Preschool Art Clutter - and what to do with it...

     Have you ever picked up your kid from daycare, preschool or school and brought home so much artwork that you had to rent a small storage space just to keep it all?  Well it feels like that to me.  Some is cute, some is random and does not need to be saved.  Even though I do not save everything I noticed that my filing cabinet was getting way too full.  And let's face it, the rest was just in huge piles all over my office, living room and kitchen, and was beginning to take over the dining table.
 
      I have a hard enough time keeping track of bills and other important papers,  how can I control the preschool art pile monster????  It was getting so out of control that I swear it grew feet and began to breathe fire, like a dragon!  Then, my knight in shining armor came along... in the form of a smart phone app called, ARTKIVE.

     This little app does wonders!  You just open the app, add your young artist's information and GO!  Place the artwork in a photogenic spot (natural sunlight against a blank wall works well), SNAP the photo, give the artwork a title, name the artist and their age.  ARTKIVE will organize the artwork my child, by age, or show all of it.  But that is not the best part, it doesn't just save the artwork on your phone, it save it in a free CLOUD, so that you can access it anywhere.  you can also instantly share the artwork with relatives and they can download it from their email.  This is great for Grandparents!



     One more awesome thing, you can order a gallery style photo book of your child's artwork at a reasonable price.   All you do is pay for it, they will build it for you.

     So far I love it.  As long as I stay on top of the weekly gathering of artwork, I can keep my home less cluttered... of course I say this as I am staring at a pile of artwork I have yet to ARTKIVE.  Laziness still exists within me.  =P

    One note that I will add - I still keep a few really impressive artwork in a file as well as any HAND PRINT art.  I love seeing how tiny my son's hands were.  I swear he was NEVER that small!

Rejuvenation

     I took a very long hiatus because I began to get a little "ranty".  I needed to stop and collect my thoughts.  Why am I blogging?  am I blogging to talk about myself to be the center of attention?  to speak my mind and rant about things that annoy me?

     No, I was blogging to collect my thoughts in such a way that it not only opens me up and helps me heal, but also to help others that may relate to me and heal themselves too.  But I also want to blog about being a working mother, loving wife, growing woman and a person who is learning in this crazy thing we call life.  I want to blog about self awareness to help me along my Peppermint Trail of healing, but my other and newer focus will be about how to maintain life as a working mom.  What things can I blog about that might help other moms.
   
     Yea, I know there are a ton of MOMMY blogs out there, but most seem to be stay home moms who have a lot of time to coupon, craft, cook, clean and take care of their kids.  Me, I work full time outside of my home.  I am gone from the house at least 40 hours a week.  By the time I get home, I do NOT want to clean, cook or do anything, I am honestly LAZY.  So maybe I will have a twist to my blogging, who knows.  So here it is... time for rejuvenation......see you on the Peppermint Trail!

Raising Kids With the Right Tools

Been a while, I know.  It is not that I have not had anything to say, it is that i had too much to say, and most was pretty negative and angry.  And as much of an open book as I am, I didn't want to be THAT open and nasty.  We all have those days, weeks or even months don't we?  Sure we do!  We are all human.  We have emotions, and it is okay to have them, it is how we HANDLE those emotions that make us better people.

I teach this to my son.  When he wants a cookie, or toy, or just wants to watch CARS for the umpteenth time he has to ask nicely.  If he starts whining we refuse.  Then of course he breaks out into the toddler tantrum.  I immediately start looking for "big boy".  "Where is big boy?  BIG BOY... WHERE ARE YOUUUUUU?????"  he quickly stops crying and says "big boy right here."  I then tell him, "oh there you are!  Are you sad?  are you angry that i said no?  Well it is okay to be sad and angry, but it is NOT okay to throw a fit!  It is how you handle it, Jordan."  I know he does not completely understand me, but as long as i keep saying it, it will one day make sense and hopefully stick into his brain.

Dr Phil often says.... "Don't do it until...  Do it UNTIL!"  meaning, don't do it until you give up.... do it UNTIL they finally get it and cooperate with you.

I feel that as parents we should start lessons early.  Don't be upset if your kid does not "get it"  instead just keep teaching them.  repeat those words that go over their head.  one day the words will make sense, and by then, the words are already instilled in their brain and you are ahead of the game.  begin good habits and practices early so that they will never learn the bad habits.  Many parents, including my hubby, have often said "he is two, let him be two, he will figure it out."  I agree to let them be kids, but certain good habits are so much easier to teach if you don't have to break bad habits first.  so why not teach them proper ways of doing things right off the bat.

When you teach a kid to eat food, we teach them to hold their fork or spoon.  we don't "let them be kids" and eat with their hands, right?  could you imagine if we did that.  it would be so hard to make a 5 year old hold his fork (it is too much fun to eat with your hands!)   So you see, nip the bad habits in the bud.  communicate with you child even if they don't understand everything.  one day they will, then it will all make sense and it will not be as much of an issue with them to do what you say.

It works.  I talked to Jordan like he was adult since the age of 1.  I knew he did not understand a word I was saying.  Now that he is beginning to understand it, I can tell that he is thinking it through.  It will pay off one day, i never give up.  I am determined to raise a kid that has a better handle on themselves than i do.  I am still a mess.  ha ha!

walking the fence

Today I got to work with a group of people that I enjoy working with.  One of the people, we will call them Sally, in the group was there as a spare helper, and not there normally.  The other person, whom we will call Jane, is in this location day in and day out everyday, all week.  So this is their spot.  Sally however, has been working for the company longer and has done more in her years there, and has more experience through the years.  So these 2 people have 2 different styles of getting the job done right.  Well, today those styles clashed.  I was only with this group for about an hour and a half, and I could tell that there was a lot of tension.

It seems that the two did not communicate well.  They seemed to have preset judgements about each other.  so when Sally did something that Jane did not like, Jane got upset and quit talking to Sally about it.  Instead Jane just talked about it to everyone else, including me.  Then I spoke to Sally and she was worried about satisfying the customers (Guests as we call them) more than anything.  We know that we cannot make everyone happy, BUT it is our job to do the best we can.  And today unfortunately we had a situation that was going to make many people unhappy, so Sally was doing the best she could to maintain the happiness.  Jane was not so much worried about that, she was more sticking to her usual daily job.  She does not worry about it when people get upset, she works in a mind set where she knows that she cannot make everyone happy, and that is too bad, she has to get the job done and there is nothing more that she can do to make anyone happier.

Again 2 styles of working to get the job done - clashing big time.  throw in a lack of understanding, compassion and zero communication and you have one hell of a bad day.  Neither person even tried to understand the other side of the fence.  Jane just assumed one thing about Sally, and Sally made up her mind that Jane did not care at all.  Unfortunately Sally ended up getting all the angry guests, and Jane got to go in the back and escape the angry mobs.

After i tried to explain to each party of why the other was acting a certain way, they both had valid reasons for being upset at each other.  I can see both sides.  but what ultimately needs to happen, is that they need to communicate and work it out and find common ground to build a proper working machine!

I am a very compassionate person.  I can see all sides of the fence, and i tend to sit right in the middle and watch.  I don't pick a side unless one side is WAY WAY WAY out of line.  and even then, I give them a chance to prove themselves to me before I make a decision.  I have been criticized for not picking sides between friends.  ultimately it ended a bunch of friendships.

I am not one to say "you are right - the other person is wrong".  No.  I am not wishy washy.  Instead i say "i understand".  that does not mean you are right and they are wrong.  Nope!  it simply means I get it, and i see your side of the story.

So I walk on fences all the time.  I observe.  I listen, I try to help the communication if i see a need to, but I try to stay out of picking sides.  If i am not a part of the drama, I won't volunteer to become a part of it.  Just because Sally and Jane were at odds does not mean that i am going to be at odds with either of them individually.  I take each relationship as its own.  if jane and sally hate eachother, that is their relationship, not mine.

Keep an open mind, and open heart and communicate with everyone around you.  you may find that little bit of compassion inside that can help you begin to understand the other side.

The Disney movie "Brother Bear"  is a great reminder of this.  As Phil Collins sang:  Everything will become clear to you, when you see things through another's eyes."

I am just trying to be like the "cool kids" and fit in...

Laziness has overtaken me.  I have not posted b/c i have been lazy!  I haven't really been able to think to myself even.  But maybe that is because I have not focused on myself enough this past week.

So, this weekend I am going to jot down some things that i need to get out of my head, and onto this blog.  Thoughts have swirled in my mind, but nothing has really popped out as something that i need to write about.  I think this is a mistake. I should write about it no matter how small i think it is.  Small things become big.

Here is one small thing that i can write about now, as a matter of fact.

I am easily amused and entertained.  I am like a 4 year old when it comes to entertainment.  I can watch a crappy Disney sequel and enjoy it (except cinderella II, that was just awful).  I will be with friends and we might be on the subject of movies, or books, or TV.  And a title will come up and someone will talk about how awful it is.  I don't really argue.  I am afraid to look like an idiot that likes garbage.  instead i will pick out one good thing to say about the subject matter, and act like I only like that one thing.  when in fact - I enjoyed all of it.

For example my friends and I were riding the Dinosaur ride at Animal Kingdom and they were talking about how awful the Dinosaur movie was.  yea yea - i know it probably was pretty bad.  But i was so into it.  I was not so much into the story, but more into the new cutting edge mix of realistic CG texturing and animation where the characters antics were more cartoon-like. Plus it was filmed with live action backgrounds from Australia,  and the Music was gorgeous.  But I was too afraid to show that i enjoyed the film after they just dogged it.  so i just simply said "only thing i liked was the music"... NOT TRUE i liked more than that - but would I tell them and look like a loser?  no....

I wasn't being honest.  this is a tough thing for me to get over.  For YEARS I was made fun of because I liked things that no one else did, and I was labeled a loser/dork because of it.  I strive to be accepted on a daily basis.  So to this day I tend to try not to let on how much of a loser I still am.   Sorry, I guess I just enjoy all of life, even the crappy lame stuff.  ha ha!

I just need to learn to learn not to worry about what others think and just be me.  but that is so hard to tell a 31 year old to do that!  especially since she has been doing that to herself for over 20 years!

Cleaning Up My Act and Organizing Life.

I love organization!  It makes me feel like I am in control of my life.  Like I am actually getting somewhere by putting things in order.  But as soon as I organize it, I make a mess of it all.  I can't stay organized.  I think I get this from my mom.  She is a very organized person, but her office is a HUGE mess.  She constantly has to clean up after herself.  I am totally the same.

I am not a slob, i don't have candy wrappers or food left on plates, i just have piles of laundry in the corner of my closet instead of hampers, and piles of mail, boxes of junk, etc.  I am not a hoarder, but i do hang onto stuff more than i should.  

Right now as i sit here on my computer I look around my house.  on the stairs I have a small pile of clothing to be put away in my son's room, some towels in towels to be placed in the lenin closet, the diaper bag hanging on the banister and Clint's SCION visor.  One the floor, my son's dirty laundry that needs to be put into the hamper in the laundry room.  a few DVD cases are sitting on the floor in front of the TV, a small Toy Story ball rests on the floor as well as a firemen's hat and a Where's Waldo book.  The coffee table is full of Jordan's Coloring pages, Crayons, a sipee cup and some toy cars and planes.  The Kitchen is pretty much the same, but all kitchen stuff: Towels, bowls, salt and pepper grinders, bread, a few toys, 2 cameras some stationary and my wedding binder... stuff everywhere.  nothing gross - just cluttered.  

Sometimes it's too much that I do not know where to start.  So I just sit there and STARE at it all instead of doing anything about it.  But today i did a tiny bit of organizing in my pantry and it made me feel better. Just that little bit inspired me to go further.  

You can apply this to any part of your life.  If life begins to feel so cluttered, that you don't know where to start, just start on something TINY, something easy and it will inspire you to move forward and do more.  

The next challenge is keeping it clean and organized.  The key to that is staying aware of how you begin to clutter, and to NOT be lazy and clean up after yourself.  HAH!  This will be tough!

Religion - Where do I stand as I find my way on my path to healing?

Throughout life I have come across situations where religion has come up.  Sometimes its too heavy, sometimes it is non - existent.  I feel that it is important to know where you stand when it comes to religion, or lack there of.  The path you take in religion, leads you along your path in life and ultimately to your purpose in life.

This country was built "Under God", and I was raised a Christian and continue to live as a Christian.  Yet I DO NOT believe that Western Religion/Christianity is the only way of life.  I think each religion is correct in their own cultures.  It is the way that individuals interpret them, that can steer them in a negative direction.  

I am not going to critique different beliefs, I think they all serve their purpose and people find their niche within whatever "book" they choose. 

But i bring up religion because my process of healing will happen with God and Jesus at my side.  I am not one to talk about religion much.  I don't post on FB and twitter about Jesus walking besides me, or that we must find Jesus Christ in our hearts to be saved....ugh, i might as well walk door to door and sell everyone a Bible, and bring a sign up sheet to join the Church.  No, That is not me.  

In fact, that to me is just as annoying as walking into a Theme park with a photographer in your face "stand right there, mom, say cheese!" and they take a photo without asking.  No wonder people think we are so nice at Disney - we never shove cameras in their face and force them to take photos.  Nor do we ask them if they want one.  We let them ask for a photo, if they wish (unless it is a character location, of course - no time to ask - must take super cute HUG shot!)

Or as annoying as a car salesman talking about how great a car is, and trying to get you suckered into buying it.  I go to a Toyota dealership to see my hubby, and I drive a 9 year old Scion xB.  I am perfectly happy with my choice to keep the car that i love so much!  I have no plans to buy anything soon.  But now this salesman starts talking about this highlander and how much better it is.  More space, More cup holders, More gadgets, More HP, Better this, More that.   No I am just fine where I am right now.  in fact him talking to me about this has completely turned me off and made me understand why people hate car salesmen.

I feel the same about religion.  as soon as someone gets all preachy, i am turned off.  there is a difference between being informative and being preachy.  being informative is maybe saying a bible verse here and there publicly b/c the time in your life calls for it.  But you mainly keep things to yourself unless someone asks you for guidance then you open up with all sorts of information and you help those who ask.  Being preachy is publicly talking about religion right or wrongs, bible versus to the public almost daily, giving religious advice, information and guidance without being asked.  

I have a friend at work who is so sweet and she does missions and is deep with her religious roots.  she pops a bible verse here and there, of course she mentions God and Jesus and how He is helping her in life.  That is not preachy.  She actually makes me want to be closer to God.  But then when people are saying that the only way to heaven is to do this, and that.  or that people need to change their ways in order to be taken into heaven, or that gays are sinners and not allowed in the church, etc, etc. I cannot handle that.  Bravo for those people expressing their beliefs, but I cannot follow them... I will walk the other way.

So where am I?  Like i stated earlier.  I feel that all religions should be accepted and respected in the world.  Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity, Judaism, Mormonism, Catholicism, Islam, etc. all have the right to be respected by other practices in the world.  many will argue with me.  but that is my belief, they have theirs.  

I grew up going to a Presbyterian Church and my closest friends were Episcopalians.  Those two Protestant branches are ver lenient on other religions and even ways of life.  Both accept gays into the church and some of them even ordain them as ministers.  Both believe that all humans are given the chance to enter heaven after life as long as their heart is good.  Of course each branch has different, more or less rules to enter the Golden Gates, but overall the two are very forgiving, because Jesus was very forgiving.  The word SIN was rarely used in church, only in Bible versus, but even then, it was always known that sin was common, and easily forgiven if the heart of the beholder is good.

So for me, do what you want, be who you will... as long as your heart is good - then God welcomes you, always!

So that is where i stand.  this is the direction i will take with God as He helps me walk down on my Peppermint Trail.  I am ready, now that i have a more clear understanding.