Back to School

Since we live in Hades (otherwise known as Arizona) we do things a little different than the rest of the country. We don't have daylight savings time (who needs more hours of scorching sunlight) and we go back to school in July. Not all of the schools start so early but we are on a modified year-round calendar. We have seven weeks of summer and then two weeks in October, December and March. It works out quite well. This year I have a little man starting kindergarten and I was pretty sure he did not want to deal with the intricacies of the cafeteria. So he will be taking his lunch a lot. His sister is in the 5th grade and she prefers to take lunch but will settle for hot lunch if it's something she likes. In an attempt to be environmentally friendly I decided against using plastic bags. I also wanted something to keep their lunches cold that was not made up of weird blue goo. Sounds like a job for The Container Store. I love The Container Store. So many containers. I even made the 80 mile round trip so we would have the lunch stuff by Monday. OK I am aware that driving 80 miles is not environmentally friendly but there's only one Container Store here and it's far away. We took the kids (mistake) and ended up purchasing several lunch items and an Elfa storage system for Emma's clothes. She is complaining that her room is too small so we're trying to move the furniture around for her. I really like these:



Everything fits in the little compartments and nothing has to touch! I also bought these and fill them with juice and then freeze:



Today is our first experiment with these so hopefully they will thaw by lunch. At least their food will be cold. I also bought a little chip and dip container for carrots and ranch. I think we'll have plenty of options for at least the first semester! I may start googling lunch ideas if they start complaining. But at least my husband will eat the same thing every day, without fail.

Less Stress and a Clean Pantry

I'm back from our whirlwind tour of Oklahoma. It was exhausting but I realized when we made it back home that it was stressful in a different way than usual. I didn't have to worry about the house or being the primary caregiver for the kids or the million other things I stress about. I was just busy. When we walked in the door Monday night I looked around at the semi-clean state of our house and realized I need to get busy. If this is the place we want to call home for years to come, I should care enough to keep up with it. In reality my family should care enough not to trash it but that's a different battle. So for some unexplained reason I began feverishly cleaning the pantry. A little background here: the pantry was the one area I never finished when we were doing the kitchen organization. All of my other drawers and spaces were organized and still pretty much look neat and tidy. But I just could never finish the pantry. I even started putting contact paper down but stopped halfway through. And that was almost a year ago. By the time I started cleaning, the floor of the pantry was covered with sprinkles and goo and who knows what. But I just felt like that was the thing I needed to do. My very astute MSW BFF has a theory that I'm depressed because I'm stuck in the middle of my organization projects. And maybe she's right. I certainly don't feel good when I look in my funky bedroom or wash my face in my gunky sink. So I should start where I left off and finish what I started. After I completed the pantry I just stood back for about 10 minutes and marveled at the orderliness. And now when I'm feeling a little discouraged I just open the door and peek in. Is that obsessive? Maybe, but it works for me.

Blog-cation

I know I hardly need to post this here, since I'm so bad about updating, but I will be gone until next Monday. No big projects in the works but maybe I'll get some inspiration! See you then.

Another Weekend Trip

Things have been crazy around here. Gone two weekends in a row! How can we ever keep up with that? This weekend we were only away for one night. I could not stand the thought of being away until Sunday though the hotel bed was definitely much comfier than the tent. We went to Flagstaff so I could participate in my first 5K. I have the whole ordeal detailed on my newest baby Momathlon Report (you know, if you're interested). On Saturday I ran the 5K and then we went back to the hotel to swim. We promised the children a swim so we just had to fulfill our obligation. Funny how that works. The pool was heated but still a little chilly. We did take over the hot tub at one point so we were nice and toasty. The little kids did not want to get out. We finally made them. We then packed up our stuff and headed down to Sedona for a hike. If you have never been to (or heard of) Sedona, you are missing out. It is beautiful. There are red rock formations everywhere and it's supposed to be a new age spiritual vortex or something. I can't really help you with that part. Unfortunately everyone wants to come to Sedona in the summer. It is packed. And the new -seriously annoying- roundabouts on "Highway" 179 do not help. We had to wait to park until someone left the parking lot at the trailhead and when we left there was a line of at least 8 cars waiting to get in. Add to that a really twisty road, a crying three year old and drivers with a sense of entitlement and you have a classic summer vacation memory you'll treasure forever. There were plenty of good things too:

Photo Game

Whew, just when I needed something to post about. Heidi from Hen House Diaries tagged me for a little bloggy fun.

The Rules:

1) Go to your photo files…Select the 6th photo folder

2) Select the 6th photo in that folder

3) Post that photo along with the story behind it.

4) Then challenge 5 blog friends to do the same!

Sadly the 6th picture in my 6th folder is a blog picture I used last year. Does this mean I'm a really prolific blogger or lazy picture taker? I have my husband to do that for me. And he takes so many pictures we will never get through them all. But lucky for me (and the children) he does. So here goes:



Just to make everything easier, and because I really am lazy, I've just included a link to the story of the picture:

Kate Spade Would Be So Proud (Possibly Horrified)

And I tag:

Rantings, Ravings and Musings (because I know she needs something to blog about!)

My Little Batch of Sky(because I know how many pictures she has of San Francisco)

Life According to Lizzi S (because I really like her pictures)

Every Day is a Miracle (because I love looking at pictures of green places)

Just Our Thoughts (because she always does such a good job of keeping her blog up to date)

Can't wait to see what everyone comes up with!

This Week

This week is all about catching up and getting stuff done. Sure the kids are being forced to watch television and play computer and actually find stuff to do (gasp) but I am accomplishing just a little. We went to Wildman Phil on Monday at the library. The kids got to see all kinds of desert animals (mostly the creepy kind, sadly not the furry kind) and they pet a tortoise, horned lizard and huge python. The kids did not seem bothered by the animals, which is good because I don't want them to be all shrieky around snakes and spiders. But I guess being cautious around 12 foot snakes is normal. They weren't at all bothered by the python but I will admit to being a little creeped out by the massive amount of snake in my face when Wildman Phil was carrying it around for the kids to touch. But all in all a good time (and free). Which we then followed by going to Krispy Kreme. Donut-ty goodness.

As for the rest of the week, I am trying to clean the explosion of stuff that is our house. I am also trying to get the laundry under control AGAIN. When will I ever learn? We are also going camping this weekend so I have lots of stuff to pack and plan. I should really get started on that. This is the campground where I would love to stay:



This is probably the campground I'll end up in:



Yes, our car. Because apparently if you want to go camping in the summer in Arizona you have to plan. And I did not. But there are like 15 campgrounds in a small geographic area so surely we can find two spots. Right? Or sleep in our car in a Wal-Mart parking lot. At least it will be cooler than here.

Days 3-5

Wednesday turned out to be an unscheduled rest day. I don't know what came over me last week but I was so exhausted. OK maybe it has something to do with doing too much but that's just the simple answer. So Wednesday was spent on the couch while the children played Wii and computer and whinged.

Thursday we went to a puppet show at the Great Arizona Puppet Theater. We have been to shows there before and it's always a good time. Plus we get to go to downtown Phoenix and support local arts. And their shows and offices are in a beautiful old church. We saw Jack Rabbit and the Desert Tortoise. It was nice because it wasn't very crowded and the kids sat right in front. Kate was especially taken with the puppets. We might have to go back for Peter Pan.

I know Friday was supposed to be our day off but we ended up going to the Mesa Farmers Market. I am on a whole healthy and sustainable eating kick so we went to check it out. I wasn't sure what to expect. The few times I've been to the local farmers market I was a little disappointed by the small size and selection. Mesa's market is not huge but there was produce from two farms and a lot of small vendors giving out samples. The high point of the day was tasting raw honey from a small honey farm in Pine. I don't really like honey. That honey after taste is just gross. But this raw honey. I could not stop talking about it. I tried to use it for my coffee but it made it a little strange. I think I'll stick to sugar (am trying to stop using Splenda). After the farmers market we went to lunch at Joe's Farm Grill. If you are in the area and have never been there, just go now. If you ever visit you should check it out. The food is good and they use fresh produce. Plus, locally owned business. I'm all about the local.

We have many more adventures planned this week. Just need to find the right balance between busy and too busy. Anything to curb the whinging.