Monday, November 24, 2008

Setting Things to Order... or not?

Tomorrow afternoon we leave for our mini-vacation. Traveling to the in-laws, visiting dear friends and then back home. We'll be gone just long enough that we'll need to recuperate when we get back to our snug little nook of the world. I'm looking forward to it, but for some reason I just can't seem to get the house in order for us to leave. I feel like I'm walking around in circles, accomplishing nothing. I've still got laundry to put away, I've got to pack, do all the menial tasks like cleaning the toilets, mopping the floors, etc., and I don't know why but for the past few days--as much as I try--I just can't bring myself to make the beds! I know, making the beds, right? I kinda throw the corners of the covers at the four corners of the bed and call it good. I feel like I'm walking around my home LOST.
I will be taking the kids to a sitter for a couple of hours this afternoon though, and I hope to get much accomplished. Maybe I'll even have time to get this weekend's laundry over to the laundrymat tonight so I can get it done before we leave. Then again, maybe not.

Sunday, November 23, 2008

A HUGE Leap!

Yesterday morning I made a decision, largely born out of sheer frustration, that was reckless and irresponsible. It was something that I had been meaning to do but I certainly went about doing it in the WRONG way. And I don't regret it.

I cut my hair. Myself. No big deal right? Seriously though, I bushwhacked 18" off of my ponytail. I had just reached my frustration threshold so I put my hair in a ponytail and snipped off the bottom... it's crooked and needs some tweaking but I can't tell you how much easier my life was this morning. My hair is still long--now it's to my waist--but I feel like I can enjoy my hair now, rather than loathing the time I have to spend brushing out the tangles.

Here's to my sanity--cheers!

Thursday, November 20, 2008

The Thrifty Fifty!


Yay! I made it onto Team Lorie for the holiday team challenge over on YouCanMakeThis! I'm very excited and already have lots of ideas but I do need to edit myself and my blog posting as some of the people I'll be crafting for may be following along on my blog.

I'll soon post again about my participation in the challenge but right now, the clean laundry awaits my folding fingers!

Cheers!!

P.S. This week I'm thankful for my warm home, the sound of laughter filling my kitchen as the children do their homework while eating pomegranate seeds and homemade marshmallows, lavender scented bedsheets and "puppy kisses" from my very cute Little One!

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

The holidays are upon us!

I have officially gone into panic mode. This weekend our middle daughter had her birthday party and the presents had to come home. Wow--that kid brought home quite a haul for such a small party! Trying to make room for her loot lead me to start chucking old toys while she was at school yesterday. Which led me to think of the upcoming holidays. There's no way on earth these kids are going to be able to stuff all the stuff they get this year into their room in it's current configuration. So I decided to clean out the place and re-arrange.
When I first got serious about weeding through their belongings I was rewarded with a potato. Yes, a potato. I'd found a red potato that had long been forgotten and had started to sprout in the bottom of their toybox. Undeterred, I pressed onward. And emerged somewhat victorious: I got rid of a garbage bag full of random junk: old, used up notebooks, art "projects", broken toys, etc. I was also able to fill a garbage bag with old toys to be donated to a local charity AND a modest sized bag of clothing that they no longer need. Today is PART 2 of cleaning out their room.

I'm motivated by the sheer terror of the idea that the holidays are really only a week away for us. We leave to see my in-laws next week and we'll be "doing Christmas" with them on Black Friday. Good thing we got a van this fall, last year we weren't able to fit all of the presents in the car on the way home. My BIL brought most of the kids bounty back to our place on his way back up into VT.

Now we have school parties, little craft-a-longs and various activities that will be sure to send the kids home with goodie bags filled with *treasures*. Treasures that you have to wait for the kids to fall asleep before you can chuck them safely. By safely, I mean you either have to hie your tail on out to the garbage can in the dead cold of a winter night so the kids don't find it in the trash bin in the morning or you have to take my clever approach and cover their belongings with the baby's diapers--who really wants to see what's under that, right?

I've got a couple of venues available to me in the next few weeks to help pimp out my wares and maybe earn a little extra holiday cash (always welcome this time of year) AND I've got to get on board and start thinking about my folks. The each celebrate a birthday in December. My brother approached me two days ago and asked if I wanted to chip in to get my dad a TV for his December 2nd birthday. Sure, I'd LOVE to kick in for a new TV--I'm just not sure that I can! Ahhh, well, we'll just have to see what is in the cards I guess. :)

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Tra-la-la-la!

I finally added a music player to my blog! The first song on there used to turn me into puddles. Now I'm still a bit wistful when I hear it but every time I listen, it tugs at my heart and reminds me of how faithful our God truly is! So I hope you get a chance to listen to a few songs... and maybe even catch my boogie-jam!

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Giving Thanks


I am grateful to our nation’s military service members, both active duty and veterans, for their dedication, courage, accomplishments and sacrifices to protect our everyday freedoms. Today, take a moment to salute our nation’s military service members for their service to our country and give them the honor and support they deserve.

Monday, November 10, 2008

The task at hand

My husband and I have been talking for quite some time about how we desperately need to get some family portraits taken. We've honestly only taken ONE family portrait since we've had the children and it was when DD1 was 4 1/2, DD2 was 3 and I was, ahem, icky preggo. Meaning not quite huge but big enough that I needed maternity clothes but not big enough to fill them so I just looked awkward. And we got the photos taken at Walmart. And I got us all dressed in the Wally bathroom after I bought all of our clothes at Walmart. And I did our hair there. And I looked like an Amish freak. It was just HORRIBLE. There's no way to describe how much I loathed the pictures. SO it was with a small amount of relief that I would later discover that when we brought the pictures home DH unwittingly spilled coffee on the packet of photos and I came to find them all stuck together and not really salvageable save a few shots of just the girls. And to date we've never taken "real" photos of the baby. Who is now NINETEEN months old!

So last night DH called me and said that a friend had rented a studio this weekend and we had an 11 o'clock appointment to get our family photos taken. The price was unknown but he knew we were getting our pictures taken and that was good enough for both of us. So now I'm hoping to make matching outfits for the kids. And I'm wondering if I should take any cute props -- maybe whip up some fabric balls for the Little One. Or tutus and fairy wings/wands for the older two. Books (since DD1 is quite the avid reader now and is diligently working on reading bedtime stories to the younger two these days), or boas or wardrobe changes. I guess I'll just have to make a call and see what our session includes.

Until then I'm hoping I can get some good zit-be-gone or something. And maybe I can do something new with my hair. Maybe I can click my heels three times while murmuring "There's nothing like pretty, nothing like pretty, nothing like pretty..." and a miracle will take place and I'll be transformed into a photogenic fairytale by then. I guess we'll see... :)

Sunday, November 9, 2008

Random Ramblings

*Today I am thankful that I was able to sneak a nice nap with Little One tucked snugly in my arms. A nice cuddle was had by all.

*DD2 has come up with new lyrics to a song that we sing at church that include the line "Jesus crackered the grave". The original: Jesus conquered the grave.

*I have determined that I am unreasonable sensitive during the time immediately preceding my shedding and have resolved to be more reasonable during that time frame in the future.

*I am really looking forward to spending time with the in-laws in just a few weeks. We always have a great time and this year we're going to see our friends from VA again as we'll all be rallying around DH's parents' place. What fun! I just have to remember to take my allergy medicine along. And bring additional tranquilizers in the form of childrens' dimetap for their skittish dog. Their skittish, epileptic dog.

*I was able to pick up a few things for the girls' Christmas presents this week and that makes me feel like I've got a small lead on the holidays. And that feels good.

*I have lots of crafty ideas running through my head that I'd really like to get done this week which means I'll likely be motivated to do the laundry early tomorrow to get it out of the way. ::crossed fingers::

*I lost a few more pounds recently which brings me within the 5 pound PM/PHSW (pre-marriage/post high school weight).

*DH brought up the idea of renewing our vows next year for our tenth anniversary. I thought that was very sweet, and very unlike him. While DH can be very sentimental, he's not typically very thoughtful in this area--kudos to him for being a forward thinker this year!

*Been listening to a lot of Brian Doerksen lately and while SOME of his lyrics can lean towards being cheesy, a good portion of his songs are very stirring and I love the laid back, easy feel to them. The atmosphere of worship isn't contrived which brings a deep down peaceful feeling that makes my heart feel full.

*Little One has started giving what she terms "Puppy Kisses" which involved her licking your cheek with her soft little tongue and then smiling. Lots of great big smiles. It's cute and while I do get covered in drool, it warms me down the the core.

*I love my family. I love being a mom. There are ups and downs, but the pros far outweigh the cons and I know that I have been blessed beyond measure. And there is more to come. For me, that is all I need.

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Hunting

This morning we told our daughters that Barack Obama had won the election and that he will be the new president in January. DD#1 was visibly upset. She's been watching the news with us occasionally and asking LOTS of questions. For such a tiny little citizen, she's been very concerned with our economy. The first words out of her mouth when she woke up to the news of Obama winning the election last night were, "But.... but... is he going to make us kill deer?" Apparently she doesn't have very much faith in his economic policies and still has visions of the recession and bread lines she has heard rumored on TV. Bill's never been a hunter but she must think Barack will **force** him to start hunting to provide for his family as an alternative to standing in the bread lines.

What an avid imagination our little girl has, but I must concede: I do hope we don't plummet into the recession and end up lacking the most basic necessities. Our consolation to her this morning was that we can pray and God will provide every need that she could ever have. Today she bravely went off to school, trusting in God. For that, I am thankful.