ella seriously loves school.
8.31.2011
8.24.2011
confessions and tips from "hurricane cindie's" daughter.
i wasn't raised in a super clean home.
my dad was a general contractor and was in continual "work mode" on our house.
my mother, although organized wasn't one of those "disinfecting people".
there were four kids and she chose her battles.
now clean is different than organized.
that she was.
we had to keep main living areas picked up, couldn't leave shoes and toys and books lying around (with out them being taken away and having to buy them back with our allowance), and we all had real chores(vacuuming, cleaning bathrooms, and doing the dishes) to help clean the house.
maybe us being part of the cleaning crew was part of why this weren't that well cleaned?
part of my young image of my mom was her organization and her teaching us how to take care of things, so it came to a intriguing surprise to me to hear the stories of my mom's teenage years where the family that she lived with named her "hurricane cindie".
"hurricane"because she left messes!?
the same woman who then taught us never to leave our shoes on the stairs and made us redo the scrubbing of the toilet until it was acceptable!?
then it was just plain hard to believe, but now i know better.
it's funny how our place in the world, relative to another, can modify their view of the reality of who we are.
my mom was...my mom.
she taught me stuff.
to me she was motherhood and domesticity (is that a word, Les?)
but that wasn't really her.
that was her job.
apparently she was really a bit messy.
but she knew she had to teach her daughters how to keep things clean and i'm sure as time charged on past her teenage years she became more grown up and embraced the blessing of a clean(ish) house.
a home.
well, my cleanliness story is similar.
i was a pretty messy teenager.
one main difference now though, is that i am not married to a do-it-yourself-er.
i am married to a very clean businessman.(remember this?)
a super cute one.
one that works very hard at his office everyday, and then comes home to me.
me.
a "not super spick and span" little homemaker.
i'm sure he is disappointed at times, but he's gotten used to it by now....i think.
i'm artistic, ok?
it's not that bad.
if you came to my house you'd probably think it was pretty "picked up"...maybe not clean, but...
i've definitely gotten more clean over the years with him.
and we have a lot of pretty "stuff" everywhere!
my mom used to say, "i have many other fine qualities" when confronted with her shortcomings, so i'm gonna go with that too.
so, the point of this post is to confess.
even though you might think that i have a blog so i must be together enough to do all my home-maker chores beautifully and then show you lovely photographs of how perfect my house and home making abilities are.
um. yah.
that is just really far off.
most things i just plain don't do, i have gotten good at from trial and error or i blatantly copy a "gifted" friend.
cooking...trial and error
laundry....blatantly copying lena (costco lavender detergent, a scoop of oxi-clean, and fabric softener)
general cleaning...i have help with that every other week, and in between it is embarrassing how often i have scrubbed a toilet or mopped a floor
carpet...seriously disgusting because i so rarely vacuum
stains and baseboards....lena again with magic erasers
sweeping...i do know how to do that. that must be my specialty. sweeping.
and just for good measure i will confess that i should change sheets and make my kids floss way more that i actually do.
oh yah, and i call myself a size 8 but really i am a 10 in most stores and an XL at any store that dares to put the number 21 in their name...who am i kidding.
ah. there. i said it.
it feels pretty good.
and as for the tips.
the reason i thought of this post is because of the simple advise that my sweetie friend lena gave me the other day, about what products to use for my laundry.
you should try that stuff she recommended (up there.)
why didn't i ask that sooner?
when you ask, many times the answer is far more simple than you had expected.
you should suck it up and ask your friends that seem to be super good at something, how they do it instead of pretending like you already have it together.
(i still haven't figured out how my friend erin keeps her clothes so white....)
and then you should just not get fooled into thinking that other people have it perfectly together.
they might be on top of some things.
and that is great!
maybe you can learn something from them.
but i guarantee you they stink at something...
don't we all?
so, any home-making tips for me today, friends?
i could obviously use them.
and just so you know it's still me and this blog hasn't been hijacked by a wordy debbie downer, here are some photos of my children at the beach a few mornings ago....
oh yah.
and one of ella's delicious thumb.
now do ya recognize me?
little moments between a million messes....
my dad was a general contractor and was in continual "work mode" on our house.
my mother, although organized wasn't one of those "disinfecting people".
there were four kids and she chose her battles.
now clean is different than organized.
that she was.
we had to keep main living areas picked up, couldn't leave shoes and toys and books lying around (with out them being taken away and having to buy them back with our allowance), and we all had real chores(vacuuming, cleaning bathrooms, and doing the dishes) to help clean the house.
maybe us being part of the cleaning crew was part of why this weren't that well cleaned?
part of my young image of my mom was her organization and her teaching us how to take care of things, so it came to a intriguing surprise to me to hear the stories of my mom's teenage years where the family that she lived with named her "hurricane cindie".
"hurricane"because she left messes!?
the same woman who then taught us never to leave our shoes on the stairs and made us redo the scrubbing of the toilet until it was acceptable!?
then it was just plain hard to believe, but now i know better.
it's funny how our place in the world, relative to another, can modify their view of the reality of who we are.
my mom was...my mom.
she taught me stuff.
to me she was motherhood and domesticity (is that a word, Les?)
but that wasn't really her.
that was her job.
apparently she was really a bit messy.
but she knew she had to teach her daughters how to keep things clean and i'm sure as time charged on past her teenage years she became more grown up and embraced the blessing of a clean(ish) house.
a home.
well, my cleanliness story is similar.
i was a pretty messy teenager.
one main difference now though, is that i am not married to a do-it-yourself-er.
i am married to a very clean businessman.(remember this?)
a super cute one.
one that works very hard at his office everyday, and then comes home to me.
me.
a "not super spick and span" little homemaker.
i'm sure he is disappointed at times, but he's gotten used to it by now....i think.
i'm artistic, ok?
it's not that bad.
if you came to my house you'd probably think it was pretty "picked up"...maybe not clean, but...
i've definitely gotten more clean over the years with him.
and we have a lot of pretty "stuff" everywhere!
my mom used to say, "i have many other fine qualities" when confronted with her shortcomings, so i'm gonna go with that too.
so, the point of this post is to confess.
even though you might think that i have a blog so i must be together enough to do all my home-maker chores beautifully and then show you lovely photographs of how perfect my house and home making abilities are.
um. yah.
that is just really far off.
most things i just plain don't do, i have gotten good at from trial and error or i blatantly copy a "gifted" friend.
cooking...trial and error
laundry....blatantly copying lena (costco lavender detergent, a scoop of oxi-clean, and fabric softener)
general cleaning...i have help with that every other week, and in between it is embarrassing how often i have scrubbed a toilet or mopped a floor
carpet...seriously disgusting because i so rarely vacuum
stains and baseboards....lena again with magic erasers
sweeping...i do know how to do that. that must be my specialty. sweeping.
and just for good measure i will confess that i should change sheets and make my kids floss way more that i actually do.
oh yah, and i call myself a size 8 but really i am a 10 in most stores and an XL at any store that dares to put the number 21 in their name...who am i kidding.
ah. there. i said it.
it feels pretty good.
and as for the tips.
the reason i thought of this post is because of the simple advise that my sweetie friend lena gave me the other day, about what products to use for my laundry.
you should try that stuff she recommended (up there.)
why didn't i ask that sooner?
when you ask, many times the answer is far more simple than you had expected.
you should suck it up and ask your friends that seem to be super good at something, how they do it instead of pretending like you already have it together.
(i still haven't figured out how my friend erin keeps her clothes so white....)
and then you should just not get fooled into thinking that other people have it perfectly together.
they might be on top of some things.
and that is great!
maybe you can learn something from them.
but i guarantee you they stink at something...
don't we all?
so, any home-making tips for me today, friends?
i could obviously use them.
and just so you know it's still me and this blog hasn't been hijacked by a wordy debbie downer, here are some photos of my children at the beach a few mornings ago....
 |
| shot with my phone |
 |
| shot with my phone |
oh yah.
and one of ella's delicious thumb.
 |
| shot with my phone |
now do ya recognize me?
little moments between a million messes....
8.21.2011
8.19.2011
insta friday
wanta know what us reeds have been up to this week?
i not saying that we are are getting sick of each other.
but i will say that there is a bit more tension between the kids and i and the kids and each other this week.
just a bit.
for ella school starts in two weeks and for the boys three...bittersweet.
i not saying that we are are getting sick of each other.
but i will say that there is a bit more tension between the kids and i and the kids and each other this week.
just a bit.
for ella school starts in two weeks and for the boys three...bittersweet.
 |
| mommy time |
 |
| friends time |
 |
| ella time (this is what i look like before i fill in my eyebrows- pretty sparse, i tell ya) |
 |
| outside toaster station time (this has been an amazing addition to summer this year! no inside mess for one meal of the day!) |
 |
| cafe rio time FOLLOWED BY sonic time oh yes. |
 |
| ella and i got matching hats. hers: H&M mine: target |
 |
| my car hit 111,111 miles do i get to make a wish or something? |
 |
| first time making toffee crack i did this to redeem the day that my fridge/freezer turned off and completely defrosted. we had to throw hundreds of dollars worth of meat and stringcheese and chicken dinos and frozen food and sourcream and (lets be honest) maybe some stuff that really needed to go. but we still had ramen, mac and cheese, saltines, canned peaches and THIS. |
 |
| the reed ninja bros. brought a friend to karate on thursday. |
 |
| i made my own pinto beans for the first time yesterday. yum! (and cheap) |
 |
| oh good heavens....look what's coming to our mall! that's gonna be expensive..... link up!  |
8.18.2011
a thank you and a new baby
let me start today by saying thank you.
thank you for supporting my journey of motherhood by listening and responding to my post on playdates.
(if you missed it click here)
thank you for giving me your input.
i got many responses from homeschooling mommas that are feeling similar feelings that i do.
i do love a good homeschool family.
did you know that i was homeschooled until 3rd grade?
yep.
so i have a special place in my heart for that commitment.
i don't homeschool....but you never know if it will become part of our story at some point.
and let me just add and clarify that my feelings about playdates are just that, mine.
different people have different needs and you may feel the need to do playdates and that is FINE.
you may have an only child, or move alot, or be a very social person, or be starving for adult conversation (been there), or have any kind of situation that i may not even understand.
honestly i respect whatever choice you make for the best interest of your family.
the motive is what matters.
do it for your child and your family, not for what other parents are doing.
my point for sharing my thoughts about it was to free anyone who was feeling pressured to live by what "they" say.
and encourage you to do what seems right to you.
that is all.
i love that.
(ps. wasn't the title of this post sorta naughty? you didn't think I was having a new baby didja? please!)
thank you for supporting my journey of motherhood by listening and responding to my post on playdates.
(if you missed it click here)
thank you for giving me your input.
i got many responses from homeschooling mommas that are feeling similar feelings that i do.
i do love a good homeschool family.
did you know that i was homeschooled until 3rd grade?
yep.
so i have a special place in my heart for that commitment.
i don't homeschool....but you never know if it will become part of our story at some point.
and let me just add and clarify that my feelings about playdates are just that, mine.
different people have different needs and you may feel the need to do playdates and that is FINE.
you may have an only child, or move alot, or be a very social person, or be starving for adult conversation (been there), or have any kind of situation that i may not even understand.
honestly i respect whatever choice you make for the best interest of your family.
the motive is what matters.
do it for your child and your family, not for what other parents are doing.
my point for sharing my thoughts about it was to free anyone who was feeling pressured to live by what "they" say.
and encourage you to do what seems right to you.
that is all.
(aren't you just loving all the paddleboard photos today!?)
***************************************************
i just had to share this little-bit-a-lovely that i made for my sweet friend who is due to have a baby next month.
the babies name is clementine( how sweet is that?).
so when leslie spotted this "catalina clementine" crate at the flea market a few weeks ago, it just started my wheels turning.
and look what came about!
 |
| (it's a mobile, if you are feeling confused...for over a crib) |
i love non-forced creativity.
that is my favorite kind.
i loved thinking and praying for Joy and her sweet sweet family as i put each piece together.
doing that is what i was truly made to do.
i can feel that i've found my place while i am doing it.
do you know what i am talking about?
i mean sometimes i am just searching and searching for a place in this world that i feel i belong.
most of the time i feel like i don't quite fit.
but every once in a while i am reminded that although there are imperfections all over and around me,
i am still HIS girl.
HE came up with the idea for me.
HE made me a certain way with certain strengths and as long as i haven't mixed that strength all up in my weird, selfish, controlling ways, i am still HIS idea.
and i am lovely because HE loves me....
that's how i feel when i make baby mobiles....funny, huh?
(ps. wasn't the title of this post sorta naughty? you didn't think I was having a new baby didja? please!)
8.14.2011
what can make me feel this way?
i tell you....
what can make me feel this way?
my girl....
what can make me feel this way?
my girl....
she takes my breath away.
8.13.2011
insta-friday (i mean saturday....)
i guess i missed it!
so, happy saturday!!!!!
i am kinda "off" because reedo took off thursday and friday, so these days just feel like a deliciously long weekend.
nope, shauna it's not....
anyway, here, check out what my little phone has been up to this week!
they were super sweet together!(if she lived next door, maybe i WOULD have playdates all the time *wink wink*)
it's not even that cute.
naughty.
now me and my true love can paddle into the sunset.
as long as we can get someone to watch over all our little children
i did.
and
the car loader
i mean, i've paddled alone but never had to to load it and and unload it myself and just be in charge of my whole deal (i know, i'm spoiled by my cute car loader).
it was a little scary.
me and the ocean.
but it was so good for me.
it wasn't very crowded out there (maybe because of the shark sighting right outside the harbor that i didn't hear about until after i went ?), so i was not around people for parts of the time and i sang out loud to myself.
good thing i didn't hear about that shark nonsense til after my maiden voyage, right?
because today i went out with reedo and i really had to fight my own mind against crazy imaginings.
i made him do two full loops around the harbor so that i could challenge myself and get the freaking out out of my system.
reedo was a good sport about my craziness.
he's surfed for years and can just get over that stuff quicker.
still in ignorant bliss about that dumb shark.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)