Something to look forward to

I picked up the kids today at 12:30. The PM called for a national day of mourning and all government offices and schools closed. Before I left I was getting cold so when we got home I did what I never do during the day...I turned on the chauffage! In order to save gas I wait until the sun is almost down to turn it on. By the time we're ready for our showers we have plenty of hot water as well. Today I had that thing on before 2 p.m. I didn't turn it off until after 9. Usually it's on until I go to bed, but it was getting warm in here.

Temps tonight should get below freezing. With all the rain we've had (and getting more as I type this) it should make the morning drive to school rather interesting. I was hoping things would be closed tomorrow too. If the Boss says it's slick at all when he takes Elektra out to update her FB status, then we'll skip a breakfast at home, get dressed quick, and pick up breakfast on the way so we have plenty of time to arrive safely with history project in hand.

I've reworked my weekly routine. The other was OK but I was cleaning something everyday with almost no chance for a real break between cleaning something and getting the kids' food ready for after school. So I've decided that I'll touch up the living room on Mondays (skipped since this week's zone is the living room), Tuesday will be zone work, Wednesday will still be the bathrooms, Thursdays will be for grocery shopping, and Friday will be the Weekly Home Blessing Hour. Mondays should be fairly light and easy to do after tutoring and a walk (assuming the weather is cooperative). Tuesday will be hard to do, depending upon the zone and what shape it's in before I start. Wednesday isn't bad since the bathrooms don't take too long. Thursdays depend upon where I shop that week and traffic to and from. Friday can be a long one. It's actually quite a bit longer than an hour. I don't have carpeting...I have a rug or two in every room to vacuum and then I have to move them to mop the floors. I use regular cleaner in the bedrooms, baths, and kitchen, but since I have marble in the living room and hallway I have to be careful. I should use only water, but I hate that with little ones. When we lived here before I had 2 toddlers playing on the floor and now I have a dog and cat walking on it and 3 kids who rarely remember to take off their shoes the first 10 times they're told. I don't want to trust plain water to clean my floor properly. So I use Pledge for marble and other similar floors. I feel better knowing that my floor is actually clean!

If I get this routine down well, then I should have time to start adding friends to the mix. Bathrooms are not negotiable, and the zone really needs to be done, Friday is important since we're home all weekend and there's a good chance for someone to come by. Monday is kind of optional and Thursday is flexible since I start my shopping as soon as I drop off the kids or finish walking. Easy to get out of the way pretty early in the day.

After I get home from school I sit down at the table and have devotions with my Treasury of Daily Prayer. It's wonderful! It gets my day off to the right start. Now for some afternoon time for my new Lutheran Study Bible. I keep it handy when listening to a sermon online or Issues, Etc. (well, most of the time) and take it to church, but I need to start digging into it. Hopefully this revised schedule will help with that.

In spite of the change in schedule today we still had a good supper. Homemade pizza, fried cauliflower (to replace the french fries that Lebanese like to have with their pizza), and banana cake for desert. (Hey! We got our veggie!) Out of respect for the Peanuts' teachers, I skipped the caramel frosting. I miss it but it's good even without it so I'm hardly disappointed.

Now that I've figured out how to get the Boss to eat the chicken in his chicken and rice (hand him the ketchup bottle) I think we'll have that tomorrow. I still have chicken left from Friday as well as the bones to make more broth.Unless I think of something else instead...involving ketchup or some other yummy sauce, of course.