1. I'm sure all of you have been on pins and needles -- waiting with baited breath, no doubt -- to hear the fate of my half-shorn eyebrow. First of all, let me state for the record that my friend Patti claimed it was not nearly as dramatic as reported. I beg to differ, but then I spotted it through a magnifying mirror. Anyway . . . it was all coming back nicely and then suddenly I had one stray hair jutting out perpendicular to my face -- a wild hair as it were. An interesting term that. I googled Wild Hair, wondering if it were Wild Hair or Wild Hare. I can imagine a Wild Hare, but, it turns out, Wild Hair is actually Wild Hair, and, oddly enough, it often times refers to a Wild Hair up one's, ummm, euphemism. I would make some flippant comment about how, exactly, this happens, but, you know, the more I strike a pose of revulsion and alarm, the more likely the object of my shock and horror is to come home to roost. Mostly I'm thinking about things in relation to my children, but still. A Wild Hair? I'd rather have a Wild Hare.
2. And what, precisely, does baited breath mean? I'm almost afraid to google that one.
3. So when we returned from Michigan, and I came to the realization that a) we had five (count 'em FIVE!) swim team free weeks of summer vacation looming before us and that b) Tim's lone prospect for late summer employment had turned to naught, well, I confess, I was more than a little worried. Five weeks later, it looks like we made it. And except for two particularly gruesome afternoons, it's been good. (You can say that when it's about to come to a screeching halt within forty-eight hours.)
4. I have one pair of shoes and a few boxes of Kleenex to round out the back-to-school shopping. My good friend Laurie generously offered to hem Kolbe's pants. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
5. So, we're in the midst of a room switcheroo that will take about two months to complete. That may be optimistic. I opened three boxes of books that have remained nearly untouched since our wedding, lo, almost seventeen years ago. Time has a wonderful way of winnowing the chaff from the wheat. I whittled three boxes down to one, and, in the process, found a pristine copy of The Screwtape Letters as well as a book by Saint Therese I was ready to order from Amazon. I sold one box at 2nd and Charles and, to my credit, left the store with just two small items -- far, far less than I brought in. Victory! We dropped a second box at Goodwill. While paring down and culling is an ongoing, job -- really, just part of household management -- I've sensed a unique grace on us this go around. Dave and I are both ready to purge, baby, purge. That's been nice.
7. Why is it that forts are so fun at 10:00 in the morning and so overwhelming at 6:00 in the evening? That, friends, is the question. And the answer is one small glass of wine and then lights out early for the Dolin crew.
Head over to Jen's to add your Quick Takes.
7 comments:
Actually, it is bated breath, I believe. As in, holding your breath in anticipation of what will happen next.
Also, I kept tons of cereal and milk on hand for my teenage boy. Whole grain,and had to be 10g of sugar or less. Always looked for cheap sources of protein, like PB, eggs and refried beans.
You survived the summer and you are an awesome Mom!!
Kath - The refrained (gosh, I love auto-correct that turns refried into refrained and then into retried) beans will work. Tim's not much of a cereal eater. When we run out of the coveted and much-loved processed, convenience foods, he goes for the PB and J which is relatively cheap and healthy.
Kelly -- I have TWO teenage boys who are both athletes. I feel your pain (and your empty fridge!) I'm a huge believer in protein and GOOD food for them. I do by some junkie treats, but I limit that to once or twice a month. So, if the giant box of goldfish runs out in the first week of the month (I only make one Costco run a month) then, "oh, well" and "too bad, so sad"! I keep lots of fruit in the house (especially apples and oranges because they don't go bad), lots of PB, eggs, lunch meat, etc. When I cook dinner, I make extra, because they will all eat leftover. I have popcorn, nuts, etc. When I started limiting my shopping to once a week at the regular grocery and once a month at Costco, they amazingly found something to eat. And they have learned to stretch the favorites.
Goodness - sorry for the typos in that post!!
Great ideas, Kris. How much milk do you buy to get through a week? WE go through about a gallon per day. We don't have a deep freeze, so I've never tried to freeze milk.
I agree with the once per month on goodies. Tim was begging me to buy more ice cream. I'll buy a reasonable quantity once per week, and when it's gone, it's gone.
No worries on the typos. Good gravy, mine are getting more frequent. I don't even like to read anything old I've written.
I actually don't buy so much milk. My oldest was allergic when he was younger and never developed a taste. My next one is lactose intolerant, so he uses Lactaid with cereal but doesn't really drink it. There is actually no real nutritional benefit to milk once they are over two years old. Water is much better, plus protein, fruits and veggies. So I buy about two gallons every week or so. My little ones I limit to only 1 or 2 cups a day (including cereal) - again, I push the water. You can get calcium and vitamin D from so many other sources, if you're worried about that.
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