I've been remiss in my efforts to get back to blogging. I've been concentrating on living & being in the moment more with the people who count most in my life. Much needed and I'm really glad I've taken the time to refocus my attention there. I've also been doing some much needed soul searching about myself, my relationships with my... -self, god, my husband, family & friends...what I need/want, what we need/want, what my purpose is...what our future holds. So much I haven't taken time for deep thinking on in probably many months, if not years now. Amazing how life can get in the way of these things sometimes.

Well our plan was to convert a portion of our covered front porch into a new mudroom space this fall. However, the economy being what it is affected our seasonal biz and not in a favorable way. That plan has been scratched. The new plan involves a bit of finessing of our dining room to allow for a corner to be used as an extended mudroom next to our small entryway.

While much of these inspiration pics won't fit in the current space confines. I'm still very inspired by these pieces & mudrooms.

OK... time for a new approach.

I'm realizing that what has worked in the past for me just isn't coming to fruition this time around. It maybe partially because I'm gearing up for summer and school year routines just don't hold much ground for me/us in the coming weeks. Plus, I'm guessing my groove has been off for far too long and finding it is much harder than I previously remember (it's probably been seriously a few years now).
   So here's to out with the old and in with the new. My revamped way to get baby stepping/flying (FlyLady-isms) is to "follow the flow" for lack of a better term/system. I'm following the flow of my family, my time, my energy level, my moods, etc. I know this may sound very wishy-washy to some. But so far, I'm getting much more done with this approach than I was fighting the tide that is real life to reel in more structured routines. Yes, there are still a few routines that have definite structure and need to be that way (dishes, laundry, mail, etc)... however I'm finding that letting go has it's own benefits as well. Ones that I've been in desperate need of without even realizing. I'm relearning to be more adaptable... while in many ways I've gone with the flow for years, I have to admit it's many times been with a begruding mindset/attitude. This is a much better way, if I don't have too much rigorously scheduled/structured routinely, then I'm finding I can lean into my childrens' desires easier and deal better with their moods day to day.

Here are a few examples:
- If I have the time, ingredients and feel like cooking up a storm... then I go with it and cook up several of my meals for the week ahead of time & give myself a few breaks cooking later in the week. It allows for a better use of my time and less stress to those harried nights of shuttling children to their afterschool/spring/summer activities when I don't have my other parenting partner available.
- If I feel like sewing... I tackle a couple projects and deal with the mending pile before, in the middle and after to eliminate one of my growing hotspots in my dining room.
- If I feel like painting... I figure out when and where I can carve out time for prep and then painting and then finishing touch-up work to complete the project(s) I have time to tackle and then I just do it. Benefit... lots of drying time is usually required for things in between steps. So it works great into my schedule much of the time. Now that spring is finally allowing for open windows in the house and our covered porch can house larger paint in progress projects out of little hands way... there will be even more new coats of paint being accomplished.
- If I feel like purging... I run like mad to the closest room and am just being ruthless!!! LOL Seriously though, I think what space needs it the worst & then I just dig in for much of the day. Sometimes that amounts to snippets of 10 or 15 mins here or there throughout my day & sometimes it means I get 3+ hours straight when lil J is taking an awesome nap. Sometimes it's become almost a week long event. We've had many trips of donations work it's way out the door in just the last few weeks with this approach. I also found a great place to part with kid clothing, toys, movies, books, etc: www.thredup.com , it's also a great place to find the like as well when we're in need at a very reasonable cost.
- If I feel like organizing... I decide what feels like it's nagging me the most in regards of disorganization and that's where I head first. Pull everything out and assess (sort/purge/group). Decide what would be the best way to organize based on function above all else (remembering who all uses the space and try and gear it toward them primarily) then try to find ways to also make it visually appealing.
- If I feel like tackling laundry (a very rare day indeed)... then I tackle things like swapping out seasonal clothing; stripping beds/curtains & washing anything else that isn't necessarily "worn" on a regular basis, but is used much; organizing/refolding clean clothing in children's/dh's drawers, maybe even some mending. We do have a regular laundry routine and it includes my children having a day of the week they are assigned to getting their own laundry washed, dried & put away. I do DH's & mine on our days & lil J's on her day usually working in the towel laundry then too.
- If I feel too tired to do much physical labor but my brain is saying I want to organize... then I tackle paperwork... paying bills, menu/meal plan, work on our family household binder, put more together in my control journal, sort pictures, tackle my inspiration files, attack my email inbox, plan things for the coming months & double check everyone's activity calendars against our master family calendar, plan projects I have on my neverending list... etc
- If I feel I'm on brain overload and instead need some manual labor to free my mind... I tackle something like mowing the lawn, rearranging furniture in a room, weeding the flower beds, deep clean a room or two in the house, put together a trampoline (yeah... for real mowed the lawn & put together a trampoline just this past Sunday... the later with the help of my eldest DD and youngest DS).
- If I feel like I just need to create... then I wait for a time when lil J is down for a nap & elder kiddos are busy, busy and I do whatever I want! It's some true me time that refills me in a way that nothing else can.
-If I feel like I need a break... I take one!!! I now am feeling it's well deserved much of the time... instead of my former feeling cranky, disorganized and that I'm robbing someone/something the time I'm taking for myself.

In light of keeping it real, I'm sharing what I've been up to. The good, the bad and the (very) ugley. I've hit a real lull/wall in the past couple of weeks. However I'm determined to pick up and move on in a big way!
More teeth for lil J (first molar even and that last eye tooth is still hanging just under the gum) means more sleepless nights coupled with sinus trouble, a couple root canals needing done (just waiting for the appt times to come around) and in a few migraines and yeah it's just been comin' up roses here.

First a little a purty inspiration (yeah, cuz I really need some around these parts):

... tornado alley would be far more accurate at the moment than to say this is my kitchen.
warning-(look away if you're easily disgusted). Also a formal apology for not nearly as good a picture quality as it could be. Seriously, would you wanna search for your camera in all this? So yes, more phone pics... plus I figured who really needs sharper images of this mess?!

sorry for the delay in getting back to things here at my blog.

Late last fall we (our immediate family) were able to make a trip back to Michigan (my parents'/grandparents' home state). It was the first time we'd been able to schedule a visit in a few years (starting a seasonal biz is a huge time suck). We were able to visit with both of my grandmothers (both of my grandfathers had passed many years before). We knew there were signs that the end of their time here may not be so far off. Deep down I'd felt great guilt that we hadn't made it back to visit for so long. The kids were growing by leaps and bounds and I wanted the younger ones to have a few (good) memories at least of their great-grandmothers. I know it sounds corny, but a peace settled over me during that visit. Both grandmothers were in rare form during our visits. You could see their authentic selves/spirits coming through in spite of the toll the aging process had taken. Good new memories and a great awakening of some of those forgotten memories for myself! I knew making time for the visit then had been the only choice I could have made.
Late last Thursday my mother called about my paternal grandmother. Hospice had been in tending/monitoring for a couple weeks when she started refusing to eat. Early last week she was refusing to drink. They knew her days were numbered. My Grandma Lou passed on in the wee hours this morning. She had a rich life, full of friends and family, work as a nurse for many, many years to help support her family. She was a short spitfire of a woman. Her humor was infectious. Her empathy/sympathy for others ran deep, but she was at times stoic as well... not wanting others to see how deeply she was affected. Her favorite flower were yellow roses of course. The deep red rose was my late Grandpa Ralph's favorite (her dearly departed hubby).

Sorry for becoming rather MIA. The last couple weeks have been super busy & exhausting for this mama. To say my blog has taken a back seat, is probably a grave understatement. First N had a cold that turned into a sinus & double ear infection all on the heels of a previous ear infection. Then N spent the night at a friend's house. Said friend has 3 cats, a dog and a rabbit. All those allergens threw N into an allergic/asthmatic tailspin for the following week. Baby J had a cold, then two teeth appear (makes #5&6), then another cold and is now working on the top two teeth opposite her new bottom teeth. Yes, of course that means more sleepless nights.

After our bout of the tummy bug making it's rounds through all the kiddos, mom's energy levels have been completely zapped. Luckily mom has managed to escape the wrath of the tummy bug & colds... but has sacrificed more sleep than she's probably lost in many years. To top it all off DH took off on a biz trip this past Saturday.

I know other mothers frequently pull off the single parent mode with traveling spouses, but I honestly have to say I'm so grateful I don't have to put on that hat very often. I find it to be very draining (I don't relax as readily & feel like I'm on constant high alert). Add to that I never sleep well when DH is away. Scarce to mention the additional night wakings, bathroom trips & drinks of water for the kiddos while he's been gone.

Yeah, it's been a bit crazy here. DH gets home tonight, so hopefully we'll be easing back into normal around here very soon once again.