It was a busy weekend for us, but we still needed to complete a few chores. Our philosophy - divide and conquer. The older girls were inside cleaning their rooms and tending to their laundry while the the rest of us were outside either gardening or washing the cars.
The one chore the kiddos love to help with - wash the cars. What's not fun about water, soap and of course spraying each other down? Get the kiddos involved, and you'll be done faster than you know it. Make it fun!
It's a New Year and I'm feeling the urge to purge. Yesterday, I went through my master closet and weeded out clothes, shoes and purses. I have three big bags heading to the Goodwill! What a great feeling of accomplishment. My closet looks so organized and clean.
Okay so what I'm leaving out is my procrastination to put all of the Christmas decorations away. I pulled everything down and set it upon my dining room table the day after New Year's Day. It's still sitting there looking at me. Everything looks so nicely organized... Christmas trees here, Nutcrackers here, Santas here, Nativity set there; but for the life of me, I have no desire to drag all the bins from the basement to the dining room.
Yesterday, instead of packing the decor away, I lurked by the piles of Christmas decor sitting on my lovely dining room table looking oh so lovely and oh so organized, and I ended up in my kitchen with a mission.
The flow of the kitchen is truly important. Right? Please agree. After living in this house for almost a year, I felt like I needed to shift a few things around. I love to cook, to bake and to entertain. Plus, our kitchen is always full of bodies and projects so I needed to re-evaluate the flow for it all felt disheveled. I basically pulled everything out of the cabinets and shifted all of the contents. I am SO happy with the results. I now have a cohesive kitchen with... A baking section to include all of my bowls, mixing cups, whisks and yada yada yada. And... A cocktail section. Everyone say CHEERS! And... An everyday section for the the everyday things like plates, drinking glasses and utensils. Oh and one more... An entertaining section to house my platters, pretty dishes, serving utensils and so forth. Voila.
As always, there is never a dull moment in the McLean household. I was up all night with my son Connor coughing and vomiting. Fortunately, he was able to be seen this morning at the clinic and he tested positive for Influenza Type A. He is so sick and my heart breaks to see him miserable. So... my to do list for today has been shelved. However... I am staring at the pile of Christmas decor right now and it's staring me down. Time to pack it all away. No more procrastination here today. Oh... and I'll be pulling out the Lysol to disinfect the house. Pray for us that we do not all come down with the flu bug... especially me!
Anyone have a good and easy homemade chicken soup recipe? Please share it here in the comment section! Thanks. xo
chalk art by connor and carys. chip was away on business to okinawa for the last week and a half. the kiddos missed him so much. we have been spoiled. we have not endured a deployment for some time but chip is traveling a lot lately and the kiddos miss him ever so much. on sunday afternoon, connor and carys decided to create some welcome home daddy artwork on the driveway. fun.
construction. i'm anxious to be rid of the construction that surrounds us right now. large equipment. empty lots. nasty dumpster. hoping for a quick buildout.
good news. our neighborhood is growing. we'll have new neighbors beside us in a few weeks. they have three kiddos themselves... more playmates so the kiddos are super excited. three more homes opposite of us are ready to move in as well. and new homes are in the process of being built. excitement everywhere.
adding on. we're adding another living space by building a deck off the back of the house. i cannot wait until it's complete. the new deck overlooks a conservation area. we've spotted a bald eagle, deer, a fox, a few groundhogs and unfortunately a few snakes. for those who do not know me well... very scared of snakes. we have these lovely wood chip trails throughout the community great for nature walks and runs; but after running into two snakes back to back, i'm done with the trails for now. i'm hoping that once the digging and moving of earth is complete then the snakes will settle down. one can only hope.
the positive. i'm looking forward to enjoying our new living space. coffee in the morning. dinner with the family in the evenings. happy hours with friends. basking in the sun (with sunscreen!). creating art. happy times lie ahead.
what's going on in your neck of the woods?
on sunday we headed to the beach - maeda flats. we were in search of seashells and sea glass. the tide was extremely low which enabled us to wander through caves and explore the tide pools. very cool stuff. i filled two CF cards photographing the kiddos and the things we discovered.
connor - age nine. man... he keeps growing vertically. i'm curious to see just how tall he will grow. if the doctor's forecast is correct... 6'1". *wow*
love the plastic container that adorns his head. so connor. we filled four of those containers with some yumminess. more photos to follow tomorrow. ciao!
quote for the day."Love is the condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own.” -- Robert Heinlein
chip was heading to iwo jima this morning in preparations for the anniversary of the battle of iwo jima. due to the recent events in japan his departure has been delayed. please say your prayers for those affected by the earthquake and tsunami.
carys and connor. they both see dad's gear by the front door and voila, instant play. i had to take a few snapshots. the amber overhead lighting is yucky but the moment captured is precious. and this makes me think of... learning to accept imperfections. learning to let go more. and learning to live more in the moment. the OCD in me would drag these images to PS - straighten them, color correct them, heck i probably would not even post them. and... if you are interested, i'm reading brene brown's the gift's of imperfection.
and here are my little ones playing by the front door. sweet.
love carys' smile and how she is admiring her big bro. love connor's blanket cape.
carys trying to lift dad's pack. no luck. too heavy!
so she decides to sit upon the pack and starts playing office.
one more. isn't she too cute!
from the mclean clan to all ye olde ghouls... hope ye had the spookiest and sweetest halloween. argh!
we visited grandpa and grammy sue at the beach a couple of weekends ago in ocean city, md. here are some photos of the kiddos playing at the beach.
roan, connor and me in shadow
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