Valentine's Day for kids?

Spoiler Alert: This is not a cutesy, DIY Valentine posting today.

 

I have been thinking about this for the last couple of days. Mainly because whenever I pop onto Pinterest lately, I am bombarded with

Valentine's Day crafts, decorations, jewelery, and Valentine related clothing.

#1. My kids are in elementary school. That's a K-5th grade, so 5-12 year olds. Um, they shouldn't have Valentines. They shouldn't have boyfriends or girlfriends. Sure they can have crushes and think someone is totes cute, but I really feel that is about as far as it should go. I'm no prude, or fuddy duddy. I got engaged and moved out at 17, with the man I felt was the love of my life and I would spend forever with. 17 years later, we are still married and have 2 wonderful kids, who know that I was 17 when I moved out, but I have a hard time being okay with it for kids nowadays.

 

#2. Do people actually decorate their homes for Valentine's Day? I mean I know people who do themes for Christmas, winter, Thanksgiving, autumn, 4Th of July, Spring, & Easter (this one mainly for their kids). But is there sense in decorating for days like Valentine's and St. Patrick's. Why not Groundhog day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, or even President's Day. I mean do you put up a foam Mt. Rushmore on your mantel? Do you hang little paper Groundhog head garlands on the trellis? How about putting a MLK Jr. mannequin in your yard in January? Ya, sounds spectacular to me.

 

#3. I'm willing to bet that the moms out there are the ones who scour the internet for these adorable little V-day card ideas, trying to find the perfect one. The perfect one has to meet several requirements:

• Cost to make
• Supplies on hand versus need to purchase
• Cuteness/Coolness
• Ease to make/ skill level required
• Does it come with something extra (candy or toy)
• Will any other moms probably do this or something like this

Once you find your perfect lil' idea, you begin. Time and energy spent coloring, printing, folding, cutting, taping, pasting, sweating, crying, drinking, giving up, jumping back in because you'll be darned if your kid doesn't bring something totally adorable or awesome in.

 And now I guess we are giving teachers, mailmen, bus drivers, the pharmacist and neighbors V-day cards & treats too. When does it end? 
Well the pharmacist is cool in my book; the places I'd be without that angel ;)

See, look at these adorable ideas that I...my kids ;) would love to do!

 #4. The candy and toys. They come home with a bag full of cards and junk because the school has made it mandatory that if you bring something in for one kid, you must bring enough for everyone. And most of the other kids also brought cards with a candy or toy attached so they will be cool. I DON'T WANT MY KID TO HAVE ALL THAT CANDY! And I'm the bad guy when I tell them that and ration it to them like it were the Great Depression. (which they haven't even learned about yet)

And if you do send them with empty store bought cards, they are most likely to be passed over and thrown out without being opened or read.

How do I know this? Because 2 years ago my darling son brought home his bag and when we went through them, he pulled one out and looked sideways at it and said "hmm, no candy" then dropped it on the table. Since then he has come to understand appreciating the thought and effort put in to things.



 (FYI: My daughter just walked by and told me she was impressed with how much i am typing)

 So I have this parent part of me that wants to ask the teachers to have kids not bring candy in this year. And I have the cool parent, that used to be an un-cool kid, part of me that wants to keep my mouth shut.

 

Maybe if I send in one of these vintage gems then they will politely ask me to just not send anything in next year ;)

 

What I'm trying for in 2014

I haven't updated my profile yet but I actually have a job now as well as being the PTO Treasurer and Art Discovery Coordinator at my kids' Elementary school. I used to be the president but needed to take a more low key spot so that I could get a paying job to help with our growing debt to income ratio. Don't we all love those little nuisances called BILLS!

 

To start off, my good ol' minivan I've had for 9 years transmission gave out on Dec 23rd. Since my busiest time of work was coming up in a few days, we had to go get a car on Christmas Eve. (Only day my husband had available to go with me) That turned out okay. I mean I got an awesome new car and the payments aren't that bad. However we figure it will cost at or just over what we make on average a month. My income is tricky because I have a revolving 4 week schedule. Week 1 & 2 is busy but 3 is slow and 4 is slower. Then it starts all over again. But I love my job so I don't want to find another one.

 

We have switched our cell phone carrier so we will be saving about $50 bucks a month there. But I need to get a real handle on the finances and make sure I have the right numbers floating in my head. That there is the problem. I've relied too much on just playing it by ear and knowing how much we have in the bank versus what I need to pay.

So my New Year's Resolution was to get organized. Not just with clutter and papers, but with information as well. I mean here's the Debbie Downer part but, what if something happened to me an my husband needed to know the account numbers for the bills, or the passwords to all the online accounts I have. So I have spent the half of January looking up way to keep track of all this stuff, and ways to go through all the junk in the house too. I don't know why I need someone else to tell me how to clean and organize because I can go to someone elses house and have a plan of attack in like 3 seconds. But when it comes to my own stuff, I have a hard time "letting go". Even though it makes me mad and sometimes I say "lets just get rid of everything, we haven't even opened some of these boxes in years". I know I'm not the only one who feels this way right?

 

I have found a couple of freebie downloads I found that I think will help me. I found some people's Home Management Binders and saw what they did. Some of the info or calendars I felt I didn't need because I need a visual calendar and not one in a binder.

This is the bulletin board above my computer. I have a Meal plan for the month. My bills. Then my work Calendar.

 

The Meal plan is very simple. It is just dinners because we know what to eat for breakfast and lunch. It has whether we will have pork, chicken, spaghetti, pizza, or something else like meatloaf. Then I go plan the meals once a week based on those main ingredients, and shop for anything I don't already have.

My Bills calender, I need to see when they are due in the month to plan which paycheck is going to cover them.

My work calendars show what week my jobs are to be done in so I can choose which days I work and which days I'm going to take off (for volunteering).

 

But I thought I would share some of the pages I've found that I'm going to use. I am thankful for their generosity in offering these printables for free.

My pinterest Organization board

 

 This first website has a bunch of printables for organizing information. 

diyhshp.blogspot.com

 Monthly & Weekly Calendars, Cleaning schedules, Labels, Contact Lists, Dates to Remember, Shopping Lists, Freezer & Pantry Lists, Password Log, Medical Records, Emergency Contacts, etc....

And did I mention its all pretty and colorful :)



 

A Bowl Full of Lemons.net

 This second website has a 14 week plan to organize your home. I look forward to starting it (on my own time) next month. I haven't followed through on if there is a current one running, but this program was in 2012 and I can see how it would help to have moral support and ideas from other people doing the same project but in different spaces. That's why I am trying to rope in my friend who is also complaining about her home. I figure we can motivate each other and tell each other to "suck it up and clean missy". 

Ode to Candy Crush Saga

There once was a girl from Vancouver,
Who tried and tried to menuvuer.
A green one here and a blue one there,
I cant get a bomb anywhere.

I squint and cringe and even yell,
This game is making me mad as hell.
I think im close, im almost done,
Got one jelly left, but moves I got none.

It's been a few days but feels like forever,
I'll pass level 65, um like NEVER!
I've begged and pleaded for move moves to be sent,
Friends have replied but they've all been spent.

This game truly could be the death of me,
What's that in the corner, another damned jelly.
I think i'll cry from all this strife,
OOOh I gotta go, I just got another life!

The interesting talent of my husband

Let me start out by saying I snore like a grizzly bear attacking a pack of wild dogs. I have been known (to his delight) to wake my husband and even myself from a dead sleep with my snoring. That being said, I can now feel comfortable telling you about my husband ;)

So he is not a loud snorer generally. There have been a few occasions where he has woken me up but that has been because his face was basically in mine. However this isn't about his snoring per say. It's more along the lines of what other sounds he makes while sleeping. NO I'm not talking flatulence. Sometimes an additional sound comes out from his throat or nose that creeps me the hell out.

I am an even lighter sleeper since we just moved to this house. I believe because I know my children are farther away from my room then they were in the old house. Anyway, I am often awakened by some sounds that I do not know what they are at the time, but later find out that they are coming from my husband.

They range from:
~A high pitch whistle that I can only assume is the equivalent to what a dog whistle sounds like to them.
~A snore that sounds like a gurgle that makes me think we are under water.
~A moan that is more like mumbling in his sleep. Like he's even too tired to speak clearly so I can understand what the heck he is saying. Although there have been occasions where he has blurted out things like "more mashed potatoes" and "we've got to get it over there", but I can never get him to elaborate. Sometimes I try to get him to finish what he's talking about and I actually end up waking him up. Oops.
~But the most disturbing of noises that he makes, really puzzles me. I wake up to the sound of what I think is one of my kids yelling mom from across the house. So of course I jump up and run to their rooms flinging open the doors only to find them peacefully asleep. Then as I go back and lay down I hear the sound again only to find that it is coming from my husband. It is like it is a secondary sound that comes out along with the little snore.

I have laid there listening to him trying to even imitate these sounds or even figure out how he makes them, to no avail. That is why I share this with you today. Not to embarrass him or anything like that, however to let you know I live with a possessed demon and if I ever disappear I'm blaming it on the spirit trapped inside him that likes to f**k with my sleep.

Doofenbrain!

So I am sorting all our laundry, which I feel I have the entire household's wardrobe in front of me right now. And I find myself talking to myself about what I'm doing. Not that this in itself is weird, but I'm using the Heinz Doofenshmirtz accent. You knw from Phineas and Ferb. Yah, um I don't know why but it was stuck in my head, so this is the kind of conversation I had, alone, in my room, while sorting laundry.

(Don't forget to read this in his accent!)
 

"Oh hey Perry de Platipus, I didn't see you dere. You see I'm working on my latest Inator. I call it de laundry-inator. Well here lemme just show you how it works. De socks go in here you see, and dis is where de pants go in."

 

I must say it made the whole process a litte more fun, which is surprising.

Driving 101

I was driving to the store today and pulled out onto the main road and although it was not a drastic move or one of those Mario Andretti type maneuvers to get in front of someone, I had a little flashback in time to when I was learning how to drive.
(Somewhere in the distance I hear the laughter of my parents)

So a few moments from my past popped into my mind, and of course I feel it is my duty to share it with you. (Insert wavy lines and flashbacky music here)

Moment 1-
I was in Driver's Ed class in High School and it was my day to go out driving the Driver's Ed car. You know the cool bad ass 4 door blue sedan that was most likely a Plymouth or Pontiac, with a brake pedal on the passenger side for the teacher to use "just in case".
So I'm doing good, staying in my lane, using my mirrors correctly, kept getting told to watch my speed, I even got kudos for changing lanes and not hitting any of those "turtles". Then we come to a stop and I am waiting for an opening to turn right and I see it. So I gun it and all of a sudden the car stops after an inch and I look at the teacher and he's holding down the brake. I said what I still say to this day, "I totally coulda made that." And while the 2 other students in the back are laughing, my teacher said "yeah I don't think so."

Moment 2-
Riding around with my mom all those years in the passenger seat and hearing her yell "ARSEHOLE" to the other drivers. Those few moments when she would have to break suddenly and her arm flies out in front of me. You know, the "mombelt". The arm they think will save you from flying out of your buckled seat belt through the windshield to your horrific demise. I always asked "Why do you do that?" She always said she couldn't help it and I'd understand when I had kids. I always the smart ass would reply with "Um if we get into an accident I'd much more prefer you kept both hands on the wheel duh"

Moving forward a few years, I am moved away from home and living with my fiance (hee hee such a funny word) and I am driving to work when all of a sudden the jackhole in front of me decides to stop suddenly. Thus causing me to stop suddenly and the purse in my passenger seat flies forward slamming into the dash with such force I actually check for dents later. Then it drops to the floor only after it flips upside down and pours everything out onto the floor as well. And I'm thinking "Dang that mom arm would come in handy hahahaha"

Moment 3-
I am a mom of 2 now. My kids are buckled safely in their carseats in the seat behind me. Latch system in place. Those pups are moving if Hercules himself yanks on them. We are driving down the road when all of a sudden the ARSEHOLE in front of me decides he needs to stop right then and there. So I brake and my right arm flies out to the side of me as if I were holding someone back. Even though there was nothing in the passenger seat, it happened and I understood. The mom arm. I has it now ;)

Paint Chips REALLY!

Ok so I have to address this new rage of crafting using these paint sample cards from the home improvement sections.

You know the ones I mean.

The garlands made from punching shapes from the cards,

and the pictures and chandeliers made from them as well. 

I have a big issue with this because it is just more waste.

I can understand if you have a couple of these paint chips left over from trying to decide what shade of pink to paint a room or perhaps you want to convince your husband to repaint the boudoir so you bring home 3 or 4 choices to show him. But going to the store and snatching up like 50 cards just so you can make some craft is beyond me. I feel bad taking 5 let alone grabbing the whole dang pile.

Isn't it bad enough the over growing waste and the so few trees we have left that people are purposefully making it so we have to cut down more trees to produce more paint chips.

I dunno, perhaps it's just me pms'ing so I'm feeling more earth friendly or something, but I just had to vent. I am normally the first to encourage new methods for crafting or upcycling, but I just don't get this one. Sorry if you don't agree, you don't have to. Feel free to blog about it ;)

(This one I like)

New Year's Resolution

I had been thinking about this for a few days now. It is not something I actually take lightly. I never resolve to lose weight because I am not feeling ready to give up the good yummy foods I enjoy eating. Plus It's not that I eat a lot, it's just that I only eat about once a day and I don't eat the healthiest foods. Plus I'd have to give up my regular MT Dew and there isn't a force on earth that could make me want to do that.

So I think logically about what I need to do or achieve, and I think about if these things are attainable goals. Therefore my resolution for 2012 is to re-organize. It was going to be simple and small scale however I woke up this morning with an overwhelming urge to purge.

I want to have more space for my creating. See how I use the term creating instead of crafting. That is because I want to get back into building. I'm tired of not being able to have certain things because I cannot find them, afford them, or because these cruddy walls cannot hold them. So I will build or make what I need. I love using power tools and hammers and nails. It fills a void in me.

I have downloaded a wonderful organizing tool from My Simpler Life that I plan to also use in my re-structuring process. It is a monthly calender with different projects to do each day. Although I am planning a complete overhaul, I feel it will help me stay on track, and hopefully motivated. I love calendars and planners and having my to do's in front of me.

Link for the de-clutter calendar here: http://www.mysimplerlife.com/decluttercalendar.htm

This picture here shows something I had done when Kameron was a baby because I was definitely in need of organizing back then. This was a simple way for me to get my shopping done in one trip so I didn't have to lug around a baby all the time to and from the store for things I forgot. I simply went to each "station" in my house (i.e. fridge, cupboards, bathroom, etc) and wrote down what we have on a normally daily/weekly basis.



P.S. I see I spelled breakfast as breekfast



Then I categorized them into sections. For example health and beauty, beverages, meats, baby needs, etc. )I also went onto Safeway's online shopping link and used their shopping lists that are broken into sections for reference/suggestions)

It may seem like a long drawn out process, but really it only took about an hour. Then however pretty you want to make it is up to you based on how long you want to take to do that.

I don't know why this one is highlighted, but what I would do before I went grocery shopping is I would open this list and go down looking to see if I needed to get more or if I had enough to last for at least another week or until I planned to go shop again.

I probably got this idea from my work where we used this kind of lists for ordering our inventory. You have to have an idea of how much you use in the first place to know if you will have enough to carry you for a week or 2. But we are pretty good at that right ladies.

But that is how I created my shopping lists and we pretty much always had what we needed. Other things like flour and special seasonings were written down as we ran out of them, or purchased if I knew I was going to be making a particular meal that week and only had the product for the meal and not everyday. Like kale for my Olive Garden soup, or chicken bullion for my friend chicken.

I am super excited to have found this list last night because I had been thinking about making it again since I've fallen off the organized wagon along time ago. Let's face it when your idea of staying organized is to keep everything piled up on your printer until you need to use it, then you need help!

I look forward to sharing my progress with you. What are your New Year's Resolutions you are looking forward to working on?

Pinterseption!

So I'm looking at Pinterest, which is nothing new if you've read anything i've posted this past week or 3. However it got me to thinking about how I used to keep pictures of things I liked just this way.

Then I got all high and mighty and now I'm mad cuz I THOUGHT OF IT FIRST!

Of course me not being technically saavy has left me behind the times when it comes to great ideas.

And now that I am actually trying to think of the other projects that I thought of first and then they became huge hits, I am totally blank on them. But trust me I will remember and I'll be sure to let you know.

So back to the matter at hand. I went through my old binder that I aptly named "My Happy Book" and felt I should share with you. You know so I have proof to back up my whine ;)

Here are a few shots of my little black book.



Just a plain 3 ring binder with page protectors in it. I painted a happy face on it one day when I had gotten new paint pens and HAD to color on everything I could find. It's been scratched up through the years. I had always planned to move to a larger prettier binder, but project after project came along and I figured at least it had a place so it wasn't on the priority list.





Oh my horrible penmanship



So back in the day I was obsessed with photo booths and I would make whomever was with me take a photo with me.
Today's victim is my Best Friend Jewel. The picture was black and white but I colored it in. It is the first thing I see when I open my happy book because she is more important to me than any material possession I could ever have. (Aww sappy moment *sniff sniff*)

 

Here's my xmas ornament idea section





My Want For Home/Dream home ideas section



The good thing about MY method is that I can cut out the faces of the models ;)



God I still love this table









Here's the folder I had with all the pictures I hadn't gotten to add in the book yet. I tuck it in the pocket inside the binder.







Sometimes when I was having a bad day or just felt like I wanted to keep a picture for the off chance that someday I would be able to make or buy it, I would know exactly what I wanted. Suprisingly enough there were times I though if I looked at the book when depresed it would worsen my mood to look at things I didn't have and wanted but, nope. Just like on Pinterest. Except on Pinterest I can see what other people's opinions are on items and then it makes me laugh to see the horrible things some people like.

I know I'm so bad. It's ok, I like coal at Christmas.

Old Year's Resolution

Ok I have been so freaking good this year. I have held back from being a sarcastic mean bitch and just saying whatever is on my mind. I did the whole if you dont have anything nice to say dont say anything at all. And if I have said anything mean or sarcastic it was only as a joke. Trust me, i've been a damn angel this year when it comes to my brain to mouth filter. Especially when it comes to Facebook. I like having "friends" and seeing what people post, even if i'm just an aquaintance of someone, but sometimes they post something and I sooooooo want to say a snarky remark. But I dont, because I am sure that I would be unfriended immediately.

This makes me wonder how people get away with just saying whatever is on thier mind. I'm sure it's not necessarily getting away with it as it is living like that. I'm sure they don't keep a lot of company. Or have friends for that matter. I can't imagine what it must be like to never have friends. I have a few month period where I didn't have anyone because my sarcastic jokey self wasn't being regulated and I lost a friend who I had a lot in common with and had a lot of fun with. I had also recently moved hundreds of miles away from my life so I had to make all new aquaintances and friends.

That time when I didn't have anyone to talk to or confide in (Except for my bestie who was having a lot of her own time consuming issues) really sucked. It was lonely and depressing and I think my kids were probably thinking mom needed a life. So now that I have made this little change in myself and hold back things I think people might not feel are as funny as I do, I have been doing well in the aquaintance area. I'm not sure how they think of me. How do you find out if someone conciders you a friend or aquaintance? Does anyone out there have the cahones to ask if someone feels they are considered friends? What do you do if someone asks you "Hey do you consider us friends?" and you just think of them as an aquaintance. Do you be an ass and say "No i don't think we are there yet" or do you lie and say "Of course!"

I think we should institute a color system like the food chart or the defcon chart. Perhaps Green for neighborly, Yellow for Aquaintances, Orange for Friends and Red for Good Friends. And if you wanna get fancy we can add Purple for Best frineds. I'm sure the men would love that one ;)

Inspiring!

So I got up (I'm not saying what time because it might make me sound lazy) and I come to my computer and the first thing I do of course, lately, is click on Pinterest.
I swear I am so obsessed with this site lately. Not only does it calm me down when I am upset, make me laugh when I need a jolt, and amaze me with all the talent that people have, but it also inspires me to do more with my life and my space. So this morning in particular I found a site I ♥ Organizing and was looking at a family binder idea that I think would come in handy. Then I start seeing all these other pictures of things people have done to organize and it makes me feel all giddy and capable. I start feeling little flutters of energy coursing through me like I'm a cloud ready to let out some lightning and 'BAM' something amazing will happen. Then I stand up and i turn around and look at all my crap...... :( back to Pinterest to look at pretty pictures.

After Christmas crash part 2

So as I posted my last post my daughter started yelling "HE'S THROWING UP!" As I look over I see my son throwing up all over MY chair, himself, my quilt a friend made me, a pillow another friend had made me, his stuffed animals, and on the floor. WTH man, when did you eat that much food EVER!

So I just spent a good part of my morning cleaning. I was planning on cleaning today anyway but not that thoroughly ;)

Let's just hope I can get the cushion cover back on, other wise I guess i'll have to just make a new one.

After Christmas crash

So I've already always hated when my husband asks me what my plans for the day are, since I'm not working and he is. It has always hit me more like "Hey are you going to do anything productive today?" Lol. And sometimes he has admitted that is what he's thinking when he asks, so I'm not totally neurotic.
However today I woke up with a bit of a grudge on my shoulders because he said he would do the Christmas dinner dishes. And of course as always, I'm the one who had to dish up the leftovers into Tupperware and cut all the ham off the bone. But he also didn't do dishes. Earlier in the day he had joked about leaving them for Monday since he had to work so I'd be left to do them, so of course this sticks in my mind when he "forgets" to do the dishes.
So when I walk into the kitchen this a.m. I'm thinking "I'm just going to throw them all away so i don't have to wash them" then AH HA I had an epiphany. More like an evil genius thought but who cares right. When we talked this morning he said he had a slow day so he would be stopping by home to have lunch with us. I should make him do the dishes then!

MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Keri-1 Hubby-0

Garage Sale Mania!

So last night I decided I had way too much stuff and I wanted to get rid of alot of it. Not that I live in squaller or am a hoarder or anything. My house is fairly neat, except for the few toys my kids have on the floor or the 1 too many knick knacks on my shelves. I just have been feeling claustrophobic lately and tired of getting done going through cleaning everything only to find that once i'm done, it's time to start at the other end and make my way through again. DUSTING ESPECIALLY EEWWW!
So last night as I lay in bed I was so excited about thinking of getting rid of everything, I started mentally planning out my process and going through what I can part with. I was getting so excited that I almost got up to actually start cleaning my garage last night around midnight. Then I thought, well i will be too tired tomorrow morning to finish so i'll stay in bed. 2 hours later I was still mentally preparing myself. I have never been so excited to purge before. I'm wondering if it is a sign that this is exactly what I need right now. Like if I can clear my space, perhaps I will be able to clear my mind. IDK.

And surprisingly enough I am still excited this morning about the whole thing. Even though it is sprinkley outside and my major plan was to pull everything out of the garage, I think I still can get it done. I was going to separate everything into 3 piles. Keep, Sell/donate, and toss. Then put everything I'm keeping back in neatly and organized. Then my garage sale pile will be in boxes in the corner. A couple neighbors have already shown interest in doing a yard sale this summer too, and my mom. So it'll be on June 3rd and 4th. Let's just hope I keep up this enthusiasm long enough to actually get everything done.