Do You Have a Laundry Spot?

 This is mine. Right on the couch.

This is where I dump it and walk away, really truly believing that I will be right back to fold it and put it all away. Ha! Never happens. I will tell you what does happen.

 Tuesday and Friday are my laundry days, with the exception of Monday which is when I wash sheets, so on Tuesday I spend all day doing load after load of laundry and then by the end of the day I'm too tired to do anything about it so I just leave it there thinking I will get to it on Wednesday. Wednesday comes and goes and the only thing that happens to the pile is that a few articles of clothing are dug out to wear. The kids are usually searching for a pair of socks. Thursday is pretty much the same only half of the pile is usually on the floor by then or we've moved it completely to one end of the couch so we can actually sit down. And really, by Thursday night what is the point of folding it when I will just be adding to it the next day. Finally, by Friday I am so disgusted that it is still there that after I've washed several more loads I start folding. Sometimes I get it all folded and sometimes it doesn't get finished until Saturday. And sometimes on Saturday night when Josh and I sit down to watch a movie he reaches over and starts folding it, which is when I know it has been there waaay too long, and he has lost all hope that one day when he comes home from work it will be magically gone.

Tomorrow is Tuesday. I'm going to give it my best shot. Although, my kids also have no school tomorrow, which means a lot more of my time is going to be spent watching plays put on by Samm, helping find this and that, and refereeing. Still, anything is possible!

I'm A Survivor

"Survival is a Mom's job"

For the second time this winter I am living life without running water. We've had -20* weather and it's frozen our pipes. The first time around we lived without water for a day and a half and I survived. We hauled in water for the toilets, for drinking, and for doing dishes. (Thank goodness for hand sanitizer so we didn't have to try to figure out how to wash our hands as well.) It wasn't exactly fun but definitely do-able.

This time I am going on day 3 with not much hope. Our pipes are finally starting to defrost but the freeze has cracked our pipes so even when (if) we do get them defrosted there will be more work to fix the pipes.

I've been trying hard to hold my head up high and keep a good attitude. My husband, the perpetual optimist, is always pointing out my pessimism so I've worked really hard to keep my head held high. (My reward for doing so is that he did the dishes for me, by hand!, while I was gone yesterday). So I'm not here to complain. While it has been hard it's also good to be reminded how grateful I am for something I take for granted on a daily basis, like running water.

Not having water has also reminded me how important it is to be prepared. We are extremely lucky in that we have a water spicket outside of our house that runs separate from the water that comes into our house so we still have easy access. If you live in the city you are probably not so lucky so it's important to be prepared.

One of my New Year's resolutions this year is to make 72 hour kits for each member of my family. Last night I decided it was time to start making a list of what I want to put in each kit and what we need to buy. HERE is the best list I found. I'm going to make it my own. We all need different things. And a 72 hour kit should be something that you can easily carry. You may not be able to fit all of those things in one backpack so chose wisely. Water, food, and warmth are always most important.

And surprisingly this website also encouraged bringing toys and/or games for little ones. If you do have to leave your house for an emergency it will be important to have something to keep your kids entertained and comforted. So, you may want to leave the heavy, bulky, game console at home but a few small toys is probably a good idea.

If you have any other questions about emergency preparedness go HERE.

p.s. Thanks to everyone who participated in voting for my little black dress. The Black Oak is the winner so I will order it along with the Aristocrat. Hopefully one of them will be "the one" for me.

"S" Monogram

Life has been a little hectic this weekend. In addition to taking an overnight trip with a sick kid(note to self: don't take kid with stomach flu on a road trip!) I also had the worst night of sleep I think I've ever had! Okay, that may a little dramatic. But it was bad and I didn't fall asleep until after 3 am. So not fun!

I've been dragging my feet all day just trying to make it to bedtime without passing out. I'm exhausted. Needless to say I didn't have the energy to try and come up with something ultra fun and fabulous to share with you today. So instead I'm going to share something that I did a while ago and just happened to take pictures of. You've probably seen it before and some of you may have tried it but I wanted to share the "how-to" anyway. I love tutorials. Who doesn't want to know how to make a cute craft? You never know when you'll get the itch.

So here is my version of what I am calling the "S" Monogram.

What you'll need:

1 letter (I used the initial of my last name)
scrapbook paper
Mod Podge
sand paper or sanding block
stamp pad
embellishments (buttons, ribbon, etc.)

1. Start by tracing your letter onto your scrapbook paper. Then cut it out.

2. I traced mine backwards on the opposite side of my paper so that I would be sure to not have any of my tracing lines on the front side.

3. Use Mod Podge to adhere the paper to your letter.

4. Take some fine sand paper or a sanding block (like the one below) and file the edges of your paper until the are flush with the edges of your letter. You could use an x-acto knife to make a smooth line but I like the rough look so I went with the sanding.

5. Brush Mod Podge over the top of your letter to seal the paper to the letter.

6. Use a stamp pad to lightly brush the edges around your letter to give it a little character.

7. Add your desired embellishments. I used a flower, buttons, and some ribbon.

And that's it. Your done. Now go display it proudly!

365 Days of a clean house

A few weeks ago I told my husband that I wanted to be happier. Not just happier as in less of a grump, although that too, but more content. See, in our house we do a lot of talking about "some day." We've used those words so many times in the past couple of years that it almost feels like something that doesn't exist or can't exist. Kind of like saying "if I ever won the lottery." Except our someday usually involves phrases like, when we have money, when we have a nice house, when we have our own house, when Dad can be home more. I've looked forward to someday for so long that I'm simply surviving in the here and now instead of enjoying it. Because I'm pretty sure that someday I'm going to look back on these times and remember how fun it was to come up with cheap creative activities to do as a family and how simple our lives were. I'm going to wish I could I could go back in time just for a second to peek in on all three of my kids at night snuggled up together in one bed because they're all afraid of the dark. These are the days for me to find happiness, not the some days.

Learning to be content is kind of like unlearning a bad habit though, and it's going to take time. I'm working on it quietly in recesses of my mind a little bit each day. I'm sure I'll slip up and have negative days, but the point is to keep working at it. I also have to know myself and know what actions and thoughts trigger my grumpy negative inner self. And the big number one problem is when I let the house work go a little. Pretty much what I'm saying here is that a messy house equals evil demon Mom. I'm serious, it's not pretty! It's at those times when I complain the most about our situation, and wish things were different.

So, here's my crazy new year challenge for myself. Keep my house clean for a whole year. Can it be done? Um, let's just say I'm not 100% confident, but I'm going to try anyway. So far I'm on day 5 and it's going great. The kids are not too happy about me constantly calling them back to pick up their messes, but I have heard that it takes 21 times to make something a habit so hopefully they will figure it out before I loose my voice. I'm thinking though that when it comes to hanging up their backpacks I shouldn't get my hopes up until its been at least 100 days.

Oh, and there has to be a reward right? I mean other than having a clean house and being happier. There has to be something to keep me going. I'm thinking that if I can actually pull it off I might have to do some guilt free shopping.

Anyway, I plan on documenting my progress from time to time here just to kind of keep me in check. And just for the sake of having a picture, here is my youngest making our first mess of the day, which we did clean up right away before moving on to Candy Land.