Checking Things Off

Sometimes "To Do" lists can be burdensome but when you start checking things off, it provides a great sense of accomplishment. There's still a battle waging between me and household chores (laundry and dishes) while I'm finding more pleasure in those extra projects (hanging shelves, pictures and curtains). My ultimate goal is to finish these extra projects in the next three weeks and then use the rest of July to map out Philip's Kindergarten school work before we begin in mid August. So far so good, but Philip has swimming lessons the next two weeks and then comes 4th of July! Here are the updates I've made around the house. Check!

Added framed photos from our Disney trip to the wall at the bottom of the stairs. We enjoy them daily on the way downstairs and others can see them on their way out.




Curtain rod: mine from teenage days
Curtains: from bathroom window of old house
Hem tape to create layers: $1:50
Joy of "making" my own curtains: yeah for me!




We had the large shelf at our old house. The small one I found at a consignment store for $4. These make me proud as I used a level, electric drill, anchors and screws to install!

Natural Birth 101

It's not everyday someone happily welcomes you into their birthing room and lets you experience the miracle of new life up close and personal. Last month, Philip and I were treated to just such an experience. Well ok, the mother wasn't human but a cat and no, I wouldn't let Philip watch a human birth just yet.

Our neighbors' cat, Ruby, began hanging around our yard early in May while the parents were at work and the kids were in school. She was clearly pregnant but let us pet her whenever we wanted. Philip and Braewyn became quite comfortable with her after first thinking she was scary and "has claws" as Braewyn would say. Philip called her our "daytime pet".

On May 18, we had attended MOPS and upon returning home, Ruby ran into our open garage and jumped into a box in the back of it. I scooped her up and shoo-ed her outside. A little while later, Philip and I were testing our hypothesis (yes, we watch "Dinosaur Train") as to if she would like milk or water on our front porch. After drinking some milk, Ruby stood by the front door and when I saw it happen, I knew that her water had broken! What to do?! I actually called our vet and asked what to do for a cat who was having her kittens on our front porch. I was told to provide her a box or other safe place and not do anything unless she looked in distress. What would a cat having kittens look like if in distress?

Anyhow, Philip and I (well he wandered off now and then) watched four kittens come into the world and their mom clean up all the mess. Yes, all the mess. I'll spare you the details. I can't think about it too long as it makes me queasy. The kittens were tiny and high-pitched. Matthew and our neighbors came home and we announced the happy news that Ruby was the mother of four. We went inside to eat dinner and after finishing, I checked Ruby to find SIX kittens. Wow, good work, Ruby! They are all growing up nicely in our neighbor's front porch area now and I'm still pondering if we should take one as I was their mom's midwife and all.

My Ever Present Foe

How horrible to describe my prayed for and wonderful blessing of a house in that manner. Yes, I will admit to being a messy; you know there are some people who are tidy and have well-kept homes and then there are "messies" (a term coined by someone I heard speaking on Focus on the Family). I grew up with a wonderful, loving mom who made me do chores but kept the rest of the house very well put together. When Matthew and I married and bought our first house, I thought to myself, "Now where is the person who is supposed to keep this house clean?" Yes, I struggled through clutter for 8 years in that house before renting a storage unit, throwing half of our belongings in it, and living in perfect harmony for four months while "showing" that house. I did really like how it looked and felt. Fast forward almost a year...

We moved into this brand new, beautiful home and I had an emotional meltdown. On top of not knowing where to put anything (and then not knowing where anything was once placed), that storage unit vomitted its contents back into our lives and now it seems every closet in this bigger house is almost full. How does that happen? Let me just say "Thank Heavens for Summer!"

We struggled through setting up house amidst our first year of home school. Philip and I were both overjoyed with the end of K-4 even though it astounds me how much he developed emotionally and intellectually. I now have mornings free and a renewed excitement to finish unpacking those few boxes and tackle the mini-projects I've decided on. Between visiting my sister-in-law Lori over Memorial Day and gleaning from her home management wisdom and stopping by my friend and neighbor Greta's beautiful home (it always looks ready to show and they're not moving!), I'm reinspired to keep my nose to the grindstone and tackle my house on a daily basis.

Some of you readers will laugh to yourselves when I say I happily invited Flylady to my email inbox again. Today I wiped down my kitchen cupboards and my kitchen sink currently holds one single cutting board. In addition to the norm, my summer project list included the following:

- Decorate the kids' bathroom (paint and new curtain/fixtures)
- Hang shelves in kitchen (DONE!)
- Buy storage items to organize school material (DONE!)
- Create chalkboard on bonus room wall
- Find a small table and round rug for entry way
- Paint Braewyn's headboard white with her name
- Paint stairway wall with brick faux finish
- Install curtain over jet tub window (Rod installed, curtains tomorrow!)
- Hang Grand Canyon / Walt Disney photos
- Clean out master bed boxes
- Purchase new desk for computer
- Rearrange Braewyn's room (changing table in closet)
- Rearrange bonus room room to be half school / half play
- Add shelves to the bonus room for more toy storage

Well, that's my June schedule.

Gotta Remember This...

I want to always remember Braewyn's use (or misuse) of grammar at age 3.

"Not me want to take a nap."

"Not me can do that."

"Not me know where Thomas (her doll) is."

Sweetness.

Disney World Recap (part 2)

Ok, I've got so much to post about but I'm striving to not leave things half done this summer. Therefore, here's a recap of the last three days of our Disney trip. It's fun for me to look back at the pics too and remember what an awesome time we had.

Day 4 -- Animal Kingdom


Here's the trademark tree with animals carved all over it. Yeah, it's not a real tree. They had me fooled!


Bashful Braewyn on a bridge. This glimpse into what an African town is like was really cool. We've been sponsoring a boy named Talent who lives in Zimbabwe through World Vision for several years. It was neat telling Philip that Talent might live near a town like this.


Just before we left Animal Kingdom, we happened upon Mickey and Minnie with a very short line for photos. The kids (especially Braewyn) were much more comfortable with the costumed characters than the live Princesses. Funny!

Day 5 -- Magic Kingdom


We decided to head back to M.K. after seeing all the parks because this one is most preschooler-friendly. First ride of the day was Cinderella's Golden Carrousel. This might have been Braewyn's favorite ride of the entire week.

Here's the Barnstormer which we all rode 3 times. It's a baby rollercoaster which flies you through Goofy's chicken coop but it still took my stomach!


We left M.K. about 3pm after seeing everything we hadn't the first day. This was our hotel, Coronado Springs Resort. We came back to the room, changed into swimsuits and walked over to the beautiful pool area. I didn't take my camera with me but here's the link if you want to see it.

DAy 6 -- Epcot Center


We headed back to Epcot with the goal to visit all the countries of the World Showcase part. Thankfully Philip did have an understanding of world countries as we had colored maps and flags of eight countries in school. I love meeting people from all over the world so it was fun talking with the employees. Here are Braewyn and I posing by a fountain in "Italy".


I'm thinking this was also "Italy".

We enjoyed a wonderful lunch in Norway at the Akershaus Banquet Hall. It is a character dining restaurant at which the princesses mingle through the tables, chatting with you while you eat. It was actually much more fun than waiting in line to meet the princesses for one moment and leave. However definitely a reason to have the dining plan because without it we would have spent over $100!

Disney World was wonderful week full of memories. I feel good to not going again for another 10 years!

Not Sleepy

It's 4:26am. I'm not sleepy. I've read my Bible and several blogs and I seem to be getting more awake than sleepy. Yes, probably bad idea to get on the computer but I couldn't find my copy of "Pride and Prejudice" (yes, I'm adding it to my sidebar as my new book On The Nightstand when I find it and take a pic of it). Random thoughts woke me up and then I had to check on Braewyn anyway.

No, I don't generally check on the kids when I wake up in the middle of the night. I do right before I go to bed because I love seeing their peaceful, sleeping faces. However tonight Braewyn's peaceful, sleeping face has three stitches over her left eye. Last night during supper at church, she tripped and gouged her temple on the corner of a chair. I scooped her up after Ruth Ann said, "She's cut!" Quite horrific as blood quickly ran down her face. The three of us drove to the ER while Matthew and Philip followed behind. Braewyn was amazingly brave. I think the Lord put her into a somewhat natural sedated state due to not having napped all day. The ER doc was wonderful and so caring. He said his 4-year-old daughter split her forehead open last summer and he had to stitch her up. I told him to treat Braewyn like his own.

Two nurses positioned Braewyn into a full-body velcro wrap and called her a burrito. All you could see were her Princess sneakers and her face. After I had held a cotton ball with numbing agent on her cut for 30 minutes before being burrito-ed, Braewyn didn't seem to feel anything the doc did. Thank you, Lord. I had been praying repetitively for that cotton ball to work while I held it and we all watched "Kung Fu Panda" (wonderful pediatric ER rooms!). The doc flushed out her gouge (yes, there was chair debris in her head!) and stitched up our little trooper. She winced a few times but remained motionless, not even struggling against the wrap.

I thank the Lord our trip to the ER is over. Who knows what health issues we'll face in the future but it was amazing to feel the love and peace which comes when your church family is praying. Since her fall happened in the fellowship hall just 15 minutes before our Wednesday night prayer service and adult choir practice were to begin, probably 150 people knew what happened even before we arrived at the ER.

If you were praying, thank you!

And now I think I'm sleepy.