We have three dinners away from home on the calendar, but we've also been fighting coughs, snot, and fevers around here for ... well, for quite a while. It just keeps cycling through. Anyway, I scheduled some extra meals, just in case we have to cancel the ones away from home.
BREAKFASTS
oatmeal x5
Tam's granola (crockpot) x4
egg & potato scramble x2
cold cereal
lemony sour cream muffins (from the freezer)
leftover oatmeal pancakes (from the freezer)
almond coconut granola
SNACKS
fruit
popcorn
potato wedges
cinnamon rollups
deviled eggs
DINNERS
leftovers x2
tacos x2
sweet & sour chicken/rice/frozen veggies
rice cooker mac & cheese/green salad
cracked wheat & rice pilaf/veggie stir fry sausage tortellini with marinara sauce/corn (Devon planned & will cook this meal)
upside-down pizza/green salad
Papa Murphy's (taking to a friend's house)
quinoa & black beans/tortilla chips/green salad
potato soup/grilled meat & cheese sandwiches
birthday party
chicken noodle soup/whole wheat drop biscuits
date night
Silas' chicken/champ
cheesy ham & asparagus bake/green salad
creamy white bean chicken chili (meal delivery)
DESSERTS
ice cream
banana spice cookies
Friday, March 18, 2011
Thursday, March 17, 2011
SOME THINGS I LIKE ABOUT NAOMI
I'll wrap up my little series about why I like our kids with a post about Naomi.
* She's physically affectionate. She'll put her arm around the person she's sitting next to and rub their back or ask if she can snuggle.
* She has countless facial expressions that are all funny. She can do things with her eyebrows that no one else in our family can.
* She chooses to wear fancy dresses on ordinary days.
* She loves babies. At a young two years old she'd supervise parents as they fed their babies or changed their diapers. At three years old she just wants all the babies put in her arms.
* She sings constantly. Sometimes it's songs we know, other times it's songs she's made up.
* She calls Silas and Devon "my boys".
* She is obsessed with pink. A few months back she told me she didn't like bats (the flying, not baseball, variety) because they're brown and she only likes things that are pink. Last week I was ordering a burger at Red Robin and the server asked if I wanted it pink. I said no, that I wanted it fully cooked, to which Naomi immediately asked why I wouldn't want a pink burger.
* When she laughs, she laughs hard. A total belly laugh.
* She's physically affectionate. She'll put her arm around the person she's sitting next to and rub their back or ask if she can snuggle.
* She has countless facial expressions that are all funny. She can do things with her eyebrows that no one else in our family can.
* She chooses to wear fancy dresses on ordinary days.
* She loves babies. At a young two years old she'd supervise parents as they fed their babies or changed their diapers. At three years old she just wants all the babies put in her arms.
* She sings constantly. Sometimes it's songs we know, other times it's songs she's made up.
* She calls Silas and Devon "my boys".
* She is obsessed with pink. A few months back she told me she didn't like bats (the flying, not baseball, variety) because they're brown and she only likes things that are pink. Last week I was ordering a burger at Red Robin and the server asked if I wanted it pink. I said no, that I wanted it fully cooked, to which Naomi immediately asked why I wouldn't want a pink burger.
* When she laughs, she laughs hard. A total belly laugh.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
LEARNED & CONFIRMED
Learned: An inability to warm up could indicate a fever - Last night I was cold in the early evening. Our home is cool, though, and I only had one layer of clothes on my arms. I chalked my coldness up to inadequate clothing and headed to a study at church. The church is warmer than our apartment, but I was still a little bit cold. I got home and quickly became covered in goosebumps. I busted out the thermometer and discovered my temperature was 101.4.
Confirmed: Drugs can come in handy - I had to get sleep last night, so I raided our stash of drugstore freebies and took some NyQuil. As I crawled in to bed I told Tim that I really hoped the "marked drowsiness" would occur quickly. It did and I slept soundly until the kids woke up. My fever was gone when I got up.
Learned: NyQuil should only be taken when I have nothing to do for the next 15-20 hours - I rarely take drugs, as I'm rarely sick, and the only ones I take are Benadryl for allergies and various OTC painkillers for ... well, for pain. Last night was my first time taking NyQuil. I took it around 10:30 pm and it helped me sleep well. It also made me incredibly groggy until I woke from a nap at 3:30 pm this afternoon. I was loopy this morning and was only able to read one school book. I plugged in a library movie for the kids and curled up on the couch to watch it with them. I dozed in and out for the first hour of the movie and have absolutely no recollection of the second. I, one who struggles to fall asleep, was completely konked out with two other kids on the couch and a movie playing.
Confirmed: Becca is thoughtful - Becca stopped by unexpectedly around 11:15 today. She knew about our mold situation, so she brought a little something to cheer me up and a sweet note.
Learned: Oatmeal cookies with chocolate and dried cranberries are wonderful - Here is what Becca brought over. Deeeeelish!
Confirmed: Drugs can come in handy - I had to get sleep last night, so I raided our stash of drugstore freebies and took some NyQuil. As I crawled in to bed I told Tim that I really hoped the "marked drowsiness" would occur quickly. It did and I slept soundly until the kids woke up. My fever was gone when I got up.
Learned: NyQuil should only be taken when I have nothing to do for the next 15-20 hours - I rarely take drugs, as I'm rarely sick, and the only ones I take are Benadryl for allergies and various OTC painkillers for ... well, for pain. Last night was my first time taking NyQuil. I took it around 10:30 pm and it helped me sleep well. It also made me incredibly groggy until I woke from a nap at 3:30 pm this afternoon. I was loopy this morning and was only able to read one school book. I plugged in a library movie for the kids and curled up on the couch to watch it with them. I dozed in and out for the first hour of the movie and have absolutely no recollection of the second. I, one who struggles to fall asleep, was completely konked out with two other kids on the couch and a movie playing.
Confirmed: Becca is thoughtful - Becca stopped by unexpectedly around 11:15 today. She knew about our mold situation, so she brought a little something to cheer me up and a sweet note.
Learned: Oatmeal cookies with chocolate and dried cranberries are wonderful - Here is what Becca brought over. Deeeeelish!
Confirmed: Tim is a good man - I got up about the time Tim was leaving this morning and headed into the kitchen to quickly throw dinner in the crockpot. He walked out the door and a couple minutes later I got really lightheaded. Convinced I was going to pass out, I set down the knife that was in my hand and laid on the kitchen floor. I figured it would be best to not have a weapon in my hand as I crashed to the ground and that being on the ground in the first place would feel a lot better than falling there. After a minute or two I told Devon, who was the only kid awake, that I thought I might pass out and crawled into bed.
I called Tim and left a message telling him how I felt and asking him to check in through the day. In hindsight, I think I was dehydrated and loopy from the NyQuil, as I've been chugging water and have felt fine (well, pretty groggy, but not lightheaded) the rest of the day. Anyway, about 11:30 he walked unexpectedly walked in the door. He'd taken the rest of the day off to come home and take care of things around here. He made lunch for the kids, got everyone down for naps, and just popped the biscuits for dinner into the oven.
It's now 5:00 pm and life is good. The fever left during the night, the newest mold got cleaned up about 11:45 today, the NyQuil hangover has finally worn off, and dinner is just about ready.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
SOME THINGS I LIKE ABOUT SILAS
Here's part two of my little series on things I like about the offspring. This one is about Silas. Ready?
* The kid can cook. Not only does he follow recipes well, but he'll experiment with making his own concoctions.
* He's a patient teacher. It's common to see him helping some kid at church or the park learn how to do something.
* He's dependable. If I ask him to do something, then I know he'll do the job well.
* Beating me at games causes him to giggle hysterically. This is a frequent occurrence.
* Notes are one of his preferred ways of communicating. A few times a month he'll write me a note telling me about something or asking a question.
* He's sensitive to the needs of others. If he knows I'm stressed, then he'll just start taking care of things he knows will be helpful to me.
* He loves having funky hair and is oblivious to the fact that it draws attention to him.
* He's a giver. He's constantly drawing pictures, creating things, or buying gifts for people.
* The kid can cook. Not only does he follow recipes well, but he'll experiment with making his own concoctions.
* He's a patient teacher. It's common to see him helping some kid at church or the park learn how to do something.
* He's dependable. If I ask him to do something, then I know he'll do the job well.
* Beating me at games causes him to giggle hysterically. This is a frequent occurrence.
* Notes are one of his preferred ways of communicating. A few times a month he'll write me a note telling me about something or asking a question.
* He's sensitive to the needs of others. If he knows I'm stressed, then he'll just start taking care of things he knows will be helpful to me.
* He loves having funky hair and is oblivious to the fact that it draws attention to him.
* He's a giver. He's constantly drawing pictures, creating things, or buying gifts for people.
Monday, March 14, 2011
I JUST FOUND MORE MOLD
This is the fourth batch, though it appears it was there with the third batch and we just hadn't seen it. I know it's not ethical, it's unhealthy, blah, blah, blah ... but here we are. I haven't been updating about the situation on here because I can't have you guys adding fuel to my fire, but I'm incredibly upset right now.
We are working on moving, but things are still up in the air at this point. I just don't want to have to give constant updates, so we're choosing not to blog about it until we know for sure what's going to happen. Our lease is up at the end of next month, so something will have to change soon.
We left a house, yard, and neighborhood we loved to move into this apartment with the solitary goal of paying off Tim's school debt more quickly. Our motives were good and it's not working out. I'm really discouraged.
On that note, Tim just walked in the door and I'm going to the office to ask for a free garage to store our things in. It's pretty clear that closets and corners in our apartment are not suitable for storing anything we don't want to be covered in mold.
Wish me luck.
Pray for my attitude.
Pray for a housing change to work out quickly.
UPDATE - I'm back. We're getting a free garage. The lady immediately and cheerfully granted my request for one and will have one ready tomorrow or Wednesday. That will help until we know where we're going next.
We are working on moving, but things are still up in the air at this point. I just don't want to have to give constant updates, so we're choosing not to blog about it until we know for sure what's going to happen. Our lease is up at the end of next month, so something will have to change soon.
We left a house, yard, and neighborhood we loved to move into this apartment with the solitary goal of paying off Tim's school debt more quickly. Our motives were good and it's not working out. I'm really discouraged.
On that note, Tim just walked in the door and I'm going to the office to ask for a free garage to store our things in. It's pretty clear that closets and corners in our apartment are not suitable for storing anything we don't want to be covered in mold.
Wish me luck.
Pray for my attitude.
Pray for a housing change to work out quickly.
UPDATE - I'm back. We're getting a free garage. The lady immediately and cheerfully granted my request for one and will have one ready tomorrow or Wednesday. That will help until we know where we're going next.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
SOME THINGS I LIKE ABOUT DEVON
I've been meaning to do a little series for a while, but keep forgetting. I've been in a blogging slump lately, so I figured this is a good time to get it done. Without further ado, here's the first in a series of things I like about our kids. Devon rarely goes first as most things go from oldest to youngest or youngest to oldest, so I'm starting with him.
* About once a month he hides some little surprise under my pillow - coins, a picture, candy, etc.
* He loves music. He often has earbuds in and is constantly singing.
* He has an amazing memory and since he was two years old we've counted on him to help us remember stuff.
* Several times a week he'll go out of his way to patiently teach Naomi something. He shows her how to play games, spell words, do tricks, etc.
* He defends those who are being bullied. He takes our mantras of "boys protect girls" and "bigs look out for littles" seriously and there have been a couple times he's confronted someone who was picking on another kid.
* His silly faces, crazy dance moves, and goofy behaviors crack us up daily.
* He can't keep a straight face when I sing to him opera-style. It's the cure for his attempts at being grumpy.
* He's thoughtful. There are doughnuts at the church service we go to on Sunday and he brought one of my favorites back for me when I was home with a sick kid a few weeks ago.
* About once a month he hides some little surprise under my pillow - coins, a picture, candy, etc.
* He loves music. He often has earbuds in and is constantly singing.
* He has an amazing memory and since he was two years old we've counted on him to help us remember stuff.
* Several times a week he'll go out of his way to patiently teach Naomi something. He shows her how to play games, spell words, do tricks, etc.
* He defends those who are being bullied. He takes our mantras of "boys protect girls" and "bigs look out for littles" seriously and there have been a couple times he's confronted someone who was picking on another kid.
* His silly faces, crazy dance moves, and goofy behaviors crack us up daily.
* He can't keep a straight face when I sing to him opera-style. It's the cure for his attempts at being grumpy.
* He's thoughtful. There are doughnuts at the church service we go to on Sunday and he brought one of my favorites back for me when I was home with a sick kid a few weeks ago.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
7:00 PM & I'M IN BED
I just put on jammies & crawled under the covers. In addition to the computer, I also have my Bible, a library book, and a bag of Twix one of the boys gave me at Christmas. Pandora is playing the David Lanz station in the background. A tropical fruit scented candle that Tim gave me at Christmas is burning.
I'm ignoring Tim, who came home two hours later today. (Being late was not a source of conflict and he's fine with me hiding out in our room.) I'm ignoring our children. I'm ignoring all responsibilities and decisions.
Tomorrow I will do school with the boys and play with Naomi. I will see Granny for the first time in a month (she was gone for 10 days or so and our kids have been since she's been back). I will sort through a pile of papers. I will cook and clean.
But tonight, right now, I'm going to relish some time alone. I'm going to be thankful the three little Ws will fold and put away the laundry in the dryer. I'm going to be thankful that Tim will get the front of our home cleaned up without being asked to. I'm going to be thankful for jammies and fleece sheets. I'm going to be thankful that I can relax for a bit.
I'm ignoring Tim, who came home two hours later today. (Being late was not a source of conflict and he's fine with me hiding out in our room.) I'm ignoring our children. I'm ignoring all responsibilities and decisions.
Tomorrow I will do school with the boys and play with Naomi. I will see Granny for the first time in a month (she was gone for 10 days or so and our kids have been since she's been back). I will sort through a pile of papers. I will cook and clean.
But tonight, right now, I'm going to relish some time alone. I'm going to be thankful the three little Ws will fold and put away the laundry in the dryer. I'm going to be thankful that Tim will get the front of our home cleaned up without being asked to. I'm going to be thankful for jammies and fleece sheets. I'm going to be thankful that I can relax for a bit.
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