Yes, My House Gets Messy... and So Does Yours

The following is an excerpt from a conversation I had with my husband several days ago:

Matt: This house is a mess.
Me: It is?
Matt: Well, yes. There are toys everywhere. Everyday I come home and have to step over toys and crap.
Me: OK. Yes, the house is a little messy right now but it's not always messy. Maybe you should should hire a house cleaner to come in a couple times a month if you aren't happy with how clean the house is.
Matt: I guess I figure, you know, you're home all day. I mean, I know you home-school but you still should be able to keep the house clean.
Me: I just look at him, wondering which 1960s sitcom we just got transported to. I'm thinking June Cleaver.
Me: (laughing) You have NO idea.
Matt: About what?
Me: About just how messy this house really gets during the day and how much I really do clean up before you get home.
Matt: It can't be that bad.
Me: It is. Trust me, it is.
Matt: Well, then... leave it a mess. That way I can see how bad it gets.
Me: I'm not going to do that!
Matt: Why not? You say it gets messy. Maybe I'll appreciate what you do more.
Me: I'm not going to do that. No way. Then I'll have to clean it all up later. I prefer to do a little bit of damage control as we go through the day.
Matt: (shrugs) Oookaaayyy

So, I decided to take pictures. And since one reason I keep a blog is to share what my life is like as an everyday, average Supermom I'm going to post them for everyone else to see.

Yes, my house gets messy. Unless you don't have kids or you are neurotic, I'm willing to bet yours does too.

These pictures were taken at 4:00, after a day of homeschooling and errands.

Kitchen... cluttery

Unwashed dishes in the sink

The living room... the pillows and blankies are all over the floor because this is Nate's "bird nest". If you've read any of my blogs, you know Nate thinks he's baby bird.

The TV room... remnants of the boys' extra birdhouse/fort making material.

FYI, these are Matt's socks!

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Now it's about 4:45-- about a half hour before Matt gets home.

Nate helps me wash the dishes. Clutter put away.

The living room... after the nest has been disassembled.

The TV room... minus dirty socks, toys, sheets, towels, etc.

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I admit, I don't always get a chance to pick up the house as much as I was able to on this day. I didn't have to make dinner so that gave me a little extra time.

With that said, I never leave the house as messy as it gets during the day. I do this for my own sanity and so my husband doesn't have to come home to the disaster you witnessed in the before shots.

My points are:

1. To my fellow moms- everyone's house gets messy. Moms shouldn't be embarrassed by that when friends and neighbors drop by.

2. To all the husbands- don't complain about the house being a mess. Chances are, it looked MUCH worse before you came home!

You Can Tell A Lot About A Woman...

"You can tell a lot about a woman by the contents of her purse." 

Does that quote sound familiar?  I'm sure it's been said before, but the first time I heard it was on the Pixar film, The Incredibles.  

I thought it would be fun to list the items I find in my purse.  I don't even know what all is in there. I just know it's heavy.  So you ready?  Here goes:

Listed in order of how they are pulled out...

1.  Checkbook  Amazing... I think I write about one check every 4 months or so.

2. My medication  I keep some in my purse in case I forget to take it at home.

3. Myoplex Protein Bar  Just in case I get hungry.

4. My wallet  The contents of which could be its own blog.

5. Miami Ink 50 SPF Sunscreen    Love this stuff!  Smells great.

6. A plastic wrapper from a bottled Starbucks Mocha Frappuccino  Trash.

7. Coppertone Kids 30 SPF Sunscreen  I was wondering where that went.

8. A Uniball Gel Pen

9. An old shopping list

10. Coupon book for the Zoo and Wild Animal Park  Got this yesterday when I renewed our membership.

11. Cell phone  The battery still works!!  I amaze myself sometimes.

12. A candy wrapper from one of those little mints you get on the way out (and in) of a restaurant  More trash.

13.  A week-old receipt from the rock store down town  

14. Victoria Secret Beauty Rush Lip Gloss  Flavor/Color= The Big Caramapple 

15. Victoria Secret Beauty Rush Lip Gloss  Flavor/Color= Cherry Bomb (my favorite)

16. An ancient photo pick-up slip from Legoland  Never did pick up the picture.  Trash.

17.  A Golden Spoon Frozen Yogurt receipt  Funny thing is, it's not even mine!  A friend I ran into wrote her phone number on the back of the receipt she found in her purse and gave it to me. Not trash... better put it in a good place.

18. A gold foil chocolate novelty ingredient sticker off of some chocolate novelty from Sees Candy 

19. One half-full roll of cinnamon Certs

20. Our temporary passes to the Zoo and WAP

21. Another receipt for rocks

22. Guest passes for the Zoo and WAP  Anyone want to join us sometime?

23. A smashed, previously melted (many times) Balance Energy Bar  Flavor= Mocha Chip.  This will be going in the trash.  I'm never that desperate to eat! 

24. A frozen yogurt card... buy 8 get one free!  I'm saving that!

25. My red Swiss Army Knife key chain with keys to who knows where!  

26. A faded Starbucks receipt

27. A small, navy blue, fuzzy pom-pom ball

28. A shark tooth  Really!

29. Lint

30.   A smashed collector penny from the WAP.

31. Something that looks like a small cupcake paper thingee  Hmmmm...

32. Sand  And I just got it under my fingernail.  Ick!

So, what do the contents of my purse say about me?  Mostly, they say I have kids--boys.  Boys who love nature and going to fun places; I need caffeine and love chocolate; I live in one of the best places in the country; I try to protect my boys and myself from sun damage; I can't stand dry lips; and I worry about having coffee breath.   Maybe some Freudian psychologist would have blast analyzing what the stuff in my purse says about me.  But, if you're reading this, and you're one... don't tell me.  I like to keep things simple.

So, what do you have in your purse?

Monday Minutiae

Today is Monday.  That means it's time for "Monday Minutiae"... quick write-ups of miscellaneous, meaningless, and sometimes mundane musings.

• Matt and I got to out out on Friday for a date... a kid-free date!  We went to the Brigantine in Escondido (a nice fish food restaurant).  We discovered that it pays to go early on a Friday night to eat:  They offer a three-course meal for basically the price of a regular entree.  They offer this between 4:00 and 6:00 p.m.  We were there at around 5:15... along with all the elderly "early birds".  We were the youngest people in the restaurant but we got a good deal!

• I'm not really sure how to spell restaurant.  I'll be spell-checking this, for sure!
  

• My bullet-point dots aren't spacing right.  What's up with that?!

• I think I fixed it.

• Nate is growing more and more fond of chickens, ducks, and other types of fowl.  He must take his stuffed chicken and two little roosters everywhere he goes.

• Nate still thinks he is a baby bird.  As I write this, he and Andrew are playing in Nate's "bird house"... a fort made out of a sheet and cushions.

• I booked a weekend trip to Santa Barbara for Matt and myself.  We are going in October and I can hardly wait.  We have never been to Santa Barbara before.  I hear it's beautiful.

• I made chocolate chip banana muffins today, using the banana bread mix from Trader Joe's.  They were YUMMY!  I ate too many.

• I just finished reading the book The Shack by William P. Young.  It was pretty good & very interesting.  I found it to be a little strange but a challenge to how I've always viewed God.  I can't say it makes my list of favorite books but it's definitely worth a read.
  

• Now it's an hour or so after I started writing this... had to finish up our homeschool day.

• I purchased a sweeper vacuum for Nate-- the kind that you just push and the rollers sweep it up (no electricity needed).  He loves it!  It works pretty well.  I have to say, our carpet is very clean! 

•  Nate is such a cleaning freak.  As I write this very sentence, he is cleaning his bathroom.  Really!

Well, that's probably enough meaningless, miscellaneous information for now.  I need to spell-check this and get the house straightened up before Matt gets home from work. 

Next Monday, if I remember, I'll have more minutiae to share.  

This is just one of Nate's chickens.  He (?) came with us on a hike on Palomar Mountain.

Remembering 9/11 in Escondido

Every Friday night during the months of April through September, Escondido holds a classic car event called "Cruisin' Grand".   Several city blocks are set aside to let people showcase their mostly American classic cars.  

Two Fridays ago, the Escondido Fire and Police Departments used Cruisin' Grand as a way to honor those who lost their lives in the attacks on September 11th seven years ago.  They had classic... and down-right old... fire trucks and police cars on display on Grand Avenue right along with classic Mustangs, Camaros, and Thunder Birds.  The best part was, the classic fire trucks were offering rides to those willing to wait in line.

Andrew was willing and Matt agreed to take him.  The wait was long but there was enough going on to make the time go quickly.  Nate didn't want to ride on the fire truck because of the loud sirens.  After about twenty minutes, Andrew, Matt, and a bunch of other people finally boarded one of the fire trucks.  

Nate and I waved bye-bye as they took off.  And we waited for them to return.  And waited.  And waited.  Just when I was beginning to wonder if their truck broke down somewhere, I saw that the fire trucks and police cars had lined up and were coming down the street in parade-fashion.  It was then that I realized the truck Andrew and Matt were on was part of the parade.

Nate and I cheered as we watched them go past us, waving flags and smiling.  They passed us again and everyone was cheering the fire fighters and waving to those aboard the trucks.  My little boy and my husband got to be a part of all of it!  It was such a fun surprise.  Andrew was so excited and could hardly believe the fire fighters let him keep the flag!   

We had so much fun!  Andrew will surely never forget how he got to ride on an old fire truck and be part of the parade.

Waving bye as they drive away.

Waving flags in the parade.

Nate did NOT like the sirens.

Andrew was amazed that he got to keep the flag.

One of the old police cars.

Not a police car... my DREAM car!

Let the Homeschooling Begin!

What the heck was I thinking?!

Last year, when I decided not to return to teaching, we had to make some decisions regarding how and where to educate my oldest, Andrew.  He would be going into first grade and public school was not an option we felt comfortable choosing.   Private school was not an option due to its high tuition. We looked at our only other options- charter school and homeschooling. Heritage Charter School had a waiting list a mile long.  Although Andrew got down to number 2 on the waiting list for first grade, we never got the call letting us know there was an opening.  

That left us with homeschooling.  I've always considered the idea of homeschooling to be a wonderful way to educate kids.  That is, until I had my own.  I've said for years that I wouldn't want to homeschool Andrew because he tends to be very argumentative... but not with other adults.  I decided to try it, however, because I didn't know what else to do.  Besides, Andrew wanted to be homeschooled.  Many of our neighbors homeschool.  

Fortunately, we were able to get into a program that combines homeschooling with class time in a traditional school setting.  We are homeschooling through The Classical Academy.  TCA is a local charter school which gives us the best of both worlds.  I homeschool Andrew two and a half days a week.  The other two and a half days are spent in a classroom and/or taking part in "labs".  We go on field trips, are held accountable by the TCA staff for work and objectives met, and have a school base to call "home".  The labs, which are held on Fridays, offer classes in karate, gymnastics, science, acting, videography, and much more.

I love having the flexibility to change and control our family schedule.  I love being able to know what my child is learning in school.  I am enjoying spending time with Andrew and Nate.  I also love not having to homeschool everyday.  I'm glad that Andrew gets to spend time playing with his friends.  He also loves his "other" teacher, Mrs. Eastman.  We truly have the best of both worlds when it comes to our schooling situation. 

So, when people ask me, "How is the homeschool thing going?" I'm  surprised to hear myself answer, "It's going great!  Much better than I thought it would."  

Our homeschool room.

Andrew (and Nate) hard at work.  Andrew's favorite subject: Science, of course!

Homeschool room, again.

Andrew's first day of school at The Classical Academy.

Waiting for school to start.