Feel Good Fridays 2

Today was Friday. And I had said last week that I was going to designate them as Feel Good Fridays. The only problem was that I didn't actually feel good today.

This was a hard day for me. It wasn't any one thing - more like the culmination of a lot of little things piling up. My husband has been out of town for the last few days and frankly, I'm tired. I've also been incubating some sort of slow growing viral sore throat thing and today it was really bothering me; even my ears were feeling stopped up.

Anyway I just felt all day like I hadn't gotten anything accomplished. I had all of these things that I wanted to get done and I kept feeling like I wasn't getting enough of them completed. And because of that I spent a good portion of today beating myself up about it.


Until I stopped and made myself think about and tally up all the things I actually DID accomplish today. By 3pm today I had done: 4 loads of laundry, cleaned the kitchen, done the dishes, rearranged the entire living room, moved several things around in the dining room, and wrote 2 articles. All the while dealing with 2 kids under the age of three, making homemade Stromboli for dinner and getting the 12 year old to his first Valentines Day dance. I don't think that is too bad. In fact, after looking at it, I think I got a lot accomplished. Now, it is true that I didn't get to any of my crafty things today, nor did I get to hang the curtains in the dining room. But that is okay.

I am giving myself a break.

I'm tired of looking at myself and only seeing what I didn't do; what I lack, where I fell short. Because I gotta tell you - I got more accomplished than I didn't. And it's about damn time I acknowledged that. So that is what I'm doing tonight. A virtual pat on the back to myself through my blog. Good job Kathleen.

Now that both of the wee small people are asleep - I'm going to go relax for a bit. Before we get up and do it all again tomorrow.

What sorts of things are you guys overdue to hear some praise for - your virtual pat on the back? Let's hear it and acknowledge ourselves. We have to be our biggest fans too rather than always our loudest critic. So tell me ladies - let's hear the good stuff in comments. 

That "to do" list is daunting

Ever feel like you have so many things you have to get done that you just want to give up? Anyone? Please tell me it is not just me. Because I feel like that today.

I have the regular housework that needs doing: cleaning the kitchen, doing some laundry, and your basic dusting of the house. In addition I also have several crafty projects I would like to get too, two blogs to work on, 3 articles to write, an area rug to thoroughly clean (a doggie mishap *sigh*), I would like to rearrange my living room, and I have another Acupuncture appointment this afternoon.

It all just feels like TOO much to me today.

So I'm going to do the one thing that always helps me focus; I'm going to make a list. Eat the elephant one bit at a time - right? Something about making a list and then crossing items off that list helps. I get a sense of accomplishment every time I get to strike through cross something off and whittle the list down a bit.

Getting organized is one of my resolutions. I actually don't like to call it that because I feel like we are so accustomed to breaking 'resolutions' that it becomes easy to disregard. So instead I will say that getting organized is one of my continuing life choices. I'm making a choice to get myself more organized thus making the rest of my life easier. I hope. At least that is what I keep telling myself.

And now that I've brought up organization - that is another thing on my list. I need to organize the basement. All of my Christmas stuff just got thrown down there after New Years and I haven't gotten back down there to finish "fixing" it.

The list just keeps getting longer. I am not intimidated. I will conquer this list before it's reinforcements of tomorrow's 'to-do' list show up.

OK - enough talking about doing it - I'm off to do the actual doing.

Wordless Wednesday

A little something from Max to brighten your day...

 

Happy Wednesday!!!

Quandries and Give-Aways!

What's a girl to do? I have several painting projects that I would like to get underway but they all require me to be able to spray paint them and that requires that I be outside to do it. It is only in the 30's here and that, according to the can, is too cold to effectively use said spray paint. *hmph* I checked the weather and it says that we won't have temps in the 50's until Saturday and 50's, according to the paint can, is the coolest it can be for the paint to adhere correctly. *sigh*

So here is what I have planned to work on this week if the weather holds:

Painting

First, the table/magazine stand that I found during my shopping the house expedition. I am going to get it cleaned up, put a coat of Almond Satin spray paint over it, sand it and rough it up a bit, and then go over it with a dark brown glaze to age it. Hopefully it will turn out well. I'll post pictures either way.


Second, I have these 2 small mirrors that are currently an ugly cross between brass and gold. I'm going to spray paint them a silver Nickel and then go over them with the dark brown glaze too. I'm actually going for more of a "champagne" finish on these. But since I can't find a champagne finish spray paint I thought I'd try the brown glaze of the top of silver and just see how it turns out. I'll post pics of those too when they are done.

Thrift Storing

Tomorrow I'm taking Max into Norman to go to Mother's Day Out and that means that Miss Pip and I get to go cruise the thrift stores. WOOT! Nothing gets me more excited than a good thrift store outing! I'm searching for old mirrors but who knows what else I'll find. Maybe some cool fabric, baskets, or a nice old piece of furniture? What I love about thrift stores is the possibilities they hold. I like finding something that has been discarded and giving it a purpose again; a new lease on life; a second chance. That speaks to me.

The Husband is Out of Town 

And you know what that means; it is time to rearrange the furniture! HA! Poor guy - he never knows what he will find whenever he has to go away for his job for a few days. *giggle* I usually do things like this when he leaves. It gives me more time to move everything back to where it was if it looks terrible tweak what I've done! I took pictures today of what I'm dealing with in my living room and I'll post them IF the furniture arrangement scheme works out. The problem is that my living room is it's real long and skinny - a rectangley bowling alley shape and it makes me crazy because I can never seem to get the furniture placement *right*.

In the Mean Time

My son, Alec, who is 12 came home from school today in a funk. When I finally got him to tell me what was going on it turns out that a "friend" of his made a joke about me at recess. I have Bell's Palsy and I talk about that over here at my personal blog. I hate that I have this but there isn't anything I can do about it that I haven't already done or am currently doing. It just *is* right now. But his little buddy thought it would be cute to turn it into a joke and that hurt Alec and embarrassed him terribly. He was/is really angry. I'm not sure what to do without making the situation worse - but I guess I just want to ask - why do 12 year olds have to be so nasty? I can take it but why does that little asshat have to do that to my son??? Oh how I dislike middle school aged children...(other than my own, of course.)

And now...the Good Stuff aka a Give - Away!!!

I'm going to link up to a cool blog called Drab to Fab that is having a fabulous give-away! Go here to read all about it, and enter to win 3 different things! YA for fun give-aways!

Superbowl, Kids, and Shopping the House

We had a nice, lazy day today. We hung out, played a lot, and made a bunch of yummy food. Max continues to rock on the potty training, in fact he has filled in his potty chart completely and I am VERY proud of him.

Mommy Stuff

First of all - some pictures of the cuties I took today.

Our youngest - Piper - our little girl. She changes every single day. These days she is sitting up and working hard at crawling.

Then, our *middle* child  Max. He is a handful and then some.

And, our oldest, Alec. He is SO grown up now. Please excuse the hair - it needs to be cut but he is liking it long. There are worse things and I am SO not sweating it. It's a small thing - you know?




 





We made some yummy food today to munch on while watching the Superbowl. We made a Calzone from leftover Chicken Parmesian, Brats, Guacamole and chips, Brownies and Ice Cream. Max helped me "make" all of it.

Shop the House

And inspired by Kendall over at Finesse your Nest - during all that I went "shopping" in my house. Actually, I went shopping out in the garage.

I found an old magazine stand/table that belonged to my Grandparents. 

Literally 12 years ago I spray painted it Off-White and used it for awhile then stored it away. It is still Off-White but I have some plans for it that involve glaze. I'll get back to you on this once it's done.

I located the art easel that was Alec's when he was 3. Yes, I've drug it around and kept it all these years (Alec is 12). It needs a bit of refurbishing and it will be Max's. There are times it is good to be a pack-rat.

And LOOK what I found. 

Do you see those? They are old windows and they still have the glass in them. There are big, plain ones and some that have a small pattern along the sides. PSYCHED about these. No idea what I"m doing to do with them yet - but I'm excited. It usually begins this way....excitement.

So that was my Sunday and what I found when I "shopped" my house. I'll be working on these projects in the coming days (as long as the kids cooperate) and I'll be posting updates!!!

Feed Good Fridays

I'm going to designate Friday as the day I'm going to post about things that make me happy. Hopefully the list will be a fairly long one - but if not always, then that is OK too.


Lots of Mommy Braggin Going On

Max is potty training. Yes, indeedy, he is. AND whatsmore he is having SUCCESS at it. He filled in all the squares on Thursday on his success chart and started on Friday - yesterday. He got his SuperWhy potty prize. Today he has filled in all the squares for today and has earned his next potty prize - an Art Easel. He is going into the bathroom on his own when the timer goes off, getting undressed, and using the potty and then coming to get me to show me. I'm so proud of him.

Max also slept in his bed ALL NIGHT last night; no trips to mom and dads bed. When he got up this morning, at 7am, he came in and got in bed with me and said 2 things. The first was, "Mama - I slept in my bed all night!!!" I said, "I KNOW! I'm so PROUD of you!" And the next thing he said was, "MAMA I DIDN'T PEE IN MY DIAPER!" I said, "I KNOW! OMGOSH! You are SO AWESOME! OK, let's go potty!!!" And we did. And he didn't put up a fight. And it was most awesome.

Pip is sitting up all the time now. She doesn't topple much unless she is trying to reach something or her brother knocks her over.

She isn't crawling yet but she is on the verge. LOTS of up on the knees rocking and sometimes, accidentally, inching forward. So anytime really.

Also she does this tongue thing which is just hysterical to me. When she is concentrating or working hard at something she sticks her tongue STRAIGHT out. Remember how Michael Jordan would have his tongue sticking out when he'd make a slam dunk? Yep - just like that.


Alec is awesome. He is having attitude at times but really not so very much. For a 12 year old in the midst of puberty he is not much trouble.

He is a VERY good person and a wonderful, loving soul. He always has been. I don't have words for how much I love that young man. And he *is* a young man now. He is damn near as tall as me. His feet are a size larger than mine now (and I'm a women's 7 1/2) and his voice cracks pretty often these days.

I swear to God just the other day he was 3.
Just the other day...

All stuff about Me

I had Acupuncture a couple of days ago, I talk about that over here, and since then I have felt great.


The sounds of Loreena McKennitt waft through my home again. I have missed her sorely. I also have some Nag Champa burning. I have a white candle lit. The sun is shining. I am beginning to feel like mySelf again. That in itself is a Wonderful Thing.

Here's where I go all Crafty on you

I have managed to do a few crafty things this past week. Here are some pictures - they are not big deals but it gives me a creative outlet and makes me happy.

First I made some Jute twine balls *snicker* (I know, mentally I'm 12) Anywho - I got the idea from Kendall at Finesse your Nest and these are how mine turned out.

They are just Styrofoam balls wrapped in Jute Twine and hot glue. Really easy to do (took me like 10 minutes total) and cheap (!) and, I think, very cute.

I also wrapped a cool shaped, empty, clean olive oil bottle with Jute twine and filled up some old bottles (that were in our basement when we moved in and I wouldn't part with them) with wine bottle corks. I keep all the corks from the wine we drink, and have for 6 years now, and I put them in these old bottles. I like how it turned out.

The Jute twine balls *snicker* turned out so cute that I decided to attempt some others. I made wrapped one tennis ball in Raffia.

And another tennis ball wrapped in plain white rope.

I didn't have enough rope but I wrapped it until I ran out. I will finish this when I get some more because I LOVE how it turned out. I am digging the texture of it.

So that's it for today. My first Feel Good Friday. What kinds of things do you guys Feel Good about today????

Wordless Wednesday

Piper

On her hands and knees trying to crawl all the time now.
(notice the tongue sticking out - it is *always* out when she is working hard at something - how very Michael Jordan of her.)

Huh?

How I find her most of the time...under things...behind things...wedged places...

Sitting up on her own all the time now....and hangin with the Max Man.