Project: Organize the Gragage

When we moved into this house we took three households and combined it into one household, which wasn't to bad as the house was big and we all had our own area to move into.

The hard prat was the garage.  We had to take a 4 car garage, a 3 car garage and 2 car garage and fit it all into a 2 car garage.

Yeah it was not pretty.

We basically loaded up gorilla shelves and park kids bikes in the middle and had no walking room....totally looked like hoarders lived in the house...but we planned on organizing it.

Well we have moved things around a purged random things but 4 years later still no organizing has happened.

There it is in all it's glory. (this might be an all time worst!)

I could get in trouble for posting this on my blog but I figure admitting the problem is step one. 

And of course what garage is not complete without a railroad crossing buck!

This week enough is enough and it is time to take on the garage. I have decide not to stress out  and try to tackle it all in one day but rather devote at least 30 min a day until it done. I started Monday and am over the moon because we are beginning to see improvement. So excited!!!






Notice the five empty shelves and the three nicely organized one.  The system I am using is everything comes off the shelves and  then you have to earn your way back on the shelf.  For instance the kids skates, they are used often and the kids love them therefore they have earned their way back.   Now the big box of random papers we haven't looked in for four years well that is going to really have to prove it's self.




See that pile in the bottom right, those are the items that didn't earn my initial approval.  Now the other adults in the family will be beckoned to the garage and have to look through the pile. If there is anything they want to keep they will have to write me a 3 page essay, singled spaced, 12 font, on the importance of said item and why it should have a spot in the garage!!

I am telling you the garage will be empty in no time!! 

Ha ha....(I m joking people, I wont make them write a paper, just present a convincing argument!

My end goal:

1.  Everything up off the floor and on shelves in an organized manner.
2.  The adults bikes hung on a wall and a spot to hang the stroller when not in use.
3.  Tools organized and put away.


So there you have it.  My new project.  Perhaps I will make Thursdays blog post project update day.  Won't that be exciting!   (and keep me working)



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Keeping it Real

Matt has been busy at work..

No I mean really busy...

His company has been doing a lot of shifting and reorganizing.

Which has meant a lot of traveling for my hubby.

Like we have seen him a whole 48hr in the last two weeks.

Which  means my kids  might or might not have watched an insane amount of this:






Also they might or might not have eaten an insane amount of these:

















And there is a strong possibility that instead of being bathed every other day they have been bathed ever 3rd day, the baby might have gone 4 days,

I am just saying.


Just trying to keep it real here guys.


Some weeks it's pure survival.

My Moment

Monday morning

Sam and Serafina off at school.

Matteo and AJ at their Noni's house with Karlee.

Me, enjoy the quite at Starbucks.





Sipping my chia tea.
Surfing the internet.
Updating my blog.

That is my moment.

A few minutes to myself to indulge before the day gets busy.

What is your moment?


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Starbucks

Eleven Months

My baby is eleven-months-old today.  

In one month we will be celebrating his first birthday.  

I know it is so cliche to say but seriously where does the time go?  

Why do these precious baby days go by so fast?

Curly Girl

My life hair has forever been changed by this book.  I have always thought my hair was straight with an annoying wave.  I would do everything in my power to straighten, flatten, calm fly-aways, some times scrunch to enhance the wave, etc to no avil.  It seemed like every morning I would wage war against my hair and in the end my hair would win and be pulled back into a pony tail. 

Then a friend of ours (thanks Julie) mentioned this book, Curly Girl The Handbook, for Matt (because he does have curly hair).  Being the good wife I ordered the book off amazon and 2 days later sat down to read it so I could teach Matt how to care for his curls. 

As I began to read the book I kept thinking wait that describes my hair.   Yes I have that problem.  Yes I have always thought that about my hair.   Pretty soon I realized....

I am a curly girl.

I dont have straight hair, I have curly hair. 

I have been abusing it for so many years the curls have suffered.  So I did as the book said and threw away all my brushes and sulfate infested shampoos order me some DevaCurl product and.....

low and behold my curls have busted free!! (ugh..I hate pictures of myself self portraits but I had to show you my curls)

The hair care routine she teaches in the book is so simple compared to what I have been doing it is amazing.  I have a new lease on life and I am loving. 

So if you have curls, you have kids with curls, or you think you have straight hair but can never tame it, pick up a copy of this book and change your life. 

You wont be sorry.

In fact you will forever want to repay me for letting you in on the secert!
















(This is an honest review, Curly Girl and DevaCurl are not giving me anything for this review, I just love the product.)

Who do you lunch with?

 It seems like lunch is a very important meal.   I have been told that most business deals are made at lunch, must have something to do with the food.  I have also been told who you have lunch with can tell you the status of ones career or standing?!?

So lets lay it out here 

Matt has business lunches with the his boss(es) and higher ups of company's like Sysco, Costco, Dole, (insert any produce company here.), etc.



But me little old me?



Well I get to eat lunch with with the most interesting characters:

Wild safari animals, like giraffes and zebra's. 

 

 Oh yeah and a really cute three-year-old.

 

Which I think proves that I have the more exciting job!! 

(love ya, Matt, but safari animals are way cool)



Now I must ask the question:


Who do you have lunch with?

Baby Shower Cakes

Everyone needs a good laugh and this post over at pregnantchicken is perfect:

Cake Wrecks-Baby Shower Edition

Seriously you must go over and look.

A Moment in Time

On Friday the kids had no school, so we invited one of Serafina's friends, Trenton, over to play.  At one point Sam, Serafina, and Treton, were all laughing, smiling and having a great time on the tetertoter airplane.  It looked so cute and fun I had to grab a picture, the only camrea I had was my cell phone.

I get it out and start working as fast as I can to turn the stupid camera phone on.

They are still having so much.

Snap the picture.

Turn the phone around to see the picture.

And about pee my pants.

The faces on the kids are hysterical.

What are they part of the rat pack?  Are they part of the cast for lost?

No smiles.  No laughter.

Instead of capturing the moment I thought I was going to, I captured a completely different one!

Happy Monday.

I've been Published

Yes you read that right.  Yours truly has been published.  Now don't get to excited it is not a novel (yet) or anything crazy like that but it is in black and white print!! Woohoo. 

A few months ago in Parent Magazine I read amazing article about a family whose story was so similar it was scary and comforting all wrapped up in one.   We are talking similar; right down to adopting their eldest child from a family member, at the same time they welcomed thier first born then went on to have more children and that was just the beginning.  It was so exciting reading someone story that was our path too, I had to email Parents to thank them for the article.

Next thing you know Jennifer calls me up and tells me to open up my April 2011 copy of Parents and there it is my note published in the We Hear You section.

So if you have a subscription to Parents or you are standing at a magazine rack and happen to see a copy of Parents, pick it up, flip to page 14 and there I will be for all the world to read.

Now that I have officially been published, there is nothing stopping me.  Look for my first novel early next life time!!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

We hope everyone is having an awesome St. Patrick's day.  What a great excuse to wear an array of green!

 

(gotta love Matteo's face, one to many cookies I think)

We had fun making shamrock cookies and then delivering them to all our friends, teachers and swim instructors!

 

We also put together a couple boxes of cookies for our favorite pediatrician and OB.  With a family our size, and the possibility of growing (please one more little girl), it is a must to keep them happy!!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

"Wherever you go and whatever  you do,

My the luck of the Irish be there with you."

Art Festival Winners!!

We are so excited to announce that we have two first place winners form the CCS Art Festival!!

Can I get a Woo Woo!!

Which means not only did my Sam and Serafina take first place but their art will be heading down to Lancaster for a regional competition!   We are just so proud and excited.


What is their art you ask?

Well they dyed silks.

For Chirstmas presents this year my mom taught the kids how to dye silks.  They had so much fun designing and making them that when the art festival came around they both decided to do silks.

The theme of the festival was "The Works of His Hands."

Sam decide to use his hand prints to create a sun. The colors surrounding are representing outer space and planets. He choose a planetary look because God created them with his hands!!  (Got to love it) One thing he decided to do was not to wet the silk before painting which kept the dye from bleeding together (this creates more of a tie-dye look, Sam didn't want).

With out further ado Sam's Silk:

Serafina took a more girlie approach and decided she wanted to make butterflies and hearts (which you know God create with his hands also).   She too wanted to use her hand prints so she figured out a way to create a butterfly by putting her hands together.  Then she just drew in the hearts and extra butterflies.  She liked the tie-dye look so she choose to wet her silk and mix all her colors up.  


Serafina's Silk:

The kids had so much fun making their silks and now are so excited about their wins!!  Of course they have a very proud Mama.

We can't wait to see how they do at regionals!!

Baby Seals Part 2

Remember my first post on Baby Seals?

Well, we are in the fourth week and the boys are doing fantastic.

AJ still thinks we are crazy but the skills he has learned are so valuable.  I feel so much confidence having him around the water now.  And did I mention he LOVES the water? He enjoys splashing around and swimming  playing on the steps after class.

Matteo is a fish, he LOVES his lessons.  He begs to go see Ms. Steffi on our days off.  Pretty much a day spent in the water is heaven, a day spent outside the water not-so-much.

Without further ado...here is a cool video of the boys lessons.  AJ is practicing in his clothes so he knows how to handle the water even fully dress with a spongy diaper. (I put music over it because I hated listening to my extra loud voice on the camera, you know since I was right by it.)

Lucky Duck

Yesterday my 3 year-old comes down to me in the living room and very excitedly askes me "Mama, can I have a lucky duck for snack?"

"A what?"

"A lucky duck."

My brain at this point is going a mile a minute trying to decided what the heck a lucky duck is, "What is a lucky duck?" 

Matteo now getting very impatient with the fact I have no clue what he is talking about, "OHHH, I will get it myself."


I follow him into the kitchen to find this:

"These are lucky ducks mom, can I have them all?"

 

Peeps

My child has decide to call Peeps (hands down the absolutely best part of the commercial side of Easter), "Lucky Ducks". 

I guess if you our honored enough eat a pack for snack then you are most certainly are a lucky duck.




(small side note: he didn't get to eat all five.  He had to share 2 with Mama)

Monday Moments

I love to blog.  I love that it is a way of capturing the little moments in life and one day my kids can look back and read all the little aspects of our life (because you know by then I might have forgotten)!  However lately (as I am sure you all have noticed) I have not been quick to update.  So I am going to try to come up with a few different things to make my posting more regular and exciting for me and you alike!

Monday will be my day to write about a special moment, a precious moment, a scary moment, just a moment that I want to remember and want my kids to know about some day.  We are going to call it Monday Moments or maybe Magical Moment Mondays or just Moments.  Do you guys what to vote on the name?!  Do you have a good suggestion?  Just leave me a comment.

Today is a moment I treasure dearly.

Over Christmas AJ made the move to his room he shares with big brother Matteo.  With that came getting AJ to sleep through the night (which was difficult because he still wanted to nurse at all hours).  It worked and now he goes to bed at 6:00pm and sleeps until 7:00am.  He does wake up at around 4:30 and it is not in my heart to make him scream it out becuse by then the little guy as gone 10hr with out eating.

So..

I drag my sleepy self out of bed to the boys room where I sit on the floor (because a rocking chair or what not in a room with toddler and infant on the move is not a great idea in this house) and I nurses him.

At first I totally begrudged this time of day.  I would sit on the floor and think about the sleep I was losing out on and how I might never get back to sleep again.  How this room is a mess.  How I couldn't wait for AJ to give up this feeding.  It was like the worst part of my day.

Then about a week ago I had a change of heart.

I sat there on the floor looking at my baby and thought about how quickly he is growing and how soon he will be walking and I won't be able to hug him close.  I began to pray.

The house was still and quite and I prayed of each of my babies.  I treasured the quite time in thought, holding my littlest baby, comforting him.

It was magical.

Now I look forward to that moment each day.

Instead of looking forward to the day he decides not to wake up, I fear it.

I love that special moment with him and the special time to lift up my prayers for each of my kids.

That is my magical moment.

Holding my baby, in the wee hours, sitting on the floor amongs trucks, trains, and fisher-price toys, with my 3-year-old sleeping soundly in his bed, praying.

What is your magical moment?

Eczema

This cute little boy has eczema.  

I took him into the doctors to check on a rash that seemed to come and go and then it took a turn for the worse. 

He took one look and he said its eczema. 

Yeah diagnosed, not knowing much about it, I had heard the word before, I thought great give me the cream to clear it up and we will be on our way.

What there is not magic clear up cream?

Nope

Out came the laundry list:

change detergents
change soap
use lotion daily
no frangances
no dyes. 
use zrytec for childern
could be a cause be a food allergy
so what has he been eating a lot of? 
dairy. 
take out dairy.


So I took my list home and googled eczema.  

My heart broke as I looked at pictures and read.  I thought no my boy doesn't have eczema he was misdiagnosed.

Read more.

He fit ever symptom, EVERY symptom.  This is something we now will live with.  We can do our best to avoid "triggers" and then when an out break occurs do our best to tame the evil rash.  

Even thought I wanted to think it was a misdiagnoses, at the same time I was so happy to have a diagnoses. Because everything fell into the place.

For the past few months the child had literally been driving me nuts.  It was just about all I could do to get through a day with him.    He would cry at the drop of dime.  He would scream his hands hurt and not let me touch them.  He would bump into something and dissolve into tears.  He was defiant and mean. A total personality change.  But he had no fever, no running nose, nothing but a silly rash that came and went and Mama didn't think a thing about.

After he was diagnosed and the rash began to disappear Matteo slowing became Matteo again.  He is now back to a happy and smiley boy.  He is listening well.  He will hold my hand crossing the street.  He gives his brother love and he very rarely dissolves into tears now. 

I feel like a totally loser mom that my child was itchy and in pain and I wrote it off as the terrible 3's!  Oh well I can only move forward right.

I did everything the doctor told me including taking him off milk and the rash is finally gone. 

He has been off of milk for 2 weeks and now we are adding it back into his diet to see if it really was the trigger.  If it was not the trigger then the detergents and the soaps were.  We will see.   We did have a rash out break the first week of swimming but now we have a regime of showering immeditly after and lotioning, that seemed to solve the problem.

We are blessed that it seems to be mild case, some of the those google images are scary!   We have a whole new skin regime, including oatmeal baths, dove sensitve and cetaphil lotion.  (at first Matteo was not so sure about lotioning every night, now he loves it!!)

The most interesting thing I learned is that eczema can cause excess ear drainage (like wax). Well, I always teased Matteo that he had the most waxy ears in the world.  Everyday I would clean them out and then the next morning there would be another huge wax ball!!  It was amazing.  Now, no waxy balls, I am not kidding I haven't cleaned the kids ear in a week.  Its the little things right.

I am not alone.

Did you know I am not the only one with an ADHD child?

And that having an ADHD child does require a different type of parenting.

I know you are all thinking DUH but for me it really has been a revelation.

It is hard to explain.  It is like I embraced the diagnosed but not; oh yeah my son has ADHD but my friends have kids with REAL conditions.  Well ADHD is a real condition.  I can not just send him off to school and expect him to learn.  I have to monitor medication, be in constant communication with his doctor, teachers and tutors, make sure he maintains organization (that I have taught him multiple time), make sure he has a schedule he can function in (ie enough time to complete simple tasks), etc.  We have to work on social acceptable behavior for when we are out and about.  And just allow for a lot of energy.  It can be overwhelming.

We have been doing great limping along, changing things up that don't work, expanding on ones that do but lately I have been feeling like I have been hitting my head against a wall when it comes to his homework/school work.  He is a smart smart kid but can't find the motivation/focus to do the work.  I feel like we have tried thousands of different tactics and then circled backed through them all again for a retry and still: brick wall my head. 

Then I found them, thousands of them all in one spot.

Who?

Moms of ADHD childern

Where?

On a blog of course (why had I not looked earlier.):  a mom's view of ADHD

They have been here this whole time and you know what.....I am not alone.

And you know what....I have been doing the right thing.

And you know what...they had new ideas for me to try.

I feel like I have a breath of fresh air.

I feel like my Sam went to bed happier and more satisfied with his work because his Mom found a new way to attack the school/homework issues.

I am not alone and that feels great!


If you have and ADHD child go take a look at there site, you might just find something new, or just get the feeling that you are doing the right things.