Our consumer greed and waste.

The last few months have been one long purging spree here at the Bulmer house. I have been filling garbage bag after garbage bag with items to throw out, donate or pass along to family. I have gotten rid of about 10-12 bags full of everything from clothes to toys to kitchen utensils. We have also thrown out a broken glider rocker, an area rug and a broken fish tank.

Yesterday a pulled out a large shopping bag full of shoes from the shoe closet (which I had just cleaned out 2 months earlier) and Trev pulled out half a garbage bag full of clothes from his closet. Today I filled the other half of the garbage bag with clothes from my dresser and closet. We had just donated clothes last month.

This led me to wonder where is all this "stuff" coming from?!? How can I still be pulling out entire bags of things we truly do not use? What's even more sad is the fact that some of the clothes we gave away were purchased less then a year a go. Still in perfect shape, and hardly worn. A few items were gifts, but most we had bought ourselves.

My next thought was WOW, how much money have we wasted on these things we don't even use? It's sort of a scary thought when you think about it. 12 bags of stuff is a lot. The dollar value in that would be quite substantial. How much better off would our family be if we didn't waste money on foolish purchases?

We asked Jacob to clean out his toys before Christmas to make room for the new ones he will undoubtedly receive (seriously, there was no room to put anymore!). After ridding the house of a garbage bag full of toys and looking around thinking "ahh this is all he really needs" is was actually disheartening to realize in one short month there will be even more toys invading our space.

This of course led me to ponder Christmas. How many times do we trudge through the malls buying something, anything to complete our christmas list so we can go home and dwell on how we spent too much money? Sadly, in a lot of cases we are probably spending that money on something that will be thrown out or donated within the next year!

There is nothing less satisfying then spending your money on something just for the sake of buying "something" so you have a gift to give. It doesn't promote a spirit of giving and joy with you or the person you are giving too. This beautiful holiday which was designed to celebrate the birth of our Lord and saviour has become nothing more then a commercialized holiday which promotes over spending, debt, stress and depression.

We have started making about 60 percent of our Christmas gifts and every year I strive to make more. A lot of it is baking, I know this isn't just sitting around cluttering peoples homes. I also give out aesthetic services like pedicures and waxing. We have started to feel less financial stress at Christmas and more joy. We remember the reason for the season a lot more.

Now we just need to become less materialistic over the rest of the year. No more impulse purchases, no more shopping on a whim, and no more spending just for fun! This is my (very) early New Years resolution!

Snowy days

There is something very magical about a nice quiet snow fall. I'm not talking about a snowy day when you have millions of errands to run, or a blizzard going outside and loved ones on the roads. I'm just talking about those rare days when you can sit at home and look out your window at a gentle snow falling from a slightly grey sky.

There is something so cozy and quiet about those days. They also make me want to do something domestic, something like baking or sewing. Then finish the day off by curling up in a snugly blanket with a good book and a steaming cup of tea.

So far today I have baked a loaf a whole wheat bread, and have a loaf of white raising. I also have got quite a bit of cleaning done and a few loads of laundry. I'm looking forward to making some cookies and muffins later this afternoon. I AM going to get to that snugly blanket, book and steaming tea before this snow stops falling ;)

What are some things you like to do on a quiet snowy day?

Toddler wearing...

When Lucy was still a little baby I wore her a lot in a wrap. As she got bigger and more mobile I slowly have gotten away from wearing her. She also started to hate being confined in the wrap. Recently however, she has entered a stage where she wants to be held and carried ALL the time.

At the very least she wants my attention. At least 90% of it. As you can imagine this has made cleaning, cooking, caring for Jake and all my other daily tasks almost impossible! Not to mention the fact she weighs a whooping 22 and a half pounds! Sometimes my arms pretty much give out from carrying her all around.

Today I figured it was time to pull out the sling. I had bought this when Jake was about 6 months old. He hated it for the most part. The only time he didn't fuss in it was if he was sleeping. I think it's because I introduced baby wearing with him so late. However Lucy LOVED it! This totally surprised me because she is SO busy, and she ALWAYS wants to be exploring and finding something to get into. I figured it would last 5 minutes tops, and she would be squirming to get down. I was so wrong! She hung out there on my hip while I swept, changed laundry, did dishes and picked up some out of place things.

What really surprised me was her reaction. She sat there with her mouth slightly open and her eyes big and intent on watching me. You honestly would have thought I was doing the most exciting things. She babbled a little but never fussed or whined. While the sling worked well I think I will have to find another option as well because I think it would start to bother my back and shoulder after awhile of daily use.

Some things I didn't consider when I first tucked her in the sling was the difference of a toddlers activity vs. the activity level of a baby. I need to remember to allow some extra space when going in and out of doors (we had a couple almost head bangs) and also the distance between her and whatever I'm walking by, her little hands are fast and after everything!

All in all I think it was very successful and could be the solution to ending this less productive week I've just had, and her need for my constant and undivided attention.

Pondering...

This evening I was having a conversation with my father which ended up taking a biblical turn, as they usually do, and we stumbled upon a difference of belief.

Now while I know this is not uncommon I just wonder what causes each of us to read the same passage and take different things from it? My father and I are both the same religion, Seventh Day Adventists. We discuss religion frequently together and we quite often find we have been studying similar topics or pondering similar things without realizing it. It sort of stopped me up short that he had a different view on the topic we were discussing.

I am not a person who believes they are always right or dislikes when someone has a different belief or opinion, instead my mind always wonders to "how did they get that" I want to see where they are coming from, I want to know how their mind works!

I find it fascinating that we as humans can read the same thing and perceive it differently. What an amazing chance for discovery and growth! What a great learning experience.... if we let it! How often do we choose to see the other person as "wrong" and write off their thoughts and opinions because they differ from our own, especially where religion is concerned.

I truly believe that God puts people in our path for a reason. They might be a different religion, they may have different beliefs, they may think very differently from us. However they may also have been put in our path to open our minds to a new concept or thought. However for us to receive this new information, we need to be open minded.

Of course I think this applies to many other aspects of life. Not simply religion. While I am open minded to discussing religion, I am not always open minded to other subjects.....I guess I have some personal growth to achieve!

First movements :)

Today I finally felt the first stirrings of life this pregnancy. Feeling the baby move around inside of me is always one of my favourite parts of pregnancy. I have recently been growing restless to feel those little movements. I was so thrilled today while sitting and having some rare alone time this afternoon I felt several movements!

With this being our third and having two small children who need me, as well as being a stay at home mom now, I find I have a lot less time to focus on this pregnancy. Sometimes to be honest I forget for a moment that I am pregnant! Especially with Lucy being so young still and needing so much time being held and carried I was worried I would, or was already missing a lot of the first small movements at you only feel when your really quiet and relaxed.

In other baby news our ultrasound is This Wednesday so we get to find out really soon if this little one is a boy or girl! As long as they choose to show of course :) I hope they are not being too modest and choose to keep their gender a secret! I think I would burst not knowing! I'm not sure how I waited the whole nine months with Jake to find out. I suppose simply because I had no other choice, they didn't tell at that time.

I'm pretty sure we are going to have a very sad little boy if he doesn't get the brother he is hoping for. I know in time he will be ok with either but I think it would be a nice connection for him to this baby, since he is older, and Lucy and this baby will already be close in age. I sometimes worry that he is going to feel like the odd one out. I don't want him to feel like he is not just as much a part of the family. I certainly don't want him to not be close to his younger siblings.

I'm sure in the end whatever gender the baby turns out to be will fit in the best for our family. Either way I'm excited to see this little one and we're praying most importantly for a healthy baby.

Today I decided not to be brought down!

Yesterday I had a very unmotivated day. I honestly wanted nothing more then to sit on my butt and do nothing all day. However I did not give in to my lack of motivation, instead I overcame it and swept, mopped and dusted all through my house. I also did laundry and dealt with the daily clutter, dishes and maintenance. I even cleaned up the yard some in preparation for winter.

After having a very successful day of cleaning despite not really feeling like cleaning, you can imagine my annoyance when I woke up this morning to find half the table covered in all tools and materials Trevor was using last night to winter proof the windows. There were also several random items left out of their places.

I should probably take a moment to remind everyone that I am not by nature, an organized and tidy person. This is something I have been working very hard on and I have been having great success. Our home has much less clutter and is a lot cleaner now. I am proud of my accomplishments and the progress I have been making, so you can understand how just those few items being left out felt like a huge setback. After all when your trying to keep a home neat and tidy you have to have all members of the family on board.

My first and natural reaction was to get upset, oh heck, to get MAD, and then to shut down. After all if no one else cares about how the house looks then why should I? Why should I invest so much time and effort only to have my fellow housemates, especially my husband, thoughtlessly leave stuff laying all over? Why can't a grown man pick up after himself?

However, I chose to go with another reaction. I instead looked at the things he left out and tried to think about it as he might. The items on the table were probably left out because he did not finish his project and will still need them. He wasn't taking into consideration the fact that we will be busy for the next two nights so those things would be sitting on the table until Thursday, Looking messy and making it impossible for us to use our table.

The empty box that was left on the cupboard was pushed back almost out of sight, so he might have just overlooked it. The empty bread bag, had nothing but the heals, which we feed the chickens, so perhaps he left it there to be taken out to give to them this evening? The letter that needed to be sent and the book that was on the counter...well I haven't come up with a reason why they were left there, but you get the point. I was trying to give him the benefit of the doubt instead of letting my red headed temper get the better of me.

I had a quick talk with him in which I told him that I could see the way he was probably looking at it, but then explained why the clutter bothered me so much. After all that I still was feeling a little put out and didn't really want to put too much effort into house work today. Once again I decided to be a bigger person then my pervious self would have and I chose two "extra" tasks to complete today. I cleaned the top of the microwave and cleaned under the bathroom sink.

It turns out to be a good thing that I cleaned under the bathroom sink because I discovered it have a leak! Even more then finding the leak was the benefit of my change in mood. By the end of those tasks I felt refreshed and happy again. Seeing the change I made in the appearance of our home inspired me to even clean up what Trev had left out (Which I of course had previously been planning on leaving for him to do later :P). I have gone on and done my housework for the day and not only do I feel good about having another day of positive routines checked off, but I can feel great about being a better person, about making better choices and having better reactions.

I LOVE being a mom!!!

I was sitting here pondering what to write about and I looked up to see my beautiful daughter exploring our living room. I instantly broke out in a huge grin. How could I not? My children are SUCH a blessing!

Trevor and I often say that we don't really need tv since becoming parents. We get a huge kick out of just sitting back and watching Jake and Lucy. Seeing them explore things for the first time, try new things, come up with new ideas and new words or phrases, always proves to be funny or adorable, often both!

While being a parent is by far the hardest and most consuming thing that a person can ever do, it is also by far the most rewarding and important thing a person can ever do. It's times like this when I am reflecting at the privilege I have been given to raise these little blessings, that I wonder how so many people throw away and abuse this privilege. So many parents are tuned out, too busy, or just not interested in their children.

It is so sad to think of what many kids are missing out on by having a checked out parent. Perhaps worse, is what the parents are missing out on by not realizing just how blessed they are to have such amazing little people to love and cherish. Children are a gift. Plain and simple. It doesn't matter when they come, or how they come, they are a gift.

I for one am very thankful for my adorable little gifts. I am thankful that I get to be their mom. That I get the privilege of teaching them new things, watching them grow into little people, with big personalities and comforting them when they need a snuggle and some love