Learning to live with a mess

I love a clutter-free home!  I love to be able to walk across my living room without stumbling over toys and books or getting gunk on my sock from food left on the carpet.   I love the clean lines of a bed neatly made every morning.  I love a clean sink and countertop, not to mention a clean stove.

BUT... I've had to let a lot of that go.  Not on a permanent basis mind you, but I can not constantly stress out about the fact that I just put the toys away and now they are out again.    I can not worry that I just did the dishes and already more are stacked in the sink.   I need not be upset that I just vacuumed and already there are cookie crumbs on the carpet.   I must not get upset that I just mopped and then in comes my husband with his snow boots. 

I remember my mom telling the story of wanting her house a certain way...including my parents bedroom.   One day she realized that she wasn't the only one living there; that my dad had a way that he liked to live too.    I try to keep this in mind as I am now one of three living in our household. 

It's more important that I love Abby and spend time with her than to keep her toys and books kept neat.   It's better to greet my husband with a kiss and a smile at the door than a complaining tongue.   It's the better way to love people rather than my things or my house!

More Shower Pics

Abby just played and played, not at all interested in all the gifts.

Goofing off.......surely not me who is about to be a mom to two!!!

Baby Shower #1

Yesterday the women here at the seminary gave me (baby boy) a shower.   The cake was made by Joanie Hunt and apparently fell to pieces on the way up but she managed a small miracle and put it back together.  I think it looks absolutely adorable!    The rest of these pics are mainly for my family that can't be here.     One interesting thing....my belly is the same size now at 31 1/2 weeks as it was when I was 35 weeks preggo with Abby  (at least I think so)

Not Me Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

It was certainly NOT me who bought gummy vitamins so that I would actually eat them and then spend even more time on the internet trying to find other pills that come in gummy form. It was NOT me who made a hodge-podge dinner out of whatever I could find in the fridge for my husband and daughter and then laugh hysterically when asked what it was. It was NOT me who snuck into bed for an afternoon nap instead of cleaning the kitchen. It was definitely NOT me who dressed my 18 month old daughter for the snow, took her outside and made her “play” even though she hated it. And finally, it was NOT me who threw two snowballs at my poor defenseless daughter.

Pretzels

Marker Fun

Today we pulled out the WASHABLE markers and got to draw.   Abby quickly learned how to get the caps off and though she tried to get them back on, gave up more quickly on that part.   She consistently uses her left hand for her scribbling (as well as eating). 

I'm not sure if there is more ink on the paper or Abby's hands.  But all had a great time.

A walk in the snow

Our beautiful mountain, Horn Peak, covered in snow.

The sun was out shining brightly this morning so as Abby took a nap, I went for a short walk.  It ended up shorter than I thought because the snow was falling out of the trees in mass quantities.  I was trying to protect my camera at the same time.

A good reason to keep your distance when walking next to buildings.   You don't want an icicle to fall off or when the snow melts, for it to fall off on you either.

We got probably 18 inches maybe???

A step ladder beside our house.   I thought it was kind of interesting how the snow stayed stacked on top of each rung.