That said, I’ve got a lot of work to do.  AJ’s in the middle of a few days off, so in theory I should be able to get more done, but between going to the big city one day (she said with just a touch of sarcasm) and having a migraine yesterday (though I still managed to clean the main bathroom), I’m a bit behind.

Today’s laundry day. Judging by the full hampers in all of the bedrooms, we’re looking at at least 4 loads; once I add in whatever’s scattered around the house, it’ll probably be more.

The fridge needs to be cleaned out. Something’s rotten in the state of Kenmore, and it don’t smell great in there. Tomorrow’s garbage day, so now’s actually a good time to get that done. That also means I need to get the garbage together and the recycling sorted- I forgot about it last week, so the recycling has overflowed its boxes and has turned into quite a pile (which Hurricane Ike delights in knocking over).

What else… we need groceries, so I guess that’s on the agenda, too. I did meal planning for the week last night, so at least I don’t have THAT to worry about… That might be it, aside from the regular tidying of living areas, washing of dishes, wiping of counters  and sweeping of floors. Oh, and emptying of litter box- definitely can’s forget to do THAT before the garbage goes out!  Eeeeew.

To Do:

dishes

wipe down kitchen counters & take care of stains

clean microwave (smells like cheese sausage)

wash floors (steam mop)

toilets

tidy living room/ dining room

cook supper (3-cheese macaroni)

scoop out litter box

clean bathtub

tidy basement play area

finish making mom’s birthday present

make beds

wash AJ’s work clothes

bake bread- buy butter first. :S

Yeah, yesterday wasn’t so productive, but you know what? That’s OK. I was tired, the boys were tired and cranky… at least we managed to get out to buy apple juice, and I didn’t give in to the temptation to get McDonald’s for lunch or supper. I made fettuccine with tomato sauce and shrimp last night- not bad.

I also got birthday cards made for a few more February family birthdays. I enjoy playing with my paper, ribbons, beads and glue sticks, but it’s not easy to do it unless the boyzos are in bed- otherwise I have curious little hands all over my stuff. It’s also a hassle to go downstairs, pick out whatever I think I’ll want to use (I don’t work from patterns or instructions), toss it all in a box, and bring it upstairs… and then haul it all back down when I’m done. This is one of the reasons Ike and Simon were going to be sharing a bedroom- AJ and I need a room for our stuff. The desk, his toys, maybe even the movies… my card-making stuff. I’m working on an area in the basement where I can work, but we’re not down there much right now.

There’s lots to do again today:

I’m too darn tired to do much this morning; Simon was up at 1:00 this morning, and he was up in the living room until about 5:00, when he fell asleep on the couch. In the meantime, he asked for a few different movies to be put on, spple juice, toast, “fwends” (stuffed toys)… I think he only had me up 5 times there. Then Ike woke up a few times, too- good times, good times. At least everything’s still looking pretty good after last night.

Wehad our company over for supper last night, and (if I may say so), the food was great.  We had Greek-Style Lemon Roast Chicken (recipe courtesy of Kraft Kitchens- bless them!) with rice, spinach “salad” (OK, fresh spinach leaves with dressing, but so good) and home-made bread. It was tasty, but I was mainly pleased with the timing of everything. I never know exactly when AJ will be home from work- if he’s supposed to be done at 5:00, he could be home any time between 5 and 6:15 (and he’d better call if he’s going to be later than that!). The guys came in at 5:55, and supper was ready at 6:10- no cold food last night. Also, I managed to have everything ready at the same time, which has always been a challenge for me. Having a consistent oven makes a big difference- when you know how long the chicken’s going to take to cook, it’s a lot easier to figure out when the rice needs to go on. Hooray for properly-functioning appliances!

I DO need a meat thermometer, though- that would make things easier. I used to have one, but it didn’t last long- I don’t even know how I killed it.

OH- and I was a good girl and did whatever dishes I could while I was working, so doing the plates and pots and stuff afterward wasn’t TOO bad.I’ve said it before, and I’ll probably say it again: it’s a lot easier to get the dishes done when there’s a nice window to look out while you’re doing them, rather than a blank wall. Been there, done thet (twice, actually).

Was the house perfect? Nope. Did P. care? Definitely not.

As an afterthought, I decided to have a look at what Ms. Lillian Eichler of “The New Book of Etiquette” had to say on the subject. Apparently people didn’t have just one or two people over for meals in the ’20s or the ’30s- just dinner parties, luncheons, and tea, any of which could be formal or informal, each with its own rules. The closest thing I found was actually the “Sunday-Night Supper.”    “As a rule there is no maid service, the hostess taking this opportunity to show what she can do in the way of cooking and serving…with modern electrical appliances to help her, the hostess whould be able to entertain eight to ten friends at Sunday-night supper very easily, without scrambling from kitchen to dining room.” Lil, I don’t have ROOM for eight to ten friends, and I get to show off my cooking and serving skills (such as they may be) every damn night. At least the cooking didn’t have to be too fancy- “creamed chicken on toast is an excellent supper dish that can be prepared on a table grill… Some hostesses like to serve waffles for Sunday-night supper…”

I get the idea that maybe this book was written for a class of people I just don’t belong to- or were things just that different back then*? I certainly don’t know anyone who would consider cooking for 8-10 friends a novelty, what with the maid having the night off and all.

*Speaking of “back then,” here’s an interesting blog/ project I’ve just started reading: My Decade Year follows the adventures of a modern woman as she spends 100 days living as a ’50s housewife, 100 days in the 60s, 100 in the 70s and 65 days in the 80s.  It’s been interesting so far…

We’re having company for supper tonight- AJ’s trainer will be over when they’re done work. I was going to make this really yummy slow-cooker roast chicken I have a recipe for, but I realized at 9:00 that it takes 10 hours to cook, so it should’ve been in by 8 at the latest. No problem- I’ll make this instead.

In spite of the fact that I cleaned the house yesterday, it needs to be done again. I’m NOT washing the floors again, even if they are all smudged up. I’d like to try to get Simon to help tidy up, but really, that would take more time than just doing it myself.

Speaking of doing stuff with the kids, I think that’s my New Year’s resolutio- to spend more time focusing on the kids. There’s always something else I could or “should” be doing, and I have trouble focusing on any one thing for more than a few minutes at a time, but I’m going to do my best to let go of my natural multi-tasking ways when it’s play time and just focus on the boys. It’s something that AJ’s naturally very good at- he jokes that it’s because he’s just a big kid anyway. I say he’s just a good dad.

So, here’s today’s list:

Kitchen

dishes (as needed)

sweep

wipe countertops and sink

stains, spills and smudges

Bathroom

wipe sink and shower after use

hang up towels

put bath toys away

wipe counter and floor as needed

clean toilets, mirrors, tub

Living Room/ Dining Room

sweep floors, spot clean messes

tidy floor and flat surfaces

take baskets to appropriate rooms

change tablecloth, set table

Bedrooms

make beds

laundry in hampers

sweep

Basement

litter box-full scoop

food and water for cats

This was his big (though not his only) project for the morning:

 Yeah… that used to be the recycling pile. I’m sure he was just helping me get it out so I could put it in boxes.

And then I swept, swiffered and washed the floors. I started with the living room, then did the dining room, and then moved on to the kitchen. And then I went back into the living room to put the furniture back in the right spots, and Ikezilla was at it again.

  Those would be his Daddy’s DVDs- Daddy’s not too happy when those end up all over the floor. Just another reason I’m watching kijiji for some storage units with doors on them!

He’s trouble, alright, but there are a few things that make it a bit easier to deal with him than it might otherwise be. for one thing, he’s my baby, and I love him. And then there’s this face of his:

  I mean, really- would you be able to get mad at that guy for being curious and busy?

Of course, his brother’s not exactly a saint in that area, either- he can make a pretty good mess, too.

This, my friends, is why I don’t try to have a perfect-looking house. It’s not possible, and it’s no fun. Passable would be nice, though.

Supper tonight is going to be Shake n’ Bake chicken with rice and… I don’t know, some kind of vegetable, I’ll have to look and see what we’ve got. There’s no way we’re going to the grocery store today- we had horrible weather last night, and I don’t feel like dealing with the snow yet. It would be nice to get outside with Simon for a while, but Ike doesn’t have snow pants yet, so I guess that’s out.

I’ll try to get some pictures of the bedroom today so that tomorrow I can post about the problem I’m having with decorating it… It might have something to do with the almost-lime-green walls. Maybe.

Today’s To Do…

Kitchen

dishes (as needed)

sweep

wipe countertops and sink

stains, spills and smudges

Bathroom

wipe sink and shower after use

hang up towels

put bath toys away

wipe counter and floor as needed

Living Room/ Dining Room

sweep floors, spot clean messes

tidy floor and flat surfaces

take baskets to appropriate rooms

Bedrooms

make beds

laundry in hampers

Basement

tidy toys and craft area after use

litter box- quick scoop

food and water for cats

Other:

bake bread (double recipe) & clean up after

wash the under-burner crater thingers on the stove (yeah, I’m tired)

garbage and compost out

steam-mop floors

Happy New Year!

 I can actually see me being able to stay on top of everything here if I didn’t have these little people around. Heck, I’d have more than enough time to get everything done… I’d probably even be able to cook a nice meal every night and even get the exercise I so desperately need… but I wouldn’t trade them for anything.

Speaking of messes, we’re getting a heck of a lot of snow dumped on us right now. This would be very exciting, I’m sure, if I liked snow, but it’s really just making me want to hibernate.

*     *     *

On to today… the house is looking good right now- we’ll see how long that lasts. I might have time to bake that banana bread.  A nap is actually higher on my list of priorities, but seems highly unlikely. I still don’t know if we’re having company for supper or not…

Kitchen

dishes (as needed)

sweep

wipe countertops and sink

stains, spills and smudges

Bathroom

wipe sink and shower after use

hang up towels

put bath toys away

wipe counter and floor as needed

Living Room/ Dining Room

sweep floors, spot clean messes

tidy floor and flat surfaces

take baskets to appropriate rooms

Bedrooms

make beds

tidy

laundry in hampers

Basement

tidy toys and craft area after use

litter box- quick scoop

food and water for cats

Other:

cook supper    (quiche)

thank-you card (see yesterday)