Bath hair

Naturally messy but organizationally inclined...?

Although I've always thought of myself as an organized person, I've come to the realization that I'm rather just a person that greatly appreciates organization. Neatness and lack of clutter does not come naturally to me. I can't believe it's taken over 7 years of independent living for me to figure it out

I'm embarking on a mission to get myself organized - not just lack of clutter and having things put in their proper place, but my time, too. I'm getting tips and ideas from The Complete Idiot's Guide to Organizing Your Life. I know, it's a pretty intense title. It's a great book though! Joe and I's first mission is to figure out a better system for moving from place to place each week.... I've been brainstorming for a while. This one's quite the challenge, folks!

The new desk space

So far, we've also ousted our stash of recycling with the help of my parents, who drove their truck down here filled with furniture to help furnish our quarters at the cottage. They also brought us a gorgeous antique desk from my grandparents. It is thanks to the desk that I'm sitting here blogging. For some reason I just can't write from a couch... and we haven't had any kind of desk space since we moved here!

Here's to you, 2012!

Oh my goodness. I stopped reading all the blogs I follow when we moved because we got so busy trying to adjust to things. I just skimmed over a couple and I can't believe I've made it without them so long! It's so great to read stories from other moms my age who are going through the same things as me.

My 2012 New Years resolutions:
1. Use a budget (the one designed by my wonderful man!)
2. Keep in touch! We value our friends and family so much, but we often neglect them because we're so busy. This year, I'm going to try to turn that around.
3. Blog more. I can't make any specific commitments, but I know that blogging and following others' blogs gives me joy and hope. I have put blogging on the bottom of my priority list while I worked on getting settled in to my new life as a mother of one and a family teacher of seven, but now it's time to get back to writing!
4. Stop over-committing! I keep adding projects to my to do list because they are things I know I can do, and I even want to do. The problem is just because I can and want to do something doesn't mean I have time for it!

As for the first few weeks of January and these resolutions... so far, so good. I'm making slow but sure progress! I have finally caught up with our personal email, we're doing great with our budget, and Joe and I have sketched out the whole years worth of travel plans (when you only have about 10 days to yourself each month, traveling to see your family that is spread out between 6 states gets tricky...not to mention expensive!)

And, with that, I will close, because Brenan just FILLED his diaper while sitting on my lap.

Happy New Year!

Adventures with our growing B

We had a lot of fun today at "Fall for Greenville." It's like a massive taste test of downtown Greenville's restaurants. We paid $15 for 24 tickets, and the tickets worked like money to get food. I had a BBQ pork sandwich for 5 tickets, and Joe had Hibachi shrimp. We also had fried ice cream, gelato, and raspberry tea. It was neat just to walk around and see more of Greenville, too.

Brenan seems to be having a growth spurt again. His 6 month sized onsies are starting to have to stretch to snap at the bottom. He's waking up twice a night again, too. I can't say that's my favorite part of him growing. It gets old really quick!

This morning we couldn't get him to go back to sleep after the second time he nursed unless he was in the swing downstairs. Our monitors are at the cottage (we're at our off-duty apartment right now), so we laid out some blankets and our pillows and spent the rest of the night on the floor. It wasn't the most comfortable arrangement, but we all got to stay together and get our rest. Besides, it's kind of a fun story to tell later!

cherishing silence

Honestly, I can't believe I've let myself go so long without blogging. It really is a stress outlet for me - it's like journaling except with other people in mind. Of couse, some people use their blog as more of a journal than others. I'd say mine is a nice balance of written-for-self vs. written-for-others.

I'm finally sitting down for the first time in a while and focusing on myself. It sounds horribly selfish, but while Joe runs errands and Brenan sleeps in his swing, I'm just going to sit here and blog. The dishes sitting on the end tables and the laundry and baby toys strewn on the floor are just going to have to wait.

I've read so many other mom blogs that talk about days like these - where you get a few minutes to yourself and cherish each second of peace and quiet. I suspect that as Brenan gets older and our family grows bigger those moments will be fewer and farther between. I'm not going to worry about that right now though. For now, I'll just write, and rest.