Back in the Saddle

Well it's been some time since I have posted anything new, My kids just went back to school last Wednesday after a very lengthy Fall break. We went to Disneyland for 4 days and it was a whirlwind of playdates, sleepovers, and playing, lots of playing. Whew! now that that's over I can go back to my schedules. My house looked like a cyclone struck it up until this weekend. Man when the kids are home for extended periods of time there is no use trying to pick up. Plus we were'nt home too much. Now, let's get back to "normal" shall we?

First order of business....Christmas. I know, I know it's only October, but listen, the time to plan is now. My kids have been working on their lists for Santa because I plan to have items bought and hid this year. I don't want to go out on Christmas Eve looking for a gift. It can be a mad house out there. I am also making a few gifts this year so I better get started. I'll save the details for another post.

Secondly, my garden. Things are doing fairly well. I do have a white fly problem that I am trying to combat but I a m super excited that I see young sprouts popping through the soil. My carrots, spinach and swiss chard are all doing nicely. I have not seen hide nor hair of my cilantro or my lettuce. Where are you lettuce? I'm treating you with lots of love. Anyway, gardening has turned into a family activity. Alexander loves to water the garden with me and everyday when he comes home from work my husband asks me how the garden is doing. It's not too late if you want to plant a few things.

Lastly, I am continuing my journey by re-discoving hobbies I've loved in the past. Reading is a big one. Check me out on www.goodreads.com if you want to know what I'm currently reading. I am also still knitting. My next goal is to find a project I can finish. Knitting really is very relaxing. As I continue my journaling I have noticed that I feel more balance in my life and it is a great time. Maybe that is what I needed. We shall see. There are new things for me to discover right around the corner and the anticipation I feel about trying those makes me feel alive.

No More Procrastinating

A few weeks ago I mentioned that My dad and I attended a gardening how-to class and that I had always wanted to start a garden but had never taken the time. Well now is the time. I have taken the plunge. My dad built me a small raised garden plot from scrap wood to get me started and furnished me with some seeds that he used for his garden. Okay so it did take me a couple of weeks to actually get down to Home Depot and buy the remaining items that I needed but the point is I did... yesterday. The family and I high-tailed it down to the big box store and bought some dirt to fill the box and some additional starter plants. My initial investment so far has been $54. If you have pretty good soil in your backyard your investment will be even less. Our soil is extremely clay-like, rocky and it doesn't drain well so I thought I should give the plants a good foundation and start with some good soil.

We came home and started right away. Gerald helped me dump the dirt into the raised bed and the kids took great pleasure in helping me spread around the dirt. I bought 3 different kinds of dirt and mixed it together. I will keep you updated as to how this works.

I planted the starter plants first: tomato plants, basil, and strawberries (my hubbys idea). Next I planted a row of lettuce, cilantro, spinach and swiss chard seeds. I hope they sprout because when you grow things from seeds you just never know. I have to admit, there is something fun and relaxing about digging in the dirt. This is definitely something the kids are excited about and that is a plus. I'll have help when it is time to pull weeds (maybe).

Check out the picture of our garden plot. It is small, but since this is my first year I didn't want to take on too much. If all goes well, I will add another plot for the spring planting season and add a greater array of vegetable choices. I would encourage you to head on down to Lowe's, Home Depot or your local nursery and get a couple of vegetable plants. You don't need anything elaborate, you can even try container gardening.

This is one thing I can scratch off my " I've always wanted to..." list. Boy does it feel good to get out there and begin something new. My journey continues....

I had a problem

I had a problem that I have been working on for the past few days. This problem had totally taken over my life. I had anxiety about it, I had frustration about it and my kids were starting to emulate it. I was........(gasp!) a PILER,PAPER HORDER! I had piles of newspaper articles and recipes I wanted to keep, I had piles of important school paperwork that I needed or wanted to keep and one of the biggest piles was the kids artwork that I thought I should keep. Well over the past week I have implemented a system that allows me to touch paperwork ONE TIME and actually know where it is supposed to go. Please, please hold your applause until the end.

I have always been a piler and an incessant keeper for most of my life. It all started when my family moved us across country from Indianapolis when I was 12. My mom wanted to cut down on items for the moving van so she was throwing away my treasured items all the while saying things like "this will weigh the moving truck down" (she was referring to my paper maiche pig that won 1st prize at the county fair. We all know how much paper maiche weighs don't we?), or you don't really need this, as she put my prized Babie Townhouse in the giveaway pile. As I got older I started to save every momento that said something, anything about my life. Now don't picture a home that needs to be visited by Neicy Nash and her CLEAN HOUSE crew. I have always kept things somewhat under control and certainly kept it to one box of momentos; My highschool graduation gown, my college graduation cap, my pet rocks, my Jamie Summers Bionic Woman doll with her stop-action feet. Well I was on the road to recovery until October 22, 2008 when we lost all of our possessions in the fire. Thank God, we only lost possessions because the fire was moving quite aggressively. Well there went my momentos, again as well as any artwork, kids mother's day cards, handprint, report cards, and class pictures that I had been saving for my kids or should I say myself. Now I'm not telling you this to generate sympathy, I'm telling you this because I know that I had a problem. (SEE ABOVE). Notice I continue to use the word HAD. I know I am not cured but if I talk about it enough it will come to fruition.

Here is the system I have implemented for our household. I have 5 binders filled with page protectors and tab dividers. Each binder is labled with a childs name with one labled household (Cabb, Andre, Anisa, Alexander, Household). Within the individual child's binder I have tabs like, report cards/progress reports, calendar, stellar work, keep, return. From the week of endless papers that are sent home we choose 1-2 items to put under stellar work, reading logs are kept under "keep," I have a monthly print out of the current month for their activities. In the household binder I have the master calendar for the family, restaurant coupons, and coming events that I may want us to attend as a family. I actually filed the recipes in my recipe box.

To say this is a work in progress goes without saying but it already seems to be working. For example, we went to Parent Teacher conference yesterday and was absolutely inundated with work, artwork, report cards and the like. Both Anisa and Dre, came home and put their "stuff" in their own binders with everything else being recycled. (I have to keep telling myself: It's okay not to keep all of their work.)

After I completed this project I was proud of myself. It felt good to look on my counter and in my kitchen drawer and not see any paperwork. To know I will be saving time looking for lost reading logs, lost field trip slips, recipes and upcoming events makes me happy.

Whew! Now if I could magically make my laundry disappear I would be super happy!