Laundry Day

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Appreciating Laundry Day @TheTadey

A neighbor recently donated a bag of clothes to our daughter. She sent a lot of “cool” stuff from Aeropostale and Old Navy. I plopped down on the floor to sort through the bag and determine what Doodlebug would get to keep. We don’t need 500 of the same style t-shirt, and there is no need to even put it in her room if I know she’ll whine about the fabric. As I removed the first handful of shirts from the bag, I caught a whiff of my friend’s fabric softener sheets. (normally I’d start my rant on fabric softener but I have a different point to make today).

I suddenly flashed back to being a little girl, running behind the row of townhouses on a hot summer day.  Each porch whirring with the sound of hot dryer air being pushed through the tiny vent by the back doors. An invisible cloud of “freshness” lingered and made the backyard smell like soap. It was laundry day on our street. All the moms were inside washing and drying; then folding on the couch while watching General Hospital or Days of Our Lives.

I couldn’t wait to be one of them. A wife. A mom. I couldn’t wait to have laundry days and baking days and keep house. It appeared so glamorous. I would wash babies in tubs full of bubbles. I would fix pot roasts and bake pies. I would iron my husbands shirts for work and he would never have ring-around-the-collar.

There would be coupon clipping and sharing coffee dates with my best friends and backyard cookouts with the neighbors on Sunday afternoon.

I just couldn’t wait to grow up.

Last week, I was looking at my cluttered house grumbling about how it all never ends, no one ever helps the way I need them to help, and why can’t I get five minutes alone to think in complete sentences.

As the whiff of fabric softener stirs up my memories the realization that I have everything I ever wanted starts to sadden me.

I have laundry days.

I have pot roasts.

I have coffee dates with neighbors and Skype dates with best friends.

My husband doesn’t need ironed shirts but he does need clean clothes in his gym bag.

I have babies to scrub and girls to dress up and even one little man covering my world in a thin layer of dirt.

I also have a horrible lack of appreciation for what I get to do.

I get to be a wife, and a mother, and a neighbor.

I get to be a sister, and a daughter, and a friend.

I am doing exactly what I wanted to do when I grew up and I am grossly unappreciative of my life most days.

So friends, let’s have a laundry day (without dryer sheets of course).  I’d love to have a Google + hangout day where we do laundry together over coffee and laugh at how we can’t carry on a conversation because of all the glorious kid-noise in the background.

Let’s take time to appreciate the beautiful, crazy lives we have before it grows up and moves away….to find their own chaos.

Love and Blessings, The Tadey
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Ten Things In My Fridge That I Best Not Run Out Of

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I have fallen terribly behind in my 10 in 10 posts this year. Drama galore and an opportunity to spend 3 days at the HEAV Convention representing Master Books occupied my thoughts and my time! It was SO.MUCH.FUN! Seriously, if you ever have a chance to work a booth at a homeschool convention- DO IT. Though, I can’t assure you you’ll have as much fun as I did with Louanne, Kristen, Russ, Denise, and Register Rob!

I don’t want to miss this week, so here you go:

Ten Things In My Fridge That I Best Not Run Out Of

  1. Milk- Bubbagirl still lives mostly on her milk. She won’t lose her mind if she has to drink something else but it’s best to not ask her to go without for too long.
  2. Butter- I’m Southern ya’ll. I’m not sure how to cook without butter. Salted or unsalted, I don’t much care, as long as it is real butter.
  3. Yogurt- Only three of us eat yogurt (I am not one of them), but it is an easy and healthy snack so I try to keep it on hand.
  4. Cheese- We like cheese. White cheese, yellow cheese, sharp cheese, soft cheese, cream cheese…heck, hubby will even work with moldy cheese. Everything but cottage cheese if you please.
  5. Olives- I hate them. Hubby hates them. 3 of the 4 kids hate them. Doodlebug? She LOVES them. I have to limit how many she can have at one setting.
  6. Ketchup- Good for everything, required for most things. I would love to learn to make it from scratch, but I’m worried I’ll go through all that effort only to have them hate it.
  7. Yeast- for those days I feel like making bread. I happens. Really it does.
  8. Pickles- Zesty Dill for dad, dill for mom and the girls…..  We have more empty pickle jars than we know what to do with.
  9. Hot Dogs- yes, I know what they are made of. I also know that they taste good with number 6 and a side of number 8.  Next to pizza, it’s our favorite go-to dinner when we’re avoiding eating out.
  10. Did I mention cheese? Oh, yea, I did… okay then, how about the wine?  I’m not an every night wine partaker but I am not against a good Friday night red during a good movie.

What’s in your fridge?

Love and Blessings, The Tadey
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The Anxious Girl Goes to Richmond

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*yawn*

It’s 5:09am.

I have coffee and nabs and I just took out my hair pins to let the curls rest.

I have nothing packed, but I did find my reservation printout for the hotel.

In under four hours, I will be in Richmond, working with Master Books at the HEAV Convention.

Did you hear that? The panic in my voice?

It’s there. I’ve been totally cool for weeks knowing that I was getting a chance to go.

I am so crazy excited. I’m sure it’s going to be great fun!

I also know I have to find my way around by myself and register at the hotel by myself and I don’t have all the details right now but I know who to call to get them and I’m trying to just enjoy the ride.

I’m sure putting clothes in a suitcase would ease some of the anxiety (nope, I’m still not packed).

I’m focusing my thoughts on the giant fancy coffee I’ll be getting on my way out of town.

Baby steps.

*deep breath*

Ok, this crazy hair isn’t going to fix itself. See ya’ll at convention!

MWAH

 

Love and Blessings, The Tadey
This post may contain affiliate links. Proceeds from affiliate links go towards the cost of hosting the blog and helps to support our homeschool books, supplies, and classes. Thank you in advance for your support! If you would like to read more about our affiliations please see our Disclosures page.