for consideration

i like stuff.

there, i admitted it. i like all sorts of stuff: big stuff, little stuff, pretty stuff, weird stuff, important stuff and stupid stuff. the point is that i like it all.

that being said- recently i have felt as though the last thing in the world that i should be doing is simply "collecting" (for lack of a better word) stuff. my house is small. i like it that way. i think of it as "cozy". there is very little storage, and what that space should be used for is clothes that harry is too big for and westley has yet to conquer, a few things from stephen's and my childhood, a wedding dress and some luggage. instead, i had made it my personal goal to fill every nook and cranny with the most random and ridiculous thing in the world that we "might need some day". ug.

therefore, weeks and weeks of preparation went into this past weekend. my sister and i held an enormous yard sale. i wish i had taken a picture of just how much stuff was spread out all over my lawn. i did not. but imagine a ton of junk, and multiply it by 3. that was it.

we sold some of it. i was actually surprised how much was gone at noon. what was leftover made it's way to the thrift shop. hopefully it all will find homes with people who truly want and need it.

now, my goal is to make the things that i have left actually mean something. the few toys that we kept for the boys are going to be rotated. a few things will be left out for a month or two, then will be switched with others that are waiting in the attic for their chance to be played with. ( i might take toy story a little bit too much to heart.)

we got rid of at least half of my kid's clothes. they can wear out the ones that we do have, and if need be, we will replace a thing or two. (they don't look like they mind too much, right?)

i read proverbs 31 this morning and it meant so much more to me than before i reached this point.

V 27 : She watches over the affairs of her household

and does not eat the bread of idleness

niv

there is so much that i do wrong or poorly. i just don't want to overlook those things when they are staring me in the face.

so, here is to simple living, gentle and quite spirits, passing up that thing i think i really need, "make do and mend", and learning contentment. it's going to be a long and tough season, but oh so worth it.

alas

this week has tried my patience and fried my nerves.

ants have officially taken over my entire kitchen. ug. i am about to enter into battle. generally i try to only use natural cleaners such as meyers or method. however, i am at the point that i will do whatever it takes to rid my home of these pesky, little pests.
yuck!

harrison has also taken to giving me grief about taking naps. he pretty much refuses to go down without a fight. we have gotten to the point that we are pretty much just waiting for the other to give in and end it.

and lastly, it appears as though my dishwasher has sprung a leak. lovely.

on a good note, the mister and i got a lovely, little surprise of some awesome new toms shoes. life can't be ALL bad, right?

beachy keen

Print

Umbrellas and Lanterns

Both cars are in the shop and the kids both had doctor appointments VERY early this morning.

The remainder of the day will thus be spent very in dreamy thoughts of napping in the sun by the pool or on the beach.

BTW

Harry is 36 in, 29 lbs.
Westley is 25 in (50th), 16 lbs 2 ounces (75th)

M I A

Soooo....obviously i haven't been doing much of this lately, huh?

it might just be that there is twice the amount of crying in my house... or maybe i'm just a slacker. whatever the reason, hopefully, i am back.

in my absence i was filling my mind with a lot of internet window shopping...

here are some of my new favorites...

bodenusa.com

Quilt

and i am beginning to think that minivans aren't really the devil...they might even be helpful when one has children. who knew???

van

two months...

pictures by Holly Dwan

Has it really been two months since this little guy was born? I can not believe it.

But if it has... I can't imagine a better way to spend two months than this....

I love that Stephen has come home early almost every night for the past two week.

It's amazing watching him with his sons. He is the best dad ever. I knew that he would be.

I think that is why I am so in love with my life right now. I have an amazing husband, two beautiful boys and a dog that I actually like.

I am really blessed. When Harry was just 8 weeks I was going back to work. It makes me SO happy that I don't have to deal with that again this time. All I can remember is wishing that I could be with him, not trying to get work done. And trying to work out my schedule to allow someone that I knew and trusted to be at the house watching him. I don't miss those days.

behind....

Apparently having a second child is like multiplying your life by 10.

I am SO happy, though, so I really don't mind. Harry is getting cuter and funnier everyday. Westley is getting fatter and more alert. It's so much fun just being at the house with the two of them.

Getting rid of Hank has also taken a huge weight off of my shoulders. I never thought that I would be the person who gives up a dog because they can't "handle it", but he really needed a ton more space than I could offer. The farm where he lives now is a much better place for a dog like him. Hopefully over the next few weeks I will get my life back to a place where I can consistently walk Emily with both kids. I would really like to try to find a double jogging stroller, but the giant monstrosity of a double stroller that I have will work. It's a pain to turn and heavy as can be, but I am just blessed to have one.

We are also going through the house and getting rid of a TON of "stuff". I have come to the conclusion that what I need most right now is to get everything in order. I can't handle having toys everywhere anymore. I literally had no place to walk at least two or three days a week.

Can you say "yard sale"... I think that the summer will be a lovely time to unload our riches onto someone else. Normally sometime this summer we would be heading off to the beach for a week with family. Instead, I think we will be "staycationing" and work on getting the backyard into better shape. We finally have some grass, and I think this would be a lovely time to get a play set for the rambunctious toddler who is running circles around me most of the time.

monday

mondays now mean harry, westley and i sit around and wait for inspiration for something to do, somewhere to go or something to play...
they are low key, relatively calm and we have yet to have a crying episode.
life is pretty good.