Memories of You

So I know this post is after Memorial Day but it has been on my mind as I'm sure it has been for the rest of the country.  My husband and I were discussing who and why we celebrate Memorial Day.  I know that my posts so far have been humorous  and so I hope you will forgive the seriousness of this one. 

I know it is for those who have made the ultimate sacrifice by giving their lives for the freedoms that I take for granted every day.  For those people I am so grateful.  I had many relatives, including two grandfathers, who served willingly and ably during the wars that have come and gone.  This is something that can never be repaid.  Hopefully by teaching my children of the importance of remembering these unselfish men and women I am giving something back.

Of course we also celebrate and give thanks for those who are currently serving and I also like to think about and be grateful for those families who have given up their husbands, wives, mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, etc. who are somewhere halfway across the world endeavoring to protect those they love so dearly.  What a sacrifice this must be.  I think of a sweet friend in Idaho who is currently raising her four boys by herself because her husband is deployed.  I also think of several women in my ward who are keeping things together at home while their husbands are away.  I am amazed at their strength.

I know we also remember those who have passed on and gone before us.  Recently, I lost a dear neighbor who has been very kind to our family over the eight years we have lived here.  She taught me wonderful things and was always aware of birthdays and ready to give hugs and loves to the girls.  She taught me how to make canned apple pie filling.  Both her and her husband loved to garden and work in the yard and many times would pass their knowledge on to me.  I still find myself looking to see if she is out puttering in her yard.  I know she has been very lonely and sad ever since her companion passed away and so I hope this Memorial Day she is happy and celebrating with her sweetheart.  I miss her.

Lastly, I think of my parents, in-laws, and grandparents of which I am still lucky to have three of them alive.  These people who have lived their lives the best they know how and  who helped to make me the person that I am.  I hope I can continue to pass on those lessons and wisdom that they shared with my children and grandchildren.

pic by digitalart

Thank you all for the memories of you that I treasure.

 

Queen of Clean

Happy Monday people!  I don't want you to get the wrong impression by the title of this post.  I am most certainly not the Queen of Clean.  It's not even a title I would want.  I also don't judge others if their house isn't spic and span so don't feel picked on by reading this post.

One time someone asked one of my girls what my favorite thing to do was and she said, "She likes to clean."  WRONG!   However, I do like a clean house, car, room, body, etc.  I find inner peace when things are picked up and the dishes are done and the laundry folded.  I could achieve nirvana if everything in my house was organized and alphabetized A to Z.  Of course, real life happens and this is not the case.

I come by this possible moniker through a great line of women.  My Granny was a housekeeper for years.  Not only could she make her house the epitome of Home Sweet Home, she could make her clients' homes this way as well.  When my mother was a stay at home mom, she always endeavored to have everything neat and tidy.

My journey from Princess of Picked Up to Queen of Clean has taken many twists and turns.  I have gone in phases actually.  When I was first married with two little girls I did a pretty good job.  I cleaned the bathroom often.  I swept and mopped.  The laundry was actually folded and put away.  I was on top of the pile so to speak.  Eventually I found myself living in the same house for eight years (which makes it almost impossible to find the desire to "organize") and the mother of four girls, each of which are in different stages of growing and learning.  One day I woke up and decided that I was tired of doing the dishes and the laundry and walking around behind everyone with a trash can.  Luckily, my oldest inherited the possible Queen gene and made up the difference for me.  Both of my older girls have been assigned their own chores for years and it has kept the dirt and garbage at bay so we could at least walk through the house.  I also have to give props to my husband for doing his part in keeping the laundry going.
 
Lately, my journey has taken me back around to wanting to do more than just survive.  I've been perusing a book my mother-in-law gave me for Christmas.  There are many helpful tips, tricks, and shortcuts to taking care of everything in the home.  One of my biggest reasons for hating to clean the bathroom on a regular basis is because the chemicals make me ill.  This book gave a formula for cleaning that involves baking soda and vinegar.  I'm sure many of you already know about this little trick but if not, it works pretty well.  I'm also not afraid to take a bath for a week after cleaning the tub for fear of sucking up caustic chemicals through my skin.   I tried this trick out a couple of Saturdays ago and I thought my oldest was going to fall over when she saw Mom actually "cleaning."  Here's hoping the desire to clean stays around for awhile.  :)

Naquai

These tips comes from Best Ever Home Secrets by Joan and Lydia Wilen

*Sprinkle baking soda around the tub and then wet a washcloth with distilled white vinegar and scrub, then rinse.

*If you have a ring, add 1/2 cup of baking soda to the running water.  This should help get rid of the ring and also softens and conditions skin too.  

Of course you spend all that time cleaning and return to the bathroom and find this!  Precious!

 

Hubby's Day Off

If you were to ask me about my favorite day of the week I would tell you that it changes depending on the week.  I suppose this is very noncommittal and doesn't answer the question at all but actually it makes sense. 

My husband has a rotating day off.  Depending on the week it could be Monday, Tuesday, etc.  When he first started this job 17 (wow..time flies) years ago it was a little weird.  Nothing happens during the week that would make you excited about having a Wednesday off.  Everyone knows that exciting things happen on the weekend.  BUT...as the years have gone by I have discovered that I actually prefer it.  Let me tell you a couple of reasons why:

1.  The stores are not as crowded. It's nice to go to Wal-Mart on a day when everyone else on the planet is not trying to buy milk.
2.  My children are usually in school thus we only have one at home and let's face it folks..that's a date! 
3.  My husband is also able to attend school events which allows him to be involved.
4.  It breaks up the week.  I no longer have to wait five long days until I can hope to accomplish things.  
5.  Businesses are open on weekdays.  There are many items of importance that can't be taken care of on a Saturday.

 
Just to be fair to my husband there is one serious drawback.

He never really gets any rest!  

We run around like crazy on his day off because his day off is my day off don't you know (it's in the marriage contract..go check yours if you are misinformed).  I wonder how many times I can say day off in a sentence?  


The biggest reason I like his mini-vacation from work (that's better) is because I feel like I have adult backup for all the things that are happening, usually with the children.  I'm not alone.  I can always tag my husband when I'm down and out in the ring of insanity that is our life.   This and this alone is probably the biggest reason I love my hubby's day off. 

So, husband dear, I'm looking forward to next week.  :)

Crazed Momma's First Post

Does anyone else hear the trumpets and applause?  I can hear it in my head as I take a big leap of faith and begin blogging my crazy life.  I have been terrified to do this because I honestly feel that as fun as my life can be, I really have nothing to say.  I don’t think that I am that interesting. 

As I have thought about this, I realized that it doesn’t matter if it’s interesting to others, it is important for me.  It can be a good tool for venting my thoughts and feelings and also I can count it as creating a journal keepsake for my daughters.  They will never have to wonder what Mom thought about this or that because they can look it up!  (It sounds good in theory.) 

So I was pondering about a name when Crazy Mom popped in my head.  My oldest has told me that I’m crazy on many, many occasions.  Crazy mom was taken as a blog name by one of the other insane women out there trying to make it one day at a time and so I decided on Crazed Momma. 

cra·zy  [krey-zee]  

1.mentally deranged; demented; insane. 2. senseless; impractical; totally unsound: a crazy scheme. 3. Informal . intensely enthusiastic; passionately excited: crazy about baseball.

Yep, that’s me in a nutshell.  I can be all or just one of these definitions during the course of a day.  How scary is that?  Well today I am crazy about trying to learn how to blog and I hope you have enjoyed my first post.