This morning really got off to a bad start:::
That was as far as this post got before time got away from me and then I had some crappy things happen. I was going to finish this post but it would not be fresh and unbiased, it would have 2 weeks worth of reflection on it so I am just going to put my FB post from that day on here and count it done.
Bad mom experience of the day...when you need to be at work early for a
meeting and your kid is hanging on your leg crying because he wants you
to walk him in the school. You get up to the door, push him inside and
close the door behind him. I got on the highway and traffic was backed
up because of a wreck. I could have walked him into the class since I
ended up being late anyway.
Friday, October 9, 2015
Thursday, September 17, 2015
Low Point and Moving Forward
Monday night went as smoothly as evenings can go at our house. On the way home from work I ran by sprouts to take advantage of some sale items.
Sprouts Trip:
1 pineapple
2 heads garlic
~1/3 lb of Granny Smith Apples
~1&1/2 lbs peaches
~1&1/4 lbs sweet potatoes
4 Think Thin bars
4 bags chips
1 pkg pork chops
2 pkgs thin cut steaks
1 pkg round steak
1 roast
1 muffin
Total: $24.36 SNAP
$10.69 Cash
Dinner was grilled steak, salad and corn on the cob. After dinner Phillip worked on homework and then got a shower. The kids got baths and then helped me while I steam mopped the kitchen and then vacuumed our room and the hallway.
Tuesday was a low day for me. I was just emotionally down and can not place what put me there. I just felt disconnected from friends. I have several FB groups going trying to feed one hungry family each month, share recipes for using up leftovers and recycling tips. I deleted 2 of the pages I ran and was debating about more because of lack of traffic. Every time I do this I take it personally as though I have somehow failed. I did get some push back when I posted I was going to close the leftover group so I will leave it alone for a while. Once home I fixed smoked sausage, steamed carrots with some brown sugar and rice for dinner and then did virtually nothing else. I sat on the couch and read a book until the boys needed to go to bed and then I moved into my room and read until I finished the book.
Wednesday I felt better as I got ready for work. Clark was awake and wanted me to hold him. I set him on the bathroom counter as I got ready and before long he fell into the sink. It did not hurt him but scared him so when I picked him up he peed out the top of his diaper all over me. This of course meant a change of clothes after comforting a scared baby and then a rush to get Logan to school on time. After work I stopped at Target for some milk as Phillip told me they had opened the last gallon. Once home I fixed spaghetti for dinner and then we started on more crayons. Crayon production went through bath time and the figures were left to cool overnight while everyone slept. Logan was a toot before bed and almost lost his electronics today.
Sprouts Trip:
1 pineapple
2 heads garlic
~1/3 lb of Granny Smith Apples
~1&1/2 lbs peaches
~1&1/4 lbs sweet potatoes
4 Think Thin bars
4 bags chips
1 pkg pork chops
2 pkgs thin cut steaks
1 pkg round steak
1 roast
1 muffin
Total: $24.36 SNAP
$10.69 Cash
Dinner was grilled steak, salad and corn on the cob. After dinner Phillip worked on homework and then got a shower. The kids got baths and then helped me while I steam mopped the kitchen and then vacuumed our room and the hallway.
Tuesday was a low day for me. I was just emotionally down and can not place what put me there. I just felt disconnected from friends. I have several FB groups going trying to feed one hungry family each month, share recipes for using up leftovers and recycling tips. I deleted 2 of the pages I ran and was debating about more because of lack of traffic. Every time I do this I take it personally as though I have somehow failed. I did get some push back when I posted I was going to close the leftover group so I will leave it alone for a while. Once home I fixed smoked sausage, steamed carrots with some brown sugar and rice for dinner and then did virtually nothing else. I sat on the couch and read a book until the boys needed to go to bed and then I moved into my room and read until I finished the book.
Wednesday I felt better as I got ready for work. Clark was awake and wanted me to hold him. I set him on the bathroom counter as I got ready and before long he fell into the sink. It did not hurt him but scared him so when I picked him up he peed out the top of his diaper all over me. This of course meant a change of clothes after comforting a scared baby and then a rush to get Logan to school on time. After work I stopped at Target for some milk as Phillip told me they had opened the last gallon. Once home I fixed spaghetti for dinner and then we started on more crayons. Crayon production went through bath time and the figures were left to cool overnight while everyone slept. Logan was a toot before bed and almost lost his electronics today.
Tuesday, September 15, 2015
Books Aug 22nd through Sept 15th
I have been quite busy with books since the last post in addition to everything else going on in my life. I am still determined to get the books hanging on my currently reading list read!
I finished listening to Survival of the Sickest and while it got mixed reviews I found it interesting. After finishing this one I went back to finish listening to The Quiet Man. I knew going into the book that it would be slanted toward the Republican party but I still found some of the insider information interesting and it was a good listen. The next book I listened to was also a finish up and as far away from the Bush presidency as you could get. American Rose, the story of Gypsy Rose Lee was really not that great of a listen. I wanted to like it but really just could not get into it. The timeline was all over the place and nothing seemed to ever resolve. I was glad when I finished it and could start listening to Yes Please. I know a lot of people were not crazy about this book because it was not straight comedy but I enjoyed hearing about her life without the pretense of having to laugh at everything. It really was a quick read and so the next book up was Kitchen Confidential. This one had been on my list for a long time and finally I took the plunge and listened to it. I found it informative and easy to listen to although I am not marking it as one of the best books I have read. After finishing up with Anthony I started listening to Secret Survivors. This one was just a needless book and reminded me of what is wrong with Christian literature. Every chapter is supposed to focus on something horrible that happened to a person but the author begins each time with this is the story of what happened to so and so. If you met so and so you would love them because they are a great mom and wife. It seems to escape the author that I should love so and so because she is so and so and that being a great wife and mother is not all that makes a person. The next book also leads me to say "If someone suggests Essentialism to you as a great book do not believe them." It is down on my wish I had the time back book list. Now that those are finished I am currently listening to The Theft of Memory. This book is very reminiscent of Still Alice and since I am just starting it I have not developed a firm opinion yet.
As for books I have physically read versus listened to those include: ASAP Science which was a quick, fun read. Logan likes their Youtube channel and I thought I would see what the book included. The Soup Club Cookbook was next up and while I really love the concept I was not crazy about a lot of the recipes so I gave purchasing it a pass. The Wild Diet was up next and I just could not get very far in this one. It is basically the Paleo diet with Dairy. More Not So Big Solutions for Your Home was a book I hoping had some ideas for space saving in our current home and I was disappointed. And Finally the big finish for me was Girl Sleuth: Nancy Drew and the Women Who Created Her. It had been on my currently reading list for almost 2 years so finishing it was great. It was an ok book, not stellar and not horrible. I am just happy to be finished reading it. As I finished it yesterday last night I started reading Plastic Free. We shall see if I learn any new tips for living a environmentally friendly life.
I finished listening to Survival of the Sickest and while it got mixed reviews I found it interesting. After finishing this one I went back to finish listening to The Quiet Man. I knew going into the book that it would be slanted toward the Republican party but I still found some of the insider information interesting and it was a good listen. The next book I listened to was also a finish up and as far away from the Bush presidency as you could get. American Rose, the story of Gypsy Rose Lee was really not that great of a listen. I wanted to like it but really just could not get into it. The timeline was all over the place and nothing seemed to ever resolve. I was glad when I finished it and could start listening to Yes Please. I know a lot of people were not crazy about this book because it was not straight comedy but I enjoyed hearing about her life without the pretense of having to laugh at everything. It really was a quick read and so the next book up was Kitchen Confidential. This one had been on my list for a long time and finally I took the plunge and listened to it. I found it informative and easy to listen to although I am not marking it as one of the best books I have read. After finishing up with Anthony I started listening to Secret Survivors. This one was just a needless book and reminded me of what is wrong with Christian literature. Every chapter is supposed to focus on something horrible that happened to a person but the author begins each time with this is the story of what happened to so and so. If you met so and so you would love them because they are a great mom and wife. It seems to escape the author that I should love so and so because she is so and so and that being a great wife and mother is not all that makes a person. The next book also leads me to say "If someone suggests Essentialism to you as a great book do not believe them." It is down on my wish I had the time back book list. Now that those are finished I am currently listening to The Theft of Memory. This book is very reminiscent of Still Alice and since I am just starting it I have not developed a firm opinion yet.
As for books I have physically read versus listened to those include: ASAP Science which was a quick, fun read. Logan likes their Youtube channel and I thought I would see what the book included. The Soup Club Cookbook was next up and while I really love the concept I was not crazy about a lot of the recipes so I gave purchasing it a pass. The Wild Diet was up next and I just could not get very far in this one. It is basically the Paleo diet with Dairy. More Not So Big Solutions for Your Home was a book I hoping had some ideas for space saving in our current home and I was disappointed. And Finally the big finish for me was Girl Sleuth: Nancy Drew and the Women Who Created Her. It had been on my currently reading list for almost 2 years so finishing it was great. It was an ok book, not stellar and not horrible. I am just happy to be finished reading it. As I finished it yesterday last night I started reading Plastic Free. We shall see if I learn any new tips for living a environmentally friendly life.
Weekend Birthday Parties and JBF
I knew going into it this weekend was going to be insane but I signed up hook, line and sinker for it.
Saturday morning originally Grandma was going to ride with us to Phillip's cousin's house for their son's birthday party. His birthday is the day before Logan's and this is the first year they have had a birthday party so we all wanted to go. They live about an hour from us which makes it 2 hours from Grandma's house and she did not want to drive that on her own. Plans changed though when he son who is the birthday boy's granddad said he would swing through and pick her up. This gave me a false sense of time then because I was not bound to a pick up time. I slept in later than I should and was barely out of the shower when Phillip left to go work on the church's lawn. The kid's were up and so I fixed us breakfast and wrestled all the gear we would need for a long day including a long car ride. We managed to get going an hour later than I had wanted to but I thought we could make up some of the time. Our first stop was the ATM since we were going to the JBF sale and needed money for parking. We had a hard time getting to the sale as it was set up at a local venue that also rented out space for other functions. Turns out Saturday the American Heart Association was having a benefit walk and so all but one way into the center were blocked off. Once in shopping was ok but Clark was a terror. He did not want to be in the stroller while shopping because it was not moving. So I was using the stroller to hold items while I held him and shopped. He then wanted to get down and that turned into a fight. I seriously shopped the items I needed and did a quick run through of the toys where Logan spotted something he wanted and the price was not horrible so I agreed to it. I also found a wooden shape sorter for Clark so with those items we jumped in line which took a while to get through. Logan was scared of the parking garage when we arrived because it was a little dark as they normally are and there strangers in it. Going back into the parking garage to leave just made it worse, he had to get in the car fast then act as the lookout for me while I put Clark in and then the stroller and purchases in the trunk. I made it out of there for $58.00 total which even with the parking fee still put me ahead as I have sold $140 worth.
Of course since we left the house an hour later than I wanted we were now running an hour behind getting to the party. It was starting at 12:30 and by this time it was 11:58, to make it worse my phone did not save the address and so I was having to text from stop lights to get the address. Once I put it in the map app on my phone we were off and running again....until Logan could not find the phone he brought with him. He has been using my old phone to play games and I agreed to him bringing it since we would be in the car for a long time. All I could think of was the announcement back at JBF for someone who lost their phone on the concourse. I took the next exit and pulled into a shopping center, the phone was on the seat next to him under some other toys....Back on the highway we went until I realized I was supposed to stop for gas. Back off the highway we went to a gas station, Clark is asleep by this time and now Logan needs to pee. I got the gas going and went through every option I could think of and the best I had was to lock the car, quickly walk Logan to the door of the gas station and point to the bathrooms. I then went back to the car which was finished and pulled it up to the front door of the gas station. I locked the car again and stood half in and half out of the front doors watching for Logan. Once he was out of the restrooms we got back on the highway. I evidently missed a car wondering if we were lost and then had my mom calling me to tell me my cousin's daughter was rushed to a pediatric burn unit with 2nd degree burns although she is unclear on the whole story. I also have the birthday family calling to make sure we are ok and at this point I was nearly there with both kids asleep in the back seat. As we were getting there Logan's friend was calling to wish him a happy belated birthday. The boys had a good time swimming and visiting with family. The picture I took of Logan really does not show him as he is too busy paddling around behind a stingray floaty.
Once cake and gifts were opened and consumed we loaded up to head back home. I went through a McDonald's drive through for Logan. I wanted something to drink and he also needed a powerade and some fries. It gave me a chance to refill Clark's milk and he promptly fell asleep. Once home Clark stayed asleep so Logan wanted to put his new Lego's together and I needed to make the rest of the crayons. I hurried and did the crayons and then helped Logan with his Lego's. We were half way through building them when Clark woke up. Phillip was almost finished with his homework and test by this point so I took Clark for a walk around the neighborhood while Phillip helped Logan finish the Lego's. I still needed to go grocery shopping so I loaded up Clark since Logan wanted to stay home and play and headed to Target.
Target Trip:
1 pkg socks for Logan
1pkg goldfish crackers
1 bag frozen chicken tenders
1 bag frozen grilled chicken strips
1 pkg smoked sausage
1 pkg dried snap beans
2 pkgs chicken legs
2 pkgs beef stew meat
1 container sour cream
2 boxes yogurt
2 pkgs sliced cheese
3 bars soap
1 bag dog food
2 pkgs feminine napkins
2 spiral notebooks
1 pkg markers
1 loaf bread
2 bottles apple juice
2 gallons milk
1 lb cheese
1/2 lb lunch meat
~1&1/2 lbs bananas
Total: $43.72 SNAP
$22.08 Cash
I have really been debating taking out some non food items when I total this month out.
After getting home and getting the stuff in the house it was time for Clark to get in the bath. While he was taking a bath Phillip started putting up the groceries. I got Clark out of the bath and we had a dinner of sandwiches while I finished putting up the groceries. I wanted to work on cleaning the kitchen after that but this is what the kitchen looked like so I just gave up and let them play.
Of course not long after this picture it was bed time. Again I was literally exhausted and had not had a lot of time to catch up with Phillip so I think I fell asleep talking.
Sunday morning we got off to a slow start but still made it to church mostly on time. It was potluck Sunday so the boys got to play with Nene and Mimi longer while we had lunch. Once home Phillip went to the store to check on a suit. They were advertising some great deals and he needs an interview suit so I went ahead and worked on the kitchen and some laundry while he was out. Once he came home I headed to JBF to pick up my unsold items and of course it was packed so that took longer than expected. I did head by Winco on the way home originally for some trade items but ended up picking up some stuff they had on sale.
Winco Trip:
1 box chicken spring rolls
1 box chicken dumplings
2 frozen pizzas
2 containers chips
1 box raisin bran
1 container orange juice
6 yoplait yogurts
1 2-liter coke (trade item)
1 can refried beans
4 ears corn
Total: $20.92 SNAP
After leaving Winco I traded the 2-liter for a full bottle of Murphy's oil soap. Onward home after this to get the car unloaded and dinner ready. I ended up cooking the eggrolls and dumplings I had bought at Winco....what happens when you shop hungry. After dinner the boys got baths and headed to bed.
Saturday morning originally Grandma was going to ride with us to Phillip's cousin's house for their son's birthday party. His birthday is the day before Logan's and this is the first year they have had a birthday party so we all wanted to go. They live about an hour from us which makes it 2 hours from Grandma's house and she did not want to drive that on her own. Plans changed though when he son who is the birthday boy's granddad said he would swing through and pick her up. This gave me a false sense of time then because I was not bound to a pick up time. I slept in later than I should and was barely out of the shower when Phillip left to go work on the church's lawn. The kid's were up and so I fixed us breakfast and wrestled all the gear we would need for a long day including a long car ride. We managed to get going an hour later than I had wanted to but I thought we could make up some of the time. Our first stop was the ATM since we were going to the JBF sale and needed money for parking. We had a hard time getting to the sale as it was set up at a local venue that also rented out space for other functions. Turns out Saturday the American Heart Association was having a benefit walk and so all but one way into the center were blocked off. Once in shopping was ok but Clark was a terror. He did not want to be in the stroller while shopping because it was not moving. So I was using the stroller to hold items while I held him and shopped. He then wanted to get down and that turned into a fight. I seriously shopped the items I needed and did a quick run through of the toys where Logan spotted something he wanted and the price was not horrible so I agreed to it. I also found a wooden shape sorter for Clark so with those items we jumped in line which took a while to get through. Logan was scared of the parking garage when we arrived because it was a little dark as they normally are and there strangers in it. Going back into the parking garage to leave just made it worse, he had to get in the car fast then act as the lookout for me while I put Clark in and then the stroller and purchases in the trunk. I made it out of there for $58.00 total which even with the parking fee still put me ahead as I have sold $140 worth.
Target Trip:
1 pkg socks for Logan
1pkg goldfish crackers
1 bag frozen chicken tenders
1 bag frozen grilled chicken strips
1 pkg smoked sausage
1 pkg dried snap beans
2 pkgs chicken legs
2 pkgs beef stew meat
1 container sour cream
2 boxes yogurt
2 pkgs sliced cheese
3 bars soap
1 bag dog food
2 pkgs feminine napkins
2 spiral notebooks
1 pkg markers
1 loaf bread
2 bottles apple juice
2 gallons milk
1 lb cheese
1/2 lb lunch meat
~1&1/2 lbs bananas
Total: $43.72 SNAP
$22.08 Cash
I have really been debating taking out some non food items when I total this month out.
After getting home and getting the stuff in the house it was time for Clark to get in the bath. While he was taking a bath Phillip started putting up the groceries. I got Clark out of the bath and we had a dinner of sandwiches while I finished putting up the groceries. I wanted to work on cleaning the kitchen after that but this is what the kitchen looked like so I just gave up and let them play.
Of course not long after this picture it was bed time. Again I was literally exhausted and had not had a lot of time to catch up with Phillip so I think I fell asleep talking.
Sunday morning we got off to a slow start but still made it to church mostly on time. It was potluck Sunday so the boys got to play with Nene and Mimi longer while we had lunch. Once home Phillip went to the store to check on a suit. They were advertising some great deals and he needs an interview suit so I went ahead and worked on the kitchen and some laundry while he was out. Once he came home I headed to JBF to pick up my unsold items and of course it was packed so that took longer than expected. I did head by Winco on the way home originally for some trade items but ended up picking up some stuff they had on sale.
Winco Trip:
1 box chicken spring rolls
1 box chicken dumplings
2 frozen pizzas
2 containers chips
1 box raisin bran
1 container orange juice
6 yoplait yogurts
1 2-liter coke (trade item)
1 can refried beans
4 ears corn
Total: $20.92 SNAP
After leaving Winco I traded the 2-liter for a full bottle of Murphy's oil soap. Onward home after this to get the car unloaded and dinner ready. I ended up cooking the eggrolls and dumplings I had bought at Winco....what happens when you shop hungry. After dinner the boys got baths and headed to bed.
Monday, September 14, 2015
Body Telling Me I am Getting Old and Hatch Chilies
I just had one more story from last week that I wanted to get out there. Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday I went by another BBT member's house to pick up pea gravel for the boys' play area. She was super sweet and let me give her the trade items on Tuesday and then just drop by and pick up the rock the other nights since I was not sure how much I would need and how much my car would hold.
Tuesday would have been my dad's birthday so I wore his bowling shirt in memory as I do every year. After work I headed over to pick up the rock, after a visit with my trade partner and loading up the rock I headed by another BBT house for a trade of mulch. Once home I unloaded the rock trying to beat the storm that was coming in. After unloading the rock I went to work on dinner which used up some leftovers. I used some more of the leftover pork loin to make stroganoff. I like the recipe out of my better homes and garden cookbook for Beef Stroganoff although I have subbed different proteins just as I did this time. This dish also enabled me to use up some mushrooms and the last bit of sour cream I had on hand. After dinner came baths and play time for the boys. I used the time to try clean up the kitchen and realized I needed to get the ears of corn and the hatch chilies put up before I lost them to rot. So I turned on the grill and got the chilies roasting while I blanched the ears of corn and got them in the freezer. Once the chilies were roasted I put them in a bag to steam while I got the kids ready for bed. I knew the 1 hour wait time would end about the time I got the kids to sleep. Clark went down without to much of a struggle and then I realized Logan's bed needed to be made. He had also got real quite and when I went to check he was sitting on the floor of his room asleep with hotwheels in his hands. I took the hot wheels and tried to get him to go to bed. He mumbled something and then laid back down on the floor so I had to pick him up and put him in his bed. About this time the chilies were ready to be put up so I went in the kitchen to peel and deseed them. I put them in freezer safe containers and placed in the freezer. I was going to get a shower so I just rinsed my hands and then went to turn on the shower so the water could warm up. As the shower was warming I realized I needed to send a pm to my trade partner to let her know I had picked up the items from her porch. While I was typing a message I made the mistake of touching my eye! On all things that are holy it burned! I did not care if the water was warm or not I threw off my clothes and got in the shower. I did think to wash my hands and then hold my eyes open to the water. The thought did cross my mind though that water makes pepper oil hotter and that I could be making it worse but just could not imagine bathing my eyes in milk. Luckily the fire went away within a couple of minutes from my eyes but I had a cut on my hand and the capsaicin made it feel like I had rubbed muscle cream on my hands. Bedtime did not come early enough and despite being exhausted I did not sleep well.
Wednesday was much of the same, I used more pork loin to make nachos and then called it done even though I had a bit left.
Thursday night Logan was excited because it was the night before his birthday. Phillip took care of picking up cookies for his class which saved me a ton.
Friday night I picked up what I hope is the last load of rock , then picked up some molds that a person in BBT is loaning me so we can make crayons for Logan's birthday party. I was going to stop for pizza but forgot so once home I unloaded the rock and then picked up Logan so he could help me. We went and picked up a pizza and pizza bread for him. Once home he told me all about his day and then Phillip went to help a friend. While Phillip was gone I worked out details for Saturday with Grandma, got the kids baths, Logan and I worked on making some crayons and got as much as I could together for Saturday. Clark went to sleep pretty easily and then Logan snuggled and watched TV while we waited for Phillip to get home. I am pretty sure I fell asleep before he made it home. He got Logan into his own bed and then was trying to talk to me and I am pretty sure I fell asleep while he was telling me a story.
Tuesday would have been my dad's birthday so I wore his bowling shirt in memory as I do every year. After work I headed over to pick up the rock, after a visit with my trade partner and loading up the rock I headed by another BBT house for a trade of mulch. Once home I unloaded the rock trying to beat the storm that was coming in. After unloading the rock I went to work on dinner which used up some leftovers. I used some more of the leftover pork loin to make stroganoff. I like the recipe out of my better homes and garden cookbook for Beef Stroganoff although I have subbed different proteins just as I did this time. This dish also enabled me to use up some mushrooms and the last bit of sour cream I had on hand. After dinner came baths and play time for the boys. I used the time to try clean up the kitchen and realized I needed to get the ears of corn and the hatch chilies put up before I lost them to rot. So I turned on the grill and got the chilies roasting while I blanched the ears of corn and got them in the freezer. Once the chilies were roasted I put them in a bag to steam while I got the kids ready for bed. I knew the 1 hour wait time would end about the time I got the kids to sleep. Clark went down without to much of a struggle and then I realized Logan's bed needed to be made. He had also got real quite and when I went to check he was sitting on the floor of his room asleep with hotwheels in his hands. I took the hot wheels and tried to get him to go to bed. He mumbled something and then laid back down on the floor so I had to pick him up and put him in his bed. About this time the chilies were ready to be put up so I went in the kitchen to peel and deseed them. I put them in freezer safe containers and placed in the freezer. I was going to get a shower so I just rinsed my hands and then went to turn on the shower so the water could warm up. As the shower was warming I realized I needed to send a pm to my trade partner to let her know I had picked up the items from her porch. While I was typing a message I made the mistake of touching my eye! On all things that are holy it burned! I did not care if the water was warm or not I threw off my clothes and got in the shower. I did think to wash my hands and then hold my eyes open to the water. The thought did cross my mind though that water makes pepper oil hotter and that I could be making it worse but just could not imagine bathing my eyes in milk. Luckily the fire went away within a couple of minutes from my eyes but I had a cut on my hand and the capsaicin made it feel like I had rubbed muscle cream on my hands. Bedtime did not come early enough and despite being exhausted I did not sleep well.
Wednesday was much of the same, I used more pork loin to make nachos and then called it done even though I had a bit left.
Thursday night Logan was excited because it was the night before his birthday. Phillip took care of picking up cookies for his class which saved me a ton.
Friday night I picked up what I hope is the last load of rock , then picked up some molds that a person in BBT is loaning me so we can make crayons for Logan's birthday party. I was going to stop for pizza but forgot so once home I unloaded the rock and then picked up Logan so he could help me. We went and picked up a pizza and pizza bread for him. Once home he told me all about his day and then Phillip went to help a friend. While Phillip was gone I worked out details for Saturday with Grandma, got the kids baths, Logan and I worked on making some crayons and got as much as I could together for Saturday. Clark went to sleep pretty easily and then Logan snuggled and watched TV while we waited for Phillip to get home. I am pretty sure I fell asleep before he made it home. He got Logan into his own bed and then was trying to talk to me and I am pretty sure I fell asleep while he was telling me a story.
Thursday, September 10, 2015
I Do Not Have Time For My Life!
This past weekend was a 3 day one for me and the older munchkin so needless to say there was a bunch on the list to get done. Friday night I headed home to cook dinner and hopefully start on my list. I went with grilled pork loin using these great instructions. This has really made grilling pork loin easy for me. It turned out to be 2 smallish loins in the package so I set one aside after I grilled them and we ate part of one for dinner. I served this with a salad and the leftover garlic bread from earlier in the week. After dinner we lazed around a little bit, took baths and got stuff together for all the errands I needed to run on Saturday. Phillip headed out on his errands early and so the kids went with me. First thing was getting our produce from the co-op pickup which is next to a playground so Logan took the time to play while Clark and I executed the pick up. I started chatting with a couple of people who helped me load the car and it turns out 1 of them works for the same "company" I do and knows a couple of my friends who work/used to work in the same department. I have decided the 6 degrees of separation is actually only about 2 degrees. Anyway this was the produce I picked up
It worked out to $61.00 of our grocery budget this month and although there were more options I wanted I narrowed it down to these items. I did sell off $6 worth of produce we were not going to eat so took the total down a little. I also realized after I took the pictures that I had already put the mushrooms and lettuce in the fridge. Anyway, all this produce had to sit in the front passenger seat because my trunk was full of donations for this month's family. After picking up the produce we set up at the appointed site for an hour allowing people to come by and add to the donation. The next stop after that hour had to be home to get the produce unloaded while I sent the family a message to see when we could meet. I got that arranged and left Logan at home so he could watch TV and took Clark with me to meet the family. The donation was handed off and then Clark and I headed by Home Depot to price gravel and pick up some soil for the tires. We found some open bags of gravel which they had discounted so I picked those up as well as the soil. We left there and headed to the garden store which I like. It is locally owned and they grow some of their own plants. Because of the season change coming they were a little low but I found enough to fill in where I wanted at good prices. After leaving there I went through a drive thru for a snack and then on to the library where I just dropped the items in the outside drop box. I have so much at home to catch up on that I did not want to go in and Logan was not with me so no need to head in. Clark was asleep in the car by this point so I thought I would push my luck and head to Winco but of course he woke up as soon as I pulled into a parking place. I went ahead and did my shopping with him since he likes to ride around in the cart. On to the house we went to get started on other items on the list. I originally wanted to start on the carrots but figured they would hold on longer than the strawberries so I went ahead and cut them up. I froze many of them for later use in smoothies and desserts. I did put some up in the fridge for Phillip to snack on and Clark to eat. I ended up bringing some to work with me for lunches. While I was working at this Clark really wanted a carrot so I peeled one for him and this is the scene that ensued.
Between he and Turbo the carrot was shared. I can not answer who ate more of it as Clark really does like raw carrots and they are not Turbo's favorite. Turbo only feigns interest I think because the tiny one has some and if he is eating something it must be good right? After I got the strawberries cut up and some laundry on the line I started working on cleaning up my crafting/dining room table. I did not get very far before it was time to work on the backyard. I wanted to let it get a little cooler but it was never really going to be totally cool. Logan and I headed out to get as much as we could stand to done. I was able to use the composted dirt I had in barrels near the site to fill up the 3 tires I had already picked up and get them planted. I had a bag of mulch in the garage from a previous project so I hauled that out to top off the plantings. There were also a ton of boxes in the garage so I hauled them out and collapsed them to make a thick ground cover to go under the gravel. I totally lucked out and someone in my BBT group has a ton of pea gravel she wanted to trade...more on that later. I did what I had supplies for on the boy's area and then planted my beds with stuff from the nursery. Then I started working on the next section for the boys since it is going to require a ton of clean out. Once I reached a point of wanting to quit I started watering because Logan was still working on moving the gravel we had from his old play area to the new. It is going to take a while since he is using the play front end loader to load his dump truck and then moving that small amount over. He wanted me to soak him with the water hose so I did and then worked on getting my new plants a good drink. I think the area is shaping up nicely.
Once we headed inside we of course had to get baths! After cleaning up I made BBQ pork served on hamburger buns with corn on the cob. It helped to use up a little more of the pork although there was still a ton left over. The boys spent the rest of the evening playing before collapsing in sleep. I cleaned up and organized my craft table getting the next project ready to start. I have sorted all the pictures and put some in albums so now I have moved on to completing the boys' baby books.
Sunday morning we had to get to church early which was not an issue as both boys woke up before they needed to. I baked us cinnamon rolls and threw on some clothes. Loralee's parents are out of town so we went to lunch with Mimi and Nene after church. They took us to Logan's favorite place Rosa's. On the way home we picked up another tire free from someone in my trade group. Once home Phillip got the tire out and we unloaded everything else. Clark was falling back asleep so I left him home with Phillip while Logan and I headed back to do another trade and go to Home Depot. My trade partner had not put the items out so we just headed on to Home Depot. At home depot they had bags of mulch and pea gravel on the discount table because they were open so I picked those up as well as some leaf bags, a couple of plants and some more gravel. By the time we left there Logan said he was kind of hungry and I was hot so we went through the drive through at McDonald's. He got a small fry and a drink and I got an ice cream cone and a water. I ate the part of my cone that was over the cone and then Logan wanted the rest so I let him have it. Once we were home Logan and I got busy on the yard. We hauled the gravel around and planted the last tire, it did not make as big a dent as we had hoped but it was progress.
Of course we needed baths after working out here in the heat for any amount of time. After baths dinner was baked potatoes and salad. I needed something that did not require a bunch of effort or heat up the house too much. After this I cleaned up the game/coat closet so I could vacuum it out and put away our cart we use for flea markets. Again, there was no trouble getting the boys to sleep as they were beat.
Bonus work at home day Monday!!! The boys slept a little late on Monday morning but I was having trouble sleeping so I was awake waiting on them. I went ahead and fixed us some biscuits for breakfast and we milled around the house for a little while. I had the realization that it was Monday which is half price day at the thrift store and which I am never off work to go to. Logan did not want to go so Clark and I loaded up and went. It ended up taking way longer than it should because an older gentleman started talking to me and after he had caught me up on his life story Clark and I checked out with our purchases. I think the best purchase there was a star projector night light shaped like a turtle. It was 54 cents and I figured that was a small amount to spend in case it did not work. Turned out it works beautifully and Logan is in love with it. He has named it Apollo, Paul for short. Once Clark and I made it home Phillip went out to the gym and Target for something he needed. I used this time to try to work on the house but mainly to peel, slice, and blanch carrots for the freezer. I also started the time consuming project of uploading all our photos to shutterfly so that I could print some for the baby books. They had sent out a postcard with a holiday weekend special of 40% off plus 101 free prints. I went through about 15 pounds of the carrots plus the loose ones that were in the regular basket before I called it quits. I have rough cut blanched ones in the freezer for stews and soups. I have thin rounds blanched and frozen for dinners and sticks cut for snacks in the fridge. My hands were stained and still my nails are discolored.
I found a buyer for the remaining 10 pounds so I will get another $6 back off this produce purchase. After finishing with this Phillip was home and we were just cleaning the house until it was a little bit cooler. Then I decided to work on the front flower bed for a little while and Logan came out to ride his bike around the front while I worked. It ended up being a family affair as Phillip brought Clark out in the stroller and started pushing him around and Logan started riding in circles around them. Logan heard the ice cream truck on another street so he told me "Mama, It is quite hot and a ice cream would cool me down". So I told him the truck came down our street we would get something. Once we realized they were coming down the street I sent him inside for my purse. When the truck got to us Logan and I picked ice cream sandwiches and Phillip got a fudge bomb pop. It was Clark's first time with the ice cream truck and he enjoyed sharing with the rest of us.
After ice cream and a little bit more yard work we quit for the day. Baths were in short order and then dinner of grilled cheese and school/work stuff gathered before bed.
Sunday morning we had to get to church early which was not an issue as both boys woke up before they needed to. I baked us cinnamon rolls and threw on some clothes. Loralee's parents are out of town so we went to lunch with Mimi and Nene after church. They took us to Logan's favorite place Rosa's. On the way home we picked up another tire free from someone in my trade group. Once home Phillip got the tire out and we unloaded everything else. Clark was falling back asleep so I left him home with Phillip while Logan and I headed back to do another trade and go to Home Depot. My trade partner had not put the items out so we just headed on to Home Depot. At home depot they had bags of mulch and pea gravel on the discount table because they were open so I picked those up as well as some leaf bags, a couple of plants and some more gravel. By the time we left there Logan said he was kind of hungry and I was hot so we went through the drive through at McDonald's. He got a small fry and a drink and I got an ice cream cone and a water. I ate the part of my cone that was over the cone and then Logan wanted the rest so I let him have it. Once we were home Logan and I got busy on the yard. We hauled the gravel around and planted the last tire, it did not make as big a dent as we had hoped but it was progress.
Bonus work at home day Monday!!! The boys slept a little late on Monday morning but I was having trouble sleeping so I was awake waiting on them. I went ahead and fixed us some biscuits for breakfast and we milled around the house for a little while. I had the realization that it was Monday which is half price day at the thrift store and which I am never off work to go to. Logan did not want to go so Clark and I loaded up and went. It ended up taking way longer than it should because an older gentleman started talking to me and after he had caught me up on his life story Clark and I checked out with our purchases. I think the best purchase there was a star projector night light shaped like a turtle. It was 54 cents and I figured that was a small amount to spend in case it did not work. Turned out it works beautifully and Logan is in love with it. He has named it Apollo, Paul for short. Once Clark and I made it home Phillip went out to the gym and Target for something he needed. I used this time to try to work on the house but mainly to peel, slice, and blanch carrots for the freezer. I also started the time consuming project of uploading all our photos to shutterfly so that I could print some for the baby books. They had sent out a postcard with a holiday weekend special of 40% off plus 101 free prints. I went through about 15 pounds of the carrots plus the loose ones that were in the regular basket before I called it quits. I have rough cut blanched ones in the freezer for stews and soups. I have thin rounds blanched and frozen for dinners and sticks cut for snacks in the fridge. My hands were stained and still my nails are discolored.
Wednesday, September 9, 2015
Roller Coaster Weekend, no Mommy Awards for Me
This weekend was such a roller coaster, mainly for me.
Friday after work I headed home hoping to get a bunch done as always and as usual I did not get it all done. Dinner ended up being grilled sausages served like hot dogs as I neglected to pull anything out on Friday morning. I really think this was the extent of my accomplishments for the evening. I wanted to water the yard but it looked like it was going to rain so I put it off and then once it was dark I did not want to get out and water.
Saturday morning I had to make up for the lack of accomplishment on Friday. The kids of course woke up at 7am on a day when we really did not have to be anywhere. Since they were up we went ahead and got started on our day. I showered with the bathroom and shower door open so the tiny one would not scream at the door thinking it was a portal that was transporting me away. Once out of the shower I got laundry started so I could get it out on the line before we headed out. This was traumatic for the tiny one who once again was out of my presence. After hearing him scream while I was out there hanging out the clothes and Logan yelling out the door that Clark was screaming I was ready for some aspirin. The day went a little better once I got them out of the house. We went to Target for some safety pins so I could tag the JBF items as well as some note cards for Phillip. After Target we went by the library for both returns and pick ups. I, of course could not make it out of there without checking out additional items that I clearly do not have the time to read especially before they are due.
I did not finish this post before I forgot everything that went on over that weekend....Trust me when I say it was a ton of nonsense and involved a horrible incident where I rolled Logan's fingers up in the car window. I spent the rest of the day feeling guilty about this.
Friday after work I headed home hoping to get a bunch done as always and as usual I did not get it all done. Dinner ended up being grilled sausages served like hot dogs as I neglected to pull anything out on Friday morning. I really think this was the extent of my accomplishments for the evening. I wanted to water the yard but it looked like it was going to rain so I put it off and then once it was dark I did not want to get out and water.
Saturday morning I had to make up for the lack of accomplishment on Friday. The kids of course woke up at 7am on a day when we really did not have to be anywhere. Since they were up we went ahead and got started on our day. I showered with the bathroom and shower door open so the tiny one would not scream at the door thinking it was a portal that was transporting me away. Once out of the shower I got laundry started so I could get it out on the line before we headed out. This was traumatic for the tiny one who once again was out of my presence. After hearing him scream while I was out there hanging out the clothes and Logan yelling out the door that Clark was screaming I was ready for some aspirin. The day went a little better once I got them out of the house. We went to Target for some safety pins so I could tag the JBF items as well as some note cards for Phillip. After Target we went by the library for both returns and pick ups. I, of course could not make it out of there without checking out additional items that I clearly do not have the time to read especially before they are due.
I did not finish this post before I forgot everything that went on over that weekend....Trust me when I say it was a ton of nonsense and involved a horrible incident where I rolled Logan's fingers up in the car window. I spent the rest of the day feeling guilty about this.
Friday, August 28, 2015
Getting Ready for the Weekend
Thursday morning we dealt with Logan and his apparent sleep walking. He did make me laugh a ton before we left for school. He LOVES pencils as much as I do and LOVES to sharpen them. He brought his pencil in our room as I was getting ready and was asking where his pencil sharpener was. I told him if he did not know then he would probably have to wait until after school to find it since we needed to leave in a little while. He then said it was his magic wand and it was broke. He had tried to make a couple of things "discappear" and they did not. He then abbra cadabraed Clark to get him to stay still and it worked. Then he tried again saying "Abbra Cadabra make Clark disappear" and then " mama, see it did not work". Phillip's response was maybe it is the person not the wand because the "spells" are supposed to rhyme.
After work it was a mad dash as Phillip had worked on a deal with Target for new phones. We made it to the Target in the next town over where they were holding phones for us. It was a lot of work but we ended up with 2 new phones, cell service at a better rate than what we had and almost $400 in gift cards by the time we left 1&1/2 hours later. This put it after 8pm so I just took us through the Rosa's drive through and picked up dinner. Clark was asleep before we got home and stayed that way all night. Logan ate dinner with us, had his bath and then had to finish up his home work before bed. He was not happy about most of it and kept asking why things were boring. I of course had to keep explaining that life is not always entertaining. I was sooo ready for him to go to sleep last night!
Friday AKA this morning Logan did not want to go to school. It was slightly funny, frustrating and sad at the same time. He was asking why Kindergarten was sooooo long and why he had to go every day day day? We had to start a conversation that I am sure is going to continue for the rest of his life at home. Sometimes things are not fun, you have to do some things whether you want to or not and you will go to school weekdays just like mommy has to go to work. I parked down the street once we made it to school and we walked in together. He started crying before I left because he was going to miss me so we had to have another brief chat. I imagine that he ended up having fun today but will see when I get home.
I discovered today at work that one of the doctor's here also has the same no rhythm issue as me! I can not keep a rhythm to save my life. When I am somewhere that people are clapping along with a song such as church I have to watch someone else and keep pace with them. It was nice to know I am not the only person in the world who has this issue. I have always really wished I could play an instrument of sing since I love music so much. My dad always used to tell me " Lisa, you should be on the radio. So we could turn you off." Oh well, I will continue my love of music and live with my no rhythm issue!
After work it was a mad dash as Phillip had worked on a deal with Target for new phones. We made it to the Target in the next town over where they were holding phones for us. It was a lot of work but we ended up with 2 new phones, cell service at a better rate than what we had and almost $400 in gift cards by the time we left 1&1/2 hours later. This put it after 8pm so I just took us through the Rosa's drive through and picked up dinner. Clark was asleep before we got home and stayed that way all night. Logan ate dinner with us, had his bath and then had to finish up his home work before bed. He was not happy about most of it and kept asking why things were boring. I of course had to keep explaining that life is not always entertaining. I was sooo ready for him to go to sleep last night!
Friday AKA this morning Logan did not want to go to school. It was slightly funny, frustrating and sad at the same time. He was asking why Kindergarten was sooooo long and why he had to go every day day day? We had to start a conversation that I am sure is going to continue for the rest of his life at home. Sometimes things are not fun, you have to do some things whether you want to or not and you will go to school weekdays just like mommy has to go to work. I parked down the street once we made it to school and we walked in together. He started crying before I left because he was going to miss me so we had to have another brief chat. I imagine that he ended up having fun today but will see when I get home.
I discovered today at work that one of the doctor's here also has the same no rhythm issue as me! I can not keep a rhythm to save my life. When I am somewhere that people are clapping along with a song such as church I have to watch someone else and keep pace with them. It was nice to know I am not the only person in the world who has this issue. I have always really wished I could play an instrument of sing since I love music so much. My dad always used to tell me " Lisa, you should be on the radio. So we could turn you off." Oh well, I will continue my love of music and live with my no rhythm issue!
Thursday, August 27, 2015
Updates On Logan and The New School Year
I forgot to update on Logan with the last post. This is the picture I took of him on Friday morning before I came into work
When I got home the swelling was gone, Phillip had dosed him with benadryl but over the weekend he started breaking out with what appeared to be bug bites. They started under his arms and then progressed to his trunk and by Monday they were on his feet. All the research I did came up with Hot Tub Rash. Everything seems to be gone now and he never felt bad from it so I really think it was just the hot tub rash.
Monday morning was Logan's first day of Kindergarten! He told me when we were shopping for his supplies the kindergarten was scary and when I asked him why he said because he did not know anyone. We talked about some of the kids from his pre-k might be in his class but that it would be a chance to make new friends and learn new things. I got up and got myself ready and then woke Logan up. He was up and ready quickly so we left home in plenty of time to get to the school and walk in. There were only 8 of the 22 students there when I left.
This year was a little harder for me than last year and I am not sure why. He wanted me to stay with him and was not talking to anyone but eventually I ducked out. After dropping him off I had 1&1/2 hours until my annual doctor's appointment so I went by Winco and picked up a couple of items that we needed. Phillip was afraid if I came back home Clark would not be happy with me leaving again in short order so I just dropped the stuff on the porch and called Phillip to tell him it was there. I also saw the ARC donation pick up truck pulling into the neighborhood and then remembered I forgot to set our donation out. I called Phillip and asked him to set it out which he did. Then it was on to my annual which ended up being depressing. I was told by the nurse that since I have turned 40 it was now time to start having rectal exams and a mammogram. After that huge let down which I am still not over I had to meet Phillip in the next town for his interview. He was on his 3rd interview with an agency and they had requested to speak with his wife also. They just wanted to make sure I was aware of what the job entailed, travel, nights, etc. These are things that we had already discussed so nothing huge. Once we finished there it was during my lunch hour from work so we brought Clark up to visit with the peeps at my work. Phillip took Clark home and I worked the second half of the day. I did call home after Phillip picked up Logan to check on how school went and found out he thought it was "quite fun". Dinner was grilled chicken tostados which used up all the shells I had and the rest of the chicken tenders. We ended up with 2 chicken tenders left which I put away for Tuesday night. After dinner and baths the boys played while I worked on inputting more items on JBF. They were worn out and headed to bed pretty early.
Tuesday morning Logan was moving a little slower but wanted to walk to school so I made a deal with him if he got ready in time for us to leave early we were going to park down the street and walk. He got ready quickly and so we parked down the street and walked into the school. He had another good day and came home with a bunch of stuff I still need to fill out as well as some minor homework which we need to make sure he gets done tonight. I used the leftover chicken tenders, some frozen broccoli I had put up, some carrots from the fridge, and the last bit of noodles I purchased at the beginning of the month to make a stir fry for dinner. After dinner and baths I started cleaning out Clark's clothes. He has outgrown a lot of them and I had been putting it off but with JBF next week I needed to get it done. I sorted some for JBF this time, some will be for spring JBF, some to be traded and some went in the donation. Phillip set the donation for ARC out after I called him on Monday but it still did not get picked up. Wednesday the Leukemia society was picking up in the neighborhood so I just switched the tag and planned to put it out on Wednesday morning. The sorting took the rest of the evening so I just stacked everything to take care of the next night. Again, the boys went to bed pretty early.
Wednesday morning Logan did not want to get up. Once he was up and getting around he asked me why Kindergarten was soo long. I told him it had not been long yet, this was only the third day. We then had to discuss that it was going to be the same amount of time as pre-k had been. Every year he was going to go to school the same length of time. On the way to school he kept talking about kindergarten and then first grade and then second grade and then he was going to be a grown up and buy shirts like dada. I guess shirts make the grown up dada. After dropping off Logan I put the new book on cd in the car player and headed toward the highway. The CD would not play and I got stuck in traffic on the service road so I popped the CD out to discover that it was cracked. While still stuck in traffic I put a sticky note on the container and decided to jump off the highway. I was within an exit of the library so I just swung by their drop box and put the CD in and got a iced tea at the gas station next to the library. After this I jumped onto the highway which was still backed up, while in this traffic I sent my boss a text to let her know I would be late. Once I got up to the accident I found out why traffic was so backed up. A produce semi had not made the exit onto another highway and took out the guardrail as it turned over. This resulted in the trailer peeling back and produce dumping out all over the highway. A hazmat unit was there cleaning up the mess and a tow truck was righting the truck as I passed. I called Phillip to let him know as I had not made it into work yet and he told me he heard about it on the radio as he headed the other direction to the dealership. He has had a whining noise in the truck's ac and while it was still under warranty he wanted to get it checked out. The bonus is the dealer is by his Grandma's house and so he and Clark could visit with her. Mimi loves to spend time with the boys and Phillip's mom was off work so she visited also. My dad went downhill more after I got to work, because the morning was off kilter I forgot that I was supposed to have a telephone interview with the SNAP people to renew our benefits. They called my cell phone while I was at work and I missed the call. I called right back but was told the next interview time was September 3rd at 3:15pm. This means on the day my benefits are supposed to be loaded I will talk to them. They will probably tell me there are additional items that they need and I will have to scan in and submit. Then in probably another week I will have benefits. I broke down in tears while talking to them. Do they not realize how arbitrary this system is! I submitted the same paperwork as last time, nothing has changed in our financial status and yet I have to talk to them and jump through more hoops. The system assumes I have nothing else going on but applying for benefits. Anyway it took most of the day for me to move on from this. After getting home Logan told me about his day and Phillip gave me the family updates. Dinner was spaghetti with mushroom marinara served with garlic bread. I forgot to take anything out last night so I fixed something meatless for dinner. Baths went down after dinner and then playtime for the boys. Once I walked into Logan's room I could smell that he has wet the bed and not told us so I had to strip it and get the bedding into the wash. The boys played after baths and I worked on entering more JBF items as well as cleaning up the kitchen. The fridge needed to be cleaned out also and so I started on that. After loading the dishwasher it was time for the boys to get to bed. Clark went to sleep pretty quickly and so I used the time to finish up the JBF tags. After making up Logan's bed I went to get him out of my bed and carried him to bed. Overnight was horrible though. He woke up at 4:00am wanting chocolate milk. He came into our room and asked me. I told him to potty and then go to bed. He went to the bathroom and then came back to me, I told him to go to bed. He went to bed and started crying so I went to see what was going on. He still wanted chocolate milk. I went to get him some water which he did not want. I had to tell him if he was thirsty he could drink the water but it was 4:00 in the morning and I was not getting him chocolate milk. He still was crying in bed so I shut the door to his room. This morning I went in there and he had thrown all the stuff off the top bunk but still slept up there. He also had no memory of the situation and hugged me as soon as he woke up. He did tell me he had a bad dream about a black house with black paint.
Monday morning was Logan's first day of Kindergarten! He told me when we were shopping for his supplies the kindergarten was scary and when I asked him why he said because he did not know anyone. We talked about some of the kids from his pre-k might be in his class but that it would be a chance to make new friends and learn new things. I got up and got myself ready and then woke Logan up. He was up and ready quickly so we left home in plenty of time to get to the school and walk in. There were only 8 of the 22 students there when I left.
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| 1st day pic before we left home |
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| 1st day at the school, he wanted one with his backpack |
Tuesday morning Logan was moving a little slower but wanted to walk to school so I made a deal with him if he got ready in time for us to leave early we were going to park down the street and walk. He got ready quickly and so we parked down the street and walked into the school. He had another good day and came home with a bunch of stuff I still need to fill out as well as some minor homework which we need to make sure he gets done tonight. I used the leftover chicken tenders, some frozen broccoli I had put up, some carrots from the fridge, and the last bit of noodles I purchased at the beginning of the month to make a stir fry for dinner. After dinner and baths I started cleaning out Clark's clothes. He has outgrown a lot of them and I had been putting it off but with JBF next week I needed to get it done. I sorted some for JBF this time, some will be for spring JBF, some to be traded and some went in the donation. Phillip set the donation for ARC out after I called him on Monday but it still did not get picked up. Wednesday the Leukemia society was picking up in the neighborhood so I just switched the tag and planned to put it out on Wednesday morning. The sorting took the rest of the evening so I just stacked everything to take care of the next night. Again, the boys went to bed pretty early.
Wednesday morning Logan did not want to get up. Once he was up and getting around he asked me why Kindergarten was soo long. I told him it had not been long yet, this was only the third day. We then had to discuss that it was going to be the same amount of time as pre-k had been. Every year he was going to go to school the same length of time. On the way to school he kept talking about kindergarten and then first grade and then second grade and then he was going to be a grown up and buy shirts like dada. I guess shirts make the grown up dada. After dropping off Logan I put the new book on cd in the car player and headed toward the highway. The CD would not play and I got stuck in traffic on the service road so I popped the CD out to discover that it was cracked. While still stuck in traffic I put a sticky note on the container and decided to jump off the highway. I was within an exit of the library so I just swung by their drop box and put the CD in and got a iced tea at the gas station next to the library. After this I jumped onto the highway which was still backed up, while in this traffic I sent my boss a text to let her know I would be late. Once I got up to the accident I found out why traffic was so backed up. A produce semi had not made the exit onto another highway and took out the guardrail as it turned over. This resulted in the trailer peeling back and produce dumping out all over the highway. A hazmat unit was there cleaning up the mess and a tow truck was righting the truck as I passed. I called Phillip to let him know as I had not made it into work yet and he told me he heard about it on the radio as he headed the other direction to the dealership. He has had a whining noise in the truck's ac and while it was still under warranty he wanted to get it checked out. The bonus is the dealer is by his Grandma's house and so he and Clark could visit with her. Mimi loves to spend time with the boys and Phillip's mom was off work so she visited also. My dad went downhill more after I got to work, because the morning was off kilter I forgot that I was supposed to have a telephone interview with the SNAP people to renew our benefits. They called my cell phone while I was at work and I missed the call. I called right back but was told the next interview time was September 3rd at 3:15pm. This means on the day my benefits are supposed to be loaded I will talk to them. They will probably tell me there are additional items that they need and I will have to scan in and submit. Then in probably another week I will have benefits. I broke down in tears while talking to them. Do they not realize how arbitrary this system is! I submitted the same paperwork as last time, nothing has changed in our financial status and yet I have to talk to them and jump through more hoops. The system assumes I have nothing else going on but applying for benefits. Anyway it took most of the day for me to move on from this. After getting home Logan told me about his day and Phillip gave me the family updates. Dinner was spaghetti with mushroom marinara served with garlic bread. I forgot to take anything out last night so I fixed something meatless for dinner. Baths went down after dinner and then playtime for the boys. Once I walked into Logan's room I could smell that he has wet the bed and not told us so I had to strip it and get the bedding into the wash. The boys played after baths and I worked on entering more JBF items as well as cleaning up the kitchen. The fridge needed to be cleaned out also and so I started on that. After loading the dishwasher it was time for the boys to get to bed. Clark went to sleep pretty quickly and so I used the time to finish up the JBF tags. After making up Logan's bed I went to get him out of my bed and carried him to bed. Overnight was horrible though. He woke up at 4:00am wanting chocolate milk. He came into our room and asked me. I told him to potty and then go to bed. He went to the bathroom and then came back to me, I told him to go to bed. He went to bed and started crying so I went to see what was going on. He still wanted chocolate milk. I went to get him some water which he did not want. I had to tell him if he was thirsty he could drink the water but it was 4:00 in the morning and I was not getting him chocolate milk. He still was crying in bed so I shut the door to his room. This morning I went in there and he had thrown all the stuff off the top bunk but still slept up there. He also had no memory of the situation and hugged me as soon as he woke up. He did tell me he had a bad dream about a black house with black paint.
Moving Through the List
Friday evening Logan looked a lot better and as I said he has never acted like it hurt him. On the way home I made a side trip by Dollar Tree to pick up some photo boxes. I was determined to get the project done over the weekend. I did work on the photos and got them all sorted out. Other than that and fixing dinner I really did not do a lot on Friday night.
Saturday was a day of much ado. Phillip got up before we did and headed out to weed eat the church's yard. Logan of course did not sleep much past this but did try to play quite in his room. Once I knew he was awake though I could not sleep so I just got up and took a shower before Clark woke up. I got my shower and Logan's bedding in the wash before Clark woke up. Once he was awake we had breakfast and got everything together to run our errands. First on the list was Lowe's for the build which for once Logan wanted to bring home and build with Phillip. This made my life a little easier and so we headed to the library and then picked up the tires for our backyard project. She wanted nothing in trade so we just loaded up the 3 tires and headed home. At home I got a second load of clothes in the washing machine and one they were completed took both loads out to the clothes line. Phillip was still not home so the boys and I worked on the house. Really this means Logan played, Clark tried to take everything he could reach as his own and I kept working on the pictures. I did manage to get some pulled out for scrapbooks, some set aside for frames, some for the boy's baby books, some I want to talk to Phillip's family and find out who they are, some to give to Phillip's sister. some for photo albums and the rest for photo boxes. I put all the scenery pictures and most from before we met each other in the photo boxes. I put pictures in 2 albums and started our travel scrapbook. The next project as far as that goes is to finish Logan's baby book and get Clark's going before I forget everything. When Phillip made it home Logan and I went out in the backyard to work on the play area as well as continue planting the monkey grass and clean up the yard overall.
We had Clark with us for a little while but Phillip came and took him back inside after a while so we could get more done. Logan was really a lot of help as long as I was not interested in getting done really fast. We got the area cleaned up and the tires we picked up in place. I need 2 more tires to complete the area and then we will need soil to turn them into planters. I also will need a lot of pea gravel to cover the ground and put enough in the area for them to dig and haul around. After we did as much as we could there Logan played some while I cleaned out around the shed and planted more grass. We then worked on cleaning up some of the fallen branches around the yard but a lot of the bigger ones I am going to let Phillip cut to the required length for city pick up. I also moved some lantana from one bed to another as well as some plants from the front flower bed to the back. By this time we ( I ) was tired, hot and wet from letting Logan water again. We went in and got showers and then dinner which was pork chops from the crock pot. I had seasoned them with some lemon juice, cumin, garlic and paprika. After dinner Logan and Phillip built his "chariot" from Lowe's while I sat in the bathroom with Clark for his bath. I went ahead and pulled all the items together for the JBF sale so I could sort them. During all of this I washed 4 more loads of laundry and hung out 2 of them in addition to the 2 from the morning. It had just dawned on me that I needed to get Logan's school clothes out of the top of the closet and washed for his first day! This added 1 of the loads to what I washed.
Sunday morning started off without much fanfare. We went to church as usual with the added benefit of Phillip's mom and grandma being there. First hiccup of the day was Clark threw up all over himself and the car seat. We drove straight to the fellowship hall and stripped him down. I bathed him in the sink and then changed him into the spare clothes from his diaper bag. Phillip took the kids down to church after that while I washed the clothes he threw up on as well as the car seat cover. Once washed I threw them out on the picnic tables to dry while we were in service. There had been a dance at the church there were a ton of leftovers so they decided to have a potluck after church which helped our budget out. Logan and Loralee had a great time turning on the disco lights and dancing around while we were eating. This also gave Clark's clothes and car seat cover time to dry so we could put it back together before heading home. The boys slept on the way home with Clark staying asleep after we arrived. I used the time with Clark asleep to work on the JBF items. I managed to get them sorted, on hangers and mostly entered before bed that night. I of course had to stop and play with the boys as well as get dinner and baths. It was the night before Kindergarten for Logan so we laid out his clothes. We had already put his supplies in his back pack but I made sure it was all ready and started getting his lunch packed. To make sure we would not run late I took my shower on Sunday night after the kids were in bed.
Over all I finished the weekend feeling accomplished.
Saturday was a day of much ado. Phillip got up before we did and headed out to weed eat the church's yard. Logan of course did not sleep much past this but did try to play quite in his room. Once I knew he was awake though I could not sleep so I just got up and took a shower before Clark woke up. I got my shower and Logan's bedding in the wash before Clark woke up. Once he was awake we had breakfast and got everything together to run our errands. First on the list was Lowe's for the build which for once Logan wanted to bring home and build with Phillip. This made my life a little easier and so we headed to the library and then picked up the tires for our backyard project. She wanted nothing in trade so we just loaded up the 3 tires and headed home. At home I got a second load of clothes in the washing machine and one they were completed took both loads out to the clothes line. Phillip was still not home so the boys and I worked on the house. Really this means Logan played, Clark tried to take everything he could reach as his own and I kept working on the pictures. I did manage to get some pulled out for scrapbooks, some set aside for frames, some for the boy's baby books, some I want to talk to Phillip's family and find out who they are, some to give to Phillip's sister. some for photo albums and the rest for photo boxes. I put all the scenery pictures and most from before we met each other in the photo boxes. I put pictures in 2 albums and started our travel scrapbook. The next project as far as that goes is to finish Logan's baby book and get Clark's going before I forget everything. When Phillip made it home Logan and I went out in the backyard to work on the play area as well as continue planting the monkey grass and clean up the yard overall.
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| Logan's area mostly before we got started on it |
Sunday morning started off without much fanfare. We went to church as usual with the added benefit of Phillip's mom and grandma being there. First hiccup of the day was Clark threw up all over himself and the car seat. We drove straight to the fellowship hall and stripped him down. I bathed him in the sink and then changed him into the spare clothes from his diaper bag. Phillip took the kids down to church after that while I washed the clothes he threw up on as well as the car seat cover. Once washed I threw them out on the picnic tables to dry while we were in service. There had been a dance at the church there were a ton of leftovers so they decided to have a potluck after church which helped our budget out. Logan and Loralee had a great time turning on the disco lights and dancing around while we were eating. This also gave Clark's clothes and car seat cover time to dry so we could put it back together before heading home. The boys slept on the way home with Clark staying asleep after we arrived. I used the time with Clark asleep to work on the JBF items. I managed to get them sorted, on hangers and mostly entered before bed that night. I of course had to stop and play with the boys as well as get dinner and baths. It was the night before Kindergarten for Logan so we laid out his clothes. We had already put his supplies in his back pack but I made sure it was all ready and started getting his lunch packed. To make sure we would not run late I took my shower on Sunday night after the kids were in bed.
Over all I finished the weekend feeling accomplished.
Friday, August 21, 2015
Books Aug 13th Through Aug 21st
I am still reading How Not to Die which is a pretty good book although there are no tips in here that are shocking or new. I really just like Dr. G and find the cases she profiles interesting. This is a book I was hoping to have completed by now but since I have only been reading at lunch time I did not get through as much as I could have. Still I am within 50 pages of being done and plan on getting that finished tonight!
Saturday I did not have the book with me so I started on one just checked out from the library. This will be the one I pick up and read after I finish How Not to Die. The book started and soon to be completed is Girl Sleuth: Nancy Drew and the Women Who Created Her. I checked this one out as I was a huge Nancy Drew fan growing up and was a little distraught to find out that the author was actually a bunch of people writing under the same name.
As for books I am listening to I finished up Factory Man. It was a long investment of time for a book but I really did like it and find it well researched.
After finishing Factory Man, I listened to So You've Been Publicly Shamed. This book really has changed my life. I know you hear me say all the time that I learned something or changed an opinion because of information I gained from reading. I will say though this book actually has changed my life. I can not recommend it or this TED talk enough. If you have a bit of time to spare I would watch the talk, if you have a little longer I would watch it and read/listen to the book. Because of these and my quest to live a compassionate life I have left some facebook pages I normally followed and refused to participate in negative discussions about people.
The next book I started listening to is Survival of the Sickest. It has been full of interesting information.
Forgot to mention in the middle of all of this an author I like for trashy romance novels released another one. It was only available in Kindle edition so I actually purchased it and speed read it through in one evening! So if you are looking for an easy read that does not require a ton of thought or action then check out the Protector Series. This is the latest one that I read A Warrior's Wedding.
A cute book I read to my son also is How the Meteorite Got to the Museum.
Plugging Away on the Yard
This has been a week of business and fun activities and some not soo fun.
Monday morning I left home early enough to swing by Winco for a refund. Their Kleenex was marked $1.47 for a 3 pack which was an amazing deal so along with my coupon and rebate I was getting them for next to nothing. I had initially bought one a couple of weeks ago and then noticed they were still marked $1.47 when I was there on Saturday. Having the kids with me usually means I can not watch the prices ring up as closely as I need to so I have been known to look in the store or after I get home. Upon looking at the receipt at home I discovered I was charged $3.74 for the Kleenex. I put it and the receipt back in a bag. I then thought I should recheck the last receipt and sure enough I was overcharged then also. Anyway Monday I had left home early enough that I had time to swing by for a refund.
Winco Trip:
refund ($4.32)
After Winco I made it into work still early which was unusual for me but a great chance to read before the day really started. On the way home after work I called home only to find out that we needed milk. So on the way home I went by Albertson's to pick up the milk and ended up with a couple of other items.
Albertson's Trip:
2 boxes of egg rolls
2 cans biscuits
1 lb peaches
1 loaf bread
1 fruit pie ( I totally regretted this one)
1 lb dried navy beans
2 gallons milk
Total: $10.73 Cash
Once home I got the items put up and my clothes changed. Logan and I went to work on the back yard getting it cleaned up and some more of the monkey grass planted. I started work on another section of the flower bed and under the bird feeders. Clark was hanging out talking to us from his stroller. Logan played for a little while and then he was on watering duty. This is usually a process in which everything except what I asked him to water ends up soaked. I am really working on my patience while he is "helping" me with anything.
Out of everything Logan was most excited about the lady bug. Keeping the yard organic has not helped with appearances yet but it has increased the amount of wildlife we have to watch.
After working in the yard for about an hour we headed inside for baths and then dinner. Dinner was short cut chicken pot pie. I chopped up some leftover grilled chicken, mixed that and a can of cream of mushroom soup with some steamed mixed vegetables. I put this in a stone casserole dish and covered it with the dough from some prepackaged crescent rolls. They make a great crust when laid flat and the seams pushed together. Clark especially liked the soft veggies out of the pot pie. There really was just a smidge left over to put up. By this point it was fairly late and I tried to get Clark to go to bed but he wanted to play a little longer. I let him while I picked up some stuff and got things ready for Tuesday. Once I was done I got him to bed and then went to read to Logan. Logan wanted a book on Meteorites read to him so that is what we did.
Tuesday the kids went to the sitter so I picked them up and then headed home. Once home I immediately changed clothes and put Clark in the stroller. Logan and I got to work on another section of the yard while Clark talked. Phillip ended up coming out and pushing Clark around in the stroller as well as helping direct Logan's watering efforts. We all still ended up being watered as well as the grass I was putting out.
This was the before of the area we worked on. I neglected to take an after....may do that tonight after I get home. The back corner of this area is where I was to try to recreate this which is pictured on http://www.letthechildrenplay.net/2014/07/these-are-few-of-my-favourite-found.html.
I posted on my trade group and will be picking up tires over the next couple of days so we can get this recreated. After working in the yard though for about an hour, maybe an hour and a half we went in for baths and then dinner. I had put on navy beans with some leftover ham in the crockpot that morning. We ate that with the extra corn bread from the corn dog meal. After a couple of days of yard work and playing at the sitter the boys were easier to get to sleep.
Wednesday I ran by library to turn in some books on CD that I was finished with as well as the meteorite book Logan and I had read. CVS is right across the street so I swing in to pick up some baby powder for my shoes. The tiny one kept hiding my old one but now it is officially empty so I picked up a new one. I learned a lesson though, in the baby section the exact same baby powder was $1.99 compared to the .99 it was marked in the travel section. So needless to say I bought the one from the travel section. It rained that morning so Logan's plans for the day were delayed. He ended up going later with his friend Loralee and her dad to the water park. The night before he went here is the conversation we had with him
Phillip: tons of info on being safe and staying with Loralee and Mike.
Logan: I will be safe, I will not get drowned
Me: Thank you, because I love you and I would really miss you.
Logan: I will not get drowned, you do not have to be sad. If I get dead you could born another Logan.
Me: No I can not born another Logan, that is not how it works. You are the only Logan for me ever.
They were not sure when they were going to come home so Phillip and I played it by ear on picking him up. The park closed at 6 and since I get off at 5:30 I told Phillip I could try to meet them and get Logan. He was worried I would not get to the meeting spot in time so I called him once I was on the highway and their ETA looked to be 6:45pm. Originally I was going to go home and wait them out but decided to complete a pick up of donated items for this month's family. The person donating items was close to the pick up spot so I just went to meet her. Mike ended up calling when I was exiting the highway and said he was 10 minutes away from the pick up spot. I tried to complete the donation pick up in that time and the person who was supposed to be home turned out to not be so I picked up Logan first. We stopped at the gas station and picked up a blue drink (powerade) for him and then went back to do the donation pick up. He told me all about the water park as he had an amazing time. His face concerned me a little and still does.
I at first thought it was a sunburn but it is only on his face, it is in a pattern, not hot to the touch, does not bother him and it was scaley in appearance. We just contemplated it for a while on Wednesday evening while he told us all about the fun he had. We had eggrolls for dinner and then baths. Logan was in the bathtub for a long time getting the chlorine off and playing, mainly playing. Once baths were done we rubbed his face down with beeswax cream and headed to bed.
Thursday morning the redness appeared better and it still was not bothering him so I took him to the sitter and headed into work. I had to be here early for a meeting and then stayed late for inventory. Phillip picked up Logan and took him to his meet the teacher night. He starts Kindergarten on Monday, I can not figure out where this summer went. They also went to visit his teacher from last year while they were there so he was excited. After inventory my coworkers and I got a bite to eat and then I completed a trade on the way home. I traded some cranberry liqueur I made and a can of refried beans for 5 bars of soap and a bunch of building blocks and cars for the boys. Logan was asleep when I got home so I snuck in a gave him a kiss and then held Clark while Phillip and I caught up. He had an appointment about his VA claim yesterday and got a call about an interview for a job he applied for. This is actually the next step interview as in his field there are many steps to getting a job. It was a little bit before Clark went to sleep and then I tried to read but was just worn out.
Friday morning, which was this morning is the last day of summer break! It was the last morning anyway that I get to sleep a little later since I do not have to take the kids anywhere before I go to work. The boys were up before I left this morning so I gave them the building blocks and they started playing. Logan's eye is swollen so I am a bit more worried about the reaction to whatever. Phillip was going to give him some benadryl and see how it works and then we will dose him as normal with some zyrtec tonight.
Hoping he feels better by the time I get home. I was hoping to work some more in the back yard tonight and still have no ideas for dinner since I did not pull anything out this morning.
Monday morning I left home early enough to swing by Winco for a refund. Their Kleenex was marked $1.47 for a 3 pack which was an amazing deal so along with my coupon and rebate I was getting them for next to nothing. I had initially bought one a couple of weeks ago and then noticed they were still marked $1.47 when I was there on Saturday. Having the kids with me usually means I can not watch the prices ring up as closely as I need to so I have been known to look in the store or after I get home. Upon looking at the receipt at home I discovered I was charged $3.74 for the Kleenex. I put it and the receipt back in a bag. I then thought I should recheck the last receipt and sure enough I was overcharged then also. Anyway Monday I had left home early enough that I had time to swing by for a refund.
Winco Trip:
refund ($4.32)
After Winco I made it into work still early which was unusual for me but a great chance to read before the day really started. On the way home after work I called home only to find out that we needed milk. So on the way home I went by Albertson's to pick up the milk and ended up with a couple of other items.
Albertson's Trip:
2 boxes of egg rolls
2 cans biscuits
1 lb peaches
1 loaf bread
1 fruit pie ( I totally regretted this one)
1 lb dried navy beans
2 gallons milk
Total: $10.73 Cash
Once home I got the items put up and my clothes changed. Logan and I went to work on the back yard getting it cleaned up and some more of the monkey grass planted. I started work on another section of the flower bed and under the bird feeders. Clark was hanging out talking to us from his stroller. Logan played for a little while and then he was on watering duty. This is usually a process in which everything except what I asked him to water ends up soaked. I am really working on my patience while he is "helping" me with anything.
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| Area Before |
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| Area After |
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| Another Friend |
After working in the yard for about an hour we headed inside for baths and then dinner. Dinner was short cut chicken pot pie. I chopped up some leftover grilled chicken, mixed that and a can of cream of mushroom soup with some steamed mixed vegetables. I put this in a stone casserole dish and covered it with the dough from some prepackaged crescent rolls. They make a great crust when laid flat and the seams pushed together. Clark especially liked the soft veggies out of the pot pie. There really was just a smidge left over to put up. By this point it was fairly late and I tried to get Clark to go to bed but he wanted to play a little longer. I let him while I picked up some stuff and got things ready for Tuesday. Once I was done I got him to bed and then went to read to Logan. Logan wanted a book on Meteorites read to him so that is what we did.
Tuesday the kids went to the sitter so I picked them up and then headed home. Once home I immediately changed clothes and put Clark in the stroller. Logan and I got to work on another section of the yard while Clark talked. Phillip ended up coming out and pushing Clark around in the stroller as well as helping direct Logan's watering efforts. We all still ended up being watered as well as the grass I was putting out.
Wednesday I ran by library to turn in some books on CD that I was finished with as well as the meteorite book Logan and I had read. CVS is right across the street so I swing in to pick up some baby powder for my shoes. The tiny one kept hiding my old one but now it is officially empty so I picked up a new one. I learned a lesson though, in the baby section the exact same baby powder was $1.99 compared to the .99 it was marked in the travel section. So needless to say I bought the one from the travel section. It rained that morning so Logan's plans for the day were delayed. He ended up going later with his friend Loralee and her dad to the water park. The night before he went here is the conversation we had with him
Phillip: tons of info on being safe and staying with Loralee and Mike.
Logan: I will be safe, I will not get drowned
Me: Thank you, because I love you and I would really miss you.
Logan: I will not get drowned, you do not have to be sad. If I get dead you could born another Logan.
Me: No I can not born another Logan, that is not how it works. You are the only Logan for me ever.
They were not sure when they were going to come home so Phillip and I played it by ear on picking him up. The park closed at 6 and since I get off at 5:30 I told Phillip I could try to meet them and get Logan. He was worried I would not get to the meeting spot in time so I called him once I was on the highway and their ETA looked to be 6:45pm. Originally I was going to go home and wait them out but decided to complete a pick up of donated items for this month's family. The person donating items was close to the pick up spot so I just went to meet her. Mike ended up calling when I was exiting the highway and said he was 10 minutes away from the pick up spot. I tried to complete the donation pick up in that time and the person who was supposed to be home turned out to not be so I picked up Logan first. We stopped at the gas station and picked up a blue drink (powerade) for him and then went back to do the donation pick up. He told me all about the water park as he had an amazing time. His face concerned me a little and still does.
Thursday morning the redness appeared better and it still was not bothering him so I took him to the sitter and headed into work. I had to be here early for a meeting and then stayed late for inventory. Phillip picked up Logan and took him to his meet the teacher night. He starts Kindergarten on Monday, I can not figure out where this summer went. They also went to visit his teacher from last year while they were there so he was excited. After inventory my coworkers and I got a bite to eat and then I completed a trade on the way home. I traded some cranberry liqueur I made and a can of refried beans for 5 bars of soap and a bunch of building blocks and cars for the boys. Logan was asleep when I got home so I snuck in a gave him a kiss and then held Clark while Phillip and I caught up. He had an appointment about his VA claim yesterday and got a call about an interview for a job he applied for. This is actually the next step interview as in his field there are many steps to getting a job. It was a little bit before Clark went to sleep and then I tried to read but was just worn out.
Friday morning, which was this morning is the last day of summer break! It was the last morning anyway that I get to sleep a little later since I do not have to take the kids anywhere before I go to work. The boys were up before I left this morning so I gave them the building blocks and they started playing. Logan's eye is swollen so I am a bit more worried about the reaction to whatever. Phillip was going to give him some benadryl and see how it works and then we will dose him as normal with some zyrtec tonight.
Tuesday, August 18, 2015
Back to Feeling Productive
I think the answer to me feeling productive is just to plug away at the current projects until they are done and then move on to the next one. I am trying to do this and not look around too much.
Friday I left work and went to complete a trade. I traded for some work clothes for 2 rolls of tp each. Of the 5 items I traded for 3 will work now and 1 will when I lose about 5 pounds. I can actually wear the pants now but they will actually look decent 5 pounds from now. After leaving the trade I headed home along a path I normally do not take. Within a couple of miles of my house I came upon an accident. This one looked to be terrible, a motorcyclist was hit by a Ford 250 pick up truck on a stretch of road with a 55 mile and hour speed limit. The motorcyclists friend was laying him out flat on the median. I was 3 lanes over and would have caused an accident getting over so I called 911 as I worked my way over and to a place I could turn back around. The dispatcher told me they had already been notified and EMS was on their way. By the time I started to circle around the ambulance was coming so I went ahead to my next errand praying that everyone involved was ok. I was right by the car wash at this point so I swung in to use the vacuum on my trunk. Hauling all that monkey grass home had left my trunk and everything in it covered in dirt. Once home I had to tell Phillip about all that happened on the way home. I was going to make Baked Corn Dogs for dinner but Phillip said he really wanted grilled cheese. Grilled cheese sounded great because it is easy, I used up the leftover bacon on Phillip's two sandwiches. Once dinner was done and baths taken care of the kids played while I tried to get stuff ready for Saturday. I pulled out all the picture frames I had traded for and bought at thrift shops. I worked briefly on the photos getting them all sorted and rubber banded but really just got stuff ready for Saturday. Funny that I nearly forgot the emotional component of Friday night. I went ahead and took down the cast iron sea creatures off the boy's wall. Logan wanted to hang a world map there which is a big boy thing so the sea creatures had to go. I am the one who is not sure if I want to let them go yet or not.
Saturday morning I went ahead and got up early and got outside before the heat was overpowering. I managed to get 2 hours of work on the flower beds done by 9:30am. I got the flower bed around the mailbox cleaned up and then started on the beds around the house. In the middle of pulling out some weeds that were taller than me ( this alone should point out how far behind I am) a praying mantis fell on me. Of course when it fell I did not know it was a praying mantis and I nearly screamed. When I knocked it off I realized what it was, got a picture and then took it inside for Logan to see.
I got from the gate to the corner of the house done and then quit.I went in and got a shower while the kids were having breakfast. Once everyone was dressed we headed to the post office and then the library. The kids really love the library and since we know all the employees it has been a safe place for them to get around and explore.
After leaving the library Logan was saying how hungry he was so I told him we would hit up the thrift store before getting something to eat because I need to find Phillip some jeans. I thought we lucked out because we found 2 pair in his size but they are the cowboy cut Wrangler's and those are just a touch snugger in the crotch than he likes. So those 2 pairs will end up on ebay so I can get my money back out of them. He is an unusual size so I usually do not have trouble reselling them. After leaving the thrift store with the jeans and Logan's great find of some legos we went to Chick-Fil-A. Clark was asleep by the time we got there so we ordered and Logan ate and played while I read some in a book I had just checked out. This was one of the few times I had actually left the house without the book I am currently reading in my purse. Clark woke up after a bit and shared my kids meal with me. I let Logan play for about an hour and then we headed home. I asked him if he wanted to go to Winco with me and he said no so I dropped him at home with his dada and took Clark with me to the store. We really needed milk, now that Clark is off formula he is competing with Logan's record of 3 gallons of milk a week.
Winco Trip:
1 gallon milk
7 packages lunch meat
1 pint sour cream
2 packages cinnamon rolls
~.25 lbs gummi
1 gallon apple cider vinegar
2 large Nutella
1 baking powder
1 pack Kleenex
4 boxes snack cakes
2 "packs" gatorade
1 pack fruit snacks
2 "bags" chips
1 tube toothpaste
1 sleeve instant milk
1 package croutons
~2.5 lbs bananas
1 loaf bread
Total: $47.47 Cash
$2.12 SNAP
After we got back home I unloaded the groceries and scanned the stuff into my apps. Once the groceries were put away Logan told me all about what he and dada had been up to. I sat on the couch for a little bit with Phillip talking and helping Logan with his legos. This lasted just a bit and then I went to tackle the picture frames. Logan came out with me and we painted the frames. First one side and then we took Clark on a stroller ride through the neighborhood and then came back and painted the second side. We walked after painting the back but they were still a little tacky so we went inside to wait. They did not take that much longer to dry but once we brought them in I still let them sit longer before deciding which photos to put in them. By this time it was time to get dinner started. I went ahead and made the Baked Corn Dogs which I had to eat on the run.
The tiny one had a long day and he was not going to wait for these to be finished so once I got them in the oven I fed him and then took them out of the oven. I ate one and then it was bath time. Phillip ate a couple and then I got his review which I semi agreed with. In order to get them in the pan the recipe called for cutting the hot dogs into quarters. This left us with a batter heavy corn dog. When i make these again I will only half the hot dogs and see how they turn out. The other difference is since I made my corn bread batter from scratch I had some left which I put in another cast iron pan and baked as corn bread. Once it was cooled I put it up for another night's dinner. Since the oven was warmed up and I had some bananas that needed to be used I made Banana Nutella Bread. After it was in the oven I realized I forgot the butter but it still turned out.
Sunday morning the kids slept in a smidge past normal. Once Logan was up Phillip stripped his bed and got the wash going hoping it would finish in time to put the clothes on the line.
After breakfast and getting ready we headed to church and ended up being about 2 minutes late which for Phillip is like walking in after it is done. Mimi and Nene were there so it was nice to visit with them. Had to calm some child fears once we went up to the fellowship hall as some ants had taken up residence in the kitchen. Once church was over we went to the standard McDonald's for lunch with Logan's friend and while there I managed to squeeze in a trade. A member of BBT brought some orphaned nativity scene pieces by for free. She just wanted them to go to a good home. Now my set has Mary, Jesus and 4 Wise Men. Once we left there we headed home where once again there was hope of a nap but that did not work out. Phillip laid down but I doubt he got any sleep. This was the time I used to put the pictures in the frames which required spray painting the mat on one. I also got some pictures into albums and tried to make a decision on what needed to go in the albums I have versus scrapbook versus the baby books versus photo boxes. I am pretty sure I am going to end up with a mix of photo storage. Once Phillip was up I went outside to work on the yard some before he was heading to the gym.
I got this bed by the fence cleaned up and monkey grass put down. I had a couple of flowering plants that may or not make it that I put in here and I will move some items from the front yard to this bed. When we have a little fun money I am going to get some bushes/plants with height to put behind the grass. I also cleaned up my succulent bed and put a couple of plants in there. The whole time I was outside I could hear Clark at the window crying for me which was mildly heartbreaking. I came in and needed a shower. Clark did not want to leave me so I took a shower with the shower door open. He kept throwing a frisbee he likes into the shower with me and I would just kick it over to him with my foot and then he would throw it back. Kept him entertained and I got a shower. Once I was out Phillip left for the gym and I fed the kids. They both had baths and then while Logan watched TV in our room I got some laundry done and cleaned up the kitchen counters. I did have a scare which could have turned out so much worse. I was making Logan's bed which is the top bunk and Clark climbed up there. I picked him up and then headed back down the stairs but missed the last one and fell. Clark's leg was pinned between me and the step. I seriously thought I had broke his leg but he was just mad at me for getting him off the stairs so he crawled away. He ended up falling asleep before Phillip got home so I read while Logan watched mine craft videos.
Friday I left work and went to complete a trade. I traded for some work clothes for 2 rolls of tp each. Of the 5 items I traded for 3 will work now and 1 will when I lose about 5 pounds. I can actually wear the pants now but they will actually look decent 5 pounds from now. After leaving the trade I headed home along a path I normally do not take. Within a couple of miles of my house I came upon an accident. This one looked to be terrible, a motorcyclist was hit by a Ford 250 pick up truck on a stretch of road with a 55 mile and hour speed limit. The motorcyclists friend was laying him out flat on the median. I was 3 lanes over and would have caused an accident getting over so I called 911 as I worked my way over and to a place I could turn back around. The dispatcher told me they had already been notified and EMS was on their way. By the time I started to circle around the ambulance was coming so I went ahead to my next errand praying that everyone involved was ok. I was right by the car wash at this point so I swung in to use the vacuum on my trunk. Hauling all that monkey grass home had left my trunk and everything in it covered in dirt. Once home I had to tell Phillip about all that happened on the way home. I was going to make Baked Corn Dogs for dinner but Phillip said he really wanted grilled cheese. Grilled cheese sounded great because it is easy, I used up the leftover bacon on Phillip's two sandwiches. Once dinner was done and baths taken care of the kids played while I tried to get stuff ready for Saturday. I pulled out all the picture frames I had traded for and bought at thrift shops. I worked briefly on the photos getting them all sorted and rubber banded but really just got stuff ready for Saturday. Funny that I nearly forgot the emotional component of Friday night. I went ahead and took down the cast iron sea creatures off the boy's wall. Logan wanted to hang a world map there which is a big boy thing so the sea creatures had to go. I am the one who is not sure if I want to let them go yet or not.
Saturday morning I went ahead and got up early and got outside before the heat was overpowering. I managed to get 2 hours of work on the flower beds done by 9:30am. I got the flower bed around the mailbox cleaned up and then started on the beds around the house. In the middle of pulling out some weeds that were taller than me ( this alone should point out how far behind I am) a praying mantis fell on me. Of course when it fell I did not know it was a praying mantis and I nearly screamed. When I knocked it off I realized what it was, got a picture and then took it inside for Logan to see.
Winco Trip:
1 gallon milk
7 packages lunch meat
1 pint sour cream
2 packages cinnamon rolls
~.25 lbs gummi
1 gallon apple cider vinegar
2 large Nutella
1 baking powder
1 pack Kleenex
4 boxes snack cakes
2 "packs" gatorade
1 pack fruit snacks
2 "bags" chips
1 tube toothpaste
1 sleeve instant milk
1 package croutons
~2.5 lbs bananas
1 loaf bread
Total: $47.47 Cash
$2.12 SNAP
After we got back home I unloaded the groceries and scanned the stuff into my apps. Once the groceries were put away Logan told me all about what he and dada had been up to. I sat on the couch for a little bit with Phillip talking and helping Logan with his legos. This lasted just a bit and then I went to tackle the picture frames. Logan came out with me and we painted the frames. First one side and then we took Clark on a stroller ride through the neighborhood and then came back and painted the second side. We walked after painting the back but they were still a little tacky so we went inside to wait. They did not take that much longer to dry but once we brought them in I still let them sit longer before deciding which photos to put in them. By this time it was time to get dinner started. I went ahead and made the Baked Corn Dogs which I had to eat on the run.
Sunday morning the kids slept in a smidge past normal. Once Logan was up Phillip stripped his bed and got the wash going hoping it would finish in time to put the clothes on the line.
After breakfast and getting ready we headed to church and ended up being about 2 minutes late which for Phillip is like walking in after it is done. Mimi and Nene were there so it was nice to visit with them. Had to calm some child fears once we went up to the fellowship hall as some ants had taken up residence in the kitchen. Once church was over we went to the standard McDonald's for lunch with Logan's friend and while there I managed to squeeze in a trade. A member of BBT brought some orphaned nativity scene pieces by for free. She just wanted them to go to a good home. Now my set has Mary, Jesus and 4 Wise Men. Once we left there we headed home where once again there was hope of a nap but that did not work out. Phillip laid down but I doubt he got any sleep. This was the time I used to put the pictures in the frames which required spray painting the mat on one. I also got some pictures into albums and tried to make a decision on what needed to go in the albums I have versus scrapbook versus the baby books versus photo boxes. I am pretty sure I am going to end up with a mix of photo storage. Once Phillip was up I went outside to work on the yard some before he was heading to the gym.
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