I'm feeling good about the Jedis' first week back to school. They balked at the routine a few times, but mostly they didn't have time to fight it now that they leave 45 minutes earlier. The bus ride isn't that long; they are just on the first run, and it does give them time to eat breakfast at school. They have the option to eat at home if they get ready in time, but A-man isn't usually hungry right away, and they eat the same stuff for breakfast at home: juice, fruit, cereal, maybe a waffle. It's $.30/day/kid and saves us a lot of hassle.
We're still working on training the Jedis to cross a small street, walk safely through a small parking lot, walk along a dead-end street, and come up our street independently. It's 3 blocks, but I can't see the whole route from home, and I want them to do it reliably by the time the baby comes. Yesterday I met them at the stop and A-man totally walked all over the place and was not at all safe. Makes me very nervous! I think he and I will go walk the route a few times today for practice. The big thing is to avoid having to wake and load a toddler and a baby to drive 3 blocks every day in the winter. I'm very nervous that I'll tumble down the stairs while holding M's hand and carrying baby sister. We've gotta make this work!
I've been able to get the guys through their homework after school as well, a policy I was unsuccessful in enforcing last year, opting instead to wait until Dr. O' was home to help me settle everyone and keep M out of the way. Now she colors or plays while I sort through papers and help the Jedis get the work done quickly so that they don't have it hanging over their heads the rest of the evening.
While my home has had its clutter mess and random disasters, I've felt good about the routine. I did a Weekly Home Blessing on Wednesday and was able to have Dr. O' bring home a new colleague for dinner, for which we had Tuscan Chard soup and Peach Crisp and, of course Caprese salad ;). I overcooked and over-diluted the soup, but it was still pretty yummy. I couldn't find my peach crisp recipe, but I found one that worked well enough, but I think it had too much butter in it. Oh, well!
Having an impromptu dinner guest over makes me notice all the grimy spots around my house, so I attacked my kitchen on Thursday and Friday, eliminating clutter and wiping and straightening everything. I have a box of papers left to sort and a few freezer shelves to scrub, but I'm nearly done. I'm going to the hardware store to see if I can find some touch-up paint for the kitchen rather than painting the whole thing. I don't think the dude we bought the house from actually left that paint here, just lots of other rusty and useless ones. Thankfully, there's a hazardous waste collection day soon!
The next project room will be the bathroom. In each room, I'm trying to freshen and clean everything, optimize storage, and make sure I can be happy with how it looks for a while since I'll be busy with 4 kids. I hope to paint the bathroom yellow and get a changing table into it to store cloth diaper paraphernalia.
My hope is to attack each room one week at a time. Our house is just starting to feel settled after a year. I think the gift of real furniture from some church friends and moving the table into the kitchen have really made me feel like making his place feel like home is possible. I've been able to keep up completely with laundry this week, and we're hoping to pick up some more free second-hand furniture this afternoon, and then we'll have more places to PUT the laundry :).
The car situation is effectively settled, but I'm not ready to share details until we have the car, which will be in a few weeks. Let me just say that God provides immensely and beyond what we could ask or think!
No comments:
Post a Comment