Spring-Fling!

Every Spring I get the urge to purge - and I really - REALLLLY went through this house this season... top to bottom! Maybe the fact that winter won't loosen its grip on us completely this year has helped inspire the thorough run-through. I don't particularly enjoy cleaning - per say. I do enjoy a bit of organization, however. (Though I have to be in the right mood.) It seems that, over the course of our far-too-long hibernating season, the walls begin to slowly close in on us. Might have to do with the fact that the holidays occur during those same months - and many new 'things' are acquired over the course of that time. Whatever the logic - the result is the same: I like to simplify. Simplify life, or, limit the unnecessary dust-gathering objects that aren't required for survival (or even for happiness in many cases) - I don't do well with clutter - (and as my regular readers know - I have a Feng Shui thing about thing-placement as well.) I find that when things have places, and places have fewer things, the esthetic appeal leads to my ability to more readily de-clutter my mind as well. I can relax, and enjoy my surroundings. I can indulge in some 'nothing' (have you seen Office Space lately?!) I can breathe.

This time, not a space is out of place. Behind no door is it as it were before... No drawer was left obscure, no closet impure... [And - Dr. Seuss has been a big hit around here for sure!] Damn it feels good to be a gangster! (Another Office Space reference, for those who may not know.)

TIP: Do little bits at a time... If you work in 'sections' - it's not so overwhelming - and you too can be clutter-free and sunshiny! [i.e. I tackled the kitchen 'junk-drawer' while the kiddos were eating breakfast. One down!] Also - can't hurt to have a garbage bag handy, along with a 'give-away'/ 'donate' bag, and a pile for the "not sure yet" items.

A QUOTE: "And I have this little litany of things they can do. And the first one, of course, is to write - every day, no excuses. It's so easy to make excuses. Even professional writers have days when they'd rather clean the toilet than do the writing." ~Octavia Butler

WHIDFML: Curled up with Joel and laughed my butt off watching Office Space! It has been a while. I think I've been out of that office environment for long enough now that it's even funnier than the first time I saw it!

Another Memory-Made-for-Laughter!

Sometimes, I actually (unexpectedly) forget some of the funniest instances that I've been privy to witness. How is that possible? I don't know. I suppose it's that left-over 'baby-brain'. (Er, mommy-brain - as we moms tend to take on each child's thinking for them until they are able to process thoughts thoroughly for themselves [you know - like for 22 years!] - and often, even our husband's 'brains' as well. I guess that answers that question!) Enter, my bro-in-law - king o' funny! He dare not forget a funny moment. They should, after all, be cherished forever! Thankfully, he reminded me recently about a Mack-Moment, as it occurred at the Mack Family Farmstead a couple of years back... It helps to know their dad, but 'tis a grand memory nonetheless. I myself don't want to forget it again - so if this bores you - just proceed to the next post and we'll call it good.

The farm house has one door in the kitchen, and one located at the opposite end of the building leading to the front through the dining room. I have my back to everyone as I'm doing some post-dinner dishes... Joel is nearby, drying them for me, and his mom is also in the room - chatting with us. His dad walks in through the kitchen door... and pauses mid-way between the kitchen and dining room. He glances back at Joel and his mom who have stopped talking to try to figure out what his dad is doing just standing there. What makes it more ironic, is that although he is the one who pauses en-route, he also begins the 'circle of whats'. As his dad glaces back toward the kitchen, he lets out a disgruntled "WHAT?" Joel resounds with another, "WHAT?" (only in a higher tone, as in - "what yourself?") To which his mom replies, "WHAT?!?!" Nothing else was said, and their dad rolls his eyes, turns, and continues through the house - going back OUTSIDE through the opposite door!!!! Joel and his mom continued their conversation as though nothing out of the ordinary just happened. I was literally in tears for HOURS afterward. I couldn't stop thinking about the charade - and all of the little nuances that made it so memorable! I think people bring up things like that just to hear me snort when I laugh that dang hard ;)

TIP: Family - there for you... They never let you forget. Sometimes - that's a GOOD thing! 

A QUOTE: “Laughter is the closest distance between two people.” Victor Borge

WHIDFML: Set up the girls' room with a bunk-bed, and they are LOVING it! Me too... they have so much fun in their 'new room'.

Just a Few Flash-Backs...

Sometimes, when the mood hits me right - I laugh... out of nowhere! Okay - if you ask Joel, I do that pretty regularly. And he therefore regularly asks me, "What are you laughing about now?" Hahahaha!

I realized that as fantastic as my parents were at parenting... they had a way with knowing when it was okay to divert from the norm, and inject a few unexpected 'methods' of dealing with us kids. As it turns out - ignoring kids can work to your advantage - when done under the proper circumstances. 

Envision this: I'm age 11. Sister, about 9, and brother, probably 6. So - we're all in the newly acquired family RV, snuggling in for the night - while the parents have joined forces with the aunts & uncles (owners of the cabin next to which the RV is parked) - for laughter and shinaningins (aka: drinking and hilarity) whilst we try to sleep. There is a set of bunk-beds in the back - 2 beds, 3 kids... And so it goes, my sis and I share the top-bunk, sleeping feet-to-heads, while the bro sleeps below us. Windows are open on this balmy summer's eve - and as the noise and bellows ensue, we find ourselves lying there - - awake. 

I happen to have a very odd 'habit' - that is certainly engraved deep within my genes, as there is no way to break this addiction. In order to effectively fall asleep (at least in a timely manner) - I must engage toes with sheets. There is something about that soft material between my tippies that makes me more relaxed than just about anything (well - maybe not as much as a good massage - but still very comforting in addition to the rendered inner-calm evoked.) My toes found their way to the edges of my sister's pillow - and once there - there was no turning back! Kim balked at my persistence - as she made known her discontentment with the situation. When I wouldn't listen (who listens to their little sister???) - She proceeded to yell out the window of the bunk, toward the open windows of the cabin o' chaos, "Denise is putting her feet on my pillow, and they stink!" Silence followed, as the parents surely were trying to determine whether they had, in fact, heard small voices coming from the children's sleeping quarters... And then, more laughter. Suddenly our brother blurts out a, "mommmmmy?!" - to which my uncle replied heartfelt (read: sarcastic) concern, "Does your pillow stink too?!?!" More laughter. Not another word was uttered from within the surrounds of the camper on wheels... and the parents all but forgot about the interaction - as nothing further was acknowledged that night. And wallah - an almost-situation turned into laughter on one end, sleep on the other. Note-to-self...  ;)  Now, whenever I think about it - (and I can still hear the adult's voices and outbursts of glee) - I can't help but laugh myself! Thus, you have one fine example for 'when it is okay to ignore your kids'! 

TIP: Kids of a certain age know when you're too 'involved' to break up a menial cat-fight... Chances are they'll figure it out themselves, or give up (as in our case) - and the world will still spin on its axis the following morning. Hahahahahaha!

A QUOTE: “I always knew looking back on my tears would bring me laughter, but I never knew looking back on my laughter would make me cry.” ~Cat Stevens [For me - laughing until I'm crying!]

WHIDFML: Made time to blog again, amidst the weird, swirling pattern that we've been caught-up in - with regard to our inability to avoid being so busy again. It seems to be the tail-end of it all - so we see the light!  

Now I remember!

I was going to tell you about the time I went to cut Addie's bangs again - - 

Because, as it turns out, Myla inherited a much better memory from some unknown source (neither her dad nor I!) She recalled a rather, um, shall we say....... traumatic incident involving the sharpened snipps... I trimmed up Myla's bangs with great success. However, after trimming Adelyn's lovely locks the last time, they turned out a bit short for my taste. Didn't quite flow with the rest of her 'flow'. I guess it was a stressful time, because I kind of melted down and shed a (what I thought had been) quiet tear over the mishap.

So, upon announcing that it was now "Addie's turn" for the inevitable bang-trim- Myla blurted out, "But mommy! You cried the last time you cut Addie's hair, remember??" Well, this time I laughed, because that was pretty damn cute.  And, I learned from that situation - This time, they were JUST right!!

TIP: Live, Love, Laugh... and learn! 

A QUOTE: “Nothing that is worth knowing can be taught.” Oscar Wilde

WHIDFML: To determine what needs fixing on the computer, some 'tests' had to be run. I chose some nice, warm, sunny days (today, for example) to run tests... and disconnected from the www - spending almost ALL day outside. Did I mention I got in a 45 min power-walk with the girls along the river today? Yep.