Deep Thoughts Inspired by "Toy Story."

• Slept in...until a time that will not be divulged. It's too decadent.

• Saw the "Toy Story" double feature with Isabelle & Mimi. I suspect I enjoyed the movies even more than the girls did; I was that one embarrassing loud-laugher in the theater. In my defense, though, I must state that I have loved "Toy Story" since Max was just a little tyke. That was ten years ago! Whoa.

Lately, Jack has been reclining in his high chair with a bottle when he needs some down time--and what does he watch?...."Toy Story." He LOVES it. I so clearly remember Max doing the same thing; he'd lay down in a floor nest, sip away at a bottle and stare at Woody & Buzz, mesmerized. That was ten years ago, but i can recall the memory so clearly; Max's solid little toddler-body, his fuzzy hair, even the baby-smell of him. It doesn't FEEL like it was that long ago. The memory of him as a little baby is so clear, and yet all of a sudden I've blinked my eyes and here we all are in the Middle Growing Up Years. So I've been a little disoriented today. Where has my life gone? It's speeding by faster than I ever dreamed it would.

(Those 2 bumps are my feet.)

• Took Jack outside to play in the cul-de-sac while Mimi busted her bike outta training wheels! (My approach to training wheels is basically the same one I use with potty training: Keep the safety device ON until the kid is doing it themselves anyway and the training wheels/diaper are a moot point.) I can't believe I didn't get a picture of Mimi's Freedom Ride. Dangit. I was too busy circumventing all the various dangers Jack posed to himself out on the open sidewalk. And in the street. And on the hill. And in the mud. He had a grand time throwing rocks for an hour straight.

(I can't believe he actually keeps these little shades on.)

• Continued my frenzy of decorating for Halloween. I am an abysmal home decorator, but I like to throw things up for holidays. Cozy.



• Picked up the house while Baby napped, Mimi played at a friend's house and Mike took Max & Sis to guitar lessons (THANK you, Mike). A quiet, clean Pine Sol-scented house....it's like Spa Mom.

• Played around with my blog HTML, trying to beautify my template, ending the session with words I can't repeat here because my kids read my blog.

• Oversaw the evening cleanup in the girls' room. Total pigsty. I'd already used my daily quota of adult language while at my computer, so I couldn't even mutter obscenities under my breath. It took them 1 **darn** hour, but Mimi & Sis did pick up that pigsty.

• Put everyone to bed and played around on Photoshop, attempting to learn that **darn** program, and used up tomorrow's quota of obscenities. Sigh.

The kids have had Thursday & Friday off from school for Fall Break and we have planned one activity per day around which to base our vacation. Thursday was "Toy Story." Friday we will go up the canyon to a park. Saturday I want to decorate Halloween sugar cookies with the kids--an excuse to break out the sprinkles! Sunday we will chill and have a Game Night in the evening. (Translation: After church, I will drop into bed for a 3-hr nap and then we will have Game Night.)

Even though I'm wondering for various reasons, none of which I have the energy to go into now, how life could possibly get any more stressful--it's a happy life.

Goodnight.

The House Smells Like Lemon Pledge

I am exhausted.

I spent all evening yesterday & most of the day today cleaning my house in order to show it to a prospective buyer. I consider myself a somewhat tidy person, but there's nothing like seeing your rooms through someone else's eyes to make you SEE YOUR CLUTTER. I whipped through every single room, trying hard to make it devoid of anything that would draw the eye to a clutter spot. I wanted the rooms to seem open, airy, pleasant and, well, roomy.

Basically, I staged my own house.

And it was hard work!

Now, I just want it to stay this way. The entire house is clean at one time...when does that ever happen? We got a good start on it last weekend when I cracked the whip and I honestly thought it wouldn't take long to get it ready to show. Um, nope.

I'm going to try in the next week or so to be extra attentive to setting aside a time for my kids to pickup. We do after-school jobs and they usually have to pick up their bedroom floors before bed, but the "kid stuff" that is scattered here and there throughout the house starts to accumulate. I think maybe as part of our evening routine, everyone in the family will be in charge of a different room and be responsible for getting back into the state it is now. (Is it obvious that I am feeling tense? I worked fast & furious and I dread tomorrow's breakfast mess.) I did have Mike's help last night--he deep-cleaned while I picked up kid-litter. ("kiddy litter!" ha! a new colloquialism is born!) He also spiffed up the garage and then inside today from 4-6pm. And I think I broke the child labor laws today, ordering all three kids around. But still. I just really want it to stay perfectly clean. It feels so good! I don't know if that's real life, though.

Okay. Enough obsessing. Here is a peek into the master bedroom. I usually keep this door closed because there is laundry being folded or toys on the floor. It's nice not to have to worry about it being cycloned if the door is open & someone arrives unexpectedly.

I did a massive clearing of my desk.
Desk Before:
Desk After:

Somehow, I've got to keep it this way--even though the calendar and school papers will need to come back out of hiding. Also, I need to find a magnet board or something to display the pictures and notes the kids give me; it makes me happy to look at those kid scribblings.

If this house sells, we will move across the street to the new house. And hopefully we will be able to stay there after a disappointing financial year. I love my neighborhood and ward and feel very at home here.