Taking Candy From a Baby

I love the costume part of Halloween. The candy part is what gets to me. As you may have gathered I am fairly into yummy healthy food. And while I don't label any food choices as "bad" I try to teach moderation when it comes to sugary "treats". Halloween and moderation don't go hand in hand so each year I build up a bit of anxiety as I face the mountains of candy and the situation it leaves me in as a parent. Typically, Shayla and Kiera indulge a bit for a few days after Halloween then the candy sits in their rooms until I declare it is time to toss it. With Kendra joining the trick or treat game this year we have an additional mountain of candy to handle and a two year old who doesn't understand moderation. How very enchanting.

This Halloween we invited a group of friends over to hang out in the front yard by a fire and to sip apple cider and share a few non-candy snacks. It all sounded good in theory until several said friends showed up with their candy and dropped it in our bucket of goodies. While we enjoyed their company tremendously and the girls had fun trick or treating with a gang of kids, the additional candy has put me in a real pickle. Now I don't just have 3 mountains of candy to deal with but an entire mountain range.

Knowing that I also needed to downsize today, I took the steep climb on head on and plowed through the extra candy, sorting it all the while. I also confiscated Kendra's bucket after she dozed off into a sugary slumber and sorted her stash as well. At the end of all of my candy rummaging, we kept a small hill of candy for our candy dish (see last night's post), refilled Kendra's bucket with about half of what she started with (2 year old children can't count, can they?), and deemed an entire mountain of candy as a donation to the Maine Red Claws office staff. Dajuan will make the delivery when he goes to work tomorrow. That was as easy as taking candy from a baby.

Halloween Eve

Halloween fever struck our home today. After a chilly trip to the farmer's market we carved three jack-0-lanterns and then dove headlong into costume preparation. You may recall that the costume ideas were hatched over 1 week ago but little progress has been made in the meantime. That makes today, Halloween eve, d-day.

After several hours of family collaboration and team effort the costumes are nearly ready for their debut tomorrow evening. The jack-o-lanterns are flickering on the front steps. And the candy bowl is full of Take 5 candy bars and Raisinets (doesn't the raisin part make this a healthy alternative?). As we cleaned up from our holiday preparations, the crystal candy dish in my china closet caught my eye. Lurking in this quaint location are hardened wads of double bubble, stale Hersey's kisses (that my mother in law deemed unfit for consumption back in August), and melted, gooey peppermints. I guess you could say that candy isn't a common part of our diet so it is not unusual for treats to go uneaten for months at a time. Tonight, as I pondered the obscene amounts of candy the girls will haul into our house in the next 24 hours I decided it was fitting to trash the stale to make room for the fresh. Bring on the Baby Ruths, Kit Kats, and Reeses Peanut Butter cups - we are ready!

The Purple Ribbon

As the month of October winds down we are all focused on the orange and black. Early this month we celebrated, walked, and donated to the pink ribbon cause - breast cancer awareness. But most of us don't even know that there is another major women's health issue that is trying to gain traction and promote awareness among the general public during the month of witches, goblins and fairies. This issue affects 1 in 4 women and is believed to be under reported. What I'm referring to is domestic violence - the purple ribbon cause. If you ask me, the people who picked the purple ribbon month to coincide with the pink ribbon cause weren't the smartest marketers in the world. How could the cause not get lost in the sea of pink that we all are floating in during the 10th month of the year? And, where would the domestic violence awareness movement be if they had chosen a different month? Would we all be swept up by a wave of purple in February and therefore be gaining more traction in the fight against violence against women in their homes? One article I read says no. It actually questions whether all of the pink products we are buying are doing enough to promote action towards a cure to the most common form of cancer in women. And so maybe the founders of the National Domestic Violence Awareness Project were smart. Perhaps by avoiding the purple ribbon frenzy they are gaining ground with fewer folks who are more committed to taking action towards making change.

Today, on the 29th of the month I decided to reenter the world of domestic violence prevention and awareness if only for a brief moment. A few years back, I became fairly involved as a volunteer for our local domestic violence shelter. I wore a pager and answered hotline calls a couple times per month and also trained other volunteers. This was a time in my life where I felt compelled to reach out to other women and at the very least be a listening ear to someone in need of help. I learned so much about this deep dark secret that countless women are hiding. I realized how fortunate I am to be safe in my home and how much I wish for my own daughters to be in relationships that are free from violence. I also met an amazing mentor by the name of Kate. Needless to say this time period was unforgettable. But, for now my part in the fight against domestic violence has taken a back seat to all that I am currently juggling (I'll spare you the gory list). Urged on by a need to downsize, this morning I stopped by the shelter for a tour (it is a new location) and to return some training materials and videos that Kate lent me during my training days. Sadly, none of the shelter advocates that I had grown to know and love were working but a kind woman named April was happy to show me around. While the new shelter is bigger and brighter there was a familiarity to it all. Bunk beds and mattresses fill the small living spaces. And a few women quietly sat in the common areas, reading the days news or talking on their phones. The voices of small children echoed through a few closed doors. These are the women and children that are the faces of the purple ribbon. Unfortunately, according to the advocate, the house was full and had been for several weeks. This means that violence is still happening - too often.

After returning the items to the shelter I couldn't help but feel a bit of sadness. It was like keeping the training materials somehow kept my foot in the door. But, thanks to downsizing, I have realized that keeping things around as reminders just clutters my existence. Perhaps, those educational materials can now fall into the hands of another person with energy who is ready to take action and make change.

For the Love of the Game

With the excitement of the Celtic's first regular season game behind us, we move into the kickoff of the Portland Recreation 4th and 5th grade basketball league. You guessed it - the Eubanks' are deeply involved. Shayla will be wrapping up her pee-wee basketball career before moving on to middle school and I am trying my hand at assistant coaching.

Tonight is our first practice and coach Tim and I have the enviable duty of corralling 18 girls with various levels of basketball experience into some semblance of a structured practice. I can almost hear all of my faithful followers sighing with envy! All kidding aside though, this is a very exciting time. Hall school typically has a low turnout for the 4th and 5th grade girl's team. But, this year we have too many girls for just one squad! This touches me deep down in my soul because I love women's basketball and want nothing more than to light a fire in every little girl's heart so that they too will love the game.

While packing up my practice jerseys, orange cones, and whistle, I came upon some extra shirts from my coaching endeavors with Kiera's age group over the past two years. I'm taking them along with me to return to the recreation director in hopes that he can reuse them. Perhaps there is a basketball revolution taking place at the pee-wee level and he'll need those extra shirts!

Getting the Bounce

My favorite season is here - basketball has officially begun. The Celtics enjoyed a solid victory over the highly hyped Miami Heat and we were even able to tune in on TNT.com online. Life is good! Well things got even better today. Shayla, Kiera and I have been invited by friends of ours to join them in the TD Bank skybox for the December 3rd Celtics game versus the Chicago Bulls. Our friends entered a contest at their local bank and were chosen out of entrants from over 20 branches in the region. Talk about a stroke of luck! Today after school, the girls went along for a presentation ceremony at the bank. They walked away with balloons, C's t-shirts, and bags full of shamrock laden goodies. When I picked them up after work, I received the coveted envelope containing our 3 ticket and a parking pass.

As I unloaded the kids, bags, and backpacks from our day at work and school, I worried a bit about where to put the tickets. With over 1 month until game day there is plenty of opportunity to misplace them. I spotted the mail and key holder hanging on the wall and quivered at the thought of shoving our precious tickets in among the pockets bursting with various papers and coupons. This prompted me to purge the junk collector to make a designated space for the golden tickets. As a result I trashed a decent sized pile of outdated coupons, scraps of paper, and multiple "rewards cards" from various retailers. Need I point out that this wooden 3 pocket organizer is yet another gadget that only encourages the collection of more junk? But, I digress. The bottom line is that the junk got bounced and the tickets sit neatly in a pocket waiting to be used by this family of super fans! Go C's!

Magnetic Force

Cousin Reed (a.k.a. the master) has been saying all along that the kids would get into the downsizing challenge. I've had my doubts as Kiera has pouted about things such as me selling her Mario costume and Shayla has struggled on more than one occasion as we have tried to cull the toy collection. But tonight as my energy waned and the thought of finding a downsize was weighing heavily on my mind, Kiera blurted out of the blue "I know something that would make a good downsize someday." Someday? How about today? She eagerly explained that the Boone brand dry erase magnets were no longer useful as they have permanent markings and we don't own the appropriate markers anymore. Not only did she locate some items that hadn't even crossed my mind but she also provided a wonderful explanation of their expendable nature. This girl is catching on! Kiera and I gathered the collection of magnets and trashed them which left our fridge looking a bit neater and tidier - aside from the collection of alphabet magnets that occupy the lower 1/3 of the ice box door.

This evening's downsize was fabulous all around. Not only did it prove that my challenge is pulling my children into thinking about simplifying and supporting their dear old mom in my plight but it also gave me a chance to reflect on my odd buying behavior. At some point, I was lured into thinking that writing notes and lists on dry erase magnets would somehow help me feel organized and simplify my life. Here is the problem - they are not functional. What good does it do to make a list of groceries for instance if the list can not travel with me to the store? Ridiculous! I just laugh at how many organizing doo-dads I have purchased only to find that the best organizing tool is downsizing with an end result of having less stuff to organize!

Trifecta

There is something about having a third baby that catapults the parents into an entirely new category. It is as if having one or two children falls within the norm and the third throws a family entirely off of the bell curve. So when my friend Kristin announced the arrival of their third baby I couldn't help but feel a certain kinship with she and her family. Perhaps the fact that she has an even bigger age gap between her first two children and her newest addition than we do makes me feel even more bonded to her. In any case, I felt that their arrival home with a new bundle of joy should be celebrated with a gift. As is customary for me, I skipped the cute newborn outfit in favor of putting together a basket of goodies for the nursing mom. I made mini loaves of zucchini bread and bought trail mix, snack bars, herbal tea, and various other snack items. As I poked around the basement I found a basket decorated with bumble bees that has been buzzing around since I received it in celebration of Kiera's birth (2002). It made the perfect vehicle for the goodies. In a downsizing touch, I also added a roll of masking tape with my friend Kristin's last name written in permanent marker on the inside of the roll. I found it as I purged the basement earlier this fall and put it aside for this very occasion. You see, I acquired this tape during one of the many Hall school book fairs that Kristin and I set up over the years. Thanks to the new baby, Kristin and I will once again be Hall school parents together long after our older kids have moved on to high school and college. I attached a little card to the tape explaining how much I was looking forward to hanging posters in the halls of Hall School with her again!

Seasonably Cool Sunday

Today was the first Sunday since Labor Day that we have been able to relax at home for the afternoon. Soccer ended yesterday and basketball games don't begin until mid November. For the next few weekends we are free to rake leaves and button down the hatches in preparation for winter.

With a bit of idle time on our hands, Dajuan enjoyed a workout and grilled some yummy steaks from Karter Farm, Kendra took a long nap, Shayla and Kiera baked a batch of cookies all by themselves, and I took a run after a complete closet and dresser overhaul.

Fall is in full swing and yet my wardrobe has been straddling two seasons. Daily I pluck warm threads from my blue tub full of winter clothes while my capris and tanks still occupy my bureau and hangers. It is as if I fear that a 90 degree day is lurking in the forecast. Today, I believe the spare time and the raw, overcast 45 degree day finally nudged me to pack away the summer duds in favor of my cords and sweaters. Unlike my girls, I do not have outgrown outfits to pass on with each season (thank goodness!) but there are always a few items that need to be pulled from circulation. You know, the white t-shirts with yellowed pits or the shorts that are a bit out of style after 10 years. Attacking my closet change-over with extra zeal thanks to the downsizing challenge, I culled my wardrobe in less than an hour and produced 1 small bag of clothes for the trash (hey - some things are even unsuitable for charity) and a larger shopping bag that will go to Goodwill tomorrow.

It is amazing what satisfaction the entire clothes switchover provides. The uncertainty of seasonal transition is rough for a gal like me who thrives on order and predictability. Or maybe I am feeling extra cozy tonight because of the time we enjoyed today as a family of five hanging out in the comforts of our home, baking cookies, playing, and feasting on yummy food. Whatever it is, I relish this feeling because in very predictable fashion the mania of Monday morning will be here in a wink.

No Small Feet

We have no small feet in our house. Even Kendra has long feet for a toddler. And so when Amity handed off a brand new pair of Land's End winter boots that were too small for Ava, I wasn't surprised to find that they were too snug for my Kendra Dee. After trying to hand them back to Amity (she refused) the boots sat in my closet for 3 months or so. Today as we dashed out the door to a post soccer game party I grabbed the boots knowing that the restaurant was near the Land's End counter housed in Sears at the mall.

After a raucous dinner with some of our favorite families, I convinced my clan to wander through the mall with me. I immediately sauntered up to the Land's End counter and was shocked to find that they would credit my card with $23.10 for returning the boots. This is amazing considering they were purchased over 1 year ago and bought at a deep discount according to Amity. My assumption was at the very best I would receive a merchandise credit - so glad I was wrong!

Because the boots sat in my closet for a few months, I feel justified in claiming them as a downsize. But, the cash is not mine to keep. I'll be delivering the Benjamin's to Amity with delight on Tuesday.

As we drove home from the mall, I asked Dajuan if we ended up buying anything. Nope was his reply. Leaving the mall richer than we started...now that is no small feat!

Cobweb Clearing

It is that time of year again - costume making season! With just over a week to go, moms everywhere are wracking their brains for unique and easy ideas for Halloween getups. Like most things I do as a mom - I tend to make costuming my 3 young ladies more difficult than it needs to be. However, this year I have figured out the characters for 2 out of the 3 girls. Kiera is going to trick or treat as a gumball machine and we have most of her costume prepared. Kendra is going to flit about as a ballerina in a hand-me-down leotard, tu-tu, and slippers. Shayla and I are still brainstorming a perfect idea for her spooky outfit. This puts us in decent shape considering it is only October 22nd.

One of my unspoken rules is to try to avoid store bought costumes at all costs. It is as if I believe my very worthiness as a mom rests upon my ability to produce a homemade Halloween costume. A few years ago I decided to sew a Hershey Kiss and a Candy Corn costume. This plan turned out to be good in theory but the results were less than spooktacular. The girls were good sports though and wore their outfits proudly despite repeatedly having to elaborate upon what they were actually dressed as. Apparently teaching myself to sew 4 days before the holiday wasn't such a stellar idea.

There were cloth remnants from my valiant effort that I have saved for 3 years (evidenced my the sales slip I discovered in the bag). What exactly did I think I would do with shiny silver, yellow, and orange fabric in the future? Because this year I have Halloween costume creation and Halloween downsizing on my mind, this morning I collected my scraps of felt, pipe cleaners, and cloth and donated them to the Hall School Art room. I have effectively cleared the cobwebs from yet another corner of my basement - and left room for our 2010 costume creations!

BIg Shoes to Fill

Shayla and Kiera are paving the way for their little sister Kendra. In so many ways this makes Kendra a very lucky girl. Tonight as I sat through a 5th Grade Farewell planning meeting and then a PTO meeting at Hall school, I realized that Kendra will always have the legacy of her big sisters to live up to. While both of them will have moved on to middle school and high school when she enters kindergarten, there are sure to be teachers that will mistakenly call her Shayla or Kiera. There will also be expectations for her to be like them - as a student and a citizen. My suspicion is that while she holds a physical likeness to them, she will be a much different personality. Already she challenges us more than either Shay or KG did at her age. What fun the teachers will have in discovering this slightly more spunky Eubanks girl!

Tonight I am downsizing some clothing and outgrown rain boots. I'll drop them off to our friend Olivia in the morning. As I had Kendra step into the boots for a fun photo-op I realized that it may be more than clutter control that is forcing me to get rid of these items instead of saving them for our little Dee. Maybe, I am sending a message that she doesn't have to try to fill her big sister's shoes - she only has to trod her own unique path!

A Gift I Hated To Give

When I called Amity last night, I hoped that she would be able to say "no thanks" to our stack of unused size 4 Pampers. Instead, she begrudgingly accepted our gift and in turn gave us some princess Pull Ups that "Ava won't be using anytime soon".

I realize I have belabored this entire potty training journey a bit over the past few weeks. You have to be in this stage to truly appreciate the magnitude of the process - so please bear with me. While we all know that every child eventually learns to use the toilet, I do believe that much mystery remains around the timing of the transition from diaper to toilet and the process to make that happen. To the best of my recollection, both Shayla and Kiera were out of diapers and completely trained in one or two days. Kendra, on the other hand, is still hitting a few logs in the road - if you catch my drift. When this process is all over, the stained panties, multiple trips to public bathrooms, and ever present fear of an accident will all fade into a distant memory. But for now, it is a bit all consuming I must say!

Both Amity and I believed that Ava would blaze the trail for Kendra in the potty department given her age advantage. Or, at the very least, they would happily learn to pee and poop together. Instead, Kendra (with my urging) is becoming acclimated to the pot and Ava continues to enjoy the comforts of her Pampers. I'm sure that Amity would agree that it all seems a bit unfair. And, while both of us as adults know intellectually that Ava is going to jump on the potty train someday soon, right now it feels like the waiting is lasting an eternity.

I pondered finding another mom in need of some size 4's or even keeping the diapers in the closet "just in case". But, my fear of Kendra regressing and my need to downsize won out today. If all the stars align just right, maybe Ava will never dip into our gifted Pamper pack and Amity will have to pass them along to someone else. With her fiesty independence I know she'll be the one to determine that!

Have a Ball

Some people have the gift of being able to entertain in their homes with a carefree, comfortable style. April is one of those people. Twice now our family has joined several other families from our church at April's home for dinner and fellowship. Both evenings the attendance swelled to over 30 people! The thought of this type of gathering makes me break out in a sweat. April is a hostess who never has to dab her brow.

Not only do we sup together at these gatherings but we do it responsibly. April and Eric invested in inexpensive dinnerware (enough for 30+ people!) to prevent the piles of waste from paper and plastic plates. The only "ungreen" part of their dinnerware is the red plastic cups. As we were winding down our evening, April lamented the use of the disposable cups and proposed buying ball jars as an inexpensive glassware alternative.

Eureka! The perfect downsize for today! I had an entire case of large ball jars in my basement and hand delivered them to April this morning. A few years ago my mother and I began making strawberry jam. Over time we have determined that we prefer the small ball jars for jam storage. As with so many things in my home, the case of unused large jars sat dormant in my closet for too long.

April graciously accepted my offering this morning and glowed as she realized this was part of my downsizing challenge (she is one of the faithful followers of my blog). And because she is an amazing hostess, she invited me in for a hot cup of coffee complete with fulfilling conversation. I am so happy my ball jars will be part of our future gatherings. I am even more content that they opened the door to a new connection with a fabulous lady!

Bye Bye Baby!

We are somewhere around 12 days into potty training (yes, I am counting) and Kendra has had several accident free days in a row. She is also becoming a poop camel which is a bit concerning however, we are sticking with undies and working on relaxing on the pot. In another bold step of confirmation that we have left the diaper stage forever, Kendra and I sold the changing pad and covers at Lots for Tots today. Feeling unsure about the resale value and worthiness of the items, I stuck a few sure bets in our bag. At this time of year, the resale shops are begging for Halloween costumes so I used Kiera's Mario costume from last year as my ace in the hole. When all was tallied, this small load earned me $15! The buyer (who is the cheaper and more picky of the two) took all but 3 items - I think I am in a resaler's groove at this point.

At a time when living expenses feel out of control I can't help but do some calculations to figure out just how much this potty training is saving us. 13 days ago, Kendra was using about 6 diapers a day at roughly $.30 each. That means we were spending about $54 a month on Pampers. In addition, we were using approximately 2 refill packs of wipes (the messes are BIG by the age of 2) per week which cost us approximately $16 a month. The waste produced increased our household trash exponentially which means we will be using less Blue Portland Trash Bags - which cost us $15 for a pack of 7 (highway robbery)! By my analysis, we will be saving over $70 a month because our little critter has gained control of her bodily functions! To be fair though, the net savings may be slightly less. With each trip to the toilet, Kendra insists on flushing her byproducts - and often does an unnecessary double flush. She also covets the hand washing process and can be found standing at the sink with the water running for several minutes at a time when left unattended. Toilet paper is also fascinating and used in excess - Sheryl Crow would not approve. And, I am certainly doing a bit more laundry thanks to the occasional drips and near misses - not to mention the mess when the poop camel finally unloads.

Perhaps for a few months, we will be just breaking even when I also add in the cost of the multiple potty options that we've purchased (seats for the big toilet, free standing small toilets, travel toilets, etc.) however one thing is for sure - we have ended our use of disposable diapers after spending somewhere around $2000 on wipes and Pampers in Kendra's lifetime. Now to start saving for college...

TOYS

There are a few things I'd like to blog about today. I'd love to have made a downsize connected to the once in a lifetime opportunity that we fell into last night. But alas, I came up empty when it came to downsizes related to meeting Mr. Bill Cosby in his dressing room. I'd also be happy to blog about all of the people I know who walked and/or ran this weekend in events across the country to show their support for the fight against Breast Cancer. I might even be able to share a bit about my friend who was recently diagnosed with breast cancer and the battle that she has ahead of her. Once again, I have come up empty. No pink ribbons or long locks to donate tonight.

Instead, I have plodded along the road of this challenge once again. In a mundane effort I took a bag of toys to the church nursery today. End of story. The only drama involved in this event was the look on my face when I discovered that once again Shayla has refused to part with her childhood possessions. She literally removed a few toys that I had packed and ready to be donated and placed them back in circulation in our toy room. Her theme song should be "I don't want to grow up, I'm a Toys 'r Us Kid..."

For a moment, I thought about throwing in the towel on this challenge. But then (with some nudging from my husband) I sat down to pound away on the keyboard. Perhaps boring, mundane downsizes are the most important part of this journey. Only time will tell...

Goulish Gift

Yesterdays reorganization of Kendra's clothes produced a pile of fall and winter items for us to pass on to 'Telle (as Kendra fondly calls Estelle - mentioned in this earlier blog). I packaged up the clothes today and then realized that I couldn't bear the thought of 'Telle's big brother J being left out. I considered sending along a book from our extensive collection but then landed on a Halloween themed Lace and Trace set that either Shayla and/or Kiera used when they were younger. In addition I packed up several sheets of Halloween stickers that I located in the shoebox full of stickers hidden in the back of Shayla's desk drawer. If J is anything like my girls he'll be thrilled to receive something in the mail - I hope so!

Today's downsize reminds me a of a few things:
1. We have so much stuff in our possession that I don't have to look far to find the perfect gift for almost anyone
2. This challenge motivates me to give random gifts that I might not otherwise take the time to find and deliver
3. Slowly but surely we are making headway in this battle against accumulation!

Unsnapped!

Today's cold, rainy, blustery weather forced me to find batteries for our thermostat and subsequently to turn on the heat. I affectionately call this breaking the seal. There is no turning back once I fire the furnace up and nudge the temperature above 65. We are locked into high oil bills and closed windows until May.

The fall weather also means the time has arrived for stowing our tank tops and shorts and pulling out the corduroys and sweaters. I tackled Kendra's clothes first. Her increasing independence in choosing her clothes has lead me to repeat almost daily "no Kendra, you cannot wear a tank top today". Providing only warm clothes options will make mornings less confrontational! While going through her drawers I realized that I need to rid her wardrobe of all onsie style shirts. Our precious girl is 9 days into potty training and wearing panties like a champ! While she pees on the pot on a consistent basis, her lead time to excretion is minimal. We can't have any extra snaps, belts, zippers or buttons getting in the way during the few seconds we have to get her butt on the toilet.

We packed up every last long sleeved and short sleeved white Carter's onsie and put them in a box for Reed (aka The Master Downsizer) and Jo's brilliant boy Chase. We have few opportunities to hand down clothes to the cute little guy because of the pink and purple that rules Kendra's wardrobe. We are thrilled to have some gender neutral, practical goods to send out West!

We are even more thrilled to be claiming this victory. Ridding our home of onsies is a bold statement that there is no going back on this potty gig. And we certainly aren't going to have those snap laden shirts hanging around!

Meds Gone Bad

I'm fairly lenient with expiration dates on things in my medicine cupboard. I figure that no one ever died (that I know of at least) from a Tylenol that is a year old. But, as I reached for my daily vitamin today I noticed that the "men's health formula" bottle sat, barely used, and expired by 18 months I decided there were old products lurking in my medicine chest that must go. A quick survey revealed the old vitamins (what a waste of money!), an expired travel pack of Advil, and a saline mist that was outdated in July, 2003. Yuck! Not only is the salt water over 7 years past it's prime, the nasal spout is sure to be breeding some funky organisms at this point. I trashed all three items for my downsize today. While I'm content with my up-to-date pharmaceuticals, I can't help but think about how much healthier Dajuan could have been had he taken his daily vitamins before they expired. Or did he prove what many have claimed all along...vitamins are a sham! I'll leave you to ponder that this evening.

Stop Toying Around!

Back in August we performed a major overhaul of the kids' bedrooms which involved some necessary purging of stuff. The process rendered 2 Rubbermaid tubs full of goodies that landed on the playroom floor in the basement. I was heavily involved in the entire process and, needless to say, too weary to cull the bins and find homes for everything. I've been handing out idle threats ever sense that day - "if you guys don't go through that stuff I am going to throw it all away!".

Today I finally surrendered to the inevitable - the only way those plastic tubs will get emptied is if I do it. With Kendra sleeping soundly and the sunshine beaming down on this glorious fall day there are about a million things I would have liked to do. Cleaning up the toy room was not on the list. However downsizing must happen and I was feeling fresh out of ideas. And so I took the plunge and dug into the tubs full of the girls' junk. By the time they wandered in after school I had a heap of things for them to declare trash or treasure, a trash bag full of discards, and several piles that had been sorted and needed to be put away. They knew better than to roll an eyeball - they jumped in and helped me finish the deed.

When I finally got the chance to vacuum the newly neatened area tonight, I gazed around at the volume of toys and books that remain. Despite my drive to lessen our household load, the kids are struggling to part with their things. But we are making progress little by little. Just before turning out the light, I spied my battered Cabbage Patch Doll circa 1985 sitting in a baby bathtub. After cajoling the girls to give or throw away their toys and stuffed animals, I had the nerve to let this 25 year old doll hang around. I have kept her all of these years for memories, nostalgia, and perhaps to share her with my own daughters. And here I am today realizing that there is really no purpose in keeping her. The girls have their own special dolls (that are much cuter I might add) and I still have a vivid picture in my mind of the day I received my first Cabbage Patch Doll. What more do I need? Nothing.

I stepped out into the crisp evening air, saw my breath as I walked to the garage, and calmly set the doll in the trash bag with all of the other toys that have seen their prime come and go. Perhaps this is the very step I needed to take to encourage the Shayla and Kiera to part with some of their things - Lord I hope so!

Resale Wins By a Land Slide!

We failed to sell our Little Tykes Junior Slide at our yard sale - even at the bargain basement price of $7. I was utterly shocked but confident that it would move for an even better price ($15) on Craig's List. Low and behold after being posted for over 1 month, I have not had one bite. If you ask me, the Craig's List thing isn't all it is cracked up to be! Going back to my tried and true method of hawking our outgrown goods to resale shops I stopped into Lots for Tots today. In less than 5 minutes the buyer handed me $10 and the deal was done. I've added $10 into the income column of my downsizing tally and we have one less large plastic item to stow in the garage over the winter - I call that a win-win!

Leap Fad

Before Mom and Gram headed north on 95 today we all made a trip to Border's and then to the mall for a few errands. While at Border's I was reminded how much a love of books and reading are a part of my heritage. To say that Gram is an avid reader would be an understatement. The woman tears through 1200 page novels like they are picture books. Reading is one of her passions and I believe it is the key to keeping her mind sharp as her body ages. My mother is an apple that doesn't fall far from the tree. She has dedicated an entire career to teaching 1st graders to love reading. And so it follows that my girls and I also have an affinity for the written word.

Tonight as I rifled around the basement looking for an appropriate downsize I happened upon a Leap Pad that belonged to Shayla. Somewhere along the child raising journey we hit a bump in the road and either bought or were given this Leap Pad system and all of its accessories. The premise of the overpriced gimmick is that it will teach our kids to read with flashy interactive computerized bells and whistles. The reality is that it never worked correctly and Shayla cast it aside fairly quickly. She also learned to read without it and has continued on to be a pretty darn good reader.

Because of the original value of the toy and also a few back and forth exchanges with my husband over its' worthiness, the Leap Pad was granted a place in the storage part of the furnace room for several years. That ended tonight. As of 8 pm it took a flying leap into the garbage can. I thought about giving it to Goodwill or handing it off to another family but ruled against both options on principle. The bottom line is that I have big issues with the computer world encroaching upon the livelihood of books. With the rising popularity of gadgets like Kindle, Nook, and the iPad I fear that our children will one day live in a world without libraries. While many would argue that reading is reading, I feel that holding a book, turning it's pages, and even storing it on a shelf for years provides a greater experience. Somehow the vision of 4 generations of women wandering around the Apple store sharing a love of ebooks pales in comparison to the experience that my kids, mom and gram shared as we perused books in Borders today.

If you ask me (and many literacy experts out there I believe), the key to teaching kids to read is early exposure to books. Another contributing factor is the amount of reading that takes place within the household - even if a book is not being read to the child. So tell me this - will a toddler differentiate between a parent staring at an ebook on their iPad or surfing the net on the same device? I don't think so. But my 2 year old certainly knows when she sees her big sisters reading their chapter books. She often toddles up beside them with her own book and starts flipping the pages.

And so, another item hits the landfill. While I feel sorry for that fact I am happy that the Leap Pad won't fill another child's hands in place of a good old fashioned book.

Thinking Outside the Box

Gram and I had the luxury of a few hours alone at home this morning. We chatted in our PJ's over breakfast dishes and relished our time together. Once the remnants of our waffle breakfast were cleaned up, Gram encouraged me to go take a rest (as if she ever took a rest when she was in the throws of raising 6 kids, running a household, and a restaurant!). Instead I headed to the basement to start laundry.

While in the cellar, I poked my head into the furnace room and happened upon a perfect downsize for the day. Various piles of cardboard boxes are stacked precariously on the back wall. Here is a list of the cardboard I have amassed:
1. Kitchen Aid Mixer box (received 2 Christmases ago)
2. Large Box from a Christmas toy given to the girls last year
3. Fed Ex box - never used (note, we don't ship anything on a regular basis)
4. Power Strip Box (see this post for a similar box downsized a few weeks ago)
5. A box that held shirt boxes left over from Christmas gifts (I discarded both)
6. Fed Ex Box and receipt for a shipment received 2 years ago

Apparently I have held onto all of these boxes just in case we have to pack up and move immediately or I am anticipating a cardboard box shortage in the near future. Thanks to my downsizing efforts I'll be out of luck in both of these unlikely scenarios!

While I lugged the last of the boxes out to the garage, Gram said "that doesn't look like resting" but she had an approving smile. She appreciates a good organization effort when she sees one!

Gram is Top Drawer

Gram and Mom arrived today for a visit with Dajuan, the girls and I. We all love these visits and value the precious time with 2 of our favorite people! As I mentioned in an earlier post my Gram is a collector by nature. Yet she has a strong ability to organize and keep things orderly. It is really a striking combination of attributes!

After a short run in a the brisk fall air this afternoon, I entered my kitchen to find the contents of two of my most disorderly drawers splayed out on my counter. Gram was busily sorting and reorganizing my kitchen gadget drawer and my junk drawer. She had already tackled the silverware drawer and made it look like new! I had little choice but to push up my sleeves and dig in along side of my grandmother. We chuckled and sorted through endless treasures that had nestled deep into the comforts of these spaces. At the end of it all, I had a large pile of trash, a small assortment of cookie cutters and utensils to give to Goodwill, and various manuals and scraps of paper that hit the blue bin. Gram had tackled two drawers that I have neglected for years and also have avoided for the past 70 days despite their downsizability. Thank goodness for dear old Gram!

I was left with two burning questions after this purge of useless clutter - why do I designate a drawer as a "junk drawer" and then resent its very existence? And, what in the world would I do without my Gram to straighten my stuff all out?

The Heart of the Matter

As I sat in my PALS course this morning, I heard the following announcement : new guidelines for PALS will be released next month. It turns out that I took the last course being taught under the current guidelines - meaning that when I take my recertification in 2 years many of the algorithms will have changed. In the health care world, I realize that change is inevitable. However, I sort of wished as I sat there that I had waited one more month to take the class so as to have the most up to date information.

Always on the prowl for a downsize, I gazed at my course materials and realized that when I finished the class they would be effectively obsolete. Given my past history, I normally would have saved these study guides under the guises of "keeping them for reference". This is ridiculous reasoning as I have never, in fact, looked back at any of my other life saving technique literature. And so, I stepped out of the van and tossed the books into my recycling bin. Then I headed to the Eubanks Family Stacks and located my BLS and ACLS manuals. Since the American Heart Association revises all of these materials every 5 years, these guides are obsolete as well. To the blue bin they went!

Before any of you fear that I will no longer be prepared to save your life, let me reassure you. Most of the skills are as easy as A, B, C - airway, breathing, and circulation that is!

In the Driver's Seat

For the most part, we like to think we have a decent amount of control over our children. Shayla, Kiera and Kendra don't captain this ship. But the tides turned today as we declared it Day 1 of potty training. There is nothing like a toddler in her first pair of panties to make this mom drop everything for every pee-pee whim.

As we ventured out on our lone errand today I plopped the potty chair in the van so as not to be caught with my pants down. After a quick trip into the bank I began to put Kendra into her car seat when she proclaimed "I gotta pee-pee". In a flash I had her seated on the portable toilet as I stood as a spotter with the van door open. She proceeded to sit and chat, look around, and play with various objects sticking out of the chairback pocket. Not wanting to break her rhythm, I allowed her to sit as long as she wished. These things take time.

Feeling completely out of control and a bit silly standing by my minivan I decided to seize the moment for downsizing. I purged the aforementioned seat pocket and found oodles of trashable items including lollipop sticks, used kleenex, and broken pencils. I also happened upon several scented colored pencils (the product developer behind them surely got canned) that even the girls find repulsive - they hit the trash pile too. While Kendra continued to wait patiently for the yellow stream, I moved on to clean out the cup holders and wells at the back of the van. Remember how hot is was this summer? Well, I have melted crayon in one cup holder to prove the heat was record breaking. By the time I was finished the purge of the back 1/2 of my van I had accumulated a small pile of trash and some paper scraps for recycling, broken sunglasses, circa 1980 ear buds, and 2 hair elastics.

After what seemed like an eternity, Kendra said (after a dramatic pause and head tilt) "did you hear that?". Low and behold, we heard the long awaited tinkle. After a celebratory high five I buckled her and high tailed it home. At 2, the urge can come again before you know it!

Height of Fashion

There was a time when hem length was the measure of fashion. In my lifetime, there has been less emphasis on skirt length and much more attention to where waist lines fall. I've lived through belly button hugging buckles and plumber crack exposing rises. Currently, after hitting an all time low (haven't we all viewed enough thongs peaking over the rear of jeans?) rises are climbing once again. My hope is that they will settle mid range between the umbilicus and the top of the va-jay-jay (note my obsession with this word here).

There is some collateral damage to all of this waistline rising and falling. The ever important belt accessorizes the waist line and therefore the length of ones belt changes along with the variations in where one wears their jeans. Low slung jeans require thick long belts. High waisted dress pants require a much shorter and thinner belt. While I have rid myself of various unflattering and out of style jeans with the wrong rise, I forgot to purge the belts that went along with them. As I pawed through my closet today I found 5 unwearable belts that I've kept for over 10 years. Yet another example of useless clutter that is officially gone. I dropped the antiquated belts off at my trusty neighborhood Goodwill today. Let's hope they keep someone's pants off the ground!

Lip Service

After the success of my Free Enter-prize downsize back in August I decided to bestow a few more Mary Kay gifts upon my unsuspecting coworkers today. I scrounged up two discontinued lipstick shades at 5:30am and headed out the door. Once again I placed a small free sign on the items and left them on the bench in front of my locker at 6:05am. By 6:15am when I was showing a few nursing students where to hang their coats, the bag was already gone. Record timing!

The fun in this giveaway is that I have no idea who took the items. I'll be watching everyone's lips closely in the coming weeks to see if I detect any Gingerbread or Dusty Rose hues! So happy to have paid lip service today!

Small Desk, Small Victory!

Faced with a cranky 2 year old, dinner, and various after school commitments I had to dig deep today to find the energy to rid my life of one thing. Scraping the bottom of the barrel, I came up with a purge of my little phone desk in the kitchen. Like other "out of sight out of mind" locations, this desk has become a collector of clutter. Tonight I made short order of the expired coupons, flyers, old credit cards, permission slips and various other obsolete pieces of paper. All of it landed in the trusty blue recycling bin and my desk became functional again. The bigger task at hand is to keep it clutter free!

The Long and Short of It

Mom and I haven't always been able to share clothes. I'm 5'9" and she is all of 5'4" (the runt of the litter as my Grampie fondly called her). Amazingly as we age and our shapes change a bit, I am now occasionally the benefactor of her castoffs. Today I had the chance to reciprocate by handing something off to Mom.

For those of you who have ever shopped with me you know that I have a fetish about pant length. I have a hard and fast rule to only buy pants that come in long lengths (with the exception of Banana Republic which runs particularly long). As with most rules, I occasionally break this one and always live to regret it which results in my owning pants that are slightly too short. My rationale is that on a certain day if I pull them down low enough on my waist and wear just the right shoes then they won't look like high waters. This reasoning creates a situation where that day never comes and instead the pants sit in my drawer and take up space.

As we got ready for church this morning I dug around in my drawer and happened upon a pair of jeans purchased in a rule breaking moment about 2 years ago. Aha! What a perfect item to downsize to Mom! She tried them on and they fit perfectly. The 3 Rights Rule worked in our favor and the hand-me-down transaction was complete!

Of course, it almost goes without saying that giving a pair of jeans to my mom pales in comparison to all that she has given and continues to give to me. She is an amazing role model for me as I work to be a better wife, mother, and friend. I often pray that I received the genes that make her incredibly patient, kind, loving, and steady. My grandmother gave me a pillow with the saying "Mirror, mirror, on the wall I have become my mother after all" some time ago. I can only hope that this wish comes true!

Egg-static

There wasn't a whole lot of time for downsizing today. My secret hope was that one of my two craig's list postings would sell and let me off the hook. By 3pm I gave up hope for that miracle and looked around in desperation. My eyes landed on 2 egg cartons piled on top of the fridge. These cardboard beauties became my bail out plan!

Over the past 6 months our family has made a gentle shift towards buying local as much as possible. This movement was spearheaded by my brother's farming ventures and the fresh pork and chicken that are the fruits of his labor. I found my inspiration for becoming a localvore in the pages of In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan. Living in Portland, Maine makes buying local fairly easy with our nationally recognized Farmer's Market and fabulous markets like Rosemont Market and Bakery. Eggs are one of my favorite local foods - especially in light of the recent tainted egg scandal. In an attempt to be green and keep my egg costs affordable, I save my egg cartons. Sadly, through two trips to Rosemont in the past week my cartons sat static on top of the icebox. Today, I made a special downsizing trip to Rosemont to return them.

With my cartons out of their idle resting place, my task is complete for today. In totally unrelated news, allow me to share that Shayla scored her first goals in her soccer game. I'm not sure who was more ecstatic - she or I!

Hallmark Moment

Today is my 35th birthday thus I feel compelled to do a celebratory downsize. As the cards and well wishes flood me from all avenues (face to face, facebook, mail, email, phone - all of the lines of communication are working!) I feel blessed and overwhelmed all at once. But as I look at my birthday for the first time through the eyes of a downsizer, I quickly assess that our birthday customs encourage the accumulation of stuff. As an adult the stuff is less in the toy category and more in the Hallmark venue. Don't get me wrong, I love cards - and the sentiments they hold. But my question today is how long does one keep a greeting card? Where does one store them? And when is it ok to recycle them?

In traditional birthday fashion I am proud to display the various cards that I have received today - I am not so cold hearted as to toss them into the blue bin just yet. However, the years worth of greeting cards that are hidden in my hope chest are no longer safe. This afternoon while Kendra napped I sat in my rocker and poured through the hundreds of cards I saved over the years. I assumed as I headed into this task that I would toss them all but I quickly found out that certain messages still roused vivid memories of past times and I was not ready to part with them. And so the culling went on for nearly an hour. At the end of it all I had a large pile of cards - made up primarily of cards that had elaborate messages crafted by Hallmark writers and only signed by the giver - that went straight to recycling. I made a small pile of things for Dajuan to go through (I better not find them hiding in some high place!) and I saved an even smaller stack of cards, letters, and creations by my girls. For safe keeping, I stowed the items in a decorated box which went back into my hope chest.

This downsizing exercise was particularly satisfying. It allowed me to walk down memory lane and reflect on the past 12 years of my life. I laughed at some things and cried at others but more importantly I examined my habit of keeping things that were significant in the moment but perhaps don't have lasting meaning for me. I have concluded that there are certain written words that I treasure. The simple messages from friends and loved ones that express an intimacy of relationship and signify important milestones in my life are the ones with lasting value. Much to Hallmark's chagrin I'm sure, the flowery poems and quaint verses that once seemed to capture and express true feelings fall flat and sound empty to me once they are tested by time. And so, on this night of my birthday as I face 365 days of being 35 I have shed many pounds of paper sentiments. And, I have established a renewed commitment to send homemade cards with heartfelt written words.