Operation Remove the Excess

So blog...you might be wondering what the heck I've been doing lately, since it's obviously not blogging.

Well, I have been busy chasing these two around. The big one has decided to get into a bit of preschool trouble again and the little one is exploring the joys of being two, which appear to include all manner of throwing - objects and fits.

But what's really has been distracting me is my house.  Or rather all the stuff that's inside my house.  There is nothing like the avalanche of new possessions from the holidays to work me into a decluttering frenzy.  I've been sorting, organizing and donating like a mad thing this past month. 

I think the highlight was discovering not one, but two giant warehouse store size containers of mustard that had been expired for more than two years.  We moved about a year ago so this means we MOVED giant expired mustard...I think that's a crystal clear sign that a little decluttering and reorg is order.

So I've gotten rid of a ton of stuff.  I've gone through the kids' outgrown clothes, the toy stash, my closet, my childhood stuff, the whole kitchen, my desk (which was slightly horrifying) and everything else I thought I could get away with without driving my poor husband crazy.

I have also bought a handful of "organizing" stuff.  I've bought some files folders and magazine racks and that sort of these, but this is my favorite project so far. 

I'm a big fan of earrings, but all my jewelry was shoved into a little jewelery box and I ended up only wearing two pairs on top. But now all my favorite jewelry is easily accessible! (My horrible photography doesn't do this jewelry tree justice, trust me in real life it's a beauty.)

I once read a organizing ideas book that suggested you arrange your clothing and accessories so that they look like a boutique.  It sounds silly, but I've been experimenting with the concept and I am  now a believer.  Every morning I get to "shop" my wardrobe, which is infinitely more pleasant than digging through an over stuffed closet.  All my old stuff seems so much more desirable and stylish when it's displayed rather than crammed.

I've also a big fan of this new purchase!  I know it doesn't look like much, but these white doors now hide all the DVDs and children's CD that used to be overflowing a cheap bookcase type rack.  We had definitely outgrown the old storage years ago and had been piling DVDs on top of it in a haphazard, potentially dangerous fashion.  Not a good look and not a good design with small children about for many reasons.

Eliminating the temptation to remove all the movies is game changing.  I love decorating my house in a way that limits the number of time I have to say "no".
 

It's still a work in progress, but Operation Remove the Excess has been wildly successful this past month.  Our house is running much smoother.  It's kind of amazing how liberating it is to get rid of the extra junk in your life.  I feel much more in control of my world.

Maybe next month I should tackle operation get the blog back in gear!

Mastering Good Giving

I’m trying to up my game and start giving better presents.  There have been several occasions in the past when my extended family ended up just exchanging gift cards and frankly that’s pretty lame.  Once both cards were even to the same store, but different amounts…awkward.  Definitely not the stuff of holiday legend. 

To be fair, I think gift cards are an excellent choice when somebody has need.  We have an elderly relative with tight finances and we routinely send her gift cards.  And I personally think it’s okay to send teenagers money.  I have a brother who is in college and a niece in high school.  I accept that I am too uncool to pick good presents for them, but I figure their cash flow is pretty tight. 

But other than that, I want to avoid gift cards in general.  But coming up with great presents is trickier than it seems.  I really hate the idea of giving people crap they don’t really want.  I really hate clutter and waste and I don’t want to add to piles of unused, unloved stuff in anybody’s house.  So what’s a girl to do? 

I’ve starting writing down gift ideas whenever something captures my attention. If somebody mentions an old movie they love but do not own, it goes on the list even if it’s February.  I think it will help, but only time will tell.   I'm not crafty (to be clear, I'm...not...crafty...at...all) so handmade is pretty much out unless it's baked goods, which I can handle.  We’ve also been trying to buy experiences and not stuff.  This summer my sister and I are taking my mom to the beach for a week to celebrate her 60^th birthday.  I think trips and tickets and that sort of thing are ideal for people who don’t really “need” anything, but I live far from my family and sometime the coordination is challenging.  

So I was curious, what is the best gift you got for Christmas?  What made it so good? 

I personally love it when people buy me things I secretly want, but I’m too cheap to buy for myself... like fancy lotion or good chocolate. And this Christmas, I got the best present ever.  My boss tends to give gifts, rather than bonuses and this year I unexpectedly received a Kindle Fire from him.  I had been coveting one, but I have a hard time dropping $200 on something for myself that is more of a want than a need.  If he had just given me the money, I would have put in the college funds, but since he gave me the Kindle, I get to love it guilt free – and I do LOVE it. 

Obviously I can’t drop hundreds of dollars on everybody on my list, but I’d love to hear any other ideas about what makes a gift special and memorable.  I’m trying my best to master the art of gift giving, but I could use a little help. 

Hope you are all having a great Friday!

PS - I'd also like to thank Mommy to Mommy for this award!

Drive This!

Did you see this article? - Insurance study: Women are better drivers than men

I have to say this headline made me happy.  I've heard many a cheap shots taken at "bad women drivers".  I know plenty of crappy drivers and they certainly aren't all female.  SO TAKE THAT!!!! (Is it a bad sign I'm feeling defensive about this issue?)

I suspect that we ladies are more likely to drive around with a car full of children and I've often wondered if that isn't the cause of our bad driving reputation. My worst driving moments are usually inspired by loud screaming coming from the back seat. 

With real little ones you also get to worry about choking, siblings physically harming each other and projectiles flying at you from behind. And that stage when kids first learn to undo their seat belts, that was a pretty special time of unsafe driving around these parts. 

Children have certainly added an element of surprise to the driving experience. I admit I've had some bad driver moments, especially since becoming a mother.  That said, I don't have crappy driving moments because I have ovaries, I have them because I'm human.

Really, I think it's amazing that the study showed women are safer drivers.  Obviously not every woman drives around herds of children, but I honestly would have mommy car pools of the world would have tipped it to favor the guys.  I guess moms have even more super powers than I thought.

Adding a 2 to my 3

Today is my 32nd birthday.  I always thought I'd mind getting older, but so far my 30s really have been better than my 20s were.  I feel much more at peace with my world these days. And I get cards like this one, which is pretty awesome.

It's an interesting year because it marks 10 years since I graduated college and 10 years since I met my husband.  Back when I was 22 I had a master plan which definitely didn't include getting married before 30... which just makes me laugh.

This will also be a year of transitions.  My little man will go off to full day kindergarten in the fall.  I also plan to send my baby girl to preschool two mornings a week next year.  This means I will be child free for 6 hours during the week, something that I find very bittersweet but am secretly very much looking forward to.

In the next year or so, my house should also become a diaper free zone and Audrey will move to a big girl bed.  I have a hard time imagining a world without diapers, cribs and nap time. 

In the last 5.5 years, I've been pregnant twice, nursed two babies for a year each and devoted most of myself to being a mom.  I wouldn't want it any other way, but I am looking forward to having a bit more time to follow my own passions.  And going to the bathroom by myself, I definitely miss that.

I think 32 is going to be a fun year.  There are so many changes occurring and my kiddos are at such fun ages. 

Have a wonderful day!

Melt My Heart

We had our first snow of the year today! I thought it was only supposed to rain, but there have been big fluffy flakes falling for the last couple of hours. 
 

Honestly, my first thoughts when I saw the snow were not positive.  I started thinking about the hassle of shoveling and the logistics of the whole winter thing. 

And then I saw the huge grins on my kiddos faces. 

Somehow, I'd forgotten the magic of a first snow.  I'd forgotten that this is really the first winter Audrey can play outside.  Last year at this time she wasn't even walking.  I'd forgotten about all the winter adventures my son had last year, partly because I was usually inside with the baby while the boys (J and his dad) explored the season.

So we changed our plans.  We dug out the boots and the snowsuits.  We found everybody a hat and some gloves.  And we headed out.

Was it a all a bit of pain in the behind?  Yup.  It took longer than I'd imagined to get everybody bundled for the snow, especially since Audrey kept removing articles of clothing faster than I could put them back on.  The aftermath of the adventure is also pretty impressive, my laundry is covered with wet stuff. 

Was it all worth it?

Absolutely.

These kiddos of mine really do melt my heart.  My life is so much more fun with them in it.

A New Year

So I know I’m a bit behind with this, but I think I finally figured out my resolution for the year.  At first, I thought that maybe it would be good to work on saying “yes” more.  No seems have become my default answer lately and I don’t really want to live that way. 

Lately, I find myself declining invitations because they seem like too much work or I’m too tired.  And that is definitely not good.  You’ll miss out on all the good stuff with that kind of mindset.  I’ve also been saying no too often to the kiddos.  Obviously, there are definitely times when the answer has to be “no” (like the continual request for cookies for breakfast and wanting to play swords with butter knives), but I could certainly say yes more than I do.  Usually saying “yes” takes more energy or makes a bigger mess, but I suspect that’s the stuff that makes the best memories.

After thinking about it, I realized that the trick is to learn when to say no so that you have the energy to say yes to the important stuff.  I have yet to master this one .  Even as I’m saying no to all kinds of fun stuff, I end up saying yes to all sorts of obligations.   I find myself agreeing too often to volunteering, donating and to doing too many work projects.  Then I end up exhausted and end up saying no to the stuff I really care about.  Sometimes it’s hard for me to accept that I only have a finite amount of energy. 

I get asked to volunteer and donate so often that it’s kind of crazy.  And I’m happy to do my fair share (as much as I pretend to be a slacker mom, I really not).  But it’s easy for all the little requests to swallow up half your day. If you’re a SAHM type and you tried to say yes to everything people ask you to do, you’d end up losing your mind (or at least I do…). 

So what I really want to do this year is work on that elusive balance of yes and no.  I want to say yes to my kiddos as often as possible.  More fun, more silliness, more playing, more trips to the park.  (For the record, this does not mean I will buy them more stuff.  It’s still no in the toy store.)  I’d like to happily accept the fun invites and work on politely declining the other ones.  I’m working on figuring out which volunteer projects I’d really like to do and which ones I should pass on.  I’d like to say no more often so that I’m able to say yes when I really want to, if that makes any sense.

I think it’s going to be a good year.  Happy 2012 everyone.

This Time of Year

I love this time of year.

I don't mean the holiday season as a whole (although I not a holiday hater by any means).

But I love this time specifically...the few days before Christmas when the work is pretty much done.  The decorations are up, the  presents are bought, the packages are mailed, the cards are sent, and the menus are pretty much planned.

I still have a pretty serious amount of wrapping that needs to happen, but there is plenty of time to stop for a moment and just enjoy. 

My kiddos are definitely bouncing off the wall with pre-Christmas excitement, but I think that's pretty normal.  I'm sure all the sugar cookies aren't helping matters...  But really, it's just nice that they are old enough to enjoy the season.  Sometimes it's hard to be the one that makes all the magic happen, but there is undeniable magic in the air right now.

My in laws arrive tomorrow and then our celebration will officially begin.  I'm going to try my best to enjoy it all and not stress over the little stuff. (Or even the big stuff...)

Happy Holidays everyone!  I hope you and yours have a great holiday.

P.S- While I lost my blog mojo, this happened...

My baby girl turned 2!  I am experiencing the bittersweet reality of your baby not really being a baby any longer.