a little indulgence, please

Before I even begin, I must ask for your indulgence for what is sure to be a totally random post. I hope you'll keep reading ... I might actually find something interesting to say somewhere along the way.

First, I have been absent from the blogging world for much of the past couple of weeks simply because I couldn't find the time (or energy) to write anything. A couple of days before we left to go get our new van, our washing machine bit the dust. It was not a sad farewell. I must tell you that I was happy to see the thing go since Ronnie bought it while he was still single, close to 15 years ago. Just for the record, the laundry needs of a single man and a family of five are not exactly the same.

So, what does that have to do with me being busy? Simple. In order to remove the old washer/dryer from the tiny closet-like space off of our kitchen and replace it with the new ones, we had to first move the refrigerator. I know, it makes no sense that someone would design a house this way and it makes even less sense that I wouldn't have noticed that little bit of info before buying this house 11 years ago. But someone did design it this way and we were un-observant enough to buy it and so we just have to deal with the little imperfections. Okay, if we are going to move the fridge anyway and the laundry room is going to be empty, shouldn't this be the perfect time to replace the kitchen tile (that came with the house) and the carpet in the dining room? It makes perfect sense to me.

Honestly, I am not complaining. We have been wanting to do these projects for a very long time and I am thankful that the washer died so that we would be spurred into action and actually get them done. I also found out something. Removing an old, ugly, glued-to-the-concrete tile floor can be a great way to relieve stress. And another thing I learned is that I actually like laying tile. We chose a very affordable peel and stick vinyl tile. It is not fancy, but it fits our house and our budget. Now that it is done, I am wondering why we waited so long to do it.

Having to move everything out of our kitchen and dining room, which included unloading my china cabinet - by far the least enjoyable task of the entire project, forced me to face an issue that I have long needed to tackle.

Clutter. As I type the word a shudder runs through me. Why, you ask? Allow me to introduce myself.

"Hello, my name is Jennifer and I am a pack-rat and I am married to a pack-rat, with a weakness for gadgets."

Put two people like us in a small house and what you have is a mess that I am struggling to contain. I really want to do what so many people tell me is the perfect solution ... just get rid of it. I am trying ... really I am.

I think I would make a good candidate for one of those TV shows where someone comes in and drags your stuff out into the yard and makes you keep getting rid of things until all that is left will fit on a tiny little tarp. I think I could benefit from someone telling me that I really don't have to keep everything that no one else wanted out of my grandmother's house or every thing my kids ever touched as babies or made in Sunday School.

So, I'd love to know how you keep your clutter under control.

Maybe random is not the right word to describe this post ... I think rambling might be better. If you have made it this far you must really be bored! Please forgive me and I'll try to do better next time.

A not so normal week ...

I like normal ... I don't really crave adventure very often and am pretty happy just hanging out at home. It hasn't always been this way, but the busier things (the kids) get, the more I really look forward to the days we just don't have anything to do, at least nothing that requires us leaving the house.

Knowing this, you might be able to understand why I am a little frazzled this week. Wednesday and Friday are the only two free days this week. The real kicker is that we have had (and will continue to have) something every night. Tuesday and Thursday are the worst ... JW at ball practice, us at choir practice ... both happening at the same time in different cities.

Next week won't be much better ... baseball games start on Tuesday, the kids musical is next week so we have extra practice times, my mother-in-law is coming to stay with us for the musical, so I need to do some extra cleaning ... and on and on and on .........

So all of that griping to say that I chose to let the kids have an unusual treat yesterday. We started on an art project that we will hopefully finish tomorrow. I'll save the details for later when I post the finished products, but for now just know that it involved all three kids and LOTS of paint! They had lots of fun though. About the time we finished painting, my youngest brother stopped by for just a minute and while he was here the kids went outside to play with the new toys we bought at the Dollar Tree.

I hadn't really planned for this kind of mess yesterday ...

... but they sure had fun doing it. And yes, my boys are in my front yard in the middle of the day in their pajama pants. Sorry, you had to see that!

Of course, when they got tired and cold, everyone had to have a bath which meant traipsing through my house dripping wet.

Unfortunately for the kids, playing in the morning meant that they had this to do in the afternoon ...

They weren't too keen on having to actually do school work, but they survived and overall, it was a pretty good way to let off a little steam and gear up for the next week and a half of extreme busyness. Then things should calm down a little.

At least I hope so.

But, to be honest, I am not betting on it!