{12 Days of Christmas Traditions} Day One: A Stream of Consciousness Introduction and Christmas Playlist

**Updated Playlist - my Dad reminded me I forgot a couple favorites!**

I LOVE Christmastime.

Seth's 1st Christmas

Avery's 1st Christmas

Everything in me wants to put on Christmas music and decorate our flat November 1st. Recently, my German friend, Susi, asked me when the decking of the halls would happen in the Ince Household.  Sheepishly I admitted that I really wanted to do it November 16th, but I was forcing myself to wait until the following weekend because we were having new friends over for dinner that night, and I didn't want them to think I was weird. (Just keepin' it real.) Turns out the joke was on me because my new friend (also American) had decorated her flat earlier that day. Ha! Susi was surprised saying she heard the rule was to decorate after Thanksgiving.

I may or may not have had a visceral reaction.

I used to buy into this.  That is when my mom decorated as did all of my friends' moms when I was growing up. But once I realized how much work it is (and how cosy it makes the house feel), I decided it's too much work not to start enjoying it in November.  I love having my Christmas decorations up for Thanksgiving - it's festive!  It heralds in the Christmas season! And let's be serious, who wants to decorate their house directly after making Thanksgiving dinner? Not me!

Each year I obsess think about how to combat being too focused on gift receiving, Santa Claus, and the whole secular side of Christmas.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not anti-Santa by any means, but I don't want my kids to be more excited about presents than

God coming down.

I'm not naive, I don't expect Seth to prefer Jesus over presents at age 3 - I think that is not realistic for a 3 year old, but I do want Him to know why we celebrate and give gifts, and for Jesus not to be eclipsed by Old Saint Nick.  Is this possible?  Do we need to punt Santa Claus?

Maybe.

I loved the way my parents did Christmas.  It was truly magical and my siblings and I allowed each other to "believe" way longer than most.  Santa Claus was an integral part. I never felt like my parents lied to me in allowing us to believe in him.

I think it's important to reevaluate each year and have an open heart about doing things differently than the way we grew up.  Possibly to lose a little magic to gain a little wonder.  And not doing things just because everybody else is doing them (what?! You're not saying 30 something moms still fall into this trap...right?).  On the other hand, I don't want to be an extreme-o Pharisee parent that my kids grow up hating because we were too Christian for that mumbo jumbo you call Santa Claus and presents. {Disclaimer: I am not saying you are automatically an extreme-o Pharisee if your family chooses to not to do Santa - it's all about the heart behind why you're doing what you're doing!}

I want Jesus to be our focus and I want my kids to experience the magic and wonder of Christmas.  I think we can do both.

I've loved getting ideas from other bloggers - some who are even more Christmas crazy than I am! So I decided that for the next few weeks I'm going to be a dedicated blogger and share some of the fun ideas I've come across on blogs and Pinterest in addition to some of our already established Christmas traditions. I'm not sure how often I'm doing this because I didn't brainstorm ahead of time (surprise, surprise), but off the top of my head I just realized there are 12 days left of November and that goes with 12 days of Christmas...ahhh!  An idea is born.  There you have it - 12 Days of Christmas Traditions: Just in time for those of you who wait until December 1st to start decorating. :)  Though let's be realistic, it's highly unlikely I'll post on the weekends, so this will bleed into December or I might only have 8 topics...I guess we'll find out!  If I was really on top of it (and not to mention computer savvy), I'd have a cute graphic to go with it too.  And I'd put it on my FB page.  But we all know how likely that is since the last time I posted on that was probably January 2012.

So for today first things first.  My Christmas playlist.  You have to have it playing before you can begin any Christmas shenanigans (designing your Christmas cards, decorating your house, etc), so I thought it only right to begin here.  Here is a list of my very favorite Christmas songs new and old - I tried to keep it at 10, but that was impossible, so I went with 25.  If you don't feel like listening to all of them (Ebenezer), make sure you at least listen to the last 2.  Happy listening!

Robin's Christmas Playlist (though in reality it's much longer because the whole Charlie Brown and Home Alone sound tracks would be on there too!):

1. It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year by Andy Williams - mandate to be number one on the list
2. It's Beginning to Look a lot Like Christmas by Michael Buble - this is a new addition this year thanks to Shay
3. Jingle Bells by Frank Sinatra - this isn't any old rendition of Jingle Bells, it's the best. The only problem with listening to it in Scotland is my brother, Mark, isn't singing along with me though I know somehow he knows I'm listening to it and all the way on Maui he's humming it too.
4. The Christmas Song by Nat King Cole - nothing needs to be said here but classic
5. All I Want for Christmas is You by Mariah Carey - Seth and Avery beg me to drop whatever I'm doing and dance whenever this song comes on - Kaitlyn, you now have little people you can boss around and make up dance routines with (not that I know anybody who would do that!) ;)
6. Little Saint Nick by the Beach Boys - my dad raised us on the Beach Boys!
7. White Christmas by Bing Crosby
8. Tennessee Christmas by Amy Grant - when I accosted Taylor with, "favorite Christmas song GO" this is the one he chose, and this my friends is why he's my best friend.
9. To Be with You by Sara Groves - this one kills me this year since we're not going home for Christmas for the first time EVER.  Sob.  So if I am able to listen to it, it will definitely be followed by the next two songs and a phone call to Mom.
10. Blue Christmas by Elvis
11. Please Come Home for Christmas by The Eagles - Don Henley - lyrical perfection in a musical era when it didn't matter what you said or even if your song made sense at all
12. Mele Kalikimaka by Bing Crosby - feeling like I need another Hawaiian Christmas soon...fancy a jump off of Black Rock, Craig?
13. Sweet Bells by Kate Rusby - But I'm looking forward to experiencing a Scottish Christmas - this one is a shout out to Murdo for introducing us to the magnificent Kate
14. Believe by Josh Groban - I know these are the worst lyrics ever (I used to have my English students write a paper on this), but I still love the music, his voice, and the feeling the song creates.  It feels like Christmas to me.
14. O Little Town of Bethlehem by Sarah Mclachlan - let's just reflect on these words versus the song prior...maybe we should write a paper about it?
15. Grown Up Christmas List by Amy Grant - Christmas staple in our house - I could just play all of Amy Grant's Christmas albums one after the other and be happy.
16. Here With Us by Joy Williams - this may be my favorite non-Christmas carol song ever.
17. Welcome to Our World by Chris Rice - or maybe this one
18. I Need a Silent Night by Amy Grant - this song sums up my Christmas conundrum.
19. O Come O Come Emmanuel by Selah - haunting, gives me chills
20. Hark the Herald Angels Sing by Amy Grant - this is my favorite Christmas carol; the lyrics are so rich!
21. I heard the Bells on Christmas Day by Casting Crown - "anointed" according to my mom-in-law - SO glad she introduced me to this song - thanks Mia!
23. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas by Judy Garland - love me some Meet Me in St. Louis
24. Come and Worship (Angels from the Realms of Glory) by Bebo Norman - OK this might be my absolute favorite Christmas song/carol - can't get through it without crying. Love it!
25. Joy to the World (Unspeakable Joy) by Chris Tomlin - have to end with this one - love this rendition so much!  Might shed a tear for this one too. :)

Update:
*Christmas Must Be Something More by Taylor Swift - inspired no doubt by one of my very favorite Christmas Stories (post on that coming very soon!)
*A Strange Way to Save the World by 4Him - here's some 90s goodness for you (don't miss the mullet!) - can't believe I forgot my Mom's favorite Christmas Song!
A few other honorable mentions because I just can't resist!: Breath of Heaven by Amy Grant, Carol of the Bells by Barlow Girl (though the Home Alone version is my preferred), Joseph's Lullaby by Mercy Me, and O Holy Night by David Archuleta (remember that guy?!). Ok, I have to stop of this list will be never ending! Leave a comment if I left off your favorite - I'd love to listen to it!

Tomorrow's topic (and it's a controversial one): The Elf on the Shelf.  To do it or not to do it...that is the question.

True Heart

My sister-in-law, Susannah, writes a blog over at susannahbaker.com, and she did her most recent post on us.  Click here if you want to read it.

Otherwise, here are a few photos to show what we've been up to lately:

coloring

visiting the Botanic Garden's apple festival

snuggling under the blanket Meme mailed to us from Hawaii!

wearing our coat inside (and Mommy or Daddy's shoes)

playing in the family band

dressing up

handing our candy to our neighbors as they trick-or-treated

accessorizing

shopping at Costco

scooting

"riding" bikes

more snuggling

more shopping at Costco (and no, I didn't buy these much to their dismay!:))

sightseeing at Rosslyn Chapel (filmed in the DaVinci Code)

hanging out with Tutu

reading Avery's favorite book.
over,
and over,
and over...

trying unsuccessfully to turn nap time into rest time

more scooting

making fun hairdos during meal time (and more coloring!)

visiting St. Giles Cathedral

drinking a pumpkin spice latte out of my first Starbucks Red Cup

It's been a long and exhausting week, but we were thankful to get to remember William as we buried him on Wednesday.  It was a sweet service and many of our faithful church family members attended. We have been so blessed by their support and care during this time.

Thanks for all of your thoughts and prayers for us - we continue to feel the Lord's grace.

Our Boy

As most of you know, we found out that we lost our baby on October 9th at our mid-point ultrasound.  I was almost 18 weeks along.

As we were in the hospital doing this for the second time, Taylor and I reminisced back to our first loss in 2009. It was so different than this time.  We had no idea anything was wrong with Tristan only that at the ultrasound where we thought we were finding out she was a girl, we were finding out she had gone to be with Jesus.  It was a total shock, a gut check.  Our grief was acute.  I wrestled night after night with what I could've have done to cause this until we received her autopsy results.  Relief filled me when the results came back that a chromosomal issue was the culprit not me, but now our grief was not only over our lost child, but of the possibility of no children at all.  The Lord rocked me to my core during this time, carving out deep places of trust and dependence on Him where there had been independence and self-focus.  Taylor wrote a poem describing the Lord's work in our lives through our loss:

As water seeps into the fissures in the rock
and hardens into ice when freezing weather comes,
splitting stone and leaving space behind,
so has the grace of God this year filled
the shallow places of our souls,
hardening and cracking,
then leaving deeper pools behind
to hold His grace when He is done.

The Lord had replaced levity with gravitas.  Losing our daughter to Heaven, made us feel more solid on earth.  He gave us purpose in a time we teetered on the edge of despair.  And His mercy was new for us each morning. If that scripture wasn't true, I wouldn't have been able to get out of bed each day. But He was with me.


This time we were able to grieve over time knowing at 11 weeks our baby was sick and unlikely to make it to term. We prayed for a miracle, and marveled over the two miracles the Lord had already given us.

Photo by Strauss House Photography

Photo by Hunter Lawrence

The Lord prepared us for the loss through the prayers of three year old Seth who at first fervently prayed for his sibling's healing, and then refused to two days before our ultrasound saying, "No. I don't need to pray.  Our baby is well.  Jesus' blood is on him."

Out of the mouths of babes.


Friday, October 11th I went alone to the hospital to take my first induction drug.  The kids were being watched by a friend, Taylor had a meeting with his supervisor, and my mom was flying over the Atlantic.  I didn't worry about going by myself because I knew it had to be done; I knew Taylor needed me to be strong, so he could tie up loose ends, so that he could be fully present once I went into labor two days later. But as I walked alone across the parking lot, the loneliness hit me, and despair tried to take grip, but just as quickly my mind flooded with  surely I am with you always.  He was still with me.


Seth has been dealing with fear lately and so our latest scripture memory verse has been Joshua 1:9 and I have been so struck with the reality of the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.  Ours has been a hard journey these seven years, but He's always walked alongside us.  Oh had we known the significance of the song we chose to herald the beginning of our wedding ceremony seven years ago. It rang true when we chose it, and we know it even better today.

A few days ago, we found out that our baby was a boy.  This is what we suspected the whole pregnancy, so it was nice having that confirmed, and being able to name him.

From our first ultrasound I wanted to name him William for various reasons.  I was looking for a name that meant "determination" because I knew that if he was born with a handicap, that would be meaningful.  We also wanted a name that was Scottish.  So William means "will or determination" and well, you know that slightly famous Scottish guy, William Wallace...so William it was from around week twelve.  As for his middle name, if you know me well, you know my silly fascination with names and monograms.  I liked the idea that his monogram could spell "WIL," so we started thinking about names that started with "L."  I really liked Luke from the start because it means "light."  Taylor preferred Lachlan (pronounced Locklin) because it was a Scottish name we had come across early in our time here in Edinburgh that we both really liked but felt we couldn't use because it would be too difficult once we lived away from Scotland.  So since our baby is going to be buried in Scotland, we thought it appropriate to go with a thoroughly Scottish name, so Baby Ince # 4 is now officially William Lachlan Ince.  We will bury him Wednesday where we'll grieve and celebrate our boy's short but significant life.

In Memory of

William Lachlan Ince

son of Robin and Taylor 

brother of Tristan Joy, Seth, and Avery

October 13, 2013

Edinburgh, Scotland

Ecclesiastes 6:3-5

We look forward to a glorious reunion one day and smile knowing that William and his big sister, Tristan Joy are playing together at the feet of Jesus.

Photo taken in August when William was still with us
Photo by Hunter Lawrence

Fearfully and Wonderfully Made

I've been surprised by the response of people as they hear about our baby.  It's a different kind of situation.  One most people don't ever go through themselves or alongside friends.  People constantly want to know how we are doing or they don't ask at all.  Both are fine, neither is wrong or right.  I appreciate those who want to know.  I appreciate those who allow us to live life as normal.  It's actually a good balance.

Two responses that stand out to me have been 1. when people say we're brave, and 2. when people say why you guys again?

To the first, it makes me laugh because I don't entirely know what people mean when they say this. Bravery to me is facing something you're scared of, it's a choice you make and we certainly didn't choose this, we just keep moving forward.  We love this baby whether he is born "normal" or healthy or not, whether he is born alive at all.  He is ours.  God has graciously bestowed another soul on us to parent whether only from the womb or beyond.  To us there is no choice.  And it is ironic because "a choice" was the first thing we were offered by our doctor upon Baby's initial diagnosis (missing part of his leg, cystic areas in his intestines - both together point to more problems to come; we are not hopeful he'll survive to term). Quickly we told the doctor that no we don't have that choice.  She was a bit taken aback but has been very compassionate and happy to oblige us.  Maybe people mean that we are brave to tell of baby's problems at all.  But this confuses me because why hide it?  If he is born alive, any problems will be apparent, and if God chooses to heal him, more glory to God the more people know!   And in the mean time,  let's pray for a miracle!

To the second response, the Lord has given me so much peace in this area right away.  My theology is not that each human gets his equal share of suffering.  That is more than obvious when you look at all of the starving children around the world.  But I do think that in first world countries we still tend to hang onto this false hope.  We lost our first baby, so the rest are safe.  God won't cause us to suffer anymore than he already has.  It's someone else's turn. No.  God doesn't dole out suffering in equal measure.  He does it specifically, individually for our sanctification. For our GOOD.  I believe that.  I am not mad at Him.  I know it is for my good, for our family's good, and ultimately for this baby's good to be enduring this trial and that God is using it to make us more ready for Heaven.  To make us more like Him.  To make us more ready for Him.  And His nearness is our good. So while we don't invite or ask for suffering, we count it as joy and pray that it produces steadfastness in us.

Right now, we are walking proof that God does grant peace that passes understanding.  We are not anxious, we are hopeful.

We have Hope.

Do you?

Therefore since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through Him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put is to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

Romans 5:1-5

I hope I'm not painting this perfect picture like we are doing things all right.  It's hard.  It hurts. But we have a Savior who knows our hurt and will redeem our hurt.  All we know now is that this baby has been fearfully and wonderfully made, and God has a plan for him.

For you formed my inward parts;

    you knitted me together in my mother's womb.

14 

I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.[a]

Wonderful are your works;

    my soul knows it very well.

15 

My frame was not hidden from you,

when I was being made in secret,

    intricately woven in the depths of the earth.

16 

Your eyes saw my unformed substance;

in your book were written, every one of them,

    the days that were formed for me,

    when as yet there was none of them.

Psalm 139:13-16

That time I had my most embarrassing moment...in front of the QUEEN OF ENGLAND

Really.  I'm not talking in front of a tabloid or with the BBC in the background, but in the flesh.  I went to church with the Queen of England last Sunday.  And this was no Houston mega-church where there were thousands of people plus me and her.  They don't do those kinds of churches here.  This was my little family of 4, plus my mom-in-law, sis-in-law, 3 nieces and about 91 other people including the Queen in a lovely pale pink dress and matching hat in a country parish church.

Since Susannah's (my sil) visit last summer, we'd been dreaming about visiting Balmoral and Dunnottar Castles. Last year it didn't work because she came in August and Balmoral Castle is closed to the public at that time due to the Queen's annual Scottish holiday.  Why she doesn't want to spend it with thousands of her closest tourists milling around outside her house, I have no idea.  

So this year she (Susannah, not the Queen) came in July, and we were determined to make it happen.  We found a hotel between the two castles and made our itinerary including attending a church. 

During our summer outreach in Edinburgh, one of our college students, the daughter of the pastor of a church close to where we were going to be staying, told us to check out her father’s church casually mentioning that it also happens to be the church the Queen attends whilst staying at Balmoral Castle.  We were thrilled to hear of an evangelical church in the area as it's very hit or miss in Scotland and were maybe a tad star-struck at the idea of attending the Queen's church, so we put it on the itinerary not expecting her to be there since her annual stay at Balmoral begins August 1st.

We had a great day on Saturday visiting the town of Stonehaven where Dunnottar Castle is perched on some sea cliffs over looking the ocean.  It has been an unusually hot and dry summer (by hot I mean low 70s), and Saturday was one of those perfect days.  The castle surroundings were breathtaking and were accompanied by the sounds of a bagpiper piping his tune by the entrance.  And besides an unruly 3 year old (ahem, Seth), it was a fun visit.  We finished the day off with a trip to Stonehaven's outdoor heated pool and the kids, Taylor, and Susannah braved the water while Susan and I watched (it was way too cold for me even with heated water and 70 degree weather!  Susannah commented that it was like swimming in Houston in January:)). I marveled at the hearty bikini clad Scots as they soaked up the "hot" summer day while I shivered under Avery's Minnie Mouse towel.

Dunnottar Castle

Dunnottar Castle

Dunnottar Castle

Stonehaven Pool

Stonehaven Pool

Stonehaven Park

When we returned to the hotel, news that the Queen had already arrived in Scotland caused us to wonder if she'd be in attendance at church the next morning.  We were excited at the prospect, but we're betting the likelihood was small.

It was a rainy, dreary Sunday, and as we walked through mud puddles up to the church steps,  four serious looking people barring the entrance came into view...our first hint the Queen would be there. They asked us if we were members, and we sheepishly said no afraid they might turn us away.  After examining my diaper bag, telling us photography was prohibited inside the church, and asking us to turn off our cell phones, we felt pretty sure she'd be there.  We complied and nervously piled into the church with our brood of 5 children ages 7 and under.

I always get anxious when we visit country churches in Scotland because they are rarely big enough to have a nursery for children.  We filed into two pews on the left back side of the church, and I began scouring the bulletin for notice of child care and came up empty.  Let's just say I should have asked someone! I prayed holy slumber over my two and passed a Cliff bar to Caroline, my three year old niece, who was already making sounds about being hungry for lunch.  We situated ourselves in the pew as strategically as possible, and I unloaded my arsenal of books and snacks for my two in hopes they'd keep quiet and then finally allowed myself to scan the crowd.  The congregation was a buzz no doubt doing the same as me.  Snippets of whispers floated around us.  Do you see her?  What is she wearing? And shhhsh! as parents tried to keep young children quiet.

From our vantage point we could see most of the pews pretty well though we hadn't yet spotted the Queen.  I could hear the people in front of me whispering that they could see her as they craned their necks towards the nave to the right of us where she was apparently sitting and wearing pink.  I couldn't spend too much time trying to spot her as Avery took that opportunity to join the chatter except 16 month olds don't really have church volume meters.  I handed her to Taylor who was sitting on the outside of the row, so he could make a quick exit if necessary.  I was on the inside with Seth on my right, and my 5 year old niece, Lizzie, sat between Seth and Taylor.  I contemplated moving next to Taylor with Seth, so I could leave easily too if needed, but Seth was being really quiet, focused on his Cars book, so I took my chances.

Big Mistake.

After about the first hymn, Taylor had moved with Avery to the back of the church so he could stand and sway to keep her quiet.  She'd put her head down on his shoulder and suck her thumb until every time a new hymn played and she was jarred back to an upright position and would start making noise again.  During the first prayer, they had to bow out completely because it was obvious "holy slumber" was not to be achieved.  I turned my attention back to Seth.  Lizzie had taken advantage of the extra pew space and spread out all of her Color Wonder pages.  Seth quickly spotted one with Mickey Mouse on it breaking the silent reverie his book had been providing.  I cringed as he switched places with her in order to grab it, but thankfully Susannah saw it coming and gathered up all of the papers before he could make a fuss.  Lizzie sat with streaming tears down her face, Caroline was starting to ask for food again, and Seth was now prostrate on the pew.  I dug hopefully for his pacifier (don't judge until you've been in a church service with your 3 year old and the Queen of England) thinking maybe he'd just fall asleep, but he refused it.  And the next thing I knew, he had escaped the pew and was running full speed toward the back of the church and yes, the pastor had just begun preaching, so all was completely silent besides the pastor's soft voice and my 3 year old's top sider's slapping the stone floor.  As quickly as I could, I scooched around Lizzie in the narrow pew, freed myself into the isle, and hoofed it to the back of the church as lady-like as I could in my dress and flip flops trying to make as little noise as possible.  I reach the back of the church just as Seth ducks under the back pew and starts crawling under the pews back toward the front of the church. Needless to say I am beyond horrified at this point and my adrenaline is racing.  I see him in the gap between two pews, stick my arm in the space, and in one motion swing him up into my arms.  I don't recall if either of us said anything at this point because I blacked out.

Not really, but I erased all of the details out of my mind because do I really need to explain myself?

We marched out the back doors, and I breathed a sigh of relief as the tall wooden doors swung closed behind us.  My relief was short lived as I tried to open the even larger wooden front doors to get out of the church to no avail.  I knew I couldn't put Seth down in case he tried to escape back into the service and 3 year old boys are heavy!  So here I am in a 6X6 foot vestibule with quiet preaching and the Queen of England on one side, freedom on the other and myself stuck in the middle with a 3 year old who also has trouble with volume control.  I shushed him and tried to figure out the medieval looking door with its plethora of iron locks. And I just couldn't do it.  I then panicked as I pictured the Queen having a processional after the service which would end up with us face to face in the vestibule where she could personally give me a talking to for my child's misbehavior.  It must have been at that point that desperation took over and I started to make too much noise trying to open the door because one of the deacons quickly came to my rescue freeing the door (and more importantly us) to the outside world. He kindly told me about the nursery around the back of the church.  I stifled the urge to scream, information that would have been helpful BEFORE THE SERVICE STARTED, but not being one to make a scene unless my 3 year old forces me to, I must have just smiled and nodded and then sprinted to the alleged nursery.

After successfully depositing Seth in the nursery where I met up with Taylor, we were let back into the service for the final hymn.  I breathed a sigh of relief and then the heavens opened up and there was the Queen.  OK not really, but now that I was at the end of the pew, she was perfectly in my line of vision.  I was so excited to see her and then it dawned on me that she had the perfect view of Seth's little escapade.  Great - my chastisement might happen after all.

I got over my embarrassment and tried to enter into the last bit of worship before the benediction where the pastor prayed for Queen Elizabeth and Prince George, and then we ended with "God Save the Queen" to which Susannah and I sang "My Country Tis of Thee" instead because hey, we're American.

Later on that day at the Balmoral Castle cafe over an ice cream cone, Susan asked Seth what he thought about running away during church.  He thought to himself for a minute and then solemnly declared, "it wasn't a good idea."

Amen brother!

Balmoral Castle

Lizzie, Me, Susannah. and Lillian in the Balmoral Castle garden

Cousins in front of the River Dee outside of Balmoral Castle

Me, Susan, and Tay outside of  Balmoral Castle

God Save the Queen!

If you're having a bad day...

I may be able to help you feel better.

I just washed Avery's diaper.

You might be thinking to yourself now: That's great!  She is so green.  

But those of you who know me in real life are laughing because you know I mean a Pamper's Baby Dry not a cloth one actually fit for the washing machine.  Uh, gross.  At least it wasn't a dirty diaper.

And sometimes I even have to dress like this to go to our laundry room:

So next time you're feeling sorry for yourself that the laundry has taken over your life (please say I'm not the only one who feels like this!), be thankful that your dryer is located next to your washing machine, inside your house and that you've probably never washed a diaper on accident before. :)

But on a positive note, recently two of my close friends in Edinburgh characterized me as an organized person.  Again, if you know me well, you're laughing, well actually maybe you're not since I managed to fool my other friends.  Maybe this isn't a positive after all since apparently I am able to keep up some sort of organizational facade.
So in the interest of full disclosure:

This is what my desk looks like this very minute.
(And it actually looks better than it usually does.)

though I am in full time spring cleaning/get your act together/ProjectOrganizeYourEntireLife mode.  And well, baby steps.

I got inspired by this:

Our pantry/hall closet...yikes! (Mel, those are your chocolate chips!)

And this post.

I was surprised when reading the comments that many readers were overwhelmed by the fact that this woman seemed to pull off all of the feats she mentioned.  I was actually really disappointed that she hadn't - I need someone to show me it's possible!  So I was even more inspired by this post.

So I am currently in the middle of organizing my whole life and will get back to you on my progress...

Happy Tuesday!!

A dozen reasons my husband loves Pioneer Woman...

Those, my friends, are 12 Hot Roast Beef sandwiches thankyouverymuch.  

I struggle with staying on top of Taylor's lunch.  Bless him, he doesn't complain about it, and has spent many a night quietly slapping together PB&Js for himself because he knows I'll forget in the morning.  We all have different things that make us feel loved and his is not having to put together his own lunch for school.  That should be easy...right?  But for some reason I just could not get it together.  So I spent a little time reflecting on why.  The main reason is I am not a fan of sandwiches unless they've been made for me at Jimmy Johns or Quizos or even Subway.  I abhor touching sandwich meat.  Not to mention it's almost impossible to find quality meat here that isn't processed to death and not worth eating in the first place.  And even though it's processed within an inch of it's life, it still goes bad so fast which is why each package comes with about 2 slices in it, so I'm constantly feeling like I have to buy it. And we all know how great my memory is...

So when I saw this post by Pioneer Woman, I got inspired.  Went to Costco, bought a huge thing of roast beef, sliced cheese, and wholemeal baps (sandwich rolls similar to hamburger buns but softer), made the dressing and voila! In 20 minutes I had prepared Taylor's lunch for 2 weeks.  All he has to do is grab one or two out of the freezer on his way out the door (but you know since I was so proud of myself, I actually remembered to pack them up for him along with some fruit and veggie straws...hopefully this will last!).

Now, I liked the idea of these for my lunch too.  I LOVE roast beef and the sauce sounded amazing except for the mayo which I pretty much will not eat.  It's sad because if you made it for me and didn't tell me it had mayo in it, I'd happily eat it...ignorance is bliss and all.  But since I made it and I know there is mayo in it, I just can't do it.  I know, I'm neurotic.  So I made 4 extra and substituted French wholegrain mustard (not sure if you can get this in the States - it's similar to dijon in kick but not in texture) and I am eating one as I type.  Actually that is a lie.  I stopped typing so I could scarf it down.

Anyone else have any good lunch ideas?