Tag: life as I know it

Less is More Between Now and New Year

Posted on October 5, 2015 by Mama

I always think of October as the gateway to the new year, probably because as soon as I start decorating for Halloween it seems like January before I’ve had much time to register even another thought.

I spruce up the homestead for Halloween, take it all down in a day, add a few fallish touches just in time for Thanksgiving, travel, eat, shop, deck the halls (and the living room, bathrooms, front porch and basement) for Christmas, celebrate multiple times, travel some more, eat some more, return items I shopped for during the last month and a half (or week and a half, depending on how far behind I happen to be), welcome in the new year, make resolutions I never intend to keep, and take down all the decking while promising myself to keep it simple the next year. Yikes, it makes me tired just thinking about it!

So where does it all go awry? Since I’m looking for a scapegoat, I’m going to go with this — Pinterest and HGTV. How dare they fill my brain with so many incredibly wonderful projects to make, dishes to bake and 1001 uses for toilet paper rolls. “If I was Super Mom, I could do this. If I was Wife of the Year I could do that. If I was The Hostess with the Mostess, I could do it all. . .” but in the end, I’m usually just left feeling a bit deflated and completely exhausted by all the half-executed “thises” and “thats” that I impossibly tried to cram into an already full, and fulfilling, life.

So here’s a challenge to myself and all you awesome moms, wives and friends who subscribe to the over doing, over making, and over decorating way of life: step back, simplify and enjoy your family between now and the new year. Pare down a bit on the projects, enjoy some beautiful Fall walks, make some simple homemade decorations with the kids, and invite some friends over for quiet conversation and a few good laughs instead of planning an all-out party; all the while knowing that you could have done more, oh so much more, but you chose not to and it’s all good.

photo credit: Autumn is indeed… via photopin (license)

Eating Crow in My Mama Mobile

Posted on October 1, 2015 by Mama

The salesman made me put up my thumb. There's my sweet little Jeep Patriot in the background that carted my son home as a baby and kept us safe for five fun years. Yes, I'm a bit sentimental about my automobiles. — Disclaimer: The salesman made me put up my thumb. There’s my sweet little Jeep Patriot I traded in the background that carted my son home as a baby and kept us safe for five fun years. Yes, I’m a bit sentimental about my automobiles.

I have finally reached a new high in my life, or sunk to a new low — in either case, I’m now the official owner of a sparkling new ~~mini van~~ mama mobile. Criminy, I know I’m going to catch so much flak from those who know me, and believe me I’m already eating crow for this one.

You see, I have always said I would never drive a mini van (That’s why I’m calling it the Town & Country. I was going to shorten it to the T & C, but my husband informed me that probably wasn’t a quality choice. Apparently those poor little letters have been warped into some other meaning by pubescent school-aged boys.) Anyway, no matter what I call it, I realize it’s still a third-row, heavy-storage laden vehicle that screams, “Mama on a mission. Get outta the way.”

Forget that it drives smoother than my last three Jeeps, can house an entire basketball team and has so many bells and whistles that my son thinks Christmas came three months early. What matters is that I have said on more than one occasion, “The day I drive a mini van, is the day I give up on living.” Bring on the crow!

Let me tell you, I peered into, polled owners and picked over literally every option out there and test-drove many a vehicle from SUVs to crossovers to vans and back again, and for the money and space this just seemed the best way to go. But if you really must know, one of the best features of my new ride was the stow-and-go seating that allows me to put an entire full-sheet of plywood in the back. Awesome!! Just think of how many new projects I can start (and maybe complete).

In the end, it’s still a mini van, I know; but I have to confess that so far this crow doesn’t taste half bad.

Skipping Sparks

Posted on September 9, 2015 by Mama

So I have to confess, I didn’t make it to Sparks this weekend. After all the summer vacationing, I was feeling a bit behind and decided to better use my time to finish a few projects (and have a little fun) before fall set in. So I pulled up my big girl britches, vowed to catch Sparks in the Spring and made some real headway around the house. Here’s just some of what I accomplished:

Purchase supplies for my son’s preschool classroom.
Install an in-cabinet pullout for my pots and pans. (I’ll tell you all about this one in a later post.)
Purchas a new light for the basement, which didn’t get installed because it came out of the package broken. (So back on the to-do list it goes.)
Shop for a new car. (If you have any suggestions for an SUV with third-row seating, bring it on.)
Watch the Royals lose to the White Sox on a hot and muggy summer’s night.
Host our annual Fantasy Football Draft. My team is awesome, by the way.
Finish watching the second season of “When Calls the Heart.” Talk about a smile that can make a girl melt. (Check out this witty and romantic Hallmark original on Netflix. It’s a great family show.)
Buy, plant and relocate flowers. . . lots of flowers.
Make a visit to urgent care to check the huge red welt on my arm from a spider that didn’t care much for my planting in and around his space.
Dig up and relocate one of the moles that has completely destroyed our lawn. It came up squeaking with one of my relocated bushes and my husband promptly found it a new home with lots of open space to dig.

BONUS: Take some time to throw the football in the front yard with my husband and son.

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