Getting (part) of our life in order

Between trainings, institute days, and teacher work days, Will was pretty much back to work this week. And, while we did miss him (the kids go through a little adjustment when he's back to work), I think we had a pretty great week. With Will out of the house, I was finally able to start organizing the house. Every day, I did at least one small bit of organizing, and it's making me feel better about the fall coming, which will all too soon lead to winter. Will doesn't really understand my need to keep things more tidy around the house, but I think a lot of it has to do with control for me right now. My body has turned against me, and I really feel like I have little control over how I'm feeling right now physically. It's been pretty difficult/emotional for me, and one thing that makes me feel worse is when papers and junk pile up in the house or when I walk into our storage/laundry room or our garage. It's just so cluttered, and I hate it. And, since a cleaner house is something I actually can control, I'm determined.

Neither Will nor I are neat freaks, and we probably never will be. Our house will never be clutter free. But I do like there to be a place for things, and, since our house is pretty modestly sized (euphemism for tiny), it's imporant that I try to keep the clutter under control. Part of the problem is that Will is a bit of a hoarder. This is a man who holds onto bank statements, old tax returns, receipts, bills, etc. for years and years and years. I've shown him credible sites online that give advice for what to hold on to and for how long, but he's just so stubborn. He also holds on to random trinkets and containers that he thinks he may use some day. And, to his credit, sometimes he does find use for these things. But, most often, he doesn't, mostly because he doesn't even knows he has them because they're buried in the basement somewhere or in the volcano of crap on his dresser. I'm all for recycling, too, but the problem is that we just don't have to room to hold on to so much stuff. Anyway, I am too nice (read: scared) to really throw away anything of Will's, so I have to work around him and be very diligent with my own things as well as give him an organized space to keep his junk.

So far, I've cleaned out the kids drawers/closets of old clothes, cleaned out old toys, organized our hall closet (half of it, at least), set up a "mud room," put up some cork boards and a dry erase board, and cleaned out our junk drawers. It doesn't seem like a lot, but I want to start small so that when I do tackle the basement and garage, other areas are under control. I'll try to remember to post before and after pictures of the main areas.

Of course, in between projects, the kids and I have had a lot of fun. I've actually really been enjoying the time Ethan and I have during Eleanor's nap. We've started a tradition of doing a few worksheets from a phonics book, and we are also practicing writing his name. I've designated a notebook his name notebook, and I date the page with each new name entry. That way, we can see his progress. After the "homework," we do an art project or work with some play dough or something. Or, we have been going outside, too, since the weather has been pretty great. The other day, we even flew a kite, despite the fact that there was very little wind. We got one good breeze, though, and I was a little embarrassed by my extreme excitement of getting Spidey up in the air. I'm enjoying this time now because I know it's short lived. Before I'm ready, we'll be exiled to the basement for most of our playtime, so we're spending as much time upstairs and out of doors as we can.



And, it's nice to have time with Eleanor while Ethan is at school. He's had a summer camp these last two weeks, and he has one more week this week. Then, there's two weeks off before preschool starts again. Eleanor and I can run errands together or just play at home on our own. One day, we took her friend Andrew (and his mom) to the Arboretum. We left right after taking Ethan to school, played in the children's garden for an hour and a half, and then came home to eat lunch before picking Ethan up. It was a great outting, and I think it's nice for Eleanor to not have to fight for attention with her brother.



Enjoy some recent pics.

This was from a trip to the Arboretum with Will, too. It was his first time in the children's garden there.
Ethan loves these pumps.

This is Etahn running out of this tunnel type structure made of vines.

Swiss Family Meuer

Running

Will snapped this one.

I thought I put it up high, but Eleanor got to the ink pad again!

This is one my birthday. We had the big summer birthday family party at my uncle's house that day. It just happened to be on my birthday b/c we needed to have it earlier since a lot of my cousins were leaving for college the next day. Unfortunately, the weather didn't cooperate very well to go swimming in the great pool they have, but we still had fun.

Mom's cake read "Celebrating 507 years," which was the totol from all the birthdays we were celebrating that day.

Farm park - an old favorite.

She's started the pointing phase.

Captain America came for a visit.

From our solo trip to the Arbor.

I tried deperately to get a good 18 month pic, but she's just too fast these days.

Andrew had just given Eleanor a flower. :)

This is right before we left for the Farmer's Market. Ethan insisted on wearing his costume, which led to many looks and comments. He also wore it to Target later in the morning. What a goof!

First pony tail!

Our mud room aka a tiny spot in our kitchen, but it beats shoes all over the rug!

This is how I found Ethan the other night when I went to check on him before bed. I imagine he was going for his book shelf but just conked out on the way.Air and Water Show today - awesome spot!

Love it.

We had to buy the kids hats b/c we forgot them (along with bathing suits - oops!), and pool Eleanor had to get a Sox hat. Oh well.

We walked to the beach from Will's parent's city condo, and then we were able to go back there for a nap for Eleanor. We are already looking forward to next year. Just hope the weather will be as good as today's, which was perfect!

This is the amazing view from the condo. We could see the show from the window.