Hoarder-line

Okay...this is not our home. I am nowhere near this bad when it comes to throwing things away. But I am a clutterer, and I have a hard time getting rid of things. I have receipts from special dates, all of Charlie's art projects, old coke bottles, lamps that do not work...you get the idea. I hold on to things because they remind me of people or events. I know, everyone does, but it really is silly when you think about it. And it's just not good decorating sense. Just this weekend, Jess, very gently, referred to my corner cabinet in the dining room as "how old ladies decorate". I looked at it, opened my mouth to defend...and she's totally right. There's a vintage cup and plate, a frame of a poem from our wedding, and a bowl of dried flowers from various weddings and funerals we have attended. Not to mention a sun and moon candle I had in high school, some sort of little troll guy, and a little ceramic mushroom with a cute worm on it. This is all true, and as just as un-fabulous as you are probably picturing it.
So, with all this in mind, we have been talking about a yard sale. (No, I don't plan on selling the dead flowers...but maybe the troll.) Coinciding with this light bulb moment, the recession has come to call on the Beauchamp household. Money is tighter than it has ever been, as I am sure everyone has experienced. It's something I think we have tried to ignore. We go, go, go...and now it's time to pull back the reins, and make some changes. Simplifying our home while making some money at the same time is the first step.
Sounds easy, right? It would be, if I didn't have about 25% of the hoarder syndrome. For the last two days, I have strolled through the house, eyeballing the wicker end table that is gathering dust in a room that no one ever even goes in. But, in my mind, I could at any time rearrange the furniture and kick myself for selling the perfect table for like, 3 bucks. Remember the chandelier I pleaded with Adam to buy me from the store closing? Yeah, it's still in the basement, patiently waiting to be hung in the foyer. So, logically, I should sell it, right?
NO!
I really can't sell the chandelier. It's too cool. We will get around to hanging it, soon.
So, my challenge over the next 24 hours is to fight and (mostly) win these mini battles with myself (and undoubtedly with Adam, who will end up prying some random knick-knack out of my hands). If I haven't touched it, thought about it, used it, looked for it, or even smiled at it...it can go...right?? I do not want to be the crazy lady hauling things back into the house all afternoon.
Send clean, organized, money-makin' vibes!

NA

Before continuing to read this blog post, please take the time to mentally take this quick survey:

*Do you nap often? Perhaps...too often?

*Do you feel you experience a higher quality of life when you nap?

*Is your napping becoming more frequent, perhaps habitual?

*Do you lie to friends and loved ones about the frequency, length or depth of your naps?

*Do you find yourself answering your phone in the middle of a nap using your best "I'm wide awake, of course!" voice?

*Do you hurriedly put your children down for their naps in order to crawl into bed to enjoy one for yourself, rather than work/laundry/prepare a healthy meal?

*Do you stay up until 1 or 2 am, banking on catching up the next afternoon?


If you answered yes to any or all of these questions, you may have a problem. If you answered yes to all of them...you may be me.


Here's the deal: Charlie's back in preschool, 3 days a week from 8:15 to 11:30. Mallory would LOVE to go to sleep around 9 or 10, but then I would have to wake her up to go pick up the brother. I tried this the first day of school and it was a disaster. She woke up awfully cranky, and didn't go back to sleep until early evening. So every day since then, I have been keeping her awake (sooooo much fun) until after we pick him up and have lunch. After that, the kids get in their beds (Mallory usually gives me a look of "finally!") and all is quiet...As some of you know, we recently upgraded our bedding to white down. It's a king sized pillow top mattress. 800 thread count white Egyptian cotton sheets. The fattest, coziest down comforter ever, and four overstuffed down pillows. It's pretty much heaven on earth. So, I guess at some point, I started indulging in the afternoon nap with the kids. They usually sleep between two and three hours. You know the days. Cuddled in bed, silent house, ceiling fan on high above you...siiiigh. And me, I have always been a night owl. I don't love mornings, and don't enjoy going to bed early. You can see where this is going. The napping led to 2 am bedtimes some nights, which in return makes the nap practically a requirement! I know, get a job, loser. I have to break the cycle! I need help...I need Nappers Anonymous.

Summer Lovin'.

This is how it went down:

























Now, fall is right around the corner. Summer was great, but I am getting excited for crispy air, boots, jeans, kids in cute hats, new tv season, and oh yeah, even football. (Maybe...I'll try again).

Hello, old friend.

So. Is it sane to feel sheepish towards a blog? It's not even a real thing or place...and yet typing this makes me feel a little sad. Like when you have waited a really long time to call a friend and you know you should, but you feel like it's awkward because you should have called them forever ago, but you just didn't? So, you don't and more time goes by and more time goes by until you are just an a-hole.
That's kinda how this feels. I feel so out of the loop and I pop into my bloggy friends lives and can't believe how fast time is flying by. I can't believe I didn't document my family's summer. Mallory's first steps. Charlie starting school again.
I am being a little hard on myself. It's just a blog, and it's not like, a requirement. But I miss it. Writer's block just should not happen when you have these two to hang with all day.
And hang we do. Adam is still gone most of the week, and we are getting back into our routine. Summer was amazing...I became an aunt to the cutest stinkin' newborn baby ever (Cullen's arrival gets it's own blog very soon)...we went to Asheville, NC. ..We hit the casinos in Biloxi for a wild night...We rented a boat with our friends and cruised around the lake...We went dancing, hung by the pool, had adventures with the kiddos, spent time with family. Saw PAUL MCCARTNEY... I actually got semi-tan, which for me is huge. I actually wore shorts, again...huge.

I wish I could pull out of my brain even half of the hilariousness that comes out of Charlie's mouth these days. The kid is something else. And every day, I see him getting older and honestly, it scares the mess outta me. I feel like he will be 15 next week. He is, as always, stubborn and "forgets to listen", but at the same time is as sweet and loving as ever. He's just SUCH a boy...all kinda rowdy.
Mallory is going to be a lot like him. She has a funny little sense of humor. She gets aggravated if she can't move something or pick up something on her own. She laughs at her brother all the time. She kisses and hugs and is in love with her babydoll, dada. (Yep, dada and dada mean two different things at this point).

Here are some pictures from the first day of school, and Malgal's first birthday party...







Here is the moment Cullen appeared on the planet:



And here is the first time I held him:


There is so much life in this LIFE I am living, and I really hope I don't waste any more memories by not sharing them here. There are more laughs, more babies on the way, more girls' nights out, more family dinners, weddings, trips...I don't want to miss my friends any more, and I don't want to leave any more gaps in our story.

What I'm sayin' is I'm back, baby.