Day #87 - Day #94 (Saturday - Saturday)

It's getting harder and harder to find time to write a blog... maybe I'll just go back to little 2 or 3 sentence posts on a more frequent basis.

The past 8 days have been chaotic, as usual. "Stalker Boy" finally seems to understand what no contact means but now my niece (who has been gracious enough to accompany Julia home on the bus every afternoon) is having trouble with an ex-boyfriend who keeps calling, trying to get her back. What is in the water here, that teenage boys just can't understand that relationships usually end for a reason and that most girls usually don't want to revisit those reasons?!?

I've been on Martha-lite lately, as the weather has been really dreary and rainy. (For those who don't know, I have major depressive disorder - just one of several other mental health issues - and the weather is making it harder to function most days.) I've been baking and cooking lately, as a way to distract myself. Not that my family is complaining - as of today, I've made:

• brownies
• snicker doodles
• chocolate chip cookies
• cornbread
• buttermilk biscuits
  
• cheesecake

Today was sunny but cool, so I made homemade chicken soup. It was Martha's regular chicken soup recipe and I even made the stock from scratch, per her instructions. It sounds WAY more impressive than it actually was, as it didn't really take that long. I was very pleasantly surprised. : ) I served the soup with the homemade cornbread and buttermilk biscuits, and it really was a nice way to start the beginning of "Autumn in Northeast Ohio" weather.

I spent the past week, also, putting away all the summer clothes (Space Bags make this so easy!) and pulling out all the autumn clothes. Now if I could find what bag I stored my favorite brown sweater in, I'll be very happy. It always amazes me how much new clothing the kids acquire during each season.

Amelia has discovered the joy of wearing cotton knit tights (she hates the feel of nylon ones), so it looks like she'll be wearing more dresses now. Yea!

This coming week is "Major Cleaning Week." No more dragging my butt, I need to get all the end-of-summer cleaning done. The added incentive is that my ex in-laws are coming to visit the weekend of the 23rd. I would love to have all the housework done this week, so I can relax next week and not be stressed out when they arrive. (Yeah right.) I'm planning on switching the screens for storm windows, cleaning all the windows, wiping down the walls, vacuuming and scrubbing all the floors, applying liquid floor refurbisher to the hardwood floors (it covers the scratches and makes the floors extra shiny), clean the stove and oven (and even the oven racks), wipe down all cabinets, etc. Maybe I'll even have the energy to tackle the kids' bedrooms again. I know I should make them do it on their own but I'm just sick of yelling at them.

Now the hubby and I are going out with a couple of friends for a quick nightcap (well, a nightcap for him and a Diet Pepsi for me) and then it's off to bed. Tomorrow is "Football Sunday", as Maura's team is in the first round of playoffs. Go Falcons!

Mary