If you’re not sure why I chose this subtitle, go here.
Isn't Vicki the most beautiful girl in the world?!
Wordless Wednesday: She can do it!
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Tackle It Tuesday
One of my favorite blogs right now is A Slob Comes Clean. Like Nony, too, am a slob. I don’t wanna be, but it’s a fact I just can’t seem to shake.
I’ve realized that the real reason I can’t keep my house in order isn’t laziness, kids, or even lack of time – it’s that I don’t have proper organization tools. I don’t have the right furniture or the space to keep everything we need to keep our large family going. So it all just gets piled around wherever it’s most convenient at the time. And since I’m a perfectionist, the fact that I know it can’t be done right keeps me from doing anything.
We live in a 24×60, 4 bedroom, 2 bathroom, double-wide trailer. To the average family, 1,440 square feet sounds big. But throw 8 people and two pets into that space, and it shrinks rather quickly.
Most of the closets are overflowing with random storage items: boxes, bins, bags of clothes.
Closet in the Master Bedroom (There's no room for my clothes, so I keep them in a laundry baket at the foot of the bed.)
And the same kinds of things are stacked throughout the house. In our living spaces. Where we should be living joyously but can’t, because there’s all this #@&%$! stuff in our way.
The Living Room today (The chasm between that blue bin and my messy desk is comprised of about a metric ton of unsorted clothes, confiscated toys, and randome stuff we've been given.)
The hot Peruvian wants to rent a storage unit in the next town over and put all the stuff we aren’t currently using out of sight. In theory, it would be nice to have everything out of the way so we can enjoy the space we do have. But I fear that we would never actually do anything with the stuff in storage – some of which I’m pretty sure we need, like kid’s winter clothes – so we’d be paying some horrid amount every month for the next who-knows-how-many years just to not have to deal with it. Not only would be be paying for the unit, we’d also end up buying things we don’t need because we wouldn’t know where they were, and going to Walmart for a new whatever is way easier than sorting through an overflowing 5×10 space in the freezing cold.
brrr
Still, it would be nice to make some room around here. Having free space would give me the motivation I need to actually clean our house. Which I haven’t really done since 2010. Gross.
Part of me wants to jump on the Peruvian’s bandwagon and toss everything into a unit right now! And, really, it would be a great idea if we were to pull one or two containers out each week to put away correctly until it’s all been dealt with. But then that follow-through issue comes back. You see, we’re both procrastinators, and since I don’t drive, this plan would be dependent on him taking initiative, too. That means teamwork, and, more importantly, correlation of both ambition and time. So I’m a little skeptical.
What do you think? Should we invest in a storage rental until we’ve had a chance to become more organized (and risk never seeing it again)? Or should we continue to live with the junk in the house as a constant reminder of what we should be doing? I could really use some help with this decision.
After choosing the title for this post, I discovered a meme by the same name. It’s all about completing projects, which sounds like a great idea, and I may play along at some point. But this week I’m all about survival.
Menu Plan Monday
We’re healed! Or getting there, at least. Everyone but the baby got a script for Zithromax on Thursday, and it seems to be working pretty well. So I have high hopes for our eating plan this week.
Breakfasts
cinnamon toast, oranges & deer jerky
multigrain pancakes & cinnamon-baked apples
pb&j wraps
cereal w/milk & juice
Lunches
leftovers
pizza
ants on a log & string cheese
crackers, cheese, deli meats & carrots
Suppers
loaded baked taters, lettuce & cocktail tomatoes
baked chicken, quinoa & green beans
ham, rice & cooked carrots
ham sandwiches & bananas
baked beans, hot dogs & veggies
pizza
leftovers
Snacks & Desserts
taquitos
hot fudge cake w/ vanilla ice cream
granola bars
fruit
popcorn
lactation cookies
So there ya have it: yumminess is in the cards. Also, I started my first psychology course today, so I am pretty much floating on cloud nine. This should be a good 7 days.
Have a great week!
Fill In the Blank Friday
Thank You, dear God, for Friday and the coming Weekend!
My boys have been home more than at school this week, which could have been fun if they were in good moods.But with the flu winding down and ear infections in full swing, nobody in this house has been very much fun to be around. Thankfully, we all got scripts for antibiotics yesterday evening, so we should be really, truly better soon. Yay!
- To join the fun, click to visit The Little Things We Do. Then comment and let me know you did.
1. The most selfless thing I’ve ever done was give away my BIble. I met a woman who had just become a Christian and wanted to join the church’s evangelism team. She had memorized some scriptures but couldn’t afford to buy a Bible, so I gave her the one my parents had given me for 6th grade graduation. I had another one, but it was full of highlighting and markings that I’d made while studying. While it felt good to be able to help the woman, it was hard to give up something with so much sentimental value.
2. When it comes to working out I have no real routine. I used to exercise for about 4 hours a day, but since kids I’m lucky to get 4 minutes. Every once-in-a while, I do a full set of strength training with my son’s dumbbells or some yoga, but most days I just get in a few crunches and do squats and cardio as I’m playing with the kids.
3. A woman should always be comfortable in her own skin.
4. I wish I could drive and then I’d be able to go to the boys’ heritage party at school today. =(
5. A best friend is someone who listens to you whine without getting annoyed and then tells you the truth, even when it hurts.
6. I can’t get enough of water. I am perpetually thirsty. Actually, I’m on my 3rd 16oz glass today, and I still feel parched. It’s crazy!
7. This weekend I am hoping to rearrange the livingroom a little, organize all our craft supplies, and deep-clean as much of the house as possible. Gotta kill those germs! I also need to write two essays for my current classes and start reading for the new class that starts on Monday. Realistically, though, we’ll be lucky to get through the weekend without the kids killing each other.
Wordless Wednesday: Yum!
Menu Plan Monday
Ugh.
It seems the sickness of the previous weeks was just a precursor to a full-on flu. The only one who hasn’t gotten it is the hot Peruvian. Most of our fevers seem to be coming down, and the chills and aches have faded. But it may take a while to recover from all the “food” we’ve been eating as a result of my illness: pizza, hot pockets, pizza, McDonald’s, pizza… (The hot Peruvian also made bacon and scrambled eggs one day, bless his heart, but even that was grease city.)
So I’d really really really like to plan a week’s worth of healthy fare, but as I was about to do so, reality kicked in:
- Our house is almost void of all things edible. Unless you count paper, in which case, we’re set for life!
- I have no idea what’s on sale at the grocery store this week.
- How am I gonna go shopping with 6 grouchy kids, while I myself feel like I was hit by a bi-level bus?
- Today is our anniversary (10 years of friendship, and 3 years since he proposed) and I have no clue whether we’re going to have a dinner date, see a movie, or skip doing anything.
So here are the things I know we’ll be having at some point throughout the week, in no particular order:
oatmeal w/ applesauce
chicken and dumplings
pasta with meat sauce
cereal
tuna helper
salad
rice
Hopefully next week things will be better, more organized, healthier. Until then, survival is the goal. What’s on your menu?
Fill In the Blank
It’s been another crazy week, and boy am I glad it’s Friday! On Monday, I had a sick five year old. On Wednesday, my eight year old was sent home from school and the baby suddenly got a fever. Yesterday, we were ALL home, feeling like poo, wishing we could sleep instead of making multiple phone calls to cancel our pre-arranged appointments (that last part may have just been me). And as I was typing the last sentence, the school called to say that the oldest needs picked up again today. Thank goodness for wonderful in-laws who drive! Anywho, I need this few minutes of fun today, so blanks, here I come!
Join the fun! Click to visit The Little Things We Do. Then comment and let me know you did.
1. Something popular that I can’t stand/just don’t “get” is LOLcatz. They drive me batty. I mean, I can get over the cute furbaby issue (though I don’t relate), but the grammar makes me want to scream!
2. Something unpopular that I secretly love is um… I dunno. Christian metal from the early 1990s? I’m not well enough in touch with what’s “cool” to know if the things I like are “uncool”. And, seeing as I’m awesome and all, there’s really no need to keep any of it a secret.
3. When I’ve had a bad day I spend a little too long in the bathroom with Shirley Hugh (that’s my Kindle, you naughty reader) or play a word game with Esther (my computer).
4. I’d prefer a live rock concert to a movie any day.
5. Something that makes me nervous is knowing that I’ll “honored” in front of a bunch of people and recorded speaking next month.
6. Something worth fighting for is the right to equal treatment for all humans. I believe that, in God’s eyes, we are all the same. Therefore we should all have the same rights and opportunities, whether we’re rich or poor, colored or pale, born or unborn, male or female.
7. When people think of me, I hope they think of how faithful our God is to have gotten me through the dregs of life in which I once lived and bring me to a place contentment. I hope they find love, joy, and peace and that their thoughts of me lead them to the cross.
