It is too cold here!

My feet have been cold ALL DAY! And all day yesterday too. Despite wearing wool socks and wool house slippers all day. And a cashmere sweater. And drinking hot water all day. It is November 17 and it was 14 degrees when we left to walk to school today. But then, it snowed on Halloween this year. I am beginning to believe that this winter is gonna be a rough one. For this Hula Girl.

Last Thursday, I went to Costco to get a few things and came home with 5 pairs of gloves and a scarf. BTW, there’s only 4 people in the house. But I was so cold I just kept throwing things into the cart that I thought would help keep me/us warm.

And the truth is, it isn’t even winter yet. It will get at least 20 degrees colder this winter. Too cold. For this Hula Girl.

No class on antibiotics

I really want to go to martial arts tonight.  I missed a bunch for the kids’ schedules and then caught Middle’s cold.  Last week was a little nutty as I was on call and it was a little busy with one partner out of town.  I have been fending off a sinus infection for 6 days but today will start on an antibiotic.  I cannot go to class tomorrow because I work too late.  I cannot go Wednesday because I need to go to an orientation at the high school for incoming freshman parents.  I really want to go.

But the rule I have had to make for myself is: No class on antibiotics.

If you are sick enough to be on antibiotics, you are sick enough that working out will make you worse.  So I won’t go tonight.  The harder question is always when the antibiotics are working how long do I have to stay away.  For me, if I feel I need an inhaler to breathe when I am not even working out, I should not take class.

Monday is organization day

Once I get the kids off to school, the to-do list for Monday usually includes:

1-Eat
2-Grocery List
3-Grocery Shopping
4-Calendar review and print
5-Household organization and emails
6-Food prep

1 – because you cannot do 2 or 3 properly without having done 1

2 – when I write my grocery list, I write the headings Breakfast, Snacks, Lunches, Dinners and sometimes add Beverages.  Breakfast in our house is always supposed to include fruit and some form of protein (as well as toast, cereal or whatever which I consider primarily tasty empty calories).  I make sure there is something from each of these categories for both the adults and the kids in the house.  I make sure there are appropriate morning and afternoon snacks for everyone, lunch fixins for those of us who take lunch.  Dinner is always a challenge for me, so I list at least three meals that can be put together during the week based on our upcoming schedule.

3 – I like to go early because it’s faster when it’s empty.

4 – I review the upcoming week and print it.  I look ahead 2-3 weeks and see if there are babysitters I need to organize, or need to make sure my husband will be around for things.

5 – I review kids’/school papers that need to be reviewed, pay for activities and bills and sent emails to setup for babysitting or other activities.

6 – I like to do simple food prep on my days off.  Today, I packed containers with my breakfast cereal for the week.  I eat GoLean which is fairly low in calories and fat but high in fiber and protein.  I add 1/4 cup of nuts for more fat and protein in my little setup.  In the mornings, all I have to add for my breakfast is fresh berries and milk.  Middle and I take lunch, so I prepack veggies for the week, chopping if necessary.    This week’s veg is edamame which I love because it provides vitamins, fiber and protein.  Just have to watch the salt content.  Sometimes I chop for dishes I will be making later in the week.  (I do love crock pot cooking).

Checklist

Today I revised Little’s checklist.

We have been using these for years to help the kids remember what their tasks are.  Before Little could read, I inserted little graphics that reminded him what his tasks were next to the words.  We create a reward they want to work for and if they meet a certain percentage over a set time, they can collect.  In general, we try not to make it food based so that we don’t use food as reward but better an activity that we share and enjoy together.  My friend Kathy had a great idea to make a number of rewards and put them in a jar or bag and reach in to choose one when the challenge had been met.

Little helped to create the tasks on this one.  We decided to take out “Wake up” since he would have to be up to interact with his checklist! :>

I once had a babysitter who loved the checklist.  She exclaimed, “Oh, Man!  I need a checklist like this!”  Don’t we all?

2014.10littleschedule

2011.9Little list