From the Sickbed

 

Mr Busy and I have been having some sickbed adventures.  Sad, but true.  I've been coughing for a week...now I have a blocked nose :(  I've succumbed  to buying real cold & flu + cough medicine rather than my prefered ease-a-cold's.  I don't feel that bad...I'm just tired of coughing all the time.

Mr Busy has had a second trip to the ED in a week.  On Saturday Dh gave up after 4 hours and came home at 1am.  Yesterday our GP decided she didn't like the way his rash was behaving and sent us back to have it investigated.  Four hours, a blood test, a wee test and a chest x-ray later we came home, safe in the knowledge that yes, he just has a nasty virus.  Thanks to all the germy kids at school.  Yay for sharing!

Last night's hospital adventure also included the girls being at home for a few hours on their own, doing homework and cooking dinner.  Apparently all went well ~ they're both still alive and smiling.

Meanwhile, my ensuite is fully tiled and being grouted today.  It's a courageous man, who braves the germs of our home to work on the bathroom.  The challenge is to keep Mr Busy at a distance to protect Mr Bathroom Fixing Friend's health.  I will share photos at some point when my head is clearer.

Menu Planning and other Household Stories

Firstly menu planning.  I sent Dh and the girls off to do the shopping the other day.  I was just too tired and wasn't up to the task.  They did a magnificient job so we're eating well.

Monday:  Honey mustard chicken pieces, vegies
Tuesday:  Freezer meal for Mr Busy and I ~ everyone else is out for dinner
Wednesday:  Chicken curry, rice
Thursday:  Tomato & bacon pasta
Friday:  Beef stroganoff
Saturday:  Take away
Sunday:  Good question...one can dream of all sorts of things!

Mr Busy and I are having a day off together.  I'm not incredibly well....not particularly sick.  I'm in that place in between where we tend to carry on, albeit slowly.  Mr Busy, however, has a bevy of symptoms, amongst which is a rash across his torso.  Given the amount of sickness going around at school I didn't feel this was something to share, even though it doesn't seem all that bad.  Dh is unable to have Mr Busy at work for a couple of days so I've organised some time off to keep him at home.  I must say, the timing is quite providential from my own point of view.  We all just need to have school holidays now.  We're all tired and getting sick all over the place.  A couple of weeks to settle all the bugs down and keep them to ourselves will do us all the world of good.

My ensuite is coming along as pieces of the puzzle arrive.  The tiles should come today, so work on that can begin.  At the moment there is an empty shell.  It is waterproofed.  The basin and wall cabinet are constructed from Ikea flat packs and sit in the lounge room awaiting the day they are to find themselves in their final resting place.  A more energetic person would take photos.  Maybe I will....at some point.

I'm off to try and make my foggy head construct a 300 word reflection of the value of teaching visual arts.  Hmmmm.

Why Boys Can't Get Out of Bed

I went to get Mr Busy out of bed the other morning, having woken him some 10 minutes earlier.  He informed me he couldn't possibly get up.

Me:  Get out of bed young man.
Mr Busy:  But I can't Mum.
Me:  Why not?
Mr Busy:  Because my legs are just too comfortable to move.

I must at admit, when he got to 'legs' I began to panic and thought maybe he'd contracted the virus that is going around school, decimating classes left, right and centre.  Among the many symptoms one that has been suffered by some has been heavy legs.


I'm now sure how he does it ~ his brain just thinks in 'funny' as he is waking up.  My brain only thinks when the need for silence is satisfied.  And then it's just serious stuff going on.

He makes me laugh.

Pursuit of a New Bathroom

Photo Credit:  Google Images - a shiny looking bathroom such as I will have soon! 

We spent today not with me studiously working on an assignment, as I should have been.  No, we spent it in pursuit of items for the creation of a new bathroom.  Rotting floor has been removed, along with everything that existed in that space before Wednesday.  Today we chose tiles and the vanity stand and basin.  Lots of fun.  Especially when it included a trip to IKEA.  We attempted to visit the new store in Springvale....but we balked at the queue waiting to get into the store and drove to Richmond instead.  It was lovely and quiet in there and we were able to browse and make our purchases in relative peace.

So...we're sharing a bathroom with the kids again.  The only word that can be used to describe the experience is 'interesting'.  I hope my bathroom can be completed by the end of next week :)

This Week's Menu.

Again, better late than never I guess!  Yesterday was busy.  A full day at work, a visit from the guy who is fixing our ensuite, homework til 10.30pm.  A text message from my brother in the throws of parenting little people who are doing some challenging things.  Busy.  So that's my excuse for not posting yesterday.

Our menu this week looks like:

Monday:  Oven friend chicken, vegies
Tuesday:  Redcurrant lamb chops, vegies
Wednesday:  Homemade pizza or ricotta fritters...haven't decided
Thursday:  Pasta of some description
Friday:  Pork spare ribs, vegies, rice
Saturday: Slow roasted beef, vegies
Sunday:  someone else can cook something......??!

And Miss Sunshine will not be home before 7pm any night this week now, in preparation for her year level's production.  She's already tired, so the weekend promises to be a little stormy for her, I think.

---oo0oo---

 On to more exciting things.  I got my first high distinction!  That silly music/visual arts test that got postponed and fiddle-faddled with ended up being quite a success for me....thanks to the practice test I did in the week beforehand.  What a relief.  Poor Mr Busy ~ he was the only one I could tell immediately.  When I asked if he knew what that meant he said "does that mean you passed?".  Poor boy.  When I explained he came and jumped about with me for a few moments before returning to his book.  Isn't he sweet?

Happy Father's Day

Image Credit:  awesomenorms.info

Here in Australia it is Father's Day.  For us it kind of began last night with the first non-bbq meal of the season.  I ended up baking chicken wings because Dh & Mr Busy were out til dark mowing the lawns.  Bbq'ing is men's work, apparently.  But the meal came with Dh's favourite three salads:  potato, corn, tossed so he didn't mind that it wasn't really a bbq.

This morning the kids offered their gifts and made their Dad scrambled eggs for breakfast.  He's happy.  We're hoping to find somewhere to go for Yum Cha for lunch.  I'm sure an afternoon nap will make his day complete.

Of course, there will be a phone call to my Dad and possibly a visit to his Dad.  Perfect day.

Jamie's Meals: Jools Pasta

Photo Credit:  channel4.com

Another day, another Jamie meal.  Tonight it was Pregnant Jools Pasta.  I have to smile about the title.  Pregnancy is no longer associated with eating (or not!) anything in particular in our house, and hasn't been for well over 11 years.  However, you have to love a recipe that is simple, and this one was.  The meal has instructions for a salad and a frangipane tart.  I didn't do the salad, and with no-wheat and no-nut eaters in our family, the dessert was pretty much a no-go.  I could've coped with the wheat but Miss Sunshine cannot have nuts.

The recipe said to use 'good' sausages.  I think that's a misnomer.  Good and sausages don't really belong in the same sentence in my book.  However, I found something that looked a little more gourmet that a package of Safeway thin sausages.  The meal ended up being pretty tasty.  Definitely worth adding to the list of things we enjoy.  Everyone headed back for seconds except Mr Busy.  I suspect performance nerves are on the rise due to tonight's music performance night at school.  He's not the up-front kinda guy, preferring all things related to working backstage.  Tonight he'll be on the stage and he's instructed us not to watch.  Poor boy.  Sadly misguided.  Of course we'll be watching!

If you want to have a go at this yummy meal (which we all highly recommend), all the recipes and instructions are here.