Perfecting Imperfection

I'm still really really sore.  My tail bone hurts more than usual today (I'm kind of hoping it ISN'T because it is raining, because I love rain and would hate to have one of those injuries that acts up when it's raining out).  I'm also having some ribcage issues.  I'm gonna go ahead and assume it's from my graceful fall down the steps...I'm going to see the doc today - just a med check-up (How's it going?  How ya feeling?  Things calmer?  Not going to spend a day crying your eyes out or laying on the couch?) but I'm gonna ask about my tail bone and ribcage, too.

I have book club tonight!  Super excited!  We read the book Little Bee which I really did enjoy.  I finished it a while ago - because I started it before September even started and couldn't put it down! I'm anxious to hear how everyone else liked it.

Did you watch Sister Wives on TLC last night?  I did.  Then I scrubbed my kitchen floor.  While scrubbing my kitchen floor, I started to think about the benefits to having other women around every day.  You know that there are studies that suggest having female relationships/friendships/etc. actually increase happiness and life expectancy.  (I read that somewhere...seriously...but I'm too lazy to go look for it)  I can understand why.  It would be great to have another woman around all the time to talk to about the kids and all that.  I love my husband - hehehe - but he is a man (which is a good thing) and doesn't understand me like my girlfriends or my mother...it's weird how that works, but I know I'm not the only one who has that "problem".  Don't get me wrong - my husband listens and he does exactly what the "Men are from Mars...Women are from Venus" book says he should.  :)

Oh, and how about that 2nd wife who works away from home?  Her oldest son just gets up and makes breakfast for all the kids and then the 3rd wife makes sure they get to school...she takes care of the kids!  Wife #2 has 6 kids and wife #3 has 5 with one on the way!  Wife #2 (her name is Janelle) even said that she prefers to be at work to taking care of her kids.  Personally, I don't think you should have 6 kids if you feel that way - but I guess she can because she knows that her sister wives will help out.

I can see the benefits...really, I can.  But I can't help but think of the negatives, too.  Jealousy would be a HUGE issue with me.  It seems like they all got along really well.  They all like each other and they have been together for 15 years.  However, there is a new woman in the picture.  I'm still having trouble trying to figure out how you even think about marrying someone else when you already have 3 wives.  I guess there is a part of me that feels like he's being selfish because he is maybe "bored" with the wives he already has...then there is the fact that she lives 4 hours away and already has 3 kids to add to the 12 (soon to be 13) that they have at home already!!  It just seems like throwing a giant wrench into something that is working so far.  I would kill Jerry if it spent enough time away from home to court someone else - I mean we have 4 kids...I need him here...I need his help.  I guess if I had sister wives I wouldn't miss him if he were gone as much?  Who knows?  I'm finding it interesting and will probably keep watching for a while - although, I kind of find the husband, Kody, a little bit too perky (which is slightly annoying).

Oh - and while I'm complaining about TLC reality shows...I watched Hoarding: Buried Alive for 10 minutes while waiting for Sister Wives and I felt a little bit better about my "mess" - but it did make me want to get a giant garbage bag and throw away 27 things RIGHT AWAY!  :)

Okay - time to sign off and get ready for my doctor appointment.  Sorry for the randomness...but I needed to mentally dump some stuff before starting my day!

So...I'm sure that you will be tired of reading about my Happiness Project soon...but my start date for it is quickly approaching.  I used the Happiness Project Toolbox to make some resolutions yesterday.  They don't really follow a theme like I had originally planned.  They are, however, things that I really think will make me a little bit happier.

1) Back to Blogging - my goal is to write a blog post every other day (even if it's just to share a short story or post a picture I took . . . I think it will help get my creative juices flowing and I'm always happier when I'm writing!) and to comment on at least 3 blogs a day.

2) Take a Daily Multivitamin and Drink More Water - Can you believe I don't take vitamins?  If you have one to suggest I'd love to hear it.  Why don't I take vitamins?  I'm lazy...yep...that's why.  However, I do take other pills daily . . . so adding a multivitamin to that group shouldn't be any extra work.  :)  Oh, and I'm going to drink at least 4 glasses of water a day.  I know you are suppose to drink 8 but I'm not a water person...who knows...maybe it'll grow on me.  I do know the benefits of being hydrated, though - and I'm hoping that will make me a bit happier.

3) Have Breakfast - Can you believe I don't eat breakfast?  Of course you can...I don't have time!  I need to make time, though - and I'm planning on giving it a shot starting Oct. 1st!

4)  A Place for Everything - Can you believe I don't have a place for everything?  HAHAHAHA!!!  Okay, seriously though - clutter is controlling my household right now.  I need to get rid of stuff.  I need to look at rooms and find spots for everything .  Use the limited space I have better than I currently am...I need to get better control of this chaos.  I'm planning on tackling one room at a time ~ starting with the kitchen.  I'm giving myself 6 weeks to do this.  I'm already praying that I can at least get the first floor done in that time!

5)  Set the Coffee Maker After Dinner - I love coffee in the morning.  I love when good old Stella aka Hot Mama makes it for me before I even get out of bed!  However - I tend to dread cleaning out the grinds and such and filling her back up before going to bed.  I don't know why...I'm guessing it has something to do with being exhausted after I get all the kiddos to bed.  I'm thinking that I will be a lot happier if I take care of it while cleaning the kitchen - then I won't have it hanging over my head before bed.  You know, I actually think that I stay up later because I put off going to set the coffee pot!

So, there you have it.  The first 5 things I'm going to try to do for my Happiness Project!  Wish me luck!  :)

Hi all!

I've really been exploring blogs lately and thought that linking up to this Friday Follow would be a great way to find some new ones - So...here's the deal:

Anytime I'm going to complain about my husband, I always preface the complaint with, "I love my husband...but..."  Anyone else do that?  I was thinking about this blog post and those words just kept popping into my head.  Not because he has done anything wrong - but because he really is clueless sometimes.  (Sorry, honey...it's true and I do love you!)

I've been thinking more and more about my Happiness Project that I am planning on starting next month.  I've been reading more and more about ways to organize the house and get some of the clutter out.  There are a lot of reasons I think I would be happy with a clutter free (or at least a less cluttered) house.  The MAIN reason, though, is that my DH would be happier.  Clutter drives him crazy.  He can't stand it.  It makes him feel claustrophobic in his own home and that makes him turn into the Grumpy Old Troll - it was a Dora the Explorer kinda morning because I'm here with Danika and the twins while Nate is at school.  The thing is I LOVE MY HUSBAND but he doesn't clean the clutter.  I'll admit that a lot (okay, most) of it is mine and the kids.  However, I don't understand why I am the chief kid clutter cleaner around here.  Okay, maybe I do understand it...but I think that if DH isn't going to pitch in the the kid clutter he should at least make an effort to not be so grumpy just because I didn't get a chance to put all the toys away.

We are working on having the kids do it every night before bed.  As part of my Happiness Project, I'm planning on heading back to the ways of a FLYbaby.  Now, I LOVE MY HUSBAND but he isn't thrilled about it.  It's funny how he hates the clutter but doesn't want me to start doing FLYlady again to help clear it up.  His reasoning?  He thinks, "FLYlady is the reason you went crazy."

Yep.  He blamed my plummeting serotonin and dopamine levels on poor Marla Cilley.  He thinks that all the things I posted about in this post: I'm a little nervous but...  caused this to happen:  Come on Get Happy.  He thinks that the added stress of having a schedule pushed me over the edge.  I LOVE MY HUSBAND but it wasn't the schedule or the calendar or the meal planning or any of that.  It was the fact that I was so unmotivated and had no desire to do those things - the things that keep my life in order - that caused me to have the breakdown that caused me to call my PCP to talk about how to get out of the funk.  You know what - I'm out of the funk.  I'm ready to get things back on track.  I'm also totally aware that there will be speed bumps and detours and distractions.  I am okay if my schedule doesn't go perfectly as planned.  After all, I have 4 kids and a part time job.  It's time.

You know what it is also time for?  It's time for my freaking tail bone to start feeling better.  Although, from what I've heard, that may not happen for MONTHS!!!  The kicker - the Vicodin I was prescribed is making me REALLY nauseous.  I have no idea how people get addicted to these things - they make me feel like CRAP!  I'm sticking with ibuprofen because it seems to take the edge off enough that I'm not wincing in pain every time I move and it doesn't make me sick.  I LOVE MY HUSBAND but he just doesn't do well with me being unable to do what I normally do, so I am really hoping to feel better soon.  In a way, he reminds me of my father...which is kind of funny...but he'll say, "Oh, you are fine - just walk it off."  Ummm...okay.  He did the same thing when I was pregnant with all the kids.  He thinks if he pretends that everything is okay then I'll believe him and everything will magically be okay.  Isn't that sweet?  *yes, that was a hint of sarcasm you heard there*

Alright - enough randomness this morning.  I'm off to do a ton of things - or at least going to try to do a ton of things - before I head out to my Mommy Group this evening!  :)

Until I find time to blog again - remember I LOVE MY HUSBAND!  (Really...I do...no, I'm NOT trying to convince myself!  I know I love him!  I'm trying to convince you because I don't want you to think that just because I complain a little bit means I don't love him or that we are having problems.  Am I rambling?  I'm rambling.  Okay...off to take the pizza out of the convection oven that my grandmother gave me - for some reason the pizza fitting into the convection oven just made my day...WOW.)

Yesterday was awesome - right up to the point that it wasn't.  (Yep...I'm pretty good at pointing out the obvious)

I was on a roll yesterday.  I had been cleaning and even motivated my DH and wonderful neighbor to weed out the flower beds in front of the house while I marched all of the kids around the block in Halloween costumes.  We had a great dinner (P and M Pizza) and I got the twins to bed around 7:30.  I had made my grocery list and was getting ready to head out to the grocery store.  I was going to take Danika with me because she LOVES shopping of any kind.  We ran upstairs to go potty before we left and on the way down the steps I . . . well, my feet went right out from under me and I landed flat on my tail bone.  I didn't catch myself at all.  I didn't slide or trip...I slammed my back right onto the steps.  Then I screamed for about 30 seconds...which must have felt like an eternity to my children who were both crying because I scared the crap out of them.

Long story short - the rest of my night involved a trip to urgent care, some x-rays, a Vicodin and laying on the couch watching Inglorious Bastards with DH.  Today, I haven't felt much better but I did sleep pretty good last night and am planning on heading upstairs in about 10 - 15 minutes to get another good night of sleep.


I'm hoping that I will feel good enough to be pretty normal at work on Tuesday.  I'm also hoping that I heal fast so that I can start my Happiness Project and get my house in order!  I've found 3 books laying around the house that I am reading/skimming for ideas on how to get things done around here.


Sink Reflections
The Queen of Clean Conquers Clutter
15 Minute Organizer


I'm also thinking of giving this a shot:


Once a Month Cooking at Once a Month Mom


Anybody already do it?  If you do let me know how you like it!  :)

Here's to hoping the week is better than the weekend!

Summer isn't the ideal time to blog.  Even though I didn't do nearly as much as I wanted to do this summer, I was still REALLY busy.  Plus, my summer was filled with a lot of lazy days and days that consisted of just keeping my kids happy.  I had a hard time finding inspiration when it came to my blog.

Fall has changed that a bit.  I'm back to reading blogs more often thanks to Feed Squares - even if I can't have a cool app on my phone like my friend, Christine - which makes me totally jealous!  I'm also cleaning out my Google Reader...blogs that haven't posted anything in months or haven't posted anything but reviews and contests are getting weeded out and I'm planning on commenting more on the blogs I read.

I'm also thinking about having a blogging schedule.  Of course, I'm not one to stick to a schedule but I think have a tiny bit of focus would help me to feel more like writing.  Not having set in stone topics...but maybe general ideas.  I'm working on it.  I'm also working on my Happiness Project.  I plan on starting mine in October - which will be here before I know it.  My first 3 months are going to focus on getting my home clean, organized and clutter free.  It's going to take at LEAST 3 months!  hehehe

Here are some sites that have been inspiring me lately when it comes to getting my home in shape - if you have any you love please pass them along to me!

The Inspired Room
IHeart Organizing
Home Sanctuary
I'm an Organizing Junkie

I've also joined the Bloggy Moms Friday Follow if you want to join, too!

Twins bin on left, then Nate's, then Jerry and me, then Danika

Now - I rarely use the word hate.  I NEVER use it when I'm talking about a person because hate is a strong word...as strong as love and I only tell people I really love that I love them.

However, I HATE unmatched socks.

I HATE them for so many reasons.

First of all, I feel like they are a glaring sign that I am failing as a domestic diva.  If I can't do a simple task like matching socks, how am I suppose to manage a household?

Secondly, I have no control over them.  I can tell you exactly how they got to be as bad as they are.  I have NO time.  Seriously, when I am folding laundry I am doing it in between making breakfast and putting babies down for naps before cleaning up from breakfast and getting someone dressed before starting lunch so that I can have it ready when someone wakes up from a nap or gets home from school.  Yes - I am busy.

Finally, I hate them because they take up space...they take up space in my house and in my mind.  When I think about the things that I have to do, match all those freaking unmatched socks always gets put on the list and pushed down to the bottom because I HATE matching socks.

I need a system.  A system that is better than the one I currently have which involves throwing unmatched socks all in one place until I have time to match them and then calling my mother or mother-in-law and telling them the kids need socks.  Anytime someone asks me what we need I say socks.  What does Jerry need for his birthday? Socks.  What do you want for Christmas? Socks.  What can I get the kids for Easter? Socks - they fit nicely in those plastic eggs.

The worst part of that is that I get excited when someone gives my kids a 10 pack of socks because that is 10 full days they can wear socks that match!  I won't buy them new ones myself because I feel it is part of my punishment to have to sort through the 600 socks in the unmatched sock pile to find 2 that fit the person who needs socks . . . if they match it's a bonus.

If it were up to me we wouldn't wear socks - but we live in Western Pennsylvania where people wear socks from September to May...which is what prompted this sock matching session in the first place.  We need socks because it's getting chilly out...

So ~ share your tips (if you have any).  I'm contemplating just having a dirty sock barrel set up somewhere and washing them once a week.  If the match isn't there out it goes...I'd be open to other suggestions, though. No matter what - Something has to be done about this!!!  hehehe

As a side note...have you heard of the website Thankful For?  I'm really diggin' it.  I try to write something I'm thankful for each day.  I spend enough time on the computer that I like to take a few minutes away from Facebook or GoogleReader (which I use FeedSquares for) to remember something good that makes me smile.  It's kind of hard to find people on Thankful For - unless I'm missing something.  If you want to follow me you have to go to this site:  www.thankfulfor.com/users/jmkrajci  -  I'd love to follow you, too, and hear what you are thankful for!

It's only unofficial because it hasn't "officially" begun, yet.  The first day of Fall isn't until later this month - Wednesday, September 22nd - but it feels like Fall.  I'm longing to wear long sleeves, long pants and light jackets or "Hoodie" sweatshirts.  I want to get some pumpkin decorations and gold, red and orange things to warm up my house.  I want to light the yummy candle that I got from one of my student's mom the other day so that the smell of crisp apple can float through my house.  I want to make chili and cornbread and watch football this Sunday.  I want to buy more Pumpkin Soft Drop cookies from the grocery store and have them with a nice cup of coffee with Pumpkin Spice creamer in it.

I LOVE Fall for so many reasons.  Don't get me wrong - all seasons have happy memories for me.  All seasons hold special little places in my heart but Fall is my favorite.

I will always remember the big snow storm last year.  We spent a week at home.  There was so much snow that Danika would have gotten lost in it if she didn't stick to the shoveled path!  Jerry even stayed home on a day he was suppose to work because there was no way anyone was getting anywhere that day.  A lot of people would probably complain and say that it was horrible, but we enjoyed it.  We snuggled and the kids wore their feet pajamas all day.  The babies were still little enough that they were sleeping a lot and we cuddled them a lot.  We watched movies and ate popcorn and watched the snow just keep falling and falling.

Spring is probably my least favorite season because it's moody.  The weather is unpredictable and the kids start getting antsy about the end of the school year.  While the green is nice to see (because green is my favorite color), it just seems like a tease.

Summer is awesome for several reasons - no school which means I'm not "working".  We can go outside without having to bundle everyone up.  We can sleep in late and stay up late and grill.  Oh, I do love a good cheeseburger cooked on the grill.  I'm usually ready for summer to end when it does, though.

Which brings me back to Fall.

I have to tell you how this post all started.  I started thinking about my old blog.  Did I ever tell you that I use to have a blog a few years ago?  I stopped writing it because I got some spam comments that kinda freaked me out.  I decided that I would take a step back and reevaluate why I was blogging.  I missed it so much...so here we are - new blog.

Anyway ~ I started thinking about the old blog and a meme I use to do every Thursday called Thursday Thirteen.  I remembered writing a Thursday Thirteen about all the things I like about Fall.  I had to go back and find it:  Thoughts of the Mama - Thursday Thirteen #2

So there you have it.

Oh - here's something else that is unofficial...the unofficial picture of the kids' first day of school.  It's unofficial because I actually didn't take a picture of Nate on his first day!  *gasp*  But I did remember to take on on the first day they went together.  Oh, and be patient with me...I'm working on getting a new camera and a photo editing program that is easy to use and works well.  I don't have anything installed on my new laptop, yet.

Summer swinging on Grammie and Nunnu's front porch.

September.

There is something about September that tugs at my heartstrings.  I love the crispness it brings.  I love how, even though nature looks like it's falling asleep, it is full of newness.  I love how it screams, "Time to get to work!" - which it probably only does to me because my "work" always coincided with the start school.  Which brings me to another thing I love - school.  I know...I know...I must have some kind of disorder, but I LOVE school.  I love teaching and I love attending.  I actually miss going to school.  It seems I was happiest when I was taking notes and writing papers.  I love learning new things and then teaching others about it.  Which is why I am still holding on to my dream of SOMEDAY becoming a college professor...it would mean a lot more work, but I would be doing something I've always wanted to do.

Anyway - September also brought me a few other "beginnings" this time around.  In case you missed it...I now have 1 year old twin boys.


 
So they are beginning their 2nd year of life!  Of course, like all of my kids, they are beginning it with fevers and general icky-ness.  Not too bad but enough that they are cranky as all heck.  Oh - and David began his 2nd year with a new tooth!!!  First one!

Also - I am beginning a new relationship.  A new relationship with a new laptop.  I *think* I may be in love - but I'm taking it slow.  After all...the last one left me devastated when it decided to just quit on me for no good reason after only a year and a half together.  This time, though - I was much more careful.  I did my research a little more than before and I found a great deal.  So, I'm hoping this one will last a while.  *fingers crossed*

Finally, I may have mentioned that both Nate and Danika will beginning preschool this week.  Danika will be going 2 days a week and Nate will be going 5 days a week.  This beginning is bittersweet for me.  I'm so excited that they are starting school and I really hope they love it as much as I do.  I know that Nate will be really excited to learn new things and share what he learned with us.  I think that Danika will love finally being able to play with some girls instead of her brothers.  They will really have a wonderful time!  However, it means I have to give up lazy mornings in jammies until noon.  :)  Which probably explains why it's 11:26 and we are still in PJs and I'm half concentrating on this blog post and half listening to Jerry explain the different Warner Brothers cartoon characters to Nate and Danika.  I cant' believe that they actually don't know who Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck are!!!  They are now getting a lesson on Foghorn Leghorn - apparently, he is Pap Pap's favorite.