Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Friday, September 23, 2011
Winds of change
The only thing that never changes is the fact that everything changes.
Have you ever experienced the truth in that statement? Have you ever felt like the very earth beneath your feet is elementally shape-shifting where you stand? I have been almost drowning in the sensation recently and I gotta say, for the most part it has not been a pleasant companion to keep. I enjoy change in the context of keeping life interesting and exciting; trying a new restaurant, experimenting with new recipes, testing out a new sport or exercise, vacationing somewhere different, etc. However, other kinds of change are not always so fun and enjoyable for me, especially when they involve my children growing up. Talk about earth shifting! I have been "shifted" 3 times recently in this arena and after the initial jolt and aftershocks wore off, I am doing well, thriving even, despite the fact that I felt quite sure I was not going to make it through to the other side of any of these shifts in less than 1 million irreparable pieces. This is my story.
Breannah starting Kindergarten
On the 7th of September @ exactly 8:15 am Central Standard time, my firstborn went off to all day, every day kindergarten. To say that this was hard for me would in all honesty be the most underwhelming understatement of the above, middle and underworld combined. lol I have a friend who also sent her firstborn to kindergarten this year and here is what she had to say about it,
Breannah is not riding the bus to school, but I TOTALLY related to that statement. If felt like I was rubbing a cats fur in the wrong direction and it made me feel just as discombobulated and pissed off as that same poor cat. Going.....against....the grain.....is H.A.R.D with a capital duh!
But, despite what my mommy emotions were telling me, "Don't let her go! It's dangerous! They'll ruin her!", my head knew that she was SO ready for this next milestone and I needed to let her take that step. One of my more rational fears was that I would loose my composure in front of her on the big day and I so very badly didn't want to taint her excitement and boy was she ever excited, let me tall ya. But, I am proud to announce that I was able to get my crying done a couple days before the big day and when lift off finally did occur there wasn't a wet eye to be found, at least not between Bre and I, some of the other Moms @ drop off time were a different story.
She of course had a fabulous day and her teacher said she didn't once ask for me or when I was coming to get her. lol I was actually very relieved by this announcement because I would much rather her be having the time of her life without me than be miserable the whole time we are separated. Wes and I had a lovely afternoon together as well on our first day of this new adventure together. We went out for a special Mommy & Wesley lunch date which was so very nice, for both of us. We shared a booth, chicken fingers & fries, my lemon water, chocolate cake and lots of giggles and sweet moments. It was precious and ministered to my aching heart just where I needed it most on that difficult morning and I knew that I was going to be ok.
The only thing that never changes is the fact that everything changes.
Shift happens and sometimes it really sucks, but sometimes the new view can be quite nice once you get over the initial shock.
Using a paper chain to count down the days left till school starts.
First day breakfast!
KINDERGARTEN!!!
Sharing left over lunch and a snuggle on the playground after school.Friday, September 9, 2011
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
A...B...C...D...Ice Cream
We were playing a phonics matching game after supper last night. Wesley drew a card with a certain picture on it and decided to tell us how to spell it. :-)
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Saturday, September 3, 2011
A Future In Public Speaking?
DISCLAIMER: This was NOT scripted, rehearsed or directed. I asked her if I could video her reading a book so we could show Meemaw (my Mother) and she was MORE than willing to oblige. :-)
Thursday, September 1, 2011
A Cure For What Ails Me
Purge
Therapy
I love our home. Our home is very quaint. It is a cape cod that sports a red brick front, 2 adorable dormers on the front, a wood burning fire place, hardwood floors, a 3 season porch and arched doorways to name a few of it's more fetching qualities. The first time we looked at this house, 10 years ago, I walked in the front door and I knew I was home. Our house has loads of personality points and just as many "quirks". You know the annoying things that just don't work quite right. One of the biggest "quirks" of our little charmer that drives Matt especially crazy is that most of the house has been wired into 1 breaker. SO, for instance, you can't run the microwave and a space heater upstairs at the same time because you will loose power to 3/4 of the house including the basement where the breaker box is located. However, despite it's many drawbacks I still adore our home and I have loved working on improving it whether that means reflooring the kitchen, tearing off wallpaper in the dining room, refinishing the wood work or organizing the closets, cabinets and crannies. That's right, I consider de-cluttering to be a home improvement project.
Purge Therapy is what I have affectionately started calling it when I get the urge to improve our living quarters, but our budget does not allow for the cost of demolishing any non-load bearing walls. I want to make our home better, I want us to be able to relax in it even more than we already do, to live in it easier and for our living space to reflect who we are as a family more and more accurately. So, when the purse strings are cinched to tightly for any major or even minor remodeling I have found that my urge for home improvement can be satisfied with a good ol' purge. I grab a box or a couple garbage bags, head for a closet or dresser or cabinet and let the cleansing commence.
This is the book that really got me going on the power of purging. The book is divided into room by room chapters on how to go through the things in each area and how to eliminate a) the things that are not used by your family on a regular basis and b) things that you do not absolutely love. I decided to read a chapter, and then work completely through that section of my house before I would allow myself to read the next chapter. And believe me it IS work, mental (keep give or throw?), emotional (but so and so gave this to us as a wedding present) and physical (when I am "done" I still have to haul all this stuff all the way out to the truck or garbage or put the keep stuff back where it belongs) I approached this ginormous task in this piecemeal manner because I knew I couldn't bite it all off at once or I would choke on my own aspirations of clutter-less-ness. It has been slow going for sure and I am still not done yet. I stalled out when I got to the garage/storage area chapter because that feels like a monumentally enormous job that I don't feel I can do on my own. I not even sure what half the stuff in those areas are for let alone if they are useful or not and none of it looks particularly beautiful to my eyes. I could enlist the assistance of my dear hubby but I have learned that he is of the "let's not get rid of it because we might have a need for it ten years down the road" persuasion. So, in matters of purging where his opinion is requested...slim to none ever goes. Maybe those areas will never get a good cleansing but that's ok, because I have tackled our main living areas where we spend most of our time and I know for my part the reduction of mental noise caused by useless clutter all around me has been reduced dramatically. I no longer have a Tupperware hell in my kitchen and I can, for the most part, reach in and find what I need right away. What I find to be truly interesting, and what actually inspired this post was the no matter how many times I purge an area, no matter how many bags or boxes of "another person's treasure" take a one way trip out our front door, there always seems to be more to purge.
Now granted, it takes us a lot longer to fill all those boxes and bags than it did in the beginning, but we are still filling them none the less. Point in case, I have purged almost every room in our house at least once sometimes more than that in the last year, but I still keep a bag in the bottom of my closet where all the "give" items throughout the house that inevitably come up are deposited until the bag is full enough to warrant a trip down the stairs and out the door to the back of the truck. Here is was I hauled out to the truck this morning:
3 big bags full, 3 boxes, an old jewelery chest and a couple unused hunting coats. Whew! I feel much better all ready! That is what is so great about Purge Therapy! When I am feeling home improvement-ish and without the funds to re-tile the shower or even when I am feeling stressed out and not in control of anything in my life, I can get myself some FREE therapy for what ails me and I get instant gratification, instant results and instant control over something that was out of hand...clutter!
So, my advice to you? Take 2 Purge Therapy pills and call me in the morning. You'll be glad you did!
Purge Therapy has been know to cause unusual feeling of euphoria, ecstasy and uncontrollable grinning. Use Purge Therapy only as often as you experience symptoms of clutter overload or just for the sheer hell of it. If you experience feelings of addiction to Purge Therapy, know that you are not alone. Over 126.38% of people using Purge Therapy become dependent on it for the maintenance of their sanity. If you run out of places to use Purge Therapy in your own home do not hesitate to call your sister, mother-in-law or neighbor's hair dresser to locate a new supply immediately. This statement has not been approved by the FDA, the FCC, or the FBI. Use Purge Therapy at your own risk as no lifeguard is on duty.
1. to rid, clear, or free
2. to rid of whatever is impure or undesirable; cleanse; purify.
2. to rid of whatever is impure or undesirable; cleanse; purify.
Therapy
1. a curative power or quality.
2. any act, hobby, task, program, etc., that relieves tension.
I love our home. Our home is very quaint. It is a cape cod that sports a red brick front, 2 adorable dormers on the front, a wood burning fire place, hardwood floors, a 3 season porch and arched doorways to name a few of it's more fetching qualities. The first time we looked at this house, 10 years ago, I walked in the front door and I knew I was home. Our house has loads of personality points and just as many "quirks". You know the annoying things that just don't work quite right. One of the biggest "quirks" of our little charmer that drives Matt especially crazy is that most of the house has been wired into 1 breaker. SO, for instance, you can't run the microwave and a space heater upstairs at the same time because you will loose power to 3/4 of the house including the basement where the breaker box is located. However, despite it's many drawbacks I still adore our home and I have loved working on improving it whether that means reflooring the kitchen, tearing off wallpaper in the dining room, refinishing the wood work or organizing the closets, cabinets and crannies. That's right, I consider de-cluttering to be a home improvement project.
Purge Therapy is what I have affectionately started calling it when I get the urge to improve our living quarters, but our budget does not allow for the cost of demolishing any non-load bearing walls. I want to make our home better, I want us to be able to relax in it even more than we already do, to live in it easier and for our living space to reflect who we are as a family more and more accurately. So, when the purse strings are cinched to tightly for any major or even minor remodeling I have found that my urge for home improvement can be satisfied with a good ol' purge. I grab a box or a couple garbage bags, head for a closet or dresser or cabinet and let the cleansing commence.
This is the book that really got me going on the power of purging. The book is divided into room by room chapters on how to go through the things in each area and how to eliminate a) the things that are not used by your family on a regular basis and b) things that you do not absolutely love. I decided to read a chapter, and then work completely through that section of my house before I would allow myself to read the next chapter. And believe me it IS work, mental (keep give or throw?), emotional (but so and so gave this to us as a wedding present) and physical (when I am "done" I still have to haul all this stuff all the way out to the truck or garbage or put the keep stuff back where it belongs) I approached this ginormous task in this piecemeal manner because I knew I couldn't bite it all off at once or I would choke on my own aspirations of clutter-less-ness. It has been slow going for sure and I am still not done yet. I stalled out when I got to the garage/storage area chapter because that feels like a monumentally enormous job that I don't feel I can do on my own. I not even sure what half the stuff in those areas are for let alone if they are useful or not and none of it looks particularly beautiful to my eyes. I could enlist the assistance of my dear hubby but I have learned that he is of the "let's not get rid of it because we might have a need for it ten years down the road" persuasion. So, in matters of purging where his opinion is requested...slim to none ever goes. Maybe those areas will never get a good cleansing but that's ok, because I have tackled our main living areas where we spend most of our time and I know for my part the reduction of mental noise caused by useless clutter all around me has been reduced dramatically. I no longer have a Tupperware hell in my kitchen and I can, for the most part, reach in and find what I need right away. What I find to be truly interesting, and what actually inspired this post was the no matter how many times I purge an area, no matter how many bags or boxes of "another person's treasure" take a one way trip out our front door, there always seems to be more to purge.
Now granted, it takes us a lot longer to fill all those boxes and bags than it did in the beginning, but we are still filling them none the less. Point in case, I have purged almost every room in our house at least once sometimes more than that in the last year, but I still keep a bag in the bottom of my closet where all the "give" items throughout the house that inevitably come up are deposited until the bag is full enough to warrant a trip down the stairs and out the door to the back of the truck. Here is was I hauled out to the truck this morning:
3 big bags full, 3 boxes, an old jewelery chest and a couple unused hunting coats. Whew! I feel much better all ready! That is what is so great about Purge Therapy! When I am feeling home improvement-ish and without the funds to re-tile the shower or even when I am feeling stressed out and not in control of anything in my life, I can get myself some FREE therapy for what ails me and I get instant gratification, instant results and instant control over something that was out of hand...clutter!
So, my advice to you? Take 2 Purge Therapy pills and call me in the morning. You'll be glad you did!
Purge Therapy has been know to cause unusual feeling of euphoria, ecstasy and uncontrollable grinning. Use Purge Therapy only as often as you experience symptoms of clutter overload or just for the sheer hell of it. If you experience feelings of addiction to Purge Therapy, know that you are not alone. Over 126.38% of people using Purge Therapy become dependent on it for the maintenance of their sanity. If you run out of places to use Purge Therapy in your own home do not hesitate to call your sister, mother-in-law or neighbor's hair dresser to locate a new supply immediately. This statement has not been approved by the FDA, the FCC, or the FBI. Use Purge Therapy at your own risk as no lifeguard is on duty.
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