Taking Charge ~ Summer 2007

Two things right now dominating to the exclusion of all others.

1. Getting the minor corrections to my thesis done. I had a little session in the library today (thank you DH, for having DD!) and should be able to get it done this evening whilst DH has a 'meeting' with some colleagues (in the pub!). Then I can get it sent off to my departmental examiner for final approval. Then get it printed, bound, sent back to Warwick. Then it's really, finally, absolutely DONE. It has to be back by 4 July, so no slacking.

2. Moving. Ugh. Less said about that the better. One tiresome little task after another. One enormous bill after another. Still, only a week to go.

Thanks for starting the thread up again Lenora

Zillah

it's so noticeable that the regulars here have all moved onto new things.

This morning it was raining so heavily I nearly called in a sickie, but that's a little hard when the boss is snoring his head off next to you and you have to get his butt out of the bed first!! He's ended up driving down to London today in a hired van because a corporate client needed an item repairing before a big trade show thing which is being set up tomorrow. I know the weather's seriously grotty and bits of motorway are closed too so it hasn't been a great day for him. I just helped the kids and friend to build a giant den in the living room. I helped because they just didn't have a clue how to do it properly!!! It's much more spacious now.

I have to get my job in order because I'm flailing a bit now my wonderful new office lady has come to take over a large chunk of my daily stuff. I know there's loads to do but I need to get my head round it and reorganise myself.

I rearranged the dining room and now have the table on a slant so that DH has more space for his chair and we can properly access all the cupboards. That one's been put off too long. Also got ourselves some decent CD storage for the living room so there are more plans afoot to improve that room, when the temporary accommodation in there is dismantled of course!

Our home office looks dreadful though because I removed my whole basket of junk from next to my chair up to the office without clearing it, just so that the living room was less cluttered. It also has our old CD rack in here which will go in our bedroom later, but I still haven't put away the winter duvets, just dumped them in corners! How bad is that.

and we're beginning the cautious hunt for a new house, though we won't put ours on the market until next April. Saw a lovely place the other day for about one and a half times what we can realistically afford, but it's not in the right place anyway and the stairs came right down to the front door which is a major no-no, so it's just setting certain standards (the kitchen was to die for!). Our current stairs do that too, but there's no entrance to speak of here - this one had a large entrance but they'd still got the stairs right in your face as you came in. I don't envy you Zillah, but at least you should be fully settled in time for baby's arrival. I assume you chose the house with at least one extra child in mind!

oh yes, and we're off to SG in Aug (10-20). Finally booked that and started buying gifts! Need to plan our other shopping list for when we get there. Honey - I think you lost out last time, but I promise to be more organised about it this time so email me with requests!

Kerri.

Nice to see this thread again! I need to take charge of my house in a serious way. My daughter's 4 months old and growing like a weed. If we're smart we'll start our babyproofing now...or at least our cleaning preparatory to babyproofing. We've got a long way to go.

Oh goodness, what don't we have to do? My husband has always had a bad habit of leaving little things lying around, especially screws he's taken out of something he's tinkering with. Obviously he's going to have to quit that--we really have to get a workbench set up for him somewhere. And there's junk everywhere right now since I've been busy in the garden. It needs to find homes or go away. We need guards on the fireplace, gates on the stairs, and some kind of locks on the drawers and cabinets. I think the biggest adjustment is really just going to be us getting used to putting everything away and keeping the floors clear, though. It's going to be quite a job--we're just not that neat right now.

That is so exciting. I loved getting my little bound book. (There is a famous story of a scholar -- Johnathan Dollimore? -- who had already published his 1st book, which was also his dissertation, but his university compelled him to turn it in with the standard binding, so there is a copy of his book, still in its for-sale binding, doubly bound in academic black.)

The professional organizer may get us together yet, but the Chronically Disorganized person inside me ain't going down without a fight. Sooo much paper!

Shaun
www.redseahomeschool.wordpress.com

Hi All -

Well, here are my summer projects:

clean garage thoroughly and organize!
redo DD's room though furniture may have to wait
scrapbooking, hopefully I will catch up
clean carpets and furniture in LR and FR
go through closets and dresses and weed out stuff

Those are the biggies!

We've got two days to go before the big move. This weekend is dedicated to tidying and organising, so at least the stuff has a chance of being in vaguely the right place when the removers put it in the new place. Shaun, I feel your paper pain. Right now I'm ignoring a massive box of paper into which I have been shoving the PhD detritus as it's been emerging. Now I'm just wondering if I can simply seal it up and put it at the back of the loft! However, I have spent the morning with the papers on my desk, so feeling very virtuous

Sparrow, out of the mouths of babes! (Or 5 year olds in this case!) I think it wasn't until DD3 was about 6 months old that I really got a grip on how to homemake with a baby. Do you have a sling? I never managed to find the right thing with DD, and I'm determined to do better with the next one. I'm sure it would make things easier.

Andrea, those are some nice big projects you've got there. Especially that garage . . . Let us know how you're going. What are you tackling first?

Happy wedding anniversary Lenora! What did you get him? And what did you do? (that you'd like to share )

Kerri, hope you're not too wet down there?

Zillah

Re-learning how to keep house, that is, as well as many other things! Zillah, I do have a sling and a Baby Bjorn. The sling is an Over The Shoulder Baby Holder, and it was good for the first 3 months or so (and it'll probably be good again once she's big enough to go on my hip). After that, Miri decided she wanted to be straight as a board some of the time. Once she was in, she was happy, but since I had to bend her to get her in, that part was not appreciated. The Baby Bjorn has been better for a baby who doesn't want to bend. The carrier is very helpful, but there are still many things I just can't do while wearing it, especially when the baby in it cries if I stand still or sit! She is getting better about sitting near me instead of on me for longer, though, and that's a big help.

Paper is the worst mess, isn't it? I need to get a better handle on incoming paper and figure out a better filing system. I have made progress on the huge pile of mail and newspapers in my living room, anyway, so it looks a lot better. Still more to do in there, but better!

Lenora, I'm jealous of your clean kitchen!

it certainly feels like everyone's as snowed under with work and stuff as I am. If Lenora's struggling too that makes me feel a little less awful (sorry Lenora, but you know what I mean I'm sure!).

My office lady is still coping wonderfully. Her arrival doesn't currently lead to me spending more time at home. I've passed over all the horrible daily logistics stuff that was clogging up virtually every hour of my day, but there were so many other things, especially longer term things, that I just wasn't getting round to, so now I have the time I need to sort out what's left. Eventually I will make my day even shorter, but remember, I don't get in to the office until about 9.30am (sometimes earlier, sometimes later) and I leave before 3pm! I'm not bringing much home these days because it just doesn't get done. I hardly touch the computer for days at a time, which is unheard of in the last 18yrs!! Of course if people need me they just call.

I think our house is much tidier at the moment for some reason. I got DS to keep his room at a very reasonable level for several weeks now. The changes in the living and dining rooms have kept them tidy too - I've been able to see the whole floor in the living room for over a week. And now the contagion is spreading to the kitchen, although I'm seriously considering replacing my oven now since finding a replacement seal could be impossible and other bits are starting to disintegrate too.

if I can gradually get it more organised (thanks Julia Morgenstern!) then i might have a hope of managing to keep it reasonably under control. Fingers crossed.

Zillah, we're very, very soggy down here (front grass cut last weekend after 2wks without, but back grass heading for 4wks now!) but not actually underwater like some areas. Looking at other parts of our region I think we've been very lucky. Hope you're doing okay too. I think I'd know if Honey was underwater since DH drives near her area quite frequently these days. Under pressure is another thing entirely though - I sympathise with all of you!

gotta run - need a bath!

Kerri.

this is not something we do regularly so the kids were a little shellshocked... we've decided not to move next summer since DD got into the school we wanted anyway. We're leaving it 2 or maybe 3yrs, perhaps DS finishes primary school in 3yrs. Instead we're going to use the time between to save up for a sensible size deposit and to whip this house properly into shape so we make a decent amount out of it and hone our skills in preparation for the next house. Maybe if DH acquires some DIY skills he'll be less determined to buy a brand new house.

so I've got myself a binder and done a little coversheet for each area of the house and hopefully you will all help to hold me to it. There are three obvious areas - decluttering, repair and decorating that need to be dealt with in order, in each part of the house. We have a LOT of things already planned, but if we're going to do this properly we will probably have to tackle each room individually for a couple of months each, with projects like painting and rewiring taking a bit longer and not being done with each individual room.

and I have to avoid burnout which is my single biggest problem with everything I ever do. The enthusiasm burns bright hot to start with and then I never see things through. This can't be just about lists and planning - it has to actually materialise too.

so far today we've cut the grass, but after the last 4wks of solid rain, believe me when I say that's progress!

Hope everyone else is finding something that gets them enthusiastic and energetic too. Zillah, I'm sure you have plenty on your plate! Honey, I think you also need to drag some of your focus away from work and back to home, force yourself to remember that it isn't either/or, that you need to have a balance of both. Lenora, I hope you're getting well-rested and rejuvenated by your break. Sparrow, the thing about little kids is that they if they grow up around something they tend to know how to be sensible - kids who grow up with a dog from birth or with spiral stairs will be better able to cope than those who have these things introduced when they're already active toddlers. So be sensible about your child-proofing, not scared witless by every conceivable danger!

I'm off to make a difference somehow...

Kerri.

Wow, can that be? It seems like just a couple of weeks ago the kids got out of school around here. I guess it was really middle to late June, but still. Where did July go? And how come I ask that question at the end of every month lately?

Progress around here has been slow, but there is at least a little. My husband bought and installed more sturdy shelving in our garage, so now I have a place to put the bagged-up out-of-season baby toys and clothes that are either waiting for Miri to grow into them or waiting for the next baby to come along. Maybe now there will be room to move in our living room and tiny nursery! I fogged the garage, too, so now it's just a matter of packing the things up and carrying them out (sometime when I'm not holding a baby, whenever that might be!) The garden is a month late, but growing well. I should have some tomatoes soon. My husband also got fed up enough with the state of the floors to do some vacuuming. I thanked him profusely, and he said it was really for him and not for me, but it's a big help whoever it's for! And I'm reclaiming the kitchen one countertop at a time. I figure if I can keep what I've done clean and add one counter every night after the baby goes to bed, sooner or later it'll all be clean! Now, if I could only get some sleep, too...

Hope everyone's doing well!

Awesome Honey!!! Keep us posted -
Andrea

Wow, it took me some time to catch up on the TNH goings on now we're back from our holiday, so I don't have long to post!

Lenora that's good going in your garage sale. At the moment we're mainly taking apart unwanted furniture for DH to reuse. Nasty IKEA wardrobe will become kitchen storage shelves, very boring sofa will be a built in window seat from which to enjoy the view we have of the Forth bridges, comfortable but too large Habitat sofa bed is going to become a set of fold out cushions for sitting or sleeping on and undoubtedly the frame will end up somewhere. . .

Honey, that's all good fun news

We had a great time in Cornwall - wonderful weather, wonderful food, spent too much money on pottery (which we had to carry back on the train!), generally relaxed and enjoyed the sunshine. Now it's back to rainy old Fife and our still chaotic flat!

Must run and tackle kitchen disaster area.

Zillah

Lenora, although I believe in non violence I may just have to punch you

Honey.

Oh my. You know, I attempted this last year, and gave up. I suppose I felt it was too much for my little family, since we live far enough from extended family that we don't travel, and then we keep it small and simple. I decorate (and love it) and we have a nice meal, but I never needed those made ahead frozen ones, I didn't eat or put out most of the treats made, we gave away a lot of Christmas cookies, but did that as a family night activity and made them together too. Christmas morning was simple (although my DH spoiled me more than I thought he should have!! Oh well. ) I think I'm going with simple again. It was nice, AND even though I bought multiple gifts for the kids, they only opened one, were so excited they played with it all day, and I hid the others for later. Ha ha!