Monday, March 16, 2009

Settling in- Again.

So once again we are settling in to a new routine. Now that Jason is at work all day pretty much every day we have had to reevaluate some of our timing. As of now

Jason son gets up at 7, davens and gets Channah out the door at 7:40. He drops her off on his way to his bus which means that Channah gets to school and is the first kid there so she gets her pick of toys, and Jason never misses his bus. I am seriously not a morning person. Over time we have learned it is much better for both of us if I take the late at night stuff and he takes the early morning stuff. 8:30 or so I decide it is time to face the world. By 10 I am almost human (and have generally spent the last 2 hours or so on volunteer stuff I am involved with, responding to random emails, and whatever else I can do with my brain set to off). Get up, clean upanything left over from breakfast and take care of any errands that need to be done (shopping, post office, banking, researching purchases, whatever it happens to be). you might think of each of these as little tasks, but with no car these things take a whole lot longer than you might think. Also, I rather enjoy the walking first thing in the morning, so I do not exactly rush it most days as fast as I could.

I spend most of my time during the day in the studio. Baruch Hashem business is ok. Not great, but okay. Recessions suck for purveyers of luxury goods!

On days I need to go to Tel Aviv or Yerushalayim I am on the bus by 8:15. It is the only way to make it back here by the time I need to get Channah.

Channah gets picked up at 3:30 except for Tuesday when I get her at 1:00 and Fridays when Jason or I get her at 12:00. Often Fridays is still Jason as he does not work on Fridays and is often out and about doing errands (buying Challah, toivelling the third can openiner we have gone trough since getting here, going to the post office, etc.)

Most days, so long as we are not in a rush to get somewhere or it is not to mucky, after gan we go to the park for about a half hour. Sometimes more, sometimes less. She has fun with the other kids. I have fun with the other moms. Works out great.

Thursdays right after gan Lor picks us up and Channah and I go straight to Ballet. Ballet ends at 4:30 so by about 4:45 we are ready to leave. We tend to run whatever errands we need to run at the mercaz. We also do the big weekly grocery shopping. Jason meets us there after work (it is one of the stops he can get off at) and helps with the shlepping (by taxi) home from the mercaz.

Most days Jason gets home just before 6. Dinner for the first half of the week is generally leftovers from shabbat. The second half of the week is single fix meals like tuna patties, stir frys, or pasta.

Bedtime for Channah is somehwere around 7:00, but with dinner often not being until 6:30 it has been creeping towards 7:30. She brushes her teeth, gets a story and goes to bed pretty well most nights. Her room is the hardest to keep at a normal temperature for some reason, so we often get called to readjust the blanket situation at least once or twice before she is really out for the count.

Around 7:30 ish is when I find I need to start dealing with American clients. Any orders that came in, questions I have or they have, bids I am submitting, packages I need to trace. That is part of the reason mornings just do not work for me. Some of my work tends to be "American hours".

Monday through Thursday nights Jason goes to a Mishnah Breura shiur followed by maariv at the Beit Knesset. Sundays he goes also, but there is no shiur. Shacharit with a minyan is a nice thought, but there is no way my husband will be getting up for a 6 am minyan anytime soon. He is almost as great a morning person as I am. consdering this time last year minyan was sort of a once a shabbat thing, I am really proud of how often he is going! He is building a nice kesher with the shul and the Rabbi and I am really happy to see it.

Then he comes home. We blog. sometimes we watch a movie on the computer. He falls asleep fast and I am my normal insomniac self. Yes I know that if I could go to sleep earlier I could wake up earlier, but after almsot 30 years I am pretty sure that is just not going to happen.

5 comments:

Shelly said...

What kind of volunteer stuff?

Sometimes I wish I could walk to the store. I mean I *coud* but it's about a mile. And up the hill, down the hill....

Just out of curiosity, what would happen if you were late getting Channah? I am always paranoid about missing the bus for Asher!

Why do you go through so many can openers?

You must make an insane amount of food for shabbos to have it last the first half of the week!

My guys go to bed at "7" but it usually ends up near 8.

Do you guys have central air?

happyduck1979 said...

I run a furniture and appliance gamach for a local organization.

If I were going to be late I would call one of the other paernts to grab here. Chances are I would just meet them at the park next door when I got there- otherwise i would go pick her up.

We destroy them. No idea why.

Not an insane ammount. Just enough to eat it for the rest of the week.

Yes but we almost never use it.

Shelly said...

Where do you keep the furniture or appliance stuff!? Not your place?

Ok, I gecha. I am always curious about what other people do when they are running late.

Just buy a cheap can opener. with a rubber handle. Seriously. They work the best oddly enough.

I guess you guys dont eat that much normally? My boys eat like crazy ;)

happyduck1979 said...

nope. I just match people who no longer need to people who need. There is no room for storage.

We eat plenty- I just prefer to only cook a few times a week. Actually, It is just that I prefer to only clean up from cooking a few times a week.

no seriously. We kill can openers.

Shelly said...

I wish I could only cook a few times a week! I am desperately trying to find a cleaning lady. I am just not up to it. And there AREN'T any here!!!!