Done, done, done!

This week is looking way rosier than last week (the end, anyway). We have a "new" washing machine! It works great! The clothes were starting to get dingy... my criterion for a good washer is - does it knock the "stuffing" out of a pocket diaper? The last one (it came with the house) didn't... the stuffing would just curl up and hide in a corner of the dipe. If you're not sure what a pocket dipe is, here's one with the stuffing on its way in. The idea being, the outer part is waterproof, the inner part is soft against the baby, and the middle, you stuff a towel or anything waterproof. But the whole thing is way more sanitary if the stuffing is washed outside the diaper.

Anyway, this washer does a stupendous job - the stuffings were all cowering obediently in a corner FAR away from the outer. And the whites that came out of the white load today were shiny and bright. Can't wait do some sun-drying in the backyard... when the sun decides to return in its full strength, round about July. :-)))

So why "done, done, done!"? I finished all three articles for the CJN: midwifery, insurance, compounding drugs. Will post links if/when they appear online.

The week started pretty desperate and glum yesterday when the midwife I'd originally contacted as a source for my article wasn't home when I called to interview her. I was 25 minutes late because I was stuck at the Dr. with Yerachmiel, and she was out. I have left so many messages for her over the last week or so, but I guess she was fed up with me or something, because she never returned one of them.

So, last night, backed into a corner and up against my deadline, I emailed every midwifery practice in the city to see if they had a Jewish midwife. No reason she had to be Jewish, I guess, except it's the CJN, so I wanted some kind of connection, and it's nice to see that there are Jews in these kinds of fields.

Anyway, at 9 this morning, I also called the Association of Ontario Midwives, and the director of Ryerson University's midwifery education program... to no avail.

Then, around 10:30, while the baby was blissfully sleeping - ha! A wonderful, blessed midwife fell into my lap: one of the cold emails to random midwife practices paid off! She was so articulate and happy to chat for about 15 minutes and gave me all the quotes I needed. I was SO grateful I emailed her right away to thank her kind of effusively... I'm sure she thinks I'm totally crazy now. :-)

But all that means my article is done!!! I had the thing mostly written already and I just plunked in her quotes, smoothed things out a little bit and sent the piece on its way. All while the baby napped, little suspecting what a super mama I was in that particular moment...

Since she was still napping, I decided to take a shower (it was 1:00 in the afternoon by then, so I thought high time) and I found a hand towel all shrivelled and damp and realized Ted must have had to use it for his shower this morning. Felt so sad at the pathetic image of my 6-foot-some husband towelling with this little thing that I stuck in a load of towels to wash first.

I must be the world's worst housewife. I thought at first it was because I was new to it, but that can't be it, because here we are almost a year on and I'm still utterly incompetent at this job of feeding, clothing and caring for my family.

My intentions are good, but things just run out of steam... or take way longer than I expect. Laundry tends to start optimistically on Monday morning, but then expand to take the entire week. I heard a mother say last year that she does one load every morning, but then, she also said she yanks her husband's shirts out of the dryer after 15 minutes so they don't wrinkle. Somehow, I don't think she's the type to leave the rest of the things crumpled in the dryer for days on end until the next soggy washload needs the space. :(

BUT I have a washer. See? I thought I had it bad because I had only one shoe, but last week, I was the man with only one foot - a dryer and no washer - so now, this week, I feel much better.

The baby seems to be pooing at random these days - sometimes in the potty, sometimes in her diaper. She did two in her diaper today, which has gotten extremely rare, so I guess I will drop the smug feeling of "my baby is almost trained," and just enjoy letting her play on the potty and not do anything there for a few days.

My next hurdle: a workshop this Wednesday at the Betel Centre introducing eBay. Must email Michael (current co-ordinator there) to see how many people he's expecting me to entertain. Must also put together an outline for what I'm actually going to say. :-))

But after that, I'm off the hook for a couple of days - no tutoring this week. Only been doing it for a few weeks, but already, it is a welcome vacation. Knowing we'll be back at it next week, of course. Otherwise, it would just be a scary bit of "unemployment."

Anyway, as we cub reporters like to close...

# # #

(in the writing business, that means you're done... so does...)

- 30 -

Why "30"? I have no clue...

Oh - dinners for the last few nights (forgot I was meant to be doing that):

Friday - Shabbos -

"Easy Shabbos" - shake n' bake chicken, rice-a-roni, corn, spring rolls, mix brownies doctored with chocolate chips, pecans and marshmallows BUT also homemade challah and the most divine chicken soup I've tasted in a long time. Kneidlach, kreplach.

Must add Shabbos lunch here because I went all out:

Salmon noodle, crunchy broccoli salad, gefilte fish, pickles, sliced meats, spring rolls, cholent. Had two people from shul, my mother and YM, plus he had a friend over. LOTS of squishing at our table, but great time had by all - yay!

Saturday - Motzaei Shabbos - nothing. Elisheva had a bday party, so YM stayed home and played on the computer then complained when I got home after 1 1/2 hours that he hadn't eaten. To which I basically said, tough. What kind of Jewish mother am I?

Sunday - Ted fried Lazer Yitzchok sausages (amazing!) and we had leftover Shabbos vermicelli rice (rice-a-roni), plus corn, plus he boiled potatoes, which the kids loved.

Tonight - ick. Matzah Brei, the supper of last recourse. I was just so tired. My excuse is, at least I voted!

Oh... almost forgot.

Yet another line I can't stand and will strangle the next person who says it:

"You must have so much room now that you're in a house!" Umm... no? Our apartment was big; our house is TINY. We have WAY less room here, even less if we ever rent out the basement. Hopefully, someday. So I can't stand it when people suggest that we must be rattling around in a big empty house now.

It's mostly Thornhill people who do it. They have lost touch with real property values and think everybody can afford one bedroom per child. :-)