Okay, some of you might feel a little dubious about Isderf’s “shiny object” syndrome. So I think I’ll share a typical weekend day with you. I’d do a weekday, but since he works outside the home I’d have to rely on co-workers to fill in the blanks. And while that may be funny, I probably couldn’t post some of the things and the other parts, well, he’d know who ratted on him.
So we’ll go through last Sunday. We aren’t church-goers, but typically we try to stay home and finish up any projects so that we’re ready for the new week.
So Sunday morning started with us, the adults, trying to sleep in. With two small children, that doesn’t work out well. They did get up and go downstairs to watch some TV, but then started coming up to visit us every 10 minutes until we gave up and fixed them breakfast.
As we ate, we discussed our plans for the day. We determined that today would be lazy (since the kids had stayed at a cousin’s on Friday and stayed up way too late) and we only set two possible goals. Even as goals, they were flexible. I wanted to get the Christmas decorations up and figured the kids would have fun doing this with me. We also decided to bake something, whether it is cinnamon rolls or some Christmas cookies. Pretty easy, and doable.
While we’re eating our fruit loops, we come up with a plan to let the kids make their own Christmas decorations. I thought stringing fruit loops would be easy enough for them and not require any extra work, Isderf decided that popcorn was the way to go. So before we even have the dished put away or teeth brushed, we have project number one in progress.
Project #1: Pop the popcorn
So while we’re cleaning things up and getting around, Isderf helps the kids pop the popcorn and starts putting out lots of butter - just in case.
Then we haul in the Christmas decorations.
Project #2: Decorate for Christmas
First we have to paw through all the boxes to find Christmas music, cause you can’t decorate for Christmas without music. Then we put up our tree (it’s a 3 foot artificial one - which is easy to store and easy for kids to decorate) and allow the kids to decorate. Then the fight starts, “No we can’t put ALL the decorations on.”
“Why not?”
“Because it’s three feet tall, it’ll fall over with everything on it.”
Eventually we convince the kids that just a few works best. At this time, we decide to thin out our decorations anyways and get rid of the stuff we just never use. When we first started buying decorations, we lived in home with lots of flat space - now, just about everything has to be hung up. So all those table toppers and such are now in our yard sale pile.
While the kids and I are finishing up the inside decorations, Isderf decides to put up the lights. He puts lights up around the house and then starts on our big tree. Luckily for him, when he’s looking at it probably thinking, “darn, I don’t have enough lights to go all the way around.” I find 3 more tangled messes for him!
Project #3: Christmas Lights
So you’re probably thinking, that doesn’t sound too bad. And you’re right, it wasn’t too bad, until after lunch… when the kitchen projects started.
So Isderf convinces the kids to make banana bread. We can have it for breakfast and make extra for family and friends. It’ll also empty out the dozen or so bananas that we’ve stashed in the freezer. Isderf starts making the first of four batches. At this time, he determines that we don’t have any sour cream for banana bread, so a trip the store ensues.
Project #4: Grocery Shopping
Project #5: Make Banana Bread
While this is baking, he’s thawing out the rest of our bananas and putting them into pre-measured baggies for freezing.
Project #6: Freezing Squished Banana
As a result of his trip to the store, since we were out, Isderf purchased large 25 lb bags of steel cut oats and oatmeal, each. Now we have to find storage for these things. While trying to find a place for all these oats, we also make our oatmeal bags (like buying the instant oatmeal in individual packets, but we make our own).
Project #7: Making Instant Oatmeal Packets and Storing the Rest
So now, we have a big bowl of popcorn, a big bowl of leftover oatmeal, and all the makings for banana bread, a bowl of the mixtures, and loaf pans scattered along our kitchen counter. As this time, I might mention that we have a tiny kitchen. Our counter space consists of two stretches that are about 5’ each. And we have a microwave, a toaster, paper towels, and a Kleenex box on about half of that. Now we’re getting over ran with stuff.
Isderf is still making banana bread and muffins, when something else pops up on our kitchen counter: a container of frozen pig fat. Yes, among all this chaos and mayhem, Isderf thinks he’s going to make soap too.
Project #8: Making Soap?
As the banana bread started finishing up, we had our dinner and tried to wrap up our day. Unfortunately, at that time, Isderf remembered the fat and so we had to try our hand at soap making again. Feeling in the spirit, he made cinnamon soap which smells very nice.
As the soap gels and hardens, we also prodded the kids into cleaning up their toy room, taking baths, and going to sleep.
Now if I could only convince Isderf to turn off his mind and go to sleep too - but he went outside to make Shaker boxes.
Project #9: Shaker Boxes
Thankfully we finished all our projects today, but geez it was a long day. Oh wait, we never made our Christmas decorations from popcorn (and the popcorn is still sitting in that bowl, 3 days later)! So much for a lazy day.
BTW, the pic is Isderf weighing the fat that he's just cleaned for soap making!
Addendum: Once again, Isderf is complaining about my posts. So I'm going to remind him that not only are our weekends like this, our week days get pretty busy too. For instance: on Monday, after work and dinner (which is usually around 6:30 pm), Isderf made cookies. Seven dozen cookies. And then on Tuesday, after dinner, we went to my dad's house so that he could spend an hour working with his tools to get his Shaker boxes done. The kids didn't get to bed until after 8 pm. He complains that I don't know how to sit still and do nothing, geez!
