My Journey of Hope: Craft Room Conversion!

Hubby said the sexiest thing to me this past Saturday. He took my hand as I was about to head out of our bedroom, smiled at me and said, "How about on Sunday, we stay home from church, and..."

Getting A (Standing) Ablation

Yes, I know the title is spelled oddly. I'm not talking about getting applause; I'm talking about matters to do with my lady parts, so if you are squeamish, or don't want to read about my body's natural functions, this is your opportunity to step off the bus.

My Journey Of Hope: Bathroom Drawer Disaster - Before and After!

Being a busy bee means that sometimes, those little tasks that need doing get pushed by the wayside. And sometimes, those little tasks become big, messy, nasty monsters that roar at you every time you open the drawer. Well, this was one of those times.

I had joyfully organized Tertius and Quarta's bathroom drawer, with the full intention of doing the same for Hubby and I. And then summer came. And I picked up more work. And there were outings, and visits, and time with friends and family. And it didn't get done.

Here's how it looked:

Are you sure there's a toothbrush in there?

Whilst shopping this afternoon, I said to Hubby, "I'm going to pick this office drawer organizer up for the bathroom. He looked skeptically at me, likely because I hadn't pre-measured the drawer, and because it was an office supply. But I was confident that it would fit. And it really was high time that our drawer started looking as nice as Tertius and Quarta's.

Hubby set to work making dinner (from-scratch Beef Stroganoff), and I started emptying out the drawer. I pulled out the skid-proof liner, as it looked like it had seen better days. After three years in there, it was ready to be retired! I wiped out the drawer, tapping any residual dust out off of the back deck. The new organizer fit like a dream, with just enough room to tuck my flat iron in front of it!

And now it is a little piece of calm in our bathroom. Any time the counter seems too chaotic, I can always open my drawer, smile and take a deep, calming breath.

Here's how it looks now:

A little job at a time can accomplish mighty things!

Planning In Secret Out In The Open

Hubby and I desperately want to take the kids on a real vacation. We've been to Seattle a couple of times for a few days at a time, but we're talking about a two to three week drive down the I-5 to Anaheim, LA, and San Diego.

With one real income, that's just been out of the question. But now that I'm working (very) part-time doing housecleaning, I suddenly have a stream of income that we don't rely on for the day-to-day necessities.

I have this huge plastic jar that used to hold Winnie the Pooh cookies many moons ago. We cut a notch out of the lid, and it's been our savings jar for years. Right now, it has a piece of paper in it that says, "Van Fund". Now, we *are* saving for a van; we have money from income tax set aside for that, and are hoping to have another bit of money coming in soon so that we can go van shopping. We've let the kids know that the primary concern is replacing the van, to be followed by replacing Hubby's vehicle, and then we can start saving up for a vacation. And as far as the kids know, this jar is being used for that, in that order. In reality, this jar is solely for saving up for a family vacation. We'll take stock at Spring Break to see how much we have saved up, and that will determine the kind of vacation we can take.
                                                                                                                                                                    So what we've committed to is this:

- all money I earn from housekeeping goes into the jar
- all money I earn from selling my crafts goes into the jar
- all money we receive from D&D meals goes into the jar
- every time we have money come into the house (payday, child tax credit, GST, what-have-you), anything smaller than a $10 bill in our wallets/pockets goes into the jar
- any money I find in the dirty laundry goes into the jar

In addition to this, with the child tax credit increasing in July, we will have $350 more for both July and August, then when Quarta turns 6, we'll have $270 more each month, which will be immediately funneled into our long-term savings account (the home of the van fund at the moment, but will also hold replacement car and vacation money).

And once we've taken stock at Spring Break, we're planning how to surprise them. So far, the idea is to buy a new scrapbook, and do exactly one page for it - the title page. I already have a lovely, sparkly sticker that says, "Disney Vacation". Then we'll tell the kids that I bought a new scrapbook to put our vacation photos into, and ask if they want to see it. I think we'll need Uncle Jakk over here to take video of them freaking out :)

The State Of The Bee

So, I've been quiet for the best part of the month, but I haven't been idle.

The last two weeks of school are always a mad rush of field trips and fun days, classroom parties and child meltdowns as the realization hits that their entire routine is about to change drastically for the next 10 weeks. And this year has been no exception.

Primus had his last day of middle school classes on June 15. On June 16, I woke him up nice and early to accompany me to the intermediate sports day at the elementary school. It's not as bad as you're all thinking; there were a handful of his friends there as well, and he did a great job of busying himself lining kids up for their heats in the running races while I handed out ribbons. When I had to leave at recess to go to work, he stayed to set up and then run one of the stations for the kids (the "throw the football through this hoop" station). It was only after that was finished that he went over to a friend's house to hang out, and he was great about keeping me apprised of his location.

There were classroom parties, movies, ice cream parties (earned with classroom "money"), year-end hikes, assemblies, awards handed out (Secunda achieved 'A' honours for the year, and 'G' effort for the year; Primus achieved 'A' Honours for the year, and received the Grade 8 Band Award for excellence), and the requisite trip to the waterslides.

Hubby had the task of packing up his entire classroom (with the help of Primus one of the days), because while he is a continuing teacher in our district, he does not have his own contract. That means that every year, he gets "laid off" as it were on June 30, and waits for the phone call a few days later to find out what school, subject, and grade he'll be teaching come the fall. We've been fortunate that for the 6 years he's been on the lay-off/recall list, it's always been a full year of full-time teaching. He's actually got a decent shot at being at the same school next year, and possibly even teaching the same thing, so we are now waiting for that phone call.

Life on the home front hasn't been quiet, either. I've picked up a second cleaning client, this one weekly, and so I'm driving for half an hour each way to work there. It's a nice drive, and I don't mind it, and they have a lovely dog that only barks until she gets her biscuit :)

My parents have been having a time of it, however. My father was hospitalized for two weeks in February, and Mumsy has a laundry list of ailments, and all the requisite medications that treat them. They are in their 70s now, and I've really seen them go from vital middle-aged people, to elderly people, and it's been hard to see it, and to know how frustrating it must be for them.

Right now, we're dealing with my father's second hospitalization (four days so far), and my mother's bladder cancer diagnosis. So at the moment, I am not only working part-time and taking care of my own family, but also being Dad's legs and hands, and Mumsy's wheels, getting her to and from appointments and visits to Dad, washing up dishes, cleaning expired food out of the fridge, taking out the garbage, and when I can, doing housework to help them stay on top of things.

And it is exhausting me. Please don't misunderstand - I am so glad that I'm able to help. I liked having a quiet visit with my dad this morning while Mumsy had her CT scan downstairs. I don't mind taking Mumsy to the store, even if it means that it takes an hour longer than I anticipated. She so rarely gets out to the stores without feeling rushed by Dad, whose energy necessitates that trips out are quick and to the point. She and I love to troll the dollar stores :) But even though I am happy to do it, it still takes a toll.

I think the solution is to establish a schedule once Dad is home from the hospital. For one, we (being my brother and I) need to get our stuff out of storage in their house. We also need to help them downsize, because their home is WAY too much house for them. So we are wanting to help them prepare to put the house up for sale and move somewhere more suitable to their needs. And that needs some structure.

So, if you don't see me on here as often, this is why.

Of Frailty and Mortality

February was a medical roller coaster ride, one that I would most definitely not want to ride again.

February 1st dawned, a lovely sunny day. It was a Tuesday, and in the world of Busy Little Bee, that means Sanity. I picked up my friend T and brought her back to the house so we could grab a coffee before I dropped her at her dentist's appointment later that morning. Tertius and Quarta were both home sick, and played quietly in their room. As we sat chatting, I started feeling... funny. Not HAHA funny, but rather, somehow off in a way that I really couldn't describe. Within 10 minutes of the onset, I felt like I needed to put my head down, so I must have felt some sort of low-grade dizziness. Then I had to close my eyes, and I absolutely felt dizzy by that point.

I thought I was having a blood sugar issue, and my blood glucose tests seemed to bear that out, but when the nausea hit, and the clammy sweat began, and the falling sensation started, we knew I needed to get to a doctor. T called our friend A, and the three of us figured out a plan for getting T to the dentist, and me to the ER. I texted Hubby to let him know what was happening, and that I'd keep him updated.

When A arrived, I was sitting on the sofa with my head laying on the arm. We talked about her driving the kids and I to my parents' house, dropping the kids off there, then taking me to the hospital to get looked at. Once Tertius and Quarta's coats and shoes were on, she asked me if I could get up and into her car on my own, and that's when the world started moving out of my control. I sat up, then laid right back down again, on the other couch cushion, unable to stand. A took decisive action and called the ambulance, and I called Hubby in the middle of class to tell him the ambulance had been called - he only answered because he knew something was going on, and me calling would only be in an emergency.

The EMTs got there and did an assessment; the decision was made to transport me to the hospital. I had the chance to call the kids over and explain to them that Mummy was feeling very dizzy and sick, and that the nice men were going to take me to the hospital to help me feel better, and that A was taking them to stay with Granpa and Grandma while that happened. A put my shoes on and the EMTs helped me to stand, walk down the stairs, and get me onto the gurney (I felt like I was falling the whole time, and also like I was leaning horribly to the right). The wave of nausea crashed over me hard, and the dry retching started.

T got picked up, A bundled the kids into her car, and we were all off. I think the door got locked, and my purse was grabbed and put in A's car. The ambulance stayed parked at the end of the driveway for a few minutes while they got some Gravol into me and asked me some more questions. Then I went for the worst car ride of my life. If you ever feel dizzy and nauseous, please avoid driving anywhere.

It took a while to get into the ER proper, and the awesome EMTs stayed with me the whole time. Hubby arrived not long after I did, followed quickly by A. She stayed until I was safely tucked into the ER, and Hubby never left my side. The diagnosis was vertigo, brought on by a nasty viral infection. T kept in touch with Hubby to see how I was, and A went home and made soup for my whole family for dinner. Arrangements were made for my dad to pick the other kids up from school, and they hung out with G&G until I was discharged around 5, I think.

I was still not feeling well; having frequent dizzy spells and nausea. The prescription for vertigo meds was filled, and we headed over to my parents for rest and dinner. Hubby was only able to get a few spoons full of soup into me, so he popped out to the store for Powerade and the prescription. I was still getting hit with overwhelming waves of dizziness and nausea every time my head moved. Mumsy hated seeing me so powerless, and as she also has vertigo, she knew exactly how bad off I was. It was decided that I just couldn't make it back up the stairs that night, so we arranged for Uncle J to kid wrangle overnight, and Hubby and I would couch surf at the 'rents. My father has been experiencing increasingly poor health over the past two years, and his hemoglobin levels had slowly been declining, causing extreme fatigue for him. We've been very worried about his health, but his GP (who retired in December) just chalked it up to getting older.

And here is where I see the hand of God in all of this.

Because I was on the couch, I could hear my father labouring to breathe in his sleep, and his restlessness. Because I was on the couch, I heard my parents whispering at 6:50 AM, talking about how horribly he'd slept, and about the angina he'd been feeling all night. At that, I was wide awake, trying to sit up, and informed them that I was calling an ambulance. By God's grace, Dad didn't argue. Instead, he sighed and said, "Okay."

He spent the next 16 days in hospital, trying to build up his hemoglobin, and undergoing numerous tests to try to determine the cause (without much success, I might add).

It's one thing to come face-to-face with your own frailty, but quite another to be faced with your parent's mortality. I have watched my parents' health decline to the point that I worry for them almost daily.

This wasn't in the manual.

Uncomfortable Truths

Tertius had asked for a playdate with a friend, and the plan was to go to the park near their school after class let out. Now, this park is lovely; it's where we held Tertius' birthday party last month. There's a decent playground, lots of open green space, well-maintained tennis courts, and a good amount of shade from mature trees. But it also has a seedier side. There have been a number of petty crimes (holding people up, fights, etc) there, people misuse the public washroom to do drugs and have sex, and it tends to be populated in the late afternoons/evenings by some pretty unsavory characters.

But at 2:30, it's pretty safe for the primary crowd, so away we went.

My Journey of Hope: The Room of DOOM - Before and After

That's right, you heard me.

Doom.

DOOM!

Tertius and Quarta's room has been the bane of my existence since they could pull thing off of the shelves (which coincidentally, preceded walking by a few months). It's messy, it's overcrowded. and it's not being used to its fullest potential in any way, shape, or form. It was less-than-helpful that our cat, Saffron, viewed Quarta as her main competition, and decided to exert her dominance by urinating on Quarta's clothes and belongings, stinking up the joint like nobody's business!

Hubby and I have been systematically chipping away at the mess; reminders throughout the day to "pick up 20 things" are met alternately with excitement, or with eye rolls and groans, but they've been making headway. Very, very slow headway. And as often as not, for all the progress they made, they'd reward themselves by pulling out half again as many toys to play with. So, I was just sick of it; the mess, the smell, the constant roller coaster ride of cleanliness,  and I needed to step in. The end result is that I spent the better part of 5 or 6 hours in there over the last two days, trying to not only tame the overwhelming mess, but also to find the source of the cat urine problem.

This was taken about two hours into cleaning, so it already looks miles better than before

This is what I found when I pulled out the rolling cart that Tertius stores some of his toys in

Quarta's dresser is to the left, with her rolling cart toy storage; the dresser in the center has extra sheets, and costumes stashed away.

In the process of cleaning, I located three sources of the urine stench - in front of Tertius' dresser, under the bunk beds, and in the closet. The room reeked, and I don't know how they could stand the smell. And there I was, without baking soda to neutralize the odour! That red bag you see in the photo above? That's most of the garbage I pulled out of their room. Not just garbage, but anything that had been peed on and was not salvageable.  I soaked an untold number of Lego pieces and Hot Wheels cars to get rid of the stench overnight. Given the number of Pokemon cards I had to toss, I think the kids both learned a valuable lesson.

I had each child help me individually, which I feel worked very well, and together, we got everything off the floor, and even from under the bed. We left it last night like this:

Hey, there's a carpet under there!

you can't see the cat urine, but it's there... but at least the mess isn't!

SOO much better!

The next step is finishing up the closet, then taking the Bissel Little Green Machine to the carpet and try to get rid of the smell.

I'll keep you posted!

My Journey of Hope: Getting Buy-In

This weekend has been all about buy-in for me.

First up, my parents. They are both dealing with myriad health issues, and the biggest thing they're facing right now is my father's newly discovered kidney disease. It is causing a great deal of fatigue for him, to the point that walking from the living room to the bathroom makes him winded. And forget about stairs! So, adjustments have been made in the house to accommodate their current needs, but their food storage was still an issue, as was making healthy meals. They have been relying more heavily on canned and packaged foods of late, which isn't as good as whole foods, but with limited ability to access the freezer in the basement, that complicated things.

My brother, sis-in-law and nephew were visiting this weekend, so we took the opportunity to bring a luncheon feast to them all. We even invited BioDad's father over, because after all, he's family. I made a rather spectacular creamy baked potato soup, and we had salads, chips and deli buns to enjoy. Mumsy went out to the store and picked up dessert, too!

While there, Bro, Hubby, and I had a chance to talk about some solutions for the food issue, and we presented the following idea: they have two ancient freezers (no really; one is something like 50 years old) in the basement, both full to the brim with food of unknown age and condition. Bro and I have volunteered to go through both of them, tossing anything outdated or freezer-burnt, and condensing what's left. We then suggested that they look at buying a new upright freezer that lives on the main floor, and we would batch-cook things like spaghetti sauce, chili, meat loaf, lasagna, etc. and freeze them in two portions. Then all they have to do is get a freezer bag or foil loaf pan out the night before, and cook up the side dishes while it cooks.

Thankfully, both of our parents were really on board with the idea! Of course, the moment I mentioned putting the old freezers out to pasture, he got this slightly panicked look on his face - we can't get rid of something useful, right? Baby steps - we'll start with de-cluttering the freezers, and see where it leads, but he did admit that neither appliance is very energy-conscious and would likely lower their power bill to have them shut off. It's so heartening to see progress being made.

Sunday saw me without a vehicle, so I was unable to attend church, though Primus got a ride from Hubby before he left for the SCA (Society for Creative Anachronism) event going on this weekend. (Side story: when Primus arrived at church, the man leading the worship team was disappointed that P was not on the platform, guitar in hand. He had jammed with them at the Thursday practice and got great response, and I think they all kind of expected that he would be playing. He had to let them know that he was in charge of media today, but nonetheless, they gave him copies of the music, complete with guitar chords, that he can now practice at home. What a great boost to his self-esteem! I'm so stinkin' proud of that kid.)

Because we were stuck at home, I decided to declare it Pajama Day, and Tertius, Quarta and I stayed in our jammie-jams all day long - you should have seen the confusion when Hubby and I told them to get their jammies on for bed tonight! We watched Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban, followed by a show that Secunda requested, "Attacking the Devil: Harold Evans and the Last Nazi War Crime", a documentary on Thalidomide babies, and the newspaper campaign of truth that blew the story open in the 1970s. Fascinating show. The little guys had some questions, so we talked about the birth defects, the improper testing, and the shoddy compensation offered to families. It also gave me the opportunity to talk to them about how such birth defects rarely affect cognitive ability, how these men and women overcame the limitations this medication placed upon them, and how they are able to function quite well in the world.

When we took a break for them to practice their breakdance routine that they're doing for the talent show at school, I went downstairs to the office, which had begun to get cluttered again. I spent a few minutes assessing what I can do (starting with putting a few items up on the 24 hour bidding site), and by the time Tertius and Quarta came inside, I had a bag at the ready. We quickly picked up about 20 pieces of garbage, and made it look much nicer in there! I had no whining, no cajoling, and no resistance to the task as presented to them. It put such a smile on my face!

So, not a lot of work got done around here because of my painful hands, but dishes got completely caught up again, progress was made in the office, and a big step has started for my parents' home.

Talk about a weekend of win!

My Journey of Hope: The De-Cluttering Continues!

I was at the dollar store with Secunda today, picking up flower pots for a fairy garden workshop we were doing later in the evening. While there, I had the lovely idea of finding a method of better organizing the bathroom drawer that Tertius and Quarta share. Up until now, the only measure I'd taken to tame the chaos in the drawer was to put a narrow plastic tray in there to contain the toothbrushes and toothpaste, which had become woefully inadequate. It seemed that the toothbrushes were breeding (another area that my children hoard items), the most recent trip to the dentist had yielded two new mini-tubes of paste, and the whole drawer was well past due for an overhaul.

My Journey of Hope: Day 28 of 28 - Creating (and keeping!) An Oasis Of Calm, Part Two

Okay, you've been very patient with me, so here are the photos of the front deck at this stage of completeness. I just need to update my chair, the table, and the carpet, and perhaps add some lighting. Then it will be perfect for us!

My own little flower planter! Pansies and verbena

Secunda's birthday cineraria (round pot), and Secunda's' planter full of pansies, heliotrope and verbena

My tea roses from the hobbitses' school (round pot), and Tertius' planter of pansies, heliotrope and nemesia

Our wee strawberry patch!

Enjoying breakfast on a sunny day! Our herbs are planted in the green pots hanging from the railing: lemon balm, winter savoury, cilantro, basil and oregano

My Journey of Hope: Day 28 of 28 - Creating (and keeping!) An Oasis Of Calm, Part One

To cap off my journey, I decided that I needed a reward for the work I'd done. And for me, that meant getting my front deck set up the way I want it.

Of course, some aspects of that will have to wait until payday, such as a new Adirondack chair, and a new carpet. But there was still plenty to do!

My Journey of Hope: Decluttering - It's the Little Things That Count

After dropping Hubby and the hobbitses off at their respective schools, I came home to make breakfast, grab an iced coffee, and head out to run errands. And while in the kitchen, I decided to take of my Lazy Vision™ goggles, and really look at my kitchen.

And when I looked at the point of entry, this is what I saw:

My Journey of Hope: Day 28 of 28 - Reflections

Well, here we are at the end of the 28 day journey, and while, admittedly, my surgery really derailed things at the end, I am still very pleased with the progress that has been made in my home, and how clean and de-cluttered the areas I've worked on are staying. This house is FAR from done, but I feel that my efforts were worth it, and it's worth it to keep at it, a little bit at a time.

I also think it's worth the time to address what worked, what didn't work, and what I'd like to try with my next phase of this.

What Worked:

1. Looking around and finding something that bugged me enough to change it was the single most motivating factor on this whole thing.

2. Getting buy-in from family members ahead of time. The big, shameful mess in front of our living room bookshelves had a lot of things that didn't belong to me, so I knew that I had to have Hubby on board with addressing his share of it beforehand, and he agreed to deal with his things. Now, his stuff still isn't put away into their proper places, but that's mostly because we just don't have those places yet. Yes, they now reside in the previously cleared part of the office, but they were not shoved back in behind the chairs, and that is progress. I am calling this a win.

3. Pre-writing portions of blog posts. Life gets very hectic very easily, and I found that the best way to stay on top of the blogging was to pre-select topics to write on, put a blurb in, and save them as drafts. The point-form notes reminded me of what I wanted to say, and I was better able to more faithfully blog about the process that way. I allowed life to carry me away, and I was not nearly as good about blogging my progress, so there are things that got done that will not be blogged about, but the important thing is, I can see that they got done, and my home looks better for it.

4. Awareness and mindfulness of our stuff, where it is, and where we leave it has increased dramatically. Both Hubby and I are being more intentional about our belongings and where they live.

What Didn't Work:

1. Getting anything done in Tertius and Quarta's room. I knew that was my biggest obstacle going into this, but I still had hope that they would come on board. And Tertius was pretty enthusiastic at the start. But when he realized that some actual work had to get done, his enthusiasm fizzled out very quickly. They would be asked to pick up in their room, but within minutes, they could be found either re-creating the mess they had just cleaned, or making an even bigger one. I think that this room is a week-long task unto itself, and one that I will have to undertake while they're at school.

2. Pre-selecting areas to work on. It's lovely to make a neat, tidy little list of places that need de-cluttering, but it's another thing entirely to actually work that list.

What I'd Do Differently:

1. More buy-in from family members. I think in order to not be fighting upstream, I need my family to not only buy into me de-cluttering, but I need them to opt in as well.

2. Work for a set time, and make that in the mornings. I'm finding that I am more effective if I just jump right into a task after dropping everyone off at school.

For those of you who jumped onto this crazy train with me, what are your reflections?

My Journey of Hope: Day 23 of 28 - Wherein Everything Comes To A Screeching Halt

I knew when I started this journey that things might have to take a break. I had minor surgery scheduled for April 26th, and as I expected, the recovery is taking a lot out of me. I'm pretty tired, and pretty achy. Th e day of the actual surgery, it ate up most of the day, and I had a 2 hour nap in the afternoon. The meds the hospital gave me were still working pretty well, so I was able to socialize when a friend dropped by, and we had a lovely supper together.

I woke this morning , my stomach a bloated, achy mess. I spent the bulk of the day on the couch, binge-watching Firefly, and plotting cross stitch patterns - first up is a little stitchy of Wash on cloudy sky linen. I did wash a rack of hand dishes, and got the rest of the dishes organized for Primus and Secunda. And then I had to rest. I made myself a sandwich for lunch, and then I had to rest again. I feel like a wimp, but I know that overdoing it now will mean I pay for it for days. So I take it easy.

All this said, I will be back at it tomorrow, working on a small job, and hoping to keep the momentum up for this last push.

Thanks for coming along for the ride!

Keep On Keepin' On

I've been finding that this whole journey is having new and seemingly lasting benefits. Despite slow days, setbacks and times when I just don't feel like doing a thing around my home, I am noticing that the tendency to do little pockets of de-cluttering have really settled in as a new habit.  This daily striving to have a better home, this persistent de-cluttering, chipping away at the years of stuff - it is becoming an ingrained habit for me to look at an object, analyze it, and make a decisive choice about its worthiness to stay in my life and home. I like this new habit.

For those of you joining in on this journey, are you noticing any positive side-effects? Feel free to share!

My Journey of Hope: Day 18 of 28 - The Day Nothing Got Done

I seriously got nothing done today. Not at home.

I spent the first 15 minutes of the school day reading aloud with Quarta's Kindergarten class, touched base with Tertius briefly (who had spent much of the morning trying to convince me of how sick he was), and attended Secunda's Entrepreneur Fair, wherein she sold every last monster journal and monster pencil she had made, plus a handful of woven bracelets, PLUS 9 orders for more items!


I found out at the last minute that I wasn't working today, so thought that I had a little wiggle room in my schedule. In reality, there was enough time to run home, scramble to find the ball of yarn Secunda needed so I could deliver it before lunch, only to have my search interrupted by the school secretary calling to inform me that Tertius just wasn't going to make it through the day after all, and could I please come and pick him up? Okay; race to school with the wrong yarn, pick up the sickie - who seemed very bright and perky for someone who "just couldn't make it through the day" - race home, make lunch, and race to church to prep for my community outreach gig. I've brought Quarta with me before she was in Kindy, but Tertius had never been before, and was a hit with the other ladies present. I worked until the last minute, knowing that I'd likely have to store the supplies at home until Sunday, and race back to the school via the church, only to find a car in the parking lot, so I raced to get the stuff inside and put away properly. Continued my frantic trip to the school to pick up the girls, started the paper route, picked Primus up, followed by Hubby, then home to drop off backpacks, have Primus and Secunda pack for their weekend with BD, then finish up the paper route.

So, while the day was ridiculously busy, not a single bit of de-cluttering got done

Such is life sometimes.

My Journey of Hope: Day 14 of 28 - Before and After

Here is one of the shameful corners of my house. The really silly thing is, it's not even hidden from anyone. It's out in plain sight, but my Lazy Vision sees right past it, multiple times a day. And if I can't see it, it doesn't exist, right?

But today I am faced with an uncomfortable reality. EVERYONE can see it, and it's the first thing people see upon entering my living room. And it's gross. It makes us look like hoarders, or at the very least, crappy housekeepers. We love doing crafts, and sometimes need to pull a lot of items out to do them, but we're really bad about putting it away again. I mean REALLY bad.

My Journey of Hope: Day 14 Retrospective

Hello, friends!

Well, here we are, at the halfway point of my 28 day journey, and I think it's time for some reflection on the first half of things.

The Good:

- I am noticing improvement every time I de-clutter
- I am feeling happier with my home
- I am feeling less stress
- Most members of my family have done one de-cluttering session
- I look to time spent de-cluttering as time spent on me
- I now have the number of a repair man to see to the washing machine (UPDAY: even called and left a message!)
- I like having before, during, and after photos, to show me my progress
- If I have a plan by the morning, I am much more likely to get it done
- I am doing far more on-the-fly de-cluttering; one item here and there throughout the day begins to add up, and I can see that it is becoming easier for me to do it without thinking (or taking photos of it!)

The Bad:

- My family is largely not on board with this; nobody else is de-cluttering with any regularity. This makes the process difficult, as I can't/am not allowed to cull anyone else's stuff
- Being the only one actively doing this, it is very easy to fall into a state of sloth.
- Regular tasks, such as folding laundry aren't getting done. I think this is because I've chosen to de-clutter, and others aren't helping with laundry, which they would normally do
- Having a broken dishwasher and washing machine has  been an enormous obstacle, as I never feel like I'm making headway in the house, but rather, struggling to just catch up
- It is report card time, which means that Hubby is less interested/inclined/motivated to help de-clutter his own stuff
- I am less inclined to de-clutter on rainy days
- a lack of a plan for the day often results in no de-cluttering
- unless I do a significant amount of de-cluttering, I feel that it's not enough to bother taking a photo of

The Ugly:

- I am noticing new things being deposited in the areas I have de-cluttered, and not always by me
- The kids' daily chores aren't being done, compounding the feeling of not being able to just catch up
- I am still struggling to shed my feelings of frustration and resentment about the lack of support and buy-in from my family
- having a sick family member saps my desire to de-clutter

So, from this list, I see that my mental game still has a long way to go. I can knuckle down and just get it done (or at least, as much as I can do without opposition from a family member), but the mindset is taking longer to adjust.

I'm not giving up, though, because I'm worth it, and so is my home.

My Journey to Hope: The Chip On My Shoulder

Thanks to the world of clip art, I have a picture of me that I'd like to share.

Me, if I were a brunette man in a business suit

Yep, that's me all over. There I am, carrying the weight of my home on my shoulders, feeling like I'm doing it all by myself. And to a large extent, I am. I'm the one who works very part-time out of the home, so I'm the one who can be here to maintain the home. I understand and accept that the bulk of the housework falls to me. Well, I'm working on it. Okay, sometimes, I'm downright resentful that the entire family leaves their stuff laying around, because it communicates an assumption that I'll clean it all up for them.

For several years now, I've tried very hard to follow FlyLady's approach to housework: that we need to let go of any resentment, bitterness and anger at our family's unwillingness to clean up after themselves, and to lovingly and joyfully do everything without any expectation that they will lift a finger to do any of it. I tried. I did. And this was the one thing I Just. Couldn't. Get. Over.

My Journey of Hope: Day 8 of 28 - Before and After

Thank you, dear readers, for coming along on this journey with me! I hope you've enjoyed reading some of my reflections on this process, and to thank you, here is my latest "Before & After"!

Today's cluttered area was around the master bedroom door:

To be fair, the baby gate just showed up there today,
as we had a guest and her toddler visiting. But I haven't used my
longbow (on the left) in years. YEARS.

I knew that a great deal of it was mine, from the aforementioned longbow, to the bins of photographs for scrapbooking. But a respectable amount was also just garbage, and the same again was stuff that only Hubby could make decisions about, so guess what he has ahead of him? And to be fair, he asked me to de-clutter this particular spot, so this really is for him.

Down to a box of felt for crafts, and a bunch of paperwork for Hubby to wade through

This photo was taken about 5 minutes into the job. Really, sweeping the dust bunnies took about as long as going through my own papers!

Ahhhhh...

While there are still three things hanging around outside my bedroom, it's more manageable, cleaner, and more likely to reduce my feelings of stress. And it all got done in about 20 minutes, while listening to a TV show. See? Easy!!!

My Journey of Hope: Lazy Vision

No, that's not a typo.

I bet the first thing that popped into your head was something like this:

Image from Young Justice

But you'd be wrong. So, so wrong.

My Journey of Hope: In Praise of Mirepoix

A couple of years ago, my beloved friend Panda said to me one day, "Do you want to have a day where we make mirepoix?"

Now, you may be asking yourself what exactly mirepoix is. I certainly did! Basically, it's a bunch of finely chopped vegetables.

The standard seems to be 2 cups onion, and 1 cup each carrot
 and celery, but we find 1:1:1 ratio fits best into the bags

My Journey of Hope: Day 6 of 28 - Back to Common Drudgery

Day 6 was kind of a bust, with a few bright spots.

I didn't tackle a specific de-cluttering job, but I found myself doing small amounts of de-cluttering as I went through each room, nonetheless. So, no real progress to show for my efforts, but a cumulative improvement overall. I did, however, make up a list of spaces in the house that I'd like to de-clutter, even sorting them into small, medium, and large jobs. I think I've got at least 20 things on it (and there's probably at least 20 more I haven't even thought of yet!), so I have a good idea of what to do for the rest of my 28 day focus. I did wash some hand dishes, so while it's technically a daily task and not de-cluttering per se, it did serve to clear my kitchen counter some.

Church was good; our friend A was preaching, which is always a positive experience, and his two most recent sermons have been convicting and made me really stop and think about who I am, not just to God, but to me, and how my words and actions appear to those around me. Striving to be better every day.

My Journey of Hope: Day 5 of 28 - Before and After

Here's something short and sweet...

As mentioned in my previous post, it took me until around 9 PM to figure out what to de-clutter, but once I decided, it took virtually no time at all!

Here's what I started with:

Messy and outdated. That's a schedule for a school Hubby hasn't taught at for three years...

and in less than 5 minutes, I ended up with:

Much better! Note how my handy-dandy label maker is at the center of all this ;)

Making my house calmer feels good!

My Journey of Hope: Day 5 of 28

Yesterday was a wash.

The school day was swallowed up in doing laundry, waiting at the medical clinic for almost two hours (at least I got some knitting done!), and dropping prescriptions at the drug store.  Adding to that, it was also early dismissal and student-directed conferences at Secunda, Tertius, and Quarta's school (very impressive report cards all around, by the way). The weather was turning from glorious sunshine to increasingly grey clouds, so by the time laundry was switched, Hubby picked up from work and papers picked up for Primus and Secunda's route, I was done. The turn in the weather always brings with it a headache of varying intensity, and yesterday's was a doozy.

Hubby was, as usual, a stellar spouse, and offered to take Secunda on the route (Primus was off on a school thing for the weekend) so that I could let my migraine meds start working. I figured it was the perfect opportunity to settle in on the couch and post about how I wasn't going to be getting any de-cluttering done (turns out I actually did de-clutter something when I first got home - my bedroom door - but that's another blog entry), and the next thing I knew, I was waking up and it was 10:30 pm! I had slept for four hours on the couch! Fell asleep with the laptop resting on my stomach, even.

Which brings us to today.

The headache was mostly gone when I woke up today, and we had beautiful sunshine again. Of course, it didn't last, and by the time we were running errands in advance of our trip to see Star Wars Episode VII at the second-run theatre (Tertius and Quarta had not yet seen it, and we promised we'd take them to the cinema for it, never mind the fact that my parents just bought it on Blu-Ray), it was in full force again, along with nausea. I took something to deal with it, and hoped I could make it through a noisy film. It was mostly gone by the time the show started, and we thoroughly enjoyed seeing it again. Then it was doing laundry, making dinner and getting the kids to bed before I could even begin to consider what I was going to de-clutter. I was washing dishes and glanced over to admire Day 3's handiwork, my kitchen counter, which has stayed surprisingly tidy. A quick look to the left showed me the next target - the side of the fridge. Since the counter area looked so nice, the stuff stuck all over the fridge stuck out like a sore thumb.

So I took care of it, and it feels even better to walk into my kitchen. I'm really liking how my home is beginning to look, and even more, I love how tidy spaces lift my mood!

So, what do you do for your house that makes you happy?

My Journey of Hope: Day 4 of 28 - Latent De-Cluttering

It's a pretty cool thing to realize in retrospect that you have begun to de-clutter without having to think about it.

Even with a horrid migraine, I still managed to de-clutter something, AND institute a new policy about school papers and homemade artwork that come into our home.

When we finally got home just after 5 PM, one of the first things I did was take down the months-old artwork that had been lovingly (excessively?) taped to my bedroom door. Now, here's the thing: I forgot to take a photo before starting because it didn't occur to me that I was actually de-cluttering! How cool is that? So, since I don't have the before photo, I can at least share the after photo with you. Here it is:

De-cluttered, but not yet cleaned.

It's beginning to feel like these small steps are starting to take hold, and I have to say, it feels good.

My Journey of Hope: Day 3 of 28 - Before and After

I knew when I got up this morning that my afternoon was going to be Very Busy Indeed. So, being the lazy housekeeper I am, I decided to procrastinate a bit *looks sheepish*

A bit of surfing the Book of Faces, putting the finishing touches on this morning's blog post, making some delectable scrambled eggs and toast - and then I got a text from my friend J, asking how I'm doing today. I have to say, her timing was impeccable, because that little nudge of accountability was just what I needed. Knowing that she was doing cleaning of her own helped a lot, too. No more excuses!

Today, I decided to defeat the clutter that lives on the kitchen counter, between the fridge and the microwave. This morning, it looked a little like this:

My Journey of Hope: Day 1 of 28 - Before and After

I ended up having about half an hour to spend on the office, mostly because lunch took longer to cook than I expected, and I got a call midway through to pick a friend up for a ride home.

Here's how things started out in the office:

From the doorway, looking left. There's a loveseat in there, honest!

From the hallway, looking right. Can you believe my new Ikea shoe cabinet is in here? Yeah, neither can I.

My Journey of Hope: Day 2 of 28 - Before and After

Here I am at 9:35 pm, and I haven't done any de-cluttering yet. I have been run off my feet all day, playing chauffeur to my family, then my parents, then my kids, then Hubby, then kids again, and finally Hubby. This is my first real opportunity to catch my breath. Being a one-car family really does have its disadvantages sometimes!

Hubby is about to sit down and screen a documentary for use in school tomorrow, and I found my target for the day: The end table in the living room. From a glance, I can see a basket of sewing notions, a pack of 100 pencil crayons (that go with my lovely adult colouring book), an empty can, an empty disposable cup, Hubby's polyhedral dice bag,  and other such miscellaneous items that have no business being in my living room.

The First Hurdle

I knew going into this that I might run into resistance, and I fully expected it from Tertius and Quarta; I mean honestly, do you know a 5 or 6 year old that would offer to clean their room? Well, today, Tertius did just that, and asked me to take photos.

I'm sorry, what?! When did the aliens replace my child?

This is the kid that has a fit if I merely suggest that his room might benefit from some tidying in the near future. So you can imagine my initial shock, quickly followed up by a moment of pride. I guess he's seeing how much happier and calmer I am when things get cleaned up, and he really wants to be a part of this process. It doesn't hurt that he wants to be on this blog... *smirk*

My Journey of Hope: Day 1 of 28

I know that I'm kind of setting myself up here; whenever I have committed to a series of blog posts, I have started strong, but inevitably dropped the ball and not posted on a set day. But this isn't like that. No really, it's not. I will likely NOT post daily. But I will be keeping track of the days, and will label my posts appropriately. I may even fill you in on the intervening days!

I am taking 28 days to gently and persistently work on decreasing the garbage and clutter in my home, and increasing peace and calm. I'm not setting out to do any big jobs. In fact, I am setting aside the big jobs that I had planned in favour of simply reducing clutter. That's it. I want to see what difference can be made simply by letting go of the things that are depriving us of our peace.

My hope is to post at least photos of the before and after for the day. If I'm feeling ambitious, I'll make a video or three throughout the 28 days. But whatever I get accomplished, I will be posting here on my blog, and I encourage you to not only play along, but post your progress here in the comments, so that we can encourage one another to restore peace and calm in what should always be our refuge from the world - our homes.

10 Day Writing Challenge - Day 9

* Note: These are all out of sequence, as I just found this draft. Mea culpa

Day Nine: Two smileys that describe your life right now (I will be substituting two emotions for the smileys, as I feel that emoticons are woefully inadequate for conveying mood) 

Resolve: I am resolved to get our house in a condition that  sparks creativity, induces peace and calm, and welcomes all visitors. I am resolved to make my health and well-being a priority. I am resolved to eat healthier, sleep better, and take a little bit of time each day to spend one-on-one with a family member, so that they know how important they are to me.

Contentment: I am content with my life choices, with where I am in this world.

Thanks for reading :)

My Heart Goes All A-Clutter

I'm a lazy housekeeper. I have been all my life.

I'm not one of those naturally organized people; you know, the ones whose houses are picture-perfect at all times? I'm not even tidy-inclined, like those folks who can have the house company-ready in under 10 minutes. I'm lazy. I wish there was a magic wand that I could wave to instantly take my home from the near-disaster it often exists in to spotless in a flash of light.

And so I have had to teach myself tricks to get my home clean, and try to keep it that way. And tricks to remember DAILY to implement those tricks to get and try to keep my home clean. And tricks to remind myself to implement the tricks that help me remember to implement the tricks to get and try to keep my home clean. Are you noticing a pattern here?

10 Day Writing Challenge - Day 10

* Note: This was in my draft folder from almost two years ago, and it occurred to me that in not finishing it, I was not honouring myself or my readers with my truth. In posting this, I am doing just that; honouring myself with being open, and honouring you by giving you my authentic self. I have also notd that Day 9 was never published; this shall be rectified in short order.

Day 10: One Confession

This is, I think, the hardest post of the series. Not because I have such a vast collection of skeletons rattling in my closet, but rather, quite the opposite problem.

Oh, there are things about me that only a precious few know. Those things are private and the people who have that information are the ones that need to know it.

But by and large, I am an open book. I don't feel there is anything to be gained by trying to maintain an aura of mystery about myself; I present the real me to the world. If you like what I have to offer, that's wonderful, and if you don't like it, well, that's on you. Non simeus meus est.

So when it comes time for me to make a confession, I guess I have to confess that there isn't much to confess. Convoluted enough for you? Heh. Anyway...

Something that I've been largely keeping to myself and those very close to me is that I exhibit some of the markers for Asperger's syndrome, which is on the Autism spectrum. The only reason this even showed up on my radar is because of someone close to me.

Primus had been having difficulty with interpersonal relationships at school from the start, and our dear friend Uncle J, who shared a house with us at the time, and is himself an Aspie, mentioned that Primus was showing markers for it. We brushed it off for a number of years; and if I'm really being honest with myself, it's mainly because I didn't want to have what others might call a "special needs" child. An autistic child.

SO many years of societal programming, my own experience and observations with special needs kids in school - and how they were treated by other students, my decade of work as a special needs caregiver for adults and preschoolers combined to make me fearful to admit that my child wasn't perfect. But what the hell is perfect, anyway? Primus is remarkably intelligent, capable, musically inclined, and considerate (when allergies aren't interfering with his ability to think clearly). He does what's asked of him around the house with nary an eye-roll (something we really expect to see more of now that he's a teenager), and is wonderfully patient with Tertius and Secunda, despite the 7 and 8 year age gaps. He likes to cook, and still asks to spend one-on-one time with me. And he still hugs his parents.This kid is amazing.

It took Hubby and I about 3 years to really come around to the idea, and I'm glad we did, because SO MUCH of what perplexed us about his behaviour makes so much more sense now. And in learning this about him, it better equips me to help him find strategies to work around the few limitations that ASD presents. Hubby has had more trouble in finding (and understanding the need for) these "work-arounds" than I have; and one day, he looked at me and said, "Bee, I think you have markers for Asperger's." And he was right.

I joined an Aspie Adults group on the Book of Faces, and in reading these people's experiences, I saw so very much of myself in a lot of what they were saying. This gave me not only a deeper understanding of Primus, but perhaps more importantly, of myself.

So Primus comes by it honestly; some of it comes from me.

There's A Kind Of Hush

NB: Let me just say up front that I am also struck by the sheer irony of writing on my laptop about the overuse of electronics for publication on the internet. But I still think it's a conversation worth having.

We are in the middle of a windstorm right now, the kind that serves to make you feel like Judy Garland filming the great twister scene at the beginning of The Wizard of Oz, and makes brushing your hair completely pointless. And, as sometimes happens, things are blowing this way and that on the street, neighbors' belongings are tumbling into each others' yards, and the tops of the trees are bending in a way that we think happens only with a good CGI budget.

So it was really no surprise to me when we lost power. Actually, what surprised me was that within seconds, it was back on. The wind was still howling outside, and I could hear the branches of my rose bush slapping against the craft room window, and a pop can skittering across the road. But I also noticed something palpable; the quiet. Not because the kids aren't here, or that the kettle was suddenly not working the water up into a frenzy, but the hush of electronics; it was the sheer absence of sound that struck me. And it occurred to me that we have grown so accustomed to the sound of electronic devices that it has become part of our subconscious soundtrack for life, and I wonder how that has affected our brain function, our moods, and our interpersonal relations in the last 40 years. I know, deep thoughts of a suburban housewife and all that... ;)

I sat here for a few minutes, trying to hearken back to my childhood, and straining to remember what the ambient noise level was like in the home I shared with my parents and older brother. Now, remember, dear Reader, that I am a child of the 70s; I grew up as one of the first kids in my neighborhood with an Atari 2600, and a TRS-80. My dad loved being on the cusp of new, easily obtainable technology, so we were often the first house on the block to get the new shiny thing from Radio Shack (granted, the Atari was purchased from Simpson-Sears while on vacation in Honolulu, but that's another blog post entirely).

Imagining a summer day is the best, I think, as it eliminates my absence from the home for several hours to attend school, and gives a broader understanding of a typical day in the late 1970s.

I'd have woken up on my own, as I didn't yet have an alarm clock. I'd probably hear Mumsy in the kitchen, or perhaps putting a load of laundry on downstairs. Maybe she'd just be sitting quietly with a coffee, knitting or reading. That was the sum total of noise in the house. If we needed to do dishes, she would haul our nifty avocado green dishwasher across the kitchen and over to the sink to hook it up, and we'd hear the whir-swish-thump of it while we enjoyed having this hand-me-down modern convenience. I remember having chores, fishing sticklebacks out of the slough, and watching Mr. Yakishiro taking his dog, Fuji, for a walk - this largely consisted of him tying Fuji's leash to the handlebars of his bike and yelling, "Fuji, GO!". I remember playing street hockey and cops and robbers and freeze tag with the other kids on our street, trying to avoid the Fletcher boys, dressing up dolls with my friend Tracy from across the street, and writing and performing plays in our backyard, charging folks on our street 5¢ apiece for the privilege of watching the dreck we thought up, though in retrospect, the monster kidnapping story starring my brother as the monster (who won the role by virtue of the drawstring hood on his puffy winter coat, obscuring his face) was pretty good.

But I don't remember watching much TV; I do remember Sci-Fi Theatre, though I'm fuzzy on when it aired, but it was either on Saturday mornings, or Sunday afternoons, or both (KVOS-TV, airing out of Bellingham). I remember having 13 WHOLE CHANNELS, and having to walk over to the TV and turn the dial to change the channel, probably the job of most 70s kids in their houses. And I remember that most TV viewing was done in the evening. I also don't remember the stereo being on much outside of parties my parents would have. Oh, but there was this one time that my brother and I decided we wanted to have a sleepover in the rec room downstairs, and my dad (who had hooked up his Hi-Fi to speakers in the rec room) pulling out the microphone, turning the volume up to full, and doing his best evil mastermind laugh into it, sending my brother and I screaming up the stairs for him to save us - jerk :P

In thinking about it, I realise that there was a lot less noise present in our house when I was a child. And I have to wonder if this higher level of ambient noise is negatively impacting mood, attention spans, and how well we deal with others.

I think we, as a society, are less patient. We're all so focused on our own stuff - our job, our errands, our needs - that we no longer take the time to notice what's going on around us, or the people who are likewise trying to go about their day. We smile less, we speak to strangers less, we don't nod, and most certainly, if it infringes on our ability to get where we need to go and do what we need to do, we don't look at other people. That might invite them to engage us, and that would make us late. We can't have that. 

In the last few years, as I've noticed we leave the Wii and PS3 on 24/7 (it makes accessing Netflix SO much easier), I've noticed a decline in my ability to retain information, and to stay on track without resorting to making lists for everything from chores to outings, to reminders to eat and hydrate. I always had a very sharp mind, and now I seem to rely on these lists more and more, and feel increasingly scattered. Now, I realise that I'm in my 40s, and memory starts to go at a certain point, but this feels more pervasive than simply getting older. Our kids have a very basic set of jobs after school (put backpack away, get lunchbag out and pick snacks for the next day, do homework, do a household chore), and it is a daily struggle to keep them on track without having either a verbal or visual reminder for them. 

Primus has significant environmental allergies, his biggest allergens being grass and trees. I've asked him what it's like when his allergies are bugging him, and he likens the experience to having a low-grade buzzing in his head all the time. This results in him being terse, even grumpy, and he is given to being short-tempered for very little cause. Low-grade buzzing. Huh. Maybe there's something to that? I know that when I'm tired, or hungry, or otherwise not functioning within acceptable parameters, I get short-tempered, too. And I think the constant low-volume buzzing of electronics is exacerbating it. And if it's making it worse for me, could it be doing the same thing for everyone else?

So please, the next time you find yourself feeling fuzzy-headed or forgetful, or on edge for some unknown reason, stop for a moment and really notice what's going on around you. Are you hungry? Tired? Sore? Is there ambient noise you were previously unaware of? Is that noise actually bothering you after all? And if so, does turning it off make things better? I challenge you to try it, and let me know the results here.

Life in the Sick House

What a month! Here I am, trying to write something pithy and relevant with three kids home sick, and the accompanying chorus of sniffles, phlegmy coughs and bickering over the tablet usage (carefully metered out by me).

It seems that at some point for the last five weeks, someone has been sick every day. When you stop to think about it, we've got 5 people in three different schools, so I suppose the odds of one of them bringing home a virus are pretty high. But this has created an awful cycle of infection, mutation and re-infection that has Tertius and Quarta missing their fourth day of school in a row, and has even laid out Secunda, who would rather eat lava than miss school. It's even affected Primus, who normally has Wolverine-like restorative powers*.

Through almost all of it, Hubby has been trucking along, working all but one day where he really hit the wall and took a day to rest. The tricky part of his job is, you kind of need to be a bit psychic: to know far enough in advance that you're feeling sick enough to miss a day so that you can write up TOC (Teacher On Call) notes for the person filling in for you, ensure the resources are prepped, and have it ready for them at the school office, or on your desk for the following day. What often ends up happening is that Hubby works on the day he feels the worst, spending extra time after school prepping for the TOC before he can come home and collapse into bed, exhausted. On top of that, taking more than one sick day at a time can negatively impact his lesson plans, putting the students behind where they should be. In a semestered school, this has even more impact. This does not exactly set him up to get better quickly; rather, it puts him into a position of going back to work before he actually feels better, and having a further compromised immune system to work with. The end result is that he is more susceptible to subsequent viruses, and functions at a low-grade sick level with periodic flare-ups for the rest of the winter.

The kids are snot factories, coughing without a care for where their little "sick particles" land. I feel like I'm constantly reminding them to cover their coughs and sneezes; the words, "Please don't cough into my face/tea/food" are uttered more than I'd like.

And me? I've been sick this whole time. Low-grade, not bad enough for cold meds for most of it, but in the last 5 weeks, I've had what bordered on an ear infection, swollen glands and lymph nodes, laryngitis, impacted sinuses, and most recently, blisters on the back of my throat. Unrelated, I've also been having bad flare-ups of the tendonitis in both wrists, what feels like arthritis pain in both hands, neck and shoulder strain, and a pinched sciatic nerve on one side.

I'm so ready for this to be over. I have big plans for de-cluttering our house, setting up new furniture pieces, reorganizing the master bedroom, and painting the bathroom.




* I swear, this kid gets a sniffle, sleeps for 18 hours straight, and he's fit as a fiddle!

A Little Something For Me

I have a really annoying habit.

I like to make things, and sometimes, I even like to make things for myself. I'll start the project, and generally, at some point, I come to realize that it's not for me after all. As a result, I don't have a lot of my own work.

With that in mind, I've started knitting a hat FOR MYSELF. No, I really mean it this time! It's a beautiful slouchy beret, called Elleby, designed by Teresa Cole. It has an openwork design that looks a bit like cabling, but without the cables. I'm finished the brim and the first repeat, and it's looking fabulous! Now, I'm only two days of knitting into it, but the variegated thread is looking very nice, and if it continues like this, there's no way anyone will get it, lest they pry it from my cold, dead hands.

MINE!

New Year, New Leaf

Greetings, friends!

Here we are, at the beginning of a new year, and approaching the season of rebirth and renewal. It finds me wanting to press the re-set button on my life; re-establishing good habits, and establishing new ones.

I find that I really enjoy blogging, but I have allowed life to carry me away with it, and many things I enjoy have fallen by the wayside. So on this, my first day of building new routines, I am committing to work on my blog three times a week, and posting once every 7-10 days. If I break it down into 15 minutes at a time, I think that I'll find the process easier and more pleasant.

So, if you want to come along for the ride, read on!


Today is the first day back from Christmas Break, and despite our best efforts, we ended up getting out the door late. We began using some new routines (and continuing with some established routines) yesterday, including ensuring that the kids' lunches were made, backpacks ready and in a location convenient to the front door, clothes were laid out, keys were at the ready, etc. The goal is to prevent the bottlenecks at the top of the stairs and at the front door, and to get out of the house on time and without yelling or stress. But it went off the rails, and fast. And her name is Quarta.

Hubby wanted to be at work a little early to do some prep, so getting him out the door went seamlessly. Primus, who is 13, was left in charge while I drove Hubby, and all of the kids were awake, most of them dressed. The round trip took a total of 12 minutes, and when I returned, Quarta had not done a SINGLE THING since I had left. She wasn't listening to the instructions of her older siblings, despite being told by me that they were in charge while I was gone, and that she was to get dressed first.

I have never met a child who is equal parts intelligent and stubborn. Quarta is really testing my parenting abilities, and I am left scratching my head, wondering what to do to get compliance. But I think I may have hit on something.

We just recently were gifted with a first generation iPad (Thanks, BioDad!), and she and Tertius LOVE playing on it. So tonight, I will explain the new system to her: her access to the iPad after school hinges on her getting up and ready without complaint or delay. I imagine that a few days of no iPad will cure her of her intractability.

I'll keep you updated.