Da Big Four - Oh

Well, it's here. November 14th, the fortieth of my life.

Malena drew the sun on the calendar. Cute, isn't it? I asked the kids not to get me gifts (thus the "No Gifts" inbetween "Mom's" and "Birthday") and instead to just give me a quiet day with well-behaved children. With the exception of Jack, it's been working pretty well. Mind you, the kids aren't home from school yet.

Doug has been up to his old tricks...

Right in our front yard. Nothing subtle about that there. This was made (by Doug and his brother) for his older sister's fortieth. And reused for Doug's birthday last year, which is why it is in our possession. Thanks for making use of that again, sweetie.

And even with the helium shortage, my friend brought me a balloon. Even better, I've gotten lots of calls from well-wishers. I have the best family and friends anywhere. The only regret I have about the last forty years is that I wish I were better at keeping track of said family and friends. They are such wonderful individuals that have blessed my life in a million different ways.

Well, I am really enjoying my birthday! Here's to a new decade! (Maybe I'll be better at keeping in touch...)

The Bear that is My Laundry Room

And sewing room, and Doug's office...yes, it has many hats. And wears them all badly, I must say.

So last week, I tried to at least organize the shelves in there. There is always a ton of laundry to do, so I have to be in there anyway. Right?

Argh. Some of these boxes I haven't opened since they were packed years ago in South Carolina. Some people unpack immediately. Me, I try to get the stuff I need going, and ignore the rest until life calms down. Unfortunately, there's not a whole lot of "calming down" when there are five kids and a busy husband running around.

Actually, here's the real story: I always want to clean and ready our new houses for us and our stuff before we move in. This has only happened once, because Doug doesn't want to wait for me to clean. Not a day, not an hour. The laundry room (and the pantry, to be honest) got the worst of this - boxes were piled with no respect to the dirty shelves or to whether they actually belonged in the laundry room. So it remains today. Sigh. A year and a half later.

Which leaves me with a whole bunch of stuff. I have filled several trash bags, and even have a "donate" pile. I'm posting a picture of it so that Doug doesn't think I'm hiding anything. (That's what the trash bags were for, right? Just kidding, Doug...)

And here's how it went. Monday morning was the "before". This morning (yet another Monday) is the "after".

The goal was (and still is) to get all the shelves clean and in three sections: home stuff, sewing and craft stuff, and office stuff. The office stuff includes hobbies that are mostly paper like genealogy and scrapbooking. The last could conceivably be crafting, but really, I don't do a whole lot of crafting when I put those photos into books. I just want it done.

I did get the shelves clean and new boxes purchased to corral the many pieces of our projects. It still looks...well, like a work in progress. Which it is. So you'll have to stay tuned to see how it ends up. You know, in another year or so...

One Sick Puppy

Yes, we're talking about my oldest, Bonnie. It started snowing today (!) and, happily, the kids ran out to play.

Here's what Bonnie accomplished.

Yes, that is an ax in his body. With blood squirting out, although I didn't get a good picture of that before this happened:

The ax proved to be too heavy. It's kind of unnerving to start the snow season with an assassination. I think she should also create a Calvin-and-Hobbes-esque crew of snowmen watching the dead man. What do you think? Do you like grotesque snowmen, are you more of a traditional sort?