:50 p.m. Ryan does the dishes.  Ron takes the girls to volleyball practice.  I check email and Facebook, upload Bella's dance practice video for the other girls to watch, and print the campout menu.

6:45 p.m. Leave for the Boy Scout meeting.

9:00 p.m. Home from scouts.  A long meeting as I expected.  Lots of details to go over for camporee this weekend and 3 boards of review.  Ryan and Nick made Second Class tonight - yay!

Before bed I pick the meat left on the chicken while Ryan eats a toasted PB&J.  Felisa comes out to tell me her head hurts from getting hit with a volleyball.

9:30 p.m. Finally going to bed.  Tuesdays are tough!

10:00 p.m. Give up on the internet.  Nothing interesting going on.  Ron and I fall asleep to Doomsday Preppers.  The guy on tonight is wackier than most.

Week in the Life - Day 1

Monday, April 23, 2012

0550 Ron leaves for work, waking me up on his way out.  Since we gave away all our alarm clocks but one before we moved, first one up has to wake up the second one.

0620 After dozing a bit longer, I am up.  It is wet outside this morning.  Unexpected.  Downstairs I am very happy to see coffee that is already brewed.  Yay!  That is one of the downsides to Ron being gone- no coffee when I get up.  I have to make it myself.  Now that I have my coffee, I go back upstairs and crawl back into bed for some internet time.

0727 Finally, Young House Love has their new blog post up.  I was about to give up seeing it this morning.  I don't know why I love this blog so much.  Actually, I do know.  I just really enjoy the writing style.  Am I currently renovating or decorating a house (their subject area)?  No.  But I just love to read all about it anyway.  I have found that is one of the key factors to my long-term blog favorites.  Writing style.  It also has to be a subject matter that I am at least a little interested in but if I don't enjoy reading it, if it is too hard to read, doesn't flow well then forget it.

0733 Time to get up.  For real this time.  Felisa comes upstairs looking sad, complaining of a sore throat and headache.  I give her a drink of my water and tell her to get ready for school.  She should perk up a bit once she gets moving.

0750 Moving pretty slowly today.  Heading downstairs to make lunches and get this show on the road.  Bella is practicing her piano, Felisa is still getting ready, and Ryan is dressed and ready, on the computer as always.

0810 Leaving for school, a few minutes later than I wanted.  Felisa wants to listen to her talent show dance music in the car.

0816 I just realized that I forgot to put my hair up in a ponytail.  Dang it!  I hate working out with my hair down.  Maybe I can find a spare hairband hiding in my purse.

0820 As we pull into the school parking lot, Ryan realizes he forgot to put on his belt.  Oops!  Good thing he has his sweatshirt.  He can zip up and hide the error.  Apparently Sister Margaret said it's okay to do that.

0827 Should I go to the park or to the bandstand?  It's not really raining hard - just misting - so I'm going to guess park for bootcamp today.

0835 No changes on the bootcamp blog.  Must be park.  Current weather - 51 degrees and misty.  The heatwave of sunny and nearly 80 last week is over.  Brr!  It will be a damp, chilly workout today.

0850 Call from Trevor's mom about camporee this weekend - schedule and food shopping

0915 Time to work out!  At least the mist has gone away now.

1030 Home.  Today was not a good workout day.  It was one of those days where I felt like every single thing Nancy was asking me to do was beyond ridiculously impossible.  I couldn't do it and it wasn't even worth trying because I never would be able to do it.  Was showing up better than doing nothing?  Probably.  But barely.

1045 Finally look at the school picture envelopes the kids brought home.  So-so pictures.  I like the beach theme ones - too bad they didn't offer those originally.  Price times 3 kids though will add up in a hurry.  Guess I'll defer the decision awhile longer.  Work on a menu plan and grocery list while I eat my breakfast (leftovers from breakfast at CJs Cafe yesterday).

1100 Shower time!

1200 My checking email then shower break is over.  Start a load of laundry.

12:03 p.m. Headed to Vons

12:11 p.m.  And another crazy speeding driver flies by.  Slow down people!  What is the rush?!

12:18 p.m. Arrive at Vons.

1:12 p.m. Grocery shopping complete and Starbucks in hand.

1:17 p.m. Decide to stop at Jack in the Box for a 2 tacos snack.

1:32 p.m. Back home.  Unload the groceries.  Move the wet laundry to the dryer.

1:53 p.m. Done with the groceries job... What next?  I've got so many things to do that I don't know where to start.  I can't decide so opt for doing nothing instead.  Surf the net...

2:13 p.m. Hear voices outside (very unusual in this awesome quiet hideaway house!) so look out to see what's going on.  Janice and Bud (owners of the house) are here looking for stuff in the garage.  Now that I'm up, might as well go ahead and get the loaf of bread started in the bread machine.

2:33 p.m.  All the ingredients are in and the bread machine is started!

2:34 p.m.  Check my Project Life book to see where I left off.  The last day completed was March 24.  Yikes!  I'm a month behind!

2:42 p.m. Get ready to go to school.  Gather Bella's Girl Scout stuff and fill a water bottle for Ryan.

3:00 p.m. At school.  Barely on time for dismissal and too late for a parking spot in the lot.  Park on the street and walk in.  Give Ryan his water.  Felisa comes over to tell me the new location for talent show dance practice.  Deliver Bella's bag to her.  Go to the office to drop off a check for lunch money.

3:19 p.m. Back in the car to wait... move into a parking spot in the lot where I can see Felisa's group practicing.  Work on choosing Project Life pictures while I'm waiting.

3:40 p.m. Felisa seems to be done with practice a bit early.  When we get back to the car to wait for Ryan and Bella, Felisa tells me that she left her lunchbox in the car today.  Oops! 

4:10 p.m. Felisa is bored of waiting so we head down to the playground to wait there.

4:35 p.m. Track practice and the Girl Scout meeting are over.  Going home.

4:43 p.m. Felisa wants to race the car up the street to the mailbox.  A neighbor out walking sees us and is laughing.  Felisa won.  This time.  Next time I won't be so easy on her!

4:45 p.m. Homework time.

5:19 p.m. Ron called.  He is on the way home.  Guess I'd better get dinner started!

7:15 p.m. Dinner is over.  Dishes are done (it was Felisa's turn - she wants to know how she always gets stuck with taco night dish duty).  Birds are fed.  Heading upstairs for pj's and my bed!

Surf the 'net (again!) then work on my Big Trip 6 scrapbook while Ron is reading (he's reading Catching Fire- my turn is next!). 

Girls come up to say good night around 8:30.  Ron is asleep soon after.  I watch Two and a Half Men and Dancing With the Stars (I missed Melissa Gilbert's dance-darn!) then I am headed for sleep too at about 10 p.m.

Monday

Up around 0545 or so...

0600 I'm dressed and ready to go work out. Grab my Luna Bar and water bottle to head out. Notice that Bella is no longer sleeping on the couch (she came down last night while Kim and I were talking) so I make sure she is back in her bed, not out wandering the streets somewhere.

0710 Home from working out. Get Darby up and out. Get a cup of coffee.

0715 Check email... chess club this week! Add it to the calendar.

0723 Empty the dishwasher.

0730 Put away the dry dishes that have been in the dish drainer for too long. Organize the empty jars and put them away. The dishwasher has water left in the bottom so I start the Drain Cycle.

0748 Wake up Ryan and Felisa (Bella is already up)

0750 Ron leaves for work.

0800 Kim tells me that the hair dryer from the kids' bathroom isn't working. Turns on and heats up but no air is blowing. Gets very hot very fast! Executive decision - that one is going in the trash right now!

0802 Time to make breakfast.

0808 Breakfast is served. Oatmeal and Corn Pops. Ryan asks me why I am taking so many pictures today. I tell him that it is Week In The Life week.

0815 Eleanor stops by to say good morning to the kids.

0819 Tell the kids to get dressed. Weather Report is long pants today.

0823 Zoe is here. Her dad dropped her off.

0831 Throw in a load of laundry before we head out.

0834 Leaving the house. Only a few minutes behind schedule!

0842 Drop Kim at the Metro Kiss and Ride. She is headed to DC for some meetings then flying back home to AL tonight.

0845 Drop the kids off at the school Kiss and Ride.

0849 Back home. Move the deer antler out of the driveway and back into the garden. Broke a couple tips off when I backed over it but it's still mostly intact (minus the squirrel tooth marks!).

0851 Feed Darby. He's glad I didn't forget him. I think he was probably nervous when we all left the house and he hadn't been fed yet!

0857 Dentist office called to remind me of my appointment tomorrow. Guess that means the card I found in my purse last week was a current one. I have been known to call the office about my appointment time/date because I wasn't sure if the card was from this year or some other past year. Patty was laughing at me when I told her I had done it again!

0900 - 0939 Paying bills.

0942 Laundry

0945 Grab my MP3 player and take Darby out for a walk.

1009 Back from the walk. Check emails.

1018 I'm too hungry to think. Grab a slice of bologna out of the frig.

1020 Need to make the menu plan for this week.

1023 Still too hungry to think. Warm up a slice of leftover pizza to eat.

1045 A menu plan is somewhat done. I have figured out that I do not need to go to the store today so now I can move on to other things.

1049 and then some... Email two potential clients to set up appointments for this week. Remember that I never activated the Presto Pay for the PTA's gift card orders. Oops! Get that done. Watch the online registration tutorial for the Girl Scouts. Update my calendar with my to do's for the week. Check in on the Simplify 101 message boards. Attempt to clean my desk. Right away I find Christmas cards that need addresses and were never sent. Shani calls so we talk for a bit, catching up on our weekend happenings.

12:35 p.m. School's almost out - better hit McD's for lunch before I pick them up.

1:00 p.m. At school. A bunch of Teacher Wish Lists for gift cards were there -yay!

1:30 p.m. Home again. Homework time. Look up latin roots for Ryan. Address the last two Christmas cards for 2009 now that I have received the updated addresses. I need to clean out/purge/organize the homework basket but that may have to wait until another day. Assorted laundry tasks, email, clutter control etc.

3:00 p.m. Take the girls to Grandma's house but no one is home. Maybe they went for a walk.

3:30 p.m. Picked weeds outside when I got back from Grandma's and Felisa watered the flowers. Now it's time to make dinner and take a shower before baseball.

3:45 p.m. Carlin from the school office called. Bella borrowed lunch money from the office last month but it was never paid back. Got it in an envelope to go back tomorrow.

4:15 p.m. Grandma D is here. Bella goes with her. Felisa stays because it is her turn to play with Ryan on the PS2.

4:35 p.m. Dinner is in the oven. Cheese and sausage are cut and packed to bring to the game for snack. Shower time!

5:15 Leave for baseball.

6:40 p.m. Ron arrives at the game on his way home from work. Gets a chili dog from the snack bar. Then he heads home to be there when the girls come back.

7:45 p.m. or so... the game is finally over. Ryan is upset because he was in the outfield all game except the inning he played catcher (which he doesn't like) and he struck out twice.

Talk to Ron about the game when I got home. Then Jacob stopped by to bring Ryan a snowcone from the snack bar to cheer him up. Such a nice friend!

Check emails. I can hear the kids playing together on the PS2. They are laughing and having a great time. I hate to disrupt the fun but it is getting to be bedtime.

My back is tired from my workout this morning plus my two hours spent sitting on the bleachers. I miss my laptop... I want to take my computer upstairs and lie down! Do the dishes again, give the kids their allergy meds, and fetch some clean pj pants from the basement for Ryan.

9:38 p.m. Put Darby out one last time. Get my snack of cheesy pretzels and milk. It is finally bedtime! Ron is watching 24. Apparently there are only 6 hours left. My thoughts are that a lot can go wrong in 6 hours. How many more times will Jack Bauer almost die? Ultimately the good guys will win, of course. After 24, the 10:00 news. I watch the weather and the latest on the volcano in Iceland and the ash cloud over Europe. Then I'm asleep. Such a long day today!

My Feet HURT!

We went downtown today - had a fabulous time. Wandered about the Air and Space Museum (oh how I love free museums!) and ate lunch there as well. Missed the rain shower while we were inside the museum and walked home (well actually, back to the train station and then to the car) without getting wet.

Only one little problem... my shoes. Oh my! You would not believe the blisters I have now as a result. I would have been better off wearing my flip-flops which I specifically didn't wear because I don't find them practical for traipsing about town, on and off trains, and walking several blocks at a time. Instead I wore my very cute - but oh so impractical as it turns out! - Skechers. I have 4 pairs of Skechers. Two of them I've had for over a year and love. The other two pairs I bought this spring/summer, thinking that they would be the perfect summer version of my winter ones that are so comfy. Nope. Both new pairs have given me immediate blisters.

My feet hurt so bad today that I wanted to cry. And take off my shoes. Which is not a good idea when walking the streets of a major city. So I didn't. Cry or take off my shoes. Well, okay - maybe I was crying a little on the inside. But I put on a brave face for my kids and they had no idea.

I put a bandaid on my heel this evening, in hopes that it will help me sleep. The neosporin stung. It's not supposed to. Even now, it still hurts just sitting here. And my poor little baby toes... oh, it's awful! Those blisters haven't broken yet and I'm still undecided as to whether or not I'll pop them. First Aid Class always told us not to pop them because it makes them more susceptible to infection. We'll see...

And in the meantime, I will be wearing only flip flops for the next week while I heal.

***

Ron came back. Apparently when I heard him saying that he was going to check messages in the evening when he got back to the hotel, what he actually said was that he was on his way to the far corner of the earth and that I would not get a peep out of him again until he showed up on the doorstep, whenever that might happen to be. Maybe Friday. Maybe not. [edited to add that he called me as soon as he got my messages Friday morning.]

So - my apologies for not listening. He has been instructed though, that next time he must tell me to my face before he leaves so that a bad cell phone connection won't muddle the message. Of course that won't help my distracted brain even in person but it's worth a shot!

***

Ryan lost another tooth at lunch today. The couple sitting next to us at the food court thought it was funny. Marta was a bit shocked initially until she realized that he had lost a tooth, not found something weird in his food.

We have unpacked the tooth that fell out somewhere along the way while on vacation this summer. It was safely stowed in a ziploc baggie in my purse. Now it is in a dish with the newest lost tooth, awaiting the tooth fairy's arrival. I hope she doesn't miss our stop!

***

I went to Safeway tonight. I needed to exchange our $3 winning lottery ticket to buy a (winning) $333 million dollar ticket. I also needed to stop next door at Baja Fresh to buy Ron some taquitos for a snack. So as long as I was at Safeway anyway, I figured I might as well go ahead and do my grocery shopping for the next week. I got everything I could remember from the list (I left the list at home since I wasn't planning to shop when I left!). I got into a very long line (only two cashiers working on Friday night), and waited patiently. Once my order was tallied and my payment submitted, the computer froze up. There's no way to know if my payment went through or not so I end up waiting for several minutes while the machine rebooted. The cashier moved the other customers to the next lane and I waited for the manager to come back and finish the transaction. So far it looks like the payment has posted only once but I have the manager's name written on my receipt in case I'm due for a refund caused by a double payment.

I'm not sure how lucky I am tonight, given what happened but... I bought a ticket anyway. I'll let you know if we win. :)

When I got back to the car, there was a stuffed bunny sitting on my roof. It must have fallen from a car parked there before me. So I'll post a lost and found note on Craigs' List on the off chance someone is looking for it. I couldn't just throw it back down on the ground and leave it in the parking lot and I didn't know what else to do so I brought it home with me.

***

I thought there was more but it's getting late and I'm tired so I guess I'll leave it at that for today.

Friday Notes

Some notes from yesterday while I'm drinking my coffee and mentally preparing for today...

*We went school supply shopping. Target first where we found everything but the erasers and glue sticks. I picked up some plain t-shirts for the girls and some jeans for Ryan. My grandma told me I needed new underwear (she had done some of my laundry while we were on the road this summer) so I bought some.

*We were hungry so went to Burger King for lunch. The kids got to play on the playground though they decided it wasn't as exciting as all the taller McD's ones we visited on our trip. There were negotiations between Bella and Felisa over whether or not to switch happy meal toys. Felisa would not give in so Bella had to settle. We also had a discussion about why Burger King is called Burger King. After all, a king is a person, not a burger. Or a restaurant. I tried my best to explain but she wasn't buying it.

*Next stop... Car Wash!!! The kids have been begging all summer to go to the car wash. We couldn't go before because the rooftop box was still on the van. Today though, the box was off (thanks Shani!) and we went to the car wash. It was quite possibly the highlight of the day. They were all very happy that I decided to pay for the long car wash not just the short one.

*On to Staples. Finally. Ryan had been declaring his love of office supply stores all morning. I can't blame. I love them too! We managed to get out of there without buying too many crazy extra things but we did go up and down all the aisles oohing and ahing.

*Last stop - Safeway. Ryan objected because he thought we were done. I think the length of time spent shopping was just too much for him. You know, he used to be my best shopper when he was younger. After all, I started him out before he could even crawl. Oh well. All the kids got donuts and Ryan got to pick out my coffee. For some reason he really likes to choose the coffee. Maybe it's because he likes to operate the pouring and grinding mechanisms.

*A little rant about Safeway... They have TVKarts now. Really? TV Karts? Our kids are so mind-numbingly incapable of surviving 30 minutes in the grocery store without watching TV?!? And I can only imagine how many commercials there are. Buy fruit snacks! Buy sugar! Buy! Buy! Buy! There didn't appear to be too much room for actual groceries in the cart and I'll be surprised if they're not broken in a week. The plastic car carts that my kids like have already lost half the steering wheels. Why on earth are people so incapable of caring for things? Especially things like these carts that don't belong to them? What are those other kids doing for crying out loud?!?
Safeway - I am NOT happy with your decision to offer TVKarts.

*Okay... let's see now. What else was there? Oh yeah. Dinner. I picked up a Rotisserie chicken (on sale for $4!) and some country crock already prepared mashed potatoes (I'll do anything to avoid cooking it seems!). So look - dinner! And minimal effort on my part. Anyway, Felisa declared dinner to be not as good as daddy cooks. I about choked on my chicken. Boy is that girl confused! Daddy doesn't cook! Which I immediately pointed out to her. I did say though that dinner was not as good as it is when daddy is home eating with us. Because it wasn't. The chicken was dry and the potatoes tasted funny. But whatever - it was dinner.

And that's about it. Today we have a couple errands. I need some anti-itch creme since I lost the one we brought with us on vacation and this bee sting is ITCHING LIKE CRAZY!!! Later tonight we have putt putt golf with the Cub Scouts. Oh joy.

Phone Is Fixed

The phone has been down since Thursday morning. Thankfully the internet was untouched or else I may have gone completely crazy waiting for the repair man. Even more good news - the repairmen work on weekends now. My original appointment was for tomorrow (Sunday) but this morning I got bumped up to today. Woo hoo!

So the diagnosis...

The invisible phantom phone line hiding behind the movie screen in the basement (which is just a long white cord hooked up from the wall jack and into NOTHING in the media closet) apparently decided to quit working. And since I had long ago forgotten that phone jack even existed, I failed to unplug it when the computer voice told me to unplug and check all phone lines.

So the very nice Verizon guy came and went on a phone line treasure hunt through the house with me. When I raised the screen to access the crawl space, the phantom line appeared.

And nothing makes you more conscious of a completely trashed out messy house than a strange repairman traipsing throughout, looking into every crummy little nook and cranny… Bleh! Or more “blonde” than a phantom invisible phone line in (sort of) plain sight!

Oh well… maybe I’ll be a water-cooler story back at the garage…

Oh and I almost forgot this part... while the repairman is collecting his tools in the garage, the phone rings. I figured it was just him, making a test call. It wasn't. It was a political survey call. My phone has been working for less than 5 minutes and the repairman is still in my garage. And I get a political survey call. After I laughed at the surveyor, I told him no thanks and hung up. I'm not wasting my precious phone on a stranger!

A Mouse In The House

That's right, folks. A mouse. A live mouse. In my house. In my garbage can to be exact. And now that mouse is very cold and sad. And lucky to be alive but cold and sad all the same.

I was sitting here at the computer and I heard a noise, kind of a sizzling noise. Ron had just changed the filter on the refrigerator so I wondered if perhaps there was a leak somewhere in the line that was dripping on a hot dishwasher part, since the dishwasher was still warm from the recent washing. I decided to investigate. I do not, after all, wish to burn the house down. So I walked to the kitchen sink and stopped to listen. I could still hear the noise. So I opened up the cabinet door under the sink and a movement caught my eye along with the noise which was louder now. Holy %*^^$(#! There's a mouse (oh I hope it's a mouse and not a rat, I think) in my garbage can! Now can I get it out of the house without setting it loose in the kitchen? Ryan! Open the back door! Quick! Very carefully I pulled the garbage bag up out of the can and hold it closed. The sad mouse is sad because I had just recently taken the garbage out so he didn't find anything to eat. He was also sad because the empty garbage can made it impossible for him climb back out and make his escape. The sizzling noise I had heard was actually the sound of his tiny little mouse paws trying to climb up the slippery plastic walls of the garbage bag.

Garbage bag in hand, clinched tightly closed, and held oh so gingerly, I dash out the open door to the back porch. Now what? I head for the edge of the grass, set the bag down, and step back into the light. Ewwww!!!! Live mouse! In my house! Ewwww!!! Can I just say that I prefer my mice stuffed? Though I bore the nickname Mouse for all of my years as a Girl Scout Camp Counselor, I did not receive any special live mouse loving skills during that time. I did bring home a dead mouse in my suitcase one weekend. I guess he ate too much of my towel and died of a tummy ache. I even had the job of disposing of several dead mice we caught in our house one winter in Colorado. Luckily though, no real mice in my life since then, except at the pet store. Until today.

Now here is where I put forth my confession. For the past week or so I have noticed some suspicious black looks-like-mouse-poop bits in the cabinet next to the Cascade. But, being the Queen of De Nial, and seeing no other signs (i.e. teeth marks), I just shrugged it off. That option is officially no longer available. Darn.

So I guess that means we have to stop by the hardware store tomorrow to stock up on mousetraps. I don't really want to kill them but allowing them to live in the house and eventually move up from garbage to fresher foods isn't really a good option either.

In the meantime there is one hungry, cold, sad mouse in my backyard. Oh and it is Full Moon Day. Does this count as a family activity? Watching Mommy freak out a little while catching a mouse and settting it free?

Heat Wave Expected

Everybody get ready for a heat wave... I'm ready for winter (finally) so I'm expecting a heat wave. Based on the fact that I spent about 3 hours yesterday sorting the rest of the summer/winter clothes and inventorying the winter coats, hats, gloves, boots, etc. I am expecting a heat wave that should last at least a week or two! If only I were a faster worker...

In other news...

I am allergic (or sensitive perhaps) to sulfur. I had forgotten apparently. I always tell the doctor that I am allergic to septra when they ask for drug allergies. On a related front, I am generally not a fan of red wine. I'm thinking it must be because of the sulfites. Last night at dinner, Ron was drinking wine. I tasted it. I thought, oh that doesn't taste too bad. So I drank a little more. About an hour later, the headache started. A multi-point vise grip squeezing my head. Ouch! Not debiliatating but definitely uncomfortable. There's a bit of it still hanging on this morning.

Ryan's cookies won Best Tasting in his Den. It's a good thing they did because, seriously, these are the best cookies ever! And to prove my point, I've been eating them nonstop since last Wednesday night. Not good for the diet but oh so good for the taste buds!

I ran the Turkey Trot a week ago. 5K. My time was 30:36. About 45 seconds slower than last year but much faster than I felt like I was running at the time, especially with the minimal training I did this year. Maybe next year will be better.

Oh and I almost forgot this one - a tick. A big ugly disgusting deer tick (looks like this - the one at the top of the page and the one in the third row, last on the right) on the living room floor last night. Ryan found it first. Thought it was a shell. Picked it up. It moved. He freaked out a little then tossed it away. Told Ron and I about it (or so he says - neither of us heard him). A few minutes later, as I was walking through the living room I saw a bean or something on the floor. But wait - it has legs. That are moving. Eeeew! What is it!?! Put it in a bowl so I could look at it some more. I just could get over how big and bean like the body looked compared to the tiny legs at one end. Ron used his super information finding skills and found a picture. It was a tick, just as he had guessed. Then he made me kill it. I wanted to spray it with chemicals or something but he told me to use a shoe. So I sandwiched it into a paper towel, put on my shoe, and stepped on it. Bigger eeeewwww! The shell cracked and squished. Yuck, yuck, yuck!

I'm getting a haircut today. I've decided that I like the new short hairdo and so does most everyone else so I guess I'll keep it going for awhile. After the haircut, I'm off to the Donut Store with Felisa to buy food for Thanksgiving. 7 adults, 5 kids, and lots of fun!

Now it's time to get these kids out the door to school!

The Haunted Housewife

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!
See the Haunted Housewife run screaming from the house.
I give up. I quit. It's just not fair!
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!
What could possibly have caused such Halloween terror in TypicalTown, America?

Read The Haunted Housewife to find out...

Do you remember those books? Choose your own adventure. I liked them. I even tried to write one once. Now I'm going to write another one. Are you ready?

Once upon a time there was a Happy Housewife. Let's call her Ruby. Ruby woke up early one Halloween morning to face her morning workout torture. Unfortunately before she could even make it out the door to the gym, she was faced by the gaping dishwasher and the over-flowing sink full of dirty dishes. Bummer. No Dish Fairy came to visit last night. Oh well, she thinks, the dishes will have to wait. Boot camp torture comes first!

Just over an hour later, Ruby returns home, tired and sweaty. Dutiful and loving wife that she is, she immediately starts a pot of coffee then turns to face the Dish Monster. Time passes. Children wake up. Children are called to breakfast. Children are sent to dress in their cutest Halloween clothes. More time passes. Panic sets in - why aren't the lunches made yet? Why do you have so many tangles in your hair? Put on your shoes! Put on your coat! Hurry, hurry, hurry! We're late! Does Ruby get a shower after her workout? No, of course not. But that's okay. After a couple errands, there will be time for a shower later.

The morning passes. Ruby returns the library books, checks out some new library DVDs, buys milk and a snack, and returns home with just enough time for a very quick shower.

Should Ruby
a) take a quick shower
b) wait and take a shower later


But wait, she thinks. I'm worth more than just a rushed shower. I'm worth a long, hot, take-my-time shower. I'll take a shower while Littlest Child eats lunch and watches the new DVDs. Ruby gathers some newspaper clippings for her friend Shanita, cleans out the car console a bit, then heads to PreSchool Land to pick up Littlest Child.

Fast forward... Littlest Child is watching Dora so Ruby heads upstairs for her long-awaited shower. Oh look - the shower bucket is full. Ruby empties the water into the garden then turns on the water to warm up.

Should Ruby
a) take a shower
b) decide to give the shower a quick scrub before she gets in

Ruby decides that she should really give the shower stall at least a cursory scrub before the mildew comes to life and attacks someone. She very carefully removes the shower bucket that has accumulated another 3 inches or so of water in it and puts it on the rug next to the bathtub. She squirts a little Soft Scrub on the shower then rubs it in with the scrub brush. Somehow in her ultimate gracefulness, Ruby manages to knock over the bucket, spilling the water all over the rug and the bathroom floor. Alrighty then, she sighs. Guess I'll be cleaning the whole bathroom today. It wasn't the plan for the day but it needed to be done.

Two hours later, Ruby is showered and the bathroom is clean. The first load of rugs has been washed. Littlest Child has become bored of Dora and wants to help Ruby. They do a little vaccuuming of the bedroom then head down to the laundry room together. Put two rugs in the dryer. Discover the rubber backing from the other two rugs is coming apart. Decide to throw them away.

Should Ruby
a) check the deep sink to see if the rubber backing has clogged the drain
b) go on about her business as if nothing is wrong

Ruby and Littlest Child put towels in the washer, turn it on, then leave to pick up the Big Kids at Big Kid School.

Fast forward about an hour. All the kids are home. Oldest Boy has assembled his bow and arrows for his Halloween Archer costume. The missing rocket has been returned by Nice Neighbor Lady and another rocket has been swallowed by the Very Tall Pine Tree. Ruby decides to go see if the rugs are dry or if they need to be hung outside on the sun.

Eeewwww! What was that? Why is the floor wet?! Oh no! The deep sink is clogged and overflowed. Why is it that Ruby's hard work cleaning the bathroom has been rewarded with a flooded laundry room? Why? Why? Why?

Should Ruby
a) run screaming from the house. I give up. I quit. It's just not fair! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!
b) call her friends to vent her woes, laugh at herself, and keep on keeping on.

An hour or so later, the laundry room is mostly soaked up. Dinner is cooking and it's almost time for trick-or-treating. Oh and don't forget the icing on the cake... while mopping up the mess, Ruby discovers that the washer was set for Extra Rinse. Because, really, there wasn't enough water on the floor already today!

Wonder Woman Stuffed Zucchini

Come close... I'm about to give away an old secret family recipe for Wonder Woman Stuffed Zucchini. Do you have your pencils ready to copy it down? Okay, here we go...

1. Make regular stuffed zucchini for dinner. Decide there is enough stuffing left to make stuffed zucchini again soon.

2. Put extra stuffing into a freezer bag. Decide not to label the bag because of course you will remember what is inside. Place bag in freezer.

3. Wait about a month.

4. Decide to make spaghetti. Now that it is actually fall and you have no fresh tomatoes on hand, decide to use some frozen spaghetti sauce you made over the summer.

5. Remove bag of frozen spaghetti sauce and leave to thaw on counter.

6. It's getting late. Decide to warm sauce on stove while you cook noodles and prepare garlic bread.

7. Stir sauce.

8. Look very closely and wonder to yourself... "WHAT is that?!!?" After all, it looks like spaghetti sauce with meat (probably ground beef) but wait - is that rice?

9. Have lightbulb moment. Oh yeah! That's the extra stuffed zucchini stuffing I was saving. Maybe I should have labeled it. Duh!

10. Debate whether or not you should still have noodles. Decide to cook the noodles anyway since the Bella won't touch the stuffing if her life depends on it.

11. Come up with a creative name to sell this latest creation to the diners... How about Wonder Woman Stuffed Zucchini?! The zucchini boats are invisible just like her plane is invisible!

12. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and enjoy with a slice of garlic bread and a glass of wine.

And finally... (this last step is optional)

13. Tell Husband what's for dinner. Laugh. Forbid him to stop for a free taco at Taco Bell on the way home. Force him to eat your special secret family recipe. You may have to go out later to get him the taco anyway so use your own judgement on this one.

To the Moon and Back

Ron put the seat down in the minivan the other day and discovered the kids' messy litte secret. Crumbs and indescribable ick everywhere. Deep down inside I knew it was there. I was just living in denial. So Felisa helped me while I spent a good two hours scrubbing and vacuuming and vacuuming and scrubbing until it's back to normal. I would say good as new but we all know that's not possible after 3 kids plus friends and multiple road trips. I think I vacuumed enough crumbs to lay a path to the moon and back. I even found a sticky shrivelled strawberry leftover from the drink Ryan spilled at Sonic in Kansas.

(Yes, I'm a terrible housekeeper... lazy and messy too. What of it?!)

This Day in the Life of Me...

0808 - I'm already behind... I forgot it is my designated "This Day" day. So let's review... starting at Midnight on March 27, 2007... I woke up sometime just after midnight because Felisa was squirming and whining. She had to go potty so I got up to take her. Something about going potty made her cry. I sent her back to bed and took my turn. Collected my water bottle from where I had left it on the counter and went back to bed. My throat still really hurts. The rest of the night is fitful sleep full of strange dreams, a side-effect of taking Sudafed before bed. My ear has been hurting along with my throat and after two eardrum ruptures in the last 3 years, I am very sensitive to the possibility of a repeat and take sudafed at the slightest twinge. I got up at about 0745. Came downstairs to find Ryan and Bella watching TV. Decide to give the home-cure for strep throat a try. Gargle (then swallow) apple cider vinegar mixed with honey. I was planning ahead and did it over the kitchen sink. That way when I had to gag and spit it out in a hurry, I didn't make a mess. Maybe I better check the recipe again - that was more awful than I imagined it would be. It burned and it tasted disgusting. All on an empty stomach. Ewww... flashbacks of morning sickness while pregnant with Bella right at this very same sink. Next step is to get breakfast for the kids then find my camera. Not in my purse. Not in the empty camera bag on the steps. Oh yes - now I remember. I left it hooked to the computer when I downloaded pictures on Saturday.

0837 - potty break for Felisa

0841 - Grandma Duffield stops by to say good morning after her morning jog. Reads a story to the girls.

0845 - Shani is here to drop off Corey and pick up Bella for school.

0851 - Change the time stamp on my camera. Apparently it doesn't know about the early shift from daylight savings time. Of course it may change itself next weekend when it was originally slated to be the time change. Hopefully I will remember when I go back to do my scrapbook pages on this day that the time stamp is wrong on the first 10 pictures!

0855 - See, only took me an hour to get caught up. All while helping kids and husbands get ready for work and school. Now I need to get a shower for myself or at least get dressed and put my contacts in. I hate wearing glasses.

0857 - Felisa wants to go outside. Corey doesn't. Felisa is asking for ChocoCrunch ALREADY. I don't think so... you just ate breakfast! Well, Corey needs breakfast is her response. I inform her that he ate breakfast already before he came over.

0900 - Corey has changed his mind. Put on his shoes, throw away the gome he found (that's Japanese for garbage - see how bilingual I have become since meeting Shani!), and out he goes. Bailey decides to join them. I warn her not to bark at Alex and Josh (though I know she will anyway if they are outside). Notice that Alexis has workers at her house again today (hardly an unusual occurence!)

0910 - I have been sucked back into the email zone... I read all the new messages so now maybe I can break away long enough to go get dressed.

0920 - Come back downstairs. Notice the guys across the street are pulling the off shingles today. I wonder how long it will take them to complete the demolition by hand. Took the guy in the big "Bob Truck" only one day to destroy and clear the house from the lot next to this one. They are recycling everything through Habitat For Humanity so that makes me feel better about the knock-down and rebuild. Come to the back door to check on the monsters. See Felisa holding a bag of cereal and Corey sitting at the table waiting. Because, really, they both must be starving. After all, it has been a whole hour since they last ate. Get two bowls so they can split the snack. Fiddle with my seedlings and my latest attempt at sprouting... I decided the big plastic box that the spinach came in would be the perfect size for a greenhouse for my two seedlings-to-be. The garlic has been holding strong (but then it was already sprouting in the fridge!). My seed order was shipped yesterday so soon I can attempt even more seedling sprouts. I tried a couple years ago and it didn't go well. I do a little better with direct planting. And have no problems when I buy starter plants at the Farmers' Market! I like the ease of the started plants but would like more variety/availability of the veggies I will actually eat.

0939 - Found the cider vinegar cure and tried it again. Diluted it with water this time so it was a little better. Still disgusting but less burn. Of course, less burn could be a bad thing since that could mean it is killing less germs. We shall see... Can't hurt, right? Right?

0945 - Decide to ponder what's for dinner... While I'm thinking, I was off the kids' table. Discover under all the old macaroni noodles and milk dribbles that there are spirolator pen marks all over the table. Grr... clearly the original Spirograph is a better product than this pen (it was a gift of course). Now I have to figure out where to hide the pen (maybe in the donations box?!?) and how to get ink from the tabletop. Speaking of hiding things... maybe now would be a good time to start photographing then clearing the accumulated school artwork and projects. No one is here to see me do it... the two little monsters are occupied outside...

0949 - Here's a question for the universe... how long does it take to redistribute 50 lbs of sand from the sand box to EVERYWHERE ELSE IN THE YARD and WHY must they do it? The answer to the first question is "not very long" and the second question I may never find the answer to.

1015 - I have cleared the most miniscule of schoolwork piles... the freshest layer if you will... from the big table. I discovered in this pile a note to send $5 for Ryan's class picnic. The money was due by March 17 (yes, that was 10 days ago!). So now it is in an envelope to go to school tomorrow. Maybe the Tuesday folders will come home today and I can send the money back with that (like I should have 2 Tuesday's ago!). The monkeys are still playing outside. I have decided on grilled pork chops for dinner so I must remember to brine them later today. I am also hoping that the spare grill gas tank in the shed really is full as Ron said it is. (I don't doubt Ron - I doubt my luck at having things go as planned.) And now I will see about getting Bella and Felisa into a swim class. I was able to register Ryan on Saturday but was having trouble with the class registration for the girls. Operator error, I'm sure (as Ron would say).

1035 - Okay, not operator error but rather stupid system! Because there are people on the waitlist (even though the class isn't full yet) I can't register them. Whatever. I put them on the waitlist and hope they will get in. If Ryan gets a class and they don't, it won't be pretty. I'd love to find someone who could give private family lessons. It would probably cost the same and it would be much easier than shuttling everyone to separate lesson times. In other news... the Starvin' Marvins are back. They came inside and asked for bagels with cream cheese. And chocolate milk. And juice.

1038 - And cupcakes? I don't think so. The bagels were good enough - go play!

1044 - I'm tired. My throat hurts (though ever so slightly less). I have a headache. I have general malaise (but no fever). I'm hungry. And I just want to go back to bed. But I can't. My house is a disaster area. Don't believe me? Just look. And I haven't finished my taxes yet. And I have a scrapbook project to do for a client. And the weather is gorgeous so I should be outside working in the yard. Those 15 bags of mulch aren't going to spread themselves, you know.

1129 - I've been searching online for different compost bin options. The bin I have is nice but I think I need a second bin. That way one can "Cook" while the other is collecting trash. Then when the first is finished cooking, I can use the compost then start filling it while letting the second bin cook. Apparently your pile will never be ready until you stop adding new material. I tried to just let it sit for a couple months, hoping the new compost would settle to the bottom. Then I could move the bin, move the stuff on top, and get some compost from the bottom. But, it's not going to work so well that way. Which means, I need another bin. It has to be an enclosed system so that the rodents won't get into it. I researched stacking bins and turning bins and think the best thing may just be to get a second bin like I already have and rotate between them. Here it is, a year after getting my first bin and I still have NO compost! :( Talk about learning the hard way. But... now I know.


1139 - Change Corey. Guess we waited too long for a potty break. Oh well.

1143 - Grandma Duffield stops by with the kittens in their stroller. Corey loves them! And the mail is here - with my seeds.

1149 - Go close the gate. Must have been left open when Ron was out with the kids last night. Decide to stay out front with the kids since Shani will be here soon with Bella. Look at my seed order. Tell the monsters to "Keep the dirt in the box" for the millionth time.

12:08 - Bella is home. Wants hot dogs for lunch. Convince her to eat a banana while she's waiting. Felisa chooses an orange.

12:45 - Lunch is over and the girls are arguing over who gets to use which bag to carry their animals. I'm thinking about going to the library and to the store to buy plastic eggs for the Easter parties at school.

12:58 - Felisa wants me to carry her so I bring her upstairs and lie down. She wants to watch TV so I turn on Backyardigans. Bella brings her school work upstairs to show me. She has a note that she needs hard-boiled eggs for her party. Which means I have to boil and dye eggs for one and buy plastic eggs for the other or just do all plastic. Because I'm really not a fan of the messy egg-dying process.

1:29 - Show is over. Bella wants a pop-tart for dessert from lunch. Which means I have to get up and go downstairs to get it for her. Maybe we won't go to the store or the library after all. I just feel crappy and all I want to do is hide in my bed.

1:35 - Try the cider vinegar gargle again. This concoction really makes me gag. But if it helps, then I guess I can suffer through it. Maybe.

1:39 - Girls are arguing over how to play the toy drum. Oh and now we have the recorder screeching along. Calgon, take me away!

2:30 - The girls have been playing while I have been hiding in the bedroom. Grandma Duffield came to rescue me. Takes Bella for a bike ride.

2:50 - Waiting for Bella to come back pick up Felisa to go to Grandma's. My throat is feeling a wee bit better but I feel more awful all over. Took my temp - up to 99.4

So... Grandma came back to get Felisa. I picked up Ryan from school. Got him a snack and got him started on his homework then went back upstairs to bed. Ron came home around 5:30. Went for a bike ride. The girls came home around 7. Felisa came to bed with me and went to sleep right away. When Ron got back around 7:20 he showered then took Ryan and Bella out to pick up sandwiches and fries. I ate my sandwich upstairs and then officially went to bed.

This wasn't what I had intended to offer up on my This Day entry but it is a true reflection of what happens when the mom gets sick. The world inside the house slows to a crawl while life outside continues on as usual. Hopefully I'll be feeling better soon because I'm feeling pretty awful right now.