monday

Miscellany Monday

February 1, 2011 Lindsey P. Brackett7 Comments

So I’m really trying to figure out how to put the button for this link up on my actual post as opposed to the side, so any suggestions for that endeavor would be greatly appreciated since it is driving me crazy that I can’t figure this out. I mean Molly figured it out. And the button is cute. And I like Carissa’s lowercase letters. So why can’t I figure this out?

Rant over.

1. I absolutely cannot wait for June. Except I can because I don’t want to miss all these moments of my girls still being little. Except I can’t because I am always overwhelmed and trying to do too much and I can’t wait to reduce that. A friend advised me not to take on too much next year just because I’m staying home and folks think that means I have free time for more commitments. Hello, commitments. You are the reason I am going crazy.

2. I am an overly controlling freak. Tonight I criticized the methods Joshua was using to make spaghetti. Actually I just asked things like, Aren’t you going to wait until the water boils to add the pasta? and Did you season the meat? What I should have said was, Thanks for making dinner and it tastes delicious. What possesses me to believe that I’m the only one who knows how to do things?

3. If I keep griping like this no one is going to want to read my blog. It’s rather depressing.

4. My sister is rambling in my ear right now about her manic Monday trip to the doctor’s office with her kiddos. She can’t understand why college sister (who lives with her) didn’t want to come and help. She said Kelsey just sat in the house and enjoyed the quiet. Well, I would have too. Don’t tell Katy.

5. Speaking of Kelsey, my niece called me the other night to tell me that Aunt Kelsey made soupy mac and cheese from the blue box and she didn’t eat it. Kelsey said she made it in the microwave and what was the problem?

6. I am dreaming of organizing and redecorating. Now I need some tips on how not to overwhelm myself or spend gobs of money since I have a budget the size of an empty envelope. Should I finish the living room or move on to the chaos of the office/storage room/bane of my house? I’m at the point with so many projects in my head that I can’t even fathom where to begin on any of them. Do you ever feel like that?

7. I’m wondering how many people actually read this blog. I’d love you to follow if you do. And stay tuned because I’ve got big plans for this in a few months.

8. Amelia’s birthday is two days before mine. She needs nothing. I think we should skip gifts for her and just get Mommy presents this year since last year I was un-acknowledged and it was a big one. How selfish is that?

Katy is still talking to me. She and Kelsey should not be left alone for too long.

Uncategorized

Project 52.4

January 31, 2011September 30, 2015 Lindsey P. Brackett1 Comment

It’s been a simply busy week in the Brackett house.

On Monday we woke up to….

a little dusting of snow that kept school from starting on time. But we did make it in so that’s not a snow day! (I don’t want anymore of those until after my February break since we already had a trip planned, and I’m pretty sure parents don’t care how icy the roads are, they just want their kids out of the house and out of their hair.)

Friday night, we headed south just a tad to visit my grandparents and see my Aunt Kathy who was in town for a few days. While she made homemade pizza and set off the smoke detectors and then opened all the windows and froze my grandmother, Amelia had a good time navigating all the stairs in the tri-level house and bonding with her Uncle Corey who is proving that someday he might be ready to have a daughter of his own.

On Saturday after a massive shed clean out (we’re attempting organization) we had dinner at Outback with Joshua’s aunt and uncle’s family who we only see about once a year. This is Aunt Beth of the pottery and I wish we saw them more because they’re great and sweet and fun. I left the camera in the car so no pics, sorry!

Have a great 52.5! Is is February already?

This Thursday

January 28, 2011 Lindsey P. Brackett2 Comments

…I’m trying to convince Joshua that he needs to man up and take care of the tooth fairy business and then he can figure out what to do with a lost tooth. I mean, am I supposed to keep them all? Seriously?

…I’m believing that there might be a whole contingent of people who get to stay home and blog and look at pretty pictures and dream up ways to make their house pretty and then post about it. Wish that could be me but I’m pretty sure that even when I’m a SAHM I’ll be too busy to worry about the ugly decor in my laundry room. (But I wish I could.)

…I’m thinking about simplifying. I’ve got this new philosophy about selling the house. I think if I try to live within the space we have and make it pretty and functional and cozy and creative than I might stop dreaming about a new house and make peace with the sign that’s a permanent fixture in our yard. And this is totally counteractive to the above thought. Maybe it is my laundry room that turned away the one person we’ve had come look. Hmmmm……

…I’m pretty sure Amelia is determined to walk before her first birthday, Madelynne is determined to lose a tooth everytime Amelia gets one and Annabelle can find the stupidest reasons to be stubborn.

Yep, just another wonderfully random thankful for this life Thursday.

Manic Monday · monday

Miscellany Monday

January 25, 2011 Lindsey P. Brackett2 Comments

I’m tired of being manic so I’m linking up to lowercase letters and trying something new! Now if someone wants to tell me how to get that button into this post, I’d appreciate it.

1. Delay days are not snow days. In fact, they are the opposite of snow days. They masquerade as a few extra moments to relax that quickly turns into a frantic rush to get through the rest of the day by cramming an 8 hour workday into a 5 hour sprint.

2. I actually am ahead of the meal planning game this week. My delay today did allow me to put the chicken in the crock pot, so we had dinner 15 minutes after I walked in the door from Jazzercise. Record. Then, after the kitchen cleanup (which always takes twice as long as anything else) I went ahead an made White Chicken Chile for dinner tomorrow and let it simmer on the stove a bit so all I have to do tomorrow is reheat and serve. Yay, me!

3. So I’m thinking of writing an ode to my crock pot. I really don’t think my kitchen (or family) could survive without it. So stay tuned for a haiku or a sonnet or just some total random musings on my love of slow cooking appliances.

4. I have an addiction. It’s House Hunters. That’s right; I’m one of those nosy people who love to look at other people’s houses.

5. And I really want to improve mine. I’ve gotten over that we’re not selling anytime soon and I’ll probably post on that later, but I would like to make it more cozy, more decorative, more grown-up. At the same time that I long for simplicity, I also long to put my heart and soul into this place so I can stop treating it like a stepping stone to something better when truth is, it’s pretty good for us right now.

Paynes · sisters

Why I Love My Sisters

January 24, 2011September 30, 2015 Lindsey P. Brackett3 Comments

I’m not an expert on a lot of things, but I know about sisters.

I know all about sharing bathrooms and fixing each others hair and stealing clothes and fighting for attention.

And I know everything about the fear that turns your stomach to ice and starts your hands to shaking when you get that call. The call that one of them is hurt and I wasn’t there to protect my baby sister.

And I know all about rushing to be there to hold her hand and tell her it’s going to be all right. And I pray I never again have to look at Audrey in a neck brace on a backboard and remember the first time I held her and marveled at her beauty.

I was a big sister long before I was a mama. My children help recreate me every day, but my sisters remember who I’ve always been.

We may drive each other (and anyone with hearing range) crazy, but we will always drive each other home.

Audrey is recovering at home from a head-on collision that occurred Friday afternoon. Many thanks to the first responders, doctors, and nurses who have endured a Payne-full weekend.