Spring’s welcoming hello.

Cough and the Common Cold (Photo credit: RobertFrancis)

I thought we were safe.  We’d made it through all of our (admittedly mild) winter without a single emergency room trip for M.  No sickness, no hands slammed in windows, nothing.  Then, two days into Spring, M. woke up at 1 in the morning with a bad case of croup.  She was coughing and choking so hard she actually broke blood vessels in her cheeks, so now she looks like she has freckles, only she doesn’t.

The usual in and out of the steam and the cold(er) air outside didn’t help, but it rarely does with her, so off we went at 2.  She had a vapor treatment, a nebulizer treatment and 2 doses of steroids since she threw up the first dose.  We got home finally around 5 a.m. and she needed a snack because her stomach was now empty and she was hungry.  I finally got her back in bed, and went to sleep myself for less than an hour before I had to drive S. to school, get H. out to her bus and then call work to say there was no way I could run “Toddler Time,” or drive there to do so, on this little sleep.  My boss happens to be very understanding and not easily rattled, so she said not to worry, they’d figure out coverage and I should stay home.

Since my mom was coming to watch M. while I worked, she just came anyway so she’d be here when M. woke up so I could sleep for a more reasonable amount of time.

M. is doing ok now.  She still sounds a little scratchy and coughs every once in a while, but she’s on steroids for 4 days and has her inhalers too.  She’s just such a cheerful little thing.  Even at the hospital, she just wants to be friendly and tell everyone things about her birthday, and her toys, and her brother and sister.  She’s like a friendly little puppy.

How is your spring going?

 

I love Spring.

Pulmonaria 'RedStart' X (Photo credit: Henryr10)

Tomorrow is the first day of Spring, at least officially.  We’ve had spring-like weather for the last couple of days, and I couldn’t be happier.  The flowers are starting to come up.  So far we have had a lot of leaves with no buds, but yesterday we noticed some miniature daffodils in bloom, as well as a large purply-pink flower of unknown variety (we did just move here last fall).  Today some of the Pulmonaria started to grow buds.

I love going out each day to see what is coming up now.  My rose-bush is budding, as are lots of other trees and plants in our yard.  M. and I have been doing some gardening, mostly removing a covering of brown leaves from last fall, and I plan to get out my books and try to figure out what all the things in our flower beds and gardens actually are now that I can see them.

We’ll be planting a little on our own this year, but not too much because I want to see what’s already there before we make any major changes or additions.  We do have a few veggies to plant, and some strawberries, sunflowers and tomatoes.  And watermelon, if I know my girls.  Otherwise, we’ll just be enjoying what we already have.

I hope you’re all getting out into the beautiful weather if you’re up here in the NorthEast!  Do any of you have plans for this Spring?

 

 

Organizationally Challenged

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That’s me.  Except when it’s not.  At home, I am a disaster.  I can’t seem to keep up with the housework, making dinner is a chore that I constantly have to remind myself to do, and no matter how much stuff I get rid of there always seems to be too much left over.  That’s “Home Me,” somewhere about half way between a beautiful house (although nowhere near Martha Stewart) and Hoarders.

Cut to “Work Me,” who is apparently a totally different person.  Here is a short excerpt from my review yesterday:

Her organizational abilities and attention to detail show in all the work she produces.

And no, my supervisor wasn’t just being nice.  At work, I am VERY organized.  I always have been, even when I worked in jobs I hated.  It’s even easier, comes even more naturally, in this job, which I love.

So how can I be so completely and utterly competent and organized at work and so…NOT at home?

In part, there are many more distractions at home.  Kids, husband, pets, TV, Computer; they all lead down a path that does not end in a clean and organized home or life.  Still, I’m trying to figure out ways to get my organizational skills, which based on my work life do in fact exist to show themselves at home.  Here are some things I know:

1) At work, everything has a place.  I’m still working on that at home.

2) At work, I move straight from one task to the next.  I do occasionally take a break, but only for a few minutes since I’m only there part-time.  On my “good” days at home, I do the same thing.  On the rest of my days, I can’t seem to build up any momentum at all.

3) I cannot plan any big projects for the two or three days a week when I have to transport my children to or from various places once I get out of work.  Just doing that, supervising homework, making and having dinner and getting M. bathed and ready for bed take up all of my time.  Those days are out as productive ones.

4) I need to make the most of the other four or five days a week when I’m home after work or off altogether.

How good are you at time management?  Work load management?

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What ARE you doing?

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Good question.   The answer, right now, is losing my mind.

Ok, not really, but sometimes it feels that way.  Here is what has gone on in the last week, work-wise:

1.  I took a job at the local library as a page.  (I may have mentioned this, and I’m pretty sure I tweeted about it.)  I am only working 6 hours a week, and the pay isn’t much, but I love libraries in general and mine in particular.  Plus, if I’m there twice a week to work, maybe my books won’t always be overdue!

2) I’ve arranged a fairly good schedule of guest bloggers for Wednesdays this month, and two weeks each month to follow. I’d like to do it every Wednesday, but I don’t know if I’ll have enough material for that just now.

3) I started writing on Examiner.com as the “Mansfield Parenting and Family 101 Examiner.”  Basically, I report on anything and everything local that could interest or affect parents and kids.  My town isn’t exactly action central, but between local events and stories, and state or national news that is important to my town in some way, I seem to be doing ok.  It’s a pay-per-click job, but I can see what I’m earning daily, and as long as it keeps increasing, I’m happy.  Plus, if it’s worth it, I can apply for another Examiner slot after I’ve been writing for them for a bit.

4)  I have been ghost-writing book reviews for a site for a couple of months.  It was an Elance find, and I enjoy it.  I like the person who owns the site, at least what I know of him in our brief interactions, and he has been pleased with my writing.  He recently asked me to take over the site (he’ll retain ownership, there will be a split on profits that is to my liking) and run the whole thing.  I thought about it, asked a bunch of questions, asked a couple more, and said yes.  Right now, I’m trying to learn how the site works (the system he uses, how to upload to this particular site) and taking a crash course in keywords, SEO, Google and various other necessary things.  I’m not a big fan of orientations, I’m more of a jump in and start kind of girl, but this is necessary so we both know what we’re doing.  As he puts it, we need to be speaking the same language–using the system he set the site up with–which is especially important since he’s from Denmark, and I’m not.  He does speak very good English, which is great because I know not a word of Danish.

That has all happened in the last week.  It has been crazy, and fun, and maddening, and exciting all at once.

I’m still packing, still trying to sell the house, still trying to rent something so we have a place to go when it does sell, and I’m still a mom.  Shocking, I know, but it’s sort of a one-way, no refunds, all sales final kind of thing.

So that’s my story Morning Glory.  What’s yours?

 

Monday Morning Writing Challenge

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I am working on getting my family to the dinner table at the same time each night.  Note that I said “dinner table” and not “couch, in front of the TV.”  Most nights it’s just the kids and I, whichever ones are here since some nights one or the other, or both, of the older ones are at their dad’s house.  Chris works late most nights, so he only gets to join us occasionally.

This inspired this week’s prompt:

Write a story about dinner with your family.

Write about any part of your family:  parents, children, spouse, holiday meals, a barbecue, dinner out — anything that comes to mind.  Whether it’s quirky, funny, sad or anything else, I’d love to see what you come up with so feel free to comment or send it to me by email.

Have a great week!

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• Monday Morning Challenge (famelessramblings.wordpress.com)

 

Sunday Night Ramblings

The last couple of weeks have been busy, and in some ways rough.  S. is home now (at his dad’s) and doing ok.  We’re still keeping an eye on him, and he’s still under a doctor’s care, but he seems to be improving.

I’m looking for a rental property in town.  I don’t want H. to have to change schools.  It’s bad enough that she and M. will probably have to share a room because finding a 4-bedroom in Storrs to rent is nearly impossible.  And yes, I know kids share rooms all the time, but the age difference between 11 and 3 is huge, and H. hasn’t shared a room since she and S. were very small.  It’s not going to be an easy transition.  Still, as much as I hate moving I’ve always loved being in a new place.  I like arranging everything, finding everything places.  It’s satisfying in a way that just keeping up a place isn’t.

My work has suffered lately.  Mainly because my work ethic has suffered lately.  I have made some strides toward getting back on track and getting back to work, but I still have a way to go.  Part of the problem now, ironically, is that I have too many potential projects in mind and a limited amount of time to get to them all.  I need to prioritize, and start getting some of them done.

My top priorities (other than home and family, of course) are my book and this blog.  I need to keep working on both, and if there’s more time I can get to the other things on my list.

What’s on your plate for this week?

 

Weekend Updated

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I realize it’s been a couple of days since I posted, and I do actually have two book reviews in the works that will be coming up soon.   Things have just been very busy in my non-writing life so I’ve been caught up with that.  As I mentioned before, Monday was H.’s 11th birthday.  Yesterday (Sunday) was M.’s birthday party for her 3rd birthday, which is actually on St. Patrick’s Day.  I’ve spent the last couple of weeks getting the house ready and getting all the necessary decorations and favors.  It’s been exhausting, but also good because it’s progress I can actually see.

Friday I decided to rip the carpet out of the downstairs hallway, an area not much bigger than a stair landing.  The carpet predates our buying the house by quite a bit, and was a disaster.  Cleaning it would have had no real effect, and our former dog (now living with my ex) destroyed areas of it around the doors trying to dig her way into/out of the rooms.  The floor underneath is the same wood as the living room, not just plywood.  Even though the floor is not in good shape cosmetically, it’s still a lot better than the carpet was.  I want to do the hall stairs too, because they’re also real wood, but not until M. is done with the stage where she still could potentially fall down them.  No need to make them slippery.

Sunday’s party went very well.  All of my in-laws came as well as my mom and Cliff, and M. had a blast with her cousin, C.  C. is three months older than M. and they play as well together as can be expected of two girls their age.  They had a great time, the food was good (with Chris’s help) and the house isn’t totally destroyed.

I’m still recovering from all the work, and there is a little more cleanup to do, but I’ll be posting at least one of the reviews either today or tomorrow. I broke my writing chain on Friday, and haven’t picked it up yet.  I decided since I had already missed a day I’d take the weekend off instead of driving myself crazy trying to find time.  I’ll restart today though.  I’ve decided I really want to spend more time now on rewriting and editing than on new work, unless I think of a great idea that can’t wait.

How did everyone else’s weekend go?

 

An Unfocused Day

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“Professionalism is knowing how to do it, when to do it, and doing it.”  ~ from a fortune cookie.

“The Constitution only gives people the right to pursue happiness.  You have to catch it yourself.”  ~ Benjamin Franklin

“Buy me stuff and I’ll be nicer.” ~ Happy Bunny

The first quote sounds like good business advice to me.  If you want to be professional, to present a professional face to the business world, it is certainly important to know how to do your job and when to do it.  But I think the most important part is “doing it.”  So many people, myself included, know what they should be doing, know that they should be doing it, but never follow through.  I know I have shown a remarkable lack of follow-through lately given the importance of the tasks I keep avoiding.  I’m trying to change that, but some days go better than others.

Ben Franklin about summed it up here.  Everyone has the right to pursue happiness.  But it isn’t owed to anyone, it isn’t guaranteed.  If you’re not willing to go out and get it, to chase after it, to work for it, then you’re just wasting your time.  Complaining about the unfairness of things does not change them.  I remind myself of that daily.

I love Happy Bunny.  I love the sarcastic, bitchy attitude.  I don’t really need people to buy me stuff in order for me to be nice to them, but it still cracks me up.  Most of the Happy Bunny things do.  Not that I would ever really want to be that mean or self-centered.  It’s not a mindset to aspire to, it’s just silliness and shouldn’t be taken seriously.

I’ve been working all day on finances.  I filed our 2010 taxes electronically, and I’ve been working on some other finance-related paperwork that I need to get done ASAP.  My brain is friend and I am exhausted.  I’m ready for bed and I haven’t finished what I need to get done for the day.

I’m not complaining, just stating facts.  It was a busy, somewhat stressful day.  I have more of it to look forward to tomorrow.  I’m pretty sure I’m doing ok in getting everything together.  I just wish I could be more organized.  I know, I know, I could be more organized, I just haven’t been working at it enough.  I’ve started though.  I really want to straighten out my house.  I want a place that isn’t cluttered, isn’t disorganized, isn’t generally a huge pain in my ass.  I’m getting there.  Slowly.  Right now, my upstairs bathroom is nearly perfect.  I’m not going for perfection, so what I mean by that is that it is exactly as I want it to be.  Things are put away.  Everything is clean, even the floor.  The cabinets are organized.  I can find any bathroom-related thing anyone could ask me for as long as we’re not out of it.  And I would know if we’re out of it because I know what we have.  It’s a good feeling, and I want it to spread to the rest of the house.

I’m so glad February is nearly over.  I’ve had about enough of this winter.  Plus, both of my daughters have March birthdays, 10 days (and 8 years) apart, one on St. Patrick‘s Day.  My older daughter is having a sleepover at her dad’s house because she won’t have an annoying little sister there to barge in on the party.  My younger daughter will be having her birthday party here, so I need to get the place in order!  She hasn’t decided what kind of birthday party she wants yet.  I’ll be helping her decide.  I am, however, cooking food for everyone with the new Philly Cooking Cream from the cream cheese people.  I’m getting supplies from HouseParty.com for throwing the party, and “demonstrating” it (by using it in my dishes) to all the grown-up party-goers.  I’m looking forward to it, but I’m also really nervous about being ready on time.

Do you write better in a more organized/less cluttered environment?

 

Scheduling

Hello fellow freelancers and others!  How are you today?  Today is the first day where I’m trying to get on a schedule.  Actually, I’m trying to get M. and I both on a schedule.  My life has been pretty unfocused ever since I stopped working at a job that required me to have a schedule and leave the house every day.  I didn’t realize just how much until last week, when I realized it was just driving me nuts.  I’d spend whole days doing stuff and accomplishing nothing.  It was then that I decided it was time for a change.
I didn’t have to get up early today because H. was at her father’s house, so I just got up when M. did.  We came downstairs, and I first gave myself computer time.  I had decided that I’m not the type who can just jump up and start moving, as experience has shown me, so I scheduled in an hour of computer time to check emails, twitter, visit websites, check my schedule, etc. while M. watches TV.  I also give her breakfast and eat something myself during this time.
Next is writing time, which I want to fit in during the morning because I don’t want it to get pushed to the bottom of my to do list and end up not getting done at all.  It is very important to me that I write every day, so I want it to be a priority in my schedule.
Once I’m done writing I’ll take a shower and get dressed.  M. can come in with me to keep me company, which she usually likes to do so she’s not on her own.  Usually she comes in and out between the bathroom and her bedroom to get toys and read books.  That generally works out well, although she’s a toddler so some days nothing works well.
Once I’m dressed, I’ll start laundry and run the dishwasher if it needs it, then I’ll take her out of the house for a bit.  Today, it’s to go shopping, but some days we’ll go to the library or a playgroup–fun things for her too.  Lunch and nap time when we get home, except on days when I treat her to McDonald’s (rare, but she loves “Old McDonald’s” so we go occasionally).  On days we can’t go out, we’ll have preschool, which she also loves.  I like homeschooling, but don’t think I could do it past preschool.  She’ll be going to preschool next September, but I’ve started her on some things now, and I’ll continue during the summers to keep her learning.
While she naps, I can work on cleaning and any freelance jobs I have waiting for me.  She’s usually good for two hours, but at least an hour and a half, so until she stops napping I’ll have enough time to get some things done, or at least worked on.
After nap, I’m not exactly sure.  H. gets home from school, and I want to spend time with her after homework.  I know when I need to cook dinner, and then we eat, have some free time, and then a bath before bed.  I don’t feel like I must have everything planned out now, and I don’t think we need to stick to exact times either.
How do any other stay-at-home moms who freelance handle their schedules?

 

Nightlife

We ended up in the emergency room last night again. M. had croup. This is our third hospital trip for it in two years, our second this winter. I knew as soon as she woke up from her nap yesterday that it was coming. We planned to go out grocery shopping once she was up, but when I was walking in to get her I heard her cough that awful barking cough that croup causes. It only happened once, but I decided we’d better stay home so I could try to head it off. No such luck. She was fine all evening and went to bed after a good dinner and a hot bath. At 2:30 a.m. I heard the crying and coughing over the monitor and knew we were in trouble. We always try the home remedy first, a steamy bathroom alternating with a trip out into the cold, but it never works on her. Not even a little.

The first time it happened, Chris was in Florida opening a new office for the company he was working for at the time and I had his car, which wasn’t really working. We ended up going by ambulance because she got so bad. She had a nebulizer treatment and chest x-rays. The second time, she was calmer but she was struggling so much to breathe that you could see her really working her diaphragm to pull in air. The doctor worried about what would happen when she got too tired to work so hard, so there was another nebulizer treatment and some oral steroids.

This time wasn’t  as bad as it usually is. At home, it sounded like it would be but taking her out in the cold to drive her to the ER helped a lot. She was still having trouble breathing when we got there, but she was calm and happy and had the nurse and his assistant wrapped around her little finger immediately. She got a glove balloon, apple juice and TV as soon as we were in her room. The doctor gave her oral steroids and a cool mist treatment, but no nebulizer this time, and we got to leave around 4:15 a.m. instead of the usual 6:30 a.m. when she gets the inhaled medicine.

She has inhalers, but only needs them occasionally and hasn’t been officially diagnosed with asthma so far, but I’m pretty sure that’s coming. She wheezes when she runs too much, and her dad has it too. Today, she’s ok. She still has a cold, but it’s pretty mild. She’s a little cranky because she is tired, but otherwise fine. I am tired, but not as exhausted as I thought I’d be. Chris is exhausted, and at work. I’ve got my mom coming over to watch M. so I can grocery shop and maybe even sleep for a little while, although I think that’s just wishful thinking. So that was my night.

Yesterday I finished the first draft of a children’s book I’m working on for a client, the one that I mentioned in an earlier post. It’s back-story for a new series of educational children’s games. I’m having  H. read it because she’s 10 and the age range is 6-9. I figured she could let me know if there are any parts that won’t make sense to kids that age. I’m hoping to send it to the client soon. That’s about all I’ve been up to except for being a mom in the last couple of days. How’s your productivity?