Summer Sand Project

Here are a few quick shots of the craft project. I could tell there was not nearly enough sand so we filled the rest of the space with shells (I've been wondering what to do with those!) Parker brought out popsicles so while one scooped sand, the other two slurped! I loved seeing them "work" and create their own arrangements, not how I would have done it, even BETTER. Kids have an uncanny, unfiltered way of being in the moment and that is the lesson I'm needing right now! These are the fun times of summer that I've been craving!

Maybe we'll move on to sand castles next or maybe just the sprinkler?!?!


PS THANKS Mrs. Covey!!!!!

Summer Sand

Wednesday is "Summer Reading Day" at one of my local favorite hangouts...MPS Library! The kids and I love it and frequent the location often (local MPS kids, join me there and bring your art journals! I know this means that you have to roll your sleepy heads out of bed but DO IT! We'll have fun!)

This week, our sweet friend Mrs. Covey "gifted" us with colored sand, which delighted the troops! Ooooh they said with delighted smiles,"When we can do THIS?" In my head the answer sounded something like, "NEVER"! I know, I know that's rotten and awful. I've spent the last how many &*$% weeks cleaning this pit of a house...and you wanna do something with sand? NOOOOOOOO

With three eager (and highly creative beings) how could I resist? The old cleaning grump in me has been "won over". Mainly because I can't right now muster the motivation it will take to reclaim a scary basement (Lucy, Jax was SPOT ON!) heehee

So after having completed a few necessary to-d0's, laundry, food prep, clean-up, scheduling, client calls, class prep, etc. I'm bowing to the creative muse and about to dump sand into jelly jars!

We live too far from any hobby lobby to go shopping for pretty glass bottles. Though I think the hour glass/timer idea was simply grand we do have to be cre8tive and practical and that means using what we have right here.

I'll post pics of the final masterpieces! And for those of you that are reading this and silently thinking, "Wow, she's gotten over the whole 'don't make a mess thing!' I just want you to know, we're going OUTSIDE!!!! Remember I'm the mom that thought finger painting should be banned (unless it is with someone else besides ME!)

Summer

What are your favorite things about summer? "Flexible schedule" rockets to the top of that question. I don't really have true freedom, to go wherever I want, whenever I want, though there is no place that I HAVE TO BE and that feels really good. I have some strong ideas about where I want to be, but at this moment, those fantastical images just aren't my reality.

I've lost my cleaning and clearing mojo altogether. I'll pick it back up when I have more energy. For those of you that follow nine star ki, my number 1 water element is in the center and that is a direct signal to stop, observe and just be. That's hard not to do when there are always so many people and activities around me that need/demand my attention. The center station is like a vortex of energy and so keeping balance is the overall goal. Some days are speedy fast and some days drag by at a snails pace. The idea is to catch your breath when you can and roll like hell when you need to. Today is a "cathing my breath day". In a couple of hours we'll be headed to a baseball game and tomorrow I'll do my best to excavate the pit of all disasters....my basement.

My goal is to tame this last "inner frontier" so that next week I'll be free to fully honor the solstice energies that will be streaming in. MidSummer is a special time for me. I love the peak of summer and the gold light of sunshine that streams in my window each morning. (I'm getting better about honoring it instead of ripping the covers back over my head!)

There are so many things I love about summer, truly I picked an excellent season to come into the world. I love seeing and hearing my children play (fight mostly) on the plush green grass, waking up to bird songs and feeling the warm caress of light on my skin first thing in the morning. Not being biased to mornings, I equally enjoy the summer sun setting and the gift of more light in the day. I adore watching flames dance within a campfire and smelling the smoke as it rises to the heavens. No matter how crappy my day is, all I have to do in the summer time is go outside, slow down, breathe and relax. Mmmmmm, delicious.

What are your favorite concepts of the season? What do you most love to experience that you are not able to in other seasons? Feel free to share in the comment section or on FB!

Freezer Quit...go back 20 spaces

If my life were a game this week, I don't think I'd be leading the pack!  I woke up to a new Monday, fresh and ready to start the week. I spent most of the day tidying up and prepping meals and doing laundry. I moved with ease, say five spaces ahead. I completed cleaning and clearing the top part of the house, rearranged book shelves and created space for my Art Journal Books and supplies. (Move ahead 10 spaces, that job has needed to be done for a long time!)

I woke up Tuesday ready to cross another task off my to-do list. However the task was much larger than I anticipated. Instead of just a few mice inhabiting in our camper for the winter, what I discovered was that we had an entire universe in there. It was THE MOST DISGUSTING site I have ever witnessed. There was more poop in there than in any grain bin I had ever seen. Honestly, it made me cry.  (Clean "mouse disaster" in camper loose a turn=an entire day.)

As I got to the worst part of the camper,  I opened the cupboard and a tiny rodent was peering at me. Yikes! (Go back three spaces, he was little). I continued on my route, cursing the entire way. My family steered clear of me, they could tell I was not a "team player" at this time.

As I stepped on the last step of the  camper, I nearly landed in the calving lot when I noticed a very LONG snake stretched out near the garbage bag. (Go back 5 spaces, big scare!) I gingerly sidestepped him, noticing the tail. Phew, no rattles. (Move ahead 2 spaces) That said, he wouldn't go away, he was hunting what I was trying to get rid of. I thought he was safely tucked in the gargabe bag, he'd crawled in of his own accord, so I went to work on the bike trailer that the mice had also snacked on. Realizing that I'd ripped my gloves I went to the house to get another pair and as I came zipping by the bike stroller I noticed an extra black and yellow "strap" that was moving. Holy Crap! (Go back 7 paces, this scared me more that the first time!) Knowing that "snakey" was wrapped up in the stroller I ventured back in the camper to clean as I was about to step down I saw him moving below me. Craaaaap!  This phase of the game concluded with the snake not bothering my anymore (THANKS JOE!) (Jump ahead 10 spaces!)

Wednesday: I woke up with a rotten cold and a raw throat. I can handle a lot of things but a sore throat is my achilles heel. Hate those. I mustered through the day, secretly wanting to go back to bed but not making it there until that late that night. (Move back 10 spaces)

Thursday: My throat was a little better but still very achy and sore. (Take time out to recouperate, consider the fact that sometimes this game just sucks!).

Friday: I woke up, a bit groggy but thinking that I'm going to get things done today. I feel a little better, still some drainage and lethargy but throats isn't as sore. I thought I'd make a nice cup of coffee and sit out on the deck to ponder my day. (Move ahead 4 spaces).  I ask edChad to bring in a package of hamburger from our freezer in the barn. He doesn't come back for a long time. I wonder what he's doing? What we didn't know was that the freezer quit working (Move back 20 spaces and consider just ditching this blankety-blank game.) Unhook and drag hoses to wash out the stupid freezer (Go back 5 more spaces)

We did catch the mess in time to salvage our meat, the freezer still had ice in it. (Lucky break move ahead 25 spaces). (Note to self, work on attitude!)

Since I'm not a math person I haven't stopped to figure out if I'm ahead in the game, if I've broke even or if I'm in the hole. There have been some distinct set backs this week but most of them have ended on a high note. The camper is being disinfected and professionally cleaned today. We didn't loose any meat and I am feeling much better than I was. I am hoping that if I draw the "wild card" soon, that it will at least be a GOOD ONE, something like...boundless energy or instant basement clean-up or Russell Crow pays a visit....you know, something completely realistic like that ;)

Here's wishing you all good luck in the "game" you are playing right now!

Something You've Always Wanted To Try

In the busy hustle and bustle of our every day life, little things that we are interested in exploring something go by the wayside. Personally I'm good with pushing something aside in lieu of something else that needs to be done. This may be why I haven't scrapbooked since 2009? Laundry, dishes, cooking and housekeeping take priority. In my reality I do put work before play. That is something I'm looking at consicously and consistently changing this month.

As mentioned previously, I feel the need to have a clean environment BEFORE I start on a project. I think better and am more open to creative ideas. The challenge is knowing when I can safefly and loving walk away. The dishes will pile up, the laundry will multiply, the floors wil get dirty. How long can I actually be away before I'll be starting over?

Maintence and consisteny is key here too. I'm slowly trying to help my children get into the habit of not only taking their plate to the sink but rinsing it out, and then putting in the dishwasher.

So this month, as I am releasing clutter and finding my way back to me. I have several self improvement intentions. One being taking the time to honor my creative aspirations.

I've found this book and have signed up for Sarah's on-line class. This is my birthday gift. The materials were on the pricey side, which is great. If I pay the money, you can bet I'm going to full on, full out participate.

I'm excited to begin. I'm excited to see what I have stored "under the hood". I have found I'm an awesome collector/gatherer and organizer but no so muh and eager "do-er". That's about to change.

I'd like to invite any of you along for the ride as well. I belive there is power within the collectve so if you'd like to message me or add comments below to what your personal goals, intentions and manifestations hopes are, feel free. Mabye you are going to take up mountain biking or rock climbing. knitting or canning, photography, song writing or putting a puzzle together?!?!? What do you suppose our world would look, feel and be like if we were all doing exactly what we want to be doing, what we most love?

I believe it is possible. Collect, gather and then Let's do this!!!!

PS I didn't want to include another blog post about my endless cleaning obsessions so I'm focusing on the fun stuff!

Gettin There

Hi All,

It has been awhile since I last posted and so this is just a little catch up! Thanks for all the very sweet comments and encouragements to "get to writing again"! I hear you and I'll do my best to keep up!

We wrapped up a very busy school year and since then, I've spent my days trying to reacclimate to having all five of us, in the same dwelling at the time. Not an impossible feat but one that is requiring extreme patience on my part. Fighting children and not my cup o' tea. That may be a post for later.

I also spent time at the end of every school year going through the entire house; top, bottom, left, right, up, down, every nook and cranny is seen. This is a great feeling in the end but a daunting taks to do it the "right way".

I feel I've come far though I still have a long path to do. Next week, I'll be back in the trenches aka the basement family room, craft room, storage room, boys' bedrooms. Right now it looks like nothing of the serene, neat, tidy organized image I have in my mind. I can say it is lived in and played in.......

It does sometimes feel like all I write about is cleaning, organizing and cleaning some more but sadly, that's about what I get done! Having three growing children demands that I stay on top of laundry, dishes, food prep and all things household and motherly.

And for some strange reason I feel much more cre8tive when my enviornment is in order. That said, I'm cleaning for another reason. I'm going to venture deep into my being and excavate a part of me that was lost a long, long time ago.....I'll be taking a painting class in July. In fact, I've dedicated July to playing, exploring and creating! I'm in the process of gathering supplies this month. I have butterflies and jitters (of my own making) to remind me that the unknown can still offer me routes to old fears and blockages (am I good enough? Do I have what it takes?) Etc.

I've never felt like I've found my stride, let alone hit it. I'm still looking. I've got some better ideas of who I am as a person and the sights, events and practices that resonate but there's still plenty of room for exploration and expansion.

I'm taking today off to rest. My body is demanding it. I've got a strange little cold and so I'm not pushing through that to do list with the gusto I had last week. I'll sit out a few days, tie up some details and then roll up the ol sleeves to begin the quest on Monday.

I post this for those friends who feel like their cleaning conquest never ends. It doesn't. I also post this as a sign that I not only teach the clearing clutter and organization classes, I directly apply the pracitce in my space!

Transformation is here and  I'm in! What projects are you looking forward to this summer? What dream are you following and allowing yourself to experince?

Feel free to share in the comments below. And yes, I promise more "musings" to come!