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.