A Journal of My Week: So Much

 

Saturday:  Why is it I can fall asleep in my chair and sleep soundly for an hour or so before bedtime but once in bed, my eyes are wide open, and I lie staring into the dark?  

John was up and out early this morning.  He's attending a service day at church.  I did not lie abed.  Once he'd kissed me goodbye, I got up and went to open the blinds in the kitchen.  I watched him as he stopped at the bottom of the drive.  I doubt he could see me, but I almost made it up in time for our little goodbye ritual.  

After coffee, I picked up the house.  It wasn't out of control, but it was messy.  It took me a good half hour or so to pick things up and put them away in all the various rooms. I contemplated meals for this weekend without coming to any conclusion at all.  I photographed some items someone might be interested in having and sent those photos off to them.  I set up my prescriptions for the week.  I had breakfast and then sorted out emails, replying to a couple of them.

I had this plan for today.  I was going into town, and I was going to support my local merchants!  What was I thinking?!  Well, I know what I was thinking.  I was thinking I have a portion of a free day to myself, and I ought to make use of it.  What I wasn't thinking was that my budget is a necessary thing to consider, and we haven't yet been paid so I scratched the idea of going to town and being all community minded with my pocketbook.  Not a bad thing to consider the local economy but one must keep in mind the state of one's own personal economy as well.

I filled the cat food container up this morning and then put the remainder of the bag into an airtight bucket.  Then I filled the dog food bin with the dog food sitting by the back door...NOPE...  Saw the cat face on the package right after I poured about 8 pounds into the dog food container.  Doggone it!  I've been looking at the bag for weeks now thinking I had extra dog food, but I never unrolled the top and really looked at it.  I guess tomorrow when I pick up milk, I'll pick up a bag of dog food.  And I'll empty that cat food into the bucket where I just put the other portion of a large bag.  It's not extra cat food I need to keep on hand, it's extra dog food.

Meal: Chicken Wings, Oven Fries

Leftovers for John, Leftover wings for me with some vegetable or other from the fridge

Sunday:  I wore my brown loafers (have had them for about four years now) to church today and walked all over the place plus went into the grocery wearing them.  Y'all, I am so stuck on athletic shoes that I forget other shoes can actually be comfortable and look nicer than athletic shoes.  Now to get those new black loafers broken in.

I have one issue.  My left foot is about a half size smaller than the right.  That's one reason why I like athletic shoes because I can tie them, so they don't slip on my left heel.  Does anyone have any solutions for slip on loafer type shoes?  I recall back years ago, Mama and Daddy would push tissue paper into the toe of the shoe so that my heel would stay at the back of the shoe and prevent slipping.  

I've tried to use those heel pads that you can stick into place, but I don't find it exactly helps the shoe fit any better.  Solutions from any of you?

The trip to the grocery proved to be a challenge.  I kept my cool, but I was much amused by the way things went...

John knew I'd wanted to try the new Apple Crisp drink at Starbucks, since I'm no Pumpkin Spice fan.  So, before I left the car, he handed me money and said "Get your fancy coffee..."  Now this usually can go one of two ways at this particular Starbucks booth at Kroger: they will be super busy with long lines, or no one will be in line and an employee may or may not be there.

I walked in the door with one young man who went to the other side of the counter.  He kept looking at his phone, so I assumed he had a mobile order.  There was one young lady at the counter placing an order.  For some reason, her order appeared to be a particularly difficult one.  

I step up to the counter and place my order. "I'd like an Apple Crisp Latte with whole milk, please." "I've got four people in front of you...You sure you want to do this?"  I was a little taken aback.  Had I asked to rob the place or simply placed a rather uncomplicated order for a popular product?  I smiled and said "Yes, I'm sure."  The girl muttered and looked at the screen, claiming she couldn't find the item.  "I'll just write it for her, and she can take care of it, " she said, apparently to herself.  I paid, left my tip in the tip jar and walked to the other side to pick-up when my order was ready.

The four people she claimed were in front of me apparently had all placed multiples of orders. And the girl at the pick-up counter (who was also acting barista) said orders and not names which was confusing...You'll understand in a moment why.

Because I knew my order was well down the line, I stepped further back but the woman behind the counter never called out loud enough for anyone to hear.  A small crowd began to gather at the counter as well listened hard to hear her speaking away from the opening where we were to pick up.  Several of us looked at each other and finally I said, "I can't hear her."  "I can't either," "Me either..."   So, we began to read the names on the cups hoping one of us would see an order we recognized. 

After about 9 or 10 cups of coffee had come up, I finally thought I was about due and stepped closer.  As I did, she said, "Brown Sugar Latte".  I stepped back.  "Are you Terri?"  "I am, but that's not my order."  "It says, 'Terri'!"  "I ordered an Apple Crisp latte with whole milk."  That's not what my order form says! Can't you take this instead?"  "I'd really rather have what I ordered."

While she was looking at me like a thundercloud about to shower rain down, another patron walked up and looked at the cups on the counter. "What is this?"  She held up a cup of orange foamy liquid.  "It's your order!"  "I didn't order that.  I ordered a cold brew.  And I told her four or five times I wanted a COLD BREW!"  Then the clerk did something I thought was odd.  She handed her the cup she'd made for me and said, "Do you want this instead?"  The girl looked at it, shrugged and said, "Yeah I'll take it." 

The woman behind the counter realized I still hadn't gotten the coffee I'd paid for, so she began to prepare one.  While she was making my order correctly, the woman she'd given the mis-order to came back.  "This has apple in it.  See it says Apple Brown Sugar...Do you want it back?"  She was speaking to me.  I told John that at this point I didn't know what to make of anyone!  Here was a complete stranger who'd taken the messed-up order, having had a sip of the coffee, offering it back to me!  Meanwhile the woman behind the counter was grumbling and mumbling.

Finally, I walked away with the correct order in hand.  I thanked the woman for the coffee and then said hopefully, "Perhaps the rest of the day will go better for you..."  She glared at me as I backed away  I wasn't upset with her.  No one had been.  We all knew the girl placing the orders had been the one at fault.  I made up my mind at that point that it would be my last visit to that particular Starbucks counter.  I'd wasted a good 20 minutes or more on top of that.   

But it wasn't over y'all.  The coffee tasted fine.  It did.  But every time I'd set the cup down, I'd smell something...and it wasn't pleasant.  I finally realized it was that coffee!  So that was my experience with an Apple Crisp latte, an experience I do not think I shall ever attempt again!

The shopping was frustrating.  Products had been moved.  There was a store key on the buggy seat back that listed aisles where you'd find the most popular items. I'd told John I'd pick up a squeeze tube of peanut butter to take on vacation with us.  The key said, "Aisle 6."  I never found aisle 6.  I don't think they even have an aisle 6.  

Sales items on my list, besides the milk, couldn't be found anywhere.  I'd forgotten burger buns for our lunch today, so I had to walk back about one third of the store.  I passed an aisle of jelly and there was peanut butter.  It was on aisle 11.  The item I wanted wasn't in stock.  I found the bread aisle, grabbed buns and said "Enough! This has been a frustrating experience today."  Seriously, the best thing to come today was that I exercised with all the walking of that big store.

I went to pick up half and half and milk. There was no half and half in the big, closed door refrigerator case.  None.  I'd seen an end cap open refrigerator case filled with half and half about half a store back, but never dreamed they'd emptied the dairy case...Apparently, that was all they had.  

I found one of the two checkout lanes open that had an actual person working the register and began to put my groceries on the conveyor belt.  The clerk behind the counter asked, "Do you want to check out?"  I thought that an odd question...but I smiled and said "Yes, please.  And I have my own bags."  

I placed my cooler bag on the counter.  "There are other bags on the inside of this one."  "Do you want everything in the cold bag?"  "No.  I don't believe it will all fit, so just the cold stuff."  "Do you want me to use your other bags?"  Honestly at this point I was beginning to get puzzled.  Was everyone 'off' today?  "You can use the other bags, yes."  "Shall I put just one item in each bag?"  I looked at the bag boy at the end of the aisle and he looked at me.  

I came up close to the girl at the register and said very quietly, "Sweetie, why don't you just hand him the bags and let him fill them up?  I'm sure he'll do a good job."  She'd already started to ring things up and was struggling to put them in the bags.  She finally passed him the bags and he filled them up.  And yeah, he did a great job.  

When I got to the car, I told John, "Well that whole thing was an experience..."   I told him all about it and then said, "I think this coffee smells bad..." and he, who can smell very little, said "You're right.  It does...I could smell it the moment you got in the car."  Oh. Wow.  So much for a fall cup of coffee, lol!

By the way, I bought the limit of milk on sale and put it all in the freezer.  That's 2.5 gallons in there just now.  I decided to just go back to using regular whole milk in my coffee and give up the half and half.  I really like half and half, but I did glance at the prices of the one-quart cartons as I walked past.  They were $3.99 each...Milk was $1.39 for a half gallon for this sale.  I figure the savings is worth it.  I seldom drink milk anymore, but I do use it to make yogurt, John likes it over his cereal and hey...it works in coffee if you don't have half and half. 

Meals:  Sausage and Cheese Toast

Cheeseburgers, Chips

Leftover Cheeseburgers, Pickles

Monday:  I hit the floor running this morning.  Even before I'd had coffee, I'd started bread dough, pulled out the ingredients to make granola, measured milk for yogurt and sat it on the stove to start to come to room temperature, started mixing an appetizer I want to take on vacation and planned breakfast.

By mid-morning I'd cleaned the bathroom, folded clothes, unloaded the dishwasher, bread rising, milk heating and granola baking. The appetizer had been prepared, baked and flash frozen.  

My trouble this morning is that I wanted to do more.  And I may yet, but I also got hot and tired as I worked this morning.   John has a pair of jeans that I need to mend.  I need to put away my clothes from the weekend and those I folded this morning.  

I haven't yet decorated my buffet for fall, and I've removed the summer decor items.  I saw an idea last night on Pinterest I think I might be able to execute.  Since I intend to go out to the shed anyway, I can look for see what I might have that will help me get a similar look.   

I love the glass pumpkins I have...but they are big and bulky.  I'm thinking maybe I'll use one on top of each of the bookcases and surround them with a few autumn leaves.  I'd really like to use them in other spaces, but they just don't fit on the mantle or buffet and are too much for the center of the dining room table.

There are a few other jobs I want to get to today as well.  I'd like to have my paperwork done for Wednesday before this day ends.  I'm trying to think what I can do today to make tomorrow go smoothly with Caleb here, too.

later:  UGH!  I got a call from Katie they were on their way which was earlier than I expected.  I'd decided earlier to go do the paperwork for payday and I'm so glad I did.    But my UGH isn't because they are arriving sooner than expected.   That just lit a fire under me to get a few more things done before they arrived.

I went to the back closet to look for a missing item and to get sewing supplies out so I could repair John's jeans.  I glanced at the buckets I keep my flour in and thought while I was in the closet I might as well get out a bag of flour to replenish my kitchen supply.  After making bread and such this morning, I knew it was time to refill.  I opened one of the buckets and something flew out...and when I looked in the bottom of the bucket, I could see the flour and meal were infested.  I quickly shut the lid and opened the next one which appeared to be just fine.  But doggone it!  I've just lost 10-pounds of flour and 5-pounds of cornmeal.  Ugh!

I bemoaned the loss to John and that sent John on a search for bulk flour since I've had a heck of a time even finding 10-pound bags in our area.  Those were the first I'd seen in months when I purchased them in July.  Goodness gracious flour is pricey from online sources!  Our best priced items so far are to order from Sam's Club but first I'd need to join.  I told John anyway I looked at it that made the first bags of flour rather pricey.  I'll just wait until they are having a lowered join price and join then.  We have the option then of going to the store (30 minutes away) or if I order $50 worth of stuff, getting it shipped to the house.  

Meals:  Donut Holes, Eggs

????

Pork Roast with Sauerkraut, Apples, Onions, Pierogi

Tuesday:  

Our baby arrived sometime this morning around 9am.  Henry weighed 7 pounds 9 ounces, is 20 inches long, and has a head full of dark hair.  Caleb just cannot quite comprehend that the baby is not an old picture of himself or Taylor.  I think he's going to have to see him in person before he realizes that this is his baby brother.

It's been a hard morning.  Caleb was up early, I slept badly. He came to our room about 7:30 and said "Good Morning!  It's time to get up!"  He'd been awake for a little while but played in his room.  I could hear him from our room.  He wasn't being noisy or loud.  That's just the way it is in a smaller home.  You can easily hear others.

As soon as I walked into the kitchen, he told me what he wanted to eat. He reached in the fridge and grabbed a jar of fruit, "I'll have this and some yogurt..."  So, I made him a bowl of fruit, gave him some of the yogurt I made yesterday and then thought I could get a cup of coffee.  Before it was done brewing (I have a Keurig, so it doesn't take long) he asked, "What's for Next Breakfast?"  lol.  I made him Egg in a Hole.  He not only ate his 'hole' but when John brought his plate to the table, he reached over and took the round toast off John's plate.  

I think I got coffee somewhere around 9am, which is about the time baby pictures started arriving.  Caleb got very hyped up.  I understood how he felt. I sent him outdoors to burn off some energy and I got up and started cleaning up the house.  I figured we both needed to burn off some energy.

Unfortunately, he didn't quite get rid of all his excitement.  I think he's anxious to see his Mama and baby brother.  I have to remember that he's four...

Meals:  Eggs in Holes

????

Cheeseburgers on the go, Banana Split for Caleb

Wednesday:  Caleb is outside screaming his head off and no he's not crying or mad.  He's playing.  I forget that a child can be so very noisy.  

We finally got the call to come visit around 3pm yesterday.  Caleb couldn't sit still and was so excited.  When he saw the baby, the first thing he did was reach out and rub his hand all over his head.  He was so proud to get to hold him.  He kept telling me, "This is Hendry's borning day."

At his Mama's request last night, after he met his baby brother, he was taken to get a Banana Split.  I insisted he eat a hamburger before allowing him to eat the ice cream.  He ate less than half the thing.  We were shocked at two things: the cost and the size.  Lifting that banana split, I realized it was a very hefty dish of ice cream, weighing about a pound.  I think we all three could have eaten from it and still had leftovers.  As it was he got about 1/3 of it and that mostly fruit and a little ice cream.  It was when he decided that he wanted to forgo the spoon and plant his face in it that John had enough.  He picked up the dish and put it in the trash and herded us out the door.  I can't say I blame him.  It was messy enough to have ice cream with a four-year-old without putting his whole face in it.

Today has been a long one.  I have found that no matter how hard I might try to keep my eye on him, I simply cannot relax a moment and think I will get a single task done without turning to find he's done something I'd least expect him to have done.  And it happens in the matter of a turn and then turning back, not a long time without attention focused solely upon him.  I realized finally that I am not going to accomplish anything beyond meals this week.  That's the most I shall get to do.  It's made me antsy as heck but so be it. 

Meals:  Peanut Butter Toast

Chicken Fajita Tacos

Spaghetti with Veggie Meat Sauce

Thursday:  Caleb was considerably better yesterday afternoon after talking with his Mama.  For the most part it was nice enough for him to play outdoors and he stayed on the porch and played for hours.  

This morning, he got up and ordered his breakfast, a rather large meal.  He wanted cereal and yogurt with blueberries.  I had bought milk for his cereal, so he had that.  He had his yogurt and blueberries. He had a cereal bar.  He had a banana.  I thought surely that would hold him but no, he needed a next breakfast as well.  And he begged for cookies all morning long but didn't get any.  

It's rained all day today.  I thought he'd be all right playing on the back porch, but he got wet.  He got his shoes even more wet.  I had to make him come indoors.  We resorted to watching videos for a bit and then we sent him to play in his room for a while.  This afternoon he's succumbed to the rainy weather blues and has fallen asleep.  

While he was watching videos, he said to me, "I really liked school...."  I explained that his teacher knew where he was and wasn't upset.  He hadn't been sent home for any reason. He was just with us until Henry could get into the world and that when Mama went home so would he.  And then he could go back to school. 'My teacher didn't get mad?'   "Nope.  Your teacher thinks you're a good boy and she didn't get mad."  I told Katie it nearly broke my heart to think that the stupid daycare workers we've had over the last 2 years did so much damage to his self-esteem.  And why is it different now?  I'd say because his teacher is a parent as well as an experienced teacher and she has two boys of her own not too much older than Caleb, where the day care people were largely inexperienced.  

And I'm here to say that I'm a proponent of discipline of some sort and whoever the idiot was who determined that it was wrong to put a child in a time out or quiet space for a few minutes until they could self-regulate is a regular jerk of the worst sort.  Children need to know that there is a structure of behavior and that actions have consequences.

I'm just grateful he was never subjected to physical abuse.  I recall fully the one nursery Mama took us to at one point while she was working and the abuse there was horrible. It was not directed at my brothers and myself (at least not at my oldest brother and I think it unlikely my younger brother was abused), but unfortunately all of the children there saw the abuse, so it was still a traumatic thing.  Mama was absolutely horrified when she found out what we'd witnessed on a daily basis.  To this day I feel the absolute sick feeling in the pit of my stomach I felt all those years ago.

Katie has just texted that she's waiting for the pediatrician to release the baby then she is heading home.  And she wants Caleb to come home so he can go back to his beloved school tomorrow.    I just hope they get released prior to dark thirty tonight.

Meals:  Toast for us...Caleb had a meal that lasted two hours, lol

Pot Roast with Veggies

Cheeseburgers again.  Ugh.

Friday:  I'm having a cooling down spell.  I've just finished doing the bulk of my housework.  I still need to remake the guest bed, but I have to wait for those sheets to dry first.  I only have the one set for that bed.  I'd planned, last year, to replace the full-sized bed with twin beds, which I still would like to do...so I wouldn't buy a new set of sheets to go on the bed since it is seldom used.  No twin beds, no twin sets and no full sets, lol.  It's not a problem, but it is a reminder that I must either buy a set of full sheets or get busy and find affordable sturdy twin mattresses and headboards.  

Anyway, the house is picked up. Thunder is rumbling outdoors, and the air is heavy.  The skies are dark.  The AC has barely run the past two days but I'm plenty warm at the moment after doing chores.  I'm going to cool off and then get on my makeup and get ready to take Josh out to lunch.  This is going to prove a little more difficult than planned.  

School was cancelled for today.  There were threats and so the school closed as a precaution.  This means that Millie and Isaac will be wanting to come along as well.  And that would be fine, but this was planned as Josh's day.  In the end, it will be up to him if he wants to share his day out with them or not.  

Last night about 6pm, when Caleb had refused to eat a bite of food, I finally texted Katie, who was still waiting on the pediatrician and told her we'd just head on over.  It takes an hour to get to her house anyway and we needed to stop and pick up prescriptions, so I figured it would be a good hour and a half before we arrived.  

Caleb headed back to the back porch again and I watched him play as I quickly washed the dishes in the sink.  I decided I'd run to the restroom (it is a running thing when Caleb is here, lol) and no kidding, in the three minutes I was gone, he was out in the yard and had found a muddy puddle to dig in.  He didn't get it on his clothes, but his hands and feet and legs were a mess.  How he managed to get none of it on his clothes is beyond me.

Did we yell and fuss?  No, I didn't.  I just told him to stand on the rug and not move then started water running in the tub.  I sent John to go watch him.  We stripped off his clothing, John carried him to the tub, and put him in.  He kept saying "It's my fault...are you mad?"  I told him I wasn't mad; I just wish he'd not waited until we were moments from leaving when he chose to do this.  

I am truly the sort of Gramma (and was that sort of Mama, too) who recalls well the pleasure of splashing in puddles and playing in mud and I won't deny any child the opportunity if it's an appropriate time (i.e. we're not out and about somewhere or in a bad time crunch, which we weren't last night).  Once he got cleaned up and dressed, we headed out of the house.  He was so excited to go home.

He talked for the full hour and a half we were in the car.  I mean, he doesn't stop talking.  He's not just asking questions, he comments on everything, makes up stories and just talks non-stop.  His mama was the same.  Tuesday night when he was rambling on and on, John looked over at me and said, "That is Katie 2.0, right in my back seat."  I laughed because it's so true.

We all arrived at the house at the same moment.  Caleb was so excited that Hendry was home.  He wanted to hold him, but Henry was hungry and ready for a bottle.  Katie asked me to feed him while she puttered around setting things to rights in her house.  Cody made Caleb a sandwich, while I fed Henry.  Poor little Caleb got the boppy and sat down next to me, ready to have his turn at holding him, and I was going to let him, but John said, "No!  That's for his mama and daddy to decide not you."  Caleb and I both were disappointed.  I reckon at this point of my life, I've handled enough babies, I can still manage to help a four-year-old hold a baby...

Of course, the man who told me, "When you're done, we're leaving..." then proceeded to start a conversation with Katie's FIL and I had to remind him three times that we were leaving.  John loses all sense of time when he's started a conversation.

We stopped for a burger on the way home, since we hadn't eaten either.  We'd been waiting on that phone call that might come at any moment saying to head their way...

When we got home, John and I watched a vlog and then I picked up my stuff and headed to bed to watch my own vlogs for a little bit. I'm between books here of late but I just felt I was ready to stretch out and relax.  I saw 3 minutes of my vlog and then I went to sleep and slept hard for two or three hours.  I had leg cramps, so I got some electrolyte drink then went right back to bed and slept until 7:30 this morning.   

How do I know I saw just 3 minutes of my vlog last night?  I found my place in it this morning and finished watching it, lol.  I was exactly three minutes in.  I guess this woman was worn out.

Well, I've cooled off, so I'm headed to put on my makeup and then to take Josh to lunch.  I expect I'll do a few more chores this afternoon, but I doubt I'll write more.  

So, here's wishing you a happy weekend.  Ours will be busy, as we're fetching Taylor this weekend and taking her back again on Sunday.  Then next week we've a busy week getting ready for another busy weekend and week following.    

What are your plans this weekend?  How was your week?

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