What a day.  It started out with the kids and Brian going to climb up to Horsetooth (the verdict from the girls: the way up was a 2/10, the top is a 10, the way down 3 or 7, depending on the girl.)  I took full advantage of their absence to clean out my clothes and bedroom closet.  This weekend I cleaned out the coat closet and my bedroom closet.  That along with the earlier cleaned out linen closet yielded 10 kitchen trash bags full of stuff to be donated, which I did.  Goodwill is now flush with my castoffs. And I was such a good girl, I didn't even shop after I donated.  I did, however buy more trash bags as I used them all in my purge.

I wish I took before and after pictures.  But, the before is so hideous, so embarrassing, I can't do it.  And the after? Well, it doesn't look as good as some people's before pictures.  Still I feel much, much, MUCH better.  I feel lighter and more free.  I love getting rid of stuff!

After the purge and release, I sat down to watch The Game.  Well, The Game sucked.  Big time.  The Packer's season, and therefore my season, is over.  I no longer care about football.  The Superbowl is now meaningless.  If the Packers aren't playing, I don't care.  Bah humbug :P

Anyway, the next stop on the organization train is either kids' clothes or books.  Books would be easier but the aren't nearly as messy as the kids' clothes.  We'll see what I feel like when the next free moment hits me.  I don't think it will be this week as we have 2 Girl Scout meetings, 2 therapy appts (1 in Denver, 1 here), therapy group and the NCHA meeting.  Plus work.  And I told the kids we could hit the museum on Wednesday since we're going to Denver anyway (and we got the museum membership for Xmas from my parents.)

And speaking of my extended family, my brother, who is getting married in June, is going to be a father again in August or September!

And speaking of pregnancy, I need to get rid of my maternity clothes.  It's been over 8 years since I gave birth, almost 3 since I even had a uterus, I think it's time for them to go.  Still, I want them to go to someone who needs them.  Maybe the clothing bank at the Methodist church? I'll figure something out soon as they don't need to be taking up space in my house any longer.

Ok, random train-of-thought blog entry is done for the day.  You're welcome.

Today Stella became the owner of a large pretend cat rescue. I'm sure this is related to the fact that our newest dog is from the Humane Society.  Still, it was quite an endeavor.  Her sister adopted 16 cats, 8 boys and 8 girls.  I forget the breeds and so forth, but I did hear that 5 of them had to be adopted together.  I adopted one cat.  I said I wanted one that would sit on my lap with me and she had the perfect one, as a black, adult male named Danny.

I posted on Facebook that Stella had pretend cats up for adoption and 4 friends adopted them.  Here are their pictures and bios:

...that is the homeschool mother.  Yes, I tricked my kids into learning (more) today by sending them here.  Mwah ha ha!

I want to get the house organized.  Honestly, I would love to live somewhere 1/2 the size with 1/3 of the stuff we currently have.  Stuff is not what I need.  What do I use when left to my own devices? Electronics, books, knitting, sewing - the rest really needs to go.  And books, well, mostly I read library books.  There are really a few series that I'd like to keep around, and some non-fiction reference, but the rest should go to the used book store.  Old magazines need to go.  Same with homeschooling stuff we haven't used, clothes I haven't worn, etc. 

So, I'm starting along this path, slowly.  Last week I started by cleaning out the huge mess the girls had made of my sewing room as well as tidying up the living room and kitchen.  I straightend up their crazy craft area too.  I bought a used office mailbox sorter like this.  This is where the girls need to put ALL of their paper and completed crafts.  If I find it out of there, I get to throw it away.  If they care so much about the pictures they make, they need to put them away, it's that simple.  I'm tired of papers on the floor and table every day!

Today, I tackled the girl's computer area.  I took every. last. thing. off of that L-shaped desk and sorted, tossed and stored.  Sewing/knitting/needlework is in Stella's stool.  Soccer-wear is in Sandis' stool.  One small basket of their "necessary" stuff and their banks is all that is left, besides the computers, of course.  I've decided that the next step is to to take all our games and put them in underbed storage bins (which we already have) and store them, surprisingly, under our bed.  That will free up 1/2 a linen closet.  Another upcoming step is to clear out the coat closet.  We have bags and bags of shoes and hats and fleeces and more.  We do NOT need that much stuff! One winter coat, one spring coat, two fleeces, that seems reasonable.  Baskets and bags of them are not.  We need to remove this extra junk to free up some space, physical space and my mental space as well :)

...sick.  Both kids had a stomach bug that's going around.  Just barely recovered from that and now they've got the chicken pox.  Needless to say, that's occupied most of my time the last several days.  That and the dog's splint.  She got it changed.  She ate it off and got another.  The most recent one fell off and we have to go back tomorrow to get it put on yet again.  Sheesh.  Kids and dogs, dogs and kids, can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em :)

So, with that going on, I am not thinking creatively and therefore today's blog post is a silly survey.  I like them and I don't have to think too hard. 

What do you put on hotdogs? Drag it through the garden
Do you say "anticlimatic" or "anticlimactic"? anticlimatic
Do you check flyers before grocery shopping? occasionally
Blue, black, or some other colour pen ink? black
Do you use your parking brake? yes
Look to your left. How many framed pictures are on the wall? zero, many behind me though
Do you know how to play chess? no, and not really interested either
How often do you clean the interior of your car? way too often because otherwise the layers in the backseat could teach the children archeology 
Do you ever read the last few pages first? no
Ever fallen in the shower? probably, I am fairly clumsy
Do you have a Snuggie? no
Are you allergic to anything? citrus and wheat
Do you have any TV shows on DVD? definitely, and more that I follow on Netflix
How many times do you hit the snooze button before finally getting out of bed? zero, I don't use snooze
What's your favourite freezie colour? ick
Are you a vegetarian? no
Do you have a garbage receptacle beside you? What's on top? no
Do you cross out your mistakes or erase/whiteout them? I backspace, myself ;)
Do you think that things will get better? it's what keeps me going
Do you have an unpopular opinion? What is it? Oh so many - homeschooling, unschooling, selective vax, extended breastfeeding, home birth, co-sleeping, feminism, Unitarian Universalism...of course, I have others with me in my weirdness so it's not lonely here.
What's your favourite quote? That's like picking a favorite book, can't do it.
Did you go to prom? yes, but who cares?
What's the most physically painful thing you've ever experienced? When my jaw was locked shut for a month and they gave me 2 shots of Novocaine and wrenched on it until it opened.  Worse than tearing my ACL and that was worse than childbirth, by far.
Have you ever legitimately saved a person's life? no
What's your favourite book genre? Fantasy
Did you like "Gigli"? Be honest. No idea what that is.
Have you ever walked out of a movie at the theatre? no
Do dogs like you? of course!
Would you say that you project an air of authority? I can
Do people listen when you speak? In general, yes.  My children, not so much ;P
When was the last time you paid for music? I bought the Spamalot soundtrack last month
Are you addicted to technology? Yes, but I can go camping and escape from it all with no regrets.
Do you check your computer's dictionary for the definition of words you'd otherwise feel confident about using during in-person interactions? Just to be sure? No, but I look up words I don't know when I come across them.
How heavily to you rely on spellcheck and autocorrect? Spellcheck I use all the time, autocorrect I don't.  Have you seen damnyouautocorrect.com?
Do you pause movies/TV shows if you have to go to the bathroom or the kitchen, or do you just let them keep playing? Depends
If you use a regular alarm clock, do you have it set to music or that obnoxious beeping? It's actually my iTouch, but it beeps.
Do you pronounce "anti" as ant-eye or ant-ee? ant-eye
Do you pronounce "via" as vee-uh or vie-uh? vie-uh
How often do you forget to close your parentheses? rarely. And I always beat myself up about it when I do, just like grammar and spelling errors. 

I started my year in review album for 2011.  I had written up everything of note that we did throughout the year and now I'm adding the pictures and making it pretty! Eventually, I'll get it printed up for family, and saved in an eBook for extended family and friends.  Here are the first 5 7 pages (got two more done tonight, woohoo!)  If you click on them, they will enlarge so you can read the text (if you so choose.)

The girls and I finished the Harry Potter books last night.  It was bittersweet, because, in Stella's words, "then we won't be able to listen to Harry Potter anymore."

We started listening to the entire series back in July, the first time all the way through for the girls.  Brian had read to them the first 4 books way back when, Sandis re-read those same 4 last summer.  We stopped at book 4 for both books and movies as that is when it gets dark.  Thoughtless killing and torture just aren't pleasant topics, especially when you can't really understand how it relates to the story.  And some of the twists and turns of the story are still lost on them now, how much of it would have flown over their heads then?

Overall, they did very well.  They picked up on some subtle hints and foreshadowing.  Understood the big picture messages.  And, most importantly, thoroughly enjoyed the series.  It is wonderful to share books that you love with your children.  I can't wait to share more and more!

As we finished each book, they were cleared to watch the associated movie.  They liked the movies, and complained, as do I, about how they differ from the book.  It's good for them to see this.  To know that the book is always better than the movie.  Sandis remarked last night, "I wish the people who make these movies would at least read the book first!"  Good girl, Sandis ;)

Next we're going to listen to Percy Jackson, which they have read, Sandis several times.  Not as good as HP, from what I've heard, but the kids aren't quite ready for Lord of the Rings yet.  I'm thinking The Golden Compass series should be next.  Had I thought of that sooner, we would have skipped Percy Jackson! Could try some classics after that.  They enjoyed Alice in Wonderland and Wizard of Oz.  We'll see when the time comes...