Saturday...Family day!

 Today was the day of the memorial service and funeral for my friend Alaina and so I'd been thinking about her since I woke up this morning.  I then got to thinking about baby Jacob, my Aunt B, my Grannie, my Grandpa, my family friend Derrick, our beloved dog Brecon.... and on and on.   It's scary and sad as you get older and you begin to experience people and pets dying.  And you hope it's when you get older, but tragically some people experience loss when they are only young...   oy, so very sad. At the hour of her service my sweet husband set a candle on the table and lit it for her.  Later we hung some bells and some bird food in our magnolia tree.  I can see it out of my kitchen window.  I was given the tree for Mother's Day some years back and it seemed a perfect place to put a memorial for Alaina.

We spent the rest of the day getting hair cuts, having burrito bowls at Chipotle ( oh boy! ), stopping in at Starbucks to visit hubby's photos which are hanging on the wall there, and sitting by the fire.  Baby is starting to get close to rolling over.  She's taking her sweet time WHICH IS FINE BY ME!!!  Gah.. I can't imagine how crazy it's going to be once that little girl can crawl!!!

Jessie was out at a sleep over last night and she came home whilst we were still out.  Luckily she knew where the key was and was able to let herself in the house.  She called once she got inside and we were only 5 minutes away from arriving home.  When it's only 17 degrees outside she needs to be able to get inside fast.  Yikes.  Glad we had a spare!

Anyway, once again the kiddoes are now sleeping.  The clock on the wall is tick tocking, the fire is crackling away and I can hear the murmur of the TV from the other room.  I think a nice warm something something sounds about right for tonight.  I'll raise my glass to Alaina and everyone else who has passed on.  I can imagine them as diaphanous beings floating just off the Earth's surface.  They are away to new things, new horizons, new beginnings.  I miss them and I wish them well....  Godspeed out there.  Godspeed.

Fun Friday! ;D

I'm getting the hang of this I think!!!  Again up and dressed... lah lah lah BUT I got up later this morning.  Baby slept in, hubby was sleeping in Jack's bed since Jack got up at 3, I'd been up with baby several times in the night and was exhausted and SO ON ....  tsk... BUT I didn't freak out that I wasn't up first, it didn't throw me off course, I just picked up where I was and got on with my tasks!!  (It's a big deal to me folks!!)

Jessie was going to a sleep over tonight and Mary, our lovely friend, was coming over to pick her up, so after a quick trip to Super Target we came home, I fling boogied the van and swept and mopped my floor (including under the fridge... good GOD does anyone look under their fridge?!?  HOW is there so much hair under there?!?!?!)  then we lit a fire again and I quickly baked some oatmeal and raisin cookies.  Mary arrived, we had lovely cup of tea and a chat then they were off... and I was alone....with Jack and the baby.  Hmmm... no problem.... I can handle this.... then.....   wwwwwhhhhhhaaaaaa......!!!    and that was just ME!!  LOL!!   Millie started to fuss.  She was hungry and it was "that time of night"  where she wants to constantly eat, then she sleeps a while, then she eats some more!!  I called Rex to check when he was coming home!!  I gave Millie some milk and she went right to sleep so I quickly picked up a bit and then started to think about dinner.  I knew we were having chicken, just not sure what I was going to do with it...  I got Jacques Pepin's cookbook in the mail today and he had a recipe for asparagus that looked good!   I just happened to have some asparagus in the fridge so we had chicken and asparagus with a mustard sauce...  yummy! Jack asked if we could sit at the table to eat ( I KNOW!!) and he ate every bit of his food!  Rex enjoyed it so much he asked afterward for the check!!  Hah hah!!  I got the kitchen all cleaned up, sink shiny and dishwasher loaded and ready to go.  Right now Jack and Millie are both sleeping and hubster is waiting for my company in front of a crackling fire...!!  So, friends, I bid you adieu!

Night all!!

(night night Jessie, if you are reading this....!! xx)

Rainy days and Thursdays!

Today was one of my favorite kinds of days!  Rainy, chilly and gloomy!!!  Whenever we get a day like that, I know it's a perfect day to stay indoors, sit by the fire and relax!  Today we did just that!!  I did do my Flylady mission of course, which was to wipe off all the counters in the kitchen.. Here's where having a teeny kitchen really helps!!  It took me all of 5 minutes to do!!  I did also wash, dry and fold a load of laundry but somehow when you fold it sitting in front of a fire, it doesn't seem so much work!!  I did have to go out for a moment to get some more milk this morning, and since I was out anyway I thought the kids might enjoy a donut... so we made some hot chocolate, took our donuts, sat by the fire and watched reruns of Frasier on Netflix!!  It was such a peaceful day!

In the afternoon I thought I would do a little "school" with Jack... ( Jessie had worked on some math in the morning on the Kahn academy website) so I tried this neat idea I'd seen on a website today.  I got a large piece of paper and drew a road on it with several parking spaces.  In the parking spaces I wrote words or numbers and then Jack had to drive his car into the right spots!  He LOVED this game and kept begging me to play more!  We'll play more tomorrow I expect!


As of right now we have had dinner, the counters are clean, dishwasher is loaded and MILLIE IS TRYING TO EAT MY ARM as I type!!  She's sucking  on it so hard I'm afraid she's going to leave a mark!!!  I guess I should get her some milk!!

Until tomorrow then!!!

:D

If not now, WHENsday!!

Today was anti procrastination day!!  I put it off as long as I could!!  Flylady said we should take care of those things we had been putting off... so.... I started to make a list of all the things I have been putting off!!! LOL!!!  I did get some things done though.  I wrote two letters to my friends to tell them how much I love them!!  I did a 27 fling boogie.... ( went through the house throwing away 27 things, then finding 27 things to donate...)  I did two loads of laundry, sorted out the junk drawer in the kitchen and the "Stuff" cupboard in the kitchen.  Made a yummy dinner and cleaned out the fridge!!! :D  

The kids and I took the dog for a quick walk... it was 50 flipping degrees today !!!  FIFTY!!  So naturally a walk was in order.  We weren't alone in our thinking!  Half the town passed by our house today I'm sure!!

It's been a lovely day, but feels like a long one... going to sit on the couch with hubs for a while before going to bed....

Night all!

Tuesday

Today was a looong day!  Woke up early to miss M chatting away, she fell asleep again but I got up and got ready for the day.  Mum was getting ready to go back to England this morning and much as we argue and fight sometimes when she is here, I knew I was also going to miss her terribly.  It's a crazy wheel she and I are on.  She is a HUGE help with the kids and really helps me with chores, laundry, dinner....  It's going to be a trick to keep things running smoothly with her not here....  :(    Anyhoo... Hubby came home around lunch time and took Mum to the airport.  We normally go too but Mum suggested that she just go alone this time, to dispose of the long goodbyes which are painful for us all but especially for her.  This way was more like a bandaid I think.  So off they went and I set to getting my chores done for the day.  Today's mission was to wash the cabinet doors in the kitchen.  Oh boy.  I HAVE done this in the past 10 years, but you wouldn't know it from looking at my doors!!!  It took me a bit more than the allotted 15 minutes to get them cleaned, but they look SO nice now!!  Today's Holiday Mission was to go through the Holiday Control Journal ( which I downloaded years ago! ) and to review Christmas with regard to any changes I might want to make or things to try again and so on.  I did actually get to do that tonight but I may also do some more tomorrow... I found an old Control Journal FROM 2002 !!  ... it needs updating!! ;D    Tuesday is Plan and Play day so I took sometime to make a menu for next week!!!  (HAH!!!) and am pretty happy about that!!  As for the Play part I took the kids for a walk this afternoon to the Bookmobile.  ... It was a balmy 41 degrees out but I think we may have dressed a little cooly for the  weather!!  It was a BRISK walk!  But then, of course, once we reached the van....

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Sorry... had to stop for a moment to clean up after a PUKING CAT.  What is WITH that damn cat?!?!
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..once we reached the van they had the heat on HIGH and there were other patrons in there too... it was SO hot and claustrophobic I had to leave pretty quick! I usually hang out and visit with Rebecca who runs the van but I couldn't stand it this time!!  We got a ton of books out though and hustled home through the thawing snow.

So, there ya have it!  An exciting day, right?!? :D  Mum has texted me from the airport... she's in Canada now....  good to know how she's getting along but BOY what a long day it will be for her.. She's still got to get to Heathrow, then to a bus to the town her car is in THEN hours of driving before she gets home.  It's hard to really relax until I know she's home safe and sound.

Anyhoo... time for me to shower and lay out my clothes for morning!  I've found that REALLY speeds things up for me... also to have Millie's stuff all laid out too... HUGE help with getting the day going!!

G'night all!! ;D

Monday Monday...!

Today was a good day..!  Flylady suggests today as Whole House Cleaning Day and back in the day I used to get my house cleaned in an hour... sheets stripped, washed and changed, trashcans emptied all through the house, vacuumed all through the house, windows and mirrors cleaned, papers purged, floor in kitchen washed... all in about an hour.  THAT was Before Miss Millie of course!!!  Today I made a good start, I strapped Millie into her sling and we set off!  We got the vacuuming done, I chose to strip the beds later in the week as Mum is leaving tomorrow and I'll do hers then too.  We cleaned the bathrooms and emptied the trash, I cleaned the mirrors and took out the recycling... then I worked on today's zone mission. This week's zone is the kitchen and the mission was to clean UP... any cobwebs on the ceiling, light fixtures and the top of the fridge.  Oh boy.  It's like I'd NEVER cleaned up there!!  The DUST was so thick!!!  I gave it a good clean though and I also took down our light fixture and cleaned it.  (I've NEVER done that!)  When hubs got home I told him I'd cleaned it, he shielded his eyes and flicked on the switch!  It's RIDICULOUS how much brighter the light shone !!!!

I also FINALLY got the trees out of the house.  I'd taken all the ornaments off a few days ago but left the trees with just their lights.  Today as it was so warm ( 43 degrees ) it felt like the day to get them out.  Both trees out, all needles swept up and away OH!  I also took my vacuum cleaner and washed the canister and filter today!! I'm shocked at how much filth we store in our carpets... how gross! : }

Anyway, yes, it was a busy day!  I couldn't have done it without help from Mum and Jessie though!!  Millie needs tons of attention and though she loves being in the sling, it was KILLING my back trying to clean the floor with her on my chest and taken down the tree would have been rather eye pokey!!

In other news... Papa Murphy's Thin Crust Pizza for dinner!!!  ( Hawaiian for me!! )

:D

Sunday.

Sunday is "renew your spirit day" and Flylady suggests curling up with a good book, going to a movie, taking a long hot bubble bath... basically something just for you.  I chose taking everyone to breakfast!! ;D  Rex was out with his bud moving a water heater so I took my Mum, Jess, Jack and Miss Millie out to breakfast.  We got there at the exact right time.  Late enough that we missed the folks who wanted to eat BEFORE church and early enough to miss all the peeps who wait to eat AFTER church.  Believe me you don't want to get there with the THOUSANDS of faithful who pour out of the huge churches in the area!  So we had a lovely breakfast and before our meal even arrived Hubby came to share it with us.  He just had coffee ( since he'd already eaten) and he held the baby whilst I ate!!  We played many rousing games of 20 questions with topics ranging from The Eiffel Tower to Stuart Little, to a chef's hat to primordial ooze!!  It was huge fun!  We had several tables around us listening in!  Jess asked if that could be how we do our homeschool from now on...!!! ;D  Once we'd finally finished breakfast and left the restaurant we headed to the grocery store to pick up a few things.  The kids came with me and we made a game of them trying to find items on my list and timing their results!  They had a blast and I barely had to do anything!! We headed home and Mum and I sat on the couch watching episode after episode of Frasier whilst crocheting ( Mum ) and felting ( me ).  It grew cold as the afternoon wore on so we lit a fire and, since we were watching Frasier, we each had a glass of sherry!  Now dinner has been eaten, the kitchen is almost completely tidy, Millie and Jack are both sleeping and I have a nice warm glow in my insides!!  My spirit feels renewed!  Whole house cleaning day tomorrow!