the pressure is on

I've been getting requests for another post and trust me my failure to write isn't for lack of trying. I have been so busy lately that it seems I should have a ton of things to write about, but when I sit down to share my life with you nothing important comes to mind. The reason I have been so busy lately is that I am really trying to put feet to my words. The title of my blog, as I have said in a previous post, has to do with making time for people instead of being busy worrying about all the "one more things" that don't really matter. I have been making a real effort to spend time with friends and sometimes even family (I mean extended, of course my 3 boys come first when it comes to people). I tend to get so busy thinking about my home and the things that need to be done that I push others away in an attempt to make time for everything I want to do. I am learning that there can be happy medium. I do have responsibilities at home that I need to take care of, but I don't have to shut out everything else to have time for all of that. I can even do extra stuff and still make time for the really important stuff like being a mom and a friend. For instance, we painted our living room last week and while making plans to paint I realized that I had made plans to spend time with a different person every day that week. I was a little irritated with myself for making all of these plans because I really wanted the living room done. I came to grips with the fact that it would just take me a little longer to do than I had hoped, but it would get done. I was able to invite my friends into my home without worrying about the fact that the place was a complete disaster. Turns out that once I relaxed about the lack of time to paint some of my time freed up and I was able to spend one WHOLE day painting. I got the entire room painted in one day except for the baseboards and window trim, which Andy and my Dad both helped with and got the whole job done in just a few scattered days. I've been able to spend more time with my boys too. We play puppets, cars, wrestle, catch, and we watch WAY less tv. Ahhhh.... I HATE tv and how much time it sucks out of our lives. Since we have been spending more time playing together Andy J's attitude has changed dramatically. He plays by himslef when I am busy doing things around the house and he does whatever I ask him to without complaining or arguing. Of course he is still a three-year-old, and we have our moments, but overall I can really see a change in the way spending time with your kids can affect them.

Well, I guess that's all I have to say for now. Here are some pics of our "new" living room. There are a few pics that still need to go on the walls and I still need to iron the curtains before I put them up, but that's it except for furniture. I am so anxious to get furniture! (we're waiting til tax time)