Clean slate.

So...I pretty much hate cleaning. My husband will attest to the fact that I HATE a messy house, but "lived in" doesn't bother me. However, being sick for three days and super busy yesterday has made for a disgusting house. I have 2 whole dishwasher loads of dishes, not to mention every pot and pan is dirty. I think to myself, I didn't even EAT anything for the last 4 days, how the hell did the kitchen get this messy? Oh that's right, my husband and kids are incapable of cleaning up after themselves!! Don't get me wrong, my husband does the dishes, his own laundry and really helps out around the house, but that's only after things get to my breaking point.
I have anxiety so the mess raises my anxiety level super high. I've got about half done by noon on a Wednesday, so I should be happy, but lord, I've still got at least 3 loads of laundry, vacuum the whole house and don't even get me started on the bathroom.

Aidan is being a pain today, I can't wait until he starts day camp and has something to do all day. I want to take the kids out to play at the park or something but I just have WAY too much to do around the house.So... I had to beg Aidan to clean his room. He finally did when I told him he couldn't play with the next door neighbor until it was clean enough to vacuum. So he did, and I'm happy, it will be a mess again in about 2 days, but whatever, at least he's old enough to clean it himself.
I will NOT do to my kids what my mother did to me. I don't want to come off as some slave laborer but they will definitely have responsibilities and chores around the house. I grew up in a two story house where my mother didn't have to look at my room but once a week. And about once a month she would come clean it herself. I remember when one of the neighbors neices came from Scotland and in the cutest Scottish accent she said "You have the dirtiest room I have ever seen!" And she was probably right. I guess maybe that's where my comfort from "lived in" comes, but my kids will not be having the same situation put on them. PLUS how happy will my son's future wife be when she marries a man who knows how to clean up after himself? :) I can only hope right?
Well gotta get back to the grind!

Job interview, round two.

So I had a second interview at Sterling today. It is the first second interview I've ever had. And the biggest thing I can take out of this is boy, it's sure a lot easier for men to get manly jobs than it is to get a simple assistant job. Resume, cover letter, references, applications, interviews, second interviews, correspondence, taking it up the rear, etc etc. Danny picks up an application, fills it out, turns it in, and has a job. Not my idea of fair. However, I think the job I'm trying to snag will end up paying me more than him. Now wouldn't that be a swing from the norm for the last 6 years!? ME actually making money, and to top it all off, more than him. I would die, and only rub it in his face once or twice...I think I deserve it!

Poor thing for him, he's sick and today was his second day at work, and I actually had to reschedule my interview yesterday to today because the sickness was rampant, dear lord. I don't think I've been sick so bad in my life! So I'm really hoping he gets better because the third day at a new job would not be the best day to call in sick.

AND Among all of this I'm trying to plan my son's 6th birthday, which is this Saturday, to say the least, I'm severely unprepared. But throughout the last 5 years I've put a lot of money, effort and thought into his birthday and sometimes it seems like a pinata and cake would have sufficed. So this year we're just going to go to the park, BBQ some burgers, let the kids play all day, get a pinata, and call it good. I'm sure he'll have a blast.

Let summer begin.

The Newton's along with a bunch of other great folks went camping up at Cache Creek Campgrounds this past weekend. It's off the parking lot of the Casino. Just kidding, it's 20 minutes past the casino, but I think for the most part people completely forget that there's even a real creek there.
I used to think of this campground as a place to go smoke pot and drink underage. This is what we used it for in highschool. I never actually camped there either, not that I remember. I just never thought of it as a prime camp spot. However my opinion of the place is totally changed, after this weekend.
First off, it's the first Solar Powered campground in California. To be honest I don't even know what is powered, maybe the water pumps? It has really nice grass to camp on, water, completely handicap accessible. And the park hosts were SO incredibly nice. They were very welcoming, they came and chatted with us, made sure we knew the rules but were pretty lax on enforcing them. Stark difference from when we camped as teenagers. I guess that's what it's like being an adult, people don't automatically assume that you're up to no good.

We spent the first night kid free. Which was nice, I had the ability to act like a teenager all over again and not put anyone's life in harm except my own, lol. On Saturday it hailed on us, which was kind of funny. I would have loved to have nice sunny weather all week, but I am pretty much always prepared for the worst, and it could have been a lot worse. I'm kind of a weather freak so when anything out of the ordinary happens I get all nerdy and excited. It's a pretty beautiful place for only being 45 minutes from town. The kids came up with mother-in-law just after the rain/hail stopped and the sun came out. We made a fabulous dinner, had a little campfire and had an all around very relaxing trip.

I didn't think too much about my new Zen outlook on life, but it was a pretty Zen trip. I know I have obvious obstacles to overcome with my attitude and anxiety, but I'm taking steps in the right direction.

Now if I could only train my old dog new tricks, like enjoying the outdoors.

xo jeni

Some pictures of the kids. Using my phone so they're not great, I need to get a new digital...

So I started a blog.

I've been thinking about starting a blog for a while. I just really didn't know what to call it. Honestly, that's what stopped me. I don't think my title is fabulous or anything, and it may even be an oxymoron. My life is anything but simple, although I do strive to be simple. Enjoy the simpler things, stress less, be happy more, live more zen.
Simple is not easy to come by for a stay at home mother with two children under age 5, an unemployed husband, a 100lb pig of a dog, and a bit of an anxiety problem! I manage and for the most part, my life is great. But I do stress, and that nasty anxiety rears its ugly head, what better therapy than getting it out to the internet world? I'm sure I'm not alone but this blog really is just for me, as a person who loves to write and has a lot to write about, and would rather get it out than keep it in. If someone happens to feel better about themselves after reading about me, all the best.

Loves, jenilynn