Tuesday Night Fun

Tuesday nights have become lots of fun at our house! It's one of the few evenings that we find something on TV that we all enjoy watching..."The Biggest Loser." We also enjoy having a snack while watching "The Biggest Loser." This week, Carrie made brownie sundaes. This is just proof that if you continue ignoring guilt long enough, it will become almost nonexistent. At first, dessert during "The Biggest Loser" seemed so wrong. Not anymore.

I really should use this example with the kids during our Bible time. It would make a great illustration. One that we could all relate to.

After the brownies and ice cream, the real entertainment began. William decided to dress Josh in his finest for the last hour of "The Biggest Loser." Because Josh is such a ham, he decided to try another way to get some laughter--a much more relaxed look, I might say.


As you can see, we didn't really hear much of what happened on "The Biggest Loser" during that last hour. It seems like that's how it is with any television program that we begin watching. Oh well! I'm not complaining. There is nothing like laughter filling the home--the smell of brownies in the background is good too. :)

Happy Leap Day!

Refrigerator Meme

I'm so excited! I've been tagged for a Meme by Sherry! Thank you, Sherry. It came at a good time--I was wondering what I was going to write about today...

To see the rules, you can visit Robin's Heart at Home .

And Tonya--you're it! I've tagged you for this Refrigerator Meme!

I like to think of my refrigerator as organized clutter. I love putting things up on the fridge, but I can't stand it when I get too much or when things start getting scruffy looking. I think it may have been the week after Christmas that I took everything down, cleaned off the fridge, and then put things back up. If only I would do that to the inside of my fridge--I was so happy that this meme focuses only on the outside.

This is the front view of my refrigerator.
A few meaningful magnets, pictures of the kids and charts. The chart on the far left is a points chart for the food that we've eaten each day. If you could see it close-up, you would see that it is blank. Good intentions. On the bottom right of the fridge is a prayer list for our local basketball league. Under that is Joshua's chore chart--things like "Brush Teeth," "Help Mommy," and "Pick Up Toys." Let's see, today is Wednesday and the last time that I checked off anything was on Monday morning. Again, good intentions.



And here's the left side of my refrigerator.
Another chart. This one is the food pyramid for pregnancy. You know, all the good stuff that I should be eating. You see that it is over on the left side of the fridge where it is hard to see. I really don't pay much attention to it--even though I know I should. That's right, good intentions.



And now, the most interesting side of the fridge: the right side.
This is the side that is easy to see and easy to get to. Down low are the things that little hands can mess around with. Funny magnets, pictures, heavy-duty artwork... Since I put the little table beside the refrigerator, this side doesn't see as much action as it used to.


Up high I put things that I might need to get to quickly--my Homeschool Legal Defense card, friends' phone numbers, the pediatrician, the insurance man, the Longaberger lady, emergency numbers... That kind of stuff. I keep all of this up high so that little hands won't carry it away.



I never dreamed when I started this blog that I would be taking pictures of my refrigerator at different angles and posting them for everyone to see! Just one more thing that I love about blogging!

Coming Clean: Part 2

Two weeks ago, I had this bright idea on how to get Carrie's room all cleaned up. I told her that she should carry everything out of her room--minus the big furniture. I had her bring desk drawers and dresser drawers out. I had her empty her closet and bring out all of her clothes. Before I had her do all of this, I ran it by my husband, Paul. I told him that I was going to have her bring out all of her stuff and pile it on the train table--you can see the train table in the background of this first picture.


Well, as you can see by this second picture, it went a little beyond the train table. When Paul got home that evening, he said, "The train table, huh?"

I now had the overwhelming task of going through every single thing that Carrie had brought out of her room. And not only that, but as things were coming out of her room, it became very evident that we were going to have to paint the walls. Carrie was pretty excited about this. She was tired of her lavender walls and was ready for something different. (She opted for a beautiful shade of blue called "Garden Pond.")

Thankfully, Paul could see how overwhelmed I was. He came home each evening that week and helped Carrie to part with many of the things that she was holding onto. He was very common sense with her and helped her to see what she really wanted and what she really didn't want anymore--which is something that I have a tough time with, because I am way overly sentimental. As I saw stuffed animals being bagged for a future garage sale, the scene from "Toy Story 2" was going through my head. You know, where Jessie the cowgirl is remembering how her girl grew up and eventually replaced her with other interests--and then how she ended up in a pile to be given away. And the music! The music from that scene was there in my head too! I really needed Paul to be the one to help Carrie with this task.


I really want to teach my kids not to hold on too tightly to "things." Jesus said, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions" (Luke 12:15). I need to remember this too.

It was during this cleaning time that I got the idea for the name of my blog. Too much stuff has made my life complicated. I know that when Carrie's room was in the shape it was in before it was cleaned out, she dreaded for me to open the door and look in. She knew that I would yell and cry. We even stopped saying our prayers together in her room just so I wouldn't have a fit before bedtime. Now, not only is Carrie extremely pleased with her room , but I am able to go in and spend time with Carrie in her room.

That was two weeks ago. Last week, we tackled William and Joshua's room. And now I sit here on a Sunday evening with everyone's stuff back in their bedrooms, and I have my living room back again. Tomorrow I can get back to paying attention to the rest of the house. I seem to have this nesting instinct setting in!

Coming Clean

I have always thought of myself as safe. I don't take huge risks. I am protective of my family. I think about the outcome before trying something new. Safe. Some might even say boring. I'm beginning to wonder, though, if in my case, I'm not just scared. Maybe a tad bit overprotective. A pessimist even.

I think that this part of myself has become even more pronounced since I've had kids. I remember that when my daughter was very small, Oprah was having a photo contest featuring kids. I wouldn't have anything to do with it, because in order to enter, I had to put her name, address and phone number on the back of the picture. I worried that the photo would get into the wrong hands.

When I had the kids' pictures taken, I never signed permission for the photos to be used for advertising purposes. You can imagine my surprise when I received a postcard from a local photographer that had a beautiful black and white picture of my daughter on the front! When I took the postcard out of the mailbox and saw her picture, I was so shocked that I thought the photographer must have personalized everyones' postcards on his mailing list. It took me the whole walk back up to the house to realize that this couldn't be the case. Nothing much came out of this incident--except several days when I was a nervous wreck, wondering who would come after my daughter. Pretty sad, huh?

Knowing that, you can only imagine how insecure I've been since having cable TV and internet access in our home. For the most part, instead of seeing the positives, I see the negative stuff that's out there--and what could get to my family.

I know that it's my responsibility to protect my family. It's right for me to be protective. I also know that in life there has to be balance. God wants me to be joyful! He doesn't want me to concerned about things to the point of being a worried, nervous wreck. I know where the fear comes from--which makes me even more frustrated when I give in to it. The enemy of my soul wants nothing more than to see me distracted by all of that. But, as you can see, I am overprotective, with a hint of paranoid.

That's why I am coming clean with you. When Nicky helped me set up this blog a week ago, I knew that there was no way I was going to use my kids' names. Using mine was one thing, but using theirs? No way! And pictures?! I don't know about that! But how much fun is it just to read my ramblings without the faces and images to go with them? I want my family and friends to see what we've been up to. I want those who don't get to see us very often to have a way to keep up with what we're doing. I want posting a blog to be simple. Do you know how many times I have to stop and think what internet nicknames I've given my kids before I can actually write about them?



So, with their permission, I am going to reintroduce you to my kids. Meet Carrie (CareBear), William (Tim) and Joshua (Little Guy). I know that this is a totally personal decision. I've read lot of blogs lately--some choose to use nicknames, some choose to use real names. I think that we all choose the way that best fits our siuations and is the most comfortable. In my case, I was being driven by fear. I am choosing to not let fear control me anymore.

Maybe I'm turning over a new leaf! What a relief that would be!

Snowbound

We had things to do tonight. Hubby was going to take "Tim" to basketball practice while C-Bear, Little Guy and I were going to participate in a church outreach activity. Around 5:00, Hubby called and said he was on his way home. He wondered if there had been any cancellations. The snow was coming down, and the roads were slick. About 15 minutes later we got the call from Tim's basketball coach--practice cancelled! Twenty minutes after that, the church outreach event was cancelled. Now, here we are with 3 pans of brownies (two were going to the outreach) and nowhere to go! Hubby just looked over at me and said, "You know, there's just something about having somewhere to go and then having it cancelled." Then he leaned back in his chair with his hands behind his head, an extreme look of contentment on his face.

I know exactly what he means. There is just something about knowing that life has suddenly slowed down--nothing I can do about it! No guilt for bowing out of an activity. No hurrying to get to where we're going. It's an unexpected opportunity to just sit down and enjoy each other.

And here I am blogging.

I think I will take this time to bow out for awhile and go enjoy my family! And brownies!

Enjoy yourselves--snow or no snow.

Cooking Confession

It's true that as you begin the blogging adventure, everything becomes the subject for a blog. I've even begun thinking in blogging titles. I need to start writing these ideas down, because I know myself. I will forget them.

Today I just have to address the subject of cooking. Just recently I have been able to be honest with myself and with others. I have begun admitting that I really don't like to cook. In fact, it's one of my most unfavorite things to do. I used to pretend that I liked to cook--or at least not mention cooking at all--but after almost 15 years of marriage, my hubby has figured me out. I don't think I'm a terrible cook if I set my mind to it, but I'm not, what I would call, a good cook. Mainly, I think this is because of my lack of creativity. I just can't think of anything different. Tacos, spaghetti, hamburgers, hot dogs. See, even now I'm drawing a blank just trying to think of the things that we eat all the time. That list doesn't even cover the 5 weekdays! And what makes it even worse is when we decide to follow an eating plan where we have to count points or food groups. Then I'm really at a loss, because not only do I have to figure out what to cook, I also have to figure out how it counts.

Since coming to terms with my dislike for cooking, I have been trying to get to the root of the problem. What is it that I really don't like? I don't think it's the preparation part of it. After all, I love to bake! O.K., so is it the finished product? Maybe it's just that I like what I get out of baking better than what I get out of cooking. Could be. Is it the grocery shopping? Very likely! It seems that when I prepare to bake, I have almost everything I need. Baking soda, baking powder, salt, flour, sugar. I might need to pick up chocolate chips or buttermilk, but for the most part, I have everything I need. Cooking, on the other hand, seems much more complicated. There always seems to be a spice or a vegetable or something that I wouldn't normally have. It makes the grocery trip quite a bit more expensive--and more complicated. I have to locate all the ingredients that I'll need--and then go back several aisles if I miss them.

How did Hubby figure me out? He started realizing that whenever I told him, "We're having chicken for supper, but I haven't started it yet," it really meant, "I don't wanna cook!" Being a very smart man, he also took that as his cue to say, "Why don't we just go out and get something."

I do go in waves. Some weeks, I cook every night and am as creative as I possibly can be. But the next week, I am spent. This week has been one of those weeks. If you are as keen as my friend Stickers, you noticed that I have mentioned several fast food places we've visitied in the past few days. I loved her comment so much on my last entry, that I read it to Hubby. We both had a good laugh, then, very seriously he said, "I was thinking that we outta hit Papa Murphy's tonight." Thank you, Stickers, for an easy lead-in to eating out again!

Meet the Gang

Just to keep things as simple as possible, I asked the kids to tell me what they wanted me to call them when I post something. My daughter has asked for CareBear, my oldest son has asked for Tim, and my youngest son has said that Little Guy is good for now.

Let me explain "Tim." I think that Little Guy began calling his older brother Tim one day when he tried to say his real name, and it came out sounding like Tim. Older brother said, "Did you just call me Tim?" and Little Guy said "MMmmmm," which means "Yes." Older brother laughed, Little Guy laughed, and it has stuck. He only calls older brother Tim if he is asked what his name is. Otherwise, he still calls him "Munnah."

Well, Hubby and CareBear are back with our Taco Bell. You would think that going out to get Taco Bell is simple, but actually, when you consider how much time is spent trying to decide who is going to go get the Taco Bell, it isn't all that simple. What is simple is eating Taco Bell on paper plates! I love paper plates!

Simple or Not?

I'm sitting here trying to figure out if all the stuff that I added to the bottom of this page is too much. Is it too much clutter for a blog with the name "Striving for Simplicity?" But it's all so much fun! I love that kind of stuff! Word games, trivia, news updates... STUFF! Do I have to get rid of it? I really will use it. Others might enjoy it too!

Why is this beginning to sound like what plays inside my head when I look around at the stuff in my house?

Let's take a poll. Scroll down...right above all the stuff.

Under Construction!

I have really enjoyed reading others' blogs, so I decided--with the encouragement of a dear friend--to begin blogging. Funny enough that the name I chose for my blog is "Striving for Simplicity." Setting up my blog and over-analyzing what I should say about myself has been anything but simple. My hope is that this blog will not only help me to think through this journey to a more simple life, but to also find out how others are achieving simplicity in their lives. I guess only time will tell. I feel pretty vulnerable and "out there" right now. So...until I get brave enough to post again, this site is "Under Construction!"