ready and waiting!

Just a few weeks ago the girls' room looked like this:

Now, as our countdown draws ever nearer for Charlotte's and Emily's return on Saturday, their room looks like this:

The floor is mopped, the sheets are clean, and the furniture dusted. We're so excited for them to come home for a week!

Two more days, two more days. . . .

worth her weight in gold

I went into Sarah's bedroom this morning to wake her up as usual and was greeted with a particularly surly, snarling response to my "Good morning, honey!" I wondered how I would ever get her up and going without starting World War III. She was not only non-responsive to my wake-up call, she was downright nasty.

Enter Moosey, a.k.a. Cutest Dog Created by the Hand of God.

Moosey promptly jumped onto Sarah's bed--tail wagging--and wedged her nose under Sarah's arm-blockade. Within a matter of seconds Sarah was giggling, sitting up in bed, and talking about breakfast.
Moosey the miracle worker. I love that dog.

tidying, tidying, here we go!

Inspired by Charlotte's and Emily's recent posts about cleaning, I decided to finish a little tidying of my own yesterday. Even though I had other projects (a.k.a. sewing) that were begging for my time and attention, I decided that a little while spent putting my scrapbook area in order would go a long way in sustaining my sanity.

While I am grateful to have a dedicated work space, it is in an open part of the house and seems to be a magnet for all things that clutter. This photo was taken after the initial phase of cleanup I began last week (in other words, it started out way worse than this would actually indicate):

My desk was littered with everything from uncut school photos and the recent school lunch calendar to unwrapped Christmas gifts and unread mail.

After just an hour or two, voila!

And here's the New and Improved desk. Note the thrift-store mug Charlotte and I found last summer that inspired the name of my blog.

And for those who have been anxiously awaiting a "final" photo of Sarah's room, I confess I almost forgot to post it. Since I'm not really completely finished (and won't be until I make the curtains, matching pillows, etc.) I was going to wait. Judging by the vast amount of projects currently clogging my sewing queue, however, it looks like it's going to be a while until said projects reach completion. So for now:

Restoring order really does restore my sanity.

blogger in training

I was in the basement sewing this afternoon when I hear Sarah run in the house through the patio door and fly down the stairs--the urgency in her voice making her words unintelligible. Steeling myself for some woeful tale of misdeeds and/or mistreatment from her brother John (who she had been working with raking leaves in the backyard), I suddenly realized that her tone was one of excitement rather than of injustice. She had my attention now.

"You've got to document this!" she exclaims while urging me from my sewing. "Come on, you've GOT to document all the leaves we raked!"

They single-handedly raked and bagged four large black trash bags-full of leaves. And didn't fight with each other while doing so. And they didn't even whine about doing the job. And they made a point to have me take a photo for "documentation" purposes.

Will wonders never cease?

Woman With List

After reading Michelle's post from a couple of weeks ago, I've been thinking that a portrait painted of me would undoubtedly be titled Woman With List. I live by the power of the list and find satisfaction in writing one.

Sometimes, when I find myself unable to cross many things off of my week's to-do list, I'll add on a few extra things that I've done--just so I can cross them off. Silly, I know, but it's a mind game I like to play.

One such item this week--something that wasn't originally on my list--was making a new blanket for our dog Moosey. We adopted her from Jessie last summer and have since fallen completely and entirely in love with her! (So much so that I hardly even notice the little black hairs that are often found on my bedroom quilt.)

Coming from a warmer climate, Moosey seems a little sensitive to the chillier weather here, especially as the season changes. Last week I stumbled across a crib-sized down comforter that I used for Sarah and John. I decided that, with a cute fleece cover, it would make a nice blanket for Moosey, who likes to cover herself on her doggie bed.

She can often be found sleeping like this, completely covered. Occasionally, we don't realize she's in her bed, as she is entirely covered up. I'm not sure how she breathes, but she seems to like it like that.

So, despite my busy week and the myriad of things still undone on my list, I chose to make a doggie duvet--complete with a zipper for easy removal for washing--this week. Ah--the power of choice!

You'll have to admit, she's pretty darn cute!

it's always fair when you get to choose

My children, I fear, often tire of me telling them this. I have tried to raise them with the ability to see how actions are connected with consequences. For instance, if you choose to dawdle while cleaning your room, you may not have time to play with friends later. Or, if you choose to not eat your dinner, you opt out of dessert.

Funny how it's always harder to apply wise counsel to yourself.

This week I got to go visit with Wayne, my counselor, for an hour by myself. I love having a totally objective, non-judgmental, unrelated person to whom I can lay everything out on the table, so to speak. I wanted to talk about the anticipation of stress I feel as the holidays approach. It's rather a contradiction, because I look forward to this time of year and everything that goes with it, yet I almost get a pit in my stomach wondering how on earth I'll ever manage to pull everything together before Christmas Day. I always manage to do it somehow, but not without more than a fair bit of anxiety and stress along the way--something that seems out of place in a season that celebrates joy and peace.

In the course of our hour's conversation, I was reminded that my favorite parental slogan applies to me as well as to my kids. When I acknowledge that the things I do in preparation for the holidays--be it shopping, decorating, wrapping, baking, blogging, or whatever--are in fact deliberate choices on my part, I feel more in control. I like feeling in control, rather than like I'm on some crazy raft coursing madly down the white rapids, crashing against rocks and threatening to overturn at any moment (which is how I most often feel during this time of year).

Wayne also helped me to recognize that my talents are both "a blessing--and a curse" (in Monk's words--for all you fans of the TV show) and I realized that, while I can look to others in my family for support and help, I shouldn't expect them to feel as urgent about some things as I do.

Focusing on gratitude is another way I can change my perspective. For instance, instead of feeling stressed out because I have to get my mom's and my decorations up in the next two weeks (my sister Susan usually comes for Thanksgiving and does our mom's), I will be grateful that my aging parents are still here to celebrate another Christmas season and I will enjoy and appreciate the time I am given to spend with them.

I will not be a victim of my choices, but the director of them. Sounds rather dramatic, I know, and perhaps even silly in the context of Christmas preparations, but it was nevertheless a moment of clarity for me--one for which I am grateful.

land of the free

A few weeks ago in church we sang the following hymn and my mom commented on its appropriateness for the political season, no matter which candidate you're behind. I have to agree:

God Speed the Right (firmly)

1. Now to heav’n our prayer ascending,
God speed the right;
In a noble cause contending,
God speed the right.
Be our zeal in heav’n recorded,
With success on earth rewarded.

[Chorus]
God speed the right.
God speed the right.

2. Be that prayer again repeated,
God speed the right;
Ne’er despairing, though defeated,
God speed the right.
Like the great and good in story,
If we fail, we fail with glory.

3. Patient, firm, and persevering,
God speed the right;
No event nor danger fearing,
God speed the right.
Pains, nor toils, nor trials heeding,
And in heav’n’s good time succeeding.

Text: Wiliam E. Hickson, 1803–1870
Music: Ernst Moritz Arndt, 1796–1860


Here's to living in a land where we have the privilege to vote. Go do it!