We moved just shy of three weeks ago. The good news is that I finally found my pots and pans yesterday. The bad news is that some of them had been put away not entirely clean. They were then packed in that state, and three weeks had not improved the situation. Gross.
Over the weekend I did cross a major parenting milestone. The 2-year-old can now reliably sit and watch a video like Peppa Pig or the wide variety of YouTube offerings (“Hazel’s Mom” is a particular favorite). So when my husband took the 10-year-old and 7-year-old out for the afternoon, I left the little guy in the care of the two older boys while I went for a run in the neighborhood. He sat at the computer with the video on, and I had the 12-year-old sit in the same room with him (watching his phone), and basically neither moved for the 30 minutes I was gone. Success!
Speaking of the 2-year-old, he has been on a strike against napping in the crib. So over the weekend, I gave in and let him nap in my lap both days. In related news, my screen time totals on my iPhone are quite high…
I’ve been showering at night because it makes getting ready in the AM much faster. Unfortunately, I’m sometimes cold at night (though we’ve now set the bathroom heat to come on around my shower time). So I’ve come up with the strategy of hanging two towels over the shower door. When I turn the water off, I immediately wrap one around me. Then I can use the other for my hair without getting too shivery.
I also found my real towels this weekend, so I’m no longer using beach towels, though I did like that they were very large.
The 7-year-old recently celebrated a birthday. Since writing is a source of real tension, we had him record video thank yous to the people who gave him gifts. This inspired far less resistance.
We now have our “real” fridge and freezer, which is great, because we have more capacity. One current helpful life strategy is having set meals for certain nights. Wednesday, for instance, is always breakfast-for-dinner day. This tends to be pancakes, scrambled eggs, bacon, and fruit. Easy, and everyone eats it. Friday is pizza night. This will be make-your-own-pizza night again once we get our oven but for now I’m ordering in. We do Sunbasket kits on Monday and Tuesday (usually) as a way to have some variety. We often have steak one night over the weekend, which only leaves two days to sort out. In the morning, I almost always give kids toaster waffles plus fruit. (Some people add milk, or yogurt, and the occasional handful of chocolate chips). Most people have one toaster waffle, though my daughter has two. If you do the math this means we go through a normal box of toaster waffles in two days. This explains the appeal of Costco!
Photo: Ice on a trail from one of my weekend runs.
Glad you found the pots.
Waffles are one of my favourite meals; I make homemade gluten and dairy-free ones each Friday night. On the occasional week we have something else, my kids always look at me like I have two heads as if to say: “Don’t you realize tonight is WAFFLE night?” I always make mine sweet (fresh fruit, chocolate chips, maple syrup) while my husband loads his up savory style with scrambled eggs, bacon, green onion, and some aioli. I just love breakfast food…
We have four boys and I don’t think I could afford to feed them if it weren’t for Costco! Glad to hear you’re settling in!
I used to hate that feeling of cold after coming out of the shower. In winter I switch to baths. It’s nice and luxurious and is a good way to wind down at the end of the night. If I only have time for a shower, I embrace the cold. I’m one of those people who despises the cold. I don’t think I’ve ever jumped into a heated pool without shrieking. Only after doing a Wim Hof retreat (I’m a freelance wellness writer) did I fully understand the benefits of cold water therapy. I won’t bore you with them, but the main takeaway is it really can boost your mood (if done consistently). I warm up to it (ha!) gradually, but the big trigger is when I put my conditioner in. Once the conditioner is in, I make sure the water is cooler and I try to increase the cold every 10 seconds or so. I come out feeling refreshed and yes, a little cold, but mostly invigorated.