Dishwasher Woes

I've mentioned before about the issues with my dishwasher.  My lovely Mr. Delusional fixed it many times and has made me a very happy woman each time.

This time however - it was beyond his fixing abilities.  Sometimes it was filling, sometimes it wasn't.  There was no rhyme or reason to it.  We pulled the whole thing out thinking that perhaps the hose was kinked, but nothing worked. I gave up and have been doing dishes by hand for the last week or two.

Yeah, you read that right, I have been doing my dishes by hand!!!   


I know that there are people out there who don't have dishwashers and my complaints, to them, are likely whiny.  I did dishes by hand for far too long.  I hated it.  So, when we moved to our house and it had a dishwasher, I was in Lazy Hethr Heaven!  (too bad it also didn't come with maid service....ahhhh... that would be so sweet!)

Anyhow - back to me and my whining.  I've now been doing dishes by hand for a few weeks.  With the daycare kids here, that means that I usually do about 4 or 5 loads of dishes a day.  I. Hate. This.

So when I woke up this morning and saw the big red circle around today's date on the calendar, I did a little squeal of glee - today is the day that the dishwasher repair man was coming!!  The kids and I spent the morning coloring and baking and waiting for the moment the door bell would ring.

Finally - around lunch time, the van pulls up - the kids swarm him and the poor man is bombarded with questions:

• What's your name?
• What's in the bag?
• Why do you have a band-aid?
• You're not allowed to wear shoes in Hedr's house, you gonna take them off?
• Why do you have an orange screw driver?
• Can I see your screwdriver?
• Oooh - he has a flash light!  Can I play with your flashlight?

It went on for quite some time. Eventually I was able to feed them, wash them up and put them to bed -- meanwhile, Mr. Repair Man is tinkering around.  At this point, he's taken apart the entire machine - front cover is off, bottom piece is off, racks and screws and bits are all over the place.... and he's on the phone.  I hear him say "I've tried everything, I just don't know what's wrong with it."

Uh...so not the words I wanted to hear, hun!

A few (5) phone calls later, he's figured out the issue, and has to order a new part (water intake valve and also a new mother board 'just in case') and he leaves.

I still have no working dishwasher - I have to wait for the part to arrive and for a new service call to be booked.

Hethr's not happy.

I has a stress

Yup - I admit it, I am NOT superwoman.  Today did me in.  Here's the reason why:  I woke up.


This is how my day went today:

• Wake up at 6am.
• attempt to spend the hour before my children wake up getting some reading done.  Failed because I spent it cleaning.
• Make lunches for the kids and Mr. Delusional.
• Chosen daughter arrives for the day, wants toast. I make it. She doesn't eat it.
• Children wake and finally get dressed (after 1/2 hour of nagging)
• feed all the children, get them washed up and out the door for school.
• Search for the walkie-talkie that has seemingly disappeared. (still lost for what it's worth)
• clean up breakfast dishes.
• put in a load of laundry.
• Chosen child arrives for the day.  He's talking a lot lately. 
• Adam and chosen toddler go off in a toddler talking duo.  It's funny/cute.
• Chosen daughter takes them "to the beach" - they must wear winter gear to the "beach"
• On their way to the beach, they find *insert suspenseful Jaws-type music here* an electric piano.
• yeah.  I was thrilled.
• The three children play with said piano at it's lowest volume setting (which is just a few decibels under bleeding eardrums)
• Yeah.  I was even more thrilled.
• They are happy though, and I can tell, because I can occasionally hear their squeals of glee when there's a momentary pause in the music.
• They are all running loops around my basement as they "dance" (hey, it's cold, there's not a lot of things they can do to get rid of the energy)
• They did the running/squealing/high-pitched piano playing for two hours.  Yes...Two Hours.
• Lunch time!  Yay.  Quiet.
• Chosen daughter refuses to eat anything except for her naked noodles.
• Nap time (otherwise known as bliss)
• During nap time I clean up lunch dishes, sweep, put in another load of laundry, finish my passport stuff, print off some papers for school, sit down to finish the Unit I'm working on now...and then relax.
• My tea kettle hasn't boiled yet - and they all wake up.
• They find the piano (how on earth did I forget to put it away??)
• We're back to the piano music/screaming like banshees.
• I lose my patience and shout at them (and take away the piano)
• they pout.
• I feel bad.
• Chosen toddler talks my ear off for the next 2 hours.  Like non-stop talking.  As in never stopping.
• I give up on feeding my kids a real supper and just tell my kids to eat a bowl of cereal instead.
• Argue with Iman about her homework.
• Get invited out to a movie (with an adult!!) - but can't go because hubby has to work late and I'm here with the kids.
• Shed a tear because I know I could have had a conversation that did not include the words: Iggle Piggle, penis or poop.
• Now - I'm simply waiting.  Waiting for them to pass out and hope and pray that I get a little "me" time. God, how I need some me time!

Momtuition strikes again!

You know how you have that "momtuition" that lets you know when something's just not right with your kid?  Well, it was blaring at me this morning.  I woke up, cleaned up my daycare room - and it stayed clean.  That was sign number 1.  Adam didn't have breakfast, that was sign number 2.  We went out to the mosque, and as per usual, stopped by Tim Horton's for coffee and doughnuts (hot chocolate for the kids) after prayer.  Adam didn't touch is doughnut (sign 3), didn't freak when we cut it in half and split it between Iman and Isaac (sign 4) and only drank about half of his hot chocolate (sign 5).  We're driving in the car and Moe had to stop at Home Depot -- I say "Adam's sleeping, I'll just wait in here with him." -- 15 minutes later, Moe gets out and we head for home.  Less than 5 minutes from the house - Adam wakes up spewing vomit all over the back seat.  All over himself, the carseat, the floor and his sister.  It was N-A-S-T-Y.

I should mention that the weather here right now is in the -30s.  Before we could get through the intersection, the sudden rise in the humidity level of the car causes the inside of the windows to go foggy.  We are driving with the windows open and our fingers plugging our noses, Adam is wailing and freaking out because he's got puke on his mitten, Iman is valiantly trying not to gag as she tries to ignore the bits of vomit on her jacket, legs and boots...and Isaac was playing his DSi.

We get home and go into full "family team" mode - Moe takes the puke-covered Adam out of the care and into the house to get cleaned up, Iman organizes a pile of "this stuff's been puked on" for me to put into the wash - and Isaac hauls in the bags of "rescued items" and my purse.  Meanwhile - I run and grab some Mr. Clean and a spray bottle and go back to the car -- I see that there are two good things that have happened.  1. 90% of the puke is on the carseat itself, 2, most of the rest is on the floor mat of the back seat -- this is good as both can be pulled out and washed.

However, there is bad in this too -- You see - taking out a carseat that has just been covered in what seems like 2 liters of vomit is tricky -- it leaks and spills out of little crevices that you don't even know are there.  Thank GOD for leather seats!  Also -- trying to wipe down things like this when it's -30 outside is next to impossible -- the spray is frozen before it even hits the acquired targets!  Once it lands, you've essentially got a Mr. Clean slushie to clean up with.

Then comes the carseat itself -- trying to take the cover off of the carseat and attempting to recall how you did it way back in the day when he was just a baby (also - suddenly realizing how big he's gotten that there's only another 1 1/2 years left on the seat itself) - wow.  I finally remember where I stuffed the manual for it - go about unhooking little elastics from places that only elves and fairys could possibly have placed them, and try not to gag as the scent of curdled hot chocolate wafts up to me at every moment.

In the end - the car seat was cleaned, so was the car.  Poor Adam was sick all night long and still showing signs of it today -- gotta love flu season.

I'm Alive!!!

Life is so ironic.  I wrote this yesterday, saved it to prepare my amazingly healthy supper of Mr. Noodles, and then dealt with my sick child all night long.  Now...I'm sick.  Sick, sick, sick.  Rather fitting considering the next sentence...

Yes, you may have thought that I'd gotten hit by a truck, or with some nasty flu bug or even something more drastic - like finding a life.  Sad fact is that I used up the majority of last week doing school work (which, Ironically, I'm ignoring now) to prepare for our Holiday that we just had (Eid-al-Adha - although I have an issue with Wikipedia calling it the Holiday of Killing -- how horrible!  The rest of the article is pretty good though).   It was a great few days spent with family and friends, and the first time in a long time that I've actually felt in a "holiday" type of spirit...even though I'm PMSing -- go figure!

But, all that holiday spirit put a major damper in my cleaning schedule.  I've gotten a couple hundred new followers, so I'll just review this quickly with you.  I have a general cleaning schedule (for vacuuming/bathrooms/etc) and I handle nasty chores like that by doing a little bit each day.  But laundry -- the very bane of my existence has it's own special routine.  Sometimes, kind hearted people come and try to help me out and it ends up badly...I shouldn't get so upset, but I do.  If I'm ever sick and you wanna help me out -- wash the floors, clean the toilet -- anything but mess with my laundry!

The Laundry Schedule

                                             Monday = blue clothes and the boys' bed sheets
                                             Tuesday = black/grey clothes + ironing if I have any
                                             Wednesday = white clothes and my bed sheets

                                             Thursday = yellow/green/brown clothing

                                             Friday = red/pink clothing and daughter's bed sheets

                                             Saturday = jeans

                                             Sunday = towels

I follow this schedule religiously.  It does a lot for me.  First - it breaks down the HUGE amount of laundry that 5 people can make (used to be 6 before stepson left).  Second - it keeps the colors of my clothing more true.  By washing my teal shirt with my blue clothing it stays a nice teal shade rather than getting dulled down by doing the traditional lights or darks.  Third - my kids as young as two or three can help, and personally, I think that teaching responsibility and helping others at a young age is a good thing.  Not everyone agrees with that, but you know - my house, my rules, right??

Anyhow -- I 've got enough laundry piled up in my bedroom right now to make a grown man weep.  It's a little terrifying.  I don't understand how we wear so many clothes!  Oh well -- such is life.

Also -- homework...got to get on that, I've been sitting here at my computer since nap time started (an hour ago) and still have not a bit of it started.  Things keep popping up.  Deliveries from my favourite online store, fabulous pictures put up on facebook...uh...the laundry bell buzzing telling me it's time to fold....You know -- the "important" stuff...

what a week

So, this week has been interesting to say the least.  First I had my imagination get the better of me and convince me that I had bed bugs (plus side to this, my house has been cleaned from top to bottom --- there is not a dust bunny left here, let alone imaginary bed bugs!).

For those of you who don't follow me on facebook (and what's with that, huh?  Join us, we have fun there!) - you'll know that my kids have sent me to puke city and back.  My son came home from school, went straight to bed, and proceeded to barf all night.  Now -- if you've read the above paragraph, you'll note that I just finished cleaning my house (including all the linens) -- well, I had to do the boys' room all over again...because the little man got it too and they both managed to puke in the bed.  Nasty!

After the boys started feeling well enough to jump all over one another and snag granola bars from the pantry (they think I don't know that they do this...silly boys!) -- I got sick.  I got sick, sick, sick.  The kind of sick where you're hot and cold and sore and just want to curl up and die.  So...I suffered through that for a bit....only lasted the majority of the night, and I now feel right back to normal again.

This morning, I woke up, went to make coffee -- and realized that I was out of coffee!  If any of you heard that strange sound this morning, it was the tortuous screeching of my soul as it learned that we'd be functioning "sans caffeine" today.  Luckily - a daycare parent saw my status on facebook and brought me a nice fresh cup of Tims....mmmm....Tim Hortons.....yum.



Moose 1, Dino 0

 Then, I decided that since everyone is feeling better, we'd be going out to the Jurassic Forest that I've talked about before.  We get there (first ones!) and there's a crew set up with wheel barrows and electrical wires and other assorted tools.  They proceed to tell me that some of the dinos may not be working because a moose attacked them.  Yeah...you read that right.  A moose went on the rampage and attacked some of the dinos!  I would pay some good money to get some video of that incident.  There were only 2 dinos that weren't functioning, and 1 brontosaurus that had a tail being supported by a ladder type thing...the others were being worked on and the guys would turn them on for the kids as we passed.  The kids asked what they were doing, I told them they were cleaning up the dino poop so the forest wouldn't stink -- they thought that was great.  I'm not really sure what was going through the workers' minds as my daycare girl repeatedly said "Thanks for cleaning the stink!"

So -- that's my week in a nut shell -- how was yours?

What was I thinking?

This seems to be a common topic in my life lately -- what the hell were you thinking, Hethr?  I do something, with a great end result in mind, without thinking of the process...a critical part to anything!

For example, after a summer that could hardly be called a summer, we finally had some nice warm days...these days happened to coincide with the numerous apples falling from my trees -- so I gather them all up, peel and chop them, and decide to make something with them...I choose an apple coffee cake.  That's right.  On a day when the temperature outside reaches 30*C (that's 86*F) I decide to turn on my oven.  Yup, thought that through really well.

Another example would be the spontaneous cleaning moment I had.  I wake up at 530 in the morning, and look at my blinds in my kitchen...they're pretty nasty -- all that humidity in the kitchen settles on the blinds, the dust and such from open windows settles on the humidity and voila -- you have a grime-o-matic right there in your own kitchen.  So -- I brilliantly decide (at now 6 in the morning) that these things need to be cleaned....NOW.  I climb up onto my counter to take them down...fill up my bathtub with some Mr.Clean and hot water and stick my blinds in there -- only to realize that I have really big windows because only about 1/4 of the blinds were actually immersed in the water.  But -- did that stop me??  Hell to the No!  I went scrubbie-crazy and cleaned those buggers well....only to realize that I had to then turn them over and do the same thing to the other side.  By the way -- did you know that cleaning blinds and flipping them around in the bathroom and scrubbing away at 630 in the morning isn't exactly quiet and will likely wake the rest of the family???  Who knew??

So, I get the grit and grime off of them...climb back onto my counter to put them back up, drop them, pick them up again, get them stuck on the tap of the kitchen sink, knock the ends into the cupboards and finally snap it into place -- then I realize that they're all crazy like, with one strip randomly stuck to the other...so I have to go through each stinking piece of metal and separate them one by one.  It was at this point that I decided that hiring a housekeeper to come in and do this kind of crap 2 or 3 times a year will be well worth it.

Festivus Friday again!

I have been holding back and waiting all week long for this post! I'm also trying out a new font...so let me know if it looks any better than the older posts...I don't really like the way the old font looks on my background.

Anyhoo -- I've got a bunch of grievances to air...so without delay:

1.  whoever is tossing their garbage into my back yard.  It's GROSS.  Stop.  It's not a lot, but I have better things to do that pick up your chocolate bar wrappers and slurpee cups.  My guess is that you are a wickedly cool teenager.  Feel free to use my garbage can or I'll call the cops on you for littering.
 
2.  People who come to comment on a post in my blog just to post a link to theirs.  It's rude.  Seriously...some dingbat came and posted on my last Festivus Friday rant "nice post" with a link back to his/her blog.  Come on!  "nice post" -- Is that the best you can do?  Did you even read it??  I don't mind, really, if this person really read the post and said that...fine...but something tells me that it was just a comment-and-run to spread their crappy wears.  I refuse to click on their link.  Comment folks, I like it...even if you don't agree with me, but put a little thought into it, okay??

3.  Potty training.  Ugh...we are potty training my son.  One day, he'll do fabulous the next day I'm cleaning up puddles like crazy.  Just another reminder straight from God that I'm done with having kids. 

4.  The rain -- We had a long, hot, dry summer last year...and we seem to be making up for it now.  I'm sick of it though.  A little sun would be nice.

5.  My procrastinating.  I have a pretty major assignment due on Sunday.  Guess how much I have started.  NOTHING.  Yet, I blog.  *le sigh*

6.  He who shall not be named -- let's just say that I wasn't feeling well this week and asked someone who doesn't like me talking about him online to watch my toddler.  Well, somehow, while I was napping, toddler got into nailpolish -- all over my daughter's DSi, and all over his face (including his eyelashes which are now stuck together and pearly white)  I just don't get it.

7.  Laundry.  Even with the schedule of schedules -- I hate laundry.  I'd rather burn it and buy new.

And...I think I'm done.  Wow...I feel better already! 

Brainteasers

Here's a brainteaser for you.  How is it possible that I'm down by 75% of my daycare kids, yet the mess in this room is still the same?

And here's a laugh for you - I announce it's snack time, my little chosen son (almost 2) says "Move it!" and pushes me towards the door way.  Love it.

And -- here comes the real mindbogglingly insane improbability -- How is it that I can give 2 boys 2 slices of cheese with 2 saltines each and end up sweeping up 1/2 cup of saltine crumbs from the floor.  How is that possible??

About a mom...

This weekend was amazing. It was Inspiring. Emotional. Moving. It was more than I ever thought it could be, and I'm not allowed to say anything more than that. Boo.

But -- while I was gone on this amazing adventure -- my mom was here watching my kids. She's a really great woman. She's the type of grandmother who buys my kids crap that they don't need just becuase she knows they'll have fun. Whether it's clothes or toys, used or "first hand" as my son calls it - she's the grandma who's taken the position of spoiling.

So, this weekend she spoiled me. She cleaned off my kitchen counter - which wasn't horribly bad, just a little disorganized. She dusted (I hate dusting) and she did laundry.

Yup -- you read that right. She messed with my schedule...she did laundry for my kids based on *gasp* lights & darks!!!

I came home and see her folding some laundry. Whites with pinks and yellows and light blues...and my OCD went into overdrive. I do my best to say thank you (did I really say the words??), I calmly go over to my fridge and pull of the schedule to show her. It's posted on my fridge, over each child's laundry basket, AND in my laundry room. This schedule is my life!!

It turns out, according to my friend's mother (who was with me) that I, apparently, overreacted. Me...overreact? Well...yeah, I guess I did.

I mean, yes, it helped. True, I don't have half the amount of laundry as I'd normally have. Granted, my kids didn't die becuase their whites weren't given the extra boost of BAM! Oxy Clean...but I know...you see? I know!!

So -- I blow my top...well, okay, I didn't really blow it...maybe popped is a better expression...that was Saturday....so Sunday comes (and I'm busy again with things that I am not yet able to mention) and when I come home...once again -- she did MORE laundry!



Eeek.

(how pathetic is it that I have to do deep breathing at this point just to continue blogging??)

Oh - she also let my kids eat all over the house...in the living room (only allowed when LOST is on), in the play room (NEVER EVER allowed). Do my kids pipe up and tell her this?? no, they do not. What do I find this morning? A plate full of half chewed cantaloupe (thanks Adam), yogurt drips on my couch that have hardened over and crusted (thanks Isaac) and candy wrappers stuffed down between the couch cushions (thanks Iman).

My mom gets emails of my blogs automatically -- so I don't want her thinking that I'm ungrateful, because nothing can be further from the truth. She's probably at her desk right now laughing and confirming her co-workers thoughts that she really is a crazy old bat.

Oh -- and mom...I never did find the straw!

Homework, excuses and Shredding - oh my!

Well, unless you live in the dark you'll notice that I haven't posted any exercise postings. That's because....wait for it....I haven't been exercising! I know -- what a shock! Here's my list of reasons why:

• too much homework, not enough time to do it, and house work, and be a mom/wife/daycare lady and exercise. Just can't do it.
• haven't been feeling well -- couldn't figure it out. Exhausted like I'm running on empty or something. Doc thinks it may be my thyroid needing adjusting.
• Spring Break -- yup, my kids are here for the whole day every day for a week. You homeschooling parents, I don't know how you do it. I'm nearly certifiable by the end of the night.

Anyhow -- I have decided that at this point, my homework HAS to come first...at least until I can get ahead (again) if I can. I have this retarded critical analysis to do of an essay that's about as exciting as watching paint dry...and once again, I'm putting it off and blogging instead.

I will let you know where life takes me -- and hopefully it's back on the exercise train soon!

Oh -- and by the way -- where's the love people? Do you not realize that your comments are what keep me going? Know how many comments I got on my last post (asking about whether or not I should move up a level)? ZERO people...come one...placate me!!

No Shred this weekend

And this is why.

This is a picture of my backyard - this picture is taken about 1/3 of the way in. It is large enough that (at the time of this picture) I had 4 apple trees, and 2 birch trees -- all about 30 years old AND still enough room to fit an outdoor table set, a back yard climber, a sand box and still have a garden (that's about 20' x 30'). Since we took this picture, we've taken down both birch (which had died for some strange reason along with every other birch tree in the neighbourhood) and 1 of the apple trees (which had been taken over by a nasty ant colony -- killed it from the roots!).

So - every fall, I rake. Not only do I still have 3 apple trees left to clean up from, but it seems like every tree's leaves in the neighbourhood fall into my back yard. I rake and I rake and I rake. Then we go through what seems like an eternity of snow and cold - and suddenly there's spring - warm and beautiful and green. But it's hiding. It's hiding under dead grass and yet more leaves that need to be raked up.

Yesterday, I spent 4 hours out there raking. I only got a little over 1/2 of the back yard. I still need to do the front (which is about 2/3 the size of the back). That will be done today. I truly feel that this is the equivalent of doing a shred workout. Maybe two.

Oh, I also rearranged my daycare room. Moved the furniture around, added some new toys, put away some old toys into storage. Lifted couches, vacuumed everything possible...mopped floors, cleaned bathrooms...sanitized and disinfected -- yeah. There's another Shred workout.

On the schedule today is yet more raking (hopefully getting it all done), running around the city for some last minute groceries, stopping by my accountant's office to drop off my tax info, then coming back home to teach my 6 year old how to ride a bike. Okay, so the stuff between the bike riding and the raking isn't much, but still...I'm counting that as a shred or two as well.

Oh yeah -- I also bought a couple of new trikes for daycare. Can't wait to see their faces....soon, we'll be doing another fundraiser to raise money to buy a new climbing set for them! YAHOO~ I may even set up a paypal donation thing on here -- wonder if strangers will donate??

My husband, my hero...

So, if you've read my last few posts, you'll know that I've been having a rough time. Between school and sick kids, life this last few weeks has been rough.

I wasn't expecting much more for today; after all, the baby was up all night with the stuffed nose, sore ears, teething pain. It was pretty much a repeat of yesterday (whining for everything, yet wanting nothing), except that today I was sans husband and had the addition of two daycare kids.

Things were going as well as could be expected, all things considered. We had lunch, put the dishes in the dishwasher and went for naps. All was well with the world. Shortly before nap is done, I go to put the clean dishes away. I opened the door of the dishwasher, and what do I find?? Steamy, dirty dishes. "hmmm," I think to myself, "I'll just run it again." Run it again, and once more, I have hot, steamy, dirty dishes.

*sigh*

You must realize that I am not a woman of "labour". I mean, I'm not one of those women who wears an apron, with perfect hair and makeup who bakes 5 course meals, raises perfect children and has a spectacularly clean house. I'm good at all of these things, but not all at the same time. Lately, I'm concentrating on the kids thing - it is, after all, my job.

So, when faced with the dilemma of having to wash my dishes by hand, I nearly died. You see, I washed dishes by hand for 8 years. Now that I have a dishwasher, my opinion is "if it doesn't go in the dishwasher, it shouldn't come into my house." I am not that kinda lady. These hands were made for diamonds, not dishes. Nope, not me. My husband affirms this; he has told me on numerous occasions that my blood type should be "O-la-la".


I call him in a panic..."Babe, I've been doing dishes for 10 minutes....by hand!!!....Yes, I know I used to do dishes by hand before. But now I have a dishwasher, and it's BROKEN!!!"

He comes home and looks at it and says "hmm. It's not working." (yeah! that's what I said!!)

I go off to do my other duties...I take care of my chosen children, as well as my own. I straighten up the play room and try to conceive how I will now live my life having to do all the dishes by hand. I resign myself to the fact that I will no longer care about the environment, and will just go the disposable way. Plastic forks and spoons, paper plates and cups...Yup..that's how I will function.

Once my chosen children go home to their families, I wander upstairs to find that my husband has completely dismantled the dishwasher. Racks and bits and tubes are all over the kitchen floor. "What are you doing?!?!" I ask, "You're not a licensed technician! We're screwed!!!"

I eat supper, with my stomach doing flops...I imagine family gatherings with a Turkey on a bed of paper plates and a giant black garbage bag in the corner...I start having palpitations.

After supper is done, I begin preparing for the tedious task ahead...not only do I have to do the dishes from supper, but from breakfast and lunch, too. I pout pretend it doesn't bother me. Meanwhile, hubby puts back the pieces and sets it for a "test run".

IT WORKS!!!


Never doubted he could do it for a minute!

A look back at 2009

So, I decided that I should look back at this year. A reminder of all of the good as well as all of the bad.

First there was school. Though I technically started in the Fall of 2008, it was about this time of year that I got my official marks. I'm a keener, an over-achiever and very likely the most competitive person that you know. My biggest fear was failure. I was, after all, a high school drop out. I am happy, and yes, very proud, to admit (= brag) that I have a GPA of 4.0. Can't get better than that!

Then there's family. My baby turned one, began walking and talking. 2 of my 3 children are off at school (and are competitive keeners like me!). My husband was promoted. The relationship between my stepson and I deteriorated. Stepson left the house, sick of our rules. Though we see him every so often, the relationship between us all (with the exception of Stepson and Baby) is very, very strained. One day, he will see the reasons behind everything, but until then, we live as the evil, unrelenting parents.

There was the walk for Cancer. I walked all night. It was tiring, and by the time the sun rose and the closing ceremony was finished, I was emotionally and physically exhausted. But even though there were so many of my family members lost to Cancer, it was surprisingly cheerful. The time spent with my Aunt, Mother and cousins was important to me. I'm glad I did it.

I learned to knit. To some, this is an "old lady" thing, but I don't care. Knitting was something that my grandmother did, and I always wanted to learn. She died when I was in grade 6. The yearly gifts of slippers and scarves came to an end. No one picked up those needles to carry on her tradition. Years have gone by and I learned how to knit. Months of searching the internet for patterns finally yielded a pattern as close to grandma's that I could find. Slippers soon came. My family all have matching slippers - some better than others as I tweaked the pattern to my liking. I know that my husband thinks that I'm nuts. I've had many people say to me "why don't you just buy them from the dollar store". But, what they don't understand is that I feel connected to her again...I envision her in my mind...rocking in her chair, her knitting basket next to her as she watched Coronation Street and pretended to listen to my grandfather's ramblings. I miss her terribly, and it's my way to remember.

I got a new cat. Well, some would call him a mountain lion, but he's a giant, lovable fur-ball. Alviss appeared on my friend's Facebook page...needing a home. I helped out. Little did I know that the picture of the gray ball of fluff would turn out to be a 20lb cat! He's huge. He's beautiful. He's cuddly. What more can I ask for?? (okay, he could shed a little less, but beggars can't be choosers, can they?)

I had the most horrible daycare experience ever. A family who was here wasn't happy that I had terminated care. The child was fabulous, the mother was fabulous, the father....an Ass. They were happy with everything, but when I could no longer put up with the father's BS, I terminated care. They, after having had their daughter in care for over a year, accused me of neglect, claimed my home was filthy and, in general, did their best to bring me down. One thing about always doing the right thing, you know that the truth will prevail, but while the truth is busy being detected by child welfare and all the other crap that goes around that....it's stressful. I am still very bitter and very resentful of that whole situation. I genuinely love and care for all the children that are in my Daycare, and their false accusations have left scars.

I had a visit from the very first child ever to be in my dayhome! Funny, how you don't expect these children to age. Wonderful that he jumped out of that van, shouted "Heather!!" and ran to give me a huge bear hug (he's now almost as tall as I am). Sad that he had to leave.

I got a new family in dayhome. They are wonderful. They are fun, sarcastic, witty and real. I am very grateful that they came. Really good dayhome families are a rare gem. This is one of them. I also have a very good friend bringing her child to my dayhome. The fact that we are able to keep our business and friendship as two separate entities is amazing.

Fond memories were made. A rainy holiday in Drumheller. A town full of churches. A visit to Heritage Days and being trapped in a rainstorm. That is one that I never wrote about. The downpour that we went through, arriving to our car dripping as if we'd gone fully clothed into a swimming pool only to have the rain stop minutes after getting inside. It was at first, irritating, quickly overwhelming and soon hilarious. I came home that day to blog about it (once I had dried off and warmed up) only to discover that there was a woman who had died in that very same storm while at the Big Valley Jamboree. Suddenly, it wasn't something to write about.

There were the fun times the kids had with their grandmother. There were all of the great things that my daycare children have said. There were the debates with friends, and a few with strangers. Though I started this blog as a way of putting down the odd and silly thoughts that run through my head, mostly for the amusement of my friends and family to read -- I have come to the realization that there are people from all over the globe (well, so far, just North America) coming here searching for advice, or maybe just confirmation of their innermost feelings.

Everything is a lesson. Best wishes to you and yours, my readers, for a happy 2010!

My laundry schedule

I have mentioned before that I'm a little anal about my laundry. How it gets done, when it gets done...all of it. Yeah...I'm a little OCD about it.

But...someone did a Google Search for "laundry schedule for family of 5" -- and they came to my page....AND they asked for me to break it down. So, my dear friend Lisa....I'm not abnormal!!

Growing up, my mother did laundry on Saturdays. It was an all day-long, tedious task. My job was simple. Put the laundry in the bin. She would then sort into lights, darks, denims, towels, linens.

I have, what is considered by most, a large family (2 adults, 1 step child and 3 of my own kids)...and admittedly, all but myself and my middle son are a bit diva-ish about their clothing. Layers, a couple of changes a day...you get the idea. When I tried to stick with the schedule I had growing up, I found I was spending the entire day doing laundry, and if I happened to put it off --- well, we were swimming in a sea of filthy clothes.

So, I developed a schedule. This took much time and tweaking, but I've finally found the thing that works for my family.

Here's how it goes:

Monday -- Blue clothing, middle son's bed sheets (2 separate loads)
Tuesday -- Black clothing, Toddlers bed sheets (2 separate loads)
Wednesday -- White clothing, my bed sheets (2 separate loads)
Thursday -- Yellow/greens/browns, step son's sheets (he's no longer here...but whatever)
Friday -- Pink/Red clothing, daughters sheets (2 separate loads)
Saturday -- Denim
Sunday -- Towels

To be brutally honest, I don't wash the bed sheets every week. It's ideal, but I just don't. I suffer from terminal lazyitis. ;o)

There is also a schedule to how I do this --- now I wish that I could make this into a routine, but life, kids, work --- it all tends to get in the way. But, I find that if I have the laundry sorted into the laundry basket at night, when I wake up in the morning, I can just toss it into the washing machine and get on with my day. I usually toss it into the dryer at lunch time, it's dry by nap time, when I can fold it uninterrupted. However, there are days that I don't put it in the wash until much later....then I put off folding becuase I'm tired, then I'm stuck with wrinkly clothes, then I have to *gag* Iron! *shudder*

So...I hope that this can give you some guidance as to how to deal with a large family with tons of laundry. Rather than spending an entire day folding and washing and over and over and over....spend just an hour a day...laid out this way, it looks like more work, but it really isn't! We have clean clothes all the time, and never have to dig in the hamper for clothes to put on.

The perfect gift

So, I've mentioned before about my OCD with housework.

It's really not because I'm OCD...it's because I loathe housework. I hate it so much that I have to make myself a schedule for it. Mondays I do this, Tuesdays that...and so on. I even went and joined Flylady to help (and she does, if you stick to it!).

That's why the gift that I got from my daughter was so appropriate. They worked on them at school and she'd tell me about things that she'd done (sanding, painting) without giving away the surprise. Last year they made a flower out of wood; it was....uh...pretty.

So, this years gift I was expecting be as....fabulous. You know, that gift where you go "Oh wow, a toaster....I....uh....love it!" Meanwhile you're thinking: a *&#ing toaster??

Not this time however. She made me a little plaque-type thing...it's supposed to be me holding a bucket of cleaning supplies. But that's not the best part. What the bucket SAYS is the best part...."I hate housework"

I can't even begin to describe how perfect this gift is!! I love it, dear daughter!! Thank you so much!!!

Did I just say that???

So, it's been a stressful few days here. I have a toddler in dayhome who's been acting just like a toddler does. I keep putting off schoolwork (just like I am now as I write this) when I know I should just get it done. Housework, and laundry are being put off. It's just a week of procrastination, and the repercussions are causing very real issues with my body's stress reactions.

Last night, I went out with a girlfriend for a spa night. How completely, utterly amazing! (By the way, I do these parties, if any one's interested -- but how nice to be spoiled by getting one!). A lot of pent up stress was released, and I came home a much happier woman than when I had left.

Fast forward to this morning...kids are up (and there was no fight for it to happen!), lunches were made, breakfast was eaten and homework was packed and ready to go. This, in itself is a small miracle. My day is going well. They all leave for school, and I'm left at home with an infant, two toddlers and a preschooler. Baby and one toddler crash for their morning naps...and the preschooler and other toddler are playing quietly. They are relishing in the newness of the book nook that I've created, flipping through books and lounging on pillows.

Suddenly all hell breaks loose. Apparently preschooler's head touched toddler's pillow. I'm sure that you, Dear Reader, felt the shudder as the earth came to a screeching halt. Toddler starts freaking "move, move, move!" all the while pushing (with hands and feet) on the head of preschooler. Unfortunately, she can't move her head because toddler has wound her little fingers into her hair. Preschooler tries to move and screams in pain, while toddler is still freaking out about the infraction onto her pillow territory.

Meanwhile, I'm thinking that my cup of coffee is suddenly less enjoyable. Not only do I have a disaster in progress, I have one in the making should this argument (and the sheer volume of it) wake the angels sleeping in blissful ignorance in the other room.

"Shhhh!!" I say as I rush over to extract tiny fingers from matted hair. Tears are wiped, war wounds are kissed better and egos are placated. Each child apologizes to the other and they hug and make up.

Then, they start playing tag.

Now...they'd had a taste of freedom last week when the weather was wonderful and they were able to let go of that endless energy children are equipped with. This week, however, has been a cold, rainy, windy, hailing, snowing, blowing kind of week. Not exactly something to bring out little people into without bringing on colds, ear infections and other nastiness.

I decided to let them play, but "we have to play a special game of tag," I say and their eyes fill with wonder and excitement, "we have to play silent tag"

...
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Yes, Dear Reader, you may stop laughing now.

Needless to say, this new game lasted all of 2.5 milliseconds. They laughed and giggled and squealed. Again, I'm thinking of the blissful angles sleeping and the chaos that will come from waking the slumbering babes before they're ready for it. So, my solution -- and folks, I can hardly believe it, but this is what I said: "If you can't play quietly that you have to sit down and watch TV." And I sat them on the couch and turned on treehouse.

Only then, did the complete and total ridiculousness of the words that I'd uttered come to me. And the children themselves were thoroughly disgruntled. I could almost read their thoughts "I can't believe she's making us watch TV."

Which is so ironic! On a normal day I'm saying "We don't need to watch TV. We can have fun without TV." etc, etc, etc.

Oddly enough though, they watched for only about 20 minutes and then the TV was off (and stayed off) for the rest of the day, and no one asked for it!

Laundry overload

So, as has been well noted on here, I have a teenage son. As any normal teenager...he tends to get a bit dirty -- big deal, right??

I happen to have a bit of a laundry schedule. As some of my friends have noticed, I'm a bit anal about it. In fact, one friend in particular has labeled me as OCD in the laundry department. I, personally, have developed a system whereby I do a little bit of laundry every day rather than spending a full day or two doing 5 people's dirty clothing, bedding, towels and what-nots. This OCD laundry schedule ensures that everyone's clothing is washed every week. To break it down nice and simple, I have labeled certain days of the weeks as "colors"....so on Monday I was blue stuff, on Tuesday it's black, Wednesday is white, Thursdays are brown/yellow and Fridays are pink. Weekends are reserved for jeans and towels. I also stick bedding in there for each of the family members too....we each have our "day" that our bedding gets washed. Yes....I'm anal about it!!

Anyhow --- back to the point of the post. Wednesday = whites. Please tell me, how on God's green earth does ONE teenager wear 16 pairs of socks!?!

Seriously SIXTEEN!! And those were just the ones that I could match up into pairs!!! He also had 5 singles that were without a mate and 7 that I threw away because they had holes in them. All in all that becomes TWENTY TWO PAIRS of socks!!! That's more than 3 pairs of socks a day!

No word of a lie folks...I've got the pictures to prove it!