Another Day, Another Room to Organize

Today I decided to go through our closet and downsize my wardrobe.

The house we're renting right now has a beautiful big walk in closet - 

something I've never had before.

But I'm quickly realizing that it can be easy to just let things pile up with so much space.

Here's what I started with.

The boys did a great job of entertaining themselves in my tub while I got to work.

It didn't take long and I had removed -

1 Hoodie

2 Dresses

3 Skirts

3 Tank Tops

1 Sweater

7 Shirts

4 Pairs of Shoes

and Various Pieces of Jewelry.

One coat also got pulled out to be sent to the dry cleaners so that I can wear it again.

A few items I will pass on to a friend and the rest will be donated. 

While I was cleaning out my closet, I came across a 

Little Golden Book that I had bought last time we were in Alabama.

Scuffy the Tugboat 

was one of my favourite books to read when we were visiting my grandparents house as kids.

Ryder was so excited to read a new story while he ate his lunch.

Win Win!

And that was all before I finally got to addressing the growing mound of 

clean laundry that has been accumulating in my room.

 You'd think we had 10 kids and not 2 with the amount of laundry we go through!

 But with few episodes of Pioneer Woman episodes to keep me company, I made my way through the mountain and my children will finally have some clean pyjamas to wear.

And then Ryder hit the jackpot when Daddy got home 

from work and offered to read his new story again.

I feel like it was a pretty successful day of catching up, tidying up, and decluttering my closet.

I know a few of you are joining me this week in organizing and cleaning house -

how did you do?

A Week of Purging

We're home and getting right back at it.

This week one of my goals is to do some serious decluttering and purging in a few different rooms.

I started in the office where we have a few too many book boxes stacked - 

boxes that haven't been opened since our move a year and a half ago!

First things first.

I tossed out 48 old magazines ranging from home decor, to running, to recipes.

So much information is online now. 

If I need a recipe, I can browse Pinterest or check out FoodNetwork.com

Ryder found an old pair of swim goggles in the process.

Before long I had a whole box emptied.
It helped that the sun came out and Ryder decided to go entertain himself in the backyard.
Love this little boy's imagination and ability to play on his own!

And then proceeded to fill it with all kinds of other odds and ends that can be donated or tossed -

our ugly Christmas sweaters, a few kitchen items, etc.

So, who else is in?
Who's going to join me in cleaning out and purging this week?!

The Everyday

I haven't been great about posting much more than once a week lately. 

This everyday life keeps us busy! 

I've been making a concerted effort to not spend a lot of time on my computer and iPhone - I have boys to love and a home to run!

Here are some highlights from the last few weeks...

Everyone is as crazy about Starbucks coffee as I am!

Our MOPS table had a midweek playdate. 

Look 10 children are sitting together and not one of them is crying!!

On our way to the gym in the mornings we drive by an old bridge that was demolished last week. Ryder has loved seeing and pointing out the red digger as we drive by each time. 

One morning we stopped to get a closer look at the digger in motion.

One of our other favourite things is the garbage truck. 

Every week we watch it come down the street one way and then back up the other way.

Ryder has become quite the helper and always asks if he can put the garbage can away. 

And then yesterday a big box arrived in the mail. 

Ryder gets so excited over packages in the mail and delivered by the present truck (UPS or FedEx).

This one was no disappointment. Ryder pulled out all kinds of fun and super cute winter clothes for himself and Lynden - thanks to Mimi!

I'm not sure if he was more excited or if I was!

This morning we made pumpkin pancakes for breakfast and Lynden had his first taste of pancake. 

Actually, I think he may have eaten more than all of the rest of us. 

What To Do When It Feels Like Your Kids Get In The Way Of Life:

Since getting back from our long weekend camping trip I've been feeling pretty sluggish and fighting to get up and get a lot accomplished in the mornings. On Friday I finally decided to go ahead and write down what I hoped to get done during my day.

What is it about a list that inspires and motivates to action? Must be a weird personality thing. Here's what I came up with: 

The list stuck to the counter in my kitchen so pardon all of the water marks. :)

While I did go ahead and plan out my day from early on - the baby was up at 5 and Ryder was up at 6 - somehow the kids didn't pick up on my get 'er done mentality. Haha! Just a few things to accomplish, seems pretty reasonable, right? Well, those things turned into many more...

1. Breakfast (nurse Lynden, change diaper, take Ryder to the potty, get everyone dressed)

2. Bike Ride (leave, return home to pump up tires, return home to leave Dixie who was terrorizing the neighborhood dogs, finally get home after our ride to find that Ryder has had an accident in the bike trailer - sigh..., another trip to the potty, laundry, get dressed)

3. Pull Weeds (nurse the baby, rescue Ryder's tricycle stuck on the rocks, coach Ryder on where and where NOT to throw rocks, hunt for lizards with Ryder and find a few other creatures instead)

Can you spy the camouflage creature?

4. Wash Dishes, Clean & Clear Counters (shower, make lunch, feed everyone lunch, put Ryder down for a nap, wash one dish, feed a bite of food to Lynden - yes, he's started solids!, wash one dish, wipe that last whole bite that is dribbling down his chin, wash one dish, feed Lynden a bite, etc.)

5. Fold Laundry (change yet another dirty diaper, nurse the baby, pour a 5th cup of coffee, scrub crayon off of the floor, find a full episode of The Pioneer Woman to watch - yes, this is relaxed as I get these days. :)

6. Deep Clean Master Bath (Set Ryder up with water and a snack to 'watch the thumper go boom boom' instead of being scared of the thunderstorm, What?! It's 6 already! Time to make dinner...)

Sometimes at the end of days like these I look back and wonder what I did all day. If you have kids at home, I'm sure you can relate!

As you can see, not so streamline as originally planned. But, at the end of the day, all of the important things got done and these two were just as happy as could be. 

I need to remind myself of this often, but for today, my consolation is this:

So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

1 Corinthians 10:31

Days like this are not a write-off. 

They aren't treading water. 

They don't keep us from really living life. 

They are real life!

So, are you a Mama? 

Glorify God.

Are you single?

Glorify God.

Wherever you are, 

whatever you're doing, 

there - glorify God. 

Back At It

This was our first full week back home, getting back to life as usual. Here are a few glimpses into the last few days. 

Ryder has been loving his new construction memory game - a gift from the cousins before he left. Since we've been playing with it, he's correctly identified a few different pieces of heavy equipment we've seen while out and about. 

A big digger was spotted after finishing up at the gym on Wednesday and a large crane later on in the week on a quick trip to Safeway.

Sweet Baby Lynden is still just so happy and content. He weathered many hours on the road like a champ and is so much stronger and better at holding up his head on his own. Oh my sweet boy, slow down....

The sun has been out and so we make a point of early morning play time outside before the heat of the day sets in. When Lynden accompanies us, it's hard for Ryder to leave his side - he'd much rather be playing with and entertaining his little brother. <3

I came home to 6 new orders at my Easy Shop. What is it about holidays that brings in the multiple orders, leaving me only a short time to get everything completed and in the mail. Thankfully, I can get a lot of sewing done during nap time and Ryder is going through a book 'reading' phase, so he'll come sit beside me and we talk about and identify each object in the pictures while I work. Love my little bookworm!

In search of a way to beat the heat while getting projects checked off of my to-do list, I put Ryder in his swimsuit and we 'washed' the truck together. 

And two nights this week, we've been able to enjoy fresh lettuce from the garden - our first harvest of the year!

Memorial Day Weekend Landscaping

This weekend has been all about getting our yard in order. Since I've been through and deep cleaned the inside of the house, our front yard was the next glaring project. I'm not sure if the grass on our front lawn will ever be green again, but what has grown in the last few weeks was mowed. A couple of trips the the nursery later I had all the mulch I needed and was able to get it down and raked. Now let's see if this blustery weather we've been having blows all of my mulch away....

Everything went surprisingly quickly - aside from the weeding, which I've been working on here and there for the last few weeks. In fact, I was able to get most of it done while the boys napped under Daddy's supervision. So thankful for a helpful partner.

Of course, it's nearly impossible to do any landscaping without reminiscing about all the work I put into our little red house yard. Here are a few reminders...

Before

After - with blueberry bushes!

New boxwoods around the shop.

 Looking forward to a real walk down memory lane when we visit Washington next month. Ooooh, I just can't wait!

Oh, and here's our big boy having some tummy time this morning. Some days I pinch myself because I just can't believe how happy and content he is - a marked contrast from Ryder at this age. But we are thankful and enjoying every moment with these 2 boys that God has entrusted to our care. 

Day 3 - This Time A Success!

After yesterday's unsuccessful attempt to get my laundry room in order, I decided to choose a much less difficult task to complete today. I need that feeling of success at the end of my day. With that in mind and also preparing to dog-sit for a couple of days, I chose Dixie's room to deep clean today.

If any of you need proof that we really truly live in a desert, here it is!

Floors were swept and mopped, food bowls dishwashed, shoes straightened, crate and bedding cleaned, nasty dog-nosed window wiped, etc. and we are back in business!

Much better!  Though I'm not sure why Dixie is looking at me like that. You think she'd be loving her new clean room and not looking all sheepish.

I even found a few minutes of time to plant my second raised vegetable garden box. This one should grow tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, squash, cantaloupe, and watermelons. My other box has shoots coming up nicely. Not exactly in nice neat rows though, thanks to the chickens and my dog that got in there one too many times.

If all else fails, at least we'll have some kale this year!

And since it's been a little while since I swamped you with photos of the boys, here are a few recent shots. Ryder is up early and begged to hold Baby Lynden - he loves his brother so much, I couldn't turn down the request.

This little fella is just all smiles these days. <3