I had several goals for May; here’s how I did:
- Make at least three items of maternity clothing: I finished the top I had cut out at the beginning of the month, and that’s it. It’s been cold enough that it hasn’t mattered (winter maternity clothes work fine so far, although I know that won’t last).
- Make/buy Johnny some summer clothes: I bought him three white t-shirts, intending to iron on some cute transfers my aunt gave me. Didn’t happen, but he has worn the t-shirts several times. He’s in desperate need of shorts, luckily for me it’s been cold enough for him to wear long pants nearly every time we’ve gone out.
- Take control of Emma’s theft of her brother’s clothing: This I have done quite well at, largely by threatening to let Johnny wear her clothes if she wears his.
- Do something about the 500 or so flagged blog posts in my Google Reader: I actually did go through several flagged blog posts, but then flagged about 200 more. I clearly need a blog flagging regulator.
- Figure out what to do about our leaking boiler: Fixed, so long as it passes inspection - after discussing the problem with multiple neighbors, my plumber uncle (who sadly lives on the other side of the country and so had to figure out the problem based on my undoubtedly horribly inaccurate description of what was wrong), and several of Mike’s coworkers - by replacing the boiler with a furnace, water heater, and an entirely new heating system for the house that involved cutting holes in every room. Which resulted in an unplanned hole in the ceiling (someone fell through, thankfully they weren’t hurt!) and a broken doorbell (both to be repaired). And a couple holes in the playroom wall to patch where we yanked out some long-defunct space heaters.
Just in case that wasn’t enough excitement for the month of May, we also had a clog in the sewage pipe between our house and the street that was finally fixed via our toilet through a vent in the roof. For a slightly less astronomical price than the price on the bill. Which goes to show, if a price seems Truly Outrageous, say so – they cut nearly 25% of the initial bill without my having to argue with them beyond pointing out that it seemed overly expensive given the work done.
One benefit of the Month of the Expensive Home? Our house is now fully heated for the First Time Ever.
Now, on to annual goals:
- Find places to keep all those odds and ends that get stashed in random places: I cleared off the tables in the kitchen, and have actually kept them clear (quite the accomplishment, since they had become the household junk repository). How exciting, to have tables in the kitchen that can actually be used!
- Potty train Emma: Stellar performance here, which is a good thing since she refuses to wear pull-ups ever since a girl at the playground called them diapers. We do sneak them on for nighttime, but it is literal sneaking (once she’s asleep).
- Get Johnny to eat more solid food: The boy got weaned this month, so he lost his favorite food source. He now eats bread, grapes, and frozen applesauce. And occasionally refried beans and broccoli. Also anything that might be really bad for him (super salty, deep fried, artificial flavors/colors, super sweet). He is still doing great drinking milk, and his stomach seems to finally be tolerating solid food in general, so maybe we’ll escape allergy testing for now.
- Be more patient with cooking/baking that involves a rolling pin: I used my rolling pin this month! I made mini pita bread, which turned out okay. I’m not sure it increased my patience with a rolling pin, though…
- Take the kids outdoors more: We missed several days in May thanks to cold rain, but the kids are still spending a lot of time outside.
- Get the kids to sleep through the night better: HUGE improvement in this area! Johnny now sleeps through the night if I let him sleep in my bed. He starts out most nights on a mattress on the floor, so hopefully I can gradually move him into his own room. Some teeth that have been bothering him for ages are finally breaking through, so that could help a lot!Emma is sleeping pretty well also, she gets the occasional nightmare but otherwise doesn’t wake up much at all any more. Maybe we’ll get a few weeks’ rest before welcoming a newborn into our home!
And, to conclude the Longest Post Ever, my goals for June:
- Make at least one more maternity skirt
- Make Johnny at least two pairs of shorts
I think I’ll stick with a short list this time!
