Sharing Re-Establishment

(Alia's bed during one of her little organizing sessions ! That's my girl ... !!!)

Do you find that after you've been away for an extended period of time, there are habits and routines that fall to the way side ? I am finding that. After six weeks in the States there are a few things that I'm going to have to work hard to re-establish.

It's funny. I always have this un-realistic idea that I'll be able to keep normal routines happening while we're away. BUT WE NEVER DO. We don't read to the kids before bed when we are away because we let them stay up late visiting and then, well, it's too late. TV gets watched (by all of us) a whole lot more than at home. That's a hard habit to break the children (especially) of. Doing dishes together didn't happen at all. Rory and I helped my Mom or my cousins or whoever was cleaning up but the kids didn't do any at all. They still made their beds (most days) but that's about it.

We had a good system happening before our trip. I really want to get back to that.

It's been a bit tricky though. If you've read this post I wrote last year, you'll know that everything in my house has a home. If I can't find it a home at my house, I find it a home at someone else's house !! Going to the States for Christmas and coming back with three suitcases more than we went there with presents me with a lot of "home finding" objects ! I've spent days working to get things re-organized. Having said that, I'm still left with a few "piles" that are driving me crazy.

Let me show you my piles !! The first one is on my desk. Not the desk that has my computer on it. The other one ... where I can spread out, do craft and whatnot. It's got the school bags that I'm sorting out with school supplies. A box with the travel pillows, scale and games that I need to find a home for. A hammer and nails because I was being a handy man yesterday ! And a basket full of the last bits and pieces that don't have a home. The second one is the buckets of water so I can clean the fish tank. Need to get to the pet store to get some plants but just don't feel like going. I will though. Tomorrow. Maybe.

The third one is on the dresser in our bedroom. Gifts that I need to deliver. And the fourth one is an enormous pile in the garage. The one that's driving me the most crazy ! It is the suitcases and the pile of stuff I'm getting rid of that I need to sort through and figure out who to give it to !!! It will take hours. I am waiting til the kids start school. Until then, it just sits there irritating me.

I find myself very occupied with trying to get the house put back together (and cleaned !!) that it's just easier to let the kids keep watching tv ... and not re-establishing the "everyone helps clean up after dinner" routine. We have started reading out loud to the kids though ... last night we started back with that. And I guess, next week, when school starts, we'll get a more established routine and it will be easier to start up with the other things again !!

I've also started back to work. I work two days (soon to be three once school starts) a week doing admin stuff. I love it. LOVE IT ! But there is a lot of work to catch up on since I was gone for so long. I'll be glad once I get that all sorted and can get back to business as usual.

I also HAVE GOT TO, do not pass go, do not collect $200, HAVE TO (!!!) start working out this year. I've got no excuses left. My youngest baby is now, eh-hem, five. She starts school next week so I've got an appointment with a trainer ... it's all happening !!

I plan to spend at least a few hours a week in the studio painting. I'll be swimming twice a week. I need to find time to study Spanish on my own. I want to learn to sew and have a friend who is going to teach me the basics.

Plus the things I always do anyway ... like, keep the house clean and friendly. Plan, purchase for and prepare new and exciting meals. Spend time with Rory and the kids. And friends. Read. Photograph. Blog.

What was I saying about balance ? Reading over this, it really sounds like a lot. We'll see. I can, and will, scale back if I need to. I am just so excited about FINALLY being able to do lots of the things I haven't been able to do since I started having babies !

On a different and final note ... I read a good book on the plane home ! Rory has since read it. We both loved it. I'll tell you all about it ... TOMORROW !!

Sharing A New Year

We're back !! Six weeks spent visiting with my family was superb !
It is, however, good to be home ...

I've been thinking a bit about my life ... you know, with it being the new year and all that jazz. Thinking about how I want to live. What I want my life to mean. What I think is important. I'll share more with you another day but today I want to tell you about something I noticed while we were away.

I felt my head clear. No muddled thoughts. Not so much forgetting what people said. A longer attention span. An ability to pay closer attention to conversations I was having. Not feeling like there was a major metropolis buzzing with activity in my brain !!

Why ? Well ... I have a theory.

You ready for it ?

I barely touched the computer while I was in the States.

Yeah, I jumped on facebook a couple of times, sent a couple of emails and even managed a few blog posts ... but for the most part, I wasn't on the computer.

I think that all the time spent on the computer, even though the things I do are (mostly) worthwhile, muddles my brain !! I think it makes my thoughts go into overdrive. It makes there be too many things vying for my attention.

I don't like my head being foggy. I don't like muddled thoughs or metropolis-brain. I like this clarity. The quiet in my mind.

Balance. That's what it's all about, right ? With everything. Maybe that will be one of my key words for the year. Not that I have ever had a key word for a year but I'm thinking this year, maybe I should.

Balance and Simplicity. Oh, and here's a couple more I was thinking of the other day ... relish, cherish, enjoy. Wait, I wasn't going to tell you about that stuff yet ...

Soon ...

It's good to be home !

Sharing My Rocker

My children love to ride their bikes, scooters, skateboards, roller blades, you name it, out front. We have a great area for riding that is off the street and quite safe. At 7 and 5 they could probably be out there by themselves but it puts my mind at ease to be close by.

Plus, I get some good reading done ! Do you see that rocking chair in the photo above ? It lives in the garage. Has done for over a year now. It is right in front of the roller door, facing out ! I even have a box full of old Uni books/notebooks that Rory wants to keep, covered with a table cloth that I use to put my drink on ! I love multi-tasking storage items !!

Jono took the photo of me reading today. And I snapped a few of him and his sister playing.

Do you find it difficult to find time to read ? or knit ? or plan menus ? or put thoughts on paper ? or chat to a friend on the phone ? Is there an activity that your kids love to do that would keep them occupied while you did it ? Something they really enjoy ... For me, it has been this outside play. What happened out of a necessity for me to watch them because they were too little, has now become something we both enjoy and look forward to.

Come back tomorrow and I'll tell you where I got my rocker ... for free !

Sharing Menu Plans

One thing that really helps me in keeping my life simple is menu planning. I plan for a week at a time. I try to shop for a week at a time as well, but that doesn't always work. This week, I'm determined that it will ! I even got a can of fruit salad so that we can eat that at the end of the week when we run out of fresh fruit !

I have been planning menus for many years now. I can tell such a difference in the weeks that I do plan to the weeks that I don't. Our budget, nutrition and my sanity all suffer when I don't plan our menus !

Planning once a week means I am in the grocery store less. I love to grocery shop but I tend to spend more than I need to each time I go in. The fewer times I go in, the less I spend ! It's true !

Planning once a week means I am not stressed about what to eat each night. It means we eat out less because there is always something yummy on the menu ... I am the one planning it, after all !

Planning once a week means I can plan ahead for days that I know are going to be busy. Those days usually have a meal in the crock pot cooking away and ready when we all get home !

Planning once a week means I am able to plan nutritious meals for my family. I don't get stuck in a rut of cooking the same old un-healthy fall back meals night after night !! It also means that I don't need to feel guilty cooking homemade pizza most Friday nights for our family 'pizza and a movie' tradition because I know we've eaten healthy all week long !

Planning once a week means I can plan inexpensive meals as necessary to help keep the budget under control.

In January, I started posting my weekly menu plans to my cooking blog ~ The Beans Blog. You can pop over and check out what we're eating this week by clicking HERE. Keeping my menus online has been very helpful as I can go back and look at what we've had previously. I participate in Menu Plan Monday as well. A great resource for planning menus. Bloggers world wide link in each Monday at a website called "I'm an Organizing Junkie". There are over 300 posts each week. I probably visit 10 or 12 each week just to see what's cooking ! I have found some great blogs that way ! And some great meal ideas.

Planning menu's takes a little bit of time each week, but the peace of mind, the savings in both money, sanity and time make it well worth the effort !

"You do not like it. So you say. Try it ! Try it ! And you may. Try it and you may, I say."
~ Sam I Am, Green Eggs and Ham ... Loosely Quoted !!