Job #1- Done

I can't tell you how good I feel even just getting this small space in better shape. I am thoroughly embarrassed at the before shots of the laundry room, but with a family of five and a holiday, this can happen super quick.


I purged an entire bag full of duvet covers, sheets and blankets that we haven't used in so long that it was time to go. The cabinets are all wiped down, arranged and folded nicely. I also took down our old Pike's Place print we got on our honeymoon (broken frame and all) and replaced it with the pretty calendar a friend gave me. Do you hate clutter as much as me? The counter is clutter-free and that feels just like spring.




Now for the next task...

Spring Checklist

So it's going to be a busy week here. Doctor appointments, co op, baseball practices commence, ballet, a play on Wednesday in the city, continued marathon training and we can't forget school work, right?

But I am feeling a mandatory spring cleaning coming on and so I thought I would put it into words and inspire (hopefully) some more organization in the blogging air. Wasn't it last spring that the mamas got together and shared laundry, closet, and kitchen projects??

After baking up a storm this weekend I can see that my supplies are in desperate need of spring sprucing. My kids drawers hardly close with jammed up ill-fitting clothes, Closets are an eyesore. And my junk drawer might just grab your hand if you reach in. So here's the plan- and if you have other solutions or motivations, please share! (Before and after pics to come).

Monday: Laundry room
Clear off counter top. Find space for all the extra towels, blankets by clearing out cabinets. Old and never used sheets and towels to be given away or thrown away if in bad shape. Pretty up the space to be incentive to keeping organized.

Tuesday: Junk drawer
Redo address book (my current book was made by my daughter in preschool six years ago and is in a million pieces that jam up the drawer every single time). Come up with a system for junk drawer contents ie pens, pencils, stamps, etc.

Wednesday: Master bedroom closet
Clean out clothes to donate. Although I have done this already this year, the closet it simply too small to contain it all. And really, we don't need it all. Figure out a system for workout/running gear that constantly falls off the shelf. We're going for nice, clean lines here folks.

Thursday: Daughter's closet and drawers
Donate clothes that don't fit. Help her de-clutter all of her "treasures". I can't imagine moving again with the collection of stuff at hand.

Friday: Boy's closet and drawers
This is an easier task because we can reuse my middle man's stuff. The in between stages will go into marked bins in the garage. All of the little guys stuff will be donated. Excuse me while I grab a tissue.

Saturday: Kitchen
This will take me the longest. We don't have a great amount of storage space in our kitchen so I'll put everything on the counter and draw up a plan for function and flow. I plan to get all spices organized and ditch the old. The baking stuff- sugars, decorations, cutters, etc need to find a container of some sort. We eat a lot of nuts and seeds here and every time I open the cabinet the bags come tumbling out. Perhaps they need a container, too. This will be a good time to wipe down the crumbs and drips and start fresh.

Sunday: I'll be gone most of the day at a class but this will be garage day. What garage couldn't use an overhaul day? I plan to get my seasonal stuff in order and go through and get rid of stuff we don't use. I absolutely cannot stand riffling through containers and boxes looking for that one item. (Hence my Easter wreath is not up this year). This will be a good job for my sweetie. That way he can kill all the spiders hiding under boxes.

And hopefully by this time next week, I'll be feeling a little lighter and hopefully more "on top" of things. Now go get your list going!

Trying the Triduum

What a whirlwind the past three days has been. Lent builds up for so long and before I know it, it's over. As always, I try to carry it on. Not just to Pentecost Sunday but you know, on. My Lenten resolutions, my prayer life- all of it. And the key word there was try.

Friday we went to stations at our church. It was very crowded and somber. Outside the skies were dark and rain fell periodically. Well-suited weather for such a day. And I'm terrible at fasting. I mean the second I am officially fasting, my stomach growls. I try to be cheerful and carry on business as usual but I usually end up feeling light headed and grumpy. But the key word there was try.

Saturday brought us lots of errand running and an egg dying fiasco to go in the record books. How is it that every single cup of dye can be overturned simultaneously and splatter in all directions? I laughed and I cried for you see, we're renters. Dye is not supposed to cover the floor and walls and counters of a rental property- it's just not. I tried to find the humor in it all as I told everyone to freeze and grabbed the roll of paper towel. Key word...you know.


We ended the day making Resurrection cookies for the second year in a row. And for the second time, they were fun to make but did not do what they were supposed to. (Or perhaps we didn't do what we were supposed to?!) Instead of fluffy, hollow cookies, we got flat sticky pancakes. But we tried.

And finally Easter Sunday. The bunny came early and thankfully no raccoons got to the chocolates on the porch before the kids did. Mass was just beautiful. The egg hunt on the floor of the gymnasium was quick and not too challenging. And to back up and explain that- it rained steadily all day yesterday. Running into church and dodging puddles a woman muttered to me, "You gotta love the Pacific Northwest". So eggs just lay on the floor which makes the hunt last about 6.5 seconds and not a great backdrop for photography. But I did try.



The rest of the day was lazy and cozy. We watched old movies, cooked, played, ate a delicious dinner and as we went to put the little chicks to bed the rain finally stopped.

Easter blessings to you all!

What it Looks Like

"Come on sweetie, let's go take a picture of that beautiful tree".

"Okay mom, I'll be right there".


(With complimentary dinosaurs, a construction hat and dad's shoes...must we go everywhere with stuff???)

Well, we did see the tree. And fall in dad's shoes. And build an awesome dinosaur haven amongst the mossy rocks. I love spring.

A New Find

While checking out the lineup for this year's Northwest Catholic Homeschool Conference, I found this site- Organic & Thrifty. I could spend hours on here learning new recipes and finding inspiration. Check it out for yourself!

So Needed

We needed the past four days of sun and warmth like nobody's business up here in the Pacific Northwest. Have you ever seen kids bust out an entire day of lessons in just over an hour? Try it sometime. All you have to do is tell them that if they get their rooms picked up and have their lessons done, they can meet friends at the park for lunch. And heck, they can stay all day!

With sun-kissed cheeks, I'm off to run in the rain.

And We're Off

The first family bike event of 2009 and it only took a mere two hours to assemble! Pumping tires, loading, squishing, cramming bikes into the car. Stopping to use a friend's bike trailer. Loading, squishing and cramming the bike trailer into the car. Driving up to the trail and learning how to put the bike trailer together and onto the bike...It's no wonder we ate dinner at 8:30pm! But it was really worth it. It reached an unheard of 73 degrees at my house (gasp!) yesterday. Spring fever is in full bloom.

Notice the posting- that's not what we want to see today.

The bike trailer is so much better than have someone kicking me from the seat behind. And it gives a killer leg workout on the hills.

Stopping for a quick hike through the trees and moss.

This tree looked so cool with the growth on it. If I had a better camera, I'd be in business.
The view from the end of the trail-Snoqualmie Falls off in the distance.

Hooterific

We've gone owl crazy at our house. The Guardians of Ga'Hoole collection is in full swing. We're reading and listening to the books on tape. And we're plowing through them.

We saw mama owl, whom the kids call Mrs. Swivels, on our trip to Arizona. Here she is now with her owlet. I know, it's too cute.


We're drawing owls for an art contest.


And best yet, we're eating them. Relax- they're edible birds. The idea came from the cupcake book I picked up at Costco with a little of my own style. (That should read that it's not as professional looking). The cake mix and frosting is from the organic food market. The brand is Cherrybrook Kitchen. They make peanut free, dairy free, egg free, and nut free frosting and mix. I used chocolate covered sunflower seeds from Trader Joe's and well as the chocolate Jo Jo's from TJ's. The kids are going to flip out in sugar delight.



I decorated some with tufts of feathers on the ears and the others are more plain for the "less is best" crowd. Happy owling to you and a wonderful weekend, too.

A Thumbs up for Oprah -‘The Stem Cell Debate Is Over’

I don't normally tune into the big O. It's been years, really. But I just had to share this clip a friend sent to me today. It's really quite fascinating.

‘The Stem Cell Debate Is Over’: Faith & Family Live!#When:15:54:00Z

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They Got Me

My little schemers actually got me. I HATE spiders. I freak out over spiders-always have, always will. Fortunately my daughter doesn't bat an eye to cupping a spider and setting it free far, far away outside. (I've even gotten her out of bed at night to get one for me, I know, I'm pathetic.)

Sitting at the table working with my middle man today, in comes the spider saver to retrieve her glass to cover the unwanted visitor. "It's a really big one, mom".
"Really? Where???" my voice quivered.
"On my wall" she nonchalantly answered.

So a few minutes later she comes towards me and the patio door. "Careful not to drop..." That very instant she tripped and the glass and unwanted visitor hurled toward me. "AGHHH" I screamed.


Laughter broke out like crazy and I saw the "big spider". Stinkers.

A Springy Sunday Afterall

Okay so the snow melted quickly and the sun came out making the day not as bad as we thought. We got to finally meet our friend's sweet, little Jason after Mass today. Please stop by Lora's site and see this cutie for yourself. Also swing by Chickens in the Burbs and see how baby Cabrini is growing. She's almost two months now and we just got to meet her yesterday, too.

Now onto the rest of the day...

Our local farm store has baby chicks for $2.99. At that price we wanted to buy them all!

Woodpecker feeders outside bedroom windows are finally in place.


Things are blooming. My tulips are really coming up and there are buds on the trees!



Our awesome neighbor, AJ, made all the kids wooden boats to have the first official boat race down the creek to the river of the season. Hmmm, his won- you think it was fixed?

The Warm Up for April Fools

My patio this morning. Isn't it peaceful and lovely? (GROAN!)

May is Coming

And you know what that means- First Communion! The Catholic Company is once again hosting a photo contest for First Communion pics so get them out and send them in by May 31st. You might be the winner!

Whaaaaa

At dinner I told my kids that our Jayhawks "had" to win. To which my daughter replied, "Mom, isn't it enough that they won last year"???
Enough? What's the matter with these young people?!

Even my Jayhawk husband doesn't seem so bummed. What's the matter with these alumni?

What kills me the most is that our station insisted upon going back to the Gonzaga game which had like a twenty point difference with eleven minutes left. Meanwhile I had to watch my hawks lose by a hair on the minuscule print at the top of the screen. What's the matter with these station programmers?

Okay, I'm off to stew.

Well Rested and Ready to Go

Waking up at grandma and grandpa's is good.

We're back. We're rosy cheeked. We're missing how spoiled we were for sure. Although I love the Pacific Northwest, a little time in sunny Arizona does a mom some good.

We packed in so much fun stuff and pampering, it feels like months compared to the nine days. There was a romantic night away with my honey including a deep tissue massage and facial. Ahhhh. A birthday celebration for my non-Irish St. Patty's husband. A get together BBQ with family. A two day trip to Las Vegas to visit our buddies. A pedicure. A new hairdo. Sleeping in the casita with no night inturptions. Swimming. Running. A Cub's game. And lots of grandma/grandpa attention for little ones- what more could a vacation bring?

Owls for Aubs

We have a new niece in our family and we got a little carried away with the hoots. I couldn't resist the thermal fabric from Joanne's. My honey thinks they look like PacMan. And a friend gave me a pattern for the owl to crochet. I can't believe I actually followed a pattern and it turned out recognizable!


So little Aubrey, it's 5 weeks late but know it's on its way and we love you!

Do They Look Happy To You?

Well my friends, they were not. It was 38 degrees, raining and the St. Patrick's Day race was running 15 minutes late.


The good news is they did great. They ran fast, got their medal, some hot chocolate and back in the heated car.

Not quite the face I expected after running but we all revel in our accomplishments differently.

Running With the Pack

All day long I will be singing "Oh I just can't WAIT to be king". The music at last night's Lion King will be swirling around our heads for some time. It was that good.

Even from the nosebleed seats at this old theater, we were amazed with the Broadway set, animal costumes, singing, etc.

As great as the show was, I must say most of the fun was in just getting there. We bought the tickets for our daughter's birthday gift. It was to be a big night out with just mom and dad for our newly ten year old. The excitement began with a miscommunication with our sitter. She thought she was to arrive at 5:30 not 5pm. With a dinner reservation in the city at 5:45, stress set in. We got to the restaurant just past 6pm to find our table had been given away. "Next time call us" said the hostess. Groan.

We ate fast and furious to be at the theater in time. We even skipped dessert! A complimentary birthday sundae went by the wayside so that we could run three blocks over to the show.

"Hello Dolly" my husband said looking up at the marquee. At that point I pulled the tickets out of my purse. Oops. Wrong theater. My honey quick grabbed his phone and looked up the Lion King. We had 15 minutes until the performance was to begin.

"It's at the Paramount, Heather"! Another oops. Fast as gazelles we ran four or five blocks over to the theater on his phone. "Huh? March Madness"? I breathlessly inquired. "This isn't Lion King"! He dialed in again on his map. "But it says Paramount" Josh exclaimed.

I quick asked a native city slicker where the Lion King was. Only to be told it was another Paramount theater, seven blocks away and we'd never make it in time. "TAXI" we yelled.

Would you believe we got there just as the lights were dimming? "That was fun" I giggled. A fine time to say hakuna matata .

Gleanfully Happy

Do you know about gleaning? I'm still confused about it but a fellow homeschooling family gleans bread from a local favorite. If I understand it correctly, it means that when the store has to pull bread from the shelves they give as much as they can to charity and homeless and the rest if for the public.

Can you even believe the amount of carbs on my table? And you can't see the freezer is already stuffed with loaves. We're off to deliver to neighbors and friends. Should we stop by your house, too?

Looks Painful

He did this on his own. It wasn't punishment, I promise!

Bet You Didn't Know This

My little guy is taking after his big sister with an interest in dinosaurs. His facts may be off a bit (much to his sister's chagrin- she worries about inaccurate facts leading him down a path of misunderstanding), as he has the Indians "sha sha" shooting the dinos.


But the best part is while "reading" the dinosaur encyclopedia (my daughter's old favorite bedtime reading) he told us that dinosaurs died in 1995 on Jupiter. Bet you didn't know that one.

The Way I See It

Not a commentary on my take of things- just the view I see everyday. I am so blessed to see such beauty- the snow on the mountains, the river down below (makes me think of the Peter Gabriel song from WallE). But I must confess, I think about spring a lot these days. I cannot wait for green, green, green.

And with the time change yesterday- it's very dark here this morning but I know soon that will change and we'll have light from the early hours until bedtime. And speaking of bedtime, losing an hour this weekend and childhood bad dreams are a really tough start to a Monday. So back to thinking of buds and blooming and hopefully some snow melt.

Happy Monday.

My tiny little town for the past year and a half. We've really enjoyed what a small town offers. But blink and you'll miss it.

Pretty Smart

Grandma sent this globe to my daughter for her birthday a few weeks ago. I must say, it might be the best "toy" we've had.

The best part is that there is something for all ages. My little one can learn geography, my bigger ones like to find out distances and odd facts of other countries and even us big folk have picked up a thing or two. The price isn't cheap but it is well worth the cost.

Date Night

We called it an official date night- put the kids to bed, made popcorn and grabbed a Heineken. I lasted all of five minutes with this movie. This is what led up to the quick flick.

Is the whole thing going to be like this?
Uh, yes, it's Batman.
Really? This is what these movies are like? Every five seconds someone is getting shot?

Click went the remote. Apparently my honey didn't want date night to be a bunch of whining and talking during the movie.

Don't worry, we ate out popcorn and drank our beer but to something much less in need of me to cover my eyes.

Help Us Countdown

Hmmm, boy wakes up and is surprised to see what is outside. "But it was sunny yesterday. Isn't winter supposed to be done"? he asks.


Yep, snowing again. Please help us countdown the 15 days left until spring arrives. Surely it will be nice then, right?

Because We Collect Stuff

Recently my husband made a comment about how we as a family tend to collect things- namely we collect certifications. Whether for work or as an outside interest, we do tend to add em up. Last year Josh got his real estate license "for fun" and now he's working on his volunteer fire training certification. It's a long process and he loves every single second of it. And because it's been awhile since I got my teaching license, I figure I'd better add to the collection soon.

So, I have paid my dues and am getting ACE certified to become a Group Fitness Instructor (less of a commitment than a personal trainer) and a LeMond spinning instructor. You know, if I'm gonna take the class, I might as well teach it and make some extra income. My hope is to have all my testing wrapped up by the summer and be able to pick up some spinning and circuit training classes before the fall. Flexible hours, decent pay, staying in shape- and our wall of collected certifications gets just a bit more crowded.

Running in the Rain

Early this morning as light was finding it's way, I ran through the rain. All the way up the hill I wondered why no one told me marathon training was hard. Demanding. Tough.

Then my focus shifted and I tried to find the positive in being the first one up and out of bed, out in the rain and breathing hard. Here is what I found; the dewey, wet morning is faboulous for a gal's complexion. It's fun to play "avoid the worm" incorporating plyometrics. No one is awake or out to see my smeared mascara leftover from the day before racoon eyes. It's a really good way to pray in quiet, especially at the start of the day. And finally- the coffee tastes that much better with a homecoming stretch.

Marathon training is hard, demanding, tough and time-consuming. And when the run is over for the day- I love it and I look forward to tomorrow.

Daddy-Daughter Date

Our American Heritage Girls troop has been studying etiquette for the past few months. Tonight it will pay off. Josh and our daughter are now zipping into Seattle for a fancy, schmancy dinner. The girls and their dads will have a multiple course meal including lots of silverware to wash. Afterwards I hear they will dance and have cheesecake. Doesn't that just sound sweet?

It's raining and blowing and really yucky here tonight-isn't this a great transport look?

Deep Breaths

Basketball season ended yesterday. It was a great season- the kids played their hearts out and they had fun. But mama is glad that the shuttling has come to a quiet end.

These cookies turned out pretty cute. I would make a different frosting next time (not milk & powdered sugar)- it came out too lumpy looking. But they were eaten up quickly and rumor has it, they weren't too shabby.