While you were sleeping...

I thought up the title for this blog while my husband was sleeping-in/napping (very much earned, mind you) this morning. [His job required him to wake up 4a.m. yesterday, and he wasn't able to compensate by going to bed early last night (see previous post) like he usually does). Since he has since gotten up and begun his morning routine, a better title might be "things I did this morning before breakfast", but some of this was indeed while he was sleeping... (not necessarily in this order).

Nursed our baby (at 12 months, she's not quite an infant, but still not weaned yet. I'm willing to wait till 24 months to wean, but none of my kids so far have made it that long).

Turned on and watched portions of Adventurs of Winnie the Pooh with children.

Checked email, composed a blog entry while older children were still watching said video (and youngest was eating a bananna).

Unloaded dishwasher.

Supervised/ Participated in making of waffles for the family breakfast (but, I had momentum and was in the process of cleaning, that I myself didn't join them as I typically do... so no breakfast for me yet.)

Loaded dishwasher.

Scrubbed down counters.

Picked up food from the floor (yesterday's snack?)

Picked up clothes off the floor (why were they there?)

Carried overstuffed laundry hamper into the basement.

Tossed a load of laundry in the washer machine.

Picked up toys off the living room floor (the joy of having all the kids take out 1 year old's toys, and then wander off...)

Picked up papers off the floor (I'm amazed how many papers ended up in my purse, and then got dumped on the ground - evidence that bringing pads of paper, pencils, crayons, markers do keep little hands busy during church).

Swept (o.k. not sweep everything, but piles left over from yesterday's cleaning actually made it into the trash can).

Took out the trash (three trash bags).

Took out recyclable items. (Doing my part to save the planet? or, at least filling up the recycle bin outside as well as the trash cans).

Changed a diaper.

Put ear drops in child's ears.

Read a book.

Coaxed potty training three year old to use the toilet properly (yay!).

Put baby-getting-to-be-toddler down for morning nap.

Referreed sibling conflict.

Encouraged second oldest to get dressed (and complimented oldest for doing it without being prodded).

Encouraged older children to make their beds (but didn't get around to doing mine yet, hopefully I'll get around to washing sheets today).

Picked up some shoes.

Directed children to pick up some shoes.

Cleaned up orange juice spill.

Wiped down bathroom sink (still needs to be scrubbed further).

Rinsed out coffee pot.

Wished I had more time in the morning.

Cleaned hands of 3 year old and 5 year old who got into paint...

Got items out of the van that needed to be washed (such as 1 year old's cup).

Listened to various stories.

Oversaw time outs.

Picked up towel off the floor (why did the bathroom towel make its way into the hallway??)

Sorted through one 'misc papers' container (so that the "I want to keep" papers from church had a temporary home).

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I've lossed momentum to do household chores, but, I think things are looking better than when we fell asleep (or woke up?). I was able to have a delightful morning -- I got to eat breakfast with my husband (just the two of us! sipping coffee too, having conversation too? When does that ever happen?).

Ok, now I hear commotion going on.. Now I'm off to "things I did after breakfast this morning"....

Just another adventure...

What do you do when it is gorgeous outside?

Today, after taking our quick walk around the block, I realized it was indeed a gorgeous day!

I lamented that our library (my only errand of the day) is no longer in walking distance (few miles away 'bigger & better' community library).

Solution? Let's bikeride to the Library!

I have an awesome WIKE bike trailer that the almost-toddler and almost-preschooler were able to sit in. The preschooler-almost-kindergartener sat in the front (WeeRide Kangaroo) bike seat.

I love this setup! I am so glad 'the baby' is finally big enough to sit in the trailer and enjoy bike rides. Last time I went on a good bikeride -- well over a year ago -- I was pregnant with our youngest.

I was able to get some exercise and enjoy the outdoors with my children, arrive at the library just when it opened, enjoy library time with my children, and arrive home in time for PB&J lunch.


What could be better?

Oh, yea.. fresh air enticed all the little ones to take a nap this afternoon!
(So, a little laundry was done, and a little cleaning too)

History Repeats itself TWICE in the past 2 days...

The advantage of having a super-sized washer machine, is that one can actually do decent sized loads (A big plus considering how much laundry this family of six goes through).

THE DISADVANTAGE of having a super-sized washer-machine, is that IT USES A LOT OF WATER. And, when do we realize this? WHEN IT OVERFLOWS.

Case 1: laundry scoop gets bumped into utility sink (causing overflow, water on the floor): slight flood.

Case 2: laundry hose gets jostled out of the utility sink - CAUSING MAJOR HAVOC, ruining storage items,etc.

Lessons 1: Never get lazy and skip the "check the utility sink" step before leaving the laundry area.

Lesson 2: Don't leave clean laundry on the floor by the dryer, when water overflows, it stops being clean. There's nothing frustrating like rewashing laundry before it ever gets worn!

Lesson 3: Don't leave cardboard storage boxes on the floor (assemble shelves and get off the floor!)

Lesson 4: Don't put off cleaning the basement area.

Lesson 5: Water is tough enough to clean up, but SUDSY water is even worse...

Lesson 6: Next time you buy a wet/dry vac, don't try to be cute and cheap and get the smallest (apartment-sized) unit. Small unit needs to be emptied almost as fast as it gets filled up.

Lesson 7: Don't let kids go into basement unsupervised when there are puddles in the basement. (How can a kid resist jumping in puddles--- making MORE laundry dirty??

Lesson 8: Buy a laundry line for outside: it would be nice for all drying to not rely on the dryer.

Lesson 9: It's better to have a "flood" in spring weather, when you can open windows and air everything out.

Lesson 10: Beware of tax time, something always happens!

It only takes a sock

IT ONLY TAKES ONE SOCK TO CLOG THE WASHER (or utility sink).

Thursday morning, I did my typical routine of "toss a load in the washer".

Earlier in the morning, while getting clean school clothes for my kindergartner, I had earlier emptied the dryer, and sorted the clothes into nice, neat piles on the laundry-area floor.

A little less than an hour later, I went into the basement to do my "cycle the laundry": put wash in the dryer. (If clothes are in the dryer, take them out; If clean clothes are in the basket/ on the floor in front of the dryer fold-if needed- and put away...).

To my dismay, my socked feed got soggy as I entered the laundry-area: A FLOOD not of Biblical proportions, but water was all over the floor, covering about a third of the basement. I waded (not quite, but my feet were indeed wet) through the pathway and discovered a stopped-up utility sink.

I discovered an innocent toddler sock which had stopped up the drain.

After a phone call, the wetvac was found and put to good use.
After some good exercise, the floor no longer had puddles of water in it.
After a couple MORE loads of laundry, there were only a handful of ruined articles of clothing.
After a headache, I determined to ALWAYS CHECK THE UTILITY SINK BEFORE TURNING ON THE WASHER!
After this lesson, maybe I'll NOT leave clean clothes on the floor either?
After a full morning, things that I had planned to get to in the morning, got done in the afternoon.

C'est la vie.

Life is an adventure

Life is an adventure! I thought I'd join the world of bloggers to share some of the adventures I encounter or have encountered...

One adventure today was trying to wash a load of laundry with five month old in my arms, and, two year old, four year old, and six year old "playing laundry" in front of the washer/dryer. I'm constantly annoyed by the fact that whoever assembled the hand-me-down unit messed up: the washer part is labeled dryer, and the dryer part is labeled washer! I pointed this out to my six year old, and he promptly started using the "dryer" label (on top of the washer) while putting his clothes into the dryer.

I did succeed in cycling completely that load of laundry, and started the next load as well.

The question is: will I be able to do three more loads tonight so that the dirty laundry hampers in both bathrooms can be completely emptied?