Since I've been out of work, I'm trying to spend more carefully. I'm doing my best to live by the motto

Use it up,
wear it out,
make it do
or do without.

I am doing a pretty good job going from a person who, within reason, buys what I want when I want it, to a budget-conscious if not frugal shopper.

Some of my successes are the outdoor plants that I got from the clearance section of the garden store. $74 of plants bought for $28 because they came without guarantees. I guess the discounts only get better as the season goes on and stores don't want to winter plants over.

And how about face products - I haven't bought face wash or lotion in 3 years! Yes, that's before Deuce was born. I used to sell Mary Kay, so I did have a stock pile. But I'm also using up a lot of tinted moisturizers and other things that I buy new seasonally. I have thrown a lot of things away that have turned, particularly Clinique things that I have had since before I started selling Mary Kay. But at $20 or $25 a pop, every time I find a tube of something I feel like there's money in my pocket.

Of course it just wouldn't be me if I didn't have some failures too. For one, there's the bed frame I bought off craigslist that didn't even attach to the bed properly (thankfully that has been resold). The Rubbermaid paintbrush I got a "great deal" on because it was $4 instead of $12 that I usually spend on a Purdy brush. (It leaves crazy streaks). Or the potty chair I bought without doing any research. Deuce isn't tall enough to sit in the middle of the seat - it's made for giants (luckily found that out before Deuce really used it and was able to return).

Sometimes researching items doesn't really help though. Of all the potty chairs on Amazon, not one has 5 stars, and it seems like boys can manage to pee on everything regardless of the size and shape of the "splash guard".

All in all I must be doing okay, because we're staying afloat. More than afloat, we have everything we need and we're paying less for it!

M is for My other hobbies

I crochet (or knit, now) almost every day, late at night when we're unwinding in front of the TV. But fiber stuff isn't my first or only hobby.

My first hobby is baking. This is Deuce's birthday cake. It's two layers of chocolate cake with white frosting and decorated with mini, plain and peanut butter M&Ms. I got the idea from Parents magazine. It took just as much time to decorate as it did to bake and frost!

I got my love of baking from my dear Grandma Anne. She has "got it." She times cookies by when they smell done. She measures with a scoop. Like, not a measuring cup. She just knows how to bake, and though I'm not as skilled as her, I do love it.

My favorite hobby is scrapbooking. I started scrapbooking before I was married, just to spend time with friends and because I thought it was fun. Now that Deuce is on the scene, I do a LOT of scrapbooking.

This is his second year, what I was able to finish before his party:

(that's an American Crafts D-ring binder, which I love for any project that isn't ever really "done")

Scrapbooking is the way I record my feelings and emotions, express my love for my family, create something I can share, exercise my mind... and let's face it, it's how I spend a lot of money. DeuceDad actually doesn't mind though because I've had this hobby for about 5 years now, longer than I've ever held down a single job, so it's not a waste.

I am so fortunate for all the nap-time I spend on these hobbies. So when I'm not blogging, you know what I'm doing!

I don't even know where to start.

I haven't blogged in a while - I've been home, away, busy, sleepy, up, down and around pretty much non-stop. (And I used to work, too?)

Some of the highlights since June 23...

Camping!

We went to Green Lakes and camped with friends. We have camped with this group a few times, and have always enjoyed ourselves. We were really looking forward to it, until a huge thunderstorm rolled overhead as we were packing the car. We actually got the car totally unpacked and called everyone to confer... only for the sky to clear and the weather to be gorgeous. We repacked the car (minus a few essentials forgotten in the fray) and off we went.

It's a really nice park - actually a national forest, I think - with a beautiful beach for swimming and lots of trails. Our sites were in a great location, and the weather held out. A great trip!

July 4th!

We celebrated the all-American way. We over ate and watched baseball.

"Dipfest" started as a discussion over what the best kind of taco dip is.

It turned into an allout gorge-fest that the hostess is not entirely recovered from. Digestively speaking. There was no clear winner, but the contestants for taco dip were "Alyson's taco dip" (cream cheese/sour cream/taco seasoning, diced tomatoes, lettuce, cheese), chili cheese dip (cream cheese, chili, cheese), and 7 layer taco dip (cream cheese/sour cream/taco seasoning, refried beans, guacamole, salsa, olives, jalapeno slices, cheese). Also in the photo are chicken wing dip and artichoke dip. I feel sick just thinking about it.

We went to see the Red Wings. We took Deuce last year, but he was mostly interested in popcorn and playing in the grass. This year he was able to follow along a little (here, in the red tshirt, bemoaning a blown call) He was great at the game, and we're looking forward to bringing him again.

Hangin' with my Dad!

My dad had some time off mid-week, so we went to the Strong National Museum of Play together. The working folk don't get to do stay-at-home stuff like story hour, so this was a treat for Dad.

Knitting!

This is the completed "first sock evah!" and the second one has another 2-ish inches of calf and some ribbing left to go.

Amazingly, sock knitting has been my procrastination knitting, used to keep myself from a cable scarf (I think I got the cable thing figured, just trying to finish the yarn), and a sweater (whoa) that is very intimidating.

Not too shabby - hoping to have some fiber stuff to share soon.

Everybody and their momma *is* doin' it.

As seen on Ali's blog and Cathy's blog, it's...

TODAY June 23rd, 2009

Outside my window... the sun is shining and the birds are chirping. It is a beautiful day

I am thinking... about gardening instead of mopping

I am thankful for... Deuce's patience today while we ran errands for hours (with a playground/lunch break, so it wasn't all work)

From the kitchen... I packed lunch to eat at the playground (go go prepared mom!), but have yet to decipher dinner. Greek salad?

I am wearing... Birkenstocks. But my feet are pedicure-d so I only look half like a hippy

I am creating... more work for myself by buying more plants

I am going... to my parents' to swim if all goes to plan

I am reading... every sweater knitting book I could get my hands on from the library

I am hoping... to find a sweater pattern

I am hearing... birds chirping, and the non-sound of Deuce napping. Thank God.

Around the house... are two less things to return, two less things to trip over and stress that I don't get anything done.

One of my favorite things... is taking sun dried clothes off the clothesline.

A few plans for the rest of the week... swimming, a reunion, knitting meetup, then camping!

It's tough bein' old

The scene: Deuce is napping. I am on the couch watching a documentary, drinking diet coke. Windows open, letting in fresh air.

A sound. Kind of a cry. I pause the TV. Not Deuce. Unpause. I hear the cry again, and pause TV with a sigh. Dog hears sound and starts to bark. I charge outdoors to reprimand this person. Instead of some stupid troublemaker, I find the 84 year old neighbor on the ground in the backyard!

The neighbor has clearly fallen on her head/face, evidenced by the grass-stained white hair and slight skinned nose/cheek. Should I call 911? "NO!"

The neighbor says "blah blah, in Italian, blah, I don't speak English, blah, something that I managed to recognize as the word for 'face', Italian words, more Italian words, why didn't I learn the language from Grandma..."

Well, she seems fine, upsadaisy. But I can't lift this woman. (Remind me to lose weight before I get to 84 years old.) Then she's gesturing, and I realize she wants me to go get her nephew who lives 3 doors down. This nephew is in his 70s, but he's more help than the dog, so off I go.

We right her and she said thank you along with many other things to me and the nephew, and the nephew's wife who came down... luckily she's okay.

What was she doing outside? Trying to hang clothes on the line. Her nephew commented "84! use the dryer!" I get that, but man, it's tough bein' old.

Finding meaning in the mop bucket

In my perpetual state of half-finished, I have found myself outside on a chaise in the sun knitting or reading more and more often. I am loving this. I am loving it because despite all the unfinished stuff that fills my home, and all my sitting around, the house is looking better than ever.

DeuceDad and I don't see eye to eye on housework. My philosophy is that if my kid won't get sick or hurt in our home, it's fine. I push the clutter aside to make room for additional clutter, I clean the toilet, I call it a day. He likes things put away properly but does not under any circumstances clean the toilet. In other words, I'm a "clean" and he's a "neat."

That said, a few weeks ago he expressed some, uh, frustration? annoyance? fear? over the state of the house. There were some very precarious leaning piles. As I've said, I don't care, but if it's important to him I can make it at least marginally important to me. I do love him after all.

So I implemented a lose days of the week schedule to make sure each level of my house is getting some attention every week. I have a split level, so that's 3 days of tidying and cleaning with 2 days for margin of error/naps. It's been working out nicely because it's a small set of things to do each day, and I can make myself do them before I get really bored.

Okay, so all this is cute, right? Housework, leaning town of mail, haha. But here's the tough stuff. All the while I've been overachieving in school, working professional jobs, then being a WOHM I've always said I have much more important things to do than keep house. And now I find myself a SAHM and keeping house is the only thing I have to do. I play with Deuce, I socialize, I do my crafts. But when he's taking his 2-3 hour daily nap, the only actual responsibility I have is the housework. My gut reaction to that is to say "is this what my life's become?" My life is the unimportant things - the things that were beneath me a year ago.

My mom put this in perspective for me. She always told me to be the best I can at whatever I'm doing. That always meant academics or career in my life. Parenting goes without saying that I try to be a good mom, but now my career is homemaker. Mom told me that I need to take pride in my home and be the best homemaker I can be.

She's right. Homemaking isn't beneath me. It's hard work. It's tiring and thankless and repetitive, like so many other jobs I've had can be at times. But it can also bring a sense of satisfaction and pride when the job is well done, and certainly when it gets noticed!

DeuceDad does make a point to say when the house looks nice - and particularly when he notices a giant pile of crap has disappeared. But I'm the one who needs to take notice and appreciate when I've done a good job. I'm the one who needs to hold myself to a higher standard when it comes to this SAHM gig. This is my life after all, and it's not too small for me.

I finally cried

I held back my tears so well about Robbie growing up until just now. He's in his crib, refusing to nap, saying "woof woof woof" and "oh, man!" I am his mom and I am so happy.