Tuesday, August 24, 2010

It's not just the garage...

I wish I could blame all my, ahem, clutter on my wonderful Mother in law, but the truth is it's a problem we've had since moving here 6 years ago.

I'm an "everything in it's place" girl, and the fact is we just don't have a place for everything. And, I believe, that's because we simply have too much!!

So far, I've gone through each closet and got rid of clothes that don't fit/have a stain/or damaged. I've also gone through the kids toys, and if it was broken it got thrown away. Any unnecessary toy got given to family with little or no toys. Since then, my kids are actually playing better! They enjoy the toys they have, and can find them (imagine that!).

I've filed all paperwork and have a place for unpaid bills- I'm finding it less stressful because I know where everything is!!

By nature, I'm a "piler". I make a pile for everything... I'm working on that! At the end of the day, I have a pile for Lily's stuff, Logan's stuff, unpaid bills, laundry, stuff that needs to go in my car, etc. But, each night I'm taking 15 extra minutes to clear the piles (well, the one's that can be cleared). This makes my mornings easier and less stressful. I think once I find a home for every orphaned item, that task will be easier, too!

For now, I'm enjoying cutting the clutter. It's cathartic!

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Less is MORE

Alternately titled: Out with old, in with the... well NOTHING hopefully.

We have too much stuff. We live in a beautiful home, 4 bedrooms, 2 baths, and adequate living space. Our problem, however, is we have too much stuff!!

I am a purger- I always have been, always will be. I do hold on to somethings for sentimental value, but my hard and fast rule is "if it hasn't been used/worn in 6 months (with the exception of seasonal items) it's going to Good Will". My hubby on the other hand has clothes that he wore his senior year of high school... no seriously he does. Which would be totally fine if he wasn't adding to his collection- but he is... and it's craziness.

My mother in law is a self proclaimed "stuff girl". She knows how to place it, stack it, pack it, fit it, and organize it. She's an interior designer and her home is beautiful; it looks like a showroom for a magazine. However, it's not functional for a family of 4 and not functional for a stay at home mom with two small children.

Anyway, in love, she passes down stuff to me. I in the past, have purged the things I don't want- then she says "I see you don't have the [insert purged item here] out anymore. May I have it back?" Me "uh....."

So now, after being questioned several times, I have kept things I'm not using in order to ahem avoid having an awkward conversation. Now I have a garage full of stuff I don't want. FULL.

Today, I'm purging. Out with the old, in with the... well NOTHING.

I'm learning to be content with what I have.

Playgroup

When I was pregnant with Logan, I joined our local MOMS club. I didn't know anyone else that was having a baby, and I really wanted to connect with people in the same life stage.

For a time, it was the perfect fit. We went on field trips, had monthly meetings, had Holiday parties, and made friends (that were all with in 5 miles!). But the great thing about the MOMS club was the weekly playgroup. We met every Friday morning at 10am and would have 2-15 kids at any given time! Each person on the "playgroup roster" would take a turn hosting in their home.

But, as time went on an the children got older, our chapter of the MOMS club got very small. Many members were phasing out because their older children were school age, and wrapped up in other actives.

Logan and I were very involved in the club. I even served on the board two years in a row, VP the first year, President the second.

There were some negative things about the club- but overall it was so much fun, and kept us busy for three years.

The last year I was in the club, my very close friend (and fellow MC member) got pregnant with sextuplets. A member of the club, E, came to me and asked if I would like to help her with an event she was putting together to help raise money for sextuplet's family. Of course, I was eager to help!!

As I got more involved in the "Baby Shower", I started to witness something I've never seen before. My partner, E, wasn't doing this shower for the family- she was doing it to glorify the Lord. The more I got to know her, the more I wanted to be around her. I was a "lost Christian" when she found me, wondering around the same mountain for years until she picked me up turned me around and put me on the right path. She became (and still is) my "Spiritual Mother".

We held the event at her Church. It was perfect- AND we raised over $1,000 for the family!!

Over time "her Church" became MY Church, and I'm so happy it did.

Anyway, after the shower, our friendship continued. We had SO much in common, and we were spending lots of time together.... and when we weren't together, we were talking on the phone.


Our friendship grew, and so did our bellies! We got pregnant at the exact same time!! We were only eight days apart!! It was so wonderful experiencing such a special thing with someone so special to me.

Now, we get together with another sweet friend and our little ones play while we have playgroup. It's the BEST set up EVER!! No MC drama, no gossip, no negative talk. Just slightly inappropriate jokes, Starbucks coffee, and friends.

Monday, August 16, 2010

Football

It has been an incredible summer for us! Our family truly enjoyed spending the hot summer days (and nights, and mornings, and afternoons) together.

But, now it's time to get back on track and on a schedule... or somewhat of a routine.

One day while Logan was watching a movie, he expressed interest in "joining a team". Excited, I signed him up for the next available sport. Football.

Practices are once a week in the evening, and he has 8am games on Saturday morning- which probably sounds awful for y'all, but here on the surface of the sun it's actually the BEST time for a game, cause it's only 94 degrees outside at that hour.

This is Logan's first exposure to team sports, and all things considered he's done really well. He has a young coach, and he's so patient with Logan- and all the others. We have the smallest team, so the past two games we've "borrowed" a player from the other team ;)

In the beginning of the game, Logan's excited and running; but the end of the game he's chasing dragonflies. He even ran the other direction when he had the ball last week ;)

I just love spending my time watching my kids grow and learn.

Strangers in the Rain

One dark and stormy night (okay, it wasn't dark- but it WAS raining!) I was driving my very young toddler down the slippery street. It had just started raining and I was on my way home from a VERY long day. My husband had been sent to the emergency room from work, and my eighteen month old was staying with my Mom. Once he got the all clear to leave (he was fine, just a REALLY bad case of indigestion), he drove home while I picked up Logan.

I was going about 65 miles an hour on a busy street- I was rushing cause I was exhausted and so ready to be home. Before I knew it, my car was spinning and totally out of control. After what seemed like hours, I stalled to a stop on the side of the VERY busy road and I climbed out of my car. We weren't hurt, but I had no idea what happened. I did a "check of the lights" on my dash, but everything seemed fine.

So, I got out of my car to see if everything was okay. What was once a tire was shredded all over the road. There was nothing on my rim. Nothing.

I didn't know what to do, so I pulled Logan out of the car, put him in an umbrella stroller (in the rain remember) because I was more concerned that someone would ram into us going, well, 65 miles an hour.

You see, it was rush hour, on a busy street, with NO side walk, no bike lane, nothing.

After I get Logan safely buckled in, I call my husband. Who calls his Mom. Who calls her husband. They're all AT LEAST 45 minutes away from me, and I'm standing in the pouring rain with a toddler on a busy street. Of course we call AAA but what I really wanted was a dry place to put my baby (and myself, but of course, him first).

All of sudden a big white beat up truck pulls up behind me. A tall dark middle aged man came running towards me.

At that moment I said a silent prayer, and looked around me. The cars came rushing by like I was a nobody, and my only witnesses were the 30 goats in the field next to me.

By the time he got to me, he was screaming "open your trunk" over the roar of the rain.

I had to think fast, because surely this would be the time and place that I would die. I pushed Logan's stroller as close to the goats as possible and asked God to please let a family member find him if I nor the car were no longer here. I gripped my keys between my fingers and I held my cell phone as tight as I possibly could. I thought if he threw me in the car I could at least call 911, or I could do that thing I saw on Oprah one time and kick out the tail light. I just hoped that he didn't knock me out first.

I did what he said out of fear. He worked fast. He moved all my "mom gear" from the trunk to the back seat. And then he did the unthinkable.

He lifted the carpet and used this crazy looking square tool and started spinning it. Then from underneath the car popped out my spare tire.

There he was, in the pouring rain, changing my tire. A stranger's tire. Just then my husband calls me.

I answer the phone. He asks my a barage of questions, none of which I can remember now. All I remember asking him is "what should I do?" He told me, "Give him all the cash you have. Everything in your wallet."

It took the man several minutes to finish, and by the time he had my husband was less than a mile away.

I pulled out my wallet and handed him the money.

He wouldn't take it. He just said (and this is not an exact quote cause it's been several years but this is as close as it gets) "My rewards are not of this world. I'm building my treasures in Heaven."

Yes you are.

And let me tell you, that was a defining moment for me. I'll never forget that man and what he did for me that day. I look forward to telling him that in "person" when we're in Glory.