Structure and Reality

What do you get when you combine a Type A personality, a dash of OCD, a large family, and a long list of responsibilities??  A mama with patches of hair missing from where she pulls it out frequently.  I wish I could just squash that part of my persona that makes me clean, organize, and freak out when things aren't as orderly as I would like them.  It's a love-hate relationship with that part of me.  Seriously....

Today officially marks the end of summer.  The older kids are back in school and today it is just me and the littles.  Today, I am relishing in the idea of summer chaos aligning in to the sweetness of order.  I have that tendency.  Give me five minutes and I'm going to be in a full blown panic attack about everything I need to get done.  

This was a hard summer for me...I'm not going to lie.  I had seen the dates on paper and knew about the expectations for my job as State FFA Coordinator.  But it's always more complex in reality.  I spent a great deal of the summer traveling and working with six beautiful young people...but that also meant I spent a great deal of time away from the five beautiful people who live in my house.  There was still laundry that needed done, a garage that needed cleaned, and babies that needed potty training.   It was brutal and yet I loved every minute with the state officer team.  Throw in a case of mono and then lumps in Bauer's lymph nodes that won't go away, a week of jury duty, and getting ready for the school year and I'm just about at the end of my rope. 

So today is both a sad and happy day.  Sad because I missed out on summer with my children (I'm planning better for next year) and happy because I get to feed my OCD Type A personality with structure and to-do lists.  There are many happy, amazing, and fun adventures coming up -- football season, meeting Bria and Derek, Cantus, and more.  I'm going to try and take today and breath deep as I unbury ourselves from the summer months of travel.  Welcome back structure and reality....I've missed you.  

And here's a little ditty to motivate you today -- I LOVE this song! It's been a summer favorite :)  Enjoy...

Heaven is a Clean Mattress...Sweet Dreams!

One of the pitfalls of having a Pinterest account is that it kicks my OCD into FULL gear.  Am I the only one with this problem?  Fortunately, most of the time it is a good thing and today I sliced out a little piece of Heaven....a fantastically clean bedroom, including the mattress.

Now if my OCD had the choice, it would have stuck the dang mattress in the washing machine weekly but unfortunately it does not fit.  Combine this OCD with the fact that we have two toddlers (yes, 2) that join us in bed every night (yes, every night), then you have a combination for a disaster.  Seriously....I get an anxiety attack just thinking about it.

But I digress....Pinterest came to the rescue.  Turns out that you can take three little common household products and combine them in a spray bottle and say goodbye nastiness.  I put this little chemical concoction to the test today and couldn't stop myself from saying "brilliant, brilliant, brilliant" just a mere 20 minutes later.  It is so brilliant in fact that I have to share it so that you too can experience it for yourself.

WHAT YOU NEED
1 -- Spray bottle of your choice (be sure it is clean and empty)
16oz -- Hydrogen Peroxide (the kind that comes in the brown bottle and stings like mad when poured on a cut)
6 Tbsp -- Baking Soda
2 Drops -- Dawn Dishsoap
1 Funnel -- For easily putting all of this together in your spray bottle

WHAT YOU DO
Mix is all together and then spray on to your mattress.  (A word of caution -- it doesn't have the best smell in the world.  Not toxic, but definitely not pleasant.)  Within 15 to 20 minutes you will begin to see those stains begin to disappear.  The baking soda will leave a slight residue on your mattress that easily comes off with a vacuum.

I was too disgusted by my own mattress to take a good before and after.  So instead I'll just leave you with the picture of my clean bedroom.   I promise you will not be disappointed with your clean mattress.  Did you know that you can also use the power of the sun to clean your mattress?  Oh yes....just set it out in the sun on a nice hot day and it will also clean your mattress.  (If the sun ever decides to join us for summer, you could do this instead.... my OCD I couldn't wait that long.)