The Case of the Missing Side Dish

So what is a household chore you loath?

Mine is probably being responsible for food. All the shopping, storing, preparing...it is just too much pressure some times. Thank god my kids aren't overweight. When Brad's BP and cholesterol was too high ack! it was so stressful to me. I would worry that my choices were killing him. There are just too many labels to read and every single one tells you " buy me, buy me! I'm good for you!" But they are all liars! What is the best for you at the best price and will your family actually eat it, these are the quandaries of the grocery store. Plus try to read all these labels with three kids clambering at you incessantly. Oh, I hate grocery shopping.

After buying it well then I have to figure out just where is the most efficient storage area. It can't be too far back because no one will see it to eat it, you have to rotate the older items to the front, look at expiration dates....annoying, annoying!

Then comes preparation followed by clean up. I'd eat more fruit and vegetables if someone cut them for me (and yes I know they do sell pre-cut fruits and veggies but haven't we established I am too cheap for that? I'd rather complain!) Deciding what is for dinner equals frustration; picking a healthy mix of foods that go well together, decide if the kids are going to whine about this (which is a given, Wyatt will complain about any and everything), deciding just how much whining I want to put up with.... then all the cutting, measuring, cooking, dirtying of pots, pans, bowls, utensils, plates, the counters, the table....I could make this sentence run on and on but for my English major friends I'll stop...maybe...ok, I will....

When is someone going to cook for me? You know food always tastes better when it is prepared FOR you not BY you! My mom never really cooked for me. I grew up on Mac and cheese (big shocker I know), spaghetti (just noodles no sauce), hot pockets, and fruit roll-ups all prepared by me. I did have a babysitter that made me lunch every day in the summer, yum (thanks Brenda)! I ate her out of house and home. But the point, Brad doesn't cook. I can understand on weekdays I am home, it is my "job" but weekends, well there could be another chef in my house. I tried before to have Brad responsible for a weekend meal- we'd end up going out instead, not that I mind that but I don't get to pick "lets go out" every time I don't want to cook!

And here is a great example of that very thing....

I didn't want to cook tonight, I never want to, but today I really didn't. There isn't much in the house anyways becasue guess what- I haven't went grocery shopping either! So I call Brad and offer up Chinese to him- we have a gift card so we won't be spending any extra money, sounds perfect (as are all my plans). That boy said "I was really hoping you'd cook something yummy today..." Grrrr.... He must have had Chinese for lunch- that punk. Not only does he get a home cooked meal every night but he gets to go out for lunch every single day too. Turns out he didn't have Chinese but that is neither here nor there (what the heck does that even mean? ).

Anyways, I decided on chicken in the oven ( easy!) and a box of Tuna Helper as the side dish- sans the tuna. The chicken is cooking so I put the T.H. on the counter and went downstairs (to complain on FB about having to cook dinner of course). When I came back up the box had disappeared and in its place is Lucy's notebook. Will Lucy fess up to taking the box? Nope! I searched my entire house for a good 10 mins looking for that box. I didn't have anything else to use as a side dish and didn't think Brad would buy the " I lost 1/2 our dinner" excuse. I'm seriously thinking this must be a sign from God that I should not cook tonight. But alas, I found it.... in my tupperware cupboard shoved in a bowl. Obviously the work of a three year old.

Then as I start it cooking FB distracts me again so I burned some of it....now because I don't like to cook doesn't mean I don't know how. Usually my food is spectacular (no bias here). So great just great- not only have I had to cook and now eat this meal I don't want- well now it is burnt. Brad wasn't home for about 15 mins after I finished dinner. I kept holding out on eating becasue I had this hope he was going to walk in with a yummy dinner to surprise me, but frankly I should know better then that by now- he doesn't plan well enough for that to happen. (Jess you read my blogs right? Carrie? anyone from RMI??? Give this boy some pointers- nice thing to bring your wife after work. I mean he works with a ton of women) Ah well, I gave up and ate my dinner. It wasn't horrible.

Then Brad comes home (take out free) and says " so where are we going?" WHAT!!!!!???? I could have not made dinner? I told him after all the hassle that dinner was he better eat a big ol' plate and tell me just how great every single bite was! He was smart and he complied.

But now who is going to wash these dishes?

It's a Bird, It's a Plane....

I feel  like I've almost hit my stride as a wife, mom, woman... things just seem to be going so well. My house is under control most of the time ( we are purposely leaving out the basement and garage here), the kids are pretty well behaved, Brad and I- well not to brag (which always means "hey I want to brag") but we've always been a perfect match.

Things just seem easier these days. Maybe it is part of my Simple Life goal working its self out? Maybe it is that the kids are getting older. This is the first 3 year cycle we haven't had a new baby since we met (yep, when we met I already had a baby). And by age three all those annoying baby things are long gone- no diapers, bottles, baby food, all that darn baby equipment; and bonus- you can somewhat reason with a 3 yr old... all in all just so much easier. Why didn't we stop sooner- oh right I wanted a girl....frankly, that was a grand decision and worth the extra 3 years of the baby/toddler stage. She will definitely prove her worth (I say this like she hasn't already, wink, wink)- that child cleans up after herself (most of the time), tells the boys what to do. She just takes control- oh it will be so nice when I am not the only one who walks into a room and sees the mess (boys seem to have a blindness to things that need to be done). So the real question isn't why didn't we stop but why didn't we have a girl sooner!?

Anyways, no matter what it is I just feel like I am almost the mom, wife, woman I want to be. My interests have been changing, everything seems easier, I really do feel like I am living up to the me my kids view me as (if that makes sense to you).

When Clothes Piles Attack

An Iron? What is that for? Getting out wrinkles? Haven't you heard of a little thing called THE DRYER!?

The dryer is this great appliance that tumbles out wrinkles, well most wrinkles. There are those few articles of clothing that just become wrinkled messes after being washed and dried. Those are the outfits I wear several times until I decide I just have to wash them or people will not want to sit near me. Then what happens to these misfit clothes? Well they join the "needs ironing" pile and the "do not wear this outfit often due to ironing" section of my closet. Often times I try rewashing and drying them rather then pull out the iron. Yep, I am that against ironing.

Why do I have such an aversion to an iron you may ask? Well it isn't because I think ironing is hard, it isn't. It is because of the ironing board (also known as a great place to start piling clothes). I store the ironing board under my bed. One- because it is the room I am in when I pull clothes out and decided they need ironing and two- because it takes up room so monsters can't live under there (and by monsters I mean boxes of Brad's junk). But storing it in my room means I iron in there, which means I set it up there, which means I leave it there, which means I start piling clothes on it there.

Why not put the ironing board away as soon as you are done with it? Well it is simple- the iron has to cools somewhere and ironing is usually done last minute, just enough time to remember to unplug it before we are off. Then, before I know it something has been set on the ironing board. I mean it is so convenient right there. It is made to have clothes on it- so frankly it just calls my clothes to it, "cover me in clothes," it yells through the house. Everyone hears it- not just me- and they all obey it. Within a day, sometimes less, it is covered.

Do I clean it off right away? Never. That would be too simple a solution.

Two weeks ago I needed to iron a shirt. One of those shirts that come out of the wash wrinkled up like someone wadded it up into a ball. Normally a shirt like this would not be worn very often but it is one of my sun allergy shirts- long sleeve and thin- so I have to iron it because it has to be worn. So now the ironing board is up- covered in clothes. But not the clothes that need to be ironed- no, those are in a pile on the other side of the room. (ya know because that makes a ton of sense) My room likes clothes piles- another reason why it is the perfect place to store my ironing board.

I need an ironing board with no legs- just a board to set on my bed- maybe then I'd put it away. Or maybe Brad would just find himself sleeping on a board... Hey how'd that get left there???? (insert evil grin here)


and just an FYI- I was debating drier vs dryer so I googled- here is the consensus- "A clothes dryer makes the clothes drier."

Viewed with Fresh Eyes

I did it again, I forgot to take before pictures...

My friend Cheryl came over to help me reorganize my kitchen. As I stated previously, I thought a fresh pair of eyes could help me solve some of my storage issues. Things that bother me about my kitchen are...

-I don't like anything stored on my counters
-My counter always seems to be a mess
-My cupboards are crazy deep and some even turn so it is near impossible to reach items
-I forget about and never use those items that get shoved into oblivion
-I have to keep certain things like the dog's bowls on one wall becasue he is banned from our kitchen

Before Cheryl came over my kitchen was a mess, as it is every single day. The kitchen seems to be dumping ground for everything. Anyways, I didn't clean it, I wanted her to see what and where these messy people just leave junking up my kitchen. Plus it isn't like it is a very big cleaning job just an annoying one, so I knew I wasn't making more work for her.

I told her my issues, we opened every cupboard and I explained what was in it, why, and how often I use it. Oh! and if I would use it more if it was more easily accessible. Right off the bat she had some great ideas.

I have a food pantry cupboard- it is deep as are almost all my cupboards- so putting cans in there gets difficult. Really anything in there other then cereal has to be "dug" out.

Oh let me go off on a little story here.... Cereal and Brad- Pretty much the only food Brad gets out of the cupboard is cereal ( lucky guy gets all his meals made for him!) Anyways, the cereal used to be on the very bottom shelf. Brad was constantly whining about this " I don't want to bend over....boo hoo..." So one day I told him to feel free to reorganize the pantry. He did and moved the cereal up 2 whole shelves. While Cheryl and I were reorganizing I decided to take a shelf out and move the cereal to the top. I told her Brad is going to be thrilled about this. Once he notices it, it will be all he sees or cares about. So when Brad walks in I open the cupboard to show him all our hard work. The first thing out of his mouth..... "YES! The cereal is on top! No more bending over!!!" Oh, he is so predictable!

I had never considered that the bottom shelves didn't have to have food on them. The food could be in several different cupboards in my house depending on what it was, what a novel idea! It seem like a duh! kinda thing but really, the thought never crossed my mind. I was quite obviously stuck in a rutt. (here is a semi-before (I'd already started moving stuff when we remembered to take pics) and an after picture)

Just below and to the right of my pantry is a cupboard with a shelf that pulls out- what do I have on it? A crockpot. But what could be on it? Cans of course!

Next to the stove I have some baking stuff, a George Forman Grill, hot pads, samich making stuff, candy, drink mixes, and mac n cheese (Cheryl thought I had the Mac there since it was close to the stove. Nope, sorry my Mac is there becasue I buy so much of it that is the only cupboard I can fit it in!!!). But all of this stuff is just kinda shoved in there- again a deep cupboard- and this one is weird shaped too- triangular. So we moved all side dish items (not just mac n cheese), drink mixes, and baking supplies to nice organized locations in the triangle cupboard.

On the wall where the dog's bowls have to go I had a small 2 person table that no one ever uses. Well they do, but just for setting their junk on. I kept thinking the kids would sit there and do homework since you can't see the TV from it but nope, it is too full of junk for anyone to sit at. I do keep the junk in a nice pile- ya know if a pile could be nice- I'm here to let you know piles are NOT nice- no matter how neatly you stack stuff it is still just that- a pile- a "I'm on my way to becoming a hoarder" pile! My pile was kid magazines my mom suscribes the kids to. They never read them and I felt bad just throwing them away, but with a little help from my friend I tossed them (normally I would send them to school but it is summer break).

On my garbage can wall I had a metal shelf I had brought in during Brad's surgery to keep all of his foods on (so he didn't have to look at ours while getting his and be sad). So great idea- get rid of the table and move the shelf over to it's place. This way the dog's bowls can move over the few inches they really need to and the junk table won't be there to serve faithfully as a collection point. What to put on the wire shelf was a little difficult. Because the dog can reach that wall the only food that could go on it would be cans but we already found a home for those. I knew juice needed to go on the bottom shelf so that was easy. Then it hit us- we haven't cleared the counter tops yet! Perfect solution, my reward rock jars and my paper files.

These files were my genius idea on dealing with all the paper. The kids bring home a ton of papers from school, Brad is never happy about where I put his mail, and I have store ads I want to hold on to for the week or kids papers I just don't feel like moving to their permanent file in the basement. So this seemed like the perfect solution. It is a good one, I haven't made it perfect yet, but I am working on a plan to! The problem is I never make people empty these so as you can see in the picture, everyone's file is pretty full.

The rocks, well that is my behavior/chore system. The kids get rocks for doing chores, being punctual, good grades, good attitudes, etc.... When their jar is filled they get cold hard cash- how ever many years old they are is how many dollars they collect. The system was working really well but has slowed down. I am going to work on a new twist to it- make a list of jobs and how many rocks they are worth. My hope is they will then voluntarily do more chores without me even having to mention they need to be done- here is to hoping!

But back to moving the table out- I'm so glad we did! The kitchen feels so much bigger, more open. I do have to touch up some paint thanks to the table but no biggie- I actually have a small wall on the corner that never even got painted becasue the patching of it wasn't dry and then I forgot to go back to it- oops!

I do need to come up with a solution for my recycling. It goes on the same wall as my garbage can. I also have a stand there for bags which has to stay becasue it keeps the shocker disk for my dog on it, this is how we keep him out of the kitchen (he will eat all our food, open cupboard doors, and dump the garbage if he was allowed in). I've put the disk in many places but that exact location is the only way to make the perfect perimeter for him. Anyways, I think I might buy another trash can like the one I have but mark it for recycling so the kids don't throw trash in it- it would help with symmetry for sure!!!

All in all my kitchen reorganization was a success for sure! We moved a lot but we also left a lot alone. I'm anxious to see in the coming weeks if it stays cleaner and functions smoother. I highly recommend having a friend over to help give you new ideas. I truly think once you have lived somewhere for a while and just get used to things in a certain place it is hard to see where things could move for a more efficient and organized kitchen. But sorry those of you who know Cheryl, she is all mine and I'm not sharing!

So here is the after shots around my kitchen....(and fyi, those are princess magnets on my dishwasher not dirtiness)

Open Fridge, Insert Milk

Last night my family discovered the milk was bad. Our milk very rarely goes bad but I over bought. You know when you go to the store and you don't check the fridge first- well if you don't buy milk you need it and if you do well then of course you don't! I had done the latter. I was trying to push the milk to get the 2 full gallons consumed prior to the expiration date but obviously, I failed. Frankly, I even forgot that the milk was going to expire sooner then usual.

So last night when my children and my husband discover that the milk is bad what do they do? Oh they put it back in the fridge. Why not? I mean of course that makes the most sense. When I called on my way home and asked if we needed anything Brad said nope. Maybe had he dumped the milk out instead of putting it back the fact that we had none would have been a tad more fresh in his mind. But maybe they all just wanted to re-taste the bad milk. (They had to know I wasn't going to drink it, I think everyone here is well aware that I am not a milk drinker.) That must have been it because this morning they tell me " the milk is bad, what do we do." Um, eat something else???? So here is my kids genius move- they pour a bowl of cereal and then pour the bad milk in! What?!

Geniuses, my children are geniuses.

The Simplifying Update

I figured you are due a decluttering update. Rooms done thus far-
master bedroom
boys room
Lucy's room
bathrooms
family room
living room
hall closet
dining room
front closet

So that leaves rooms left to work on-
the kitchen
and (doom, doom, doom- insert ominous music)
the basement
the garage

I've been putting the kitchen off because I am certain there must be a better way to store things that I am just not seeing. Maybe they make organization glasses for those of us blind to it? I don't know why I have a hard time organizing- I am a very efficient person. I think that is the problem- I am too efficient- yep, going with that. I can see too many different strategies of what would work best for different reasons and I just can't condense them down into one good way. My plan is to have a friend come over and brainstorm with me. Plus bonus! That is an extra pair of hands too (wink wink Cheryl).

I would ask Brad but frankly that would be like asking one of the kids to give me a hand. I love him but that boy can't even locate the dishwasher. He thinks everything belongs on the counter tops. (When I read Brad this blog, I'll leave that part out... he thinks I bash him, I think he should be glad he makes so many appearances is my blog and I love him not in spite of his quirks but because of them. Okay, I could do without the dirty dishes and clutter on my counters from him but I'll go the safe route and say that is all part of what makes him him- the him that I love! Plus what would I have to blog about without him?!)

So, Kitchen- kinda done, some stuff gotten rid of but what is there needs more organization.

The basement is what I am dreading the most. I think a hoarder lives down there. A messy, messy hoarder! There is no real system of organization going on in that dump. Boxes seem to empty themselves all on their own. I straighten it all the time is seems, but with in days it is back to its strune about messy self. This is an area that Brad has to be totally on board with me. The last time I cleaned the basement I counted Brad's boxes of random things. Twenty, he has twenty. And I'm not talking twenty small boxes. Nope, more like big monitor boxes. I covered the whole Brad won't let me get rid of his stuff thing in the blog about cleaning out our bedroom. I mean God Forbid I throw out a notebook from college that has only one page of notes in it or his 1980's High Top British Knights from high school basketball. I mean he might want to pull those bad boys out if he goes to shoot some hoops. (alright they were Nike not BKs and after much ado he did let me donate them) I'm guessing the basement is going to take a few weeks. I'd like to do it in a weekend but I am pretty sure that won't happen, Brad needs time to part with his ancient belongings he hasn't seen in 10 plus years or even remembered owning.

The garage- well that won't be too bad. Just straightening kid toys and some of Brad's stuff lining all the walls.

Once I get everything done then the plan is to do another run through every room. Things are bound to get moved around. Places I put thing may not be working as well as it could be.

Part of my life simplifying plan is to work on behavior issues with the kids. Levi yells at Wyatt too much and Wyatt cries about everything. Lucy, well she is 3- I think she is doing ok so far. So I need to figure out how to address and change these issues. Then there is things like getting the kids to do chores without me telling them over and over. Frankly, I'd like to not even have to tell them- I want them to know what they are to do and then they just do it. Maybe I am dreaming but I think this is possible as well.

School is out on Thursday ( I can't believe how late into the summer it is running this year!). I plan on coming up with some strategies and having a family meeting over the weekend so we start out the summer with guidelines in place. I'm not completely sure what these guidelines are but I do know one- we will have "Wire Free Wednesdays" We all need a day without TV, computers, and video games. I'm sure I'll have FB withdraw, Brad and Wyatt will have gaming withdraw, and Levi and Lucy will have TV withdraw. But I think it will be a step in making us an even closer family. This is important as the kids get older and are pulled away more and more.

So I have some brainstorming to do over the next few days! I'll fill ya in later with what I come up with and how it goes.

The Repeat Offender

Birthdays, Christmas, Valentines, St. Patty's, Presidents Day, Labor day, Halloween, 4th of July.... if there is any form of holiday associated with a day my mother will get my kids something. But not just one something but a whole bag...per kid...that is times 3 people. And I'm not talking gift bag size, not even grocery bag size, nope I'm talking garbage bag size! She also has moved on from those regular old garbage bags, you know the ones that don't stretch. Lord knows you need the stretch ones so you can fit every last bit of dollar store crap you can in there. At least she uses a fitting bag, and no I don't mean fitting as in room, I mean fitting as in the stuff inside of it is junk.

Occasionally there are a few treasures. Every time she actually gets the kids something they like and they gasp in excitement, I sigh with discouragement- oh no! She knows they like that, now we will be bombarded with it. My sister and I learned at a young age never to mention a new like, hobby, etc... becasue in no time at all it would be ruined for us. We would drown in it. Because you see if you like something you need every possible item having to do with it. And apparently you can never outgrow your likes either.

I can't even remember how far back it was but my sister made the mistake of letting my mom find out she liked Garfield. So what did she receive on every gift worthy holiday (which if you forgot is all of them) oh Garfield everything; a stuffed Garfield dressed like  Santa, one holding a heart, another with a graduation hat, then a smaller Santa one (why? becasue it isn't the same size as the first Santa silly, you need them all!) But it isn't just stuffed animals. Nope, you get Garfield clothes, jewelry, and of course home decor becasue frankly, who wouldn't want that cat just over taking every corner of their house? I mean you like Garfield so he should be everywhere, if you turn your head you should see him. Oh so that means your car needs him too- Garfield air fresheners, floor mats, window stickers... And don't worry if stores stop selling Garfield items well then you, my dear, will be lucky enough to receive any generic orange cat item she can find. You can tell her over and over that you have moved on from Garfield but sorry that does not compute. Even if you are 30, you will still enjoy a little Garfield figurine don't you know.

At some point you will finally you break down and tell her a new like becasue if you see one more Garfield you might just lose your mind. Anna (my sister) moved on to Nutcrackers. I think she foolishly thought our mother would only find these gems at Christmas and couldn't possibly over do it. I mean they are nutcrackers they don't make a ton of stuff with them on it, right? Wrong! I'm telling you if they make it she will find it (said in your best Kevin Costner voice). I think my sisters Nutcracker "Army" could overtake Cuba if someone built them a little Nutcracker Boat and sent them on their way. Maybe my mom will even find a Nutcracker boat and then we can set them sail! I'm sure Anna is game. Seriously though, at family get-togethers Anna tries to stuff the Nutcrackers into other peoples bags. And since most get-togethers are at my house she tries to leave them here lurking in my basement.

So anyways, back to my kids. They have yet to clue in on this wonderful trait their Grandmother has. They realize that she buys them the same few things over and over. And in their case she really does buy the SAME thing- she stays on the theme- Levi gets Star Wars, Wyatt's is Batman, and Lucy well her garbage bags puke pink princess everything. But she just keeps getting the same few things. She can't drive and only has limited store resources so every holiday she buys whatever they have in the according themes not realizing they haven't changed their stock out and she has already give my kids these things.

I try to tell them not to rave about something to their grandma but it is too late already. Levi will be receiving Star Wars items for the rest of my mother's life. He could be grown with his own kids and you know what my mom will buy him? A Star Wars toilet seat- and no, I'm not joking (my kids watched Sponge Bob while she was here- I was the proud receiver of a Sponge Bob toilet seat at the next visit- um thanks mom, it will really match my rock and water bathroom theme).

Anna will be having the next grandchild, maybe we will get smart this time and tell her the baby likes money. But then the little cutie will end up with play money, a towel that looks like a $100 bill, money wall paper, wallets, coin purses, piggy banks, anything that  happens to be green ( becasue money is green of course), oh man, there is no winning this is there.....