Laundry:
I’m going to wrap in Friday – Monday as well as I can. I ended up sick. With a fever sick. My husband, too. So between taking care of the kids, not being able to taste anything (getting dehydrated and not eating much), and being so draggy, not a lot of cleaning got done. I did get laundry done every day. I washed 2 loads of our clothes (I only have 2 pair of jeans), all the kids clothes, towels and diapers. Basically everything.
For me:
Friday I had a very cleansing shower and even shaved my legs. I took a short walk ALONE. It’s a short distance to where our 3rd pregnancy/miscarriage is buried. I went and talked to the baby. You know, updates..prayers, thoughts of love, that sort of thing. Very healing. Our EDD was 4/12/13 so his/her first birthday would have been fairly soon.
Saturday I painted my toenails! Bright pink for spring. I’m an occasional optimist. My MIL also had come for a visit earlier in the day so we visited and that was nice.
Sunday I went for a drive to get a very few groceries that we needed for Monday. I cracked the window for fresh air and took the car which I don’t often do-the truck is the only thing that will hold all 5 of us, and I left baby sleeping and the rest of the circus playing outside.
Monday my parents came to visit! With all the kids in an uproar it was not exactly quiet, but it didn’t bother me like it usually does. My husband was working upstairs and didn’t even manage to come downstairs, but I took him up breakfast and lunch and he worked straight through. My mom had her hip replaced and with the polar vortex and ice every weekend we just hadn’t had a visit with anyone. Having 2 in a short amount of time was great! In the afternoon the kids (and Matt) had club. So I fed the baby, put her down to rest and just sat and watched DVR’d shows and played on the internet until they came home. I ate freezing cold chicken and noodles out of the fridge and vowed not to feel guilty about it- and I didn’t.
Cleaning:
Friday I cleaned the outside dryer vent after my walk-I noticed the lint hanging from it and figured, why not? Saturday and Sunday were more like triage, I put recycling out, got my husband to burn the boxes we never seem to recycle anymore in our fire ‘pit’, and did very basic pick up. Sunday I got the kids to pick up their toys. I swept up mud from the mud/laundry room and hall every single day and loaded and ran the dishwasher, etc. Monday I did manage to sweep, vacuum the living room, do the dishes, wipe out the sinks, and in general make it look a little bit less ‘3 ring circus’ and a little more ‘putting in the minimum effort’. I also used clorox type wipes to clean every door handle or faucet, in hopes that we wouldn’t re-infect or infect anyone else with cold germs. I’m not doing so well on ‘bags’ but hopefully I can bounce back and make strides anyway.
Sweets:
My MIL did bring a cake down for my husband’s birthday, so I’ve had a few pieces of that and ice cream once. But I didn’t give up cake or ice cream, I gave up candy and other little treats like that which were becoming an issue. You know when you eat a family sized bag of chocolate in 3 days? Yeah. So anyway, still feeling pretty good for this one. My weight has gone back down 7 lbs and up 2 for the post-illness rebound, so I’m down the 5 lbs overall and still hanging out at about the same place as before, right around a 30 lb weight loss after pregnancy, which is what I figured. My body likes this weight a lot. I’m comfortable in it, but wish I was a little less round and a little more fit. Basically because clothes don’t fit at all. My mom brought a bag of my favorite Easter candy and I just put it away so I wouldn’t be tempted. Sundays are a ‘day off’ from Lent, but she brought them Monday so I guess maybe next Sunday I might indulge. 🙂
Prayer:
This one I was able to do fairly consistently. I prayed for those whose families don’t approve of them and need support. I prayed for parents who deal with kids with either the kids or themselves are sick. I prayed for single parents who often take on the job completely alone and don’t get any rest. I prayed for those who had lost children. I prayed for people who are sick again.
We didn’t manage to go to church since both adults were sick, but hopefully everything will be okay next week and I can get a good refresher on living real life with real people again. You know, like a human being! Wouldn’t that be great? Have you taken on any challenges? Tell me how you’re doing! Ask me anything. Go!