And So It Begins...

School. Or more accurately, preschool. Most people, when they go "back to school" shopping, buy backpacks, sneakers, pencils and notebooks. I went "back to school" shopping, (well, really just "to school shopping, since this is my first time, as a parent anyway), and I bought none of these things. I still managed to spend more than I think most people spend on their back to school shopping. I know. You're wondering how that is possible. Well, so am I. Only I also know the answer, but I still find it hard to believe. I bought 2 sets of Epi Pen Jrs, 2 boxes of single dose Benadryl, one inhaler, one bottle of antibiotics, one medicine bag, a one hour photo, corn starch, baking soda, food coloring, plastic baggies, and 2 allergen free snacks. Those last 5 items amount to a whopping ten bucks. Its the first half of the list that breaks the bank. Mind you, I am only paying for the copays here, not the whole full price of the meds. (Its not even all the meds we need, but we had extras of the others already in the house.)

Luckily, my newly designated schoolboy already had shoes and does not need a backpack, or I might just have collapsed from exhaustion! All this for 5 hours of school time each week! Its all worth it though, because he loves school and I love picking him up from school!

Thats another interesting thing. When you are home with little kids ALL THE TIME, you don't get the chance to miss them. Likewise, they never miss you. Whever Daddy comes home from work, there's a HUGE production. Children running to the door, screaming with excitement. I imagine this is how Santa must be greeted everywhere he goes. And Daddy gets that every single work day, (and anytime he goes anywhere else for that matter). If Mommy goes out, the kiddies are asleep. They don't even notice I've left, and are out cold when I come back. Dropping Ronan off at preschool is no big deal. He waves when I leave while he's running towards the toys. Thats it. But when I come to pick him up, he barrels out for me like a bull in Spain, so excited to tell me what he did and show me what he made and tell me that HE MISSED ME!!!!! Makes it all worthwile, because, in case you hadn't figured it out yet, the kind of preparation involved in sending any child, (but possibly this one in particular), to school for a whopping 2.5 hours is not worth the time you get without them in return. Its the child you get back after those short few hours that make it worth the fortune we are spending on it!

A Day In The Life Of...

Most people in my life have no idea what I do all day long. Admittedly, before I stopped working I had no idea how jam packed and busy my stay-at-home life would be. I was under the silly impression that I would have time for things like scrap booking! (Full disclosure: I have 2 scrapbooks, both completely empty. In fact, I think they are still wrapped in plastic!) So, here's an idea of what I do everyday. Maybe if I write it down I might realize before I take on another project that I have NO TIME!

(You'll find rules in here that might seem absurd. I have my reasons. I might even tell you what they are!)

7am: Permission for children to go downstairs and start the day. While they are awake well before this time, Mommy and Daddy still like to pretend we might get a few more winks in. Morning routine begins, and lasts about 2 hours. Here's how it goes...

7-730am: Mommy listens to tales of dreams and nightmares while forcing everyone onto the potty, finding everyones lost loveys, yanking out the clothes we'll need for the day, and securing the living / dining area, (getting rid of any dangers that were left out overnight, usually cups and glasses).

7:30-8am: Make and eat breakfasts.

8-8:30am: Wipe down kids, table and floor. Wash dishes. Toss in a load of laundry. Dole out vitamins. Brush kids teeth. Administer morning medicines. Pack Lunches.

8:30-9am: Get children diapered and dressed. Get myself showered and ready to go.

9-9:30am: Referee disagreements while packing diaper and food bags. Find everyones shoes. Attempt to leave the house without bringing as many toys as little arms can carry.

9:30-10am: Make, eat and clean up snack. This incudes more wiping down of children, surfaces and dishes.

10-1130am: This is developmental/educational/errand running time, which can include playdates, the library, the park, the post office, the supermarket, the bank, etc. It normally cannot include more than 2 locations.

11:30-12noon: Stop wherever we are and have lunch. This is usually where I realize I forgot to pack food for myself, and try to get by on whatever leftovers the kids don't want.

12noon-1pm: Head home to prep for naptime. This means a lot of whining, some tantrums, more wiping down of kids and surfaces, forced potty time, diaper changes, throwing wet laundry into the dryer, reading stories and singing songs until children are in bed!

1pm-2pm: Please please no one bother me "Mommy Time", which usually includes bill paying and cloth diaper disposal, in addition to email, etc.

2pm-3pm: My chance to do the things I cannot seem to get done around the kids, like loading or unloading the dishwasher, (they make every attempt to break it when they are around), and making phone calls, (mostly Dr's appointments and lab results).

3-3:30pm: Little girl is definitely awake by now, Big boy possibly as well. Change a diaper. Make and clean up after snack while desperately trying to finish up whatever it was I started before they woke up.

3:30-4:30pm: Playtime for kids while Mommy tries to fold and put laundry away, finish up dishes, and whatever else was abandoned during the day for a boo boo.

4:30-5pm: Go through the mail while I start to think about how to feed everyone this evening. Usually also involves reading a few stories of setting up train tracks, etc.

5-6pm: Make dinner for family with food allergic children. This is complicated.

6:15-7pm: Eat dinner together, under threats of nutrient deprived children not being big and strong enough to play at Monkey Joe's house.

7pm-730pm: Clean up after dinner.

7:30-8pm: Bedtime routine, including more potty time and diapers, teeth brushing and more medicines, pjs, stories and songs.

8-8:30pm: Get everyone quietly into bed. Attempt to rationalize passing out myself.

8:30-the wee hours: Finish up anything that didn't get done. Clean kitchen and living / dining room. Attempt to make headway on home projects, or go to the grocery store, or wash diapers, or put garbage out, or whatever else needs to get done that day.

Once a week we are forced to cut naptime short and leave the house in the afternoon for another commitment. Otherwise, we don't generally leave the house in the afternoon, as the time between naptime and dinner is usually full of disasters. Then, of course, you have to factor in the "non everyday" stuff like Dr's appointments, which we have all too many of, and special visits to or from family and friends, sick days, emergencies, etc.

And there you have it. The backbone of every single day of my life. Of course, Daddy helps out when he's home and weekends are all messed up. If not for the hour at naptime that I have granted myself to check my email, I think I would loose my mind. Let's not think about what happens when children start outgrowing naptime! Of course, knowing all of that, I still wouldn't trade it for the world... except maybe the whining. I could definitely do without the whining!

Master Cleanse 2, Day 1 and 2

I decided I would do the Master Cleanse quarterly, (so long as it doesn't run across a major holiday again), and it is time. I was much more nervous this time, maybe because of how well it went last time, (oh the pressure), but also I think because of all the junk we have been eating lately with all the visitors we've had.

Well it's not nearly as easy as it was last time. So far, on day 1 I felt pretty awful. I suspect its because of the combination of the SWF not really working right away, and the fact that I only drank half as much lemonade as the last time. I was hungry, but because I felt so crummy, I just couldn't be bothered to make more. Bad combination. So today, day 2, I thought I should double up on lemonades, which is how I got through it the last time. Well, you are supposed to wait at least 30 minutes between the SWF and your first drink, and I am not sure I did. Plus it was a double drink, and well... I didn't keep it down.

Come to think of it, I do feel much better now...

Best Mother's Day Ever

This year was the best Mother's day ever for me. I could not have planned it better myself! It started with hubby requiring that I leave the house for 2 solid hours on Saturday night, without the kids! That meant that he had to put them to bed all by himself! I treated myself to a lovely meal, with a book of puzzles and NO ONE to ask me for anything, or put sticky hands in my hair, or insist on sitting on my lap while I attempt to shovel food into my mouth! Plus, it was a beautiful night for a long walk, which helped work off my meal.

Then, in the morning, not only did hubby leap out of bed to get our potty training son to the bathroom, (and successfully I might add), he also got everyone together in bed for my present. I didn't even have to get up!

Here is the inside of the card, complete with a poem, written by my husband.


For those of you who's eyes are not what they use to be, it reads as follows:

upon reading the blog of the sweet snarfysnee,
a mommy's day treat became clear to me,
not diamonds nor pearls for my craft-loving honey,
for use in rhinebeck an offering of money.
In exchange for this card there are currency notes,
to purchase some fluff from the sheep, pigs and goats.

Now, for those of you who might not be aware, (living under a fibre free stone I suppose?), Rhinebeck is the NY State Sheep and Wool Festival. Not only does this mean that I get some extra dosh for Rhinebeck, it also means I get to go WITHOUT complaint!!! Whooohooooo!!! I am an excited little fibre junkie!

Then, I got my present from the kiddies. Now, my husband has been learning all about the crunchy side of life, and while I may never get him to carpool, I have convinced him to recycle, (at least most of the time). He knows I have been making myself some market bags. He spent his Saturday night creating this masterpiece:



I love it love it love it!!! I have always wanted my kids hands or feet on something. I've hinted, poked and prodded for 3.5 years. Finally! We packed it full of snacks that day and headed to the park. I was so proud, and he could tell. To be honest, I dunno who was prouder, me or my son! And the most amazing part, there was not even the tiniest bit of paint on a child, or clothes, or the floor... couch... walls... I don't know how he did it!

To top it all off, I got to go to dinner and a movie with friends. A movie in an actual theater, that wasn't animated! I got to have a margarita at dinner. There was no food in my hair, no hand prints on my dress, (they look much better on my tote I think). And when I got home, he had just finished cleaning the house. What a fabulous day!

Spring Cleaning

I'm a pack rat. There's no denying it. I come from a long line of pack rats on both sides of my family. One of my Grandfathers even made a living out of it. I have a great deal of difficulty throwing anything away. I just hate seeing useful things go to waste, and even garbage is useful. It's a problem... especially because I married my polar opposite in this respect. If there is even the slightest bit of doubt in my husband's mind... even the faintest hint that he might not be using something in the next ten minutes... into the trash it goes. His thought process, "I can always buy another one". What a waste, and by the way, we do NOT have a money tree out back. I suppose it works out, in that we have learned from each other, and we do meet in the middle, but its a struggle.

Unfortunately, we are well overdue for a toy clean out. My kids have far too many toys in our we-don't-have-a-family-room-house. We never really did a toy clean out at Christmastime, (which is when we usually do it), because we were all so sick. Leila's birthday is coming up, and I know we just need to get rid of some things. So I have been picking away at it, packing up one box per week of things to go to goodwill. I was pretty ruthless for me, (which is nothing compared to what my husband would do), but what I really needed was the chance to do it all at once. Tonight was that night.

Just before we put the kids to bed we gathered EVERY SINGLE TOY into the living room. It was piled high on the floor. What a mess. Then, after the kids went to bed, we went to work. 3 hours later we have a pile of things to go. Too bad its midnight and there's still stuff everywhere! I think we did pretty well. there were no fights. I was ruthless, he was compromising, and in the end, we have two garbage bags going to good will, and 2 garbage bags packed up for "redistribution", plus 3 large items. Here is what my dining room table looked like. It was the "get rid of" pile.



And there's my happy hubby, thumbs up for all the stuff I am willing to part with!

Now I just need to get all the pieces of all the toys back together and where they belong...

MD Sheep and Wool Festival

I spent a lovely day, (and by lovely I mean a wet, muddy, rainy day full of fabulous friends and fibres and NO CROWDS), at the MD Sheep and Wool Festival today. What a haul! I spent everything I have saved for this, and now I must get to work using it all before Rhinebeck so I can do it all over again with more fabulous and fun friends and fibres!

How Many Steps?

The Master Cleanse I completed has truly inspired me to take better care of myself, (which is entirely different than just thinking about it). From what I eat to where I park, I am trying to see opportunities for me to take care of me where before I only saw chores and exhaustion. I am tracking my water intake, and trying to get up to an ounce for every 2 pounds I weigh, (failing more days than not), but hopeful that the warm weather will help boost that one up. I'm also finding reasons to walk everyday. I'm supposed to take 12,000 steps a day, (and by supposed to I mean I know I read it somewhere, a long time ago in a land far away, and it still seems like a good idea), and back when I was working this was no problem. I never had a desk job. I used to walk to and from work, and I'd be on my feet most of the day, so 12,000 steps was a piece of cake! Now, 12,000 steps seems like a marathon. On days where I get some time away from the kidlets, I can do it, and I enjoy it. But on days when I have them from dawn til dawn, its just hard to squeeze it in. I've been walking to the library or the park, which gets me 3,000 round trip. Not enough. I went the long way home today, hoping I could bulk it up some before nap time, but boy was that rough. Take the sit n stand stroller, (22lbs), the 3 year old, (38 lbs), the almost 2 year old, (27 lbs), plus snacks, water, diapers and such, (easily 15 lbs), and then put us out on the sidewalk today, and you've got me pushing 100+ lbs in front of me under an oppressive 102 degree sun. Then of course there's the sidewalk that INSISTS on leaning to the side, dragging the stroller towards the street against my ever failing attempts to stay on said leaning sidewalk. Ugh. But I was motivated. I still when the long way home. I needed to know how many steps I could squeeze out of this ritual. Alas, I get home, and the pedometer had magically reset itself 112 steps ago! As my son would say... maybe we can try again tomorrow.

There are so many small ways for me to increase my steps when I don't have kids with me, (parking far away from my destination, an evening stroll through town, taking the stairs), but I need some suggestions for upping the ante when I do have the little buggers with me, which is most of the time! Right now, we are trying to take a walk everyday, but they don't last long enough for me to get even halfway. I am also always up and down the stairs all day long with arms full of laundry, toys, children, the potty, etc, so I have decided that I should always try for two trips where I would normally squeeze it into one. Other than that, I am out of ideas. Any suggestions?

I suppose I should also continue to wear the pedometer while inside the house, as right now I am not counting all those trips up and down the stairs...