I was thinking the other day...this would be a good time to get intentional about homeschooling. "Is summer really a good time to start?" I asked myself. Immediately I replied, "why not?" We seem to be on the counter cultural side anyway, so why not start school when hordes of people have just stopped? I even signed up for classes.
Last week I filled out some lists I'd won from ListPlanIt. I made goals for what we'd like to accomplish by the end of August. I took inventory of educational items we already have. I made a schedule of activities for this week, I just didn't assign times to most of it. Goober Gus is registered for VBS this week, so that is a set time, then I made a short list of items to discuss during lunch. The rest I will need to be intentional about, but it doesn't need to happen all at once or at a certain time. I may even post our goals and plans on his blog, but that might not be a good use of time. We'll see.
I, on the other hand, will be taking advantage of the time he's at VBS to work through as many classes at GNOWFGLINS as I can. First on the list is sourdough bread. I reactivated my starter last week and it's in the fridge waiting. I'm going to try completing the video portions of all the sourdough classes this week. I may not get to try all the recipes, but I'm aiming for one per day. That ought to give me a good foundation for working with sourdough-or at least that's my hope!
Showing posts with label Kids. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kids. Show all posts
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Monday, March 14, 2011
Think my kid plays hard in the dirt?
This is his laundry basket after the clothes went into the washer:
To his credit, we have very fine, silty, sandy dirt here. So fine that the dust penetrates my tennis shoes AND socks and gets between my toes-I hate that feeling! And that's just me walking around doing outside chores. He sits in it, lays down face first in it, makes dirt angels with it. Our septic tank will fill with dirt before anything else at this rate!
This is the washer after his clothes have been cleaned:
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Following My OCC Boxes
I received an email this morning that the shoeboxes we personally prepared went to Indonesia. According to the web site,
These aren't the kids that got our boxes, but here are pictures of other happy kids getting a box.
Please consider supporting this ministry throughout the upcoming year. You can shop for little gifts year round and fill a number of shoeboxes on a "shoestring". Sorry, couldn't resist! I found a website with instructions for making yarn dolls, and it's something Goober Gus can help me with, so that he's part of the giving also. Full price yarn is $3 around here and it will make at least 4 dolls. We'll be on the lookout for yarn at yard sales now too!
Twenty-eight percent of Indonesia’s 242.9 million people are 14-years-old or younger. In 2009, 82,392 shoe box gifts were delivered to children in Indonesia, which first received the gifts in 2000. Since then, 980,479 children have received a shoe box gift.
These aren't the kids that got our boxes, but here are pictures of other happy kids getting a box.
MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Weekly Farm Report
Maybe if I call it weekly I'll remember to do it every weekend? OK, so where to start? The deal of the week, probably...
The last time we were at the farmers market (as shoppers) I took a little of my goat cheese and the owners of the grass fed beef company tried it. She said it was a little too strong and she wanted it to be creamier, so I agreed to try a few things and contact her. We missed the following weekend, so yesterday was our next trip there. I had made two batches of goat cheese-chevre and fromagina- with the freshest milk I had. I took notes of what I did so I could recreate the environment if it were successful. The chevre was creamier, and not so "goaty" and Tony mixed it with a dab of olive oil, garlic and salt. Even creamier! I didn't season the fromagina. She tried them both-and I traded her the batch of fromagina for a pound of new york steaks! They were on special for $8.45 per pound, so I got that per pound on my cheese! The man at the neighboring booth likes the chevre so I told him I'd make a special batch for him Monday and trade for a few pounds of his fresh plumbs. I feel a cobbler coming up!
My step son was here for a few days with his girlfriend and his cousin. They borrowed the truck Tuesday to go to a local watering hole and burned out the brakes. They found a ride home but we had to go repair and retrieve it Wednesday. The yucca were blooming along the road and Tony got some great shots. I've never seen red in them before.
Friday night we were hot (we don't use the AC til after 7 when rates go down) so we went to the store for some fresh fruit and drinks and drove around looking for downed tree branches to use in making a goat playground. We stopped by the pasture to make sure the water tank was full and this was our view!
The last time we were at the farmers market (as shoppers) I took a little of my goat cheese and the owners of the grass fed beef company tried it. She said it was a little too strong and she wanted it to be creamier, so I agreed to try a few things and contact her. We missed the following weekend, so yesterday was our next trip there. I had made two batches of goat cheese-chevre and fromagina- with the freshest milk I had. I took notes of what I did so I could recreate the environment if it were successful. The chevre was creamier, and not so "goaty" and Tony mixed it with a dab of olive oil, garlic and salt. Even creamier! I didn't season the fromagina. She tried them both-and I traded her the batch of fromagina for a pound of new york steaks! They were on special for $8.45 per pound, so I got that per pound on my cheese! The man at the neighboring booth likes the chevre so I told him I'd make a special batch for him Monday and trade for a few pounds of his fresh plumbs. I feel a cobbler coming up!
Elsie and Jasper came home last night. Look how big he is now! It was dusk, so I couldn't get good pictures, but I'll get more this week. See how the flash captured his eyes? They got off the trailer and RAN all over the 2 acre field. The 2 horses were wild at that point too and poor Boots (we changed Bolt's name) didn't know what to do. Just as we were leaving the pasture the neighbor caught us and asked if we wanted to pick some apricots. Um YEAH! We got several pounds, plus cleaned up what was on the ground to bring to the chickens. I made a batch of jam last night as soon as we got home. I need more sugar now before making any more though.
My step son was here for a few days with his girlfriend and his cousin. They borrowed the truck Tuesday to go to a local watering hole and burned out the brakes. They found a ride home but we had to go repair and retrieve it Wednesday. The yucca were blooming along the road and Tony got some great shots. I've never seen red in them before.
Friday night we were hot (we don't use the AC til after 7 when rates go down) so we went to the store for some fresh fruit and drinks and drove around looking for downed tree branches to use in making a goat playground. We stopped by the pasture to make sure the water tank was full and this was our view!I think that's about it around here. The monsoon season is in preview mode, meaning we get the heat and humidity without the wonderful cooling rains. It was in the 80's already at 730 this morning, ugh!
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Never a Dull Moment
Especially when there's a 4 year old boy in the family! Yesterday we stopped at a little hole in the wall taco place for lunch. Our darling son thought he'd be cute and slide the highchair to our table to sit in. We told him he was too big, but he proceeded to try and climb in anyway. He got stuck. Literally. I couldn't pull him out. Tony and I together couldn't pull him out. I was laughing quite hard by now. We tried a different tug and he finally slipped free. We tried to use it as a learning moment, but based on today's events it went in one ear and out the other.
He's had a stuffy nose for a few days. It usually happens when he has lots of water play time, so a week in the pool at my parents house was good cause for it. Today he kept making snorting noises but when I'd ask if he was blowing or sniffling he couldn't answer, and would never do it when I could see him. That should have been my first clue. At dinner it looked like he had a blob of mud in his nose so I got a tissue to have him blow. Nothing was coming out. I tried pulling on it and realized it was hard-so I thought he had a rock in his nose from playing in the mud. Nope. It was most of an almond. He had a bowl of mixed nuts at 11 this morning. For 8 hours this thing has been in his nose and I couldn't see it until tonight! Why does a child even think about stuffing things up his or her nose? Is it a boy thing? Tony says he never thought about it as a kid, and I know I didn't, so what causes this insane behavior?
I don't think the detailed version of what a doctor would have to do to get it out had any affect on him either, as he'd wait for Tony to stop talking (a miracle in itself) and then say something totally unrelated. It wasn't until after I had the nut out that I thought about taking a picture. No shortage of blog material around here!
He's had a stuffy nose for a few days. It usually happens when he has lots of water play time, so a week in the pool at my parents house was good cause for it. Today he kept making snorting noises but when I'd ask if he was blowing or sniffling he couldn't answer, and would never do it when I could see him. That should have been my first clue. At dinner it looked like he had a blob of mud in his nose so I got a tissue to have him blow. Nothing was coming out. I tried pulling on it and realized it was hard-so I thought he had a rock in his nose from playing in the mud. Nope. It was most of an almond. He had a bowl of mixed nuts at 11 this morning. For 8 hours this thing has been in his nose and I couldn't see it until tonight! Why does a child even think about stuffing things up his or her nose? Is it a boy thing? Tony says he never thought about it as a kid, and I know I didn't, so what causes this insane behavior?
I don't think the detailed version of what a doctor would have to do to get it out had any affect on him either, as he'd wait for Tony to stop talking (a miracle in itself) and then say something totally unrelated. It wasn't until after I had the nut out that I thought about taking a picture. No shortage of blog material around here!
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Summer
I knew my list wasn't complete nor comprehensive-I forgot the premiere of Toy Story 3! My son loves the first 2 movies, and we went to see the 3D double feature release of 1 & 2 last fall. TS3 comes out June 18th and I don't even have it on my calendar! My mom's birthday is a few days after the release and I think that's how we're celebrating. She and I chatted this evening and she wants to have him spend a week at her house. Go Grandma!
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Time Conflicts
Do you ever wonder how we'll handle eternity? Knowing there is no end? It's a concept I can't wrap my brain around in a world where no one seems to have enough time! I'm either busy living life, while simultaneously thinking about how I want to present this experience on my blog, or sitting here reading other blogs and web sites learning to do things that will take me away from the computer. There are days I could make 4 or 5 posts, but then I'm not sure if they'd all get read or simply lost in the shuffle, so I wait. Then a whole week goes by and I haven't blogged! So just a quick summary of things that have been on my mind:
One happy boy riding the tractor wagon to the fair entrance last week!
- This is our first year planting heirloom seeds (I think I'm using the right terminology-seeds that can be planted and seeds from its fruit can be saved for next year) and the package tells me I can't plant a different variety from the same cultivar with 1/4 to 1/2 mile of each other. What?? So I can only have one type of melon? Or beet? Or cucumber? Anyone else had any trouble with this?
- We went to the County Fair the other day and had a great time! I called it our Official Kick-Off of Summer Fun. Got some good pictures, then my poor husband sat down with it in his back pocket. The screen cracked and you can't see anything on it anymore. It still takes pictures though. Looking at eBay for another one.
- I want to have a contest to name the trio of goats that arrived at our home April 15th. I need good pictures of them first. The prize will be a homemade bread bag, and I wanted to post pictures of the tea towels I bought to make them with.
- My husband and I celebrated the 4 year anniversarry of our engagement last night by attending the Celtic Woman concert in Phoenix. My parents watched our son and we got a hotel room afterwards. It was a fabulous time and I want to find links to youtube videos of this concert to point out some of the highlights. In addition to the amazing voices of the singers, the musicians are unbelievable too. Dual percussionists-quite entertaining to watch.
- Tonight we got to watch a local performance of The Sound of Music. It's my favorite movie, my husband enjoys it, and every now and then our 4 year old son asks to watch it. We took him with us and he did quite well. He preferred the singing parts and got a little restless during speaking parts, but never so much as to be a nuisance to those nearby.
- I'm getting 3 quarts of milk a day from our goats. We aren't keeping up with using it! I've run out of canning jars to store it in. And gallon jugs. We have 2 gallons away this week. I made 4 quarts of yogurt in the last 10 days. 2 quarts of ice cream. As soon as I place the order for cheese cultures I can start making cheese! I thought I might be able to find some in Phoenix, so waited til that trip was over, but never even found a cheesemaking supply store. Polly-did you say you get yours from the NE Cheesmaking Co? I checked their site and will probably order their goat cheese starter kit tomorrow. Hubby said he could make a cheese press for me.
One happy boy riding the tractor wagon to the fair entrance last week!Friday, April 16, 2010
A Fitting End to the Day
I had every intention today of doing a post "picturing" my day. I took pictures of a few of the events that happened this morning, with plans of continuing that into the afternoon. My son and I ended up at the creek playing and I didn't have the camera, nor could I leave him at the creek to come get it, so we missed those. We were going to snuggle with a movie for quiet time, but I noticed at 1:51PM that I had an appointment to donate blood at 2. So much for resting!
I arrived at 2:04PM and they were behind. It would be at least 2:30 before they could get me in. This is a blood mobile, so there wasn't even a place to sit down. My husband had forgotten his appointment at 12:45, but came when he heard I was running over for mine. We stood around talking and I let him go first because he needed to get back to work. Son and I waited in the car. At 3:10 they called me for my turn. Preliminary questions are asked and my finger is poked to check my iron level. 12.4. It has to be 12.5 to donate. Try again. 12.2. OK, so instead of quiet cuddle time with my son, we spend an hour and a half waiting to find out that I can't even donate. Oh well, at least that helped move the schedule along-the next person didn't have to wait so long.
Internal debate now becomes whether to skip milking the goats and just go rest (hey, my blood iron level is low, I have a good excuse for being tired!) or do I delay the rest I was seeking and do what needs to be done? Milking won. We got everything ready and headed over to the pasture. We had extra ripe bananas to give them for snacks. They each got 3 or 4 before we even went thru the gate. Molly was extra stubborn. Started prancing WAY before usual and still had food. I wasn't going to let her win this time, but I didn't have any supplies there. I took the old knife I use to stir up the food and tried hacking through a piece of rope to tie her back legs. She was on to me. She got belligerint and so did I. The whole milk stand ended up on its side. Took her away and brought Annie in. SHE started in with me too! She's usually the mild mannered one that lets me do whatever I need to do. I got what I could from her and quit before she could step in it and really make me mad.
Oh yeah, one of the reasons that Molly was so agitated was because my son wouldn't quit hollering to me from halfway across the field. We irrigated yesterday and he was running through it. That would have been OK, but I didn't want him to get his clothes wet and thus the inside of the car muddy. He did anyway. Walking abck to the car (on the opposite end of the pasture) he chose the muddiest path of all. Yes, he is a boy. I forget. I also forget what a tom boy I was. So I gave up my nap to milk the goats, got about half of what I should, and a muddy child to boot! And still no camera.
Alright, driving home I chose to change the course of the events and attitudes and took son out to the goat pen here at the house to feed raisins to our new goats. I forgot to take the camera again. But that's OK because as I plugged the cable in to upload and prepare this post, it stopped working. It beeps like it should, but never uploads. I'll have to try again later. Isn't that what I should have expected today?
Recap:
I arrived at 2:04PM and they were behind. It would be at least 2:30 before they could get me in. This is a blood mobile, so there wasn't even a place to sit down. My husband had forgotten his appointment at 12:45, but came when he heard I was running over for mine. We stood around talking and I let him go first because he needed to get back to work. Son and I waited in the car. At 3:10 they called me for my turn. Preliminary questions are asked and my finger is poked to check my iron level. 12.4. It has to be 12.5 to donate. Try again. 12.2. OK, so instead of quiet cuddle time with my son, we spend an hour and a half waiting to find out that I can't even donate. Oh well, at least that helped move the schedule along-the next person didn't have to wait so long.
Internal debate now becomes whether to skip milking the goats and just go rest (hey, my blood iron level is low, I have a good excuse for being tired!) or do I delay the rest I was seeking and do what needs to be done? Milking won. We got everything ready and headed over to the pasture. We had extra ripe bananas to give them for snacks. They each got 3 or 4 before we even went thru the gate. Molly was extra stubborn. Started prancing WAY before usual and still had food. I wasn't going to let her win this time, but I didn't have any supplies there. I took the old knife I use to stir up the food and tried hacking through a piece of rope to tie her back legs. She was on to me. She got belligerint and so did I. The whole milk stand ended up on its side. Took her away and brought Annie in. SHE started in with me too! She's usually the mild mannered one that lets me do whatever I need to do. I got what I could from her and quit before she could step in it and really make me mad.
Oh yeah, one of the reasons that Molly was so agitated was because my son wouldn't quit hollering to me from halfway across the field. We irrigated yesterday and he was running through it. That would have been OK, but I didn't want him to get his clothes wet and thus the inside of the car muddy. He did anyway. Walking abck to the car (on the opposite end of the pasture) he chose the muddiest path of all. Yes, he is a boy. I forget. I also forget what a tom boy I was. So I gave up my nap to milk the goats, got about half of what I should, and a muddy child to boot! And still no camera.
Alright, driving home I chose to change the course of the events and attitudes and took son out to the goat pen here at the house to feed raisins to our new goats. I forgot to take the camera again. But that's OK because as I plugged the cable in to upload and prepare this post, it stopped working. It beeps like it should, but never uploads. I'll have to try again later. Isn't that what I should have expected today?
Recap:
- Cut my thumb while cutting pineapple for breakfast.
- Tried to mow lawn with riding mower-battery is dead because ds turned the light on and left it.
- Decided to do as much as I could with the gas push mower-the ignition cable came all the way out.
- Late for blood donation and then didn't get to donate because of low iron.
- Fiasco with the goats.
- Pictures won't upload.
- I got to laugh with my son while playing with the goats.
- I got to laugh again watching him play in the creek.
- We got to see Daddy in the middle of the day.
- We got to see 17 geese and 2 ducks hanging out at the pasture in the irrigation water.
- We are in pj's at 6PM!
- We will snuggle and watch movies tonight and maybe even order pizza in-Daddy is working late. Oh check out why he's working late...
Tony builds carbon fiber cello's for a living. This is the detail work he's doing on the current one that the customer is paying a premium to have. Each of those diamonds and squares is hand punched and placed. Yes, he has talent and patience for tedious work!
As I got up to get my phone and transfer this picture, I saw one of our baby chicks laying in an awkward position. The kitten had got her with her claw and she didn't survive. Maybe I should just go to bed now?!
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Note to Self
Children + Goats + Wind + Picnic does not equal a good time. What was I thinking? Apparently I wasn't. We did manage to eat without giving the goats anything besides banana peels though. 'Nuff said.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
News This Week
- Elsie went to Charm School. Or is it Finishing School? Her previous owner offered to take her and see if she can train her to be a good milk cow. We jumped at the chance!
- Our son now enjoys playing in the pen with the goats because Elsie isn't there to trample him!
- My weekly plan seems to be working. I feel a sense of purpose AND freedom. Nice combination.
- Car trouble abounds. We returned home from small group last night to discover a nearly flat tire on the minivan. Tony took it to be repaired today and the guy broke the brake line! It's just a little shop-I doubt the guy's gonna be able to pay for the repair, but we're gonna ask anyway. Need a spare for the truck before we head to Flagstaff tomorrow. Good news is we have an awesome mobile lube guy that comes to our house to change the oil. How perfect is that?
- Male readers be forewarned-the next statement is totally feminine and might not be suitable for you to read. I did more research on washable, cloth pads for use during my period. I think I'm going to order them.
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Out of Africa
There's a wildlife park in our town called Out of Africa. They used to be located outside of Fountain Hills, a suburb (sorta?) of Phoenix and I went a lot the first few years they were open. I haven't been since they moved here, and probably for 10 years now. My bil gave us tickets for a Christmas gift a couple of years ago and we just went today! Our son loved it-he was running ahead, eager to see each new lion or animal. Towards the end he even made a friend who was visiting with his family from southern Mexico. He can't whistle, but he can sure immitate the sound and he'd get ahead of us and "whistle" for us to catch up to him. We got to "feed a tiger" and follow along with the feed truck as they tossed chunks of meat to all the carnivores. Now we know why hyenas are called laughing hyenas-it was a funny sound! Not sure why I didn't take a picture, but there was a small leopard/cheetah/some type of cat that was missing its front right leg. She did alright without it! Tony got some great shots of the giraffe. It was a great Sunday outting! Enjoy the pictures.
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Spring 2010
I love reading other people's blogs, especially those who have common interests, and many have been writing about Spring. I think living in central AZ I take spring for granted, but I do love this time of year! It's warm enough to be outside in shorts during the day, but still cool enough to need a jacket and long pants at night. We don't get snow here, so it's not a matter of being glad it's gone, it's just a welcome change of season. I decided to take some pictures of what spring looks like around here, because I have some friends in the midwest and east coast that are still dealing with snow. Hop on a plane and come visit!
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Day Two of My New Plan
Yesterday I started a new approach to my many and varied tasks. Mondays are focused on food-meal planning, grocery shopping, food prep. I had a longish list yesterday and rather than feel bad for not completing it, I readjusted my expectations to a more realistic level and had a full day.
Tuesdays are for paperwork. Personal financial stuff, the never ending "To Do" things, support for Tony's business, foster care requirements-anything like that. Today's list was even more unrealistic, but I did accomplish two very mundane, time intensive, tasks. I think if I stick with it I will chip away at the mound of stuff to be done.
Wednesdays are child focused. He goes to preschool in the morning and then we'll probably have lunch at the park, play for a while and go to the library. I'll spend the day focusing mostly on my son.
Thursdays are housecleaning day. Ugh. It's a small house though, so I should be able to clean it all in a few hours. That means I can have some unplanned time too!
Friday is for outdoors-either hiking, enjoying the weather, or working on projects. Another one of those seemingly unending lists, but the time spent working outside will be fun, right?
Now I just pray for perseverance!
Tuesdays are for paperwork. Personal financial stuff, the never ending "To Do" things, support for Tony's business, foster care requirements-anything like that. Today's list was even more unrealistic, but I did accomplish two very mundane, time intensive, tasks. I think if I stick with it I will chip away at the mound of stuff to be done.
Wednesdays are child focused. He goes to preschool in the morning and then we'll probably have lunch at the park, play for a while and go to the library. I'll spend the day focusing mostly on my son.
Thursdays are housecleaning day. Ugh. It's a small house though, so I should be able to clean it all in a few hours. That means I can have some unplanned time too!
Friday is for outdoors-either hiking, enjoying the weather, or working on projects. Another one of those seemingly unending lists, but the time spent working outside will be fun, right?
Now I just pray for perseverance!
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
It helps to be low to the ground...
Last week we bought a dozen 10 month old laying hens. The next day we had a dozen eggs (we already had 3 hens). The day after that, 9, and one of the new ones drowned in the goat/cow water trough. We've been getting 8-10 a day since. Today we could only find 2. They've been using a nesting box inside the hen house and sometimes just laying on the lawn. We decided to check a spot that some hens we no longer have used last summer. Jackpot! However, I couldn't see them, even bent over. My 4 year old son was all excited and I thought he was just being silly until I leaned in for a closer look:
There are 10 eggs there, so we got another dozen today. We're finally getting more than we use!
Last summer a similar thing happened, but we thought they had stopped laying because of the heat. We'd find one or two every couple of days (I think we had about 7 hens) and I had searched all the usual places, near the usual places and places we've never thought to look. Once again, my son was swinging a stick like a sword and pushed aside some vines that grow up around a tree and found their hiding spot. There were 29 eggs there!
More had been laid, as there was evidence of broken egg. I was told that you could put a egg in water and if it floats, it's starting to go bad, so we did that as we used them and only 3 were bad! By the way, did you know that if you have hens you shouldn't wash their eggs until you are ready to them? There's an invisible protective layer called the bloom that keeps air out. If you wash the egg you remove that protective layer. Just FYI.
The Marvelous Multitasker
Several things have happened recently to cause me to look at a few things from a different perspective. One of the online groups I belong to had a post recently about various approaches to housecleaning. My reply to that post stated that I've tried various approaches and just can't seem to make any of them stick/work for me. I've tried cleaning the whole house in one day, I've tried breaking it into smaller chunks to do on a daily basis. Neither keeps my home clean!
A series of events last week led me to the conclusion that I am not the marvelous multitasker that I thought. I've always kinda known that when I get busy doing something, I forget about the other things that need to be done. My most notable issue is spending too much time at the computer. Not all of it is for fun, there are work/business/family tasks that need to be completed here too, but it's with the fun stuff that I lose track of the day.
About 10 days ago my hard drive gave out completely. While waiting for HP to send a new one, I used Tony's computer, but it's not the same as using my own. It's not "mine" and it's S.L.O.W.! So I did the bare necessities and walked away. During those few days, my son and I were getting along marvelously. I associated that with the fact that he doesn't have to see his bio parents anymore and hadn't seen them since the end of January, something I had predicted would happen. Tony noticed that I was more relaxed, not so high strung, and able to roll with things better. Again, I attributed that to son and I getting along better as a result of severance. The next day, a Family Support Specialist was here visiting and made almost identical comments. We agreed that it was likely a result of him not seeing bio parents anymore.
About the same time these comments were being made, my new hard drive arrived and I installed it. The next day I spent hours installing all the programs I have and personalizing everything, so my focus was on getting that done. Guess what? My son started irritating me again. Uh-oh. Is the cause my lack of attention to him? Were we getting along so well because I spent more time (click to read about another mom's solution) with him? Ugh! Not easy to contemplate.
As I look back I see that I was enjoying our time together too, so why not continue that way? Because that was more like a vacation and this is more like real life. Can't there be some middle ground though? I already feel overwhelemed with the quantity and variety of tasks that I need to do on a regular basis, how can I carve out more time to spend with my son, so that we are both happier (and possibly healthier)? Here's what I've come up with, noting that I am not the Marvelous Multitasker:
I can do several things within the SAME category at once, but my focus stays on that category. For instance-I love to chat with my friends at said group, but while I'm doing that I'm updating posts, researching something on another site, checking email, stuff like that. All those tasks are centered around the computer. What I'm NOT doing while chatting is housework, outside chores, or playing with my son. So with this new(er) revelation I've decided to give each day a major focus. What I can't decide is if each day should also have a minor focus. That might look like this: Monday is grocery shopping/meal planning/basic food prep day-Major Focus. Should it also have a Minor Focus of tidying our weekend mess? (or whatever) The reason I can't make up my mind is that each day also has to have its Daily Tasks. Those things that have to get done every day, regardless of whether they fit the Major Focus. Like eating, meal prep, feeding animals, milking animals, collecting eggs; and the fun things like checking up on my online friends. Is having a Minor Focus defeating the point of having a separate goal each day? I might just need to try both ways and see how it works out.
Thoughts?
A series of events last week led me to the conclusion that I am not the marvelous multitasker that I thought. I've always kinda known that when I get busy doing something, I forget about the other things that need to be done. My most notable issue is spending too much time at the computer. Not all of it is for fun, there are work/business/family tasks that need to be completed here too, but it's with the fun stuff that I lose track of the day.
About 10 days ago my hard drive gave out completely. While waiting for HP to send a new one, I used Tony's computer, but it's not the same as using my own. It's not "mine" and it's S.L.O.W.! So I did the bare necessities and walked away. During those few days, my son and I were getting along marvelously. I associated that with the fact that he doesn't have to see his bio parents anymore and hadn't seen them since the end of January, something I had predicted would happen. Tony noticed that I was more relaxed, not so high strung, and able to roll with things better. Again, I attributed that to son and I getting along better as a result of severance. The next day, a Family Support Specialist was here visiting and made almost identical comments. We agreed that it was likely a result of him not seeing bio parents anymore.
About the same time these comments were being made, my new hard drive arrived and I installed it. The next day I spent hours installing all the programs I have and personalizing everything, so my focus was on getting that done. Guess what? My son started irritating me again. Uh-oh. Is the cause my lack of attention to him? Were we getting along so well because I spent more time (click to read about another mom's solution) with him? Ugh! Not easy to contemplate.
As I look back I see that I was enjoying our time together too, so why not continue that way? Because that was more like a vacation and this is more like real life. Can't there be some middle ground though? I already feel overwhelemed with the quantity and variety of tasks that I need to do on a regular basis, how can I carve out more time to spend with my son, so that we are both happier (and possibly healthier)? Here's what I've come up with, noting that I am not the Marvelous Multitasker:
I can do several things within the SAME category at once, but my focus stays on that category. For instance-I love to chat with my friends at said group, but while I'm doing that I'm updating posts, researching something on another site, checking email, stuff like that. All those tasks are centered around the computer. What I'm NOT doing while chatting is housework, outside chores, or playing with my son. So with this new(er) revelation I've decided to give each day a major focus. What I can't decide is if each day should also have a minor focus. That might look like this: Monday is grocery shopping/meal planning/basic food prep day-Major Focus. Should it also have a Minor Focus of tidying our weekend mess? (or whatever) The reason I can't make up my mind is that each day also has to have its Daily Tasks. Those things that have to get done every day, regardless of whether they fit the Major Focus. Like eating, meal prep, feeding animals, milking animals, collecting eggs; and the fun things like checking up on my online friends. Is having a Minor Focus defeating the point of having a separate goal each day? I might just need to try both ways and see how it works out.
Thoughts?
Monday, March 1, 2010
Disaster Turned to Play Time
So this normally "no fun" mom finally just let go and enjoyed the moment for what it was-a chance to play with my son and have a good time.
I've been having problems with a hard water residue being deposited on my dishes while in the dishwasher and wondered if it might be my homemade dish powder, so I put a little liquid (not meant for dishwasher) soap in the dispenser and ran it. We started noticing the bubbles shortly after and just used it as an opportunity to clean the floor. Once the load was done I opened the door to asses the damage and the bottom had about a six inch layer of suds! I took the bottom rack out and grabbed a big load of bubbles and blew them at my son, who decided it was like snow and we had a "snowball" fight in the kitchen! He loved it and I didn't mind that we were making a mess! Afterwards he helped me clean up without even being asked! I'll have to try that approach again... I was going to take some pictures, but that would have ended the moment.
I've been having problems with a hard water residue being deposited on my dishes while in the dishwasher and wondered if it might be my homemade dish powder, so I put a little liquid (not meant for dishwasher) soap in the dispenser and ran it. We started noticing the bubbles shortly after and just used it as an opportunity to clean the floor. Once the load was done I opened the door to asses the damage and the bottom had about a six inch layer of suds! I took the bottom rack out and grabbed a big load of bubbles and blew them at my son, who decided it was like snow and we had a "snowball" fight in the kitchen! He loved it and I didn't mind that we were making a mess! Afterwards he helped me clean up without even being asked! I'll have to try that approach again... I was going to take some pictures, but that would have ended the moment.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
How Do They Know?
How do kids know that it's the weekend, or after hours and choose those times to get sick or hurt? Or how do they know that one day mommy can sleep in, so that's the day they wake up early, but yesterday you had to wake them at 820 to get to preschool at 830?
The summer of 2008, our son showed signs of his first illness around 9 on Friday just before Memorial Day. We toughed out the night with his coughing and crying and decided the next day to take him to ER. Although I think we waited until Sunday because once he got up Saturday he seemed fine. Turned out to be croup. Independence Day was on Friday that year and he got sick again. I don't remember with what, but we didn't have to take him to ER. That same summer, I told my mom that if he showed signs of sickness for Labor Day I was sending him to her!
The whole thing about days that I can sleep in happens so often it's eerie. And yes, he will sleep til 9 or later some mornings, but not when I can too!
This weekend was one of those times where you wonder if a trip to the ER is needed, but don't want to risk more trouble by waiting. He'd been coughing since Tuesday night, and the typical fixes weren't helping. Thursday morning I went to the pharmacy to ask what I should give him and she suggested I see the doctor, based on what I told her. We got in that morning and she felt it was RSV and gave him albuterol. That made him so hyper that he couldn't hold still if his life depended on it. I gave him one more treatment, but it didn't seem to be helping, so I didn't see the point.
Friday evening Tony was cooking steaks and they were playing outside. Our son has a Flinstones type car and he got inside while Tony got on top and they rode down the hill. They crashed. Son cried. Mom fumed. He didn't seem to really be hurt, just scared, though there was just enough blood in his nose to see it, but not drip out. Saturday comes and I've totally forgotten about the crash. He's still coughing and wet so we got children's Sudafed. The kind you have to show your drivers license to buy. What's in this stuff? (Yeah, I know, but c'mon!) I gave him a dose at 330 and he was zonked by 4. It probably helped that the library messed up and gave us the 3.5 hour Charlton Heston version of Ben Hur, instead of the shorter, animated version he wanted, but he was asleep and mom had some quiet time! Around 7 he was awake and complaining that his ear hurt. He'd been asleep on it for hours, of course it hurt. My ear hurts after a one hour nap on the same couch. I made him wait about 30 minutes and since it still hurt I gave him children's ibuprofin. That seemed to help and he was asleep again after watching Tarzan. He also didn't seem to be coughing any more. I was excited that I'd get to sleep all night since he wasn't coughing anymore. Wrong.
He came to our room at 230 wanting to sleep with is. I took him back to the couch (it's easier to keep him propped up there and breathe better) and stayed with him til he fell asleep again. At 530 he came back complaining about his ear again. We gave him more medicine and let him sleep with us. It was during those last couple of hours in bed that it ocurred to me that his ear might hurt because of the crash and that maybe there was an internal injury. Now I was concerned. People die from these things. Adding to my fear was Thursday's doctor visit that said his ears were clear. Could something really have developed in just a couple of days? If it's an internal injury, we shouldn't wait for the doctors office to open. But did I want to go to the ER for an ear ache? We live in a small town and the Urgent Care place is closed on the weekend-does that make sense to anyone else?
Realizing that my son's life is more important than my feeling silly for taking him to ER for an earache, we cancelled church plans and took him in. Turns out it really is just an ear infection. I was glad to see that his oxygen level was 98%, where the highest it got at the Dr's office was 95%, even after a treatment. He also had no fever, which means I might be able to let him go to preschool this week. I need to wait until tomorrow and make sure he still doesn't have one after 24 hours without fever reducing drugs. I hope he can go because he's itching to go somewhere. While complaining of his ear hurting last night he kept asking where we were going. He didn't like my "nowhere" answer and suggested we to to the "lellow park". One park in town has yellow equipment and one has red. That's how he tells them apart. What made him think we'd go to the park at night in the winter? Or am I just not adventerous enough?
For a final kicker, Tony and I wanted to nap this afternoon so I gave him another dose of Sudafed. Yes, he was still congested. No, we didn't do it just to get him to sleep, just timed it to coincide with a nap for us. Did he sleep? Not a wink! Couldn't even sit still to watch Incredibles. Figures! Little stinkers, how do they know?
The summer of 2008, our son showed signs of his first illness around 9 on Friday just before Memorial Day. We toughed out the night with his coughing and crying and decided the next day to take him to ER. Although I think we waited until Sunday because once he got up Saturday he seemed fine. Turned out to be croup. Independence Day was on Friday that year and he got sick again. I don't remember with what, but we didn't have to take him to ER. That same summer, I told my mom that if he showed signs of sickness for Labor Day I was sending him to her!
The whole thing about days that I can sleep in happens so often it's eerie. And yes, he will sleep til 9 or later some mornings, but not when I can too!
This weekend was one of those times where you wonder if a trip to the ER is needed, but don't want to risk more trouble by waiting. He'd been coughing since Tuesday night, and the typical fixes weren't helping. Thursday morning I went to the pharmacy to ask what I should give him and she suggested I see the doctor, based on what I told her. We got in that morning and she felt it was RSV and gave him albuterol. That made him so hyper that he couldn't hold still if his life depended on it. I gave him one more treatment, but it didn't seem to be helping, so I didn't see the point.
Friday evening Tony was cooking steaks and they were playing outside. Our son has a Flinstones type car and he got inside while Tony got on top and they rode down the hill. They crashed. Son cried. Mom fumed. He didn't seem to really be hurt, just scared, though there was just enough blood in his nose to see it, but not drip out. Saturday comes and I've totally forgotten about the crash. He's still coughing and wet so we got children's Sudafed. The kind you have to show your drivers license to buy. What's in this stuff? (Yeah, I know, but c'mon!) I gave him a dose at 330 and he was zonked by 4. It probably helped that the library messed up and gave us the 3.5 hour Charlton Heston version of Ben Hur, instead of the shorter, animated version he wanted, but he was asleep and mom had some quiet time! Around 7 he was awake and complaining that his ear hurt. He'd been asleep on it for hours, of course it hurt. My ear hurts after a one hour nap on the same couch. I made him wait about 30 minutes and since it still hurt I gave him children's ibuprofin. That seemed to help and he was asleep again after watching Tarzan. He also didn't seem to be coughing any more. I was excited that I'd get to sleep all night since he wasn't coughing anymore. Wrong.
He came to our room at 230 wanting to sleep with is. I took him back to the couch (it's easier to keep him propped up there and breathe better) and stayed with him til he fell asleep again. At 530 he came back complaining about his ear again. We gave him more medicine and let him sleep with us. It was during those last couple of hours in bed that it ocurred to me that his ear might hurt because of the crash and that maybe there was an internal injury. Now I was concerned. People die from these things. Adding to my fear was Thursday's doctor visit that said his ears were clear. Could something really have developed in just a couple of days? If it's an internal injury, we shouldn't wait for the doctors office to open. But did I want to go to the ER for an ear ache? We live in a small town and the Urgent Care place is closed on the weekend-does that make sense to anyone else?
Realizing that my son's life is more important than my feeling silly for taking him to ER for an earache, we cancelled church plans and took him in. Turns out it really is just an ear infection. I was glad to see that his oxygen level was 98%, where the highest it got at the Dr's office was 95%, even after a treatment. He also had no fever, which means I might be able to let him go to preschool this week. I need to wait until tomorrow and make sure he still doesn't have one after 24 hours without fever reducing drugs. I hope he can go because he's itching to go somewhere. While complaining of his ear hurting last night he kept asking where we were going. He didn't like my "nowhere" answer and suggested we to to the "lellow park". One park in town has yellow equipment and one has red. That's how he tells them apart. What made him think we'd go to the park at night in the winter? Or am I just not adventerous enough?
For a final kicker, Tony and I wanted to nap this afternoon so I gave him another dose of Sudafed. Yes, he was still congested. No, we didn't do it just to get him to sleep, just timed it to coincide with a nap for us. Did he sleep? Not a wink! Couldn't even sit still to watch Incredibles. Figures! Little stinkers, how do they know?
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