One day last week I had the day off work and the kids were in school, so I decided to treat myself with a Redbox movie. I rarely ever get to watch a movie without the kids at least until it is after they go to bed. Just after 8 am, I had made several important phone calls and was waiting for the return calls. I was hesitant about leaving homing to grab a movie. Finally at 11 am, I decided to brave it and made a fast run.
When I returned, I thought maybe I should unload the freshly cleaned dishes from the dishwasher and reload before starting my movie. Then my sister arrived to paint the trim around the sunroom windows, if only I did not have allergies to the paint. Since my sister was rocking it out to her iPhone, I decided to replace the latch on the storm door that broke over the summer. I was very happy that the screw holes matched, but the inside part was too long. I searched for the hacksaw. Sigh, I could not find the hacksaw so I called grandma and she brought a hacksaw over. Grandma, my sister and I hung out, talked, and worked. I had been talking about repainting the front door because the paint was peeling off the metal. When I got the paint for the trim I grabbed a few paint samples. Sis and I looked through the samples and decided on a color- lightening bug. Hubby might be a touch surprised, but he said that I could paint it any color. Wink, wink!
Looking at the clock it was 1pm, too late to watch a movie before getting the kids. Instead sis and I ran to the hardware store and got some paint rollers and the paint for the front door (this week's project). Then off to school I went to grab the kids. On the drive home I talked them into watching a movie in our bedroom so I could watch my movie on the sunroom tv. I popped a Halloween Scooby Doo in for the kids and Moms' Night Out in for me. It only took me 3 1/2 hours to finish watching the movie. It got paused quite a few times for the telephone, a drop by visitor, and the kids.
I am in love with the movie. Wow! Amazing! I could relate to quite a few of the characters.
Allyson is zany and overwhelmed. I so get that and relate to the hiding from the kids in the closet scene. Life just gets so overwhelming at times and there needs to be a way to vent that build-up. I would love to have a girls night away from the kids. A night to forget homework woos, to forget autism, to forget sibling bickering, to forget chores, to forget cooking, and so much more. My luck, it would probably mirror parts of the movie. Ha ha ha ha!
Sondra is prim, proper, and always feels like everyone else is judging her in the role of a minister's wife. She rarely is given an invitation to just go out and have fun. I feel her too. I have had quite a few people tell me that I am prim and proper especially when they met my dad, who has Harley biker written all over in one glance. I do not see it, but I am more of an introvert. I like to be behind the scenes instead of out in the front. I rarely get invited to do fun things, except for parties where acquaintances are selling things.
Izzy is struggling with the stress of parenting her twins. Her husband is terrified of being alone with the kids. I am very thankful that my hubby helps out, but there times when he will not do something because he does not know how. My response is let me show you how to do it for the next time. I am positive that he will not break Princess's glasses if he cleans them from time to time. He has learned that elastic bands in the hair of little girls are really not that scary either, just don't use the scissors.
Anway, what an amazing movie! I may have to splurge and add it to the home collection. I think it has made it to my top five list. Wink, wink!
Last but not least, enjoy this picture of yesterday's sunrise. A beautiful gift on the four year anniversary of mom's passing. I love you and miss you mom!
Hubby and I recently celebrated our ten year wedding anniversary. On top of that we dated for five years before getting married, so we have been together for fifteen years. Wow!
Ten years ago, I was working two part-time jobs. I had a student loan and a car loan. I was living with grandma and grandpa. My baby sister was still in high school. Mom and dad were both healthy. I would not quite envision the life I have now back then.
We paid for our wedding mostly out of our own pockets. Grandma made my wedding dress. My wedding ring was my great-grandma's. We got married in my little country church, who doors have since been shut. I made up prairie flower arrangements for the front of the church, complete with rattlesnake master. Dad walked me down the aisle. Mom and step dad #2 made it to the wedding, mine is the only one she attended. We had a simple reception at an outdoor pavilion. We did not have a fancy honeymoon, just one night away. We had Hawaiian pizza for our first meal.
We temporarily moved into an apartment and at one time talked about building a home. I dreamed of a home with a creek and pond. We wanted to live in the country. We wanted to have one or two kids after we paid off my student loan. I dreamed of a full time job.
Ten years later, I still love my hubby. We have two beautiful children. Both are special in their own way. One has autism and the other vision problems. Every day is an adventure into the unknown. I am still working part-time. We live in a house that hubby's grandparent's built. Thankfully we do have a creek and pond, even though we are in town. My grandma and sister live near by. Grandpa and mom are gone. Dad has had two bone marrow transplants. I have learned that dreams are just that, dreams. The future never turns
out how we envision. I have learned that it is best to just take one
day at a time.
I am thankful for my blessings. I am thankfully for hubby. I am thankful for Pumpkin and Princess. I am thankful for grandma. I am thankful for my dad. I am thankful for my sister. I am thankful for grandma R. I am thankful for hubby's family. I am thankful for a roof over my head. I am thankful for food to eat. I am thankful for freedom of religion. I am thankful for clean fresh air. I am thankful for the beauty of nature. I am thankful for so many things.
I do not know what the future holds, but I hope to have many more years with my wonderful, caring hubby.
I was chatting with grandma in July about one aspect of our homework dilemma: How to stay near Pumpkin while he does his homework and cook dinner at the same time. The problem was that the table in the kitchen had a drop down side that was worse for the wear and made it impossible to sit in a normal fashion. Since our eating table is located in the Sunroom (where we have a wonderful view of nature and the pond), it became a catch-all table with piles of stuff.
Last school year homework was done at a long sofa table in the Great Room. Unfortunately that table is not close enough to the sink, stove, and refrigerator so dinner often suffered. Hubby became very proficient in the art of making cheese toasties. It was his avenue to escape homework. Ha ha ha ha!
Our kitchen table was given to my parents as a gift when I was a small child. After my mom and stepdad #1 divorced, it sat in mom's garage for a few years. The heat, humidity, and cold did not treat it kindly. The painted legs were cracked and chipped. The top of the table and sides also suffered from the wood splitting apart. A gentleman from church fixed it up enough to be usable, but honestly it needs a complete overhaul.
Grandma had a wonderful idea, she offered to trade tables with us to help with our homework dilemma. The new kitchen table was my great-great grandma's kitchen table. It is just a touch larger than the other table without any drop down sides. The finish still looks nice after years of use.
About a week before school started, hubby and a friend did the Great Table Switch. The "new" table is working out well. Pumpkin is enjoying doing his homework in the kitchen. The table is no longer a catch-all area, although it is homework and sack lunch central. And best of all, I can cook supper while monitoring and encouraging the homework situation. Now if we could only speed the homework process up (wink, wink).
There is always 101 things that need to be done. It can be overwhelming at times. Sometimes I cannot tell the difference between up and down.
Now that school has started, we have the homework battle with Pumpkin each night. We are trying to discover techniques that may help us proceed in a faster manner. I search the internet for ideas in the evenings. I dropped by the library and check out books for ideas. We did a change out with our kitchen table to help with our homework battle. Another post will be dedicated to that soon. Friday morning I am heading up north to a parent training session to see if I can glean ideas in general that will help us to help Pumpkin. We have met with his teacher and principal twice so far this school year and we are just starting the third week of school. We do have a great teacher this year and we are working with her on Pumpkin's social hurtles and quirks. Next week we go back to the childhood behavioral pediatrician to explore the possibly of medication to help manage the ADHD, so we can work on teaching the needed skills for the ASD. I am so glad for the weekends which give us a short break of the homework battle.
Housework has turned into a formidable mountain around here. Between being sick all summer, having an injured foot, and now homework it has been a challenge to get even the basics done. I have attempted to train the kids, but more often than not they are more of the problem than the solution. Laundry is getting washed, but unfortunately it has been hanging out unfolded in the laundry baskets until they are empty or reclaimed for another load of clean laundry. Surfaces are piled high with clutter, papers, STUFF. Dishes are hit and miss. I think that I need to have a cleaning party, one room at a time of course. Any friends up for the challenge?
We did have a friend come by this past weekend. He fixed the leak under our kitchen sink and removed our garbage disposal for us. I know, a lot of people love their garbage disposals. But, I did not have one until we moved into our current home. I really am not fond of them. Why would someone would want to send stuff down their drains and into their pipes to risk having a blockage thereby having to call a plumber? We have an older model house and I know that we have some tile collapsing in the front yard, so why take the risk of causing more harm than good. I am happy though that I can now return all of the stuff that was under the sink, back underneath the sink. The under the sink supplies have been sitting in a tub in my kitchen for the past three months.
I am attempting to relearn how to type. Ugh! Apparently the rules for composing with a computer have changed. Instead of two spaces after a period (which is what I was taught by a teacher in high school that threated detentions for not following directions), the new rule is one space after a period. I guess this is because in this fast paced world, they want to save as much room and space as they can. Apparently the two space rule was created to help separate sentences when using a typewriter (which once again, I learned how to type on) and is not necessary with a computer since the spacing is more uniform. Up until last week at work, I had never heard of it before. I looked it up on the internet and quite a few well-known sites did talk about this change. So I am attempting with much error to reteach myself how to type. This is a quite a challenge, since it has been ingrained into my brain since my freshman year of high school. Try it for yourself to see how hard it is to conform.
Well, I guess that I should think about hitting the sack. Tomorrow will be another long day. I just have to remember: One day at a time. One breath at a time. This too shall pass. Before I know it life will get easier instead of more challenging. At least I hope (wink, wink).
