Thursday, March 31, 2011

Spring Break

This week was Spring Break. It rained all week long, dang it! I distinctly remember this same thing happening last year! Isn't there some mother nature ruling out there that outlaws two years in a row of nasty-no-school-weather? Now I know why people leave on vacation during spring break. I think our family should institute Spring Break Vacation instead of Summer Vacation.

Either way, next year I definitely want to have something planned, because Spring Break just snuck up on me and I found us cooped up in the house...LAME. In between flood watches, we found some breaks in the rain to take Tate to the basketball court. The kids built forts all around the house, including the hallway where there was a blanket tied to each door handle of each room, including the bathroom. I really should have taken some pictures of this one because as annoying as it was, it was really cool. One night they even got to sleep together in one of the tents they made. Much of the time we played with our new DVR {yes, we're just now getting one after much begging and I LOVE it!} Anyway, I don't know how many episodes of Phineas and Ferb we watched, but it was at least one too many.  And the DS is permanently charging to sustain it's increased use. To counter the brain cells numbed into submission with technology we did make a trip to the library. 

One more day in this house and someone was going to get hurt. So we ventured out to Chuck E. Cheese and spent some of our token stash. The kids had a blast and I managed not to go completely deaf from all the noise. Tomorrow we will head up to IKEA (I need a break from spring break) and then we plan to do some nature walks, weather permitting.

So tell me, what do you do for Spring Break?

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Building my Home

This blog is devoted building my home. Not my house, my home. I truly believe that the greatest work we can accomplish is within the walls of our own homes.

There are days when I am busy working all day long, yet at the end of the day I feel like I've accomplished nothing. Well, that's simply not true. Kissing bruised knees {insert crazy accidental injury here} isn't something I write on my to-do list for the day, yet it is an accomplishment. Teaching my children values isn't something I can write on a to do list, yet each lesson learned from something we've experienced together is an accomplishment. Accidents, spills, arguments, and complaining are definitely never on my to do list, yet they happen aaaand...learning from our mistakes is definitely an accomplishment. Yes, I like lists. But I must remember, happiness cannot be measured by check marks on a to-do list. What we are becoming through our daily interactions is a process that can never be checked off as "done." But there are several things we do in our everyday life that help us become. And that's where building this blog comes in.

I am inspired by so many people in my life! Sometimes I look at my good friend Super Mom {most people don't call her that in public} and wonder, "How does she do it all?!" Just reading that girl's blog makes me exhausted! Come on, we all know someone like that. I happen to know a few Super Moms and many of them don't blog so I don't feel quite as guilty associating with them {just a little joke to deal with some of my inadequacies}. I have lots of friends with lots of amazing talents, and I am always excited when I can accomplish a small fraction of what they are doing.

Hopefully this blog will inspire me on those days when I'm just not feelin' it. Those "Ugh-nothing-got-done-today!" days. Because I'm not just building a home. I am building myself, my family, and my community. A better world starts with a better home, so let's get building!