Getting our shit together in 2010

We have been married 16 years and have lived at Nestlewood for nearly 12 of those. Throw two kids and two careers in to the mix, and we have accumulated a heap of junk. Not all of this junk is physical clutter that can be thrown away or recycled. Some of the junk is mental and spiritual and financial.

Chris and I have decided to get rid of all the clutter in 2010.

To begin, we are de-cluttering our personal bad habits. I was exemplary with my eating and exercise habits from January to early November this year, then I fell off the wagon completely. The Doritos and Velveeta sneaked their way back in, and my couch relearned the shape of my ass while my walking shoes grew mold. Quoth the raven, Nevermore!

Spiritually, I have neglected my peaceful meditation and study. I am out of whack when this is the case, so, in 2010, this will no longer be the case.

Financially, we make more money now than we ever have in all the time we have been together, as we are both fully employed in "real jobs" but are in no better financial shape because of our poor money management. That is not going to be how we roll in 2010.

As for the physical clutter, we are going to take Nestlewood room by room and go through every cabinet, drawer and corner and get rid of the unnecessary. The weeds will be gone from the landscaping, the shed will be cleaned out and the garden will be an herb filled oasis once again.

The specific plans are made, and it shall be done. Oh yes. It shall be done.

Ella-Wink

This is our 7 week old girl. Her name is Ella and her eyeball ruptured. The only thing the vet could do to save her life was to remove her eye. See her little purple stitches? The vet bill was $584, which brought our checking account down to a grand total of $150 to last until the next pay day, but we think she is worth it.

Don't you wish you were me?

Blueberries! Chris, Lina and Huck picked these yesterday morning and they are all kinds of yummy.

Little Update

Next week is my last working both jobs, thanks be. I just got home from town and I plan to stay in my jammies in my air conditioned house until Monday morning. I am not a "go outside and do stuff" kind of gal this time of year. It's just too stinkin' hot.

I have to brag on Chris. I was terribly afraid that by picking up a full time job, it would just be an addition to the full time job I already had (that of being a wife, mom and she-who-takes-care-of-everything) but it has not been so. If the kitchen is dirty, Chris cleans it. If the laundry is piling up, he does it. If I sleep in on a Saturday morning and he is here, he cooks the biscuits and bacon and eggs for Lina and Huck. He even took 4 kids an hour and a half down the road for a day at the zoo. Of course, when he got home he threw them out in the yard with juice boxes and snacks and poured himself a Big Gulp of chardonnay...

Lina and Huck have really stepped up to the plate as well. I've added more chores to their list and they are only bucking a little. I was afraid they would miss out hanging with their friends this summer since I wasn't here to be the neighborhood mom. Turns out, there is always someone willing to do that. They stay home with Chris sometimes, with my parents sometimes and with friends sometimes. Then on weekends, when I am home, their friends come here.

All this and money in the bank to boot!

Balance and Expectations

I am surprising myself by my response to this new life I have. This new life being one of working 110 hours the last two weeks, plus pouring what ended up to be 140 candles, plus all the mama stuff that must be done.

I'm not being a freaked out spaz (for the most part anyway-though I do, of course, have my moments) as I thought I would be. Why? Well, it's all about my expectations. I no longer expect to have free time to hang out at Nestlewood and do whatever I want to do. I know that simple life is no more, and I don't expect it. I expect to get the kids where they need to be for the day, put in 8 or 10 hours at a hospital, pick up the kids, get home and fix them supper and then spend a few hours hanging out with myself (or Chris, if he happens to be here, which isn't often as he is working all the time as well-Washington DC trip to pay for and all that) I don't expect long hours of uninterrupted time for myself. What I am doing is finding my balance as I can find it.

For example, when I wake up in the mornings, before I even let my muscles begin to stir, I go over my dreams of the night and try to see what they are telling me. Then I do a quick chakra balance, say thank you to the Universe and get up and start the day. While I am at work I keep my iPod in my ears to enjoy books or music while I do my job. Since I sit all day at work, I am not physically tired when I come home, (only mentally) so I don't feel the need to sit. I'll happily cook supper, clean the kitchen, pour candles etc... because it keeps me off my bootie. The housekeeping tasks fulfill my nesting side so aren't hardships at all. This week I plan to begin the journey of getting caught up with my scrapbooking, since I haven't done anything in it since early 2005, when I started back to college. I am not looking at this as a task, but as a creative outlet and reminder to cherish the day in and day out with my great kids and husband.

I indulge myself at job 1 with audiobooks. No deep literary thoughts for me there as I listen to fiction books I have already read, so it's like a visit with old friends. Nora Roberts, Stephen King, JD Robb and Jan Karon are my favorites while I plow through the ER charts. Job 2 requires more of my concentration than job 1, so I have endless cool iPod playlists coursing through my earbuds.

It's all about my expectations. I could expect to have a certain lifestyle and then get crazy because that's not what I have. Or I can expect to go through each day doing what needs to be done, finding pleasure and balance and joy, with a grateful heart.

The View from the Front Porch of Nestlewood

I took this picture around 5 pm.

I love rain.

Gumball Machine

When my mom was a little girl, her Daddy often ran Wavaho gas stations. Go Go Go with Wavaho! This gumball machine was in one of those gas stations, and somehow, Mama managed to hang onto it all this time. She gave it to me when the kids were teeny because they loved it so much and wanted to bring it home. It's made of 1/4" thick glass and metal with the words: Northwestern Morris Ill. etched into the back of the glass. It still works, and when I take the top off to refill the candy I have to use the biggest and meanest screwdriver I can find, since most of the tread of the foot long screw holding on the lid has been chipped away.

This machine takes only pennies. Isn't that great? We keep a little change holder by the machine for all of our spare pennies. Absolutely every child (and most adults) that come through our door head straight for those pennies to get a handful of whatever happens to be in the machine at the time. Right now it's jellybeans, but it has been filled with everything from M&Ms, Skittles, Runts, Red Hots, Mike and Ike, and candy corn.

Proof that Huck is indeed my son; such flowery language!

Last night I told him that he needed to get in the shower before bed. He said "No. I'll take a bath and wallow in my own filth."

Spring Break

I just spent 2 hours with half an eye on a bright orange bobble floating in a pond, attached to a hook and a worm, waiting on it to move. The other half of my eye was watching Huck while he fished.

My Huckleberry loves to fish and does it every day after school. He usually goes with a buddy (it's at a pond just across the field from our house) but today he asked me if I would go with him, so I did.

I enjoyed watching him with his rod and reel, wearing his ratty jeans, muddy boots and black t-shirt with the sleeves cut off that said "If you think I'm scary, you should see my sister".

It's spring break in our school system and it has been thoroughly enjoyed by Lina and Huck. They stayed with their best friends while I worked, and when I was home, their best fiends came here. They have roamed the woods, ridden horses through the local national forest, caught fish, shot BB guns at targets, listened to Harry Potter on CD and had nightly sleepovers. Good stuff.

Hiking and Homing

Chris has taken the kids hiking today. I'm not allowed to go on their excursions because I am a worry wart and my constant warnings of eminent danger apparently throws some sort of wet blanket over their fun. Imagine... So, I stay home while they go enjoy the wild. Chris packed snacks and drinks and hiking sticks and they are gone to the wildlife refuge for several hours.

Both of my jobs are going really well. I coded 225 ER charts yesterday, and my brain was fried, but I had the end of the day satisfaction of a job well done. The newest job is very interesting too, though I am still really slow yet. All in all, between the working every day and the family life and all that entails, I don't have a lot of room in my head for anything other than what needs to be done that day.

A Clairvoyant Dog

This is Pebbles and she owns me. If I am on the couch, reading or sewing, she is nestled against my hip. If I am sleeping, she is curled up against me in the bed. If I am tapping away at the computer, I am sitting criss-cross applesauce style and she is in my lap. If I want to take a walk, I am S.O.L. if I think I can go without her.

All I have to do is think about going for a walk and she will awaken from a deep slumber and look at me with those M&M eyes. Then she will start to scratch and whine and walk in place so that I will know that she wants to go too. How does she know what I'm thinking?

January, in Review

I stole this idea from Casey. Rather than wait until the end of the year to make assessments on how we are doing on living the life we want to live, let's take inventory once a month.

In January, I did many more things that made me happy. I read more, I stitched more (2 Celtic knots in January), I exercised more, and I feel like I was a great mom. I only bought one block of Velveeta, which is quite an improvement, and I stayed far far away from Doritos. That isn't to say that I did not indulge in crunchy stuff dipped in creamy stuff. It is only to say that I did not OVER indulge in crunchy stuff dipped in creamy stuff.

I worked at the hospital a very reasonable amount (I heart PRN) yet was able to be home when the kids were sick, needing Mama pampering. I did lots of cooking and Chris spoiling too, which makes me happy.

For February, I vow to get our taxes done (H&R Block will do ours for $49 because I was a college student in 2008)walk 10 miles a week and put in that damned Body Boot Camp DVD that I bought the first week of January. And, if I am a very good girl, I will move my puff along with the DVD, and not just watch it and think ugly thoughts about the tight bodied bitches on the screen in front of me.

Through Thumbelina's Eyes-The Shadows and Light of Imbolc

Lina took a long walk with her digital camera yesterday afternoon.






This is her view from the curve of the dirt and gravel road.









She thought the sight of ChiChi walking through the shadows thrown by the porch rails was really interesting, and loved the light playing on Holly Mittens' fur coat.

Chris was feeling "Zen-ish"*

Chris stopped by The Evil Lord Waldemart to pick up a few things. He was browsing through the home decor section and saw this cute little water fountain thingy. Then he got the idea to surround it with plants and rocks.

The funny thing is, I have been eying this very water fountain thingy for about a year, but could not justify the extra expense to myself. $20 isn't so very much money, unless one is a tightwad.

Chris has no such qualms. If you look up "instant gratification" in the dictionary, you will encounter his head shot.

Whatever the case, I'm feeling Zen-ish now, too.


*Zen-ish. Really, that's what he said.

Hyper Children Need Mary Poppins

Lina and Huck were practically jumping on the bed at lights out yestereve. Their giggleboxes were turned upside down, so I decided to go with it and crack them up by singing this song to them.

I even mimicked the inflections, facial expressions and final consonants that Ms. Andrews evokes so eloquently.

There Really Was A Wolf This Time (Subtitled: I am a mean mama)

Huck is my darling boy, Myn Lyking,my dear sonne, myn sweeting, but I know him very well. He is manipulative and feels that all is fair in Sickness and Faking. Pardon me if I don't believe him every time he says he's sick.

He will cry and act like he's at death's very door. I have learned to stand beside him the entire time his temp is being taken because I once caught him holding the thermometer against a light bulb. He will claim that there is pain in every cell in his body. He has actually mixed up a concoction of chocolate milk and oatmeal and poured it into the toilet to try to convince me that he hurled.

Believe it or not, he enjoys school, makes excellent grades and is well adjusted, but he will cheerfully swallow a flaming sword if he thinks it will cop him a day at home on the couch watching Spongebob and eating snacks. When I saw his Oscar worthy performance Wednesday evening, complete with tears and limping, I said ( and you have to imagine my Alabama accent with this) "I'll tell you what. I'll send your butt to school pukin' rather than listen to you whine this way."

Well, I didn't send his butt to school pukin', because he woke me up at 4am doing exactly that. I kept him home again today and took him to the doctor. Turns out, he has strep.

Does that turn me into a regretful, guilty mama? No sir! I proceeded to tell him the story of the Little Boy Who Cried Wolf and explain that the reason that I didn't believe that he was sick is because he fakes it. And, yes, I did this on the way home from the doctor, just after his diagnosis.

Of course, when we got home, I completely pampered him and held him in my lap and murmured many "poor baby"s, which probably cancels out my earlier stern demeanor.

Life is Too Short for Ordinary Glassware

My parents were having supper at the home of one of their church friends and mom saw that the lady of the house had these cartoon glasses sitting out on her counter. She mentioned how I loved cartoon glasses and that sweet hostess wrapped them up and sent them to me! Today I am drinking out of the Fozzie glass because Janice is on this one and she is my favorite Muppet. I giggle just thinking about how she says she won't take her clothes off for anyone, even if it IS artistic.

These sorts of glasses are all we use at Nestlewood. I started collecting in '95 or so, but most of those have been broken over the years. These days, I mostly find them at yard sales or on eBay, and I never pay much for them. It's so much fun to have company and let them look through the glasses and decide which one they want their drink in while they are here. As for myself, each day, I decide how I'm feeling and choose a coordinating glass.

When I'm feeling chubby and okay with it, I choose Theodore.





When I'm hormonal and blue, I choose Tenderheart Bear, but only because there is no Bitchy Meany Self Loathing Bear and because I don't have a Grouchy Smurf glass.











If I'm overwhelmed by work, tasks, and the like, I let Linus speak for me.

Lazy Smurf is used the most rarely of all the glasses, and is the most special. This one is used on the days I don't have to go anywhere or do anything that I don't want to do.

You can please some of the people some of the time...

I made a wonderful pot roast today, complete with potatoes, carrots, onions and mushrooms. It simmered in the crock pot for about 10 hours and made the house smell heavenly.

Huck, who never voluntarily eats anything that isn't sugared and processed, ate an entire plate full and asked for seconds. Lina, who will normally eat everything that doesn't eat her first, said "Uhm, yeah, Mama, for future reference...I hate roast".

However, the leftovers of that very roast will be frozen and used in a soup in the near future, and she will love it at that point because she adores my soup made from leftover roast. Huckleberry on the other hand, despises soup and will not eat a bite of it, roast or no roast.

Works in Progress

Chris made the rug braiding loom for me a few years ago. I'm teaching Lina how to make the rug.



Here is another of my Celtic knot primitive embroidery projects; I'm about 8/10 of the way done with this one. The blue ink is my stitch guide and it is water soluble, so will not be visible once the design is done. If you are interested, I made the candles that are in the photo as well. The big one is a 3 layer cold pour (the cooler pouring temp is what gives it the rustic look). The fragrances are Cinn-a-Buns, Pumpkin Crunch Cake and Macintosh Apple. The candle in the jar that is burning is Amish Harvest.

Before and After

My kids are slobs. Icky, nasty slobs. I tend to be laid back and let their rooms stay messy, but do make them keep the rats and bugs away by ensuring they bring dirty dishes to the kitchen and make them take their dirty laundry to the washer etc... As for their clutter, I usually just ignore it. I keep MY space nice and neat (living room, kitchen, etc...) and let them wallow in their own messiness.

Sometimes,however, I just have to go in each of the kids rooms and do a banishing. I get to a point where I can't stand it anymore. Look at Huck's room. Can you believe this? I started at 10am and finished at 3:30pm. 8 garbage bags, 4 cardboard boxes of broken toys, random pieces of paper and detritus later, I emerged sweaty, with much back pain, cuts all over my legs and feet from a broken light bulb hidden under the abyss, but with an enormous sense of accomplishment.