Joy, week 36

JOY in 2012



I have never in my life been so thankful for the Sabbath day as I have today.  For a variety of reasons, the weekend was incredibly intense.  Our schedule was intense, it was emotionally intense, physically intense.  I had to be on my game in every way with some complex things going on.  I think it worked out well enough, and we literally fell into this day of rest with grateful hearts.  All of us.

Another busy week.  Busier than we’ve had in a while now that we’re back to a six days/week soccer life, with lacrosse to keep things hopping as well.  But let me tell you, I’m thankful for these things.  I’m grateful my children have activities to participate in.  I’m grateful they’re willing to participate.  I’m so thankful my girls have a place to go where it doesn’t matter what you look like or who likes you or anything else.  All that matters at soccer is how hard you work and what you DO.  I think that’s a big deal for girls in our world, and this week I felt particularly grateful for it.  We had some doctor’s appointments, a daddy/daughter activity, several one on one outings with some of the children, the list goes on.

I feel like things are coming together a little during the day.  My youngest two are struggling to fall into a good school routine and we’re still working at that.  Either they’re happy or incredibly grouchy and needy.  I still need to potty train my youngest and start several things, but it’s coming.  I’m enjoying taking the girls for a walk in the mornings and I’m enjoying the projects I’ve been able to tackle.  The biggest ones are still untouched, and the yard is in desperate need, but I’m happy to be moving forward.  Our piano and violin practices need to improve, which can be tricky.  It’s hard to find 2.5 hours in the day for five children to practice!  When you find it, the second battle is keeping them at it.  Often the second battle is harder than the first.

I want to get better at prepping dinner in the morning.  That needs work and would probably help with our piano routine.

There were fun times as well.  Conversations with a few friends, storytime with bodies piled all around you, tickle torture for persistent toddlers, blue skies and puffy white clouds to look up and notice, crickets chirping outside our windows at night, sunrises that join you in waking all the children for school.  Oh, it’s a wonderful life!

There is a feeling I’ve had for the past couple of weeks, and it got stronger this week.   There are battles to fight and lines to draw and hold fast to when you’re raising a family.  You do it to protect and nurture your children.   There are things we have to do that are hard to do.  They complicate daily life.  They add a lot of emotional weight to the day.  We rarely speak of them because of their relevance to private battles our youth face.  But they need to be done and so we do them.  It’s as  simple as that.  Sometimes doing those things in addition to all the other daily things can really max us out, but  still we can’t let up because it’s simply not an option.  And as hard as those things can be, they add a precious dimension of satisfaction at the end of the day because you did what needed to be done.  Not always perfectly, mind you, but enough.  Good enough.  And good enough can be pretty awesome if we’re consistent.

So that’s my report.  I’m giving everything I can and know of to do in my effort to be a “good enough” parent.  I’m trying to be consistent.  I’m learning to lean a little more on the Lord for that extra strength and presence of mind.  I’m working harder to make life fun and to keep smiles on all our faces.  I’m determined to win the battles we have to fight.  It is exhausting and challenging but it is also amazing.  And it’s fun.  I’m so thankful it’s my life.

Joyfully, Jennifer

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Wound Up

Quilting and Sewing

I realized I was a little too intense about my September projects when I woke up Friday morning feeling stressed that the month was going too fast.

Seriously?  On the 7th?

Yes, on September 7th I was stressed that my month was almost gone.

Yeah.

So… I went on a long walk, hid my list from myself, and made myself do something that wasn’t on “the list.”


I basted a quilt.  Actually, I basted two quilts.  The first is for a birthday I’m afraid I’ll miss, so in a way it dealt directly with some stress.  The second (above) I basted because I plan to try hand quilting on it and if I like it, I’ll use it for some holiday projects.


It really was very therapeutic.  My little girls climbed all over me, played with the safety pins, tippy-toed across the quilts, giggled, and generally had a wonderful time.  I was doing something mindless enough that it was easy to talk myself out of being stressed.  It worked quite well.  The house was no cleaner, of course, but it wasn’t any worse.   Now I have not one, but two quilts to quilt!  I love this because it really is something that can be done in 5 minute spurts, unlike so many other creative activities.

We’ll see when I get to them!

HH

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September’s mission

Organization



My goal this month is to go through as much of the house as possible, get rid of things, sort them, reorganize them, and so forth.  I feel like I haven’t really done this thoroughly for too long and am anxious to buzz through every room.

I’m also working at finding my stride during the school hours.  Long as they are on paper, by the time I get some exercise, take care of the girls, clean up, do some laundry, and then feed the girls lunch, the day is almost over and I feel like I still have about 10 hours of work I need to do before the after school rush hits.  Still, I’m making progress.

So far I’ve been through the toy room, one girls room (including closets and all clothing), the living room, dining room and yesterday I did the pantry.  I wish I could say I was deep cleaning everything, but this sweep is just for organization and de-cluttering.  I’ll go back through and do windows, etc. when all the junk is taken care of.

Today I’m trying something new.


These little monkeys (probably inspired by my projects) have been unusually effective at tearing things apart while I’m working.  This morning we made a fort for them to play in, using the dining room table, chairs, and a bunch of tablecloths.


They seem happy with their hiding place and I’ll make them a picnic lunch to eat there in a few minutes.  It will be much easier cleanup than yesterday’s mess!

And so I’m off and running with my head buzzing with ideas and possible solutions.  One solution that worked well in the pantry was to take my stacks of pretty trays (many of them vintage) and put them sideways into a large basket which will slide under the shelves.


(Sorry about the pictures.  It’s so hard to get good photos in a dark room with no windows!)

I liked having the trays on the shelf, but I’ve been wanting to clear off a shelf to just keep empty in there.  When the children don’t know where exactly to put something in the pantry, they have a bad habit of putting things on the floor.  I’ll walk around the corner and have to climb over things to get what I need!  Moving these trays cleared off a six foot section on the bottom shelf for them to put things on.  I’m hoping the pantry will stay tidy this way and I’ll be able to move things from that section to where they belong without trouble.  The key word in that sentence is, of course, hoping .   We’ll see how it goes!  It did work well last night when we were unloading groceries from the car.


I found this awesome vintage step stool during the summer.  We keep it in the pantry but use it in the kitchen all the time so the little children can help prepare dinner, do the dishes or just wash their hands.  I particularly love it because it’s wide enough for my two youngest to stand on the top step together.  I also love it when we have just one stool in the kitchen and not five different kitchen chairs:  one at the counter, one by the microwave, one by the sink and one by the refrigerator, etc.  Why they don’t use the chair next to them instead of going to the table for a new one, I’ll never know!  This stool has been a great fix for that clutter.

There is something about a clean kitchen that really keeps me calm.  A clean kitchen AND an organized pantry put a smile on my face!


Back to work!  Hope your day is great!

Jennifer

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