Two Hours

DH cleaned the kitchen last night, and I got a lot more packed into bins in the dining room . . . fabric, sewing notions, yarn, patterns and half-completed projects each in their own bins.

Now it's down to the things that are more random and not-so-easily categorized: receipts, old shoes, doll clothes, magazines and newsletters, candleholders, coverless books, clothes needing repair, hairless dolls, that sort of thing.

For now I'm giving up on that project. I think I'll put the curtains back up over the doorways to the living and dining rooms. People can eat at the kitchen table and on the couches in the family room if they have to.

DH just left for a family meeting with his parents and siblings to discuss decisions regarding his dad. Everyone will be coming here after that, perhaps 2 hours from now.

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Thankfully DH put the turkey in the oven before he left. I would never have been able to lift it into the oven with the current state of my shoulder--just getting dressed was enough of a challenge. I'm hoping a strong dose of Ibuprofen will get the swelling down enough that my fingers will stop going numb.

My goals for the next two hours are relatively small: Try to get Baby E to take a nap. Feed the kids lunch. Keep an eye on the turkey. Get the floors tidied and vacuumed in the entry, family room and kitchen/nook. Clean the bathrooms and put out fresh towels.

If I have time left after that, I'll mop the kitchen floor. I'd like to get the veggies chopped, peeled and ready to cook, and bake a cake from what at least appears to be a safe mix. But if necessary that can happen after people start arriving.

Still, it seems that just accomplishing that might take a miracle.

Baby E just finished teething on me and fell asleep. I'm off to the races!

[Update: She woke up screaming as soon as I laid her down, and kept escalating until I finally got her out of her crib 30 or 40 minutes later.]