Watch the Preggie Move Furniture Part Two

Armed with the knowledge that Aron is NOT attached to the “breakfront” (short piece of furniture with a drawer for silverware, shelves underneath and it can open into a makeshift bar on top), I proceed to empty it and drag it out of the living room.

My friend Ellen is having a garage sale, and the breakfront is headed for it. Michael wants to know if we have to sell EVERYTHING*. I told him we’re getting rid of things that don’t work for our family anymore space-wise. Who else do you know who has to cram scrapbooking, homeschooling and a writing career into one corner of their living room?

*By “everything” he’s referring to the 500-year-old table we have by the curb with a “free” sign attached to it. Aron’s parents were getting rid of a much nicer coffee table (built by his brother [McLoughlin Stone and Tile … there, I advertised it], which means it will last forever), and we snagged it. Now we have to become the type of parents who yell at the kids all the time for spilling and jumping on the furniture. Or not. Then I’d just be a hypocrite who only WRITES about being laid-back.

Watch the Preggie Move Furniture Part One

I got sick of my living room looking so disorganized (dang, I wish my digital camera was working so I could post before and after photos). After all, it’s used for “living” and my office and homeschooling and scrapbooking and so much more, so there’s lots of papers and craft stuff and JUNK that I needed to go through. I’m trying to downsize.

By the way, why do so many homes have a FAMILY room AND a LIVING room also? A few years ago Aron re-did our family room and we lived in the upstairs living room for months and it was AWESOME to just all be on one level and have the TV and the kitchen and the dining room all there together. Now if only we could move the fireplace upstairs and … PRESTO! … change the family room into 2 bedrooms and a bathroom for the upstairs we’d never have to move our ever-growing family!

So one night Aron was at religion class with Joel, and I just started moving junk. I dragged a bookshelf down the stairs. I dragged a smaller one up the stairs. I moved all kinds of junk and got rid of tons of stuff (thanks for having a garage sale, Ellen!).

Tresa has a good point: if you’re home all day long it’s good to be able to move furniture around for a change. We hadn’t moved our furniture in like 9 years. And Geminis like me normally like to change things up.

Don’t tell my ogre Neanderthal husband, but this “No Laptop = Clean House?” experiment may actually be working for us. And do you notice how I still post on this blog daily AND still submit to mags? Maybe everyone in my house can win, especially the kids, by having happy parents.

How’s YOUR home? Tresa is moving and dumping tons. Ellen has a garage sale when her husband can’t park in the garage anymore due to too much STUFF. Most people just stare at their junk and think, “My family can take care of it when I’m dead.” I got tired of staring at my messes and wanting to take a nap.

Finding Time to Have Sex as Parents

*Dad, you probably don’t wanna read this one.

Alright, married folks with kids. Or folks with kids. Or whatever. Man, I'm sick of trying to be all politically correct.

If you’re normal and want some alone time with your spouse, you put the kids to bed at 8 p.m. and grab your alone time in your own home while the kids sleep and before you are dog-tired.

Or you hire a sitter and go out to dinner and a movie and maybe sneak in that alone time in the car or somewhere equally exciting.

Then there’s us freaky Attachment Parent people. With so many kids plus kids in our bed at all times (and they all stay up too late), how do we find the time to make MORE babies and sneak in that “Mommy and Daddy Time”, aka “Alone Time”???

(Some of you at this point are saying, “Who cares?” and I say to you … “Go check out another blog, then, if you’re so dang bored” … and if you leave a crappy comment, I will hunt you down and breastfeed in front of your house … so there.)

Here are some ideas:

1. Fill Easter eggs and throw them into the yard. Tell the kids it’s Half Easter (like that stupid thing they do at schools now: Half Birthdays) and sneak in a quickie somewhere in the house while they hunt eggs.

2. In the middle of the day, in broad daylight, put on a movie for the kids and tell them you need to go talk about Christmas with Daddy (or their birthday or Kwanzaa or whatever). Sneak in some Quality Time with your man.

3. As the kids get older, nothing will work and they’ll be banging on the bedroom door bugging you no matter what you do, so you just have to scare them. I like to tell them, “We’re having SEX. Lots of it.” They don’t really understand what sex IS, but they know they want NO PART OF IT. That should buy you a good 10 minutes.

Don’t forget to wear your best sweatpants to entice your man and let him know you’re in the mood.

Think About It ...

Photo credit because I don't need more legal trouble: The Sun, January 2007, Martin Fishman

Shopping with Kids at Target

I promised myself I would not venture near Target for a month because I always spend too much money there. Alas, a couple of last-minute kid birthday parties came up (does nobody plan ahead anymore? One party was for the next day!), so I headed for Target since it’s close and convenient and easy to find stuff. Yes, I took all 4 kids plus the one I’m cooking in my belly.

FYI: This is the Target where that 18-year-old girl was taken and met her untimely demise, so why I even go there at all is beyond me. But Target is like my own personal heroin, and I can’t seem to stay away.

We grabbed some Bakugan stuff for the boy party and some art stuff for the girl party. Do you ever just want to forego shopping and wrapping altogether and just give each birthday party honoree kid $10 cash? I totally want to do that.

Why do they have bathing suits out in January yet no Crocs in March?

On the way out I pass a cute sleeveless retro dress and I say to the kids, “I could’ve worn that before I acquired my amazing Popeye arms that hold babies so well.”

I managed to find several things I “need” before hitting the checkout. I’m sure you know how that is, unless you are perfect and all Zen and crap. And if that’s the case, you probably don’t have little kids. So there.

Also on the way out, the kids are trailing behind me and I can’t even see them, yet I’m yelling, “Don’t touch that.” You have to keep up that “eyes in the back of the head” thing. I always said my mom had “detective ray ears” … now I know I just have a loud mouth!