Diary of a Homemaker's Week: September Romance

Saturday:  We slept quite a bit later than usual this morning.  I suppose it had to do with the grey skies outdoors.  We got up when we heard Caleb run across the floor.  He ran right to our door and knocked.  I let him in, and he said, "You wake?  I gotta potty!" and off he ran to my bathroom.  Katie looked a bit nonplussed.  She never meant him to disturb us, but I was pretty pleased that he wanted to go potty and volunteered to go on his own.

They've been gone all day and will spend the night away from home tonight.  We got a phone call from him telling us goodnight.  He looked tired.  He'd had a busy day.  We love that he thought of us and wanted to say night night.

John has just put on a favorite romantic film, Murphy's Romance.  My husband has a strong romantic side which few would suspect.  He has a whole repertoire of films he'll put on and he sniffles right through the tender moments.  It's one of the things I love about him.

Romance has been in the air today.  

We went over to Warm Springs for lunch.  It rained on us all the way over.  Normally we'd stay home with it raining but for some reason, John was willing to go, if only to please me.   We went to the Bulloch House which is the not only place to eat in Warm Springs, but it does feel like it might as well be, because so many folks go there.  

When we walked in the place was about as full as usual.  I noticed two men in suits and wondered at that because overall it's a tourist sort of place and most people dress pretty casually.  It wasn't until we were coming back from the buffet that I saw her.

She had lovely silver hair and was wearing an ivory lace dress with a wreath style headdress with long ribbons down her back.  I realized that this was a Bride, having her wedding party.  I never got a good look at the groom, but John told me he looked awfully nervous.  I assure you the bride, for all that she was gray haired and older was beautiful.   She graciously moved between the two tables where the wedding part was seated, speaking to each of her guests.

Long ago, I dreamed of being an autumn bride and wearing an Ivory lace dress.  I mused over my gray head and hers and was grateful someone was living the dream.  I am satisfied to take it secondhand, so to speak, sharing in her experience from the outside.    

I suppose that's why John has on the movie tonight.  Romance is in the air. 

Sunday:  It was another grey and autumnal looking day with sporadic rain.  Not complaining.  The cooler weather and the moisture are just making it look more and more like Fall.  

We had a wonderful service at church today.  After the service we spoke with several people we know and held long-ish conversations with them.  That was just lovely.  

And then we headed home to prepare the sides for Gramma's Fried Chicken.  Katie was picking that up on her way home.  

I got distracted during meal prep and did something stupid which resulted in a deep burn on my left palm, thumb and index finger.  I had presence of mind to run cold water over it and get Katie to grab mustard from the fridge to put right on it, which seems to have prevented blistering in all but one tiny spot.  I cannot lie though.  It hurts like the dickens.  Hurts enough that I sat down and cried with it.  John has wrapped my hand with gauze and Kevlar after putting an aloe with lidocaine ointment on it.  

Caleb felt such strong sympathy for me that he had to have his finger wrapped, too.  He couldn't stop crying until it was bandaged up.  If I know nothing else about this little boy, it hurts him to see someone else hurt.  I see more and more of his heart as we care for him and his is just lovely.

Monday:  Caleb and I went outdoors this morning, as soon as I could get out with him.  I'd taken time to make beds, unload the dishwasher, rinse dishes, etc.  Then we went out.  My intention was to plant but when I gathered up my soil, I barely filled half of my planter.  I looked up how to plant garlic and discovered I couldn't plant it until a little later in the coming season.  I was thwarted on every front. 

After we came back indoors, I sorted out the fridge and determined we had enough leftovers to make Fried Rice for lunch.  

Then I washed a few dishes and loaded the dirty dishes from today's meals into the dishwasher.  It was time to shower for my appointment as soon as I got Caleb settled for quiet time.  I didn't leave the house until 1:21. I told John, "I'll never make it on time, it always seems to take me 40 minutes to get there even though we're just 20 miles from the place."  John called ahead and warned them I was running late.  You know of course that today I got there in under 20 minutes.  I ended up sitting in the parking lot for a good 15 minutes more because I knew if I went indoors, they'd push my appointment forward and I wanted the doctor to have a breathing space between clients.

I didn't stop anywhere on my way home, except the local post office.  Then I hurried home.  I was feeling today's adjustment in several areas, but walking was the most comfortable thing I could do.   I had a snack with John and Caleb and then I started dinner prep right away.   Glad I did because by the time we were having supper, my body was under protest in general about being adjusted.  

These cool evenings and lovely days are something wonderful.  They make me sleepy early in the evening, especially with it getting dark so early.  But it's awfully nice to sit in the house without the AC running constantly and the fans off because they are unnecessary.

Tuesday:  Today we hurried through our light housekeeping and then went off to the grocery store for a major stocking up.  There were some really good sales on meat and dairy that I wanted to take advantage of.  John and Caleb had one buggy in which Caleb happily rode and I had the other so I could shop more or less without distractions.  

Caleb was well behaved.  John always has a fear that he'll act out, but he was good as gold.  However, towards the very end, when I was picking up the last items, it was John who began to grumble.  I seriously think that he's getting some hypoglycemic drops these days.  What he describes sounds much like one.  He hurried us through checkout and hurried us through packing up the car and then said, "No lunch out, we're going right home."  He did add, "You look like you're all in."  

I did feel pretty stretched by that point and found myself clenching my teeth as I tried to negotiate an unfamiliar branch of the store, check lists, find products and give up on missing ones.  I don't remember shopping being as stressful since the days when I had a tiny budget to work with.  It's not the budget anymore that does it, though.  It's just the sheer number of decisions I must make in a single shopping trip. I have to decide if there is a substitute and if not, then I musts switch up my plans if meals were to be based off the sales, etc.  I have to think hard in the grocery these days!

I told John, "You know we're kidding ourselves...It isn't Caleb that can't get through these long shopping trips..." and he finished my sentence, "...it's us!"

When we got in the car, John produced juice and fruits and insisted we all eat and drink, which likely was a good idea on his part.  Then he laid out what would happen when we got home.  He was the general and we just had to follow orders like good soldiers.  His plan was a good one: get in the house, Caleb going right to the potty, then me to start prepping lunch while he unloaded things from the car and brought them indoors.  Then I was to eat before I even thought of touching the groceries to put them away.   

Beyond that, I did very little yesterday.  Frankly, just what we'd done was more than enough.  My body was aching and sore from yesterday's session.  I kept supper simple and easy.

Wednesday:  At some point in the night, I remembered a bag of shredded paper I'd meant to add to my soils this fall.  I found it this morning and as soon as basic housekeeping was done, took Caleb outdoors.  We emptied compost cans.  He was disappointed that neither the lizards nor the spiders were anywhere to be seen out there.  We unloaded the wagon load of limbs I'd gathered, then went back to the patio where I added that paper into my raised bed planter and mixed it in really well.  

I tried to dig a hole deep enough to plant some daylily that have been in a pot.  I didn't get as far as I'd have liked with it, but I'll keep working on that.  

Caleb and I are still watching tadpoles in his water table.  The larger batch seems to have moved on but there are teenier tadpoles swimming around in there still.

It was warm outdoors by the time we went out. I got quite hot again today while I was working, but I adore puttering around outdoors and it's kind of nice to have a little boy underfoot asking questions, following me around and just generally trying to be helpful.  He got hot too and finally asked to come indoors.  I didn't need too much urging, lol.

I sorted out a bin of clothing and discovered that we have exactly one pair of pants for Caleb in a size 4.  Loads of shirts, but no pants.  One pair of pajamas...At least it all counts towards not having to buy those things.

During quiet time today, I mixed and baked Oatmeal Cookies.  I do this every fall.  As a rule, Chocolate Chip is everyone's favorite.  It's not mine.  I love an Oatmeal cookie!  But I seldom will make them for just myself.  And while they might not be a favorite with everyone, I notice the cookie jar keeps getting just as empty.  I'm not eating all those cookies...

Today's batch was Oatmeal Raisin.  I also mean to make a batch of Oatmeal Apple Craisin cookies.  I always add white chocolate chips to those.  And then we'll be done with Oatmeal cookies for the season.

I decided I'd better get started on tomorrow night's supper while I'm making supper for tonight.   It's a Millie day and I never know how those days will go nor how long they might last.

Thursday:  It's interesting to see the difference between the two children.  They are only three months apart.  At one point, Millie spoke so very clearly, and Caleb could barely speak at all.  Now she sounds almost baby-ish compared to him and he's the more articulate of the two.  He's very social.  She isn't.  She wants to play but she can only play so much and then she's done and will literally crawl under a chair to get time away from Caleb.    Caleb is courtly.  If he asks for a snack, he takes the portion I give him straight to Millie and then comes back and says, "Can I have some, too?"   

It was a long rough day for us all.  John and I barely slept at all last night.  Millie came in looking worn out.  Caleb was gung-ho let's go! ready to face the day.  I took the children outdoors to play where they played in the Water Table, dipping their hands in to watch the tadpoles swim away from them.  It was cool but they didn't seem to mind in the least.  They don't splash water everywhere or throw it around.  They just drop in little lightweight balls and swish sticks about.  

They played well enough for almost two hours and then we came indoors.  It was all touch and go after that.  Millie whined a bit and Caleb wanted to much to play with her.  She went under a chair and stayed there for a while and then she went and laid down in the middle of the kitchen floor and I finally told her to go lie down in the quiet spot if she was tired.  Caleb wanted to 'read' her a story, but she wasn't having any of that.  I was shocked when they both went off to the bedroom for quiet time this afternoon.  I was sure Millie would go to the quiet space, but she didn't.  They fussed, played, fussed, were quiet for stretches and then would start all over again.

This afternoon, Caleb was looking visible worn down.  When Millie went home, John called him over and explained to him that Millie just wasn't as social as he was and he needed to give her some space.  Caleb asked if he was in trouble.  John assured him he was not.  He tried explaining to him again that Millie just isn't as much a people person as he is.   Caleb said "Otay..." John got up to go into the music room to practice his bit for tomorrow night's Coffee House.   Caleb looked at me, tuned up and cried, "I just need my Mama!"

God bless him!  He was so hurt and frustrated by his day and really, he can't understand why Millie doesn't want to play with him 100% of the time.  I was telling John and Katie later that it just about broke my heart and made me cry right along with him.  I gathered him up in my lap and hugged and kissed him and we played together for a bit until I had to finish up supper.  He told me he was tired, which I knew already, and then he wept again, "I just need my Mama."

He barely made it until she got home tonight, but he hung on waiting for her.  Ten minutes after she walked in, he was in bed and sound asleep...

I had to edit my pieces for reading tomorrow night and then it was almost 8pm.  It was dark outdoors. I wanted a cup of coffee so badly, and I nearly talked myself out of it, but I decided I'd sleep better if I had it.  

Now I am going to toddle off to bed early tonight.  I'm reading a book Katie loaned me.  We'll see how this goes.  Her taste and mine are not at all similar but generally when she recommends a book to me, she's right in thinking I will enjoy it.

Friday:  Goodness but I worked this morning.  That messy room that's been bugging me no end?  I straightened it up.  Moved out three or four empty boxes, used another to put things that was visually cluttering the space and voila!  The room looked much improved.  I hauled out two bags for donation, gathered up a box of toddler clothes to send off to Josie, decluttered the trunk in my closet, changed out my bedding to fall/winter blanket/shams.  

And then I baked bread and a lousy batch of messed up bagels that John tells me he will eat anyway.  We've emptied the fridge of leftovers for our lunch and the dishes are loaded.  Now we're down to getting together a light supper for the three of us.  

Katie and Caleb will be gone all weekend long as she goes to visit friends near and from far.  Her bestie since high school days is down from Canada and they are meeting up this weekend.  John and I will have a whole weekend alone.  I'm thinking we'll go drop off donations, pick up some garden soil, run by and take advantage of the really good sale on items at Kroger and then head home to laze around, preferably with Mexican to go...Sound like a plan?  It does to me!

How was your week?  Are you enjoying the first week of Autumn in your area?  We have had some really cool nights and lovely temps that allow the AC to cut off regularly for the past few days.  It's a pants in the morning, shorts in the afternoon life just now but that's okay with me.

Have a wonderful weekend!