planting, progress, and procrastination

wow it feels like i havent posted in a while- oh i havent... duh...i think i need all my blog followers to send me little reminders to kick start my posting every now and then... i have come to realize that when i actually post
i am really taking the time to actively work on my goal...- blogging helps keep me centered on happiness- i am taking time to really think about the little things that i tend to overlook and take for granted.
that most likely was a big jumble of nothing to all of you, but in my warped mind it made perfect sense.
       i like the fact that as i unwind at the end of the day and reflect on what the day entailed, i smile. do you end your day with a smile? i know i dont all the time.  but i need to. i think ill add that to my resolution list- find at least one happy thing at the end of each day, even if the day was crappy, and be able to smile about something.  

If you smile when no one else is around, you really mean it.  ~Andy Rooney
A smile is a curve that sets everything straight.  ~Phyllis Diller

     just tonight as i was putting courtney to bed, she began a new phase- whining and begging for just one more song, one more favorite baby... a friend of mine recently posted a link to another moms blog talking about the same thing- kids putting us on guilt trips at bedtime... i giggled as i read it, and silently said thank you that i hadnt had to deal with it...HA! Even though i dread the nights to come and the evil mom i will be by not letting her get up just because she isnt sleepy, i still smile because i know she is growing up so fast...what is one more hug, or song sang to my sweet, innocent little obnoxious she devil...some day she wont want me to tuck her in...and btw- the sweet dream thing, didnt pan out... she said  "mommy, i dont want sweet dreams-im a yittle scared" maybe she just doesnt understand yet... ill keep trying...
    my 12 yr old on the other hand...lol  i know ive mentioned before the fact that he is really into things right now that we old crotchety parents(hahaha) deem to be stupid, but are pretty cool to pre-teens apparently... you remember gum wrapper chains, and pop tab collections...what in gods earth did we really do with them, what purpose did they ever serve- none. but they were fun.  jacobs thing right now- and i find myself rolling my eyes as i type...duct tape. he wants to make things out of it. a girl he went to school with made him a wallet out of red duct tape... seriously the boy doesnt have a thing to keep in a wallet, but oh well... he begged and begged a while back to use some to make something, and we adamantly said no- how mean are we! well- today while i was out shopping for our upcomming halloween party (so psyched about it) i found gobs of colored and patterned duct tape, and of course thought of him... and even though i really dont want to find duct tape crap lying all ove:) some of you might be aware we have had issues recently with him and attitude, and schooolwork- well, the light at the end of the tunnel is appearing i hope. his doctor started him on a med for adhd, and omg i think i have a new kid! he actually came home from school and said school doesnt suck as much anymore! i dont think i could have been any more relieved at that moment. that truely made me happy because i felt like i was losing that battle badly.
     so- im slow going with the book right now due to a thousand different things going on with the family, but i am determined to keep going on my road to order. i am however finding that road has soooooo many speed bumps, many of which i call mike...lol. my husband and self proclaimed procrastinator... major roadblock lately... im finding it really difficult to get some things accomplished that need to be done because of his lack of motivation... i know i cant change him, and i need to focus on myself, but it feels like a viscious circle... i know he would be more happier with more order here in the house, and i would be more happier if he would finnish something he starts, but how do i motivate him? i have problems motivating myself at times. this will deffinately take some thought. im constanly learning to pick my battles...
     i have been really trying to do small things each day to maintain the level of clutter at home...so far so good, i slack every few days, but it has been so nice to have the living room vaccuumed almost every day, and the kitchen counters cleaned off more often.(these have been a local catch all in the house) a clean kitchen makes me feel good...i love cooking and baking but only when my kitchen is clean and i have space. so i can happily say we have had several homecooked meals lately-which makes for a happier family. grabbing whatever we can find from the freezer or cupboard works occasionally, but i feel more incontrol when the kitchen is mine. one of gretchens resolutions is to do it if it takes less than a minute...for example if im unpacking a bag of groceries, instead of getting something out of the bag and putting it on the counter, it makes more sense to just put it where it goes instead. common sense i know- but before we would unload the bags and then it still seemed like a whole nother job to put them away.  i had mike put in a tension rod above the washer and dryer in my laundry room- yay! he actually finished something i asked him to do!!! my goal for this is to avoid living out of laundry baskets... i am attempting to pull empty hangars out of my closet and hang them on the rod, and actually fold the laundry as soon as i get it out of the dryer (wow-what a concept), because im more likely to put it directly away if it is folded when it gets to the bedroom rather than have a pile in the basket that still needs folding-that will sit there till i need something from it. im not quite on top of it yet, but im getting there. even a little progress is still progress---smile.
    we are also slowly making progress on the outside of the house too finally! we finished lining the front flower beds with the landscaping bricks that have been sitting in front of the garage for a few months, and mulched it...it looks so much better now...but we recently bought an ass load of mums for the flower beds. ( i am a huge bargain shopper- and i consider myself very resourceful- however this trait combined with the people pleaser, doesnt always lend well to time management and getting the things done that need to be..) our intentions are to actually PLANT them, but sadly alot of that will fall on mike to help me-and it is hard to dig holes in your sleep.  i cross my fingers thatwe can get them planted this week! but even with them just sitting out front, when i pull up to the house i smile, because it looks so pretty. maybe im shallow because appearance is important to me, but oh well. ill be happy as i wade in the shallowness.

so- i think im going to go read a little while i have some quiet time, and maybe just maybe ill actually post again before the week passes...thanks for reading my random ramblings.... till later...

p.s- here is another fun happy tool...instant snow...one of the reasons ive been vaccuuming more- ive been letting courtney play with the snow... it keeps her busy for ever! it really is fun...messy but deffinately worth it. dont be scared to let it snow in your house... the smiles and giggles are priceless.