The Plan

Well, James and J are gone for the week. The plan is that I'm going to get a lot of stuff done here. I'm going to get up early and go running and read and practice until the neighbors start banging down the door. I'm going to deep clean the house. I'm going to take care of all the tiny to-dos and errands that you can't do with a two year old in tow, and I'm going to get our lives ready for the new year.

We'll see how it goes.

I have a three page to do list next to me. Here are some highlights.

Mop kitchen floor
Can't usually do this, because it is a high traffic tricycle zone. Basically anything you try to do in the kitchen is dangerous around here. In order to put something in the microwave, you ought to be wearing one of those orange safety vests and set several cones around you. But it wouldn't matter, because a tiny person on a tricycle would still come roaring by and run over your bare foot (which still hurts, by the way) as he makes his way around for another circuit.

Wash, fold, and stow ALL LAUNDRY
You can tell I meant business when I wrote this because I put ALL LAUNDRY in caps. This is a hard job right now because J is pregnant, which means that she has about three pregnancy wardrobes lying on our bedroom floor. (Hers, her friends, and her sisters.) She's constantly trying stuff on and taking it off, since what fits one week no longer fits but what didn't fit the last week might fit now. Also, she isn't sure whether she likes this particular shirt or that particular pair of pants, so she tries on a couple of different things whenever she gets dressed, and usually just throws them back on the heap once they are done. So basically, she has a good idea of what's clean and what fits, but I am completely lost. My plan is just to wash all the clothes, fold them, and put them in her closet.

Vacuum all areas (including behind sofa)
Because usually when I vacuum James bursts into tears and hides in the closet. Hence, I try to keep it as short as possible.

System for beer caps
I don't really need a system for beer caps, I just made a slight code for "J's hair accessories and random jewelry that are lying on her nightstand, the kitchen counter, the dresser, and the bathroom sink" because, like beer caps, they are everywhere and she no longer sees them. I am in the market for some sort of wooden jewelry chest to put on her dresser. Or perhaps, an industrial sized magnet that I could mount next to the bathroom mirror. Haven't decided which system to use yet.

Curriculum map
I was supposed to write this and hand it in for my Lima job back in November, I think. I may or may not get to it.

Discharge excess keys
I have at least 30 keys riding along on my key ring, and some of them I have no idea what they or for or where they came from. A bunch of them were Hochstein keys, but I figured out which ones I needed the last time I was in the office there and left all the unnecessary ones on the receptionist's desk. It was a very liberating feeling. If I can't figure out what the key is for, it's coming off and going in an envelope down in the storage unit. I realize that I am running the risk that I may put away a key to a safe deposit box taken out in my name with hitherto unknown large sums of money, but that is a risk I am willing to take

Mount JAMES picture
Dad did a great photo for us of James holding up all the different letters of his name, and then ordered a print. We got it almost a year ago, and said to ourselves "let's get that framed and hung right away." We had company coming over, so I put it behind the clavinova. I remember it's there about once a month, usually when I'm driving somewhere. Time to get that up on the wall.

New eBay items
I've been very active lately selling old mouthpieces and unused trumpet gear on eBay, mostly out of guilt about buying my first ever brand new trumpet. (Which I love.) I know I have at least one more box of random trumpet detritus down in the storage unit, and apparently there are people out there on the internet who are willing to pay for this stuff and the shipping to get it to them. One man's trash, I suppose. Sadly, my C trumpet hasn't sold yet, but that's okay. It needs a minor repair, and that's also on the to-do list.

Stow James' toys
Every couple of months we go through James' toys and put away some of the talking/annoying ones in his closet. I don't know why, but he regards his closet with some pretty serious circumspection. (Does he think there's a monster in there?) He has no problem digging through the bathroom cupboards, the tupperware drawer, or my nightstand, but he won't get into his closet unless I open the door for him. When he does, however, he usually pulls out all the toys that we were trying to hide from him.

There are lots of other items too, and I'll be getting up at 5 AM tomorrow to start in on the list. Updates to follow!