Clothes!

Well, its time I wrote of things of a less philosophical nature and get back to the domestic tasks at hand! Clothes!

Do any other mothers feel overwhelmed at the amount of clothing they have for their children? Do you have piles of clothes half sorted cluttering up the corners of your rooms and the recesses' of the closet? I sure do. I seem to be in a constant state of 'sorting out' with the clothes. It doesn't help that they both keep growing out of things... No one likes to get rid of the cutesy precious things their little princesses have worn. And so we like to hand them on to dearly loved friends and family who will enjoy them as much as we have, plus it takes the pain out of parting with them. I have been the blessed recipient of many such items, thanks to my sister and a few good friends. However, I am very nostalgic and find it hard to throw things away. I find I am keeping items of clothing not so much because I like them, but I know my sister really did, so perhaps I better hang on to it, in case I have a third girl...

Meanwhile my closets are in such disarray and the 'put aside' boxes with clothes that someone is waiting to 'grow into' are forgotten until it is too late!
Before I put anyone off buying me new things for the girls, let me say how much I LOVE getting lovely new or second hand things. Dressing little girls is sooo much fun. However the aquirement of clothing seems to highlight my lack of organisation skills. But, I am happy to announce I have done much reorganising today! I have even begun labelling the storage containers I have put away, now whenever I see them, I will remember what is in there and ponder when I might use them next.

I was able to spend a couple of hours on this usually overwhelming task as my lovely friend Mia is looking after Esther for the day. It is sooo novel to have all this time on my hands to do things like sort through clothes! It was actually really fun and I discovered that I would probably be doing a better job of upkeep in this area if I had more time to devote to it... I am sure that is a popular excuse for all sorts of things... :)

At any rate the girls' closet is looking quite lovely and I am feeling an inner calm about it all....sigh of contentment....

There still is the problem of what to do with the clothes I really like and both girls have grown out of. I find it especially hard to know what to do with the girly clothes, as I am trying to keep my 'stuff for next baby' as gender neutral as possible. My solution? See picture below...

...We will have the best dressed stuffed toys around!

His mercies are new every morning

Well, it's time to blog again. Reading my previous blog, that week is still fresh in my mind. I have had quite a positive in change in outlook since that time and am enjoying the fruit of that in my days. I love the Joyce Meyer slogan 'enjoying everyday life'. It's so simple but so profound... We all have mountain top moments of feeling like we can take on the world, that we can do anything...Often they are quite fleeting as we are plunged into the valley of despair, drudgery or monotony all too quickly. What I am discovering is the truth in the phrase 'abundant life'. The real secret to enjoying everyday life, it seems to me, is having the mundane transformed into the marvelous. Look, I am not quite sure how it happens, and many days it certainly doesn't for me (as seen in my last post) but I have experienced it. When His truth becomes my reality, life is wonderful. Things that have held dread, tasks that seem overwhelminging are transformed into the merest of trifles. It is amazing what happens when we truly believe his word.

Isn't it just lovely that God WANTS us to enjoy our lives? That he has made a way for it to be possible? He is so good to us, he is such a loving Father. I am so delighted to have the freedom to choose how I approach the day. sometimes I use that power against myself, I make unwise choices, I allow circumstances to dictate my response and a vicious circle begins! However, at any moment I can make new choices and step off that cycle; I can ask for help, strength, patience and mercy. Each new day I get to start again, to start afresh. He knows we need that sleep and that new morning to try it all over again and maybe get it a bit more right this time! Thank you for your mercy Father and for giving it to us afresh each day, it is much needed and much appreciated!

domestic drag...

Yes. Believe it or not people there are days when I DON'T feel like a domestic goddess. But then this blog is all about chronicling my journey from housewife to goddess so I guess that is ok.

Why do some days just drag?

The whining, the crying, the demands, the dishes, the laundry, the mess, the bad hair, the big waistline and the slow ticking clock all combine to make life seem...Hard! Today was one of the those days...Though I must confess both girls were quite good and did well, or at least average. But it is not so much what is happening around me that gets me down, but within. It doesn't seem to take much... Lose a bit of sleep here, bit of bad nutrition there, not much time with God and... Here I am feeling sad and sorry for myself again. I do have a down day now and then but this week there has been more than one which isn't very nice, and I spend my time trying to analyse all the reasons for this and who is to blame rather than just climb back out of my self pity pit and get on with it, to do what I know to do. I have all the answers; how to climb out...But sometimes I don't FEEL like doing it and I just want someone to reach out and kiss ME better. You know the feeling?...

Desperate house...husband?

Okay, before I begin let me just say that I have got to be married to one of the best men in the world. Shane is handsome and loving, considerate, patient, supportive, hard working, funny, a great father and always willing to help me out. In fact, that is what he was doing this evening.

I ducked out at 5:45 to go to my 'balance' class at the gym, leaving him with the two girls and dinner half way prepared. I had just fed charlotte and put her into bed, so she should be off to sleep soon. Esther and him had just come in from playing in the yard and she needed to eat, have a bath and get ready for bed. I told Shane that the potatoes had about 5 mins to go (boiling on the stove) the corn was in the microwave and when it was done another piece had to be cooked (2mins each side) the salmon was frying on the stove too and needed a couple more minutes. I was tempted to remind him (maybe for the third time) as I was walking out the door, about the potatoes and that they were almost done. After all it had been a lot of instructions and I thought it wouldn't hurt to remind him what the first one was. No, I don't want to patronise him, he can handle it, they are bubbling away on the stove next to the salmon, hard to miss...

So I enjoyed a lovely hour of stretching and strengthening at balance with a few friends and was dropped home just before 7. Hmmm the house was undoubtedly in a far worse state than when I had left. Well, that is perhaps unfair, Shane had started to fold laundry. It was just all over the living room floor, but half way there, no probs. It was quiet. I could hear Esther splashing in the laundry tub out back and Shane talking to her. I will just check on Charlotte... Not in her bed, not on our bed. 'Shane' I called out, 'Where's Charlotte?'.

'Wouldn't you like to know?' came his reply from out back. I went outside to see what he meant; there was Charlotte, strapped to Shane's chest in the baby carrier, while Shane was in the process of washing Esther's hair. It looked so ridiculously and desperetely domestic that I cracked up laughing.

'it's either this or she's screaming' replied the normally resilient-to-screaming Shane. Charlotte was looking a little red eyed. 'How was dinner' I asked. 'I burnt the potatoes' he replied. 'What?! How did you burn BOILED potatoes?' I started laughing again. 'the water evaporated' was his matter of fact reply. By this time I was towelling down Esther (who's hair was still full of soap). I kept looking at Shane and laughing at him carrying around Charlotte, imagining the whole chaotic scene unfolding...Getting Esther organised for the bath, Charlotte screaming, potatoes burning... Explained the half folded laundry sprawled around the living room. Shane was calm, cool and collected, as always, despite the fuss unravelling about him.

The whole situation made me feel better in a way. It IS a challenge to look after a toddler and a baby, clean up, keep THEM clean, get everyone fed and fold the laundry and sometimes it all doesn't get done (ok, a lot of times it all doesn't get done!). I appreciate Shane's willingness to do it all while I am out, giving me some much needed time and space. It helps me to see to, that I am doing alright at it all and getting better all the time. It is fun to see him trying to juggle the slightly less familiar tasks that I am doing all day long. It's amusing to see how we handle things differently and also how we can compliment each other; Shane stays calm in the face of chaos and I make sure the food doesn't get burnt! :)

Falling off the wagon...

Ok, confession time. I have (unofficially) fallen off the wagon with my 'healthy lifestyle' plan. The point of the healthy lifestyle however, is that it is not a 'wagon' that you can hop on and off of, but more of a one way ticket on some sort of transport that you can't get off of easily (say bullet train?), ok I am struggling for metaphors here. If I haven't fallen off of the 'wagon' I have lost a wheel or something (wheel representing my motivation and enthusiasm). Sigh. That bit of gastro threw me out. See, at first I was thinking 'yay bonus easy kilos to lose' and I did lose a bit that week. But then I was over optimistic about this whole weight loss thing and the goal was so within grasp and it had been easier than I had anticipated (thanks to not eating for a week, sort of) and so, you know, time to celebrate! I don't need to say no to those bars of chocolate and packets of chips anymore.... And so I find myself back to square one. Well, perhaps I am being a little pessimistic, I don't think I have gained anything...Well I haven't weighed myself yet today and so I will do that now, as it is Monday, payday as it were... hang on a sec....Sigh, yes it looks like I have put on about a kilo since last week. There is just no easy way around this is there? I just really feel like eating junk! Ok, time to read Dr. Phil's weight loss solution again...I am sure he will offer me some straight talking 'is that working for you' advice. I WILL reach my goal!!!!