What am I into today?
What a difference a year makes. Truly. One year ago today, Mark was pulled off a job he was doing, put into a room, and interrogated by his superiors about what he was doing at work without his boss being there. His boss being the lineman partner he was supposed to be working with. The lineman had been going home every day, early in the day, leaving Mark to do all the work by himself. That in itself was a bad thing because he had not been officially trained to do any of it, even though he knew what he was doing. Mark was the helper. The grunt who was supposed to be driving the truck and getting supplies together. Not the guy actually working with the high voltage electricity and doing all the other work.
To make a LONG story short, in the following month, Mark was put in the shop at his work, basically put in adult time out, and the lineman boss was telling him to lie about everything. During that month, the application for LMA's (Line Maintenance Assistant) was due. He was encouraged to apply from the guys in the shop who knew that Mark was only following orders and knew how much he had been harassed and bullied by the lineman. Mark's conscience beat out the lineman telling him to lie, and he went into his next interrogation, umm, interview, and told the truth. About everything. He told them absolutely everything and more. He went in with God on his side and peace in his heart knowing he had to tell the truth. They admitted to knowing some of what Mark told them, but didn't realize how deep things were.
Today? Mark is officially a Line Maintenance Assistant with the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. Wouldn't you know it? He placed 3rd out of over 100 guys in the LMA written test. He aced the interview. The same guys who interrogated him just months before now were giving him pats on the shoulder and helping him to move up and promote! He did great during the LMA class at the training center and was even the first of the LMA hopefuls to climb the tallest pole there. I think he said it was a 90 foot pole. 90 feet!!! That would not be me... but he loved it! Every second of it!
Today, Mark has run different crews by himself. He's been tested by the higher ups in his yard to see if he can cut it. And he has. Today, Mark can run a crew with a helper by himself now. Today, he knows the type of boss he wants to be and how to be that type of boss. And you know how all this happened? Through God. We prayed so much together during this whole time. "Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on
your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct
your paths." (Proverbs 3:5-6) This was our mantra. We were putting our trust in God. We had to. There was no where else to go, and not one else to go to. Guess what? God was there for us. For Mark.
Today, Mark is off by 4pm and home by 5ish every day. He gets to have dinner with us at a normal time. He gets to come home and take the kids to the park. He can come home and enjoy a little TV in the evenings. Today, Mark is able to put his family first and not his job. He is not threatened by his boss for taking time off. Today is a Blessed day! Today is a day of new beginnings. It's a day to rejoice!
There were repercussions for the other guys in the yard. For the other lineman who were doing the same sort of thing with their helpers. The two guys that Mark had so much trouble with somehow retired out before they could be punished for their actions. One guy has been fired. They were all taken by greed. Money was their god, but they didn't want to do the work for it. Today though, Mark is working with some really good guys. He's working with guys he can talk about his family with. Talk about God with, and guys who understand that family is more important than anything else.
Yeah... we're struggling financially. Mark was working 40+ hours of OT per paycheck before. Now there is NONE. Zip. Zero. We're barely hanging on. But the regular OT will come back. In this economy, it was only a matter of time before the regular OT was taken away. But in a couple of months, it will come back. Some fancy smanchy millionaire is going to start complaining about the light in their front yard not being on. And then another will complain and another... and then the OT will come back because there are jobs that just can't be done during the regular work day. When the OT does come back, guess what? Mark will take it. But we won't be tied to it like we used to be. And you know what else? It won't be every day. It will be every other Monday and Saturday's. But only until 3pm those days. Still plenty of time to be with the family. And if he doesn't want to work one of those days, he doesn't have to! He will still be home by 5 every day!
Thank you Lord for helping us through this extremely tough year. Thank you for being by our side and walking with us. Thank you for giving Mark the courage to tell the truth. And thank you for all the Blessings we have in our life today.
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Monday, January 30, 2012
Fire pit and toys
What am I into today?
Well, let's talk about yesterday first! We built our fire pit! After church, we went to Lowe's and got the recommended 48 bricks. Then we came home and started building. Very early Mark realized that where he wanted to put it wasn't going to work, and we ended up putting it where I would have to begin with! LOL I could have done it without him and it would have been okay. :) But, he finally decides exactly where it's going to go and we start building. 16 bricks on the bottom layer. We begin the 2nd layer. I realize that we don't have enough bricks. I re-count the bottom layer... 17 whoops! Okay... wait. Even if I did 16 each, we don't have enough. What the heck? I ask if he got them all out of the van. Yes. Gah! I only have 42! Not good! We try to make it smaller and we don't like the look of it. I go back to Lowe's on my own. I grab the 9 bricks we need (we liked 17 around) and I explain to the cashier what happened with the miscount earlier. Thankfully, it's the same cashier and she says, "I knew I should have counted them earlier. I'll only charge you for the 3." :) That's awesome customer service in my opinion!
I get home and we finish it! Here it is!
Fire pit with 17 9" bricks around before it's lit.
With Mark standing right next to it so you can see a size comparison. He has JUST lit it and it wasn't really going yet
.
A nice fire after it's been going for a few hours. We really enjoyed it last night. :)
So, that was last night. What's up for today? Take Austin to school. Go to Sam's Club, pick up Austin from school. Get all the groceries put away. I don't need much really. Pray that all 3 kids take naps at the same time today. Take a nap myself. I've been up with Cody a lot in the last few days. It does a number on me after a while. I start hurting. My hips are truly killing me. I'm having a hard time just walking sometimes right now. I also lose my patience with the kids easier and it's not their fault. Well... it's Cody's fault, but he can't help it. I have to remind myself that they are 3 and 2 years old a lot and that whatever they are doing or not doing, is probably very age appropriate.
I'm really trying to get my kids be more responsible for things like their toys. When I get to 'that' point, I grab a trash bag and the toys go in. And then they get taken away for a few days. Usually, they aren't missed much. I'm getting ready to box everything up until they ask for it. Ha! Actually, I'm trying really hard to get them to just take out one set of things at a time. Austin has multiple tracks for his trains, and I really need him to just use one of them at a time. Audrey just sorta tags along with whatever Austin wants to do so I can't really keep track of what she's taking out or not. There are not many toys that are HERS besides her baby stroller, her dolls, and the grocery cart. I mean, there are, but not many that they want to play with together. It's a process that we are all learning from, one day at a time.
What do you do when your kids don't pick up their toys?
Happy Monday!
Well, let's talk about yesterday first! We built our fire pit! After church, we went to Lowe's and got the recommended 48 bricks. Then we came home and started building. Very early Mark realized that where he wanted to put it wasn't going to work, and we ended up putting it where I would have to begin with! LOL I could have done it without him and it would have been okay. :) But, he finally decides exactly where it's going to go and we start building. 16 bricks on the bottom layer. We begin the 2nd layer. I realize that we don't have enough bricks. I re-count the bottom layer... 17 whoops! Okay... wait. Even if I did 16 each, we don't have enough. What the heck? I ask if he got them all out of the van. Yes. Gah! I only have 42! Not good! We try to make it smaller and we don't like the look of it. I go back to Lowe's on my own. I grab the 9 bricks we need (we liked 17 around) and I explain to the cashier what happened with the miscount earlier. Thankfully, it's the same cashier and she says, "I knew I should have counted them earlier. I'll only charge you for the 3." :) That's awesome customer service in my opinion!
I get home and we finish it! Here it is!
Fire pit with 17 9" bricks around before it's lit.
With Mark standing right next to it so you can see a size comparison. He has JUST lit it and it wasn't really going yet
.
A nice fire after it's been going for a few hours. We really enjoyed it last night. :)
So, that was last night. What's up for today? Take Austin to school. Go to Sam's Club, pick up Austin from school. Get all the groceries put away. I don't need much really. Pray that all 3 kids take naps at the same time today. Take a nap myself. I've been up with Cody a lot in the last few days. It does a number on me after a while. I start hurting. My hips are truly killing me. I'm having a hard time just walking sometimes right now. I also lose my patience with the kids easier and it's not their fault. Well... it's Cody's fault, but he can't help it. I have to remind myself that they are 3 and 2 years old a lot and that whatever they are doing or not doing, is probably very age appropriate.
I'm really trying to get my kids be more responsible for things like their toys. When I get to 'that' point, I grab a trash bag and the toys go in. And then they get taken away for a few days. Usually, they aren't missed much. I'm getting ready to box everything up until they ask for it. Ha! Actually, I'm trying really hard to get them to just take out one set of things at a time. Austin has multiple tracks for his trains, and I really need him to just use one of them at a time. Audrey just sorta tags along with whatever Austin wants to do so I can't really keep track of what she's taking out or not. There are not many toys that are HERS besides her baby stroller, her dolls, and the grocery cart. I mean, there are, but not many that they want to play with together. It's a process that we are all learning from, one day at a time.
What do you do when your kids don't pick up their toys?
Happy Monday!
Sunday, January 29, 2012
What do you do for your parish?
What am I into today?
I finally decided what to do for Mark for his birthday! We're building a firepit!!! I found very nice clear instructions here. I saw it at Lowe's the other day and I thought it looks great! It's a project I know I CAN do by myself, but I was unsure of where to put it in the backyard. I had come up with 2 ideas but couldn't decide on one. So I ended up telling Mark. Lo and behold he had a totally different place for it! Eek! Good thing I talked to him about it! It's a project that I have over 75% of the money saved up for so I'm not spending a lot of extra money out of pocket for it. We decided together that the barbecue will be a combo Mother's Day/Father's Day present to one another since we both use it. And because we can save up a little more money to get a nicer one too. So, after Mass, we go get the materials and build the firepit together!
What else? We have Church today. How many of you make going to Church a priority in your life? We really enjoy going to Church as a family. I know many families with young children who say, "But my child acts up." or "We're too tired." or even "I'll start taking my child when he's 5." I feel that it's VERY important to take your children from the time they are itty bitty babies! Austin was 4 days old, Audrey was 3 days old and Cody was 3 days old when we went to Church with them. DAYS people.. not weeks, months or years... DAYS. Going to Church once a week is just routine for us. We don't miss Mass if at all possible. We go to Mass on vacations even! We love visiting new parishes on vacation and seeing the churches. We've even found parishes around here that meet our needs on Holy Days of obligation when Mark is working or what not. We even go to Mass when we're in Yosemite. If you are not on the bus, or driving your car out of the campground by 9:30. You're late. Period. If you are driving, you have to get to the Yosemite Village parking lot, then get everyone out and walking over to the visitor center, then go through or around the back side, to the auditorium, and then into Our Lady of the Snows. It's in the auditorium. But it's still Mass and it's still important. God didn't take a week off for us, so we don't take a week of of Him. And I'm not just talking my immediate family here.... there's usually at least 20-30 of us who go to Mass on vacation together. We all go on vacation together and we all go to Mass together too.
As for our parish, it's a community. My kids know Father Ike and give him 5 all the time. They enjoy him, and he enjoys them. Father Ike came to our parish when Audrey was about 6 months old. I walked into the sacristy to greet him and sign up for Eucharist Ministry that day. He put his hands out and I handed him Audrey. (For reference... when a priest wants to hold the baby... you HAND HIM THE BABY. It's an unwritten rule... but one I teach by example.) Cody was 3 days old when Father Ike held him! Father Ike has encouraged us to start Little Church. That's where once a month we take the kids ages 5-10 out of church and up to a room in the Faith Formation Center. We then bring the readings down to their level using a children's lectionary, and then we give a homily. There are a few other things we do, and then we bring them back to the main church. While the congregation is singing the Holy Holy, we lead the kids up onto the altar with Father Ike. They stay up there with him during the consecration and he makes it a point to SHOW them what's happening. Then during the sign of peace, we lead them all back down and to their parents. We only have 6 adults in our Little Church ministry right now, and we need more. You would think in a parish of over 5,000 people, we could find a few more... but we'll get there. We want to add more Sundays, and break up the age groups... and when we get a few more volunteers, we will.
Today is not Little Church Sunday... but you can bet that my kids will still be there in Mass with us. We'll be sitting in the crying room and trying to help teach our children how to sit during Mass. To stand when we stand, and to pray when we pray. They are learning, and by the time Austin is 5, we expect to be able to sit in the main congregation again.
Enjoy your Sunday everyone!
I finally decided what to do for Mark for his birthday! We're building a firepit!!! I found very nice clear instructions here. I saw it at Lowe's the other day and I thought it looks great! It's a project I know I CAN do by myself, but I was unsure of where to put it in the backyard. I had come up with 2 ideas but couldn't decide on one. So I ended up telling Mark. Lo and behold he had a totally different place for it! Eek! Good thing I talked to him about it! It's a project that I have over 75% of the money saved up for so I'm not spending a lot of extra money out of pocket for it. We decided together that the barbecue will be a combo Mother's Day/Father's Day present to one another since we both use it. And because we can save up a little more money to get a nicer one too. So, after Mass, we go get the materials and build the firepit together!
What else? We have Church today. How many of you make going to Church a priority in your life? We really enjoy going to Church as a family. I know many families with young children who say, "But my child acts up." or "We're too tired." or even "I'll start taking my child when he's 5." I feel that it's VERY important to take your children from the time they are itty bitty babies! Austin was 4 days old, Audrey was 3 days old and Cody was 3 days old when we went to Church with them. DAYS people.. not weeks, months or years... DAYS. Going to Church once a week is just routine for us. We don't miss Mass if at all possible. We go to Mass on vacations even! We love visiting new parishes on vacation and seeing the churches. We've even found parishes around here that meet our needs on Holy Days of obligation when Mark is working or what not. We even go to Mass when we're in Yosemite. If you are not on the bus, or driving your car out of the campground by 9:30. You're late. Period. If you are driving, you have to get to the Yosemite Village parking lot, then get everyone out and walking over to the visitor center, then go through or around the back side, to the auditorium, and then into Our Lady of the Snows. It's in the auditorium. But it's still Mass and it's still important. God didn't take a week off for us, so we don't take a week of of Him. And I'm not just talking my immediate family here.... there's usually at least 20-30 of us who go to Mass on vacation together. We all go on vacation together and we all go to Mass together too.
As for our parish, it's a community. My kids know Father Ike and give him 5 all the time. They enjoy him, and he enjoys them. Father Ike came to our parish when Audrey was about 6 months old. I walked into the sacristy to greet him and sign up for Eucharist Ministry that day. He put his hands out and I handed him Audrey. (For reference... when a priest wants to hold the baby... you HAND HIM THE BABY. It's an unwritten rule... but one I teach by example.) Cody was 3 days old when Father Ike held him! Father Ike has encouraged us to start Little Church. That's where once a month we take the kids ages 5-10 out of church and up to a room in the Faith Formation Center. We then bring the readings down to their level using a children's lectionary, and then we give a homily. There are a few other things we do, and then we bring them back to the main church. While the congregation is singing the Holy Holy, we lead the kids up onto the altar with Father Ike. They stay up there with him during the consecration and he makes it a point to SHOW them what's happening. Then during the sign of peace, we lead them all back down and to their parents. We only have 6 adults in our Little Church ministry right now, and we need more. You would think in a parish of over 5,000 people, we could find a few more... but we'll get there. We want to add more Sundays, and break up the age groups... and when we get a few more volunteers, we will.
Today is not Little Church Sunday... but you can bet that my kids will still be there in Mass with us. We'll be sitting in the crying room and trying to help teach our children how to sit during Mass. To stand when we stand, and to pray when we pray. They are learning, and by the time Austin is 5, we expect to be able to sit in the main congregation again.
Enjoy your Sunday everyone!
Saturday, January 28, 2012
January 28, 2012
What am I into today?
Well, it's 8:16am and I already got Mark and Austin out the door to go to a baptism. It's Mark's cousins daughters baptism today! Happy Baptism today Kylee! I pray that God is always walking with you and that your parents and Godparents teach you His ways and show you His love always!!!
You may ask why I'm not going to the baptism? Audrey has a runny nose and Cody is still congested. Kylee's Grandpa is going through chemotherapy right now for cancer, and his immune system is compromised. They asked that if anyone was sick to send their blessings from home. So that is exactly what Audrey, Cody and I are doing.
BUT... I don't think my kids are really 'sick' and they have a cold. Like everyone else does these days. But I don't want to pass on new germs to George, so instead we are going to my neighbor's baby shower today! I'll be picking up my mom and we will go enjoy that party. I made a diaper cake for Angela yesterday. It was my first try, and it's a little wonky, but I think it came out cute none the less.
Is it bad that I'm secretly (and not so secretly now that I"m saying it here) hoping that they will play the purse game at the shower? I'm really good at that game and it's no secret that I'm competitive in games and play to win! He he he.
So, in between all that, I am still trying to figure out what to get Mark for his birthday. I am now deciding between building him a fire pit for outside. We've talked about it for a while and I found plans to make one for under $100 and it would take about an hour. Or, get the new BBQ. I'm thinking the fire pit because I can make it for him, and we can save up for the BBQ for a combo Mother's Day/Father's Day present for each other. It really is for both of us. The fire pit would be for both of us as well... but I think that he would really enjoy it. And, we could enjoy the fire pit during the birthday party for him next weekend.
Lastly, I have to find a sub for me for lectoring at Church tonight. I switched with someone, not realizing the baby shower goes until 5. It's a little hard to get to church by 5:15 when I'm not home. Be that as it may, I will be emailing the lector coordinator and asking her to put me on the sub list for now. I have too much going on and I have not gotten 'our' mass for 2 schedule cycles. My kids need the consistency of the same Mass as well as my family. I'm still busy with church with being a Eucharistic Minister, a catechist teaching the pre-baptism class, and I'm involved with Little Church now too. I think that for now, that's enough. For now. :)
If you are active in your Church, what do you do? Do you have a favorite ministry that you enjoy?
Happy Saturday everyone!
Well, it's 8:16am and I already got Mark and Austin out the door to go to a baptism. It's Mark's cousins daughters baptism today! Happy Baptism today Kylee! I pray that God is always walking with you and that your parents and Godparents teach you His ways and show you His love always!!!
You may ask why I'm not going to the baptism? Audrey has a runny nose and Cody is still congested. Kylee's Grandpa is going through chemotherapy right now for cancer, and his immune system is compromised. They asked that if anyone was sick to send their blessings from home. So that is exactly what Audrey, Cody and I are doing.
BUT... I don't think my kids are really 'sick' and they have a cold. Like everyone else does these days. But I don't want to pass on new germs to George, so instead we are going to my neighbor's baby shower today! I'll be picking up my mom and we will go enjoy that party. I made a diaper cake for Angela yesterday. It was my first try, and it's a little wonky, but I think it came out cute none the less.
Is it bad that I'm secretly (and not so secretly now that I"m saying it here) hoping that they will play the purse game at the shower? I'm really good at that game and it's no secret that I'm competitive in games and play to win! He he he.
So, in between all that, I am still trying to figure out what to get Mark for his birthday. I am now deciding between building him a fire pit for outside. We've talked about it for a while and I found plans to make one for under $100 and it would take about an hour. Or, get the new BBQ. I'm thinking the fire pit because I can make it for him, and we can save up for the BBQ for a combo Mother's Day/Father's Day present for each other. It really is for both of us. The fire pit would be for both of us as well... but I think that he would really enjoy it. And, we could enjoy the fire pit during the birthday party for him next weekend.
Lastly, I have to find a sub for me for lectoring at Church tonight. I switched with someone, not realizing the baby shower goes until 5. It's a little hard to get to church by 5:15 when I'm not home. Be that as it may, I will be emailing the lector coordinator and asking her to put me on the sub list for now. I have too much going on and I have not gotten 'our' mass for 2 schedule cycles. My kids need the consistency of the same Mass as well as my family. I'm still busy with church with being a Eucharistic Minister, a catechist teaching the pre-baptism class, and I'm involved with Little Church now too. I think that for now, that's enough. For now. :)
If you are active in your Church, what do you do? Do you have a favorite ministry that you enjoy?
Happy Saturday everyone!
Friday, January 27, 2012
January 27, 2012
What am I into today?
Austin has to go to school, so that's a chunk of my time just going to and from, so I plan on using the time in between for errands. I have to go Michael's for some ribbons and a few other little things for a gift for someone this weekend. Then I'm off to Sam's Club for a couple of things.
I'm trying to decide what to get Mark for his birthday next week. I'm really at a loss as what he wants/needs. He's good on clothes. He's good on tools. So now what? Any ideas? The one thing we need is a new gas barbeque, but I don't have that kind of $ on hand right now. I have until next week Wednesday, so any ideas are greatly appreciated!
What else am I into today? I'm trying to get this creamy tomato basil parmesean soup into my crockpot before I take Austin to school. It's just chopping up some stuff to throw in for now. So, it's just getting it all in there. And getting Austin's lunch made. And getting the kids dressed. They are already fed, but I still have to do everything else in about 30 minutes? Can I do it? We'll find out!
Happy Friday everyone!
Austin has to go to school, so that's a chunk of my time just going to and from, so I plan on using the time in between for errands. I have to go Michael's for some ribbons and a few other little things for a gift for someone this weekend. Then I'm off to Sam's Club for a couple of things.
I'm trying to decide what to get Mark for his birthday next week. I'm really at a loss as what he wants/needs. He's good on clothes. He's good on tools. So now what? Any ideas? The one thing we need is a new gas barbeque, but I don't have that kind of $ on hand right now. I have until next week Wednesday, so any ideas are greatly appreciated!
What else am I into today? I'm trying to get this creamy tomato basil parmesean soup into my crockpot before I take Austin to school. It's just chopping up some stuff to throw in for now. So, it's just getting it all in there. And getting Austin's lunch made. And getting the kids dressed. They are already fed, but I still have to do everything else in about 30 minutes? Can I do it? We'll find out!
Happy Friday everyone!
Thursday, January 26, 2012
January 26, 2012
What am I up to today? Pretty much nothing. Just normal stuff.
Feed the kids. Feed Cody. Get everyone dressed. Set the timer for every 20-30 minutes for Audrey to try to go pee on the potty. (If she would SIT there for more than 30 seconds she would actually go I'm sure!) Take everyone outside to play for a couple hours since it's going to be a beautiful day. Crud.. that means taking everything out of the pack and play and taking it down so that I can take it outside. phbttt.
Take my spinning wheel outside and spin some yarn. I never did get to spin yesterday. I ended up going to Target with my mom and the kids instead. It's all good though.
I did get my bread made yesterday, and I ordered my yogurt maker. I don't know about your family, but we can go through 2-3 containers of yogurt a day! It's crazy! I have a friend who makes her own yogurt and she said it's easy and her yogurt maker paid for itself in 8 batches. This thing makes 7 containers at a time. So, if we went through 3 a day, the yogurt maker will pay for itself in less than 2 weeks. Yep. Sounds like a good thing to me! I can make whatever flavors I want, make it from fresh ingredients, control the amount of sugar that goes into it and provide an overall healthier option of yogurt for my family.
What do you do to provide healthy foods for your family?
Feed the kids. Feed Cody. Get everyone dressed. Set the timer for every 20-30 minutes for Audrey to try to go pee on the potty. (If she would SIT there for more than 30 seconds she would actually go I'm sure!) Take everyone outside to play for a couple hours since it's going to be a beautiful day. Crud.. that means taking everything out of the pack and play and taking it down so that I can take it outside. phbttt.
Take my spinning wheel outside and spin some yarn. I never did get to spin yesterday. I ended up going to Target with my mom and the kids instead. It's all good though.
I did get my bread made yesterday, and I ordered my yogurt maker. I don't know about your family, but we can go through 2-3 containers of yogurt a day! It's crazy! I have a friend who makes her own yogurt and she said it's easy and her yogurt maker paid for itself in 8 batches. This thing makes 7 containers at a time. So, if we went through 3 a day, the yogurt maker will pay for itself in less than 2 weeks. Yep. Sounds like a good thing to me! I can make whatever flavors I want, make it from fresh ingredients, control the amount of sugar that goes into it and provide an overall healthier option of yogurt for my family.
What do you do to provide healthy foods for your family?
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
January 25, 2012
What am I into today?
Spinning. LOTS of spinning. No... I'm not talking about spinning like an exercise class... I'm talking spinning yarn on my spinning wheel. The picture at the right is me spinning at Campland when I was 34 weeks pregnant with Cody this past April. Yes. I was camping, in a tent, at 34 weeks pregnant. We had a blast! But, the pic is so you see what I do, spinning. I really enjoy spinning. I'm enjoying all things that have to do with fiber. You will find that I go through stages of what I'm into craftwise. Sometimes I card fiber day after day for a week, and then I weave for days on end, and then I spin, and yet other days, I dye. :) I'm looking forward to summer and nice hot days when I can solar dye again.
Back to today. I spun 2 entire skeins of yarn yesterday and finished another. Here's pics of two of the skeins.
The pink and green one is silk. Yes, silk. 100% silk from silk worms.
Silk is very interesting to spin. Lots of fun, but it's a different
technique than wool. I'll come back to spinning techniques another day.
This one is from what I call a mosaic batt. It's from all sorts of different fibers that I pull together and then card them. I know... some of you are thinking, what the heck is carding fiber? Right? LOL (runs off to find a pic of me carding fiber)
This is a carder. My brother in law, Greg, called it a death machine. It is a death machine for knuckle skin if you aren't careful. It has lots of little metal teeth. There are two drums to move and comb the fiber through. What you don't see is a handle that I turn to turn the drums. It makes the fiber smooth and easy to spin from.
This is what it looks like when I'm using a screwdriver to pull the fiber off the drum. The fiber comes off all fluffy and soft! I like to card outside because any waste fiber just goes onto the ground. And I can just brush any VM (vegetable matter) that comes out of the fiber onto the ground too. The birds around here are going to love me come spring. I better be rewarded with at least one colorful nest that I can see! :)
I really enjoy all things fiber... but back to today: Spinning. I'm spinning some batts to make some yarn like the one pictured above. I spun two different batts and then plyed them together to make that yarn. I think it came out GORGEOUS! I almost don't want to sell it, but I need to.
What else am I into today? Pink eye drops for Cody 3 times today, and preventative ones once each for Austin and Audrey. I need to bake bread today too. I have been using this recipe as my daily bread. We are really enjoying it and it's really not hard to do. It's more that you just have to have the time to let it rise. It's a total of about 10 minutes of 'work' and my Kitchen Aid mixer does 95% of that.
What else you may ask??? Audrey decided she wanted underwear today. She insisted when I tried to put a diaper on her and she yelled ans screamed at me. So, she's in underwear and leggings. My timer will be going off every 30 minutes for her to try. Where did I put those M&M's now????? ACK! Off to find the M&M's for bribery. Yes... I said it. Bribery. Every time she tries she gets 1 M&M. Every time she goes, she will get 2. Hey.. if it works, wonderful! I'll update tomorrow on our potty training progress!
Happy Wednesday!
Spinning. LOTS of spinning. No... I'm not talking about spinning like an exercise class... I'm talking spinning yarn on my spinning wheel. The picture at the right is me spinning at Campland when I was 34 weeks pregnant with Cody this past April. Yes. I was camping, in a tent, at 34 weeks pregnant. We had a blast! But, the pic is so you see what I do, spinning. I really enjoy spinning. I'm enjoying all things that have to do with fiber. You will find that I go through stages of what I'm into craftwise. Sometimes I card fiber day after day for a week, and then I weave for days on end, and then I spin, and yet other days, I dye. :) I'm looking forward to summer and nice hot days when I can solar dye again. Back to today. I spun 2 entire skeins of yarn yesterday and finished another. Here's pics of two of the skeins.
This one is from what I call a mosaic batt. It's from all sorts of different fibers that I pull together and then card them. I know... some of you are thinking, what the heck is carding fiber? Right? LOL (runs off to find a pic of me carding fiber)
This is a carder. My brother in law, Greg, called it a death machine. It is a death machine for knuckle skin if you aren't careful. It has lots of little metal teeth. There are two drums to move and comb the fiber through. What you don't see is a handle that I turn to turn the drums. It makes the fiber smooth and easy to spin from.
This is what it looks like when I'm using a screwdriver to pull the fiber off the drum. The fiber comes off all fluffy and soft! I like to card outside because any waste fiber just goes onto the ground. And I can just brush any VM (vegetable matter) that comes out of the fiber onto the ground too. The birds around here are going to love me come spring. I better be rewarded with at least one colorful nest that I can see! :)
I really enjoy all things fiber... but back to today: Spinning. I'm spinning some batts to make some yarn like the one pictured above. I spun two different batts and then plyed them together to make that yarn. I think it came out GORGEOUS! I almost don't want to sell it, but I need to.
What else am I into today? Pink eye drops for Cody 3 times today, and preventative ones once each for Austin and Audrey. I need to bake bread today too. I have been using this recipe as my daily bread. We are really enjoying it and it's really not hard to do. It's more that you just have to have the time to let it rise. It's a total of about 10 minutes of 'work' and my Kitchen Aid mixer does 95% of that.
What else you may ask??? Audrey decided she wanted underwear today. She insisted when I tried to put a diaper on her and she yelled ans screamed at me. So, she's in underwear and leggings. My timer will be going off every 30 minutes for her to try. Where did I put those M&M's now????? ACK! Off to find the M&M's for bribery. Yes... I said it. Bribery. Every time she tries she gets 1 M&M. Every time she goes, she will get 2. Hey.. if it works, wonderful! I'll update tomorrow on our potty training progress!
Happy Wednesday!
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
January 24, 2012
What am I into today?
Surviving. LOL Yesterday was a beast.
Okay... good news first! Audrey's ear infection is completely GONE!!! Woo hoo! First time since early December she has been ear infection free! Now if we can keep it that way until her ENT appointment on February 2nd, we'll be doing really good.
2nd bit of good news, our dentist is awesome. She knows we are really tight on $ and is allowing us to make payments as we have the $. She is GREAT with our kids and we all like her. That's saying a lot since Mark typically hates going to the dentist. Austin had 2 small fillings yesterday, and he just sat there, watching Winnie the Pooh and was totally relaxed and he didn't even flinch once. I had my last fillings except for my root canal that I still need. I did hurt last night, and my right jaw hurts a little today... but considering this was visit #4 since late December for me, and this is the first time I'm hurting, that's good.
So what about today? I'm hoping for some good down time with the kids. Yesterday was all about going here and getting to this appointment and that one that I just want to veg out with everyone today. Audrey has been wanting to watch "The Princess and the Frog" and Austin wants to watch "Tangled." I think I can accomplish that for them.
It's a really gloomy day out and everything is still really wet from the rains this weekend. If the sun comes out, we'll go outside and hang out... if not, we are all staying in our jammies today! :)
On one more good note... Cody slept better last night. He still woke up 2 times to nurse, and he fussed a bit when I laid him back down, but within 2 minutes each time, he was asleep. Yay!
Okay... off to my spinning wheel! It's all set up in the front room by my chair and I even started spinning one of my mosaic batts last night. I picked out two that I will ply together. It should be really pretty! :) If you want to check out my little Etsy shop you can find it here: Under the Hill Crafts I have one finished item and a bunch of batts for spinning in my store right now. If you read this blog and want to buy something from me, you can use this code: THETHINGSIMINTOTODAY for 15% off. I will keep that code up for an undetermined amount of time for my blog readers! :)
Happy Tuesday!
Surviving. LOL Yesterday was a beast.
Okay... good news first! Audrey's ear infection is completely GONE!!! Woo hoo! First time since early December she has been ear infection free! Now if we can keep it that way until her ENT appointment on February 2nd, we'll be doing really good.
2nd bit of good news, our dentist is awesome. She knows we are really tight on $ and is allowing us to make payments as we have the $. She is GREAT with our kids and we all like her. That's saying a lot since Mark typically hates going to the dentist. Austin had 2 small fillings yesterday, and he just sat there, watching Winnie the Pooh and was totally relaxed and he didn't even flinch once. I had my last fillings except for my root canal that I still need. I did hurt last night, and my right jaw hurts a little today... but considering this was visit #4 since late December for me, and this is the first time I'm hurting, that's good.
So what about today? I'm hoping for some good down time with the kids. Yesterday was all about going here and getting to this appointment and that one that I just want to veg out with everyone today. Audrey has been wanting to watch "The Princess and the Frog" and Austin wants to watch "Tangled." I think I can accomplish that for them.
It's a really gloomy day out and everything is still really wet from the rains this weekend. If the sun comes out, we'll go outside and hang out... if not, we are all staying in our jammies today! :)
On one more good note... Cody slept better last night. He still woke up 2 times to nurse, and he fussed a bit when I laid him back down, but within 2 minutes each time, he was asleep. Yay!
Okay... off to my spinning wheel! It's all set up in the front room by my chair and I even started spinning one of my mosaic batts last night. I picked out two that I will ply together. It should be really pretty! :) If you want to check out my little Etsy shop you can find it here: Under the Hill Crafts I have one finished item and a bunch of batts for spinning in my store right now. If you read this blog and want to buy something from me, you can use this code: THETHINGSIMINTOTODAY for 15% off. I will keep that code up for an undetermined amount of time for my blog readers! :)
Happy Tuesday!
Monday, January 23, 2012
January 23, 2011
What am I into today?
It's another rainy day. We actually really need the rain. And it's not a pounding rain. It's so gentle that I didn't even know it was raining until I got up and looked out the window.
Oh my goodness is it a crazy busy day today. First: I have to take Austin to school early. Then Mark and I are taking Audrey in for a re-check on her ears to see if the infection is gone or at least if the antibiotics are doing their job. Re-phrase: ear. It's never been in both ears... just the right one.
Then, go take Mark to the dentist. I don't trust him to get himself there on his own. He is very upset with me that I'm making him go, but it's for his own good gosh darn it.
Then go back and pick up Austin early from school and take him to the dentist to get a cavity filled.
Still with me?
Then get everyone else home from the dentist, eat lunch, and then I have an appointment with the dentist in the afternoon.
And then I have to make dinner for everyone at some point. That's where meal planning is supposed to come in, right? Not for me! I'm so so so bad at meal planning. I'm a 'fly by the seat of my pants' type of girl when it comes to meal planning. I always have some foods on hand hat I can make into dinner even if it's just something simple. Actually, I am pretty sure tonight is going to be South of the Border. It's a simple Mexican casserole that my family really enjoys. I'll post that recipe later on if someone wants it. It takes about 15 minutes of prep and 30 minutes in the oven. Nice. Easy. DONE! LOL
Question of the day: What's for dinner in your house?
It's another rainy day. We actually really need the rain. And it's not a pounding rain. It's so gentle that I didn't even know it was raining until I got up and looked out the window.
Oh my goodness is it a crazy busy day today. First: I have to take Austin to school early. Then Mark and I are taking Audrey in for a re-check on her ears to see if the infection is gone or at least if the antibiotics are doing their job. Re-phrase: ear. It's never been in both ears... just the right one.
Then, go take Mark to the dentist. I don't trust him to get himself there on his own. He is very upset with me that I'm making him go, but it's for his own good gosh darn it.
Then go back and pick up Austin early from school and take him to the dentist to get a cavity filled.
Still with me?
Then get everyone else home from the dentist, eat lunch, and then I have an appointment with the dentist in the afternoon.
And then I have to make dinner for everyone at some point. That's where meal planning is supposed to come in, right? Not for me! I'm so so so bad at meal planning. I'm a 'fly by the seat of my pants' type of girl when it comes to meal planning. I always have some foods on hand hat I can make into dinner even if it's just something simple. Actually, I am pretty sure tonight is going to be South of the Border. It's a simple Mexican casserole that my family really enjoys. I'll post that recipe later on if someone wants it. It takes about 15 minutes of prep and 30 minutes in the oven. Nice. Easy. DONE! LOL
Question of the day: What's for dinner in your house?
Sunday, January 22, 2012
January 22, 2012
What am I into today?
First, figure out breakfast for my family. Probably french toast. It just sounds good. French toast with homemade bread and fresh eggs from your chickens outside is really really really good... just saying you know.
Next, Church. We go to Mass every Sunday as a family. Yep. That means we take all three kids with us every Sunday. Some people think we're crazy, but I believe we're setting up our children to enjoy Mass and to love Jesus. There are days that are harder than others, but for the most part, my kids are good and act their ages at church. We sit in the cry room for now, and once they are just a bit older, we will go back out into the main body of the congregation. For now, our tricks are fruit snacks and stickers. I don't mean a sticker as a reward, I mean a whole sheet and a piece of paper. It usually keeps them going for 10-15 minutes all nice and quiet so I can hear what Father Ike is saying. Oh.. and did I mention that I serve at Mass too? I'm a Eucharistic Minister when needed, a lector when scheduled (or needed) and I also am helping to launch "Little Church" which is bringing the Word of God down to kids level. I'll talk more about Little Church another post.
After Church, we'll be coming home and hopefully relaxing! I NEED to craft! I don't just WANT to, I NEED to! I haven't been able to do anything in the last few days, and I feel the stress of it. Crafting in all my ways is relaxing as well as stress relieving for me. When I craft, I can be creative and free in my crafting which releases pent up tension and allows me to rejuvenate myself.
Question of the day: What do you do to relax and rejuvenate?
First, figure out breakfast for my family. Probably french toast. It just sounds good. French toast with homemade bread and fresh eggs from your chickens outside is really really really good... just saying you know.
Next, Church. We go to Mass every Sunday as a family. Yep. That means we take all three kids with us every Sunday. Some people think we're crazy, but I believe we're setting up our children to enjoy Mass and to love Jesus. There are days that are harder than others, but for the most part, my kids are good and act their ages at church. We sit in the cry room for now, and once they are just a bit older, we will go back out into the main body of the congregation. For now, our tricks are fruit snacks and stickers. I don't mean a sticker as a reward, I mean a whole sheet and a piece of paper. It usually keeps them going for 10-15 minutes all nice and quiet so I can hear what Father Ike is saying. Oh.. and did I mention that I serve at Mass too? I'm a Eucharistic Minister when needed, a lector when scheduled (or needed) and I also am helping to launch "Little Church" which is bringing the Word of God down to kids level. I'll talk more about Little Church another post.
After Church, we'll be coming home and hopefully relaxing! I NEED to craft! I don't just WANT to, I NEED to! I haven't been able to do anything in the last few days, and I feel the stress of it. Crafting in all my ways is relaxing as well as stress relieving for me. When I craft, I can be creative and free in my crafting which releases pent up tension and allows me to rejuvenate myself.
Question of the day: What do you do to relax and rejuvenate?
Saturday, January 21, 2012
January 21, 2011
What am I into today?
I'm making these individual pineapple upside down cakes for a family friend's birthday party tonight. His favorite cake is pineapple upside down cake, but have you ever had it? Ever have it and wonder, now why didn't I get a bigger piece of pineapple? Or, Where's my cherry? Ever have kids steal your cherry from the middle before you could even sit down?? THAT is why I'm making individual ones.
Last night I made a pistachio crusted salmon for dinner. It was so good. :) If you want the recipe let me know and I'll post it another day. It's very simple and yet everyone in my family loves it, including Austin and Audrey. :)
Otherwise, it's a rainy day here in Southern California. We don't get too many of them, so I actually tend to enjoy them. I plan on making some oobleck with my kids today. Just cornstarch and water and a bit of food coloring. Fun, messy, simple and educational. Educational you say??? YES! It's sensory and science!
I'm hoping to get to some of MY crafting today too. I really need to weave and I have been itching to spin.
Oh... and just a couple of weeks ago, I decided to start making 90% of my bread for my family. Why 90% and not 100%. I just can't beat a good crusty sourdough bread. But, this is now my go to 'everyday' bread: Whole Wheat Honey Oatmeal Bread I got it from a dear friend who has an amazing blog that I read every day. I can honestly say that other than my own blog, it's the ONLY one I make sure to read every day. She is an amazing homemaker whom I have learned a lot from. She is a wonderful Christian Mama who is inspirational to me. Want to read about it? Here it is: Hallee the Homemaker
My question for you today? Do you plan out rainy day or snow day activities for your kids, or do you just wing it? Me? I'm a half and half type of thing. I'm actually much better at winging it, but I had been looking for some new things recently on Pinterest and was reminded of some of my favorite activities I used to do with the kids in my classroom. I can guarantee you that the one thing I will be doing today is making Magic Rain Bubbles. It's so simple. Drizzle a bit of dish washing soap (I prefer Dawn) on the sidewalk outside a window where the kids can see out, and preferably where a puddle forms, and then let the rain come down. :) Watch in amazement as your kids stare at the bubbles for 10-15 minutes non stop (while you go to the bathroom by yourself and actually brush your hair) and then the will come back over and over all day long to see if the Magic Rain Bubbles are still there! See how little, or how much soap it takes! :)
Have a GREAT Saturday! :)
I'm making these individual pineapple upside down cakes for a family friend's birthday party tonight. His favorite cake is pineapple upside down cake, but have you ever had it? Ever have it and wonder, now why didn't I get a bigger piece of pineapple? Or, Where's my cherry? Ever have kids steal your cherry from the middle before you could even sit down?? THAT is why I'm making individual ones.
Last night I made a pistachio crusted salmon for dinner. It was so good. :) If you want the recipe let me know and I'll post it another day. It's very simple and yet everyone in my family loves it, including Austin and Audrey. :)
Otherwise, it's a rainy day here in Southern California. We don't get too many of them, so I actually tend to enjoy them. I plan on making some oobleck with my kids today. Just cornstarch and water and a bit of food coloring. Fun, messy, simple and educational. Educational you say??? YES! It's sensory and science!
I'm hoping to get to some of MY crafting today too. I really need to weave and I have been itching to spin.
Oh... and just a couple of weeks ago, I decided to start making 90% of my bread for my family. Why 90% and not 100%. I just can't beat a good crusty sourdough bread. But, this is now my go to 'everyday' bread: Whole Wheat Honey Oatmeal Bread I got it from a dear friend who has an amazing blog that I read every day. I can honestly say that other than my own blog, it's the ONLY one I make sure to read every day. She is an amazing homemaker whom I have learned a lot from. She is a wonderful Christian Mama who is inspirational to me. Want to read about it? Here it is: Hallee the Homemaker
My question for you today? Do you plan out rainy day or snow day activities for your kids, or do you just wing it? Me? I'm a half and half type of thing. I'm actually much better at winging it, but I had been looking for some new things recently on Pinterest and was reminded of some of my favorite activities I used to do with the kids in my classroom. I can guarantee you that the one thing I will be doing today is making Magic Rain Bubbles. It's so simple. Drizzle a bit of dish washing soap (I prefer Dawn) on the sidewalk outside a window where the kids can see out, and preferably where a puddle forms, and then let the rain come down. :) Watch in amazement as your kids stare at the bubbles for 10-15 minutes non stop (while you go to the bathroom by yourself and actually brush your hair) and then the will come back over and over all day long to see if the Magic Rain Bubbles are still there! See how little, or how much soap it takes! :)
Have a GREAT Saturday! :)
Friday, January 20, 2012
January 20, 2012
What am I into today? Sleep. I need sleep. There is just not enough caffeine for me today. Just isn't. Won't happen. I am going to need at least an hour nap later today if I'm going to make it to dinnertime.
I have a little beef I'd like to air. So, if there are two parents in the home, and one of them works outside of the home and the other one is a homemaker, at what point was the value of sleep determined to be worth more to the one who works outside the home? Let me explain. When my husband was working crazy long hours, I totally understood and I really tried not to wake him up at night when the kids woke up. I mean, he was working 12-16 hour days. He needed his sleep. He's now working a regular schedule and gets home by 5ish most nights. He works a schedule they call nine eights. He works nine hour days and gets every other Monday off. And every Monday he does work, he works a straight 8 hour day.
I'm a homemaker. A Stay At Home Mom, a SAHM, whatever you want to call it or label it. In no way is my day less busy than his. The kids are usually up by 715 and we go go go until naptime and if I'm LUCKY, I can get all three of them to sleep for about 30 minutes. If I get more than that, it's a huge bonus! That gets to be my 'me' time now. Woo hoo! 30 minutes! To do whatever I want. Yet, more often than not, that's when I'm trying to fold the umpteenth load of laundry, or do a quick clean of the bathroom, or hurry up and get the dishes from breakfast washed. It's a rare day that I really do get to do what I want during that time. I"m working on getting Cody on a more consistent nap schedule so he naps at the same time Austin and Audrey do, but for now, it is what it is.
So back to the issue of sleep. Last night, we went to bed about 11pm. Pretty normal for us. At 1:30 on the dot, Audrey wakes up screaming, "Maamaaaaa! MAmaaaaa! MAAAAAMAAAAAA!" Being the one who gets up with the kids, I jump up and run in there. I hold her and cuddle with her until she's asleep in my arms, for about 5 minutes. Not too bad. I tuck her back in and go back to my room. No sooner had I gotten comfortable, she screams again. UGH. Now, I'm thinking, she had antibiotic shots again today, maybe she's hurting. Or maybe that top molar that is coming down is actually breaking the gums. Or it could just be night terrors. After all, she is 2 and they started earlier than the for Austin. I go back in there again. I stay in there for about 15 minutes this time. So it's now 2am when I go back to bed. Mark has not even stirred one bit. At 2:05 I tell him to roll over because he's starting to snore. He's definitely asleep. At 2:11, in walks Audrey. I didn't even hear her open the door to her room and it's a pretty loud doorknob. Oh geez. Fine. Come into bed with us. Crap. you didn't bring your blanket or lovey. Let me find you the tag on this blanket so you can go to sleep. No, there's just not room for your head up here on my pillow, you can sleep between us but with your head on the pillow at the foot of the bed. I'm now awake because I'm getting kicked every 2 seconds it feels like and I just don't sleep well when the kids are in our bed. 2:46 am, Austin walks into our room. WTH???? I say, "No way. It's WAY too early for this. You are both going back to your room to sleep. I'm done." I've now been awake for an hour and 15 minutes while Mark has slept through all of this. As I go to take the now crying Austin back to his bed, he hits his head on the bookcase because he's fighting me. OMGosh! He's now crying. I hear Cody start to fuss. NO WAY! You've got to be kidding me???!!!!! I get the older two back to their bed. Audrey goes into her bed without a fuss... Austin. He's screaming. I go back to our room to attempt to get Cody to not wake up. Not happening. UGH UGH UGH. I tell Mark, "Hon. Please go into the kids room and calm Austin down." He says, "I need my sleep! You better wake me up when the alarm goes off!" My thoughts, "????????????????????? DID HE REALLY JUST SAY THAT???? AT WHAT TIME WAS HIS SLEEP MORE IMPORTANT AND MORE VALUABLE THAN MINE?????????" I sit and nurse Cody until 3:10 and then go get Mark out of the kids room because instead of just calming them down, he laid down with Austin and fell asleep. It was either chance the kids screaming then, or go get Mark at 5:30 and chance the kids being up for the day at that point. I go back into the room, and Cody is still fussing. I pick him up and nurse him until 3:33 (yes I was looking at the freaking clock all night) and he finally goes back to sleep. I've been up for just over 2 hours now. Meanwhile, Mark has lost all of 15 minutes of sleep. At 5:30 Marks, cell phone alarm goes off. It wakes Cody up. :( I'm ready to cry. I get him and bring him to our bed so I can nurse him laying down. My alarm goes off at 5:41 for Mark to get out of bed. Just like it does every day. So him saying, "you better wake me up..." at 2:46am, was moot. I do it EVERY SINGLE DAY anyway. Mark gets up and grumbles... that was a rough night. I seriously wanted to hit him. If I could have done so without pulling Cody off the boob, I would have. Cody decides that it's more fun to be awake now and starts to play. Really? At 6:05 I put him back in his crib. Awake. I put his music on. He fusses and what not until 6:15 when it starts to really cry, so I pick him up, hold him really tight and tell him, "IT'S TIME TO SLEEP!" I lay down with him again. At 6:43, I finally am able to put him back in his bed. I think, "Oh goody! I have 17 minutes until my alarm goes off." I got a total of about 4 hours and 15 minutes of sleep. Mark got 6 hours and 15 minutes. Yet somehow, his sleep is still more important or valuable than mine.
I got the kids up. They have had breakfast. I haven't. I'm drinking coffee. I have to get their clothes out, get them dressed, make Austin's lunch, take him to school. Then take Audrey back to the doctors office and get her 2nd round of antibiotic shots. Again. Goody goody. Then I have to run to Target for a birthday card and some cornstarch and glue. I'm trying to plan what to do with the kids inside a relatively small house for the next 3 days of rain. I have some ideas including this one: Homemade Bouncy balls I don't quite know if this is a good idea for inside, but hey. What do I have to lose besides some dishes and glass in the bookcases? I'm also going to make some oobleck and we might try to do this: Dancing Oobleck but with some tool out of the garage vs my subwoofer. Maybe a drill? I don't know. Somewhere in my day, I need to bake bread, decide what's for dinner, and work on some laundry. I have to drive a big huge van and be alert when I drive it. I have to have the patience needed to be a good Mama to my kids. And yet his sleep is more valuable somehow. I don't get it. Do you?
Edit: just to clarify, on nights when Mark doesn't have to work the next day, he does help with the kids in the middle of the night if I need him to, but it's almost not worth the effort of me getting him up to do it. Also, a bonus to my day: I went to go get Austin to get him dressed for school, and he has a freaking low grade fever. Just enough that he can't go to school. He looks and is acting fine, but I can't do it. I can't send him when I know that he can flip from a 100.2 to 102.4 in minutes. So... it's going to be a really fun day for me. Thank God for Grandma Julia who will come over after church and hang out with Austin while I take Audrey to the doctor for her shots. <3
I have a little beef I'd like to air. So, if there are two parents in the home, and one of them works outside of the home and the other one is a homemaker, at what point was the value of sleep determined to be worth more to the one who works outside the home? Let me explain. When my husband was working crazy long hours, I totally understood and I really tried not to wake him up at night when the kids woke up. I mean, he was working 12-16 hour days. He needed his sleep. He's now working a regular schedule and gets home by 5ish most nights. He works a schedule they call nine eights. He works nine hour days and gets every other Monday off. And every Monday he does work, he works a straight 8 hour day.
I'm a homemaker. A Stay At Home Mom, a SAHM, whatever you want to call it or label it. In no way is my day less busy than his. The kids are usually up by 715 and we go go go until naptime and if I'm LUCKY, I can get all three of them to sleep for about 30 minutes. If I get more than that, it's a huge bonus! That gets to be my 'me' time now. Woo hoo! 30 minutes! To do whatever I want. Yet, more often than not, that's when I'm trying to fold the umpteenth load of laundry, or do a quick clean of the bathroom, or hurry up and get the dishes from breakfast washed. It's a rare day that I really do get to do what I want during that time. I"m working on getting Cody on a more consistent nap schedule so he naps at the same time Austin and Audrey do, but for now, it is what it is.
So back to the issue of sleep. Last night, we went to bed about 11pm. Pretty normal for us. At 1:30 on the dot, Audrey wakes up screaming, "Maamaaaaa! MAmaaaaa! MAAAAAMAAAAAA!" Being the one who gets up with the kids, I jump up and run in there. I hold her and cuddle with her until she's asleep in my arms, for about 5 minutes. Not too bad. I tuck her back in and go back to my room. No sooner had I gotten comfortable, she screams again. UGH. Now, I'm thinking, she had antibiotic shots again today, maybe she's hurting. Or maybe that top molar that is coming down is actually breaking the gums. Or it could just be night terrors. After all, she is 2 and they started earlier than the for Austin. I go back in there again. I stay in there for about 15 minutes this time. So it's now 2am when I go back to bed. Mark has not even stirred one bit. At 2:05 I tell him to roll over because he's starting to snore. He's definitely asleep. At 2:11, in walks Audrey. I didn't even hear her open the door to her room and it's a pretty loud doorknob. Oh geez. Fine. Come into bed with us. Crap. you didn't bring your blanket or lovey. Let me find you the tag on this blanket so you can go to sleep. No, there's just not room for your head up here on my pillow, you can sleep between us but with your head on the pillow at the foot of the bed. I'm now awake because I'm getting kicked every 2 seconds it feels like and I just don't sleep well when the kids are in our bed. 2:46 am, Austin walks into our room. WTH???? I say, "No way. It's WAY too early for this. You are both going back to your room to sleep. I'm done." I've now been awake for an hour and 15 minutes while Mark has slept through all of this. As I go to take the now crying Austin back to his bed, he hits his head on the bookcase because he's fighting me. OMGosh! He's now crying. I hear Cody start to fuss. NO WAY! You've got to be kidding me???!!!!! I get the older two back to their bed. Audrey goes into her bed without a fuss... Austin. He's screaming. I go back to our room to attempt to get Cody to not wake up. Not happening. UGH UGH UGH. I tell Mark, "Hon. Please go into the kids room and calm Austin down." He says, "I need my sleep! You better wake me up when the alarm goes off!" My thoughts, "????????????????????? DID HE REALLY JUST SAY THAT???? AT WHAT TIME WAS HIS SLEEP MORE IMPORTANT AND MORE VALUABLE THAN MINE?????????" I sit and nurse Cody until 3:10 and then go get Mark out of the kids room because instead of just calming them down, he laid down with Austin and fell asleep. It was either chance the kids screaming then, or go get Mark at 5:30 and chance the kids being up for the day at that point. I go back into the room, and Cody is still fussing. I pick him up and nurse him until 3:33 (yes I was looking at the freaking clock all night) and he finally goes back to sleep. I've been up for just over 2 hours now. Meanwhile, Mark has lost all of 15 minutes of sleep. At 5:30 Marks, cell phone alarm goes off. It wakes Cody up. :( I'm ready to cry. I get him and bring him to our bed so I can nurse him laying down. My alarm goes off at 5:41 for Mark to get out of bed. Just like it does every day. So him saying, "you better wake me up..." at 2:46am, was moot. I do it EVERY SINGLE DAY anyway. Mark gets up and grumbles... that was a rough night. I seriously wanted to hit him. If I could have done so without pulling Cody off the boob, I would have. Cody decides that it's more fun to be awake now and starts to play. Really? At 6:05 I put him back in his crib. Awake. I put his music on. He fusses and what not until 6:15 when it starts to really cry, so I pick him up, hold him really tight and tell him, "IT'S TIME TO SLEEP!" I lay down with him again. At 6:43, I finally am able to put him back in his bed. I think, "Oh goody! I have 17 minutes until my alarm goes off." I got a total of about 4 hours and 15 minutes of sleep. Mark got 6 hours and 15 minutes. Yet somehow, his sleep is still more important or valuable than mine.
I got the kids up. They have had breakfast. I haven't. I'm drinking coffee. I have to get their clothes out, get them dressed, make Austin's lunch, take him to school. Then take Audrey back to the doctors office and get her 2nd round of antibiotic shots. Again. Goody goody. Then I have to run to Target for a birthday card and some cornstarch and glue. I'm trying to plan what to do with the kids inside a relatively small house for the next 3 days of rain. I have some ideas including this one: Homemade Bouncy balls I don't quite know if this is a good idea for inside, but hey. What do I have to lose besides some dishes and glass in the bookcases? I'm also going to make some oobleck and we might try to do this: Dancing Oobleck but with some tool out of the garage vs my subwoofer. Maybe a drill? I don't know. Somewhere in my day, I need to bake bread, decide what's for dinner, and work on some laundry. I have to drive a big huge van and be alert when I drive it. I have to have the patience needed to be a good Mama to my kids. And yet his sleep is more valuable somehow. I don't get it. Do you?
Edit: just to clarify, on nights when Mark doesn't have to work the next day, he does help with the kids in the middle of the night if I need him to, but it's almost not worth the effort of me getting him up to do it. Also, a bonus to my day: I went to go get Austin to get him dressed for school, and he has a freaking low grade fever. Just enough that he can't go to school. He looks and is acting fine, but I can't do it. I can't send him when I know that he can flip from a 100.2 to 102.4 in minutes. So... it's going to be a really fun day for me. Thank God for Grandma Julia who will come over after church and hang out with Austin while I take Audrey to the doctor for her shots. <3
Thursday, January 19, 2012
January 19, 2012
What am I into today??? So frustrated that somehow, I just pushed a button on my keyboard that deleted my entire post I had already written. How does that happen?
I'm taking Audrey in today for a recurring ear infection. I get to take all three kids with me. Have you ever taken three kids to a doctor's appointment and at at any given time, 2 of them need your undivided attention? Yeah... that's me today. Good times.
I made my Crock Pot Split Pea Soup with Texas Roadhouse Sweet Yeast Rolls for dinner last night. The soup was delicious. The rolls were amazing. And even after turning his nose up, and me encouraging, "Just try it.", my husband decided that the honey cinnamon butter was really really good too! I bet you thought I was going to say "Just try it." to my kids huh? I do... but sometimes I have to remind Mark to be a good example for them and try something new. The rolls were so good that Mark got his sandwiches for lunch on them today. Ham and cheese with mayo and mustard. I'm sure they are going to be very yummy and filling! (By the way, when you click the links, if you are not in Pinterest yet, you can let me know and I'll send you an invite. Also, look at my comments on the pics there. I leave myself notes there so that I know what I did the same, different, or just a general comment of if we liked it or not.)
What else am I into today? Weaving. I really need to get my triangle loom out and get working on a project for a baptismal gift. Mark made me my loom for Christmas and I love it! When the triangle comes off the loom, I get about an 18" length across the top. I've asked Mark for a 6" weaving space triangle loom, and he says he will make it for me soon! I will only get to use it outside due to space, but I don't care! My kids play outside for at least an hour or two a day, and a lot more in summer. Right now, we wait until 10ish to go outside, sometimes later. In summer, we can be outside at 9am and not back in until lunch at noon, and then back outside again right after nap for another 3 hours. :) But, back to my weaving. Here is a pic of my loom with a work in progress (WIP) on it. This is not what I'm making for the gift, but you get the idea at least.
I'm taking Audrey in today for a recurring ear infection. I get to take all three kids with me. Have you ever taken three kids to a doctor's appointment and at at any given time, 2 of them need your undivided attention? Yeah... that's me today. Good times.
I made my Crock Pot Split Pea Soup with Texas Roadhouse Sweet Yeast Rolls for dinner last night. The soup was delicious. The rolls were amazing. And even after turning his nose up, and me encouraging, "Just try it.", my husband decided that the honey cinnamon butter was really really good too! I bet you thought I was going to say "Just try it." to my kids huh? I do... but sometimes I have to remind Mark to be a good example for them and try something new. The rolls were so good that Mark got his sandwiches for lunch on them today. Ham and cheese with mayo and mustard. I'm sure they are going to be very yummy and filling! (By the way, when you click the links, if you are not in Pinterest yet, you can let me know and I'll send you an invite. Also, look at my comments on the pics there. I leave myself notes there so that I know what I did the same, different, or just a general comment of if we liked it or not.)
What else am I into today? Weaving. I really need to get my triangle loom out and get working on a project for a baptismal gift. Mark made me my loom for Christmas and I love it! When the triangle comes off the loom, I get about an 18" length across the top. I've asked Mark for a 6" weaving space triangle loom, and he says he will make it for me soon! I will only get to use it outside due to space, but I don't care! My kids play outside for at least an hour or two a day, and a lot more in summer. Right now, we wait until 10ish to go outside, sometimes later. In summer, we can be outside at 9am and not back in until lunch at noon, and then back outside again right after nap for another 3 hours. :) But, back to my weaving. Here is a pic of my loom with a work in progress (WIP) on it. This is not what I'm making for the gift, but you get the idea at least.
Have a great day everyone!
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
January 18, 2012
What am I into today? Frustration. My baby boy, Cody, has pink eye. That means a ton of laundry tonight after he's had his 3rd dose of drops. Fun fun. And, Audrey's ear infection did not clear up with the shots of antibiotics last week. (3 days in a row at the doctor's office and two of those days two shots, one in each leg for her). UGH!!! So, we're going to go back to her doctor tomorrow when she's back in the office and see where we go from here. Audrey's basically had an ear infection since December 12th. 3 rounds of oral antibiotics and 2 sets of antibiotic shots. :( My poor baby girl. She shows NO signs at all of hurting though, so that's a blessing. But still. UGH UGH UGH!
What else am I into today?
I'm making this: http://pinterest.com/pin/96616354475686724/ for dinner. If you are not on Pinterest yet, trust me, you need to be! Ask me for an invite and I'll send you one so you can start pinning. You ask? Why do I need that? Because it's basically an online bookmarking site. Have you ever cleared your cache on your computer and deleted all your bookmarks too? And a week later, you go to look for that one site that you bookmarked about how to ___________ (fill in the blank), and it's GONE! ACK! Yeah. You know that feeling. If you pin it instead of bookmarking it, it's there forever! And, you can search what other people have pinned!!!! You can get 16 recipes for Split Pea Soup in about 5 seconds, with pictures!!! And you don't have to search through tons of listings for Split Pea colored pants. You know it's happened to you. You click on the picture, then it takes you to a bigger listing of it, and if you really want to look it up, you click the picture again. Wa lah. Seriously. In 6 seconds I found a recipe that was exactly what I was looking for. Need an idea on how to clean your washing machine (yes they do need cleaning too from time to time) search for that. You'll find an easy way using just a cycle of vinegar and then a cycle of bleach. Need an idea for a birthday party? Search your theme, and you've got tons of ideas at your fingertips. All on one page!!! Yes. I probably check Pinterest a couple times a day to see what new things my friends have pinned. I'll admit it. I check my FB page, and then my Pinterest page. Every day.
Well, I guess I better go get that split pea soup into the crock pot. Then I'll go search Pinterst for the perfect bread to go on the side. Have a great day!
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
January 17, 2012
What am I into today?
Let's see. I made overnight steel cut apple cinnamon oatmeal in my crockpot this morning. While it was nice to wake up to breakfast already made, I think I really like making it that day better. Maybe it was just a tad to much cinnamon???
My kids are restless... but it's still cold outside. Okay.. lets define cold. Cold for us is 50 degrees. I live in southern California in the Los Angeles area. It doesn't snow here. Ever. 50 is COLD. So, once it warms up a bit, maybe by 1030 or 11, we'll go outside and I'll let them play for a while. And probably have to remind them 6 times not to play with the water fountain.
What else am I into today? I think I want to card some fiber. I'll try to remember to take pics of this later to explain what this really is. I also need to cut coupons. I'm not an extreme couponer, but I do use coupons to bring my totals down at the grocery store. Last time, the total went from around $190 to $125, just by shopping the sales and using coupons! What can you do with $65 these days???? A lot, huh!
What's for dinner? I have no clue! People who meal plan amaze me. I mean, really? You know what you are going to feel like eating, days and even weeks in advance???? There are many times I decide what's for dinner 30 minutes before! I know I'm making split pea soup tomorrow because my in laws are coming over. My father in law had surgery last week and is going stir crazy. So, they are coming over here and we'll have a nice dinner and hopefully get to playing some cards as well! Most likely, spades! :)
So, back to what's for dinner tonight??? I really really don't know. What's for dinner in your home?
Let's see. I made overnight steel cut apple cinnamon oatmeal in my crockpot this morning. While it was nice to wake up to breakfast already made, I think I really like making it that day better. Maybe it was just a tad to much cinnamon???
My kids are restless... but it's still cold outside. Okay.. lets define cold. Cold for us is 50 degrees. I live in southern California in the Los Angeles area. It doesn't snow here. Ever. 50 is COLD. So, once it warms up a bit, maybe by 1030 or 11, we'll go outside and I'll let them play for a while. And probably have to remind them 6 times not to play with the water fountain.
What else am I into today? I think I want to card some fiber. I'll try to remember to take pics of this later to explain what this really is. I also need to cut coupons. I'm not an extreme couponer, but I do use coupons to bring my totals down at the grocery store. Last time, the total went from around $190 to $125, just by shopping the sales and using coupons! What can you do with $65 these days???? A lot, huh!
What's for dinner? I have no clue! People who meal plan amaze me. I mean, really? You know what you are going to feel like eating, days and even weeks in advance???? There are many times I decide what's for dinner 30 minutes before! I know I'm making split pea soup tomorrow because my in laws are coming over. My father in law had surgery last week and is going stir crazy. So, they are coming over here and we'll have a nice dinner and hopefully get to playing some cards as well! Most likely, spades! :)
So, back to what's for dinner tonight??? I really really don't know. What's for dinner in your home?
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