365 days ago

One year ago on Splashes and Splurges, this is what I wrote about.

I think it's my favorite post.

It begs an equally happy update.

It's coming.

scenes from the lunch room

Ava's finishing up lunch, twirling her sippy cup around and around in her high chair.

Ava: Mommy, I want Santa to bring me a pink guitar.

Me: Well, we need to write him a letter. What's the first song you'll play on your pink guitar if he brings you one?

Silence. I start cleaning up. A minute or two passes. I forget I asked a question.

Ava: I love you

Me: (Heart melting) Oh, I love you too, peanut.

Ava: No mommy. I Love You, that's the first song I'll play.

::

A fall splurge

I had a $5 gift card to Target. I really wanted to buy a new clock with it, but it still would've been too much money. So I bought this wooden leaf instead. It needed to feel more "leafy" around here, you know, fall-like. So I hung it on the front door but found it hanging in the garage the next day. Today I'm moving into the house. Bring it on, hubs.

doing, doing...DONE

Here's the truth: I am way better at reading, writing, and talking about organizing than I am about doing organizing.

But I'm changing my ways.

You heard me. I'm disassembling my avoidance disorder bit by bit by bit.

And in celebration of favorite season fall, first on the list is clutter.

The word itself invokes chaos: clutter=where to start?

In the past? Nowhere.

In the present? With purpose.

Here's how we're doing it:

• With a pad and a pen. We've observed every room (which isn't many in our townhouse) and asked this question: How do we want to use this room?

Here's how we answered:

Living/TV Room: Relaxing and Reading
Kitchen/Great Room: Creating
Bedroom: Dressing and Sleeping
Bathroom: Showering and Grooming

• In chunks. It's a work in progress, but we're listing the items that don't meet the purpose and doing one of three things:

a. eliminating them (trash, giveaway, charity)
b. moving them (e.g. books from bedroom to living room, arts & crafts from all over to kitchen/great room)
c. leaving them put

• In phases (I'm a big fan). Once the rooms are perfectly purposed, we'll do one more thing:

Revisit each room, and do one more "do we really need this" exercise. Mostly this goes for my books and magazines (I plan to do the article extraction thing--cut out keeper articles and notebook them). I already tackled the clothes (word of advice: it hurts but don't look back). I'm putting off the books. I really might need them someday. Right!?

I'm going to do this. If I do, I've told myself, I get to splurge a bit at Christmastime and make this home a cozy winter wonderland.

::

Note: this is a grandparent/aunt/love Ava update

We took Ava for her flu shot this afternoon. Since I just had mine and still have the bruise and the swelling to prove it, I was really, really, really dreading it for her.

We spent some time with her doctor kit beforehand, giving her "baby" a shot and talking about how it would just pinch for a minute. While she wasn't exactly thrilled to be getting one, she didn't protest much (the extra goldfish at snack time might have helped).

Her daddy and I held her tight while the nurse prepared the shot. She squealed and worse-than- winced in the less-than-a-second it took, but that little darling didn't shed one tear. In fact, before the nurse had put the needle away, little Ava, in the sweetest little voice, looked at her and said, "Thank you."

Pitter Patter Pitter Patter.

::

Splurge-potential

No splurge to report. I'm making an apple cake for a meeting on Friday. If all goes well, I'll pass the recipe along.

an itch to scratch

Scene: Dinner table, Ava is finished and has started to scratch her head.

Daddy: Do you have a scratch?

Ava: Yes, but I itched it back with all the other itches.

::

Cool, fall weather today. I think I'll make pumpkin bread.

::

Splurge-time:

A new container for my flour (1/2 the price at the store where you're only required to buy one).I was tired of only being able to fit a 1/2 cup scoop in the jar I had. Nothing that I bake ever requires just a 1/2 cup of flour, so I decided to make things a little bit easier.