Life as I know it...

There is a blog I look at sometimes called 'Simple Mom'. She's having a de-clutter/cleaning challenge thing going one. Every Monday she tells you a place to clean out. At the end of 5 weeks or so, you've decluttered some major areas in your house. This past week was the first week, and we were supposed to clean out our wardrobe (or closet). After looking at her before and after pictures, I'm embarrassed to post mine. I still want to get some baskets to put on the shelves, but it's a HUGE improvement. I got rid of more than half the stuff that was sitting around in there. So, much to my own embarrassment, here is the before:This is a somewhat organized mess. I had a pile on the floor of my maternity clothes, the maternity clothes my aunt let me borrow, my sheets that my kids had dumped out of the tub they were in, my give away pile, etc. But it was out of control and our closet isn't that big! So, after having two big baskets of Goodwill stuff, this is what my closet looks like now:Obviously we had (have) WAY too much stuff! Just junk! It's amazing how it all piles up without noticing. This morning I opened my closet door to get a shirt (one of my 4, seriously, I need to lose weight so I can buy some clothes! I have NOTHING!) and I had forgotten the closet was clean so it was such a wonderful and welcome surprise!!

Ella is still having fussy fits in the evening. Last night I was heading out to book group and Steven was under strict orders not to call me for 2 hours. Ella wore him down though! She really gave him a run for his money, and since he can't feed her, and she wasn't calming down, he was at a complete loss as to what to do. When I got home they were both a bit cranky! I wish she was always as peaceful as she looks in this picture!Landon surprised me the other day. He was tattling on Addie for something she was doing, and I was reminding him that he sometimes doesn't make the best choices either (like how I could smell on his breath that he had just been into the M&M's when I had given the kids strict orders to stay out of the kitchen). He just looked at me and did this:It took me a minute to realize that he was showing me the band aid on his finger from the cut he had gotten. At first I thought 'Where in the world did he learn to flip the bird?!?!' I was trying to hard not to laugh (and then, being the great mom that I am, I told him that he was making a funny face when he did that and to do it again so I could take a picture. This is the exact look he gave me the first time though). I wasn't sure if I should explain what that meant or not, so I just left it alone. Steven later explained that it wasn't a very nice gesture.

We've started a reward system in the evening with our scripture study. I have a jar of M&M's and if the kids sit quietly, listen (and are able to at least try to answer questions we ask them) and don't complain (which they usually don't really) then after we're done they get 3 M&M's. But for every warning we have to give them, they lose an M&M. It's working pretty well actually. I think last night Addie only got 1 M&M though. It's a small price to pay to get them to sit and listen!!

Besides that not a lot is happening. The weather is finally getting a bit nicer (with a few cold days mixed in) and the kids are LOVING the fact that they're able to play outside more and more. I'm loving it too!! I just wish the yard by our swing set would dry up so I didn't have to keep telling Grant to stay out of the water! Anyway, I'm off to watch a movie and cuddle up with my handsome husband (if Ella will cooperate!). A girl can hope, right?!