Ringing It In

Well, hello 2011. Oh, how you've snuck up on me.

 

http://www.aperfectworld.org/household.html

Happy New Year Y'all!

Stay tuned for this year's set of promises...

A Quickie

Today, I was trying to make sense of my home post-Christmas. I found 

this address book that I got as a gift a couple of years ago. The poor thing was never put to use for obvious reasons so I decided to give it a quick rehab.

So I dug out the Mod Podge, found some sturdy paper and my chip board letters and got to work.

Originally I had this awesome paisley red paper but I couldn't change the orange spiral bindingso they didn't mesh well. I plan on using this as the paper version of my password/birthday/address/everything else hub. But I figured I needed to label it something boring so no one would be interested in swiping it. Its not the awesome transformation I was hoping for, but it'll do.

Ho! Ho! Snow!

I'm the type who doesn't like change. I love traditions. I love old standbys. And I only like my foods to be prepared the way Mom and Grandma made them (ask anyone, I'll only eat "our" potato salad, no grocery store remix for me!) That being said, the last couple of years has been all about change. One of the changes made this year that I really liked was hosting Christmas at our house. My siblings and I have always been woken up together on Christmas morning and with new family shifts I was not willing to let that go. So we brought in the air mattresses, cuddled up and waited for Santa to come together.

 This year's Santa!!!!

And although the setting and circumstances were definitely different everything felt like home! 

*Minor details like a surprise trip home for my brother, a gifted weekend getaway, my shark steam mop and being snowed in the next day only sweetened the deal.*

One Small Step... One Giant Leap

As a mom, I constantly find myself analyzing our days and wishing that I had done things differently. When life gets in the way its tough to always have a smile on your face and I certainly don't drop everything I'm doing and play with her as much as I'd like. I know I'm a good Mom, but I think all moms wish that they were BETTER than themselves. So, generally I spend a lot of time reflecting on how I could have done today better. 

But this weekend I had a small mom victory. Riley and I were house sitting at a friends and we were sleeping together in the guest bedroom. All of the sudden I wake up around 4am to this warming sensation on my back. My kid just peed the bed and more importantly all over me and herself (whom I'd just bathed!). As soon as I realized what had happened I began to mentally panic: this is not our house!, are there covers on the mattresses?, does she have another pair of pjs?... on and on. But then a great thing happened. Before I woke her to clean her up I took a deep breath, put a smile on my face and subconsciously decided not to make a big deal out of things. I made a palette on the floor, gingerly cleaned her up and laid her back down (the next morning she was non the wiser!) and started scrubbing the uncovered mattress. After everything was in the wash and I finally got to lay back down I still had that smile on my face and I fell asleep knowing that I couldn't have handled the situation any better.

I Resolve...

Ah, its that time again. Time to declare how I plan to be a better person in the upcoming year. Thankfully I've never had to make the lose weight/quit smoking run of the mill resolutions; however, being better with money has always made it to my list (and this year is no exception). So, before I get all anxiety ridden about this year's over-achieving To Do list, I'm going to feel good about myself and brag about everything I accomplished from last year's list. Hold please, while I search through my many Facebook statuses...

Oh yes, 2010 was a good one.
1. Buy a house. CHECK! March 25th we became happy homeowners! Yay!
2. Learn to knit. WELL... I was very determined at first and then I slacked off in a big way! Besides, do I really need a new scarf?
3. Buy all gifts for the year off of etsy.com. WELL...I did try this for Christmas gifts and when I got the first gift in the mail it was broken and there was no response when I tried to contact the seller. I know this was likely an isolated event, but it was enough to make me choose major dot commers (is that a word?) for the rest of my gifting.
4. Be done with Christmas shopping by Thanksgiving. WELL...Seriously, what was I on when I made this list? Anyhow, no I did not finish shopping before Thanksgiving, however, given the amount of schoolwork, lifework, remodeling, work-work, etc that I've had going on as of late, I have been getting things together for the big day at a rate that has not stressed me out. So, I'll change that to a CHECK! Only because I haven't freaked out yet!
5. Have a family 'daycation' each season. CHECK! (well, pending a Busch Gardens trip...) We've done well with this one. Spring = S.C. to pick my brother up from boot camp; Summer = Lake Gaston; Fall = Washington D.C; Winter = Busch Gardens/Williamsburg. Fun times people! Riley really loved these trips, she's already asked to go to the mountains for her birthday in April.
6. Try not to overbook Riley's time. WELL...this will be one that I will always struggle with, but I think I did better and better as the year went on. This coming spring is looking promising though, as I will not have any evening classes and she will only be allowed a one night a week activity at a time.
7. Live and Let Live: live for my three people family only. CHECK! I have done awesome with this (just ask my sister!)
8. Take more pictures...and do something with them. WELL...This is still a work in progress, but I am progressing. SAY CHEESE!

Although I'm seeing more red than green, I'm calling this a success. Now to look onward!

Can I, Please?!

We went and saw Tangled today. Riley's newest infatuation...no more haircuts until her hair is long enough to do this!  Oy.

Snow!

I know every other blogger in Virginia is also talking about the snow factor here in Virginia right now. What a start! It is December 18th as I write this and the ground is covered with snow for the third time already! I keep having to check the GPS and make sure I'm in Virginia.

Riley came home the other day and couldn't wait to share what she had learned that day: "Mom" "Yes, Riley" "Did you know that it snowed today?" "Yes, Riley!", "Did you know that its still fall; that doesn't even make sense!" I paused and had to count the days on the calendar to realize that yes, in fact, it was still fall and there was in fact snow on the ground! Forecast tomorrow...more snow!

My Rhyme and Reason

OK, OK! After almost a full year of blog and Facebook lurking I have decided to document my life via this blog. Here I plan to document my family's days rather than wasting away precious minutes admiring the photos of people's bathrooms on Facebook. I'm sure that it will take a while to completely make the switch, but I am excited about the prospect of journaling our days in this space. I hope that this form of intentional documenting allows me to notice the small blessings in my day. Join me as I work towards living a more intentional, connected, creative life.