Month 3: Possessions

I struggle to publish this post (among all of the 7 ones) given that we're not supposed to let our left hand know what our right hand is doing, much less the blogosphere! But I hope that by sharing, I'm encouraging others to participate in this experiment in their own way. So, here goes...

During Month 3, Jen gave away 7 items per day, for 210 items in total. She had so many clothes, she and Council decided that clothes could only count for one week, or 49 items. I think I'm going to have to follow that rule as well!

I've also decided that I must donate to at least 7 different places. This makes the donations more intentional on my part, instead of just dropping everything off for Hannah Home or the Salvation Army.

1) I'm donating all of my t-shirts to my sweet friend, Hailey Boyd. She has been inspired by Riley Dreyfus' Hope for Hearts ministry and wants to do something to help her sister's orphange, among other orphan care ministries. She has decided she wants to make headbands out of old t-shirts to sell and raise money. What an amazing heart she has! The number of t-shirts between Adam and I is a little ridiculous, so I'm leaving that at 7 days worth of possessions.

2) Some of my clothes, jewelry and shoes, are going to a local women's shelter that I've volunteered with a couple of times. Back in 2010, through the Junior League, I taught an Employment Readiness class at this shelter. This class teaches women how to job search, create a resume and job interviewing skills. We had a great class! Most of the women were working really hard to find a job and were very grateful for the help we provided them. The staff at the shelter are also great!

One of the ways the shelter helps the women is with a clothes closet. The women are encouraged to look for appropriate interview and work attire in the closet. Therefore, the shelter is always in need of more clothes and especially work appropriate clothes, of which I have a TON. So, 7 days of possessions (clothes) are headed there. There will also be several more days worth of jewelry, purses and shoes headed there too.

3) Also, as a member of the Junior League, I'm expected to donate $100 worth of items for the annual Bargain Carousel. This is a fundraiser for the League, as well as a huge community event. It gives people a chance to purchase some great merchandise at a fraction of the regular price. So, some of my excess possessions will be headed there. I'm not sure what I'm going to do in future years given that I've cleaned out my house of extra things. I guess I'll have to go to yard sales and buy stuff to donate! At least 7 possessions, or 1 day's worth, are headed to the JLB. Unfortunately, I can't donate this stuff until the fall.

4) Earlier this month, our church participated in the Sav-A-Life baby shower for several expecting mothers and fathers that went through their mentoring/parenting classes. I had more than enough lotion, soap, wash cloths and blankets given to me when Taylor was born and haven't used them all. I was able to pull out 28 baby items, or 4 days worth, to donate to help create diaper bags and backpacks for the moms and dads.

5) A couple of weeks ago, there was a call from a church member for home and baby furnishings to help a single mother move into an apartment. This move was intended to help her get her children back from foster care. On Wednesday night we loaded up a couple of rugs, a TV, a comforter set, and several towels, wash cloths, and baby items. I sure hope getting into a stable living situation helps her get her children back! I'm thankful for our church members who are always willing to help others! I'm not sure how much I ended up giving her because it doesn't matter, but we'll call it 3 days worth.

6) ??

7) ??

I'm still looking for places 6 and 7 if anyone has any good ideas. I've got lots of books, more clothes, shoes, jewelry, purses, etc than the shelter needs, and more etc, etc, etc. I can't even remember what all we've gone through now! I even recycled our hangers back to the dry cleaners!

Please let me know if you know of anyone in need or have any ideas where to donate!

Month 2: Clothes Recap

In trying to keep with the 7 theme, I'm attempting to come up with 7 things I learned during clothes month.

1) I had (and still have) way too many clothes! I wore less than 50 articles of clothing and accessories for a whole month, and yet still have 4X that many.

2) Even with the variety I gave myself (50 items vs 7), I still desired more variety. I really did get tired of wearing the same stuff (and washing every couple of days!). Also, I ended up with only one necklace option, so I very rarely wore jewelry, which was disappointing some days.

3) Um, no one even noticed I wore the same clothes every week!

4) In addition, I don't think I would notice if someone else significantly cut down their wardrobe. Given 3 and 4, why do I feel the need to have many more clothes than I actually need? Why do I have this desire for cute clothes?

5) Contradicting the questions above...It's hard for me to turn down a sale! I have to admit, I went shopping during clothes month (GASP!). We were at the beach (how can you not go to the outlets?), and I had a 20% off coupon, along with a gift card with about $45 left on it. Both were burning holes in my wallet. Sad, I know. I originally spent WAY too much, but I couldn't even get in the truck without thinking about what I was trying to do during clothes month. I ended up taking 3 things back. The stuff I kept I have already worn since Sunday when clothes month was officially over. (I know May isn't over, but I'm doing 4 weeks, like Jen did during her experiment.)

6) This season, most of Taylor's clothes have been hand-me-downs from a friend who gets them from family members. Her daughter is a season behind Taylor size-wise, so we get to borrow them in the meantime. Awesome! Even so, Taylor ended up with more clothes than would fit in her drawers. I even had to go through hand me downs and pull out excess. Insanity!

7) Still working on this one...anyone have any lessons learned during clothes month?

Memorial Day weekend

We had a fun, watery Memorial Day weekend!

Taylor started it off Friday at Alabama Adventure with Uncle Josh, Aunt HeHe, and Alexis. I got there later in the afternoon, and Taylor had had so much fun!

Seesawing with Uncle Josh

Face first sliding!

Sliding with Mommy...

But she wanted me beside her

On Saturday, we decided to try out the YMCA's outdoor pool. Taylor had fun playing with a little girl she met there.

Later that afternoon, Taylor played in her backyard pool. This girl loves some water!

Mom was coming up to take my uncle's children back to his house, and I asked if Taylor could go along with them so Adam and I could have some time together. We thought about a movie but couldn't agree on one. Instead, we ended up having dinner and going to the mall, just to walk around. We had a great time!

On Sunday, we went to Lake Martin and visited with some of Adam's family from Tampa. This is what happened...

Taylor had fun on the pier though.

Looking at boats with Daddy!

Sisters! Nannie, Aunt Ann, and Aunt Linda

 On Memorial Day, we went over to our friends' neighborhood pool.

Miles Man!

Lala! 

That afternoon, we headed over to Shadow Lake to see the "shark". Sunday morning, our pastor told us to be careful going out to Shadow Lake because someone had apparently dumped a bull shark into the lake, which can live in fresh water, at least for a little while.

Taylor running down the trail to see the "shark".

Here's the best picture of it I've seen.

People now believe someone put a fiberglass fin onto a turtle and put it in the lake. We're thinking its the best senior prank EVER!

Update: Here's what our church now affectionately calls the Sharkle.

Back at the house and grilling out for dinner, Miles and Taylor start pulling each other in the wagon. So cute!

Hot dogs are done! 

It was a wonderful, relaxing weekend with friends and family!

Saturday Fun

A couple of weeks ago, we had a FUN Saturday. We started out going to a Kindermusick playdate. Taylor got to hula hoop and play with a parachute! 

That afternoon we went to Shook's super cute Cookie Monster birthday party! I think Misty and I both used the party excuse to get Taylor and Jules to take naps before the party! Taylor rode Shook's and Jules' tricycles, played in the sand, helped Shook open his presents (then played with his presents), played on the jump, jump (while eating a blue velvet cupcake), and played in the water. Such a fun birthday party!

Love that smile!

Happy Birthday Shook!

Friends!

Another Saturday down, I can't believe it's almost June! 

Mother's Day Beach Weekend

Adam's parents took us all to the beach for Mother's Day weekend, and we had a great time! The girls had so much fun playing together! 

We got there about 4:00 Friday afternoon and immediately got in the pool. The girls loved being pushed around by Papa! 

The next morning, we all headed out to the beach. It was a little chilly, and the water was too rough and cold to get in, but we had a great time building and stomping down sand castles! 

Walking on the beach with Daddy

Smoothing out the sand for sand castles

Daddy's got something going...

Not anymore!

Trying again...

Got it this time!

Yay!

Gone!

So fun to stomp down the castles!

Snack break with Papa

Smashing Daddy's sand pile

Burying Daddy's feet

 After a nap for the girls, we went back out to the kiddie pool! They loved it, especially when other kids showed up to play with them!

They loved getting the toys out of the skimmer

Trying to get a picture of the girls in their matching shirts. They have so much fun together!

Sunday morning started off with a storm. There were even tornado warnings in the area! Brad, Chanda and Henley had to go home once the storms were over, but we had another afternoon at the pool.

Happy Mother's Day!

Too big for a Pack 'N Play!

Headed to the pool again

Nannie brought lots of food and cooked 3 meals a day! We convinced her to only have leftovers for lunch on Sunday, and then we all went out to eat Sunday night. We took the classic balcony picture before we left.

Taylor is too cool! 

 We had a wonderful Mother's Day weekend! Taylor now LOVES the beach!