Super-Quick Update

Hello, dear readers! I hope that each of you has had a wonderful month and a blessed Easter!

I'm not blogging much right now, for many reasons!

• I'm preparing for the start of our school year (in two weeks!).
• I'm working on improving sibling relations. 
• The terrible threes are upon us, and they are super-challenging. This too is a work in process. I can feel the Lord growing me as a parent on a day-by-day, minute-by-minute basis. I am so thankful for this, difficult as it is. 

I have read several blogger/authors who said something like, "My child only had one tantrum because I corrected him properly and it never happened again."

Sisters, I will never attain that level of awesomeness. Just tellin' you the awful truth.

But I am diving into the daily challenges and trials and giving it all of my effort. That is the best I can do, even though I will never attain the above-mentioned parenting nirvana.

"I, throw a tantrum? Why, never!" 

Real life (diapers, meals, chores, illnesses, etc.) is mixed in with all of this. Thus, as always, we're quite busy around here!

Lately I have been deluging you all with blog posts, but I am actually just working through lots of posts that have been sitting in draft form. I would like to get them published so that I'll have a clean slate for new posts soon.

Obi-Wan with his faithful sidekick. 

Time for blogging is rare at the moment. The urge to write (once acquired) does not go away just because one has no time for it, however! Thus, I'll still be around. I'm eager to share some of the ideas we'll be trying this year, and I love to interact with you all.

Here are a few mini-projects we have going at the moment:

Composting - Yes, after a spectacular composting-fail last year, I am trying again! I met with a sweet friend who is a composting master, and she gave me the scoop. Here are a few things I learned:

• Banana peels - Just say no.  
• Water - Compost piles in Arizona must be watered. That's probably why I ended up with a dried up hulk of spider-infested yuck last time!  
• Leaves - That whole nitrogen/carbon balance thing. I needed to add dead leaves. Got it. 
• Burying scraps - Food scraps should be buried in the compost to avoid flies, etc. 
• Turning - Turning, mixing, aerating, etc. Who knew?
  

In a few months... we'll see! I love the idea of composting, so I'm hoping that it will go well.

Restarting the VLC Diet - I've done this at least fifteen times in the past month. In other words, I'm off and on the bandwagon at least once to twice a week. I need to work on consistency here, but carbs are soooo tempting - especially with summer fruit in season.

Spring Cleaning - It's that time of year, but I am oh-so-busy with getting ready for school! My goal is working 15 minutes a day on any given project. Right now it's happening about three times a week - meaning that I'll be at this for several years! Improvement needed.

Working on MESSES - Sometimes you look around and think, "Man, something's gotta change around here." That has happened to me lately - and here are some of the changes I'm trying to implement to improve things:

• Shoes off at the door - It's a hard sell, but I'm determined to make it work - because children simply do not notice the five pounds of mud that they are tracking in with their outside shoes. 
• Table manners - So that the floor doesn't look like a hog wallow after each and every meal.
• "Eat over your plate."
• "Forks, not fingers." 
• "If you're eating or drinking, you must be sitting down at the kitchen table." (i.e. not trailing crumbs all over the house)
• Washing hands after meals - So that toddlers don't leave a greasy handprint trail behind them everywhere they go. 

It's all about how self-disciplined I want to be in enforcing the rules in order to see change happen. Parenting is an exercise in self-growth!

The adults in the family may or may be not enjoying
his new birthday present as much as (more than?) he is. 

Babies and bath time call, my friends! Have a wonderful week!