Welcome inside the randomness that is my brain

: I checked today and Abby's birthday is in 30 days. I asked Siri, she makes finding out things so easy. Ainsley likes to ask her what her favorite color is.

: I have come to the conclusion that black beans are a staple food in our house. I eat them pretty frequently, like once a day.

: I have also been eating the chocolate delight Special K cereal lately. I've always liked eating cereal, Grape Nuts is one of my favs. {Such interesting randomness, huh?}

: I have been getting a lot of headaches lately. It normally takes a nap to get them to go away. I don't do well with headaches.

: We watched Madagascar 3 last night, my kids {who am I kidding, me as well} find this part hysterical and I cannot get it out of my head.

 

: I heard on the radio yesterday that we are supposed to have a mild Winter, let me tell you how excited I am about that!

: I'm not even remotely prepared for Halloween, we did some minor decorating. I just don't have much in the way of Halloween decorations, Christmas is more than covered. K has made it abundantly clear that I am not to buy any more Christmas decorations, I can't seem to help myself though.

: We got rid of our cable several months ago and have been thrilled to not have it. We have Netflix for the kids, but I don't use it for watching shows for me. I have never been more happy to not have cable than during this election season. I've shared my thoughts on this before, but I'm ready for the snarkiness and name calling to be over. Look, the majority of us already know who we are going to vote for and I'm pretty sure that verbally thrashing someone for thinking differently has never changed minds. Okay, I'm stepping off of that soapbox...again.

: Oh my goodness, did I tell you that I tried a new flavor of cupcake? I don't think I have. It was called an Almond Joy cupcake. White cake with coconut in it, coconut icing drizzled with chocolate and sprinkled with some baked coconut on top. De-lic-ious. Seriously.

: Share some blogs that you have been reading lately, I'm always on the look-out for some more to read.

: The picture above was from our outing on Sunday. Abby was showing me her "spoooooooky shadow" complete with growling noises.

: Okay lovelies, I'm off to figure out what to make for dinner. I really need to start meal planning.

I think I'm big enough to do my own dental floss

1. I've had a headache most of the day, it leads me to being pretty unproductive. Scratch that, SUPER unproductive.

2. A certain someone who will not be named and no it's not K broke the screen on my iPhone. That's awesome, not.

3. I'm making lasagna for dinner tonight, I can smell it cooking right now and it smells delicious. I love  making things from scratch.

4. I made a quiche over the weekend. I made one and then froze another. I've been obsessing about eating it. So delicious.

4. I'm feeling discouraged with working out lately. I just don't want to do it but am trying to push through.

5. Abby just walked up to me and said, Um, Mommy, I need dental floss. I got it from your purse. I think I'm a big enough girl that I can do it myself. Homegirl's head was all tilted to the side with super big eyes and a matter-of-fact voice. Holy smokes she's a riot.

6. I'm hungry for the lasagna, please excuse my growling stomach.

7. I'm obsessed with ricotta cheese.

8. Ainsley is obsessed with Pocahontas and John Smith.

9. Adison is obsessed with origami.

10. We are reading Ephesians in small group/church, it's one of my favorite books of the Bible.

11. I'm getting super excited for The Color Run. It'll be here in about 3 weeks.

12. Have I mentioned that we are coming up on Birthday Season in our house? Adison will be 10, Ainsley will be 5 and Abby will be 3. Holy smokes.

13. Have I mentioned how ready I am for the lasagna to be done? Because I totally am.

14. Abby has 10,001 different facial expression, they provide hours of entertainment. Days of entertainment if you include the different voices she uses while making said faces.

Lather, rinse, repeat

Goodness, look at that picture of Lee. That was last year, my how my little girl has grown up!

Sorry I haven't been on here much lately.

For some reason this summer it has felt a bit like Groundhog Day, remember that movie with Bill Murray.

In a good way though.

Leaving me at a loss as to what to share, let me know if you have any idea, k?

Every morning Abby comes into my room asking me to get her milk ready.

Then Ainsley follows asking for her juice.

Then I get up and start getting everyone ready for the day.

Meds, clothes, hair brushing, etc.

Almost everyday finds us at the pool, battling Abby for nap time, laughing at children's antics and settling sibling disputes.

Pepper in a phone call or two with K and you have my day.

It's a lovely day.

Simply lovely.

Some days are harder than others, yesterday was rough.

Sprinkle in some laughter.

Abby is still into pirates, K put an old Harley Davidson biker do-rag thing on her proclaiming it had "pirate tails" on the back of it.

Imagine Abby with a wrinkled up nose, her raspy little voice saying, "Argh matey!"

There are the sad times too, my sister-in-law, Betsy's uncle passed away on Thursday suddenly.

My heart is broken for her family.

It seems like only yesterday that our family was going through our own period of sadness following deaths, sickness, hospitalizations and divorce.

I can empathize with the heartache Betsy's family is going through.

Loss is painful.

There is uncertainty in life.

It makes me start to worry, which is a battle I am fighting.

I have faith, I need to set worry aside.

It has no place in my life, battling it.

We still haven't heard the pathology report for Tiffany.
My heart is anxious, but there is faith.

Overwhelming, blanketing faith.

Most of all though, there is peace and joy.

Knowing that right now we are where we are meant to be.

Knowing that we have been blessed with our children {even if they make me want to rip out my hair, ha ha!}.

Knowing that even when times are stressful that there will be times of peace and a husband who likes to surprise me with margaritas.

These lazy days of summer and oh have they been lazy have been a balm for my soul during the busyness that is the school year.

It has been a good summer, very good in fact.

Full of laughter and hugging and friends with only a small smattering of tears.

How has your summer been going?

busy busy busy

This weekend was cuh-razy busy.

Seriously.

Saturday morning we got up and went to the farmers market, they didn't have too much as it's pretty early in the season but we did snag some goodies.

Asparagus, green onions and some yummy spinach & feta whole wheat bread.

After that we headed home and surprise the girls because K's Mom and Dad came down for a visit.

They wanted to see Miss Adison play at her soccer game.

Guess what happened?!?!

She scored a goal!

She was so excited and we, her massive cheering section, were so happy for her.

My dad, brother, sister-in-law, niece, K's mom and dad as well as the five of us were there.

Talk about fun!

Lee and her two besties, Kailyn and Cameron.

After that we went out to lunch, came back to our house and chilled, then it was off to church.

I love church.

Love love love it.

K took this picture of these beautiful, viney flowers.

I have no idea what they are called, but I do know that they grow on a vine and are very pretty.

 This morning, we went out to Lowe's to tackle some projects.

K is working on our front porch, specifically the hand-rails.

Yippee!

Me, well, I didn't really need anything from Lowe's but love to go there.

My obsession current project is eradicating the vines from our backyard.

They were starting to take over and I just couldn't handle it anymore.

Plus, we have been extremely a little lax about doing yard work and there were some major things that needed to get done. 

I lifted up a rock in the backyard on Sunday and found this GIGANTIC earthworm.

It was seriously disgusting and was as large as my pinky.

Horrifying.

I screamed then ran to get K and the kiddos so they could take a look as well.

Last but not least, I found this antique fireplace tool holder thing under our front porch.

Yes, under the front porch.

I pulled it out and decided that it would be fun to paint and put it outside as a decoration in one of the flower beds.

I painted it today and can't wait to show you how good it looks!

How was your weekend?

A little of this and a little of that

Somehow Abby officially turned into a two year old. Not age wise, that happened a few months back. I mean temperament wise, yep, the oh so terrible twos have struck. Thanks to her bickering with Ainsley I know hear things like "You a meanie!" "I don't yike you!" It's simultaneously heartbreaking {that she's growing up so fast}, frustrating {BECAUSE OH MY GOODNESS} and funny {I have a hard time keeping a straight face}.

This week is Congenital Heart Defect Awareness week. You can read more about it here, here and here.  

I've been feeling a little stretched lately. I feels like there is so much going on and very little rest/down time. I have no idea how working moms do it. 

Did I tell you that my lovely sister-in-law, Betsy, has a blog now!?!? You need to go check it out, seriously, head on over and show some love, please :)

I am kind of addicted to muffins right now. Yum. They are kind of like cupcakes, you know, without the delicious frosting. I like to have one in the morning with a tasty cup-a-joe.

K and I are currently addicted to watching The Mentalist. It is so good and dramatic, I LOVE it. 

I am super excited, the latest Twilight movie is going to be out on DVD on Saturday! {Imagine Saturday being sung slightly operatic.} I didn't see it in the theater and cannot wait to see it, woo hoo!

What shows are you watching that you love?

K and I often to at home date nights and watch shows {Castle, Big Bang Theory, The Closer}. I want to start watching Downtown Abbey, I have heard it is fantastic!

Cell phone favs

I don't know if it is because the cold weather that came through or the dark skies or what, but I have a case of the zzzzz's today.

I had NO idea what to write about and thought that I would just scan through my cell pics to see if one of them might spark a idea.

I ended up finding so many of them that VOILA a blog post!
Awesome!

I. CANNOT. STAND. POKEMON.

Not one little bit, I can't even pretend.

Adison, however, LOVES it.

Sometimes, I decided to be nice and let her watch a Pokemon movie.

Deep thoughts shown her folks, deep thoughts.

We went on a hike with K's parents when they were here and came across this lovely, abandoned building.
I am such a sucker for architecture.
Isn't is just lovely and oh so classic.

Thunk.

That was me hitting the floor.

Knock me over with wet noodle, I just can't handle the preciousness that is this child.

Oh my precious.

How very delicious you are.

My bestie gave me one of these for my birthday, she knows me oh so well.

Cupcake? Yes please!

Speaking of birthdays.

This was taken on K's birthday, the day before mine.

A lot of our pictures look like this, K being goofy, me attempting to not look like insomnia has kicked my butt again.

It's a very "us" picture.

This is picture is so perfectly Ainsley that I can't help but smile each and every time I look at it.

I see happiness, I feel happiness.

Spirit week last year.

This was for "Crazy Hair Day".

She wanted to have all of our flower hair clips in her hair at once.

I simply adore this picture of Adison.

This is one of my most favorite Abby pictures of all time.

There is just something about it that makes it, I don't know what the word is...

Ainsley.

Just Ainsley.

My girlie girl, my fancy pants.

She is just oh so glamorous and lovely.

This is still one of my most favorite memories.

Swinging on a vine in the middle of the woods.

Who gets to do that anywhere other than the movies.

I pushed back my usual reservations and just went with it.

I felt the wind in my hair, the tightening of muscles hanging on, the exhilaration of swinging through the air.

A blast from the past

There are times {many times} that I will be watching some cartoon with the kids and think to myself  

We had MUCH better television when I was a kid!

Saturday morning was something that I looked forward to, my dad, brother and I would all get up early to check out some Pee Wee's Playhouse.

After school, of course when homework was done, my brother and I would plop ourselves on the couch for some afternoon TV time, you know, before Wheel of Fortune came on or the nightly news was watched.

I can still hear Wheel! Of! Fortunnnnnnne!

{My mom ALWAYS got the puzzles right, she was/is a genius at them.}

I thought it would be fun to take a peek into some of those shows and see if any of you watched them as well:

Did you guys watch any of these?
If so, what was your favorite?
Any others that I missed?

Right now

Right now I am... 

dreaming about eating one of the above yummy things

am making some more coffee

listening to baby B babble

watching Abby eat blueberry yogurt

...several minutes later...

listening to Abby pretend to be Dora "backpack backpack"

getting toys for baby B to play with

thinking about how amazing God is

thinking about some of my friends that are going through some things, oh how my heart aches

ready for a nap

wanting to do something creative

ready to read some more of my book

What about you, what are you up to?

Right now

Right now:

it's 9:02 in the morning

I'm still not ready for the day yet

My coffee tastes AMAZING

I'm missing Adison, she asked to stay with K's parents for a couple more days

The littles are enjoying lollipops and watching Abby's new movie. 

I need to get ready so we can go to the library

I am excited about seeing my mom

I cannot believe that I am about to turn 31 in a few short days

I need to get some more books to read

Feeling so very blessed, family is amazing

Had such a wonderful Christmas, I love celebrating Christ's birth

I'm looking forward to diving into the devotional I got for Christmas

I'm amazed by Adison, she is teaching herself the piano

Cannot believe we haven't had any real snow yet

I'm not ready to put away my Christmas decorations yet

I'm craving brownies and an asiago cheese bagel

I need to do laundry AND the dishes

I am going to get up and be productive today

It's the little things

Some days life can seem overwhelming.

Sometimes it can be hard to see the joy when you are so focused on the day to day stuff.

Somehow the little things, the simply joys can be overlooked.

Today, I want to focus on the little things.

The moments, that if we aren't paying attention, can slip away from us.

********

Listening to Abby say her meal time and bedtime prayers.

Seeing my girls cuddle together on a weekend morning.

Listening to Adison help Ainsley figure something out.

Making homemade pizza and having the girls help.

Experiencing the first snow of the year.

Sending K my shopping list, thanks babe!

Cuddles on the couch.

Exclamations about how loved Christmas decorations are.

Finally playing around with a new app on my phone and discovering how much fun it is.

Happy Tuesday

Today has been a busy one.

It started out with me sleeping lousy again last night.

When I woke up this morning, I had that contented feeling of having a while longer to lay in bed.

WRONG.

My alarm had already gone off and I was still laying there.

ugh.

Once I got going though the morning went pretty smooth.

Today was the last day of school for the week, the bigs were excited to have so many days off.

I am excited too.

After getting Adison to school and picking up my niece, my friend Jennifer and I had a meeting with the kids' school principal to discuss getting parents involved at schools.

I love love love Adison's principal, she is AMAZING!

We had a great meeting and I was left feeling so grateful to have her as Adison's principal.

Afterwards Jennifer and her youngest two came over to play with Abby and Cameron.

They all had a nice time playing while Jennifer and I got to talk for a bit.

On to some random stuff:

~This is my current coffee creamer addiction.

Yum yum yum.

~I am so beyond ready to chow down on some Thanksgiving yumminess.

~I really want to see the new Muppets movie, I loved that show as a kid.

~I just finished reading a book called Mr. Darcy's Diary by Amanda Grange. If you love Jane Austen then I think you will love this book. I just started reading another one of her books called Mr. Knightley's Diary. So good.

What books are you reading, who are some of your favorite authors?
I am always looking for something new to read.

Why, hello again!

Adison is currently making an art project with candy corns, Lee is watching some Charlie & Lola and Abby is napping.

It's a somewhat chilly, rainy, Fall day and I am more than happy that Adison didn't have school today.

How smart is that!?!

The day after a time change, there is an in-service day.

Genius, I tell you!

We have had the laziest of lazy days and have not left the house yet.

Well, later we will, we have small group tonight.

I was just thinking of the fact that the older girls HAD been getting along famously today, but just as I was typing that out an argument of the previously mentioned candy corns broke out.

Sigh.

Oh oh, they made peace again.

Abby turns two in 9 days.

Wow.

I just don't even know how to process it.

She still seems so itty bitty to me, 2!?!

Seriously.

Out of the blue today Ainsley said to me:

Mama, I ate the popcorn.

It wasn't a joke.

It was funny though.

She laughed and laughed over that one.

Hearing her laughter made me smile, although I have no clue what she was talking about.

Yesterday morning we went out for donuts with my brother, sister-in-law and niece.

It was so much fun watching the kids run around and play together. 

I got a cinnamon sugar cake donut, my favorite!

Okay, I'm sorry, this post is all. over. the. place.

I had such a nice little post written in my head, but somewhere between my brain and my typing fingers it got lost.

 Oh well, tomorrow will hopefully bring with it a better post, ha!

I hope everyone had a fabulous weekend!
Please share, what did you do?

Can we pretend that you wanted to know more about me? K, thanks!

I saw this over at Chibi Jeebs & The Neurotic Struggle and thought it would be fun to do.

1. Who was the last person you held hands with?

Ainsley, after getting her off the bus.

2. Are you outgoing or shy?

It depends on who I am around.

3. Who are you looking forward to seeing?

K, when he gets home from work.

4. Are you easy to get along with?

Yes...at least I think I am.

5. Have you ever given up on someone?

Yes, it isn't fun.

6. Do you enjoy school/work?

Yes, I don't miss the deadlines of school, but enjoyed doing research and such.

7. What person do you think about most often?

Adison.

8. What does your most recent text say?

Hola

9. Who did you last speak with for over 30 minutes?

K's mom.

10. Do you believe in good luck?

Nope.

11. How do you feel in a big crowd of people?

If it's Christmas time, it's exciting. Other times, sort of overwhelmed.

12. What was the best thing that happened this summer?

Family trips!

13. Would you kiss the last person you kissed again?

Yep, smooching on my girls!

14. Do you think there is life on other planets?

I don't know - I don't like to think about it... lol {This was Chibi's answer, this is how I feel EXACTLY!}

15. Do you still think about your first crush/love?

Nope.

16. What bad habits do you wish you could break?

Worrying, doubting myself, being so hard on myself.

17. What's the first thing you do when you wake up?

Stare at the clock.

18. Did you dream last night? About what?

Yes, I dreamt that K wanted a divorce. It was awful. At least I wasn't mad at him when I woke up, yes, that has happened before. I told him about my dream and he gave me his usual answer, "You are weird." Ha!

19. Who is the most comfortable person to be around? 

K

20. What made you happy today?

The nice weather and having my niece over.

21. Which celebrity would you want to date and why?

Anyone who knows me knows of my crush on Colin Firth.

22. Do you enjoy playing sports?

Not really, I played volleyball when I was younger and loved it. Now my knees are shot, boo.

23. When was the last time you wrote a thank you note?

I think I wrote a thank you note to my in-laws for helping me with the kids when I had my hysterectomy.

24. Would you rather live without TV or music?

TV, I love listening to music too much.

25. Are you currently keeping a secret from someone?

No.

26. Do you think age matters?

Um, not really, I think maturity matters though.

27. What was the last store you went into?

Target, woo hoo!

28. What is your dream job?

Can I be a professional sleeper or a cupcake tester? Those jobs would be AWESOME!

29. Do you believe in second chances?

Sometimes...

30. Do you smile at strangers?

Yes, then I like to see who will smile back. People are pretty cranky these days, so sad.

31. Is your voice quiet or loud?

Normal?? But can get loud sometimes.

32. Would you rather go to space or to the bottom of the ocean?

Neither, they both terrify me.

33. What are you most afraid of?

Sharks, they terrify me.

34. What is the nicest thing someone ever said to you?

Your children are so sweet.

35. Have you done anything you hope no one ever knows about?

I'm pretty much an open book, odds are that someone knows about everything I have done.

36. If you could write a book, what would it be about?

Forever and a day ago I actually started writing a book about my experience with having a molar pregnancy.

37. Do you enjoy bubble baths? 

I'm not a fan of baths, a nice, long, hot shower though, yes please!

38. How would you describe your perfect day? 

Sleeping in {if my body would allow it}, spending the day with K and the girls, maybe for a hike, reading a good book and taking a nap.

39. Would you rather lose your vision or your hearing? 

Eek, I don't know, hearing?

40. What astrological sign are you? 

Capricorn.

41. Do you know the meaning of your name? 

I am named after my dad, Dan, his name means Judge.

42. Do you prefer indoors or outdoors? 

Outdoors

43. What was the name of your first pet? 

Bear

44. Do you have a crush on someone right now? 

My hubby!

45. Where would you travel if you could go anywhere? 

Ireland

46. What do you do during an awkward silence? 

Check on my kids.

47. What part of your body do you love most? 

My lips, they used to drive me nuts with how full they are, but I love them.

48. Who did you last say "I love you" to? 

Abby

49. Did you make your bed this morning? 

Yep, a quick fix.

50. Are you who you want to be?

I think so, I have been getting more and more comfortable with myself the older I get.

Nada

A picture of K and I on our honeymoon back in 2000.

My creative juices are not flowing.

I've got nothing.

Much love, xoxo

me 

Monday monday

Abby at less than two months old

I totally shared that picture for my own delight.

Such sweet little baby roundness.

Yes, that's what I think of when I look at that picture.

Check out the chubola cheeks!

Okay.

Monday.

On Saturday K and I had the opportunity to be a part of Sharefest with our small group.

Our church gets together with other churches {I *think* 16 others this year} to help spruce up the outside of some of the local schools.

We had such a wonderful time.

It really deserves it's own post, which I will eventually get to :)

On Sunday we celebrated my niece's birthday.

She will be two on Wednesday.

I cannot believe it!

It was a really fun time, the kids had a blast.

Today we are back at it.

Ainsley had school today since both she and Adison are off on Thursday and Friday.

Parent/Teacher conferences will be held then, dun dun dun!

Just kidding, I used to dread them when I was a kid but I suspect the girls will have glowing reports.

Random Thoughts Floating Around My Noggin

I would really like to take the kids to the pumpkin patch this year.

I still have to get Adison's Halloween costume.

Right now she wants to be a vampire.

The girls were perusing the American Girls catalog earlier.

It was really cute seeing them.

I can't believe that Abby will be two in less than a month!
Eek!

Hey look, it's Tuesday!

This picture of Abby makes me laugh, she was beyond excited to play with the balloons at my in-laws house.

She just kept jumping around and was so filled with excitement.

Note to self: When Abby is cranky, buy her a balloon

Abby + balloon = happiness

I mentioned yesterday that we visited K's parents to celebrate the girls' birthdays a little early.

They had the whole thing set up for a party, complete with a banner above the front door and a doughnut cake.

Adison's birthday is on Saturday and Ainsley's is next Tuesday.

Yes, birthdays and Halloween are pretty much all that is being discussed in our house right now.

Every time Ainsley hears "October" she says, "My birthday is in October, October 11th." 

Then she either tells me that she will be 4 {eek!} or asks me how old she will be.

I am convinced that she knows, just maybe wants to be reminded of how much older she is getting.

While visiting the in-laws we skedaddled up to Trader Joe's, K had not been there yet.

We bought some black bean soup that is supposed to be delicious.

We are having it for dinner tonight, I'll let y'all know our verdict.

Also, while visiting K got me some coffee creamer {because I am a weenie and can't drink coffee without it, hellllooo upset stomach and because he loves me}.

He surprised me and got a creme brullee and a caramel macchiato creamers, they are really good.

Yum.

Now I want more coffee though, oh well.

My abs {or lack there of} are sore after my Tarzan swing from Sunday.

Such a sad way to discover how out of shape you are.

I'm blaming it on my last pregnancy, you know, the one that was almost two years ago.

Abby was simply precious this morning.

All smiles and silliness and joy.

She really is a delight.

This afternoon when I picked up Adison from school there was an ambulance out front with it's lights on.

I had a moment of panic and was praying to see my girl walking towards me.

{Yes, the rational part of me knows that the school would have called if something had happened to her, but the irrational part of me wouldn't let the rational part speak up.}

I asked Adison what happened and she told me that a girl fell of of the slide and hurt her hand/wrist.

I feel really bad for her.

The big girls are itching to do some Halloween decorating.

I don't usually put up too much Halloween stuff, but it should be fun.

Maybe tomorrow.

Well, I hope everyone is having a great Tuesday!

What I'm Diggin' Wednesday {random style}

{Ainsley jumping on the trampoline at a friend's house}

I thought for most of the morning that today was Thursday, *SURPRISE* it's Wednesday.

So, Wednesday it is.

I'm Diggin' that the older girls had Monday and Tuesday off of school. It was nice having them home. The house seemed extra quiet this morning with just Abby and me.

I'm Diggin' that Abby is super possessive of her siblings. She is not afraid to say, "Ainsley my sister!" "Adison is mine."

I'm Diggin' coffee {as usual} I have been EXHAUSTED lately. Simply dragging which is just not fun at all. Maybe more sleep would help.

I'm Diggin' that I actually didn't gag when I ate an onion {on accident} the other day. I gag when I eat them or when I have lettuce in my food. I LOVE salads, but lettuce + tacos = gag

I'm Diggin' that I got to talk to my mom for an hour yesterday. My mom is seriously one of my best friends, life has been so busy for both of us that we haven't had much time to connect.

I'm Diggin' my new ESV bible. 

?????Question?????

I use Instagram for my phone. Now that I have updated to Instagram 2.0 my pictures NEVER post to my photos on my phone like they used to automatically do. Anyone else have this problem or know how to fix it???

What I'm Diggin' Wednesday

1. K is coming home this afternoon!!! I didn't write about it before because I'm paranoid like that. He left last Thursday at 6:15 in the morning. I miss him terribly. The girls miss him terribly. We are so ready to have him home. It has been fun talking with him on the phone and texting, but there is just nothing to spending time together.


2. The gorgeous weather. It is nice and crisp and cool in the morning then warms up in the afternoon. I'm talking an almost 40 degree difference on some days. There are a few leaves changing colors but it could easily pass for Spring right now.


3. Adison and Ainsley's birthdays are about 2 1/2 to 3 weeks away. They are both REALLY excited!!!


4. Friends: I love the encouragement and love.


Head on over to Staying Home and Staying Sane to link up!

Simplifying

How do you choose what to get rid of?

I need to de-clutter and simplify our lives.

There are just so many toys and dolls and...well...everything.

I need, no, HAVE to declutter.

I am tired of having all these things.

This stuff.

My kids don't even seem to play with all of these things.

But when it actually comes time to get rid of them I can't commit.

My brain dialogue goes something like this:

What if someday someone wants to play ________ and we don' have it.

Aw, I so remember _________ playing with this toy. I am sure that __________ would love it too.

I am sure that someday all of these toys will get played with.

Simply because they are there.

But, I have a sneaking suspicion that if we had fewer toys that the kids would actually play with what we have more.

Plus, an added bonus would be that I am no longer picking up as many toys.

I really would like to know.

How do you choose what stays and what goes?

How do you know when it is time to give something the ax and something else gets a pass?