Well for some reason this post will not space out my paragraphs, so you have to read it all squished together. Sorry. I tried. I really, really tried.

OK, I've been doing some serious slacking in the blog department. Seriously. Do you even remember the last time I did a "Simply Monday" post? I sure don't. So I think it's about time I got back around to it.

So - I want to know how you all did with your menu planning! I did really well for a little while there, but I'm still trying to find a system that will work for me. I know that you guys are probably sick of hearing about it, so I probably won't post about it until I've got it all done. But I need to work on it. I'd like to have something firmly in place before I start my student teaching in September. Oh - and just to illustrate what a slacker I've been - remember that contest I had way back when and the winner got a menu planning binder from me? Yeah - well my friend Tonia won. And I made her the cutest binder ever. But have I even sent it to her? Ummmmm, no. So, Tonia, as soon as a re-locate it amoungst the chaos that is my house I will mail it off to you. I know you'll be anxiously waiting;)

In the meantime, I've been trying to spend lots of time over the course of our 7 week summer sorting and organizing and decluttering. Basically, getting rid of the junk we don't need or want, and finding a "home" for everything else. And though I know that I've been make good progress, it feels like it's just getting worse. I just need to remind myself that that's how it works. Right now the living room is filled with piles of stuff to be taken to the freebie bin, an extra couch that we're not sure if we're keeping or not, the kitchen table because we moped and scrubbed the "tile" and there's so much misc. crap on the table that I haven't moved it back yet, all the school supplies for the kids, a laundry basket full of clean sheets and towels, a pile of dirty sheets and towels, and a laundry basket full of misc stuff that needs to be sorted through and either put away or thrown away. I'm sure there's even more stuff than that, but that's all I can think of off the top of my head. On the plus side I have finished sorting through the kids clothes and have narrowed things down a bit, supplemented with a few new school clothes and packed away the things I want to keep for Juliana and Danielle to use in a couple of years. I've also packed up another box of baby and boy clothes to send to my sister - though I'm sure it won't be sent for a while:) Cameron and I also sorted through all the books we own and cleared out some, I rearranged the living room furniture and but the books back away -and it actually looked really nice, lots of open space, hence the implosion from the other rooms. We just found out that we're going to get new kitchen cabinets, so I want to start on that next, so it's ready to go when that happens. But I think I should resort the living room again, first.

Well, now I'm just babbling on and on about crap - literally - when I could be out there getting rid of some of it. So I guess I should hop to it. But I did want to share a couple of websites that I've been reading lately that will hopefully provide some inspiriation along the journey out of chaos.

This first one is 10 Questions to Help You Declutter. These have been really helpful to me in decidid whether to keep something or get rid of it.

This one talks about becoming a minimalist in your own way. I really like the ideas here and hope to get to that point someday - soon.

I have also really been enjoying SimpleMom lately, as I have it set up in my Google Reader.

There's so many resources out there - what are some things that have helped motivate you to clean, declutter, and organize?

The Darling Diva Danielle

So I've been slacking in the blogging department, once again. Summer is flying by way too fast, but we've been having some fun here and there. But before I get to posting about some of our summer activites, I need to post about Danielle.



Danielle really is the diva of our family. She's bright, she's clever (and quick), and she wants it done her way - NOW! Personally I think that she's been in complete control even from the womb. She wasn't going to wait around for any Halloween due date - it was the beginning of the month for her. Then once she was here, she ate and slept when she wanted - though I do have to say that she was our best sleeper, until she was about 2 anyway.



This girl has been talking in full sentences since she could say anything. And most of those sentences involve something clever, witty, or just plain hilarious. A recent story - One of the nursery parents had subbed for Danielle's primary class this last week. When she came to pick up her daughter from the nursery she had to tell me about Danielle's comments in sharing time. Apparently they had been sitting and listening for quite some time and Danielle was starting to get antsy. So she walks up to her teacher and says, "When is this going to be done? I just can't take it anymore!"



She's also said to Cameron - while she' s up on his shoulders and we're getting ready walk out to Goat Island (across a shallow reef), "I don't think this is a very good idea!"



Her preschool teachers were always telling me how she's such a crack up. And the best part is that most of the time she knows that she's being funny.



Speaking of her teachers - here they are with Danielle on her last day of school. Aunty Jayna and Aunty Ramiko (they do the aunty thing here, not miss). She was in the same class for the last 2 years and they really loved Danielle and she loved them.




Good thing she is so excited to be starting kindergarten, otherwise I think she'd stay in that class forever. They pretty much let her do whatever she wanted - well, within reason of course - she was always bringing home art projects and glitter and glue and paint and, and, and .... basically all the stuff that I just don't have to patience for at home.




But when she is at home, that girl could spend HOURS in front of the mirror. Give her a brush and some hair clips (and if she had her way, some makeup and lip gloss) and she can entertain herself, well, forever. She loves to do her own hair and she's pretty good at it, too. See.







Seriously - she did it herself, I had nothing to do with it, except to say, "Hold it, missy. I need to take a picture of your hair." To which she replied with a huge grin and a pose.

Now I'm sure that most of you have already heard stories about how Danielle definitely has a mind of her own (read with a screaming voice, "NO!! I'm in charge." and "You can't tell me what to do!" - I know, I know, we're doomed when she's a teenager). Here are a couple of videos from this week's adventures that show the less glamorous, but definitely hilarious antics of Danielle. (One day she'll look back on these and laugh with us, right?) Grandma, and others who get this by email, click here to see the videos.

This second one is a little long, and I was walking on uneven ground, so there's a lot of bouncing and I'm pretty sure there's no one in the shot a few times....

I never did get to watch a movie when we got home while she made dinner and washed the dishes - she was done being in charge way before that, well at least for that day.
However, Danielle is really delightful to have around - most of the time - and I can't wait to see how she comes to embrace her inner diva as she grows up.

See, she really is amazing

I was talking to Cameron today while we were making dinner (and yes, WE were making dinner) and I related a story about Abby. And being the smart man that he is, he said, "you should blog about that - right now before you forget." (See, I told you he was smart.) So here I am.

A couple of weeks ago, probably on a Sunday after church (because that would make the most sense) Abby and I were talking about how temples and churches are special buildings because they are the only places on earth that God can dwell in - they are built to be His houses. And Abby procedes to say how that is just like how our bodies are temples, too, so that God can dwell with us.

Seriously - talk about profound.


PS - Don't you just hate it when your whole post erases for absolutely no reason at all - just as you finish it up and are about to hit the post button? I know I do. At least this one wasn't very long.