Laundry Brilliance?!?!?!

I do a TON of laundry! (I know we all do, but today it's all about me.)

I know it will never be done, but I'd like it to be manageable. (Which seems to always fail me.)

I had a thought last night (scary) and I'm trying it today. It's not so much doing the laundry as it is putting it away... sorting the piles of shorts, pants, shirts, uniforms, socks, underwear, sheets, towels... ick!



Here is the BRILLIANCE... wash items according to like-items! {WHAT?!?!?} (I usually do LOADS & LOADS of darks, then whites, then towels, then sheets, then blankets, etc.)

For example... I just went up to my bedroom to the mountain of laundry and pulled out all of the shirts and filled my laundry basket with them until it was full. I'm going to wash the shirts, dry the shirts and then hang them up (or fold them) as they come out of the dryer and they will be ready to put away.

While I was sorting I went ahead and made a pile of pants/shorts/sweats and socks/underwear (I just mixed the whites and colors together and when I do those loads I will do one white and one of colors.)

I think that I may be on to something! {WHAT?!??!?! Do you already to this and you didn't share? I'll let you know how it goes!

And... while we're on the subject of laundry... this room just looks dreamy!

$ Dollar Store *LOVE*

The $ store and I have a love/hate relationship! Sometimes I love what I find, but often the lack of any type of quality drives me crazy. I love to be frugal, but not cheap. Buy less and buy quality is what I'd rather do.

That being said... I found a few treasures yesterday to share with you.


Just for fun... kids sized bowls that I used on a runner down the table. The kids think they should be filled with candy... I'm not so sure! Maybe pumpkin seeds and nuts? I think today I'll have them filled with their after-school snack.

Adding an unexpected Pop... I had marbles and clear "disks" surrounding my candles, but I found these mini pumpkins and acorns. While they are plastic and a bit "cheesy" I think they added great color and texture to this decoration.


Just because I wanted them... I've wanted new wine glasses for awhile and couldn't force myself to splurge. Then I saw these last week and I've been thinking about them. I ended up bringing home 6 of them for $6), ran them through the dishwasher and hung them up. I love them! They are nice and heavy and tall... perfect. Would I love something fancier... maybe someday. But these glasses won't cause me any heartache when they get hit by a football (it will happen in my house) or dropped on the granite counter.


Happy Wednesday!

I'm running?!?!

About 4 weeks ago I was feeling like I was at the depths of despair... okay, maybe not that low, but pretty darn low.

I had some choices to make... get medicated or do something to boost myself.

I chose to do something (although I'm not sure that I'm out of the woods... there is nothing wrong with medication... I'm just going through a lot of transitions and I'm trying to make the right decision for me)... I started running.

OR... maybe I should call it GULPING air! It was pretty awful at first. But I have to say, that surrounded by great friends I have kept at it. I am up to running at least 1.5 miles before I need to stop for a cleansing breath (I usually then walk about 1/4 mile and resume running). My goal has been to run 3 miles... to be able to head out and just run 3 miles. I'm scaring myself that it is getting very near. Last Thursday I went 5 miles... I didn't run all of it, but I ran A LOT!

I have always said... I will never run...

Ha... never say never!

In pain

It is terrible to watch your child suffer... Phinneous is in PAIN!

While wrestling with his buddies he was SLAMMED into a wall. His wind was knocked out of him... I worked to get him under control and then suggested the boys quit wrestling (fyi -- I hate wrestling... someone ALWAYS gets hurt.)

A little while later the boys were running down the stairs and I heard the classic thud, bump, bump, s.p.l.a.t. It was Phinneous.... now he was really not happy. But, he was headed to the trampoline...

A few minutes later I heard the screeching.... MOM!

He couldn't get off the trampoline... couldn't move... I thought he MUST be cramping... he had pitched that afternoon and he must be dehydrated, etc. I had to climb up through the tiny-kid-sized net and retrieve him (visualize my larger arse climbing through everything... not a pretty site). He was pretty upset... I massaged him and got him ice and gave him an ibuprofen... I figured he'd be fine.

Got him home, positioned him in bed and just waited for him to pass out... which he did... yay! That was short lived as at 2am he was up and in pain. I repositioned him and thought {^&*}... do I take him to the ER... did he break a bone... is it muscular... can it wait til morning...

I chose to wait till morning, but I was up several more times repositioning him... needless to say... no sleep!

***

Dr. Report... muscle strain... heat, ibuprofin and no physical activity for a week! Hot tub is a great idea (so glad I have one in my backyard)! And Ty!eno! 3 for bed time... yay!

So now I'm exhausted and I'm still waiting for him to pass out. However, he has found the Duck game on TV... it's going to be a long day!

Real Housewives

Addicted... not because I aspire to be like them, but I am enthralled with them.

Did she just wear that? Say that? Do that? Think that? Portray that?

Totally addicted... I'm also addicted to Sister Wives... I wonder what that says about me?

I think it says... I'm a woman without homework and I've rediscovered TV!

Wordless Wednesday

Check out other wordless wednesday posts.

Just cute

Cleared 370 pictures off of my camera and found baby girls bday photos. She just makes me smile! This was her year to have a family party... she wasn't too keen on the idea, but I think she loved it!

Parenting -- ick!

My son had a total break-down about school last night... broke my heart.

• playground -- specifically the soccer field -- kids are mean, telling him "he sucks". If you know my son you know that he is an athlete... are they just happy when he makes mistakes? He is not my boastful child... he does well and lets it be.
  
• classroom -- hates where he sits, was moved from his friends (because he's the kid that can sit with the kids who won't behave). He feels ousted from the group.
• just plain bullying -- "I can break your wrist... I'm in karate."
• I'm mean -- I don't like play dates during the school week. Occasionally is fine, but we are busy with practices and homework and they don't get home from school until 4 and I like them in bed by 8:30... doesn't give us a lot of time for play dates. I squelched that one... told him that we do not have play dates on a school day, but I told him I would work harder to set things up on the weekend.
  

What do I do? My first reaction was to call all the parents of the children he mentioned and "give it to them". Knowing that was not the right thing to do I waited... I calmed down. I chatted with Joe...

We both agree that...

• this child of ours has most likely been experiencing these things for awhile (he tends to take a lot and then burst) and for whatever reason it all came out today.
  
• He is also VERY sensitive... wears his emotions on his sleeve. We are always working with him to let things "roll" off of him.
• He doesn't understand why people would be mean... he's not a mean spirited kid

So... I can counsel most parents through this issue, but when it comes to MY kid I'm at a loss for what to do.

Advice? (I already emailed the teacher and asked for her observations.)

My First Bible Study!

Well, I've joined my first Bible Study with a great group of ladies that I'm looking forward to getting to know even better. After over a year of being invited, I finally felt that I could actually focus on a bible study. So... here we go.

If you've read my "finding church" posts, you know that this is a difficult area for me. That being said, I want to learn and find for myself.

Week 1 (last week) -- I was able to stay at bible study for 15 minutes. It was an insane evening of schedules. I persevered and was glad to make it. As I began my homework for the week I was completely overwhelmed.

• What am I doing?
• I don't belong here?
• I don't even know what they are talking about/referencing/
• You want me to pray?
• My bible... it's burried on my shelf... haven't opened it since college.
• I should quit... this isn't me.
• I can't do this?
• I didn't even know that was the name of a book in the bible?

The thoughts and panicked swarmed. I finally decided that I would get "something" out of this bible study. It may not be an epiphany, but I will learn. As I was driving one afternoon, I realized that it felt as though I was reading a foreign language. And then I had even more compassion for my daughter... who is struggling with learning to read. I see her frustration and I feel for her... it's a foreign language to her.

Week 2 -- Group
Cautiously I told the group about my feelings of feeling overwhelmed and I shared my feelings of it being like reading a foreign language. The women were great and even agreed that it felt difficult to them as well. I felt better. I will keep plugging along.

The quote I pulled out of the dvd and that I will hold onto is this...

Are you looking for religion or a relationship [with God]?

The answer for me was so clear... I'm looking for a relationship.