Confessions of a Compulsive Furniture Mover

Sometimes a little change is needed, and when we don’t want (or need) to buy anything new moving the furniture is a great solution.

I grew up with a mom who was constantly moving furniture around-it seemed like a monthly occurrence. I’m sure it wasn’t, but it was frequent and I loved it. I loved the change and the new perspective of sitting in the same chair in a different place. It was cool. And mom is cool like that. So I’ve decided I want to be cool like that too.

So I move furniture. Not very often because a small room and a sectional make it tough. There’s only so much you can do with a huge L shaped couch. And a fireplace with a t.v. above it.

But that’s okay-I’m good with a seasonal change, even though about monthly I am switching accessories or things on the wall. Hmm, maybe that’s hormonal?

So here’s the winter version of the room. Partially obscured window, dark rug, cartwheeling kid.

And here’s the Christmas version, looking into the room from our front door. Yeah, I know it’s a Christmas picture but it’s all a I had. You get the idea.

So one day I say to the kids, “let’s move some furniture!” They scream with glee because they know they’ll find long lost toys under the couch, and perhaps a few discarded fruit snacks.

Levi grabs the camera and tries to document the whole affair. He doesn’t realize it’s on manual focus. But you can still get that they are in fact screaming with glee.

And then it’s all said and done and the room is clean and mom is tired and thinking “why on earth did I attempt this with three kids underfoot?” Oh, I know, it’s because they actually helped me roll up the carpet and move it out.

So here it is today, right now, temporarily clean. And I like it. Next month? Who knows…..

An inspiring simple switch creates a new look, love that.

I'm sharing with Melissa at The Inspired Room today.

Going my Own Pace

So Sunday is a big day for me, one I’ve been planning for the last sixteen weeks.  It’s been such a big deal that it’s totally restructured my days, my schedule and even my diet.  On Sunday I will be running in a half marathon.

I remember when running a mile seemed nearly impossible.  I remember when I thought that I wasn’t a real runner.  I remember when I realized that I was a real runner.  As I’ve been training for this very big event I’ve been reminded many times over that I need to run my own race.  I need to stick with what I know, and run the way I run.  Not the other runners I see along the trail, not the folks I read about in Runner’s World, not even my friends who are runners themselves.  This thing on Sunday is totally for me, and I need to focus on my own race and my own pace.  I need to go at my own speed.

As Sunday gets closer I realize that going on my own pace applies to lots of other areas in life.  Lately I’ve found homeschooling to be a struggle.  I’ve found myself looking at how other are doing school and feeling like I don’t really measure up.  Or feeling like I need to do school the way other moms I know do, and I’m trying different schedules and different routines and getting caught up too much on what are others are doing.  And in that I’m missing my students.  I’m missing that they’ve got their own pace and this teacher needs to teach to her students-not anyone else’s.

Sometimes in life it’s really to easy to focus to much on what are others are doing and miss what we’re supposed to be doing.  Maybe it’s how others keep house, or home school their kids, or just about anything else; we watch others and see how they do things.  We wonder why we do things differently, we think maybe they’ve got something figured out that we don’t.  So we try different things and we force ourselves into different routines and then end up miserable because it’s not us.  At least I do that.  And it’s led to some frustration in our home, because I’m too busy trying what’s working for others that I can’t figure out what’s working for me.  I need to figure out my own pace.

So this week I’m totally slowing down in the home school arena-just to figure out a better routine, a better way to flow at my own pace.  I’ve got to do what works for me, I’ve got to run my own race in life (and on Sunday).  When I do that I’ll be happier, I’ll feel less stress and I’ll be at peace.  And the cool part is that everyone in my house will be that way too.  Just like on race day if I don’t run my own race I just might end up hurting myself, or at least making things much harder by burning myself out too soon. 

This week I’ll be listening to this guy and his sisters, and listening to myself-and running my race my own way.

“…and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.”  Hebrews 12:1

Sunday

6:45 Aida is up, 7:07 all the rest are too.  I’m thinking it’s time to put up those room darkening shades, it’s just too light here in the mornings and that means there’s no quiet time for me. 

off to church

 

home for lunch and then some jumping

And the rest of the day was a blur, sprinkled with some yard work and a nap and then off to youth group.  A typical Sunday for our family, a little rest and some work too.

And that wraps up the week-it was a good one and I’m looking forward to sorting and organizing pictures and placing them in an album.  Thanks for sticking with us this past week-we’ll get back to some more insightful or inspirational or just regular posts here real soon.

Happy Monday everyone!

Saturday, Saturday

morning coffee

morning fuel

morning craft time

(insert untaken photos of kids with our sweet friend who was over to watch the kids while I took my long run, me walking the last half mile because my knee did something it shouldn’t have, me sitting with ice on my tweaked knee, me really glad this is the long run before the race on Sunday, me really hoping and praying that knee feels normal by then….I’m so glad that I’ve had the opportunity to train for this race, I have truly loved it but I’m glad it’s done simply because I want my Saturdays back. The long runs and the recovery afterward really eat up the day and there are some things around this house that need my attention on Saturdays-like the kids and my husband and the unstarted garden. That being said, I'd do it again-maybe just not this year, I'm thinking about shorter races this year and have a few in my sights for June and July.)

afternoon snack

outside play

afternoon sweep

fancy dinner

post bath book and snuggle

evening welcome home

And there you go Saturday-thanks for some nice weather to run in and play outside in, thanks for a leisurely day (if you don’t count a killer run), thanks for showing up every week and giving us a chance to sleep in and have a lazy morning, and fill our afternoon with pretend play)

Today is Sunday, and I’m kind of glad to be done documenting this week. I’ve forgotten to take the camera with us everywhere this week and gone stretches of the day with no camera at all. But that’s okay-because our week will be documented, in all it’s busyness and not busyness. Though the end was a bit abnormal for us with Zac gone the rest was just pretty regular, and I love that. Regular days and regular memories captured.

Hello Sunday, glad you’re here.

Happy Friday

Early start (6 am) for the momma in this house, by 9 am all kids are dressed, fed and ready, Zac is off and working, mom’s had devotions, workout, breakfast and second cup of coffee in hand.  Feeling grateful for a more leisurely Friday morning, getting ready to tackle chore day and some errands.

10:08am chore assignments done and we’re off and going with our chore day

12:03 organizing and sorting clothes in the girls room.  Yikes, that’s all I can say. 

 

lunch with the girls-when Aida tells me, “Mama you make the best lunches, dinners and breakfasts ever.”   Love that.

2:00 chores done and off to drop stuff to Goodwill, and the accountants office, and the library…..

sitting, for just a minute

3:15 kissing Zac goodbye for an overnight youth trip

5pm home from the store, helping Levi make pancakes for dinner

5:30 dinner with Alvin and the Chipmunks, The Squeakel

7:00 popcorn

post movie dance off

8:10 goodnight kisses, backrubs, short stories.

8:36 I’m looking forward to bedtime myself

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Today was a bit of an abnormal Friday for us because of Zac taking off with the youth group.  Our routine was a bit different but that’s okay.  And I sure didn’t plan on spending two hours in the girls room sorting and organizing, but when they emptied their dresser and the clothes bin in the closet I had no choice.  It was a good opportunity to figure out what we need for summer clothes, and now they can find their own clothes-at least for now.  It was wonderful to fall into bed at the end of the day knowing that for the most part the house was clean, which is what I love about chore day.  And I love chore day on Friday because it leaves Saturday free for other things.  (Like long runs.)  The kids all take a task and we get to work-things aren’t usually clean to my standards but by kid standards they are perfect-and the kids are learning how to do things for themselves.  When it was all said and done it was a good day-lots of fun and some work and good opportunities to hang with three awesome kids. 

Hello Saturday-looking forward to enjoying you.

Thursday

early morning, coffee and reading and some other stuff

starting the day with a book-totally normal around here

oranges from my parent’s tree in California

another totally normal look, though she can’t read yet she’s trying and loves to carry books around all day

cruising through a phonics assignment

beautiful weather for an afternoon run, and the vacuum in the background-a totally normal thing with three dogs and three kids

curled up to watch survivor with Zac, the best way to end the day

So Wednesday was not my favorite day of the week and I determined to change that for Thursday. Some days are busy and leave me breathless at the end, simply from running from one place to the other all day long. And in that I’m usually short with the kids, asking them to go faster and hurry and creating so much unneeded stress. I don’t really like that, and I was really conscious to slow down Thursday. The result of that was a more peaceful day. We flowed from one thing to the next and I reminded myself to focus more on what I did get done that what I didn’t get done. The weather was beautiful and so we much spent a lot of time outside.

I found this quote on Ali Edward’s blog and was encouraged to learn from Wednesday and then let her go.

Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; begin it well and serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense. Emerson

So thankful for a normal Thursday and ready to take an a slightly abnormal Friday-embracing it and going with it today.

Wednesday Reviewed

 

 

More pictures, less words today because it was literally a blur, one of those zoom days for our family.  A few school lessons in the morning, a trip to the library, home for a quick lunch and then off again to get the kids to play dates and get me to a 9 mile run.  Home again and rushing to get ready for our small group and grateful for Zac home from work and helping out….makes me glad for the home days we have this week to balance out the busy days.  These are some of my favorite pictures of the day.

Hello Tuesday

A cloudy, rainy day makes for a slow start for everyone.  That’s okay.

8:37 am-checking mail, getting thoughts together for the day.  Breakfast was Hodgson Mill Multi Grain hot cereal with fresh berries and almonds. 

Noticed the smell of rain, love that fresh earthy smell.

9:25 looking for where I put my coffee, spelling and grammar with Levi-and noticing how it’s totally fine to go at our own pace for school.  Some days we start later, some earlier-I’m learning to go with it and adjust to my kids rather than forcing them to adjust to me.  And that works so much better.

10:30 started reading Ella Enchanted with the girls

11:52 lunch-turkey, pickle, cheese and lettuce for the kids with fruit salad and egg sandwich with spinach for mom

1:30 Girls make crayon families while Levi does math with me

2:30 spent time with the exercise ball while the kids rested, laundry folded

4:30 fixing dinner, Zac comes home

5:00 steal a few minutes to work on a few scrapbook pages (the kids are running laps around the living room-screaming like animals, I’ve got them on ignore)

5:30 dinner-artichokes, multigrain pilaf, baked potatoes, green salad

7:30 everyone tucked in and done for the day-I’m feeling done too

8:00 relaxing with Zac and American Idol-still raining, a bit chilly, a wonderful day

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Some thoughts on Tuesday:  Tuesday was a home day so it was really easy for to take pictures and jot notes on the day as it unfolded-this isn’t the case every day but I love the freedom this project gives to create it how you want it.  Some days I’ll have lots of words and not so many pictures, some days lots of pictures and not so many words.  Wednesday will be a bit busier so it’ll look different, but I’ll still be able to capture the day in a few pictures and words. 

I used the self timer on some of these pictures and let Levi take a few as well.  He is totally into this project and is always asking if he can take a picture for the book.  Zac is on board too-grabbing the camera and taking pictures of what interests him.  I love that because it gives more than just my perspective on the day.  This is such a fun project and I’ve got so many pictures already-can’t wait to get them into an album.