The Book

When I first thought about telling you about the book I mentioned in the previous post I had good intentions of telling you some of what I've learned/changed since reading it, but I didn't because I got onto other things. I thought maybe I'd really bore you, but since Jenni so nicely asked, here are a few things I've gained from this book.

• Dishes. I clean up the kitchen every night. (there have been a handful of times that it hasn't happened since last May) I used to think that people that had dishwashers had NO reason not to do their dishes everyday. Now I have a dishwasher and I realize that I still do a lot of dishes. I do like my dishwasher, don't get me wrong. :)
• Never multi task more than 3 things at a time. This includes laundry. I try to remember this, but it's hard.
• Always finish completely all laundry done in a day. This means folded and put away. I am still struggling with this one.
• Keep the front 2/3 of your counters cleared off and the back 1/3 only for 1 decorative or useful item. (I think I have that right)
• I've organized my closet and it has stayed pretty neat for several months now. My biggest problem is the shelf above the clothes rack. I know some 6 ft 8in person decided every closet should have a shelf at that level. In the past the best way for me to put anything up there was to fold it, then stand a foot back and throw it overhand and hope it landed on a pile. Now I simply hang a lot more stuff up. Shoes are still an issue

I know there is so much more, but I'm drawing a blank right now. The book is very easy to read and touches on a lot of different areas of life, even holidays. I don't have the book here with me at Rosedale. Maybe when I get home I'll sit down and give a better overview. I do highly recommend the book. I got some good ideas from her, but it also helped to just get my mind thinking of ways to organize and de-clutter. I'm learning just how much clutter can still "calm" away from a home. Lastly, I hope no one reading this things I've become an organized Martha. I haven't. I'm a long way from it, but I'm starting to take baby steps in the right direction. I know some of you are very organized. If yo have any advice please let me know! :)

Always learning...

(Jenni and Robyn, I really enjoyed your posts about books. I've been wanting to post about a book I like for a long time. You've encouraged me to finally do so. After I get this other stuff out of the way. :))

Last spring II Timothy 3:7 struck me. Hard. "Always learning, but never acknowledging the truth." I hope I don't get in trouble for this, but here's why it hit me. (note, I'm a woman so I'll speak about women. Men can deal with their own issues on their own blogs. :)) We as women are always learning. We're the first to ask directions, we're always talking to each other about a new recipe we've tried, or better yet, one that has failed and we want to know how to fix it. Our babies keep us up all night so we ask our friends how they get their children to sleep and on and on we go, always learning. We flock to Bible studies and buy the newest books hoping that something we read or hear will change our lives. Always learning...but never acknowledging the truth. The truth is that in order for anything to improve in my life I have to, can I say it, change!! I can read every book and go to every Bible Study and talk to all my friends about what to do to change, but nothing is going to work in my life until I'm willing to make sacrifices (ouch!) and force myself to do something different.

Here's an example. Sometimes my kids drive me crazy. What I like to do on days like that is call up a friend and ask how in the world she gets her kids to listen and behave. (always learning) Instead, my kids probably just need some Mommy time (ah, the truth!) Or maybe my children they need me to be the parent (read Robyn's post on this). Basically, they need me to acknowledge the truth. I've found that learning is a good way to ignore the truth.

(This next part should be a separate post, but oh well) This all has been rumbling around in my heart for almost a year now. It's starting to make little differences here and there (I think). Around the time I started looking at learning this way I was introduced to this book. (what a great photograph!?!)
When I started reading this book I was ready for a change. I'm not the most unorganized person, but I can improve a lot in this area. So, armed with "always learning, but never acknowledging the truth" I started into this book. The truth for me was that I needed to make daily changes (sacrifices). I've wanted to post something about this book for 8 months, but haven't because I wanted to make sure that the changes I was trying to put into place weren't just a phase. I have a very long way to go, but slowly I'm working some things into place and man, does it feel good!

Now, if I was the Pioneer Women I would give away a free kitchen aid to 10 of you (that would be all of my readers) just because you're still reading. Sorry, can't do it. I would like to know what you think though. Am I off my rocker?

Looks Good

Have any of you heard of this site? I just found it through another blog that I follow. Modest clothing and good prices. Two things that are hard to find these days!

Cincinnati

Last weekend we went to Cincinnati to visit my aunt and uncle and cousin. We had a very nice time! They are such great hosts. We kicked back and relaxed. The boys loved the extra attention and new toys.

Joyce reading to Isaiah

Watching videos with Dylan. We did not plan for them to match. How cute!

Playing ball with Aunt Joyce. They have a wonderful selection of balls. Isaiah was in his glory.

Isaiah lived in this helmet. Like his shoes? :)

I took this picture for Wilma. :) I forgot to mention that Joyce is an incredible cook and we ate way too much food, but wow, was it good!

The Story of My Life...

First of all, I get tired of looking at the same old colors and template on this blog so today I decided to change it. I messed and messed with it, but still don't like it. I'm tired of wasting my time on it.

In case you haven't noticed I am greatly enjoying being able to upload a picture in 10 seconds instead of the 10 minutes it takes at home. If you get tired of pictures let me know. :)

Here's a picture of Nathan doing one of his favorite things, playing in the toilet. We try to remember to close the door, but he seems to sense it the moment someone forgets to close it and he heads right to it. You'll notice he has something in his hand. It's his favorite stuffed moose. Actually, it's one of two. We bought him a second one because he sucks (yuck!) on the antlers when he's falling to sleep and I wanted to be able to wash one while he sleeps with the other one. Normally, he is not allowed to carry Moose around the house. This day I saw he had it, but hadn't taken it from him yet. Things got quiet and this is what we found. (notice the unsnapped onesie hanging out the front. He's cute and his mama dresses him funny. (if you've never heard that you won't understand, or laugh at it.)

In other news here is Isaiah sporting his basketball hat and glasses. We see

stuff like this so often that we almost forget that it's odd. People must wonder about us.Isaiah is in my cousin's wedding the end of February. They bought him a black suit to wear (he looks so adorable!) I needed to find him a white shirt. I was thrilled to find this outfit (included black pants) at a used clothing store for $6.50. He is very excited about it too.

Talk

Isaiah told Jeremy this is what he dreamed last night:

"Angels came and told me "I bring good gifts for you Isaiah" and the angels had wings and they were in the sky and they gave me gifts of fire trucks and fire men too!" (I think we'd better tell him the Christmas story again!)

Last night he very seriously told me "Mommy, I want deahdlei for snack. He's learning that we spell things like chips and ice cream.

Today Jeremy told him no about something and Isaiah challenged him. Jeremy told Isaiah that this was not his decision to make. Some decisions Mommy and Daddy make. Isaiah told him "I want to make this decision myself. I'm going to make the decision for Mommy and Daddy." Good try, he didn't win.

On the way home tonight he started talking in real low raspy voice "I am a man". He loves to tell Jeremy that Nathan is a man and Jeremy is a boy. He thinks this is so funny. Boys are very important around here. I hear this lots "Mommy, all the boys are playing" or "All the boys are eating" or whatever they might be doing.

I wish I could remember everything he says during the day. He is acting so grown up lately. The new big thing is to laugh (fake!) whenever there are adults laughing about something. He shrugs, laughs and says things that sound very grown up like yeah and I know.

20 Years from Now...

Do you ever wonder what your life will look like in 20 years? I do. I wonder if I'll ever have the following conversation with Isaiah and Nathan.

Isaiah and Nathan: Mom, what were we doing during the 2009 inauguration of president elect Barack Obama?

Me: Well sons, you were eating lunch. I fed you peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, graham crackers, raisins and apples. Isaiah you also had carrots and dip. I fed you some of your favorite foods in hope that you would be quiet enough for me to hear the ceremonies of the inauguration on the radio. You did well except for a peek-a-boo game between the two of you that caused some laughter. I didn't mind the laughter. You were unaware of the history being made. I wondered what your history books would tell you about that day and the next four years. Your father and I did not vote for Obama, but we did pray for him. We taught you to follow God and put ALL of your trust in Him and not in man. Did you listen to our instruction? I hope so. Here's what you looked like on that day:

Saturday morning pancakes

Editor's note: Jeremy just read this and corrected my wrong use of several words. :( For the record I wrote this on very little sleep! Forgive me. :)

Oh the joy and relief that floods my soul this morning. I thought I alone was struggling in the hunt for the perfect pancake. But no, you all have issues too! You struggle and create perfect flops in your kitchen's too! Whatever would I do without you all! Robyn, I think you're on to something with the electric griddle. A wise woman (my mom) has been telling me this for some time. By the way, I do not like to use the word griddle. I always fear it will come out electric girdle. May not be a bad invention.

For your information:

girdle 
–noun
1.
a lightweight undergarment, worn esp. by women, often partly or entirely of elastic or boned, for supporting and giving a slimmer appearance to the abdomen, hips, and buttocks. Works even better when used with electricity.

Here are a few pictures that I also posted on facebook. I thought I'd post them here too since some of you of the wiser kind have not yet joined facebook. I will say that I am not addicted to facebook. I still like to blog. I like words. I want to know what you think, want to read your heart and your cookbook. I want to see pictures of you and your kin without having to look up an album. Facebook feels rather lazy to me. I must say though that I've been blown away facebook's ability to connect people.

Happy Saturday!

I took this picture from our appartment. Jeremy is walking to class on a very cold morning!

Snow Day

I enjoyed watching snow fall today, all day long. It was beautiful. It was also pretty cold. I kept thinking I should take the boys out, but it was so cold I decided not too. Why do decisions like that make me feel like a bad mom?

Today seemed long. I think it's because I knew that with the snow even if I wanted to get out it probably wouldn't happen. I decided to make pancakes for lunch. :) I have to confess that I love pancakes, but for some reason I have the worse time making them. I try so hard to not stir them too much. Then we end up eating hunks of baking soda. Mmm... Or I stir them too much and I end up chasing the batter around the pan so I have individual pancakes instead of one huge pancake. Those always look more like Finish pancakes, which I like, but have never made. Anyway, it's hard to confess such faults as not being able to make pancakes, but there it is. Today I used Hungry Jack's pancake mix. Who can mess that up? Today I blame my faults on the pan. At home I use nonstick skillets and a gas stove. By the last two pancakes they were turning out well. I think I had the heat too high and was turning them too fast. Results: black on the outside, doughy in the middle. The boys and I ate them and no one complained. I gave Jeremy the two (almost) perfect ones since he isn't a big pancake fan. All ended well. Or so I thought until I was cleaning up Nathan after lunch and had to scrub to get dried dough off of his chubby hands. :(

In other news, Isaiah is really become more and more talkative. For the most part this is good and a lot of fun. Sometimes, however, it's hard to know what to do with him. Here's an example:

Isaiah "Mommy, I'm sad because I'm mad at you"
Me "Why are you mad at me?"
Isaiah "Because I don't like you"

How would you have responded? I think it's good for a child to learn to express what he is feeling, but how can we teach him to do it respectfully? By the way, I think I had just told him no or something along that line. For the most part he likes me, I think. Here's another conversation from today:

Isaiah: (to me) "I wish you were a boy"
Me "Why do you want me to be a boy?"
Isaiah: "so you can wear this and this" (pointed to his sunglasses and hooded sweatshirt.) No idea where that came from.

Sorry this is so long. I'm a little bored. Can you tell? :)

Pictures

Here are some random pictures from the last week.

Couch potatoes watching Boz
Cool Dude. He loves these glasses, even sleeps with them on sometimes.

Here's Jeremy and Isaiah reading. I also took this picture to show part of our apartment. The bedrooms and bathroom are to the left.

Look at those curls.

Our apartment has some color thanks to LaRonda for the plant on the left, my aunt and uncle and grandparents for the flowers the had delivered for my birthday, on the right, and Jeremy for the Lego flower he created for me in the center :)

Check this out

If you like chocolate chip cookies you need to try this recipe. Even if you hate chocolate chip cookies you should try this recipe. You'll soon learn to love again. They're incredible. I made a batch last night, but only baked one pan of them. Then I baked another pan for lunch and another for supper. I've eaten way too many of them. Maybe I'll go bake the rest and eat them all tonight so that I can start a diet tomorrow. You must try this recipe.

It's working again!

The internet is up and running again so I'm happy. Here are just a couple pictures. I feel like most of my pictures from this Christmas were pretty boring. Oh well.

Isaiah the wise man. He did great. He was only one of the three to actually get his gift to baby Jesus. We were so proud.

Our time with my parents was very short. As you can see from this picture they made the most of the time they had with the boys.

Frustration

I planned to post pictures from our Christmas once we got to RBC and I had a few extra minutes. I'm frustrated because now I'm here and have the time, but the internet connection that is supposed to be faster than our dial-up at home is actully slower. We're talking 10-15 minutes to pull up a site if it will even bring it up. Grr#^$@%&*I(&%$%. The first day was great, but yesterday and today have been very slow. Sorry for the complaining. I just had to get it out. :) Other than that we are doing well. I'll try to post something more pleasant to read soon.

We're Here!

Yesterday we arrived at Rosedale for their 6 week winter term. This morning I feel like I'm finally catching my breath. Feels like the first time in weeks. I'm enjoying not having 3 different lists on my counter of things to do, things to pack and things to get after we arrive here. As much as I have looked forward to this time away, I'm always a little sad to leave our little house. I just love it there. It's not perfect but it's home. I was a little sad to look around the boy's room one last time before we left. I even had a hard time packing the few toys that we brought. I kept thinking, oh I'll miss seeing this car, or that book. I think I'm a little weird and way too sentimental. We're only going to be away for 6 weeks after all. It does feels good to be back at RBC. We feel very blessed to have an opportunity like this. This year we have a much better idea of what to expect (we think! :))

We drive a little Honda so needless to say I didn't even try to pack food other than some spices and baking soda etc. Have you ever tried to shop for for for a completely empty kitchen knowing you'll only be using the stuff for 6 weeks??!! What do we have to have, what can we do without? If I buy this are we going to use it up in 6 weeks, or at least use enough of it to make it worth buying? What kind of recipes can I make that don't require weird stuff that I have in my kitchen at home, but only use once a month? I'm not complaining. In fact I'm looking at the next few weeks as a challenge to learn to live with less. Hopefully my family will go a long with it. :) I'll try to keep you updated on how things are going.