Black White and Gray

I am a black and white girl, at least I have been most of my life. Thing are right or wrong and you should always try to do what is right. Any untruth or omission is the same as a lie is a good for instance. In my narrow mind, it was always obvious what was right and what was wrong. In the last ten years though, God has really taught me some hard lessons. Lessons about differences in people and why they make the decisions they make. He has taught me some really hard lessons about unconditional love and what a hard decision(and a good one!) it can be to love someone that way. He also taught ME what a blessing it is to be loved that way. Tough love may be essential to some that our lives are intertwined with, but it does not work in the lives of people who are not close to us and often serves as a huge barrier from God to those who are lost or searching.

This also brings up how different all of our lives are, how personal our journey with God is. Most difficult for me to deal with though is that not everything is black and white, right or wrong. There are lots of variables that muddy the water. I am thankful to have the guidance of the Holy Spirit to help me love beyond my ability. I am thankful not to be the ultimate judge of hearts. I am slowly coming to grips with gray.

Even when someone else puts on your eyeliner, you have to make that face.

Daisy, bless her heart, loves a good cigar.

The whole family at the maize maze. Not even editing could make this a good picture.

Mia, next time will you take our picture?

It's My Turn

(Belt that title opera-style)

I just got off the phone with my mom and then my sis. It is my turn to take Mom to church tomorrow. So to all my church peeps, I will miss you tomorrow. Be good to the rest of my family as they will be attending and working. ( ;

This has been the oddest week ever. Erik and I have slept in most every day and then hardly accomplished anything we wanted to. Then we were each frustrated with the other one. Pitiful isn't it. A typical case of "Why didn't you get your work done? I know I didn't get mine done, but I expected better from you." Yesterday, we both took a turn for the better. We have Monday as well to conquer the world. Hee hee. We really did get some things done though, we just did it at such a snail's pace it didn't make us feel very productive. Erik did more than me which just means he was more behind on his work-that's my story and I'm sticking to it!! At least we finally got some of those movies on our TO WATCH list watched. That is an accomplishment, folks!!

We are visiting with some friends tonight at their crib and I need to whip up some sugar sizzle, do some laundry and finish some housework. OH and give spelling tests ON SATURDAY (I AM SO MEAN!). WHOO HOO!!!

Have a great weekend!!

In the beginning there was work and it was good. Man versus land. Man worked from sun-up to sundown and the land provided a bounty for him to live off of. Man prospered because of this land. He had an inborn need to provide, love and cherish and so he took a wife. A wife that was a suitable helpmeet to take all of his provision for her and put it to good use. To maintain the home he built, to store up and cook the food provided. Working together they soon felt prosperous enough to want to build a family. He and she still worked just as hard, but now had a place to shower their love and experience the joy of a new creation and it was good. The child was also taught to work, just at a slower pace, savoring the joys and curiosities of life. Inborn into this child was the belief that work was necessary for survival-the evidence was all around. Work equaled life. More children were born and the family prospered even more as the entire family worked together to nurture one another and also to be good stewards of all that they had. The workload was lightened and there was joy and love in the fellowship with one another.

I know that is a sort of Little House on the Prairie look at life but seriously, what has happened to us? America in the early days was a great place to live. My grandparetns were not far off from this Little House world. I know some of you city slickers are generations away from the good old days but I am only 2 away and so it saddens me to see what our civilization has evolved into.

The best sleep I ever have is the sleep I get after a good day of hard work. A day of working in the garden or yardwork, especially if my whole family is outside working together. I feel good and like everything is as it should be in the world. The problem? I don't have to. Two or three days of continuous work makes me tired and then I want to lay in the air conditioning and laugh at a TV show. I enjoy going to the market and buying produce someone else grew and spending my time on leisure instead. I long for the days of good hard work, but yet I am admittedly too lazy to want to do work in a world where it isn't required.

As I inventory where I am and where I am going, it amazes me how technology has brought our nation so far away from God and each other. We no longer rely on Him to provide for us through the land and therefore we have lost touch with Him. We no longer rely on ourselves either so we have lost touch with oursleves in many ways as well. We rely on one another in a very impersonal way which causes us to provide for one another in an almost resentful way. It is almost expected that people will both dislike their jobs and therefore all the people they come in contact with in a day. As a nation, we have lost our joy. AND quite frankly, I want it back. I want communities that love the Lord and each other.

Wouldn't it be nice if people spent less time judging one another and more time trying to understand each other. Taking the time to nurture and love one another. Everytime I have done that, it has turned out pretty good. On the flip side, every time I have passed judgement and not been loving, that has not turned out well and becomes a sore spot as I continue to cross paths with those I have injured with my judgement.

Maybe it is just because I am up at a ridiculously early hour because I woke up and could not go back to sleep. Maybe later I will re-read this and think I just needed to go back to bed. However, lately my need to re-evaluate my life and why I am here continues to show me that the path I am on, most Americans are on, is not a path to God or joy. It is a self pleasing, self seeking journey of greed. Wanting more, never being content. Sacrificing whatever we must to get that next purchase. Most often, we sacrifice our family life/time. We want better for our children. We want them to have cushy jobs and lots of money so we pour all of our energy into activities to make them "marketable". Do they feel the love or do they just feel busy? I am just as guilty as the next person. Some days I am pushing school so hard down the throats of my children that we all hate it, but I feel it must be done so that they can grow up "to amount to something". That makes me forget that now, in the present, they already do.

BUSY DAY!!

Our routine is so out of whack, I am not sure we can get it back this week. Homeschool is flexible but this week has really stood it on its ear!! We have schooled in Doctor's offices and on the road. I blame it all on hubby being on vacation/staycation. However, that really isn't fair. My attitude changes soooo much when he is home. We just want to play and be unstructured, not do school or work. He is fun and we like hanging out with him. Next week we will be doing alot of catching up!! We have put alot of time in this week, so I think it all comes out in the wash.

My posting is all out of whack too!! Longer letter later!!

Mia gave me this award and I feel so special!! I really like this award-it is cute!! Now I am to pass it along to 7 more people. I could give it to all of the blogs I read, but I am trying to leave some room for others to give awards also!!

Sara M-She leaves me comments often and makes me feel special. She also is one of the most encouraging sisters I know. Go right now and see a couple of adorable children photographed by some great friends!

Stephanie R-She makes me laugh, listens to me vent, gives me curtains, corrects my grammar-but only in her head-what more could a girl ask for in a friend?

Summer-My long distance bud that didn't used to be. I love to give her fodder for blog posts because her breaks in blogging make me cry giant crocodile tears.

Sandy-My homeschooling homie. She has mentored me into a halfway decent school year planner. Thanks for that, by the way. You amaze me with your gift of administration!!

Jason-My California friend. He blesses my socks off with his fresh perspectives and witty banter. He also keeps his sense of humor even when the going gets tough which is A+++ in my book. ( ;

The Foil Hat-She makes the best soap EVAH!! She is creative and ADD which are two things I love (and completely relate to!!). She is also a fellow homeschooler!!

Kristin-My long lost buddy from high school, thankfully facebook brought us together and now I can read her redheaded ravings!! PLUS-we both homeschool, awesome!

Go me, I followed the rules which hardly ever happens.

Don't Take It Back!

Mia gave me an award and I promise to jump through all the hoops to claim it...tomorrow!! Today, I must post on this little tidbit from one of my favorite writers/websites: The Simple Dollar. He is very thoughtful and straightforward, I hope you add him to your favorite daily reads. He has made a point(of many points) that I will be pondering for the rest of my life!! Here it is:

"Reduce your time spent in activities that make you feel bad about yourself. Then, fill that time with activities that are positive. For example, if you spend hours each night watching television programs that make you feel bad about yourself at night when you climb into bed, look for other forms of entertainment - uplifting and educational programming. Or, turn off the television entirely and engage in exercise or other activities that increase a positive feeling about yourself."

DUH!! Is this not totally a no-brainer?? So why then do I choose to do things continuously that make me feel bad. Am I some kind of sadomasochist? As I sift and sort through umpteen years of clutter and junk, I am reminded of some really bad choices I have made. Poor investments of time and money. Poor investments of time and money make me feel bad about myself. I am glad this little tidbit came across my path today-it is a reminder to spend wisely-time as well as money. Time on this earth, not just hours in a day. I have a reason for being here. Sometimes I get lost in the shuffle of life and forget that I have a higher calling other than just laundry, meals and dishes.

I hope it inspires you and encourages you as much as it has me.

Miss Me?

I missed you. A little. Simply because we have traveled back in time to the 50's and it was very enjoyable. We like to go rent a little house in a lake town that is still almost exactly what it was in the 50's. The whole town is unspoiled by corporate America and that makes my hubby really happy. It is a town that really boomed before interstates came along and stole their mojo. We have fished, boated, played shuffleboard, ping pong, foozeball, slapjack, tetherball, and fight with your sisters. It has been a blast. This little trip is a yearly tradition and we all look forward to it.

Now though, we are back to life, back to reality. Today I have to take my step-father to the doctor. Bliss. We will need to do school while at the doctor's office. This will simply overjoy my lovely children, they love traveling school.

I have written no fewer than 75 blog posts in my head this weekend. Not a one springs to mind right now. Ain't that always the way? I gotta go get my shower and take on the day. Have a fun Tuesday!!

I Lied!

I am not doing any organizing today except menus and grocery planning. All other organizing is procrastinated until next week. We will be having a staycation/vacation for the next few days so while we will be home sorta and close to home, I will not be posting. Instead I will be having fun with my family. In order for this to be somewhat economical, I will have to do alot of food planning. I'll still probably be around in the morning though, so I might post if something really profound hits me.

With menus and food planning on my brain, I thought I might post a bit about that. I think I have mentioned before that I seldom go to Walmart because of my poor impulse buy control. I prefer to do all of my shopping at Kroger. I go to www.kroger.com and find my store, click on the specials, make my list and then print it. I also do the same at our local grocery-sometimes their specials beat the snot out of Kroger and it isn't as though I am traveling out of my way. Then I go to www.cvs.com and www.walgreens.com to check for any toiletries/snacks/drinks/etc that are going for CHEEP. If I see deals, I drop by there before the grocery. There is usually always something worthwhile at one of those spots and it only takes a minute to save alot of dough. Sometimes, especially at Walgreens, it may be in the form of a rebate-but I don't mind. I get it put on my rebate card and just use it in place of cash at one of my visits. CVS has extra value bucks that are not good on today's visit but on your next visit. Using those, sometimes I leave with a full bag of lots of stuff that only cost me a few dollars plus my coupon cash. I also utilize the farmers market right now for my produce needs. It is an awesome way to save money on fresh produce and also fuel our local economy!

It works out to be a pretty good system for us. I usually spend anywhere from $150-250 every two weeks for my family of 5. That includes school supplies, toiletries etc. We are recovering eating-out-aholics and that has saved us a ton of money. Even hubby has stopped eating out so much and takes leftovers from supper for lunch. Good thing I am such an awesome cook.

Most important is the menu planning. Without it, we are tempted to snack more and use the supplies needed for meals on snacks. If I post a menu though, everyone seems content to look forward to the meal coming up and snack on snacks-which are usually fresh fruit, cheese, yogurt, pretzels or dry cereal. Since my new diet change, I almost always have a homemade dessert every day. It has definitely reduced our cravings for "junk" food. German chocolate cake costs about $2 and will feed all of us dessert for about 3 days. Apple dumplings cost about $4 and provide dessert for 2 days. That is way cheaper and better for you that little debbie. Homemade sugar cookies and chocolate oatmeal cookies are even cheaper than that and last alot longer.

Hopefully this either helps someone or labels me the complete food control freak that I am.

Linen Closet

Today the linen closet got purged. How many throws does a family need?? Not that many...I bet I purged at least 10. Sad that we have been dealing with an overstuffed closet for so many years.

Tomorrow I will be working on the bookshelves. They are mostly done so it is just a matter of making them look real pretty and then sorting back through the already sorted books. Say that three times really fast.

School was better today-we finished at a decent hour plus had a nice sized recess. It was good. Routine...it is a hard thing to return to. I am totally adopting room detail. Mia has the best ideas.

Organizing...

For me, this has been a love/hate relationship. I love to organize activities, in fact, some have told me I have a gift for it. I know I could organize other people's stuff. I was prepared to organize my mom's whole house at the beginning of summer. I could have done it too. Since I helped pack and also helped unpack, I knew exactly what she had and had a plan worked out in my head as to how it was all going to be mapped out. Then she came home. AND she had the nerve to prefer the same old chaos she had always had. She likes her sheet sets mismatched. She has all the right sheets, she just likes to mix them up. I had to walk away. I was shaking my head-but I gave up the fight. After all, I don't have to live in it. As long as everything is in the right room and all put away, she is happy. Nothing out. Shove it in a bag, tuck away in a closet-no one needs to know where it is-just for heaven's sake don't have anything looking messy. Her house IS always clean, I'll give her that.

My stuff though, is a whole other game. It is nearly impossible to organize my own stuff. Each item carries with it so much baggage!! Should it stay or should it go? Picture a stuffed character...easy to toss...oh wait, that is Kayla's stuffed batman. When she was 2, Santa had to go on ebay to find that. Oh my goodness, she was so happy to see that under the tree!! She never left it out of her sight or far from her grip for two years. You can tell just how loved it was. Never could that be tossed. It goes in the keepsake box along with 200 other items. OK, there is more than one keepsake box. There is the one with the cute little preemie outfits that all 3 girls were small enough to wear, at least for a little while. In addition to the ones they all wore, each ones first halloween costumes are in there too. And all those boxes and boxes of pictures-I'm gonna sort them all out SOMEDAY. Looky there at all that scrapbooking stuff-I hardly ever get to do it...but SOMEDAY. That corner up there is hubby's football memorabilia and that corner houses our scrapbooks from high school and all our old yearbooks. We have 203 VHS tapes of telethon performances and other taped broadcasts featuring the drumming excellence of dear hubby through the years. Look there are no fewer than 10 family video tapes the first of which is a wedding video.

Yep, sorting through personal stuff and finding a way to organize it is really tough!! Some might say impossible. MAybe I should stick with the bookshelf and paper clutter. Not now though, for right now I'm with Hula-off to see the Olympics. I wonder if she's picked out a diver yet.

Irony

Irony is calling yourself the posting queen and then being unable to find the time to post for three days. It has been very busy around these parts. I am doing my organizing stuff all the time now and I have decided to share some of the things that have surprised me and also hugely affected me.

• Flylady told me a long time ago to come up with a uniform. I have been pondering over that as I sort through clothes that are too large for me now and "find" new clothes I can fit into. While I love being in jammies all day unless we are going somewhere, that is a little embarrassing when someone drops by. Most people see pajamas as slothful lazy wear-I see them as workclothes. I don't care if I get bleach or paint on my pajamas-I REALLY care if I get bleach or paint on my "going out of the house clothes". So I am trying to sort through and establish new "work clothes". Older T-shirts and shirts that already have stains or clothes that feel nice but don't look exactly like I want them to-faded and such-shall be saved to be my official uniform. AND this will also serve as a way to weed out some no longer needed or worn clothing.
• Multi-tasking is evil. Women like to claim we are excellent at it but multi-tasking just basically means giving nothing full attention and doing alot of things poorly with little attention. To someone like me, multi-tasking is the kiss of death. For example, let's say I start ten things: barely start 2, get halway through three, almost through with 5 and finish nothing. At the end of the day, that really stinks. It is a really hard habit to break though!! I am forcing myself to finish things. And to go ahead and just do it-put those clothes away, don't just pile them up, deliver them where they go. Hang up that shirt you just took off or take it to the dirty clothes. Put your purse on the hook. Walk your shoes to the closet. It is really hard to go ahead and finish things. My kids have inherited this!
• Sorting/organizing is a task best limited to small areas at a time or it will never be finished. Finish one job and then move to another. Never attempt to sort things in multiple areas at a time.
• Buying containers comes last-when you know what types of things you actually need. I have a basket/container collection that embarrasses me, mostly because it is seldom the right dimensions for what I need. Wrong container=Wasted $$
• Organize all paper into three files. ONLY 3 files. READ. ACTION. FILE. All the paper on counters and tables should be sorted into those three and no more. Of course, some other files are needed or one would not need a FILE category, but the current active papers cluttering the home that go into only 3 files. READ-these are items to read like magazines or catalogs relating to a hobby. There is no action required from any of the read only file. ACTION-these are all items that require some type of action. I have papers to be graded and so much more in mine. This folder should be gone through morning and night to make a master to-do list from so that nothing is lost or forgotten. FILE-only papers requiring no further action go into the file folder. These should be put in "dead" filing at least monthly, perhaps even weekly depending on volume.

That is all the wisdom I have to share right now. I am very tired, it's been a LONG day, we did some school this morning and some this evening. That is so not ever a good plan.

Posting Queen

I know I have skipped some days here and there and that is totally bad for my brain. Now I will desperately try to evacuate some of the extra baggage my brain carries around because of those missed days.

• Weight loss has begun again. The 7 week plateau was very annoying but this last week has brought me down 2 more pounds so hopefully this is the start of something good. I am at an awkward stage though-most of my clothes are starting to not fit but it is not such a huge difference that I feel justified in going on a shopping spree. However, it is very annoying to pull up your pants a hundred times a day. Loose shirts don't bother me at all but I miss pants and shorts that fit. Is elastic in my future? I hate elastic.
• We are a cat-free house. At least inside and I love it. LOVE IT. Sure I miss my babies and so I go outside to love on them. Bliss. They seem very happy outside. The other positive to all cats being outside is that my girls can't wait for school breaks to go love on the babies. I enjoy those breaks so much when everyone is outside but me.
• Today is my stepfather's birthday and we celebrate with a cook-out at Mom's. Yeah!! I don't have to make supper. Why is that such a wonderful feeling?
• We have so much clutter in waiting to go somewhere that there is very little floor space left in the dining room. The room swap is complete and the best part is that the girls did most of the moving part themselves. I am loving having older kids that can REALLY be a HUGE help with big chores.
• I am a little morose today because Fridays are supposed to be our day off but we keep taking Wednesdays off instead and ruining my plans. What's up with that?? Crazy homeschool mom, stick to a schedule already.
• I am still loving my organizing CDs. They have helped me so much. Sometimes it is really hard to get motivated and these CDs have done that for me.
• My friend Stephanie blessed me with curtains for my living room. I am quite excited. Now we just have to solve the dilemna of hanging them-which is not a quick fix by the way. Then we might not have such a WINDOW to the outside world. I am sure my neighbors will miss knowing exactly what is going on in our house but they will just have to adjust. In other curtain news, Lilly's new curtains did not come as a pair. There is one panel. What the crap???? When did curtains stop coming in pairs???? New ways are not better than the old ways folks!! One should be able to buy curtains, open the packagae and cover an entire window-not just half of it.
• The Olympics ROCK!! I have been loving all of the coverage I have seen. I love the way the swim team swims like fish at the beginning of a lap. No wonder they have six pack abs. Special thanks to Hula for showing me the tatoo Michael Phelps has-now I will be sinning every time I search diligently for it. Oh and for the record, that is exactly where I would get a tatoo if I ever got one. Probably not the Olympics rings though.

Okay, I think that is all of the incredibly important thoughts I had to get out. I sincerely hope you were not holding on for some earthshaking prose. Another day perhaps.

I Love Being Tagged...

Especially by Hula!! I feel so special that I have ignored it for several days while I threatened my children with bodily harm, told them horrible stories about PUBLIC SCHOOL and then threatened to send them there. Yes, I have certainly been behaving very badly and I harbor no ill will to public school. I really don't. Never have. I have been harboring ill will towards my children though. They are in desperate need of your prayers and maybe one or two for me as well. Thankfully I have a hubby who quietly and calmly offered me a suggestion for school that just might bring about the attitude adjustment someone has been needing- an "alone cone" for you Dragontales fans. A little independent study away from the rest of us is just what Mommy needs but could not think of in her present state of hot flaming ??? I'm not sure what I would call it but this tween thing is making me a little frustrated. Homeschooling sort of requires a certain mindset from all parties involved and hers has thrown mine out-of-whack. Rnat over. Thanks for "listening".

About that tag now...here it is!!
A.) attached or single? Attached. 14 years. We have worn out our JCPenney shower gift towels.
(B.) best friend? My husband. Sherry.
(C.) cake or pie? Cake-the devil's food variety, specifically.
(D.) day of choice? I believe my odd new love for Mondays is well documented.
(E.) essential item? 'Puter. Good books. Some sort of little notebook to track my life in.
(F. ) favorite color? Red!
(G.) gummy bears or worms? Bears
(H.) hometown? A TINY town in Ky!
(I. ) favorite indulgence? pedicures-it's been a LONG time
(J. ) January or July? Neither-I prefer spring and fall.
(K. ) kids? Three girls. Mental note-buy stock in KimberleyClark
(L.) life isn't complete without? Family, laughter, love, church, friends, doing something that fulfills the heart. (This was totally Hula's answer but I really like it!!)
(M.) marriage date? May 14, 1994.
(N.) number of brothers & sisters? 3 older sisters. Yes, that makes me the baby-shut up!
(O.) oranges or apples? Both-I heart fruit.
(P. ) phobias? heights, water. Especially heights and water combined in the form of bridges. OY!
(Q.) quotes? "I'm good enough, smart enough and doggone it, people like me." Stuart Smalley of SNL fame (The best things ever said by Al Franken were as S.S.)
"Cleaning your house while your kids are still growing is like shoveling the walk before it stops snowing." ~Phyllis Diller, Phyllis Diller's Housekeeping Hints, 1966
(R.) reasons to smile? I am a good person with a soft heart. God loves me. My family. Getting stuff organized.
(S.) season of choice? Fall
(T.) tag seven peeps!
Jacinda (Something to distract you from moving!!)
Summer (A blog post not requiring too much thought!)
JettyBetty (where are you?)
Sandy
Stephanie R.
Stephanie S. (where are you?)
Sara M.
(U.) unknown fact about me? My life is an open book except for the pages I glued together.
(V. ) vegetable? sweet corn and taters prepared any way.
(W.) worst habits? Losing my temper, making mountains out of molehills, letting wounds fester.
(X.) x-ray or ultrasound? I've had both.
(Y.) your favorite food? Shrimp or any seafood cooked up with pasta and topped off with a yummy creamy white sauce of any type. Add a caesar salad, tall ice water (NO LEMON!) and some cheesy garlic biscuits to really make me smile.
(Z.) zodiac sign? Aquarius-all water signs should fear the water, right?

Around the Moods in 180 Minutes

It has been such a rotten day (and week thus far) that I have been wracking my brain trying to figure out why I am so easily angered, extra sensitive and generally unpleasant. Then it hit me. It is that lovely time of the month known as PMS. DUH! DOH! Maybe Kayla isn't so bad after all, maybe it's me. I'll let ya know next week when Aunt Flo gets here and my sanity returns.

Lefty's Day

One of my favorite blogs, Testosterhome, is celebrating a very special day today with a give-away. If you, like me, are a leftie-go leave a comment and be entered!!

Happy left-hander's day!! (Yes, this makes it official, there IS a day for everything!)

Make-up!!

Erika had a lovely make-up party last night. It was fun to see all the girls with a light dusting of make-up. I think they were a tad disappointed that she did not paint them up like a clown-but they looked really nice and still looked like the beautiful young ladies they are. It was especially nice that a couple of my older former girl scouts were there. They are so funny and high school has not changed them much-still giggly girls!!

Erika has been playing with her lipstick samples all morning. She won't ever wear much make-up, I don't think, but she really likes lipstick and mascara. Erik is off today so once again our four day school week is working out just perfect. I love the flexibility it gives us to have one day per week for plan changes that come up spontaneously. We will have much shorter breaks than most people but those breaks are always too long for us anyway. ( ;

I colored my hair today. I don't think I can do professional color at $50 a pop. I am just too cheap for it. I will continue with the haircuts though, Tim has my hair looking better than it has since...well, when I used to go to him!! It is a bit darker but I like it alot. Also the conditioner included in the box has my hair so soft I can't believe it is my hair!!

I have alot of things I need to be taking care of right now. Have a wonderful Wednesday!!

Crossing Off!

I have just finished an important piece of a very large project that has been looming over my head for quite some time. It feels good. Very good. There is still much more to it, I am doing a room swap between Erika and Lilly. It has been in the works forever. It is critical to tear down wallpaper border, prep walls and paint both rooms before this can be accomplished. One room is now finished. There is still a bit of touch up on the trim but that will have to be another day-hopefully tomorrow. Crossing off one room is big! Especially for me because I loathe painting. Despise it. Detest it. But there comes a time when it must be done and it is sooooo much easier than wallpaper.

I am still listening to the organizing CD and it has really inspired me to make my home exactly what it should be-a place we are eager to be at. A welcoming sanctuary from the world. My living room is the only room I am really at peace with right now(some day we may even aquire some curtains!!). One bathroom kind of is, but the other needs major expensive work-as in a new shower unit so we have done the best we can until we have the money to get to it.

I just love listening to things that inspire me to do better at all things domestic. Especially organizing because I enjoy it so much. I'm going to go soak in the tub now and then prep for a brand new school week tomorrow!

Today was a wonderful beginning to what I hope will be a wonderful week!

Decluttering!

Some of you might think I should be done by now. You are wrong. As I slowly and methodically go through my home and let a few things go, it is almost a spiritual experience. We have accumulated so much stuff in the course of our lives that letting go must happen just as gradually. I try to leave all of Erik's stuff alone which is pretty easy since his is mostly boxed and put in the top of our storage closet. It would have been easy to go through his-I have no attachment to most of it. Just like in life-it is much easier to fix someone else before we get around to us! So, facing all the projects, good intentions and things that haven't worked is a difficult and slow process. The love of "stuff" is the root of all chaos, at least for me. As our paths, closets and bookshelves get decluttered, I find a joy I did not realize was possible.

Today is a fun day of pajamas(at least for me), cooking, laundry, listening to a book on CD(about organizing) and decluttering. A perfect ending to a productive week. I am a domestic goddess.

Happy Sabbath.

Much Better

Yes, I am much better today. Thanks for your concern. I took Kayla down to the bus station with a note pinned to her that said "Anywhere but home" and things have been great ever since. Okay, I only did that in my dream after reading Hula's suggestion. To say life with a pubescent tween is difficult is like saying life as a porta-potty cleaner stinks a bit. She is a good girl and I love her very much but she really makes me CRAZY (or maybe crazier is more fittin').

Today we had a good focused day of school and then we went to do our running. We found lots of bargains and stayed on budget so life is good. Tonight we are attending a wedding that is going to be major cool and I am very excited. I just love weddings and I suppose that is a good thing-since I have 3 girls!!

Erika purchased her first make-up today. Mascara and lipstick. I predict she will be wearing both tonight at the wedding!!

School Daze

Today was a day from H-E-double hockey sticks. REALLY, I mean it. We survived. All of us, even Kayla (there was some danger that she might not). So tomorrow looks good to me just because it won't be today!!

I wish I could write a longer post-but my brain is mush and I am sore from walking all over a waterpark yesterday.

Day 2, Day 2

Day 2 now is through! We made it another day-and even managed a trip to the library to get a few resources to enhance our study. While at the library, the kids were to do some independent research on the king who abdicated ($20 word) the throne in 1936 for love. (To marry his divorced American girlfriend.) (Bragging rights if you know the answer!!) Erika also finished up her NASA webquest on flight. (Kayla had done it at home. Lilly-over her head!) I love the online tools available to educators!! There are soooo many. (another favorite!)

Today was Erik's day off so I was worried that it might trip us up and get us off track, but it was not a problem. I also made some yummy homemade lasagna while the kids were working. Mmmmm! It was good, and will be even better tomorrow. After our library trip, we went to my mom's. Busy day, busy day.

Today is the last day I am the mom of two eleven year olds. Tomorrow is Erika's 12th birthday. Wow. Makeup enters the scene. YIKES-what was I thinking. She probably won't wear it very often, but who knows. Erika is the inventive, creative one. She loves to draw, sew and do crafty things. If I am not careful, she will squirrel trash in her room to recycle it into a fairy house or fairy amusement park. She never ceases to amaze me with her creativity. She also enjoys giving her creations away. She does puppets for the little ones at church and is a really neat kid. We will celebrate by taking a school field trip. To a waterpark...to learn about water and how small crowds get at waterparks when public school begins its year. ( ;

I probably won't post tomorrow until late or maybe not at all. Wave pools and laptops do not go hand in hand you know. Have a terrific Tuesday!! TaTa!

PS. I loved running into you, Hula!! Teen Angel is still the coolest ninth grader I know!

Back to School!!

We have had a good first day of school. My part is finished for a bit, I'll grade papers this afternoon and make the last of my copies for tomorrow. We finished the huge assortment of things to cover in a little over 4 hours. The older girls are working on some things independently while Lilly practices her music. That lets me know my planning has been almost right on the money. I am going to add just a few more things to our day-I want to be right at 4 and a half hours instruction, 1 and a half hours of projects, experiments, etc. Erik is going to teach a history class with a neat curriculum involving movies. Maybe he will do that tonight. The movie was hard to find but Netflix came through for us!

WHEW!! It went well. I did have some negative attitudes to deal with-theirs and then mine over theirs-but we made it through to the other side. I have a fun night out tonight, known as the homeschool support group meeting. I am so glad to be a part of such a wonderful versatile group!!

I am very glad to be back to school! I hope I can keep that attitude until our first break and then resume it after that break. It's all in the attitude, you know.

Interrupting This Blog To Say:

This blogging break has been brought to you by...my family from out-of-town!! Tonight we will have our last visit and tomorrow we start school. Time is scarce!! I'm reading but not commenting...I love you blogland!

44 Cents

3 composition notebooks
4 bottles of school glue
1 pkg of graph paper (I am so gonna love our math and science this year!)
1 sketch pad
4 slim jims
3 boxes colored pencils

Office Depot, I heart you! Thanks to their money for recycling printer cartridges and some really awesome specials, the above only cost me 44 cents. RAWK ON! I also bought a dress and two shirts today(new with tags) for $1.75 at a yard sale. Man I love bargains!!