Simple Saturday

Yeah...I really have nothing this week.

The word "simple" has been replaced by "chaos". And I mean raw chaos.

Painting trim, touching up paint, sewing diapers, trying to get rooms situated,  normal housework, and tending to my child have been filling my days. A little bit of everything and you can't tell I've done a thing. Seriously. Dirty clothes and laundry that now begs me to fold it. Pots and pans taunting me. A dining room that looks 75% like a dining room again...

For whatever reason, the front porch has been one of my favorite things!

There has been nothing simple about this Saturday. Haha!



It's hard to believe that in a few days this should be all over. My brain will be able to throw out the question "Will we have to get another extension?" and toss the phrase "It has to be done for the bank". Matthew and I will be able to invite people over and actually hang out with everyone regularly again. Shoot, Matthew and I will be able to hang out regularly again! It's going to be a whole new lifestyle when we're done with the bank.

The appraiser should be coming Tuesday and hopefully all will pass and this mess can be finalized. Once this is over with, I see a huge burden being lifted off of us. We'll have less stress to carry and more room to breathe.

You know, I just realized what this Simple Saturday is about:

Daily living and simple sorting:
Don't move a house!

Have you ever moved a house or taken on a "fixer upper"?

Simple Saturday: Every little bit counts

"Every little bit counts" has been my motto for a week or so now. If I pick up just one piece of trash, get a brief chance to wash two dishes, and quickly fold three towels between grunts from Gage , I'm beginning to think it's great! I'm learning to think more like "Go Me!" instead of "I need to get more done, I've hardly made a dent in what needs to be done..." and with those negative thoughts, the stress heightens.

I want to avoid stress, not self inflict it. Which, I might add, I'm very good at stressing myself out.

The sad truth is that most people aren't going to notice the small l things. No matter how amazing that square inch of sparkling cleanliness is, chances are, you're going to be the only one to admire it. Even Matthew will come home from work and I'll ask him,

"Isn't the house looking better!?"
Matthew: "Yes it does, baby" He'll say with a grin.
"You can't even tell a difference."
Matthew: "I love you, baby"

(Matthew laughed when he read that because it's just THAT true)

That is a very frequent conversation, but it doesn't hurt my feelings any. I know what I've gotten done and I'll take my feelings of accomplishment either way. With the house in the middle of everything, I've laid down the ambition to get everything perfect. Being unrealistic with myself has made me set goals too high and unreachable and have left me disappointed with myself and, again, stressed.

Making unattainable goals applies to more than just housework, no matter what area you  set a standard too high in, it's not good to do to yourself or anyone else.

I have a chart up on my fridge and I'll jot down when I think of something specific to do. If it's late one night, I'll write it down for the next day so that I can forget about it until tomorrow. When things aren't coming together and I reach the state of panic, my dear husband will ask me, "When can we take care of the problem?" I'll answer, "Monday". He'll say, "Why worry about it before Monday? There's nothing you can do about it until then." I married one smart man ;)

Daily living and simple sorting:

I know God wants us to take care of the things He's blessed us with, but I also know that the shape of our homes does not have any eternal value.
So just do what you can and take it in stride, "every little bit counts". After telling myself that so much, I've been actually getting more done! Most likely due to my more positive outlook.
Yes our homes should generally be presentable, but don't let it reach such a priority that it interferes with more important things- like just sitting down to talk to your husband or playing with your kiddos.
And if you want, I'll come admire that square inch of cleaning you got done ;) 

Do you get all your cleaning done at one time or does "every little bit count"?

Delight In Today

I've noticed as each night begins, I hold Gage and look at his sweet face as if I have been deprived of it all day. Each frustration I had prior to bedtime and every challenge of parenthood just fly away. I look at my son and see the face of pure innocence. It takes my heart to a place that I can't explain. The innocence won't last forever, but I'm breathing it in while I can.

I've said, for a while now, that I can't hear God. I would tell Matthew, "Along with hardly being able to hear people, I must be deaf to God too". Had I done something so awful that He had to stop speaking to me? I would pray. There was silence. I would listen. Nothing. It would upset me deeply because I didn't understand.

Recently, I have felt the phrase "Delight in today" come out of nowhere. Just those three, very simple words. Not to sound dramatic, but I honestly would feel this gentle whisper in the most impacting way.

Delight: 1: a high degree of gratification : joy; also: extreme satisfaction.

Take delight in today. Be satisfied with today...Delight in today.

I'm beginning to think that I never stopped hearing God, I just never recognized when He was speaking to me. I stopped crediting Him for the "inspiring thoughts" I was having. But these words have stilled my heart. I feel them in the moment when my mind is speeding down my to-do list and I am rushing about my day, but, most often, the words come to my heart when I look at my son. He looks at the fan and grins, kicks, and grabs his toes. Lets out a chuckle, a few babbles, and reaches for the nearest thing that he can put into his mouth. He certainly takes delight in the day. While seeing his pure delight, I hear the words spoken again.

God is speaking to me and I hear Him and, that too, takes my heart to a place that I can't explain.

Simple Saturday: Give Me a Sign

If you're like me, if it's not written down, it was never a thought. So I typically try to scribble thoughts down on the nearest piece of paper or make a "note" in my phone. Other time I get more elaborate.

I make signs!

When we lived down at the trailer, we had a lady bug infestation (Side thought: if I had to choose an infestation...it would be lady bugs) the ladies stayed in our master bathroom. Hardly ever venturing out. I made a sign of a lady bug crossing and had a stick figure man angrily about to step on a lady bug, and I had a slash across the picture. You know, so people knew not to kill my little friends. They weren't hurting me!
Sign number two: "Don't flip off switch!" because that switch, whitch was next to the light switch, was controlling the outlet that our computer was plugged into. I mostly made that sign for myself, because I kept habitually flipping it off. Hahahaha!

Last, but not least of the signs at the trailer; we had two sinks in the master bathroom and one leaked if you turned on the faucet. Therefore I drew that comic strip of sorts showing the consequences of such action. Which including tragically flooding our trailer. The leak was that bad. Kind of.
Oh and be sure to take note the portrait of my lovely Cat and the person merrily washing their hands...before they destroyed our home.

 

 

Now we're home and the signs live on. A picture of an onion singing "Don't you forget about me" because I wanted Matthew and I to remember to get a slice of onion that fell behind the stove.

I got on my hands and knees one day and polished our wooden kitchen floor and it became a danger to step foot on it. So before Matthew got home from work to risk his life to walk into the Kitchen...

All of those examples to say, signs are very helpful for you and everyone else who enter your household. It's something to be goofy with or can be a kind word of caution.

I've worked in a couple of restaurants and both were notorious for having signs on every possible surface. They were mostly from the bosses so they were, well, bossy. Needless to say, they weren't always pleasant.

Signs can be hateful or signs can be a way to say "GET THIS DONE!!!" in a nicer way than sometimes our voices can.

Daily living and simple sorting:

When your "honey-do" list is ever growing and the length is getting out of control and pushing you to your limits...Make a sign, tape it up near the area the task is to be done, but most importantly, make it fun! Easier said than done, but don't let frustration get the better of you! My husband is very prone to simply forgetting to do stuff, but I'm not much better! So I enjoy jotting down stuff and making the humor as corny as possible. I mean, how often do you flip off switches?

Have you made silly reminders for your home?

Safe Haven

When Matthew and I were about to get married, I told him that I didn't really want to have tv. He wasn't sold and said that we needed to have at least basic cable to keep up with the world and I responded by pointing out that junk comes on even the most basic channels. We have now concluded that internet is enough to stay in touch because on tv commercials can be bad enough on their own, kids shows have so many innuendos, and just flipping through channels is a dangerous feat. When I said I didn't want to have tv, I really meant it, but it was somewhat unnerving to do something against the "norm". Even for something this simple.

• We didn't have cable at the trailer because we were only living there temporarily. 
• We had cable while living with my father-in-law and mother-in-law, and I was addicted to the food channel; I didn't know how I was going to live without it! 
• Now that we're in our house we're too broke cable isn't a priority. When we do get something, it'll probably be Netflix. 

 I was afraid of how I would do without the "noisemaker", but the tv has only been on 5-10 times in the almost 2 months that we've lived here. There are many movies and shows that we have to be watched and even more cds to listen to. No thanks, though. I've actually gotten to where too much sound/noise is overwhelming for me, I can't seem to focus! Matthew put in a cd one day to listen to while we were cleaning and I kept asking him to turn it down...turn it down...just turn it off. That's a sign that I'm getting old, right?

I could even listen to the radio, but I keep forgetting about it. So my home doesn't have music playing, actors speaking, or unnecessary images pouring in through a screen.

As I sit here, I hear the washer go off, the baby monitor buzz, and cars passing by the house. Oh, and me typing this. Throughout the day, I hear my child scream, squeal, and laugh. My mom on the other end of the phone and my phone receiving texts. My husbands voice and the quiet in between.

I'm not afraid of silence, though I was afraid that I would be afraid! In such a busy world,  it's my goal for me to make sure our home is a safe haven. Trying to make it a calming environment, from the sounds that are about it, to my attitude that I have in it.

What are ways that you've made your home a "safe haven" for you and your family?

Simple Saturdays: Beating

...the expiration date.