summer project: becoming minimalist

only the beginning

 

this summer we decided to SERIOUSLY SERIOUSLY SERIOUSLY purge, downsize, organize & drastically simplify our lives. finally a dream come true for me! I HAAATE having extra junk & purge often, yet our fam of 5 seems to still always have tons of STUFF. I never seemed to be able to get rid of enough & have never been able to do so on such a large scale. using this becoming minimalist post & many others around the web, as a catalyst I got busy before summer break officially began.

 

I started with the books (& the school supplies that belonged to our charter). we have books in every single room of our house (yes including all 3 bathrooms). i'm not a huge collector, overly sentimental about things, & have no problem letting things go, but OMG our books were hard to go thru & hard let go of. we LOVE LOVE LOVE our books! each & every book has been gone thru, I maaaay have even gone so far as to catalog each title in my ipad & they are pretty much done. but they were only the beginning.

 

after much avoidance & anxiety I've tackled the craft closet supplies. of which the contents took over my entire kitchen & sat there for days (& NOPE no pix...no way!). I completely avoided the storage container mountains full of fabric (I barely even know how to sew...& HATE it), yarn & knitting/crocheting tools (I barely even know how to knit or crochet), scrapbooking & paper crafting supplies (no time...nor any desire anymore)& ALL the other STUFF. for days I seriously ignored the big mass of stuff like it didn't even exist: stress eating junk, taking naps, leaving the house, avoiding eye contact with it by not looking directly at it, etc...

 

BUT this weekend I hit the coffee & the crafting purging pretty hard & got most of it cleaned out & organized. the yarn ball tangles seriously almost killed me. the girls were bummed because I dismantled the little houses they made inside the mountain of stuff (like with different rooms & walls & furniture & cubbies & stuff...that how much extra STUFF we had). 

ok, in my defense (kinda), i'm more artsy, but the girls are pretty crafty they do sew & knit & actually use those supplies for projects, but we did not need it ALL.

 

we have a HUGE yard sale planned with the neighbs at the end of the month. for the next few weeks of the simplifying process (& our summer vacay), my house will be complete chaos & I will be obsessively putting in the time & focus required to achieve this goal. purging & organizing have become one of my all time fave things to do so i'm trying to be ok with it all & bite it off in small chunks as this huge of a project is equally as exhilarating as it is overwhelming.

 

it will all be for the best & i'm sooo super excited for the final outcome. EVERYTHING MUST GO & I cannot wait ...I just hope I don't gain too much stress eating weight in the process!

hello 2013...i hear you friend!

i never make New Year's resolutions.
yes, i have certain goals in mind for the upcoming new year, but i try to be flexible & patient as i try to wait on the direction in which God guides me & then work in accord with it.
He's is much better at directing my life than i am.

besides how can i possibly know what life has in store for me before the year even begins right?

ok so this is what i mean:
it has only been 3 days into 2013 & so far each night of this new year i have been awake for hours in the middle of the night of course, meditating on the same topic...FORGIVENESS!
& i'm sure that it is not by coincidence that yesterday my good friend posted the reminder above.
[just for me i'm sure! thank you M.J.]

yes forgiveness again *sigh*. 
2012 presented plenty of opportunities for me to practice & perfect my rusty forgiveness skills. i went thru it last year & i thought with all that practice i became pretty good at it all...ok i thought i was done & had forgiveness down actually!

um no. this was not a goal i had chosen for myself for this year but clearly these early morning sessions of self evaluation & meditation are letting me know i am FAR from done & 2013 is here to finish in me what 2012 started.

interestingly, what has surprised me most is that each of these nights the same exact situations keep resurfacing that i thought or better yet tried to fool myself into thinking i had completely let go of (but knowing good & well i'm actually holding onto just a teeny tiny stubborn little bit).

so maybe that is part of the work ahead of me in 2013, to continue not just humbling myself, turning the other cheek & keep on SAYING "i forgive you" but really MEANING it...& the completely letting go part.

hello 2013.

I HEAR YOU FRIEND.

i am accepting my assignment! 

now may i please please please sleep thru the night soon ?!?!

ps i get lots of practice giving & asking forgiveness from my sweet girlies constantly & consistently on a daily basis because it is both easy & necessary for me to forgive my own children's cute faces. just as i hope & need it to be easy for them to forgive their own far from perfect mama who does the best she can.
 
BUT for some reason...i have this sneaking suspicion that this is all some kind of foreshadowing & training prepping me for the rest of these years with one teen (eased in gently so far...not too bad) BUT even more so the upcoming years with a household of 3 teenaged GIRLS! Lord knows i need to start now & need all the help i can get...YIKES!

continue putting up with one another and forgiving one another freely if anyone has a cause for complaint against another . even as God FREELY FORGAVE you, so do you also. Colossians 3:13

under mighty oaks

Mighty Oak
Stand tall oh mighty oak, for all the world to see,
your strength and undying beauty forever amazes me.
Though storm clouds hover above you,
your branches span the sky,
in search of the radiant sunlight you
count on to survive.
When the winds are high and restless and
you lose a limb or two,
it only makes you stronger, we
could learn so much from you.
Though generations have come and gone
and brought about such change,
quietly you've watched them all yet still
remained the same.
I only pray God give to me the strength he's
given you,
to face each day with hope, whether
skies are black or blue,
Life on earth is truly a gift
every moment we must treasure,
it's the simple things we take for granted
that become our ultimate pleasures.
Kathy J Parenteau source

this poem is such an inspiration to me.
oaks are an important part of our towns natural history.
i'll be copying it & posting it where it can encourage me daily.

today was spent with friends.
under mighty oaks.
in the warm sun & clean fresh air.
it was such a good day.

our winter break is winding down.
we've been checking lots of fun things off our winter to do list.
we've been working hard cleaning, purging & reorganizing.
we've also been enjoying lazy days just kicking back by the fireplace, reading, crafting & being home doing all sorts of slow happy to be staying home & having nowhere to be kinds of things.

it's been a nice, quiet way to say good bye 2012 & hello 2013. 

feeling too SLUGGISH to do laundry



the laundry will just have to wait(again).

 

this morning Miss A informed me that she has a new pet slug & that he has been living in a teeny little container since Tuesday. so i suggested that maybe it was time to make him a more comfortable home (instead of doing chores...of course).we did a little slug research & headed outside to get to work on his new habitat.

we both agree that he looks much happier in his new place munching on that fresh green leaf. (can you spot him?)

*our fave slug fact: they love one our fave foods...KALE!

learn how to make your own comfie slug home here.

this {past} week

{a few little tidbits from last week...that were supposed to post on Saturday}

 

one of our fave days of the week is our coffee shop date. the brownsugars & i usually bring schoolwork or reading books to our local coffee shop, but this week we brought our art supplies.

we all really enjoyed it & trying yummy new drinks!

 

we did some fun science experiments using a new weather kit to finish up the weather unit we began at the end of last year. we started recording our weekly temps at set hours that we will graph. we also did a barometer experiment & an evaporation chamber experiment. we still have a few more experiments left. 

 

K has gotten REALLY good on her guitar. she is super passionate & equally as self motivated about her guitar playing. i LOVE LOVE LOVE listening to this girl practice & play. i'm also loving watching her artistic growth (all around) & the fact that she has enough time to pursue & develop them.

 

beach day is, of course our other favorite day of the week! we took beach study & our bible study books along for some beach schooling & family worship before going in the water. it was a perfect day for it. it was hot! after we finished with the books & our picnic, we hit the water for the rest of the evening. 

(yes! i actually had on a swimming suit!)

 

this past week was definitely an "i'm sooo happy to be homeschooling" week. i'm loving the blessing of being able to watch my brownsugars grow into themselves right before my eyes & being able to be here to facilitate if necessary. there are so many things, subtleties even, that i would have never know about each one of these girls if we were not homeschooling

& none of which i want to miss. 

a pretty natural transition

the brownsugars & i have been having a pretty natural transition back into homeschooling this year (eventhough we still dont want to give up our summer!). this is the 1st of many work sample posts of this year (a quick one since the mama taxi is rushing out the door again to horse ranch for miss M's lessons)

the 1st pic is one of my fave changes in our homeschool this year

(more in another post).

OUR NEW GADGET BASKET!!!

during homeschool time (& bible study,family worship etc...)

our beloved distracting & addicting little gadgets go in the basket.

yes including mine (with the exception of playing "school" music Pandora, audio books & important calls).

yesterday was the test & we all passed!

we had a fun game of bananagrams to brush up on our spelling, vocab & prob solving skills. dope was all me BTW! *mama is pidush a word? what about digity? tine? what does bail mean? is this the correct way to spell golf? is there a letter y in the word mini? oh. then how many letter i's etc...

we listened to our story of the world history lesson on CD (another change that i am so super grateful for!) while i did laundry & the brownsugars had to make the GF pizza crusts for dinner...all by themselves. we had 2 different types, the one in the pic is BBQ chicken. they did such a good job with the reading, following directions, measuring, problem solving, predicting, investigating (yeast) & team work etc...they were just as proud of themselves as i was of them because dinner turned out DELISH!  

thrifty bargain{kid crafted beachy summer happy}

super excited about this weeks thrifty bargain!

love my new kid crafted necklace from one of the

kiddies "store" at our co-op's 1st day of summer Kid's Market.

the happy little fishy & the bright summery bursts of color,

esp my fave beachy turquoise & melon-y orange combo,

were calling my name & i snatched it right up!

to make it officially summer ready i need to add crimping beads to secure the string to the clasp since they were just knotted on, 

but still cannot beat my $1 kid crafted bit of beachy summer happy!

first day of summer 2012

this super cute dress was handmade by one of the co-op girlies!

for the first day of summer 2012

our homeschooling co-op had a fun

Kid's Market/BBQ/pool party Thursday.

at the Kid's Market the kiddies chose the items they wanted to sell, set up their own "stores",set their own prices,

& handled their own negotiations & transactions with real money.

the mamas supervised & swapped curriculum & supplies.

the kiddies also had fun shopping at each others stores

& so did the mamas!

there were tons of goodies to choose from.

lots of creative kiddie-made goodies too.

afterwards we had a yummy BBQ & a super fun swim party.

well the kiddies did anyway,

at only 75 degrees out us smart mamas decided to sit in patio chairs & relax in the sunshine on life guard duty ;) 

farm notes{cute & thrifty repurposed teachers appreciation gifts}

(pix taken before i added rocks from my yard on top of the soil. accidentally deleted the after pic)

this year for our charter school teachers thank you gifts

we made cute low maintenance repurposed mini succulent garden mugs.

this is one of our new fave gifts to give!

the succulents are from our gardens propagated succulents (instructions here) 

that we have gathered either from

succulent plants growing in our community

or cuttings shared by friends (it's a hobby).

the brownsugars & i went to our fave local thrift store

(it is run by mentally challenged members of our community.

cannot say enough about how fab this store & this program is!)

the girls picked the mugs they liked for each teacher.

we brought them home & potted & tagged them.

THE TEACHERS LOVED THEM!

the entire project took about 10 minutes total to assemble. 

easy peasy.

local, personal, natural & repurposed materials

& costs less than $5 (including a 4th mug not shown!).

*happy girl*

a few other teachers gifts we have given here here here

restored{center.balance.soul}

my Monday was super fantastic!

the brownsugars went fishing with their Dad

& i spent a much needed day with myself!

i took myself to lunch at my fave Chipotle

& had a fab non-fat vanilla chai latte.

i layered up my new wrap bracelet i mentioned here

& bought from my lovely friend & her sisters shop  

& wore it for the 1st time.

beachy & earthy happy little bursts of color

I LOVE IT & plan wear it all summer in different ways!

i also treated myself to a few new art supplies

& a Jack Johnson Kokua Festival CD

{perfect beachy music choice...LOVE}.

next i navigated thru Carlsbad (on Memorial Day mind you!)

to a beautiful new-to-me beach hidden behind cliffs. 

(not sure of the actual name but

someone called it the Carlsbad Cliffs).

i didn't hike all the way down to the water, 

 i decided to sit on top of the cliffs instead

& observe from a new perspective. 

i spent hours.

a few people & their dogs walked thru the trails.

peopled climbed the rocks.

surfers surfed in the water below.

i sat in the sun quietly watching.

i wrote & drew a little.

i read a bit more of The Hunger Games,

but then dolphins started swimming & playing in the water.

i have watched them play in the water from the shore before,

but never high on a cliff...in the glistening sun.

but the dolphins did it...my eyes would not go back to the book.

it has been way too long

& i've been desperately missing the beach.

this one visit was all it took to find my center,

restore my balance & soothe my soul.

i have always dearly & deeply loved the beach

...thank God somethings never change. 

clean & refreshing

please note that the dirt on the clear cup is from the bottom

being buried in the mud to keep it from tipping & not inside the cup!

a few rainy days ago,

out of the side of my eye,

i saw the oldest brownsugar gather a few secretive experiment

supplies from the kitchen

& sneak out the door with them.

after the heavy rain she ran back outside,

returned with her secret experiment

& called the other brownsugars in all excited.

according to them the water tasted clean & refreshing & i took their word for it!

a simplified water filtration system experiment success!

*love my curious little smarties*

{unplugged sunday}

the night before {unplugged sunday}

He & i hired a sitter & headed to Mission Bay to meet old friends (like middle school old).

OMG we had a B L A S T!!!

the bar's dj started off with a Beastie Boys tribute

& i rocked the dancefloor for the night (like i do)! 

{unplugged sunday}

[beginning] 

our sweet brownsugars set us a special breakfast service complete with instructions & place cards.

farm fresh eggs, fruit & fresh squeezed orange juice along with turkey bacon & pastries.

before He had to leave for work after :(

[middle]

the brownsugars decided to make their own music

& i decided that since i could still hear it...

i would enjoy their lovely music outside in the sunshine ;)

a few days before, i forced myself to finally finished the other horrible book i was reading

so i FINALLY introduced myself to Katniss Everdeen.

my last pic before the...

[end]

the brownsugars & i were gathering fallen avocados in our grove &

W H A M!

i got bit by a black widow!

long story short...

i got lucky with my symptoms & wasn't as severe as most bites.

i was able to stay home & monitor it with the help of neighbors, a doctor in the family & poison control checking in on me. 

thankfully i am back to happy now.