Earning My Keep

I still would like to post about Joshua...there are so many things I want to remember about this age. And I have some other posts in mind. But tonight's will be brief, because I am really tired.

Do you ever have one of those days where you don't necessarily have plans but you know you want to get something done?

Well, that was my day.

When I woke up, I didn't hop out of bed. (I did sleep in until 8 which I haven't done in a LONG time so that was a treat) I lounged a little bit until I could no longer ignore the noise coming over the monitor. Child 4 was awake.

Mark took the oldest fishing this morning, so it was just me and three. We made muffins (a mix). Afterward, I started moving. I got my bed made and tried to straighten up the bedroom (that ended too soon). Then I gathered all of the dirty clothes of the house...there were a LOT this week. And I started the sorting process. Child 4 got right there and handed me clothes, "Help, Mom." He likes to help. We need to work on sorting skills a bit though. If I don't take them fast enough, he just tosses them wherever he wishes. Afterwards, I bustled to get some loads done so I wouldn't have a very messy living room.

Oh, quick side note. Child 3 asked me what day it was. I told her "Saturday" or "Stay at Home Day". She said, "Oh, I don't want to wear my eye thing today." The funny thing was I had forgotten she was supposed to wear her "eye patch"...she reminded me. So I had her get it on. I will try to take pics of her. They are really cute, very girly. We tell her she looks like a pirate. She complained a few times but she was a trooper about it.

During that time, my big boys came home (no fish caught today). Then they turned around to go to the oldest's first football practice. I love that he loves to play football. I know team sports are good for him. I just have to remind myself, "It is only for a few weeks." It is so hard for me to give up that family time. During these events, we become like two families. Anyway, I digress (yet again).

I have to say that Child 4 typically likes to be entertained. And one of the things that has been a bit of a frustration with him is his inability to play independently. He is usually within feet of me. If I am in my room, he is right there (bringing his toys along), demanding attention. If I am in the kitchen, he suddenly decides he is hungry and cannot leave my side. For whatever reason (I am going to give God the credit), today he and Child 3 played together beautifully, mostly in his room. It was such a treat. I had so much to do today, and it is SO hard for me to do things with my little "helper".

Then I got some gifts wrapped for a baby shower while the two younger ones colored. It was fun watching them color. One is working on staying "inside" the lines and completely coloring a picture.The other just does free style. He did draw circles today...that was the first time I had seen him do that. He got so excited. He either told me it was a ball or a "hole". I don't remember. But he kept making them.

Next I decided to do a little vacuuming. I have noticed a lot of cobwebs recently (we seem to have lots of spiders join our house throughout the year). I thought I would vacuum just a little. Well, that ended up being a big job, because I had to get out a ladder to reach the uppermost corners. I asked on Facebook if that counted as exercise since I was doing a lot of climbing and reaching. I got an overwhelming "Yes" from the "experts" (a.k.a. my friends :).

I took a little break for lunch when everybody was home. Then I started back working on laundry. Boy, do we wear a lot of clothes. Then I started the chore of going through my closet...big chore. We are having a garage sale this next weekend, so it had to be done, though it still needs a lot more work and attention. Once the kids were down for a nap, I thought I would take a little bath before tackling the closet again...little did I know what the biggest chore of the day would be...

During my bath I noticed that the water wasn't particularly clean. Now I bathe regularly so I was pretty sure it wasn't me. And our bathtub does get cleaned frequently. I started looking closer at the water (which totally interrupted my reading of a magazine time...such a rare treat). Something was SWIMMING in the water. I tried not to panic...it was very small. But I "captured" it with a magazine insert. Then I decided to finish my "bath" in the shower...I didn't feel so clean anymore.

After my shower, I did a quick search of the internet and found out that it was likely "drain fly" larvae I had found. And I am guessing that they were inside my bathtubs jets which I don't ever use. I read about how to clean out the jets and got started. I won't go into details...I will just say that one small relaxing bath turned into a major cleaning session I hadn't counted on for the day! The good news is I think the jets are pretty clean now. And the other good news is that I will begin cleaning them more regularly.

Anyway, I finished up my clothes clean out. I still hope to work some more in the closet though. But time ran out. I got dressed up and went to the baby shower (it was for Bonnie and her baby boy to be...please keep praying), leaving the troubles and frustrations of the day behind.

Some days I don't feel like I get much accomplished...I am in survival mode. I count it a good day if everyone got dressed, all beds are made, and everyone has three meals during the day. Today though, I really felt like I earned my keep. And now, I must go to bed. :)

Reba