Busy Busy!

So, this afternoon as I sashayed through my messy kitchen on the way outside, it struck me as pretty pathetic that not only was my sink full of dishes, but the paper cups and plates from last night were peeking up over my engorged trash cans as well. I had to take a moment to remember how life came to resemble such disarray and remembered our productive Saturday. Never fear, friends, though there may have been other mondays that looked like this one in the past, THIS monday had an excuse.

Saturday Justin and I spent the day out in our yard doing odd and end jobs prepping for the changing seasons, and we got a lot done! Kind of random things... you know, the "one thing leads to another thing" kind of stuff, but I'm thrilled to have them all done nonetheless!

1. We sorted through the many miscellaneous bins in the shed and reorganized things into painting supplies, general home improvement, and electrical. Way overdue.

2. We cleaned off a shelf in the shed and moved it into the garage to accomodate yes, more tools.

3. We took the doors off the shed and repaired the rubber seals underneath, hopefully limiting now the number of bugs and *ew* spiders that will be greeting me this winter.

4. We did a perimeter spray for said bugs and spiders around the house and shed.

5. We pulled out the frozen garden and trimmed back the rose bushes.

6. We finally pruned the lilacs back and took down the hummingbird feeder.

7. We patched the front porch where the concrete had eroded, etched it and re-painted the stoop and stairs, adding a grit to the paint so hopefully we'll have fewer slips and spills this winter when it's wet all the time again. In all fairness, I just finished painting the final coats on that this afternoon, so I guess it was kind of a two-day project.

8. We cleaned out the shed and inventoried our food storage, comparing it to the church's recommendations. No kidding. Easier said than done... I couldn't find "brownie mix" or "fruity cheerios" on their list anywhere. We're woefully short on staples like salt and vegetable oil, but we have no fewer than 12 cake mixes. I'm such a sucker for those 10 for $1 sales! However, I was pleased to discover we have well over our three-month supply, even if a little disheartened to realize how far short of a year we are! If you think about it, it's taken us 7 years of marriage to get three months... so I guess that full year is only what, another 28years away? :-) Paper products, however, we're probably good for the year and then some...

9. Justin was finally able to replace the wheels on his air compressor. Which, by the way, is THE greatest "tool" we got in our DeWalt days. I had no idea how often we would use that thing, but trust me, it's a great purchase!

10. We shop-vac'd the garage and shed.

11. In all that, we actually managed to feed, dress, and bathe the kids, as well throughout the day, and I feel as though I should add here we were actually on time to our 9am church the next day! (Sad, but that doesn't happen often enough.)

Nothing like working together brings out the best and worst in a family. Did you know my husband is a genius? Seriously. I'm amazed at how practical he is and how his brain works. I am so the opposite, and I like to think I add something cute to the marriage. However, he really has a mechanical gift and I love watching the wheels turn in his head when there's a problem to solve. I certainly love that man.

Erick struggles a lot following directions, but if he feels valued in a job he'll see it through and will be really proud of what he's done. He LOVES to work with his dad, but mostly if he's doing "man's work." He also spent quite some time making the wet paint sign we hung up in front of the porch in the evening, complete with decorative grapevines. I'll have to get a pic and post it later.

Izzie has a more natural work ethic, somehow. She craves being busy and helpful and is really good at following through with the things you ask her to do. She stacked jars in the storage room, helped pull the garden and was just generally willing to keep us company. I even let her help paint the porch this afternoon.

Audrey spent quite some time with me in the shed during the inventory process, and I was amazed at her imagination! She may be a destructive little cyclone around the house, but I can never doubt she has her reasons for everything after listening to her chatter and play the other day. She built temples out of the canning jars, reorganizes the soups and made a playground (complete with slide) for the Little People figurine we came across. She was so entertaining I often forget she's only two still!