Nesting

"The greatest work you will ever do is within the walls of your own home."
- Harold B. Lee

6:30 pm Friday night
my children were running around the neighborhood, my son without his pants on
they were unfed
nothing on the stove prepared
my husband nowhere to be found, at work still solving some crisis
I'm frantically putting finishing touches on a sewing project I promised someone
my house in disarray
barking orders at my children
snapping at my poor husband as he finally walks in the door, exhausted
"where were you, why didn't you call?"

I stopped, looked around, and instead of crying to discover what had become of my house,
picked up the phone, ordered CPK, and vowed to start fresh the next day.

5 am I woke up on Saturday morning and started ripping through my house like a tornado
or a pregnant woman nesting
but I am not pregnant
just a woman who takes her job seriously as a homemaker
and my oh my how I had been sloughing off at work

I realized on friday night that my first and most important job, is homemaker,
that is wife and mother to this family.
I am the head of this household.
I am responsible for how this place runs.
and lately I had been running it like a loony bin.

I started by taking down the tired old spring decor of birds and eggs and nests.
sounds like a silly place to start I know.
but as good a place as any
I freshened things up by adding a summer theme throughout the house.
and I didn't spend a dime.
by the time Taylor woke up she was able to help me pick out stones for our little memory frame

the frame holds special stones and rocks and shells that we have collected over the last few years of family trips.

 the broken stone marked fertility stone was given to me by the Saks DMM on a work trip in the Virgin Islands.  he told me to sleep with it under my pillow.  i was pregnant the next month, no doubt due to the fertility stone :)  it used to be shaped like a heart but has since been broken somewhere along the line.

upon breathing new life into our little house, we packed up and went to Tanaka Farms for CSA Day, where we picked veggies, barbecued them, and then picked strawberries until our bellies were full.
it was wonderful
except the part where art had to leave to go fix that work crisis that was still going on.

after Tanaka Farms the kids and I headed to Trader Joe's and I proceeded to break my previous record and spend $200 on groceries.
i bought flowers for myself.
my pantry and fridge is stocked and my heart is full
during nap time i cleaned out my pantry and fridge and threw 2 trash bags full of food away.
i had really let things go around here.

after a little pool and BBQ at the neighbors,
we came home, put the kids to bed,
art went back to work again,
and i went back to work.
i organized all of my crafting and sewing supplies.
nothing fancy, just functional
put all my most used items out and easily accessible so i stop ripping through bins like a loon,
leaving the room in disarray when i can't find something.
i separated seasonal fabric, from scraps of fabric and whole pieces

i cleaned our room, putting away laundry that had stacked up for days
i cleaned the kid's drawing station, throwing away old markers 

i was exhausted
but i felt at peace again
ready to be back at my job the next morning
ready to be the kind of mother and wife i like to be
and through all that cleaning and organizing, i was also recharged to CREATE.
excited, actually downright giddy, to get out my sewing machine

and by the time i crawled into bed at midnight, aching from the work
art walked in from work
crisis solved, order restored at work,
genius husband of mine, how i love him

so it may not have been the most relaxing weekend, or most peaceful,
but i feel at peace nonetheless.
i am officially ready for summer to start and to have some fun.

what did you do this weekend?
i hope it brought you peace as well friends.

p.s. i did get to end my weekend with a margarita and Sex & the City 2 with the girls.  that was pretty fun ;)