Week 4 Review

Week 4 Ramblings
Wow, Week #4 has blown by.  I am fairly certain this is because I actually did things this week... ah ha - this might be the key to my sanity!

Going Outside
We did it!  A huge thank you to our neighbor for accompanying us on our BIG outing to the park on Tuesday.  We left the house at 1:40 and didn't get home until 4:40.  The girls had a wonderful time playing and the longer we stayed the more people that we both knew started showing up.  I can't wait for the sunshine to peek out so that I can become more of a park Mom.  My neighbor is an awesome Mom (and person) who I really like.  She is also interested in parks that are not, gasp, in our neighborhood!  I'm willing to try it as it's always more fun to have somebody to chat with at the park than standing there getting cold all by yourself while the kids run around. 

Home School & Preschool
Well the workbook pages are a hit.  Pookie actually asks to do them if I forget!  On the days when we haven't done them during the day then my husband is having fun doing them with her after dinner.  I have to say that working on the pages during the day is much more productive.  She really wants to rough house with her Dad after (or before) dinner... or play trains... or throw things around the house... all the things that I don't like doing of course!

So most of you who are already SAHM's probably know that it's a massive undertaking to find the right preschool.  It is January and one of the local preschools already had their open house (which we attended of course) and will let us know in March if Pookie gets in.  My fingers are crossed since it's a great program from all accounts of the other parents who have kids going there (at least 5 families, that we like, that I can think of off the top of my head).  As a backup plan I am also doing a classroom visit and signing up for the coop program.  I feel like I might be more of a coop Mom so that I can volunteer in the classroom and learn more about child development in the required classes... but we will see how it all works out.  Thankfully I have another 4 weeks before the coop applications are due so that seems like enough time to find a sitter so that I can attend the in-class visit.

Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Oh my goodness.  I never knew how much I would miss the food court.  Full disclosure, I am not a great cook.  I give it my best effort but I'm a strict follower of instructions so the creative part of cooking escapes me.  Thankfully my family is not that picky but there have been many dinner creations where we just start laughing sitting at the table trying to chew up that super dry pork chop (last night for instance).  Three meals is day is a little overwhelming.  I have actually forgotten to feed my small child lunch one day last week.  Apparently neither one of us was hungry!  We made it to about 2:30 and then we both realized we were starving - whoops.  My colleagues at work will understand as we often wouldn't be hungry, or busy in meetings, and then wander down for a sandwich around 2:00.  Ah, the good old days of having 20-plus places to eat without having to leave the building. 

I make a weekly menu and have been saving them for the past 3 weeks so that I can figure out a full monthly menu.  Yes, I realize this is a little obsessive but I don't like thinking about the menu so this makes sense to me.  I'm working on it and will probably post it when I'm done just in case anybody else wants to try my weekly ideas for dinner. 

Visit From GraGra
We are busy counting down the days until GraGra arrives for her visit from sunny Arizona.  She is only staying for 6 nights but Pookie has been telling me that she is excited to sleep with GraGra "all the nights".  She usually is down in the guest bedroom for 30 mintues then wants to come back to her own room.  Have I mentioned that my Mom (GraGra) is a good cook?  Oh gosh, what a coincidence that I am REALLY looking forward to her coming for a visit.  Even my husband perks up when thinking about the delicious meals that will be waiting for him during those 6 nights!

Ice Cream Floats
As I sit here typing this  my daughter and husband are enjoying creamsicle floats.  That is vanilla ice cream with orange soda pop poured on it.  This is a first creamsicle float for Pookie and when asked "Do you like it?" she murmurs back "Oh Yeah!" with her little mouth crammed full of ice cream.  I am abstaining from the floats tonight.  I have, once again, jumped onto the Weight Watchers bandwagon.  I paid for the online membership and have the iPhone App so it's pretty easy to enter the things I'm eating and track my points.  So far these past two weeks have been a little hard but I do feel like it's the right step for me at this point.  For those of you who haven't put two-and-two together yet that means that my monthly menu is now going to have some serious 'points' review so that I can be cooking things that we will eat but that I also won't break the bank with on the Weight Watchers points system. 

Obsessive Cleaning
I've tried to let up on the obsessive cleaning thing this past week.  I only vacuumed once and need to do it again tonight (or tomorrow as the case might be!).  The real kicker is the main bathroom.  We've only got one on the main floor and another full bathroom in the basement but I never use the one downstairs.  The one upstairs is vintage 1941 with yellow and maroon tiled walls.  Don't get me wrong, it's in good shape considering that the house is 70 years old.  We have lived here for 3.5 years and I'm done with this bathroom.  It's not my style at all and I'm about ready to attack it.  J-man is begging me to tolerate it for awhile longer but my patience is wearing thin.  Thankfully he mentioned that tomorrow we will overhaul the floor (deep clean and re-caulk around the edges) which is a baby step towards appeasing me.  Five months from now in July I will be telling you about my massive tile painting project.  Those hideous tiles are going to be painted white - either by me or by someone I hire.  After that I'm getting help from my Dad to install a brand new vanity... goodbye 1941 sink that I hate.  I think that tonight I will make a countdown for the bathroom so that I have a reminder to keep me from demo-ing those darn tiles next week. 

Upcoming Week 5
I'm looking forward to visiting with more friends during week 5 and hitting the park again if the weather holds.  It is also (drum role) the week when we will tally up the receipt jar and have the 'come to reality' discussion.  J-man thinks it will be fun, he smiled and laughed... little does he know that I have spent waaaay too much money this month and it won't be fun at all.  I keep saying that some of my purchases like the preschool workbooks are multi-month investments but I have a sneaking suspicion that the February numbers might look a lot like the January numbers unless we really start hitting the free places like the library instead of the shops like the used bookstore.  Until next week my friends!