Saturday, June 18, 2011

I have survived...

I have survived my week of quasi-single parenthood.  Last Sunday Dean and Jordan left for boy scout camp.  They returned late this morning, bearing gifts of laundry and dusty camping gear.

Here was my week...

I DID enjoy a three hour blitz of The Closer (all-time favorite TV show) courtesy of the DVR on Sunday afternoon.  Why?  Because ALL THREE little ones took a three hour nap!!  Totally unheard of in this household.  And NO, I did not drug them.

I DIDN'T do any work towards getting any receipts entered into Microsoft Money.  I am currently working on entering May of 2010.  Every evening I would tell myself that I would start after the kids were in bed, and then I would promptly fall asleep myself.

I DID change approximately 70 diapers.

I DIDN'T make the kids brush their teeth every night.  Forgot.

I DID do two loads of laundry.  When I should have done about eight.  I'll be paying for that this weekend.

I DIDN'T find Jordan's library book that has been missing since April.  I will be purchasing a very expensive book this afternoon.

I DID manage to get Rylan to 4 swimming lessons, 1 cooking lesson, 2 karate lessons, and 1 pool party.

I DIDN'T get to one swimming lesson because of a Dr. appt for me, and 1 karate lesson because Colin fell fast asleep 10 minutes before we were ready to go.

I DID get 20 tomato plants in the garden.  Finally.

I DIDN'T forget to take out the trash on Monday.  The garbage collectors were very nice as they waited for me to drag out the trash can from the garage, after they had already passed my house.

I DID go to Mommy Bookclub on Thursday.  It was nice to get out with some friends.  I wish that we could have had a more in-depth discussion of the book, but the restaurant was a bit noisy.  Can't complain though - good food, good drinks (maybe too good ?? :), and good atmosphere.

I DIDN'T have to get up in the middle of the night to comfort the little ones during a series of thunderstorms that passed through early (2:30 am) Friday morning.  For that I am very thankful.

I DID finish my bookclub book on Monday, and even completed a blog entry about it.  It only took me three days of continued effort to get it written and polished.

I DIDN'T spend a lot of time on Facebook or keeping up with my favorite blogs.  In what little free time I had I spent reading my next book, Shelters of Stone, instead.

I DID walk with the boys in a double-stroller this morning during Rylan's karate lesson.  It was very nice indeed.  We went down to the Loveland Civic Center and walked around the lagoon and admired the different fountains.  Owen liked the whale fluke the best.

I DIDN'T get the cleaning projects finished like I had planned to.  Several days of fatigue continued to hamper my efforts.  Although I did manage to finally address the two bags of "stuff" that was cleaned out of the Subaru when we sold it and left it with the mechanic.  It's nice to have the counter space back.

I DID get my annual pelvic exam done.  I scheduled my first-ever mammogram for next month.  Early menopause was also discussed.  Uugh.  I also got a blood draw done to see what (if anything) is going on with my thyroid.  I have a list of supplements to purchase (Vitamin B complex, Fish oil, Vitamin D, GABA and 5HTP) to take to help me combat the fatigue, mood swings and stress I have been dealing with lately.

I DIDN'T get enough sleep.

I DID get the kids outside for plenty of sunshine and play every day.

A tough week, but very little drama and it really did fly by.  I am glad the big boys are home.  :)

3 comments:

Laura B. said...

Wow! I came across your blog while searching for ideas for a fun family night for two. It's just my son and I and he calls us "The Broken Family". All of his friends parents are still together and his dad had remarried. While reading your blog I ralized that all of your busyness makes me miss my own life. Or at least what it used to be. For four years I homeschooled my son, was the den leader for his cubscout troop, ran the 4-H program in our town and worked at the Boys & Girls Club for 4 hours each evening. I loved it all. But last year it all changed. My son, now 11, decided he wanted to try public school again (he was missing his friends), he opted out of crossing over to Boy Scouts (the work was "too hard" and not enough fun), 4-H took a hit when he realized he couldn't shoot shotguns until next year, and I left the Boys & Girls Club to regain my ability to hear (I was literally losing my hearing is was so loud with 300+ kids screaming at once) After sitting around feeling sorry for myself I made the decision to go back to school, so now I'm on the way to becoming an attorney, and my son just started Karate two weeks ago. Maybe the busyness will come back a little at a time. Until then I'm going crazy with only 4-5 hours of my day being occupied. I don't even know who I am when I'm not my son's mom. I have the time to find me, just not sure I have the desire. :( Anyway, just wanted to take a minute to say I really enjoyed your blog and I'm surprised you don't have more people commenting or sharing their stories with you. By the way, I saw your video on the family clothes closet and just let me say you are my hero. That closet is beyond amazing. That being said, I'll let you get back to your busyness, hope you feel better soon and I'll keep you in my prayers. May God Bless, Laura Becker (Middlebury, Indiana)

Kirsten said...

Thank you so much, Laura for sharing your story. You are the first person, outside of the circle of friends and family to leave a comment - so thank you for all the nice compliments. That is too bad that your son backed away from scouting. Jordan is loving every minute of it - his troop is strong and they keep him busy! I hope your son enjoys karate and sticks with it. Good luck to you in your schooling. I miss the college environment quite a bit... it feels like a lifetime ago, when it has only been almost eight years. Think of this time in your life as your reset button. Make a bucket list of what you would find most fulfulling emotionally and physically, and then bit by bit follow through! Bless you! :)

Shawn Walter said...

I'm reading the last of Auel's books, from the library. Huge wait list so get on it now, Kirsten!