I'm not sure how this happened. Somewhere between the blur of photo projects, never-ending school, decluttering, and keeping sibling fighting at a minimum, time passed, and another holiday season is upon us!
The sweets from the Halloween season messed up my system, so I put myself back on GAPS for about a month. Things have straightened out, my face is a tad thinner (you never know how bloated you were unless you get rid of it!), and I feel more "with it" mentally. I love how GAPS is there when I need it. Now, I'm sporadically eating non-GAPS foods, but it's minimal. I need to make broth right now. The Instant Pot is a wonderful broth-making implement.
Dishes are on a new system. Even-birthday kids do dishes on even days, vice versa for odd. We lucked out with two kids on dishes each day. That puts Precious and Tater together on dishes, which means, yes, Precious mostly does dishes on her days. Tater does help unload! This system is easing my housework load considerably, and I find that I've been a better teacher, cook (meals more on time), and housekeeper in other areas.
Decluttering! We have been hauling *loads* of things to Goodwill! A full trash bag of papers and lonely, cheap, ex-toys went to the curb. We moved the tv (ahem- monitor) out of what used to be the playroom (now Bubby's room) to the living room and purchased a cabinet to put under it. The former bookshelf and half of the games that we never played- sold and/or donated- bam. Cabinet looks great- bam. Knocking out all of that clutter, one "bam" at a time.
We had company last week, and that put the decluttering on a fast-track. How do you thank people for coming to your house, which results in a decluttered space for you to enjoy later? It is such a blessing, but I'm pretty sure they couldn't have imagined how awful it was before they arrived. We made a to-do list, and each child volunteered for a room. Divide and conquer.
Fighting. Parenting might be the bulk of the creativity that my current lifestyle affords, and I suppose I'm making the most of it. I've been resorting to really unorthodox techniques lately. Toilet paper needs refilling? Guess the number from 1-20 that I've written on my hand, and the person who's the farthest away from my number (or closest- totally fine to change the rules) gets to refill the tissue. Squabbling children will HUG. Until they realize that I'm the "bad guy" making them hug, and suddenly everything seems silly. Why were we fighting in the first place?
Today was the final piano lesson of 2018, and our last band activity is on Thursday (it was rained out last week). And that gives me exactly a week and a half before the crazy starts up again. My goal is to curl up with a cup of tea and an elusive book at some point over this minuscule break. Blogging is at least a small respite.
Thanks for stopping by!
The sweets from the Halloween season messed up my system, so I put myself back on GAPS for about a month. Things have straightened out, my face is a tad thinner (you never know how bloated you were unless you get rid of it!), and I feel more "with it" mentally. I love how GAPS is there when I need it. Now, I'm sporadically eating non-GAPS foods, but it's minimal. I need to make broth right now. The Instant Pot is a wonderful broth-making implement.
Dishes are on a new system. Even-birthday kids do dishes on even days, vice versa for odd. We lucked out with two kids on dishes each day. That puts Precious and Tater together on dishes, which means, yes, Precious mostly does dishes on her days. Tater does help unload! This system is easing my housework load considerably, and I find that I've been a better teacher, cook (meals more on time), and housekeeper in other areas.
Decluttering! We have been hauling *loads* of things to Goodwill! A full trash bag of papers and lonely, cheap, ex-toys went to the curb. We moved the tv (ahem- monitor) out of what used to be the playroom (now Bubby's room) to the living room and purchased a cabinet to put under it. The former bookshelf and half of the games that we never played- sold and/or donated- bam. Cabinet looks great- bam. Knocking out all of that clutter, one "bam" at a time.
We had company last week, and that put the decluttering on a fast-track. How do you thank people for coming to your house, which results in a decluttered space for you to enjoy later? It is such a blessing, but I'm pretty sure they couldn't have imagined how awful it was before they arrived. We made a to-do list, and each child volunteered for a room. Divide and conquer.
Fighting. Parenting might be the bulk of the creativity that my current lifestyle affords, and I suppose I'm making the most of it. I've been resorting to really unorthodox techniques lately. Toilet paper needs refilling? Guess the number from 1-20 that I've written on my hand, and the person who's the farthest away from my number (or closest- totally fine to change the rules) gets to refill the tissue. Squabbling children will HUG. Until they realize that I'm the "bad guy" making them hug, and suddenly everything seems silly. Why were we fighting in the first place?
Today was the final piano lesson of 2018, and our last band activity is on Thursday (it was rained out last week). And that gives me exactly a week and a half before the crazy starts up again. My goal is to curl up with a cup of tea and an elusive book at some point over this minuscule break. Blogging is at least a small respite.
Thanks for stopping by!
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