Decluttering my Brain

I am one of those list people. If it is on my list, I do it (or buy it as the case may be). If it is not on my list it does not exist.

Really. Just ask my husband about all of the things he tells me about but I completely space on because they are not on the calender or grocery list.

How on earth am I expected to remember everything?

So here is my to-do list for the next two days.

Errands

• *bank
• *grocery shopping

Home

• clean refrigerator
• inventory spring clothes -- make list of needs and wants to for upcoming season
• check attic for clothes in agents' next size (hope this reduces shooping list significantly)
• organize Agent 002's closet
• pull outgrown clothes from Agents' drawers
• oragnize attic bins

Paperwork

• menu plan
• get "certificates of foreign birth" for agents
• find out what do we need to do to be eligible as "emergency" foster care placement

Blog

• menu plan post
• *post Unplugged project on blog
• book post

Garden

• find out when "last average frost date" is for my area
• make chart of what should be planted when (indoors and outdoors)
• find out what type of growing medium tomato, eggplant and parsely seeds need

Preschool

• make living/non-living sort cards
• finish "short a" word wheels
• make K poster (kite shapes)

Snow!

Since everyone else is posting snow pictures....

February Thaw

With the temperatures soaring into the 40s the past few days, the kids have been enjoying summer pursuits like roller skating, biking, and driveway chalk.

They sure don't believe that pesky groundhog that there is still a long winter in front of us!

My First Sewing Project

As the new owner of a hand-me-down Kenmore sewing machine, I figured that I better learn how to sew.

After figuring out how to thread the bobbin and top thread, I wanted to make something.

Something real.

My long-term goal is to design and stitch my daughter's dresses, but for now I needed something simple to start with.

I searched the web for ideas and came across some simple tutorials for skirts, baby legs, and pants.

I started out, however, with a recycling project -- making mittens from a worn out sweater following this video tuturial.

The first pair was imperfect, but I kept at it.
Two pairs later, however, I felt like a pro.

Pro enough to whip up a hat for our beloved robotic cat fom the scraps.

Okay, not quite a pro yet.

Anybody have any suggestions for how I can learn?

Bad Mama. Bad, Bad, Mama

I have been disqualified from "Parent of the Year" competition for the next five years after what I did Christmas Eve. This story is such a bad refelction on me that I delayed telling you for hopes that I could forget it. But it happened, and I might as well tell my side of the story before a false memory gets implanted into the family concsciousness.

We went to the earliest Christmas Eve Mass, but it was dark as we set out at 3:40 (sometimes I hate New Hampshire). Four-year-old Agent 004 nodded off as we closed the car seat straps around her.

We arrived at church a few short minutes later, and Mr warillever helped Agent 002 out of his seat. I gently picked up the sleeping princess. I reached back into the van to grab hats and gloves, then attempted to close the sliding van door with my left leg.

She woke up with a jolt, screaming.

Parent of the Year Inc. did not disqualify me for slamming the door on my daughter's foot, but for my next words:

"Agent 004, cut your whining."

Her screams turned to swallowed sobs as we entered the church. As we settled ourselves onto folding chairs at the back of church (it was 3:55 for the 4pm Christmas Mass), I looked down at her shoe. The shiny black dress shoe was crumpled from the force of the door. Dents from both sides, black faux leather cut down to the gray innards.

She will lose a toe nail, but otherwise her foot will be fine. This is the second time it has broken; Joseph ran her over with aplastic truck 18 months ago.

This is how to raise a tough kid, right?

It's Not All Fun in the Snow

We did spend most of our daylight hours this weekend skiing, but sometimes we are squares*.


There are things that need to be done, ya know?


Here is mr warillever disposing of the Christmas tree:

We also dumped the cold ashes

and lugged firewood.

We didn't have time for many art projects, but we did spend a lot of quality unplugged time together, and isn't that the point?

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This week's Unplugged theme was "Square." Since my husband and I are chronically unhip, I figured that anything we did with our kids would fit the bill. Click over to Unplug Your Kids to see real "sqaure" projects.

Saturday Ski

This was Agent 004's first time skiing along with us for an extended adventure. In the past mr warillever has pulled her along in a sled, but she insisted on pulling her own weight this afternoon. She was quite the trooper -- we were out for over two hours!

It All Comes Down Tomorrow

I love Christmas decorations.

Last year, I showed you the table and even snuck in a self portrait in the mirror.

This year I also decorated the mudroom:

and hung the wreath I made in 1984 or so.
The kids decorated their own rooms while we slept in one morning:












The most fun, however, is the "decorating" that Santa does:

At Least We're Raising Cultured Children

Toast for breakfast, crostini with lunch, sukhariki-stuffed chicken for dinner....

My kids may eat way to many refined carbs, but at least they can ask for dried bread in three different languages....

[Menu plan to come]

I Resolve to

1. eat breakfast everyday
2. plan lunches
3. pray for 15 minutes every day
4. submit ten articles for publication
5. reduce white flour and sugar consumption
6. replace artificial products with "food"
7. produce half of summer vegetables from our garden
8. create a debt elimination plan
9. complete two online courses
10. beat my husband at chess or table tennis

Does this sound attainable?

I Couldn't Write, and Didn't Feel Like it Anyway

When we last spoke, I was signing off of the computer to write some Christmas cards.

It took me awhile, okay?

No, honestly, for the first time in my adult life, I actually got all of the cards designed, printed, signed and mailed by the second week of Advent.

But then my computer stopped working. Doesn't load up. Gone completely kaput. I have torn the house apart, but I cannot find the system disks to reinstall windows. Of course this is not surprising given that I have had not needed them once in the seven years I've owned the machine, and we have moved twice in the interim. No computer (obviously) means no blogging, no email, no online newspaper reading, and no catching up on friends' stories.

I have had intermittent access to my husband's work laptop, but haven't posted.

That is because I didn't know what to say.

How do you catch up on a month's worth of updates, especially when that month is December?

Especially when it has been such a tough December.

It all started when mr warillever's cousin had a freak accident and died suddenly. No warning, nothing. Gone. I'll put this one on my list of questions for Jesus if I ever get to heaven...how does such a good person, a father of four, just go -- poof -- without any discernible reason?

While we were out of town for the funeral, an ice storm hit our region. We (along with 500,00 other families in the state) were left without power. Living without lights, computer, and television was refreshing, but without heat in single digit temperatures? Not so nice. Fortunately we have a woodstove and town water -- others (including my sister) were without water for the duration of the outage. Our power was restored in just under three days, just as the temperatures started rising above freezing. My sisters and mr warillever's brother were in the dark for nearly a week.

Then the woman I teach religious education with died. This death wasn't quite as sudden -- she was diagnosed with cancer three years ago -- but it was no less tragic. I was just getting to know her, and am in infinite awe with her unshakable faith in Jesus. Of course this leaves me with yet another question for God -- why would You take a mother away from a 5-year-old boy? Such a faithful, strong, person. Gone.

I have yet to process the grief that two of mr warillever's siblings have been experiencing this Christmas; his sister E's friend died after a long battle with cancer a few days ago and his brother 7's friend fell suddenly ill and has been in a medically-induced coma ever since. [She has died since I drafted this post.]

The long and short of it is that I just haven't felt like writing. I am a naturally positive person, and to be in a funk as Christmas approached was, well, depressing.

Fortunately, the joy of Christmas is infectious. The miracle of our Savior's birth managed to eclipse all of the temporal worries. And the kids, in their holiday excitement, kept me going. We kept up with our Advent reading (more on that later), made pomanders, braided salt dough candy canes, and baked batches and batches of cookies. We baked a birthday cake for Jesus, sang Christmas carols, and watched classics like The Grinch and Christmas Eve on Sesame Street.

There have been some other light moments -- Teresa was born, I got back in touch with two people I hadn't heard from in years, and brought the kids to visit some of my aunts and uncles. I also joined Facebook, chatted with an old friend, and played endless games of Connect4 with my daughter.

And I'm writing again.

7 Quick Takes (Vol. II)

1. The cousins have already headed off to their Memère's house for Thanksgiving, so Agent 004 and I had the day to ourselves. She insisted that we go to the indoor play area in the "big city." I willingly obliged, and we had a wonderful time together, lavish expenditures and all. It really is nice to get some one-on-one time with the kids sometimes.
   
   
2. As I type, father and son are getting their own bonding time in front of a movie. I love that they get to be guys together, too.
   
   
3. Our English Muffin experiment went well. Given that it was y first time through, I very cautiously followed the recipe. Next time through I will try a whole wheat dough.
   
   
4. I would share some pictures of the muffins, but my camera and computer aren't talking to each other again. A couple of old biddies set in their ways.... The computer is eight years old now -- that is what, 105 in people years? And a six-year-old digital camera is the human equivalent of 240, right?
   
   
5. NaPraMoGo is going well. I haven't been following the prompts everyday, but I have been praying. Once you form the habit, it becomes second nature to pray in the down times that are a natural part of parenting and child care. Some of my prayers may be pleas for intercession, but they are prayers nonetheless...
   
   
6. The weather has been freezing this week, but no snow yet. My mother-in-law 300 miles to the south had to brush the snow off of her car on Wednesday. I don't want to rush things, but snow is so much more fun than 14 degrees and green grass... We found some used skis for the kids already, so we are ready to play!
   
   
7. I have already received one quinoa recipe, but I'd love some more. And anyone know how to use spelt? Can I just substitute it for whole wheat flour in a yeast recipe?
   

I am sticking with 7 Quick Takes too, Jennifer.

My Spending Problem

Those of you who know me in real life think that I am frugal. Miserly, even (although I try very hard not to be).

What you may not know is that I have a serious shopping weakness.

Organic vegetables.

For some reason this tendency only surfaces when I am alone with Agent 004.

The last time we went out together (for a doctor's appointment), we came home with organic brussel sprouts. The time before that it was a peck of local apples. Today it was spelt and quinoa from the natural foods store.

Anyone know how to cook quiona? Have any good spelt recipes?

Dork Dates

Some of you expressed envy that I got to go on a date last week.

What I didn't tell you is that mr warillever and I actually go on dates several nights a week.

Well, we don't exactly go anywhere, but our philosophy is that if the two of us are alone, we can make it a date. According to Miss Manners, all we need is fun, food. and affection.*

We've been known to spend hours quizzing each other on factoids from the The World Almanac and Book of Facts 2008. You know, exciting stuff like "How many cities in Iowa have a population of 50,000 people or more?" or "What are the seven largest countries in Africa in land area?"

Before the presidential election, we spent hours on CNN.com planning different scenarios for the electoral college distribution.

We spent two evenings last week ogling the maps at Worldmapper.com.

But the ultimate in time-wasting dorkitude?

Line Rider.

Wow.

Dinner This Week

I had this planned out this weekend, but forgot to post!

Sunday

Leftover Veggie Fried Rice

Monday

Vegetable Minestrone
Honey Wheat Bread

Tuesday

Chicken Teriyaki
Boiled Potatoes
Pea Salad*
Lima Beans
French Bread

Wednesday

Chicken in Peanut Sauce
Whole Wheat Pasta

Thursday

CRAP

Friday

Tuna Salad
English Muffins
4 Bean Salad

This is a much better menu plan than last week. Although it wasn't a big hit, we did try a new recipe (Pea Salad), there are very few processed foods, and we are eating fish on Friday evening. I'll also be making English muffins for the first time. I'll tell you how that goes!

We have entered winter mode; there are no green salads or steamed vegetables. Other than the butternut squash I am saving for next week, don't expect to see any local produce in my menus for the next few months.

The chicken on Wednesday are "planned-overs" from Tuesday's dinner.

My Favorite Store

I went on a shopping spree this weekend.

For someone that hates shopping, it was a rather successful outing -- I secured seventeen dresses, fourteen skirts, twenty-nine sweaters, forty two winter shirts, six business suits and one pair of jeans.

An entirely new wardrobe, all in colors that I love. And they all fit perfectly.

I'd bring you shopping there, but the inventory has been severely depleted. In fact, rumor is that the shelves will be completely empty by this evening!

I should probably give you some back-story here: When we bought this house we were enamored with the wood floors, tin ceilings and period wall coverings. We envisioned ourselves sleeping in one of the spacious south-facing bedrooms with three windows and a large closet. The children would be accross the hall from us in their own large bright rooms with bookshelves and a rocking chair in each room.

That is exactly how we lived in the summer of 2005. Oh, there were some inconveniences -- the lack of a second floor bathroom meant that trip to the bathroom with a toilet-training toddler required traipsing down the stairs and through three unlit rooms -- but it was nothing that a portable potty chair couldn't solve.

Then the weather turned. Our bedroom, which was so bright and sunny during the day, dropped to freezing temperatures overnight. Those large windows were uninsulated, as were the walls behind the pretty wallpaper. Our poor ancient oil burner was no match for a New England winter. The oil prices didn't make us any happier about the situation, either.

We promptly moved into more humble accommodations -- the "ell" of the house which had been walled and insulated in the 1970s. There are three inter-connected rooms arranged train-car style. Where in our old room we had tin ceilings, in our new room we had sloping walls. In the place of pine floors we had shag carpeting. And there is no antique wallpaper in our new digs, just sheetrock painted pale blue. What it lacked in charm it made up for in convenience though -- we now had a full bathroom, insulated walls, and a close proximity to the woodstove.

So what does this have to do with my weekend shopping trip?

My hanging clothes never made the move from the old bedroom to the Winter Palace. Since my current job requires nothing more than sweatpants and a flannel shirt, I haven't felt the need for easy access to my business suits. When I do feel the need to wear a cocktail dress, I can don a parka and mittens and rifle through my old closet.

But now that I have my very own walk-in closet......
Isn't it great to have a handy husband? He fashioned this out of a previously unused corner of our bedroom. With just a coat of paint, two hanging racks and a carpet remnant, we have our very own bit of luxury in our pedestrian bedroom.

All of his hard work me with a lot of work too -- the fun kind of work in which I got to pretend that I was a fashion model. I tried on every scrap of clothing in the room,
sorting the clothes into
keep,
donate,
and discard.

Once I finish sorting through the sweaters, I hope that I leave enough closet space for mr warillver!
Though I didn't plan this to coordinate with this week's Unplugged project, I'm pretty sure that this fits the "sort-junk-donate" theme! Click over there to see what everyone else is junking and donating.

Retrospective Menu Plan

This week's menu plan falls short on four of my menu planning objectives. It was not completed in advance, it includes too many processed foods, it does not include a single new recipe, and it does not include any fish (we aim for once a fortnight, but have not had any in almost a month).

Given that, however, I think we muddled through okay.

Monday

Mama and Papa on date;
Agents ate pasta with the Cousins

Tuesday

Baked ziti (from freezer)

Wednesday

Rotisserie chicken (purchased hot), steak fries, frozen mixed veggies

Thursday

Chicken-barley chili

Friday

Vegetable fried rice

Saturday

Church potluck
We are bringing deviled eggs

Decluttering my Brain

To accomplish today:

• clear pile of papers from the counter next to the computer
• finish putting groceries away -- make sure that the pantry floor is cleared
• fold and put away "first floor laundry" (towels and sheets)
• put new audio book(A Short History of Nearly Everything) onto Shuffle
• draft a non-list blog post

To accomplish this week

• Sort my hanging clothes into keep / store / donate / discard piles
  
• Sort mr warillever's hanging clothes into keep / store / donate / discard piles
• Move our clothes into our new walk-in closet
• plan Sunday's kindergarten religion class
• plan next week of preschool

To figure out

• How to approach "math" with my precocious 4yo
• A Christmas budget and shopping plan
• How to keep up with a grocery pricebook
• Whether I should start couponing (and if so, where to find the mental energy to do so)
  
• A family values plan like Julie's ROCK.

Feast Before the Fest

6 muffin cups per person (2 per row)

Row 1: mashed squash, tomato-cuke salad
Row 2: zucchini bread, crackers
Row 3: crackers, tuna salad

I tried to load everyone up on nutrients before trick-or-treating. Here is the tin that mr warillever and Agent 002 shared before trick-or-treating Friday night; Agent 004 and I had a similar presentation.

So Very Grateful

I am so grateful for

• the yardwork that brings neighbors together on warm fall weekends. While raking the side yard yesterday we chatted with our tenant who was coming in from errands, as well as our next door neighbors who were cutting branches away from their roof.
• free firewood from kind neighbors. We will need to dry for a few months, but on some cool night, the branches formerly skimming the neighbors' roof will warm our home.
• movie nights with my family, even if I have yet to stay awake for an entire film.
• mechanically inclined brothers who will (hopefully) repair my finicky van this afternoon.