Control

I have some control issues. I recently was feeling a bit out of sorts because I was not feeling like we were following enough of a routine around here. I was honestly just one laminating trip to Kinkos away from making a huge clip art chart for Finley (really for me) that showed everything we were doing each day. I was spending a lot of time thinking about where to put this chart, what to include, etc. I think I didn't get dressed one day while thinking about it... that was when I stopped and threw what I had started away.

Now, don't get me wrong, I am a big supporter of routines but I am learning that sometimes my happiness is a little too dependent on my own agenda and expectations of how a day, event, activity will go. I'm backing up a bit these days to more of a rough outline and thinking a bit more about not trying to be so in control of so many details...

Tula's out of control hair is my reminder to let go a little, no, a lot.

Creative Solutions

Now, this picture could be interpreted in a few different ways:

1. Erin is using alcohol to soothe her children.

2. Erin is using alcohol to soothe herself because of her children.

3. Erin's house was full of fruit flies, the cork wouldn't go back in and Erin needed to improvise before any fruit flies found their fate in our cheap cabernet sauvignon.

Motherhood may be messy but it is teaching me to get creative in all areas of my life and that is beautiful.

Simple Joy

As, I have said before, Motherhood can be messy but it is a beautiful mess if you ask me. Along with the beautiful messes of motherhood also come some simple, yet joy filling pleasures. Fresh flowers like the ones Nathan brought home for his girls (me included) were simple and brought me great joy.

On a different scale of simple pleasures, I finally discovered what was making the bedroom wing of the house smell like poop. You would think I should have been annoyed at discovering my husband's smelly basketball clothing still soaking in the tub of our guest bathroom, but I truly found great joy in solving that smelly mystery (the joy probably came from how humourous I thought it was that I had mistaken his sweathy clothes with a poop smell).

What simple things fill you with joy? Take pictures of them, write about them, share it with someone... it just makes the joy last a little longer.

Confession: I Used To Organize My Socks!

It's true, while some people partied away their college years, I was rolling socks up into neat little balls and organizing them. I might still be doing such strange things if I hadn't had children.

Now, I often consider how and why we all do certain things around the house. For example, please, please stop folding your underwear! Stuff them in a drawer or a basket and use that time to do something much more important.

As you do things around the house or in your work day, consider how necessary certain routines and tasks are and consider changing them up to be more helpful and less work.


Finley's "art drawer" in the kitchen is a space I created for her. I don't spend much time cleaning it unless it won't close or when she starts having meltdowns about not being able to find things.

This is my dirty kitchen that I wanted to clean so badly but naptime was over and the sun was shining so I reminded myself that messes are beautiful but time in the autumn sun with my girls is even more beautiful.


Leaving that messy kitchen meant laying on a blanket outside and getting to welcome Daddy home from his trip with a snuggle on the blanket.

That's Not How You Use It!

I love finding new ways to use old things! Our bottle rack is a great way to dry plastic bags we reuse!





For Christmas I asked for used frames I could put to work in new ways. My brother Glen found some great ones at thrift stores. I filled this one with a white piece of paper and added a border with some leftover scraps of decorative paper. Now it's a cute little whiteboard on the kitchen counter. I plan to write all sorts of interesting things on it!

Look Mom!

Finley and I sculpted a lot of playdough figures last winter and she always had requests for certain animals, but snowmen were the most popular. While I was getting dressed the other day, she called for me to come look at what she had made all by herself. As you can see, it is definitely a snowman! Playing and creating together is so positive for many reasons. One of the reasons I was reminded of this time is that by creating together grows confidence; the pride sparkling in her eyes was priceless.

A Little Less Waste

I will abstain from getting on a soap box and just assume that we can all agree that a little less waste in the world is a good thing. Without being obsessive, there are so many ways to reduce waste. Check out the blog on my list there on the left called "Crunchy Chicken"- she has tons of green living tips.


I bought towels at the Goodwill, cut them up and serged the edges. Wah-la! Paper towel replacements. I used to neatly roll everyone of them until I realized that was INSANE! There is such a thing as wasting time too. We keep a bucket of light bleach water under the sink to throw them in.




I use soft baby washcloths for wiping the dirty face of a sweet little girl I know. Instead of using 5 washcloths a day for various food encounters or runny noses, I use 1-2. I wash them out well and hang them until the next use that day.


Although not pictured here, IKEA does sell inexpensive cloth napkins or you can make your own from second hand fabric. My friend has a napkin in a napkin ring for each family member so they can be easily identified. She washes them when they are dirty which can take more then one meal.

Just Like Me...

It's so sweet when we see these little people imitating us...when it's the positive they mimic. I didn't mind catching Finley sorting her hair clips by color; sorting is a great skill. I also don't mind her using some of my lines on me during the day. She recently reminded me in her sweet three year old voice, "Accidents happen" and "Maybe if you carry just one thing, that won't happen" after I dropped everything in my arms. However, it wasn't so flattering when she rather harshly reprimanded me with, "Please don't ever do that again" after I had put one of her toys in the wrong spot. Her words echoed in my mind and heart. In that instant I was glimpsing what it must feel like for her and my husband to be on the other end of my words.

Organizing and Hiding- both are helpful.

Organizing doesn't always mean everything has to always be sorted, labeled, and perfectly folded. Sometimes organizing requires creating spaces for "hiding". Now, I am not quite talking about the idea of using your snow shovel to move your heap of laundry into a closet and quickly shut the door with the force of your body weight. However, there are times in life when that method of hiding is entirely appropriate and should be thoroughly enjoyed.

The hiding I am referring to is for those piles that keep showing up in the same places all the time: mail, shoes, jewelry, car keys, phones, and miscellaneous items from the far and distant land of the garage or basement.

Baskets are a great place to hide things. You don't have to organize or sort what's in the basket until you have time. Even better are used baskets from thrift stores. Get creative and start hiding!



Shoes don't seem to like being in neat rows.

Our Lost & Found baskets for things that need to make their way back to a different part of the house.

Mittens, scarves, and hats hiding out in picnic baskets.

Living With Intention

Sometimes people ask me what I've been up to and I draw a complete blank only being able to answer, "Ah, just the typical mom stuff." Sometimes I wish I kept a list of all the amazing things I do in my pocket so I could rattle them off to others. Then I remember two things: I wasn't created to live for the approval of others and the last "amazing" thing I did was nurse Tula standing up in the bathroom at the Puyallup Fair.

So, even as I write about living intentionally, I do so with caution. I am very prone to wanting to create color coded schedules and "to do" lists for planned fun to the point that my planning sucks the fun right out of life. I am learning to think about intentional living in the freedom that it is not my job to create a perfect home and perfect kids. I just want to think about doing more things on purpose.

Here are a few things I've been doing in this process:

1. Before Tula came, Nathan and I spent an evening interviewing our very respected friends who have 4 kids to gain some insight, advice and ideas. I think this idea of seeking out role models is huge for every phase of life, single, married, kids, divorced, retiring,etc.

2. I process a lot through writing and have been working through these qestions:

• What’s important to me in raising kids, being a wife, friend, family?
• What does that look like?
• How does it happen?

3. Put things on a calendar. It might seem silly to write "do something nice for someone" in your planner, but sometimes those intentional plans turn into habits. The trick is doing things on purpose that are rooted in your heart rather than being something you think you "should do".

Some things we are doing on purpose at our house:

1. Lighting a candle at dinner. We got this idea from our friend Chantal. We personalized it with our own family twist. We all stay at the table while the candle is lit as we know meal times together are precious. Finley nominates someone to blow it out at the end of the meal. We believe a meal is so much more than filling empty stomachs. We talk about how God fills us, how the food we eat sometimes died for us so we could live. The candle reminds me of a lot to talk about at dinner...sacred and even silly.
2. Celebrating together. We believe that because of Jesus there is a lot we have to celebrate. Family movie night is just one fun way to celebrate together. Weekly, but the day is flexible. Homemade popcorn, something fun to drink and Nathan adds a little "Family Movie Night" shout before we start.
3. Baking to be a blessing. We're going to be doing some baking together about once a month and thinking ahead of time of who to take it to. We have been richly blessed by God. We have clothes, food, and a roof making us wealthy compared to many people in the world. I want my family to bless others rather than just bask in this easy life we have. We hope to do more than just baking in our pursuit of being a blessing but this idea will get us started.

Please, please add to this with what you do intentionally in your life and why you do it.

Kids Can Clean Too!

I really do try to involve Finley in housework. She puts her own dirty clothes in the laundry basket, takes her plate to the counter after dinner, etc. but there's another fun recommendation from Saturday Night Live of all places. Check out the link!

http://www.hulu.com/watch/2346/saturday-night-live-swiffer-sleepers

My Love Affair With Chalkboard Paint

It all started out rather innocently. We first met at my friend Erica's house or maybe at Maureen's, that part is all foggy because I was suddenly lost in a moment of daydreaming about all of the possibilities. Nathan and I are happily married, but I did fall in love with chalkboard paint. Here are some of my favorites and a couple of "flops" too. Maybe you've tried something I haven't? Let me know... there's still a little left in the can.

Project 1- Weekly dinner menu. This helps me shop efficiently, stay on budget and keeps me from wasting time wondering what to make everyday. I use a chalk pen that washes off for the writing I plan to have up for a long time and regular chalk for things I erase often.

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Project 2- Labeling shelves... before baby Tula came I knew I would need to have help from others but still wanted things to be put away in the right places. Having an organized home requires systems other family members can follow easily. If I don't have a designated place for things, they tend to end up in piles eventually.

Project 3- Flop! Painting the top of a kids table. I thought it would be a prefect place to chalk...but discovered more chalk ended up on my daughter's shirt as she bent over the table coloring. On the back of the chairs I wrote cheesy things like, "Sweet Cheeks Needed" and "Hot Buns Wanted" but the words were always smudged by sticky and wet fingers within minutes.

Project 4- Painting ugly wooden plaques from Goodwill and writing words of inspiration, favorite quotes, etc.

Project 5- Painting the upper half of my bedroom closet door. I just erased what I had on it... a bunch of encouraging words about beauty because I just had a baby and my closet door is the first place I look every morning when I wake up. I wanted a place I could write words I needed to see often. Sometimes I write the lyrics to a new song I love or sometimes I fill it with some spiritual truth, etc.

Motherhood Is A Beautiful Mess

Motherhood is a beautiful mess. From the beginning stages of pregnancy there are the messes of puking and then, once the babies come, there are messes exploding, literally exploding, from every angle.

Oh, but they are beautiful messes.
For without these messes I would never know the joy of loving these little people or the joy of being loved by them. While I love to organize, make lists and add order to chaos, my children are teaching me the beauty of life that happens when I leave the laundry in piles and kick the crumbs under the rug for one more day.

So, this is my blog- the place where I will share my latest organizing idea or dilemma along with the messy and beautiful stories of my life as a mom.

I have added this picture to the first post as a reminder that messes add to the beauty of life.

-Erin