Rainy Day Ramblings

Hi All.  Happy Saturday!  A little dreary at my house....rain!  While I love having lots of windows, an amazing view and no curtains....days like today make it hard to be cheery and warm.  I'm super thankful for our boiler (free heat), but just seeing the rain (and snow later) makes me feel so cold!!  I got some stuff done around the house right away this morning...crap!  Just remembered I put laundry in the washer 5 hours ago...dangit!  I'll get to that in a bit....  Anyway, I was going to say that I was productive this morning, even got a good work-out in, and then was glad to realize the ISU game was on at 1:00...which meant break time....which means sit on the couch under my super cozy blanket and do nothing :)  Okay, I actually worked on the January pages of our 2015 Family year book while I listened...which I'm so glad to have accomplished since I did all of 2014's at the end of the year and it was slightly miserable.

Our 2014 yearbook just came in the mail yesterday and James and I enjoyed looking through it. Obviously, I already knew what was in it, but it was the first time James got to see it.  He loved it and told me he was so glad I put it together and that I did a great job taking lots of pictures (if he only knew how many I had to leave out because there just wasn't room -- dang Shutterfly has a page limit to their books...and I used all 111 of them!).  I got the yearbook idea from..can you guess??...Pinterest, back in 2013 and thought I would start it in 2014.  About every 6 weeks or so I would upload all of our pictures to the computer (which was time consuming because we use 3 different devices to take pictures) and place them into their appropriate month folder. I'm so glad I did that or it would have been even more of a nightmare to organize!

Anyway, I'm super glad I took the time to make this book and hope my kids will enjoy it someday.  I had planned to order two, one for each of them, but at $90 each (on sale and with a coupon!), we decided they could fight over it later :)

The game is over (good job Cyclones!) and everyone in my house is napping.  I had 2 options: go through some stuff in the office or blog.  You're Welcome :)  ....or maybe not as this is a rambling post....

A couple of times this week I had items come up that sparked a blog post in my head, but then I decided I didn't really have enough to write about.  So, here they all are in short versions :)

1 - Don't wish that on your worst enemy
Why do people wish such awful things on others??  Someone messaged me telling me they were glad someone died -- for real!!  And then the day that the governor passed out, I was reading comments on Facebook under the news article and so many people were saying such terrible things, like "good", "hope he dies", etc.  It was disgusting!  I just don't get it.  It's one thing to not like someone, but we should never wish such terrible things for them.  I suppose Karma takes care of those folks...

2 - Accept the gift, or Pay it forward?
A friend and I were talking about the act of paying for a stranger's coffee, meal, etc.  You hear so often that someone got a free coffee (or other item) because the person in front of them paid for it. That's so awesome and I love to hear those stories!!!  But then so many of those people will turn around and pay for the person behind them..which is also nice...but does anyone ever get a free item then if we just keep paying for someone else's??  I have to be honest and say that if I were the fortunate recipient of a free item, it wouldn't even cross my mind to pay for the person behind me.  Is that bad??  I'd be like, "woohoo, a free ____!".  But my view of this is that if I paid for someone's item, I would want them to accept that gift and not pass it on.  It was my gift to that person...to make THEIR day with a free item.  So, I would assume that the person who paid for me, would feel the same...right??  Or maybe I'm wrong and showing my selfishness...ha!

3 - Will Power
What the heck is will power anyway and what planet are those of you who have it from??  No matter how hard I try (obviously not hard enough) to keep away from sweets, I just can't!  The past couple of weeks I have been trying to get back on track to eating healthier (more produce, less processed foods) and am actually doing fairly well.  I almost always start my day with eggs and veggies and usually have another veggie for lunch, along with some fruit.  But it's the afternoon snack and after-dinner snack that keep getting me....by 2pm I just want chocolate.  I used to curb this craving with a handful of dark chocolate covered almonds - I need to get back to that....but for now it has been curbed with ice cream, candy, and baked goods.  Yesterday I was so proud of myself for ordering a salad for lunch and NOT eating any fries (I LOVE FRIES)...but then I stopped at my aunt's house for a little bit and there were chocolate chip cookies on the counter...I didn't even try to say "no"...I had one....some....

Today my husband so nicely volunteered to go to the grocery store for me (he loves going there for some crazy reason), and I gave him a list with about 15 items...more than half was produce.  He comes home with 10 bags of groceries.....half of which contained chips, cookies, pies (the super processed kind), boxed dinners (which I rarely make anyway???), and some other stuff I'm trying to avoid.  Ugh!!  I was so annoyed that I had to stop helping him put groceries away...I was pretty sure I would have a heart attack if I saw one more thing I wish he wouldn't have bought.  So, in protest of his groceries (like he will really care - it was all for him anyway), I'm going to find my will power, wherever it is, and use it to keep my hands off all of that garbage!!  I know it's gotta be around here somewhere....

4- What's in my brain? (obviously not will power)
I have been playing Trivia Crack the past few days with family members.  I LOVE seeing what is stored in my brain that I had forgotten about!!  Or even if I don't know the answer, I enjoy seeing how well I do at process of elimination.  A question that I clearly knew the answer to the other day was something like, "Which store's logo is a dog with a bullseye?"  OBVIOUSLY, it's Target.  But what stumped me was....why was it in the art category???  Okay, I get it...but seriously....shouldn't it have been in the entertainment category????  Because most women know Target is where you go for entertainment, vacation, etc....

Okay, I suppose.... Everyone is still sleeping...this is crazy!!  The most ironic part is I'M the one who always wants to nap on cold rainy days.  Must have been my good work out and all that healthy food I've eaten today that's giving me energy to stay awake :)

Stay warm my friends!!  

Oh, yeah....my laundry.......

This Journey We Call Life

Why does it always seem to take a death to make us stop and think about life?  Another guy I went to high school with passed away this week.  I didn't know him well, but enough to know that the entire world lost an amazing person. I think I can say with certainty that every single person who knew Jesse, wishes they could live life more like he did.  He was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis at a very young age and knew his journey would be shorter than most, but instead of being a victim, he chose to live every single moment of his life like it were his last.  Someone posted on his Facebook page "unlike most of us debating our next moves, you always jumped and then looked, afraid only of missing out on something great".

Are you living the life you want to live?  I know I'm not.  I have a husband and children whom I love very much, and that part of my life is good, but what about the rest of it...the inner part of me that I share with others?  I have in my mind the kind of person I want my kids to be, my daughter in particularly, but I know I'm not doing my best at modeling that type of person for her.

I have some Facebook friends who I admire very much and thoroughly enjoy stalking their pages to see what they have been up to :)  They are people who have an amazing lust for life and are incredibly positive.  Ironically they are all nature lovers, and here I sit INDOORS admiring them all the time.  Why am I not out doing the things that look so appealing to me?

I am an incredible excuse maker!  I can find some reason to just stay right where I am, in my comfort zone...both physically and mentally, instead of getting out and making memories, learning, or strengthening relationships.  It's interesting that nearly every time I leave my house, or mentally branch out of my comfort zone, I am enlightened, refreshed, overjoyed, or all of the above....but yet I still would rather remain inside my comfort most of the time.  Why do we do that?  As our friend Jesse shows us, there is so much to miss out on if you don't take the jump!

We take so many things in our life for granted, right down to something as simple as breathing.  People with Cystic Fibrosis are fighting for breaths and can't get near the oxygen into their lungs that the rest of us can.  I stepped outside today to see how warm it was and to get some fresh air.  While I was out there I took some very deep breaths and cherished each one.  I felt very at peace at that moment.  I needed a quiet reminder that life is beautiful, but not guaranteed.  A reminder to stop watching and start doing.

Other than having classes with him and witnessing some of his crazy shenanigans, the only story I have of Jesse is this:  I transfered to the U of I hospital 7 days after my accident 7 years ago.  The first day I was there, I had a balloon delivered to me.  The card read something like this: "Hi Emily, I'm in room 123.  Let me know when you want to cause trouble in the hallways together." It was signed by Jesse Anderson.  I thought to myself, "I only know one person with that name, and I know for sure this is him.....but why in the world would he send me a balloon???....I barely know him!!!"  It's obvious he didn't know me very well since he thought I would be up for causing trouble with him ;) But my point to this story is this:

Moments like these are what carry the biggest impact in my life.  Here is a person who selflessly gave a very nice gesture to someone to show he was thinking of them. I still remember this like it was yesterday and will probably never forget it.  I also remember the day several years ago that I opened a piece of mail from the Blood Center of Iowa and in handwriting as beautiful as I remember it from high school, was a note from an old classmate that she donated blood in my name.  Again, another unexpected and uplifting gesture that I will always remember.

While I don't do it enough, making someone's day with a small gesture is one thing that brings me great joy too.  Life is about the relationships we build.  At least mine is and I know I need to strengthen some of those relationships.  All of the "career aptitude" and "personality" tests I have ever taken in my life have been very one sided...the "people" or "relationships" side.  I was supposed to be a guidance counselor or social worker according to all of the tests and my strengths are always working with people, building relationships, etc.  A friend recently said to me, "Like you have ever had a hard time making friends".  I was flattered, but I know as of late I am really failing at this one...sometimes it's hard to know where to draw the line between spending time with your family and spending it with friends.  I choose my family sometimes when I should probably be choosing friends....after all, friends are the family we choose, right?

There is one really important piece of life that I can't go without mentioning.  Attitude.  I believe whole heartedly that our attitude determines our happiness with our life.  I don't think this is a secret to anyone, but some people get so blinded by their negativity that they forget this.  I have absolutely zero patience for those who choose to play a victim role and complain day in and day out without considering for a moment that maybe their attitude is actually the problem.  I know people in this predicament and it is very sad to watch them waste days of their precious life.

I have a great example of how an attitude change helped me recently.  I used to yell at my kids on a daily basis, and multiple times per day.  Often, it would make them cry and always it made the rest of my day worse.  About 6 weeks ago I decided to stop yelling at them and instead take deep breaths and politely explain to them why I wished they would stop doing whatever it was. Something amazing transformed after just 1 week of this...all 3 of us have very pleasant days together, there is rarely any crying, and most of the things I used to yell at them for have either stopped bothering me, or have just stopped happening all together.  It's like a whole new experience being home with my kids now and all I had to do was change my attitude.

I look at people like the Jesse's in the world who are very sick, but choose to wake up with a winning attitude every day, knowing they are blessed to have another day of life, and live their day the best way they know how to.  There really shouldn't be any other option for our day.  But yet, we all find things to complain about and use excuses to stay in our comfort zone.  What are those complaints and excuses doing for us??

I don't know about you, but I want to live more like the Jesse's!  I want to be more selfless and share my life with friends and family.  I want to have an infectiously positive attitude...one that will impact the lives of those around me, my kids in particular.

So, take a deep breath, be thankful for it, and do something nice for a friend.  A special card is on it's way to one of mine :)  Have a great day everyone!

Favorite Things

Happy Wednesday! As I have been working on another round of decluttering my house (2 big trips to Goodwill already this year!), I have decided to take a 2 question approach to things I'm debating about keeping or not.  Those two questions are 1) Do I love it? and 2) Do I use it?  If the answer is "no" to both of those questions, I'm getting rid of it.  Think about it, shouldn't we be able to say either "I love this" or "I use this" about most things in our house??  If we don't love it or don't use it, why keep it??

Anyway, as I've been thinking about those things that I truly love right now, I thought I would share some of them with you.

My new blanket I got from Target.  It is the Room Essentials brand.  It is super super soft (even after a couple of washings) and very warm!  The best part about it though is that it comes in bedding sizes, so it is much larger than your average throw blanket.  We all love using it at my house.

Speaking of blankets, I am really loving my new flannel sheets.  I haven't used flannel on our bed in several years because I used to get too hot.  This year though I seem to always go to bed freezing and decided to try flannels again.  I bought a cute set at Target and I love them!!  They are so much softer than the set we previously had and I look forward to crawling into them every night!  I don't remember ever enjoying flannel sheets so much before.  I hope after a winter's worth of washing they still remain soft....otherwise....I will just have to buy a new set each winter...oh darn!

Okay, this one tops my list of favorite things right now and I've already written about it, but I just cannot stop raving about my Naples Soap Company bar shampoo and conditioner!!!!!  I get SO excited for my shower on hair-washing days!  My hair has never ever been so soft, light, and clean as it is right now.  It even straightens with my flat iron so much easier too.  I'm just so in love with this product right now and think every single one of you needs to try it out!!!  By the way, for those who asked...I've been using it for a month now (probably 11-13 washes) and it barely looks used...I'm guessing one bar will last 3-5 months.  And the fragrance I have is moroccan oil. www.naplessoap.com

Another bath item I love is the Aveeno bath soap I use on my kids.  I use it on their bodies and hair. It smells so delightful, I have used it a time or two myself.  I like that it is in all-in-one too, so I only need one bottle in their bathroom.

Another cleaning item I love is my Norwex enviro cloths.  I use them to clean my kitchen, dust, and wash windows.  No chemicals are needed...just water.  You can watch youtube videos of people testing their effectiveness...the cloths pick up bacteria better than multi-purpose cleaner that is filled with chemicals.  James used them to clean windows for the first time this past weekend and he said, "wow, these actually work really well".  That was a huge statement coming from him!

I was going through the kids' closets looking for clothes they don't wear or can't fit into and I realized how much I love the Jumping Beans brand from Kohls.  They are relatively cheap (always get them on sale and with a coupon), and they seem to hold their size better than most other brands (Carters is great too...but more expensive).  Jumping Beans clothes are all so adorable too and usually have mix and match tops and bottoms to create whole outfits.

My favorite clothing item at the moment is my new winter coat.  It is a mid-length down coat...super warm!!  I also have a full-length down coat, but I only wore it a couple of times and found that it was just too long.  Mid-length is perfect!!  I got it in black and can dress it up or down, which allows me to get rid of a few other coats I currently own.

By far, my favorite accessory is my ring.  It's not your traditional engagement/wedding ring, but it's mine and I LOVE IT so much!!  Besides loving it for what it stands for, it sparkles like crazy and I love that it never gets caught on anything.  Here is some food for thought:  is your (or your spouse's) ring the most expensive thing in your house??

Onto the kitchen.  I purchased these plates from Target for the kids last fall and would like to replace all of their other plates with these (but Rylee won't let me).  First of all they are $1.  Secondly, they can go in the microwave and the dishwasher.  They also have a rubber rim on the bottom so they can't easily slide across the table (and onto the floor).  They are very durable and they wash so well.  I highly recommend!!  They come in several colors and are in the kitchen section of Target.

This multi-purpose spoon is one thing you will always see in my hand IF I'm cooking.  This spoon can be used as a spatula, has a serated edge for cutting/chopping, holes for straining, and a small spoon on the handle end.  I use it for almost everything. I got it at the kitchen store on Main Street in Ames.

My favorite snack items and staples in my pantry are currently oranges and kettle corn (not together). Nothing beats fresh kettle corn at an event though......YUM!!!

Rylee and I also love smoothies.  We make them at home all the time.  Usually it's the same ingredients, but occassionally we will deviate.  We like strawberry, banana, vanilla or strawberry yogurt, and vanilla almond milk.  I put spinach in it too when it's just for me (Rylee doesn't like green things in her drink).  We also will make smoothie popsicles too...yum!

PiYo is my favorite work-out DVD.  This is a blend of yoga and pilates.  I have never faithfully followed an entire fitness program as well as I can with this one.  It is 8 weeks long and the first time I did it, I followed it the whole 8 weeks.  I saw amazing results and felt stronger than I ever have before.  It's all body weight movements and leaves you feeling like you can do anything!  The instructor is super charismatic too and makes it fun.

Another thing I am loving that helps to burn calories (or energy for the kids), is our smart T.V.  We have had it for 2 years, but for some reason we just recently started using the internet on it.  The kids and I have been loving to bring up music videos on Youtube and dance our little legs off.  Rylee usually requests Shake It Off, All About that Bass, and Sunshine and Whiskey....she may be learning some not-so-appropriate words, but we're having fun learning them :)

Electronic Decluttering

My husband had been saying for awhile that he wanted to get rid of Facebook.  And then one day, he did just that.  I couldn't believe it.  I couldn't imagine living without Facebook.

I love being able to keep up with everyone's lives via Facebook.  I'm a social person living in the middle of nowhere, so new status updates all day long keep me feeling "in the loop".  I also love being able to use Facebook as a survey tool.  Sure, I can do a Google search when I have a question, but I don't trust advice from strangers as much as I trust the advice of people I know.

I use Facebook as a news source too, as I don't read the paper and rarely watch the news on television. I also keep up with Iowa State Basketball via Facebook; reading articles, watching interviews and videos of our dancing coach and players :)

Most importantly though, Facebook is how I complete my social calendar.  My mom groups and friends post events on Facebook and so many others use the Facebook invites for parties/gatherings. If I didn't have Facebook, I'm afraid I would miss out on so many things!  I follow a lot of local places/events for kids and that's how I find out when something fun is taking place that I might want to take the kids to.

All of this being said, I was a little jealous of my husband when he dropped Facebook.  I knew that he was going to have more time on his hands (not that he spent that much time on Facebook) and that his life wasn't going to be at all affected by anything on Facebook.

So after I did some thinking about all of this I decided to start decluttering my Facebook account.  I deleted about a third of my friends and about half of the pages I "like".  In addition to decluttering, I woke up Friday morning and decided to have a "no Facebook Friday".  It was tough at first, but by the end of the day I really hadn't missed it. Saturday morning I woke up and decided, "what the heck, let's go for 2 days in a row".  This one was really tough because I wanted to follow all of the ISU/Kansas stuff, but I made it!!!  TWO entire days of no Facebook!!  It was....amazing!! Refreshing.  I didn't even feel the slightest bit "out of the loop". In fact, when I woke up Sunday morning and decided to go ahead and check Facebook, I only saw two things I really cared about missing.  The rest of it was just unimportant to me this time.  Even today I have only been on twice and just briefly both times.

The most impressive thing to me about staying off Facebook for 2 whole days is that my cell phone kept a charge for 41 hours!!  On a normal day, my phone needs charged by mid evening.  At the end of the first "no facebook" day, I still had 60% battery power left.  I decided not to charge it that night and it didn't lose power until after 11pm the next night.  I was amazed...and realized what a ridiculous amount of time I spend on Facebook.  I can get so much more accomplished now that I'm not using it as a means to procrastinate all of the things I should be doing.

As I was feeling liberated by not being so absorbed in Facebook, I did some decluttering of my email account too.  I unsubscribed to nearly every company I get emails from and finally got my inbox from 300+ to under 50....it feels so good!!

You all know how much I love to declutter my house, but decluttering my electronic life has been just as exciting!!

Honorable Mention #2

Woo Hoo!  I won another honorable mention award this month for one of the pictures I submitted to the camera club monthly photo contest.  There were 23 entries.

It took me a really long time to decide which 2 pictures to submit (2 is the limit each month).  One day I was feeling like submitting picture A and picture B and then the next day I would decide both of them weren't strong enough and I would choose 2 other pictures.  By the time I decided to just quit contemplating and pick 2 pictures, I had been through 8 different pictures as choices.

Here is the picture that won the honorable mention award:

I'm so excited about this!  I have submitted to the monthly contest twice and have received an award twice.  I am getting points to my name...which are only earned by placing 1st, 2nd, 3rd and HM and are needed to advance categories in the club.  I will now have 2 pictures in the "best of the best" contest next December.

I also submitted the picture below, and while it did get a fairly high score and good review (only 4 points behind the house picture), it wasn't quite high enough.

Crunchy

Crunchy ~

Adjective. Used to describe persons who have adjusted or altered their lifestyle for environmental reasons. (according to the urban dictionary)

This is not a word I would use to describe me, but I love it.  Crunchy.  What a funny thing to be called. I hadn't heard this until recently.  First I saw someone use it on Facebook, and then I heard a friend use it during our conversation.  I love it.  Crunchy.

I have dabbled in a little crunchiness and some of it has stuck, but most has not.  I wouldn't say I do any of it for environmental reasons though, but more for caring for my body or wanting to use less of something (my urge to become a minimalist).  A lot of it seems "trendy" and then when I dig deeper I realize many people have been doing these things for years, but more people are just feeling the urge to take care of themselves and/or the environment. 

Right now, my current "crunch" is using coconut oil as deoderant.  I know, sounds crazy.  I have been using the clinical strength deoderants for as long as I can remember.  They are expensive!  I'm getting tired of paying $8 for a stick of deoderant and started researching less expensive deoderants that might work for me.  I read about several products on the market that I could try, and I did try one...Toms.  I only used it 4 times, but knew it just wasn't going to work.  I did some more reading and this time read about people making their own deoderants....it sounded like way too much work.  One of the ingredients in nearly all of the homemade recipes is coconut oil and I did read where some people are just using that and it is working wonders for them.  As I already own coconut oil I decided to give it a try.  It was quite weird at first, but I'm about a week in and loving it!  My underarm skin that is normally very dry, is actually soft now.  The minimalist in me would LOVE if deoderant is one less thing taking up space in my bathroom drawer.  

One "crunchy" thing that I have held on to is cleaning with my anti-bacterial Norwex cloths.  I love that I don't have to use anything other than a cloth to clean with, and I can rest assured that my counters are actually clean.  Need assurance about the cloths?  Watch this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Pf8iyHHYXE  I also read a study (of course I can't find it now) by a Harvard scientist, who ran a similar test comparing the cloths to cleaning with a paper towel and multipurpose cleaner and the results were clear that the Norwex cloths picked up more bacteria than the paper towel and cleaner.  

As far as food goes...I'm on again, off again with eating all fresh, little-to-no preservative foods. This is true for a lot of things in my life...I just don't want to commit to any one habit :) I prefer to be open to all things...keeps life fun and interesting.  While I sometimes admire those with strict rules/habits for life, I just can't quite get there and find it much more enjoyable to not be stuck with one plan.  I have tried so many times to set rules or schedules for things (like cleaning), but none ever last and I realize how glad I am when they don't.  So Pinterest, take all your schedules/family information books/etc. and go be boring somewhere else.  Okay, Okay, just kidding, I do need a little organization in my life to keep me sane....I like a good balance though.  

Anyway, back to crunchy.  Some other things I tried out were cloth diapers (they are seriously adorable!!), all natural body soap and shampoo, essential oils for teething, amber necklace for teething, and then of course several "all natural" versions of foods. 

I've noticed that those who are "crunchy" in one area, may not be in another.  It's so interesting how we can be so cautious with, for example, what we put ON our bodies (chemical free soaps, lotions, etc), but not care what we put IN our bodies....or vice versa.  I suppose if we all choose at least one area to treat with care, we are doing better than we were.  

What do you do that some consider crunchy??

Too much T.V.???

It's true, my kids definitely watch more t.v. than they should.  I'm not even going to sugar coat that one.  But, I also don't care....for several reasons.

First, there's the obvious....t.v. is a great baby-sitter.  Yep, I said it.  As someone who spends 24/7 with my kids, I can only entertain them for so long and I have plenty of things to get done during the day that require my kids to leave me alone.  My #1 priority is my kids, sure, but this doesn't mean play with them the entire day.  To be a good mom, I need to make sure they have clean clothes, clean sheets, clean bathroom, meals, snacks, etc.  It's also important for me to have a little time to myself for things like showering, exercising, writing grocery list, etc.  As I am awake about the same amount of hours as my kids (well Rylee anyway as she does not nap), this means that many of these things have to get done while the kids are up, and sometimes plopping them in front of the t.v. is the most effective way for me to have them in one spot while I get a few things done.  I can get a lot of tasks completed before an episode of Sesame Street is over!

Second, Rylee learns SO MUCH from watching t.v.  This might sound crazy, but it's so true.  I am completely dumbfounded (never used that word before) when Rylee teaches me about something she learned from t.v.  A few examples of this:

*One day we were in the car and I was teaching her about words that rhyme.  After I mentioned 2 words, she said, "Those are synonyms".  WHAT?!?!?!  After cleaning my ears out to make sure I really heard her say what I thought she said, I asked her to repeat herself.  "They are synonyms, Mom.  They are the same thing".  Holy crap.  I asked her where she learned that and she told me the name of a show she watches. 

*She asked me why the sun moves and when I was thinking about how to answer that I asked her if she knew what a planet was (assuming she did not)....she said, "Yes, planets are in outerspace, just like the sun."  WHAT?!?!?!  "Where did you learn about that??", I asked her.  Again, she named another show.

*She informed me that the hole in her blankie needed patched, just like the way The Cat in the Hat patched a hole in his shirt yesterday.

*At the dinner table one day she started teaching me all about recycling, out of the blue.  When I asked if Daddy taught her that, she told me that she had learned about it on Daniel Tiger.  (As I just asked her which show that was so I could type it in, she told me, "and mom, recycling means to turn something old into something new")

* We watched an episode of Sesame Street last week that talked about levers, and forks were an example they gave of a lever.  At lunch that day Rylee showed me how and why her fork is a lever.  I was impressed!

*My favorite... she sings a song about why it's good to try new foods (that she learned from a show), and she encourages her brother to try new foods....BUT she has ZERO intentions of trying something new on her plate :) This is also the case with the "clean-up" song....of course. 

*The day she took 2 pan lids and banged them together as an instrument, she told me, "mom these are my cymbals".  I asked where she learned about them and she said, "Daniel Tiger".

*During our craft time a few days ago she made a spider with pipe cleaners and told me it needed to have 8 legs.  I asked how she knew that...."Sesame Street"

*Yesterday she was helping me organize the pantry and handed me the tomato juice and said, "Mom, we need to keep this tomato juice in case we get sprayed by a skunk, because that's how you get rid of the smell".  UM.....WHAT?!?!?!  How the HECK do you know that?!?!?!?!  "Learned it on Curious George."

Rylee also uses so many words, and mostly in the right context, that she tells me she learned from her shows.  But why is this important to me?  Can't I teach her all these things?  James and I try to teach our kids new things each day and make every moment a learning opportunity.  I will admit James is much better at this than I am.  But, as the kids and I are only exposed to a limited number of things each day, it's hard for me to think of something random to teach them about.....like when would I use the word 'synonym' in every day conversation, or think to tell her how we get rid of skunk smell??  When the kids watch t.v. they are exposed to so many more things than they would be if we never turned it on (at least in my house anyway).  I will never forget the first time Rylee taught us about something she learned on t.v.......she saw someone's fake palm tree in their yard and said, "Look!  A palm tree!"  We live in Iowa...when would we ever have had the opportunity to point out a palm tree?? (besides that fake one).  Thanks to Dora the Explorer, Rylee knew what it was.  We were shocked...she was barely 2 years old!

We do not have cable (well, just the regular twenty-some channels), so the only shows my kids watch are the ones on PBS Kids, which quite honestly, I find pretty educational...sometimes I even learn something new!  I could live without Caillou and Peg+Cat though...Rylee was not amused at her daddy making fun of Caillou last night....I found it hilarious though....probably a poor teaching moment, whoops.

To be clear, my kids do also have play time where the t.v. is off and they are forced to find something to keep themselves occupied with.  Sometimes it's Rylee reading to Wyatt, both of them playing with his trucks, Rylee dressing him up as a princess....but MOST times this is when they make the biggest mess in our house by taking bowls out of cupboards, clothes out of drawers, rearranging furniture to build forts, etc.  This is another reason I like t.v. time....no mess is made!  I realize that a messy house is the sign of a good day for the kids though.  When I complain about the messes Wyatt makes, my dad says, "sounds like he is having a good day."  But when I'm trying to clean the house, a mess is the last thing I want....maybe I just shouldn't ever clean...hmmm...liking this the more I think about it....

Rylee also has a great imagination and loves to play "pretend".  I'm always amazed at how much detail she puts into her pretend play and I can only assume she learns it from her shows.  I will listen to her talk to herself and the stories she makes up are pretty incredible!

In addition to watching t.v. and having "free play" time, we also read books, play games, do puzzles, chase each other around the house, bake, paint, color, practice writing letters, etc.  But even in a day where we do all of those things, plus go to library story time or play group, there is still always plenty of t.v. time.  It's just part of our day, and probably always will be.  It helps keep me sane and calm the kids down when needed.  Young kids are such little sponges, and the more they can be exposed to, the better.  If we aren't doing anything particular to cultivate their learning, and they ask for it, I will turn the t.v. on for them.  Will I regret it some day?  Maybe.  But for now, I don't see anything negative about it, so long as we are getting in plenty of other educational and developmental activities too.  And besides, if there were ever a PBS Kids Show Quiz Bowl....Rylee would bring home the trophy, no doubt...I'm just prepping her for that :) 

How Many is Too Many???

I'm not talking about question marks, quotation marks, or a long series of periods.....though I realize I use each of those punctuation marks way more than I should.  It's my blog, I do what I want.  

I'm talking about items in our houses that seem to multiply at rapid rates.  Items that we just love and can't get enough of.   As I have been purging my house yet again, I keep finding items that we have several of and face the decision of weeding some of them out.  We had 6 cutting boards, for example.  Who needs that many cutting boards??  And, more importantly, how the heck did I miss that in my last 2 big purges?!?!?!  So, we got rid of 3.  I kept one of each size.  To be completely honest, I could probably get rid of the smallest one too, but I do use it frequently.  Actually I use the 2 smallest ones a lot, and never the large one.  However, hubs uses the large one often.  This is the same issue we have with our whisks.  We have 2, but only need 1.  Unfortunately, he prefers to use the black handled one and I prefer the other one.....so, we will keep them both for now until one of us gives in (likely me).  

A couple weeks ago I saw someone on Facebook asked "how many sets of sheets do you have per bed?"  I was blown away by some of the answers. Who needs 3 sets per bed?!?!  Or 4 or 5?!?! Maybe there is good logic behind this that I'm just not thinking about, but I can't see any reason to have more than 2 sets per bed, and even that is pushing it for me.   I don't take sheets off of a bed until they are ready to go into the washer, and then in less than 2 hours they are ready to be put back on the bed. Simple enough.  I understand kids and nighttime though...I do have 2 sets for their beds.  

But thankfully, we are all different.  While I don't see the need to have a lot of sheets in my house, someone else might think the items I have multiples of is ridiculous.  Here is my embarassing list of things I have a hard time keeping under control...

Coats.  I don't know why, but I have a thing for coats.  I have about 3 for each season.  I mean, in the winter you have to have a nice dressy coat, and a regular every day coat, and a coat that can get dirty.  For spring and fall I have an every day coat, one that can get dirty, and one to wear in the rain.  I also have a coat for those in-between times when the spring/fall coat isn't enough, but winter coat is too heavy.  Nearly every year I buy a new coat, but I choose another to take to Goodwill.  

Bags.  Not hand bags.  I'm talking about tote bags and over night bags.  I have had a Thirty-One obsession and always think I have to have a bag in every one of their prints that I love.  Luckily, that has subsided!   I just like fabric patterns and when I see a bag in a store with a pattern that I love, I immediately start to dream of what I would put into it.  Half the time I purchase it....and then it sits in a closet never used because I already have 2 other similar bags that get more use.  It's ridiculous to be honest.  I've started gaining control of this one.  I got rid of a lot of bags last summer and am now noticing that a majority of the ones I kept haven't even been used since then....I think they can be halved!

Blankets.  Oh blankets.  If it's cute, I want it!  I'm always sitting on the couch under a blanket, no matter the season.  I just bought my favorite blanket ever at Target.  James, Rylee and I all fight over it, so I know it's a winner!  If you're in the market for a super warm, super soft and cozy blanket, ask me about it.  It's oversized too.  Most of the blankets we have though, were given to us.  We have some talented quilters in the family who have gifted us about 8 quilts.  I have also gotten a few throw blankets as gifts.  And I would have to say blankets were the #1 gift item we received when each of the kids were born.  Trying to decide which ones to keep and which ones to get rid of is tough....really tough!  Some we want to keep because they were made by someone special, but the kids/we don't ever use them....so do you keep them, or not??  Toughie.  

Lotion.  I'm always on the hunt for that perfect catch-all lotion.  The one you can use on your hands, legs, face, etc, and actually moisturizes.  I have yet to find it, but might be getting close.  I've only purchased about 20 different lotions in the last 12 months.  I have really dry skin and am super picky about lotion.  I never use one until it's gone.  In fact,  I probably only use about a quarter of a bottle before I move on to the next one.  It's terribly wasteful.  

Chapstick.  Same story with chapstick.  I have been using Carmex for years (the squeeze tube, not the jar) and it has never failed me.  For some reason this past year though, I've been falling for all of the cute chapsticks out there.  I think I have 6 of the EOS right now.  I don't even love that one, but I keep trying different flavors anyway.  Rylee likes them too and as soon as she uses one of mine, I'm done with it because I don't want to share with her.  I also fell for a check-out counter scam...grabbed a cute tube of Carmex chapstick as I was in line (that I did NOT need, but it was pink argyle and super cute), and found out it was $3!!  I still bought it....  

Water bottles.  I know it's bad when Rylee says to me, "You're getting ANOTHER water bottle?!?!?!"  Sometimes I decide that the one I'm using isn't working anymore....and by working I mean it's not helping me get to 60 oz. of water in a day....but usually, it's more about how cute the water bottle is.  I do eventually get rid of the ones I'm not using.  

Gosh, I really am a marketing sucker, huh!?!!!  Make it cute and Emily will buy it.  Ugh.  James kindly reminded me the other day when I bought a new coat (but I had planned to get rid of 3 others), that I am setting a bad example for our kids.  I'm showing that if you don't like something or are tired of it, just go buy new.  It's kinda true.  Dang, I hate when he is right.  But for the most part, I think I do a pretty good job of ridding our house of unnecessary items and dwindling down multiples to the minimum needed.  We probably still have a few too many toys, blankets, DVDs (wait, can you have too many of those??), and a few other things, but we are getting there.   

What do you have too many of??  Is it for a good reason?? 

Photo Friday Leave of Absence

Sorry to my photo fans, but I am taking a little break from picture taking until it gets warmer or I go somewhere interesting.  I much prefer outdoor photos and it is just too cold for that.  I also have a few other projects I'm working on (purging more stuff from my house, family year book, etc.), so a break from photography is needed.

Rylee had her camera out today though, so thought I would share her pictures with you....Enjoy!

Don't mind our ghetto t.v. stand that James has had since college.

Wyatt climbing the pantry shelves.

I think this was supposed to be a picture of Minnie Mouse.

I guess she liked the lines in this image???

Our floor...not sure if this was taken on purpose or not.  But since she took, it I will share the story of this floor with you....  When we bought our land there was an old house on it that the county made us tear down as it was unlivable.  Prior to having it bulldozed, James spent back-breaking hours in very hot, humid temperatures pulling all of the hard wood floors out of every room in the house to be used in our new house....all while battling the bees and wasps that had nested there.  Every room in that house had different wood, so the result was a beautiful multi-colored wood floor for our house.  

Happy Friday!  STAY WARM!!

My real house.

This post is for my sister-in-law who can't imagine my house being messy, and for everyone else who wants to feel good about their "real" house. 

This is my living room right now: 

There are toys, roller skates, remote controls, blankets, kid furniture, kids dishes, and baby wipes on the floor.  You might also notice that Rylee is wearing a gallon ice cream pail on her head....that came from the kitchen.  Wyatt also had one on his head (he is the one who pulled all of my containers out of the cupboard minutes before this was taken), but his is now in the hallway.

In addition to the pail, there is also a puzzle piece and jello box on the hallway floor.  I have walked past both of the latter items about 5 times today and haven't bothered to pick them up.  I don't pick up toys all day, because if I did....well, I wouldn't have any reason to do squats as part of my work-out, and that would just be a shame. 

As Rylee no longer sleeps in her room (she sleeps in Wyatt's room...which now contains a full size mattress, a crib, a dresser, cube shelfs, and a rocking chair -- a mess in itself), I moved a bunch of their toys to her room to help contain the mess in the living room.  Here is what that room looks like right now:

Obviously, moving toys to another room didn't help the living room situation much.  Now they (mostly Wyatt), just drag shoes from the mudroom and dishes from the kitchen to the living room.  And, this happens too:

He also grabbed the mason jars from my Goodwill pile (which I clearly don't have in a good spot) and brought them to the living room....and then did this...

That's my couch and the jar WAS unused.

I used to tell my kids that they are the reason we can't have nice things and I would get really mad at them for making messes like this.  But recently I realized I AM the reason we can't have nice things.  I don't have the patience or willingness to keep food and drinks out of the living room.  It's only my own fault when these messes take place.

Luckily, vacuuming was on my list of things to do today....although before the crumbs happened I didn't actually plan to vacuum.  Here is the rest of my list that I wrote yesterday and still have yet to complete:

I did do the kids' laundry, but it's still sitting in the dryer.  I chose blogging over folding/hanging.  The rest of the list is still "to do". 

My kitchen actually looks decent at the moment.

But what you can't see is the piles of stuff that was all over the counter a couple of hours ago (which gave me inspiration for this post).  I had dirty dishes from breakfast, along with a bunch of containers the kids were playing with that needed to be rinsed since their germy hands touched them, a pile of clean dishes to put away, pans in the sink from last night's supper and this morning's breakfast, and Rylee's art stuff -- ALL OF IT!  As soon as I turned the t.v. off this morning, Rylee of course wanted to do an art project...I almost just turned the t.v. back on because I knew that her arts n crafts would mean more work for me.  There was also container lids and random shoes all over the floor.  In addition, there was cottage cheese smeared into the hardwood floor, because Rylee insisted we eat lunch on the floor today (can't argue with a 3 year old) and she's still messy.

So, there you go.  A glimpse at my house on a "normal" day.  I do prefer my house to be picked up, but most days I don't see any point in doing so until the kids are done playing for the day.  All of you mama's who pick up all day long....stop!  You're making me look bad!  Actually that's why I wanted to post this....

A friend mentioned that when you go to someone's house and it is clean and spotless every time, it makes you feel like a bad house keeper and maybe not as comfortable in their home.  This is the "every day" look at my house and I hope no one ever believes that my house is spotless all the time just because it appears that way when they enter.  I do like to have my house picked up and clean when guests come over not because I want them to think I'm super neat and clean all the time, but because I see it as a sign of respect for my guests. That being said, I wouldn't feel disrespected if I entered someone's home and it was messy -- especially if they have kids, because I totally understand that kind of mess. 

So, the moral of my story is...don't look at the dust in my house and I won't look at yours :)  

How many loads of laundry?

Have you ever wondered how many loads of laundry you actually get out of a container vs what the bottle says you will get?  I tried to keep track on a regular size bottle once and I got lazy half way through.  Recently though, I bought one of Tide's mini bottles to try out and figured since it says 5 loads, I could handle tracking at least that many.

I never buy Tide because it's expensive.  I have read several articles stating that Tide really does clean better than other detergents, but I've never had issues with any detergent getting my clothes clean.  I do love the way Tide smells though, so occasionally I will indulge.

I don't use the recommended amount of laundry soap, never have, never will.  I also don't use the recommended amount of dish soap in my dishwasher either.  I use less, much less.  Think about it... if the soap company makes money off of the consumer purchasing their soap, they probably want you to go through it quick so you have to buy more, often.

I also don't use the recommended amount, because I have never needed to.  Our clothes just don't seem dirty enough for a whole cap full of soap.  The kids and I only wear an article of clothing one time (other than jammies, which get 2 nights, and my jeans that get 2 wearings) and then it goes into the laundry basket.  I always spray stains with a stain remover right away, and that seems to take care of them...other than the tough ones that aren't going to go away for anything...(oil and grease from James working in the garage).  

The final reason I don't use the recommended amount is that James doesn't like his clothes to be scented.  Since I do, and am not going to wash our clothes separately, I just use much less soap so it isn't so over powering.

This particular bottle says to use 1 cap full for medium loads and 1.5 for large loads.  HA!  My loads are ALWAYS large (because why do laundry until you just can't fit one more thing onto the dirty pile?) and I have never used an entire cap full.

So, take a guess at how many loads I got out of this small bottle that says "5 loads" on the front???

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.

.

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12 loads!  That was $2.99 well spent!

Perfect Parent

Does social media have you feeling like a mediocre parent?  You read about all of these wonderful things you "should" be doing with your child and aren't, or "follow" someone who appears to be the perfect parent.  But what I want to know is....What does the perfect parent look like??

Does the perfect parent work so their child can go to daycare and have other kids to play with, or

Does the perfect parent stay home with their child to be the one caring for them 24/7?

Does the perfect parent let their child sleep with them every night so they won't get scared, or

Does the perfect parent make their child sleep in their own room to learn independence?

Does the perfect parent use all natural products on their child's skin so they aren't exposed to chemicals, or

Does the perfect parent let the child use "regular" soap because their favorite character is on the bottle?

Does the perfect parent feed their child only nutritious food to teach them about healthy eating and get them on the right foot from the beginning, or

Does the perfect parent let their child have McDonald's when they ask, because it will make their day?

Does the perfect parent let their child go to public school to be with peers, or

Does the perfect parent homeschool their child to control their curriculum?

Hopefully you see my point here, which is that there isn't ONE type of perfect parent.  Recently, I spent an evening with 3 of my mommy friends and as I was reflecting on our conversations I realized that even though we all have some different opinions, I would still call each one of them a great parent!  In fact, ALL of my friends who are moms are great parents!  There are so many more things we can relate to than argue about and sharing our common "mom" stories is so much fun!  

Just because something doesn't work for me or in my home, it doesn't mean it can't work in someone else's home (remember: not my circus, not my monkeys).  Perfect parents are in nearly every home.  To me, the perfect parent is the one who:

* loves their child(ren) unconditionally

* would never harm their child or put their child in harm's way

* wants the best for their child (whatever "best" is to them)

I would also say that you are a successfully PERFECT parent if the following is true:

* your child(ren) loves you

* your child(ren) trusts you

* your child(ren) are comfortable with you

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that if your child(ren) were placed in a room with 10,000 sets of parents and given the freedom to choose a set to go home with....they would choose YOU ...and that makes you the PERFECT PARENT!  

The news has been horribly sad lately, lots of it involving young children dying.  Each time I read one of these tragic stories (which always seem to be about 3 year old girls, which hits way too close to home), all I can think about is loving my children.  In those moments, I no longer care about what society says I should be doing, or not doing, with my children.  I just want to be their momma and that's good enough for me.  I know in their eyes, I am the PERFECT mom, and theirs are the only opinions I care about. 

Here is another fun blog post to read about feeling comfortable with your parenting:

http://www.scarymommy.com/the-mom-i-judge/

Photo Friday #12

Happy New Year, Everyone!!  I've been working on our 2014 family year book....which means sorting through 2,500 pictures for the best to be used, since Shutterfly only allows 111 pages in a photobook!  Luckily, I was organized and uploaded pictures into their correct month folder throughout the year to save time as I put the book together. 

Viewing all of the pictures from our year has been so much fun.  I'm reminded of things I had forgotten about and smiles are brought to my face as I realize what silly kids I have!  I sure hope they enjoy these year books someday and don't think I over-documented their life (I also have their baby books and journals where I write to them often).  I have a lot of fun making keepsakes for them.

For this Photo Friday I thought I would share a few of my favorites of the kiddos from the year.  I have so many it was hard to choose, but I hope you enjoy the ones I picked.  Some are pictures that "only a mother could love" :)

Favorites of my beautiful, silly girl:

On her 3rd Birthday in her new outfit she wanted to wear right away

I have so many of her in boots and shorts...its just the cutest!  And the way she so independently "grocery shops" with the little cart....it's too much! 

This girl LOVES her sunnies!! 

Being silly wearing Daddy's hat.  I got several great shots of her in this moment. They all have REAL expressions, which are hard to capture of her.

So funny that she had to have her frog floatie for the little yard pool :)

Makes me laugh every time!  "Look Mom, I made a hat!"

Sleeping beauty.  Precious.

The "Belle" of the ball.

It's so rare that she lets us pull her hair back in a ponytail..but she looks so cute (and so young) when we do.

I can't quite describe what I love about this one; I just do.

Watching for Rudolph in her super cute Christmas jammies.

Post bath.  The sun was shining so pretty in her room.

One of the MANY pictures I love from her 3 year shoot.

Another that I took - 3 year shoot.

Post hair cut...loved the braid!

Shaking her little tush at a 4th of July party. I love to watch her dance and loved this outfit she wore!

Boots and shorts.  Like I said earlier...cute!

Miss attitude.

Too adorable! 

And some Favorites of my handsome, silly Boy:

Just silly like a boy!

This might be one of our favorite faces he makes.

So excited about the baby animals at the fair.

Post hair cut.  My #1 favorite picture of him ever!!!!  So handsome!

Because I had to, right?!?!

Watching Daddy run the skid loader.

Just too precious.  Holding Daddy's hand and carrying his candy bucket.  My lil pumpkin.

Lil pumpkin needs his momma.

So many drool pictures!  I really loved the coloring in this one...his eyes pop and his hair is crazy!

Just sweet.

I got some of the best pictures of him while he was strapped into the high chair.

Love love his little pose in this one.  Oh the hair...

I know he's crying, but I still love this one!

Adorable in his carhartt bibs!

Post bath.  Daddy combed his hair back.  Oh that smile!!!  :)  My #2 favorite picture!!

Sweetness.

Not sure why I love this one, just do.

He looks so mature.

A boy and his tractor.

Bibs, hat, bean field...farm boy!



And finally, some favs of them together:

They both hold their blankies up to their faces when they are tired.

Sitting in a laundry basket.

I just love this one...great picture of my 3 loves.

Rylee loving on her brother...Wyatt trying to breathe :)

I think this was on Rylee's birthday. I don't know why I like it...maybe the crazy hair they both have.

Love the way Wyatt is looking at Rylee while she talks to him.

I have several pictures like this...just love how much she always wants to help care for him.

CHEERS to a happy, healthy new year!!!