Furniture

I have NEVER purchased new furniture. I am 31 years old, and every piece of anything in my house is used. (Other than some Ikea bedside tables which don't count because Ikea furniture is not real furniture.)


That's really sad when I type it out for the world to see. Used couches, used tables, used TV, used bookshelves, used dresser.

Now, when I got married we had no money. I mean like eating cream of chicken on spaghetti noodles for dinner no-money. My in-laws bought us a new mattress, but everything else in our apartment was used. We bought things online, had things given to us, and had a hod-podge of furniture. I was 21, so fine. I didn't care.

When more babies came, and we owned a house, I still would not buy anything new. We were eating chicken in our dinners now, but I couldn't bring myself to spend the money. When the dog ate the couch (literally ate the foam right out of the back of the couch) I didn't replace it. I got a huge-ass roll of duct tape and a new slip cover. Still have that eaten up couch today.

Rules about children and furniture:
1. No play-doh inside. This is a play-doh free zone. Play outside with it all you want but do not bring that stuff in my house. It is evil.
2. Children may not eat or drink on any carpeted area of my house. Ever.
3. Carpets must be professionally cleaned once per year.
4. I refuse to buy new furniture until there are no sippy cups or pull-ups in my house.

I still have never bought any brand new, from a real-life furniture store, furniture. None.
I am really sad about that actually, but I think that it would be ruined within hours at the most. Someone would throw up on it or something. Plus, I would much rather take a slip cover off when it's too full of dog hair, than try to get the dog hair out of a couch. It's super fun to take off the slip cover and empty it on the laundry room floor to see what kinds of things I find. And, my mother thinks that I am the master of putting a slip cover on a couch. I require a wooden spoon, which she thinks is hilarious and is always in awe at my slipcovering skills.

My dog-eaten, slip-cover couch

So if you come visit my house and nothing matches, it's because I refuse to invest in something that is going to be ruined. Yes, I am in my thirties and have a slipcover couch. I have re-used tables I stained myself, and I have beat up stools at the counter. They also might be covered in jelly, but I don't care, so watch out when you sit down.

These Are the People In My Neighborhood

I am overwhelmed with how I love my neighborhood community!

Three years ago, when the school district closed our neighborhood school, I was devastated because I knew the teachers, the parents, the kids. I thought it would completely scatter us all to the wind. But it hasn't been so! Although my kids go to a school accross town, and I work full-time now, I have never felt like I'm more part of a community.

I went to the Cub Scouts open house, and there was another neighborhood mom who volunteered to be the den leader. I brought the little one to preschool, and know a handful of other families going to the same preschool. I was sick last night, and was up until 2AM at the ER. I had an offer from a mom whose kids go to a different school, to drive my kids to school. I was re-decorating the boys' room and a neighborhood mom dropped off some unused Star Wars decorations for me. We had our neighborhood parade this year and I met even more neighbors and new friends.

I am so blessed and overwhelmed by what a generous, helping, encouraging neighborhood I live in!!

Shopping

I went shopping this weekend, like in a real-life mall. I really don't like shopping of any kind. I don't even enjoy grocery shopping. Anyway, I realized that my normal size doesn't really fit all that well. It's quite depressing, that I am NOT my normal size.

I lost a lot of weight in 2008, when Jack was born. But that is a terrible diet plan, really. Life crisis = rapid weight loss. It wasn't a healthy way to lose weight, but I did manage to keep it off for about a year. I was skinnier than I had been since high school at that point.

So I am going to join weight watchers. Hopefully I can get high school skinny again!
Wish me luck! I will check in with status updates.

An Historical Look at The First Days of School

I joke with my kids and yell at them "Stop Growing!!"

...and they laugh and say "but I have to."

A look back at the First Days of School...

2011:

G - 4th grade, B - 1st grade

2010:

G - 3rd grade, B - kindergarten

(with addition of small child who refused to get dressed)

2009:

G - 2nd grade (and first year at a new school)

2008:

G - 1st grade

2007:

G - kindergarten

First Day of School!

Today was the first day of school. Yeah!

Well, G was alright. She wasn't excited so much as anxious and stoic. B on the other hand was really excited and confident. He said "Mom, I feel like such a big kid because I'm a first grader." Yeah, buddy, you're huge!

I was such a dork that I used to LOVE the first day of school, well into high school and college. It was so exciting to me. It was my own theoretical tabula rasa each and every fall. I loved the new notebooks, the new syllabi, new schedule, new friends, new subjects. I was beaming inside each year on the first day of school, even though I acted nonchalant on the outside.

I hope my kids really have that same enthusiasm like they're going to explode. I hope they were secretly in the backseat wondering which friends they would sit next to, and what the cover of their math book would look like. I hope they enjoyed opening their organized desks, and finding their clean cubbies.

As an adult I miss that. Wouldn't it be nice to have your own tabula rasa each and every fall? Not really to start over, but to continue on with your adventure in life. To start again fresh.

Blessings to my children today and throughout this school year. I pray that you are kind to all, helpful to all, respectful to all and that you enjoy learning all the amazing things you will learn this year.

Family Vacation

Growing up, we did a lot of traveling, and I am so grateful to my parents for allowing us to explore the world. I was on a plane more times than I can count. Some where just our immediate family, and some trips were with extended family. We even did a 3 week road trip out east when I was about 15. We went on cruises, to resorts, skiing, to the beach, history tours...

I haven't been as fortunate because traveling with kids is expensive. I don't have the means to travel with my kids much. We usually go camping about once a summer, and we do some long weekend trips but stay in Minnesota. When we had the opportunity to go to California for my cousin's wedding, I jumped at the chance to travel with my kids.

All in all it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I was apprehensive that we would leave with 3 kids, and come back with only 2, since I thought for sure I would kill one of them. But alas, it was great!! I am so glad I was able to do this for my kids and give them fun travel memories like I have. And we clean up real nice, don't we???

The Re-blog

I read in a magazine that since it's the end of June, it's a good time to reassess your goals and resolutions you made for the new year. I thought that was an excellent idea!

I don't think many people read my blog, but I enjoy writing it. So I will write more!

My divorce is final. (Yeah!) Just the minor detail of the title on the house, but other than that, we are legally un-married. I don't like cheering for a divorce, but come on. I re-considered throwing myself a divorce party because that just seemed unnecessary and dark.

Instead I am going to focus on my 30th birthday!! My thoughts on turning 30 are for a different blog, because I have much to say on the topic.