Here are a few signs that I live in a house full of boys...though these things could surely happen with girls too.
1. We have a sword basket in our kitchen. It actually is more of a general weapons basket with light sabers, throwing stars, swords, noodles and nun-chucks.
2. One constant reminder is the dart-like toy sticking out of one of the shades on our foyer chandelier. It has been there about a month and I expect it to stay there for many more, until we get around to bringing in a very tall ladder. (Thought it's possible a friend who is a girl did this!) Regardless, we find Nerf darts EVERYWHERE! During Christmas they added a nice orange pop to my mantel garland.
3. If anyone says anything related to poop, pee, underwear or butts (even just the word) they are the comedian of the moment and the household roars with laughter. Apparently these are the funniest words in the English language.
4. We are either loud, louder or quietly doing something we shouldn't.
5. Our favorite way to play any board game is to destroy it and scatter its remains all over the house.
6. Turbo is our normal speed unless it's time to get socks, shoes and coats on or get in the car.
7. Our drawings and colorings often are a bunch of scribbles described as a tornado or the Earth exploding.
8. Typical conversation in the car. "What if there was a tornado and it picked you up and you accidentally had to go to the bathroom so you pooped and the tornado blew your poop away and it landed on a boy who was in his bed sleeping and he woke up with poop on his face and he said ewww! why is there poop on my face?" other passengers in the car respond with a chorus of "ewww" and lots of giggles.
9. Our two favorite books are "I Love You Stinky Face" and "Underpants Thunderpants"
10. We have a limited understanding of girls. For instance, girls don't eat popcorn, gum or pickles (because I don't).
11. Tackling, touching or roughhousing of some sort is a daily, if not hourly, occurrence.
12. I have the privileged distinction of being "their girl" as the only girl in the house. They said the other day "Mommy is our girl". I thought that was so sweet.
Thursday, January 23, 2014
Tuesday, January 7, 2014
Me at 30
If I had a hunch I'd say people older than me might chuckle at my realizations. They probably already know what I feel like I'm just starting to figure out. Learning about yourself is a lifelong process. I'll be honest, I thought surely by 30 I should have some things figured out. I'm learning that I have much to learn. I'm not talking spiritually. I learned in my 20s that sanctification was a life-long process, that spiritually we should always be growing and learning and changing to be more like Christ. What I'm talking about is the more mundane, day to day things of life. Like household chores and who I am.
Here's what I would tell you about myself. I am a procrastinator. The pressure of the last minute is a great motivator! I am messy. Keeping up with laundry and dishes and putting the mail and my clothes away is such a challenge. And why make the bed when I am just going to mess it up again? I like to think that my less than picked up house helps people feel welcome, like I don't need to put on a facade of perfection. I am a keeper. I have a hard time letting go of things because you just never know when you might need it again, or when you might remember what that thing goes to, or if your kids might enjoy it when they are older, or maybe a loved one gave it to me, or it's just too hard to let go.
These are all things that I have always thought were true of myself. But here is what I'm slowly learning.
True enough, I am a procrastinator. I've been known to push projects off until the last possible moment. Sometimes I think I have a sixth sense about just how much time I need to allow to complete a project. However, I have made a few attempts at not procrastinating lately and it turns finishing a project early is quite rewarding. It's much less stressful, allows for more regular sleep, gives a cushion of time if issues arise or things take longer than expected. It's quite thrilling to get things done early. Maybe I'm changing my ways.
Keeping a house in order is certainly a struggle for me. I always just took it as "that's just the way I am". My house growing up was often, or maybe almost always, a big mess and keeping a spic and span house just never seemed to be in my skill set. However, I'm slowly learning that I can be more successful in this department if I can just figure out systems that work for me and my household. And figuring out a system that works often starts with trying many systems that fail. So my house is a work in progress. But slowly I am figuring it out. And guess what? I love it when my house is clean (for me that means picked up and the floors and counters with no visible crumbs....not perfectly mopped, dusted and scrubbed). When the house is in order, rather than chaos, it frees me up to spend time with my kids, read or work on projects that I've been procrastinating on. So I'm not sure I'll ever be a "make the bed every day" kind of gal. But I'm learning the benefits of finding successful systems, sticking to them and enjoying a relatively clean house. Who knew?
I am not a hoarder....but perhaps I'm a step down. Minimalist has never been a word to describe me. I've been known to request the help of friends to sort through belongings and convince me that it's ok to through things away. I have visions of my children one day sitting in a storybook attic (that I don't have) reminiscing and laughing as they sort through my belongings and flip through my boxes of pictures and old schoolwork. However, as I sort through my parents basement with my mom and have previously been apart of sorting through Paul's grandparents old home....I have realized that I don't need to hold on to everything! In fact, it's a bit freeing to let go of the junk and the garbage that have filled bins and crawlspaces and attics and closets. I still hold on to some things. Because there are some things that really are wonderful to go back and look through. But mostly I'm learning to just let go.
Maybe by the time I'm 40 I'll be a morning person?
Here's what I would tell you about myself. I am a procrastinator. The pressure of the last minute is a great motivator! I am messy. Keeping up with laundry and dishes and putting the mail and my clothes away is such a challenge. And why make the bed when I am just going to mess it up again? I like to think that my less than picked up house helps people feel welcome, like I don't need to put on a facade of perfection. I am a keeper. I have a hard time letting go of things because you just never know when you might need it again, or when you might remember what that thing goes to, or if your kids might enjoy it when they are older, or maybe a loved one gave it to me, or it's just too hard to let go.
These are all things that I have always thought were true of myself. But here is what I'm slowly learning.
True enough, I am a procrastinator. I've been known to push projects off until the last possible moment. Sometimes I think I have a sixth sense about just how much time I need to allow to complete a project. However, I have made a few attempts at not procrastinating lately and it turns finishing a project early is quite rewarding. It's much less stressful, allows for more regular sleep, gives a cushion of time if issues arise or things take longer than expected. It's quite thrilling to get things done early. Maybe I'm changing my ways.
Keeping a house in order is certainly a struggle for me. I always just took it as "that's just the way I am". My house growing up was often, or maybe almost always, a big mess and keeping a spic and span house just never seemed to be in my skill set. However, I'm slowly learning that I can be more successful in this department if I can just figure out systems that work for me and my household. And figuring out a system that works often starts with trying many systems that fail. So my house is a work in progress. But slowly I am figuring it out. And guess what? I love it when my house is clean (for me that means picked up and the floors and counters with no visible crumbs....not perfectly mopped, dusted and scrubbed). When the house is in order, rather than chaos, it frees me up to spend time with my kids, read or work on projects that I've been procrastinating on. So I'm not sure I'll ever be a "make the bed every day" kind of gal. But I'm learning the benefits of finding successful systems, sticking to them and enjoying a relatively clean house. Who knew?
I am not a hoarder....but perhaps I'm a step down. Minimalist has never been a word to describe me. I've been known to request the help of friends to sort through belongings and convince me that it's ok to through things away. I have visions of my children one day sitting in a storybook attic (that I don't have) reminiscing and laughing as they sort through my belongings and flip through my boxes of pictures and old schoolwork. However, as I sort through my parents basement with my mom and have previously been apart of sorting through Paul's grandparents old home....I have realized that I don't need to hold on to everything! In fact, it's a bit freeing to let go of the junk and the garbage that have filled bins and crawlspaces and attics and closets. I still hold on to some things. Because there are some things that really are wonderful to go back and look through. But mostly I'm learning to just let go.
Maybe by the time I'm 40 I'll be a morning person?
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