Arches

I flipped through my most recent issue of Arches, the alumni magazine from my Alma Mater the University of Puget Sound. I don't know if anyone else does this but I turn straight to the back where alumni can send in pictures and updates. I enjoy seeing who's gotten married or had a baby and, sadly, the older I get the fewer people I recognize.

The section that struck me today was the updates section where alumni can send in their most recent accomplishments, awards, promotions, etc. Secretly I've always wanted to send something in and impress my classmates with something amazing or unusual that I've done. But truth be told, I haven't been promoted, received any awards (even for PTA because I still refuse to join), traveled to Tibet to study Tibetan singing bowls, or done anything to better my community as a whole that would constitute a half inch blurb in my alumni magazine.

There's no where to send your blurb that states 'Stacey Nash '03 Got all her children cleaned, fed, in bed, and had a clean living room by 8 pm for the 3rd consecutive day. She has successfully exercised and practiced singing everyday in this same week.'

Now I look at that and think, Wooohoooo! That's all I'm trying to accomplish. There are probably thousands of alumni who do the same things I do each day AND get amazing awards, publish books, and run marathons. Good for them.

For now, I'm aiming for at least one meal today that doesn't include peanut butter. Arches isn't interested and that's ok. I know that I'm making a difference for three little nashlings. They aren't going to publish it anytime soon but its worth more than a half inch blurb.

Something Permanent

As I have admitted before, I am a sew-er. I used to be an anti-sew-er but now I follow several sewing blogs in the hope of getting inspiration. One of my favorites is Simple Simon & Co., on which a recent post made me think about why I have taken up sewing. As a stay-at-home mom, much of my time is spent doing things that are continuously started over.

Examples - dishes, laundry, cleaning. I find myself putting off mopping my floor because I know that at the next meal someone is going to spill their milk/cereal/ketchup on the floor or someone will come running in the back door and leave muddy/leafy footprints.

The post struck me because it suggested that a woman should do at least one thing each day that can't be undone.

Something permanent.

Sewing is one way that I have found to create something permanent...that is until I have to pull out the ole seam ripper. But every time one of the girls wears something I've made, I feel that I've made something that will last, hopefully, something pleasing to the eye and something useful.

I have other ways as well. I paint and I write, both of which allow me to creatively express myself in a, mostly, permanent way. On days that I sew a seam, put a stroke on paper, or write even one sentence I can look back and know for sure that I've moved forward on something. I may need to mop the floor again tomorrow but for now I made something that moves me forward to a completed project that can't be undone by anyone other than myself.

As I read the post, it was nice to know that I'm not the only one who'd like a few of my little marks on the world to be ones that can't be ruined by spilt milk.

Dancing Queen

Dance recital.

I have a bone to pick with dance studios. They charge you x amount of money for lessons each month, x amount for a yearly fee, then they charge XX amount for costumes, x amount for special scrunchy, x amount for shoes, and x amount for tickets to go to the recital itself.

But she does the worm like no one's business.

If she wasn't so darn cute and didn't love it so much it wouldn't be worth it.

But, well it is.

Snowmaggedon aka Snowpalozza aka Honkin Big Storm

Snow storm + freezing rain = mess

I'll admit that I giggle about the Pacific Northwest. The weather people practically throw their arms over their heads and start screaming for everyone to run for cover as soon as it looks like a storm is coming.

The first day wasn't so bad. Four or five inches but then the rains came and froze and trees started falling down. There was so much ice on the cars we couldn't get in them, not that there was anywhere we could go.

Ok so maybe after the ice, we could have thrown our hands over and heads and started screaming. But we had a generator so it was inconvenient but not completely miserable.

We survived Snowmaggedon 2012.

List - Why the blog has fallen by the wayside

It has and it bugs me. Not that I've ever been a heavy post-er but the last 4 months I'm barely making once or twice a month. And there are reasons:

1. Pregnancy - Nashling #4 has thrown me for a loop. Mostly on the energy scale.
2. School - There's only one Nashling in school and I struggle to keep up, might have something to do with #1.
3. Garrett hit the terrible 2's. The girls really didn't start to be stinkers until age three but the boy is a terror on two legs. A cute one but a terror none the less.
4. Back to zero - This is how I describe my 'job'. My job is to get things back to zero. Laundry, dishes, cleaning have all seemed to take up all the energy that I have, that and reason #3. And frankly I'm not doing a very good job anymore.
5. Pregnancy
6. I fall asleep on the couch every night by 8:45. If I make it to 9:30 Jeremy is shocked...and so am I.
7. Insomnia, pretty sure brought on by reasons #1 and5.
8. Memory loss - yes I know laugh. But its true my already sketchy memory has pretty much turned to a complete lack of knowledge of anything beyond this day, this hour. (See reasons #1 and 5)
9. Pregnancy
10. Pregnancy

Halloween

Halloween. Not my favorite holiday I'll have to admit. The constant, can I have candy can I have candy can I have candy, nearly drives me insane. But kids are cute dressed up as...pretty much anything. We had an Egyptian, a cowboy complete with his own horse, and Rapunzel including her trusty frying pan (That is Emma's actual cast iron frying pan. It didn't last long its pretty heavy. Oh and that's another Rapunzel from our church Halloween party.).

What Halloween wouldn't be complete without a little of Grandma's witches brew?

Maris Farms

Maris Farms was Ah-mazing! Who knew? We paid an admission fee and then they had all these activities for the kids. The cow train, corn room, pedal carts, giants slides, not so giant slides, goats, chickens, and sheep. Of course we did the corn maze and my favorite even though my pregnant self did not get on it was the ground pillow. I had never seen one before but its this 100 foot long blow up thinger they've buried in the ground and the kids jump all over it. Its 10x better than a bounce house (they had one of those too). We will definitely go back next year.