Snow and finding "me" time

Winter is here. Or at least the snow is.

About 4 inches of the white stuff came down overnight. 

Miss K is delighted. She can finally play in the snow as she has been wanting to do since about 30 seconds after Halloween was over.

Today was even a snow day. So I hope she got out a lot to play in the snow. 

Mixed emotions on the snow day though as it was to be show and share day in her class which she loves a lot. However our sitter is usually game to roll with whatever cool thing was to happen at school and let the kids have their moment in the sun at her house, so that is always awesome.

Aside from that not much going on with us. Big C away tonight for work. He got the snow mostly cleared this morning so I'm hoping there is not much that I need to do tonight …if anything. Tricky to find time with dinner to make, dog to feed and exercise and try to spend some time with Miss K in addition to plowing snow? Not cool. Its fun, but when I can do so at a leisurely pace and not have to worry about getting inside or leaving the kiddies unsupervised.

I am thankful though, originally Big C was to be gone for the entire week, so I will count myself lucky that he was around to move snow this morning as it could have been me trying to figure out how to do that before work…lol

He is away all next week so I'm hoping for little snows all week long. No big ones, getting up at 5:30 is early enough, I don't need to get up at 5 am just to plow snow. (even if it is super fun to do with the 4 wheeler)

Life has returned to somewhat normal, or at least post Christmas normal. There are fewer things that need to be done so that leaves some more relaxing weeknights and weekends.

I've even had time to read lately which is a feat unto itself. 

I like to be busy. Probably too much for my own good, but I don't like to procrastinate too much or else there'd be laundry mountains, no dishes left to eat off of and everyone would be scrambling in the morning to find something to eat that day for lunch. If there is something I think I can do in a reasonable amount of time without sacrificing spending time with my family then I'm going to get it done. 

I sit down and read when I figure there are enough things done to keep our heads afloat in the chore department and have determined that the other things out there can indeed wait until another day.

So, if I've had time to read lately you know things have been pretty good in the time/activity/chore management dept. I haven't read a ton, but that is my go to thing when its relax time or chill out time and for that I'm happy that life is calm enough that I have those 20 minutes here and there.

So often life kicks it up a notch and you wonder where the hell the last week or month went. Squeezing in the "me" time does wonders for a person's sanity, and if you say you don't have the time to do that, maybe its time to take a closer look at life as you know it.

Over scheduled and jam packed describe too many lives these days. I'm determined not to let my life be one of them. 

I will still choose to sweep the floor or clean a bathroom when I can, or mend some clothes or whatever other household chore presents itself. I will enrol my kid in swimming lessons (mandatory at our house) or whatever other activity she so chooses. I will pick up the slack when my husband is not home and hold down the fort as best I can. I will work a full week outside the home and contribute what I can to charitable organizations and so on.

But I will not let all this activity drive me to a point where I'm missing playing a game with my kid, or helping with a craft (as this seems to be the latest passion with her). I will do my best to spend at least one hour an evening with Big C with no interruptions, even if it involves stretching out on the couch with one another and watching something PVR'd. I will spend time with the dog too, he gets the short end of the stick some times in the time dept. but I know an extra scratch or snuggle fills up his heart too.

If it means letting the dishes go one more time, or cancelling a weekend event to do these things I will do it. I will not over schedule my kid in 100 different activities so that we are running all week long.

We need time to live, not just "do". We all need time to just chill out and be ourselves. I think I'm doing pretty good with that lately and we all benefit from it.

Til next time…I hope you find time to just be you...

Making lunches and the 12 bills of Christmas

December the 9th. We slowly march toward the festive season, or hurtle uncontrollably depending on your perspective. I know for one I'm counting down the remaining 7 school days until the break, at which point I will have a respite from the dreaded school lunch.

I am not a bento box, cheese cut into a locomotive and its cars kind of mom. No cutsie sandwiches or animal shaped fruit comes out of our kitchen. You want that shit, either make it yourself or find a different mom.

I ain't got time for that crap. You give me your order, that is what you get, occasionally I will think to cut the cheese into a triangle or something easily derived out of the block, but that is the extent of it.

For all you mom's out there who send delightful characters made out of vegetables or notes inscribed in their cookies, good on you. All the more power to you, but its lunch, and its all going to the same place, cute or not.

Miss K is pretty good, or should I say pretty consistent. She basically eats the same damn thing every day. I can handle it. Sometimes she even helps prep it with me. But in all honesty for the most part I do it alone, along with my own and Big C's if the need is there.

Some would say I should make her prep it. Its her lunch after all. True enough, and she will assist sometimes. 

But in all honesty at this stage in her school career it is just easy if I do it. She's still too little to cut things without supervision and I will be damned if I'm dragging out all the lunch fixings when we're trying to accomplish the whirlwind of getting home, making dinner, eating, feed and exercise the dog, snack time, bath and reading/snuggle time in the 2.5 hours we have.

I will just do the lunches on my own time with little to no help.

I do get bitter sometimes. I've always hated making lunches…it goes back to my high school days, but for about the last 30 years or so on a week day I've had to make myself a lunch and I say yuck.

I do wish someone else would do it for me. I at one point offered my mom 5 bucks to make my lunch every day for high school. She paused, obviously doing the math like I was and was about to say yes, when I finally figured out that would be 25 bucks a week I'd have to pay her to make my lunch.

I lived in the day and age where you could buy a school lunch for about 5 bucks or less, so I quickly decided against hiring her.

It's not that I hate taking a lunch. I don't at all. It's usually healthier, and a ton cheaper than buying something every day, I just hate assembling the damn thing. 

You can send me 30 different ways to make things more efficient or whatever and it still boils down to the same thing, I'm making my damn lunch.

Yes, yes I know be thankful I have the leftovers or supplies to make a lunch and snacks. I get all that, I'm not being ungrateful, just whiny.

Everyone has that chore they hate…for some its laundry, others vacuuming, for me its making lunches (and doing dishes). And unlike some chores it cannot be put off, if you want to eat a lunch the next day you must assemble it prior to that time and bring to your final destination for the day.

A necessary evil. Big C says its in the "contract" that I make his lunch when he requires one as well. 

I would love to see this contract, but do admit he will help me out from time to time, not that it makes it any better but at least the painful process is over somewhat quicker.

Aside from my lunch rant, life is pretty normal. The dog has something wrong with his one foot, its all swollen. All of them were at one point, now it seems to be just the one. May that go away soon, lest there be a big vet bill before Christmas.

My car is sounding weird. Crossing my fingers it will just keep rolling along for the next 2 weeks and save me a big repair bill. 

Ahhh money tree where art thou? There should be the 12 bills of Christmas song…the bills you weren't expecting but came at this time of year anyway.

Til next time…may your kids get some sort of Christmas lunch at school so there is one less to make