Diary of a Homemaker's Week: Determined to Praise

 

Saturday:  The cooler weather this morning necessitated a sweater to go to the Rec. Dept. football game.  Josh is on the team this year, so we came to see his first game.  It was a pretty good game, too!  Our team won.  I found though that regardless of what side the kids were on, the parents on both sides cheered everybody on if they made a good move, got up from a tackle, etc.  

Gammy, Bess, Sam, Isaac and Millie were there as well.  It was an absolutely beautiful day.  Isaac was bored and whiny and more interested in snacks than he was in the game.  He showed more interest in the game when I told him I'd pass out snacks every time Josh's team scored which was four times in four quarters, lol.  I am not without my means.  There was a happier little boy than the whiny one next to me as the game went on.

We stopped at the local diner to pick up takeout for our lunch today.  I'm making a Buffalo Chicken Pizza for supper tonight.  It makes a nice change from our more usual pizza.

Aside from the glorious weather, I saw a tangle of blooming morning glories at roadside this morning.  They are late showing up this year for some reason.  I know they are invasive in our area, but I do love morning glories!

As we headed up the road to go to the dumpster a big doe leaped across the road in front of the car.  A good reminder that deer hunting season is on its way.

Millie sat on Papa Daddy's lap for a goodly portion of the game.  She couldn't take her eyes off the cheerleaders which was no surprise to John and me.  Future Millie perhaps?

Isaac's ready grin and the way his eyes shone when I found a way to interest him in the game.

It's my plan this week to list something lovely or some bit of good news every day.  I'm looking for every opportunity to give God praise!

Sunday:  I was plum chilly this morning when the alarm went off and none too happy to be called from my bed where I was snuggling under a blanket.  I hurried to take a warm shower and got fully dressed.  I even put on a sweater.  Oatmeal seemed the best choice for our breakfast.  I might add here that it was merely in the upper 50's.  How on earth shall I bear winter if my body protests so hard over a little chilly morning?  Brr!

We had a rousing service at church today and then afterwards found ourselves speaking to several different folks.  We still got home earlier than last Sunday.  John had told Katie to come to lunch.  I'd planned to start a roast in the crockpot but realized last night that it wouldn't cook nearly long enough even on high to be done in time for lunch.  I wracked my brain all the way home trying to think of what I might make that everyone would eat.  I had only a vague idea of 'something' that involved Chicken Italian Sausages, white kidney beans, and pasta.

While I was making lunch, Katie arrived and went through the clothes that Pilar had sent out.  She chose three or four pieces for herself, accepted one of my tops that I'd been iffy about keeping and said she had all she wanted from this lot of clothes.  "But if she sends more Mama, you let me choose, too.  I like what you've kept and what I've chosen a lot!"  Pilar had said she had more to sort through and would be sending out another box, which would be lovely.

The lunch dish looked a right mess when it was all done but it smelled rather nice.  It tasted okay.  Here's my thoughts: I wouldn't make it again, even if I was the one who made up the recipe.  Truth: I don't like cannellini beans.  I find them starchier than red kidney beans and while some might consider their texture as creamy, I don't.  John ate every bite on his plate.  Katie declined all but the sausage and salad.  Caleb poked and prodded it all and ate a bite or three but mostly didn't before deciding that playing was better than eating.  That's a long stretch for that boy to give up eating in favor of anything.

Caleb is learning so many new words.  We only miss a day between times of having him, but in between times he's learned upwards of five or six new words that he can say clearly.  He's on a strong learning curve right now.   It's such a joy to hear him talk, though sentences are few and far between

After lunch, I tried to let Caleb play here but he was insistent on sitting on my lap and pretending to be a baby or getting up and acting like a wild child.  Both good signs that he was sleepy, but he was determined not to give in to it.  Finally, I suggested we ride over to his house and take a nap.  This met with his approval, and he immediately began to put away the toys he had out.  

At his home, I changed his diaper (these days too are fleeting as he's now in the process of being potty trained at school) and put him to bed.  He protested in tears but quicker than I'd thought he might he was quiet.  He was just that sleepy.

Well so was Gramma.  I put a pillow on the arm of Katie's couch, laid my head on it and went right off to sleep.  

When Caleb woke, he made up for not eating lunch by snacking on all sorts of things.  Katie came in as he was snuggled up against me on the couch.  She showed me all the photos she'd pinned, planning for her new home.  I've lamented that the current farmhouse trend is all white, gray and natural wood.  Katie introduced me today to Dark Farmhouse which has lovely moody deep greens and charcoal greys mixed with the light colors and natural wood of the farmhouse trend.  I like it!   It's far more balanced while continuing the neutral themes.  She'll use most of what she already has in her home and will only need one or two pieces.  

Something she said this evening really tugged my heart hard.  "Don't rush off, Mama.  I have so much to share, and we never get to talk anymore."  It's true that September has nearly passed us by, and we've done not much more than hug as we pass off childcare between us.  I'll very much miss these days when they are done, and they are winding down quickly now.  She's begun the process of packing the house up.

I did sit with her a little while but not as long as I'd have liked.  Caleb was determined to distract his Mama's attention to himself, as well he might want to do.  I'm glad she slowed me down, helped me to break a habit I've gotten into of hurrying to do the next thing.

 I know that Katie will call, and text once she's moved but I also know that I'll dearly miss these Sunday dinners and long visits we enjoy now.  I'll miss spur of the moment trips with her to shop or pick up Taylor.  I'll miss her.

Monday:  I should have slept well last night.  I was more than tired enough.  I went right off to sleep.  But then I had one of those stupid nights where dreams repeat and jerk you awake.  They went on all night long.  I'm fighting seasonal allergies which has presented with a congested chest (only very light congestion) and stuffy ears.  

I felt for the longest time this morning as though I was merely spinning tires in sand.  If you've ever been trapped in a sand bed, you'll understand perfectly how I felt.  If not, then I'll try to explain.  In what we call 'sugar sand' the tires never get a grip.  You can spin and spin and spin those tires, but you'll have no traction, and you'll make no progress in going anywhere except deeper into the sand.  After two hours in the kitchen, I brought a cold glass of iced water to the living room, sat down and rested and then got up and went back.  That little break helped me find the traction I needed to get jobs finished in the kitchen and move on to the other rooms.  There my progress went more quickly.

I started pot roast this morning while I was spinning tires in the kitchen.  It's been slow simmering all day long.  It smells very good at the moment.  I dusted it with salt, pepper and allspice before browning it in my Dutch oven.  After adding the vegetables, broth and Worcestershire sauce, I took some A-1 type steak sauce and added that as well.  I just felt the warmth of that steak sauce would go especially well with a pot roast and it has most certainly sent out appetizing aromas.  I hope the little boy likes this meal as much I know my man is going to.

I took time to set up a few outfits in my wardrobe.  Today is our last warmest day and then the temperatures are supposed to glide gently down once more.  I like layering clothes and find the cooler parts of our year lends itself well to that.  It's looking decent in the hot part of the year when one keeps accessories light that I find it more difficult to create a cohesive looking outfit.  When it's 100 outdoors I don't think anyone really cares how anyone else looks, but I do feel more put together in the cooler months.

John's been working at doing all sorts of stretches to help his sciatic nerve.  I introduced him today to a YouTube duo of physical therapists, Bob and Brad.  He worked with the exercises in one of their videos today and they've given him some momentary relief.  Not quite enough, though.  He made an appointment to visit a chiropractor.

I've noted that each day as we get near time to go pick up Caleb, I feel anxious.  There's no good reason for it.  The nursery won't shut before we can get there, so that isn't a concern.  Caleb is generally well done with the day and not difficult to manage.  All he really wants is a snack, his supper, and his evening routine of pajamas and cuddling on the couch while he watches his favored programs for a half hour or so.  

We don't face really heavy traffic until we hit the next town and then the town where his nursery is, but we don't hit traffic jams, nor do we have to go into the heart of the larger town.  We're on the west side of the place, so the traffic our way is probably not as heavy as it seems to this rural, small town loving girl.  So why the anxiety?  No clue.  Perhaps it's just because this is a jolt at the end of the day that my mind and body just isn't prepared for. It happens every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.  Today it's hitting me hard and we still have an hour before we have to leave home.  

I've been using a calming oil blend and deep breathing exercises to help me not be quite so tense for the journey.  Some days I wonder if I oughtn't to take anti-anxiety medicine, but I won't do it.  I'm determined to learn to master the bulk of my anxiety on my own these days and reserve the medication for days when I've done all the things that ought to work but don't seem to help at all.  Some days, I do manage to get relief.

Tuesday:  Caleb was playing on the playground when I arrived yesterday.  The young girl who is one of his caregivers handed me a paper that lists what he ate, how many times he went to potty, and a list of activities he did.  I crumpled the sheet up when I got to the car.  It's apparent that this young woman has NO clue what 2 going on 3-year-old children do daily.  The sheet literally read like a bad behavior list.  And what were his crimes?  He spilled his milk and then played in the puddle it made.  He took food off another child's plate.  She even listed those things under 'Activities'.  Now wouldn't you think that an ACTIVITY might be something like: played with cars and trucks, colored, counted to ten (he can mimic), sat with a book and looked at it?  I mean to me, that's what activities are.  Honestly, am I just being picky myself? What do you think?

He was tired yesterday evening and that almost always means a difficult time.  John was with me, hurting, and tending to be difficult himself.  I'd liked, at one point, to have just walked out of the house and left them to each other.  Instead, I put a meal before them, gave the boy a shower and put him in pajamas, turned on Caleb's favorite (and John's least favorite) cartoon and then I started laundry and cleaned up the kitchen.  Caleb was quiet.  John shut his eyes.  Everyone settled down nicely.

Katie came in a bit early last night.  It is Caleb's habit, when he's put in his room, to go to the window and look out for a few minutes.  When he did, he said, "Mama's car.  Mama's car."  I paid him no attention, because every car we passed that was the color of hers had been Mama's car, but he'd honestly seen her.  He kissed her goodnight and then happily went on to bed.  We three sat and talked for a bit.  Katie's packing things up now and planning a quick trip to the rental house next week so that she can take over her first load, tend to a few other things related to getting into the house, see it in person, etc.

I have a cold or allergies ongoing.  It involves a ticklish throat, coughing and slight head congestion.  It's made me very slow to start in the morning.   This morning was particularly difficult. 

John had an appointment at lunchtime with a chiropractor.  If I hate that evening interruption to a day three times a week, I loathe a midday interruption.  Given a choice of appointment times, I'll take mine right off at the start of the day.  Then I'm likely to have time to get something done at home.  As it is, the morning is hurry to do basic things, then dress to leave.  Then there's the drive to, the wait, and the drive home.  Today we didn't get back until 2:30.  In the meantime, Bess asked if I might keep the two younger ones this afternoon while Sam takes Josh to football practice, just in case she doesn't get back in time from her appointment.  By the time I'd made lunch it was almost 3pm.  There seemed little point in trying to do a thing after that except put away the dishes I washed this morning.  I have no clue what we'll have for supper.  I suppose I should go plunder the freezer and see what ready meal I might have on hand.

I am tired.  Today has not felt restful at all and it was what I actually needed.  Oh well.  We go on...

Wednesday:  The children were well behaved yesterday for the short hour they were here.  They both insisted they were hungry.  Isaac proved it and ate his snack.  Millie took the teensiest little bite, a teeny sip and left all else behind.  

We had a tuna casserole from the freezer for our supper.  It was just enough for the two of us with side dishes.  Isaac had asked to have supper with us, until I told him what I was having.  Tuna Casserole didn't impress him in the least, lol. 

John and I ate late then watched tv for a little while.  We were both ready for bed early last night and we both apparently went right off to sleep, as well.  I'm sure the cooler weather that came in last night only helped us to sleep so well.

I feel much better than I did yesterday and I'm glad of it.  I felt bad and by the time we went off to bed, I was downright navy blue besides.  Nothing wrong, no bad news.  John is improved and there's been no decline in Steven's condition, just slow and steady progress.  But I think the cumulative effect of the month overall hit me hard yesterday when I was feeling low health wise myself.

This morning, it was all putter-y stuff about the house.  I've got tonight's supper in the crockpot and know what sides we will have to go with it.  It will all be ready to wrap up while it's hot and then I'll dish it out when we arrive at Katie's.  

I went out on the porch this morning to feed the pets and chills ran over my skin.  It was downright cold out there!  Not frosty cold but a lot colder than it has been yet.  Of course, that sent me scurrying around to collect something to put into a vase here in the house.  I ended up with goldenrod, zinnias, coleus, basil, and hydrangea.  It made a small but colorful and lovely bouquet.  Gave my spirit quite a boost when I set it on the kitchen window shelf.  Then I moved it to the mantle in the living room to replace the dying bouquet I'd bought two weeks ago.

There's nothing like fresh florals in the house to make me feel happy.

Thursday:  Somehow, I had lost all my sippy cups.  I'd realized this Tuesday when I had Millie and Isaac here.  I had another style of cup, the very sort that encourages Caleb to drip fluids all over him in the car seat. I wanted a cup with a straw that meant he had to suck on the straw to get any liquid out of the cup.  This is a much better thing with him at this stage.  

Katie had asked me to pick up milk to take to his school for their use for him.  I ran into Dollar General here in town.  It's about the same price as at Publix or Kroger and a whole lot less traffic in our town.  While in the store I went around to find a cup for him.  I'd planned to go by Katie's and borrow a cup but I hate to have to make three stops when one will do, don't you?  Besides, I can always use another cup for the little ones around here.  

I discovered my error when we gave Caleb his juice later but I'm getting ahead of myself...When I went in the nursery classroom one of the teachers was sitting next to a little boy with an ice pack on his eye.  I said "Uh oh!  What happened?"  He sadly removed his ice pack and showed me that he had a tiny cut above one eye.  The very sort of thing to raise a lump and bleed like crazy but isn't serious.  But I could see that it was serious to him.  He looked so very sober.  I bent down in front of him and said "You know what they'll call that now?  A MAN scar."  His little face brightened up and he said "Yeah!"  The teacher and I both laughed but he seemed to perk right up, bless him.

In the car we gave Caleb his snack and discovered that the new cup doesn't fit in his cupholder on his car seat.  It's got too fat a bottom.  And the straw is fixed so he can't get the last of the juice from the cup.  Small fails, to be sure.  He'd been playing outdoors and all he cared was that he had something to drink.  His 'juice' is about 9/10ths water and only a smidgen of juice by the way, just enough to flavor the water, not enough to actually mean he's getting any nutritional value from it.  Mostly he's getting good old water.

Supper was a big hit with my two guys last night.  Caleb loved the cranberry sauce which he insisted was Strawbelly flavored.  Anything red is strawbelly, and that includes tomatoes of any kind, tomato paste, etc.  John and he both ate heavily of the Alpine Chicken casserole.  I have to alter the recipe to feed it to Caleb since he has a sort of milk allergy.  He can do lactose free milk just fine, but we tend to skip most cheese items around him.  The recipe calls for Swiss Cheese and sliced almonds.  Since I'm leaving off the Swiss cheese, I also leave off the almonds and just make the recipe as it's meant to be made from there.  

Both the guys declined the butternut squash.  Go figure.  It made for a pretty plate anyway, and I LIKE butternut squash.  Now to figure out how I might use the leftovers.  I have a squash pie in the freezer already, so I don't think I'll do another of those though I did find John ate winter squash or hard squash just fine in a pie.

I had enough leftovers of the casserole to leave a portion for Katie and I brought home a portion.  I expect that will be lunch one day, perhaps tomorrow for John.  

I feel so much better than I did at the start of this week.  I've noticed a tendency to cough a lot if I get chilly.  I got cool last night at Katie's and had wrapped a towel fresh from the dryer around my shoulders.  She looked shocked when she came in.  "Is it that cold in here?"  Not really.  I just got cold, and the warm towel felt mighty nice.  

Her good news last night was that Steven was fully himself yesterday.   As well, he has been granted a bed in a rehab facility in two weeks' time.  At that point he'll be transferred to a major city.  And two weeks after that Katie will move.  It's all coming together and all happening quickly now it seems.  Her new hometown is not far away from where Steven will be. 

Once Steven is transferred, I probably won't be picking up Caleb any longer, so these sweet and difficult days are soon to end...Sigh.

The house needed a lot of picking up this morning.  I've no idea why.  I try to leave it clean but somehow when we get back, and last night we were later than usual coming in, things just get tossed and dropped and strowed.  It makes for a heavier morning to clear it all up again.  

After housework, I got busy clearing out the fridge.  I decided to make sandwiches for lunch today and took the broth from the pot roast earlier this week, plus several containers from the freezer and put together a pot of soup.   I'm in the mood for soup.   It's cool enough today that the AC hasn't come on at all.  

I had hoped we'd get some rain off this weather situation but until minutes ago it was bright and sunny.  The reports say now that we'll get nothing.  That's a shame, because we are so dry here that all the plants are drooping badly.  But it's also good.  We won't have any concerns over damage or downed lines.  

Other than those few things it's been a very lazy day here.  

John is improving daily now, and sometimes manages to walk without any pain at all.  I'm beginning to feel rather hopeful.  He said today that he'd definitely go back to the chiropractor if he has another flare up.  I can breathe easier now that he's settled that in his mind.

At lunch time today we laughed and talked and lingered over our sandwiches.  We really enjoyed that time together and then he stood up and walked normally from the room to the next...It was so uplifting to watch that!

I'm still trying to figure out just what I mean to make for supper tomorrow night...I want it to be easy and something that Caleb will enjoy.  I'm also at the point where whatever plan I make if it's to be either easy or quick, means I have to go to the grocery store to supplement what we have at home.  I contemplated doing that today, but I decided I'd really rather have the day at home.  

I'm off to make cornbread to go with our soup.  Hope all of you are out of the path of the storm and if you are in it, know we are praying for you!

Friday:  Last night after supper, John asked if we needed to carry off the trash.  He checked and found the trash can full and so we made a trip to the trash dump.  Here of late, we've dropped it off on the other side of town at the county dumpsters there because it's on our way to nursery.  I laughed as we drove down the road and told John, "Gee, it's sad when 'going to the dump' feels like an outing..."  He laughed too but he nodded in understanding.  I know this is getting to be a very short season and soon we'll be riding over to the dump as we always have and nothing to hinder us.

I felt so much better yesterday and even gave myself a sort of day off, not doing too much in the house and nothing outdoors.  But we ran into something or other in the area of the dump that made my throat tickle, and I couldn't stop coughing.  My ears blocked and I coughed and coughed until my throat was completely sore.  It kept up all night long despite allergy medication.  I feel fairly miserable at the moment and just wish this would all settle down.  

I am sure it's allergies because my throat and ears tickle constantly and my nose is running.  No fever.  I've switched allergy meds hoping to improve the situation but so far, it's a no go.  I don't look forward to going outdoors this afternoon.

This morning I did what I typically would do on Friday.  Shabat cleaning, changing sheets and towels in the bathroom, making bread.  I have my supper items ready to go and I'm keeping it simple.  I worked on first of the month bills and they are going out in this evening's mailing.  I've looked at October and made a few goals for the new month ahead.  I've done all I needed and about as much as I want to do, so I'm taking the afternoon to rest a bit.

How was your week?

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