raising a mommy

raising a mommy

Saturday, August 9, 2014

fmf: fill

Here are the rules:
1. Write for five minutes flat for pure unedited love of the written word.
2. Link back to Kate Motaung's blog with the rest of the Five Minute Friday-ers.
3. Comment on the person who linked up before you.

Please join us!

Today's prompt: fill

GO

We’re moving. Again. This is #2 in two years, with one more a year from now.

I have something to confess: I’m a little bit OCD. (Not necessarily when it comes to the cleanliness of my house, sadly, but) I like things to be in order and efficient. I am that way when I load my dishwasher, when I put away laundry, and, apparently, when I pack boxes. Empty space drives me nuts.

And so, I try to fill in all the little gaps and holes. All of them. Anyone who has ever moved can probably understand what a challenge this poses. Simply filling them in with packing paper is not enough – that’s wasted space.

But really, there’s no way, short of purchasing massive quantities of washcloths and hand towels to use as stuffing, to fill all the holes. And who needs that many washcloths and hand towels, so would that really be more efficient in the long run?

And so today, as I face the beginning of a five day packing marathon (and I’m a runner, so I don’t use that term lightly), I tell myself that sometimes gaps are okay. In boxes, and in life. Gaps allow us room to shift, to settle, and (not so much with books and movies, but in life) to grow.

STOP


Wednesday, August 6, 2014

wonderful wednesday

This is one of those weeks that I am counting my blessings, and I am amazed at how numerous they are. I'd love to take a couple minutes to share just a few of them with you.

Last weekend, we made a quick trip to get the keys to our new apartment. I'll admit, I was less than thrilled when we first walked through the door. The trip up 3+ flights of stairs (it's a funky split level type set up, so we enter the building on first floor of building A and live on the third floor of building B, building B being about a half a story higher than building A) was not a fun start. As you can imagine, the place is pretty small. A two bedroom apartment in the city for under $1000 a month? You're not going to get much! But, after looking around, Husband helped me realize that there is a surprising amount of storage space. The kitchen is depressing, but there's a whole row of upper and lower cabinets along one wall of the "dining room," so I should only have to put about half of my kitchen products in storage! Husband was generous enough to give up his designated office for Nugget's nursery. This means that both kids will get their own rooms, which is very nice! Also a bonus, because I don't think we'd be able to fit the cradle, much less a crib in our bedroom with our bed! We have a massively huge closet in our bedroom, though, which will provide a ton of storage and house our dressers. And those 3+ flights of stairs? Bye bye baby weight!

Also, the neighborhood is very cool and the few people I've met so far seem wonderful. There's a family a few floors down with two and four year old girls, so P has some built in playmates already! Another bonus? Uncle A will be living approximately eight blocks away, and we're directly on his bus route from school. With Big Uncle E (big simply meaning older than "Little Uncle E") nearby and reasonable busing distance, I may actually get to see family members on a regular basis!

On Sunday, we had another great opportunity. Long story short, we got to cook dinner for all of the ELCA bishops in one of our preferred regions and their spouses. Not only was it great to be able to help out, but it was a great opportunity for Husband to meet some important people, one of whom could be his boss next year! Also, in spite of the fact that one of my bars of fancy white baking chocolate didn't make it into my grocery bag and I was forced to substitute substandard white chocolate chips in the white chocolate cream cheese filling for my chocolate cake, it turned out okay.

Monday was one of those crabby days. It was the first day of VBS, for which I had volunteered months ago, not really realizing for some reason that I was going to be almost eight months pregnant and two weeks out from a move. Not ideal timing! However, it actually wasn't that bad. I like the way it's set up, so I only have to lead a couple songs at the opening and one at closing, rather than having an entire 20 minute sectional with each age group, as I have done in the past. Plus, I'd rather spend the evening at VBS with Husband and P than at home with just P. It's crunch time, so I don't get to see him nearly enough as it is!

Tuesday morning, I fried my last egg for breakfast and (with a crabby face) added eggs to my grocery list. I hate paying for eggs at the grocery store because I've been so blessed past year! We have two sources for free, farm fresh eggs, so I can count on one hand the number of times I've actually had to buy eggs. The farm fresh ones are so much better than the store bought ones, anyways. No more than two hours later, a parishioner pulled into our driveway with a dozen eggs and a bag of sweet corn! Amazing, right? We had the corn with lunch today, and let me tell you, the stuff straight from the garden doesn't even compare with the grocery store stuff. Even prissy little P who hates getting her fingers dirty enjoyed an entire ear!

Now I'm off to do some baking, a little bit of packing/cleaning, and getting ready for tomorrow morning. After months of last minute cancellations and conflicting schedules, I am finally getting together with a friend for a granola/tortilla making date! (Nerds? Maybe. Well-fed nerds? Yes!) Tomorrow is also the last day of VBS, concluding with a pool party, on Friday we have nothing on the schedule (wonder of wonders, miracle of miracles!), and on Saturday my mom is coming to start a four day packing marathon.

Yes, life is good.

What's the best thing that's happened to you this week?