Homemaker

Walking on Sunshine

January 13, 2011

Those of you that follow me on facebook or twitter, or have spent any time round these circus parts, know that I whine quite a bit about laundry. Recently, however, I made a startling discovery. Rather than being the bane of my existence as I once thought, it is in fact, the key to my happiness?

Say wha??

Last May, I set out with a quest to get entirely caught up on my laundry. Do you recall that flock of pigs, flying over the state of Maryland last spring? Yup… I did it. And then, shock of all shocks, I was able to keep up with it, doing a load a day, for a good solid month, before lil man made his appearance into the world and our family.

And even though he is the most easy going, laid back, and sweetest of babes one could ask for, well, it has taken me 7 months to get back to the point where I am totally caught up on laundry AND MAINTAINING my quota of one, sometimes two, (depending on how many outfits lil miss decides to wear in one day).

And the thing that shocked me is when I am keeping up with my laundry, I feel on top of the world. I feel like I am in control of my house instead of the other way around. I feel accomplished rather than struggling to survive.

Melodramatic? Maybe, but let me tell you, I am loving life this week.

Amazing how if your clothes are all washed and put away, your house is instantly cleaner b/c you don’t have piles of laundry lurking in your closet, and hall way, behind your bed, and in your laundry room.

Amazing how it instantly removes a huge amount of clutter and a HUGE mountain of stress.

This week has been fabulous. I am staying on top of laundry and dishes and I feel like my house is some what in order. I am literally a new woman! And lovin life!

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A Student Once Again

September 9, 2010

in Homemaker,sewing

I do not consider myself to be either creative or crafty. And most of the time I am ok with that. Even though my mom and grandma are both talented seamstresses, I’ve often joked that I missed out on the sewing gene.

The truth is that sewing seems to require patience and an aspiration for perfection. And for me, close enough is usually more than good enough. But close enough doesn’t seem to work when sewing, b/c you kinda want your dresses to be straight and your sleeves even.

So, I typically don’t even try to sew and get my sister in law, mom, or talented friend Jen, to do it for me.

My kids know this and when they need their slippers patched or a stuffed animal repaired they don’t even bother to ask me, they just pack it up and when we see Grandma or Aunt Karen next they’ll pull it out and ask her to repair it for them. I’ll often laugh about the fact that they didn’t even bother asking me.

Then I found out one of my dear friends and her mother in law (one of my favorite high school teachers) are teaching a intro to sewing class for adults. And I jumped at the chance to try.

I get to bring my sewing machine to use (this I think will be huge as I will learn how to use my machine). And they’ve got a slew of projects planned for the semester that will teach us all sorts of basic sewing skills and provide us with useful products. (aprons, bags, pillows…)

Tonight we met at Jo Ann Fabrics. They walked us around the store telling us about the different kinds of fabrics and which kinds were easy to sew with and which are more difficult.

They answered questions and encouraged. They started with the basics, as in very, very basic.

When I left the house I foolishly thought I’d be buying all the fabric I needed for all 7 classes. After staring at material for over an hour, I left with the material needed for our first project.

Lesson One: choosing fabric takes time (and I made a mental note to myself that there is no way I am bringing my kids with me to the fabric store, ever)

I am really excited about this class. We’ll be meeting twice a month for the next few months. I feel like this class is just what I need right now. I am excited about the opportunity to have a night out. I am excited to spend time with friends. I am excited about the opportunity to accomplish some tangible projects for myself and my family. And I am excited to spend time with one of my favorite teachers again. Can you tell I am a little excited?

Oh, and I bought my own pair of fabric scissors! I couldn’t wait to tell my mom that I too have special scissors that the kids can’t cut with paper.

Next week, I will be making 2 aprons.. one half apron and one bib apron. I am super excited! (must think of another word with which I can convey my enthusiasm) I will wait to buy the next material after that. We’re going to take baby steps… (which is good b/c once I was in the store I found myself wanting to make so many things… I need to take it small and accomplish tangible goals otherwise I will become overwhelmed and will most likely give up… and I really, really want to succeed this time). Perhaps if things turn out like I hope, I’ll post pictures of my finished work. (unlike those curtains I aspired to make last spring and never even started) (which , by the way, I am hoping to try and get done this fall)

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Our Table

August 4, 2010

in family,Homemaker

The kids had scattered to the backyard to play while I cleared off the dinner dishes. As I wiped down the dining room table, I couldn’t help but smirk as I looked out over a see of crumbs and wood that is faded in parts due to many a knocked over glass of milk or water. There is an ever present layer of grime that those of you with kids know exactly what I am talking about… something like syrup meets peanut butter meets oatmeal and it just cakes into those nooks and crannies around the edge of the table, giving it that “lived in” feel. There are marks on the table where my kids didn’t stay in the lines (or on the paper for that matter) when coloring with their supposedly washable markers and a few splatterings of paint here and there from art projects.

I remember when Scott first brought it through the doors of our apartment. After months of eating on a tiny card table, we were beyond excited about having a real dining room table. He carried it in piece by piece and assembled it that night.

We had gotten into the habit of not putting the drinking pitcher onto the table, because our card table hadn’t been big enough for it. We were careful, meticulous about keeping it clean, not wanting it to get water marks or anything on it. I vividly remember thinking, “One day my kids will do their homework on this table.”

I had no idea that memories we’d make around that table. My kids have practiced writing their letters on this table and drawn many a picture sitting here. Scott and I have sat side by side working out the budget here. We’ve entertained family and friends for numerous meals and parties… Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, birthdays…we’ve rolled out Christmas cookies, built gingerbread houses, dyed Easter eggs and carved pumpkins on this table. Scott’s had the guys from work over to play poker at this table. We’ve built forts underneath it. And if you look close you can see naw marks from when our puppies teethed on its legs.

It’s easy to look at the table and see nothing but the grime and stains and wear and tear. But for some reason, that night when I looked at it, all I could do was smile at the love and memories we’ve shared round this table. And I pray to God for many, many more blessed memories as a family sitting round this table.

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Tag! Your it!

July 14, 2010

in Homemaker,Maggie,Motherhood

Divide and Conquer

That would be the name of the game lately at the circus.

I’ll take the youngest two to the grocery store while Scott takes the older ones with him to build the new to us play set. Or Scott takes the big 3 to the year end baseball ceremony while I stay home with the babe.

At this stage of the game, tag teaming has seemed crucial for surviving and for attempting to keep the household running somewhat smoothly.

Last week we seemed to take the whole divide and conquer strategy to a new level, though.

Maggie, our patient and honestly quite often overlooked dog, was overdue for a vet appointment. I don’t care how over due she was, I was not bringing her and the 4 kids to the vet by myself (remember last years visit with just 3 kids?). So, I scheduled an evening appt for her so Scott could take her. Unfortunately the night that worked best also happened to be the night of a deacon meeting for Scott. He didn’t have time to take her to the vet and back home before heading out to church for his meeting.

So, he came home from work, grabbed the dog and headed to the vet. I then followed with the kiddos about 15 minutes later and waited in the parking lot. Scott came out with the dog about 10 minutes later stuck her in the back of the van, gave me a quick kiss and as we parted ways… him on his way to church, me back home with the circus crew… I had to chuckle…

Now we’re even tag teaming with the dog!!

In other news.. my little man is 6 weeks old…time is flying fast and my laundry seems to be piling up even faster!!

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Worst Garden Ever

June 3, 2010

in Gardening,Keeping it Real

It’s time to stop pretending. The act is over. Who am I kidding?

I am not a gardener.

Each spring, I get bitten by a gardening bug and I think that I will turn over a new leaf and suddenly spawn a green thumb.

So, I buy some plants and seeds and the kids and I set off to garden. Each spring Scott asks why am I doing this when I know what will happen. And each spring I assure him that this year will be different.

The way gardening typically works for me is that I get all excited about it in April. I weed the garden area, plant a few plants and then pretty much that is it.

I don’t eagerly run out to check for sprouts.

I don’t weed.

A lot of times, I don’t even remember to pick the tomatoes off the vine.

I am literally a one day gardener.

The problem is, I don’t enjoy it. I don’t think it is fun to weed and water and prune the plants. I don’t wait in eager anticipation to see the fruits of my labor bloom. I garden out of guilt. I garden b/c my parents garden and my best friends garden and when they start talking about all their seeds and sprouts, I start thinking, “Hey, I should do that too…” b/c that’s what good moms do… they dig in the dirt with their kids.

This year started out like any other. We went to Home Depot, got a few plants and a few seed packets. We also bought some annuals and mulch for our front yard. Scott and I then spent the afternoon planting and mulching. When we were done I didn’t feel like tackling the garden so I stuck the plants in front of the house so they could get some sunlight and water and save them for another day.

OK… that was on April 24th.

Here are the plants now.

Yea… you can see that I got real far on the garden this year…. I think it’s a record… killed em before I even got them in the ground. The truth is that in my pregnant state there is a limited number of things I feel like getting down on my hands and knees to do. And the reality is given the choice, I chose scrubbing the baseboards in my bathroom to planting vegetables.

If that doesn’t reveal my true feelings about gardening, I don’t know what does. Part of me still has aspirations of planting some sunflowers…we’ll see… but for now this years vegetable garden goes down as my Friday Fail.

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