Faucets and Other Victories

For those of you who've been following David's epic battle to install a new faucet

Sink Before

Pipes Before

Sink After

Pipes After

Finishing our first 2000 piece puzzle

David's Valentine's gift this year

He did 85%, I chipped in 15% (Obsession vs. Hobby)

Man Vs. Rabbit 2012

This is approximately how big our lettuce got last year before bunny devastation (they're about 3" high)

Our garden this year!

The (fenced in) lettuce patch. We've already gotten to eat lots of our own greens!

Victories are great, but we wouldn't have gotten here without our defeats    : )

Spring in Our Backyard

Growing up in Florida, I never truly appreciated how much fun spring could be. Even in North Florida, spring is just the two weeks where everything blooms beautifully before the heat of summer sets in and everything turns resolutely green again. Here, spring takes place at a more leisurely pace. A few steps forward, a few steps back, flowers and greenery unfold week after week. First came the daffodils and cherry blossoms, now come the tulips and apple blossoms, yet to come are my wisteria and lilac bushes. It's a joy to watch life unfold!

Caleb certainly agrees. He loooves watching all the activity going on in our front and back yards. Nothing is better than when the giant squirells tempt him by coming right up onto our back porch before dashing off up a tree. He runs over to the window anytime the birds start squabbling, which is often.

One of our resident squirrels

For those who have been following the on-going bird drama this year...The little finches have reclaimed their nest as the big birds who were trying take over were apparently migratory and only needed it for temporary housing. They seem thrilled to be back and are happily restuffing every scrap of leaf and grass into their already full space.

Mrs. Robin has laid two eggs and spends most of her time sitting on the nest, especially on the few days when the temps have dipped back down into freezing. I'm spending more time with the curtains in the kitchen closed out of respect for the job she's doing. I can't wait to see the little chicks hatch! Mr. Robin has made peace with the window once again, though I'm not naive enough anymore to expect it to last : )

Roosting just outside the kitchen window under the wisteria

Some of you may remember our dismal garden fail last year. Long story short, we dug up the grass, added furrows, dropped seeds on top of the completely unworked, unfertilized furrows, dropped a little top soil on them and hoped something would grow. Amazingly, adorable little lettuce plants and carrot heads sprouted and grew into tiny baby greens which I thinned out and enjoyed in a (very small) salad.

Things went down hill from there. First it was a hail storm. And then a second one. Nickle sized peices of hail pummeled our yard, not once, but twice. I was sure our garden was doomed. Amazingly it survived both onslaughts. What it did not survive was the great bunny attack of June 2011. After our resident bunny nibbled every single stalk of lettuce and carrot head, we decided that sometimes you just have to know when to give up. And give up we did.

This fall, David built me these beautiful raised beds in hopes of keeping the bunny out. We filled them with horse and chicken manure from a friends farm, along with several giant bags of our fall leaves and let it mature over winter. A couple weeks ago I planted, and a hail storm predictably followed. Fortunately my seeds are still safely underground and the hail pieces were pea-sized this time. We are looking at this year as a learning experience and look forward to seeing what grows!)

Something was already growing in our compost pile! A giant green onion.

David breaking up the manure before adding top soil.

Caleb is fascinated.

Planting. Caleb is sneakily trying to water the garden with his sippy cup.

Helping Daddy clear out another garden area while mommy plants.

Craft-stick and permanent marker labels. Sacrificial spinach planted to see if our bunny can reach.

Project Simplify: Master Bedroom

If my life was a movie and clutter was the villain, the master bedroom would be my arch nemesis (we won't discuss his henchmen, the guest room and basement in this post). I feel a sense of foreboding anytime I think about trying to tackle it. Like a magpie, my "nest" is where I tend to stuff all the little odds and ends that have meaning to me, but no designated spot in my home.

Lest anyone still be worrying I spend too much time cleaning and not enough enjoying motherhood, let these "before" photos put your mind at ease ; )

Check out those dressers. See that big stack of cards on the right? One is from our CPA, circa Christmas 2010. That's when you know it's time to get. a. grip.

Ah the bookshelf. The third shelf down is almost completely filled with magazines I will never ever open again, but that might have something desperately important in them. *Sigh*

Ironing board. Not just a place to heap clothes that need to be de-wrinkled, but also to hold very important sermon notes I convince myself I will read again, but never do. Please don't refer me to Hoarders.

Getting started was the hardest part (it always is). Not only was I in some additional pain from my physical therapy appointment on Monday, but it never ceases to amaze me how much debt and clutter relate to one another. Both make you feel overwhelmed and unsure of where to begin. It seems like avoiding the mess all together would be easier, but deep down, you know the mess is what's draining your energy.

I decided to get my "clutter-debt" snow ball rolling by cleaning off the top of the lingerie dresser. I tossed the calendar that hadn't been turned since October into the goodwill box, removed every item, dusted, and replaced only 2 things. As expected, doing one small project and seeing quick success gave me the motivation I needed to tack "just one more" area.

With the help of David, we "just one more" thinged our way to these after photos:

It involved a lot of asking myself these questions:

"Is this beautiful?" Then how will I display it?

"Is this useful?" Then how will I make it easily accessible?

"Is this worth the space it's taking up in my home and the time it costs to care for it?" If not, read it one last time or take a photo and then let. it. go.

Obviously, I still have a pretty big stack of papers and knick-knacks I still have to sort through, but I feel great about the progress we made on the flat-surface areas of this room. The dressers are clear, the cedar chest is accessible again and the ironing board is put away. I plan to tackle the closet and drawers during this upcoming weeks "choose your own adventure" in Project Simplify.

Project Simplify: Kid's Stuff

After spending Caleb's nap today writing a really moving post about why I decided not to do this week's project (something about having the flu, being kind to myself, blah blah blah) I got a burst of inspiration and energy and decided to tackle his closet.

We started our move towards simple living shortly before Caleb was born, so there wasn't much other work to be done in the kid department.

Caleb's Room. Not exactly going to be featured on Pinterest anytime soon, but we like it : )

His closet however, was a dumping ground for odds and ends before it became part of the nursery and never really recovered.

Before

A few of my more interesting finds:

An old shower curtain.

Unused stool and urine sample bags (extras from illnesses in his first year of life)

A dead stinkbug. Of course.

I removed all his outgrown clothes, cloth diapers, baby bibs and receiving blankets to be packed away. I also ruthlessly weeded out some "must have" baby items we never used. A pack of un-opened paci's (he was a thumb baby), waterproof mattress cover (crib mattresses are waterproof), and a few other odds and ends.

After

Caleb loves to help with these projects. Look at all that space!

On the floor we have blankets (lots and lots of blankets...maybe he'll learn to sleep under them one day), extra diapers (we use disposables at night and for travel), and a gift bag full of stroller accessories.

On the bottom shelf are toys he'll grow into in the next year, extra childproofing materials (child proofing is never finished), extra diapers and wipes and items we still need to hang on his walls. On the top shelf are my baby keepsakes and clothes he'll grow into soon.

I dusted the window and the closet shelves. I also vacuumed the floor of the closet. I even used two different handy-dandy attachments! I've never cleaned a closet so thoroughly before. I guess that's what spring cleaning is all about though. Tackling those spaces that get neglected in the week to week cleaning routine.

All in all, it took about an hour and a half and I couldn't have done it without David's willingness to chase Caleb around the house during that time. I still need to actually box up his clothes and sort through some keepsakes I found stashed in a basket, but that's for later tonight!

Coming this week: Kitchen and Pantry!

When Mornings Matter

One of my goals in Welcoming 2012 was to make our marriage a high priority. Last week, as I read this encouraging article about sticking with a bed time, God convicted me about how important my presence in the morning is to David.

I know he cherishes the time we spend chatting over coffee, planning out our day and even just reading the comics together. It makes him feel loved when I make his lunch, even though it's usually just something boring like left overs or a sandwich. Not everyone feels this way, in fact some people prefer to be left alone in the morning, but knowing how precious that time is to him (and me), it was something I wanted to reclaim.

One of the few times in our marriage I was awake before David. Definitely photo worthy : )

During our push in February to get the main rooms of our house under control, I found myself exhausted. David graciously encouraged me to sleep in and get the rest I needed. For a while, the extra hour of sleep was a necessity, but soon staying in bed lapsed into a habit.

After praying about it, I told David my intention to begin waking up with him this week. I hate making commitments like that because

A. They require effort.
B. I feel terrible if I fail to live up to them.

I wasn't sure how hard getting up at 5:30 again was going to be, but I certainly imagined the worst.

Last night before bed, I prayed God would enable me to keep my commitment. David is fantastic about putting aside his wants to serve the greater good of our family. In fact, he's so good at it, I often take it totally forgranted that it doesn't just flow naturally from him because he has such a kind and willing heart about his tasks. Me...not so much. I tend to be a grudging giver.

To my joy, I woke up 9 minutes before David's alarm went off this morning feeling...refreshed. Really? After 6.5 hours of sleep? I knew who to give the praise to. How wonderful to be reminded that God cares about the little things and that his strength is sufficient for my weakness. What a great way to start the week. Tonight, though, I think we'll try for 8 hours of sleep : )

Clothing Purge

Ever since Caleb was born I've felt like I had a ton of clothes and not much to wear. It's a pretty common post-baby problem. I didn't even begin to resemble my pre-pregnancy weight until 9 months after Caleb was born and only in the past 4-5 months have I been at my college weight. I'd love to say it's because I took great care of myself, ate well and exercised, but I can thank 3 back-to-back stomach flus for shedding those last few pounds. It's not a weight loss program I recommend.

That said, I still feel like I have nothing to wear. Being a mom is hard on your clothes. Even though I'm back to my pre-baby weight, my body has totally changed. I've gained 2 cup sizes, so most of my shirts are too tight, the skin on my lower stomach still has a slight sag from carrying my precious babe (this took me a looong time to come to peace with, but I'm finally there!), and I lost numerous shirts to baby spit-up stains. Apparently, stomach acid works a bit like bleach.

Combine all that with the fact that, frankly, I haven't done much clothes shopping since before I started grad-school so most of my clothes are at least 5 years old. They are starting to fade, shrink, pill, and get weird squiggles and sags around the necklines. Since I'm not a fan of shopping, it's hard for me to motivate myself to go looking for new cloths until my wardrobe is in this sad state.

My overstuffed closet, filled with clothes that no longer fit and/or make me look like I'm in high school again, and not in a flattering way.

A few weekends ago, David and I decided to use our once-a-month date time to get some shopping done. I figured going through my closet and determining what I had, what I needed and what mistakes NOT to repeat would count as my warm up for Project Simplify.

Here are my lessons learned:

1. If it needs to be ironed, I am never going to wear it.
2. If I don't absolutely love the fit and color in the store, it doesn't matter how great a deal it is, I won't buy it.
3. If it shows my bra strap, cleavage, or is sheer I am not going to feel comfortable wearing it anywhere, ever.
4. The item must flatter my new mom body and not make me look 15 or 85.
5. I don't work outside the home anymore. Professional button down shirts are out, but some sassy looking jeans and pretty shirts are in. Patterns that hide stains well are a bonus.

Clothes to be donated are in the back pile. Clothes to be tried on are in the front pile.

Even with all this gone, I was left with a pretty full closet, which Caleb is making even fuller in this photo : ) A number of the clothes that are left are showing signs of wear, but are still passable for now.

Mistakes not-to-be-repeated fresh on my mind, it was time to make my shopping list. My wardrobe is another area of my life I'm trying to simplify. I have a dresser and a closet for clothing storage. I could probably fit all the items I actually wear into one or the other. The rest is just wasting space and adding to the things I need to clean and maintain.

That said, to make a small wardrobe really functional, each peice should be able to mix and match with several others and should reflect the stage of life I'm in (ie: no ironing, dry cleaning or handwashing required).

Here was my personal shopping list for our day out:

- 3-4 Basic long sleeve shirts. Mine need to be replaced badly.

-Nice looking fleece pullover. I have one fleece, but in a color that isn't the best for my skin tone, not to mention shows every smear of baby food and piece of lint. It kills me to spend money to get something I already have, but this is such a staple of my wardrobe (as a layer in the winter and my go-to jacket in the fall and spring) that I think it's worth it to have one that really works for me.

-Ivory peep toe shoes.I'm a bridesmaid again!

-Non-sneaker everyday shoes. I'm thinking knock off Tom's.

-New slippers. Mine are falling apart.

-1 pair of jeans that fit perfectly. I currently have 3 pairs of pants (1 khaki, 1 corduroy, 1 pair of jeans) that fit me well and I find myself typically needing 1 more before laundry day.

-Cute yoga pants. Confession: I'm a huge fan of the elastic waist band. David is ok with that, as long as I still look cute in them. Meaning sweatpants are out, which is fine by me because they make me feel frumpy anyway!

I knew shopping at the mall (even an outlet mall) was going to be a challenge for me. I tend to be a bit of a tid-wad very frugal when it comes to clothing. Going through my closet, I had to own up that my frugality has actually contributed to the clutter. How many shirts were in my donate pile that I bought just because they were a good deal and looked "ok"? If I hardly ever wore that item, it wasn't a good deal.

In an ideal world, I would buy everything from thrift stores. Not only do they save money, but I like the fact that I become one more step removed from a clothing industry that tends to pay it's CEO's well and it's factory workers less than a living wage. However, since moving to a small town, I've had difficulty find clothing in thrift stores that isn't already looking pretty worn out. Baby clothes are the exception, although even those racks require quite a bit of picking through.

As it turned out, our outlet mall was having an awesome President's Day sale and I was able to find 1 long sleeve shirt, 1 short sleeve shirt, cute yoga pants, and the perfect pair of jeans for about 50% of their usual outlet price. We also found 2 pairs of much needed shoes for David and Caleb's last set of onesies ever *sniffle sniffle* (they don't make them in sizes larger than 24 months. I guess I'm supposed to start potty training or something by then ; )

Here are two articles that inspired me to have a "less is more" clothing philosophy and to be willing to pay a little bit more for clothing that is quality and really works with my body type and lifestyle:

How to Choose a Shirt

Creating a Wardrobe that Works for You

In case you're wondering if I have such severe "mess blindness" that I missed the clutter filling the rest of the closet, I'm happy to say my condition is not so severe. I'm looking forward to tackling that on week 3 of project simplify. I'm so excited to be making progress, one bite at a time!

Simplification Begins: An update on our goals

Keeping house has been a challenge for me ever since we got married. I really admire women (and men) who seem to organize naturally. For me, it's been a skill to be learned, painfully and slowly. Not only do I have chronic mess-blindness and a tendency to be lazy, but we haven't exactly had a lot of time to just...clean.

We moved into our home during the first trimester nausea, had a productive 3-4 months in mid pregnancy and then a painful and difficult last 2 months. After that, our colicky bundle of joy arrived and just as the colic ended we moved to Florida for 6 months. When we returned we were greated with scenes like this one:

A frightening view of our master bedroom. I didn't take any of the main rooms, but imagine ever surface covered in clutter and burp clothes stewn about on the floor

Although our house hasn't been at that level of disorganization in quite a while, it seemed like we were always 2 steps behind the clutter. Honestly, it was a lot like being in debt. We were already behind, so getting ahead took at least double the effort. We decided that we needed to get out of organization "debt" and make our house start working for us.

Over the month of February, David and I threw every spare minute of our time into getting the 3 main rooms of the house in order. We decluttered the kitchen island, dining room table and desk. We set up a paper mangement system to keep paper from taking over again. We (and two of David's awesome brothers) rearranged living room furniture to make the room more functional.

To do all this, while keeping up with cooking, dishes, floors, laundry and our teaching commitments at church, we sacrificed a lot of time with one another and a little sleep. We decided that for a short season the loss was worth the gain.

Boy was it ever! Having a living space that works for us is so refreshing.There are still a few small projects to tackle in each room, but our decluttering goal is well under way and our paper management goal is officially checked off! Sadly, I forgot to take "before" photos so you'll have to just imagine papers piled on every flat surface in the room.

A look at the dining room from the kitchen entrance. Note the easy access to the high chair. Nothing must delay food from reaching that destination. The hearts on the wall are from Valentine's Day

I can see my desk again! I still need to sort through the dozen binders and notebooks stacked on the right side, but this is serious progress.

The livingroom. The lighting isn't as good because I had to take these shots at night. Let's face it, with a toddler in the house, it's the only time of day the floor isn't covered in toys.

The view from the diningroom. In case anyone is wondering, the indoor slide is how you keep an active toddler from going crazy during a wet winter here in the north

You'll notice there's no photo of the kitchen island. That would be because it's gotten cluttered again. That is definitely our "catch all" spot!

Not surprisingly, all this sucess has left me even more motivated to keep chipping away at the clutter. Next month, I'll be continuing the process with Project Simplify. If you'd like to join me, just click the button on the side bar : )

Welcoming 2012

It's hard for me to believe February is here already. I've kind of been in denial that 2012 is underway. Last year we rang in the new year with an at-home date where we talked about our hopes and dreams for our family in 2011. We crafted a family mission statement and my guiding word was "routine". It was all very purposeful and refreshing.

This year, we hung out with family, shared a quick kiss and midnight and then hopped into bed since our toddler would still be up at the crack of dawn the next morning. As soon as we got back to Pennsylvania, we hit the ground running with new commitments like leading our small group on Weds. night, preparing for another 10 hour trip, and (David) teaching Sunday school for 2 weeks. Not to mention taking down Christmas decorations, unpacking and reclaiming order in the house.

So perhaps it's not surprising that January was almost over before I felt like we had a chance to step back and evaluate how last year went and beginning planning for this year. David and I tend to use our long drive to DC for pain clinic appointments as an opportunity to catch up, regroup and plan. Last week, we carved out some time in between preparing our lessons to discuss family life. Here's what we found:

Recaping 2011
Developing a routine with a new baby and a 1000 mile move was no easy task. In fact, when our conversation first began, I thought we had made very little progress at all. However, as David guided my memories back to what life was like in our very first months of parenting, I could see a huge difference. The growth of a family rhythm is like the growth of child, it's something you're immersed in, and it's hard to see without looking waaay back for perspective. It would probably bore you to list all the teeny tiny goals our family reached, but it was so encouraging for me to hear David's perspective on how I've grown as a home manager in the past year.

While we still have much we want to improve upon this year it's nice to have figured out ways to minimize dishes, keep the clutter from completely taking over, cook healthy meals almost every night and still have lots of time to spend with Caleb.

Moving forward in 2012
Although 2012 has had a very busy start, David and I are both so thankful for the way our commitments have forced us to put down our books, turn off the TV and spend concentrated time reading the Bible and praying. I've seen a huge difference in how much I talk to God throughout my day and my attitude towards disappointments and frustrations. Less time spent with entertainment and more time spent with God is definitely a trend we'd like to see continue this year.

Now that I've developed a pretty good routine for keeping the basic household tasks up-to-date (who knew rinsing dishes immediately could be so helpful?) we have 3 major home-related goals this year:

1. Declutter and deep clean the house. As we began to learn last year, a house with fewer things is a house that is easier to enjoy and maintain. We are planning (as in, need to pick dates on the calendar) a room-by-room declutter and deep clean as our spring cleaning this year. I'm dreading the effort required, but know the results will be worth it!

2. Develop a paper management system. My desk is supposed to be our home management hub. With no system to organize the receipt, bill, file and shred piles though, you can imagine the pile of paper that has resulted. Not to mention all the little stacks of paper shoved in various corners of the house before company comes over...I'm nervous about this goal because it's going to involve building a new habit, which is always a challenge, but I can't wait to not worry if I've misplaced a bill or wonder where a receipt is!

3. Make our home "ours". There are so many decorating projects David and I have had on the back burner because we felt overwhelmed just trying to keep the house clean. Our reward for taking care of these not-so-fun tasks will be to finally get to do some of these long awaited projects.

I can't wait to post before and after pictures : )

Finally, a personal goal of mine is to make David and I's marriage my biggest priority after my relationship with Christ. I must confess that all too often, we put our time together and cultivating our friendship behind other obligations. Interestingly, the focus on cleaning our home is a big part of that goal because David especially needs the peace and calm of organization to relax. I enjoy it too, but not in the same way. Just as he gives me the gift of long conversations, I want to give him the gift of service this year. Neither comes easily for us, but what could be worth more effort than truly speaking to our spouses heart?

I've never been big on making new year's resolutions, but the start of a new year has become a great time for us to take a step back, assess what worked well last year and what needs some tweaking and plan to live more purposefully with the time we are given. I hope 2012 is off to a great start for each one of you!

October's Goal: Re-taming the Beast

Some might remember that I was planning to work through a goal each month this year. I summarized them here. The last goal I wrote about was our garden, way back in May. That project was going fairly well until our little patch was discovered by a bunny with a large appetite. But that's another story. So where have my goals gone?

As usual, life has gotten busy. These past 1-2 months have been especially difficult with one illness after another. In between the stomach flu, the regular flu, and Caleb getting a Staph infection we've been schlepping to a pain clinic in Baltimore to try and deal with this pain I've had for over a year and David's been putting in lots of (required) overtime at work.

Amazingly, in all this, we've managed to draw closer to God and one another. Both David and I have noted that despite all the challenges we feel more connected and invested in our marriage than we have in a while. Not that it was dying or anything dramatic like that, we were just in a "care for Caleb and the house" rut. It's amazing how small gestures can go such a long way in making both of us feel loved. I've been trading my sweat pants for jeans and a cute top more often and David delighted me with a letter in the mail. We've also been taking time to read scripture and pray together each night before bed again. It's quickly become my favorite part of the day.

However, there is one aspect of our lives that has gotten totally out of control. It always seems to get worse the busier life gets. I bet some other home managers out there know what I'm about to say...

Our grocery bill is ridiculous.

I haven't so much been tiptoeing past our budgeted amount so much as sailing over it. To the tune of $150-$200/month (extra) for the past 5 months. That's a lot of overage. As I've talked about before, our budget is set to a number that challenges me, but is completely do-able. So how on earth did I end up going so far over so many months in a row? It's a question that has forced me look at food management habits honestly as I searched for the answer.

It's not like I totally gave up. Even in all the chaos, I was still clipping coupons, planning my meals based on the weekly sale paper, etc. I think that's why this went on so long. I reasoned that I was already doing the best I could. Maybe food prices had gone up? However when I was really really honest with myself, I could pretty clearly see the "leaks" in our food budget.

Leak #1- Waste

I'm ashamed to admit that I'm pretty sure I threw away around $50 worth of food each month just because it had gone bad. Left overs we hadn't eaten, produce that had withered away, things that migrated to the back of the fridge and got lost. Typically, I look through the fridge several times each week and adapt the meal plan as necessary to include left over night or use up an ingredient about to go bad. When I stopped doing that, the inevitable happened.

Leak #2- Lack of Organization

I always think I can skip this step and I am always wrong. Although I was still meal planning, often when I reached the store I discovered I'd forgotten my (insert one: grocery list, coupons, or cash envelope). This led to me purchasing things we didn't need, forgetting things we did need, paying more for the things I bought than I had planned and not knowing how I was doing in relation to the budget because all I did was swipe a card.

Leak #3- No freezer meals

Doubling meals and freezing the excess is such a sanity saver. They're a great for helping resist the call of pizza delivery on a busy night. However, until recently, I hardly ever remembered to double my recipe and keep the freezer stocked accordingly. This lack of foresight led to the following situation:

The scene: both David and I have the flu and have been lying on the couch 90% of the day, except to meet Caleb's basic needs. I haven't been grocery shopping this week. Now it's dinner time.

David: So what's for dinner tonight
Me: I don't have anything planned. There's nothing in the freezer or the pantry. We're too sick to go out to eat and Caleb needs to go to bed soon anyway. I'll have to go to the grocery store, but I'm so sick I wish I didn't have to cook!
David: Maybe we could get something from the Deli?
Me (whining): I just wish someone would show up at our house with food. Preferably my mom. I don't want to leave the house. I'm sick (in case he hadn't noticed).
David: So what do you want to do?
Me: Insert more whining, grumbling and other extremely unattractive behavior.

We ended up going to the store and getting a rotisserie chicken, which I turned into soup and loading up with some other (expensive) pre-packaged meals. This entire ugly situation could have been prevented had a I merely had a meal or two tucked away in the freezer.

This month, I am determined to come in under budget. In addition to correcting the 3 things I wrote about above, I've found a few other things quite helpful:

-Check out the bulk foods section. I've discovered even our very small one contains oats and nestle chocolate chips at about half the price of the bags on the shelf. Score!
- Sometimes organic is a better deal. I've started price checking the organic option before automatically assuming the conventional version is cheaper. I recently paid 1/4 the price for a spice shaker of curry powder this way.
-Keep a running grocery list on the fridge. So simple, but I'd never done it before! It's helped me forget fewer items, make fewer trips into town and stopped the "I have to go to the store and I haven't even made a list yet" scramble.
-Avoid the opportunity to spend. I wait to make a grocery trip until we're running low on a critical staple like bread. This means I often end up substituting ingredients or rearranging the menu plan to use up the things we do have. We have much less waste and I find myself crossing off things from my grocery list before I even had a chance to buy them.
-DIY. For now, all our sweets are home made. I have plenty of baking ingredients here and until I'm sure I can stay under budget, convenience treats like ice cream are off the list. I also started making yogurt from scratch again.

So far we are just under half way through the month and I am just over halfway through my allotted funds. Sadly, that's still a lot better than I've been doing. It may take some creativity, but I feel really confident I can come in at or under budget this month. October has a goal.

Gardens, Good Things, and God

With lots and lots of help from David, I was able to accomplish May's goal of getting our garden started. We planted 4 rows of lettuce, 1 row of carrots and have tomato and eggplant seedlings growing on our porch. So far, I've killed one entire row of lettuce by forgetting to add potting mix and sticking the seeds straight in our rocky, clay-like soil. The rest of the garden has survived two hail storm assaults and a week of neglect while we were in Baltimore.

Seedlings!

It's so exciting to come out each day and see plants that have literally grown over night. Caleb enjoys "helping" me water (eg, he's obsessed with the hose) and David is always willing to dig yet another row. It really has been a team effort. It's also reminded me a lot about how growth takes time, patience and nurturing. A good reminder for me in my new role as "mom".

The lettuce is almost big enough to be thinned again

Despite the 90+ degree weather, spring remains in full force in our yard thanks to a wonderful large Maple tree that shelters the smaller bushes from the sun's relentless heat. Red, pink and yellow knock-out roses are in full bloom and making their best effort to take over our back patio, the wisteria survived two rounds of hail and some lovely purple flowers have appeared on an unnamed bush towards the back of the yard.

June is already looking like a busy month with a cook out, a yard sale, a visit from David's brother (woo-hoo!) and a very special first birthday on the horizon. In light of all this, my only "goal" for June is that rather than using these things as a means of avoiding God because I'm "busy", I would spend much needed time in communion with Him.

It's so easy for me to think God's plan for me is to be a "good wife" or "good mom" as if those things are all he created me for. And while those things are wonderful and important, I am made for so much more. Caring for our home and son are just a few means of bringing God honor. When I'm not communing with God, even those things become means of avoiding Him and I miss out on touching base with all the other things He's created me for as well. I forget that my role isn't just to meet my families physical needs, but their spiritual ones as well.

So in this busy season of gardening, farmer's markets, hospitality, birthdays, diapers and dishes- I want to remember that life is about even more than all of these wonderful things.

Adventures in Gardening

Isn't it funny how once you're out on your own, your parents suddenly get even smarter? When I was in high school, my parents grew the most incredible garden in our side yard. I was usually too "busy" with homework to help (it's such a convenient time to do homework when your parents are slaving in the hot sun to weed and manure the garden...). Now that I'm out on my own, paying for my own groceries and missing the taste of fresh vegetables...lets just say I wish the homework had waited. So, despite the fact that my parents are wonderful gardeners, I'm totally making this up as I go.

Our fist major gardening challenge is the fact that we only have a 10' by 20' rectangle of our yard that gets full sunlight. The rest is shaded by a gorgeous maple 95% of the day. Now, this may sound like a decent sized garden, until you consider much of it was already planted with flowers and bushes by the previous owners. I realize we could just rip those things out, but I happen to think they're beautiful so we're trying to co-exist.

Before

Our tangible journey towards gardening began about a month ago when Money Saving Mom featured a deal where you could pay $5 shipping and receive 30 random seed packets from an organic seed company. Sold. Our seeds arrived with about 10 packets of lettuce, another 10 of an assortment of veggies, 5 packets of herbs, and 5 flowers. Apparently we would be growing lots of lettuce. I know nothing about growing lettuce. So I went to the most reliable information source, the internet, and did some reading. These are the basics I came away with: sow 2 lettuce seeds/inch, water consistently, and thin out the plants as they pop up so you're heads grow 8-12 inches apart (thinnings can be used in salad, yum!).

So armed with that mighty body of knowledge I had David dig up the grass in the yard, dig a few trenches that I filled with potting soil, dug an itty bitty trench with my trowel, dropped the seeds in, covered them up and watered them. Are you aware that a lettuce seed is about the size of the period at the end of a sentence? I found it almost impossible to drop only 2 per inch. I was lucky if there were only 3. It's survival of the fittest in our garden for sure.

Breaking ground on our garden

Planting. And yes, I am wearing ear muffs. It was 65 degrees and crazy windy. I have sensitive ears, ok?

Finished. Check out my awesome sticks marking each row. I'm planning to replace those with Popsicle sticks with the lettuce type's name on them. Each row is a different type.

The heads won't come to maturity for about 2 months according to the back of the seed packet, but I'm sure we'll have thinnings to eat on before then. Assuming anything grows that is.

Here are some more pictures of the project (and of our littlest big helper!)

May: New Goal and a Caleb Update

May has arrived (though I'm still not quite sure how we are nearly halfway through the year already) so I guess I ought to set a goal for this month...

To recap, in January my goal was routine. Specifically, to take time in the morning to eat breakfast, exercise, shower, dress for the day and have a quiet time This has been a little sporadic with all the moving, but I'm finding my groove again : ) Though things like exercise have moved to the evening as David and I are taking our daily walk or gardening almost every day.

In February, I wanted to focus on being more loving both in the meditations of my heart and the words of my mouth. It was an eye-opening and transforming month that I'm thankful to say has had a long term effect. David was and is amazingly helpful at keeping me accountable in this area.

During March I followed along with Simple Mom's Project Simplify and in April I took a break to focus on moving and Easter.

I've also achieved some mini-goals of mine along the way. Two weeks ago my friend Jen agreed to be my guide at our local farmer's market (somewhere I've been meaning to visit for quite some time). I was amazed at the variety of produce, eggs, milk, yogurt, cheese and meat...80% for far less than I pay at the grocery store. I guess that's the beauty of living in Amish country. I'm totally hooked.

Along that line, another mini-goal I've just started is using cash to pay for our groceries. Partially because I'm buying so much at the farmers market now, and they don't exactly take debit, but also because I've heard so many people swear by how much less they spend when they can see the cash leaving their hands.

Yesterday was my first experience of handing over cash at the grocery store (yes, I still shop there too!) and I can definitely say there is something about parting with a portion of money from an envelope that is far more real feeling than just swiping a card. I'm excited (and nervous) to see what's left in our envelope at the end of the month!

My big goal for May however, is to get our garden going. I have no idea what I'm doing, but I've heard the best way to learn is by doing. So, with a few basics in mind I'll be planting lettuce this week and tomatoes after we get home from a week long conference in Baltimore for David's work.

I would put off planting in general until after our travel, but with David's schedule that would probably mean not having a garden at all by the time I put it off for a week here or a week there. Hopefully one of our neighbors won't mind getting paid in vegetables in exchange for doing a little watering while we're gone. If not, it'll be survival of the fittest : )

Last, but not least, a Caleb update! As I mentioned in an earlier post, he hasn't been a big fan of finger foods thus far. I decided to just offer them each day, encourage him to pick them up, but not to push the issue. After a week of alternately smearing the food and completely ignoring it, Caleb has decided it's kind of cool to put food in his own mouth.

Yesterday he fed himself several chunks of banana covered in rice cereal (to stop it from slipping out of his fingers so easily). Then today he ate chunks of mushy carrot and even tried a cheerio (though after he gagged on that I decided I'd either spray them with a little water first or wait a bit to introduce them again). I wish I'd gotten a picture, but I couldn't find my camera. It was a beautiful mess! It's so incredible to watch him grow and change each day.

First Week Back

We've officially been back in Pennsylvania just over one week. I'm astounded by how much we've accomplished in that short time!

When we arrived back home, I was astounded to see the house in shambles. Was it burglars? No, it was the chaos left in the wake of moving with 3 weeks notice while caring for a colicky newborn. Clutter abounded, burp rags lay strewn in nearly every room, the tub hadn't been scrubbed in...a long time. I was so thankful my mom was staying for a week and David had taken time off.

Many hands really do make light work. We scrubbed, dusted, picked up, sorted, threw out, and consigned. Yet somehow, we all managed to end the week feeling rested. David enjoyed getting to spend extra time with Caleb while mom and I had a few mommy-daughter outings. We spent the afternoon at a friend's house while pest control came, consigned clothes at my favorite shop, and went to the farmers market early Friday morning. The farmer's market was definitely my favorite. I've been wanting to go for quite a while, but wanted someone to come with me. My friend Jen goes every week and met mom and I there in the drizzly 40 degree weather. Fortunately, it's an indoor market!

I found fresh produce for well below supermarket rate, milk from a local dairy, and free-range eggs (also below supermarket price). My most exciting find was amazing looking lunch meat for half the price of what I usually pay for sandwich meat. Score! It was a light turn out day for vendors since most are Amish or Mennonite and it was Good Friday. I'm looking forward to seeing what other stands are open next week...

David wasn't the only one babysitting this week though! Mom watched Caleb 3 different nights so David and I could enjoy some couple time. Our time in Florida was so busy, I hadn't realized how much we were in need of reconnecting until we had the opportunity to do so. Our first date was to a Hibachi restraint. I had wanted to go for my birthday last year, but it just wasn't an option with a colicky one month old who nursed every 1.5 hours. David decided it would be a great time to finally have that date. We had a great time and ate 2 more meals from the left overs!

Thursday, mom watched Caleb so we could attend Maundy Thursday communion service at church. Typically, evening services fall after Caleb's bed time so being able to attend and take communion together was a tremendous blessing. Between these two wonderful dates I was more than content. However, David had something special planned. Our two year anniversary is only a couple weeks away, so he decided we should celebrate early while my mom was still here to watch over Caleb.

Friday evening, after we tucked Caleb into bed, I swapped my jeans for the skirt I was wearing the day I met David and we headed to the Melting Pot. I feel I should mention that as we were dressing Caleb was beside himself. The poor kid has grown 4 teeth in one month. The latest tooth just made it's entrance this morning. Even with pain reliever on board, it took him an hour to fall asleep. We missed most of the tears thanks to Granny Robin shooing us out the door. What a great Grandma!

Finally, we were on the road. We hadn't made reservations since we're never exactly sure when we're going to make it out of the house, but we figured an hour long drive there would be plenty of notice. Who knew Good Friday would be so packed? The first available reservation was 8:45! You know you're officially a grown-up when the idea of starting a meal at a quarter til 9 makes you feel like you're back in college again : )

We killed time wandering around the mall and we're actually seated at 8:30. Even with an early start we enjoyed lingering over our meal and didn't finish until 11pm! I've been to the Melting Pot once before on a big girls night out with my college room mates. We only did the cheese fondue and dessert so the 4 course meal was a new experience for me. David and I thoroughly enjoyed each course, but I think our dark & milk chocolate dessert fondue with Bailey's swirled in was the best. Suffice to say, it was a fantastic time of eating, reminiscing and no interruptions! We arrived home at midnight, just in time for Caleb to wake up and cry for his nightly feeding. I took off my pearls, snuggled my baby boy close and thanked God for this wonderful life I've been blessed with.

The next morning, it was time to drive mom to the airport. Both David and I were sad to see her go. I am so thankful for Dad's willingness to share her with us for so long. I can't believe how rested I feel after a break from dishes and laundry for a week, not to mention all the dusting, cleaning and child care she did during her time here. It really freed David and I up to unpack, reorganize and declutter.

At the end of the week, the room we were all most proud of was the kitchen. Just before we left for Florida, our microwave died in a shower of sparks and arcs (no, I did not put metal in it!). We replaced it, reorganized the counter top appliances and now have a much more functional work space. The best part however, was getting our kitchen island/breakfast bar. I've had my eye on this piece since we moved into our house a year ago. We don't have much counter or cabinet space, so a lot of things were living in a large bin under the kitchen window. David and I consulted the budget and decided the time was right. It's been such a joy to both of us to finally have that bin out of the room!

Our Lived-in Kitchen

Notice the stationary bouncer peaking out from behind the island. It's the only way I can get things done in the kitchen while he's awake!

Of course, there is still much more work to be done, but if feels manageable...unlike how I felt when we first walked in the door! Better still, David and I are feeling so reconnected after a week of tackling projects side-by-side and several wonderful date nights. We are looking forward to continuing our work on the house. Expect some before and after shots. Sadly, I didn't take any of the post-colic disaster we walked into, so apparently that will stay a secret only family (and our house sitters) know : )