The Unexpected

In life there are moments you don’t expect to experience.  Maybe it’s not that they are so wildly unusual or even exciting, it’s just that they aren’t where you would have predicted yourself to be.  This is a moment for me.  Sitting in an Ann Arbor coffee shop.  Not unusual.  Studying.  It is a little unusual being that I am 39.  Studying with my 18 year old daughter.  Much more unusual.  All of these elements together, with John Lennon singing “Imagine” struck a reflective chord.  Not exciting, but I can’t help but think how incredibly blessed I am to share this moment with her.  With her being away at college certainly we would have those moments of talking and shopping and visiting in coffee shops.  But with me returning to school to complete my degree we have now been gifted with a unique experience. 

I have never been a mother who has subscribed to the theory of friending my children.  I have friends, they have friends.  I am their only mother.  I will not let that role be diminished or compromised by trying to be their friend.  As Channing grows older, she requires less of my  “mothering”.  I think as parents we often feel conflicted about that process.  It makes me proud that she is self sufficent in so many ways.  She is making her own place in the world in a very big way.  I could stand on my chair and clap I am so proud.  On the other hand, I miss that sense of being needed by her.  I worry about those moments when she may struggle or even fail.  I went through them, I know she will be ultimately be fine.  Still, I worry.

So here we sit at the corner of S. Main and E. Liberty,  a mother and daughter in pursuit of higher education.  We are doing together what most people do with their friends.  Maybe the lines of parenthood and friendship do get a little blurry over time.  Maybe the moments we don’t ever anticipate are some of the most telling. Maybe I’ll just finish this blog entry and enjoy this unexpected moment with my daughter.

Green Cleaning

This may read like an advertisement, but I believe if you find a good thing you share it.  For anyone interested in going green in your home, an easy first step is with your cleaning solutions.  For me, it was an easy leap.  I had a mother and grandmother who had always used vinegar and baking soda for basic household cleaning.  Green cleaning is increasing in popularity as people begin to question how detrimental various chemicals are to the environment and more importantly to their families’ health. In response more companies are racing to market with their green products.  Some work, others, not so well.  I came across a line to which I am almost exclusively devoted.  This isn’t your mother’s vinegar and water, or baking soda.  This is Mrs. Meyer’s cleaning and home products.  The products work wonderfully and they smell like expensive fragrance.

Each product comes in one of several fragrances:  basil (my favorite), geranium, lemon verbena, lavender, or baby fresh.  The line consists of dish soap, all- purpose cleaner, dishwasher detergent, counter cleaner, shower cleaner, toilet bowl cleaner, laundry detergent and a line of baby care products.  My most commonly used are the dish soap and the all-purpose cleaner.  I love the all-purpose cleaner because I mix what I need.  I keep it in a spray bottle diluted with water for all of my general cleaning needs. I clean the bathrooms with it.  I take it around the house and wash walls, doors and trim with it.  It is tough enough to clean a nasty tub or bathroom floor, but gentle enough that to use on painted surfaces.  I have also used it to clean the inside of our car. It does the job of more caustic products but I can feel good about using these products knowing that there will not be any adverse effects on my family or the environment.  Along with that, being a very scent oriented person,  I love that when I clean a room it’s not only clean but fresh smelling.  These scents are strong enough to linger, but not so strong that you feel overwhelmed.   The worst thing about the scents is trying to decide which one to choose.

Mrs. Myer’s products are not as widely available as other brands.  Originally I was only finding them at Whole Foods in Ann Arbor.  They are now available in some Target stores, some Ace Hardware and various health food stores.  They can also be purchased directly from Mrs. Meyer’s online.

Rhythm

The morning is damp.  A faint fog hovers over the fields and the lake.  The birds that on a warm, sunny morning would be singing loudly and flying across the yard are tucked into branches and sing no songs. It is a tranquil morning. The leaves have only begun their change. Hints of yellow and dots of orange peek out of the surrounding woods. For me, nature is triggering my nesting instincts.  It happens every fall.  If spring is a time to clean and throw open the windows, fall is the time to add some layers, to cozy up. 

 

I have rubber storage totes filled with fall decorations.  Garlands of fall leaves, floral centerpieces filled with mums and sunflowers, and numerous other objects representing the season are spread inside my house.  I like that the same colors that delight us outdoors are brought inside with these decorations.  Garlands of leaves are hung on the chandelier over the dining room table, and bouquets of leaves spill over a basket on top of the refrigerator.  In the living room the mantel now wears a cream colored vase with cream and brown sunflowers and an oversized acorn I bought from an artist friend.  A tall glass urn filled with orange and yellow potpourri sits on the coffee table next to a shallow mustard yellow pumpkin dish that will soon be filled with candy corn.  In the foyer guests are welcomed with a cornucopia full of fall flowers and green chicken wire ribbon hanging on the wall inside an otherwise empty frame.  I like dimensional objects in frames.  Something traditional displayed in an unexpected way adds to the fun. Finally, I scatter pumpkin spice candles around the house and pull out extra throw blankets for the sofa. 

  

Pulling these decorations out forces me to edit other décor out of my rooms.  Things that don’t speak to the season get put away until next year. To have the house decorated and to feel the warmth and coziness gets me in the mood to make favorite comfort foods and bake. The hot and filling dishes that aren’t appetizing during the summer become the staples: chicken dumplings, roasts, and hearty soups. Because fall is a favorite season in our home, I get great pleasure in the process and our whole family enjoys the results.

Click here for ideas decorating your home this autumn.

Laughing out Loud

I never expected to hear this from my then 3 year old little princess:
          "Oh I farted!.  Maybe my butt is having some kind of attitude."

2B

Making it her own

Our oldest daughter has just returned to Ann Arbor for her second year of college.  Moving her down there this year was different from last because this time she didn’t just take what she needed.  This time she has an apartment and she took it ALL.  Spending the day setting her up in her one room studio apartment was really a joy for me.  Originally, we had looked at it together and had taken a couple of pictures in order to remember it’s features.  Over the summer we made a very strategic floor plan to figure out how exactly she would fit everything she owned into one room.  It was a very long day.

Storage is a huge challenge in small space.  I designed a platform bed that stands twenty inches tall and accommodates numerous totes of different sizes, and shoe shelving at the bed’s foot that fits more shoes than any 18 year old should own.  Despite the fact that the two days it took her dad and uncle to build the bed were sweltering hot, it really turned out perfect.  I was lucky enough to spend the night with her on her new bed, in her new apartment.  We talked and laughed half the night.  

The next morning I had to leave early.  I spent some time looking around the room and feeling so excited for her.  I knew that her apartment would be one that she would love coming home to after a long day of classes.  I knew she would feel safe there and enjoy it’s cozy feel and sunny windows.  If she was no longer going to lie her head under the roof of her family home, this bed, this room was a fine substitute. As she lay in her bed, I kissed her warm cheek. I gave her a long hug, one to last her for a while after I was gone.  Or maybe it was to last me.

Happy Birthday, Mikki!       

And so it begins.  This is my blog.  My first blog ever.  It's a requirement for a class that I am taking.  I am taking the class because I want to complete my degree in English.  I want to complet my degree because I want to write, and write as well as I possibly can.  So I am writing.  I am doing what I set out to do.  I am liking this already.

   Four years ago I said goodbye to my job, my office, and my coworkers so that I could be a stay at home mom, and a serious threat to Martha Stewart's empire.  I thought I would finally tackle all of those projects that I had been putting off because of my 50 hour work weeks.  I thought I would organize my house, my husband, and my four beautiful children so that we never had to look for another lost shoe.  I thought I would be hosting dinner parties to get us back in touch with old friends and to fill up my free time. I thought I would relax and enjoy my children.  

  Friends who knew me from work wished me well.  Some were very blunt about telling me I was making a mistake.  They said I wouldn't be able to handle it.  I assured them that I had an alter ego that was equally driven at home and very domesticated.  They shook their heads.  I prayed and then I jumped.

   Here is where I would love to tell of the magical journey that began just as I walked out of General Motors to fulfill every glorious notion of domestic bliss that could be imagined.  That would require a great deal of creative license.  However, I did make the right choice.  I think even my friends from work would be impressed.  So I will dedicate this blog to being a stay at home mom, all that I have learned along the way, and continue to learn. I will write about myself, my home, my children, and my projects. The good, the bad, and the ugly.