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School, Travel, Home, Repeat

It’s been since the first day of this year that you’ve heard from me. Yikes!!! But, there’s actually a good reason. Many good reasons. Let me fill you in.

Once the holiday season wound down, big M started Pre-school, I mean “Pre-K” (sorry, big M). Apparently, there’s a big difference and he is quite specific when he tells me that his class is not Pre-school. 

First Day of Pre-school K!

 And that very night...he ended up in the Emergency Room with 4 stitches resulting from bedtime wrestling. Boys...

Then a few days later, he sabotaged the school haircut I paid good money for. Apparently, he has his own ideas of a good hairstyle. We're supposed to encourage our kids to be creative, right?

 He started school January 8 and it was NOT the easiest transition. He started out excited, for the first day, and then all he talked about was that he didn’t want to go. I spent a lot of time agonizing over the decision of whether to send him or not, but ultimately I decided it was time. Then came his anxiety. He would resist going the whole evening before, all morning, all the way to school, and then once we got to his classroom and got him settled in his chair, he would look up at me and smile and say, “Bye!” I knew he was having fun when he was there, but when your child is hurting or anxious, a parent feels it too, so I had a hard time as well. Then, of course, I went through the whole “Am I doing the right thing?”, “Am I wounding my child for the rest of his life?”, “Am I a terrible stay-at-home mom by sending him to school when I’m sure the “best” parents would homeschool?”, "Or, should I have sent him sooner so this transition would have been easier?", etc...seriously, you can't win these arguments with yourself. I went through a lot of other scenarios in my mind, talked to a lot of people, prayed about it, and ultimately listened to my gut. We decided he needed to stick with it and get through the transition. In the end, I couldn’t be happier with our decision. Sure, it took him several months to adjust, but there were good reasons that are now no longer an issue (I’m glad he likes being home with me so much). And now he loves school. He doesn't want to leave when I come to pick him up at the end of the day. He goes Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday each week. He tells me all about his “best friend”, and has had the opportunity to play Pee-Wee basketball,

 and baseball, 

 on Friday mornings which he LOVES. He comes home everyday and literally dumps two piles of sand from his shoes on the carpet, but I know how much he loves playing outside with his friends, so I don’t mind my daily vacuuming job. He is so proud of his crafts and shows me all the school work he’s completed after each week is over. He’s more self-assured in social interactions, and actually seems more mature and confident in general. I’m so proud of him. I’m so sure of our decision to send him there, and so, so proud of how he’s come through his uncertainty and begun to thrive in his school environment. A life lesson, I’m sure.

We found some puddles. Mommy finally gave in to the splashing. We got very muddy. And we liked it.

Now, little M and I have special time together and I get to run errands, clean the house, and do my “stuff” with only one child with me. It’s amazing how much more productive I am and how much less tense and stressful grocery shopping is. You know what I mean?!! Everyone told me (or maybe I just unknowingly lied to myself) that once the boys were a little older, I would be able to reason with them better and they would understand how to behave for a grocery store or Target trip. NOT TRUE!!! They just have MORE energy and physically can’t sit still. There is so much fighting, pushing, whining, complaining about who gets to sit on which side of the car-cart, that I don’t know what I’m even putting in my cart. I just want to walk down the aisle, stick my arm out and pull everything off the row and let it fall into my cart as I pass by just so I can say I’m done and go to the checkout counter. It’s funny how the two of them together almost team up against me, but when I have just one, either of them, we talk about what we’re doing, working like teammates, and I can actually think about what’s going in the cart.

Waiting on a car repair. :)

Mason with his "best friend" (in the green shirt), and another buddy

Another thing that made big M’s school adjustment take a little longer, as well as a reason my blog has been so silent, is that we were gone. A lot. Here’s what our schedule was for February and March:

Week 1: We all went to visit my family in Washington State

Week 2: Home, weekend overnight trip for a wedding

Week 3: Mike and I went to Orlando, FL where he had meetings (and we snuck in a few extra days to celebrate our anniversary)

Week 4: Home

Week 5: We all went to Park City, UT (more meetings for Mike) and went skiing

Week 6, 7: Home, whew

Week 8: We all went to Nashville, TN to meet up with my mom for spring break

The cousins in Washington!

 Park City, UT

 2nd year skiers!

 Hanging in pajamas at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center in Nashville, TN

 My little buddies

 The whole family at President Andrew Jacksons Estate, The Hermitage

 Me and my mother (who has fewer wrinkles than I do...argh)

Each week between trips when we were home, all I did was laundry, grocery shopping, and then packing again for the next trip, and during this time we were also enrolled in Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University, so we had weekly meetings to attend (highly recommend this class). I didn’t have time to do much else, so since we’ve been back from Nashville, I’ve been trying to do some spring-cleaning and get some final organizing projects completed before summer hits. 

Random: You may think I'm weird, but I loved these white glasses so much that I got them as prescription glasses. Now I wear them all the time. At home. They are so bright white, they kind of make my teeth look yellow. But I don't care. I'm still a little shy to wear them in public because they kind of say, "Look at me". I'm working on being brave about that. I'll let you know how it goes.

I want to be able to sit and enjoy my summer as much as possible. I have started some long-overdue décor projects, which I can share more with you another time. Those are fun, though. Going through old junk - not so fun, but necessary…I know this summer will be busy enough with family visits, beach trips to Lake Michigan and swimming lessons, but so far we have no plans to travel. And right now, I wouldn’t want it any other way. 

Happy New Year, but...let's talk about last year

December 31, errr, I mean January 1, 2013, 1:09 AM.

These days, when I have an ounce of energy in me to write, I must take advantage.

I don’t know yet what my resolutions will be this year. I’m running behind schedule, so I’m not ready to make any declarations. What I have done, is reflect a bit over what 2012 brought to my life.

Last year was an important year for me. Mason turned 4, Max turned 3, I turned 32, me and the hubs celebrated our 9^th anniversary, I lost 24 pounds (and still going), I did a major purging and organizing of clothing, closets, under-beds, drawers, cupboards, desks, toys, college papers, storage, and even went through everything in the upper storage level of our garage.  In many ways, I feel like a new woman, and I’m ready to start this year with a new perspective.  I thought I could share with you some important things I learned this year:

1. Things don’t make me happy.

            As if I didn’t already know that, and it seems so obvious, but sometimes I still forget. Sometimes I want to live in a nicer house. Sometimes I want new clothes, or furniture, or a perfectly decorated room, or the perfectly sized, colored and shaped tiered fruit tray for my kitchen counter. Some of those things I got this year, and most of them I didn’t (still sad about the fruit tray). But what I realized was that despite some new things (who doesn’t love some new clothes) they really didn’t make me any happier, and despite not getting other things, I’m still pretty happy with my life. It’s too easy for me to get caught up in thinking something I buy will fill my heart with joy. Losing weight helps, but it doesn’t solve problems of the heart. Organizing feels amazing, but it too doesn’t bring lasting peace and happiness. Let me tell you, these things do bring me joy, but only for a fleeting moment, and then when the feeling is gone, it only feels worse. You can’t buy or organize your way to happiness. It’s true. Sometimes I try. It still doesn’t work.

2. I need a break sometimes.

            I’ve been on my soapbox many times about this one, but as an introvert at heart (sometimes I hide it well), I need quiet time to reflect, refocus, rejuvenate, relax and recharge (can you think of any more words that started with “re”?). This year has been ridiculously awful at allowing me time to do that. I can’t actually blame the year, but more myself, my lack of awareness and action in making that a priority. Unfortunately, I spent most of this year very stressed, overwhelmed and fittingly, the year ended in some relatively serious health conditions thanks to my striving to try to be everything. And I don’t even try to be a “Pinterest Mom” (if you are, I think that’s fabulous, it’s just not me). I don’t do fancy birthday parties, I love when dinner is just Chipotle, and if you drop by, my house probably isn’t clean. I’m just trying to get through a normal day like most people. So after several rounds of antibiotics (almost finished with my last course), some X-rays, steroids, and over a week literally spent in bed, I’m finally getting some energy back and starting to feel like myself again. The point is, to pace myself before I get to the point of burnout so this doesn’t happen again. And this isn’t just for introverts. All mom’s repeat after me: “It’s okay to take a break. It’s okay to need a break. I’m taking the break.”

3. I love my kids SO much.

            I know, I know. We all love our kids and think they are the most amazing people ever. Great! That’s how it’s supposed to be, right? I fell in love with mine a little more this year as I got to know them better. Each year as they get a little older I learn a little more about who they are and the nuances of their little personalities. Or maybe I should say BIG personalities…ahem…Max. What a gift to be able to watch a child grow and learn about life, it’s beauty and it’s heartache. It’s hard to imagine it being possible, but my love for them grows deeper every year that passes. I’m so grateful for another year of life I get to spend with them, especially when I know not every family is as lucky.

4. I don’t want to give up.

            Sometimes, I really just want to throw in the towel. When friends and family move away (you 2 girls in North Carolina, you know who you are, xoxo), sometimes it hurts and you wait and wait for it to feel better, and when you think it’s been enough time that it should, it still doesn’t, you still feel raw. You still miss weekly playdates or crocheting together at Starbucks. Pretending you’re fine and acting tough doesn’t help either. Just face it. Cry. Let yourself feel the sadness and loneliness. It’s okay. Time helps, but don’t worry if it takes longer than you think to feel better. It just shows that you let people into your heart, maybe more than you realized, and that’s a good thing. You can’t replace a relationship, but old and new friends will remind you that you’re important and to keep going, that no matter how lonely you feel for certain people, it doesn’t mean you’re actually alone.

5. And finally, it’s good to try new things.

            This year I tried some new workout classes, Zumba and Hip Hop. They made me feel both like an uncoordinated dork and like maybe I could be the next J. Lo (or not, sadly). Nobody likes to feel uncool, but sometimes putting yourself out there, going out of your comfort zone, makes you feel amazing and makes you less scared of tackling something even bigger the next time. I read some great books which were new genre’s for me, granted most of them were about North Korea’s work camps and Auschwitz (I’m going to pick some lighter reading for this year), but I learned a lot about humanity, the great extent of evil people can be capable of and also a great compassion we can show. One thing new that’s happening in my life in a week, is that Mason is starting pre-school. I know it’s in the middle of the year, but it was the right time for us. He goes back and forth between being really excited about it, to telling me he doesn’t want to go because he’s nervous. I’m confident he’ll love it once he tries it, but like all things new, you don’t always know what you’re getting in to and you have to kind of jump in and hope you’ve done all you could to prepare for it. I’m excited and I think he’ll do really well. I know there will be many other new things happening this year, but I don’t know what they are. Until then, I’ll try to get ready for whatever 2013 throws at me.

Back to the present. My mother-in-law is leaving in the morning. What a blessing she has been to us during my recovery. More than all the laundry, cooking and child-caring she has done, she is a steady, constant source of love, encouragement, and friendship in my life. I feel so blessed that this is a relationship I know will be one of the most central in my life for many, many years to come. As my emotions go all over the place struggling with the challenges of raising children, she supports me with a grace, eloquence and with godly advice, reminding me that someone greater is taking care of me, seeing my tears, holding my heart and leading me back to Him every time I start to wander away.

In 2013, may I wander from Him less and cling to Him more. THAT is what really makes me happy.

Coming Home.

About a week ago, I returned from a two week trip with the little guys to my beloved Pacific Northwest. It was a very busy time for Mike at work so it was the perfect chance to spend some time with my sister and her three girls in Washington, without Mike feeling bad that he had to work long hours and without me feeling as bad for leaving him alone for so long (I still did, but he had a lot of fun on his own, camping, motorcycle riding...so don't feel too bad for him, ha ha).  

 

My sis and I had fun watching our kids run around in the yard we grew up in, rolling in the grass and splashing around in the kiddie pool. I've always wanted to take my kids to my old home during summer (usually we're there when it's cold), so they could enjoy the warm dry air (not like humid summers in Chicago), the ice-cream truck that drives down the street in the late afternoon, the pink and purple sunsets filling the sky, walking along the Columbia River, and fun times like the local county fair where I showed a sheep many summers ago. 

We had an incredible time. It was wonderful to see my parents, grandparents, cousins and some old friends.  We rode our bikes the five blocks to the school I attended for first through tenth grades where my mom still works. They've purchased additional land and have a new daycare building, but they still have the tall old swings where you go up so high you feel like you might not come down.

It was such a fun trip, but after day fifteen, I was tired from single-parenting (Mike is a huge help with the kids), and exhausted from staying up late watching movies or just talking after all five kids were finally in bed. After our long day of flying, we were all so happy to be reunited with Mike at the airport, that a complete stranger asked if they could take a picture of us because we looked so happy!

I noticed something funny after I got home this time. Usually, when I return home from a trip, I'm eager to unpack my belongings and put my suitcases away quickly so I can jump back into normal life. What I realized is that these homecomings are different. When I return from Washington, my bags lay open on the floor and I continue to live out of them for days, almost dreading to unpack and acknowledge an end to those fun moments, to wonderful memories of the past, playing everyday with my sister.

Coming home to Chicago is a reminder of something different. Instead of the sunny, warm memories I'm trying to re-live through my children (ha, ha), I am greeted with the beautiful life God has blessed me with here and the future we have together, a wonderful, loving husband and my two hilarious, active, hungry, snuggly boys. I'm just so excited to keep creating memories for them, that will make them enjoy coming home, for years to come.

Here are a few fun moments from our trip!

Right after arriving, we met up with my cousin and her 3 boys at Taco Time in Spokane.

 Then we stopped by the house my sister is building. I had been dying to see it, and have been helping her make house-related decisions. It's almost done!

Lately, Max always has something in his mouth. Apparently, even when he's sleeping.

An Ice-cream truck treat after swimming. 

 Have you noticed I have very few pictures of Mason? He's always out playing somewhere!

The kids loved going out to swim in the pool any time they wanted, multiple times throughout the day.

All dressed up for church! 

We had a birthday party for one of my nieces while we were there.

Happy 5th birthday! It was a Luau party. The cake was a beach, with horses, as requested by the birthday girl.

The birthday princess.

Big sister lost her 3rd tooth, a top one!

 It's hard to beat a warm summer evening.

I can't believe this girl is 6 1/2 already!

The big 5 year-old.

My little Max, 2 1/2, wearing his favorite shirt.

Pizza at the fair, anyone?

How about some gigantic yellow balloons?

Did you ever stare in awe at the fair rides?

Max makes garlic bread. :)

Max trying to keep up with Uncle Troy.

Sweet little baby!

Reunited!

I hope you've spent some time with those you love this summer, too!

Happy Birthday!!!

I can still remember the days when I wanted to be older, as if a higher number would mean I was more mature or gave me some kind of advantage. Then when I turned 26, I decided that I didn't want to get any older. Each subsequent birthday made me a little more nervous, a little more worried about what I hadn't accomplished yet or maybe never would. Then came 30. While it felt weird to enter a new decade, for the first time I thought I'd better own my age and realize that getting older was something I couldn't change, nor could I change any of the decisions I had already made. I began to more fully realize that no longer did I have to wonder where my life would lead me, but that I was already there, in the midst of some of the best moments and memories I'll cherish forever, like raising my two children in a loving home. And today, as I turn 32, I have to say that I love it. I'm not afraid of turning a year older, in fact, I welcome it. And I'm not just saying that. I'm more confident in who I am than I've ever been. I actually know who I am apart from who I think everyone thinks I should be. I know what many of my talents are, what kind of things I like to do, how I like to spend my time, and what things I won't waste my time on anymore. And while I probably still care too much about what other people think of me, I care so much less than I used to and I'm very happy about that. Here's a few things I know about myself now, that 10 years ago I was clueless about: I am not a sanguine or a phlegmatic, but a very true melancholy. I am an introvert. If I seem extroverted in a situation, it's because I'm adapting to my circumstances, but it drains me horribly to act that way. I love news. I am obessed with reading news websites and knowing the current events locally, nationally, and internationally. Sometimes I even tell my sports-obsessed husband how a game turned out before he can tell me. I love maps. Nerdy yes, but I can stare at a map for hours. Luckily, my husband lets me chart the course for all of our road trips. I've even had the nickname of "The Navigator". I love numbers. I wonder if I would have been a good accountant. I make long, detailed spreadsheets just for fun. I don't like being the center of attention. I've been there, but I've learned that I don't like it. Makes me very uncomfortable. I'm a perfectionist, to a fault. I often don't attempt something, or give up too early if it can't be done to my unrealistic ideals. Hence...my blog title... I don't like surprises. I like full details in advance so I know what to expect. I like to prepare mentally for everything or else I feel uncomfortable. This is why I like to go to the same restaurants and order the same thing every time. I know what to expect and I already know I like it. I love to take time away, by myself, to re-charge. I do it regularly. Sometimes it's a weekend away, but usually a few hours where I go out in nature, sit by myself and think, write or draw. Sounds boring to a lot of people, but it's necessary for me. I once had a boyfriend tell me, "you think too much". Never forgot that. Ha! Now, I know I'd rather think too much, than too little. I make decisions very slowly. I don't like spur of the moment choices. I default to making no decision or letting someone else make it, if I haven't had time to think about it. Finally, I've also learned that I am okay, just how I am. I don't have to be someone different than who God created me to be, just so I can be good enough, be liked by people, or make a difference in people's lives. I believe God made me the way I am for a reason and it's time to celebrate that person, instead of the imaginary one I've tried to live up to. Happy 32nd Birthday to the real me, someone I'm proud to be!

Shredding for Life

I've been a hermit lately.  Not that long ago, I was calling up friends, scheduling playdates, going to library time, going to MOPS (Mothers Of Pre-Schoolers) meetings with my neighbor, and generally trying to fight the desolate dreariness of being cooped up inside during the winter months in Chicago without any adults to talk to. Now it's almost like I've given in. Like I said, "Fine, winter, you win. I will stay inside." So that's what I've been doing. All day.

Somehow, while giving in to the hermit life, I managed to face a big elephant in the room (it was almost that big, literally) that's been eating away at my energy and clarity of mind for years - probably all of my married years or at least since several months into our marriage, sometime around June 2003 when I started realizing what was going on.  And the problem with this particular "elephant" is that like a tumor, it continues to grow, slowly and steadily without you even realizing what's happening.  You think you're making progress and for a few months or even a year, you gain confidence and think it's not so bad anymore, then it hits you and you realize the tumor is controlling you and not the other way around.

My "elephant tumor" is also one of my favorite things which is why there's always been a love-hate relationship there, a co-dependent, sentimental, insecurity that inhibits my moving forward and actually cutting the tumor out. Here goes: I have a problem with paper. 

I have a hard time letting go. I don't like to throw anything away that might be something I could look at later and remember that time in 4th grade that I drew that one picture that one time.  I think that if something comes in the mail with my name on it (or at least my address), then it means someone meant it just for me and it needs to be thoroughly read and treasured for years. I received a bill? Then I will keep it for all time, in case I need to remember how much my electric bill was in October of 2004.  I received the weekly flyer? Then I will read every page and compare it to last weeks and last years and my childhood home's flyers from 1988. Hasn't graphic design changed so much over the years? Can you believe the price of tomatoes back then? Oh, I have a receipt? Then I will put it in a pile of receipts for when I will want to look back and remember that I bought that Trapper Keeper and Jansport backpack during the back-to-school sale in August before 3rd grade. Won't it be a delight to see how prices have changed over the years? I love statistics, so I will feel so good knowing that I kept thorough records. 

I'm not sure what I was thinking, but there's nothing like a huge reminder of the past to keep you from living in the present. Sure, I was exaggerating a little, but I did have years worth of pay stubs from my college jobs, utility bills from 10 years ago, and piles of paper bank statements from an account I had when I was 18. Of course those were only a few years old...Ha ha.

Several years ago, I had Mike bring some of these "old life" boxes in from the garage. A little background on these particular boxes...These are boxes that were packed up from my bedroom at home into the U-Haul truck Mike and I drove to Denver to start our married life together. There, they lived in our basement where they didn't bother anyone or even get a second glance. Then, the movers packed them in the truck that brought our life to Chicago 3 1/2 years ago, where they sat in our garage (since we have little no storage in our current house). So back to several years ago, I was determined to do some organizing in the garage and these boxes were starting to get in the way. I didn't even know what was in them any more. I went through them, threw out a few things, but mostly got overwhelmed so I sorted, and resorted and then left the things with which I didn't know what to do. That meant they were still there. So, Mike took most of them back to the garage and I felt a little better, like I'd done something with them. Maybe condensed one or two.

I'm not sure what has changed in me lately, but it's significant. Sitting in my house, all hermit-like, I realized that I hated going into the office/toy room. We have just enough space for a slim-line vintage desk that belonged to my mother and that is my office area amidst a room bursting with toys (that are actually very organized at the moment). We used to have 3 desks in our old house and condensing down to one, with my paper problem, wasn't easy. So I never used it. It was a catch all for broken toy parts, random things that I just didn't know what else to do with, but never used how I wished. So I kind of ignored it's existence in the room and in my life. 

I realized that my being home, made me face the things in my home-life that I don't like, including things in my house and about myself, (but let's not go there tonight, ha). Distraction is a wonderful thing, but also a terrible thing. I hadn't realized how I had been intentionally distracting myself from such a huge problem in my life.

So, no more. I did it. I took the reigns, I took the bull by the horns, I took every ounce of my energy and spent weeks staying up until 2:00 am, sometimes way past that, working during nap times instead of resting or cleaning, and doing something I'm horrible at: making quick decision after quick decision. The boys didn't mind sometimes, because while I might not have been playing with them, I was still in the toy room. Other times, they weren't happy that I was choosing to work on my project while I normally would have played with them. I knew that if I didn't keep up my momentum, I would lose track again and possibly never change my life.

I went through boxes of papers, looking at each sheet one by one. I emptied our whole filing cabinet. I started over. New files, new labels, new system. I shredded everything I didn't need (I actually recycled as much as I could). I ended up getting rid of things I didn't realize that would go along with the old stuff.  I got rid of weird feelings from the past. I moved on from mediocre memories of insecure college days. I let go of thinking that the old days were somehow incredibly more glorious and wonderful compared to today. And I said to myself, that when you say good-bye to things, it doesn't mean you are saying good-bye to memories or people or relationships.

First, I measured. Then, I went to The Container Store. I wanted to get only what I needed, nothing more. As a bonus, almost an encouragement, everything I purchased was on sale.

When I was in grade school, we went on a field trip to a local paper factory, which my friend Kelsey talks about here. It's a very smelly place, but after the kids stopped giggling about who had passed gas, we all were in awe of the big machines and manufacturing process we were seeing. I'm pretty sure the top 5 most exciting moments in my life includes the moment when I realized I was going to take home a huge roll of paper about three feet wide by six inches across. It was yards and yards of paper. A small scrap to the company, I'm sure, but more paper than I had ever seen all in one peice. I went home and cherished that roll. I cut it. I drew on it. I painted on it. I conducted science experiments with it. I laid down and traced my body on it. And I was so proud of it. I will never forget that roll of paper. For years as I slowly used it up, I knew there would be a day when it would be all gone, so I made sure to relish every moment, every inch. Of course it's long gone now, but I still have a weird attraction to paper. I love hand made paper, printed paper, textured paper, plain old college-ruled notebook paper. Even if I don't know what I'm going to do with it, I just love to look at it, to have it. 

I decided the desk's purpose was to fit two of my needs. It would be my office area for paying bills and storing our records, and it would be my craft area. For working with paper, of course. With my priorities set, I emptied every drawer and started from scratch there, too. My goal was to have the desk contain only exactly what I needed. It was not going to store anything that didn't fit it's purpose. 

A couple of nights ago, I finished. It was about 1:00 am, but I threw myself a little party. I texted my mom with long explanations of what I was feeling and what I had accomplished.  I texted my sister, who was probably sleeping (good for her). And since Kelsey had seen my progress a few days earlier, I sent her a picture and told her I was done. 

It was gone. All the clinging to old things that took too much space in my life and in my mind, was miraculously gone. I felt light. I felt free. I felt like there was more room in my heart and mind for today. More of my energy and focus that I could give to where it really belongs, taking care of my children, my husband, and me, too!

Of course the obvious question is, how long can I keep it looking that way? My answer is that I feel like by doing it the hard way, the right way, by also developing a maintenance system, I can keep it this way forever. There is a system and a plan where there wasn't before, so even if some papers build up, I have already decided where they will go. I have a file for papers that will be shredded every January. I have a file to go in my new Taxes Box in the garage every year, I have a Christmas Card box with files for recent years (I actually do like to look back at the pictures people have sent), and I have a current file for bills that will next year go to the shred folder for the following January. I have files for our vehicles, medical files, retirement, insurance, and all that necessary stuff, but even those have been cleared out and have rules for keeping them small. Mike and I both did research online to find out how long you have to keep certain documents to help determine the system that would work best for us. I kept it as simple as possible so it would be easy to maintain.

I feel like any pictures I share, can't capture the kind of overwhelming change that occurred, but at least I can show you some of the physical changes.

Here's a before-shot of the desk. Sometimes its much worse. Sometimes the chair is stacked with papers and the area inside the desk is filled with more stacks. Obviously, no one is ever sitting at this desk, let alone doing anything there.

This is one area of boxes with papers that were behind the desk (except for the Cars coloring pages, if you noticed those). The wooden box is still in use, but is practically empty now. Papers were packed in so tightly that I couldn't fit my finger between them.

 This is some of the shredding. Mike ended up taking a large amount somewhere else that could handle a larger capacity. We only shredded documents with personal information. All other papers were recycled. I didn't get any pictures of the recycling piles. You can see what a huge project this was.

My shredding helpers. Supervised of course. They loved it. 

The finished project. Organized, functional, practical, and even a little "pretty" thrown in.

The drawers are totally organized and fairly sparse. Just how I wanted it. And I finally have room for some paper in there.

I love the hutch shelves now. I used The Container Store's clear shoe boxes for stamps, craft supplies, stickers, blank cards, and kid crafts. I wanted to be able to see what was in each box. I also used my label-maker to label each box and lid (you can't see it in the picture) and I have a wire basket just for thank-you notes. The white metal trays and magazine holders were on sale at The Container Store, too.

The full view. For fun, the chair is one I got for $20 at the Country Living Fair last September. I've realized how much I love this desk from my mom's younger years. Growing up with it in our house, I thought of it as an old piece she'd had forever, that was getting outdated. Now I see it with a fresh, new purpose, as a cool vintage piece, embracing it's new life, kind of how I feel.

I'm still getting used to it. Every time I walk in the room, I stop and stare at that wall and get excited all over again. Of course, now Mike has to listen to me talk about all the new projects I want to complete, now that this beast is off of my shoulders. I'll be sure to let you know what comes next.