Love the Home You Have

For the next part of the book, I was supposed to imagine my dream house - every room!  I'm such a planner and a detail person, so thinking all the way through my dream house will take weeks and weeks. Maybe months and years.  Gah.  I finally compromised my thinking about what kinds of things I would love to have going on in my dream house.

I want a five-butt kitchen where lots of people can work at the same time and not be in each other's way.  I also want a sitting area/family room/great room adjacent to the kitchen so I can be part of things happening/watch the kids/sit and visit with Trent while he makes breakfast.

I really want a large dining area, where we all can eat dinner together.  Enough room to set up extra tables for a big dinner party would also be nice.  Maybe the dining area should be part of the kitchen/great room?

I want a large family room, where we have seats for the whole family to hang out or watch a movie or say family prayer.  That's an important part of our lives - just being together.

That's the main wish list.  On the periphery is a deep porch for sitting, flower and vegetable and herb gardens, a big wooded lot for the kids to make their own play, gobs of parking for my husband and his vehicles, and a soaking tub.  It would also be nice to have some elbow space from the neighbors, and to be able to live at a little slower speed.

I can spend the next week dreaming about this.  Happily.

Prom Season

Prom is coming up... again.  I feel like it does this every year!  I just read that the average prom this year will cost about a thousand dollars.  Say what?  I'm not sure where all of that money goes, but we do save a little bit by having a couple of teen-sized tuxedos in the closet, and doing the flowers at home.

This year, I'm not sure where my floral wire and green tape are - probably in a box somewhere.  I'll have to go hunting.  And I don't even know what color the young lady's dress is so I can make sure I have ribbon to match.  This is what happens when the young gentleman prom-goer is involved in track and never has time to speak with his mother.

Last year, or was it last fall at Homecoming time? Chris helped me make the corsage and did a pretty good job.  Hopefully he won't claim to be too busy and he can make it himself this time.  

I was surfing around, trying to find a good diagram that shows how to make a corsage, so we could be boring - I mean quick and efficient - and make this year's arrangement.  I'm really surprised that I couldn't find any!  I won't say they aren't out there, but I sure couldn't find any.  

I did find some good tutorials, though.  You can watch these while I go crawl around in the garage and look through boxes.

Mission Monday

<sigh>  I am missing my boys this week.  I love looking over their letters and seeing how they are growing.  I can really see a softening of their rough edges, and at the same time a strength coming in that they didn't have before.  Serving the Lord is pretty awesome stuff.



From South Africa:

To start off, mother nature decided to do the hot, cold, sunny, cloudy thing, and mess with everybodys head. So it has been a fun and exciting week. I love being a missionary! There were so many little things that just reaffirmed my testimony this week and added to what I already knew about the Church and My Savior. I really am grateful for the Spirit and it's direction.


From Madagascar:

NORBERT GOT BAPTIZED!!! He is still a stud among studs and his wife finally came to church for his baptism and his confirmation the next day and... drumroll please... she loved it!!! We are going to get the rest of that family! Ah, he's just such an awesome man!

Then what happens on this Saturday and Sunday? GENERAL CONFERENCE!!! Sorry for all of the caps and exclamation points, but that is really good stuff! So you could say that I'm way pumped for that to happen.

Love the Home You Have

I got my new book, and I've been reading Love the Home You Have. It's been more difficult than I thought it would be.  I didn't realize how much emotional baggage I had when it came to houses.  And I love to read, and I read fast, so I was hoping to finish it quickly.  Alas, this will be a book of reflection and internal work.  Work, bah humbug.  <sigh>  But I need this.  I need to love this home and make it mine.

First of all, I was supposed to list three things I loved about my current home.  Only three!  Guiltily, I came up empty.  I fought with my thoughts for a while and finally came up with a few things.  But they came out very begrudgingly, "I don't even have a ______, but (grumble, grumble) at least we have a sprinkling system that mostly works."  Most of my first thoughts centered around the trees or the fenced yard or the great neighborhood.  

Then I forced myself to focus on the house itself.  It's really been a challenge to move into this house.  We didn't move here because we wanted to be in a new place.  We didn't move here because it was a better house than the last one.  We didn't move because it fit our family better.  We moved here because this is where my dad is, and we didn't want him to have to move.  Crazy!  Why would we move and inconvenience a family of 10 for the desires of 1?  I don't know, and on paper it is ridiculous.  But it feels like the right thing to do.  

It's certainly not a bad thing to be here, and it's not a bad house.  I've just been focusing enough on the things that don't work for us, and need to see the things that do work for us.  After a bit of mental rebellion, I took a walk through the house.  I noted the nice color and pattern of the kitchen floor.  I saw how the light pours into the back windows.  I appreciated the spacious laundry room.  I was glad that the noisy areas of the house are farther away from the areas we need to keep quiet.

And you know, the more I saw things with grateful and happy eyes, the more good things I saw.  I now have a list of far more than three things I love about this house.  And I'm feeling more happy to be here.

Decent Women's Costume Month

I was looking at the calender today, and I amazed that it is halfway through April!  The twins love to look at the "ky-lander" and have me tell them how long it is until their birthdays.  So we were counting off how many months until their birthday, until school is out, until school starts again in the fall (and they will be in kindergarten!  Aagh!), until Halloween...

We stopped at Halloween because it is their absolute favorite day of the year, until Christmas rolls around, that is.  They are already dreaming up what they want to be for Halloween.  Current favorite: minions!  I love to sew and create - always have - so making Halloween costumes is something I put a lot of thought and time into.  I like dressing up too, but let's be real.  With a family of ten, making costumes for myself is way, waaaayyy down on the priority list. 

And forget about buying anything ready-made from the store.  I'm not about to show that much skin in public - especially chilly Halloween night!  I don't know why it seems that costume manufacturers think that all women want to show off their legs and cleavage on Halloween.  Every costume comes from the same pattern: bare shoulders, deep necklines, and short skirts.  No creativity.  And no coverage, if you prefer to be modest.  I do.

I've decided to declare the rest of April to be Decent Women's Costuming Month.  There isn't much going on for the next few weeks (no major holidays, not yet the frantic end-of-school rush, no family vacations to plan), so I have time.  

I picked up these fun historical patterns a few weeks ago when there was a good sale at the fabric store, and I might be able to pick up some fabric tomorrow.

If I sew a little bit here and there, instead of doing a whole bunch all at once, I won't get sick of the project.  Also, I won't end up with back problems from hunching over the sewing machine, and my children will get fed.  Bonus that my house won't turn into a disaster.

Now I just need to decide which pattern I want to make!  I'm leaning toward the Regency dress, but that would mean I have to watch Pride and Prejudice again for inspiration.  Or If I choose the 1950s dress, I'd have to check out some Audrey Hepburn or Marilyn Monroe.  

Bring on the popcorn!

Spring (Snow) Showers

Happy Spring!  This is the view out my back window right now. Two days ago, we were admiring our tulips and daffodils. Yesterday, we were slammed with a massive windstorm. My headline for yesterday should have been "Giant Trees Blown Over in City Cemetery.  Thousands Found Dead." 

And today, we are back to winter. We've got the gloves and boots and hot chocolate out, and the fireplace is a-humming. I was planning to do yard work today...  not disappointed to have to stay inside. 

We're cozy!

Today I...

I'm so bummed that our taxes are not done.  Due to a combination of not getting the correct W-2 forms and having a complicated financial year, we will have to file an extension.  It's not the end of the world, I know.  But I hate being late.  I don't like to run or hurry - especially when I have the pressure of a deadline looming over me. I even hate not being a little bit early.  It just unnerves me to not be where I am supposed to be when I am supposed to be there.  And so not having our taxes done before April 15 is really giving me a anxiety fits.  Gah.

So today I need to list the good things I have done today so I don't feel like a total failure.


Today, I made a batch of really good bread.  It's mostly whole wheat, but it still rose and made four great, tall loaves.  The kids will have delicious sandwiches for lunch tomorrow.

Today, I cleaned the kitchen, even though I didn't want to.  I did all the dishes and cleared the counters and wiped everything off and swept the floor.  I have to remember that one, because if you walked into the kitchen now, you would see no trace of my hard work.  Dinner happens and BAM!  Messy kitchen again.  But for a while, it was clean.

I read a few pages in a book.  That helps my brain to remember that I am a college graduate.  I am a smart person - sometimes.  I love to read, but don't get to do it very often.  Today, I got to read a few pages before the twins both needed to sit on my relaxing lap to show me a new yo-yo and ask how to draw the letter K.

I helped my neighbor lady figure out what to make for dinner when she was getting stuck in a menu rut.  Maybe I didn't really do much except provide moral support while she flipped through her cookbook, but being social is important.

Today, I took my dad for a walk.  We struggled up the hill against a stiff headwind, and nearly ran back home.  The sun was shining and it was gorgeous - for that part of the afternoon, anyway.

I made it to my son's track meet.  Granted, I was a little bit late (the bread was baking and I couldn't leave yet) and missed his first race.  But he was competing in four events and I could watch the others, right?  I came with warm wassail for him and blankets to keep out the wild windstorm we were having.  We even had a long conversation about the importance of staying with mom so that I didn't lose one of the twins like last track meet.  The little people and I were prepared.  What a great mom I am!  We got there just as they cancelled the rest of the meet due to bad weather.  I guess they figured, when the pole vaulting mats blew down the field into the runners, that having a track meet with 40 mph winds was a bad idea.  Glad we stayed away from the shot put area!  We did show up, so that counts for something.  And I was able to take my chilly boy straight home so he didn't have to ride the buses.

I stayed awake all day long, in spite of the fact that I got less than 6 hours of sleep.  I've been tired the whole day, but I didn't snap or snark at anyone.  Major victory.

Today, I had a nice conversation with my husband and listened to his worries.  It was nice to spend time with him, and I didn't even get anxious about the things that were not getting done while I sat with him.

I did not laugh when Georgie raced past me, hollering as he passed, "My bladder is so full!"  I remained a helpful, supportive mother instead of dissolving onto the floor in fits of uncontrolled laughter like I wanted to.  Where did he learn that?

Today, I took a shower.  Total score.  It was a good day.