I'll get back to posting more photos from the summer, but right now I'm not really in the mood for that.
We got some bad news about my husband's grandfather recently. He's nearly 90, and has had declining health for a while, and battled Alzheimer's for years. He recently took a turn for the worse, and is in hospice care now. We're told it's a matter of days. Unfortunately, we can't get to Florida to see him before he passes. I doubt he'd even be conscious to know we were there anyway, and Christopher doesn't want to see him in that condition. He wants to remember him as larger than life and giving big bear hugs. And so do I. Is that selfish? I'm feeling guilty that we're not trying harder to find people to cover at work, so we can be there for him. Of course, when there is a funeral, we'll be able to go. That's really the only way Christopher can get time off from work right now due to having a store check coming up. His district manager is constantly breathing down their necks. His job stress has doubled since getting the new DM. Anyway, that's what's going on here in the background. It's just like a cloud hanging over our heads waiting for it to pour.
Sorry to start the post on such a down note.
Around here, I am still getting used to only having the 2 girls at home. I didn't wash any clothes yesterday at all. The laundry sorters were all empty! I would have had to go into their rooms at 1am to grab clothes from their hampers (that they'd taken off when they went to bed) just to have anything to wash. They always wake up when I do that, and I didn't want to do that to them. So, I'll get the clothes tonight before they go to bed, and do a load tonight. I didn't get all twitchy for not doing laundry though.... because I washed my bathroom rugs haha. I feel like that's weird.
I'm sick of how gross our living room and kitchen floors have been lately. We have an elderly dog who has started to lose control of things and leaves surprises, in addition to the hyperactive pup who marks everything he can hike his leg on. We'd clean up spots and puddles and use cleaners on them, but the whole floor needed a deep good mopping. So, I got my Flylady mop and attached an old washcloth from the rag bucket and used a bucket of hot water, dishsoap and fabuloso floor cleaner. I wasn't trying to be perfect, I just wanted to get a lot of hot soapy water on those floors. Unfortunately I ran out of time before Christopher got up for work at 4:30am and then I had to get the girls up... well I *could* have rinsed the floor with clean water, but when C left, I was worn out from the first mopping and just sat down and watched HGTV on demand. So, anyway, the living room floor still has a sticky sort of feeling due to the soap residue that dried on it. The kitchen floor is smaller, and I needed to do stuff in the kitchen after I'd mopped it (I forgot to pack his lunch d'oh!) so I got an old ratty towel and dried it with that, using my feet. Whatever works! So, the kitchen floor is nice and clean and feels good to walk on barefoot... the living room, not so much. So, I'll go back over it tonight after work, with a bucket of fresh clean hot water and a clean mop.
It's not like a deep clean or anything, like I didn't move the couch or the stove etc, so it's still gross back in behind and under those. The plan is to take this in baby steps. Get the main floor nice and CLEAN, then maintain it. Make sure any accidents are cleaned up immediately, and cleaned properly. Dust mop it daily, and give it a good mopping every couple days or at least once a week. I know this sounds ridiculous to normal people - planning out how to get and keep the floor clean, but for people like me, we have to plan it out. It's taken a long time for me to think the kitchen being CLEAN is NORMAL or believe that empty laundry baskets are also NORMAL. It's going to take some time for it to happen with the floor as well.
Once the floor is under control, then I will move on to dusting. There are pictures and knick knacks that haven't seen a duster or a cloth in months (at least). It's not that I prefer dust, I just never got around to it, because I was constantly doing dishes and laundry and picking up after everyone (which was apparently just Rhiannon). I do love going into someone's home where all the furniture is polished and shiny and the picture frames and knick knacks look new. To me that is normal... but it just doesn't happen here, yet. It will!
Now, don't go thinking the girls I have left at home don't have any chores left to do now. I do still make them do some things. Like today, I had Faelyn unload the dishwasher, and Zoe had to bring all the laundry from all the hampers to the laundry room sorter. They also have to keep their own rooms clean and picked up. I used to let them get away with messy rooms, because I was too busy concentrating on keeping the main living areas clean.
Cooking for just 4 people has been weird too. This summer, there were the 5 of us, Faelyn's boyfriend Austin, and Rhiannon's best friend Ducky who was living with us for a month or so. But kind of overnight I went from feeding 7-10 people (we had 3 more to feed on Family Dinner Night), to just 4 people. Last night we had C's mom for family dinner night, and tonight, Austin is here. So, at least I have 5 people to cook for some nights.
So, here's the menu I made for the next week.
Tonight: Spaghetti (meatless), corn, and garlic bread
Sat: Popcorn chicken (they have a really good deal on it at United Grocery Outlet), potato wedges, and corn
Sun: Crockpot Beef Stew and rolls
Mon: Hamburger Helper, green beans. (I used to always make two boxes of Hamburger Helper, now I can just make one and there's enough for everyone! It's weird)
Tues: Fish Sticks, au gratin potatoes (they have them 3 boxes for $1 at UGO!) , and green beans
Wed: Tacos (hard and soft shells) using our home grown tomatoes!, refried beans, salsa, etc. and corn.
Thur: Popcorn chicken, potato wedges, corn
Fri: Hamburger Helper, green beans
Yeah I know, not the healthiest or most inspired menu ever. But to be honest, I'm not even sure how many of these days we'll be home. If we have to go to FL on the spur of the moment, I don't want to have spent a ton on groceries.
Well, time to go do dinner and I've got a pile of stuff gathered to take to a charity thrift store that I need to bag up.
Hope y'all have a good weekend!
We got some bad news about my husband's grandfather recently. He's nearly 90, and has had declining health for a while, and battled Alzheimer's for years. He recently took a turn for the worse, and is in hospice care now. We're told it's a matter of days. Unfortunately, we can't get to Florida to see him before he passes. I doubt he'd even be conscious to know we were there anyway, and Christopher doesn't want to see him in that condition. He wants to remember him as larger than life and giving big bear hugs. And so do I. Is that selfish? I'm feeling guilty that we're not trying harder to find people to cover at work, so we can be there for him. Of course, when there is a funeral, we'll be able to go. That's really the only way Christopher can get time off from work right now due to having a store check coming up. His district manager is constantly breathing down their necks. His job stress has doubled since getting the new DM. Anyway, that's what's going on here in the background. It's just like a cloud hanging over our heads waiting for it to pour.
Sorry to start the post on such a down note.
Around here, I am still getting used to only having the 2 girls at home. I didn't wash any clothes yesterday at all. The laundry sorters were all empty! I would have had to go into their rooms at 1am to grab clothes from their hampers (that they'd taken off when they went to bed) just to have anything to wash. They always wake up when I do that, and I didn't want to do that to them. So, I'll get the clothes tonight before they go to bed, and do a load tonight. I didn't get all twitchy for not doing laundry though.... because I washed my bathroom rugs haha. I feel like that's weird.
I'm sick of how gross our living room and kitchen floors have been lately. We have an elderly dog who has started to lose control of things and leaves surprises, in addition to the hyperactive pup who marks everything he can hike his leg on. We'd clean up spots and puddles and use cleaners on them, but the whole floor needed a deep good mopping. So, I got my Flylady mop and attached an old washcloth from the rag bucket and used a bucket of hot water, dishsoap and fabuloso floor cleaner. I wasn't trying to be perfect, I just wanted to get a lot of hot soapy water on those floors. Unfortunately I ran out of time before Christopher got up for work at 4:30am and then I had to get the girls up... well I *could* have rinsed the floor with clean water, but when C left, I was worn out from the first mopping and just sat down and watched HGTV on demand. So, anyway, the living room floor still has a sticky sort of feeling due to the soap residue that dried on it. The kitchen floor is smaller, and I needed to do stuff in the kitchen after I'd mopped it (I forgot to pack his lunch d'oh!) so I got an old ratty towel and dried it with that, using my feet. Whatever works! So, the kitchen floor is nice and clean and feels good to walk on barefoot... the living room, not so much. So, I'll go back over it tonight after work, with a bucket of fresh clean hot water and a clean mop.
It's not like a deep clean or anything, like I didn't move the couch or the stove etc, so it's still gross back in behind and under those. The plan is to take this in baby steps. Get the main floor nice and CLEAN, then maintain it. Make sure any accidents are cleaned up immediately, and cleaned properly. Dust mop it daily, and give it a good mopping every couple days or at least once a week. I know this sounds ridiculous to normal people - planning out how to get and keep the floor clean, but for people like me, we have to plan it out. It's taken a long time for me to think the kitchen being CLEAN is NORMAL or believe that empty laundry baskets are also NORMAL. It's going to take some time for it to happen with the floor as well.
Once the floor is under control, then I will move on to dusting. There are pictures and knick knacks that haven't seen a duster or a cloth in months (at least). It's not that I prefer dust, I just never got around to it, because I was constantly doing dishes and laundry and picking up after everyone (which was apparently just Rhiannon). I do love going into someone's home where all the furniture is polished and shiny and the picture frames and knick knacks look new. To me that is normal... but it just doesn't happen here, yet. It will!
Now, don't go thinking the girls I have left at home don't have any chores left to do now. I do still make them do some things. Like today, I had Faelyn unload the dishwasher, and Zoe had to bring all the laundry from all the hampers to the laundry room sorter. They also have to keep their own rooms clean and picked up. I used to let them get away with messy rooms, because I was too busy concentrating on keeping the main living areas clean.
Cooking for just 4 people has been weird too. This summer, there were the 5 of us, Faelyn's boyfriend Austin, and Rhiannon's best friend Ducky who was living with us for a month or so. But kind of overnight I went from feeding 7-10 people (we had 3 more to feed on Family Dinner Night), to just 4 people. Last night we had C's mom for family dinner night, and tonight, Austin is here. So, at least I have 5 people to cook for some nights.
So, here's the menu I made for the next week.
Tonight: Spaghetti (meatless), corn, and garlic bread
Sat: Popcorn chicken (they have a really good deal on it at United Grocery Outlet), potato wedges, and corn
Sun: Crockpot Beef Stew and rolls
Mon: Hamburger Helper, green beans. (I used to always make two boxes of Hamburger Helper, now I can just make one and there's enough for everyone! It's weird)
Tues: Fish Sticks, au gratin potatoes (they have them 3 boxes for $1 at UGO!) , and green beans
Wed: Tacos (hard and soft shells) using our home grown tomatoes!, refried beans, salsa, etc. and corn.
Thur: Popcorn chicken, potato wedges, corn
Fri: Hamburger Helper, green beans
Yeah I know, not the healthiest or most inspired menu ever. But to be honest, I'm not even sure how many of these days we'll be home. If we have to go to FL on the spur of the moment, I don't want to have spent a ton on groceries.
Well, time to go do dinner and I've got a pile of stuff gathered to take to a charity thrift store that I need to bag up.
Hope y'all have a good weekend!