It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to notice that I kinda went through a summer hibernation of sorts. Having the kids home and Daniels irregular hours due to the heat. It made the house hard to clean. That situation caused a brief depression for me. The presence of everyone at home and ongoing chaos contributed. I could not write educational and interesting content while in a poor mindset.
That doesn’t mean I’ve stopped learning new things though! I’ve made chocolate from cocoa powder, I’ve learned how easy it is to cook with lentils, and have been learning more ‘rebel canning’ skills. I even perfected and canned my first batch of homemade salsa, created and molded for my husbands preference (since he’s the one that devours it)
Goals:
With my new found knowledge of how to make seasonings, chocolates, canned goods, ect. My goal for the next few months is to think of something for the extended family for Christmas, even if we’re going back to gifting handmade goods. I also want to organize my kitchen again. Since I’ve been stating home I’ve started reorganizing things. My canned food is no longer in bins. I want to be able to see what I have on the shelf almost like a grocery store. Since I’ve done that things have been getting used because I see it and won’t forget I have it.
Being that I also have a more of a practical food stamp budget now, I also want to make butter on a more regular basis, so that I always have at least 1 stick in the fridge (and honestly with how much Daniel uses for thanksgiving I need to start building a stash like YESTERDAY )
Now that I’m feeling better, I am back to my old routine. I hope to continue my hexagon quilt and t-shirt rugs, and maybe even make some candles again.
The Kiddos
Now that Miss Dani is 9 months old, she’s moving along very well. Not walking yet, but crawling and climbing she is a master at. So, We have been working on going from Baby proofing to Toddler proofing. Similar, but things have to go up higher, and the thought of ‘can she climb on this’ is now a thought when putting things back where they once went.
Vito is enjoying school. This year he prefers a home lunch to school lunch. Since I have time to prepare it, I enjoy packing foods he will eat, not rushing to playground.
And Elizabeth is still in band, still enjoying it, and Daniels still going to most football games as long as he’s able to and not exhausted. She’s months away from starting drivers ed, which still is hard for me to fathom.
Mr. Lemke
Daniel has been back to work for a while now. His arm has healed up beautifully. Other than the scar that displays where he had surgery, his strength is back to just about where it was before the break. This summer he was working very early hours because of the Redding heat, so many times he would come home in the early afternoon, exhausted and hot as heck. Thankfully, with it being the end of September he’s working more ‘normal’ hours.
What about me?
Between being 9 months post postpartum, breastfeeding, having PCOS/PMOS; my hormones are definitely changing because I am starting to feel that ‘crazy’ feeling again. Which is the name I gave when I start to feel like every tiny thing upsets me. It’s not quite PMS as the other PMS symptoms aren’t there. But over the years I’ve finally been getting better about knowing what my hormones are more than likely doing.
Since I’ve been having this feeling I’ve started eating a little better and getting in more protein and less carbs. Which I had been doing anyway. It wasn’t until a few days ago that I realized I was letting more carbs and sweets into my body as well. Not a friend for PCOS.
Thankfully, dealing with it gets easier. Not only am I able to communicate to my family that my hormones are doing cray stuff right now, but they are all great about taking that information and bracing themselves, and giving me grace. Especially since I’ve at least gotten to the point where I’m able to realize and communicate it to them. And with work and school for everyone being more consistent and back to normal; I’m able to bust out my chores in the morning, and take it easy the rest of the afternoon. For days when I feel ‘off’ or ‘crazy’, I take it as my body’s way of telling me to stop and smell the roses. So, I do.