I actually looked at the clock this time when I washed the kitchen floor by hand.  Not including the minimal amount of time to move the trashcan and stools and rug, it took 2 minutes!  From 12:38 to 12:40.  So I kept going and did the dining room - not including time to move the chairs (I already had them moved to mop) it took me 10 more minutes to finish the entire floor by hand including changing my water halfway through and redoing a few parts that I walked over.

 

So 12 minutes start-to-finish - why do I not do this more often?  True it's not easy on my hands and knees but am I that old and decrepit that 12 minutes of washing the floor is too much????

 

It's kind of encouraging because maybe doing the van won't take me 2 hours like I'm anticipating this afternoon (and dreading and therefore, procrastinating).  I'm running it thru a car wash for the outside but then redoing the outside windows and doing the inside windows plus dusting and vacuuming it.  It's a real pit.  I can't get it dealer clean or even "illusion of well-maintained clean" but I can get it non-embarrassing I hope.

 

I can't believe it's almost 1.  I feel like I have accomplished so little but I did get a bunch of phone calls and emails I've been procrastinating on done.  No idea why I put them off.

I also did more decluttering but not so much to get rid of stuff but to tweak some cabinets that aren't working.  Decided I'm tired of the lower cup cabinet being overfull so I took our good glassware, the champagne glasses and stuff, and moved them to the pie safe which is our "liquor cabinet."  Got rid of some cups and some hand-painted champagne glasses we got as wedding favors 10 years ago that Scott was in awe of (because we got them as favors, not because they're that great) and an insulated beer mug thing from the liquor cabinet.  Almost tossed his beer pitcher he got as part of a pilsner set (he only wanted the glasses) but at the last minute I put all my extra cloth napkins and placemats that I keep in case I want one for decorating in it.  It fit in the pie safe okay so I decided not to toss it just for the sake of tossing.

 

So now my cup cabinet and liquor cabinet and candle drawer (in the top of the pie safe) are all cleaned out and stuff fits - yay!  But that distracted me from picking up so boo to that :-(

I had to laugh at the yellow car! I can totally see it as being a teen girl's first car! It's kinda like when dh and I see super cheap cars as a convertable or a Cavalier totally suped up. lol

 

I'm sorta around today. I can't seem to get through the day without a nap but when I nap, that takes up my whole afternoon and I feel so zapped when I get up so what's the point of napping?!?! Today, I made the concious decision to wake up once the news was over (so, a little less than an hour for a nap.) So, that seemed to work. Em is home so I told her to wake me up (she was playing her DS on the couch beside me.)

 

So, for once, I'm actually feeling good! I think I had been napping TOO long.

 

And you were right... she has strep. She ended up getting a bad rash all over her body at lunch time yesterday. It seemed to fade off of her arms and legs when we went outside to get the kids from school but when I took her to the walk-in last night, it was back. She's constantly had a fever of some sort since Friday. I'm kicking myself for not taking her in sooner but I'm not sure if the strep would have been obvious yet (Emily refused to get a throat swab, the sayin ahhh with the compressor was more than enough.) So, she's on amox. which she absolutely hates but we're through 2 doses, only 28 more to go. lol I think I'll send her to school tomorrow as she's already missed 3 days. And, she seems MUCH better today.

 

Wow, good job on the floors! I should time myself cause everything seems to take so much longer than it acutally does so I don't bother doing it. lol

 

Woohoo on the organizing! And, good on not going back to bed, sort of. lol Good luck with the van! I gotta clean out ours but may be out of luck cause it's supposed to rain all week. My nice weather days may be gone. Though, right now, it's sunny but I gotta deal with stuff in here.

 

I'm feeling super full as I've been snacking on french bread with butter. So, I'm slow moving. But, going to try to ignore it and work my butt off. it's Vienna's birthday so I gotta make cupcakes for them to decorate, the classic birthday snack.

 

To Do:

-call about helping out at lunch stuff for school

-find Em's home reading book and repair it

-finish dishes

-put away dry groceries

-make up bulk barn list, find coupon

-load into dryer, wash towels with vinegar, gather up dirty laundry

-empty upstairs garbages

-pick up lr

-bring up all clean laundry, spend 15 mins putting it away

-lay out clothes for tomorrow

-clear off dr table

-supper: I think I'm going to do the rice fiesta thing instead cause I'm not sure why but BBQ sauce just turns my stomach right now but I'm loving the idea of ground beef and rice mixed together...

-sweep/mop (tonight)

-vacuum lr

-get stuff ready for tomorrow: D's swimming stuff, figure out if I need to bring anything for midwife appt., get 2 L of water ready

-bring in diapers and find place to store them all

-make up week to do list

-tape up bathroom box, label, tape up girls' decorative stuff and label

-start going on another bathroom box, deal with some stuff under the bathroom sink

-add kleenex to my grocery list

 

 

Sooo, I did the interview. Mom's really nice and I think she won't take advantage of me. The girl is pretty shy but I could see potential listening issues. The old caregiver got her region contract pulled because she had way too many kids! Yikes. This girl is starting tomorrow. She'll be dropped off at 7:30 and picked up by her grandma at the school around 3:20. Woohoo! Delaney had a ton of fun playing with her but I think she's a copyer which will drive D nuts!

 

 

 

You sound like you're pregnant!  ha ha

 

Are you talking about the beef and rice fiesta recipe I posted or another rice fiesta thing?  It's way more blah than the hamburger rice so hopefully it was easy on your stomach if that's the one you cooked.  I think it's too blah but I also don't eat the green pepper or tomato on top.  That one is Scott's favorite childhood meal.  It just occurred to me that we both have hamburger rice dishes as our favorites - does that mean we were destined to be together? LOL

 

Car shopped - disappointed.  Loved the car, hated the trade-in value we were quoted on the van. $3100. Blue book trade-in is $4100 for fair condition - I think ours is halfway between "fair" and "good."  We owe about $6200 - ouch!  A dealer could get that for it but trade-in value is always so low.  I'm afraid to try to sell it outright tho with the transmission sounding funny.  I've never had to get rid of a car for such a low price when owing something on it.  I've only ever sold cars that were paid off - I guess I just never hated a car enough to get rid of it in a year.  We got a good price on it ($6500) but we financed all of it plus the taxes and tags and travel expenses to get it) - well a good price if it weren't such a sucky car but Blue Book was $7,000 I think.  Our last two cars we got rid of we drove to the point that they had to be donated and towed away because they were no longer even driveable - they got that last big problem and then we finally bit the bullet and got a new car.  One more reason that I hope I get a decent settlement for this accident - assuming we ever settle.  Since I'm still under medical care.  The longer my care drags out the better for the case I guess but it's hard waiting and wondering what will happen. 

 

Gotta go tuck the kids in.  Sounds like a good addition to your daycare group - I've never met a kid who didn't have listening issues at least for their own parents (other than the ones who are scared stiff) but hopefully this little girl will see you as an authority figure and listen better for you, the way Chanes seems to do for teachers.

What? Pregnant?!? lol I was talking about Scott's favourite dish. Dh and I REALLY liked it, the kids, not so much but that didn't surprise me. They are picky punks when it comes to new things. When I was looking through the recipes on this site, I thought it was pretty funny that you guys have very similar sounding favourite dishes! lol

 

Darn, that sucks about the van :( I hope you guys get that all sorted out and get a fair value for it cause that definitely doesn't sound fair.

 

Well, it's a bit of a busy day here. Em is going back to school so all the stuff I put off, I need to do all this morning. yippee! Delaney has swimming lessons so now that I'm watching that girl, Kira, I'm going to have to pack her some books, maybe a colouring book, to do while D swims. And, I've got my first midwife appt. at 2. I should have called the lunch lady from the school cause I have a feeling I should be helping out today with counting the money. And, somewhere in there, I want to do some cleaning up. lol I find that when I have daycare kids during the day, I tend to keep up with the house better. That's kinda funny. Maybe it's cause my kids are kept busy or I just feel more on top of things and in a better schedule. Andrew has volleyball tonight so I should have supper done early and then it's on my own. I'm telling myself I WILL be in bed early tonight... maybe by 9:30?

Man, I'm wiped and because it's chilly out there, I just want to snuggle up and do nothing.

 

I'm paranoid about nuts now. A friend was going to watch Kira until Karen, the caseworker, said she has to throw out all peanut butter, peanuts, etc in her house. Now, I was NEVER told to do that when I took on Laura. So, now I'm afraid Karen will check out my house and find the nuts or she'll ask me about it... augh

 

I'm thinking what I'll do is put all my true nut products (not the stuff that 'may contain') into a container with a lid and keep it tucked away in my room. My room is off limits and once we move, the whole upstairs is off limits. Though Karen just has to check out upstairs once we move (to make sure I don't have some meth lab or something up there, lol), she won't be going through my room. And, I guess I will lie if she asks if all nut products are out of the house cause I'll say, yes. Heck, my girls don't even eat peanut butter! But, I snack on pecans and almonds way too often to give them up... if it was a bad snack, yeah, then I could do it but nuts are healthy and keeping me going. I have to admit, I do have a container of peanuts, a bag of pecans and almonds in the snack cupboard so cross-contamination could happen. It would be pretty hard for that to occur but it's a possibility. So, I should be more careful there.

 

Sooo, I guess I should add that to my list of things to do sooner than later. I just bought some trail mix last night from the bulk store too. augh

 

Ok, I MUST move my butt. The girls are colouring at the table. Delaney is wanting a snack. Sooo, I've got 1/2 hr before swimming lessons. Here's a mini list:

 

-load into dryer, bring up all clean laundry

-give D a snack, see if Kira wants one

-get a bag ready with some stuff for Kira and Timmy to do while at swimming

-figure out lunch

-go to the bathroom

-put away donuts

-put away wigs

-put away bag of diapers

-snack for me

-put away dry dishes

Augh, I'm SO slow moving today.

 

I didn't quite get my list done. I'm working on washing dishes now and I believe we'll have white kraft dinner for lunch though I have a sneaky suspicion that we don't have any left.

 

I'm feeling blah... need to wake up!!

that is funny about scott's and my favorite dish, especially considering we have completely different taste in food.  we almost never eat the same thing.  even if it's the same base food he usually changes it (example i always have hamburgers well done with ketchup and mustard, he has hamburgers with some kind of cheese, different spices or sauces each time, sometimes cooked onions, always tomato and lettuce etc etc and his is medium well - you get the picture - totally different food tastes!)  once you try the hamburger rice you'll probably think it's a completely different taste - i do.  you might not even like it lol.  except that IS one of the things i make that scott doesn't change either while it's cooking or once it hits the table.  usually if he doesnt add different spices or ingredients to whatever i'm making for his portion, he'll do something like cover his in cheese or corn or barbecue sauce on his plate. the hamburger rice he doesn't change at all so maybe you'll like it.  i won't be offended if you don't :-)

 

the nut allergy thing is scary.  and kids are different.  some have peanut allergies, some have nut allergies - some are affected by just the particles in the air.  at the kids' school they now have a table way over in a corner for the nut allergy kids.  i feel sorry for them :-(  i can understand wanting to keep your nuts - i wonder if there's anything on the internet that could help you figure out the best way to keep nuts in the house but not endanger the girl if she's so highly allergic.  can you imagine being a mom to a kid who has a problem as severe as that???  do you get an epipen to keep in the house in addition to whatever she wears around her neck (assuming she does)?  hopefully you can find a safe solution.  if she got hurt because of it at your house you could be liable - not to scare you, just be careful and maybe see if there are suggestions out there for help.  it's pretty common now so there has to be articles and things for caregivers that aren't 100% extreme where you're expected to change what you eat because of a child you're watching.  hiding them in your bedroom sounds good - i'd be careful where i eat them too and if you share them with the girls after daycare hours maybe make sure they stay in one place where you can wash them and the area totally when they're done eating.

 

i forgot to say that i'm glad em is feeling better.  strep throat sucks so bad.  when i have it i feel like i ate ground glass.  my kids have had it more and more it seems - i think chane had it once this past winter and braeden twice.  i seem to get it once a year right near by birthday/anniversary altho i was lucky last year (knock on wood).  for a long time i was getting pinkeye that same time of year and then i started getting strep throat so i guess overall i'd rather have the strep throat!  but one year scott planned this awesome weekend away trip for our anniversary that we had to cancel because i was so sick with strep :-(  anyway i'm glad she's feeling better.  my kids really like bubblegum amoxicillin - other than myself i've never known a kid who doesn't like it but there's another amoxicillin that is awful.  is that what she's on?  they wouldn't let chane have the bubblegum one last time for some reason and he ended up on the other one.  we had to change medicines three times - when chane doesn't want to take a medicine he simply will not - screaming, yelling, threatening, bribing, cajoling, making deals, reasoning - none of that works.  i could tell the nurse thought i was some pushover mom but let her make him take something he hates.  braeden i can do it but not chane.  if he hates it, nothing will make him take it but some medicines can be mixed in mountain dew code red and since that's a treat for him i'm able to sneak it by him as long as he can't detect it.  it's a pretty strong flavored soda.  for meds he just doesn't like (as opposed to hates) he'll take his medicine and then a big drink of mountain dew afterward.

 

hey, that reminds me - i think we ended up with a pill last time?  if chane is old enough to swallow a pill, maybe em is?  the doctor didn't think he could do it but he did.  it was hard for him and took a little work but way less screaming.  altho your posts sounds like em might be more like braeden where she can take it, hate it, but not make you feel like you want to rip your hair out.

 

thanks for posting about the bday party rsvp - i totally forgot i need to do that too.  chane was invited to a party this wknd but is camping for scouts.  total meltdown when he found out he can't go to the party of course.  total meltdown for everything!!  he's like a land mine half the time just waiting to go off. 

I definitely want to try yours, I just don't know that I could stomach that much BBQ sauce. I like sauces but for some reason, I picture this being really powerful (I like just a bit of sauce on stuff, not drenched, etc.)

 

Well, both of my nut allergy kids aren't that severe. Laura hasn't had a reaction in 4 yrs, maybe 5? She's been at my house for a year and I've had nuts and there's been NO reactions. Kira had a reaction a few months ago... her grandma gave her a pb cookie instead of a choc. chip (so I guess she's ok with having stuff that may have come in contact with nuts cause these would have been baked at the same place and Laura isn't allowed to have anything from there... Tim Hortons.) Well, the cookie just touched her lips and she started to throw up and get red around the mouth. So, to me, that doesn't sound like a super severe allergy where they start having troubles breathing RIGHT AWAY. Heck, Kira didn't even have an epi-pen until she started school in Sept. Her mom said that she still eats pb (not Kira, the mom) and actually before coming over to my house last night, the mom ate Reese's Peanut butter cups. Sooo, to me, it doesn't sound like it's a big deal to have nuts in the house. Neither is affected by the airborne particles, thank goodness.

 

Em is doing better with the medicine. She must be maturing cause it took us an hour the last time she had to have it. This time, she still slowly sucks it back which is funny cause you'd think just getting it all over with at once is much easier and tastes better that way. Ah well. I'm not sure how she'd do with a pill. I think she'd gag on it...

 

Lunch is on the go, finally. I did have one more box. Kira is a really picky eater so not sure that she'll like it. Her mom said she sends a lunch every day but really, it's not much of a lunch... yogurt, banana, 2 juice boxes, oreo cookies and those spreadable cheese/cracker things.

 

I'm feeling really blah now... talking with dh on MSN which is a no-no cause it's distracting him and just dumb for me. Should be stuff we talk about later but it seems like there is no later. I'm too tired, he is too distracted, etc. So, I'm just feeling down. Also, I'm getting REALLY nervous about the midwife appt. I always have doubts that they'll show I'm pregnant. Obviously, I have the symptoms and my stomach is sticking out (already) but I just couldn't imagine going to get checked out and being told they can't find a heartbeat. With every one of them, I was nervous until I heard that heartbeat. Plus, I think I may have to get blood drawn and that totally grosses me out. They had to move it to 2 so I just hope that I can get back home before 2:45 cause I really don't feel like rushing around like a mad man and being late, picking up someone from school.

that doesn't sound like a bad allergy at all!  if her mom can eat a reese's cup then i'd say your plan sounds more than reasonable to me!  as for laura, i have heard that with each allergic reaction it can be accelerated so still keep an eye out for her - each one can get worse.  allergens build up in the system or something.  ahh i don't know what i'm talking about!  ignore me!

 

good job for em - my kids take them slowly too.  i have never been able to take liquids.  i was horrible for my parents.  cough syrup now comes in gel caps - i could never take that as a kid.  my mom had to grind tablets into my food when i was too little to swallow pills.  i can't take the fumes.  i will very occasionally take cough syrup now but i take it like a shot of alcohol with a pre-drink and a chase and don't breathe the whole time and i still hate it so much i only do it if i'm coughing so bad there's no other option.  chane is my payback :-)

 

that girl's lunch sounds like something chane would have only without the cookies ('cause i know he'd ONLY eat the cookies).  and he probably wouldn't even eat all of that.  he has very little to eat during the day.  he has carnation instant breakfast for breakfast because he got to the point where he wasted his apple and cereal and only drank his chocolate milk anyway so i started buying the breakfast mix hoping for some kind of nutrition to sneak into his body somewhere!  they have snack at school - usually something junky like goldfish crackers (there's usually room in his tiny tummy for junk food).  if he packs lunch, i usually just go ahead and go with pb&j because he's so picky, or tuna with a buttered roll.  i suspect he takes about 2 bites of the sandwich and drinks his milk.  i don't put much else in - maybe a little mandarin orange cup or some grapes.  i know he'll throw it out anyway.  and for snack he'll come in and have a cup of fruit and he's okay 'til dinner and then he's starving but still doesn't eat much.  if i don't watch he'll sneak and get crackers or something.  if only healthy food is available to him he doesn't eat much but he will eat a ton if it's crackers or bread or dessert.

 

meanwhile braeden eats cereal, apple, and lactaid for breakfast, a snack of cherry tomatoes and string cheese at school, a full lunch (if i pack i have to pack something like grilled chicken strips, salad with dressing, fruit, string cheese or almonds and a yogurt in addition to his cherry tomatoes and string cheese for snack), and then he comes home and is starving so he'll eat whatever fruit there is and then usually go find something else like another can of fruit or an apple or more string cheese (he'd probably fill up faster on chips or crackers but i don't let them have those anymore and he doesn't sneak like chane does) and he's STILL starving at dinner time!  but he's at that age where he's nonstop eating so i'm trying to fill him up with less junk and he's okay with that.  it may get to the point where we just filled the pantry with cheap things like rice-a-roni and canned chili like we did with erik just to keep him full (a snack for him was two boxes of pasta-roni).  braeden is eating all this and actually lost a few pounds last time we took him to the doctor so he's definitely going thru a growth spurt.

 

i'm on here way too much today.  need to go shower.  it's a busy night and i've done nothing. rocky appointment then probably another car dealership - scott found an internet special with the exact car he wants only it's gray and not the pretty blue but it has his ABS and none of the cars we saw last night had ABS.  if we do all that it will mean fast food for the kids because we'll leave here at 3 and not get back 'til probably 9 again - that'll be three after-9-bedtimes in a row this week and they are SO exhausted in the mornings when they do that.

Yikes, hope your hectic night went smoothly. We've had a few late nights here, actually, Em has which is NOT good for the sick kid.

 

Speaking of peanuts, Timmy is throwing reese's pieces around my house. Yippee. Dh bought those at the bulk store last night. I guess that'll motivate me to sweep and vacuum.

 

Ok, need to do a bathroom break and then get the girls to pick up the candy. Then, hopefully it's early to bed for them so I can do my stuff and get to bed early too! Gotta remember tomorrow is picture day for Delaney so I want to pick out her outfit tonight.

uh yeah reese's pieces not so great with peanut allergies LOL  he sounds so cute!

 

not so hectic for me - very hectic for scott.  poor guy was trying to gulp the dinner i brought him when we met at the dealership and the salesman's standing there in the parking lot while my  poor husband is trying to shovel it in.  we got to the dealership at 6 and he had to be at a scout meeting by 7.  he was about 10 min late.  we did buy the car - i was wrong, it was blue.  we're picking it up tomorrow.  not sure if we made the right decision or not.  they wanted $16,845.  we said $15,500.  they came back with $15,845.  i said, no, $15,500.  so they said if okay $15,500.  but now i am wondering why they came back with that so fast altho it helped that my husband was jiggling his leg by the door and they knew he had a meeting he was late for.  but no trade-in - they were only willing to go $2,000 for our van!!!!  so i have to sell it outright.  which is pressure - the car loan isn't that much per month but i don't want to be paying two loans.  at least the new loan isn't dependent on the old loan being paid off. but now whatever is left on the old loan after we sell the van will have to be paid in cash by us and not be combined with the new car price.  so hopefully we can sell it for a decent amount.  my stomach hurts!

 

we got home around 7:45 but the kids still managed to push it 'til after 9 (actually braeden is still awake).  chane fell asleep on the way to rocky's and then on the way home from the dealership which was enough i think to take the edge off so then he couldn't pass out and normally he conks out right away.  they are definitely overtired.  and now tomorrow i have to drag them to york again right off the bus - we have a meeting at 4 to pay for the car and stuff.  hopefully scott can come home first altho that's doubtful since it will add about 30 minutes and he's already going to have to leave work early.  i don't know how he keeps going like he does.  but if he can come home first we won't have to go back to york later to get the car we'll have to leave there since we'll have 3 cars and two drivers!  the salesman mentioned driving the car to our house if scott had to go alone after work (like if i go during the day to do my part and then scott did his part after work) but that's while he was still trying to sell the car - i doubt he'll offer to do that now.

 

i need to get my van listed on autotrader soon and hopefully it will sell.  i have no idea what to try to get for it.  i see them listed by dealer for $7k but the trade-in was $4100 bluebook and we only got offered $3k and $2k by the two dealers for trade-in so does that mean these vans don't sell???  what a major mistake i made!  i haven't been that dumb buying a car since my first one when i paid sticker price because i was 18 and stupid and my parents didn't go with me - this one we bought from a friend of a friend.  it was below bluebook but either we got ripped off or that is just what happens when you sell your car too soon.  i thought that depreciation like that only happend with new cars tho!  but the one salesman last night said it's because of the oil prices and it being a minivan which makes sense since that IS why we are getting rid of it.  sigh...