- Got up around 7:30 (cause the 6 year old was sleeping at his grandparents and that means the almost-2 year old will sleep later).
- Changed Caden and got him settled with cartoons.
- Opened mail from the day before and organized some some bills.
- Gave the hubby a kiss as he headed off to work and a day with guys.
- Got Caden some juice.
- Checked email and did some FBing
- Started sorting socks.
- Got Caden some more juice.
- Put shoes on myself and Caden and went out for a morning walk down to Dunkin Donuts where we grabbed an egg and cheese bagel and sat there to eat it. Then stopped at CVS on the way home to pick up milk.
- Got home and checked back in on FB.
- Made a 2010 Football Pool chart for me and my dad, for today's game.
- Did a little promotion of Scott's kung fu school on FB.
- Cut up some apples for Caden and then picked up some toys.
- Finished sorting a basket of socks.
- Changed Caden's diaper and put him down for a nap.
- Jumped in the shower and listened to some football talk on the radio.
- Got out of the shower and decided to post this list...11:08
- It's been a while...and I couldn't actually find my blog - DOH! - and once I did I had to remember how to post something. Here, now it's posted...11:17.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Sunday, March 21, 2010
SATURDAY, MARCH 20 - FIRST DAY OF SPRING
MORNING
Walker woke me up before dawn. He wanted to watch cartoons and I told him "no." We cuddled for a little while, but eventually he as too squirmy, so I gave up and turned on the TV...around 5:30ish I believe.
6:00: Walker wakes me up again complaining he's hungry. I tell him to go get a juice box and some crackers. He says "no." I tell him then he'll just have to wait, I'm just too tired to get up.
6:45: He wakes me up yet again and I finally get up and give him milk and some fruit snacks (he likes those in the morning). I go back to bed around 7:00 and manage to sleep for another hour--Lucky me!
8:15: Get out of the bed after laying in it awake for 15 minutes or so. Caden is calling from his crib, so I figure I better get him. Scott and I are both amazed he's slept so long this morning. I walk into the room and find him soaked from a leaky diaper. I take him out, change his diaper and clothes, and he's off and running. I got get Caden a bottle of milk and settle him in the living room to do some coloring (he loves to color) and I pop on the computer to see what's new.
8:30: Scott gets up to get ready for work. Caden, who was now on the couch, is making whining noises as he's stuck in the plushness of the couch and can't sit up. I go over to help him out and then Walker joins us and soon all three of us are having a pillow fight on the couch. Caden was getting a kick out of it and enjoying throwing the couch's throw-pillows around. It was a wonderful activity on a beautiful spring morning.
The pillow fight wrapped up once Caden decided that he'd start throwing other things besides pillows...like water bottles and cups. I settled him back down on the couch to drink his bottle and popped back on the computer to look at some pictures that a friend of mine working in Afghanistan had posted.
Walker wanted to play one of his little TV video games, so I set him up on the kitchen TV. He played for a while and then got bored.
I turned the kitchen TV to the news and got Caden breakfast and a bowl of cereal for myself. Turned on Clone Wars for Walker in the living room after looking through the DVR log to find exactly the episode he wanted to watch. It amazes me how he can remember all the details of a Clone Wars episode to explain to me which one he wants to watch, but when I ask him what he did in school that day, he says "I can't remember." KIDS!
I continued to watch the news while I did some cleaning up in the kitchen, including emptying and filling the dishwasher. That would be the ONLY house work I'd get done all day...
OFF TO THE PARK
I got the boys and myself dressed and we took a walk down the street to the park. It was TOO nice of a day to miss. The temps were going to be in the 70s, and I didn't want to waste it indoors.
We walked down to the park and it was MUCH warmer than I had anticipated. It was BEAUTIFUL out! The walk to the park takes us up a VERY steep hill, and it took us alot of stopping and starting as Walker complained pretty much the whole way, but I just tried to go with the flow and enjoy being outside.
When we got to the park, Walker wanted me to chase him and push him on the swing...but at the same time I had a 17 month old to keep an eye on. I tried to make Walker understand that I had to watch Caden closely. That he had to learn to get himself swinging and he should play with some of the other kids, but he just wanted me. He had "me" for 5 years, so having to share "me" is definitely something he has to get use too. At one point, while I was trying to give Walker a little attention, Caden almost fell down a hill...sigh...the outing to the park was a little on the "stressful" side.
Walker on the swing at Faxon Park
Caden on the swing at Faxon Park
Caden started to get tired so I put him in his stroller with his bottle and that allowed Walker and I to have a little time to play without me being distracted by Caden. That was nice. We played frizbee for a little while. That was fun and not at all stressful.
Walker then had to go pee, so I had to find a big tree for him to hide behind. Well, I guess that is one of the good things about having boys ;)
We then started home, but Walker was REALLY dragging and complaining about being tired. Walker was diagnosed with "Low Muscle Tone" when he was only 4 months old. They don't really know what causes children to have low-tone, but some children suffer from it. Walker has been been getting different sorts of therapy and assistance for it ever since. He's never had alot of stamina for long walks. We probably didn't help the situation as we pushed him around in a stroller much longer than we probably should have. But now that he's 6 and we have another one in a stroller, he's had to do whole lot more walking than he's use too. The walk all the way to the park and all the playing AT the park tuckered him out. I decided that we'd stop and just sit for awhile on the park wall. Walker had brought some action figures to the park, so he played and Caden slept. THAT was RELAXING!
After a little while we headed home. Walker whined the entire time. He was tired and was becoming very cranky. I had to keep encouraging him that he could make it.
When we got home Caden was still sleeping, so I left him in his stroller. Had Walker watch Caden while I ran into the house to get him a drink and a snack. Walker ate his snack at the little table on the porch and I chatted with some neighbors that were out.
Scott arrived home from work and helped pack up Caden's diaper bag and then we got everyone into the car so we could go grab some lunch.
LUNCH!
Our regular stop for lunch on Saturdays is Friendly's. It's become almost a tradition. The boy were actually pretty well behaved...they aren't always. Walker brought along some action figures to play with and Caden enjoyed coloring. He LOVE crayons and paper. The service at Friendly's is very rarely stellar, and today was no different. We placed out order as soon as the waitress stopped by our table, but then it took quite a while for the food to arrive. By the time we were finished, Walker was starting to get cranky yet again, though he was trying hard not to be as we told him if he was good he'd be able to get something small at the store later when we went to by some birthday gifts for his cousins.
Before we left, Scott took Walker to the bathroom and Caden and I played at the table. As I took a picture of him coloring he decided he wanted to play with my phone (which I had taken the picture with). I gave him the phone and he quickly realized that if he pushed the big silver button. He took a bunch of phones because I think he liked the "click" sound the camera made. Finally I hit the button to turn off the camera and then before I knew it he had called my friend Aaron on the phone. He answered and I said "Caden wanted to call you." We chatted briefly but Caden started crying because he wanted the phone back.
Caden coloring. He's only 17 months and he's already holding crayons like a big boy.
Caden's first photo: Sippy Cup On Table
Another Caden original: My Perspective of the Table at Friendly's
CAR SHOPPING
Scott and I packed the kids back up on the car and weren't on the road long before Walker was out cold. Scott's car had died earlier in the week and he had been looking at cars all week. He wanted to bring me to a couple of places to show me cars he was interested in.
We've narrowed it down to two he's going to try for: A 2001 PT Cruiser or a 1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee. I like the Cruiser myself, but that one is a more expensive. Scott's current (broken) car is a Jeep Grand Cherokee, and he really likes it. I've always wanted a PT Cruiser, and the one he's looking at is in really nice condition. We'll have to see how things work out.
2001 PT Cruiser with only 63,000 miles.
TARGET!
After looking at cars we stopped by Target to pick up some birthday presents for my two nieces who turned 11 and 9 (same birthday, two years apart). We were having a little family birthday at my parents' house later in the day. I picked up some cute little outfits for the girls and some crafting kits. Then it was time for Walker to find his "little toy."
I'm hoping someday he'll have a better understanding about what "little toy" is. It's always the same "Mom, can I get this one?" "No Walker, that one is too expensive." "How about this one?" "No, still too expensive. You can get this, or this, or this." "But I don't like any of those." "Well, that is what is in your price range. Sorry." Then he goes and pouts. Today was a little different as we drove home that if he whined and cried he would get nothing at all. He found one toy he was interested in, but kept looking around. He put that one down and picked up some Matchbox cars that were less expensive (good for me), and then put those down and went for some Pokemon cards (though he has no clue how to play the game, he just likes to look at the pictures) which were even more LESS expensive - YAY! - though some how I still ended up spending $75 by the time I hit the registers...how does that always happen?
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MADISON & ALYSSA
We then headed to my parents' house to meet up with the family. It was still a BEAUTIFUL day and we spent much of the time out on my parents back porch. It was definitely a great was to end a beautiful spring day.
Both Walker and Caden spent most of the time running around after the kids. Walker use to cling to me the whole time that we were at family functions. With 8 kids between my two sisters and additional friends and family that would be there as well, Walker would quickly become over-whelmed. It's nice now that he's fine playing with the kids. And Caden is fearless, so most of the time I have to go looking for him from time to time to make sure he's not into something he shouldn't be.
We sang "Happy Birthday" to the Madison and Alyssa and then everyone had some ice cream cake -- YUM! The girls opened their presents and loved the outfits I picked up for them -- YAY!
The Birthday Girls: Alyssa - 9 and Madison - 11
Everyone gathered to sing Happy Birthday.
Caden eating his first Ice Cream Cake.
SETTLING DOWN
We headed home close to 9:00. The boys fell asleep on the way home and we put them right to bed. Scott and I settled on the couch, ordered some take-out and ordered a movie On-Demand. It was GI Joe. We hadn't heard good reviews on it, but it was only $5, so we figured it would at least be worth that. I can't say if it was, I fell asleep about 30 or 40 minutes into it. I'll have to check with Scott to see what he thought.
Walker woke me up before dawn. He wanted to watch cartoons and I told him "no." We cuddled for a little while, but eventually he as too squirmy, so I gave up and turned on the TV...around 5:30ish I believe.
6:00: Walker wakes me up again complaining he's hungry. I tell him to go get a juice box and some crackers. He says "no." I tell him then he'll just have to wait, I'm just too tired to get up.
6:45: He wakes me up yet again and I finally get up and give him milk and some fruit snacks (he likes those in the morning). I go back to bed around 7:00 and manage to sleep for another hour--Lucky me!
8:15: Get out of the bed after laying in it awake for 15 minutes or so. Caden is calling from his crib, so I figure I better get him. Scott and I are both amazed he's slept so long this morning. I walk into the room and find him soaked from a leaky diaper. I take him out, change his diaper and clothes, and he's off and running. I got get Caden a bottle of milk and settle him in the living room to do some coloring (he loves to color) and I pop on the computer to see what's new.
8:30: Scott gets up to get ready for work. Caden, who was now on the couch, is making whining noises as he's stuck in the plushness of the couch and can't sit up. I go over to help him out and then Walker joins us and soon all three of us are having a pillow fight on the couch. Caden was getting a kick out of it and enjoying throwing the couch's throw-pillows around. It was a wonderful activity on a beautiful spring morning.
The pillow fight wrapped up once Caden decided that he'd start throwing other things besides pillows...like water bottles and cups. I settled him back down on the couch to drink his bottle and popped back on the computer to look at some pictures that a friend of mine working in Afghanistan had posted.
Walker wanted to play one of his little TV video games, so I set him up on the kitchen TV. He played for a while and then got bored.
I turned the kitchen TV to the news and got Caden breakfast and a bowl of cereal for myself. Turned on Clone Wars for Walker in the living room after looking through the DVR log to find exactly the episode he wanted to watch. It amazes me how he can remember all the details of a Clone Wars episode to explain to me which one he wants to watch, but when I ask him what he did in school that day, he says "I can't remember." KIDS!
I continued to watch the news while I did some cleaning up in the kitchen, including emptying and filling the dishwasher. That would be the ONLY house work I'd get done all day...
OFF TO THE PARK
I got the boys and myself dressed and we took a walk down the street to the park. It was TOO nice of a day to miss. The temps were going to be in the 70s, and I didn't want to waste it indoors.
We walked down to the park and it was MUCH warmer than I had anticipated. It was BEAUTIFUL out! The walk to the park takes us up a VERY steep hill, and it took us alot of stopping and starting as Walker complained pretty much the whole way, but I just tried to go with the flow and enjoy being outside.
When we got to the park, Walker wanted me to chase him and push him on the swing...but at the same time I had a 17 month old to keep an eye on. I tried to make Walker understand that I had to watch Caden closely. That he had to learn to get himself swinging and he should play with some of the other kids, but he just wanted me. He had "me" for 5 years, so having to share "me" is definitely something he has to get use too. At one point, while I was trying to give Walker a little attention, Caden almost fell down a hill...sigh...the outing to the park was a little on the "stressful" side.
Walker on the swing at Faxon Park
Caden on the swing at Faxon Park
Caden started to get tired so I put him in his stroller with his bottle and that allowed Walker and I to have a little time to play without me being distracted by Caden. That was nice. We played frizbee for a little while. That was fun and not at all stressful.
Walker then had to go pee, so I had to find a big tree for him to hide behind. Well, I guess that is one of the good things about having boys ;)
We then started home, but Walker was REALLY dragging and complaining about being tired. Walker was diagnosed with "Low Muscle Tone" when he was only 4 months old. They don't really know what causes children to have low-tone, but some children suffer from it. Walker has been been getting different sorts of therapy and assistance for it ever since. He's never had alot of stamina for long walks. We probably didn't help the situation as we pushed him around in a stroller much longer than we probably should have. But now that he's 6 and we have another one in a stroller, he's had to do whole lot more walking than he's use too. The walk all the way to the park and all the playing AT the park tuckered him out. I decided that we'd stop and just sit for awhile on the park wall. Walker had brought some action figures to the park, so he played and Caden slept. THAT was RELAXING!
After a little while we headed home. Walker whined the entire time. He was tired and was becoming very cranky. I had to keep encouraging him that he could make it.
When we got home Caden was still sleeping, so I left him in his stroller. Had Walker watch Caden while I ran into the house to get him a drink and a snack. Walker ate his snack at the little table on the porch and I chatted with some neighbors that were out.
Scott arrived home from work and helped pack up Caden's diaper bag and then we got everyone into the car so we could go grab some lunch.
LUNCH!
Our regular stop for lunch on Saturdays is Friendly's. It's become almost a tradition. The boy were actually pretty well behaved...they aren't always. Walker brought along some action figures to play with and Caden enjoyed coloring. He LOVE crayons and paper. The service at Friendly's is very rarely stellar, and today was no different. We placed out order as soon as the waitress stopped by our table, but then it took quite a while for the food to arrive. By the time we were finished, Walker was starting to get cranky yet again, though he was trying hard not to be as we told him if he was good he'd be able to get something small at the store later when we went to by some birthday gifts for his cousins.
Before we left, Scott took Walker to the bathroom and Caden and I played at the table. As I took a picture of him coloring he decided he wanted to play with my phone (which I had taken the picture with). I gave him the phone and he quickly realized that if he pushed the big silver button. He took a bunch of phones because I think he liked the "click" sound the camera made. Finally I hit the button to turn off the camera and then before I knew it he had called my friend Aaron on the phone. He answered and I said "Caden wanted to call you." We chatted briefly but Caden started crying because he wanted the phone back.
Caden coloring. He's only 17 months and he's already holding crayons like a big boy.
Caden's first photo: Sippy Cup On Table
Another Caden original: My Perspective of the Table at Friendly's
CAR SHOPPING
Scott and I packed the kids back up on the car and weren't on the road long before Walker was out cold. Scott's car had died earlier in the week and he had been looking at cars all week. He wanted to bring me to a couple of places to show me cars he was interested in.
We've narrowed it down to two he's going to try for: A 2001 PT Cruiser or a 1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee. I like the Cruiser myself, but that one is a more expensive. Scott's current (broken) car is a Jeep Grand Cherokee, and he really likes it. I've always wanted a PT Cruiser, and the one he's looking at is in really nice condition. We'll have to see how things work out.
2001 PT Cruiser with only 63,000 miles.
TARGET!
After looking at cars we stopped by Target to pick up some birthday presents for my two nieces who turned 11 and 9 (same birthday, two years apart). We were having a little family birthday at my parents' house later in the day. I picked up some cute little outfits for the girls and some crafting kits. Then it was time for Walker to find his "little toy."
I'm hoping someday he'll have a better understanding about what "little toy" is. It's always the same "Mom, can I get this one?" "No Walker, that one is too expensive." "How about this one?" "No, still too expensive. You can get this, or this, or this." "But I don't like any of those." "Well, that is what is in your price range. Sorry." Then he goes and pouts. Today was a little different as we drove home that if he whined and cried he would get nothing at all. He found one toy he was interested in, but kept looking around. He put that one down and picked up some Matchbox cars that were less expensive (good for me), and then put those down and went for some Pokemon cards (though he has no clue how to play the game, he just likes to look at the pictures) which were even more LESS expensive - YAY! - though some how I still ended up spending $75 by the time I hit the registers...how does that always happen?
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MADISON & ALYSSA
We then headed to my parents' house to meet up with the family. It was still a BEAUTIFUL day and we spent much of the time out on my parents back porch. It was definitely a great was to end a beautiful spring day.
Both Walker and Caden spent most of the time running around after the kids. Walker use to cling to me the whole time that we were at family functions. With 8 kids between my two sisters and additional friends and family that would be there as well, Walker would quickly become over-whelmed. It's nice now that he's fine playing with the kids. And Caden is fearless, so most of the time I have to go looking for him from time to time to make sure he's not into something he shouldn't be.
We sang "Happy Birthday" to the Madison and Alyssa and then everyone had some ice cream cake -- YUM! The girls opened their presents and loved the outfits I picked up for them -- YAY!
The Birthday Girls: Alyssa - 9 and Madison - 11
Everyone gathered to sing Happy Birthday.
Caden eating his first Ice Cream Cake.
SETTLING DOWN
We headed home close to 9:00. The boys fell asleep on the way home and we put them right to bed. Scott and I settled on the couch, ordered some take-out and ordered a movie On-Demand. It was GI Joe. We hadn't heard good reviews on it, but it was only $5, so we figured it would at least be worth that. I can't say if it was, I fell asleep about 30 or 40 minutes into it. I'll have to check with Scott to see what he thought.
Monday, February 1, 2010
Study Shows that I Have More Free Time Than I Realized...
So, today a friend of mine IM-ed me this link: http://www.parentdish.com/2010/01/29/moms-have-more-leisure-time-than-they-think/
Its from parentdish.com and is about a study where researchers discovered that mom's have more than 30 hours of "leisure time" a week.
SHOCKING! isn't it. Your first thought is "IMPOSSIBLE! Who the hell were THEY using in their study, a stay-at-home-mom with only one kid who happens to go to a boarding school? It must be a guy doing the research." Well, you got one thing right, the research WAS done by a guy, but the scary thing is...IT'S TRUE!
"What the Hell Did Lori Do Today?" was a blog I started to find out exactly that, what the HELL was I doing with my time. Each day just seemed to slip by and I felt like I wasn't getting anything done. And worse, I felt like those around me were thinking I was just sitting there twiddling my thumbs and not doing what I was SUPPOSE to be doing. For several weeks I keep very detailed lists of what I did almost every second of the day. It was actually gratifying to be able to look back and see that I WAS busy. I WAS getting stuff done. AND I WAS making a different in people's lives...mostly the lives of my two little boys.
I enjoyed keeping a "time diary," but it was also pretty time-consuming, and eventually I had to dedicate my precious time to other more important things.
But then this article popped up and my very detailed list gave me the chance to test this person's study.
I haven't done anything near as scientific as I'm assuming this researcher has done, but I have gone back through a few days of my time-log and pulled out the times in my day that I would consider "leisure" (time when I'm not working or taking care of another person or responsiblity). I added up all the time, did some division, and low-and-behold, I discovered that I had ON AVERAGE 5 hours of "leisure" time EACH DAY! Times that by 7 days a week, and I seem to be above average with 36 hour a week.
Yup, I was SHOCKED! If I had that much time each week for "fun and relaxation", then why in the hell was I so stressed out and tired?
Okay, so then I asked myself, "what is the true definition of leisure?" Of course, I did what any good 2010 blogger would do, and I "googled" it:
Dictionary.com says:
=================================================
lei⋅sure
–noun
1. freedom from the demands of work or duty: She looked forward to retirement and a life of leisure.
2. time free from the demands of work or duty, when one can rest, enjoy hobbies or sports, etc.: Most evenings he had the leisure in which to follow his interests.
3. unhurried ease: a work written with leisure and grace.
=================================================
With that in hand, I went back to my time-log and looked closer at the time I indicated was "leisure" and I discovered two things:
1) Commuting back and forth to work may be a time when I'm alone and not doing anything much more than driving, BUT I wouldn't say that I'm "free from the demands of work or duty." It's because of WORK that I'm in the car in the first place. It's not like I said "Hey Honey, lets go take a drive through the country." No, I'm stuck in stop and go traffic for anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour, dealing with annoying people who are cutting me off, because they just NEED to be one car ahead of me. Or trying to avoid the crazy woman who is trying to multitask by putting on her make-up ON her way to work, rather than BEFORE she actually gets into the car. And of course, I'm also sitting in a car, taking forever to get somewhere while I'm stressing out that I'm going to be late getting to where I'm going anyway. Nope, I would NOT consider commuting to be "unhurried ease."
2) A good chunk of the average 5 hours is actually split up into MANY small pieces: 5 minutes chatting with a neighbor after walking my son to the bus stop. 10 minutes checking personal email. 15 minutes playing with my kids. Yes, these things ARE "leisurely", but it sure doesn't make me feel "relaxed" when I'm bouncing from one thing to another. Combine them all together, and I'm just feeling STRESSED OUT that I'm juggling so many different things.
The rest of the average 5 hours...well, 45 minutes to an hour for lunch...often interrupted by some work need. And finally, a block of time, sitting on the couch, eating dinner, and watching TV with my hubby. Yeah, that I would TOTALLY consider "leisure." Unfortunately I'm usually so exhausted by that time, that I'm really not always enjoying this "leisure" time to it's full extent, and typically I drift off to sleep before I even really want too.
So after a little research on my own...YES, it's TRUE. We DO have 30+ hours a week of "LEISURE TIME." It may sure sound like a lot of time, but maybe, just maybe, it's really not enough. I'm sure with a little more digging, I can come up with ANOTHER study that would tell me exactly how much "leisure" time a human being REALLY needs. I'll be sure to post that study if I ever find it.
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