Unwinding the whirlwind

The past, ohhh, say MONTH has been just non-stop. Between Easter parties, Bennett's birthday, my folks coming out to visit, Easter, spring break, Melissa's shower, and Camporee, there has not been a ton of time to get my life and my house back in order. In an effort to regain order and tidiness in my house, I spent the better part of today getting stuff done.

I started the day off like I like to, at the gym. After that, I came home and played with Bennett for a little bit and then got started unpacking all the gear that I spent all last week packing up. I cleaned bathrooms, did laundry, cleaned the kids rooms (which had been sorely neglected over the past month), and then I thought it was time for a nap. After all, I spent the entire weekend sleeping in a tent in below 30 degree temperatures.

After my nap, I did all the dusting and vacuuming and before I knew it, it was time to make dinner. I decided to make up a new recipe, because apparently I didn't have enough going on. LOL Besides my goat cheese chicken pasta dish, this is really the first recipe I've made up on my own. Honestly, I'm always looking for a new way to make salmon because we eat it about once a week, so I wanted to come up with something new and different. So, I put together the salmon I had thawed with some bread crumbs, basil, Parmesan cheese, and tomatoes to make this dish, which I guess I'll call Tomato Basil Salmon. I paired it with brown rice and green beans and it was a hit with everyone in the house! Love that!


It was super easy to make.

Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil, spray with cooking spray and place a salmon fillet on it. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Combine 1/4 c. Italian seasoned breadcrumbs with 1/4 c. shredded Parmesan cheese and sprinkle half to three fourths of it over the salmon. Take fresh basil leaves and place them over the salmon so that they mostly cover. Thinly slice a tomato and place the tomatoes over the basil. Sprinkle remaining breadcrumb/parm mixture over the tomatoes and then drizzle about 2 TBSP fat free balsamic vinaigrette over salmon. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes and then broil for 2-3 minutes.

A normal day

Because the next two weeks are going to be insane, I decided to make the most of the day today and try to have a nice, normal day. The weather cooperated, so I strapped Bennett in the jogging stroller and we headed out for a nice long walk. Half way point was a park, so we stopped and he played for a little bit, him insisting on swinging on the BIG SWING, before it was time to head back home.

Having exercised us both, I decided it was both appropriate and prudent to get some chores done, namely cleaning the bathrooms. After all, my parents are going to be here tomorrow! So, I set Bennett up with some toys and slip away for all of five minutes to have my lovely son not only find my cell phone and pick it up, but to actually call me from it. That's right. Imagine you're in the bathroom scrubbing away at the toilet and the phone rings. Hmm. Interesting ring. Never heard it before. Know why? BECAUSE IT'S MY RING. I picked up the phone and looked at the number displayed, correctly identifying it as my cell phone number. I hit the Talk button and said "hello" to have a half-cocked nearly two-year-old respond, "hey!". I came downstairs and he immediately put the phone down like he'd never even touched it. Okay, okay, I'm smarter than that. I pick up ALL ELECTRONICS that he could get into. Remotes. Cell phones. Home phones. Laptops. Nothing would escape my keen eye. I set him up with a TV show and some toys and go to finish the bathrooms. Ten minutes go by and I notice how very quiet it is. Hmmm. I go out into the living room and he's not there watching Thomas. Nope. Hmmm. I look in the playroom and he's sitting there, sucking on a JOLLY RANCHER!! He spit it out faster than the speed of light and again, pretended that I was the dumbest parent on the face of the planet.

Me: Bennett, what do you have?
Him: What?
Me: Do you have candy?
Him: (shaking head no)
Me: Bennett!!
Him: (grape jolly rancher drool dribbling down chin) Nooo!

So much for the clean bathrooms! Oh well, it was time to go get Morgan anyway. Then there was lunch and naps and before we knew it, it was time for Morgan's play date with the neighbor. He came over and all the kids played Wii Fit. It was great! You should see Morgan hula hoop! LOL Bennett tried to hang with the big kids, but nobody would let him on the board. Poor little guy. Good thing Grandma and Grandpa arrive tomorrow to spoil him silly.

Just another day at the homestead. Despite my little stinker, I loved every minute of it!

The space between

Sometimes having children almost four years apart in age has it's benefits. Such as being able to enjoy a nice long playgroup with my youngest while my oldest is in school. It's so nice to be able to have him have his very own playgroup and that I'm able to do it without an older child vying for attention. He has his own friends, not just his sister's friends. He gets his own time with me just like she did.


However, there are times that it's very difficult. Like when the oldest has her own activities that interfere with the youngest's sleep schedule. Today, we hung out at playgroup until it was time to pick Morgan up after her small reading group after school. Then, less than an hour later she had Daisies, for an hour. None of these time chunks were long enough for Bennett's nap. Since he sometimes doesn't go down until 2pm, I figured keeping him up and not letting him nap until after Daisies was probably the way to go (they get done at 3pm). He handled it as well as can be expected, but was so overtired when we got home that he screamed and screamed when it was time for nap.

Reality gracefully tumbles back down

I was so tired last night that I was out by 10pm. I guess that's what a long, emotional weekend will do for you. Nevertheless, time marches on, as does life. With a renewed spiritual energy, I woke up and did my morning devotional, got things packed up for a walk at a local park with my friend Kristin, and got Morgan off to school. Kristin and I walked our furthest route yet - about 4 miles and then took Bennett to story time at the library. He enjoyed it as usual, especially since this week's theme was fish. After story time, we had just enough time at home for me to get the bathrooms cleaned while corn dogs were cooking in the oven. I wrapped them up in tin foil, packed up some other stuff and headed to pick Morgan up from school. Her classmates were meeting at a park by our house for a picnic after school! We spent a good two hours there before it was time to come home. I put the kids down for their naps and then right as I was sitting down to catch up on email and facebook, my mom calls. I had hoped to talk to her, so I spent a good long time catching her up on everything and anticipating her upcoming visit here with her. I started prepping spaghetti for dinner and before I knew it, nap time was over and the kids were up! Dinner, bath time, bed time, dishes. Finally able to sit down and relax with my hubby after all the day's reality came tumbling back down.

I need a weekend away from my weekend away. :)

March is my new December

You know how December is like crazy busy with every weekend being filled with activities? Somehow, my March has turned out to be like that. I've been busy nearly every moment of it so far! So busy, in fact, that my normal every day errands are now being squeezed into any spare moment I have. Lance even went to the grocery store for me AFTER I got home from a moms club meeting last night, around 9:30.

Today, I was up and out and at Boswell's when they opened at 9am. I needed to get stuff there for Morgan's class' St. Patrick's Day party as well as stuff for Easter, and for Melissa's baby shower. I also wanted to hit Party City, but they didn't open until 9:30. I managed to get there shortly after they opened and got done with just enough time to get to playgroup on time. After playgroup, I had a little less than an hour to kill and needed to eat, so Bennett and I went to a nearby deli to eat some lunch before heading off to pick Morgan up from school.

Once we were home, the kids went down for naps and before I knew it, it was time for Morgan's play date with her friend Nolan (they went to preschool together and he lives in our neighborhood). While they played at his house, I was able to get a few chore-like things done and get dinner prepped while keeping Bennett entertained with "painting". Pretty soon, I went and got her and then we came home, had dinner and then it was time to get the kids to bed.

Seems like day after day is like this. One thing after another. Yesterday it was gym, park, pick up, quick nap, Super Franks, Lance met us there and took the kids home so I could get to the moms club meeting on time. Tomorrow it's running errands in the morning, then MOPS, then pick up, then catching up on the chores I haven't done this week. Last weekend was busy with tennis and then yard work, having friends over for dinner, church and then High School Musical on Ice and then movie night with a friend. This weekend starts with Bunko on Friday night, tennis on Saturday morning as well as Thinking Day for Girl Scouts, Morgan having a sleep over at Kaitlyn's house, us having friends over for dinner, church and then me working Bingo. Seems like most weekends this month are like that!

It's funny to think about how I was concerned with what I would fill my days with before I quit working. Somehow, I find a way! Anyone who knows me knows that I thrive on this type of schedule. As much as it may tire me out and as much as it's nice to have a break here and there, I much prefer to keep moving. I feel like I'm really living life and trying to get the most out of it.

Energy

It's amazing to me how much more energy I have when I am able to follow my routine of getting up before the kids, getting ready for the gym, taking Morgan to school and then spending time exercising, showering, and taking care of myself in general. I always pick Bennett up from the nursery, energized, refreshed and ready for the rest of the day.

Today when I picked him up, he was all smiles and ready to go! One of the ladies in the nursery commented to me about how much he's talking. Ummm, yeah. Complete sentences. A lot. Like all the time. For example, after the gym today, we headed over to a golf club in Pleasanton to talk to them about being a potential venue for the moms' club Mothers Day brunch this year. It was a good 20 minute drive, through pouring rain, up windy muddy roads and Bennett talked THE ENTIRE TIME. I actually had to ask my not-even-two year old child to PLEASE BE QUIET SO MOMMA CAN THINK. It's almost like my energy is contagious. :)

My energy lasted all day. No napping, no stopping. And loving every minute of it.

Things made easier today

Since Lance has some time off before he starts his new job, things have been a bit easier. Here's the list from just today.

1. He took Morgan to school today. She was SO excited that Daddy was able to drop her off at school today. And I think he was a little excited that he was able to do it.

2. Since he was here, I was able to take Bennett to Little Star Cafe and didn't have to rush home to pick Morgan up from school. AND he fed her. AND cleaned up after. He's a gem, I tell ya!

3. When we got home, I was not feeling well, so I was able to attend to my own needs while someone else put the kids down for their naps.

4. I was able to lay on the couch with a heating pad without worrying about the time or when the kids would be up.

5. I took Morgan to ballet and didn't have to deal with the little shorty who likes to run away from me when I'm yelling STOP!

6. I didn't have to get the kids ready to go out on my own. There was someone else here to repeatedly tell someone to focus and put their socks and shoes on.

7. We were able to go out to dinner, early, and I was able to get to my movie night tonight on time and without our patented Kid Swap.

8. Daddy handled bath time and finishing homework and all the other stuff after I'd left for the movies.

This is all without even mentioning how nice it is to just have him around. Like, to see him interacting with the kids throughout the day. To have him nearby me. I may be getting spoiled. Can't we just become independently wealthy already?

Where have I been?

Yesterday it was the school to drop Morgan off, the tennis club, the grocery store, the school to pick Morgan up, home, dance class to drop Morgan off, home, dance class to pick Morgan up, home, and finally the movie theater (where I saw The Secret Life of Bees - GREAT movie!)

Today it was the school to drop Morgan off, Peet's, the school to help with the book fair, home, park for Bennett's playgroup, the school to pick Morgan up, home, Girl Scout meeting, picked up a toddler slide from a freecycler, and then finally home.

Yesterday when I was home, I did a good job of not sitting down and getting a lot done. Today, not so much. Although, I will brag on myself for a moment that even though I am flying solo tonight, since Lance left at 5pm for a geocaching event, I STILL cooked a full dinner. Yes, I had to talk myself back into it several times, but I managed to squeak out BBQ meatloaf, risotto and green beans for just the kids and I. And got them to bed on time. With homework and reading done. I even cleaned the kitchen.

The truth is, that what I should be doing with this time alone is catching up on ironing, sweeping and mopping floors, and filling out my absentee ballot. But, instead I'm sucked into Facebook and blogging and the mindless things I have been missing out on since I've been having to share a laptop with Lance. My power cord better be here tomorrow!!

Tomorrow is a relatively mild day, compared to the rest of the week. I'm meeting a friend at the gym for the track and stairs combo and then I plan to catch up on whatever I don't do tonight before picking Morgan up from school. After naps, we're heading to the park for playgroup, then we'll come home for dinner and then I'm off to bible study. Sometime, I need to actually carve my pumpkin. I like doing it, but I don't want to do it by myself! I think it's something that should be shared with someone you love over a nice glass of wine.

Now that I look at tomorrow, I think I should just go to bed. :)

Note to self

Since you now have a dedicated locker at the gym, how about you just go ahead and leave a pair of underwear there. Because obviously packing your bag at night when you're already dead tired is not getting the job done. I've had to go commando one too many times over the past few weeks. Normally not such a big deal, as I can just run home and get the missing garment, but today we had Terrific Toddlers right after.

See, my planning and stuff is really just my own idiot-proofing. :)

The quiet before the storm

It's quiet around here today. I was up earlier than I wanted this morning because I wasn't sleeping well. Bennett decided to wake up at 4:30 and was babbling and singing some unrecognizable song. I got up and got the upstairs bathroom cleaned and then came down to start breakfast for the kids. I unloaded the dishwasher and packed up the car with my gym back and diaper bag. After dropping Morgan off at school (and delivering her well-earned potted mini rose plant to her teacher!), I went to the gym. I did 30 minutes of weights and then took the first 30 minutes of the spin class. I felt obligated to tell the instructor that I had to leave early at the beginning of class so she wouldn't make a scene when the time came. So much for that! When I got off my bike and started stretching, she's all "BYE PAIGE! I WANT TO LEAVE NOW, TOO!" The class was packed (in fact, I got the last bike). So, I was a little embarrassed. But I'm still glad I went - it was a good way to spend 30 minutes! She is tough!

After I got showered up, I picked Bennett up from the nursery and we headed upstairs to the Terrific Toddlers class. He definitely enjoyed it more this week than last week, but when "free play" time was almost over, he took my hand and showed me to the door. :)

Today was an early release day for Morgan, so I headed straight from the tennis club to pick her up. We came home and had lunch and then the kids played for a good hour and a half while I finished cleaning bathrooms, dusting, and vacuuming. I have a good head start on this week's chores already, that feels great!

I ended up wasting away nap time working on some favors for the in/out board dinner for the moms club. I finally have the design nailed down, now it's just the tough part of printing, cutting, gluing, etc. I can do that while I'm vegging out in front of the TV tonight, though.

Because now the kids are up and I need to run to Target to look for stuff for the class' door for Trick-A-Dooring. And I need to find the stuff for the scarecrow and schedule the time in the class for the kids to help make it. Oh, and I also need to find time to go solicit raffle prizes for the pumpkin patch party. Not to mention decorating my own house (Morgan is feeling jaded about the fact that EVERYBODY has their decorations up EXCEPT US. She's so deprived!) Seems like all this stuff is hitting all at once! :)

I guess it's a good thing today is quiet and I can get a head start. Because after tomorrow, the week's pace picks up drastically. And then next week my parents will be in town. We are so excited! :)

My default response is to sit on my butt!

As you may remember, I was warned about "cutting my husband out of my life" by taking on all the work around the house. I was advised to create a spreadsheet with all the week's tasks on it and ask everyone to pick the things they LOVE to do. So, I spent a good portion of time yesterday, taking everything out of my normal format and putting it into a new spreadsheet. I did this, because I guess I expected a response of joy and happiness over DOING CHORES! Because I apparently just met my husband yesterday.

Instead, I got a "oh, yeah, I read your blog" and some half hearted glances at the spreadsheet. After promising him that he didn't HAVE to pick any of the chores, he reluctantly selected his chores. Except the chores he picked (cleaning sinks and toilets in bathrooms, cleaning bathroom mirrors, replenishing toilet paper, and sorting through coupons and disposing of expired ones) are ones that I normally do on Mondays. And since he didn't do them this morning at 5am, before he left for work, I'm feeling a little bit like hmmmm. What do I do today? I do have a whole list of other stuff that needs to be done (that I would normally do on another day), but no. I'm stuck thinking about my normal Monday chores. I've solved the issue by deciding that I'll sit on my butt. Because that will get it done. :)

I dropped Morgan off at school this morning and headed to the tennis club. I got a decent workout in (my arms will be hating me later), got a shower, and then tried to figure out how to spend the $300+ credit I have at the tennis club before it expires on Wednesday. I decided to rent a locker and get Lance a massage. Still, have lots of money to spend. I'm about to buy some very overpriced athletic gear, but if I don't, I'll have nothing to show for the credit I have! I shouldn't have waited so long! After getting the locker and massage set up, I picked Bennett up from the nursery and we headed to the Terrific Toddlers class at the club. He normally LOVES this class, but he kept grabbing my fingers and leading me to the door. Wanting to leave. Or wanting to be held. With his fingers shoved in his mouth. I'm thinking he's working on some teeth? He's not usually that clingy in social situations like that. Not even "If you're happy and you know it" could get him to break away. Poor guy!

After the gym, I went home and cooked up some grilled cheese sandwiches for the kids and packed them up. We went to pick up Morgan from school and then hit the park for lunch and playtime after with some friends. Bennett lightened up with food and play and now the kids are napping. We didn't get home until 2pm, so they'll probably sleep until at least 4. Which gives me only a couple of hours to kill before Lance gets home. This just might turn out to be a good one! It's also the only night this week that I'll be home, so I need to make sure I take my turns with bath time, pajamas, teeth brushing and bedtime stories. My poor hubby - I have something every other night this week!

At least he gets to DO CHORES! :)

It's not all about me

This morning, after dropping Morgan and her friend Colin off at school, I ran home to whip up a fruit salad and then headed over to my MOPS meeting. This time, instead of a craft, we had a speaker. Since the theme of MOPS this year is "Adventures in Mothering", the topic of today's discussion was "A Three Ring Circus".

The speaker did an excellent job talking about balance and what that means. She talked about how people typically fall into one of two categories - "people" people or "task" people. She talked about how you'll know the "task" people because they have all their cereals and pastas in Tupperware containers. Neatly organized. Alphabetically. And lined up properly. To "task" people, these types of activities bring them happiness. The "people" people would rather do activities with other people and their cereal and pastas are in the cabinet in the general vicinity of the grains. :) While I believe that I have a talent for organization, I'm very much a people person. I love hanging out with my family and friends.

The speaker talked about balancing your life by adding more of the things you LOVE to do to your daily life. Yeah, we all have things we don't want to do, but we have to be responsible adults. They need to get done, but does everything have to get done every day? She suggested picking three things. And making at least two of them things you LOVE to do. She said to not add anything else to your plate until the three are done. And then, when they are done? Add just one more. If you have to put that one off until tomorrow because you can't do it, that's okay, too. Also, there are things that maybe you don't LOVE to do, but that you do well. For me, that's organization. I do it well, but it's not what drives me. So, it's something that I would just naturally do.

Does it all have to be done by us (meaning us moms)? This was a point that really struck me. Because since I've been staying at home, I've been trying very hard to "do it all". To do all the things that I couldn't do because I was working. Couldn't organize my house. Couldn't even keep it clean. Couldn't spend time with my kids doing their activities. Couldn't take them to the park every day. Couldn't spend much time with my friends. Couldn't enjoy every weekend with my family because there was always something that I had to do because I couldn't get to it during the week. So, now? I'm trying to do it all. And I'm not letting anyone else help. I have taken sole responsibility for the house, the food, the activities, the financial planning and tracking, the yard, etc., etc.

The speaker pointed out that by trying to do it all ourselves, we are doing a disservice to the other people in our family. When we do it all, where does that leave everyone else? It's true that maybe the kids can't mop the floor the right way, but why not let them try if that's what they want to do? Why not let them contribute? And with our husbands, why not hand some of it over to them? What makes us think that they WANT us to do it all? Maybe they feel cut out.

This really hit home with me. My husband is wonderfully indecisive. I say wonderfully because I'm not at all indecisive. And this has worked for ME. But, maybe this isn't the best thing for us. We need to continue to live our lives as a couple, even when sometimes it's easier for me to just do it myself. Because that's not fair to him.

Here was her idea. Make a big spreadsheet of all the stuff you have to do. Each week, let every member of the family pick the things they LOVE to do. Then let every member pick the things that they do well, but maybe don't love. What you'll be left with are the things nobody wants to do. And then, do them together and make them fun.

I'm going to have a discussion with my hubby on this and see what he thinks. Because you know what, this isn't just about me. It's about my family too. And if there's a way to make everyone happier, then I'm all about that. Just wait until I spring this one on Lance. Honey! I'm going to make you soooo happy! You can do laundry again!! :)

All prepped and ready to go

I overslept this morning and didn't make it to the early service at church. I got up with the kids who are like little angry trolls this morning. Bennett screamed at me when I put him in his highchair for breakfast because I dared to put cheerios on his tray instead of in a bowl. I'm obviously the most ignorant momma in the world, at least according to his reaction. Morgan is driving me nuts with her non-stop made up songs and noises just for the sake of making noise.

I realized that we were out of waffles and knowing that they will likely want some hot food this week, decided to whip up another batch of homemade waffles. Both kids had cereal and waffles and Bennett also insisted on having peaches. As I was making breakfast, I peered into the refrigerator and saw the pork tenderloin that I had thawed earlier in the week to cook and had not yet managed to cook. So, I prepped it and put it in the crock pot to make my yummy Slow Cooked Pulled Pork. I decided to go ahead and also prep the tomato, cucumber, celery and onion salad as well as the home baked potato fries so that all I have to do is throw the potatoes in the oven about half an hour before we are ready to eat. This led to me going ahead and dicing up some celery and onion for tuna salad sandwiches for lunch. So, I've now managed to prep all our food for the day. I also managed to miss the late service at church as well. Oh well. That's what they make podcasts for, right?

Lance was corralling the kids while I was doing all the prepping and cooking and I'm pretty sure he's having "a morning" right along with me. After he woke up (he slept in after I got up with the kids), he came downstairs and one of the first questions to me was "isn't there that park play date today?" No such luck. But, I told him, we can take the kids to the park. Not as appealing as me removing them from the house and him having time to watch some football in peace and quiet.

Plan for the rest of the day is to get my weekly planning done and maybe even some yard work. I feel a burst of energy, so I suppose I should take advantage of it, huh?

Another busy day at the homestead

I spent a good portion of the day yesterday mapping out this week. This is going to be a crazy week. A lot of our extracurricular activities start this week. Terrific Toddlers for Bennett today, ballet for Morgan tomorrow, and MOPS on Thursday. Not to mention the little things in between like errands, making a meal for a new mom, General Meeting for the moms club, and playgroups (times two). Busy busy. The jury is still out on whether or not I've over scheduled myself or the kids. I think in some ways, I'm overcompensating for the time that I had to work and couldn't do things like this. I mean, I am ABLE to do it now, so why not? More on this later...

Today was an early release day for Morgan and the first "coffee with the principal" morning as well. Bennett is sleeping later and later, which really gets me since he was totally up at 6am or earlier ALL SUMMER and then once school starts, BAM sleeps in. Yesterday, I couldn't even take him to church with me because he was still asleep when I left. AT 8:45!!! So, this morning, I packed up a warmed pancake and some raisins in a bowl that had a lid and a handle for him to hold on to. I brought a sippy cup of milk and let him have this in the car to keep him happy on the way to school. Once there, I lucked out and found a spot up close and popped out the stroller and we walked Morgan to her spot in line. Afterwards, I meandered my way over to the teacher's lounge where the coffee meeting was. I was one of the first ones there, so I got Bennett set up with his bib and pancake and raisins. He was in heaven and was really good! Smiling at everyone and eating quietly. He wasn't even throwing food! The coffee thing lasted about 40 minutes and we got lots of insider scoop from the principal. I guess she does this every week? Not sure if I'll make it every week, but I figure that the principal knowing who I am can never be a bad thing, you know. Not to mention the information we got with regards to the potential high school and land sale for the new location and building.

We left the school around 9:15 and I was able to stop by the grocery store and run the groceries home before we had to be back at the tennis club at 10:15 for the Terrific Toddlers class. I wasn't sure how Bennett would do. Last time I had him in a class like this (6-9 months ago), he had the attention span of a gnat and still required a morning nap, so he was a little grumpy to be all "sing singy" when he wanted to be a "sleep sleepy". This morning was terrific. The class is kind of smallish (six kids, including Bennett) and we did circle time and sang songs and played with egg shakers and parachutes. Bennett even tried to do the spider motion during Itsy Bitsy Spider! I was impressed! There was a song about dinosaurs marching and he was totally trying to march. It was very cute! He had a big smile all across his face the whole time! It was great! There was time for free play and then we did a closing circle. The class was 45 minutes long, which is just right for Bennett's age group. We finished the class with stamps on hands and I'm pretty sure they put crack in those stamps. He had to have one on both hands and then he proceeded to show them to EVERYONE on our way out. I had to stop at the front desk to tie up some loose ends and they kept going ON and ON about how cute he is and they even gave him one of the tennis balls. He was in heaven!

By the time we left the tennis club, it was time to go get Morgan. We picked her up from school and stopped for one errand on the way home from school. Got home and I got lunches ready and then we all ate. After lunch, the kids played nicely (strange!) for a while so I was able to get most of my chores done this morning (bathrooms, unloading dishwasher, replenishing toilet paper, restocking diaper bags, etc). I vacuumed by hand after they went down for their naps and now I'm about to do my August budget vs. actual close out. Which is sorely overdue because I've been putting it off.

I figure that this afternoon, during the witching hours, I'll hit the tennis club for some exercise. There's not a good class (or at least not one with an instructor I like), so I'll probably just run and do weights. Dinner tonight is Onion-Dijon Crusted Catfish, squash, and my version of Sweet and Nutty Moroccan Couscous.

I know I'm going to jinx myself...

But we are having a good day around here! It started out a little hectic, with Morgan's alarm clock not going off (need to figure that one out), so we had to rush through the morning a bit. Luckily, Morgan had asked me last night if she could make her own breakfast, so last night, I put out a covered bowl of cereal and put a little bottle of milk in the refrigerator where she could reach it. That made breakfast time a lot easier this morning. I also had already prepared Bennett's fruit (in a bowl, of course), so I was able to pop him into the highchair and have his food to him in less than ten seconds, while I heated up his pancake and then unloaded the dishwasher.

We got to school just on time and then Bennett and I moseyed on over to the tennis club. I did a cardio and core class, which wasn't enough of either for my taste (mostly lunges and squats) and then I hit the showers. I was able to take my time getting ready, even got to put lotion on! And it was gardenia lotion so I even smell good! :) I picked up Bennett from the nursery and was happy to hear that he did great and did not hit anyone with his chunky little hands or any toys. He was super happy to see me, and we headed off to the grocery store. He did great at the store, with the exception of throwing down his sippy cup and BREAKING IT. I'm not sure how one BREAKS a PLASTIC sippy cup, but my son managed to. Luckily, I had already purchased two new sippy cups for him.

We got home and spent some time playing and reading books and then I prepared lunch for the kids (baked chicken nuggets and cucumbers) and then it was time to go get Morgan. She was all excited about some envelope that she's supposed to bring back and forth between school and home. It's the little things, people! We got home and she was excited that lunch was waiting for her and it was "CHICKEN NUGGETS!! You are the best, Mom!". The kids ate while I made my lunch and ate and then I did the post-lunch cleanup while they played.

Things got a little out of hand with Morgan needing to expend some extra energy and running around screaming like a mad woman. But, I asked her to go sit on her bed and she obliged (with just a little attitude). I was able to finish up a lot of my chores - dusting their rooms, cleaning out my purse, diaper bag and wallet, and cleaning the bathroom mirrors while they played.

Just before nap, I actually had the foresight to put out their pajamas and clothes for tomorrow. We have our back to school night tonight and Lance and I are both going (my niece is going to babysit - yeah!). So, now I don't have to worry about doing the scramble before she gets here for pajamas and stuff and their stuff is already laid out for tomorrow morning. I'm pre-prepared. :)

Now, I'm sitting here with my exercise and chores done and I even have time to make a phone call. Loving the new schedule and routine!

After nap, we'll do snack and maybe hit a park or have a play date with the neighbor. Back to school night starts at 6:30, so I've asked my niece to be here at 6. Leftovers for dinner, so I'm pretty much done for the day.

Now where are those bon bons? Oprah's about to come on. :)

Back to our schedule

With the summer coming to a close, I'm ready to get back on a regular schedule. Regular activities for the kids, regular activities for me, and less of the frantic running around and driving great distances for a day of summer fun. As much as I love the summer and all the fun stuff we do, I also crave the day-to-day sanity, come August.

Morgan's school is on an early release schedule this week, which is a good way to ease into school. But it also means that I have another week or so before I can really get the schedule nailed. This morning, I walked Morgan to her class and waited until they went in. I chatted a little with her teacher about working in the classroom (she'll have sign-ups next week at Curriculum Night).

After we left Morgan, Bennett and I headed back to our car, stopping to talk to a few friends on the way. We stopped by the doctor's office to have my TB test read and then headed over to the tennis club, where I was early for the spin class (it didn't make sense for me to go home). Which was apparently a good thing, since all the moms across the Tri-Valley region descended upon this class at once. I felt the estrogen as I entered the room. Oh my! Where have these women been all summer?? Glad I was there early to pick a non-squeaky bike. The workout kicked my ass. Literally. I was already sore from the squats and lunges we did in kickboxing last night, but the spin class just really brought it home.

After class, I went to the nursery to pick up Bennett and got a list of babysitters from them (hooray!!). We were too early to go pick up Morgan, so we went home for all of 15 minutes before we had to turn around and go pick her up. Now I know why parents who's children have 8:30-11:45 class schedules are not big fans. Thank goodness for 8:10-12:10!! Anyway - we picked Morgan up and it was less chaotic than yesterday, which was really good. Morgan was excited again, telling me that "it was AWESOME AGAIN!" She really seems to like her teacher and she's told me stories about how her teacher is teaching them to be respectable (she meant respectful) and how to handle scissors. Two very important life lessons.

The boy that she reported yesterday was not a good listener, was apparently not listening again today. I had told her last night that I was proud of her for listening and she mentioned this little boy. I told her that maybe he will be a better listener today. Today, she reported that I was wrong about him. :) She told me that a kid was doing something mean to her today and she just asked them to stop and that was the right thing to do. I asked her how she knew that was the right thing to do and she told me she knew it because her teacher told her that it was the right thing to do. She also told me that she would always be a good listener and be respectable (again, respectful) to her teacher because she doesn't EVER want to get into trouble. She only wants good news to tell us. VERY HAPPY to hear this!! Her favorite part of the day yesterday was playing with the doll house, which had a cat with a bed who ate dog food. So, wouldn't that make it a dog-food-eating-cat-house? Anyway -her favorite part today was eating their snack outside. Seriously? We've been eating snack and lunch outside practically all summer. But, this is her favorite part of her day! :)

We came home and I made lunch and then finished up my chores (except laundry, which is going on now). All before nap time. Love it! This is feeling faintly like a normal day. Crazy.

As a side note, please do not ever take advice from me to buy WHATEVER is on sale at the meat counter. Because lamb breast?? Yeah, I'm having a hard time finding a recipe online that doesn't make me gag. My favorite recipe site, allrecipes.com, informed me that there was NO RECIPES that had the words lamb and breast in them. NONE. At ALLrecipes.com. And then I start googling lamb breast and I find out that it "is typically well over 50% fat, even if you trim it. When I was growing up it was something that only poor people bought, and these days most of it ends up exported to Pacific Island countries or processed for pet food. I only see it for sale in places where a lot of Pacific Islanders shop." Ummm, yeah. So, I'm debating myself on whether or not to just toss it. Or perhaps I could cook it up for THE DOG?? Hey, at least it was REALLY CHEAP.