live from sublurbia

For more Works for me Wednesday tips, see: http://wearethatfamily.com/features/works-for-me-wednesday/

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I’ve been working for years to have a “good” wakeup routine. When it comes to the morning I’m very minimalist, slarging out at the last possible moment and slinging my way into life, usually dressed for the day by the end of the commute (if not the beginning).

Kids can’t do it that way. They need stability, routine, and mine need time to wake up and process the day. Luckily they can dress themselves, mostly, so we do a little planning out and finally got our morning routine more routined.

1. Pick out your clothes the night before, be ready for them. For the eldest it’s just making sure he has something, for the youngest, each piece is chose and put in a small basket with handles.

2. Set wakeup music. I’m very lazy efficient, so I burned a CD of kids music interspersed with the kids’ own voices and my voice reminding them it’s wakeup time. It’s set to go off about 30 min before breakfast every morning, to give them time to slarge down the stairs. I’m also lazy efficient enough to have bought a CD/alarm at Target that can be set only to ring M-F. Go me!

3. Have the ones who pick lunch figure out if they need a packed lunch the night before, so they can pack it themselves the night before. Now to get them to take it every day and bring the containers back …

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Longtime friends who know me know I tear up my whole life and try something new every once in a while, so it’s not going to be a surprise that I’m doing it to the blog, too. :P

Not sure about a new moniker or site, but stay tuned.

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I found this from my “only child” days … just before gall bladder surgery and the conception of our youngest child … so glad we had this and other great days back during his last days as an “only” …

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I’ve spent the last few days becoming re-acquainted with my son. Who has exploded verbally again, of course. Who is missing his daddy terribly, and stuck on his mommy permanently. I’d been down with the flu, and his dad was out of town.

I don’t mind, except for the difficulty in getting him down at night. My mom popped in to lend a hand; except for the tissue boxes in the recycle bin, the place almost looks … normal.

We went to the park Thursday, I got a good photo of him on the slide, and we had fun running around, up and down the ‘mountains’ there. Those little hills are just Wolfie sized; he can feel and see his accomplishment and loves to direct my play as well.

Friday I put him back in daycare after my pre-surgery appointment at the doctor’s office . Everyone at the office was impressed with his manners and behavior. He was just being his usual self in a new place – drinking it all in solemnly. A bribe of milk, graham crackers, and a rare treat, “holding tight” with Mommy didn’t hurt, either.

A while back, perhaps ten or so months ago, he started watching one of those serial kid shows, one episode with a scene where the main players are being sucked into a whirlpool and must “hold on tight” with all of their “viking might”. While singing a clever little tune about the whole escapade. Shortly thereafter, Wolfie and I began to have a few battles of our own as he began to test the universe and the bending of it to his will. This included a dislike of my placing him on my hip and strapping him in place with a sling.

Ever desperate resourceful, I dragged the tune out of my memory, sang the “hold on tight” part, and made up lyrics for the rest. A connection was born. His slings were now his “hold tights” and they were very calming objects to have, even when we weren’t using them to “hold on tight”. Continue Reading »

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_{WFMW hosted here!}

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And I know I drive the hub nuts when I hit sport-option and click click click six jillion incrementally differing pictures of the kids. But it’s just pixels! And hard drive space. And sometimes you can make a cute animated gif!

Be that as it may, we don’t have plastered formal looks in our photos from the days of wet-plate photography, and usually a lot of blurry kids moving to and fro. But if you take enough pictures, eventually everyone is smiling and you can fix it in post-production (digitally melding all the smiling faces into one shot).

The trick is getting enough pictures. I do it with the handwashing song, converted into the cheesey song. Continue Reading »

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STOMP!

I’ve found a few stories here and there for the kids, to expand our reading horizons. Though I’ve been careful to pick games and toys that reflect our family diversity, I’ve neglected, a bit, our book diversity. One good thing about the internet, though, is that there are tons of things out there. All kinds of the old tales that I grew up with, Little Three Eyes, and more. Older tales, a lot of which need quite a bit of explaining – some not so much.

One I’ve found that I can’t wait to introduce to the kids: a modern tale published last year by Tor. I’m glad to see it online; I can read it freely to my kids. But it’s had a side benefit – it has introduced me to an author I otherwise might not have heard of. So more pennies in her pocket from me, sometime soon. Click the link – I highly recommend the story for all ages.

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Writing that out is such a shock. My eldest is right. There aren’t a lot out there in his Super Hero genre that isn’t cookie-cutter white. We watched The Golden Blaze a few times on Netflix instant play, and The Incredibles have Frozone but the comics we’ve read with him that are age-appropriate are rather homogeneous.

His comment came from a spelunking trip into our little library: a discard from a public library called Seven Chinese Brothers. It’s beautifully illustrated, and just his reading speed. He loved the themes of the brothers trading places to help each other, how they played on their strengths, and worked together.

But his comment really said a lot to me – we need to bring more of the color of his real world into his reading life.

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I thought about this the other day when reading about an effort to block methane facilities changes to our state landfill system.

My first thoughts were along the lines of, “I dunno, methane sounds great! Use it to power cars, and power plants!” Then I wished I spoke more legislativeeze. Green Florida says this is not a great bill, would end mulch programs, but does it?

Solid Waste / Recycling and Landfills 
 
HB 569 was considered on second reading Tuesday and passed by the full House on Thursday. The bill would allow certain Class I landfills with an active gas-collection system to collect yardwaste. It also requires such a landfill to obtain a minor permit modification to its operating permit from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection which describes the beneficial use being made of the landfill gas and modifies the facility’s operation plan before receiving any yard trash. Its Senate companion, SB 1052, has yet to be heard in the Senate Environmental Preservation and Conservation Committee. County staff will continue to oppose these bills as contradictory to the state’s 75% recycling goal and in an effort to preserve space in Class I landfills.

Further reading seems to indicate what Green Florida is worried about – looks like counties can cut their costs by combining waste and yard waste pickup and just methaning everything. Continue Reading »

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It’s weird, thinking about that word. Dirty. And about hanging dirty laundry. Why air dirty laundry? Are you airing it? Or sunning it? And don’t you want to hang up CLEAN stuff?

Back when I was still diapering our pair, I’d hang out the diapers to sun the spots* out, and it got me thinking more on the use of the phrase and the word. About old laundry and modern laundry and the pile of folding I’m ignoring.

You’d air dirty laundry if you just want to get some of the smell out, letting it dry out and get out. Much like you air your shoes out by rotating them through a couple of working pairs. And you sun dirty (soiled*) laundry to get the color out. After you wash it through your washer, or smash it on a river with rocks, ymmv.

So I decided** to try it out with a shirt my youngest had spilled spaghetti sauce on. Washed it twice, still had a stain, hung it out on the laundry line***. Stain was gone within two hours. Laundry line only fell over three times (first time I’d set it up and I didn’t have a proper foundation) before I leaned the bricks on it correctly.

Not just the “fresh feeling” of dryish clothes from the air, not just the de-scenting that can be done with some vinegar and airing, but sunning out of stains. Fun****! Got a bunch of work and workout clothes done for me, too.

* poop stains
** dryer conked out
*** don’t tell the home ogres assciation
**** dryer conked out at 5:30 in the morning with my work and workout clothes all tumbling around – luckily it was a dry run day and I didn’t have to actually be anywhere at any set time ..

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Works for me Wednesday, from wearethatfamily.com.

I’ve had to make too many calls lately for the various buggy germs and more flying around our insides and outsides. More than not, I’ve phoned up for a non-emergency appointment and been told by the specialist’s office staff that the nearest opening for a new patient is between three and six weeks away.

Yeek.

Then something happened – I called up and asked for an after school appointment, as soon as possible for a particular doctor. Those are the most coveted, of course – no one misses school and you miss as little work as possible. He didn’t have anything, but as he shuffled his calendar, he noticed a cancellation for the next day. And if I took it, not only would I get the appointment over with, he’d knock a third off of the cash part of his usual fee. I took it. Continue Reading »

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Too quiet.

I cleaned out my dresser drawer the other day. Need room for socks; I’ve been wearing loafers but am now back into tennies.

I found a couple pairs of reflective snap-on bracelets and left them out, intending to wear them walking this morning. I got out later than I expected, and was about a mile from the house when I remembered how naked I was without reflectors. But it was sunny, I reasoned. I’d be fine.

I completed my walk, came home to several morning-routine mini-disasters, and hopped in the car to right everyone’s day and enjoy a light lunch with a colleague.

Once I had every lunch, tool, and computer put in the hands of the right forgetful person, I headed back north along Military Trail to my lunch date. As I approached the Glades road overpass, I saw an ambulance and fire truck pulling into the right-hand lane. Three police cars were already blocking two lanes, and a fourth one was pulling up behind.

I slowed down and moved left, and saw a car off to the side and a jogger curled up on the sidewalk, in obvious pain. I haven’t found the report online yet, but I imagine she was struck by a car. There’s no place or reason to cross six lanes of traffic there, so I assume someone just hit her by jumping the curb.

When my lunch companion passed the same spot about fifteen minutes later, two cars and some police vehicles were all that remained.

Broad frikkin daylight. On a curve that I know people take too damn fast.

Go run, but be careful out there.

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