Saturdays. They are my favourite day of the week. If I could have a heaven-filled life here on earth, every day would be a Saturday. They haven’t always been this glorious, its funny what just re-arranging a few commitments can do. Incase the picture makes you think Saturdays involve a lie-in, I’ll clarify that point; we are actually out the house by 8 am most Saturdays for harp lessons. But our Saturdays, are just perfect. Today was a typical Saturday, so I’ll share just what we did.

6:45 am – I wake up and in no time a little girl appears, wanting to go back to sleep “in Mama’s bed”. She is joined by one of two cats who snuggle most of the night next to you. I listen to Fresh Air on CBC and feel this wave of peace and blessings. I look at my little girl fast asleep and marvel at the miracle that is adoption.
7:30 – I get everyone up, shower, pack breakfast for the car
8:00 – We leave for harp lessons. I make sure we don’t get caught without enough food as eating out isn’t possible and we enjoy homemade pumpkin bread, almonds and apples en route.
8:30 – Arriving at harp the teacher tells me the harp rental fees will increase from $10 to $85 (plus tax) a month, or we could buy one as they run at “only” around $1700. I’m not sure what my face looked like, but I can imagine. I sit and knit or read while my daughter has her harp lesson and my son works on his math program at my feet. I often span the room and see my bright girl looking so amazed at her accomplishment, dwarfed by a harp, and my little boy’s darling grin in front of me, then cast my eyes upon my rows of knitting and feel like all is right in the world. Only this week I’m also fretting a bit {about harp costs}, and trying to remember to stay in the moment.
9:00 – Harp lesson over the teacher tells me that he will try to find something for us at a lower cost; I assume my reaction, though silent, was telling.
9:20 – We arrive at a local park and walk for 40 minutes, chatting with dogs as they run up to us all while I’m gently ignoring the pleading for another furry family member {a dog!}! This walk is only possible because this morning I took some ibuprofen for the terrible arthritis and inflammation in my ankles. There is still pain but it isn’t debilitating. The wind catches me a bit, I forget despite my quickest recovery process ever from pneumonia, I do still have it.
10:00 - We head to my daughter’s dance class, watching and cheering on the small but eclectic group of different sizes and abilities, no frills, no fancy parents, just fun, without distraction.
11:00 - We are home, snuggled together and reading.
11:30 – I’m listening to a favourite radio program “Under The Influence” on CBC. We dance around the kitchen to the theme song. While the children work on their math, and I give a lesson about thousands, I make lunch. A Saturday tradition is forming – hummus, crackers and cut up veggies. Easy. Yummy. Healthy. Frugal.
12:00 – 2:00 – We are doing art. Having fun. Making memories. Giving those fine motor skills a work. I tackle the dishes and a load of laundry while the little ones finish their creations. I have to say, theirs end up looking better than mine!
2:00 – 3:15 – We walk to the library and check out books for the week. My son gets 14 early reader books, 2 to read per day. My daughter chooses a book about Anne of Green Gables and some new chapter books {I must update our books read in 2013 tally}.
3:15 – Arrive home, read an article in the Guardian and my thoughts wander to how perfect watching Pride and Prejudice would be (Sue Johnston and I have that in common), the phone rings and it is my closest friend in the UK. We chat. I share what I miss about the UK {The Guardian for starters} and we plan what parks and beaches we’ll explore if the children and I ever get to visit
4:30 – Find out Pride and Prejudice was on the television today. Have a laugh that I missed it, but despite my love of Pride and Prejudice, making art and visiting the Library with my little ones trumps any movie.
4:30 – Put another radio on, “The Next Chapter” is playing, a delightful program about the best of topics – books. Feel a real need to read more than children’s books. Tonight I will. I listen as I put dinner on – a new dish, a halibut vietnamese like dish I’m making up as I go. Add a bit of lemon, chili, ginger, coconut milk. It smells good.
5:00 – 5:45 - My son reads to us both and while it’s not any of the plethora of books I have calling my name, it is good to spend this time together. As I check on dinner, my daughter gives my son a lesson about reading with expression. She may just have repeated word for word the same lesson I gave her – they certainly are listening even when you think they aren’t.
5:45 – We have dinner. It’s a hit, minus a little girl complaining about the seasoning which really and truly is mild {she said nothing but “oooooh this is sooooo delicious” until she saw it, aaaah the joys of tired children!}
6:15 – Bedtime stories for my boy
6:20 – Somewhere in here my daughter has tears in her eyes, I ask her what’s wrong and she shares she is worried she is in trouble. I explain she isn’t in trouble at all {I had had to talk to her about some behaviour at dinner} and reminded her how much I loved her, but told her I sometimes need to talk to her about some of the choices she is making, but I’m so proud of her for sharing how she is feeling and I was sorry if my tone upset her {my little girl would previously lie or do something to get in trouble, rather than share her feelings, so this is a huge improvement!}. She sighed a huge sigh of relief, we hugged and she smiled. She turned to me as she ran up the stairs to get in her pj’s and said “Mama, I’m proud of me too!”.  
6:45 - Son is tucked in. Prayers said. Hugs dispensed. {An early bedtime is one of the top three things I’ve done to help his mental health and his behaviour during the day. After years of only sleeping 4-5 hrs a night, since a few months post adoption he sleeps 12 hours every night unless he is sick. It is like he is both catching up from years of chronic sleep deprivation and malnourishment, and getting the rest he needs to process new information and skills.}
6:50 – I leave my son’s room and am surprised to find my daughter in bed {I had talked to her about an early night, but I didn’t quite mean this early – she is a night owl, my son is a lark – it is great for 1:1 time with each, but means this mama gets no alone time!} and in the split second I decide to go with it. We talk for 10 minutes and by 7 I’ve left her room
7:00 – 7:20 – Feed the cats and do the dishes. I’m amazed it only takes 20 minutes {the dishes part} and yet it is one of my least favourite chores, in fact I loathe it, and I skip said chore far too often.
7:20 – 7:30 – I take a break and read a Guardian interview with Serafina Steer - while listening to her harp music
7:30 – Clean up cats bowls, tidy living room, make little list of things to do with this sudden child-free time. Feel a bit lost to tell you the truth. Realize I posted yesterday (the 18th) as the 19th, so make mental note to go and change that. Make plans to see a friend for a brief visit tomorrow over a cup of tea with the children. Suddenly remember tomorrow is the children’s make-up swim class from last term, so must find swimsuits and pack a swim bag and lunch. My mind wanders to the list of things to do, but after last night’s non existent sleep, decide to only do what I can, but must get some bank balancing and tidying up done, as well as laundry folded. Suddenly the child-free time is quickly being eaten. Decide I’ll spend from 7:30 to 9 doing chores and things to do, then sit from 9-10 and read. Just as I’m about to start my daughter wakes up with a terrible nightmare. End up spending a bit of time with her and rocking her back to sleep. Suddenly is 8:30 and I’m nowhere near done what needs to be done in order to “switch off” at 9. Decide to throw in the towel and just rest as the coughing is becoming persistent again. Tomorrow is another day.

Temptations today? None {this is getting easier and easier…}.
Mood? Deliriously happy {though wish my children didn’t suffer from such horrible memories…}.