The Clear Space

This is the blog post that I wanted to write earlier today, at 12:15 PM or so...

FlyLady says: Notice the clear space.

It's good advice, and I appreciate it and follow it. True, my nature is more prone to noticing the chaotic space, the black spot of imperfection on the otherwise crisp white cloth of my life, the things I didn't get done instead of what I did accomplish. But I know how endless that cycle of perfectionism is, and I *try* to avoid it.

But here is where my thoughts were today:

WHAT IF THERE IS NO CLEAR SPACE???

Oh, pardon me. I didn't mean to yell at you. But better I yell at you, my dear ol' blog, than at my precious ones, my little sweethearts who go behind me and make messes of areas which I've just cleaned up, my dear sons who somehow manage to make me feel like there is no clear space from the top of our house to the bottom.

As I ponder further, I realize that there are some clear spaces. Three, to be exact. One is our minivan which I excitedly cleaned out the night we got home from our vacation ("excitedly" because the clutter and crud in that vehicle was the worst it's ever been and was driving me absolutely nuts). One is Shav's room which I completely organized earlier this week as I switched out the clothes that are too small for him for the ones which fit him (and will fit him as he grows). And one is my stove top which I cleaned and scrubbed and scoured and labored over for quite a long time on Wednesday (after having procrastinated about that job for months). So yes, there are three clear spaces in my house.

If someone should walk into my house and find me standing glassy-eyed in front of my stove, keeping my gaze squarely on it and not glancing at the pile of clutter to the left...or find me laying on the tiger rug in Shav's room, looking all around his room...or find me sitting in the minivan (the parked, turned-off, in-the-garage minivan)...that person will know why: I'm noticing the clear space.

If I dare to let my gaze fall on any other square inch of surface in my house, I'll topple right over the edge of frustration and be pulled under by the wave of feelings of being overwhelmed.

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This is the blog post that I'm ready to write now...

Wow! Whaddya know?! There really is clear space in my house! And it's not just those three spaces I mentioned earlier!

As I sit to write this, I can visualize my neatly picked-up living room and my kitchen with all the dishes done. I gain encouragement from the items I deleted from the computer (our computer is so overloaded, and I constantly need to be working at the task of deleting stuff from it...mostly pictures). I feel satisfied with the paperwork I dealt with in my everlasting pile, and the "treasures" I put in the right spots in my boys' scrapbook/notebooks (not real scrapbooks, but they work well for us...but that's a whole other topic). I remember joyfully that my boys had a happy evening and that before I put them in bed, we all sat on the kitchen floor when our neighbor Rosalie came over to show us a butterfly that just hatched a few minutes previously...and Shav laughed and laughed as he watched Tobin's valiant attempts to jump (which resulted in a minuscule amount of space between Tobin's feet and the floor, but it was enough to entertain Shav). I have hope that, since the new FlyLady habit of the month is laundry, I'll do a better job with my Mount Washmore in the coming month than I have in July. I am pleased that I was able to do a small bit of homeschool planning today, enough to get us dipping our toes in the waters of 3rd grade and kindergarten when Monday morning rolls around. I am content.

I am also grateful--so, SO grateful--to this lovely lady...

...without whom I would not have gotten nearly as much accomplished and would not feel nearly as hopeful as I now do.

My dear mother kept Shav at her house for several hours this afternoon so I could focus my energies on housework while Tobin was in bed. (Because Tobin and Shav do not usually have simultaneous naps, I don't often have completely uninterrupted time in which to do my household duties; and although I'm trying to get better at doing those chores with my littlest men around, it's still a whole lot faster to do them alone!) And tonight after supper, she read to them--well, officially, she was reading to David and Tobin, but as you can see in the picture above, she drew a larger crowd than just those two--while I cleaned up the kitchen.

Thank you, Mother. I couldn't have done it without you. And that's the honest-to-goodness, literal truth. No exaggeration, no hyperbole. Just a fact. My heart is much lighter tonight and my house much more organized because of your kindness. THANKS for being available.

Manly, Independent Boys

I know my boys are only 8 and 5 and 2 (and a half!) and (just a few days from) 1; but I often reflect on the fact that they are men. Little men, true. But men nonetheless. At least, they will be, in a few years that will speed by like greased lightning. What they do now has a direct and strong impact on who they will be then.

All of that to say this: it was high time to revise the boys' job charts. For several years, Josiah and David have had chores for which they are responsible; but I've talked with them a number of times about how, as they grow older, their responsibilities will change and increase (and so will their privileges!). As this past school year ended and the summer began, I knew I needed to help them make the leap to the next level and add a few more obligations to their daily activities; but I had put it off and put it off. Finally, I did it; and the funny, surprising thing is that they loved it! I had forgotten this, but apparently they get a lot of security from knowing what is expected of them and seeing it written down in black and white so they can see what they've accomplished and what they still need to do--a much better system than me always telling them what to do. I'm sure they got tired of hearing me speak up in that "I have a job for you to do" tone of voice. Much nicer to have their lists of routines, that hang on the side of the refrigerator, do the work for me. :)

Here is what David is responsible for at this stage of life...

Morning Routine:

1. Get dressed

2. Make bed

3. Open blinds in bedroom

4. Brush teeth

5. Eat breakfast

6. Swish toilet upstairs

7. Empty dishwasher (silverware and plastics)

Afternoon Routine:

1. Set table

Before Bed Routine:

1. Room Rescue in bedroom

2. Change into pajamas

3. Brush teeth

And for Josiah...

Morning Routine:

1. Get dressed

2. Make bed

3. Brush teeth

4. Read devotional

5. Eat breakfast

6. Swish toilet downstairs

Afternoon Routine:

1. Take out recycling

2. Practice piano (and this will also say "violin" when lessons start up in the fall)

3. Set table

Before Bed Routine:

1. Room Rescue in bedroom

2. Change into pajamas

3. Brush teeth

Josiah also has special jobs to do each day (it's part of that grow-up-and-have-to-do-more-work thing)... :)

Weekly Routine:

Monday - Sweep front walk

Tuesday - Sweep porch

Wednesday - Sweep patio

Thursday - Take trash out

Friday - Dust bedroom

Saturday - Clean mirror in hall

In addition, although I didn't write it on his chart, Josiah feeds our animals daily, a special job for which we pay him $1 a week. (And that, is a dollar well spent, let me tell ya! I appreciate what he does so much that I'd pay him twice or even three times that amount...but don't tell him that.) :)

If you're familiar with FlyLady, you'll see that much of this is inspired by her. "Room Rescue," "swishing a toilet," "Before Bed Routine," - yep, this is straight from her. I'm so glad that my boys get to learn some wonderful habits while they're still so young. When I gave them their new job charts, I had a little talk with them about all of this; and one thing I said was that their future wives, college roommates, or whoever are going to be so happy that they know how to do these things and have made them part of the routine of their lives. It's fun to talk with the boys about their future; they usually get funny little looks of happiness and excitement on their faces when we discuss such things. :)

Another thing that's funny is that "everybody" thinks, "Eeeew, yuck. I don't want to clean a toilet." But Josiah and David think that swishing the toilet is one of the most fun jobs they have! And when you do it every day, the FlyLady way, it really is, because there's never any build-up of yuckiness. :)

I'll start accepting applications from potential wives for my sons very soon. :)

I started this post thinking about going in one direction with it, but then ended up going in another. Back to my original thoughts...

I ran across an interesting passage from a book published in 1889. It's How to Study, A Guide for Pupils' Self Improvement in School and Home by W. A. Welch; and the quote is included in Lorraine Curry's book Easy Homeschooling Companion.

That which makes noble, independent men is of the same stuff that makes manly independent boys: To work and struggle through hardships and privations, knowing in one's secret heart that these are angels in disguise; to bravely, nobly, joyfully fight life's battles as they come; to inhale, like bracing air, the inspiration of a purpose enthroned in the soul; and finally, in the fullness of manhood, to gradually emerge from creek and shoal, free and independent, out upon the high seas of life, with your craft, small but seaworthy, your iron will for a rudder to which it readily responds; your mature judgement for a compass; your horizon of possibility broad as the curves of the earth; your freedom only limited by the shores of the ocean; what inspiration in the thought! what effort it is not worth! Truly, it is a great thing to be a man!

And I'll add, "Truly, it is a great thing to have sons!" :)

Spinning My Wheels, and Strawberry Jam

At least I'm not spinning my wheels IN strawberry jam. Regardless, today was one of those days in which I had high hopes for getting SO MUCH accomplished; but at the end of the day, I found myself thinking, "Hmmmm. Did I actually do anything at all today?"

I did have fun tonight with Emily on our DQ Blizzard run. :)

My parents did celebrate 47 years of marriage today. Happy anniversary to two of my heroes!!! (Previous anniversary posts here and here and wedding pictures in this recent post).

I did print out directions and information for an upcoming homeschool conference we'll be attending.

I did make 5 and 1/2 pints of strawberry jam...

...but that happened two days ago so that doesn't count.

I did not finish going through the pile of paperwork by the telephone.

I did not fold the clean clothes languishing in the laundry baskets.

I did not shine my sink tonight.

Oh, well. Maybe tomorrow will be a more productive day!

I'm Not Going to Blog Again Until...

...I get caught up on laundry. So if I don't write anything for the next five years, you'll know why. ;)

Here's the thing: I like laundry! But I do NOT like being overwhelmed by it, having never-ending piles in the laundry room, seeing clothes from the top of the laundry chute because the chute is so full, having piles of folded clean clothes littering my bedroom as they wait to be put away, finding unmatched socks that are awaiting a mate that may still be somewhere in the clothes chute or laundry room, etc. I have been behind in laundry for so long that it's pathetic. And it's time to change that.

I know that with the FlyLady system of doing a load (or two) of laundry every day, I could stay on top of it fairly easily. But there are two problems keeping me from this goal: getting on top of it in the first place and making it a habit to do laundry even when I don't feel like it. I realize more and more as time goes by that I am far too emotion-driven when it comes to housework. I get inspired to start a project so I dive in, even if it's not the most important thing at that time; but I neglect the things that really matter because I "don't feel like" doing them.

No more! Not with laundry anyway. I am bound and determined to get caught up as soon as possible. That means laundry chute empty, no piles in the laundry room, washer empty, dryer empty, clothes baskets empty, all clean clothes put away, and the lonely socks in my bedroom sorted so that the ones who really don't have a match can be thrown away (actually, sent to the thrift store for cloth recycling). Until this happens, I will not blog. Not only will I free up some time to do laundry by not blogging, but also I'll provide some powerful incentive for myself. As my fingers itch to get on the keyboard and as my mind craves the mental release of blogging, I'll push myself to do the next load of laundry even if I don't feel like it.

But, before I take off on my self-imposed exile, I'll include a few pictures of Josiah from earlier today. The boys had pushed the couch out from the wall and put some of the cushions behind it to create a fort (or something). After David and Tobin had abandoned it and found somewhere else to play, Josiah moved in, stretched out, and used it as a cozy reading spot.

The book he's reading? It's The Fellowship of the Ring, #1 in The Lord of the Rings series by J. R. R. Tolkien--the real deal, not a kid's version, not abridged. The real McCoy, folks.
If you had told me two years ago, as we struggled to get through Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons with more cheerfulness and less grumpiness, that when Josiah was 7, he would be reading Tolkien, I would have laughed just like Sarah.
And now look at him. Unbelievable!

Well, I'm off. If anyone needs me in the next few days, you'll know where to find me.

In the laundry room!

Now I Know...

...why my blogging has taken a nosedive.

It's because every night, I've been spending the gap of time between when my boys go to bed and when I do the same, cleaning up my kitchen. I've finally taken seriously FlyLady's "command" to shine your sink every night before you go to bed. During the past year and a half that I've been attempting to implement FlyLady's suggestions for home/life organization, I've never been remarkably consistent with shining my sink. But at last, eleven days ago, I decided that I'd been putting it off long enough; it was time to make that principle a habit for me. So, for ten out of the past eleven days, I have stayed at it in the kitchen and not allowed myself to wander off to the computer before finishing the job: putting away the left-overs from supper, clearing the table, loading and starting the dishwasher, washing by hand everything that didn't get put in the dishwasher, also drying and putting away those items, taking all recyclable items down to their storage space in the garage, cleaning the counters (that's probably my favorite part of the job), and then finally getting out the Windex to put a little shine in my sink. Ahhhhh! The satisfaction of a job well done! And then, I go over to our pie safe, open a drawer, take out a page of stickers, and put one on that day on the calendar. I have a nice row of happy face stickers on the calendar now; their smiles reflect my own as I look around at neatness and think about what I don't have to face in the morning.

All of this is GREAT for life, but not so good for the blog however. Eventually I'll find my equilibrium again when it comes to how I divvy up my time.

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...why we keep chickens (even though I have to scrub the poop off their eggs after they're gathered and even though their pen stinks terribly and attracts flies during summer's hot days).

It's so that I can turn these...

...into THESE!
I love a good deviled egg--"good," meaning "made according to my mother's recipe." Never sweet, a little zingy, with mustard, Worcestershire sauce, a little vinegar, and plenty of green olives. Scrumptious!!

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...why the Suzuki program emphasizes group lessons in addition to private ones.

It's so that the parents can sit there and think, "At least my child isn't the only one who manages to make horrendous sounds on the violin!" :)

To explain: after several years of hearing Josiah ask for violin lessons, we finally signed him up (the easy part) and wrote the check (the hard part). He started in September and is really doing well. I am extraordinarily proud of him and absolutely thrilled that he's carrying on the violin tradition in our family (both my mother and I played for several years, but didn't stick with it). However...

I had forgotten how scratchy a violin can sound when it's played by a beginner. I know my parents must have suffered through my early days with the violin, but I didn't realize the level of their sacrifice until now...now that it's my turn to escort my child to lessons, encourage him during practices, and smile a big smile at him even when I think my ears can't take anymore and I wonder whether he'll ever produce the sweet, clear sound that makes a violin my second favorite instrument in the world.

Today as I sat in his group lesson, holding David on my "wap" (he still slips into his habit of substituting "w" for "l"), I realized, "My child isn't the only one whose intonation is terrible. My child isn't the only one whose bow careens wildly over the strings, rather than staying in a straight controlled path. My child isn't the only one who sounds like a stray cat is screeching inside their violin. But I--I am not the only parent who sits here and watches and listens and BEAMS WITH JOYFUL PRIDE."

That's my boy. That's my Josiah.

Also Attempting...

Today is the big test, the indicator of how things are going for me as a mother of four now that Shav is 6 weeks old. With Jeff's mom back in California, and Jeff being gone from about 5:00 AM this morning until maybe 10:30 or 11:00 PM tonight (with a quick break at home for supper before his evening meeting), this is where the rubber meets the road. Can I do it? Can I make it through a day with all four boys? :)

Fortunately, the situation is not that desperate. Six weeks have given us all a lot of time to adjust--and given me time to grow in confidence. But still, today's a long day. The good news though is that I haven't been alone in my care of the boys. Jenn kindly took Josiah and David to the park for a fun outing and picnic lunch there; and because I was so tired from a rough night last night (extra hard because Tobin has been a little under the weather), I asked my mother if she would take Tobin for a while this morning which she was glad to do. After everyone else had left, Shav slept in the swing; and I gratefully sank down onto the couch where I fell asleep in no time and slept deeply until Mother brought Tobin back for lunch. Receiving help from Jenn and my mom today has reminded me that even when I'm "alone" in my role as caregiver, I'm not really alone at all! For the umpteenth time, I'm so grateful for the support system with which I've been blessed!

Just for fun, here's a picture of Tobin at the fair last month. He quickly learned how to play this plastic trumpet; and the fair, with all its hubbub and happy chaos, was a good place for him to exercise his lungs and make a joyful noise! :) His cute little face inspires me, even when I'm tired and ready to collapse. Love is truly a powerful motivator.

Yesterday I mentioned some things that I'm attempting to do. I've thought of three main things to mention, but of course there are numerous smaller attempts that are part of the big three. In no particular order, here are my current attempts....

1. Attempting to maintain some degree of order and cleanliness in my home

~ I am not being a perfectionist about this, and I'm consciously striving to walk in grace towards myself in this area, realizing that at the end of the day, if I was a happy wife and mom, that is far more important than whether I did some laundry or ran the vacuum. But at the same time, I do want to figure out how to effectively be a keeper at home while having four children. I'm relying on FlyLady to help me out; and I find myself back to Day One of her BabySteps, reviewing the basics and getting back into the routines that make homemaking so manageable--and even fun. One more thought about FLYing: FlyLady says that FLY stands for "Finally Loving Yourself," but for me a much more exciting thought is that it stands for "Freely Loving You." After all, when I'm keeping up with my home and the various obligations within, I find it much easier to open my home and my life to those with whom I come into contact, as well as it being easier to be the happy wife and mom I mentioned at the beginning of this paragraph. When I know company is coming but the house is a mess and I have no menus planned, the stress I feel detracts in a large way from the peace and joy I would like to pour out upon our guests (and upon my family as we prepare for the guests). When I follow FlyLady's suggestions and stay disciplined with household tasks, I can much more comfortably open my heart and home to "freely love you." So that's my personal adaptation of one of FlyLady's points. :)

2. Attempting to homeschool

~ Our official school year kicks off on Tuesday, and I'm looking forward to it very much because not only do I enjoy teaching my children, but I also think that they are reaching the stage of being a little bored with summer's freedom and getting eager for some return to our school routine and the interaction we have as we read and study together. As much as I'm looking forward to it though, I'm also wondering how in the world I'm going to be able to do it! :) But I know it will work out; and before long, I'll look back and wonder why I was so concerned about it in the first place! One very useful piece of advice that I received came from this blog. Julie, of Boys, School, and Fun, wrote about getting off to a slow start and not jumping into every subject on the first day of school. What an excellent idea! Because I (and many other homeschool moms) delight in having all our ducks in a row, my natural inclination is to work like crazy to make sure all my planning is finished so that the first day of school can be a fine example of how we're going to cover every subject that we're planning to study...and it's all going to be so wonderful...and I'll show everyone (myself, more than anyone) that I really can homeschool even with a newborn...and...and...I'll probably burn out within the first month! In this situation, being an underachiever seems more prudent than overachieving. :) I can relax and look forward to that first day, first week, first month, knowing that we'll GRADUALLY work our way up to incorporating all the subjects. Now, rather than feeling like I still need to cram to finish up my last-minute planning, I feel like I'm actually ready for that first day--not only ready academically, but ready mentally as I (again!) give grace to myself and set realistic expectations, rather than setting myself up for failure by shooting too high.

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Rats. I wrote the beginning of this post earlier today while the boys were having quiet time and naps, but I didn't have time to finish it. Now somehow it's 11:43 PM (the hours until the boys' bedtime seemed to drag, but the hours since then have flown!), and I'm feeling like for some reason, I am incapable of getting to bed at a decent hour. Every day I tell myself that I'm REALLY going to get to bed early that night (even going to sleep before Shav's late feeding so that I can get a jumpstart on my night's rest), but every night something comes up and it doesn't happen. Rats, rats, rats. Anyway, I'm not going to take the time tonight to conclude my thoughts the way I previously intended, but I'll go ahead and post this part now after including one more picture: a beautiful rainbow (actually a double rainbow if you look closely) that we saw one day last week. Seeing a rainbow is always an exciting, refreshing, event for me--a reminder of God's love and faithfulness. And oh, how I need that reminder some days!

Getting Back on Track

This poor blog has been sadly neglected the past week or two, probably the worst case of neglect it has ever experienced (aside from times when we've been on vacation without Internet access). It's odd to think that even back in January, when I had a newborn to take care of, I still found more time to blog than I did this past week!

I don't feel any sort of guilt about taking a few days away from the blog, but my only regret comes from the preciousness of the moments that have passed without me capturing them in any way. So let me grab hold of a few thoughts now before they drift away...

Besides taking time off from the blog, I also took time off from FlyLady. Yesterday and today, however, I did dust her off (figuratively, of course!) and did a few things: one of Kelly's Missions, some decluttering, etc. Actually, Jeff is the member of our household who gets the prize for decluttering last night since he sat here in our library and pulled book after book after book off the shelf for us to donate to Gift & Thrift. We are both addicted to books, and giving books away is about as easy for us as pulling teeth. But really, we don't need this many books! I was so inspired by him. :)

In other news, I've added a book to my "Books Beside My Rocking Chair" category; and I expect that book will be listed there for quite some time. The book is Voices of the Faithful, a daily devotional that includes short writings from missionaries serving all over the world. The thing I appreciate most about this book is that when I read it, I can be assured that at least once a day, my thoughts will be lifted from the daily grind of my life and will soar in the air to encompass a much larger perspective on what is going on in the church throughout the world. It is so easy to let my thinking become narrow and dull--sort of like standing in the Sistine Chapel and keeping my eyes glued to a speck of dust on the floor rather than absorbing the magnificence around me. I need reminders like Voices of the Faithful to keep me alert to God's hand at work in the world today.

And speaking of that, I heard an outstanding message this morning when the church gathered for worship and fellowship. Our speaker was James Krabill, and he spoke on "What in the world is God up to anyway?" Sometimes it seems that because I've basically lived my life as part of the church, I don't often get to experience learning brand new lessons from the Bible. I don't want to be misunderstood: first, I am hugely grateful for my Christian upbringing and wouldn't trade it for anything...and secondly, it is right and good to be reminded of the things I've learned previously. Everything doesn't need to be brand new to be valuable. Even Peter and Paul wrote about the value of repetition (2 Peter 1:12-13, Philippians 3:1, 2 Timothy 2:14). However, it is a joyous thing to see the Biblical text with new eyes and receive new insight into the depths of its meaning.

This morning, James Krabill talked about Paul's experience with planting the church in Philippi, specifically what a odd mix of believers were left in that city after Paul's first visit there; he painted word pictures and connected various parts of the Bible and dramatized the situation there in a way that I had never seen or considered. Logically, it made no sense at all that the church there grew and thrived. Logically, it didn't make much sense that the church grew and thrived anywhere! :) But it did...and it does today...and the Spirit of God is at work all over the world in powerful and exciting ways.

During another part of the service, Jeff was asked to come and stand in the middle of the congregation, and the whole church gathered around him, laying hands on him as Joe, one of the pastors, had a sending prayer for his Israel trip. Very special, very moving.

Well, the last thing I'll include tonight in this random collection of thoughts is a pictorial glimpse into last week's Vacation Bible School...

~ the theme was Bug Safari, so lots of bugs decorated the building and grounds...the beehive at the far left of this picture reminds me that over $900 was raised for Heifer International, specifically for bees and hives for families around the world
~ Josiah and part of his kindergarten class, along with Melanie, one of his teachers (it just so happens that I graduated from high school with her; I'm very glad to be back in contact with her!)
~ Josiah with part of his class outside, getting ready for recreation...on this particular night, they got to throw water balloons at Rod Driver who was a very good sport and even coached them on how they could achieve maximum drenching effect :)
~ the program on the last night, a great culmination of a wonderful week of learning and fun!

June Is My January

These pictures have nothing to do with this post, but hey, why not throw them in here anyway? I don't have to be a perfectionist (so says FlyLady)...so not everything has to have a nice, tidy connection! :)

~ one of our growing chicks...it's been so interesting to see how the feathers develop
~ our resilient turtle...who escaped long ago (but was returned by our neighbors who found him lounging around in their garden last fall) and who was suspected to have escaped again but was apparently hibernating the winter away inside his enclosure...the recent rains made him come out of the holes he normally hides in, so I was able to get a picture of him

Now on to what I really want to write about...

When January 1, 2008, rolled around, I was afflicted with a serious case of baby-on-the-brain and could hardly think of anything else. Consequently, I uncharacteristically did not make a long list of resolutions since I knew the upheaval of a new baby in the house would almost certainly demolish whatever plans and goals of which I might be dreaming. It had been a very long time since I had not participated in New Year's resolutions, and it felt a bit strange to me.

Now that June has rolled around, I'm finally having my January! Full of enthusiasm...energy...goals...new projects...joy, etc. For one thing, I'm losing weight--a typical January plan. For another thing, I'm doing much better with general household organization which then rubs off onto virtually every other area of life. I'm having so much fun!

Coming into this month, I knew that this was the ideal time for me to conquer this dragon of lack of order and cleanliness in our home. Tobin at 5 months is SO MUCH EASIER (and far less time-consuming) than at 1 month. Plus, we're not officially homeschooling through the summer so that frees up extra time to devote to household stuff. I feel good physically, I have energy, and I realize that this is a window of opportunity for me to focus on this aspect of home-making before life gets any more complicated...whether through another child or additional forms of outreach and ministry or whatever.

Quite a long time ago, my friend Julie had recommended FlyLady to me, but I procrastinated (of course) and didn't get into it at the time. But I kept the suggestion in the back of my head "for such a time as this," and now I am very happily following FlyLady's plan for home organization. FlyLady is becoming so well known in this house that she's even getting blamed for things: "Well, I didn't fold the laundry because FlyLady hasn't talked about laundry yet!"...or "FlyLady didn't say to clean the bathroom so that's why I haven't done it!" :)

Her system seems to nail on the head the major problems I have encountered as I've tried to keep my home a neat and peaceful haven:

~ perfectionism

~ not ever starting because it's too big a task and I feel overwhelmed

~ getting distracted: one task leads to another and another, and I never finish the first thing I was working on

~ biting off more than I can chew, and leaving remnants of an organizing project strewn around

~ lack of consistency

~ and more...

In one of the things I read from FlyLady, she warns that decluttering and cleaning our homes can get addictive...and is she ever right! The past few afternoons, I've been absolutely relishing my times when the house is quiet in the afternoon so I can work on household stuff. That used to often be the time when I blogged, or read other blogs, or did computer stuff. My blogging may just go downhill because I'm off doing Room Rescues or putting out Hot Spots or doing 27 Fling Boogies! :)

Happier Things

Before I move on, a few more comments on the snake.

We're not certain what kind it was. One of Jeff's co-workers (who hails from West Virginia and ostensibly has a lot more experience with snakes than we do), after she saw the picture of it in my last post, said that she thought it was a copperhead (poisonous) or a watersnake (not poisonous). I had mentioned that when Wilma examined the mouth, she couldn't find any fangs...what I didn't know is that snakes (some? all? who knows?) keep their fangs hidden until they need them, and then BOOM!...you know the rest. When Jeff got home that evening, he was thoroughly examining the snake's mouth--practically turning it inside out--and sure enough, there were fangs...so I've been told, since I was not close enough to do much careful scrutiny myself. Jeff concluded at that point that it was probably a copperhead...but not to worry, he said; copperheads are not as poisonous as rattlesnakes! Later that evening after he spent a considerable amount of time googling snake pictures, he changed his tune and said it looked more like a northern watersnake. This bit of info was more comforting than the not-as-poisonous-as-rattlesnakes spiel. However--bottom line--we still don't really know what it was.

One of the things that made it difficult to positively ID it is that (in the images we found on the Internet, at least) there is so much variety within each kind of snake--differences of color, markings, etc. We never did find a picture of which we could say, "Aha! That looks EXACTLY like the snake here today." So who knows? Of all the people we know, I can't think of a single one that we could email our snake picture to and have them say for sure what it was. Oh well, enough of that!

Happier things are so much more pleasant to think about and write about and read about, so here's a picture from yesterday that I particularly like. Josiah asked to hold Tobin (which he doesn't do as much now as he used to when Tobin was a newborn; I guess the novelty of it is wearing off!), and I was delighted to let him do that. Josiah knows how to gently tickle Tobin. There's nothing like getting a smile or a laugh from a little one to brighten the heart!

Another happy thing for me is that my weight is going down--slowly, but surely. On Monday morning, it was 153.4 pounds. I've only made minor changes in my eating and exercise, but it's really rewarding to see it paying off. The changes so far have been: not eating after supper (I miss my bedtime snacks, but it's worth it!), drinking a lot more water, limiting my portion size (especially at supper...although I'm not bringing out measuring cups and food scales and being scientific with it), and walking for exercise about once a week. This week I'm adding crunches into the mix since I really want to target my abdominal muscles.

One last happy thing to mention: I love FlyLady! I'm on day 9, and it feels good! My mom has even noticed the difference around here and is impressed by this Mrs. FlyLady, whoever she is! :)