Category Archives: Gold Country Life

7 Quick Takes: A Week of Being A Single Mother

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7 Quick Takes

Jon gets in tomorrow afternoon after having been in St. Louis for our denomination’s National Convention. It’s been a better week for Daniel and I than it was last October.

— 1 —

I’m actually making an effort to see people. I did Morning Prayer with someone two mornings this week, I went to Breakfast Bunch (usually the senior citizens of the church getting together), and I led Bible study on Thursday. I also had someone coming over to help with Mt. Dish Pile on Wednesday even if I spent the rest of that time by myself with Daniel. Even this little introvert needs to see people.

— 2 —

Daniel is in summer school. It actually freed me up to get things done that I wasn’t having to entertain a three year old for 14 hours straight minus any therapy times. School is 4 hours and it makes him tired enough that he needs a nap. That gives me about 2-3 more hours to get things done at home. We also have a set routine down so I don’t have to worry about him going to sleep. Jon calls and I put him on speakerphone so he can pray with Daniel which is the cue for the bear child to hibernate.

— 3 —

I know certain things about Daniel that I didn’t know then. I didn’t know how much Pediasure 1.5 would make him throw up so I ended up cleaning up kid barf multiple times. Now I know that I need to space out any cans of it that he drinks. I know how to keep him entertained now (especially as I don’t have to do it for 14 hours straight) and we’ve got more at our fingertips than just our worn-out Winnie the Pooh DVD. (God bless Netflix!)

— 4 —

I’m getting better at self-care. OK… I’ll admit that I didn’t get a shower until Wednesday night again but it was because I forgot rather than I couldn’t leave Daniel to do it. I have also been keeping up my habit of retreating to the living room after he goes to bed to work on web things and just have some “mama time”. The only downside is that I keep falling asleep in the recliner after I pray and waking up with a stiff neck.

— 5 —

I’m less concerned with making everything perfect. I’ve lost my perfectionist streak when it comes to life with Daniel, mostly because I just end up making myself overly fatigued and there are so many things that just don’t matter. Daniel ripped off his diaper and shorts? He can run around bottomless for a few minutes. I fall asleep in the recliner? The living room and hallway are Daniel-proofed and he’ll hand me his wet diaper if he needs it changed. (He’ll also hand me his sippy cup, snack cup, and whatever else he wants fixed.)

— 6 —

I have some projects to engage my mind. I’ve been crocheting and working on a Bottle Challenge as part of Brett’s Blogathon 2012. I also led Bible study this morning and working on that gave my mind something with which to engage itself. (It was Acts 17, one of my favorite passages.)

— 7 —

I have some house help. We’ve been helping out a young family in our parish by paying them to help with yard work, housework, and stuff like that. It doesn’t amount to a lot of money in the long run and it helps me out tremendously on days when moving is painful. The mother called yesterday and asked if she could come work for me and I told her that it was fine as long as she stayed and hung out a bit afterwards. She did all my dishes (we had a ton of them to do as we entertained over the weekend and don’t have a dishwasher) and did cat care stuff. It was worth every penny I paid her not to have to deal with those things while my joints were achy yesterday.

For more Quick Takes, visit Jen at ConversionDiary.Com.

The Simple Woman’s Daybook: June 25, 2012

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Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY June 25, 2012

Outside my window… sunset. No idea how warm it was today — I wasn’t really outside for much of it.

I am thankful… for Sara’s package.

In the kitchen… dishes, dishes, and more dishes.

I am wearing… charcoal shirt and black sweats.

I am creating… assorted things.

I am going… to the store for apple juice. (Back now.)

I am wondering… why some people think that someone signalling a lane change with a turn signal is a cue to speed up and keep them from doing so safely.

I am reading… Sugarplum Dead by Carolyn Hart.

I am hoping… this week goes smoothly with Jon gone.

I am looking forward to… Bible study on Thursday.

Around the house… dishes to do from Saturday’s dinner party. My kingdom for a dishwasher!

I am pondering… way too many things internally.

One of my favorite things… snuggling with Daniel after his bath.

A few plans for the rest of the week: Breakfast Bunch on Wednesday and Bible study on Thursday.

Hosted by The Simple Woman’s Daybook

7 Quick Takes: Travel Memories, Prayer Requests, and a Trivia Question

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7 Quick Takes

— 1 —

Daniel starts back to school tomorrow. It’s not the regular school year — it’s summer school (an hour shorter each day) and goes for a month but it will be a good thing. Daniel needs structure and consistency and it’s a bit hard to get that when he’s home with me. I do my best to replicate his schedule at school (and to keep his naps consistent) but it’s better to have him with teachers who know what they’re doing. During the summer, they have water days on Fridays so we’re supposed to send a swimsuit and swim diapers to school with him. Daniel should enjoy that.

— 2 —

My trip down to southern California last week was awesome. The flights were mostly good — Daniel learned how to take off his seat belt on the way back so I had to hold it on and howled about that — but he slept most of the flight home. My father-in-law was ecstatic to have us down there and he spent as much time as he could with Daniel. We’ll back down in two months and I’m going to try and have us go down on long weekends if at all possible during the school year even if it’s just Daniel and I.

— 3 —

Brett’s Blogathon will be on July 27th starting at 7 a.m. I’m trying to come up with ideas like having a spare change challenge and all this will be announced on the Blogging for Brett site.

— 4 —

The [insert expletive] heat has started. It was 105 on Saturday when I flew in from Ontario and 102 the next day. On Wednesday (the first day of summer), it was 97. I’m thankful that it’s cooling down for the moment. I *need* to do some walking and it’s hard to do when it’s eleventy billion degrees outside.

— 5 —

After my grumpy post on Tuesday, I should probably enumerate some *good* things that happened on Tuesday. Les Schwab fixed my tire for free because it was my first time there. (We had been at the park while the tire was changed.) The woman at Michael’s gave me a really cool bag left over from their giveaway for me to use for the yarn I bought. (The recipient of the yarn product reads this blog so this is all I can currently say…)

— 6 —

I have a prayer request for y’all. My college friend Brian just had back surgery and is in a world of pain. This is the guy who carried me like a sack of potatoes over his shoulder to the health center whenever I’d sprain my ankle, forced food down my throat when I was too depressed to eat, and who is my incredibly wonderful surrogate big brother. Please pray for healing for him.

— 7 —

I have a trivia question for you. Where are the pictures used in my profiles taken? Here are the three I use:

A statue of Our Lady
Sunflowers
The ruins of the original church.

First person to answer correctly and tell me why this place is famous gets bragging rights. You may not guess if you are married to me or are related by blood or marriage. Combing my Facebook albums is also prohibited.

OK… Hevel got it right. It’s Mission San Juan Capistrano and it is the only mission in Orange County. There is one more trivia fact about why it is famous. Who can tell me? In an email, he got the return of the swallows. Thanks for playing everybody!

For more Quick Takes, visit Jen at ConversionDiary.Com.

PMS-y Tuesday

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To the [insert racial or socio-economic slur] mothers at the playground today:
I know… it was hysterically funny when my three year old son did a flip off the swings today and ended up crying in the sand. It must have been really hard to sit there apathetically and watch me comforting him and trying to brush the sand off of him without getting up to see if he was OK or to offer me help. I mean, God forbid you actually have to get off your collective butts and ask if we’re OK or offer us some wet wipes so I can clean off Daniel’s face. I’ll tell you what: next time your kid has a fall at the playground, I’ll sit and laugh at them. Will that make us even?
Snuggles,
The mom who was a 15 minute walk away from her diaper bag.

To the people who decided to park in the library parking lot:
The sign says “Library Parking Only” in multiple languages. The library doesn’t open until noon. Thus, it follows that your car should not be in the parking lot until noon. Yet, the parking lot was full at 10 a.m. How about I get a nice petition drive together to have any cars ticketed that are parked in the lot before 11:55? That surely would raise enough money for the local schools to provide for transportation for all the students and give jobs back to all the teachers that were pink-slipped. I have a great idea: stop being lazy bums and park legally.
Hugs and kisses,
The library patron with joint swelling who had a 5 minute wait for a parking space.

The Simple Woman’s Daybook: June 18, 2012

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Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY June 18, 2012

Outside my window… sunny and hot but we’ve got a “Delta breeze” unlike the last two days when it was 105 and 100 respectively with no wind.

I am thinking… that I’m glad Daniel heads back to preschool on Friday even though we’ve had some fun while he has been on break.

I am thankful… for my secret trip to southern California to see my in-laws last week. My father-in-law was definitely surprised and it was the first time he had seen Daniel in 10 months.

In the kitchen… leftover pizza from yesterday’s Father’s Day dinner.

I am wearing… charcoal shirt and running shorts.

I am creating… stuff for Brett’s Blogathon 2012 and this entry.

I am going… to Target and probably Michael’s at some point this week.

I am reading… Sugarplum Dead by Carolyn Hart.

I am hoping… my neck/back pain goes away.

I am looking forward to… maybe doing errands tomorrow.

Around the house… unpacking to do.

I am pondering… things related to my faith.

One of my favorite things… quiet.

A few plans for the rest of the week: WIC appointment Thursday morning, Daniel starting school again on Friday, and hopefully a lot of unscheduled time.

Hosted by The Simple Woman’s Daybook

7 Quick Takes: How to Be Political When You Have No Time.

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7 Quick Takes

It’s an election year so politicians are falling over themselves for votes and most are pretty amenable towards doing anything you want within reason. So… how do you bug your politicians in a non-election year? How do you do it when you’ve got young kids and no time? Here are a couple ideas. If you have any more, the combox is open for them.

— 1 —

Petition sites. I subscribe to MoveOn.Org and Change.Org among others but for those who are my polar opposite politically, there’s RightMarch.Com. For Catholics, there’s CatholicVote.Org. For those into human rights, there’s Avaaz.Org and Amnesty International. To make your own petitions, you can use SignOn.Org and Change.Org.

— 2 —

We The People @ WhiteHouse.Gov. This kind of goes along with #1 but it’s a bit of a different thing. You go through the petitions already open on the site and if there isn’t one to fit your issue, you can start a new one. You have to meet a certain threshold of signatures but if you can meet it, it will be reviewed by the Administration. It’s kind of nice because you can cut out the middle man and go straight to the Administration.

— 3 —

Call your Congressional Representative. I have a feeling that my representative has me on the “oh-for-the-love-of-God-will-she-stop-calling-and-emailing-me” list. 🙂 If you don’t know who your House person is, go here. It will ask you for your address and zip code + 4 because in urban areas, there can be multiple Congressional representatives as it is based on population. I know that my town is split between two districts. Once you get the name of your House rep, click on their name to get their phone numbers in DC and in your local area. Every Congressperson has a website. Here is mine as an example. His contact page is here. I recommend calling them vs. emailing them because then they send you a form email and if it isn’t something you want to hear, it doesn’t make you feel happy. Calling them connects you to a person and they’ll listen to you and take down your comment. Be nice to them — many of them are college kids doing internships and they don’t need your vitriol. If you despise them, petition them all you want and remember not to vote for them when they come up for re-election in two years.

— 4 —

Call your senator. This should be easy as there are two per state and they’re generally more recognizable than one’s Congresscritter. Their websites are easy to find — it’s [last name].senate.gov and they also have pages with their contact information. Senators serve a six year term so you’re stuck with them longer and you might as well make them serve you.

— 5 —

Write a letter to the editor of your newspaper. It never ceases to amaze me how many times newspapers publish letters from people that deal with the latest conspiracy theory. It was almost humorous to see what my local weekly paper published in Montana. My answer to this is to submit something of substance on an issue about which I am passionate. I’ve been published a few times in various papers and it helps to bring your issue to the forefront.

— 6 —

Pray. Romans 13:1 states “Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.” (NIV) In other words, we’re called to submit to the authority of the governing authorities, regardless of whether or not you like them. Part of our job as Christians is to pray for those in authority. Our liturgy in the AALC even has specific collects for this. If nothing else, praying for those in authority whom you hate will change your heart and teach you patience.

— 7 —

Vote. I’m a permanent mail-in ballot and it’s not hard to acquire one. If you don’t vote, you’re actions are a confirmation of the status quo and in my opinion, you lose your right to complain. The right to vote has only been given to women in the last 100 years and to African-Americans without prejudice in the last 60 years. Honor the sacrifice of those who came before you and exercise your right to have a voice.

For more Quick Takes, visit Jen at ConversionDiary.Com.