"There are exactly as many special occasions in life as we choose to celebrate."
-Robert Brault
How many times have I been asked why I dye my hair strange colors, or why do I pack facepaints for every picnic we go to, or why we're having THIS get-together? *smiles* I usually stumble around with an answer, but the real answer is right here...We like to celebrate life!
I hope you can take a breather today and do sometime wacky and wonderful and wild and fun! Do it "even if" the kids "don't deserve" it because the truth is, you will all feel better if you do. Trust me, I know! It's a lesson I have to remind myself from time to time, too.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Friday, September 24, 2010
Turn of the season
Autumn began last night at about 2am. Oh, I know what the calendar says...the official equinox was on Wednesday and supposedly that was the first day of fall. But that is a man-made time measurement. This week has been 85F+, very humid, and very SUMMER.
But last night, the winds blew, and about 2am the storm broke. There are orange and red leaves on the lawn this morning. Mother Nature has decided that it is time for autumn.
It is also Momma Tina's birthday! She and her DH are bringing the kids up and "abandoning" them with me to go thrifting. *smiles* Let the chaos descend! This is half of my birthday present to her, so I'm not really complaining...just vaguely wondering what I am going to do with five children if it rains again this afternoon.
But last night, the winds blew, and about 2am the storm broke. There are orange and red leaves on the lawn this morning. Mother Nature has decided that it is time for autumn.
It is also Momma Tina's birthday! She and her DH are bringing the kids up and "abandoning" them with me to go thrifting. *smiles* Let the chaos descend! This is half of my birthday present to her, so I'm not really complaining...just vaguely wondering what I am going to do with five children if it rains again this afternoon.
Monday, September 20, 2010
Survival tip #274: When the kids are sick
Boy is "very sensitive" to lung infections. The doctor's words, not mine. It is incredibly frustrating that he doesn't offer something we can DO to help Boy and I'm thinking about requesting a referral to a specialist, but that is not the reason I logged in...it is simply the inspiration for my tip.
How many times have YOU been woken up by your child's cough, fever, or other cry for help in the middle of the night? With Boy, it's coughing fits where he just cannot breathe. Generally, we give him a dose of cough suppressant and then a nebulizer treatment and that settles him enough that he can go back to sleep. Trying to collect all of this when you have been jolted out of your own slumber is a challenge, though.
So, my tip is to pre-measure before you go to bed.
Most pharmacies these days will give you extra measuring syringes (I don't like the spoons). Measure out doses and then put them out of reach for the kids, but handy for you. Maybe on your dresser or the master bath sink. (Put a plate under the syringe in case of a drip to avoid the dreaded sticky spot.) You can also pre-fill the nebulizer so that it is ready to go at 2am. (Just be sure to tilt it upright to prevent a spill.) That way, you don't have to turn on all the lights and fumble around blind trying to take care of your patient. Just grab the dose, treat your baby, and soothe them back to sleep.
*sigh* It's never easy to have sick little ones. While there isn't much we can do, not worrying about meds is a small blessing and we can get to the much more important concerns of comforting them when they are scared and not feeling good.
How many times have YOU been woken up by your child's cough, fever, or other cry for help in the middle of the night? With Boy, it's coughing fits where he just cannot breathe. Generally, we give him a dose of cough suppressant and then a nebulizer treatment and that settles him enough that he can go back to sleep. Trying to collect all of this when you have been jolted out of your own slumber is a challenge, though.
So, my tip is to pre-measure before you go to bed.
Most pharmacies these days will give you extra measuring syringes (I don't like the spoons). Measure out doses and then put them out of reach for the kids, but handy for you. Maybe on your dresser or the master bath sink. (Put a plate under the syringe in case of a drip to avoid the dreaded sticky spot.) You can also pre-fill the nebulizer so that it is ready to go at 2am. (Just be sure to tilt it upright to prevent a spill.) That way, you don't have to turn on all the lights and fumble around blind trying to take care of your patient. Just grab the dose, treat your baby, and soothe them back to sleep.
*sigh* It's never easy to have sick little ones. While there isn't much we can do, not worrying about meds is a small blessing and we can get to the much more important concerns of comforting them when they are scared and not feeling good.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Little bit of yo-yo action
I fully acknowledge and embrace the fact that parenting is HARD. I even say so as a part of my sub-title! So it shouldn't come as any surprise that I have yo-yo days...the days when I want the gypsies to sweep in and just take the children and then I reconsider and think I should take on a baby sitting job myself for extra cash. *sigh* I don't remember my momma ever saying there'd be days like this.
So, what's to be done? Well, once again, Beloved is a wonderful, loving, patient guy and he's coming to my rescue. We are trialing out Momma-Away-Evenings. The thought is that I have dinner ready to go when Beloved arrives home about 6:00pm. I can then enjoy supper, give good-nights hugs and kisses, and disappear.
To THAT end, I might be getting a job! No, not baby-sitting. I'm looking at Remilon, and actually have the second "test" due date. Basically, they want you to research and write about career education programs to help students decide what path/school to choose. It starts out at $8/hr, which isn't great, but it's work whenever I want to - 15 hrs/week - and academic research, which I never really minded. So...*shrug* After taxes, I could be bringing home $300-400 a month. That would be a nice bonus, and instead of trying to think up something to do in my evenings away from home, I can "go" to work. I'll let you know...
So, what's to be done? Well, once again, Beloved is a wonderful, loving, patient guy and he's coming to my rescue. We are trialing out Momma-Away-Evenings. The thought is that I have dinner ready to go when Beloved arrives home about 6:00pm. I can then enjoy supper, give good-nights hugs and kisses, and disappear.
- Monday, dinner was ready, but Boy has karate until 6:15, so we met at the PD center and traded car keys. I didn't go anywhere...I spent a few minutes at the library computer lab before wandering out and meeting them at the park, going home, and having dinner.
- Tuesday, I went to the main library on a mission for Beloved, then sat in the kids' section until closing, picking out books on cassette for the car for Boy.
- Wednesday, I am going to my first belly-dancing class with Rain. I'm really nervous...I'm not coordinated AT ALL!
- Thursday, there is a Mom's Night meetup that I'm thinking about going to.
- Friday, a group of some friends are getting together for a discussion night, and I'm toying with joining them for that.
- Saturday, I'm hoping to attend a drum circle, possibly with Beloved and the kids.
- Sunday, I'm stealing Beloved away, leaving the kids with my dad, and going to Starved Rock for the Vintage Illinois wine festival with Tina and her family.
To THAT end, I might be getting a job! No, not baby-sitting. I'm looking at Remilon, and actually have the second "test" due date. Basically, they want you to research and write about career education programs to help students decide what path/school to choose. It starts out at $8/hr, which isn't great, but it's work whenever I want to - 15 hrs/week - and academic research, which I never really minded. So...*shrug* After taxes, I could be bringing home $300-400 a month. That would be a nice bonus, and instead of trying to think up something to do in my evenings away from home, I can "go" to work. I'll let you know...
Monday, September 13, 2010
My world for a gallery
<--- This piece is 4' tall and 3' wide!I have no doubt it was pride and joy to my mom...I've felt very proud of Boy's artwork!...but there's the niggly of "Am I supposed to keep this for 'prosperity'?" What do you do with all of them?
I pulled out MY baby book to garner an answer...and I realized that while it was kinda cool to see what I had done for my "first" fingerpainting, the paint was flaking off the paper, the colors had faded a lot, and honestly, it didn't mean a whole lot to ME. huh.
Solution? Date the piece and take a photograph. Photographs are flat, easy to store, fun to share with long-distance relatives or friends.
Then, when the next masterpiece is offered up, you can replace the old one on the fridge and quietly slip it into the recycling bin, knowing that it already has been preserved for when he's old enough to be amused by looking at HIS baby book...and he won't have a mess of flecks to dust off the table, either!
Back Basement room...DONE!
I wish I had taken a photo before I started so you had some idea of how packed this room was! I've gotten rid of so much! And it's finally DONE!!! Well, at least the empty, sort, and get rid of phase is done! Now it is into more of the construction phase...deal with the mold and reparge....then we can decide what we are going to do with it.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Lists, chores, and honey-dos, Oh My!
I have lists...ones for groceries, ones for the-next-time-I-get-to-Home-Depot, ones for bills, ones for chores, ones for books I want to read, ones for gifts I need to pick up, ones for the STUFF I need to trek out to GoodWill...all kinds of lists. I bet you do too.
Some times it is easy to get overwhelmed by the lists. I'll be trying to go to sleep, and a nagging voice in my head starts rattling off "stuff to add" to the lists. I'll have five minutes, but I won't know where to start. I'll get so caught up with the list that I forget to ask for help, and then the REAL trouble begins!
Beloved also works with lists. He uses them at work as well as at home, and apparently he's done some research into "list managers"...or maybe task managers, or management tools. He also decided to sign us up for one of these programs so we could help sync our lists and prioritize. The one he chose is Remember The Milk. I haven't explored it thoroughly, but it looks pretty simple. It's a "joint" account, so I can put "honey-do" things on his list (like replacing the toilet seat) and he can added to mine (like sew up the ripped pillows). It's kinda nice to see where each other's priorities are...and also nice to have something to check off.
I'm also still peeking at FlyLady for tackling house cleaning. I am not completely sold on her schedules, mostly because Beloved and I have agreed to spend 2 hours on Sundays to knock out the chores. There's still the on-going stuff...laundry being the big one...and the once-in-a-while stuff that needs to be tackled...I think FlyLady lists might be helpful for those kinds of things...especially since she breaks them into 15 minute bits. With the CHORES done, I can work on the other stuff through the week.
Another site that I considered was Chore Buster. I think I might keep that one in my back pocket for now, but it might be a great tool once the kids can read and contribute more meaningfully to chores. *smiles* Boy does help with some things...he earns "tokens" immediately, and he can only use the computer or watch a show if he has a token to spend...but he isn't able to do real cleaning yet. Pick-up and put-away are his big ones.
Do you use a program for your lists? Opinions on the ones I mentioned?
Some times it is easy to get overwhelmed by the lists. I'll be trying to go to sleep, and a nagging voice in my head starts rattling off "stuff to add" to the lists. I'll have five minutes, but I won't know where to start. I'll get so caught up with the list that I forget to ask for help, and then the REAL trouble begins!
Beloved also works with lists. He uses them at work as well as at home, and apparently he's done some research into "list managers"...or maybe task managers, or management tools. He also decided to sign us up for one of these programs so we could help sync our lists and prioritize. The one he chose is Remember The Milk. I haven't explored it thoroughly, but it looks pretty simple. It's a "joint" account, so I can put "honey-do" things on his list (like replacing the toilet seat) and he can added to mine (like sew up the ripped pillows). It's kinda nice to see where each other's priorities are...and also nice to have something to check off.
I'm also still peeking at FlyLady for tackling house cleaning. I am not completely sold on her schedules, mostly because Beloved and I have agreed to spend 2 hours on Sundays to knock out the chores. There's still the on-going stuff...laundry being the big one...and the once-in-a-while stuff that needs to be tackled...I think FlyLady lists might be helpful for those kinds of things...especially since she breaks them into 15 minute bits. With the CHORES done, I can work on the other stuff through the week.
Another site that I considered was Chore Buster. I think I might keep that one in my back pocket for now, but it might be a great tool once the kids can read and contribute more meaningfully to chores. *smiles* Boy does help with some things...he earns "tokens" immediately, and he can only use the computer or watch a show if he has a token to spend...but he isn't able to do real cleaning yet. Pick-up and put-away are his big ones.
Do you use a program for your lists? Opinions on the ones I mentioned?
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