It's a dreary day outside, but on the upside, we've just had 30 hours sans children thanks to my delightful mother in law! We delivered our three boys (Frodo is 11, Sam is 9, Merry is 7 ... my hobbitses) to her yesterday morning and hubby I ran quickly ran away for a posh coffee & sushi for lunch. We also had a wander through my very favourite home-wares shop (the Oxfam store!) and I'm kicking myself for NOT having my camera on me. They had the CUTEST owl oven mitts (which are far too cute to actually dirty up and would totally adorn my kitchen walls instead) and the most spectacular, hand painted, cupboard. All furniture was 25% off... but when the price tag is $895 to begin with, it's sadly not coming home with me.
I am definitely a homebody though, and it shows because after that we came straight home lol. I suppose it doesn't help that I was awake at 245 am and unable to go back to sleep, not to mention had no real money to spend on a proper 'date' anyway? So what else did I do with 24 hours without kids? I had a positively decadent nap, watched movies while cuddling on the couch with my hubby, a minky blanket, and a bowl of popcorn and just generally vegged out enjoying the Peace & Quiet. Yes, those words need to be capitalized... if you are a parent, you completely understand this!
I also took it as an opportunity to do a little domestic goddessing around the house, without kids underfoot (although the cats rose to the challenge admirably). I'm a bit of a feng shui fan, not that I follow Chinese spirituality at all... but I do find that when my space is clear & clean, the serenity that creates seems to reflect in other areas of my life as well. I guess that stagnant stuff equals stagnant energy and I feel it. I can totally tell when I'm due for a bit of divine decluttering when I start to feel cranky and irritable at home, but fine elsewhere. When I look in a corner and there's a pile accumulating, and the dining room table has one too, I know it's time to get some shit OUT of my house.
Boring ole dining room ;) I am definitely a homebody though, and it shows because after that we came straight home lol. I suppose it doesn't help that I was awake at 245 am and unable to go back to sleep, not to mention had no real money to spend on a proper 'date' anyway? So what else did I do with 24 hours without kids? I had a positively decadent nap, watched movies while cuddling on the couch with my hubby, a minky blanket, and a bowl of popcorn and just generally vegged out enjoying the Peace & Quiet. Yes, those words need to be capitalized... if you are a parent, you completely understand this!
I also took it as an opportunity to do a little domestic goddessing around the house, without kids underfoot (although the cats rose to the challenge admirably). I'm a bit of a feng shui fan, not that I follow Chinese spirituality at all... but I do find that when my space is clear & clean, the serenity that creates seems to reflect in other areas of my life as well. I guess that stagnant stuff equals stagnant energy and I feel it. I can totally tell when I'm due for a bit of divine decluttering when I start to feel cranky and irritable at home, but fine elsewhere. When I look in a corner and there's a pile accumulating, and the dining room table has one too, I know it's time to get some shit OUT of my house.
Like this. The table has turned into a drop zone, the corner (which you can't see clearly, thank Goddess lol) has a of something, with a plastic bin of other stuff... which I plan to offer for sale on a Facebook list, as well as school backpacks & library bags. The OTHER corner has a big ass bag of clothing that I have just culled from my own closet, mostly stuff I never wore anyway but is in decent shape. I know this is not Hoarders material or anything, but crap in corners and on flat surfaces irritates me to no end. I feel SO much better once I clear out the clutter and do a space clearing run through...some delicious incense, bell ringing to get the energy flowing again, and it's like a whole new house!
Also, that beautiful blue hutch is intended to be our family altar (not that anyone really cares except me lol, although they do leave gifts there) and it has turned into a homework storage station for the kids. My altars have been sorely neglected since we moved in here in January... what can I say, I've had a bit on my plate. That is something I shall have to work on (will share after I do!) (BTW that pentagram on top of the hutch is something the boys & I made with twigs from our backyard, some 5 years ago :)
I have one more week of everyone home and we have tons planned, lots of school holiday programs at the library (preteen minecraft lan party anyone? lol), a trip to the planetarium and a trip into Brisbane CBD to go see Superman... but I'm going to make myself a list here so I can come back to it later (I like lists :)
My space clearing goals are:
I have a budding chef that wishes to help me make a cheesy cauliflower bake now, so if you'll pardon me... it's off to the kitchen!
Blessings
Caz
Also, that beautiful blue hutch is intended to be our family altar (not that anyone really cares except me lol, although they do leave gifts there) and it has turned into a homework storage station for the kids. My altars have been sorely neglected since we moved in here in January... what can I say, I've had a bit on my plate. That is something I shall have to work on (will share after I do!) (BTW that pentagram on top of the hutch is something the boys & I made with twigs from our backyard, some 5 years ago :)
I have one more week of everyone home and we have tons planned, lots of school holiday programs at the library (preteen minecraft lan party anyone? lol), a trip to the planetarium and a trip into Brisbane CBD to go see Superman... but I'm going to make myself a list here so I can come back to it later (I like lists :)
My space clearing goals are:
- to drop the monster bag of clothes at St. Vinnies
- to take pics & post the other gear on the homeschool sales page & hopefully offload it!
- to be able to find, and SEE the table top & all bookcase tops in the living/dining area
- to cleanse, and redecorate both my dining hutch altar, and my personal altar in my bedroom
- to make a crafting list for payday! A trip to Spotlight is in order ;)
I have a budding chef that wishes to help me make a cheesy cauliflower bake now, so if you'll pardon me... it's off to the kitchen!
Blessings
Caz