Make the Middle Memorable

image found here

Wednesday |ˈwenzˌdā; -ˌdē|
noun
the day of the week before Thursday and following Tuesday

And that pretty much sums it up for me. Wednesday is usually just the middle of the week. No swimming lessons, no appointments, no commitments...but LOTS of possibilities. And I love it! This week Wednesday was....

Cleaning day
Friends day
Happy day

I got my house clean--not spotless, but cleaner than it has been in a long time.
I had friends over--a few that we see regularly, and some that we had not seen in a long time. :)
And I was happy...happy to spend time with some of my favorite people, eat yummy food, and just enjoy the middle of the week.

I realized that usually I'm focused on getting a lot accomplished at the beginning of the week, and working toward plans for the end of the week. Somehow I seem to go from the beginning to the end, and lose the middle in the jumble of life. Wednesday, like I said, is full of possibilities, but often I forgo the the more enjoyable possibilities of the day for the more necessary ones. So, after such a wonderful middle this week, I'm going to try and make every Wednesday count a little bit more toward simply enjoying and enhancing the quality of life. And, that will include cleaning, because it feels so GOOD to live in a clean home. But it will also include more friends and more fun! Why can't the middle of the week be just as good as the weekend?

Ho-hum

Not much exciting goes on around our house on Wednesdays (other than it's my day to post on our little blog here - yay!). Afternoons have been a challenge for me with little kids. What to do between naps and dinner time? I'm usually feeling the afternoon slump and not wanting to do much, but the kids get restless and need something to occupy their time.

One of my goals this year is to do a craft with them once a week, at least while the weather keeps us indoors. It doesn't have to be much, sometimes it's just coloring together in their coloring books. Admittedly, it's not something I'm always excited to do. There's the getting out of the supplies, the refereeing when both kids must have the exact same color of crayon/marker/paint at the SAME TIME, and the clean up. But then I remember how I learned at a young age to love creating things with my hands and how that has grown into a love of making beautiful things for my home, family and friends. My brother and I used to flip through the pages of these books in search of the next awesome project to take on.

I'm sure my mom wasn't thrilled with the set up and clean up either (especially since paper mache' was one of my favorite things to do), but just like her, I love watching my kids create.

So that's what Wednesdays are for. Today is especially "ho-hum" with the dark clouds and rainy skies. It looked and felt like it was 6 pm all day long. So, since this is the song of choice around here, we added a little brightness to an otherwise uneventful and ho-hum day. I've come to love Wednesdays, especially the afternoons.

(This popcorn kernel being eaten may or may not have glue on it. There were others too.)

Wallah! Artwork worthy of the wall of fame!

How do you fit in creative time either for yourself or with your kids?

Wednesday is Good for the Soul

Photo taken on our trip to Nauvoo, Illinois in 2005.

Just an example of the images in my mind as I've studied the Doctrine and Covenants this year.

I'm not good at schedules or regimen. I'm terrible at exercising and even worse at ... well, anything that takes planning and discipline. Which is why it is no small thing for me to say that every Wednesday morning since the school year began, failing only due to sickness or dangerous weather, I've been attending a religion class. Which sounds really unremarkable, I know. Except that for the first time in my life, I have been making scripture study and meditation a regular part of my day. Oh, I've started and stopped and started up again, knowing it's important but never quite making it work every single day over a long period of time. But this time, wanting to be an active participant in class each week (and, let's be completely honest, wanting to sound smart during the discussion), it's stuck, and I'm already planning what I want to study this summer so that I don't fall behind in this daily ritual.

With a home and family to care for, there's not much time left for Mama, as we mamas all well know. And when there is time, I'll admit I'd rather spend it sewing or reading a good novel. My inclination to skip over the spiritual aspect of my life is a hard one to break. But I'll tell you this: One day, after a particularly busy morning, I finally had both kids in their rooms napping, and all the morning's messes beckoned. I started to pick up the toys when I thought that maybe I should just sit and study for a while. But oh! the mess! What was I going to do about the mess? After a few minutes of inward battle, I finally picked up my books and my journal and started to read. And when I was done, there wasn't any time to do much housework until the kids woke up. But here's the point: after making what was good for my soul a priority, the messes just didn't matter. I got to them eventually, and while I don't remember what the exact subject of my stud was, I'll never forget what I learned that day: that learning what's really important, and then doing it first, makes all the difference.

What is the one thing, beyond everything else, that's good for your soul?

How do you make time for it in your busy life?

Wendesday Wreath

Hello! This is actually Cali today, not Jenni. We swapped days this week, just so you are not confused.

Anyways, a few weeks ago I told you about a craft I had started, but not yet finished. I am actually going to break it up into two tutorials, since I can. So here is the Yarn Wreath. (You can Find the fabric flowers here.)

I have seen these all over recently so I decided to jump on the band wagon, and since I have had readers tell me that even though it is somewhere else on the Internet, they prefer to have the tutorial here, so here you go. That, and the tutorials I looked at did not tell me how much yarn to use, so you will get that here as well. Supplies

1 Small Wreath Form (I used the dollar store again.)

1 ball of yarn (I used about half of it give or take a little.)

That is it!

I started my wreath by overlapping some of the yarn as I wrapped it so it would stay in place.

I then tightly wrapped it around my wreath form.

It was really simple. A little time consuming, but I did not fell all that great that week, so it was nice to just sit on the couch with my rice bag and mindlessly wrap yarn around the form.

Anyone can do it.

This is what it looked like when it was covered. I just tied off the end. I am sure you can glue it if you want.

I wrapped a little bit of ribbon around it and added some fabric flowers. I just pinned them on so I can use the form for other holidays, or seasons.I am trying to figure out how to pin on a little Peep Bunny or Chick and not have it leave a mess.

So if you want another easy door decoration, here you go! There is just something about wreaths that make your house seem happy and welcoming. Enjoy!