Cleaning Out

Spring has sprung (finally!) and this mama has spring-cleaning-fever like you've never seen. I guess it helps that this is my full-time job AND we can only take one 40' container with us to Shanghai; so we have the choice to either live minimally or re-purchase a lot of our goods overseas. Either way, we can't take it with us. And with a fairly good-sized home stuffed full of toys, clothes, and all the baby items that I've hung onto for the last 8 years... that makes for a lot of {ahem} junk that might be good for someone other than me.

A couple weeks ago, I started pulling it all together for a spring rummage sale, and then decided why not post some on social media and get rid of as much "treasure" as I could before having to haul it outside for what will no-doubt be a rainy day of minimal traffic through the garage. But here's my dilemma....I feel really bad.

I mean, guilt is setting in with every post I make. There are a lot of memories embedded in these boxes of unwanted things. And in many cases, someone, somewhere, some family member put a lot of thought or energy into buying these goods for us at one point or another. It was someone's 1st birthday, or a special baptism, or a house warming, or hell, some of this was even perfectly thoughtful hand-me-downs. And I feel totally unappreciative. 

Maybe you'd say what's the difference between putting all this in a garage sale vs. posting online. But I'm flooding everyone's news feeds whether they like it or not. And with a garage sale, the gift-giver may never have known that the item was parting ways with our family. Plus, I'm making money off these gifts. Now, on the flip-side, I don't want to end up on the show: Hoarders! And, to clarify, I do donate a ton of clothes each year to women's shelters and Goodwill. But the amount of stuff I'm talking about is overwhelming.

So, am I in the wrong? 

I'd love to hear your thoughts.... am I overreacting to the situation, or am I truly an ungrateful, thoughtless mama trying to make a few bucks? 

Adding to the Calendar

Shortly after Jarin took off for China I bought the kids a paper calendar to keep track of the big events that we had going on. I thought it would give them something to look forward to on a daily basis while missing daddy. And boy, did they run with it! We now have every practice recorded, a countdown going until daddy gets home, and they are even taking turns marking off the days each morning.

Today, as I was adding something to the calendar I noticed that Alayna (God bless her) independently added her play date with a friend from school. As you can see, we'd arranged for them to get together Friday afternoon following the early dismissal.

Girlfriends

You know those friends who you don't chat with often enough.... those girls you think about all the time, even buy the perfect card for, and never send it.... the ones that if you had to write a book about them it'd be a million pages long because you have that many awesome memories about your friendship? These are typically the same girls that you truly connect with (beyond Facebook, text messages, Snaps!, and IM's) only once or twice a year. And often it's all because you're too busy running from this to that, or you hesitate interrupting their evenings with the kids. But then when you do catch up, without fail, it's like you just saw each other yesterday. (Okay, tell me I'm not the only one in this awful predicament!) Makes you crazy, right?

Well, last week, we did just that. Peg and I go back to when all of us newlyweds lived in the same Minneapolis suburb 10 years ago. Since then, there have been 5 babies and 4 moves between us. And, on March 4th, each of our hubs began our next endeavors, while we each stay back waiting for the kids to finish school. [Clearly, our lives are way too similar!] So, there we were one night texting back and forth, as we both are ready to make moves #5 and 6 between us. We were truly having a pity party for ourselves about how much of a headache it is to pack and "do it all," and how terrible the guys feel being away, and how hard it is on the kids.... yada-yada-yada. And it came to us... we deserved a glass of wine!

Spring Break, baby!!

So it wasn't quite like wet t-shirt contests and midnight parties on the beach.... but, it has been dance parties, dunk contests, and lots of snuggling! Spring break with a 7, 6, and 1 year old (at home and on a budget) requires a little planning. We sure had a blast with our stay-cation activities, and I hope it's something that these babes will remember. They woke each day with smiles on their faces, were thrilled for our day of activities (no matter how lame or grand), and every night they went to bed, wanting to slumber together and talk. Now, how precious is that?

Happy 1st Birthday Pais!

Well, here's my proof that a year can fly by...

Our little baby girl turns ONE today! It seems like only a week ago I was rushing out of work, only to be holding our special gift from God just one short hour later. [For more on that birthing story, click here.] And yet, so much has happened in this year. She has grown and changed, laughed and cried, loved more than any other, learned to feed herself and throw her food, taken her first steps, made lots of noises, become so curious, and soon she'll be moving to China! Now, how many 1 year olds can say that!?!?

If you have trouble watching the video, click here.

Paisley, you amaze us every day, and we are so blessed to have you in our lives. As cliche as it sounds, I can't ever imagine how our lives would be without you. You truly add such a fun and inspiring dimension to every day, and for that, I'm a better person. Thank you for giving me the gift of motherhood, yet again.

What a day!

We've only known it's coming for 1/2 a year. You'd think we'd be prepared. But nothing could have made me ready for him to walk away. No one could have told me exactly how I would have felt at that moment. ... And there's not much allowing me to put it aside either.

One week ago, Jarin picked the kids up from school, dropped Cade off at the house, and took his little girl out on a date with ice cream, and a special mani and pedi {sparkles and all}! We then enjoyed a home-cooked dinner together -- Jarin's pick -- and daddy tucked everyone in tightly. That in itself was more of a challenge than expected. Tears flowed when saying "I love you," and that baby girl looked up into his eyes and asked why he was crying. Unfortunately, as there is no way for us adults to be ready, preparing the children is even more difficult. Jars did what any daddy would do, and just held her a little closer that night.

Later!

With Jarin taking off to Shanghai soon, the good-bye's and farewell's have started. We have taken the time to hang out with so many friends and family whether for breakfast, birthdays, a hockey game, bowling or a full night out!

Maybe we should pretend someone close to us is leaving more often. Seriously. We have had so much fun!!!

We're doing something right...

It was just one of the six cancelled school days due to snow this year, and I was getting ready for the day when I overheard Caden (7) and Alayna (6) getting into a deep conversation that I wasn't prepared for. I eaves-dropped for a little while before deciding that I better step in...quick. Their discussion went something like this:

C: Do you know what it means to be gay?
A: No.
C: Layna, do you know what gay means? It means that you have sex with people.
A: [Silence]
C: Alayna, did you hear me? [pause] Joey in my class is gay.
A: I don't care. I'm not listening to you.

Whew! at least she wasn't drawing out that conversation. But, I couldn't just ignore it. There were so many issues going on in this two-minute conversation, that I didn't even know where to begin. So, I took a deep breath, wished that Jarin would've been home to handle this one, and prayed for God give me the strength to respond correctly. I first gave Alayna some tasks to keep her busy and then pulled Cade aside for a sit-down discussion.

Oh, Hayden Ranae!

I've gotten lucky with the amount of time I've had with my sweet niece recently. From our shopping dates, to our sleepovers, and day dates painting and baking....

It's a Girl Day!

It's pretty amazing to think that six years ago, we were welcoming home a new baby girl. Take a look at this chunky-monkey at just 1 year old...

Over the years, she has changed our lives more than she'll ever know. She has taught me about the power of art, color and beauty. She has empowered me to be an individual, to stand up for myself, and to fight for what I believe. In six years, she has shown more love to those around her than any child I've ever met. She is so interested in other children, passionate about those who need a helping hand, and willing to put others needs first. She has a heart of gold, bigger than this universe, and I'm so blessed to be her mama.