More than once this week I have found myself having completely different plans for the day. Wednesday we started the morning by rushing around to get ready so we could head into the city for Demand's 'oral presentation'. Happy and I had colds and the chances of Demand getting up and actually presenting were slim to none. Before I loaded the kids in the car I checked my email, as I do compulsively, to find out one of the three families signed up for the month canceled leaving only us and one other family. Basically it would just be the other family since Demand is mostly just there to observe we talked it over and canceled. That left my day free and clear. What to do , what to do? The kids were ready to go and it was nice out so we had to do something. For over a month now I've had it on my list of things to do to pick up groceries and drop them off at charity. Since I remembered and I had time now was the best time to do it.
The Saturday before we had woke up got ready and loaded up the van with items for a charity rummage sale. It was a great lesson for Demand (who had lots of question) so we just continued the lesson. I explained to Demand that sometimes people can't afford food and it's nice to give food so people can eat. I printed a list of needs from the charity's website and then we headed to the store. After dropping the food off at the charity we headed home and that's when the day went down hill. I don't know what went wrong but the kids were crabby and demanding. Demand ended up in a severe timeout just before dinner. By the time the kids were in bed and I cleaned the kitchen it was almost 11pm. I felt like I'd been burning the candle at both ends for days.
Thursday we had a pool party which lasted most of the day leading to a late nap for Happy making my day much easier. Friday night was the start of the Home School Conference. After a long week, it being a holiday weekend, and predicitons of Saturday being sunny and in the 90s I made the executive decision to skip the conference and hang out with my husband and children.
Great decision.
Friday we had dinner at a neighbors then a relaxing night by ourselves. Today we slept in and casual got ready for the day before heading to a friends pool for a few hours. I dropped Mr. Sloth and the kids off (with Happy fast asleep) while I headed for my first haircut since October. Mr. Sloth grilled and enjoyed some red wine while I had my haircut and Happy took a hearty nap. Demand got to watch TV for the first time in a few weeks which was really exciting for her. After dinner we headed out for ice cream and then to a park. I had fantastic coupons for ice cream so it only cost $5 and we went to a park we never think to go to. It was great plenty of space for Happy to run and run without us having to chase him. Thankfully I asked Mr. Sloth the time while Happy headed down the slide for the fifth time...it was almost 8pm!! Good grief!
Home we went. Mr. Sloth is putting the little ones down and then we're having another relaxing evening alone. Not going to the conference was one of the best decisions I've made in a while. What a great weekend so far!
The Sloths
Lazywife, Mr. Sloth, Demand, Prophet, Rooster, and King
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Happy Birthday to Me!
I really do make attempts to update you but life happens and I either fall asleep before I can write anything or I am interrupted half way through and by the time I pick it up again it's irrelevant.
I had a lovely birthday weekend. As I told Demand my birthday is like Easter...it lasts for 50 days. It all started the day after Mother's Day when I got back from our big trip. Mr. Sloth gave me my conjoined mother's day/ birthday gifts. I received a french rolling pin which I've wanted for years and two fabulous gift certificates. I LOVE gift certificates. If you don't like them, fine I won't give you one but I do like them. Mr. Sloth planned a day for us to go and spend the gift certificates together. Plans changed but we've spent some of them already. So much fun! One gift certificate was for The Container Store the other was for Williams-Sonoma. If you think gift certificates are impersonal you don't know how happy it makes a person who loves to cook or organize the gift of freedom in their favorite store. So far we have a new garbage can, measuring spoons, whisks, over the sink retractable strainer, and a fun pocket pie maker. I have money left to spend and plans in my head.
For my actual birthday I slept in and was woken up by two very excited children and one talented Mr. Sloth singing "Happy Birthday" and bringing me breakfast. The children were excited about cake, fire, and singing at 8am. Mr. Sloth was talented because he carried Happy, a tray of breakfast and a flaming cupcake up the stairs. Mr. Sloth managed to make the perfect cup of coffee for me. To do this you pour half a cup of coffee and then throw random sweet things until the cup is full. It was delicious. The kids were extremely excited so I had no choice but to share my cupcake thankfully the frosting and crumbs landed on Mr. Sloth's side of the bed. My only complaint was that he left me alone with them for ten minutes. I had to balance my cup of coffee while Demand did cartwheels on the bed. Then she opened the curtains letting in ALL the morning sunshine and Happy serenaded me on the electric piano with a very load rendition of Billy Joel's "Don't go changin" before filling his diaper with unpleasantries.
After Mass we dropped the children off at a friends house so Mr. Sloth and I could go to an all you can eat buffet brunch near our house. They only do it on Sundays and we never go due to children/price. Last time we went I was pregnant with Happy. Since I eat more when pregnant Mr. Sloth took Demand home while Obscure stayed to watch me eat more....but that was last year.
I was so excited for all you can eat breakfast--an uninterrupted meal----that I was actually gitty when we got there. After four plates Mr. Sloth told me we had to leave. I definitely could have eaten more. I did get a little birthday cake though and it came in handy later. Mr. Sloth entertained the children for an hour while I napped and read then we all headed to a lake to walk around. Next it was dinner at my in-laws. My one request was an ice cream cake which we bought from Culver's on the way to dinner. It was Oreo ice cream cake, yummy! My mother in law can't eat chocolate so the little vanilla birthday cake came in handy then.
My brother in law gave me raw steaks for my birthday. That was exciting. He'll be coming over this weekend for another feast. Mr. Sloth informed me on the way home that my birthday was over, but I disagree. This week has been fantastic! The weather, the children, it couldn't be better.
Speaking of children. Before we left for our big road trip I was pulling my hair out with the kiddos. Granted it was cold rainy week but still I was fed up and I felt lost with what to do with boys. A friend, who's the mom of four boys said she had the same problem with their first boy. They cut the cord. The TV cord. The kids didn't watch much but they whined for it a lot and it was worth a shot. After two days we started reaping the benefits. Just like she told me they gained a longer attention span and started playing quietly on their own....or sometimes loudly together. They still ask once in a while (yes even one year old Happy) but they don't fuss when I say no. They won't watch any TV again until our big road trip.
Yep the Sloth Family Summer begins. Mr. Sloth has spent the last few summers working his brains out just to make ends meet and before he knows it fall is here and he's had no fun. (We usually get paid more in the fall than any other time of year) But the stars aligned this year and Mr. Sloth can be slightly more lax with working. We were planning on flying to Washington DC for one of our groomsmen's ordination to the priesthood, but considering the cost of flight, rental car (car seats) and a few hotel stays we realized we'd save a ton by drive and we'd get to more and have more freedom. Plus Happy on a plane for 4 hours sounds like a nightmare.
We have college friends all over the country and everyone we've spoken with about seeing along the way has offered their home to stay (without our even asking). We don't know our plans just yet but we are excited about everyone we're going to see and showing the kids our old stomping ground. And that's just our first adventure of the summer we have much more planned. I feel the season slipping away already but for now we're enjoying the sun, playing outside and of course Mr. Sloth's grilling. That man is gifted. Plus I haven't cooked dinner all week!
I have a kitchen to clean before the ants have a picnic of their own.
I had a lovely birthday weekend. As I told Demand my birthday is like Easter...it lasts for 50 days. It all started the day after Mother's Day when I got back from our big trip. Mr. Sloth gave me my conjoined mother's day/ birthday gifts. I received a french rolling pin which I've wanted for years and two fabulous gift certificates. I LOVE gift certificates. If you don't like them, fine I won't give you one but I do like them. Mr. Sloth planned a day for us to go and spend the gift certificates together. Plans changed but we've spent some of them already. So much fun! One gift certificate was for The Container Store the other was for Williams-Sonoma. If you think gift certificates are impersonal you don't know how happy it makes a person who loves to cook or organize the gift of freedom in their favorite store. So far we have a new garbage can, measuring spoons, whisks, over the sink retractable strainer, and a fun pocket pie maker. I have money left to spend and plans in my head.
For my actual birthday I slept in and was woken up by two very excited children and one talented Mr. Sloth singing "Happy Birthday" and bringing me breakfast. The children were excited about cake, fire, and singing at 8am. Mr. Sloth was talented because he carried Happy, a tray of breakfast and a flaming cupcake up the stairs. Mr. Sloth managed to make the perfect cup of coffee for me. To do this you pour half a cup of coffee and then throw random sweet things until the cup is full. It was delicious. The kids were extremely excited so I had no choice but to share my cupcake thankfully the frosting and crumbs landed on Mr. Sloth's side of the bed. My only complaint was that he left me alone with them for ten minutes. I had to balance my cup of coffee while Demand did cartwheels on the bed. Then she opened the curtains letting in ALL the morning sunshine and Happy serenaded me on the electric piano with a very load rendition of Billy Joel's "Don't go changin" before filling his diaper with unpleasantries.
After Mass we dropped the children off at a friends house so Mr. Sloth and I could go to an all you can eat buffet brunch near our house. They only do it on Sundays and we never go due to children/price. Last time we went I was pregnant with Happy. Since I eat more when pregnant Mr. Sloth took Demand home while Obscure stayed to watch me eat more....but that was last year.
I was so excited for all you can eat breakfast--an uninterrupted meal----that I was actually gitty when we got there. After four plates Mr. Sloth told me we had to leave. I definitely could have eaten more. I did get a little birthday cake though and it came in handy later. Mr. Sloth entertained the children for an hour while I napped and read then we all headed to a lake to walk around. Next it was dinner at my in-laws. My one request was an ice cream cake which we bought from Culver's on the way to dinner. It was Oreo ice cream cake, yummy! My mother in law can't eat chocolate so the little vanilla birthday cake came in handy then.
My brother in law gave me raw steaks for my birthday. That was exciting. He'll be coming over this weekend for another feast. Mr. Sloth informed me on the way home that my birthday was over, but I disagree. This week has been fantastic! The weather, the children, it couldn't be better.
Speaking of children. Before we left for our big road trip I was pulling my hair out with the kiddos. Granted it was cold rainy week but still I was fed up and I felt lost with what to do with boys. A friend, who's the mom of four boys said she had the same problem with their first boy. They cut the cord. The TV cord. The kids didn't watch much but they whined for it a lot and it was worth a shot. After two days we started reaping the benefits. Just like she told me they gained a longer attention span and started playing quietly on their own....or sometimes loudly together. They still ask once in a while (yes even one year old Happy) but they don't fuss when I say no. They won't watch any TV again until our big road trip.
Yep the Sloth Family Summer begins. Mr. Sloth has spent the last few summers working his brains out just to make ends meet and before he knows it fall is here and he's had no fun. (We usually get paid more in the fall than any other time of year) But the stars aligned this year and Mr. Sloth can be slightly more lax with working. We were planning on flying to Washington DC for one of our groomsmen's ordination to the priesthood, but considering the cost of flight, rental car (car seats) and a few hotel stays we realized we'd save a ton by drive and we'd get to more and have more freedom. Plus Happy on a plane for 4 hours sounds like a nightmare.
We have college friends all over the country and everyone we've spoken with about seeing along the way has offered their home to stay (without our even asking). We don't know our plans just yet but we are excited about everyone we're going to see and showing the kids our old stomping ground. And that's just our first adventure of the summer we have much more planned. I feel the season slipping away already but for now we're enjoying the sun, playing outside and of course Mr. Sloth's grilling. That man is gifted. Plus I haven't cooked dinner all week!
I have a kitchen to clean before the ants have a picnic of their own.
Saturday, May 15, 2010
A Thrifty Tradition
A new tradition has started for me. Every year around my birthday (which happens to be tomorrow) there is a neighborhood that has a garage sale. It's big...I mean really big. To put things in perspective last year Demand wet her pants three times after I came home with tons of goods. I'm talking new clothes for $0.50 or less, name brand, mint condition toys for about the same. I waited all year for this sale and I was not disappointed. Since the sale is around my birthday Mr. Sloth has no choice but to let me go. This year I was up at 6am. I showered, dressed, and ran to an ATM for cash and at 6:36am I stopped into our beloved coffee shop. (six minutes after it opened) One of my friends came by at 7am to start our adventure.
Cash, coffee, snacks, tennis shoes and a list in my head and we were off. We arrived a half an hour early but still things were jumping. It happened to be the same house I bought all my stuff from last year. Before the sale technically opened at 8am, and our other friends arrived we had already filled the van. No joke. It was out of control. I do have to confess that at this particular sale I tend to buy toys but this year I was going to be smart. I wouldn't show Demand anything but stash the new toys for a rainy (miserable) day. First things first a Cinderella bike with bell and basket $10 it was the one thing on my list. Next Happy got a fantastic, cute, perfect condition snow suit and boots for $3. $3!!!! That combination alone would have cost me near $40 next winter. I scored a few clothes and delightful but unnecessary toys before finally deciding I better leave. At the next house I found a baby/toddler swing that we can hang in the garage for only $1. Santa was supposed to buy this $20 toy for Christmas but couldn't find them in December. The third place I went I found the third piece to animal train. Ironically I had bought the first two pieces at the first garage sale just accepting it wasn't the full set, how awesome is that? I just look up this train and it's going for $103 on Amazon and I got it for $4. The kids are going to love that thing!
Enough about toys, Lazywife, you went for clothes remember!! Ah yes, it wasn't quite as easy to find clothes as I had hoped but we did find some and near the end I found a home that had a ton of clothes in Demands size and then we found a sale with clothes marked $0.50 but then it was half off at check out. Demand got, I don't know 20 outfits total and Happy maybe 15 including his snowsuit. Most of them are for next winter too which is awesome. Near the very end I found a pair of rain boots for Demand for only $1 ($18 at Target)
I parked our van at Sidekicks house when I got home just in case Demand was lurking around. She knew where I was going today and remembers each and every toy that came from that garage sale so she told me to bring something special home. The family asleep I brought everything but toys inside. When Demand and Mr. Sloth woke up showed Mr. Sloth what I had bought and we picked out one toy for each of them for today. He picked the Abacus. Yep the math counting toy because that's fun for him. Don't get me wrong I bought it with Mr. Sloth and Demand in mind because he's been teaching her math (thank goodness). So I picked a memory game. While I was stashing the rest of the goods at Sidekicks house Demand wandered over and came a half second away from seeing her bike. Whew! That was close. Mr. Sloth wants to wait until around her birthday to give her that gift.
I haven't decided about any of the books yet. Most of them are stashed with the toys but I pulled the ones about George Washington and Mozart out. We're heading to D.C. next month so we've been prepping Demand on what she'll get to see. Plus she's really into Mozart these days. She requests we ONLY listen to Mozart in the car and often comments on how beautiful his music is. (Yep, she's 3) I'm sure it's only because she's been to his birth home in Austria. Either way she loves the books.
Between Mother's Day, my birthday and this garage sale it has been an expensive week. No spending for a while now that's for sure. I'll let you know how my birthday goes. I told Demand that I want coffee in bed tomorrow, but she said "No" so it doesn't look promising.
Cash, coffee, snacks, tennis shoes and a list in my head and we were off. We arrived a half an hour early but still things were jumping. It happened to be the same house I bought all my stuff from last year. Before the sale technically opened at 8am, and our other friends arrived we had already filled the van. No joke. It was out of control. I do have to confess that at this particular sale I tend to buy toys but this year I was going to be smart. I wouldn't show Demand anything but stash the new toys for a rainy (miserable) day. First things first a Cinderella bike with bell and basket $10 it was the one thing on my list. Next Happy got a fantastic, cute, perfect condition snow suit and boots for $3. $3!!!! That combination alone would have cost me near $40 next winter. I scored a few clothes and delightful but unnecessary toys before finally deciding I better leave. At the next house I found a baby/toddler swing that we can hang in the garage for only $1. Santa was supposed to buy this $20 toy for Christmas but couldn't find them in December. The third place I went I found the third piece to animal train. Ironically I had bought the first two pieces at the first garage sale just accepting it wasn't the full set, how awesome is that? I just look up this train and it's going for $103 on Amazon and I got it for $4. The kids are going to love that thing!
Enough about toys, Lazywife, you went for clothes remember!! Ah yes, it wasn't quite as easy to find clothes as I had hoped but we did find some and near the end I found a home that had a ton of clothes in Demands size and then we found a sale with clothes marked $0.50 but then it was half off at check out. Demand got, I don't know 20 outfits total and Happy maybe 15 including his snowsuit. Most of them are for next winter too which is awesome. Near the very end I found a pair of rain boots for Demand for only $1 ($18 at Target)
I parked our van at Sidekicks house when I got home just in case Demand was lurking around. She knew where I was going today and remembers each and every toy that came from that garage sale so she told me to bring something special home. The family asleep I brought everything but toys inside. When Demand and Mr. Sloth woke up showed Mr. Sloth what I had bought and we picked out one toy for each of them for today. He picked the Abacus. Yep the math counting toy because that's fun for him. Don't get me wrong I bought it with Mr. Sloth and Demand in mind because he's been teaching her math (thank goodness). So I picked a memory game. While I was stashing the rest of the goods at Sidekicks house Demand wandered over and came a half second away from seeing her bike. Whew! That was close. Mr. Sloth wants to wait until around her birthday to give her that gift.
I haven't decided about any of the books yet. Most of them are stashed with the toys but I pulled the ones about George Washington and Mozart out. We're heading to D.C. next month so we've been prepping Demand on what she'll get to see. Plus she's really into Mozart these days. She requests we ONLY listen to Mozart in the car and often comments on how beautiful his music is. (Yep, she's 3) I'm sure it's only because she's been to his birth home in Austria. Either way she loves the books.
Between Mother's Day, my birthday and this garage sale it has been an expensive week. No spending for a while now that's for sure. I'll let you know how my birthday goes. I told Demand that I want coffee in bed tomorrow, but she said "No" so it doesn't look promising.
Monday, May 3, 2010
Take Two
Last week I left you in hopeful anticipation of starting Monday off on the right foot with the house cleaned, clothes ironed and a new van in the garage.
My week did not go as planned.
Monday was just the beginning of a really tough week. While Demand had been sick on Sunday she seemed fine on Monday, Happy however was feeling under the weather. Fussy and clingy all day with a fever. We only got to use the new van once and that was just to grab a few necessities at the store. Tuesday Happy was even worse and rarely let me put him down. (I do not exaggerate) I sent Demand to school since she was fine all day Monday but she wasn't home one hour before complaining about her ear. This is when things really picked up steam. Both kiddos were sick all day Wednesday. I mean whiny- fussy-nothing will make me happy-sick. Even though it was the last day of CCD one of us had to stay home and logistically it made sense that it was me. Considering CCD starts around bedtime for the kids anyway the fact that they were sick should have made things easy for me. The use of the word "should" in that sentence should give you a sense of foreshadowing, and that would be correct. Happy screamed the entire time I read books to Demand which is not like him. So I kept him up until 8pm when Mr. Sloth came home and rescued me. This of course meant that I did not get my Bible Study done and it happened to be the last week ever and it also meant that I couldn't get any reading done for Friday's book club.
At this time I will mention that one of Demand's symptoms was a horrible cough. So horrible in fact that if it got too out of control she would "spill". Thankful she's old enough to head to a bathroom when she feels she's going to spill but our problem was getting the kids to sleep. Once we'd get Demand's coughing frenzy to stop Happy would wake up fussy if he didn't wake up from her coughing and then Happy's crying would wake up Demand again. We didn't sleep all week.
I didn't know what Thursday would bring. Early that morning I called the Bible Study leader and sadly told her that if I came at all I would be late. I couldn't stand the idea of Demand missing the last day after three years so when the children finally woke up we hastily dressed and headed out the door. I hadn't even opened my lesson for the week and had limited to sleep as well. I mostly just sat there blurry eyed with Happy on my lap for most of the time. There was a luncheon afterward and I had somehow wisely remembered to bring Happy's new portable high chair. That's about as peaceful as the lunch was however. While Demand was apparently feeling better she just sat there without eating and then asked to go home. Happy just made a mess and made it clear that going home was a wise idea. I freed Happy from the highchair before cleaning up and gathering our things so while sentimental speeches about the end of Bible Study were being made I was running between the table, the garbage can, and trying to find where Happy had gone. Of course he found a staircase somewhere but one time I honestly couldn't find him for a minute but my friend signaled to me that he was on her leg.
The day didn't get any easier. We headed home for nap time but Happy didn't nap well and if I recall he woke Demand up. Mr. Sloth was gone for the night so Obscure came by to help out with the kids. I had just put them in the bath when he came so I had him sit in there with them while I cleaned up stairs and got things ready for bedtime. Happy has really been liking Obscure these days so he was in a pleasant mood for once. After the kids finally headed to bed I cleaned up the rest of the and headed to bed myself. Around 1:30am I woke up and realized that Mr. Sloth still wasn't home. I read in bed (finishing my book for book club) until 2am when he finally came home but by then neither of us could sleep.
Friday was the light at the end of the tunnel for me. At 9am, exhausted from the previous days and lack of sleep I took a sip of my coffee, ignored the whining children and made a decision. We needed plans for the day if we wanted to survive and that's what it was about, surviving. I started leaving messages with all my friends. Within fifteen minutes I had plans that would bring me to 6:30pm when I would leave for Book club. First to a neighbors for some garage bike riding. After an hour or so she treated us to lunch as well and then we headed home for naps. As soon as everyone was up and social after nap time we headed to another friends house for an afternoon play date and homemade pizza for dinner. We arrived home three minutes before Mr. Sloth but Obscure was already waiting in case I needed a sitter. Mr. Sloth immediately took over and I got ready to go and headed out the door. With all the excitement of having time to myself I made the bad decision of staying out until 12:30am. As I drove home with a headache I just kept thinking. "This was a bad idea." See Mr. Sloth was going to be gone most of the day on Saturday as well.
Saturday was a slow start for obvious reasons. I had a potential play date but Happy was beyond fussy the whole morning crying about everything. For numerous reasons plans changed and the play date was moved to our house. We mixed things up by going out for lunch which was pretty nice but Happy ended things in a snap. It was home for naps again. I fell asleep in the kids room but woke up with a headache and headed downstairs to find Mr. Sloth's car, only to discover he was home in bed. Within a half an hour both kids were up screaming and I found myself on the couch consoling two children and secretly frustrated with Mr. Sloth. "Why was he taking a nap when I've had crying children all week??!" He redeemed himself by taking the kids for a drive while I cleaned up the house and stared dinner for friends.
And that my friends is how my weeks went. Sunday was peaceful and today was a new start, it wasn't perfect but it was much better than last Monday.
My week did not go as planned.
Monday was just the beginning of a really tough week. While Demand had been sick on Sunday she seemed fine on Monday, Happy however was feeling under the weather. Fussy and clingy all day with a fever. We only got to use the new van once and that was just to grab a few necessities at the store. Tuesday Happy was even worse and rarely let me put him down. (I do not exaggerate) I sent Demand to school since she was fine all day Monday but she wasn't home one hour before complaining about her ear. This is when things really picked up steam. Both kiddos were sick all day Wednesday. I mean whiny- fussy-nothing will make me happy-sick. Even though it was the last day of CCD one of us had to stay home and logistically it made sense that it was me. Considering CCD starts around bedtime for the kids anyway the fact that they were sick should have made things easy for me. The use of the word "should" in that sentence should give you a sense of foreshadowing, and that would be correct. Happy screamed the entire time I read books to Demand which is not like him. So I kept him up until 8pm when Mr. Sloth came home and rescued me. This of course meant that I did not get my Bible Study done and it happened to be the last week ever and it also meant that I couldn't get any reading done for Friday's book club.
At this time I will mention that one of Demand's symptoms was a horrible cough. So horrible in fact that if it got too out of control she would "spill". Thankful she's old enough to head to a bathroom when she feels she's going to spill but our problem was getting the kids to sleep. Once we'd get Demand's coughing frenzy to stop Happy would wake up fussy if he didn't wake up from her coughing and then Happy's crying would wake up Demand again. We didn't sleep all week.
I didn't know what Thursday would bring. Early that morning I called the Bible Study leader and sadly told her that if I came at all I would be late. I couldn't stand the idea of Demand missing the last day after three years so when the children finally woke up we hastily dressed and headed out the door. I hadn't even opened my lesson for the week and had limited to sleep as well. I mostly just sat there blurry eyed with Happy on my lap for most of the time. There was a luncheon afterward and I had somehow wisely remembered to bring Happy's new portable high chair. That's about as peaceful as the lunch was however. While Demand was apparently feeling better she just sat there without eating and then asked to go home. Happy just made a mess and made it clear that going home was a wise idea. I freed Happy from the highchair before cleaning up and gathering our things so while sentimental speeches about the end of Bible Study were being made I was running between the table, the garbage can, and trying to find where Happy had gone. Of course he found a staircase somewhere but one time I honestly couldn't find him for a minute but my friend signaled to me that he was on her leg.
The day didn't get any easier. We headed home for nap time but Happy didn't nap well and if I recall he woke Demand up. Mr. Sloth was gone for the night so Obscure came by to help out with the kids. I had just put them in the bath when he came so I had him sit in there with them while I cleaned up stairs and got things ready for bedtime. Happy has really been liking Obscure these days so he was in a pleasant mood for once. After the kids finally headed to bed I cleaned up the rest of the and headed to bed myself. Around 1:30am I woke up and realized that Mr. Sloth still wasn't home. I read in bed (finishing my book for book club) until 2am when he finally came home but by then neither of us could sleep.
Friday was the light at the end of the tunnel for me. At 9am, exhausted from the previous days and lack of sleep I took a sip of my coffee, ignored the whining children and made a decision. We needed plans for the day if we wanted to survive and that's what it was about, surviving. I started leaving messages with all my friends. Within fifteen minutes I had plans that would bring me to 6:30pm when I would leave for Book club. First to a neighbors for some garage bike riding. After an hour or so she treated us to lunch as well and then we headed home for naps. As soon as everyone was up and social after nap time we headed to another friends house for an afternoon play date and homemade pizza for dinner. We arrived home three minutes before Mr. Sloth but Obscure was already waiting in case I needed a sitter. Mr. Sloth immediately took over and I got ready to go and headed out the door. With all the excitement of having time to myself I made the bad decision of staying out until 12:30am. As I drove home with a headache I just kept thinking. "This was a bad idea." See Mr. Sloth was going to be gone most of the day on Saturday as well.
Saturday was a slow start for obvious reasons. I had a potential play date but Happy was beyond fussy the whole morning crying about everything. For numerous reasons plans changed and the play date was moved to our house. We mixed things up by going out for lunch which was pretty nice but Happy ended things in a snap. It was home for naps again. I fell asleep in the kids room but woke up with a headache and headed downstairs to find Mr. Sloth's car, only to discover he was home in bed. Within a half an hour both kids were up screaming and I found myself on the couch consoling two children and secretly frustrated with Mr. Sloth. "Why was he taking a nap when I've had crying children all week??!" He redeemed himself by taking the kids for a drive while I cleaned up the house and stared dinner for friends.
And that my friends is how my weeks went. Sunday was peaceful and today was a new start, it wasn't perfect but it was much better than last Monday.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
I will first clarify that we bought a Volkswagen Routan. It will get it's first real test in about two weeks when a friend of mine and I drive to see my parents. Her in-laws live fifteen minutes from my parents so we've been wanting to do a carpool road trip. We'll have five children, 4 years and under and two pregnant women in one van for seven hours. It will most likely be fun but I'm sure things will get crazy.
But don't be fooled we've owned the van for a day and it's already been through the wringer. On the way back from Church today, out of nowhere, Demand threw up three times. Thank goodness it wasn't much and only got on her dress and coat. Looking back we should have seen the clues. We went to a different Church today about a half and hour a way and it was a later Mass too, right during lunchtime. She slept all through Mass and on the way back didn't ask once about eating or snacking or where we were going all questions that are constantly falling from her lips. Mr. Sloth also noticed she was warm during Mass but thought it was just because she was sleeping. (I'm the only one in the Sloth family who doesn't sweat like a pig while sleeping.) When we got home, sure enough she had a fever the rest of the day was pretty low key.
So while Mr. Sloth held a sleeping Demand during Mass let me tell you what pregnant Lazywife did. First of all you should know that our usual Sunday routine has us going to 10am Mass and around the time of the Gospel Mr. Sloth takes Happy in the hallway where he falls asleep for the rest of the Mass. Today we went to an 11am Mass across town Happy fell asleep on the way there but woke up during the long brisk walk to the Church from the car. He was actually pretty quiet and calm during the first portion and then he just went into a zone. Even bringing him in back to turn him loose didn't help because he could run in and out of the Church or down the side aisle. It was crazy. The homily was exceptionally long and there was a full orchestra and choir today all were enjoyable in their own right but I secretly wanted to wrap things up. I absolutely done when someone stood up near the end and said they wanted to read a poem. A poem? This is Mass people not a talent show. I was so ready to leave.
Since it was priest appreciation Sunday there was a round of applause for the priests there. Moments before Happy had been alternating his time between licking and wiping his face on a window. At the sound of applause he pause not to clap, but to receive the applause. At that point all this exhausted pregnant woman could think of was, "I don't know how many priests I can give birth to."
As I mentioned on the way home Demand got sick when we got home there was much chaos when we got home cleaning her up and getting her in the bath plus cleaning up the car and serving lunch to a very hungry Happy. As soon as I was done eating lunch I told Mr. Sloth that I had to lay down and couldn't wait any longer. He was planning on taking Happy to the store anyway to buy a much needed pan for cooking our dinner. With Demand watching a movie resting in her bed I completely crashed into my bed. I didn't want to close the curtains because I didn't want to sleep too hard but my body had different plans. Mr. Sloth came into the bedroom to tell me it was almost 4pm and he needed my help. I have no idea how long I slept but it was a very deep sleep. By the way in one of my crazy dreams I had the baby and it was a boy. That makes my baby dream ratio one girl, and one boy.
Mr. Sloth made a most fantastic dinner. Recently we watched "Julie & Julia" and of course had to get Julia Child's book from the library. Tonight Mr. Sloth made Beef and Onions Braised in Beer. Yummy, yummy, yummy. I made parsley and buttered boiled potatoes as a side and while they looked completely wrong they tasted great. Obscure and Sidekick contributed a chocolate raspberry torte for dessert to top off our Sunday dinner. So yummy!
If you don't hear from me much this week it's because things are going to be crazy around here. Assuming Demand is feeling better we're going to start homeschooling tomorrow. Tuesday she has school and I have a Mom's Night out, Wednesday is the last night for CCD, Thursday the last day for Bible Study, and Friday night I have book club. It feels like I'm forgetting a few things as well. Most of these events also require either a gift or a dish to pass, thankfully I now have my own vehicle so errands won't be a problem this week. The house is clean, clothes for entire family are ironed for tomorrow and the coffee pot is ready to go. We should be off to a good start tomorrow.
My interesting potatoes.
Ready to serve!
Beef and Onions Braised in Beer
But don't be fooled we've owned the van for a day and it's already been through the wringer. On the way back from Church today, out of nowhere, Demand threw up three times. Thank goodness it wasn't much and only got on her dress and coat. Looking back we should have seen the clues. We went to a different Church today about a half and hour a way and it was a later Mass too, right during lunchtime. She slept all through Mass and on the way back didn't ask once about eating or snacking or where we were going all questions that are constantly falling from her lips. Mr. Sloth also noticed she was warm during Mass but thought it was just because she was sleeping. (I'm the only one in the Sloth family who doesn't sweat like a pig while sleeping.) When we got home, sure enough she had a fever the rest of the day was pretty low key.
So while Mr. Sloth held a sleeping Demand during Mass let me tell you what pregnant Lazywife did. First of all you should know that our usual Sunday routine has us going to 10am Mass and around the time of the Gospel Mr. Sloth takes Happy in the hallway where he falls asleep for the rest of the Mass. Today we went to an 11am Mass across town Happy fell asleep on the way there but woke up during the long brisk walk to the Church from the car. He was actually pretty quiet and calm during the first portion and then he just went into a zone. Even bringing him in back to turn him loose didn't help because he could run in and out of the Church or down the side aisle. It was crazy. The homily was exceptionally long and there was a full orchestra and choir today all were enjoyable in their own right but I secretly wanted to wrap things up. I absolutely done when someone stood up near the end and said they wanted to read a poem. A poem? This is Mass people not a talent show. I was so ready to leave.
Since it was priest appreciation Sunday there was a round of applause for the priests there. Moments before Happy had been alternating his time between licking and wiping his face on a window. At the sound of applause he pause not to clap, but to receive the applause. At that point all this exhausted pregnant woman could think of was, "I don't know how many priests I can give birth to."
As I mentioned on the way home Demand got sick when we got home there was much chaos when we got home cleaning her up and getting her in the bath plus cleaning up the car and serving lunch to a very hungry Happy. As soon as I was done eating lunch I told Mr. Sloth that I had to lay down and couldn't wait any longer. He was planning on taking Happy to the store anyway to buy a much needed pan for cooking our dinner. With Demand watching a movie resting in her bed I completely crashed into my bed. I didn't want to close the curtains because I didn't want to sleep too hard but my body had different plans. Mr. Sloth came into the bedroom to tell me it was almost 4pm and he needed my help. I have no idea how long I slept but it was a very deep sleep. By the way in one of my crazy dreams I had the baby and it was a boy. That makes my baby dream ratio one girl, and one boy.
Mr. Sloth made a most fantastic dinner. Recently we watched "Julie & Julia" and of course had to get Julia Child's book from the library. Tonight Mr. Sloth made Beef and Onions Braised in Beer. Yummy, yummy, yummy. I made parsley and buttered boiled potatoes as a side and while they looked completely wrong they tasted great. Obscure and Sidekick contributed a chocolate raspberry torte for dessert to top off our Sunday dinner. So yummy!
If you don't hear from me much this week it's because things are going to be crazy around here. Assuming Demand is feeling better we're going to start homeschooling tomorrow. Tuesday she has school and I have a Mom's Night out, Wednesday is the last night for CCD, Thursday the last day for Bible Study, and Friday night I have book club. It feels like I'm forgetting a few things as well. Most of these events also require either a gift or a dish to pass, thankfully I now have my own vehicle so errands won't be a problem this week. The house is clean, clothes for entire family are ironed for tomorrow and the coffee pot is ready to go. We should be off to a good start tomorrow.
My interesting potatoes.
Ready to serve!
Beef and Onions Braised in Beer
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Vroom!
It's here, it's here!!!
After almost seven years and three children the Sloths have finally decided it was time for a second vehicle. There's so much to be excited for, so much to be thankful for!
Last Friday around 3pm Mr. Sloth 'messaged me' (via computer) asking if I wanted to go look at vans. Without thinking I responded yes, but then thought, "Wait. Now?" and then "Wait can we really look at vans?". We'd been waiting for one finally pay day before we could purchase a much needed second car. We have a rule around here that Mr. Sloth is not allowed to talk about perspective pay days with me anymore he is only allowed to tell me when we indeed have been paid and then he only allowed to tell me how much money *we* get. Things get stressful otherwise and difficult lessons have been learned. At first I thought Mr. Sloth had a rough week and was calling it quits early and thought van shopping would be fun but then I realized, "Wait! We got paid today! We can ACTUALLY buy a van now, it's not just a dream".
The Sloths headed out to begin our search for a van. It was a disaster. Happy was quite Happy to van shop the rest of us were miserable. Then a friend gave me the idea to have Mr. Sloth bring a van home from the dealership so we wouldn't have to bring the kids. Brilliant! That's just what we did the rest of the week. One day Mr. Sloth brought two vans home for me to look at and try and then on Wednesday he walked in the door and said, "I found our van". He was right. It has everything we wanted and buying new was cheaper than buying used in the models we were looking at previously. We spent the next few days doing research and praying about it. Yesterday we decided that today would be the day.
We woke up to a beautiful spring rainfall and thought, what a crummy day to buy a van. Demand didn't even know you COULD buy a van in the rain. We were breakfasted, dressed, and ready to go in record time. Our first stop: Adoration. I had decided that I would give God one more chance to tell no. I heard nothing so we continued. I spent the next hour and a half corralling Happy at the dealership while Mr. Sloth worked out the details. It was taking much longer than we had thought in face I ended up taking the kids home, eating lunch and putting them down for a nap before Mr. Sloth finally drove the van home.
I had removed the kids' car seats but couldn't vacuum them out since Happy was asleep above the garage. Once he was awake and snacking we vacuumed out the seats and Mr. Sloth installed them in the new car. I was still hoping to keep Happy facing backwards* for a while but it was easier (therefore safer) to install the seat facing forwards so Happy got an upgrade too. Of course Happy had no idea that we had bought a new van and boy was he tickled when we put him in the car seat and he was facing forward in one of those 'fun moving playgrounds' we been looking at recently. Our first stop was the always popular SuperTarget. The beloved van has made a few more journeys today as well...mostly just for fun.
I love it! It doesn't feel any different to drive than our sedan, it will be so much easier to get the kids in and out (and safer even), plus, and this is the best part, Mr. Sloth and I don't have trade three times a day if I want to go anywhere. I don't have to get groceries in a 45 minute time slot and just cross my fingers that it's good timing. I can plan errands around nap times and eating times rather than when Mr. Sloth prefers to be picked up. I won't have to wait in the parking lot with screaming children while Mr. Sloth wraps up a phone call before driving us back home.
It's......it's just so exciting. I'm proud of us for waiting so long and now, the fruits of our labor.
*Happy is old enough and heavy enough to face forward so we're not skimping on safety. It's recommending children face backwards as long as possible and I was hoping to go a bit longer, like two years. We're sticklers for car seat safety. In fact no one has ever driven our children and no one will without going through a strict demonstration first.(and possibly swearing an oath) I believe that some stats show 70-80% of car seats are installed or used improperly. Scary stuff.
After almost seven years and three children the Sloths have finally decided it was time for a second vehicle. There's so much to be excited for, so much to be thankful for!
Last Friday around 3pm Mr. Sloth 'messaged me' (via computer) asking if I wanted to go look at vans. Without thinking I responded yes, but then thought, "Wait. Now?" and then "Wait can we really look at vans?". We'd been waiting for one finally pay day before we could purchase a much needed second car. We have a rule around here that Mr. Sloth is not allowed to talk about perspective pay days with me anymore he is only allowed to tell me when we indeed have been paid and then he only allowed to tell me how much money *we* get. Things get stressful otherwise and difficult lessons have been learned. At first I thought Mr. Sloth had a rough week and was calling it quits early and thought van shopping would be fun but then I realized, "Wait! We got paid today! We can ACTUALLY buy a van now, it's not just a dream".
The Sloths headed out to begin our search for a van. It was a disaster. Happy was quite Happy to van shop the rest of us were miserable. Then a friend gave me the idea to have Mr. Sloth bring a van home from the dealership so we wouldn't have to bring the kids. Brilliant! That's just what we did the rest of the week. One day Mr. Sloth brought two vans home for me to look at and try and then on Wednesday he walked in the door and said, "I found our van". He was right. It has everything we wanted and buying new was cheaper than buying used in the models we were looking at previously. We spent the next few days doing research and praying about it. Yesterday we decided that today would be the day.
We woke up to a beautiful spring rainfall and thought, what a crummy day to buy a van. Demand didn't even know you COULD buy a van in the rain. We were breakfasted, dressed, and ready to go in record time. Our first stop: Adoration. I had decided that I would give God one more chance to tell no. I heard nothing so we continued. I spent the next hour and a half corralling Happy at the dealership while Mr. Sloth worked out the details. It was taking much longer than we had thought in face I ended up taking the kids home, eating lunch and putting them down for a nap before Mr. Sloth finally drove the van home.
I had removed the kids' car seats but couldn't vacuum them out since Happy was asleep above the garage. Once he was awake and snacking we vacuumed out the seats and Mr. Sloth installed them in the new car. I was still hoping to keep Happy facing backwards* for a while but it was easier (therefore safer) to install the seat facing forwards so Happy got an upgrade too. Of course Happy had no idea that we had bought a new van and boy was he tickled when we put him in the car seat and he was facing forward in one of those 'fun moving playgrounds' we been looking at recently. Our first stop was the always popular SuperTarget. The beloved van has made a few more journeys today as well...mostly just for fun.
I love it! It doesn't feel any different to drive than our sedan, it will be so much easier to get the kids in and out (and safer even), plus, and this is the best part, Mr. Sloth and I don't have trade three times a day if I want to go anywhere. I don't have to get groceries in a 45 minute time slot and just cross my fingers that it's good timing. I can plan errands around nap times and eating times rather than when Mr. Sloth prefers to be picked up. I won't have to wait in the parking lot with screaming children while Mr. Sloth wraps up a phone call before driving us back home.
It's......it's just so exciting. I'm proud of us for waiting so long and now, the fruits of our labor.
*Happy is old enough and heavy enough to face forward so we're not skimping on safety. It's recommending children face backwards as long as possible and I was hoping to go a bit longer, like two years. We're sticklers for car seat safety. In fact no one has ever driven our children and no one will without going through a strict demonstration first.(and possibly swearing an oath) I believe that some stats show 70-80% of car seats are installed or used improperly. Scary stuff.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Humility at the Library
Tuesday was a very humbling day at the library. We only had the car for one hour and I had two stops to make, one of them being the library. Maybe it's the spring air but I was feeling crazy enough to go without the stroller for the adventurous Happy. While I was getting the kiddos out of the car I decided at the last minute to try the Monkey harness for the first time with Happy. Demand loved it last year, which lead to my first problem. Demand started to throw a fit because she couldn't use the monkey this fit led to my second problem which I will mention later.
First off let me say that I understand that many people don't like baby harnesses, but it keeps my kids safe in parking lots and that's what I care about. However, I stiill wait for the day when someone has the nerve to express their objection I of course will then express something myself.
Happy was baffled yet intrigued but the Monkey backpack he was now wearing. I tried to get him to walk but he just stood there and as I gently nudged the monkey tail Happy fell right over. I scratched the idea of having him walk and just carried him inside and tried again once we got in. The same thing happened, he fell flat on his face. Now I just feel like an idiot dragging a baby around by a leash of course no one knows its' his first time using the contraption. Demand headed straight for the kiddie computers and Happy wanted to follow her. I had six books reserved for homeschooling (We start on Monday!) which was the whole reason for the trip so I let Happy sit at the computer while I ran and grabbed the books off the reserved shelf. The rest of the trip was spent keeping Happy from pressing buttons, pulling on cords, climbing on the computers...at one point I managed to distract him at a puzzle table but Demand wanted help with the computer game. She of course has no idea how to play it and is wearing a headset so I have to guess at what to do in the middle of helping her I see Happy (monkey backpack and all) standing on a table across the room.
Good grief.
I brought him back to the computer area and finally got him distracted with a wooden toy when I a woman approached me and said, "Do you own a Saturn?" First of all that sentence never ends well. No one ever says do you have Saturn, because someone is stuffing it with money or even better cleaning out the garbage. No. After confirming it was mine she told me that my door was open. Not only did she say my door was open but she said it like I could possibly be crazy and perhaps she's onto something. Out I went to close the door which DEMAND had forgot to close while having a fit over the monkey. I'm not blaming her I know I'm responsible for closing doors but I was mad that the door didn't get closed because of her fit.
Finally I decided to check out our books. While using the automatic check-out Happy and monkey were right beside me. At this point he discovered the copy machine which also happened to be connected to a computer. While I'm trying to scan books he's grabbing a computer mouse or playing with buttons. Who knows what he did to the machine.
Time to go! Demand couldn't hear me of course because of the headset so I had to grab my bags and Happy and venture three feet away to get her attention, then Happy wanted to play with the computers again. His monkey got one gentle tug and down he went.
And with that we made an ungraceful exit back to the car. Notice how very little of our time was spent with books. Someday I would like to take Demand back just the two of us so we can actually play some of the computer games without distractions. No matter what I will be bringing the stroller for any library trips in the near future.
First off let me say that I understand that many people don't like baby harnesses, but it keeps my kids safe in parking lots and that's what I care about. However, I stiill wait for the day when someone has the nerve to express their objection I of course will then express something myself.
Happy was baffled yet intrigued but the Monkey backpack he was now wearing. I tried to get him to walk but he just stood there and as I gently nudged the monkey tail Happy fell right over. I scratched the idea of having him walk and just carried him inside and tried again once we got in. The same thing happened, he fell flat on his face. Now I just feel like an idiot dragging a baby around by a leash of course no one knows its' his first time using the contraption. Demand headed straight for the kiddie computers and Happy wanted to follow her. I had six books reserved for homeschooling (We start on Monday!) which was the whole reason for the trip so I let Happy sit at the computer while I ran and grabbed the books off the reserved shelf. The rest of the trip was spent keeping Happy from pressing buttons, pulling on cords, climbing on the computers...at one point I managed to distract him at a puzzle table but Demand wanted help with the computer game. She of course has no idea how to play it and is wearing a headset so I have to guess at what to do in the middle of helping her I see Happy (monkey backpack and all) standing on a table across the room.
Good grief.
I brought him back to the computer area and finally got him distracted with a wooden toy when I a woman approached me and said, "Do you own a Saturn?" First of all that sentence never ends well. No one ever says do you have Saturn, because someone is stuffing it with money or even better cleaning out the garbage. No. After confirming it was mine she told me that my door was open. Not only did she say my door was open but she said it like I could possibly be crazy and perhaps she's onto something. Out I went to close the door which DEMAND had forgot to close while having a fit over the monkey. I'm not blaming her I know I'm responsible for closing doors but I was mad that the door didn't get closed because of her fit.
Finally I decided to check out our books. While using the automatic check-out Happy and monkey were right beside me. At this point he discovered the copy machine which also happened to be connected to a computer. While I'm trying to scan books he's grabbing a computer mouse or playing with buttons. Who knows what he did to the machine.
Time to go! Demand couldn't hear me of course because of the headset so I had to grab my bags and Happy and venture three feet away to get her attention, then Happy wanted to play with the computers again. His monkey got one gentle tug and down he went.
And with that we made an ungraceful exit back to the car. Notice how very little of our time was spent with books. Someday I would like to take Demand back just the two of us so we can actually play some of the computer games without distractions. No matter what I will be bringing the stroller for any library trips in the near future.
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