Good morning, LadyM and all who follow. Thanks for starting us!
You need to show that list to anyone who asks you "How do you do it all?" The answer is planning and minimizing distractions. Thinking about it, I'm sure you work hard to minimize distractions for ds9 so that may be why you are aware of how to keep your own focus.
Speaking of distractions, the sound of construction work somewhere is interrupting my thoughts as I try to post this. Sigh....
Last night Harriet made this comment:
I've always had household activity going while caring for children, making the activity part of our time together.
That's my feeling too. Yet I'm specifically not allowed to do anything at dd's (except wash up my own dishes, and by own dishes, I mean the things I've brought from home.) I literally leave the high chair tray, dirty, on the counter with all the dirty dishes. Interestingly, I've forgotten to put leftovers back in the fridge multiple times since putting things away is part of tidying up and I'm not to tidy up.
I find myself on edge because I feel I'm wasting time, not because I mind the mess, although I ache to put things into order (like load or unload the dishwasher or fold a basket of laundry.)
So all I can do is take dgs for walks outside, or sit and play with him. But he could be left to play beside me instead of with me (which gets old after an hour and I find myself watching the clock.)
Books remain the focus of his life. He's 'reading' to himself now, sitting, turning the pages and saying/signing the words he knows from each page. On Saturday they took a stack of his books with him as they walked 8 miles around the neighbourhood looking at the yard sales. He sat in his wagon and read to himself for a good portion of that time. Dd didn't know he was 'reading' until she peeked into the playroom one time when he was 'too quiet' and saw him doing it. He's always had favourite books, including ones from the library (or as we say "the place where they keep the books" since if you way the proper word, he's like a dog who has heard the word "walk") but now he's taken to hiding his favourite under the couch cushions so they don't have to go back. Again, she spotted him doing it one day out of the corner of her eye.
Hmmmm, I'm spending too long writing about dgs. I need to get to work so I can finish the business books and then go visit him. Probably not until Thursday, though. Sigh....