A list of things done

I'm a list person. I love to make them; I love to read them. I'll read anything in list form. You could make a list of things in your junk drawer and I'll read every item and think it's fascinating. I have a multitude of lists in various forms and when one list starts getting a little worn and tattered, I'll actually write on it, "make new list." Yes, I'm that much of a dork. Anyway, I was looking at my list to-do list from last week and transferring every single item to this week's list, and getting a little down on myself for not accomplishing much of anything, when I remembered reading some advice recently to focus on what you have done instead of what you haven't done. So I started thinking back to what actually did happen last week, and here is my "list of things done":

• Took all 3 kids on a walk around the neighborhood, and almost made it around 1 complete loop before everyone started complaining and/or crying, including me.
  
• Started an ambitious program to have a 20 minute "Reading Time" with the kids each day, which involves me trying to convince them that sitting on the couch and looking at books by themselves is "really super fun".
  
• Had a Family Night lesson on Teamwork ("Our family is a team, and you wouldn't hit your teammate would you Mia and Sam?").
  
• Paid bills.
• Took the kids to see Charlotte's Webb, as part of the free family film festival. Could not even look at any scene with Charlotte in it as I am deathly afraid of spiders.
  
• Ran in the sprinklers with the kids.
  
• Washed, folded, and put away 7 loads of laundry (with Mark's help) .
• Took the kids to story time at the Library.
  
• Spent 3 hours with the kids at a contaminated beach.
  
• Went running (aka glorified speed walking) 2 times.
  
• Went to playgroup at a local park.
  
• Took all 3 kids shopping at the local fruit stand and Safeway.
  
• Had 2 cavities filled.
  
• Took Mia to swim lessons.
  
• Hired a babysitter and went with Mark to see the movie Juno projected on a building in downtown Seattle. We took Nate and drove the mini-van, and felt decidedly un-hip, but laughed our heads off at the movie.
  
• Went to my 6 week Dr.'s appointment (I have now nursed a baby while having a pelvic exam at the same time).
  
• Had lunch with a friend .
• Enjoyed a free concert at a local park with the entire family.
  
• Did yard work for 4 hours.
  
• Watched Stuart Little for a family movie night (we recently read the book with Mia).
  
• Picked and ate hundreds of raspberries in our backyard.
  
• Went to Target, by myself, in search of a few new t-shirts, which resulted in me buying $80 worth of clothes I didn't have time to try on.
  
• Put "Return clothes to Target" on my to-do list for this week.
  
• Dinners made: Quinoa salad, Spaghetti, Terriyaki chicken, Chicken Pita salad, Pasta salad, Turkey Dogs, and Sweet and Sour Meatballs. (No comment on whether the said meals were good or not, just that they were made).
  
• Played piano.
  
• Nursed Nate about 35 times, changed at least as many diapers, and bathed the kids 2 times.
  
• Read bits and pieces of The Potentially Sane Mother's Guide, and was mostly annoyed by the author's seemingly perfect handle on motherhood.
  
• Read about 80 pages of Born Standing Up, Steve Martin's memoir which Sam happened to bring to me at the library, and being a big Steve Martin fan, decided to check it out (and got "My Little Buttercup" stuck in my head every time I read it.) Favorite quote: (referring to the Hippie Movement) "I didn't yet know it's name but found out later it was called Flower Power, and I was excited to learn that we were now living in the Age of Aquarius, an age when, at least astrologically, the world would be taken over by Macrame."
  
• Watched Super Nanny, Wife Swap (you know you've watched it too), Wipe Out, I Survived a Japanese Game Show, and Hopkins.
  
• Checked email and perused other people's blogs...way too much.
  
• Picked up and put away about a billion random things, swept the floor at least 50 times, cleaned both Mia and Sam's bedrooms, cleaned all the windows, and thought about cleaning out the van (a lot).
  
• Finally, spent about 4 hours working on this week's calendar and to-do list, most of which won't get done.
  

All you fellow list people: enjoy! Check back next week for a list of things cleaned out from my van.