My Night Off

I’m not actually sure why I called it that. It felt like a night off, though I did more chores after dinner than I usually do. I guess it really is true that, ‘a change is as good as a rest’. Jeremy was gone till 12 – he was doing ski training for the ARISE program he works for, which is 1 1/2 hours away. So I had the kids on my own last night.  I decided to stay up till he got home, which gained me some hours of free time that are usually spent sleeping. Today I am not sure it was worth it. But it was still an enjoyable evening…

Made a ‘dad-less dinner’ – Spaghetti and Bacon. Very simple, yummy, and fast. Fry a couple pieces of bacon in a pot. Add leftover noodles when the bacon is almost cooked. When the noodles are warm, break in a couple eggs. Stir until eggs are set. Serve with Parmesean cheese, and a side of yogurt and blueberries, if you wish. 

Yogurt and blueberries (from the freezer) are all the rage around here lately. One child just inhales the yogurt and lets herself be pleasantly surprised by the appearance of a blueberry. The other one intentionally searches for the blueberries, leaving yogurt in the bottom of his bowl when he is finished, because what’s the point of yogurt without blueberries? I ask you. He says, “It’s like fishing, Mom! ‘Oo dip your ‘poon and and catch a blueberry!”

After dinner I would have just liked to kick back and relax. But part of the joy of being a homemaker is getting the chores done so you can truly relax. I wasn’t going to tackle a big cleaning project just ’cause I had extra time that evening, but I did want to get that day’s tasks done so that I didn’t start the next day playing catch up. I enjoy the chores a lot more now that I have two willing helpers keeping me company. I concentrated on doing the chores we could do together while they were awake, and left the rest of the kitchen clean up for later. Together we loaded the dishwasher and then headed into the laundry room to fold two loads and wash a third. They also helped me mix bread dough to soak overnight for today’s baking.

In recovering the house from the Holidays, I found a CD we’d been missing. My kids adore “Slugs and Bugs and Lullabies” by Andrew Peterson and Randall Goodgame. Actually, we all love it, and several times a week we put it on before bed for them to dance around the living room getting all their wiggles out. I sat on the couch with Seth and enjoyed watching them, even indulging them by playing their favorite song, “Tractor, Tractor” three times over.

I got the kids to bed all by myself – a small feat in itself. Then I headed back into the kitchen to tidy up while Seth took his evening nap in the swing. My plan was to watch a movie and knit till Jeremy got home. It was not as relaxing as I imagined, jumping up and down to tend Seth, pause to make myself a snack, nurse Seth, pause to count my stitches and rip them out to cast on again, pause to give him a shower, and finally tuck him in bed upstairs in the Boy’s room.

I found Jesse upside down in his bed (head at the foot) so I picked him up to turn him around and felt something rigid in the front of his PJ’s. He had a board book on his chest, zipped up in his pajamas. And he was sound asleep. Silly boy. I removed the book.

The last two hours before Jeremy got home I spent hanging laundry to dry, tidying in my studio (I found the counter top!!!), a lovely phone conversation with a friend who was also up late ☺, and at last, drowsily browsing my craft blog bookmarks while I waited for my man. Late as it was, I knew I would miss nightly routine together, updating each other on our day, if I went to sleep before he got home. Finally, I looked up and saw fresh tracks in the dusting of snow on the driveway and realized he’d pulled in without me hearing. I entertained him by recounting all the cute things the kids had said and done before we both lost consciousness under the down comforter.

Today all I can think about is “how soon till bedtime?” but the house is clean and I’m anticipating the activities planned for the rest of the week, possible because I’ve gotten on top of housework at the beginning of the week. Now off to bake that bread and fix some pizza for lunch…