Tuesday, May 5th


5:45am- Christopher’s alarm goes off in 15-minute increments until he gets up at 6:30.

6:45- My alarm went off but evidently I turned it off and go back to sleep.


7:43- I was awakened by Annabelle in the doorway asking for breakfast. She must be going through a growth spurt. She used to lay in bed and cuddle and we could start the day slowly but those days are gone. She skips all the morning sentimentality and asks to eat instantly. I sent her in the kitchen to get the cereal while I get dressed and made the bed.


8:02- She tells me we have no milk but I had the foresight to buy an extra gallon and put it in the outside freezer. I go out there but there is no milk to be found. I look in the kitchen refrigerator but it isn’t there. I go back out to the garage in case I missed it, but missing a gallon of milk in a mostly empty refrigerator seemed unlikely. I later learned Christopher threw it out because it went bad.


8:12- We decide to fry quail eggs instead. I had never eaten quails or their eggs, but I bought them on a whim at the grocery store then side-eyed them for several days without trying them. It seemed like the day to try them and they were surprisingly good. AB likes to crack eggs but we didn’t know quail eggs have a thicker shell so she banged it harder and harder until it exploded on her hair and my shirt.


9:00- We went on our daily walk and met a new neighbor and his dog. He gave a lengthy explanation of the meaning behind his dog’s name.  


9:45- We started the school day with reading and handwriting. I called the furniture company about a rip in the couch and the woman told me to text her a picture of the rip so she could assess the damage. I do it immediately but she never responded and I didn’t think any more about it. 


10:30- The kitchen sink leaked and soaked my new kitchen rug. I took everything out from under the sink and used all our rags drying it up. Linus escaped out the back door and charged around the yard like a wild animal. I got him back in the house and made myself an ice coffee. I seldom drink coffee in the morning but I could see where this day was going and I needed to brace myself.


11:15- We went out on the deck to practice reading Ollie the Goose. Christopher came home early and Annabelle read to him.


11:50- We finished making our tin can telephones. We experimented the day before with paper cups because we only had one empty can, but I emptied another so we could do it the real way. We were unsuccessful and heard nothing through the cans.


12:00- I made lunch while Annabelle listened to Samantha, made paper dolls and requested a pre-lunch snack of crackers. While we eat lunch she kept listening to Samantha so I could read my book.


12:30- The sink leaked again so I took everything out again and dried it down again. I went to put the wet towels in the laundry room and discovered that one of the cats (my money is on Lucy) peed in the laundry basket. Generally, when they have accidents it’s because their litter box is full. I changed the litter but the bag I put it in had a hole so it spilled all over the floor. Meanwhile, AB was in my room cutting out paper snowflakes as one does in May.

I turned around and these jokers were relaxing on the table  like they’re the ones who had a stressful day.

12:58- I made a second ice coffee.


1:00- I got a text from a random number saying they didn’t need a picture of my couch.That explains 
why Sharon never responded hours before.


1:02- I cannot explain why I looked this up, but for the next fifteen minutes I researched artificial eyes. 


1:15- I needed to print something for school but Annabelle used the last of the printer paper for her snowflakes. She’s used several small trees worth of paper since January.


1:25 to 5:30- We finished school, played in the living room, reading Ollie, made a phone call, dug out the slipnslide, found the pump, inflated the slipnslide, handed out snacks, did laundry, watered plants, prepped supper and attempted to blog. Tuesday afternoons are supposed to be my afternoon off. I try to keep it free for reading, crafting or whatever I want to do. I try not to do cleaning or house-related things but sometimes it doesn’t work out well. Every time I started to do my own thing I got disrupted by something. I got more frustrated than I should have and raised my voice before deciding to give up on my afternoon off. 


6:23- We had roasted brussel sprouts and carrots and chicken marsala for supper. Annabelle asked about America’s allies and Christopher’s deployments.


7:15- I was desperately in need of alone time so I let the others clean up from supper while I planted my flowers and went for a walk. I listened to The Giver of Stars while I walked. It was so good. When I get back, I took a shower then did devotions with Annabelle and put her to bed. We’ve had the Jesus Storybook Bible for years and years but never read it for two reasons. One, it’s extremely popular and I have an issue with getting on some very popular trains. Two, I could never get past the illustrations. I HATE them. I think they’re horrendous and a blindfolded child could do better. If the illustrator ever reads this, I mean no ill-will against you! I’m sure you’re great! The pictures are just not my type of art. My refusal to read it was the very definition of judging a book by its cover. But a few months ago we exhausted all our other Bible storybooks so I started to read it. Low and behold, it’s pretty good. That may be why it’s sold millions of copies and has been translated in 38 languages. A few times a week we do this prayer journal as well. 


9:30ish- I do a few things on the computer then we watch two episodes of Community.