Home of Slightly Cracked Dreams

It’s that time of year again, where swimming lessons and training consume the whole family. In addition to the three days a week I’m already training, there’s two more days I can attend, and Miss Moo is starting her babies water familiarisation. M&M & Kiki are back into their lessons in two weeks so at this stage I’m looking at 6 trips to the pool a week. And then yesterday came the bombshell from my coach.

He wants me to start training with the masters.

Now, apart from the fact I think I’m too young to be in masters (at the tender age of 28), I personally just think he needs people to make up numbers. Either way I’m thinking about it. That will be 7 trips to the pool a week. That’s a lot of driving, a lot of swimming, and a lot of washing.

But maybe the benefits for my health outweigh all that?

Well, I’m only home for 3 nights this week, the rest of the time Hubby is in charge (although just quietly mother-in-law has offered to help him out), but those 3 nights will be all family favourites:

Monday - Meatballs and pasta with veg

Tuesday - Apricot Chicken

Wednesday - Haystacks

What’s on your menu plan this week? Do you have a menu plan? If not, check out my How to Menu Plan post and then head over to Orgnaizing Junkie and post your menu and see what everyone else is eating this week.

In this day and age, I’m quite accustomed to reading things that make me stop and go “what the…?”, but sometimes I read something and am lost for words. Tonight was one such occasion.

I am probably labeled a rabid feminist behind my back (no one would dare do it to my face), although I prefer to think of myself as an equalitist. I suspect this post will do nothing but firmly affix the feminist label.

Tonight, the ABC is reporting the Centre for Independant Studies suggesting that parents and not the government or business should fund paid maternity leave. Now if you’re reading this, and don’t have children and subscribe to the argument that “I’m not a parent so why should I fund paid maternity leave with my tax dollars?” or a business owner who asks “why is this another cost that I should absorb?” I’d like to ask you who will be funding your pension (or what’s left of it) when you reach retirement age? Who will be funding the public and private health systems, aged care facilities and working in the supermarkets, pharmacies and bottle shops when you retire, get old and desperately need these services? It is in everyone’s  best interests to increase the population.

But that’s not the worst part about this report by the ABC. The representative of the Centre for Independant Studies, Jessica Brown, is suggesting parents could do this by a superannuation style fund, or, in the absence of time to save up enough, a HECS style loan.

Let’s follow this logically through:

Things are still rather slow here. There’s still a few snotty noses around, although the actual “chuck ups” (the technical term by which they’re known here) seem to have stopped. And I’m no longer pulling the thermometer out every half hour wondering which one of them I’m going to me making the dash to the hospital for. In fact the girls went back to daycare today and I was at swimming, which has made me feel a whole lot better. But I digress. Dinners this week are simple as we continue to use up meat from the freezer. I’m down to two weeks worth, and if we actually eat everything planned this week (ha!) I’ll actually have to buy meat next week. Won’t that be a novelty for me? It’s almost time for me to start preparing for cyclone season again (our town is regularly cut off from the highway and thus the supply routes during the cyclone season - officially October to March - thus some planning is necessary should supplies be disrupted). Anyway - dinners this week:

Monday - Tomato Macaroni Cheese

Tuesday - Braised Beef

Wednesday - Cottage Pie

Thursday - Roast Chicken

Friday - Mexican Pizza

Saturday - BBQ Pork

Sunday - BBQ lunch with friends - steak, burgers, sausages, salad - the works. Dinner will be leftovers.

What’s on your menu plan this week? Do you have a menu plan? If not, check out my How to Menu Plan post and then head over to Orgnaizing Junkie and post your menu and see what everyone else is eating this week.

You know, sometimes life just gets in the way of our good intentions. I had drafted the first part of this on Tuesday night. Here’s what my Wednesday’s *should* look like. Following is what actually happened this week.

Wednesday’s at Kin’s Home is much like Monday’s until lunch time.

12:30pm

Lunch time. Hubby is often home for lunch so it can be quite chaotic for a while. I usually pop Miss Moo down for a nap as soon as we get home and she will now sleep for 3-4 hours. After lunch I load the dishwasher and do any baking planned. The kids help as much as possible before sitting down at the table to do their “school work”. M&M is practicing her writing at the moment, and Kiki is focusing on recognising her numbers. She does lots of dot-to-dots. I also often play uni lectures in the background, especially towards the end of the semester. Then I hang out the swimming washing.

2:00pm

The big kids are sent off to their room for quiet time while I sit down for a rest. I usually make a cuppa or a latte and watch Question Time in Parliament or read outside in the courtyard. If Miss Moo is awake she enjoys watching Question Time - giggles at all the silly politicians. Again I use this time to make notes for uni, browse the readings etc.

3:00pm

Play School! The big girls love it and while they watch I catch up on my friends blogs, comment, check forums, write my blog posts. Miss Moo wakes up around then and I feed her while reading emails and blogs. Once Miss Moo’s finished feeding I bring the washing in fold it and put it away put it away.

4:30pm

Usually once a week one or both of us have a meeting to go to. This week it’s on Wednesday night, so around 4:30 we start the girls on their evening jobs. I potter round preparing for the meeting which usually involves another shower and getting dressed. Sometimes preparing food. The girls are showered or bathed and in their pj’s by 5:30pm. I prepare them something easy for dinner (pasta usually) and they munch on that while waiting for Hubby to get home.

6:00pm

We’re out the door by 6pm, and usually not home til after the girls bedtime, so it’s straight to bed for them, and often a collapse for us. Wednesday night we love watching the ABC, so if we’re home in time we’ll watch that before going to bed at 10:30pm.

Here’s what happened this Wednesday just gone:

6:00am

Wake up to an extra kid in the bed. Kiki is feeling sick so cuddle with her until I hear Miss Moo calling around 7am. Feed her then wake M&M to get ready to go swimming. She looks at me, rolls her eyes then falls back asleep. Pull out the thermometer. Both M&M & Kiki have temps. Damn. No swimming today.

8:00am

Coax kids into breakfast. End up on the couch with them in front of the tv. While they’re in front of the tv I take the opportunity to study. Have an assignment due Friday so work on that during the day while being interrupted cleaning up vomit, various other messes and coaxing kids into food and water.

12:00pm

Check the couch to find both kids asleep. Miss Moo is asleep also. I need bread, milk, a life. Mother-in-law to the rescue with bread, milk and donuts which perk the kids right up. Unfortunately she was gone again too soon. More cleaning up after sick kids, writing assignments. Manage to throw dinner in the over around 2pm. Fall asleep in bed with one of them around 3pm.

5:00pm

Wake up with a start and realise I need to be at a meeting at 6pm. Shower. Feed the baby. Put her back to bed. Throw food in kids and Hubby’s general direction. Head off to the meeting at 6pm.

6:30pm

Receive phone call from Hubby to rescue him from baby. Race home from meeting, get baby, race back. Nearly miss dinner. Father-in-law drank my beer. Then bought me another one. Meeting was long. Got home at 10:30pm. Put baby to bed, and do some more work on my assignment til falling asleep around midnight.

Needless to say Thursday didn’t go as planned either.

With the weather warming up and the shops getting summer gear in, it’s around now I take stock of what’s needed for summer. I’ve pulled out all the clothes I bought for the kids at the end of summer sales last year, and looked at what they already have. I’ve done up a list of what they need, which fortunately isn’t much, and now I can keep an eye out for 20% off sales or other bargains to get what they need. With three girls I have started doing much of my shopping at Pumpkin Patch during sales. I find the value during sales comparable to Target or K-Mart, and the quality is such that with three girls I get much more wear out of the clothes. Miss Moo is now wearing some of M&M’s PP clothes that have done 3 girls and show no signs of wear.

But the one thing I often forget when sorting out who needs what for summer is ME! I spent an awful lot of money on clothes for myself earlier this year, and since then I’ve barely looked at clothes for me. I’m totally satisfied with what I have. But now the weather’s warming up I’ve discovered I am missing something. During summer I live in 3/4 denim pants. They’re comfortable, absorb sweat but I don’t get cold in them when I go places and the air conditioning is set at 18 degrees.

Last weekI tried on all my 3/4 denim pants and found only one pair that is comfortable enough to wear. Woops! And while I can wear this one pair 3 or 4 days a week, I’m probably going to need a second pair at least. So I’m on the hunt for a couple of comfortable pairs of 3/4 denim pants to buy. And since I’m off to Sydney in a couple of weeks that might be a good time to go shopping no? There is a much wider variety of shops there…. and maybe Gemisht can come with me again… She’s a pretty bad influence when it comes to spending money.

Well, Akismet is out to get me anyway.

If you have Akismet on your Wordpress blog, be sure to check your folder regularly. Akismet has decided I’m a spammer, so go and check your folder and fish me ot. Go on, I’ll wait.

See, that wasn’t so hard. Thanks for your help. I now return you to your regularly shceduled blogging

5:30 - 6:00am

Miss Moo wakes for her first feed of the day. Hubby’s alarm starts going off at 6am (and 6:09am, 6:18am etc etc). He’s up and showering while I feed the princess. When she’s done I drag myself out of bed and to shower and get dressed.

6:30am

Once everyone’s had showers and dressed (sometimes the big girls shower in the morning if they’ve wet the bed), the big kids have breakfast while I chuck the first load of washing in the machine. This is usually a load of nappies or the bedclothes if someone has wet overnight. I empty the dishwasher, make tea and coffee and sit down with my breakfast to read the news on the net. I also read the US personal finance sites as a lot of them post overnight. I flag things I want to read in depth later and make notes on idea’s for my posts.

7:30am

Hubby leaves for work at 7:30 then I hang out (or get the big girls to hang out) the first load of washing and start the second one. I help the girls work through their morning routines and feed Miss Moo her solids for breakfast and leave her with some finger food (in clear view - usually next to the kitchen bench while I work there). Next I pack up the daycare bags and lunches. Change Miss Moo and make sure everything’s organised for daycare before loading the car. Once the car is loaded I hang out the washing (the clothes line is in the garage and I have airer’s out the back) and pop another one on and off we go!

8:30am

I drop the big girls off at daycare. That can take 5 minutes or 20. It all depends on who’s there and what they’re doing. Tuesday morning is my “errand day” which most often is doctors appointments, accountants, banks, health clinic etc etc etc. I try and arrange all appointments for 9am or 9:30 to get them done early and leave me the rest of the day. I check the mail, do any banking, pay off layby’s stop for a coffee and come home.

10:30am

Miss Moo is usually half asleep when we get home, so I put her down for a nap, hang out the washing and sometimes start another, make myself a drink and a snack and sit down to check out the internet. I spend the next two hours pottering around doing bits of cleaning, ironing and tidying up. Usually I’ll do a bit of tidying in the kids room so it’s easier for them to keep clean during the rest of the week.

12:30pm Lunch time. Miss Moo is up, fed and has her lunch before I get mine. After lunch and loading the dishwasher I look into dinner. Start defrosting meat, chopping veggies and baking.

1:30pm

While Miss Moo plays on the floor or next to me, I get stuck into studying. This is the bulk of my study time. I listen to lectures, do assignments, prepare for tutorials. I clean in the morning so I’m less likely to procrastinate during this time. Of course I procrastinate by writing long rambling blog posts about procrastinating. Miss Moo will go down for a sleep at 2-2:30, allowing me solid, uninterrupted time. I’ve been known to take the phone off the hook during this time as well.

4:30pm

Close the study books (although I will leave a lecture on to listen to while I cook) and cook dinner as much as possible. Hubby calls when he’s finished work and if it’s early enough he’ll go and pick up the girls from daycare, otherwise I stop dinner at a suitable point and go and pick them up. Thankfully it’s a 2 minute drive so I can be there and back in ten minutes if I’m quick.

6:00pm

Dinner Time. After dinner I stack the dishwasher while the kids start on their evening jobs. Once they’re done with their showers or bath I run the dishwasher and potter around the kitchen while the kids do their jobs - often helping out with teeth and making their beds up if they need re-making. Miss Moo is dunked in the bath on bath nights (we alternate bath/showers) then into her Pj’s for her final feed before bed. Once the big girls are ready for bed they can watch Scrapheap Challenge which finishes at 7:20pm. After Scrapheap the TV goes off and the girls can have a drink (water only), toilet then into bed by 7:30pm. There is often a story, then a timer set for 5 minutes, after which time the lights go out. In here I sometimes also do a dirty clothes collection and take it out to the laundry and assess the most important loads to get done the next day. If one is urgent I start that going then.

7:30pm

Finally the house is semi-quiet and Hubby and I get some quiet time, albeit on computers sitting next to each other. I do some uni work, browse the internet, and if necessary hang out the load of washing I’ve done. I also do some tasks which are too hot to do during the day. Mostly I study though and if my back gets bad I’ll retire to the couch and read my text book rather than sit at the desk.

10:30pm

This is the time I aim to get Hubby and myself to bed. Miss Moo will wake up (although I use the term loosely) for a quick feed just as I get settled in bed with a magazine or newspaper. I am usually asleep by 11pm.

Things are getting a little dire around here study/house wise. Swimming is once again taking up a fair chunk of time, which means I need to be more mindful of what I do with my time than normal. To that end this week’s menu plans contain lunch and snack items to be made for the kids. Also meal variations for the baby, who is now eating more than the 3 year old some days. So without further ado:

Monday

Lunch - Tuna salad sandwiches

Snacks - Jelly, fruit, vegetable sticks

Dinner - Meatloaf, pasta and vegetables (Baby: - purree’d vegetables and pasta finger food)

Baking - Honey Cookies 

Tuesday

Lunch - Pumkin Soup (freezing half for Thursday)

Snacks - Cookies, yoghurt, fruit

Dinner - Sticky Mango Chicken with pasta (Baby: - defrosted meat & veg puree and pasta finger food)  

Baking - Soak fruit for fruitcake overnight

Wednesday

Lunch - Cheese & Vegetable sandwiches

Snacks - Cookies, jelly, fruit

Dinner - Lions Meeting - Beef & Vegetable Ravioli for kids before we go (Baby: - same as big kids)

Baking - Fruitcake 

Thursday

Lunch - Pumpkin Soup (reheated from Tuesday)

Snacks - Fruitcake, yoghurt, fruit

Dinner - Braised Beef with Mashed Potato & Steamed Veg (Baby: - pureed braised beef and mashed potato)  

Baking - None

Friday

Lunch - Egg salad sandwiches

Snacks - Fruitcake, vegetable sticks, yoghurt

Dinner - Sausage Sizzle (Baby: - leftovers from Thursday night)  

Baking - None 

Saturday

Lunch - Baked Potato, Ham & Cheese Frittata

Snacks - Apple Muffins, fruit, jelly

Dinner - Veal Stroganoff with Mashed Potato (Baby: - mashed potato)  

Baking - Apple Muffins

Sunday

Lunch - Baked Potato, Ham & Cheese Frittata

Snacks - Apple Muffins, fruit, yoghurt

Dinner - Lamb Rissoles, Pasta and Vegetables (Baby: - purree’d vegetables and pasta finger food)  

Baking - None

What’s on your menu plan this week? Do you have a menu plan? If not, check out my How to Menu Plan post and then head over to Orgnaizing Junkie and post your menu and see what everyone else is eating this week.

5:30 - 6:00am

Miss Moo wakes for her first feed of the day. Hubby’s alarm starts going off at 6am (and 6:09am, 6:18am etc etc). He’s up and showering while I feed the princess. When she’s done I drag myself out of bed and get dressed.

6:30am

Once everyone’s had showers and dressed (sometimes the big girls shower in the morning if they’ve wet the bed), the big kids have breakfast while I chuck the first load of washing in the machine. This is usually a load of nappies or the bedclothes if someone has wet overnight. I empty the dishwasher, make tea and coffee and sit down with my breakfast to read the news on the net. I also read the US personal finance sites as a lot of them post overnight. I flag things I want to read in depth later and make notes on idea’s for my posts.

7:30am

Hubby leaves for work at 7:30 then I hang out (or get the big girls to hang out) the first load of washing and start the second one. I help the girls work through their morning routines and feed Miss Moo her solids for breakfast and leave her with some finger food (in clear view - usually next to the kitchen bench while I work there). Then I check the swimming bag and make sure it’s all packed, pack snacks and water bottles for our swimming. Put the dishes in the dishwasher from breakfast. Change Miss Moo and triple check the swimming bag before loading the car. Once the car is loaded I hang out the washing (the clothes line is in the garage and I have airer’s out the back) and off we go!

8:30am

We head off to swimming. I check the mail on the way, which, while it’s in a different direction to swimming is the most convenient time to check. Then the 20 minute drive to swimming. Once there I set the girls up with their activities or into their swimmers and set their toys up. Pay for lessons, get snacks out, get my swimming gear out and am in the pool ready to start training at 9:15am

10:30am

While we’re supposed to finish at 10:15, it’s more likely 10:30 before we stagger out of the pool. I shower myself and the girls if they’ve been swimming. I have to put special cream in our hair to stop it going icky, moisturise, pack all our swimmers and towels up and all the associated paraphanalia. Then it’s time for a coffee. I actually get to talk with the ladies (and occasional man) I train with. This can last anything from ten minutes to half an hour depending on how many and the type of people staying behind. I also find it a good time to chat with the coach about how the training is going, and what we’re working towards. As the local triathalon is on in three weeks, things are a lot more intense than normal, and discussing it with the coach is good to keep in perspective what we’re trying to achieve (fitness as opposed to speed etc). Miss Moo is usually ready for a feed by this stage, after a bit of a doze in her pram while I’m in the pool.

11:30am

Finally we’re on the way home. If we need bread or milk I’ll stop home on the way, and often that results in a donut or coffee if we run into someone we know. It can be 12:30 or 1:00 before we get home. As I’m walking from the garage into the house I hang out the washing I put on before I left and put on our swimming gear before unloading the car.

12:30pm

Lunch time. Hubby is often home for lunch so it can be quite chaotic for a while. I usually pop Miss Moo down for a nap as soon as we get home and she will now sleep for 3-4 hours. After lunch and loading the dishwasher I look into dinner. Start defrosting meat, chopping veggies and baking. The kids help as much as possible before sitting down at the table to do their “school work”. M&M is practicing her writing at the moment, and Kiki is focusing on recognising her numbers. She does lots of dot-to-dots. I also often play uni lectures in the background, especially towards the end of the semester. Then I hang out the swimming washing.

2:00pm

The big kids are sent off to their room for quiet time while I sit down for a rest. I usually make a cuppa or a latte and watch Question Time in Parliament or read outside in the courtyard. If Miss Moo is awake she enjoys watching Question Time - giggles at all the silly politicians. Again I use this time to make notes for uni, browse the readings etc.

3:00pm

Play School! The big girls love it and while they watch I catch up on my friends blogs, comment, check forums, write my blog posts. Miss Moo wakes up around then and I feed her while reading emails and blogs. Once Miss Moo’s finished feeding I bring the washing in fold it and put it away put it away.

4:30pm

This is when I get the bulk of the “housework” done on swimming days. I potter around clearing tables, benches, dusting as I go, sweeping and spot mopping the floors. I chase the kids into their bedroom to put their toys away and their clothes. Then I get started on dinner. Hubby is home between 5pm and 5:30, he often calls on the way home to see if I need anything from the shops. He regularly walks into chaos with Miss Moo waiting to be fed her dinner and the big kids expending the last of their energy or getting cranky and tired. He is great about pitching in the second he walks in the door, often taking over dinner prep while I feed Miss Moo and deal with the other kids.

6:00pm

I aim to sit down to dinner bang on six o’clock. Sometimes it works, other days, not so much, but definitely by 6:30pm we are sitting at the table having dinner. After dinner I stack the dishwasher while the kids start on their evening jobs. Once they’re done with their showers or bath I run the dishwasher and potter around the kitchen while the kids do their jobs - often helping out with teeth and making their beds up if they need re-making. Miss Moo is dunked in the bath on bath nights (we alternate bath/showers) then into her Pj’s for her final feed before bed. Once the big girls are ready for bed they can watch Scrapheap Challenge which finishes at 7:20pm. After Scrapheap the TV goes off and the girls can have a drink (water only), toilet then into bed by 7:30pm. There is often a story, then a timer set for 5 minutes, after which time the lights go out. In here I sometimes also do a dirty clothes collection and take it out to the laundry and assess the most important loads to get done the next day. If one is urgent I start that going then.

7:30pm

Finally the house is semi-quiet and Hubby and I get some quiet time, albeit on computers sitting next to each other. I do some uni work, browse the internet, and if necessary hang out the load of washing I’ve done. I also do some tasks which are too hot to do during the day. Mostly I study though and if my back gets bad I’ll retire to the couch and read my text book rather than sit at the desk.

10:30pm

This is the time I aim to get Hubby and myself to bed. Miss Moo will wake up (although I use the term loosely) for a quick feed just as I get settled in bed with a magazine or newspaper. I am usually asleep by 11pm.