Off to Retreat!!
What a busy week!! Erin is presenting her science fair project that she did with her friend across the street today, so our home has been a whirlwind of magnets, printouts and helping glue the backdrop together for their Electromagnetic Crane. Bethany had pajama day at daycare and then Dr. Seuss day with lots of great books read. I started to learn how to do Butterfly in swimming and boy is it hard!!
Now I am off to retreat tonight to meet up with 60 - 70 women for a wonderful weekend of stitching and fellowship. The fact that there will be a nice fire going in the main lodge as we set up our stitching circles will help counter the fact that it was HAILING this morning!! It has now turned to snow... and I think this will be one of those weird Maritime springs that only lasts 2 weeks. We’ll go right from winter to the high 70s in just a few weeks and “poof” it will be summer.
Bethany is feeling sick this morning. If she’d eaten breakfast, I would have suspected that it was just a case of “I’d rather stay with Nanny and Grr here than go to daycare...” but her throat seems to hurt too much to swallow, so I’ll try to have her seen by our doctor before I head off late this afternoon. Nick still gets jumpy about me going away and kids getting sick since he dealt with chicken pox alone last fall while I was in Toronto. It’s wonderful to know that Mum and John will be here to help this weekend.
I was trying to explain to Bethany WHY I needed to go away when she said it wasn’t for work. There is something totally selfish about taking time just for me, but I need this retreat twice a year to recharge those “me” batteries so that I can be a better person, wife and mommy. It is just so wonderful to have no fixed schedule, no interruptions, no meals to cook or laundry to do and even no e-mail to answer (though it does pile up!). Time to just sit and chat with other strong women, time to indulge in the sheer creative PLAY of stitching or doodling new designs for as long as I want is sheer heaven.
I know I need a piece of that right now!!
Friday, April 16, 2004
Monday, April 12, 2004
Spring Cleaning And Spring Sunshine...
The Aries Birthday Season is finally over in our household and I have thrown the last of the cake and ice cream into the garbage. Those are both “trigger” foods for me, and while I hate to waste food in a world where many still go hungry, if it lingers around the house, I am the only one who will eat it. One of the ways I have kept my weight off since losing it two years ago is to not set myself up for failure, even if it means throwing stuff out. This is why I also ask the Easter Bunny to bring more shiny dimes that chocolates for the girls to hunt...
Sunday was a wonderful day of fellowship and family. Nick’s Mum and “Second Dad” came here for the Easter meal and I had a wonderful chat with my Dad on the phone. My sister called and I also got to speak to my Mom later that night, so I felt very connected to everyone.
Today was a glorious Spring holiday Monday. We were able to get outside for bike rides and chalk drawing wearing only light jackets. It felt glorious!! We also spent the morning sorting and organizing toys for the girls. Now that they are the “advanced age” of 9 and 5, there were toys around the house that just weren’t getting played with anymore. Today, I lovingly gathered all of the pieces for each Fisher-Price Little People set that we had (farm, garage, town, school bus and circus train) then bagged them up in plastic to take to our self store until that day MANY years from now when I become a grandmother. We also sorted out Barbies and Polly Pockets to get the tangle of toys so often hastily shoved under beds and into drawers all sorted out and back in the proper containers.
I must admit that it was with great satisfaction that I tossed a few extra bags of garbage onto the heap tonight and packed a huge bag into the van for our church rummage sale. We really do live in a society that accumulates STUFF at an alarming rate. Every time I de-clutter, I find it so much easier to find things and so much less stressful. I wonder why we feel this need to have so many THINGS in our lives to help us feel fulfilled???
The Aries Birthday Season is finally over in our household and I have thrown the last of the cake and ice cream into the garbage. Those are both “trigger” foods for me, and while I hate to waste food in a world where many still go hungry, if it lingers around the house, I am the only one who will eat it. One of the ways I have kept my weight off since losing it two years ago is to not set myself up for failure, even if it means throwing stuff out. This is why I also ask the Easter Bunny to bring more shiny dimes that chocolates for the girls to hunt...
Sunday was a wonderful day of fellowship and family. Nick’s Mum and “Second Dad” came here for the Easter meal and I had a wonderful chat with my Dad on the phone. My sister called and I also got to speak to my Mom later that night, so I felt very connected to everyone.
Today was a glorious Spring holiday Monday. We were able to get outside for bike rides and chalk drawing wearing only light jackets. It felt glorious!! We also spent the morning sorting and organizing toys for the girls. Now that they are the “advanced age” of 9 and 5, there were toys around the house that just weren’t getting played with anymore. Today, I lovingly gathered all of the pieces for each Fisher-Price Little People set that we had (farm, garage, town, school bus and circus train) then bagged them up in plastic to take to our self store until that day MANY years from now when I become a grandmother. We also sorted out Barbies and Polly Pockets to get the tangle of toys so often hastily shoved under beds and into drawers all sorted out and back in the proper containers.
I must admit that it was with great satisfaction that I tossed a few extra bags of garbage onto the heap tonight and packed a huge bag into the van for our church rummage sale. We really do live in a society that accumulates STUFF at an alarming rate. Every time I de-clutter, I find it so much easier to find things and so much less stressful. I wonder why we feel this need to have so many THINGS in our lives to help us feel fulfilled???
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