feeling funky.

I've been thinking a lot lately about how weird and dangerous blogging is. Not jump out of an airplane dangerous. But create-a-false-picture of your life dangerous.

And reading blogs can be equally fraught - it sets me up for comparison (and comparison is always a TRAP. I actually unsubscribed from a few blogs this week for that reason.)

I read something earlier that's really sticking with me - about how "mommy blogs" present a fake view of life (not that I have a "mommy blog" by any means, and I don't really read anything that's in that category.) She ends with the quote, "it’s better to be imperfectly YOU than to be a perfect imitation of someone else."

It's really been bothering me to think that in some way my blogging might discourage others. But it also bothers me that by sharing what I'm thankful for or fun things that we've done would be considered fake or bragging.

The truth is that this blog is like a scrapbook for me, sharing the things I want to share and remember. And mostly I want to remember and focus on the good stuff. There's a fair amount of gratitude and thankfulness here too - which are often things that I'm actually thankful for. But are also OFTEN things I'm choosing to be thankful for, rather than complain about. It's amazing the power in taking something that could be hard or aggravating and receiving it as a gift. So I may want to say, "wow, everyone wants to touch me and I can't do anything because of the kids piled up on me. And I might be losing my mind." But instead, I say, "Thank you Jesus for these cuddly kids you have given me. Thank you for the power of touch and how much my family enjoys giving and receiving it. Thank You for these kid-filled days in this kid-filled season." If I'm feeling tension or hurt in a friendship or friend group, I'm going to look for things to give thanks for in other relationships, as a reminder that the Lord is more than meeting my needs.

I don't think that's fake, it's just choosing to see the good rather than complain. I know there's value in "keeping it real", and when I'm struggling, I'm not afraid to share that. But I'm also going to be looking for the good, because thanksgiving is what keeps me SANE.

The other truth is that I almost always blog when I'm happy. I like to write, and like to write about happy things. When I'm in a funky mood I hardly ever want to sit down and write about it.

The reason I'm telling you this: Today I'm in a funky mood. And I decided I'd write about it.

I'm feeling blue and down and trapped in my house.I didn't sleep well and then slept through my alarm. I checked facebook before doing anything else (which I try not to do.) I had a good reason, but that threw off my morning routine and then Micah woke up extra early (he seems to think that the two of us are in a "who can get up earlier" competition - no matter how early I get up to get some time to myself before starting the day, he gets up too.) I didn't work out and have just been on the edge of grouchy all day. Nothing wrong or bad, I just feel sad and crabby. And it's not even hormones.

So that's the "keeping it real" portion. But who wants to stay there? Not me! So here's what I'm thankful for today:
- Being a stay at home mom, so that on a blue day I can just curl up with my kids and take it easy. I don't have to push through and be "on."
- Having a husband whom I can tell that I'm feeling blue and funky and he'll pray for me and encourage me.
- Really helpful and encouraging adoption books (I read Toddler Adoption and The Connected Child while we were in process, and now am reading Parenting Your Internationally Adopted Child, at the recommendation of a good friend.)
- One of the things I want most for Micah right now is to learn delayed gratification - to WAIT when he needs something. But one of the things Micah needs most from me right now is to learn that I will quickly respond to his needs. Thankful to be in a place in life and parenthood that reveals my sin and ugliness and selfishness. How will my children ever learn patience from a mom who is impatient??
- Hot drinks on a cold day
- Netflix and easy entertainment for littles when I need it
- That every day is a new day and new beginning; and the promise of a better night's sleep tonight.
- This quiet season: I strain against the isolation of new-baby/toddler-hood, but I am thankful for down time. And connection time. And this is the only first months home that we'll ever have.
- Speaking of that, I'm thankful for the seasonal nature of life. Winter can be hard, but you know it will pass. I want to enjoy this season while it's here, knowing that it won't last forever. And the diaper changing season - while it's not much to celebrate, WILL PASS.

Capture Gratitude/1000 Gifts

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“There is no event so common place but that God is present within it, always hidden, always leaving you room to recognize Him or not to recognize Him.”  Fredrick Buechner               ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So many gifts this week... First and foremost, I am SO THANKFUL we seem to be over strepathon 2012. In case you're keeping track... I started with Tobin 3 weeks ago. And then a week later, we were back at the doctor with Luke. And then this week on Tuesday Micah woke up with a fever. AND Matt decided his pink eye was not just pink eye - he had a double eye infection AND strep. I seriously was wondering if Matt would ever feel normal again. He rarely gets sick, but when he goes, he goes hard.

They are all on the mend, and it looks like I managed to escape. To say I'm thankful for that is the understatement of the year! I AM SO THANKFUL that I didn't get sick!!!

Other gifts this week...

43. SATURDAY

44. WARM WEATHER...PLAYING OUTSIDE...OUTSIDE CRAFTS
The ship has sailed on this one...but last week we had some beautiful weather. I'm always amazed at how long my kids can be entertained outside - they love it!  That's especially true for our Ugandan dude, who spent over 50% of EVERY day outside in his pre-Nebraskan life. Poor cooped up thing!

I was able to do an impromptu craft with them too,which I'll tell you all about later in the week.

45. A REASON TO DO MY HAIR

My sweet friend Leah had an extra ticket to see Ladysmith Black Mambazo on Tuesday night. So. Much. Fun. Of course, at this point in the week, anything that didn't involve administering medicine = fun, but I think I would have enjoyed it anytime. LBM are an amazing South African group, whom I am familiar with because they sang this song with Paul Simon. Everyone else knows them because they apparently also sang with Josh Groban, and on the Lion King soundtrack.

Loved having a little African flavor here in Nebraska. And having a reason to wear something besides yoga pants.

46. WHEN THEY SLEEP
The morning after my night on the town with my friends, I was woken up at 4am by Micah, joining his brothers in strepathon 2012. I was a little discouraged. Especially when I realized that Matt - who'd been fighting a TERRIBLE case of pink eye since Saturday - was joining him.

I sent Tobin to preschool music with my awesome friend Julie, took Micah to the doctor, and made an appointment for Matt.


I've had to really practice giving thanks for things I don't feel thankful for this week, taking care of everyone in my house and being stuck at home again.

As much as I love my kids (and I LOVE them), what I really felt thankful for was when they all went to sleep.

In case you're wondering...We caught Micah's strep super early. He was frantic with fever Wednesday morning, which was so so sad (I don't even know how high his fever was because he FREAKED when I tried to put the thermometer under his arm. It was 101.7 just laying on his skin). But we got him on antibiotics so quickly that he only ran 1 other (much lower) fever, and has been mostly himself since Thursday. Matt, on the other hand... was still climbing out of the hole on the weekend.
 
47. WORDS TO LIVE BY

Choose to give thanks even when you don't feel it, and eventually your feelings will catch up. "You can only feel one feeling at a time. Choose to be thankful." (Ann Voskamp)

48. RELIVING MY PAST...AND BEING A PROUD MAMA

Luke had a band concert this week...the first middle school band concert we've made it to (we were in Africa for the Christmas concert.) The elementary concerts didn't really take me back in time - mostly they were just looooooong, especially with small children (band, orchestra, and choir performed together, so for 5 minutes of Luke, we sat through 1.5 hours of performance.)

This was a Soup Supper fundraiser - so we had great seats to watch Luke perform in an ensemble, then got in line for our food. While we were eating dinner, we got to listen to various groups of students perform, they had ensembles throughout the evening. It was lovely... except for wrangling 4 small children through a crowded cafeteria with trays of SOUP. My in laws came with my nieces (it was on a Thursday, so Matt had to work - though this particular Thursday he was near death on the couch at home.) This was definitely an event that will be more enjoyable when my youngest is the middle schooler and everyone else with me is self-sufficient.

I think what really took me back in time was watching Luke interact with his middle school band-friends. Many of my closest high school friends were made through band, and it was fun to watch that playing out all around me. The ensemble that performed right before Luke's was a group of strings, including a bass violin. The kids were AWED by that giant thing (my neice said, "WOW. That's the biggest guitar I ever saw!"), but it reminded me of my middle school best friend Lori, who played the bass. Happy memories.

My favorite part of the evening was as we left though... Luke was walking with Sara, Bill and the girls quite a ways in front of Tobin, Micah & I. We passed some girls I didn't know, but apparently they know Luke - and were saying goodbye to him using a VERY silly nick name. I tried not to laugh, but then Tobin looked at them and then at Luke, and told them, "his name is LUKE." HA! Luke ignored them like a pro. I promised him I wouldn't tell what the nickname is, but I will say that I've gotten a good bit of mileage out of calling him that around the house. Never far from middle school, I guess.

49. LITTLE BOY/BIG BOOTS

50.CONTINUING PROJECT DE-CLUTTER
I'd planned some much needed personal time Friday - to spend time alone, with the Lord, and blogging. But Matt really didn't feel well enough Friday morning for me to feel comfortable leaving him to watch Micah Marvin (not that I didn't trust him, just that I knew he felt like garbage and should rest and sleep.)

I had a pity party for myself, poor me.

And then I decided to use my time more profitably and cross one more clutter trap off my list: The linen closet.

While Micah played at my feet with the bin of bath toys we keep in there, I got rid of stuff that's no longer in use and out-of-date medicines (LOTS of out of date medicines). And I moved things around so that everything has a place. As you can tell from the before pic, that wasn't really happening before. I've bought a few extra sets of sheets for Matt & I's bed (jersey sheets are WONDERFUL in the winter here, because they're not freezing when you first get in), plus 2 sets of twins for each of the younger boys' beds. I bought those things but never moved things around so that there was ROOM - so it was  a jumbled mess.

I found a website with great household organization tips (and not even on pinterest!) with the idea (originally from Martha, of course) to store sheet sets in a pillow case to keep everything together. Mine don't look nearly as neat as the ones on marthastewart.com, but I still LOVE IT.

51. POST-SICK FAMILY TIME
It's been all family all the time, once Micah & Matt joined in strepathon. But not really "family time", Mommy-taking-care-of-everyone-and-trying-not-to-raise-her-voice-or-cry time.

So it's been really nice the last few days to get some enjoyable family time. Friday night we made Boboli pizzas...

And the boys enjoyed getting some Daddy-time again (after days of begging for him but only getting brief hugs.) I came out after shower time for the younger two boys to find Luke cuddling with Matt on the couch, and Micah quickly climbing on to be a part of it. While I did Micah's bedtime, Matt read one of my all-time faves to Tobin.

T and I just started reading Junie B a few weeks ago, and I usually just read a chapter or 2 at a time - but Matt read the whole thing, while I finished an organization project in the next room and laughed along. "Wink wink Shy William. Wink wink." This one and "Handsome Warren" are my favorites.

52. FEBRUARY PHOTO-A-DAY
I'm doing the February Photo-a-Day challenge on Instagram (it's not to late to start, would love to see your interpretation of the coming challenges!)


We're just a few days in, but I've liked the challenge to take pictures of not-the-normal stuff. Scrapbookers are always talking about this, but let's face it - I'm not going to scrapbook about my running shoes, or lunch, or my bed or whatever, and I think it's weird that other people do. And I don't have the time or interest to scrapbook right now anyway - I blog instead.

But I like taking these unusual pictures and just posting them. I think day 3's photo will end up being my favorite - day 3 was "Hands."

 

The gift of TODAY

I have a capture gratitude post coming on Monday, but today deserves a post of it's own (otherwise Monday's post would be long enough that no one would want to read it!!) It feels like today was a GIFT from beginning to end.

I'm not usually the world's biggest fan of snow. I mean, it's pretty and all, but it makes life harder, and comes along with cold that my Texas blood can't take.

But this winter hasn't really felt like winter. Until now.

Friday night when I went to bed, it was just starting to snow.

When we woke up the next morning, this is what we found (this is the same view as above):

Officially Lincoln got 10 inches of snow, but with the way it drifts in our yard, we had a lot more. So...all plans for the day were cancelled.

The kids were SO excited (Luke woke up at 6am and couldn't get back to sleep.) It rained all day Friday, then turned to snow so it was wet snow - perfect for fort and snowman building, and also the kind of snow that coats buildings and trees. Beautiful.

We started the day with monkey bread.

Hung out in our PJs for a while, and then the boys headed outside.

I didn't know what Micah would think about it, but he stayed outside with the other boys for HOURS. I of course went out for long enough to get some good pictures and video, then came back inside. I like my job of "hot chocolate maker". And since we were out of hot chocolate mix, they got the really good kind made with milk and Cocoa. It was delicious - I had to have a mug too, after all my cold picture taking...

We ended the day with Taco soup and reading books together (and Luke doing his homework since tomorrow will be filled with football, not homework!)

Thankful thankful thankful for a beautiful day.

2 Months ago today...

In the past 2 months, Micah Marvin has learned (or begun to learn)
...That we'll be here every time he wakes up, so he doesn't have to be afraid to go to sleep.
... That when Matt or I leave, we will come back, so when we leave, he doesn't have to be afraid.
...That I'm his Mommy, so he doesn't have to run up to every white woman he sees for affection and care.
...What it means to be a brother.
...What it means to be a son.
...To try a wide variety of foods (and by all appearances enjoy them all, since he almost always hums/sings through every meal.)
...Dogs and cats (to some extent) are not objects of terror.
...To give lots (and lots and lots) of hugs and kisses.
...To communicate his feelings and needs with words (we are of course still working on this one, but we've come SO FAR.)

Of course, it's not all puppies and rainbows. We're still finding lots of challenges
... Taking turns. He does about as well as the average 2 year old waiting for his turn, meaning there's a fair amount of whining and questioning about when it will be "Micah turn"? But if he has the first turn, and then it's Tobin's turn? MASSIVE FITS.
...Now that he feels safe and more secure with us, it's 2 year old testing time. When Mommy or Daddy say "no", what do they really mean? This presents some challenges, since we know that establishing trust is still our top priority, but if we want to raise him as a son - a son needs to learn to obey. Also, there are safety issues, like running out into traffic. Sigh.
...When we came home, although he was in diapers he was peeing in the potty sometimes, and almost exclusively pooping on the toilet. We've managed to lose those skills almost completely. But with a child who was pretty much wet ALL THE TIME at the babies home, I don't want to fight the potty battle until we're through lots of other battles. But almost-3-year-olds have really disgusting diapers. Kind of ready to be done with that.
...This is minor on the scale of adoption-related issues, but we seem to have some OCD tendencies. MM goes through multiple napkins per meal and can't stand to have any dirty on his hands at all. He also repeats a LOT. Don't even think about putting your shoes on until it's time to leave, because he knows that shoes usually mean going in the car. And little mister LOVES to go in the car. So when the shoes go on, it's "Go car? Go car? GO CAR? GO CAR?" until you get in the car. On the plus side, he's stopped being excited at every big truck we see when we are in the car. Little mister LOVES big trucks and for the first few weeks home, every time he spotted one he'd yell "MOOOOM! MOOOOOM! MOOOOOOOOM!", pointing, until I saw the truck and acknowledged it. "Yes baby, it's a big truck." There are a LOT of big trucks in Lincoln. Kind of a driving hazard when you're being screamed at for each one.
...Along with the OCD tendencies, routine is very important. Vary the routine at your own risk. This makes bedtime rather a challenge, when Matt is here about half the nights to help. Also, all of the adoption-friendly discipline methods I know are rather time-consuming. So when fits happen at bedtime, it's hard to put in the time to respond well to them, especially when there are 2 other children who need to be tended to.
...I'm still adjusting to 3 kids. 3 kids is a LOT more than 2 kids. The noise level alone could do me in some days. And the younger two are so very physical.
...I think we're almost over this (PLEASE LORD), but for a while if both older boys were talking to me and MM felt he was competing for my attention, he would scream at the top of his lungs. I'm not really very good at responding to that gently or lovingly. Yikes.

I've tried some new things to help spread the attention around - most importantly slowing down myself and making sure that I'm not trying to do too many things at once. I noticed that our worst "3 kids are too many for me" times were when I was multi-tasking. It just doesn't work like it used to. I've been wearing Micah more when I need to get things done. And learning the times of day (mornings) when the younger boys are more likely to play together well, so I use those times to get things done. And avoiding trying to get lots done during the times (afternoons/early evenings) when it seems like everyone wants a piece of me. That means either making dinner with MM strapped on, or making it during nap time. Or breaking out the netflix. Totally worth it, most days.

But really, all of that is small potatoes compared to the adjustments and growing pains many adoptive families go through. I was prepared for the worst, and this seems just a step outside of typical toddler-hood.

And even if it was the worst, it would be more than made up for by
...The excited look on Micah's face when he gets up in the morning or from his nap and comes out to find me. He's thrilled and runs to me every. single. time.
...Spontaneous hugs and kisses from a little boy who didn't know how to give kisses 3 months ago.
... Hearing MM say "daDEE! daDEE!" I send him to tell Matt things just to hear him say it.
...After a huge fit and a "time in" (which means I hold him facing away from me, and gently holding his arms and legs so he can't kick or hit me), having him relax in my arms and turn around for cuddles, and telling him I love him.
... He's had to go in actual time out a few times (strapped in his booster chair in the kitchen, but always with me very close by and in sight.) When he's ready to say "Sorry", I get him to make eye contact and say "I forgive you!" He gets a DELIGHTED look on his face and says it with me. I LOVE that he's come to expect forgiveness.
...Sometimes the child can tell by the look on my face that I'm about to say "I love you", and will try to beat me to it, "I wuv u Mommy."
... Teaching him to give and receive butterfly kisses, his favorite.
...Seeing Tobin lead him around saying, "Come on Micah Marvin!" I love when they hug each other and it turns into a tackle-match.
... Micah's excitement to see Luke after school every day. "Go car? Get Bruvva?" (Luke is Brother or Bruvva, Tobin is Bobin.) And Luke's absolute preciousness with Micah.

... And having him do my very favorite 2 year old "thing"... come up with his arms up, saying "Hold You! Hold You!"

Many of these things are typical joys of toddlerhood. But they are so precious when you know they're learned behaviors, and when you get to be the teacher. Oh Joy.

Happy 2 months home!

PINNED IT AND DID IT: Hot Rocks!

I didn't really make New Year's Resolutions this year. I usually do, but this year I made goals instead - things I'd like to accomplish or do (rather than things I want to change about myself, which is how I think of resolutions.) For January my goal was to declutter and simplify (February's goal? Continue to declutter and simplify.)

I decided a few weeks ago on another goal - rather than just pinning things like crazy, I want to actually DO some of the things I have pinned on Pinterest. Although I don't spend a lot of time on the actual site, I use Pinterest a LOT. I use it like a search engine if I'm looking for a certain type of project (for example: a few weeks ago when I cleaned out our closets and donated, I kept quite a few sweaters and made a "Uses for old sweaters (Repurpose!)" board. Can't wait to make some of those things!) And since I follow quite a few craft blogs, I pin any projects I'd like to keep in mind for the future - my biggest boards are "Things to make and give" with wonderful handmade gift ideas, and "Crafts to do with the kids," which is out of control. 60+ pins, many of which I've shown the boys & which they really want to do. And none of which we've actually done.

I love doing crafts with my kids, and heaven knows they need things to keep them occupied! But it's so easy to let that slide and just let them watch TV or whatever while I get some work done. So I've made it my goal to do at least one thing a week that I have pinned, primarily crafts with the kids. Most of the crafts I've pinned (for kids at least) are super easy and take little prep work - because that's the kind of kids' craft that is up my alley! So there's really no reason I can't accomplish this, at least most weeks.

First up, something the boys have been BEGGING for, Hot Rocks.

 This was one of the first projects I pinned (although I can't find the original pin now...), from a blog called Play Based Learning out of Australia, with lots of great kids' ideas.

The best thing about this craft is that it uses things you're bound to have on-hand: rocks from the back yard, your oven, and broken crayons.WIN.

While I gathered broken crayons, Tobin went on a rock search in the back yard. I told him to look for bigger ones that are smooth. He came back with about 43 rocks, and couldn't really resist the shiny jagged ones, so I just picked out rocks that looked like they'd work.

We peeled the wrappers off the crayons - you probably don't have to do this, but I thought if the crayons melted down to the wrapper, it would be frustrating for Tobin and Micah. In the meantime, the toaster oven was heating up.

The original pin said to heat the rocks in a oven set to 150 degrees Celsius - which I looked up on a converter and found was 304 Fahrenheit. 300 degrees seemed pretty hot to me, since we'd be handling these rocks, so I started us at 250 degrees. But...that wasn't hot enough and cooled off too quickly to melt the crayons. So back in the oven they went.

300 degrees was perfect - just on the edge of being too hot to handle, and the crayons melted right on. I used tongs to take the rocks out one at a time for the boys, leaving the rest in the oven to stay warm. I put them in Tupperware containers so that the boys didn't have to hold them, and also so they weren't sitting directly on our table.

**In retrospect... Should have put dishtowels under the containers to keep the heat completely off the table.  ALSO... Those particular Tupperware containers now have crayon melted permanently to them. So don't use a container you're really attached to.

 Luke (11) really enjoyed this activity - he painted all his rocks black with other colors mixed in. It was cool to see the way the colors bled together.

Tobin (4) continued to work 30 minutes after the other 2 boys finished, and has asked several times since if we can do hot rocks again. He hasn't noticed that I dumped the 33 rocks he found that we didn't use.

Micah (2) was not a fan. I think this would be a great project for most toddlers, it doesn't require skill, and I let his rocks cool a bit more than the others (and helped him press his crayon down.)

But my particular toddler?

Is a little weird about getting things on his hands. With his first rock, he got some melted purple on his finger. So all I heard for the rest of the time was, "MOM. Mom. MOM. Finger. NAPKIN. MOM. FINGER." I gave him a napkin, but it really didn't come off. He spent a LOT more time happily trying to un-purple his finger than he did coloring. At least he was occupied...

Here's the final product:

This was a fun and easy activity, great for a rainy day.

Like most kids' crafts...not sure what I'm supposed to do with these now. At the moment, they're in a ruined Tupperware container on the counter. I'll probably just toss them back outside with the rest of the rocks, but I'll have to wait until Tobin isn't looking, because he'd FLIP.

Technically I already have one "Pinned it and Did it" for this week, because we had my friend Amy's Coconut Chicken Curry for dinner last night. I thought I had everything on hand that I needed, but didn't have the right amount of coconut milk, and I had the wrong kind of curry paste. Oops. I still  liked it, but it wasn't very popular with my fam (as I expected, since I'm the only one who likes coconut.)

Tobin is doing a doing a craft inspired by several pins right now (you'll have to wait to find out what that is, but it involves shaving cream, so it's a hit, and has allowed me to write this entire post.) And I think next up will be this fun looking thing - again, because it's made with things I already have on hand.

In the meantime, I'll probably have pinned 5 more projects. Oh well...

Capture Gratitude/1000 Gifts

Sigh.

Tobin is ALL better, praise Jesus. But Luke developed a sore throat on Friday and tested positive for strep on Saturday morning.  While I was at the doctor's office with all 3 little boys, Matt was at Urgent Care - he woke up with Conjunctivitis, his eye was swollen up and almost sealed shut. Luke could have been back at school today, but one of his eyes hurts and is bright red. We started him on drops this morning (which they called in for me, which is good because 3 visits to the pediatrician in 2 weeks is too many.)

My eyes aren't red at all, but they feel puffy, and I can kind of feel the inside of my eyelids. Double sigh.

I guess it's just this time of year.

Nevertheless, there's lots to be thankful for - not the least of which that we can afford healthcare, prescriptions, and have easy access to doctors and pharmacists.

39. KEEPING LITTLE ONES CLOSE
We had company Sunday afternoon... I had plenty of time to get everyone ready, since we couldn't go to church or let Luke be around people until he'd been on his antibiotic 24 hours. What I didn't have was time to everything I needed to do AND hold Micah Marvin as much as he was wanting to be held.

So I strapped him on. I haven't resorted to carrying MM at home yet (although I have worn him a LOT in public), because he hasn't really wanted/needed it. But I wore him on my back for HOURS on Sunday, and he was so happy. He periodically hugged me from behind  or say, "DIS DIS", wanting me to crane my head around so he could give me a kiss. Darling.

40. CONTINUING TO WORK ON MY GOALS FOR THE  MONTH
Despite company and rampant sickness, I have been able to get a few things done this week.This is a season of adjusting to being a family of 5, and we're spending a LOT more time than usual at home.  I've really wanted to use this season of homebound-ness to get some things more organized around the house - projects that are easier to do when you're at home for larger chunks of time.

First up was the pantry. I just reorganized my pantry a few months ago, but we've still had a problem with weevils. Now it's mostly because little hands don't always seal things back in their packages. But I'd also found them in my pasta containers - so I bought some new sealed containers, and put everything else in glad ware containers from our massive post-new baby meals collection. While I was at it, I also put down new shelf liners and reorganized.

I also did the sink under the boys' bathroom (to make room for our large collection of Micah-lotion and conditioner.) I didn't take a picture of that, but I did get one of the inside freezer, which may be the place in our house that most needed to be cleaned out.

 I realize this doesn't look super organized - it actually doesn't look that different than it did before I cleaned it out.

The difference is that this picture shows all food that's been bought RECENTLY and will be used in the next few weeks. Before it was FULL - I could hardly fit any of our daily/weekly needs food in there. I was keeping everything like that in the standing freezer in the garage. Because our indoor freezer was full of food. Mostly stuff from several years ago. Ugh. Why didn't I do this 3 years ago? It didn't even take very long. And now when we need a new loaf of bread, I don't have to go into the freezing garage to get it.

41. BROTHERLY LOVE
Refereeing and negotiating sibling conflict is my least favorite aspect of being a mom (even lower than poop and vomit, and that is saying something.) When I get glimpses of brotherly love, it makes my heart SO HAPPY.

Yesterday, despite having hardly left the couch for 2 days, Luke really wanted to play in his basketball game. We have a few players out of town, so he knew the team really needed him (without him, there were only 5 players.) The doctor said that as long as he felt better, he'd be on antibiotics for long enough by game time (4:45), so play he did. He was SO TIRED when that game was over!

While he was playing, Tobin made this sign and ran along the sidelines with it (he really wanted to go over and show Matt, but Matt was filling in for our coach, who is out of town.)

I asked him what it says, and he translated for me: "Go Luke Meyer". Love.


42. FAMILY TIME
 Aunt Terry was in town this weekend. It was her first visit to Nebraska since we lost Uncle Jon, so it was hard - but so good to have her here. We got lots of good time with Matt's dad and stepmom, and Betsy's family, and hopefully didn't infect them all with strep. Or pink eye. Sigh.

Overdose

I mentioned that Tobin has been sick for a good long while now?

We're on our third bottle of children's ibuprofen. Our second antibiotic. And the PA at Urgent Care suggested I get some kids' Mucinex to help with all of the congestion in his head.

Super T? Has had ENOUGH.

He especially resents the Mucinex, which he says is "spicy."

Yesterday when it was medicine time, I couldn't find the antibiotic or the Mucinex. Tobin had hidden them under Micah's bed.

And right now? I tried to make a party out of the fact that rather than taking THREE medicines like he's had to the last 2 days, he only has to take ONE.

He locked himself in the bathroom.

Sigh.

Capture Gratitude (1000 Gifts)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“There is no event so common place but that God is present within it, always hidden, always leaving you room to recognize Him or not to recognize Him.”  Fredrick Buechner               ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tobin has been sick ALL WEEK LONG. I took him to the doctor Tuesday (as in a week ago tomorrow.) He tested positive for strep, which is what I expected - he was running a fever, had a sore throat and a tummy ache. They put him on Amoxicillin, so I thought we were good to go. We went to our preschool music class Wednesday @ 11, since Tobin had been on antibiotics for 24 hours, and he seemed to be feeling much better. We went out to lunch afterwards (Buffalo Wild Wings - my mom LOVES wings), and Tobin ate NOTHING and lay in the booth with his head in my lap. Even though I'd ordered him Mac & Cheese, his absolute favorite. In retrospect, I should have been more worried, but since he'd woken up at 4AM screaming from his tummy and generally not feeling well, I just thought he was tired. It was all downhill from there. I called the doctor again on Thursday, but they said they like to give it the antibiotic 72 hours. Ok. So every day, Tobin seemed fine, like he was getting better (which is why we were out and about some). And then at night, his fever would spike and he'd wake up at 4am miserable. I am SO TIRED.

Sunday afternoon I took him to urgent care because frankly, we need to sleep. They switched his antibiotic and last night he slept through the night and woke up without a fever. YAY! But it's been a long week.

AND I just dropped my mom off at the airport. Sigh.

So if ever there was a week when I needed to be counting gifts, this is IT!

32. PRESCHOOL MUSIC

We missed out on quite a few fun plans this week - most notably, the Omaha Children's Museum with my awesome sister-in-law and nieces. And lunch at the newly opened Chick-Fil-A. I may or may not be bitter about the "wish you were here" picture of them eating their Chick-Fil-A sandwiches.

We did NOT miss preschool music - and I sure hope we didn't infect the whole class. Are you still contagious on antibiotics that aren't working to heal you? 

Anyway... We are signed up for a fun time every Wednesday morning with one of my boys' favorite people, teacher Susie. Sue leads the children's worship at our church and has a music studio. I love seeing the boys learn music and also have a great time with fun friends.

 Our little Ugandan was a little unsure at first (as he is in every new situation.) But his LOVE for music, singing and dancing won him over QUICKLY. I think we're raising a future rock star. Or broadway dancer. Or classical musician.

33. Friends on the same path
Our other outing this week (at which I ALSO thought Tobin was feeling better, and hope we didn't infect everyone else) was a get together for Nebraska families who've adopted or are adopting. We had a sweet time (as always) with our friends the Blockers, and also got to meet an internet friend face-to-face. Erin and her family are waiting on their referral, and it was fun to (hopefully) encourage them and get to know them.

34. SHELTER
I am thankful that despite having my mom here and being woken up at 4am most days this week, I have had some time to read and pray. I had pretty regular reminders that I NEED the Lord, and am thankful that He always fills my cup, when I'm willing to lift it to Him.

This week I'm reading about how He is my shelter. I want to make my home in Him.

 

35. FOOTIE PAJAMAS
I know, I'm obsessed. But Tobin has felt really left out of the footie pajama club, and I found some on clearance (for $3!!) at Target for him this week. He was so excited. So here are my footie boys:

Of course, being feverish, T was way too hot in footie pajamas, so he hasn't worn them since this picture was taken. Maybe we'll try again tonight, I think they just came out of the laundry.

36. HELP (and the beauty of organization.)
Wouldn't it have been nice of me to treat my mom and let her really relax on her vacation? Especially since we were relatively homebound?

Nope: I put her to work. We took advantage of the time stuck at home to tackle some big organization projects. The biggest was my craft area, which was a MESS. It was once relatively organized. And then I learned to sew. And several people gave me large bags of hand-me-down fabric, which had no home, so ended up being piled up all around my little craft corner. It was ugly to look at and unpleasant to work in.

Thursday it was FREEZING here (and Tobin was obviously not well, as opposed to looking like he felt better.) So we holed up in the basement and I organized while my mom folded fabric.

And folded and folded and folded.

This is halfway through.

And here's the end result, which was ALMOST worth being homebound for 2 days and missing out on the Omaha Children's Museum and Chick-Fil-A.

Aaaaah. Beauty.

Honestly, I would never have gotten it finished without Mom's help. She got me going (it was pretty overwhelming to decide where to even start). She did the grunt work part, and kept me on task when I wanted to quit. So. Thankful.

37. DADDY TIME
It was a good week for my mom to be here, since it was the first week of college ministry events. #1 I would usually have been at those events, but have stepped back from most things as we transition into a family of 5. I'm happy to be right where I am, but also missing out on my usual activity (and missing many people!) But #2 Matt was gone a LOT this week. For both of those reasons, it was good to have my mom here right now.

But even better than that is a Daddy who, even in the midst of a busy week and very little down time for himself, takes any time he can to love on his boys.

38. NANA
I wish she lived closer, along with my whole family and many others who are near and dear to me. But since I'm not in charge of that... I'll stick with being SUPER grateful that my mom is such a wonderful Nana, and that she was able to come for a nice long visit.
 

And every time Micah Marvin says sadly, "Nana. Airplane. Bye." And every time Tobin says, "But WHY did Nana have to leave? She could have stayed longer!" I'll just keep giving thanks.  And keep giving thanks and keep giving thanks. Because if this afternoon is any indication, they're both going to say these things a LOT. :)

        

It's like an episode of Hoarders up in here...

Like the rest of the country, I hit January and get the urge to declutter. Thanks to my time in Africa, I have even more motivation to toss things than usual. I learned that I can quite cheerfully live with 1 week's worth of clothes and almost none of my stuff...but not without books or my family. (although I AM going to make myself go through our books. I haven't decided if I'm going to give them away or try to sell them on half.com - thoughts?)

I'm taking a bit of a break now that my mom is here...but the week before she came I was in a frenzy.

I don't consider myself a hoarder, but after going through my closet and coming up with THIS MUCH STUFF to donate/toss, I'm beginning to wonder. This is what I loaded up to take to our church's clothing exchange donation box. See those 3 big bags on the right? All my stuff. Just a few things of Matt's, in the smaller bags on the left. And the top bag? Shoes. ALL SHOES. Some of which I've had for YEARS. Why have they survived years of periodic decluttering? Because they were formal shoes, so of course they didn't get worn, but you never know when you might need them. So shoes from weddings I was in 10 years ago were still living in my closet. Sigh.

I'm trying to break free from the tyranny of "you never know when you might need..." Some of the decisions I made were a bit painful - if it hasn't been worn in a year, it went, even if I still like it (I've decided clothes can't have sentimental value.) The pain is completely assuaged by this:

I'm so happy with my organized closet, I want to move in there. I actually LOVE being organized. Why did it take me 40 years to learn that YOU CAN'T BE ORGANIZED WHEN YOU HAVE TOO MUCH JUNK. Once I got rid of things, my closet was super easy to organize.

Scarf storage was something that really mystified me. I'd had them hanging around a hanger at the front of my closet, but that was a mess. I searched Pinterest, but it was no help at all (and usually Pinterest is GOLD for any kind of organization ideas.)

I had the brilliant idea to use a wine rack (I was hoping to find one that looked sort of like this, so I could roll up scarves and stick them in the slots). But not being a wine drinker, I had no idea where to find one. After checking Hobby Lobby and Target (my 2 most frequented stores) to no avail, I found them on Amazon. But it wasn't exactly what I was thinking, and I didn't really want to pay $40. So I settled for these boxes, which have worked out just fine. And they are cute.

I just have to make myself roll the scarves up and put them away instead of laying them on my dresser.

I had so much fun organizing my closet, I tackled the kitchen. I really wish I'd thought to take before pictures, but I was almost done before it occurred to me.

But maybe knowing that what I'm getting rid of (this time in a coming-once-the-weather-permits garage sale) filled two boxes, you can use your imagination.

Omelet pan: Used once and made a mess.
Pots and pans: Handed down to me when I moved into an apartment, before I was married. When I married Matt & he had a nicer set, I kept my old ones because????  I'm like a survivor of the depression or something. Believe it or not, I've actually decluttered my kitchen for a garage sale before. I have no idea why I held onto all of these pots and pans.

Oh. And if you're friends with me on facebook, then you recognize the french whisk in the top picture. I had no idea what it was or where I got it, so I posted a picture and got like 40 responses. "It's a whisk." "It's for serving honey." "We had one growing up and called it 'the boingy thing!" Hilarious. Even funnier, when I found out it was a french whisk, suddenly it seemed like something I need to keep. I have actually been using it (for hot chocolate), and I really like it. Not just because it's french. (or maybe still because it's french.)

Once again: After getting rid of everything that I don't use regularly (and things that I have many versions of), the cabinets were super easy to organize.

 

These pictures make me happy.

And the cabinets have stayed this way for a few weeks now.

I saved the hardest one for last. And I did get a before picture of this one:

Ugh. After receiving WONDERFUL meals every other day for a month after bringing MM home, we were busting at the seams with gladware. I pulled everything out, and got rid of things that were discolored or broken. I put all the lids with their matching containers, and threw out anything that didn't have a top or bottom. I then gathered some of the bigger containers, which we won't use regularly, but which I could use when providing meals for others. I put those in a cabinet in the garage, and now our plastics cabinet looks like THIS:

Ah. Happiness and order. This is the one I'm not sure will stay organized without work on my part - the lids seem to have a life of their own. And I'm not often the dishwasher-unloader. But I'm willing to keep an eye on this cabinet, or at least to live with a little disorder there, as a trade off for having someone else unload the dishwasher. :)

I'm ridiculously happy with all of this organization. The next big project to tackle is going to be my craft area. I am not sure how organized I'll be able to get it, since I've learned that the key to organization is getting rid of stuff. Not sure if I'm willing to apply that to fabric and craft supplies! But my mom is here and she's pledged to help me, so we'll see how it goes!!

Linking up at my friend Amy's Anti-Procrastination Tuesday. Because if ever there was a project that was procrastinated....