Things are looking up!

Yesterday wasn't as awesome as the other days that Joe has been away, from the family management perspective: James threw a fit or 2, Tommy had a crying episode when I asked him to re-write his sentences over and over due to poor spacing and penmanship, etc.  But eventually things evened out, all the homework got done and they enjoyed Jimmy's Pizza for dinner, and I had a chicken caesar salad after everyone was tucked into bed.

I'm trying to think of what I did yesterday to continue my productivity goals around the house......well, laundry, certainly...it's *thisclose* to being done!  James was at Nana's for a while and...let me think...what did I do with my time?...oh yeah, I filled a custom bridesmaid order for 4 necklaces and 1 additional order for earrings.  It was snowing all morning but thankfully not adding to the 1/2" we had the night before.  Still, I hate bad-weather driving so I got my 3rd and last order finished while James napped, and after the kids got home, it was homework, post office, pizzeria, Julianne to religion, home to eat, back to get Julianne.

After dinner the kids hurried into their jammies for Annie: Part II.  They loved it, of course, and there were tears at the end when Annie was hanging from the bridge, and cheers shortly thereafter when Punjab comes to her rescue.  And a sense of relief to see all the orphans singing and dancing in pretty dresses at the big firework finale.  :D

The best part of my day, though, was getting Facetimed by Joe around 10 pm.  He'd tried to catch me earlier but with all the running around it was tough.  I figured we were just touching base.  After the usual how-was-your-day-dear small talk, he told me the News of All News: the Austin company he'd been speaking with had, in fact, extended a job offer to him today!  Officially, via email!  I think a few negotiations are ahead, but so far so good.  Things are really becoming...real.

Happy Monday

Today was another (though slightly less) productive day...once homework time enters the picture, all bets are off for getting stuff done!

-I did 2 loads of wash and folded/kids put away 1 load;
-James went to school so I colored my hair
-I packed and shipped a bead order
-I cleaned out the mirror vanity on the 1st floor bathroom, getting rid of old medicines and lotions that I will never use
-Read James "The Little Engine That Could" (you could hear a pin drop)
-Made a great dinner for the kids and me
-Hosted Family Movie Night (part 1 of Annie, kids loved it!!)

Here's a pic of the kids watching Annie:

Joni is visiting us on Thursday until Friday, so on Wednesday I'll switch gears and prep for her arrival.

James decided to be Spider-Man today for a while, so I helped him into his last year's Halloween costume and let him go to town.  We had a little photo shoot.  Gotta love those bulging muscles.  Too cute!

(Not so) Lazy Sunday

A fairly lazy Sunday here.  Woke to find about an inch of snow on the ground -- not too bad, but enough to get me outside and shoveling.  Everyone was up and dressed and fed by 9, and then out we went.  The kids had fun and were warm and dry in their new ski gloves/mittens.  I was happy and relieved to find the snow was very powdery and easy to shovel.  I got the driveway cleared about 90% and the sun took care of the rest.  Yay!  I didn't break my neck and fall down the driveway this time around, and I won't be trapped in the tower today.

Speaking of today...today I'm continuing my housekeeping goals and so far have:

-Folded and put away (okay, the kids put away) 2 loads of laundry
-Organized all my window candles that were thrown in a box, and re-packed them.  I'm leaving my lights in the front windows for another week or two.  Especially with Joe away, I find the light comforting.  

-Took the Sunday night trash out
-Put one of the crib mattresses (the old one) on the curb
-Put the Toy Story hot wheel toy on the curb...it's been unassembled in the box for a year.  Time to go.
-Assembled another box of donations for Goodwill.
-Cleared out top shelf in kitchen coat closet (goodbye, junk!)
-Cleared out wicker basket on kitchen sideboard (goodbye, junk!)
-Returned the books on ghosts to Jane's mailbox (finally!)

I also supervised the big kids' reading for 35 minutes today while I folded laundry.  And had the kids write their classmates' names on the Valentines they'll hand out in 2 wks.

I love getting a jump start on menial stuff.  I rarely do, so this felt like a successful day.  

I'm thinking of packing up a lot of the crystal in the china cabinet this week.  What's it really doing, other than collecting dust?  If we move, that piece is getting sold on Craigslist, along with the dining room table and chairs.  Both served their purpose, but I'm not attached to either in the least bit.

And, I made the kids a great dinner of meatloaf, egg noodles and green beans.

Last bit of news for today: Joni called and said she had an Amtrak ticket she needs to use before March, and would this be a good week to visit?  Not finding any reason why it wouldn't be a good week to visit, I said sure and that I'd call later tonight to narrow down a day.  Around here, there's no such thing as a slow week.  If you think it's going to be one, wait an hour or two and see how fast the schedule fills up.  :)

Happy Groundhog Day!

Okay, I said I was going to keep track of my progress while Joe was away on business.

Today, I:
-washed and folded 2 loads of laundry
-taught my kids about Groundhog Day (woo hoo!  Punxsatawny Phil didn't see his shadow this morning!)
-took everyone out to go to the bank, post office, and 7-11 for milk and lottery tickets
-showered the big kids before dinner
-took the 4 of us to meet my parents at a Chinese restaurant for dinner
-got everyone in bed by 8
-finished a custom necklace for a client
-got myself to bed by 11:30

Today was a pretty great day and there were minimal meltdowns from James.  Everyone was pretty even-keeled (myself included).  Julianne made this very cute sign for Joe which we posted on Facebook.

 Another highlight was the mai tai at dinner.  I wish I could've had 2 but I was driving.  And seeing the snow fall around 10 pm was lovely, too.  It was a sugary snow; very glittery.  Hopefully we're not in for a big amount.

Can't wait to see what the rest of the week brings.

Adios amigo

Joe just set sail (okay, the car picked him up for the airport) for Bangalore, India.  My mom thinks he's going to Bangladesh.  We had a good laugh over that one.  Looking for one last evening of sanity, we went to Northport Village last night and ate at Benkei, a great little Japanese spot.  A bit lacking in ambience but the sushi is very good, I'd give it an 8.5 out of 10.  We were able to speak freely without kids up the wazoo, and it was a solid conversation about the job prospect in Austin.  I really wanted to get more discussion under our belt before Joe left for seven days.  I'm so glad we did, I think talking speaking out loud and not just internally really helped Joe work through his likes and concerns.  I'm trying not to come across as too eager but it's hard.  I think this could be a great opportunity and I know, I know -- once I'm set on doing something, there's no turning me back.  This would be a massive change to everything we know and I'm trying to check myself.  I really am!!

When we got home last night at 10:15 we heard footsteps running from our room to the bathroom or something.  Fully expecting Julianne to be the one awake, instead we found Shorty (James) looking like he was just caught with his hand in the cookie jar!  It was very funny and very cute and I had to hide my amusement.  After a lengthy bathroom visit we got him settled for the 3rd time and Joe followed up with his Austin connection.  They spoke for a while and it went as I'd hoped.  We are now one step closer to Austin.

I know that if we move, there will be major adjustments ahead for all of us.  I know that I will probably be the one who has the biggest adjustment ahead, I just have a feeling.  But I also think the pro's outweigh the cons in this case.  And who isn't up for an adventure?  Life isn't always written in stone.  If we don't like it in 5 years, we come back.

Hello, clean refrigerator!

Ahem, just a quick post to announce how AWESOME I feel after cleaning out the top of my refrigerator.  I'd been ignoring sticky, crumby shelves for weeks, I am sorry to say.  Finally this afternoon I decided that was it.  Peapod grocery delivery service was coming soon, the fridge was fairly empty for once, so I carpe diem-ed it and got it done.  A disinfecting with Lysol wipes and then a Windex follow-up.  Voila!  Shiny, clean fridge that smells good too.

Here's a pic.  Yes, I'm a dork.  But see how she gleams!  lol