Life is Crazy

The beginning of the school year always leaves me in a fluster ... I can't imagine working full time and trying to do all these "beginning of the year" activities AND keep up with the house and kids life. sheesh, talk about super moms! I just spent an hour "finding" my kitchen after a really busy week ... and I was semi-caught up before that hour. I spent another hour today cleaning the living room too. And I spent about three hours bitching about Girl Scouts with the Queen of GS. Not the most productive day, but it is what it is.

And now our dog is barking outside. Ug. Well, my life is crazy and I do not seem to be keeping up very well. That is where I am in the grand scheme of things right now.

but its all good. the girls and Bill and I are enjoying eachother and learning and growing together.

Sew, Exactly What Have I Created?

In less than a month I have created the following items for the girls and their dolls. The scary thing is that I have more projects on the cutting board. I have many wonderful ideas of things to make still. This freedom to design my own is addictive!

2 blue t-shirt dresses
2 yellow t-shirt dresses
green pants and shirt for Abby
Red rain coat for Abby
Blue daisy dress for Ivy
Yellow apron for Ivy
Pantaloons for Laura
Pantaloons for Ivy
red rain coat for Barbara
Black t-shirt dress

13 items and no patterns. This is what I like to do now. ....who'd ever a-thunk!!

From T-Shirt to Dress

The girls LOVE to wear Bill's t-shirts, and he has a ton of them (thanks in part to my grandfather, who gleans free UofM t-shirts at all the sporting events he attends - which is a lot!) One day, when the girls had no pajamas to wear, I got the idea of making one of the t-shirts into a nightgown for them. I had no idea what I was going to do, but I loved the concept.

Well, one day a few weeks ago I snagged two blue t-shirts from Bill and created my first masterpiece! The girls love them (they are easy to wear) and actually wear them as dresses. I have since made 3 more dresses (each one a different style) and really enjoy this! eeekkkk!!

The sewing on all the dresses is, ummm, primitive at best, but I have learned a bit about sewing, and actually am getting better as each project is attempted. My last one involved quite a bit of cutting and re-sewing, and t-shirt fabric is not easy to work with because it rolls over and is hard to line up properly. BUT, I love the looks of the finished garment, and am going to attempt to sew on out of regular fabric this fall!

I am actually really enjoying this creative sewing venture. No patterns, no rules, just my imagination and vision to guide me.

Oh Martha!!

I ran across this list of things Martha says I should do every day:

1. Make the Bed: Tidiness begets tidiness. A crisply made bed makes the whole room seem more orderly, which makes it less likely that you'll let other things -- such as clothes and papers -- pile up around it. (This has never worked in my house. And, really, I like a loosely fluffed bed anyway. I just do not like a crisply made bed when I lay down to sleep.)

2. Manage Clutter: Whenever you leave a room, take a quick look around for anything that isn't where it should be. Pick it up and put it where it belongs. Insist that everyone in the household do the same.(Obviously Martha does not have two young kids living with her. OK, and me!)

3. Sort the Mail: Take a few minutes to open, read, and sort mail as soon as you bring it inside. Keep a trash bin near your sorting area for junk mail. Drop other mail into one of four in-boxes: personal correspondence, bills, catalogs, and filing. (I am actually fairly good at this one. As long as it is ME that brings in the mail. Then there is mail that is addressed to Bill ... it just sits around unopened for ever. Or opened and dumped on the counter.)

4. Clean as You Cook: Instead of filling the sink with pots and dishes, wash them or put them in the dishwasher as you prepare a meal. (But, then you burn your food you are cooking. This really does not work for me.)

5. Wipe Up Spills While They're Fresh: Whether it's tomato sauce on the cooktop or makeup on the bathroom counter, almost anything is faster and easier to remove if you attend to it immediately. (I really try. I do!!)

6. Sweep the Kitchen Floor: Every evening once you've finished washing up after dinner, sweep the floor. This will keep tough-to-clean dirt and grime from building up, which will make the weekly mopping much quicker. (Duh - obviously she does not have a shedding pooch around that simply necessitates this action! I'd say I sweep 6 days a week. Occasionally I miss a day due to business and such.)

So ... why is my house soooo crazy? Oh yea, clutter. Lucy.....

Time Consuming

I have been spending a ton of time this past week planning learning activities for the kids. Tons of time. Too much time, probably. And I have little to show for it. grumph!

So I shall continue - hopefully with a printer that works soon. That may help the process along some, since some of my ideas involve printing out stuff. I'd like to do a lapbook or two with the girls. I also want to do something - not sure what - with Lauren and her ravenous reading habit. We're talking entire books, complete with some heavy content, in 24-48 hours. Is she really grasping the content when she zooms through them so quickly? (most likely not really)

So, here I sit, still ... again ... even more, searching and planning. It is time consuming I say!

And then there is all this cleaning I have mentally committed myself to this summer. groan groan groan! I really hate cleaning, and it seems that I do not much else but that since I became a stay-at-home mom. Why is that? Is it because I have not much else to "occupy" my time and therefore feel productive? Yes, it is something along those lines. Oh well.

And finally, my idea to have the girls prepare their own meals this summer is surely time consuming! I just spent 30 minutes talking them through slicing an apple and trimming off some bruised parts. Thirty minutes for Two apples! I could have done that in 2 minutes, but that is not the point, is it? again, groan :) but with a positive spin.

me and my bright ideas

Changes to my "Lucy Plan"

I have made some progress on my intense-cleaning plan, but I most defiantly have been derailed by the end of school, summer vacation, and my (almost over) job. However, this week is my last week to work as the job ends June 30th, so I have a modified plan in motion. So far it has worked well. ...but it has been only one day!

My new plan involves the kids. Together we are going to clean their rooms and areas where they significantly contribute to the overall mess and clutter of the house. This means that we are spending 30 mins each morning before we do anything else working on an agreed upon area.

Two days ago I sat down with them while they were happily munching a snack (and it might have even been candy, but my memory is fuzzy on the exact details) and told them that we were going to spend 30 mins each morning cleaning and doing chores before we did anything else. They were receptive to the idea - Hallelujah! I then wrote down a list for each girl, dictated by them, on what part of their room they wanted to work on and in what order. I reminded them last night too, so that they would not feel ambushed this morning. So far so good. We'll see how day 3 & 4 go!

Today Annika cleaned up her bookcase. I know, it is not much of an effort, but it is a start! It took her about 20 mins to dust and straighten out the books. We also cleaned up the area in front of it. (and right now both kids came to me and said they were hungry ... because they have been working for an hour cleaning. yea, right! They did work, but to be hungry already? less than 2 hrs after a large nutritious breakfast?) Lauren wanted to tackle her chest of drawers, and that took her quite a long time, but in her defence, I was helping Annika first. And we pulled out the chest and vacuumed behind it ... which she did herself and felt quite proud of her accomplishments. Again, we'll see how this lasts.

As for me ... I was able to do my 30 mins in our room before the kids even woke up. But I do need to continue on with the mudroom. It has been so long that most of my earlier work has been negated already. And then my desk area is slowly cluttering up too. But hopefully after this job is done I will not have as many odds and ends to keep track of.

Onward Ho, Lucy!

L O N G Week

I am at the tail-end of my current temporary job; being grant based they cannot pay me for any work done past June 30th. So I have been frantically shoving things in each and every day. This week I have been working at the local county food distribution site for emergency and monthly government commodity foods. I also am working at the food bank one day.

Working at these places and seeing the hundreds of families and individuals that are in need of assistance to survive is rather disturbing on a deep level. You never realize how many people are just barely surviving financially. And, sadly, I know we have not peaked yet; there will be many more in the coming months as GM shuts down so many of its plants, and thus suppliers and other support businesses, and then those who service the (former) workers all loose their jobs too.

Anyway, *I* have been working - and for that I am thankful. But I have been so very very busy that the rest of my life is falling apart! I have so much to catch up on. This gives me even more respect and admiration for working mothers and families where both parents work full time. The sacrifices and changes I have to make in our current lifestyle are pretty major. One of those changes is the amount of time I spend with the girls has been much less, and defiantly more hurried.

I will be glad when this job is over, and I can relax a bit and enjoy the summer. However, I do hope to hear from my job interview soon. It would be nice to get that job!!

Reading

I realized just now, as I was reviewing a list of books I want to read, and have made virtually no progress on reading, that I do not read much BECAUSE I read for 30 mins or more each night with the girls. I do read, just not "adult" stuff.

So, what have I read over the past few months? Parts of the entire Laura Ingalls series, A Pioneer Sampler (an awesome kids book on pioneer life!) The entire My Favorite Unicorn Series (4 books) Katie the Kitten Fairy, The Secret Garden, Raggedy Ann Stories (2 books) currently reading Raggedy Andy, a variety of My America Dear Diary stories (one of my favorites was the Titanic one) The Amazing Adventures of Edward Tulane, The Erie Canal Trail (where, oddly enough, the main characters move to Howell!) Charlotte's Web (Annika and I really enjoyed this one!) and countless picture books!

Obviously I am reading, just not stuff for ME!

Job Interview!

Well, I received a phone call, while I was out grocery shopping for Annika's birthday party, and apparently they want to interview me! Whooo Hoo! Now, what does one wear to a "business casual" office environment while on a job interview? Even further complicated by the fact that I have virtually nothing to wear! I do not want to buy something, but I must look presentable!! Hmmmm ... can I tell you how much I hate this "appropriate dressing" part of a job. grumph!

And then my other delima? I need to find kiddo care while I go to the interview. And if I start this summer? I need to find kiddo care while I am working too. Oh so many things to think about and I do not even have the job. Yet. I (think) I hope.

Wish me luck!

Derailed by End Of School Celebrations

I actually worked on cleaning the mudroom one day this week; the other days I either spent working at my job or spent preparing for the end of the school year celebrations. Yup, it is that time again. Soon the kids will be free from school and longing around the house.

But until that time I will probably be fairly busy, and as I suspected, I am not going to make my Sunday deadline for finishing the mudroom. Oh well. The office is still looking good.

Tired

Stayed up till 3am last night filling out this wacky on-line application for a job. Among the insane requirements were some very bizarre questions, such as, "How would you address multiple issues in your group?" Anyone care to explain that question, because both Bill and I went, HUH?

Well, it is over. I applied. We'll see how it all turns out. ....seems like a lot of work for 15-20hrs a week.

Job Guilt

I am sort of job hunting right now. I do not really want a job during the summer, but I have some feelers out getting ready for the fall when I want to start. And people are letting me know if a position becomes available that they think may be of interest to me. Yes, in this economy there actually are jobs available. Mostly part time, but jobs none the less.

Right now I am working a gig that has me go to the food bank and other venues that dole out free food to all those un- and under-employed folks out there. And there are many!

I'm starting to feel very guilty that I am looking for a part time job, not to survive off of, but to supplement my retirement and allow our family to have a nicer vacation. I mean, when we can pay our bills off of Bill's salary alone (and by no means do we live high on the hog, we have just made some frugal and wise financial decisions, and we are lucky with Bill's current job looking secure for now.) and many others are looking for work to feed their family or to keep a roof over their head ... I start to feel very guilt about taking away that paycheck from them.

I agree that we still have to keep making wise and frugal decisions, and you never know, Bill could loose that job tomorrow. But still ....

I'm feeling guilty. That is all I'm sayin'

The Beginning

I cleaned up the mudroom floor today; 20 pairs of shoes and 4 pairs of boots were removed from our floor! *I* had the fewest pairs, and I was the only one not wearing yet another pair of shoes. However, I took 5 purses, three bags, and two coats off the hooks - and those were ALL mine.

I also told everyone that sometime this week they would have to take everything out of their cubbie and clean it out. Luckily it is almost the end of school, so the girls will not be adding more and more stuff to their cubbies each day! You'd think that was all part of my master plan ... wait until school was out to tackle this room. You could think that, and I'll let you, but you'd be wrong. Its just luck.

Decluttering the Mud Room

Take a deep breath, because this looks pretty bad! Are you ready for what I am currently tackling? I would like to finish it by the Sunday, but it is a busy week, so we'll see. This is a lot of work, and there is one cubby full of junk for each family member. I may just take everything out, put it in a box (one for each member) and let them deal with the contents.

See ya next week for the results!

A Clean Office

I did it! I met my deadline of finishing the Oval Office by Sunday! Whew! This first venture into "joint" cleaning and organizing has been rewarding and frustrating! I have decided that I am Lucy to my friend's Ethel; she agreed to go along with some of my wacky ideas!! There were moments that I questioned myself, but ultimately I am very glad I plowed through frustration and the likes thereof.

The results, you ask:

The previously cluttered floor in front of the shelves, now barren!

The bookshelf is organized, neat, and clean! I am not sure about the odd grouping of plants on the top - when we put these shelves in last year I envisioned plants on the top, but just never got around to putting any up there. And, believe it or not, I really do not have many plants in this house. I think I was too busy nurturing young kids, and had no energy left for the plants. I am starting to feel I need more green in the house, so I may soon-ish have plants up there.

I was challenged by part of the bottom area of the shelving, as I use it for storing some of my "office work" stuff. I have different papers, envelopes, notebooks, and even some odd shaped stuff for girl scouts or whatever project I am currently working on. I may go out and purchase something more attractive than the white plastic drawers, but for now it works and I was very happy that I did not have to purchase anything!

The piano is clean! No dust or extraneous items on it.

The desk is clean and decluttered. I have a small "in-box" to store some items I am currently working on, or need to grab for a meeting etc. Other than that there are no "things" on my desk and I intend to keep it that way!

I painted the window trim, washed the screens and put them back in, and I even washed the window treatments and re-hung them. Harder to do than I thought; this simple treatment really confused me! Yesterday, however, was nice and I was able to hang the curtains on the line, which was really nice!

Finally, I washed the carpet and was done! Well, I am bothered by this little area rug we have squeezed between the desk chair and piano bench. I love the rug, but it was a cheap Walmart purchase from when Bill and I lived in Dublin, so 8-9 years ago. And it WILL NOT stay in place. I walked over it once or twice and it bunched up like this. I am seriously contemplating removing it. I actually would kinda like to put in on our front porch, but rain would ruin it. So, who knows.

Anyway, I finished the Oval Office and am now on to the next project: The mud room. Ouy Vay

It Gets Worse First

When deep cleaning things always get worse before they get better, right? The view today (above) after the view last night:

Yesterday I made really good progress on the office. I cleaned up the floor in front of the bookcase. (full of stuff again - but the piles are trash, donate, move downstairs, and move to the kids bookcase.)

I even cleaned up the desk area quite a bit before calling it quits for the day yesterday. This was about 4 hours of work, believe it or not. I had a lot of stuff to go through piece by piece!

And today I tackled the pile on my desk (still have some to go on that) and the bookcase. Everything came off and was gone through. I listed some books on paperback swap, decided to donate some books that have been on there for more than a year, and organized and cleaned the entire bookcase! Another 4 hours of fun!

Hopefully Sunday I will have it all finished and ready to show. Bill is impressed. Annika said last night, "I don't see any organization!" Pfttt.....

Hitting the Grindstone

A long distance friend and I have decided to become each other's Cleaning/Decluttering Motivators. This is rather like a work-out buddy, but it is a cleaning-buddy instead. Neither one of us are great "neat freaks" so motivation and accountability is a good thing!

She is currently working on her home office, so I figured I'd join her. We actually have two "office" areas, one on the mail level and one in the basement. Both need work (of course!) but I thought I'd tackle the main level room, what we refer to as the Oval Office due to its shape, first off.

I've decided to divide the room into four main sections:

#1: I have a bunch of stuff on the floor in front of the bookcase- mostly girl scout stuff that needs to find an appropriate home, especially since GS is basically over now.

#2: The desk, which is a repository for all things being worked on. I actually have tidied this up a bit recently. Would you believe it?

#3: The desk drawers. There are things in here that I know not where they are! It is tough when you share your desk area with the rest of the family! This part will be tough for me to tackle!

#4: The bookcase - which needs to be dusted well, and the bottom part needs to be re-organized, nay, organized. It will give me a chance to cull some kids books and put some of the spring/summer topics back in the kids rooms.

#4: General dusting and cleaning. The piano is not so cluttered - a small stack of extra photos was set there last week when I tidied up my desk area, but that is it besides the dust ... can you see my finger mark in the dust? I'll also wash the carpeting and lights, oh, and add another part:

#5: paint the window trim.

So there you have it. Maybe I can accomplish it all by the end of this weekend? OK, I will commit to having it all accomplished by Sunday. Scary!

Hot and sticky

Yuck. Today is the first official hot and sticky day. It is only 73 outside, but it rained earlier and there is a "chance" of rain today, so the humidity is quite high. Silly me thought it was going to be cool, so the girls have coats, and Lauren wore a long sleeve t-shirt to school. Sorry kids!

It is just icky outside. I liked it much better when I thought it was grey and cool, not grey and sticky. Cool and grey fits my mood.

Job Report

Well, the job I have is nothing brain draining - that is for sure! Rather boring and mundane to be honest. But, I get out of the house and I meet some new people, and so far everyone seems like good people.

What I am primarily doing is sampling food made from Government Commodities. I am working at Food Banks and Food Distribution sites, so I am seeing many of the people and families this Great Recession of ours is affecting! It is humbling, to say the least. And, the truly amazing thing; all these programs where I am WORKING are run by volunteers. There are one or two paid folks, the rest are entirely volunteers. And they just happen to work much harder than any paid employee I've ever seen. Then, a majority of them leave their shift and receive the benefits of said program.

Good people, I tell ya, good people!

Domestic Day!

Hmm, I have to laugh at myself today. I have a "free" day with only one phone call to make for work, and that is to my boss/friend. So, armed with a to-do list a mile long, I am avoiding most of it and completing the fun projects I have been putting off the past month or so.

Today I have going: making yogurt with my new yogurt maker I received for my birthday. Spaghetti and meatballs in the old faithful crock pot I received for mother's day or my birthday when I was pregnant with Annika, homemade Samoa cookies (like the Girl Scout version) and soon I shall put a loaf of bread in the bread maker. I'd make it in the oven, but it is pretty busy right now! I'm dying to try out my pizza-peel and new oven stone, so soon I'll make my favorite bread recipe.

Now, I am off to hang laundry to dry on my little laundry line outside. Then I guess I'll have to attack some of the real to-do items on my list.

blechhhh

I Found Yet Another Job Possibility

Grunt!
I hate it when jobs keep showing up all around you. Well, this one is nothing more than a posting that was forwarded to me, with the preface, "KAY!" But I might, just might, apply for it.

**************groan**************

It is an 8 week temporary gig, that repeats each summer. I passed up on it last year, but the same person forwarded it to me yet again, thinking it was the perfect thing for me. Yea, it kinda is. And I'm ready to work now that the girls are older and in school full time.

But this job is ONLY during the summer months. (read, put the kids in some sort of daycare/babysitting situation, and lose part of my already small paycheck)

I would be coordinating a program provided by the Salvation Army providing nutritious meals to the kids that qualify for free lunches, but are not in school during the summer and therefore do not receive those free meals for three months. So the job has aspects of food service, nutrition, community service, program coordination and project management, and the bad one - religious overtones. yuck beyond all yucks!!

So, we'll see. I think the current plan is to apply and if I am interviewed I'll see what the scoop is. It is only like 15 hrs a week. Not bad, really.

And, that is if I am offered it. In this economy it is all up in the air! So many good people competing for the same few jobs. I almost feel guilty applying for a job when we can survive without me working. But, I really do want a retirement fund, and I am ready to do something else.

No, I'm not dead or the likes thereof

I have been really busy and trying to play catch-up with the family blog. There have been a lot of blog-worthy entries (like Grandma's visit and Lauren's awesome play -- which I have not even got to yet) that I have been spending my time doing. Oh, and then there was our new pet infestation. That ate my time for three week!

And then there is FaceBook. sigh Yea, that stupid Farm Town and Mafia Wars. Time wasters.

And ... I am starting a new, temporary, part time job this week. The biggest time waster of all :)

But, ummm, I'm a redhead now. Yea, I finally bought a home kit and colored my own hair. I like it. Except that all my usual favorite clothing colors are not quite right with auburn hair. Whatever. This too shall fade :)

Well, off to play catch-up on laundry and cleaning. I have a to-do list a mile long for JUST today. Oh yea, another new thing I'm trying. To Do Lists. Hate them, but my old age memory is fading... and I have SO much stuff going on now. Mom brain. ick.

So, no, I'm not dead. Just insanly busy.

Images of Spring!

Wild Women Weekend 3

This year we Wild Women went to Denver, CO to stay with Andra. A big HUGE Thank You goes out to Andra and her awesome family and friends for all they did to make us feel welcome and help us have an awesome time!!

Friday

I had quite a rocky start at the airport - I have not flown in 5 years and a LOT has changed in those 5 years! I was one of those old ladies that has no idea how to get thru the airport. sigh. But, I eventually made it (not without a few too many incidences) and after a pleasant air trip I arrived in Denver!!

Barack Obama was there to great me! Yes, you read that right; Barack Obama greeted us Wild Women! I have pictures to prove it, but they are on Andra's camera and I am still waiting for them. So you'll have to wait too.

After some crazy fun at the airport, photos with Mr. President and picnicking under the dry fountain, we all piled into the car and went back to Andra's house to enjoy some delicious food - oh my did Andra go overboard with the yummies! - and some delicious Obama-tinis. Another good beverage! One glass of that and you have Hope! Remind me to get the recipe from Andra. It is simple, and yummy.

Recipe: Equal parts vanilla vodka & clear cream de cacao.

We met Andra's wife, Kelly; Every family should have a Kelly living in their basement! I love her! Kelly and Brad, Andra's husband, were roommates in college and apparently a few years ago Kelly needed an affordable place to live so she moved into the spare room in Andra and Brad's basement. She was great fun to hang out with and if there had been room in our Sexy Sentra I think she should have gone carousing with us!

We also met some of Andra's neighbors. All I can say is that I think Andra and Brad landed in the perfect neighborhood for them. They have some fun and slightly crazy neighbors that seem to accentuate the Parks family just perfectly.

Our Friday ended by piling downstairs and watching one of many old 1980's films. We watched St. Elmo's Fire and laughed at the utter ridiculousness of the film. Funny, I remember really liking the film when I saw it in the theater. I specifically remember writing a journal entry about how much the film touched me and made me think about life. Just goes to show how much "growing up" you still have to do when you are 20!

Saturday

Saturday morning I woke up and found myself without a voice. None. Zip. Zilch. How fun is that, to go on a crazy weekend trip with 4 of my friends I rarely see and end up *not* being able to yell smart-assed comments?!? Oh well. I survived!

We eventually all got up and went for a walk around the neighborhood. The first thing I noticed, well besides the flowers and budding trees - apparently spring comes earlier in Denver - was the complete lack of For Sale signs in the neighborhood! Brad said that the property values were actually going up still in Denver, and that their neighborhood was doing really well. Apparently so!! And such cute little Mission style homes all over the place. I really really loved their neighborhood. I'd like more space, of course, but that is my bizarre farm background coming out.

After our walk Andra went to be crowned Ms. Skinny Bitch. She has been working really hard at loosing weight and greeting in shape, and that Saturday she earned her Weight Watchers Life Time Membership. I guess she met her goal weight and has maintained it for 6 months now. Go Andra!! She looks awesome, then again she always has to me.

Being the true friends that we are, we had arts-n-crafts hour and made Andra a Skinny Bitch tiara, sash, and trophy. (Huh, guess that makes her a trophy wife now!) She was pleasantly surprised upon her arrival home, and donned her new awards as she strutted around the house.

We finally met Suzanne, our 5th and final Wild Woman, at the airport and then walked around Denver some. We stopped at a brew-pub and drank some pretty good beer and had munchies.

Un-Natural Pigs

Way back when, in the days of me working at MicroTimes, I received a Christmas Gift Exchange gift of the game Pass the Pigs. It is a crazy fun game where you have two rubber pigs and you "roll" them like dice. How they land (on their feet, back, side, etc.) and the combination of the two pigs predicates your score. That is it really. We love it, and the girls can now play it and do some simple, albeit silly, math. (See online version here.)


There is a "rule" that if the pigs land one on top of the other (called a "Porker") that this is an unnatural position and you are done playing for the game. We have NEVER had this happen in the 9 years we have been playing Pigs. It hardly even seems possible.


Until tonight.

Meet My Nemisis: Horizontal Surfaces

I swear I clean this off at least three times a day. But here it is, again, all covered in the day's "stuff."

Maybe I should get rid of all horizontal surfaces in my house. Hmmmm, might make it hard to walk.

Green With Envy, & Fun!

Went to the local Irish Pub today and had drinks with a local mom and her hubby and friends - who, oddly enough, all work with my brother. Small world!

I had to leave to be a parent, they are able to stay until 5pm-ish. Sigh - slightly jealous. However if I were to say longer I'd be slightly inebriated. I had 3 beers and that is just enough to make me happy without being drunk. Fun being "carefree" for a morning!

Happy St. Patty's Day everyone!

What Kind of Kite is THIS?

Annika is into making things in her free time at school. The other day she made a kite.

But you tell me; what does this kite look like to you? I'd say it is just a tad phallic!

Pre-Yard Work

I must be yearning for the spring yard clean-up, because the other day I had a lot of fun trimming my indoor plants.

Case in point:

Before

I have this HUGE, 40-year-old jade plant. I inherited from my mother when we moved into our current house. It sits in front of two windows in the south-west corner of our house, and it is a very happy jade plant. However, it was just getting way too big.

After



So I hacked it back some. Anyone want some Jade plant trimmings?

Stupid Theifs!

I caught this sneaky squirrel red-handed the other day; he was doing amazing feats of acrobatic skill to get that last bit of bird seed out of our feeder. We have not had much squirrel activity this winter, due to the cold I am sure, so this must be a sure-fire sign of springs arrival!

And when I opened the door to send our dog out to chase him away the squirrel hopped down off the tree to run away, but then saw the beast and then that sneaky (and smart!) dude did a quick turnaround and ran back up the tree. How am I supposed to terrorize him when he is safe up that tree?!?

Opps! I know better...

This is what happens when you put water into a hot glass dish. DUH!

I have been totally hooked on making bread in my oven, rather than the bread maker. Part of the "yum" factor is to have steam in the oven to help crate a good crust. So I need to put a container under the bread stone, and then add water for steam. Apparently I was not thinking clearly the other day, because I have made this same mistake a few times before. These silly glass pans just seem to break on me ....

DUH - Someday I'll learn.

Signs of Spring!!

The weather here has FINALLY warmed up to above freezing (although I hear we are in for snow again this week) and my lovely spring bulbs are beginning to pop up and show their excited little bodies! SO EXCITING!!

today is the full worm moon

Full Worm - March Moon As the temperature begins to warm and the ground begins to thaw, earthworm casts appear, heralding the return of the robins. The more northern tribes knew this Moon as the Full Crow Moon, when the cawing of crows signaled the end of winter; or the Full Crust Moon, because the snow cover becomes crusted from thawing by day and freezing at night. The Full Sap Moon, marking the time of tapping maple trees, is another variation. To the settlers, it was also known as the Lenten Moon, and was considered to be the last full Moon of winter.

Winter. 2 for $10

There is a sign at a party store near our house that states:

Winter
2 for $10

I what to know what Jack Ass bought two winters this year?!?

A Recent Bento

Just thought I'd share a recent bento the girls had. My neighbor said I was making a healthy lunch and she should take lessons from me. I do not think it is so much the contents, but the presentation that makes it look "impressive." The girls are starting to eat more than this small container holds, so I am going to have to find something else to use as my standard lunch container!

Roast beef and lettuce roll up, baby carrots and sugar peas, black grapes, and a special candy treat.

It is too early to be addicted?

I read about this book titled "Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day," and was intrigued. Good things were being said about it. And I have really been missing "good" bread like the San Francisco Area had, so I decided to see if my library had it.

It did!

I read the premise, basically making dough and storing it in the fridge. Or so I thought. It took me almost 3 weeks to try it, but I finally did today. Can YUM say it all?

I made a loaf for dinner. It was gone before the rest of the food was gone. I made a loaf for breakfast tomorrow. I think I'll make another loaf tomorrow too. Then I'll have to make another batch of dough.

I'm telling you, this is EASY ... no kneading, just make a wet dough, kind of like cookie batter consistency. Let that sit in your fridge until you are ready to bake. shape and cook.

I think I am addicted, and right now I see no knead to buy any more bread ever again. And my bread machine. Ha! who kneads that.

OK, enough of the bad puns. But seriously, I'm excited.

My newest crazy thoughts

Something has been going crazy in my mind lately - I have been overflowing with ideas for things to do with the kids. I am not sure what triggered this plethora of branching thoughts, but I literally have way too many and they are all clogging my brain! I am besieged with ideas and have little time to execute these ideas. I feel like someone has upped the caffeine content of my morning coffee, the thoughts just keep coming and coming and I don't know what to do with them!

So, we have been doing some nature study - not quite as much as I want, but we are managing to stuff some in a few weekends a month. My goal is to do it every weekend, but that just is not happening between girl scouts, free play, cleaning, errands, and family time. I am currently trying to figure out a way to add some nature study in the background. We'll see how that works out. I have a few ideas, but not sure how to implement those ideas.

One of those crazy ideas revolves around decorations. Each year after we take down the Christmas decorations, I see how the girls just LOVE having something special and different up. So I think that I will decorate for different holidays. But never end up doing that. I had the brilliant idea last week - based upon my new realization that I am pagan at heart, or nature worshiper - that I would mirror the seasonal changes happening to the landscape outside with an ongoing seasonal change in decorations indoors. So, I am slowly working on a plan to create some color pallets and decoration inspirations for each season and some holidays. This will involve quite a bit of organization on my part, but I think it will help them fully integrate the changing of seasons with their lives.

I also have this idea to expose the kids to music and art. I need to create a plan for that. I'd like to sort of have a composer and artist, or maybe a style of art/music a month and have some books and art on display or around the house and casually talk about it. I would really love to have Art History (social and political forces behind art) be a part of our ongoing projects. I'd love to have a project a month involve said art. I also am trying to have some music from a the composer of the month on hand and playing at various times when the kids and I are together. Background music, nothing major, but to familiarize them with the various styles and songs of different times and composers. Eventually I'd love to discuss some musical aspects of these composers/styles, but for now they do have a pretty comprehensive music class at their school. So the background approach is fine with me for now.

And then there is my love for Living Math and incorporating math games and projects into our lives as well. I was really into this process this past summer, but have tossed it to the back burner lately as I try to process the nature study idea more. I'd like to get back to this some as Annika is really interested in math. It is hard to do two semi-simultaneous yet different hands on projects that cater to one child's current interest and talents.

If you think this post is jumping around and all disjointed, try living in my brain. I have been like this all year. The girls, with both being in school full time, are busy with school and their two extra curricular activities, and I have babysitting for two kids taking much of my free time. We are left with one afternoon a month every other week free to work on projects. Even our weekends are getting booked up with other activities.

So this busy-ness means that it is hard for me to implement my plethora of crazy ideas. I just need to to pull them out of school one day a week and do *my* things with them. I'd be educational. Yea, I really have an urge to take control of their education and just do it myself. sort of kind of depends on the day maybe

Is it Summer?

At 5pm here it is actually 27 degrees, and there has not been any snow falling today. In fact, I actually see the sun shining!

I think it may be summer already. Such luxurious weather!

Doing Laundy and Wondered ...

Why are men's and women's buttons on opposite sides? What is the point of that? Does our anatomy make us unable to button the other way as the opposite sex? (I'd say no, since I wear so many men's shirts with no problem.) What is the whole point of this??

Just wondering about this strange phenomenon. And, is it the same in other countries too?

I have 6 posts, Daisies, and more

OK, I am taking a quick break from my daisy newsletter and meeting planning to post here. I just made a brief draft for the family blog and it turns out I have 6 posts to write up still. I have been so very busy lately that I have not had time to do these. I have been using my free time to do projects with the kids, well and to prepare for the projects some too. And to clean, laundry, help in the classroom, watch Ikey, plan girl scout events, and well, a myriad of things!

I need to return to my Daisy planning-we are going to earn our Honest & Fair petal Thursday, and we are also working on a poster/display for our ice cream social and World Thinking Day activity. We are learning about India. ugg - too much for me to do in one week. Oh well. I'll survive and even if the projects turn out icky, it will be a fun experience for the girls. And ice cream to eat for everyone! YUM.

OK, off to be productive. not fun

Too Much On My Mind

I have so much I want to do, and so little time! I really love Groundhog day, and each year I say that I am going to delve deeper into the origins of this crazy holiday and share it with the girls, but alas, another year is going to flash by without me doing so. This year I do not think we can go watch our local Ground Hog Day celebration since Groundhog Day falls on a Monday and I watch little Ikey; spending the morning in the cold with a little little dude may not be the best of plans. Bummer, because the kids really enjoy this event each year.

I also have all these Girl Scout plans running thru my head. I have some fun activities, but there are a few girls that just do not want to sit still and do the activities, or even run around and do the activities. They just want to play with their peers. Understandable, really it is. Especially after a whole day of being in school. But, some of the girls actually are interested in the project, so come on, cooperate for me! I'm not really enjoying being a leader so much. big surprise there - HAR

Well, my brain is going a million miles an hour, my fingers are frozen and I must hope in the shower so I can go off to a meeting. I am still trying to figure exactly what to do for the Ball theme of our weekly unplugged project.

whatever. too much stuff on my mind.

Celtic Tree Months and Full Moons

I recently stumbled upon the old concept of Celtic Tree Months. And while this appears to be closely linked to a lot of Pagan religious stuff nowadays (something that is actually interesting me in an off-hand way ... celebrating the passing of seasons, not necessarily believing in a supreme entity, moral behavior is determined by self and not another entity/person, revering mother nature and preserving the environment ... what's not good about that??) I love the idea of a different tree for each "moon."


So I am contemplating a way to incorporate this concept into our lives. January 17 - Feb. 21 is the Rowan tree ... or the Mountain Ash I guess it is also called. Although, the new moon for our location in MI is Jan 26th, according to the Farmer's Almanac, and I believe them. So I think I shall begin celebrating the moons and lunar trees too.

This month's Moon is the Wolf Moon. I think (not sure though) I mentioned this in an earlier post. With Annika's obsession with the moon and planets I was talking to her about some of this last week when it was a full moon.

I Have A Plan

I can see Firned falling over as she reads this: "What?! An actual Plan??!!"

I have a plan for fitting in the majority of the things I want to do accomplish with the girls. And you know what? I am actually glad that I did this! Eek, the non-planner is grateful for a plan? Will the world implode next?

So, Tuesday I sort of created a loose plan for each day. I have now tried it on Tues, Wed, and Thurs. Tues fell apart sort of. It is just hard with dance class, and then Bill ran some errands so dinner was not in the process of cooking when we returned from dance. And it was still frozen too. (Food does not thaw too quickly in my 64 degree house. Bill might actually say it re-freezes! I tell it they call it "cold cash" for a reason!) But I did most of the items I wanted to do, we just ran later than I wanted. And bed time was more like 8:30, which is too late for Annika.

Wed. I was doing great! Except I forgot to put the chicken in the oven after the kids came home from school - we were busy playing outside until almost 5pm. Oops! We had a late dinner again. But we did an "unplugged" project and we did all our chores, and had freeplay time. The only thing I forgot was to do Lauren's homework. It is not much - she has to write her spelling words every day. But she had a Brownie field trip, so things were thrown off a bit.

Thursday went better. Sort of. I still did not follow the plan exactly, like I ever do that anyway(he he) but I felt better about the day and what we accomplished. It was just Lauren and Annika after school. (I like those days the best, and miss them a ton!) We took the theme from our unplugged project (which Lauren did not participate in yesterday due to Girl Scouts) and expanded it some to art, and did another project. It wasn't as captivating for them, but they enjoy looking at the projects we created.) Dinner was later than I planned, and the girls did not play outside ... they were TOO hungry to go outside and then it was suddenly dark ... but I feel as if I was able to fit in all the major things I wanted to accomplish. The kids are getting some outside time, free play, and doing some guided activity to help engage their brain in something useful too.

So, for now I have a plan. Lets see if it keeps working!!

Why Nature Study?

Why I want to do Nature Study with the kids:

• To help them feel connected to Nature and Mother Earth, and properly appreciate and value them.
• To help improve powers of observation (for all of us!)
• To make, improve, and strengthen our connection to the earth where we live.
• To get us outside of the house for fun on a regular basis. (Not that we need much help with that, but sometimes in the cooler weather we sure do!)
• To provide something else for inspiration and other learning opportunities.
• To help us realize and fully understand that we are only a small part of life on this planet, and we need to care for all of it, not just us or humans.

Boy, do I sound like a crunchy earth momma! Yea, I guess in many ways I am. I have always been an outdoor lover. I remember choosing Grand Valley (my college) because of its rural setting and small campus. (Ha, not any longer, well it might be rural-ish still, but small it is not!) Anyway, I have not missed the irony that this now probably lifetime city dweller (not by 100% choice, rather because my dear lovely husband is not a true country dwelling dude. Although I am sure some of that could be easily changed ....) has to *create* "organic" moments for my family in order to help them have some of the self-defining experiences that I had in my youth.

Talk about a statement full of contradictions! There is a literary term for that, but I can't remember it now - too much brain-fry from my nature study! (har!) Oh wait - paradox. Hey, I still have some brain left in me!!

Feeling Stressed About Time

So, this school year I have been feeling (hmm, I just had a typo and wrote reeling. Good one!) stressed out, feeling as if there just is no where near enough time for me to do what I feel like I should be doing with the kids. And I kept thinking why do I feel this way.

So today, actually having nothing pressing to do on my agenda (I am avoiding Mt Laundry and the beckons from fur balls and dust bunnies with no guilt today!) I sat down to create a loose agenda. And that is when it hit me; no wonder I feel stressed!

I started off by writing my list of daily things I'd like to do with the girls and things that must be done daily between school and bedtime:

1. Play Outside - 30 min
2. Free Play - 30 min
3. Some Planned/Guided Activity (Nature study, art history, Math games, etc) - 30 min
4. Chores - 15 min
5. Snack - 15 min
6. Dinner - 30 min
7. Homework - 15 min
8. Read Aloud - 30 min
9. Bath - 30 min
10. Get Ready For Bed - 15 min

If you add up the time, and I was actually being skimpy on the times I allotted, that is 4 hours. Hmmm, The girls get home around 4:15 and bed time is 8pm. Already we are at least 15mins short! And, if you add in Girl Scouts, Dance Lessons, Watching Other Kids, Cooking and Cleaning times ...... I am coming up short on time! I really do not think that this is an unrealistic idea of what I'd like to accomplish, do you? Ugggg.

Well, I am contemplating how to fit my agenda into the time allotment. I'll keep ya posted on the outcomes!

Organized My CDs!

When we moved back to MI from CA I threw away all the Jewel cases for our CDs because they were just too bulky to pack and move all of them. I bought two new CD cases and randomly threw in the CDs. That was four plus years ago, and finally today I got around to organizing them into some sort of semblance of order.

This was one of my 101 things, so whoo hoo! Another item checked off.

I know, this is really a tiny little thing, but hey! It took me over 4 years to do this. I was really dreading it. Turns out it wasn't that bad of a job, but still .....

Gardening Dreaming

An evil thing came in the mail last week - a seed catalogue! Now I am thinking and dreaming about gardening all the time. I keep looking at the heirloom varieties and lust over them. I fantasize of having a large garden in my back yard. There is room enough, but I'd have to give up yard space for the kids, and frankly I am not sure I want to do that!!!

So, this year I have a list of ideas I'd like to tackle, and produce I'd like to grow:

• Tomatoes for canning/spaghetti. sauce. We just used up the last jar of my 2007 stash.
• Beets
• chard
• Onion and garlic
• Potatoes
• I'm not sure about beans, but in theory I love beans.
• Squash
• pickling cucumbers
• I'd be interested in trying raspberries
• Basil
• Oregano
• Carrots
• Sugar Pumpkins
• Spinach
• Jalapenos

Things we grew last year I'd be OK if we did not have this year: Peppers, zucchini (I like, but no one else does really ... and they are prolific and available for most gardeners anyway!) eggplant, peas (we like them - me only so so, but it is so much hassle to pick and shell them. I'll save my efforts for something else!) Watermelon and cantaloupe - so much space for so few fruits, lettuces - it seemed to turn bitter so easy. I guess that is it. I'd add in the pumpkins and pickling cukes for something new and interesting.

So, I want to make more spaghetti. sauce and salsa. I'd love to try my hand at pickling beets, and canning pumpkin for use all year long. And I'd love to make some more varieties of jam.

So, do I sound domestic enough for you? Scary!! But I love the idea of growing my own food and having it available all year long. MY food, not someone else's food. ...and if only I could have chickens for eggs .....

Thistle Feeder and Goldfish

For some reason I have a problem saying goldFINCH - it keeps coming out as goldFISH. So when I put up my thistle feeder that I received for Christmas, I happily reported to Bill that a swarm of goldfish wasted no time finding the feeder.

He looked at me with this quizzical look - nothing too abnormal in this house unfortunately. "Gold fish?" He asked. We had, after all, just acquired 5 of the aquatic animals earlier in the day and the girls were all abuzz reporting each fish's activities.

"Yea," I replied, not hearing the fish part of that statement, and rather shocked at how fast 20 of the avairian animals found the thistle feeder. "Look out the window!"

"Oh yea," he said with a smirk. "I see them swimming away out there." And he walked away laughing at me.

It took me awhile to finally hear what he was laughing about. Like, the third or fourth time I called them goldfish by accident. dork!

But anyway - I now have another item crossed off my 101 list, and I am throughly enjoying watching the birds out my kitchen window. All of them - and there are a lot of different birds!