Back to Fly Baby Basics

Now that we have three kiddos, things are getting out of control around here. I am taking back the house once and for all. These little blessings are not going to run the show anymore. We, the adults, are. Part of that for me is remembering to be extra organized and efficient. And, honestly, lately, I haven't been...a little extra snooze here, a little whining that the dishes will get done tomorrow there, some days thinking, "maybe I'll just sew all day in my pajamas." And then I wonder why everything is in disarray and no one has any clean underwear. Well, that's my job darnit and I need to claim it back. Right now, we have CHAOS (Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome) and I'm gonna fix it.

So I'm starting back where my success began at one time loooooong ago, with my friend, the Fly Lady. Take the journey with me if you're up for it! You'll be glad you did.

STEP ONE: Shine Your Kitchen Sink

I have deleted the rest of this email because FlyLady does ask that we not reprint any of her content. Please visit this link to see how to shine your sink. http://www.flylady.net/pages/FLYingLessons_Shine.asp

I think I'll go eat some chocolate

To me, a weekend without a plan is a little like a meeting without an agenda. It could go anywhere, but could also end up feeling pretty unproductive. So far the only plan was for a nicely mowed lawn to happen sometime this weekend, and for Caden to nap this morning so I could do some sewing. But our new EXPENSIVE mower is not functioning...and Caden is still wide awake.

These should not be major setbacks, but I'm just not very good with failed expectations. So now I'm grumpy. It's the weekend, my hubby is home, and I'm grumpy. I think I'll go eat some chocolate.

A House for Caden

Kya built a fortress around Caden this morning. This is one way of cleaning up the living room--pile all the junk around your brother!

Laundry anyone?

Ok, so when Scott and I got married and until about a year ago, he did all the laundry. I was so blessed. But with me staying home and the mounting piles of laundry created by our three little blessings (they are really dirty blessings--hee hee), I decided to "take over." It was not a pretty take over. There was hostility from both parties. My way was different, not as efficient...and let's face it, I just didn't do it as often as I should have. So it began to pile up beyond any height I could have imagined soft fabrics achieving without toppling to their demise. Scott would do a random load here and there making me frustrated when I would open the washer. So I would just leave it in there until he took care of it before starting another load. You get the sad, ugly picture.

I tried to make it fun for myself~new laundry detergent, a cute little Downy ball, colorful laundry baskets, rearranged closets, but I now face the cold hard truth of it. Laundry is really not very fun. So I have learned that this is one of those jobs in life that you do because you have to, not because it makes you smile.

Lately, I have had kind of an interesting dilemma with my laundry duty: how many clothes to shove into our little overstressed washer. My husband's loads were always balanced, perfectly color coordinated, and mid-sized. If asked what load he was doing, he could honestly state, "whites," because that's all that was in there. My loads have been called many things, "Mismash," "haphazard," "hodgepodge," "unsure." Sometimes my answer regarding what load I've done is, "the stuff on the floor near the garage door!" Apparently, this is not the way laundry should be done.

It's because I don't want like four things left in a basket! Come on, if all THAT can fit in there, surely a few more things won't matter. And I'll have the lovely satisfaction of an EMPTY basket. But is it better to have fewer clothes and more water in the washer? I don't know, maybe there will be more friction if I cram some more pieces in there--surely an extra five socks (because an even number would just be silly) won't matter!

I've only turned one load a funny color--it all came out a pleasant shade of mint green--who knew a woven green bath rug shouldn't be washed with the whites? It was bathroom day, so I washed everything in the bathroom--together. This included kids' clothes from bath the night before, towels that had been on the towel rack for God knows how long, hoodie towels that were long past their prime and some hand towels. It all matches perfectly now! :)

Anyway, any laundry advice is welcome and I can definitely say that I am learning to appreciate my husband even more for his five years of thankless PERFECT laundry service. :)

My Husband, My Prince

For all the things you are sweet husband, you just don't get many thanks, so...


Thank you for coming home with a smile on your face even when your day is rough and the kids are crying and the house is a wreck.

Thank you for allowing me to stay home and raise our babies.

Thank you for taking care of our finances and never making me feel guilty about the student loans and debt I brought to our marriage.

Thank you for loving our kids with all your heart and soul.

Thank you for loving me in my sweats with no makeup on.

Thank you for having the best parents any daughter in law could ever ask for.

Thank you for ignoring the bad grammar in the previous sentences.

Thank you for sticking with me when I've messed up BIG.

Thank you for loving our gardens, our home and our pets.

Thank you for tirelessly listening to Gilmore Girls (and for buying me the DVD set for V-day.)

Thank you for asking me questions about sewing, mommyhood, and all those other girly things even though you don't give a lick.

Thank you for turning off the TV to listen to me and the kids.

Thank you for being the best labor and delivery coach a laboring mommy could ever ask for. (Again the grammar...)

Thank you for putting up with my snoring when I'm big and pregnant.

Thank you for teaching me to love being frugal.

Thank you for always having a cold drink for me--and usually a whole cooler full!

Thank you for being prepared in any circumstance.

Thank you for being a directional genius.

Thank you for being a fantastic handyman.

Thank you for loving my parents.

Thank you for your giving spirit and for always wanting to help people in need.

Thank you for caring about the planet and recycling EVERYTHING! (Even thank you for the giggle I still get when you fish my "trash" out of the can. Future generations will thank you too!)

Most of all, thank you for your undying loyalty, character and integrity.

You are a fabulous husband, dad, and human being.

I LOVE YOU.

Mothers

I received this in an email from my MIL and it really made me think about the value of motherhood. I thought about it so much that I decided to post it on our blog.

Hope you like it too.

MOTHERS

Real Mothers don't eat quiche; they don't have time to make it.

Real Mothers know that their kitchen utensils are probably in the sandbox.

Real Mothers often have sticky floors, filthy ovens and happy kids.

Real Mothers know that dried play dough doesn't come out of carpets.

Real Mothers don't want to know what the vacuum just sucked up.

Real Mothers sometimes ask 'Why me?' and get their answer when a little voice says, 'Because I love you best.'

Real Mothers know that a child's growth is not measured by height or years or grade... It is marked by the progression of Mommy to Mom to Mother...

The Images of Mother

4 YEARS OF AGE - My Mommy can do anything!

8 YEARS OF AGE - My Mom knows a lot! A whole lot!

12 YEARS OF AGE - My Mother doesn't really know quite everything.

14 YEARS OF AGE - Mom doesn't know that, either.

16 YEARS OF AGE - My Mother? She's clueless.

18 YEARS OF AGE - That old woman?!

25 YEARS OF AGE - Well, she might know a little bit about it!

35 YEARS OF AGE - Before we decide, let's get Mom's opinion.

45 YEARS OF AGE - Wonder what Mom thinks about it?

65 YEARS OF AGE - Wish I could talk it over with Mom.

The beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears,
the figure that she carries, or the way she combs her hair. The beauty of a woman must be seen from in her eyes, because that is the doorway to her heart, the place where love resides. It is the caring that she lovingly gives, and the beauty of a woman with passing years only grows!

Where's Caden?

As I looked at our refrigerator door yesterday, the reflection of our treasured family and friends, I noticed that our beloved third child had not yet made it to the fridge door. Instant guilt and sadness consumed me. I swore that I would not in any way slight any of my children despite birth order. Each of their baby books would be equally filled, each would have equally laundered and prepared matching outfits each day, each would have the same provision of balanced, wholesome, organic, perfectly prepared meals three times a day with healthy not-too-filling snacks in between. And each would have an equal number of pictures representing their childhood...

Reality has since altered my promises in this regard.

Caden is now three months old. And while I have snapped a lot of photos of the kids, rare is the photo of him alone. His outfits sometimes match though they are rarely fresh-scented for more than an hour and I let him stay in the same spit up clothing for a few more hours than I used to because the laundry piles are already high enough and he seems happy. At least Caden is still eating balanced wholesome meals (how hard is that when all he eats is milk?).

So, I got out my trusty camera yesterday to at least preserve that final promise and I actually sat down at the computer and ordered the prints as well. Caden, you'll be joining the fridge fam soon buddy!

Jeffersonion Quote of the Day

...the greatest crime against happiness is learning to live with corruption, institutional indifference, and injustice merely because one is afraid, in Hamlet's words, to "take arms against a sea of troubles and by opposing end them."

...established powers...count on the general peacefulness and passivity of their populations in order to dominate them.

Jenkinson, "Becoming Jefferson's People"

Because it's funny...and I can't get it out of my head...

My Papa Mac's Fabulous Choir Singing Acapella "Oh Come..."

New KCBOB twirl dress and ruffle bottomed pants

Visit my KCBOB blog to see the latest items available for special order at :
http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fkcbob.blogspot.com%2F&h=88644debd59f51647c0e47d2e94f4755

Or join my Facebook group at:

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=2532264&id=607691647&op=1&subj=45039009871&view=all&aid=-1&oid=45039009871#/group.php?gid=45039009871

Pictured is a twirl dress with ribbon detail and ruffle bottomed pants with ribbon detail. Prices vary depending on size and fabric. Size NB-7/8 available. Over 50 fabrics from which to choose. Matching Bows or flower clippies also available.

Thanks for lookin'!

Another Haner Baby!!!

Ha! You guys thought I was pregnant again huh!? Fooled you...nope, Scott's sister Julie, who swore she would NEVER have a baby, finally gave in to the call of motherhood and is due in September!!!! CONGRATULATIONS HAYNES FAMILY! We can't wait!

Family Farming

As we prepare our "land" (like 1/10 of an acre) for planting veggies, fruits and legumes once again, we are intrigued by Thomas Jefferson's thoughts on the matter:

"I think our governments will remain virtuous for many centuries as long as the people are chiefly agricultural, and this will be as long as there shall be vacant lands in any part of America. When they get piled upon one another in large cities, as in Europe, they will become corrupt as in Europe."

Jefferson to Madison

December 20, 1787

A Jeffersonian believes in...family agriculture. In Jefferson's time, more than ninety percent of the American people lived on sef-sufficiency farms. Today only two percent of the American people live on family farms, and most of them are Hamiltonian agri-producers rather than the sort of subsistence-plus farmers Jefferson had in mind.

Some of Jefferson's profoundest words were, "Those who labor in the earth are the chosen people of God, if ever He had a chosen people, whose breasts He has made His peculiar deposit for substantial and genuine virtue."

(quoted from Becoming Jefferson's People, Clay S. Jenkinson)

Plant something!!! You'll feel better for it I promise!