What's Been Going On: Monday, 25 April - Wednesday, 27 April, 2022

Phew! The last few days have been an exhausting whirlwind and I feel like I haven’t had a moments’ rest. I haven’t been to visit all of you lately, and I’m sorry for that. There just hasn’t been any chunk of time where I could sit down and use the computer (I still have a video that was released two weeks ago on YouTube that I haven’t managed to sit down and watch yet. Maybe this weekend…). And as busy as I’ve been, I still haven’t gotten done even a fraction of the things that need to be accomplished. At this point, I either need about 48 extra hours in the day, or an entire horde of sister wives…

Hopefully things have been a little more relaxed for you! Here’s what I’ve been up to so far this week.

 

Monday, 25 April, 2022

Happy birthday to my daughter! She turned eight this day.

After coffee and breakfast, I finished writing and posted my Monday post, then edited and posted my book review for This Close to Okay by Leesa Cross-Smith on my book blog.

I got dressed and emptied the dishwasher, and when I was refilling it, my mom arrived! She was early, but it’s hard to predict what traffic will look like between our two houses, and she’s not the kind to care what state my house is in (thank goodness!). I cleaned the kitchen and tidied the living room, and then my daughter opened her birthday presents, which was just delightful chaos. : )

She got a set of unicorn bedsheets, a watch, a whole lot of books and a princess sticker set, and Grandma gave her a whole lot of clothes and toys. My son showed up after a bit to spend the day with us. And after that was the birthday surprise: we were off for the day to the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. My daughter was absolutely delighted!

I hadn’t been to the museum since I was young, but it’s still just as awesome. We toured the coal mine first (boy, I did not realize how much I knew about coal mining, labor practice, and workers’ strikes before this…The guide kept looking surprised when I answered all her questions, haha!), which was super cool. We had to show my daughter the fairy castle, which she loved, and there were just a ton of amazing exhibits, including this model of Chicago. I think this is my favorite museum around here. If you ever get the chance to go, DO IT. Such a fun place.

 

We stayed until after 2pm, and we were all tired and hungry (and my back and hips were screaming at me. SO much walking). We had cake at home, and then my mom and I dropped my son off and picked up three HUGE garbage bags full of girls’ clothing from Freecycle. I’ve been watching Freecycle for ages for bigger-sized girls’ clothing, since there still aren’t any church yard sales (which is where I get most of my daughter’s clothing!). I’ve gone through all the clothing I had stored in larger sizes from before the pandemic, and I was starting to get a little worried about what to do when she outgrew what she has now. My mom and I looked through the bags after we ate dinner at home, and there’s SO much gorgeous clothing in those bags, in nearly perfect condition. There’s even a North Face jacket! I haven’t separated it all yet, from what she can where now from what I can put away for later – no time – but I’ll get to that soon. SO grateful to this wonderful lady from Freecycle!

I cleaned up the living room and tidied my daughter’s room, took out the garbage and recycling and replaced the bags. My mom and I hauled the cans to the curb, and she headed back home. I put dinner away and showered. I did my Duolingo and read, and my husband and I watched one episode of Deadly Women before going to bed.

 

Tuesday, 26 April, 2022

After coffee, I edited and posted my book review for Golem Girl: A Memoir by Riva Lehrer on my book blog. I emptied and reloaded the dishwasher and ran it, took the laundry downstairs and started a load, then carried my husband’s clean laundry up to the bedroom.

We started our school day with On This Day in History and geography (Mexico). We did math, I switched the laundry and started a new load, and we did spelling and Language Arts. We read a chapter from our book on food history, and I switched the laundry and started a new load.

After lunch, I emptied the dishwasher, scooped the litterbox, and folded a load of laundry and put it away. I brought up toilet paper from the basement to the bathroom.

We watched an episode of Horrible Histories, then I switched the laundry and started a new load (are you sensing a theme to my day here???). We read about genetics and evolution, and tackled two chapters of our history book. We read about fashion history, did our 30 minutes of Read Harder/silent reading, and did 15 minutes of journal writing.

I got my daughter the piece of cake from the garage freezer she requested, took out the compost, brought the cans in from the curb, took out the recycling, and put the soaking dishes in the dishwasher. I switched the laundry and started a new load. I did an hour of volunteer work, then carried four loads of clean laundry upstairs and folded and put them all away.

After dinner (leftovers), I did a 26-minute HASFit workout (it was a 38-minute one, but I decided to listen to my back and quit while it was still only mildly complaining) and showered. I put my daughter to bed, read my book, and my husband and I watched half of a documentary on child marriage (which I’d actually see before) before going to bed.

 

Wednesday, 27 April, 2022

After breakfast and coffee, it was time to make out my grocery list! Nothing super amazing, but there was some decent produce on sale, which made me happy.

We started our school day with On This Day in History and geography (Micronesia), did math, spelling, and Language Arts. We read a chapter of food history, and continued reading the book on genetics.

After lunch, we watched an episode of Horrible Histories, then finished the book on genetics. We read more about evolution, and then dove into some fashion history. I left my daughter doing her silent reading (she’s reading a book of fairy tales, so she was completely happy with this…not so happy about the math I also left her to complete), and I left for groceries.

I went to two stores, and the best deal I got were another four full-sized bottles of Suave conditioner for 99 cents from the marked-down shelves! Super happy about that. I’ve got one more store to stop by today. At home, I put all the groceries away, then sat down for another hour of volunteer work (working on compiling lists of addiction treatment places in Tennessee). I also baked the pizza while I was doing this.

After dinner, I did my Duolingo, then went upstairs and did a 23-minute Yoga with Adriene video, then I showered and came downstairs to begin working on this post. I tidied a few things in my bedroom, then settled down to read (I’m reading One People, Two Worlds: A Reform Rabbi and an Orthodox Rabbi Explore the Issues That Divide Them by Ammiel Hirsch and Yaakov Yosef Reinman. 300 pages of rabbis arguing in letter format!). My husband and I finished up the documentary we had started the night before and then went to bed.

 

And that’s it! Pretty much every moment of my days has been spoken for. I’d love a few hours of the day to sit and knit and relax (or at least sit and not have another 3482374932 tasks that are waiting for me to complete them). I desperately need to clean the living room and kitchen floors (different methods; one is wood and the other is vinyl), I need to wash the blankets on the couch, I need to sort my daughter’s new clothes, the kitchen is in terrific need of a whole-room scrubdown…there’s just not time. I quite literally do not have enough hours in the day in order to get all of this done, and there’s a new mess to take care of (or five!) every time I complete a task. Anyone know where I can get a sister wife or ten?

Hope you’re having a great week!!!