simplifying

One of my goals this year has been to simplify my life. I believe I have come a long way in just 7 short months. I think the more you cut out, the more addicting it is. I am doing less, taking more time to smell the roses, relaxing more, reading more, spending hardly any time on the computer.. blogging less, cleaning more- and more efficiently, cooking all the time, watching practically zero tv, teaching my kids the important things, and enjoying the now. Life is really good. I know that in 3 months everything will change again and I am just enjoying the simple life while I can.

Several months ago, I found myself frustrated at all the STUFF I had in my house. Since then, I have had no problem clearing out everything unnecessary. And believe it or not, after giving away 1/2 of everything, we still have way more than we need.


This is the boys' closet. We moved their dressers into the guest room (which are still empty) and decided to do closet dividers for their clothes. I am really surprised how well it's worked out. This has been especially helpful for Zack. He has access to everything and doesn't have any excuse to not fold and put away his own clothes. Yes, three year olds (even crazy ones) can put everything where it belongs. This also allows Ben to stay as organized as he needs to be-- and he is punished if I catch him folding or putting away his brother's clothes. They are all old enough to do it themselves..

I set limits on their clothing items. They still have more shirts than they currently wear, but if it doesn't fit in the cubby, they either have to get rid of it (or have to fold the items better so they all fit.) It has really simplified life for everyone. And as long as I keep up on laundry (which has always been one of my secret talents) they have more than enough.

And as much as I loved having lots of Sunday outfits, we gave everything away except for one white shirt each and one pair of church pants. That's all they really need-- and even though it's not as "fun" to dress them in their cute vests and sweaters, they still look handsome on Sundays. And they always know what they're wearing... simple.


Since I mentioned my lack of style (and clothing) last week, I am including a picture of my closet.. it's obviously nothing exciting, but it's definitely enough for me. Yes, these are ALL of my shoes. (Actually, I have a pair of sandals that I keep downstairs and my white moon boots are stored in winter bin.) I realize I have no style, but it is what it is.

A little while ago, Aaron's parents came to stay and his dad mentioned something about feeling sorry for me after seeing my side of the closet. That made me laugh because maybe it would be depressing for other women to be lacking in the clothes/shoes department, but honestly, I have way more than I need. Granted, I wished that it fit better, but all in due time. What would really make me happy is to get nice matching hangers. Eventually when we're rich, I will buy them... and a nice shoe rack. I've had that thing since jr. high.

One thing I have found is having a place for charity items in each closet has really worked well for me. I used to have a bin in the garage, but the items never actually made it out there. We have given away SO many toys, household items and clothing. It's addicting, I am telling you! And the more you give away, the less you feel like shopping or buying anything else.

So-- my question is, what organizational/simplifying tips do YOU have? I know hundreds still read everyday. Any good ideas to share with the rest of us? Do tell.

be cool, stay in the pool

Boy, this summer is boiling! I don't remember feeling so hot and sweaty in summers past... but then again, I have a few extra pounds and a bun in the oven this year. Needless to say, swimming is our all-time favorite activity. We love it even more when we bring teenage girls. They wear my kids out and I get a little R&R. This is what summer is all about.


Zack was being his usual self at the pool yesterday. Whenever he took a minute to come up for breath, he was saying the most amusing things. He is gaining so much confidence in the pool-- he's swimming farther distances and holding his breath like a saltwater crocodile. (*according to Ben, it's the animal that can hold it's breath the longest underwater. I argued it was a whale, but I looked it up, and Ben is right. Steve Irwin apparently discovered the saltwater croc can hold it's breath underwater for 3 hours*)

Anyway, back to Zack and the funny things he said...

When told (by me) that he couldn't swim a certain long distance to the other side of the pool, he glared at me and said, "I assure you, I can!" Rest assured, he made it.

While laying on a body raft, he was attacked by Ben and Luke who were about to tip him over. He sat up and screamed over and over, "I surrender! I surrender!"

After a lot of splashing, he got really annoyed at Luke and threatened, "If you don't stop, I will splat cheese in your face." He was even more bothered that Luke thought his scary threat was hilarious.

And when Keyonna told him to use the blue floaty device (pictured above) he replied ever-so-seriously, "No thanks. I only use that for emergencies."

And that's why we keep him around.
To make the tedious, day-to-day activities (such as swimming) enjoyable.

planet janet

I thought "BIG FATTY" was insulting.

Then I heard Ben and Luke referring to me as "PLANET MOM."

I don't know if my self-esteem can handle anything else! Boys can be so insensitive sometimes. No... I actually believe they were astronauts and were referring to me as a destination rather than hinting I am now the size of a planet. At least, that's what I keep telling myself.

I have gained plenty of weight, already. Say like, 20 lbs... and the worst is yet to come. I haven't really taken any "pregnancy" pictures, so I had Ben snap one of me after church yesterday. This is of course, on a good day-- when I showered, did my hair AND put on makeup. Here I am, at 24-ish weeks, ready to orbit the moon.

And here's an internet shout-out to all Vegan Bachelorette fans
(meaning those who live in the Vegas area, whether or not you eat animal products.)

I am having a BACHELORETTE FINALE PARTY tonight.

8:00 pm.
my place.
bring junk food to share.
No boys allowed.

Aaron's half-birthday

ok. so it wasn't technically his half-birthday, but we celebrated anyway. Aaron had a particularly long week at work... the kids and I hardly got to see him and we wanted to do something special. His real birthday is a few days after Christmas and it never gets celebrated properly. SO-- the boys and I planned a big surprise Friday night. We made a list of all of Dad's favorite things and decided to throw a party for him after work. We spent the day shopping, cleaning, cooking, baking, wrapping presents, blowing up balloons and hanging signs around the house for him. When Daddy arrived home from work, the lights were turned off and we were hiding behind the couches. When the boys jumped out and screamed "Happy half-birthday!" Aaron was shocked. Of course, he teased me all night about finding excuses to throw a party (which might very well be true) but it was a fantastic way to start the weekend.


There were lots of presents, all wrapped by the kids, btw. Many were practical things Aaron uses everyday like contact solution, deodorant, toothbrush/paste and such. But there were a few goodies in there too (new sunglasses, tennis balls, waterguns.) The kids bought all of his favorite treats: peachy rings, kit kats, gatorade, etc. And Mom made sure to bake his favorite cookies: butterscotch oatmeal. We had enough sugar to party-hardy all night long.




For dinner, I made fancy spinach manicotti, Aaron's all-time favorite. Before eating, we made a special toast to Daddy-- for working so hard and taking care of us. Then we went around the table and said all the reasons why we love him. It was almost more than he could handle. Zack took off his shirt because it was wet from the waterfight. Little did we know while making birthday signs, Zack was coloring his body (so he could be the real Iron Man.) When we asked him how he colored his back he said, "Duh. with a marker."


After dinner, we made a hut in the livingroom and watched Dad's favorite movie: The Count of Monte Cristo. It actually comes second to Strange Brew, but we had to compromise. The boys watched the entire movie and really got into it (of course, we had to pause it every few seconds and explain every scene) but they loved all the sword fighting.



Saturday was an equally fun day. We slept in, made a big breakfast and took the kids to see UP. We had dinner at the famous Metro Pizza. Yum. Living away from extended family can be hard at times, but weekends like these make me realize how lucky we are to be a secluded family unit. We get to spend a lot of quality time together-- just hanging out. I really love all the men in my house and feel grateful for all that I have. Yeah for weekends, partying and the people you love.

big fatty

There's nothing like a smart-alec three year old to boost your spirits. Today Zack has been referring to me as "The Big Fat Mommy." When he first said it, everyone busted up-- because he seriously pulled it out of nowhere. And he knows when something gets a laugh, it should be repeated over and over and over. I am fully aware that this video is dark and lame-- but it is what it is. I was too fat and lazy to turn on the light and figured his voice is cute enough to document.

Zack keeps us on our toes and never slows down. Sometimes I wonder WHERE he gets all his energy. His favorite past-time is jumping on the trampoline. But even when he's in the house or buckled in his seat belt, he's still bouncing. He always has a smile on his face and literally skips everywhere he goes.

When cousins were here over the 4th of July, Aaron and I had to drive two separate cars to the park. Because I had most of the car seats in the van I told Aaron to take the three big kids. Apparently, Zack overheard my directions and once we were buckled in our seat belts, he gave me quite the lecture.

Zack: "Hey mom! I am not a little kid anymore."
Me: "I never said you were little"
Zack: "Well you told Dad to take the big kids, but I have to ride in your car."
Me: "Well, Daddy is driving the three older kids, but that doesn't mean you're little."
Zack: "I'm not. Because I am three. Then I will turn four. Then I will turn five. See? That's NOT little." (holding up his fingers to prove his point.)

He is obsessed with numbers lately. He constantly rates how much he loves things. If we had a good time at the pool, he will say, "That was as fun as a SIX!" or he will whisper that he loves me a FOUR. When I responded that four isn't very much, he makes sure to point out that it IS a lot- because he is only three and four is more than three. I guess a year older than your age is always a lot. My 30th is approaching soon and that is a big number (for me, anyway.)

He is also on this counting kick. If I ask him to do something, he will say. "Yes. But I need to count to five and then I will [put away my toys]." Eventually he realized that counting to five didn't prolong the task long enough so he will say, "First I will count to six, then I will count to nine, then I will count to four, then I will brush my teeth." At least he's getting his numbers down. He's still working on the first ten letters of the alphabet.

The other night (Sunday to be exact) we were playing the game of Life as a family. I love that my kids are old enough to play along with me. Ben and Luke have been excellent gamers for a couple of years now and Zack is finally starting to play along. He was totally into the marriage/family/having babies aspect of Life. He was anxiously awaiting to get hitched and when he finally did, Ben told him to put a pink girl in his car. Zack looked shocked and announced, "I will marry her, but I have to kiss her first!!" He took his little blue man out of the car and affectionately put their tiny heads together and was satisfied. He proceeded along in the game only to have four daughters. Every time he had another girl, he would moan and say, "There's no other boys in my car! No fair!" Finally, someone who understands what I am going through.

Ben won the game-- with over a million dollars. That game is so inflated! What is becoming of our culture/obsession with money? The new version has several places to sue other players, a place on the game board to win $100,000 from an "Idol" contest, and every time you do something nice for a charity or have another child, you get $30,000. Ain't nobody throwing out 30 grand when our baby is born. No fair! Luke had to take a bathroom break and so Ben spun for him in his absence. When he returned, Ben announced he had bad news. #1 Luke lost his job as a doctor. #2 he had a daughter. Girls get such a bad rap at this house.

Later that night, I was tucking them into bed. Ben had obviously been giving lots of thought to his victory in the game of Life. He said ever so seriously, "Mom, I just really want to grow up and have a good job." I told him that he should save all his money for college and try to study hard. Then he sighed and said, "Well, I want a job where I don't have to a lot of work, but I still get paid a ton of money." Wouldn't we all. I went to bed feeling a bit disturbed. Kids these days... they think the world should be handed to them for nothing. I think we will move to a farm and show him what HARD work really is.