Is Your Room Clean ?

In anticipation of having visitors staying at our house, I went through the 'guest' and other 'common' rooms for what I had thought would be a quick inspection and 'tidy up' process.  Most of the way through I was pleasantly surprised that we we ready to invite some out of town family into our home.

And then I found this ...

     

     

     

     

To be transparent, the bed on it's side was my doing - this was a necessary step to FIX the bed frame, which, upon inspection, was found to be broken.

But other than that, the mess of clothes, toys, papers, shoes, candy wrappers, trading cards, sports equipment, and trash was just as it appears in these photos.

Two loads of laundry plus five large boxes and one kitchen trash bag later, the room was in a much better state.  After my son returned home from school (yes his first day of school was today as well), I sat down with him to outline the 'next steps' in keeping his room clean and earning his stuff back.  He sorted his now clean clothes into 'keep' and 'doesn't fit anymore' piles.  He took the trash out to the garbage can.  We discussed extra chores and a timeline for completing them whereby he can earn the items he wishes to keep back from their boxes.

Hopefully it never gets this bad again.


Song Of The Day:
I would never actually refer to this room as a "Beautiful Mess" but the song by Jason Mraz doesn't just say mess so this will have to do.  The melancholy feel of the song works for my mood upon clearing the mess from the room too.

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Enjoy Parenting ?

While cleaning out some papers from an infrequently used tote, I came across an instruction manual for a baby carrying product my wife and I bought (or maybe it was a gift?) many years ago when we first became parents.

I found several amusing things about this instruction manual, including the following:
- The baby looks fake ... or dead.  I know he or she is sleeping, but still ...
- The woman is clearly excited.  I'm not sure if this is because the baby is asleep (I hope it's not excitement because my first observation is accurate) or if it is to say 'Look ma, no hands!'
- Check out the carrier's midriff - I'm fairly certain this isn't the baby's mom ... but if so, I would think all other moms would hate her for being that fit with such a young child.

But by far, my favorite part of this manual is the tagline 'Enjoy parenting.'  This one cracks me up the most of all because of the sheer audacity of that statement as suggested in association with the Baby Bjorn child carrier.  It seems to suggest that parenting cannot be enjoyed without one of these contraptions.  The irony in this is something anyone who has ever used one of these carriers can point out to you - having and raising a child is almost as challenging as strapping yourself (and then the baby) into this device!  I didn't take pictures but there are no less than two dozen steps in securing yourself and baby into the carrier.

I enjoy parenting just fine without always needing to use our Baby Bjorn.


Song Of The Day:
As a parent it can feel overwhelming sometimes.  With that in mind I suppose I should give credit to the marketers of this product in their effort to suggest that everything will "Be Okay" (tune by Oh Honey).
I just wonder whether the instruction manual needs to include this explanation of why you bought or received this item as a gift.

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Why Is English So Much Fun ?

Song Of The Day:
I grew up learning English and listening to Gloria Estefan, which is ironic since I'm pretty sure she was originally a Latin singer.  Regardless, I thought of her tune "Words Get In The Way" from when she headed the Miami Sound Machine.  Sometimes in life, regardless of language, the words really do get in the way of communication.

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Dark Chocolate WHAT ?!

Went shopping the other day with my two oldest sons and it was quite fun.  I needed some more peanut butter for sandwiches at work, but while we were picking some out one of my boys (I forget which one) noticed the spread at the right.

I'm not sure that's the best name for your product as it may be a euphemism for something you aren't necessarily trying to promote.


Song Of The Day:
In honor of the great "Weird Al" Yankovic's upcoming CD release, here is the amazing parody "Word Crimes" set to the tune of Blurred Lines by Robin Thicke.  I'm thinking dark chocolate dreams could definitely fit in the blurred lines category ... but maybe it's just a great band name in disguise.

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Why Would They HAVE TO ?!

I saw the above bumper sticker on a car the other day.  I always read bumper stickers, but I'm not sure why.  I suppose I like to see if the short thoughts either inspire or irritate or amuse me.  But this one did nothing but confuse me.

I get that you could argue it takes a real woman to marry a soldier, but how does that save girls from having to marry a soldier?  Is there a law I am unaware of?  Do soldiers force girls to marry them if a real woman isn't available?  That seems like a more serious concern than just putting it on a bumper sticker.

Please help me understand if you have any idea what this is supposed to be conveying.  I really, truly don't get it.


Song Of the Day:
Ingrid Michaelson is an indie singer whose songs I never realized I loved as much as I do.  She has a recent song titled "Girls Chase Boys" and after listening to it on YouTube, I listened to a few more of her songs that sounded familiar.  About 30 minutes later I realized I hadn't heard a song I didn't like.  Bonus: my wife really liked all of the songs too.  Looks like I have some music to purchase and download soon.

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Who Needs A Folding Table ?

I hate ironing.

I am certain this stems from having ironing as a household chore growing up.  I'm quite good at it (after years of practice who wouldn't be?!) but I avoid it as often as possible.  This is partly why I do the laundry in the Case Place.  Some loads can sit in the dryer for any length of time, but permanent press items should be hung up as soon as possible.  Especially if you want to avoid any ironing.

It may look silly, but hanging shirts is
MUCH easier this way and can be done
right in the closet!  Efficiency win!

For as long as I can remember I've used the bed in our master bedroom as a makeshift folding table.  After years of bringing hangers from the closet and trying to find places to hang shirts, pants, skirts, etc. I had an idea.  Why not bring the clothes into the closet and just hang them there?!  But then I thought, how can I avoid making so many trips to the closet?!  A few different tests and voila! ... I had it!

My wife laughs every time she sees me piling our outer garments on my shoulders, but why would I care about a little poking fun at me when the results are so good?  That's right, I don't mind at all.  Especially because there's still no need for ironing!


Song Of The Day:
The song "Under You" by Trickside came to my mind the other day and I think it fits here.  Not just because I'm talking about laundry and the song features references to a pair that should have stayed together.  I know they didn't mean socks, but they could have.  I also think the lyrics "anywhere you are, I'll be under you" could be the piles of laundry that appear each week to be completed.  "I start gaining ground" but the piles are just everywhere!

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What Are Weeds Good For ?

From my earliest memories I had a fondness for fire and a distaste for weeds.  Despite the obvious solution that combines these two things, it is only recently that I have put two and two together.

Temporary fire pit

In our expansive backyard, we've recently uncovered an area where there is no vegetation whatsoever, just dirt.  Although not perfectly flat, I leveled the area reasonably well and created a small, temporary fire pit.  I am sure a more permanent one will be constructed, but for now this little test refinery will work just fine.

Josh and Ben
enjoying the fire

When fully dried out, weeds are not only an excellent fire starter source, but they also burn quickly and very hot.  So over the past year or so, I've accumulated a few piles of weeds in corners of our backyard, and they have dried out entirely.  This past week, after a good afternoon rainstorm that saturated the surrounding grounds, I proceeded to kill two birds with one stone: weed piles gone and pyromaniac tendencies satiated.

coals from the fire

My oldest sons helped me manage the fire (as much as I love playing with fire, I'm actually VERY careful with it and respect that it has a mind of it's own).  The boys got some great pictures of the glowing coals for background photos on their iDevices too.


Song Of The Day:
Not only is "Burn" by Ellie Goulding a great new song, but it fits perfectly with today's post.  Our WiFi stretches out to the fire pit area and this song came on my Songza app while we were tending the flames.  My eyes lighted up as she sang "cause we got that fire, fire, fire ... and we're gonna let it burn, burn, burn, burn gonna let it burn, burn, burn."  I'm confident my boys enjoyed it too!  :)

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