What a difference sleep makes

I was like a wilted Southern belle yesterday. Two days of heat and not enough water led to a sick Melissa. I barfed at the preschool family picnic 30 minutes after I had eaten and was weak and lethargic for the rest of the day. I napped when the kids rested (and I NEVER nap) and then went back to bed at 5:15 when Hubs made it home. I got up briefly for a church meeting I couldn't miss, and then was back in bed at 9:30pm. While I didn't sleep all night, I have young children who need corners to hold and sips of water don't forget, I still slept pretty well until 6am.

Today, it's like I'm a whole new person. I have energy, patience, creative ideas, patience. I didn't drink my whole tankard of coffee this morning and I don't need a Diet Coke this afternoon. It's amazing how different my body feels today.

Note to self: Get some sleep more regularly.

Bored yet?

Old shed came down, new shed went up. Play sand was bought, but the cleaning out project was pushed back to tomorrow. I redeemed myself by cleaning and re-organizing my closet tonight. And put the front yard hose into this neat looking box that winds the hose up when I'm done. Home Depot is dangerous, the hose box just leapt off the shelf into my cart. I love that place. It's one impulse buy after another.

Spring Cleaning update

• kids' shoes are organized and have been relegated to a basket
• living room toys have been sorted - some are going to the church nursery, some were put into the kid's rooms, some were tossed
• Emma's bookshelf has been cleaned and organized
• Emma's clothes have been sorted and only clothes that fit her are in the closet
• cleaned off my desk/ countertop
• created a new filing system to maintain info on my Arbonne clients - includes their previous orders, when to follow up, and other various important info. It is so neat and tidy.
  

Hubs is tackling the backyard shed tomorrow - demolishing the old one and installing the new one. That will lead to all the yard equipment finally being moved from the garage to the shed. Which, of course, will lead to me adding cleaning out the garage to my spring cleaning list. I can't wait to have some more room in the garage, I think I'm going to buy some more shelves to store our camping stuff and my work stuff. While he's doing all that, the kids and I will be emptying the sand box, moving it, and refilling it so they can finally play in non molding sand. It's the small things, right?

As for Grant's room, that's a summer long project because just problem solving the bookshelf in there is going to take us a while. Plus we need to rip down the wood wall that is warping (and is just plain ugly). And I'm in no hurry to take him out of his crib!

We also made the decision last night to hire someone to plant 2 redwoods in our yard, and to rip out our backyard grass, install a sprinkler system that actually covers the grass, and then lay sod. We're also ripping out the last of the rose bushes to create a year around planter garden. I'll be getting started on hiring someone for that next week.

It's that time again

If I were pregnant, you'd call it nesting. When Hubs does it I call it tizzying. Others call it spring cleaning. Whatever your name for it is, I'm doing it. I'm getting the place organized. I can live with a certain level of chaos, but every 3 months or so I reach my breaking point. On the current list of things to tackle: the kids shoes in their closet (going into baskets now), the insane number of toys we own (going to Cousin Muriel), Grant's room (shedding the ginormous bookcase, setting up his big boy bed!!, and moving the toybox into his room), and as a result of changing Grant's room, we'll have to problem solve the books on the bookshelf we're shedding. And finally, the backyard. That place stresses me out every time I'm out there and I've got big plans for it. Aside from the pool removal. I'm moving the sand box, doing some weed pulling, and laying some ground cover. Oh, and fixing the falling down fence with our new neighbor.

Off to sort toys while the kids are gone.

Spaghetti and Oatmeal

On Monday I learned that I make oatmeal in the crockpot the same way I make spaghetti. I make enough to feed the entire neighborhood without intending to. Which makes for a lot of leftovers. Now leftover spaghetti I love. Leftover oatmeal? Not so much.

Figuring I couldn't have been the first person to ever make way to much oatmeal, I googled "cooked oatmeal recipes" and after wading through many useless results, I stumbled across a recipe for scones that call for cooked oatmeal.

We love scones. We have plenty of cooked oatmeal. It was a match made in heaven. We whipped them up for breakfast this morning and with a bit of jam on top they tasted like heaven.

Nice save, if I do say so myself.

I love the library

Not only do I love the library because of the mass amount of free books for the kids and the online reservation system I affectionately call my book butler, I love the library because I know that evening the kids will be calm because we'll be reading book after book after dinner. And I know that the next morning the kids will be calm because they'll be reading the books together. And, finally, I know resting time the next day will be quiet because Emma will be re-reading all the books.

Keeps me well rounded

Grant checks this book out from the library every other time we go. Every other time because they just can't get it from the return bin to the shelf quickly enough for us to check it out every single time.

I'm glad he likes it so much. It's really allowed me to expand my overall knowledge of giant machines. For example, I think it's fair to say I knew nothing about Tunnel Boring Machines or Giant Mining Trucks or Bucket-Wheel Excavators before we happened across this gem of a book. I've also brushed up on my heavy machinery enough that I was able to say the other day "Oh look Grant, there's a paver out your window!" Hubs looked at me like I had just spoken in German. He clearly hasn't read page 8 & 9, which covers road construction giant machines, as many times as I have.

Today was an on day, so we came home with the book, and Grant didn't really let it go. Well, he put it down for dinner. But he picked it right back up as soon as he was done.

And no, he doesn't want it for his birthday. I need the break the library forces on him. On those weeks we check out the book on space equipment.

Book Tour Part I

Wow I wish I had read Mary M. Byer's Making Work at Home Work before I started my home based business. Or at least right after I started my working-at-home-while-raising-small-children adventure. Byers is living what she writes, which creates an authentic book that speaks to exactly what every mom who is working from home is trying to accomplish - a well balanced work life and a well balanced family life.

Divided into two sections, Byers tackles "Saving Your Sanity" first. Offering advice and concrete suggestions on topics such as your motivation for working at home, setting up goals for your business, managing guilt, child care strategies, and learning to take a break, the first section spoke to me over and over again. Byers provides real life examples (both good and bad!) from her own experience while at the same time giving me the tools I need to avoid her mistakes. I'm revamping my whole client database and filing system based on the suggestions made in the chapter on systems to maximize efficiency!

Section Two, "Preserving Your Profit", breaks down the nuts and bolts of having a successful outcome to your business. Byers addresses hiring other professionals to do what they do best (and you don't do so well), taxes/ deductions/ record keeping, office equipment and why it's okay to spend the money on them, boosting your revenue, and reinvesting your profit for long term results. A vastly different subject than Section One, Byers shows just how well rounded a business owning, working from home mom needs to be for success. And just like Section One, Byers delivers with the suggestions, examples, and advice that a working at home mom needs to achieve this success.

If you're working your business from home, this is a book to add to your collection. Order it here, read it cover to cover, then systematically make the changes you need to make for success!

Here's a deep thought for you

It comes to me this morning, right around mile 2, that in my official sample of two families (mine and a friend's) with older daughter/younger son, the sons each have a nickname and the daughters do not. Grant's is Bug, and is sometimes used by Hubs, Emma, and me to refer to him instead of his name. While I call Emma Sweetness, I never use that instead of her name. And no one else calls her that, just me.

Now why is that? Could it be because little boys are made of sticks and snails and puppy dog tails while little girls are made of sugar and spice and everything nice? Could it be birth order? Gender order? No explicable reason?

Deep thoughts.

Lookin' Good

We got quite a bit of attention in Trader Joe's today. Partially because the store isn't that big and the regular employees are getting to know us. Partially because Emma was hopscotching her way through the store and in some places that was causing a traffic jam. And partially because of what the kids had on.

Emma chose her white leotard with pink tights, which was fine since we were headed to dance class after Trader Joe's. Then she decided she wanted to wear her red sparkly shoes, and they were making her feet hot so she needed some socks. She couldn't wear her ankle socks because they were WHITE. Instead she chose the bright purple socks with Sleeping Beauty on them (no, I did not buy her princess socks. Please.) that are way to big and in order for them to fit her at the toes, she has to pull them halfway up her calf. So white leotard, pink tights, bright purple calf socks, sparkly red shoes. Hopscotching down the aisle.

Grant chose his camo shorts (and I picked a coordinating shirt) and his rain boots. He stomped his way from the parking lot to the cart pickup, and then stomped his way back out to the car when we left. At some points in the stomping he roared and announced he was a dinosaur.

There's no blending in to the crowd when accompanied by those two.

Outside time

The fleas are finally gone (I used garden variety diatomaceous earth and just spread it around), the porch is cleaned up, the grass is cut. We're finally playing outside in the back this spring!

Emma loves to watch herself hula hoop in the sliding glass door, Grant loves to ride the scooter.

Emma loves to have me throw the softball to her, Grant loves to whack the heck out of the t-ball stand (note: not the ball on the t-ball stand, the stand itself)

Emma loves to jump rope, Grant loves to jump while swinging the jump rope dangerously over his head.

Emma loves to ride her bike, Grant loves to sit on his trike and "walk" with his feet.

Emma lifts her left leg up high as she throws the ball to me (Hubs is trying to get her to use "proper" form when throwing), Grant throws the ball to me and it lands on his head.

Emma loves to prance along the bench like it's a beam routine, Grant loves to toss his tricycle to its side and spin the wheels while yelling "Wheel broke!" like he's repairing it.

I love that I can sit at the patio table and watch the kids play outside rather than run around like my hair's on fire keeping Grant out of trouble. Ahhh the maturity of another year.

Crazy busy was good

This one might be hard Mom.

Today was a crazy busy day. One of those days where you wake up overwhelmed with the number of things that need to be accomplished. One of those days where you wonder how you're going to do it all when there isn't anything that can give. Up at 6am for a run, the day just never slowed down. I felt like all I did all day was rush rush rush, always trying to beat the clock, willing time to slow down and cut me a break.

But it was okay to be crazy busy today. In fact, it was what I needed. I know, hard to believe. I needed to be distracted today because today is the one year anniversary of the day Granny died. I drank my coffee out of the UCI Anteater mug I so proudly gave her my freshman year in college. I opened a Mother's Day card from a dear friend of Granny's that arrived in the mail. I found myself humming praise songs throughout today. And today, after months of not asking, Emma asked if Big Granny was still healthy up in heaven.

I still miss her terribly. And that missing her usually catches me off guard. A funeral procession will drive by and suddenly I'm glad for my dark sunglasses to shield my tears from the kids. The praise band at church will play the first several notes of the song Leah sang at Granny's funeral and I'm instantly transported back to the emotions of that day. A picture of Granny with my kids will pop up on my computer desktop and my heart will sometimes ache at how she'll never know the amazing adults they are going to grow up to be. And they'll never remember the unconditional adoration she felt toward them. Mom will show up with a dress for Emma that Granny had made for me when I was a little girl and I will take a moment to be so thankful I had such an incredible Granny. What I wrote a year ago hasn't changed. Every kid should be so lucky.

This last year I've learned that grieving doesn't ever go away. It just changes.

Puddle walk

We've been taking more and more neighborhood walks up and down our street, especially in the late afternoon. Today, during a break in the rain, we suited the kids up in rainboots and rain coats and took a puddle walk. The differences between boys and girls, Grant and Emma, was never more apparent than during the puddle walk.

We encountered our first ginormous puddle about three houses into the walk. Emma gingerly tiptoed into the puddle, holding her sweatpants up high, exiting the puddle with nary a drop on the top of her boots, much less anywhere else. Grant barreled into the puddle, stomping and jumping with vigor and great delight. He emerged from the puddle with water all the way up to his sweatshirt, and I wiped his forehead dry. This pattern continued with each ginormously deep puddle we came across. Emma emerging dry, Grant emerging even wetter and dirtier.

When we got home, Emma slipped her boots off and walked inside to play. Grant took his boots off, I pulled off his socks and rung them out. He took off his dripping wet pants and underwear, I pulled off his wet sweatshirt and wet jacket. Grant walked into the house naked with puddle dirt in his hair and on his forehead.

Aaahhh boys.

Blog Book Tour

MOPS asked me to participate in a blog book tour and I said "Sign me up!" I love reading and I love blogging. Various MOPS publishers send me books that are soon to be released, I read them, then post a review on my blog within specific dates they give me. First up, "Making Work at Home Work". Perfect, right? Since I work from home and all. I'm hoping to get some great tips, and the Table of Contents looks promising. I have to post the review around May 18, so stay tuned!

Time for Mama

I joined a book club last night. It's awesome. It's the perfect melding of my love for reading and my love for gabbing. We meet monthly, spend most of the time gabbing, and then quickly talk about the book so we can continue to bill ourselves as a book club. Awesome. We just finished "Ella Minnow Pea", and this month we are reading "The Secret Lives of Bees".

I'm also dusting off my resume because I've decided to apply to be a sub at preschool next year. Only on the days Grant is in school. Which now that I think about it might make Kindergarten pick up tricky....hmmm nothing like seeing a flaw in the plan as I'm typing the plan out on my blog. Clearly this needs more thought. And maybe a discussion with Hubs too. More on this one later.