The Road Not Taken

Have you been wondering where I've been and why I haven't been blogging? Nah - you probably weren't. But I'll tell you why you should have been.

4 weeks ago, a friend challenged me (and a few other bloggers) to a blog-a-thon. 30 days of blogging. We were committing ourselves to blog 6 days a week for 4 weeks. Yes, I know that's not really 30 days. But it was close enough :-)

For the first three weeks of this challenge, I surprised myself by actually sticking to the commitment. I blogged every day. Sometimes about the most random things. But I did it.

Until last week.

We had just returned from vacation, my house was a wreck, and I was starting to get nervous. The reason being, I knew my road test would be coming up soon. (See the story leading up to my road test here).

I was too nervous to blog. I didn't want anyone to know about my upcoming test. And I was avoiding my chores (thus didn't have a thing to blog about!)

On Thursday, I got the call I had been waiting for. My driving instructor told me he had my test scheduled for Sunday morning. He even offered to give me 2 extra lessons right before my test to calm my nerves.

Sunday is today. I already had the lessons. And I already took the test.

Guess what.

I PASSED!!!!!  


Now, instead of it being the "Road Not Taken", I think I'll take it. And any other road that comes along...

A Walking Vacation

My vacation has been wonderful. It's been a total break from (most of) the mundane.

No laundry, cooking or cleaning. No carpools or regular bedtimes. And yes, the kids came along, but for me, I wouldn't have it any other way.

Now lately, I've been in a bit of a rut with my diet and exercise. I kept telling myself that things would improve when the spring came. Unfortunately, spring came and so did the excuses.

This vacation ended up being the perfect thing for me. I've been eating better, and exercising every day. This is the momentum I needed.

Happy flying!

Vacation!

Yes, you read that right. After a very long week with viruses, chicken pox, and a serious case of the "blahs", we are on vacation!

It's funny, but all I keep thinking right now is, why in the world am I writing a blog post? I'm on vacation!!! But here I am, trying to stick to my commitment.

I'm only a few hours into my vacation, and I have to say, the Flylady got it right again. You know how she always tells us to get dressed to shoes? Well, because I was going on vacation today, I took extra care how I look. I have to say, I've never felt better. And it's funny since I got rid of most of my grungy clothes, but there was an extra skip in my step because I cared today, just a little bit more. And it doesn't mean that I accomplished more in my home today. But it means that instead of collapsing in the hotel room, I managed to walk for hours. And I never wanted to stop.

Anyways, I'm going to leave this post short so I can get back to vacationing. But I'll report back tomorrow!

Happy Flying!

A Bushel and a Peck

Recently, I've been thinking quite a lot about my grandmother who passed away almost eight years ago. This grandmother was a "born organized" person. She tried to teach me many tips and tricks. Unfortunately, most didn't stick. But there is plenty that did stay with me - and one thing that stayed with me was the following song that she would always sing to us. This song always makes me smile. Therefore, I decided to share it with all of you.

Call me Old Fashioned

As a little girl I made the decision that I wanted to be a stay at home mom. As a teenager, I decided that I wanted to work as an accountant. As a high school graduate, I decided that teaching was the profession for me. As a college student, I decided to train as an artist. When I finally was a woman in the workforce, I decided that all I ever really wanted was to be a stay at home mom.

I grew up with a mom who had gone back to school and had begun working full time. While she was working, there were definite sacrifices that both she and I made. I missed out on the home cooked dinners she made for my older siblings, and she missed out on my school productions. She definitely did her best to make up for all the lost opportunities that we had. And she was and still is a great mom. But because she worked, I truly always wanted to be a stay at home mom.

Being home, however, was not always an option. Sometimes I did have to work outside the home. And I did so for many years while my husband was in school. But the times that I'm truly happy, are when I can work from home and be there for my family.

Now, as you all know, I'm a slob by nature. But there is nothing I like better than taking care of my family in every way I can. Sometimes, it even means cleaning up.

Don't get the wrong idea. I don't like cleaning. I don't think I ever will. But there is something so satisfying about taking care of my family. And sometimes, cleaning is all they need from me. And sometimes, it's staying home with them when they're sick.



As I'm sure you know by know, my three year old has a case of the chicken pox. He is very fortunate that he doesn't feel sick. And while that is great in some respects, it's very difficult in others. He is completely full of energy, wants to go to school, and is going completely stir crazy.

So am I.

I love my kids. And I'll do anything in the world for them. But being cooped up at home for a week, with a sick child, and therefore no way to leave the house, is completely exhausting.

So even though I really love being a stay at home mom, this week, I really miss the outdoors.

I Can't Help You - I'm Busy Procrastinating

This chicken pox thing is really taking it's toll on me.

When I first started this blogging challenge, on one hand I was completely nervous. On the other hand, I knew that by signing up, I'd be ensuring that my cleaning would get done. I knew that these 30 days would be the best my home has ever looked.

I was wrong. Chicken Pox has a way of changing things for everybody.

While I'm so happy that the only symptoms my son has are the spots all over his body, it's no fun having a kid completely stuck at home who feels totally fine. He's going a little stir crazy. And he's stirring up a lot of messes with him.

So, I need to watch him like a hawk. He has decided today, to test the laws of gravity. Let's just say that there have been many injuries today.

I have not been able to leave his side. And I am completely wiped out.

If only he would take a nap, I might be able to wash my dishes from the weekend. Or do some laundry. Or even make dinner.

But I can't do any of those things. And by the time he goes to bed, I'm ready to sleep as well.

So instead of pushing myself to get things done, I have decided that the only way to keep my sanity this week, is by procrastinating.

Yes, you read that right. My plan for the next couple of days is to procrastinate.

Life threw me a few curve balls this week. I'm just trying to roll with the punches.

Mama Said There'll be Days Like This

This post is dedicated to one of my loyal readers. She's also known as my sister (so she has to be a loyal reader!)

When reading of my troubles with the chicken pox, she quoted this song in her comment. Since then, I have not been able to get the song out of my head. I've decided that if it's going to be stuck in my head, it needs to be stuck in all of yours as well.

Today was one of those days that Mama said we'd have. One kid was stuck home with the chicken pox. I (stupidly?) allowed another kid with the chicken pox to come over and have a play date. On top of it all, I didn't sleep well last night.

So what have I done today? Nothing. Didn't wash a single dish. Didn't make any food. Didn't do any laundry. Didn't clean up any toys.

On second thought, Mama didn't warn me about these days. She prayed they wouldn't happen!

My Calendar, My Life

I've decided to use today to share with you how I organize my life. As much as I've always been a slob, underneath all the mess, I've always been quite organized. Flylady recently partnered with Cozi to make lives so much simpler (including my own!)

Now, in case you're wondering, I was not asked to share this with you, nor am I getting paid to do so. However, I needed something quick to post today, and thought this would be the perfect time to introduce this to you.

Since this video has been made, the site has been improved to include a meal planning system. That new system has actually been a lifesaver for me.

I encourage you to take a look at the video and maybe get inspired to re-organize your lives as well.

To sign up, click here.

Of Parenting and Pox

I was going to write this whole long post today about the benefits of going back to basics. But life has a habit of getting in the way.

Today, life is defined as two kids, one with flu like symptoms, and the other, with something that looks a lot like chicken pox.

I'm pooped.

I started my day with such vigor. I made a batch of bread this morning. I also made a quadruple batch of banana muffins (thanks to a sale on bananas!)

And then kid #1 got sick. I spent all day with her. I was exhausted by the time the kids were ready for bed. Unfortunately, it was while changing kid #2 into pajamas when I noticed the unmistakable spots.

So... I guess we'll get back to basics tomorrow. And I can be thankful for whatever I did manage to accomplish today (even though I left myself with the mountain of all mountains of dishes).

My Born-Organized Sister

For those of us in the Flylady world, the term Born-Organized (or BO for short) stands for all the people that we hate. (And at the the same time, they are the people that we secretly wish to be). We all have one in our lives. It could be a parent, sibling, spouse or friend. For me, it's my sister.

As a little girl, she would drive me completely up the wall. We shared a room until I was seven. And as she is six years older than me, she was always the boss. She completely controlled our room. And I did everything in my power to make the room "my own" (read: mess).

She used to bug me about cleaning my toys, straightening up the closet, and getting rid of extra hangers.

As we got older, her "BO-ness" spilled over into her studies. She was an incredible student, and unfortunately for me, she set the bar way too high.

I grew up in her shadow. And even though I ultimately grew taller than her, I always felt like I could never follow in her footsteps. Guess what - I didn't. I became me instead :-)

The funny thing with Flylady is that it has taught me more about myself - things that I never realized until now. Things that make me unique. And I think I've finally grown into the Mom that I've wanted to be for a while now.

Now I don't want you to think that by writing this now means that it took me this long to realize this. I just am running out of things to write in the month long adventure...

Oy... what was my point again?

Oh yeah. Being born-organized is not something to strive for. We're either born that way or we're not. And if I were born organized, I think I would miss all my eccentricities that come with being me.

Why Not Today?

So I realize that posting a video is a little bit of a cop-out, but at least I'm posting something, right?

Anyways, enjoy this cute little video. The music kind of annoyed me, but the cartoons were perfect :-)