A Change of Plans

Steve has been having some trouble with pain in his elbow. On Thursday, we went to see a specialist, who did some x-rays and testing, and determined that Steve has no cartilidge in his elbow, just the bones of his elbow and forearm rubbing together. Painful enough in itself, but he also has a twisted nerve that is getting trapped between the two bones. Ouch! The doctor recommended surgery, and then told us he had an opening on Monday, just 4 days later. The surgery will leave him unable to use his arm and hand for around 6 weeks.

We came home Thursday night, picked up Jacob at my parent's house, and I got a crash course in using the lawn mower and the weedeater. We also worked until after dark on the landscaping, as we had just bought a truckload of landscaping rock. Most of the rock is unloaded in the flowerbeds now, but there is still about a fourth of a truckload left for me to do when the weather clears up. Yesterday (Friday) it rained all day and through the night, and today it is drizzling rain, cold, and windy, so the rocks will have to wait.

We spent the morning doing some deep cleaning in the house, so it will be a bit easier for me since I'll have all the indoor and outdoor chores to do by myself until Steve is able to help me. This afternoon, I'm working on some papers for my classes, trying to get a few weeks ahead, so I can adjust to my new life style. I sat down and came up with a new schedule so the major stuff gets done as it needs it.

6:30 am: wake up, dress in workout clothes, wake Jacob. Fix breakfast, empty the dishwasher, and start the laundry. Jacob dresses for school, eats breakfast, feeds the animals, and washes face, hands, and brushes teeth.
7:15: Jacob gets on the bus, I work out for 30-45 minutes, then reboot the laundry.
8:00: Shower, get dressed/hair/makeup for work. Fix work lunch, fix Steve's lunch and put in the mircrowave for him.
9:00 Fold and put away laundry, thaw meat for supper or put in crock pot, any supper preps that I can get to.
10:00: Leave for work.
4:00: Home. Change out of work clothes, put dishes in dishwasher, make our bed. Jacob does his chores, start on supper, clean while supper cooks.
5:30: Supper
6:00: Kitchen clean-up, Jacob loads and starts dishwasher and sweeps kitchen, 10 minute tidy of the living room.
6:30: Homework for me and Jacob
8:00: Jacob shower, teeth, jammies.
8:30: Jacob in bed, can read or watch TV until lights out at 9:00.
9:00: time with hubby. Watch a movie or some TV. I usually read or sew or crochet while we're watching.
11:00: Lights out for me.

Daily cleaning must-do's:
1 load of laundry, dishes, counters in kitchen, sweep kitchen, food preps.

Day by Day cleaning tasks:
Monday: Sweep (Jacob) and mop kitchen, bathrooms, and entry
Tuesday: dust all furniture: Living Room, Bedrooms, Hall
Wednesday: Clean bathroom counters, tubs, and toilets. Make grocery list.
Thursday: Grocery shop on the way home from work. vacuum all carpets (Jacob), clean mirrors and windows (inside only)
Friday: Family night (movies or games)
Saturday: mow and weedeat. If it's raining, do Monday and Tuesday cleaning, then mow those nights. Homework for me.
Sunday: Church, meal plan for week. Bring up food for week from basement pantry and freezers. Rest.


Menu planning:
Breakfasts: cold cereal with milk, oatmeal with fruit, eggs and turkey sausage, peanut butter toast
Lunches: Jacob eats at school, I take a sandwich or supper leftovers or a frozen Weight Watchers meal. I fix Steve leftovers or a sandwich, or he finds something he can fix.
Supper: changes weekly. I will be focusing on easy to prepare foods that don't require a lot of time from me. I'm searching for some good crockpot meals, so I can just dump it all in before work.