Routine-less
In general, I'm a fan of predictability. Not only does the methodical hone my already-overdeveloped skill of planning based on every remote possibility, but it also provides built-in structure and much more of a sense of control.
Yeah, there hasn't been much of that lately. Between holidays and windchill and some typical-for-us winter weather, the boys have gone to school only six of the last thirty days. I kind of feel like routine makes us better people. Things like more sleep from a regular bedtime, mental stimulation from school and homework, proper tracking of screen time, no forgetting to do devotions, scheduled teeth-brushing - they just happen because they are supposed to.
We have lost all sense of routine. Unmedicated Ashley would have probably lost it round about ten days ago. Happy Ashley's going with the flow.
Poor, poor Brandon got sick in the midst of this. Nasty sick. Like, whole tub of Lysol wipes and I'm moving into the boys' bathroom kind of sick. Bless his heart.
So the boys and I invented quietish ways to bust the boredom and make the most of our many, many, many moments spent together.
Indeed it did snow last week, maybe three beautiful inches of light, fine flakes that were easily shoveled and absolutely refused to be made into any sort of wintry ammunition.
And my Trey, he opted out of playing in it. All I could do was stand there slack-jawed that we're already here. It's not enough that Peppa Pig and sweet Paw Patrol were ripped away from me in favor of Teen Nick. But no snow play? It's too much for me, y'all. I can't take this growing stuff. Luckily Aden accompanied me outside, enjoying an excuse to repeatedly throw himself on the ground and roll downhill. That's real entertainment.
My Aden is minus one tooth and soon to be minus two. And I got to join the club of all the parents who fell asleep before making the tooth-for-coin transaction. Aden marches into the kitchen the next morning and declares, "Mom, I woke up and looked at my nightstand, and the [air quotes] tooth fairy forgot to give me any money!"
Love these boys. It seems the only way I can keep them off screens these unstructured days is for us to play kitchen basketball. Three or four times a day we would come together for a game, always Trey against Aden and me. It's a fairly equal matchup that way. I'm not allowed to shoot much, and for good reason. Aden pounds the defense and scores by persistence from my rebounding. Trey talks trash, then backs it up with impressive threes and floaters above my head. We have so much fun together.
Ordinarily snowy stuck-inside makes me want to cook all the things. But with Brandon not able to keep anything down and the boys never really eating much that I would prepare, I couldn't muster the will to dirty up a bunch of dishes just for me.
I did, however, throw together a batch of taco stuff, which is a recipe I came up with back in 2011, here. It has been on regular rotation since then, but with a few heart-healthy changes. I cut the meat in half and add in a can of rinsed and drained low-sodium great northern beans. I use no-salt-added veggies and brown rice. Instead of a taco seasoning packet, four teaspoons of chili powder and two rounded teaspoons of cumin do the trick. And the cheese on top is reduced to 1/2 or 2/3 cup. Then for eating, we crumble just a few tortilla chips on top. Very, very yummy.
Of course the absence of schedule (and the eventual clearing of the roads) offers opportunity to do something totally spontaneous and fun for everyone. Arcade, baby, and yes I did too so get quarters for myself.
This week is going to be tough on the boys. Weather looks fine and so it will likely be their first full week of school since mid-December. Bedtime, homework, even scheduled teeth-brushing is back. I'm steeling myself for the eye rolls and jelly legs that will come with it, and at the same time thankful to have built some very non-routine memories to start off the year.
Maybe going with the flow isn't so bad after all. Every once in a while, anyway.
Yeah, there hasn't been much of that lately. Between holidays and windchill and some typical-for-us winter weather, the boys have gone to school only six of the last thirty days. I kind of feel like routine makes us better people. Things like more sleep from a regular bedtime, mental stimulation from school and homework, proper tracking of screen time, no forgetting to do devotions, scheduled teeth-brushing - they just happen because they are supposed to.
We have lost all sense of routine. Unmedicated Ashley would have probably lost it round about ten days ago. Happy Ashley's going with the flow.
Poor, poor Brandon got sick in the midst of this. Nasty sick. Like, whole tub of Lysol wipes and I'm moving into the boys' bathroom kind of sick. Bless his heart.
So the boys and I invented quietish ways to bust the boredom and make the most of our many, many, many moments spent together.
Indeed it did snow last week, maybe three beautiful inches of light, fine flakes that were easily shoveled and absolutely refused to be made into any sort of wintry ammunition.
And my Trey, he opted out of playing in it. All I could do was stand there slack-jawed that we're already here. It's not enough that Peppa Pig and sweet Paw Patrol were ripped away from me in favor of Teen Nick. But no snow play? It's too much for me, y'all. I can't take this growing stuff. Luckily Aden accompanied me outside, enjoying an excuse to repeatedly throw himself on the ground and roll downhill. That's real entertainment.
My Aden is minus one tooth and soon to be minus two. And I got to join the club of all the parents who fell asleep before making the tooth-for-coin transaction. Aden marches into the kitchen the next morning and declares, "Mom, I woke up and looked at my nightstand, and the [air quotes] tooth fairy forgot to give me any money!"
Love these boys. It seems the only way I can keep them off screens these unstructured days is for us to play kitchen basketball. Three or four times a day we would come together for a game, always Trey against Aden and me. It's a fairly equal matchup that way. I'm not allowed to shoot much, and for good reason. Aden pounds the defense and scores by persistence from my rebounding. Trey talks trash, then backs it up with impressive threes and floaters above my head. We have so much fun together.
Ordinarily snowy stuck-inside makes me want to cook all the things. But with Brandon not able to keep anything down and the boys never really eating much that I would prepare, I couldn't muster the will to dirty up a bunch of dishes just for me.
I did, however, throw together a batch of taco stuff, which is a recipe I came up with back in 2011, here. It has been on regular rotation since then, but with a few heart-healthy changes. I cut the meat in half and add in a can of rinsed and drained low-sodium great northern beans. I use no-salt-added veggies and brown rice. Instead of a taco seasoning packet, four teaspoons of chili powder and two rounded teaspoons of cumin do the trick. And the cheese on top is reduced to 1/2 or 2/3 cup. Then for eating, we crumble just a few tortilla chips on top. Very, very yummy.
Of course the absence of schedule (and the eventual clearing of the roads) offers opportunity to do something totally spontaneous and fun for everyone. Arcade, baby, and yes I did too so get quarters for myself.
This week is going to be tough on the boys. Weather looks fine and so it will likely be their first full week of school since mid-December. Bedtime, homework, even scheduled teeth-brushing is back. I'm steeling myself for the eye rolls and jelly legs that will come with it, and at the same time thankful to have built some very non-routine memories to start off the year.
Maybe going with the flow isn't so bad after all. Every once in a while, anyway.
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