Avivah Werner

Author: Avivah

  • Repairing the dryer

    My dryer has become increasingly problematic in the last few weeks.  It started by lengthening the drying cycles, until it would go for hours at a time even when set to the shortest setting.  At least the clothes were dry when we would finally realize the dryer hadn’t shut itself off, though.  It was annoying to have it running so long since it’s a huge electricity hog, and I try to keep my electric use in check by minimizing the use of things like this.  But my kids do the laundry, so I’m not usually aware of what setting they put things on, and they won’t mention something like the cycles taking longer than usual until it becomes very noticeable.  This is something that got worse and worse but didn’t seem like it was worth mentioning.

    Then about a week and a half ago, even after hours in the dryer, the clothes weren’t coming out dry!   I suggested to my son on laundry duty for this month that he hang the clothes outside, a suggestion that met with a less than enthusiastic reception.  He didn’t feel there was much appeal standing outside in the cold, hanging laundry, not to mention that it’s a lot quicker to throw a load into the dryer.  So the laundry was backing up, and several family members were wondering why they had no shirts to wear, despite having sent them to the basement for washing long before (laundry is supposed to be done every 2 or 3 days, and as long as the clothes are brought down, they usually are washed in a timely way).  His frustration level mounted when he finally took me up on my suggestion to wash several loads at night before he went to sleep, and then hang them all at once in the morning. 

    That sounds like a reasonable idea, doesn’t it?  The night he did all the laundry, he called the weather hotline to check if rain was expected.  It was, during the night, but it didn’t rain then.  So the next morning, before I was even up, thinking he was clear as far as rain went, he spent 45 minutes hanging up every piece of laundry, even the tiniest items.  And as he was finishing hanging everything, the skies opened up.  No, frustrated isn’t a strong enough term to express his feelings at that moment! 

    Fortunately, my dear husband came to the rescue, and decided to learn some dryer repair. 🙂  He did some reading, and then opened up the dryer and took it apart.  (Doesn’t that sound impressive?  His friends thought so!)  He found a lot of lint accumulation, so he cleaned it out and put it all back together, hoping that would resolve the issue.  Unfortunately, it didn’t solve the problem, though it’s good to get the excess lint out of the way as it can become a fire hazard.  So he did some more reading, then took it apart again, and discovered that the heating element was burnt out. 

    That necessitated buying another heating element, but when he did the initial pricing and discovered it would be $75 to buy it, he suggested it would be cheaper if I got a used dryer on Craig’s List.  I suggested that he first call a couple of appliance repairmen and find out if they had ideas for where to buy the piece.  He made a couple of calls, found a place to buy the element for $25 (and one of the repairmen offered him a job!), and went out to buy it.  Back at home, he was getting ready to put it in when he inadvertently stepped on the heating element that he had placed on the floor, smooshing the coil out of shape.  So he tried to reshape it, and installed it.  He turned on the dryer, only to watch it promptly short out!

    Fortuntately, my husband isn’t a quitter, so back to the store he went, buying another $25 element (he said he considered the extra cost the fee for his education :)), and then again installed it.  Quick and easy this time around, and the dryer now works perfectly!  Not only is it heating properly, but the issue with the timer resolved, too.  And you can bet my son is relieved to have it working!

    Avivah

  • A play and free ices

    I just got home from taking the kids to a musical, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat.  We did a lot of the preparations for Shabbos yesterday afternoon so we could enjoy going out on a Friday morning without rushing or being worried there wouldn’t be time to do all that needs to be done when we got back. 

    The performance was excellent – very well done and very fun.  Though it’s generally based on the classic Biblical story of Joseph, I told my kids to watch it as if it had nothing to do with that and was just about a person named Joseph and things that happened to him.  Otherwise, they would be bothered by inconsistencies or things that didn’t seem appropriate.  

    Since it was the dress rehearsal, we were able to enjoy it without having to pay the $10 per person fee that will be charged tonight (there was a basket for voluntary donations).  We’ve had similar opportunities in the past to attend wonderful performances of all sorts for free or for a token cost because we attended the dress rehearsals.  It’s only because the kids are homeschooled that we can take advantage of these showings, since most kids are in school during the day. 

    My ds15 stayed home, as did ds18 months, so I just took six kids with me.  The days of everyone being young enough to go to one performance are for the most part over – because of the singing by females in a number of them, ds doesn’t go to things like this with us.  Fortunately he doesn’t feel bothered to be missing it.  And it made it easier for me that he did stay home, since I didn’t have to take a child too young to sit still for more than five minutes. 

    The almost three year old did great, though it was a long time for him to sit, so he wanted to go out about fifteen or twenty minutes before the end.  I went into the hallway with him and joined the other two or three mothers with toddlers.  🙂  Fortunately, the door was open so I was able to still view the performance.  And afterwards I bumped into a couple of homeschooling moms I haven’t seen for 2.5 years when we met at a planetarium show I took the kids to, which was nice.

    Afterwards, I took the kids to get ices from Rita’s.  Today is the first day of spring, and every year, Rita’s has complimentary ices on this day.  (If you’re seeing this today, check their website to find the location closest to you, and you might be able to still take advantage of this if you have the desire and can find the time.)   Since we got there at 1 pm, there was virtually no line (when we went two years ago, it was after school hours so the line was huge and we waited for over a half hour); I hardly had time to park the van before the kids were ready to load up again!   Dd14 got an ices for ds15 to enjoy, since he wasn’t with us.  He would have been more sorry to miss that the performance. 🙂   A tip from my kids – the fruit flavors are much better than the flavors that imitate cake or candy.

    Even though I’ve already shared with you that I try to make a cleaning schedule that is relaxed for everyone, at this time of year, I make more of an effort to do fun activities outside of the house.  I want pre-Pesach to be a time of enjoyment, and things like this help add a nice balance to our schedules.

    Avivah

  • Being open to what is offered

    Back in the summer, I shared with you that someone I know only very casually called me to ask if we’d be interested in a bunch of toys that her married daughter was getting rid of.  I said, ‘sure!’, and she brought over a few bags of toys.   Most of those toys weren’t suitable for our family, and it was one of the rare occasions that I thought to myself that I’d say ‘no’ if asked again.  But my kids enjoyed going through the bags, got some nice looseleafs from one bag, cleaned up and sold some of the Barbies from another bag, and we donated or threw away the rest. 

    A couple of weeks after she offered us the toys, she called again, saying now she was cleaning and had some more toys. Those were a lot nicer!  When she brought them by we were chatting for a while, and she very hesitantly mentioned that she often froze leftover chicken and meat from Shabbos because she hates to throw it away. She doesn’t use it because it’s just her and her husband at home, and they don’t want to eat leftovers from Shabbos all week.  She didn’t want to offend me, but wondered if we might use it?  No, I wasn’t offended.  She said got the impression that we had similar values in terms of not being wasteful of resources and that’s why she thought to ask me.  So about once a month since then, she calls me and brings over her leftovers (just fleishigs, nothing else).  It’s a big enough amount for her in her freezer that it’s a burden, but small enough for us that it becomes one generous dinner. 🙂 Since it’s frozen, I can’t always tell exactly what each item is without defrosting it, so last time I decided they were all similar enough to throw everything into one pot – my kids kept saying how amazing it was!

    I got another call yesterday from this same woman – would I be interested in a frozen 12 pound turkey?  (This is on sale now for $2.99 lb, so it’s a value of over $35.)  She bought two for Thanksgiving, but it was more than they needed, so they only cooked one.  It’s been in her freezer since then, because they don’t like turkey.  No problem, I assured her, I could find something to do with it. 🙂  At first I thought I’d put it in my freezer for Pesach, but when I sent one of the kids downstairs with it, they came back up telling me there was no room.  (I really have to go downstairs to see for myself why the freezer is so full, because it seems to me it shouldn’t be after I dehydrated lots of frozen veggies to empty it out.)  Since the only place I had space to put it was the fridge, it’s now defrosting there and we’ll enjoy it for Shabbos. 

    I have a policy of saying ‘yes’ to just about everything that is offered to us unless I’m sure it’s something we won’t use.  (Don’t think I have offers right and left being made to me – I don’t, but when it happens this is my policy.)  I may not be able to use it, but I always ask the person offering it to me if it would be okay with them if I pass it on if it doesn’t meet our needs.  The reason I say ‘yes’ even if I’m not sure it will be useful to us is that once you say ‘no’ to someone, do you think they’ll feel comfortable asking you again the next time?  Probably not.  We live in a time of so much material abundance that people are afraid to offend someone by offering them something.  But people don’t usually make these offers because they see someone else as being in need or lacking – it’s because they have something they value that they would rather to give to someone they know who will appreciate it than an impersonal thrift store.  When they see that you’re a person who accepts their offer in the spirit it was intended, they can feel good about sending your way whatever they give you, and might even think of you again in the future when they have something to pass on.   I think H-shem has many ways to send brocha (blessing) into our lives, and sometimes it’s through other people.  You have to make it easy for them, though!

    We’ll certainly be enjoying our turkey dinner with our guests this Friday night!

    Avivah

  • Taking responsibility for your choices

    >>I started budgeting five years ago when I got on board Dave Ramsey’s program. It changed our lives and resulted in downsizing from 3200 sq. ft. to 1500 sq. ft.. This resulted in saving lots on our utility bills as well and no more gardeners and house cleaners:) One of the higher bills for us is orthodontics and tuition for the yeshiva student/limudei kodesh tutor for the hschooler. These are not really negotiable. I do have a somewhat generous “blow” fund as well for sheitels (cheap ones), slurpees and such.<<

    Thank you for sharing your experience, Michelle.  I think people drastically underestimate the power of budgeting and getting their expenses under control to make a huge difference in their finances.  I love how you chose to downsize to a smaller home to make your budget work – housing is the main area in our budget that I very much want to adjust but haven’t yet found a way to do it.  I keep thinking about it, though! 

    I hear alot of complaining about expenses, particularly at this time of year.  I don’t begrudge anyone the fun of complaining to a friend and getting some sympathy.  We all enjoy that occasionally.  But it’s the underlying attitude that I’d like to address. 

    Too many people claim that most of their expenses are non negotiable (some, like tuition, really aren’t negotiable if you feel your kids need to be in private school), but most expenses have a lot of wiggle room.  Until a person recognizes that they’re making lifestyle choices that affect their spending, they’re going to see themselves as victims.  It’s a lot more prevalent for people to complain about the unrealistic standards of the communities they live in – the material expectations of what kind of simchas/events to host, what kind of vacations to take/clothes to buy, what kind of foods to serve both during the week and for Shabbos/holidays, even the temperature they keep their thermostat set at – than to take personal responsibility and recognize that they are making choices.  

    When someone says “I can’t afford it”, “I don’t have time”, etc, they may be accurate.  (Or not. :))  But even if that’s true, it seems to me that one’s energy is better spent by looking at what they can to do change a situation than to bemoan their fate.   I think that asking “How can I make this situation better?” is a much better strategy to living a happy and productive life than saying, “I can’t do anything about it”.   Maybe we will find something we can do to improve our situation if we look hard enough.  (I’ve learned a tremendous amount over the years by being open to those who were successful in the areas I wanted to succeed in.)  It’s certainly a lot more empowering to focus on where our power lies than in where it doesn’t.

    Avivah

  • Now we’re in the Pesach cleaning groove!

    Hooray!  Despite having a number of changes to our cleaning schedule the last couple of days, the top two floors of the house are almost done being cleaned for Pesach!  That means all of the bedrooms, the attic, linen closet, and kids’ bathroom.  All that is left is part of our room and bathroom, both of which I should be able to finish off within an hour tomorrow afternoon.  

    Don’t think this was due to just my efforts – all of my kids are involved in cleaning, and that’s why we can go so quickly.  I see Pesach cleaning as a team effort, and it’s so much nicer like that for us all, since no one has to feel overwhelmed by how much they have to do.  My ds15 has finished his closet, and it looks great.  The boys still need to do a final sweep, but ds10 is having a sleepover tonight with a friend, so I’ll wait until his friend goes home tomorrow to ask him to finish that up.  My dd12, when she heard me mention that I was behind schedule, decided to surprise me and clean the baby’s room, linen closet, and bathroom (it’s her month to do the bathrooms, and she didn’t think it was a big deal to clean it more thoroughly for Pesach) while I was upstairs organizing the attic.  That was a very nice surprise!  And she enjoyed doing it. 

    I got the major organizing of the attic out of the way, which isn’t exactly Pesach cleaning, but I don’t like knowing there are bags of clothing waiting to be sorted and packed away.  It’s like mental clutter, knowing that it’s there and needing to be done, and it takes up some of the space in the back of my brain.  So I’m glad to have it taken care of, and it looks much neater now.  Plus while I was at it, I pulled out some Shabbos robes, dresses, and outfits for the girls for Pesach. 

    Next week my goal is to do the basement (Sun – storage room, Mon – laundry room, Tues – main area and bathroom).  The following week I’d like to do the main floor and turn over the kitchen (Sun – living room, Mon – dining room, Tues – kitchen, Wed – monthly shopping, Thurs. April 2 – finish kitchen and turn over). 

    Then I’ll have the few days before Pesach for laundry, cooking, and last minute shopping.  There you have it, my simple Pesach cleaning schedule.  That’s my secret to sanity in preparing for Pesach and enjoying yom tov – plan ahead, don’t schedule too much at one time for anyone, work together, leave more time than you need to get everything done, and remember the goal that you’re working towards. 

    Avivah

  • Bread pudding

    Here’s a really good recipe for bread pudding that we had yesterday for the first time.  I’ve made challah kugel before, but this dairy version was much better.

    Bread Pudding

    • 1 c. raisins (I left these out)
    • 2 c. milk, scalded
    • 1 stick butter (1/4 lb)
    • 12 slices stale bread, torn into pieces
    • 1 1/2 c. sucanat (I used 1 cup)
    • 4 c. milk
    • 6 eggs (you can separate them and fold the egg whites in, but that’s too much work for me for a regular meal)
    • 1 t. vanilla
    • 1/2 t. nutmeg
    • dash salt

    Plump raisins in one cup of scalded water, then drain.  Mix 2 c. scalded milk and butter so that butter melts.  Then add the bread, sucanat, 4 c. milk, and eggs.  Pour the entire mixture into a greased pan.  Sprinkle raisins on top, and then top with some powdered sugar, if desired (I left this out).  Cover lightly with foil, and bake at 350 degrees for at least 45 minutes.  Remove foil and brown for the last ten minutes or so.  I’d estimate it makes a 9 x 13 pan full – we made one huge pan that’s double a 9 x 13, plus one small round cake pan.

    I tried this recipe because I had a few loaves of challah that were overbaked – someone forgot to take them out of the oven. 🙂  I used three loaves of challah, and measured everything else out at triple the recipe, but only doubled the sweetener.  The recipe was still plenty sweet, so I’m thinking the above original measurements would probably be too sweet.  But I’m leaving it for you to decide.

    It’s nice to have recipes like this that can put to use something like stale or dried bread, that otherwise would be wasted.  The kids said this was delicious, so I’ll keep it in my collection of recipes to use in the future.  (By the way, if you make the bread pieces small, you don’t have to wash for this.  I also think it’s more pudding like with smaller pieces.) 

    Since lots of people find odd bits of challah and bread when they clean their freezers for Pesach, this could be very useful particularly at this time of year!

    Avivah

  • The incredible shrinking food bills

    >>I’ve found that since I have such a good stockpile of non-perishable food, my grocery bill is less every month.<<

    I got online with the intent to post about exactly this point, Michelle.  I realized this morning that I’ve been misrepresenting how much I spend monthly on food here with all of you.  I’ve been saying that I spend $600 monthly for our family of ten.  But in fact, since I buy about six weeks worth of food for that amount, my true monthly costs are much closer to $400.  And every single month, though I’m spending the same $600, the pantry is getting a little more full.   

    The reason this suddenly hit me is that today is the day that I re-start my monthly budget, and I’m not planning to do my main shopping for another couple of weeks.  I did do some quick supplementary shopping, though, and got about $110 of chicken and veggies today (in addition to chicken for the next couple of weeks for Shabbos, it included a case of chicken wings, almost 35 lb, that I’m putting aside for meals during chol hamoed Pesach – bbq wings make a tasty and inexpensive meal), and am well set for another couple of weeks. 

    Actually, I realized, I’m set for more than that.  When I buy chicken, fruits, or vegetables that end up being canned or dehydrated, since that money has been spent in that given month, I consider them as consumed.  But in actuality, they usually aren’t used for weeks or even months.  A case in point is the beef that I’m using for this week’s beef stew – I canned a lot of it after Sukkos.  That money was spent long ago but I’ll enjoy the benefits now.  The same thing with all of the ingredients that I’m using for almost everything else in my weekly menu plan – I don’t have to go out and buy anything.  We have cottage cheese, cheese, and butter in the freezer; bulk oatmeal, wheat, cornmeal and sweeteners for baking; potatoes, yams, and eggs bought by the case last month; dried beans bought on sale.     

    This is something that everyone can (and should) do – make it your personal challenge to make your budget for four weeks last for five.  It will probably mean choosing cheaper alternatives to some of what you currently are buying, until you get stocked up.  But you’ll find it paying off as you find you can go longer periods of time between shopping trips, and are able to spend less on groceries while the quality of your diet stays the same or even improves.

    You know, with the wiggle room this creates in my food budget, I could start buying more expensive cuts of meat or stop paying attention to the unit pricing of items I buy.  I could buy more processed food so I spend less time in the kitchen. But why would I do that?  My careful spending isn’t motivated by a lack of money (most people seem to assume that frugality is a strategy taken on out of financial desperation), but in the desire to be as responsible as I can with the means that I have. 

    It’s sad to me that some people assume that someone who spends the amount I do must be giving up quality or quantity – you know, “Well, I buy healthy foods and they cost so much more, and she would have to spend a lot more, too, if she cared about nutrition,” or “We like to enjoy our food, and her kids must be deprived to eat such a cheap diet.”  It makes no difference to me how much people spend, as long as they can afford it and they have peace of mind, but I sometimes wonder if people want to think that those who spend much less than they do are deprived or off balanced, so that they can continue to justify their spending habits as essential.  I haven’t had to give up anything to shop for food the way that I do (except unnecessary time and energy!).  In fact, I buy a lot of things that many people would consider luxuries (for example, coconut/palm oils, honey/agave/sucanat – no cheap oils or sugar), and we’re able to eat a very healthy and abundant diet that we all enjoy. It’s shopping carefully that makes room in the budget for items that could otherwise be considered luxuries.

    It’s so much more fun to see how we’re the ones who have the power to learn new strategies.  It’s a fun challenge to make meals we love and simultaneously keep my food bills low!

    Avivah

  • Weekly menu plan

    Here’s this week menu:

    Sunday – breakfast – was supposed to be pancakes; lunch – whole wheat rolls, hummous, fresh peas, baby carrots; dinner – cholent, kasha, sauteed green beans, sweet potato pudding

    Monday – b – oatmeal, milk, bananas; l – bread pudding; d – thick chicken-vegetable-noodle soup

    Tuesday  – b – leftover oatmeal bread, homemade jam; l – cauliflower rice/cheese casserole; d – beef stew

    Wednesday – b – buttermilk biscuits, eggs; l – fish, baked yams; d – black bean soup, cornbread

    Thursday – b – hot rice with milk; l – leftovers (probably bean soup and cornbread, but whatever else we have, too); d – lasagna

    We’ll supplement lunch and dinner meals with the veggies we have on hand.  Today I ground up a lot of wheat berries, and will put the flour in the freezer for the  oatmeal bread, and biscuits.  I cooked a large pot of rice for the casserole and breakfast on Thursday.  I’m using the beef that I canned way back around Sukkos time for the first time for the stew, and I’ll be using up some pasta for the lasagna and noodles for tonight’s soup, and the base of the chicken soup will be some very rich broth that I made at the end of last week.   I think we’ll make banana crumb muffins for Shabbos morning breakfast, using the discounted bananas I bought this morning for .19 lb (yes, I bought all that they had :)).

    Avivah

  • Credit card limits being slashed

    Almost three months ago in mid December, I wrote a post about my concerns that people’s credit card limits were suddenly being slashed.  Well, it’s good the mainstream news eventually gets around to covering issues that are happening in real people’s lives, so that the masses can be warned. Here’s a recent article now being featured at the top of Yahoo news as of today.

    Take a look at this to see what’s going on – by the time the mainstream news covers something, it’s usually not anything new, but so prevalent that it’s a major issue for a lot of people.   This article makes it sound a lot more mild than it actually is, since a huge number of people facing this scenario aren’t able to quickly pay off their cards or reduce their spending to below their limits, making for massive fees (note that no one in that situation was featured).  The article didn’t mention that credit card companies are also suddenly drastically raising interest rates, something that should be of concern to anyone who doesn’t pay off their accounts in full each month.  If you are still heavily dependent on your credit cards, please, start weaning yourself off of them immediately.

    Also, I think it’s prudent to keep an eye on your credit card account just in case there’s a sudden policy change that takes effect.  Don’t think you’ll get any warning.  For the last few months I’ve been checking mine twice a month instead of just once (an online account makes this easy), because getting a bill that shows lots of unexpected fees isn’t fun, and neither is trying to argue with a credit card company representative to have them refund those fees.  Prevention is the best cure, and forewarned is forearmed!

    Avivah

  • Time to get started Pesach cleaning…or is it?

    Until last night, I had a very straightforward plan for the day – start Pesach cleaning, which meant organizing the attic storage, and everyone getting started on their bedrooms.  When I make a cleaning schedule, I always make it very relaxed, so there’s never more than an hour or two at the maximum to clean each day (until the last couple of days when we do the kitchen).  I don’t schedule cleaning on Thursdays, and for the first couple of weeks, don’t schedule anything for Wednesdays, either.

    It’s a good thing that I build in flexibility, because today, the very first day, I already need it!  After Shabbos, a few of my kids came home with announcements:  1) dd8 was invited to a birthday party today at 12:30;  2) dd12 heard about a one day clothing sale being held today that she wants to go to, first thing in the day;  3)  dd12 was told by the rebbetzin of our shul that there are free tickets available for me to take the older two girls to a play being shown tonight – there are some extra because patrons get a certain amount, but some of the patrons don’t need all of the tickets they have available – 8 pm, needing to leave by 7:25 pm;  4) dd14 told me that they have a vort (engagement party) to attend for the young lady who was directing their choir, 6 pm.

    Then this morning there’s another call – the engaged friend asked if the older two dds can come early to help set up for the vort. Can they be there at 1 pm?  Sure, no problem.  Then another call – the birthday party is being changed to 12.  Sure, no problem.  Can dds come and practice a dance for the friend who is getting engaged during the time the birthday party is going on?  Sure, no problem.   And then a friend calls me to tell me her dd19 just got engaged and the vort for her is tonight, from 5 – 8 pm.  Sure, I’ll be there.

    Meanwhile, on the home front, I optimistically think I’ll start cleaning.  Since the toddlers are both awake, I decide to shift gears from cleaning a room where it will be hard to supervise them, and instead organize the bookshelves in the dining room – they get very messy since too many people in this family think that shoving something onto any shelf, whether it’s a double layer or placing it horizontally, is putting it away.  🙂  While I start, my 18 month old helps himself to some sliced challah from the bread drawer, and brings it to where I’m working and starts repeatedly putting his slices of bread (he took two) on the shelves I’m cleaning, which makes me smile because this is why you have to clean all those areas you think shouldn’t have had any chometz (leaven) on them.  Then I take a break to read a couple of books to the older toddler (he’s getting very good at choosing long ones), and then ds6 comes down to tell me that their closet is looking really nice.  So I go upstairs to check on progress on that front.

    I told you dd15 wanted to rebuild his closet, right?  That’s what he’s been doing the last couple of days, ie, Friday and now today.  And ds6 and ds10 seem to be unable to do anything but sit on their beds for hours at a time and watch him.  Not exactly hard at work in there, but I figure they’re bonding, so why not?  🙂   Ds15 is really doing a great job – I can’t figure out how he made the tracks for the three sliding door panels for the top shelf of the closet, but he did and they work great.  I don’t know how he even thought of the concept, let alone made it work!  So that’s where his energies are focused now, and the boys’ room is a wreck.  Everything has been pulled out of the closet and dumped on the beds and floor – and until he finishes painting the closet (that’s what he’s in the middle of right now), there’s no way to clean anything in there.

    Ds6 was right, the closet is looking good; ds15 has done the first coat of paint, and it’s looking very nice.  I admire it, and tell him that ds 18 months is on his way up the stairs after me to ‘admire’ the room too, and to be aware.  I leave the room, and less than two minutes later,  hear ds15 yell in frustration.  Little toddler has done what he’s best at, gotten into something. 🙂  He walked right over to the paint can, almost dumping the entire can over (fortunately, didn’t succeed because ds grabbed the can in time), but not before getting some on his pants and shirt (incidentally, a new one that is his nicest everyday outfit).   I go back in and mention to ds15 that I had just finished warning him ds18 months was on the way (he obviously wasn’t really paying attention), and ask ds10 to grab him before he spreads any of the paint on his clothes onto something else, which he does.  He also washes out the outfit, and though it’s not as good as new, it will still be useable.  I resign myself to nothing happening in that room but the closet for the rest of the day, especially since soon before that, ds15 made a phone date with his options mentor for 3 pm, which is less than an hour and a half away.  I told him that the room has to be finished by then, but even though he assured me everything will be done, I don’t believe it!

    So – this is what my simple day turned into – older dds walked dd8 to her party at noon, and are staying for duration of party to prepare dance with friend.  Then they’ll go to help friend set up for vort.  Then they’ll walk home, stopping at clothing sale on the way.  Then they’ll eat a late lunch when they get home.  Since it’s not going to be long that they’ll be at home before I have to leave for vort, I’m going to drop any suggestions of Pesach cleaning for today and just focus on having dinner on the table on time.  They did straighten up their room somewhat earlier in the morning, so I’ll count that. 🙂    Dh gets home from work around 5 pm, so I’ll leave as soon as he gets here for the vort, so I can get there are the very beginning, so I can get back home in time to take the girls to their vort at 6 pm.

    Then they’ll attend their vort, and I’ll pick them up and we’ll go directly to the play, so that we’ll arrive there in time.  When we get home from the play, it should be time for bed.  🙂  Meanwhile at home, at some point the closet will get finished, the clothes will get rehung, and everyone will have time for dinner before going to sleep.  That’s the idea, anyway.

    Right now, I think I’ll try to get some veggies shredded to pop into the dehydrator, once I put the toddlers in for a nap, sort some laundry, maybe clean the tops of the bookshelves (didn’t finish all of the shelves, but they are significantly improved), and eat some lunch.  Not the day I planned, but a nice day for everyone, and productive in its own way!

    Avivah