I'm takin' this with me if we move.

Well, I am doing what I said I would yesterday.  I have chained myself to the house and I am taking it back. It is going so SLLLOOOOWWWLLLLYYY. I have been in the laundry room most of the day and I wanted to show you my very favorite thing in this house.

I have a friend who is a muralist. When I was pregnant with Langley, I hired her to paint this growth chart in the laundry room.  This ain't your ordinary growth chart. It's a work of art and my absolute favorite thing.

Forgive the terrible pictures.  There seems to be a horrible glare from the dryer and I didn't have much room to work with.  All around the room were huge piles of laundry and junk.  I refuse to show you that. 

Which is funny because I have pretty much bared my soul here on this blog.  But I feel a need to keep the mess in my laundry room a deep dark secret.

Mess in my life open for sharing?  Yes.

Disorganized chaos in the laundry room?  No.

I have to draw the line somewhere, people.

Anyway, back to the growth chart.  Every birthday, and happy-half birthday, my kids get measured.  They look forward to it as much as I do on their special days.  I treasure the way their not-so-tiny bodies (*sigh*) stand against the wall stick straight and how they delight in how much they have grown in six months.

The verse above the growth chart says...

"The child continued to grow and become strong increasing in wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him."  Luke 2:40

Rest assured, IF we ever move this wall is coming with me.

 
And if it can't, then we won't ever be able to move.

So there you have it. 

Avoidance is not just a technique. It's a state of mind.

It has become blatantly obvious to me and all the people that live in this house that we are out of food.  Unless you count a half-opened package of northern beans (what?), sweetened condensed milk and saltines.  But that doesn't help me at all when it comes to pleasing little people. 

"Here kids.  Here's your afternoon snack of hard beans and dry crackers.  Wash it down with this really thick, warm, sweet, milk-like substance."

Score.

I thought I would slay the dragon yesterday, so to speak.  I had planned to go to Walmart after the morning activities but then found a bunch of other ways to kill my time.  Plus, I didn't have a list yesterday.  And that's just plain STUPID to go to Walmart without a list.  You might as well give them your $200 as soon as you walk in the door.

So that leaves today, and a list has finally been made. However, the weatherman said it is going to rain today and who wants to schlep a bunch of groceries and a toddler in the rain?  The truth is, it didn't start raining until about 11.  I had plenty of time to go and make it home before that.   But I like to avoid things I don't like. 

It's just who I am.

The avoidance started immediately this morning.  I did some really random things while I waited for the rain to come and give me a reason why I couldn't go. 

• I cleaned out the dog crate. Really?
• I vacuumed the lint filter in the dryer.
• I emptied out the fridge which just made it more obvious that it was indeed, empty.
• I googled correct comma placement.
• Then I forgot what it said.
• I returned some emails and updated my calendar.
• I looked out the window 45 HUNDRED times willing the skies to open up.
• I made sure the TIVO knew which Friends episodes to record.
• I organized the nail polish.  Shocked to find out that I buy the exact same colors every time I buy polish.  Proof that going to Walmart without a list is doomed to failure.
• I wiped out the microwave.  Probably could have scraped all the crud together to make dinner tonight.
• I thought about working out.
• But ended up not doing that. 
• I vacuumed the table and the toddler.
• Then I vacuumed the living room.  Not because I'm awesome, just because I wanted track satisfaction.  You all know what I mean.  If you really want to look like you are working hard, just vacuum.  No one can argue the tracks.
• I took some of Skip's shirts down to iron them, but then I put them back.
• Looked out the window again.
• Took a deep breath and realized that it's not going to rain.
• Took a shower.

After I got dressed and chased Wit down to get him ready, I walked past the window.  Yep, you guessed it...

RAIN.  SWEET GLORIOUS RAIN.

*yes*

Now I have to figure out what to cook using beans, sweetened milk and saltines.  I am sure it will be yummy.  But who cares because IT'S RAINING AND I GET TO AVOID THE STORE UNTIL TOMORROW!

(Ask me tomorrow how I feel about that)

(I am guessing I won't be happy)

(I know the kids won't be happy when they come home to an empty fridge)

(Maybe I can distract them with the vacuum tracks)

new profile pic

Just cleaning house and cleaning up the blog today. I hope you are having a wonderful Saturday!

Stay tuned Monday for some REALLY BIG NEWS!

I will give you a hint.

GIRL or BOY...

And Jen, if you say TWINS one more time, I may have to hurt ya!

Clean vs. Not Clean

My closet is clean.
My kitchen is clean.
My laundry room shelf is clean.
The kitchen cabinets are clean.
The playroom is clean.
Both kid's closets are clean.
My bloglines are clean.


My car is not clean.
My bathroom is not clean.
My craft room is NOT clean...not even close to clean.
My dresser drawers are not clean.
My windows are not clean.
My fridge is not clean.


Clean 7. Not clean 6.


Things are getting done. I am getting closer to my goal. Once caught up, I am going to throw myself into my scrapbooks. I can't indulge myself in this yet, but I am getting closer.

Bargains waiting to be found, then sold.

I love garage sales. The lazy Saturday drive through neighborhoods, stopping at a house full of goodies. The thrill of the hunt. The casual glances at one's make-shift store. The slow drive-bys to determine whether or not to stop. Fall ushers in opportunities in every neighborhood. A chance to connect with people that you wouldn't normally connect with.

In September, Skip's family hosts our annual "Trash to Treasure" swap at his sister's house. Every year I think this will be the year that we will be organized. Every year I come crashing down to reality. Every year we start preparing mere days before the big event.

But this year is the worst. Stomach flu and general busyness has found us very ill-prepared. In just 2 short days, I will need to go through every nook and cranny in our house and find our "trash". We will look through and debate each item for any possible usage or significance. We will bargain with the kids about their sale items. We will haggle with them about the Beanie Baby they haven't touched in 3 years. Then we will swear to NEVER do this again.

I have several late nights ahead. Several hours of pricing, sorting,cleaning, displaying. I wonder if its worth it.

Then Friday and Saturday roll around and I realize why we put ourselves through this. I love meeting the people that come to look at our "trash". I love talking with Skip's family. I love watching the kids play outside all day. Listening to them "sell" their items. I love the jokes and stories told over McDonald's breakfast. I love snuggling in sweatshirts, then peeling them off as the day gets hotter. I love seeing families leave with their newly found treasures. I love laughing about the oddball things we try to sell--one year we had 4 toilets in the front yard!

Every year we look forward to the next garage sale and the time we get to spend together. Just wish me luck that we can find something to sell in this short amount of time. Any garage sale advice would be handy! What works for you? How do you stay organized throughout the year so you are not frantically scrabbling just days before?

This is so me. I would rather blog about having to get ready for a garage sale, than actually getting ready for the garage sale. Better run....

Playing God

Well, the day has come. The day of reckoning for all weeds known to my front yard. I am off to ruin the habitats of hundreds of worms, ants, spiders (Alana!), and whatever else may be crawling in my flowerbeds. I am playing God with their lives. Here comes Hurricane Nellie.

I can just hear the hillbilly worm that they will interview on the local bug channel. (Celeste!)

"You just missed it. I seent the hole thang. I wuz just lying thar and a giant cleaver fell from them sky thar and chopped ole Bob in half. Now wheeze homeless. What we gonna do?"

OK...I am stalling. I really hate gardening. I would rather write about dead worms than get out there and do it.

Did I mention that I REALLY hate gardening. It's not my "thang".