Flybabies March 8th

The dishes are done.
Sink is clean.
Bathroom was cleaned.
I baked two loaves of whole-wheat bread.
Did a lot of vegan cookbook reading/drafting.
And...
I started drafting a menu plan for the family. We are making the switch to veganism. (I had been a vegetarian for over 9 years when I gave it up ~ I still have no clue why.) Doctors have found for it to be within my best interest if I go the route of the vegan ~ so here we go, again. I must remain motivated!

That is the end of my tada.....
A small one ~ but it is there.

Live as if your were to die tomorrow.
Learn as if you were to live forever.
~ Gandhi ~

No posting for me over the weekend...I was too busy writing code every hour I could stay awake (and, I think, some of the ones when I was sleeping). But I just sent off a reasonably finished application and a nice four-figure invoice, so it was worth the effort.

PODA:
- Feed critters (done!)
- Dishes, diapers, dinner (the usual 3D's)
- Straighten enough to vacuum in the office
- Write book chapter
- Review book chapter from co-author
- Tech edit chapter from another book

That's all I can reasonably cram in, and I suspect it will all go out the window anyhow; DD1 1/2 went up to 103.7 last night, her breathing is pretty labored at the moment, and I expect we'll be making a doctor visit some time today.

Susannah, good luck getting things in order. We'll expect a full report when you come back

I'll miss you too! But I totally understand why you are doing it. I've spent more time here last week than in the past few, and I sure can tell it. I need to spend MUCH LESS time here myself. Especially on other heated threads. I feel I'm much in the minority here when it comes to issues like that, and as a result, a bit bashed and downright angry.

Chance did well the last trip we took (10 hours to Arizona), so I think we will be ok on the trip to ABQ. We won't take the camper, though.

I got the living room/dining room vacuumed and picked up. Had to go to town to take Chance's jersey and shorts to the embroiderer to be fixed, ordered me a denim shirt with school logo too.

Ya'll have a great day!

Well, I went ahead and joined flyladies. It seems very strait forward. Mostly getting into a routine. I have a bit of a routine established, but I'm going to try and get a better one going. I need to remember to brush the babies teeth in the morning. I need to keep up on the dishes during the day. (I normally just wash them once a day, and let them stack otherwise.) I did pretty good at that today, and my hubby told my daughter (when he didn't know I was listening) "Your mom is preety neat." So I take it that he was pleased. I need to spend more time with Angel and her reading. She's really behind, and I need to do Hooked on Phonics with her, but keep procrastinating it. I need to get dressed in the mornings (I'm lazy about that) and I need to take better care of myself (see New You). But today I made up myself a schedule. It's very flexible, cause, frankly, I have a 2 year old and a 1 year old, and I'm married to a redneck! I have to be flexible. And I'm trying to do the morning and evening routines that flylady says I should do. So - wish me luck!

...by sick kidlet. Visit to the doctor yesterday as I expected; DD1 1/2 does have an ear infection and we've got her on Zithromax. She's mostly sleeping. The next question is which kid is going to Texas with Dana tomorrow morning.

Meanwhile, Tada:

- Fed critters
- Washed diapers, cooked dinner (DW did the dishes for me)
- Wrote book chapter
- Review book chapter from co-author
- Took DD to doctor
- Wrote a book proposal
- Did some weeding
- Shoveled chicken poop

SLUG:
- Straighten enough to vacuum in the office
- Tech edit chapter from another book

PODA:
- Feed critters (some time after the sun comes up; DS3 got me up at 4AM)
- Glue down ripped-up carpet squares in office ("Daddy, I was just looking for bugs")
- Dinner, Dishes, Diapers
- Burn some trash
- Plant herbs in greenhouse
- Weeding
- More henhouse cleanup
- Write newsletter
- Get to bed at a reasonable hour so we can all get up at oh-dark-thirty tomorrow

We'll see how I feel about this list as the day goes on...probably there's a nap in my future too.

Oh, my gosh. I just read the list of posters, and I feel like I'm "back home"! I don't know if you remember me, VONNIE IT'S SO GOOD TO READ A POST FROM YOU! but I need to get back in the swing of things big time. I need to loose weight and really attack my house. Our lives are a bit upside down right now, and I just need some peace. Good morning!

--Karin

Karen, I just missed your post!! How's the new house. (or maybe not so new anymore )
How are the kids?
Good to see you posting again.

Jamie Lea

I remember you ...welcome back

Mindy when you child is learning to read kill two birds with one stone and have her sit in the kitchen with you and read to you as you do the dishes. I did that with DD[now16] and she read chapter books in first grade. Even if they can't read for real they can "Tell" the story their way. This will also get them interested in the real thing. Good mommy time.

Hello! I am not doing much at home today because I have been gone all day, and will continue to be until tonight. Same tomorrow. Very tiring.

O/T: I have noticed that everyone seems to feel in the minority on hot-button threads. I take this as a sign that TNH must be well-balanced ("a good compromise leaves everyone mad").

Hey Karin, glad to have you back!

And Welcome to Mindymonster! I haven't tried HOP, but I (and Susannah has too, I'll speak for her since she is taking a TNH break) use Teach Your Child To Read in 100 Easy Lessons. My oldest was reading before she started Kindergarten, and we are using it on dd4 (will be 5 in June).

I've been running around the past two days. Got Chance's uniform (it's so cute!!!), shirts for the cheerleaders, and a shirt embroidered for me. Went to pep rally at school, picked up girl scout cookies in town, got cokes at Sonic. Back to the school to drop off shirts. We decided to come home after the game tomorrow, which will put us home about 2am. Then I'm going to sub Thursday at school. Whew! LOL! Oh, guess I need to do my school news column for the paper before we leave tomorrow. We are going to follow the cheerleaders, the boys left after school today.

Adios!

Here's a Hot Button Issue for Flybabies

What's the best washing machine? I am getting a new one, and will be checking out a Kenmore I used on vacation. Does anyone love their washer? What kind is it? I've never bought one because DH got ours used 15 years ago, and it's lasted...I don't even know what to look for other then that Kenmore could hold WAY more clothes than mine, and it got them really dry, even before they went into the dryer, which will be a big savings on the propane bill.

So what do you think? Suggestions please!

Good Morning!

Way to go Mindy on keeping the kitchen and house in order,it gets to be automatic in no time.

Hi to All

PODA:
put away laundry
still need to get washed and dressed
vacuum family room and playroom
post office
dinner
homework

Jane Eyre is really something else. Even though it was written so very long ago,it has relevance today. When I finish it I want to see the movie.

A friend has her Barbie Dreamhouse complete with all the furniture and accessories that you were able to get with it back then. She has offered it to me for DD. What do you all think would be a fair price?
If too much,then we will pass on it.

DS did some homework at a friend's house down the street yesterday. This friend has similar reading issues as my son and is in the same group with him at school. so got to bounce ideas around with her mom. Good to have as many supports/resources as possible. The more people I talk to about reading disabilities, the more i find out that they or someone they know is dyslexic as well. Interesting...

Well, better get moving here.

Have a wonderful day you all.

heidi

Good Afternoon!

TADA:post office
vacuumed family room and playroom
put away laundry
took DD to park and library(next to post office)

Still to do:
dinner
homework
DD bath

Vonnie- I still have audiences in my bathroom!!! Sometimes she is so kind as to hand me some balled up toilet paper...KIDS
hope your cookout goes well,good to get together with others,so hard to get together it seems these days.

Jenny- how did the late night and the day of subbing go? Lots of cokes I guess!! Hope you can catch a catnap in there somewhere.

Andrea-are you AWOL? hope things are well with you.

Better get dinner ideas going before the late afternoon rush.

Take Care
Heidi

And when I used to babysit, the kids wanted to follow ME in there too. It's the stereotypical moms' complaint--"I never get to go to the bathroom alone!"

My cats do it too, by the way.

Jo, I had a front-loading washer (rented w/ the flat) in England and loved it. I don't know what brand it was though, and they are expensive.

I have a poda but don't feel like posting it.

I am lurking b/c I can hardly keep up w/ postings these days, but had to say hi to Karin!! Welcome back!

Also, a plug for the front-loading washers. We got ours at Sears, a Kenmore, and it is great!

Uses less water, less energy, is gentler to your clothes, and gets them cleaner. You pay a bit more up front but you certainly make it back. No special detergent required, at least not for ours. And it's true about the spin cycle -- you can really spin the heck out of them and get lots of the water out. We do an extra spin cycle with things like towels and diapers and it really helps.

You can usually put bigger loads and bigger things in a front loader too, compared to the average top loader. Good for comforters, sleeping bags, etc.

And they don't get unbalanced quite so easily.

Gee, I didn't realize how grateful I should be for my washer!

Good Morning!

Hi Shaun. Good to see you!

Mindy- we all have off days especially if illness is lurking. Hang in there,baby steps,baby steps...

Andrea-is book group at your house tonight? What book are you all discussing? i am thinking of joining or starting a book group myself. need to look into it a bit further.

Mike-how did DW andDD do on their trip to TX? Does it feel strange with just you and DS at home?

Lois-way to go on the photos/letter.

Jo- tell Ds to "break a leg" tonight. Enjoy the show and send some of those lemon and key lime bars my way why don't you...

PODA
Aldi run
shower
make bed
find goose nest around our pond and relocate
dinner
homework

It is their nesting season and we can't stand them walking all over the yard and leaving their goose droppings everywhere. One disadvantage to living on a pond, I guess.

Hope you guys have a good day today.

Heidi

I am sick of having to get quarters all the time, but our apartment doesn't have a washer hook-up.

I got a coupon for grocery delivery because the strike is over at last. I need to do some kind of picking up around the living room-- starting to lose things!

Good Morning!

TADA:
Ds off to school
DD fed,dressed,changed
bed made
bills paid
read paper

PODA
bank deposit
visit friend/playdate for our kids
dinner
no homework!

Gonna brag about my kid....DS got his state test scores back and is in the 88.9% as a combined avergage in all subject areas. Soooo proud of him since he struggles so hard with his dyslexia.

Got 4 inches of snow dumped on us last night. Ugh! Then it's supposed to be close to 50 over the weekend.

Didn't get a chance to look for the goose nest and now everything is buried in snow so will wait til it melts to look again.

Hope you guys have a wonderful day.

see ya later.

Heidi

Lois, way to go on getting those pictures sent off. I'm the worst at sending pictures, takes me forever.

Heidi, Congratulations on your DS's scores. That's great

Jenny, glad your home safe and hope you were able to get some rest.

Didn't get a chance to post yesterday so here's my TADA from yesterday.

TADA
completed Morning routine
2 loads laundry, washed, dried, put away
de-cluttered pantry
spiffied kitchen, LR, and Family room
ironed 4 shirts for DH
homeschooled
made a few calls I've been putting off

Today is DS18 and DC17's last day of school, spring break starts next week.
Soooo, today's also mine and DS5's last day of homeschooling and we'll be taking spring break off as well.

We've got a busy weekend ahead of us. We've got a parent meeting for DS5's soccer team in the morning, DH is coaching again this season and all but one child is returning from last season. Then we've leaving for Texas A & M (about 3 hours away) to see DS18 perform at NJROTC competition. Sunday DH and I will probably celebrate our anniversary, it's actually on Monday but that wont work very well. I've always wanted to eat at the Tower of America (Andrea did you ever eat there when you were here??) but I'm a little scared. We'll see.

Well DS is ready to get in the classroom. No he's not always that excited, but he started a project yesterday that he wants to finish.

Hope you all have a great weekend.
Jamie Lea

I vote for shooting them. LOL!! Of course, ya'll know how gun happy I am.

I got some sleep, not enough. never enough. LOL! It's cold and rainy here (yay!), and we are out of bread. I might try to make some, but with DH's diet, he really has to limit bread and the smell might be too much for him to take. So, we may just live without for a couple days. But I'm hungry! Too tired to make dinner last night, the kids got sandwiches (the last of the bread). Then I skipped breakfast because I always have peanut butter toast. Don't know what I will do about lunch, eating dinner at the inlaws. I was called to sub but DH wasn't here to watch the kids, so had to turn them down.

Did I tell ya my computer told me I had no more hard drive space? Never had that happen before!

Doing laundry today, playing around some, might pick up, but what's the point. Been pricing new computers. If it rains this summer, I might can get a new one!

Mike, hope DS3 gets over missing mama so much. Did he do fine the time she and DD went to W/DC?

Ya'll have a great day!

I missed you guys!!

My laptop crashed, I had to reformat the hard drive, still didn't work, ended up getting a new one. Not very happy with an unexpected big expense now but I NEEDED it. LOL... So now I have a new laptop, then my Mom gets the old one working, so now Dh and i each have our own. At least I got the new one.

I tried to catch up reading everyone's posts but it really has been so long. Hope everyone is good, sounds like you have all been very busy.

Mike, good to "see" you. Hope Dana is feeling well, and you too. How are your migraines?

Jamielea, how are you feeling? Sounds like you have lots going on. Hope you're feeling well. I actually am feeling the best I have during my pregnancy. My blood pressure was a little high, but Dr says not to worry, no protein in my urine. Could it be the 25lbs I have gained that I am lugging around How many weeks are you now? Im 27 weeks, i will be 28 weeks on Monday.

Hi to Everyone. I hope to be around more now that I have my laptop back.

We have been on vacation this week. Lots of yummy out to dinners, relaxing, movies. And we are decorating the baby's room. I love it. We did the John Lennon real love theme. It is coming along so cute. If I get a chance I will post some pictures either tom or Sunday.

OK on to the flapping.... really not much..

~painted the trim in the baby's room
~got breakfast for DH and I
~dusted

still have to:
~get snacks for tonight having my parents, sis and brother over to play cards
~vacuum
~pick up all our painting junk from around the room so we can show everyone tonight
~take a quick nap
~take a shower since I am covered in paint

Well, good to see everyone again. I will try to check in more often, tomorrow is a big day, DSil is closing on her house today, we are helping them move tomorrow. Then off Sun and then back to work. Blech.
Have a great night and Happy Flying Love, Jackie

Well, I kept my dishes done, but my kitchen is not clean. The house is neat, but I didn't get any vacuuming done. Plus I haven't gotten any flylady posts in 2 days. I don't know why. But, as I said in another post, I didn't kill any kids, so I did really well today.
Mike - I know that men aren't the only illogical ones, I've met a few illogical women (my sister comes to mind), but as a woman, I'm biased - I think women rule, and men drool!
Anyway, I gotta go, I'll talk to you all later!

Tada:

- Dinner, dishes, diapers
- Fed critters
- Watered in greenhouse
- Did some weeding
- Burned trash
- Moved big bookshelf out of bedroom-to-be
- Author review on two chapters
- Read galley proofs for an article
- Wrote introduction for next book

Slug:
- Write some code (well, I wrote a tiny bit, but didn't work on the big project I've been procrastinating on)

PODA:
- Dinner, dishes, diapers
- Feed critters (done!)
- Water in greenhouse
- Do some weeding
- Burn trash (done!)
- Move giant desk out of bedroom-to-be. This will probably require a saw.
- Revise book appendix
- Work on that coding project
- Sweep in back bathroom

I really need to start working on floors and horizontal surfaces. I'd like the place to be a bit cleaner when DW gets home than when she left. Won't stay that way once the whole family is back together, but it would be a nice thing to do.

Jenny, hard drives are cheap these days. Of course new computers are almost as cheap, and don't require you to know anything about putting together computers DS did better the last time DW took a trip - there was about a day of "mama better come home" and then he mostly played. But he was 2 then instead of 3 1/2 now, and he only had about one day of memory for most things. Plus it was only 5 days instead of 2 weeks. Last night he climbed up into my lap and stated "I miss mama." But we're managing OK.

Jackie, migraines are kinda sorta under control. I'm now taking Depakote twice daily as a preventative, and it does indeed seem to be preventing most of the daily low-level ones without notable side effects. It doesn't do a thing, as far as I can tell, to prevent the roughly weekly serious ones. For those I have Imitrex, which will knock down the headache at the cost of two hours of unpleasantness and eight hours of spaciness. I often don't have that ten hours to spare, so I tend to just ignore the bad ones as best I can. Dana's pregnancy is still completely uneventful, though pretty soon I'll be the one getting to drive the truck again.

OK, time to get a bit more work done before DS wakes up and the circus begins anew

Susan, I love reading about your adventures with a teen DD! She seems like a lovely young woman, and it's inspiring for me with my two still-little girls. Thanks! And good luck with the hair!

Cari -- can I call you Bronwyn? -- what about Sweetcheeks?! Good to see you peeking in too.

And of course Tigerlilly -- wow. The roster is ever changing around here. We really do need a directory or something.

We have hit a low that we haven't seen for some time here -- filled up the DW, with another load waiting in the sink. Yes, two loads stacked up, for no reason -- no company, no big baking session (I guess I did make some baby food cubes with the steamer and food processor). Sigh ...

And I was reminded today that my "Christmas cards" still sit in the cabinet in the dining room, unmailed.

Whine whine whine . . .

Fun weekend planned anyway -- went to church Fish Fry last night then took DD almost-5 for ice cream that she earned for good behavior. Got a babysitter for tonight and going to a grown-up party! (Mainly people with no children, I think -- lots of young lawyers -- we'll see . . . At least there'll be wine!) And tomorrow I am taking DD to a community theatre production of Wizard of Oz (a friend's older daughter is Dorothy), which I've heard is great and fun.

That should take my mind off the house! (Come to think of it, it does look like a tornado passed through . . .)

Finally, I think things will settle down around here a bit. Well, I hope so anyway!

DS12 was so great in the play! Infact, I think all of the children were just incredible. It was called Honk! and is a musical version of the Ugly Duckling story. My son was the comic-relief Bullfrog, and I was musical director. The kids that were in it were 4-14 in age, and they pulled off 90 minutes of dialogue and music (14 songs. Kids never cease to amaze me...

Before I post my TADA, I have to say that my new washer was installed yesterday, and WOW. I think from now on I should be able to get all our weekly laundry done in 3-5 loads, instead of 6-12 like before, and the dry time is down from 120 minutes to 20! That should speed things up significantly. I didn't want y'all to see my small laundry load number and think I am slacking!

TADA
dishes
meal planned
groceries
school board meeting
picked up the taxes
found a dress for a fundraier dinner dance next weekend
bought DD new underwear, her old ones had become unintentional thongs
2 loads of laundry
cleaned out the van so I can wash/vacuum it tomorrow
listened to a basketball game on the radio-we won the conference!

PODA
1 load of laundry to finish
wash and heat disinfect more quart jars for the guys to package their syrup in
dinner: steak, spinach, and something
go for a walk
read the paper
bathe DD, and maybe trim her hair
cut my hair (this is a job for DH and me both)

Bye,
-Jo

And hello again. The naming last night, and the party afterwards, went well. I almost cried during several parts of it. Three of the relatives involved were my blood relatives (the baby, his mother, and her father), so we had a picture taken of us at the party to send to my mom. It was extra-festive, like a wedding reception except without music and dancing.

I was a little hungover this morning (from two lousy glasses of wine!) but I did run to the post office and the pharmacy, and went to Borders and hung out with DH. Then I came home and altered our March budget to accommodate some unexpected expenses. Then I called my uncle, with whom I will be staying and whose son I will be babysitting Monday night and Tuesday morning.

Dishes? People are supposed to wash dishes? Who knew?

I'm kidding. I know about the shiny sink. I've just been a little busy and tired!

Tada:
- Dinner, dishes, diapers + 1 other load of laundry
- Fed critters
- Watered in greenhouse
- Did some weeding
- Burned trash
- Cut up giant desk and moved out of bedroom-to-be.
- Started removing paneling from walls
- Revised book appendix
- Worked on that coding project

SLUG:
- Sweep in back bathroom (oops! Forgot all about that one!)

PODA:
- 3 D's
- Wash sheets
- Feedcritters (done!)
- Water in greenhouse
- Dosome weeding
- Burn trash (done!)
- Haul giant desk bits to barn
- Find places for stuff on last remaining shelf in bedroom-to-be
- Strip more paneling from walls
- Write more code
- Get paperwork together for tax preparer
- Sweep in back bathroom
- Dig holes to plant plum trees

And yes, some of the same things keep coming up over and over again. There's a big pile of trash that needs to be burned, and I've been doing a little bit each morning while DS sleeps...can't do too much because I don't want him waking up alone in the house. Fortunately, with the weather being good, he's been getting an hour of running around time each afternoon, which is really helping with his sleep schedule. Yet another reason to enjoy spring!

Jenny, yesterday it went from "I miss mama" to "mama better come home." Most of the time he's OK but first thing in the morning is not so good. Oh well, nine more days...we'll put another X on the calendar when he wakes up this morning. For some reason he's adamant about not wanting to talk to her on the phone. Haven't figured that one out yet.

I used to "what-if" my high school years, but overall, I'm pretty happy with the way things turned out, so I don't really have any desire to change things any longer. Besides, I can't remember back that far now

Well, I posted last week, that was great. Then I decided I wanted to move some living room furniture so I could see the birds and flowers better, which lead to me tearing up carpet in the old living room/new dining room to reveal hardwood floor underneath (gorgeous), and rearranging three rooms of furniture. I'm just finishing putting the computer back finally. It would have been done quicker, but I have horrible arthritis which slows things down. And the weather's been nice here so the boys and I put together a greenhouse, built some shelves and started some seeds.

Now, all that sounds great, but I really don't have routines and I need them back. I feel like I'm aimlessly just putzing around the house, can't keep up with the boys and the messes they make (I have three DSs, ages 5, 3, 1). DH is great, just always busy with work so not much of a help these days. He tries, but what can I do?

I started a control journal three years ago, and it's still a work in progres. I started taxes in January, only have a few more blanks to fill in for a hefty refund. I'd rather demolish things, like tear up carpet or old bushes that need to be ripped up. But I really need to get some routines back in our lives to keep the basics in check. Some of you sound like you're doing great! Any others stuck in the mud like me?

--Karin

Why, oh why is life so busy? I am climbing walls today because I sat down with my calendar and various papers with important dates on them to collate it all in one place. I thought things were going to calm down now that the show is over. Not! I did not become a teacher for June, July and August as the old joke goes, but I admit that for the first time in 14 years I am really gleefully anticipating summer vacation. And the worst part of all this is that I know full well that I did it to myself...

OK, I'm done whining.

TADA
laundry all done
church
calendar updated through June
fling boogie in the medicine cabinet, had quite a bit of expired stuff in there
school work, wrote 4 letters

PODA
finish school work
5 mile run outside It's 44 and sunny!
dinner: pork roast, squash, and something green
premake some meals for this week
sort and put away folded clean laundry
sort & toss magazines and catalogues

Have a good one!
-Jo