Monday, May 23, 2016

Monthly Goals Update and This Week's Goals

Right, when it comes to clearing part of the yard this month is a total loss, I can tell already.  With how little sleep my son has been allowing me and the sheer amount of rain (I'm not complaining about the rain, truly as the last two years have been so dry we could use a more "normal" Alaska summer this year, which so far it is shaping up to be) and then appointments and things on top of everything, it's just not getting done.

I thought I'd be able to get some yard work done, but nope, it didn't happen.  It started out with the one really nice day we had early in the week, my husband shot a tool cart in my general direction as he was running out the door for work and asked me to put it away in the garage for him.  Well, with all the stuff in the garage I just plain couldn't FIND any room that didn't involve the thing being right up against my car and that wasn't going to happen because then I wouldn't be able to open my car door. 

So, I looked around and saw a rocking chair that had needed repair and has been sitting in the garage for AGES and decided it needed to go into storage for the time being.  So, I go out to the forty foot van only to find that my husband had parked a bunch of stuff right in the road and I wasn't going to be able to get into the van with the chair until I cleaned up that mess.  And so a domino effect started which toasted my day, led to a bunch of things getting reorganized and I was finally able to put the tool cart away.  Not how I would have liked to have spent my day, but that's what ended up happening.

My husband didn't feel well over the weekend, but managed to mow the lawn and that's about as far as doing anything to the lawn went.  Actually, since my husband wasn't feeling good and was kind of demanding my time on top of the kids I didn't get anything done either.  At least my daughter was finally not awful about doing chores, so she ended up being a help to me as I juggled one very demanding son.

Today was shot pretty much from the get go.  I had planned on canning taco sauce (I still haven't gotten that done yet), but called the allergist this morning to give them an update on the hives/welts situation and she wanted to see my son ASAP, so we spent most of the afternoon at the allergist.  So, we're on a stronger steroid cream for the eczema (I have tried not to use those over the years unless absolutely necessary) and a yet higher dose of Zyrtec to try and get the hives to go away.  Hopefully it works and we can start allergy shots next month.  Prayers would be appreciated.

I did manage to get the house cleaned last week and I've been trying really hard to maintain it so it's not awful.  I also got some things canned.  And I managed to get spinach (it's a space saving hybrid seed so you can plant it every two inches) and some basil seeds in my one hanging planter.  Now I'm just waiting for seeds to germinate there.

This week I'm not even going to plan on getting yard work done at all.  My son hasn't been sleeping well at all and isn't going to bed until super late, so I'm in bed about midnight and up about 2 am to give him Benadryl and waiting for it to take effect, so I really can't see myself being able to get up at five am to work on the yard.  At all.

Since we have two more appointments this week for my son (eye doctor and OT), I am going to keep goals to somewhat of a minimum so I don't stress myself out too badly.

So, this week I'm pretty much going to be focusing on the pantry and trying to reorganize so it works better and while I'm at it taking an inventory and trying to figure out what I need and how to remedy the situation with what I have on hand.  Reorganizing is really important, especially the home canned goods.  I have a hard time reading the lids in the really dim light in there (we only have one lightbulb that's right by the door and then I have a small LED motion detecting nightlight and that's the only light I have total in there), so things quickly get disorganized and it just doesn't work great and the box system works great until the boxes get the least bit worn and start to cave in on you.  So, I'm going to see about finding some materials around here to put some type of fronts on my shelves by the door to protect jars from an earthquake and see about maybe putting the home canned goods (or a good portion of them anyway) there where I can read everything easily (some of the jars are seen up top).

So, yeah, here are my goals for this week.

Sewing Goals:
  • Try and get some of the previous goals done if possible.

General Goals:
  • Work on pantry and make list of needs and brainstorm ways to fill in gaps.
  •  Reorganize the pantry to work better if possible.

Cleaning Goals:
  • Get caught up on laundry
  • Keep on top of "Alvah God of Destruction" (I'm kidding...kind of *laugh*)

And there you are folks.  My goals for this week.  How about you?

15 comments:

  1. The best laid plans seem go up in smoke don't they. I've had garden / yard stuff on my list and vaccuming the car plus washing it for the last several months. One step forward and two steps backwards. If it isn't the rain it's throwing our backs out - me, my husband (he has a compression fracture) and my grown son threw his back out at work too. I had two weeks of barely being able to keep up the dishes and laundry. And it's just the two of us and one little dog.

    Just go with the flow and be good to yourself. The work won't go away - lol. Sometimes you just have to do the best you can and you've got a full plate right now. Will keep you and your family in my prayers. I was an allergy kid when younger. In the ER getting shots of adrenaline all the time so I could breath and the hives were unbearable. Hopefully a lot of this will pass as your son gets older. It's scary and hard for him and you both. Take care.

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    1. What is it with backs??? I threw mine out doing...I have no idea what...last night and have been dealing with that today too. I am so sorry about your backs though, especially your husband. A broken back...I don't even want to think of that type of pain :(.

      With the work waiting for you...don't you wish it would just blow away sometimes when you aren't looking? I've been trying to get caught up on laundry all week and it just continues to grow it seems.

      With the hives and things, thank goodness we haven't ended up in the ER with them yet. A few times this last week when the hives weren't shutting down without massive doses of Benadryl I was worried we were going to end up there, but luckily the Benadryl finally would start working on them and while he was miserably itchy at least his breathing wasn't compromised.

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    2. When I was a kid Benadryl was still a prescription drug and they would send me home on doses of 100mg (equal to 4 adult pills) and I would sleep for about 48 hours straight. My mom would wake me to make me use the bathroom and drink / eat then I'd go right back to sleep. Sorry things are so rough for your son right now. Prayers sent for you and your family.

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    3. Oh wow. I can imagine how worried your mom was about you.

      Thanks so much for the prayers. Hopefully things will start to improve here soon!

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  2. My husband and son are having a guys weekend away this weekend so I will have three days to work on projects!! It's like a dream! I plan to work on the yard, if it ever stops raining, clean the third floor family room, organize the basement and organize and inventory the crafts, all in preparation for summer vacation. In addition to taking care of son's 4-H rabbits. Erika, is there an chance your son is allergic to the antihistamine? I'm sure the allergist has thought of that but often kiddos with autism have a paradoxical reaction to meds so that the meds produce the exact thing they are supposed to correct. My son has mild autism, previously called Aspergers, and has had this issue in the past with sone medications. Just a thought. Also as far as sleep, we saw a great sleep doctor who said kids on the spectrum have difficulty mtabolizing iron, not iron deficient per se, and it creates almost a restless leg syndrome that keeps them awake or wakes them up. My son used to wake me up multiple times a night so I get the sleep deprivation thing. A combination of Melatonin and iron pills have made sleep, for him, a beautiful thing. I am praying for relief for your little guy and some sleep for you:)

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    1. I actually thought of that with the medication, but if you take him off of it, it doesn't improve the situation, unfortunately. We've tried so many medications over the years. I think a big problem we're running into right now is that he's been on Zyrtec, or a derivative of such, for seven years, so the potency just isn't THERE with him without upping it significantly. Oddly enough while the hives haven't improved (I honestly think it's the dandelion pollen on top of the trees right now) his eczema has improved, so I'm hopeful the new steroid cream might put the darned eczema into remission for a while.

      When it comes to iron...yeah...my son has actually tested out slightly anemic in the past. It was a nightmare getting iron down him as he isn't up to pill training yet. I finally made a yellow dock root tincture, which had the highest iron content of all herbs I could find and I'd slip that into his soda *laugh*.

      Melatonin doesn't do anything for Alvah. I've tried about fifteen different types and while it makes him fall asleep quicker, it doesn't help him stay asleep at all. I equate that to like you said...autism is fun when it comes to medication reactions. Like Adorax is supposed to make kids drowsy. It makes my son hyper. Always fun!

      We upped his dose of Zyrtec last night again and for the first time in forever my son slept a full night's sleep. He didn't go to bed until after midnight, but he slept till nearly ten, so I'm hoping he has a good day, anyway :).

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    2. I know the frustration. The Dr gave us Ativan for when our son got aggressive but it made him more aggressive. Fortunately he has worked through a lot of that and is finally on meds that work. I never thought about herbs for iron. That's a great idea. I'm so glad he slept well for you last night. Hopefully it will continue.

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  3. Wow, to see all those jars of canned goods...it really is impressive what you've been able to accomplish so far! Finding an organizational system that works well for you can take time. Trial and error will eventually lead to a solution.

    As for filling the gaps with a limited budget, may I suggest you check out this blog: http://aworkingpantry.blogspot.ca/. Patsy does a "$5 challenge" were she uses just $5 to creatively add more stock to her pantry. I've found her blog rather inspirational! Hope it helps you too.

    I wouldn't get too upset with not getting the yard work done. If you look for opportunities to work on it throughout the summer, you might just find the time to work it into your schedule. Even a 1/2 day's work here and there while your husband is watching the kids would be helpful. Consider it a long term project you just keep working at slowly.

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    1. I follow A Working Pantry! Shes' great :).

      I did a list last night and I think I have a plan of attack that'll work to fill in the gaps I have and use up materials I already have so I won't be out anything. My biggest concern is canning jars at this point, but worse comes to worse I'll raid the "mason jar storage" we have around the house (jars house hair brushes in the kid's bathroom, and flossers and such as well as pencils and other items throughout the house). My family is used to this by now. I use the jars when I don't need them during the winter and usually end up horking them when jars get tight during put it up season *laugh*.

      We'll see how much work I get done this summer. I figure if nothing else, if I can't get the bank cleared where I want to put the rhubarb plants, I'll just put them by the house on our one shady side and pray the spider mites leave them alone next year so they have a chance to grow nice and big.

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    2. Oh! And as for the jars...a lot of that is actually things I canned last year that we're still going through (pickles, relish, jams and such I don't worry about the one year rotation thing on those as much as I know they'll be fine in quality for longer than one year :).

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  4. Wow! It sounds like all of us have had endless rain! I was sooo excited yesterday was going to be the first day in about 6 weeks with no rain, I checked the hour by hour forecast, hung out a load of laundry finally, went and got another started and then BOOM!!! House rattlibg thunder and a downpour that lasted most of the day. My clothes were dripping, so had to bring them in last night damp to dry on a rack.

    While you didnt get to work in the the yard, at least you got a few other needed things done with the garage and storage area!! I'm so sorry you are still so sleep deprived. I hope the steroid cream works well for him, and quickly too.

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    1. I remember having to do the "drying clothes gamble" back when I lived with my mom. We had hot and humid summers in PA and you just ended up playing the odds on when the inevitable afternoon thunder shower would hit.

      Luckily so far we've had rain, but it's been steady, but light, so my seedlings aren't getting watered down and the water is just soaking into the ground well. We definitely need that type of rain after the last two dry and really hot summers and the sparse of moisture winters.

      And, of course, there's the double bonus that I don't have to water the garden everyday when that happens, which is a beautiful thing ;).

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  5. Yes, we are in Pa and I had to run outside to rescue my wash just yesterday. All this rain has made it hard to keep up with the wash. And the ground is do wet I have mushrooms growing in my garden!!

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  6. I am so sorry that you are having to try to get things done with so little sleep. I know first hand how hard that is. I swear I got by on 4 hours of sleep if I was lucky for years when my kids were little and now I average about 5 thanks to menopause.

    I was wondering, have you thought about getting some of those battery powered lights that you attach to the wall and just press when you need them? My FIL installed some of those for me in some dark closets and I love them!

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  7. I am so sorry that you are having to try to get things done with so little sleep. I know first hand how hard that is. I swear I got by on 4 hours of sleep if I was lucky for years when my kids were little and now I average about 5 thanks to menopause.

    I was wondering, have you thought about getting some of those battery powered lights that you attach to the wall and just press when you need them? My FIL installed some of those for me in some dark closets and I love them!

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