Exciting New Chapter

I am excited to announce that I have a new chapter opening up in my life. I will be teaching the First Grade at Apostolic Christian Academy (ACA)! This is an answer to a prayer and I feel very blessed and honored to have this opportunity. Ever since I was a little girl I wanted to be a teacher, as do most little girls. My friends and I would set all of our dolls out, drag out the chalkboard, create worksheets and play school all afternoon. Now, that childhood fantasy is coming true and I am beyond excited...and a bit nervous. These precious children I will be teaching are living souls, not plastic funky haired dolls. I do not take this new position lightly, but hold it with the utmost respect. I want to offer these children much more than numbers, letters and facts. I want them to feel the excitement of learning and to know the love of Jesus. I have been spending the last few days researching and jotting down ideas that I think my help in accomplishing the goal. I am going to give this great opportunity my very best. I trust My Lord and know that if I give him my best he will make up where my best may come up short.

Where are the Sweet Treats?

Our home usually contains some sort of sweet treat. Some may frown on this...but I find it a necessity. I don't allow my children to sit around gorging on unhealthy sugar filled treats all day, but I personally do not have a problem with enjoying goodies. We aren't talking gourmet, perfectly decorated desserts...just plain delicious sweets. At any given time we will have either brownies, cookies or cake...you know, the basic make, bake and eat treats. Most of our sweets contain chocolate. Chocolate is a life saver at times. I am sure many ladies would wholeheartedly agree. Sometimes when we get desperate we will munch on chocolate chips...not super exciting to me, but add a spoonful of peanut butter and you have yourself a real winner. On this particular day however, we have nothing! Well, we do have ice cream, but it contains NO candy pieces...that, to me, doesn't cut it. So here I am, going through chocolate withdrawal, watching the Food Network. And what are they talking about...SWEETS! I am sure I will survive, even if that means that I snack on another of our family favorites. Well, Dakota seems to have graduated from this "treat", and Devon never was a fan, but it is something that was passed down by my grandfather. It is called the Peanut Butter Deluxe. You place one or two slices of bread on a plate, smear it with peanut butter and then pour maple syrup on top. It may sound weird...but it is soooo good! I know it has no chocolate, but it has peanut butter, which is my second MUST HAVE. I just had an AHA moment! I sometimes wonder if I am passing any family traditions down to my children. The Peanut Butter Deluxe may not seem very significant, but it is SOMETHING...Right?

What is in the closet?

If you came into my house, I am happy to say that you would find a clean and orderly place to relax in. I do not like clutter, it makes me irritable (to say the least) and very frazzled. Why then are my drawers and closets a different story? Just because you can't SEE them without taking the time to actually open them, does that make it all right that they aren't as neat and tidy as the rest of the house? I don't think so, yet I must admit that is how it is. Sure, they may not be as bad as the shelves of KMART during a blue light special (that is probably dating myself), but none the less they are not up to standard and that really bothers me. Unfortunately, this is a bad habit I seem to be passing down to my children. They know how upset I get when their rooms are not totally picked up. My little one said last night as I peered in her closet stuffed with baby dolls and their clothes, purses, hanging clothes (not hanging), books... "Mommy, I just wanted you to think my room was clean, and be happy" :'-( Beak my heart. Really, how can I be upset with her when she obviously learned it from SOMEONE. So, today, being a new day, we are starting with her room. We are finding a place for everything and putting everything in its place. I read that in all of the organizing magazines...and it is so true. When something doesn't have a home, where do you put it? Anywhere where you can't SEE it...which begins this whole cycle. Time to break the cycle and clean what you can't see! Hmmm...I bet there is a message in that...

Confession

This is something I have always known about myself, not really liked, but none the less accepted that this was how it was. What is this deep dark thing that I feel I must confess??? I am a Bad News Expecter! (if that is even a word). I am sure no one else possesses this awful quality...well at least I feel alone in it because my husband is the exact opposite. He tries, expecting the best (more than the best), fails, then tries again with the exact same expectation! He feels the wonderful emotion of excitement each time. Me...well I take the opposite stance. I always assume that there will be problems, failures, disappointments and when there is...I can know I was right. YAY for me! :-( What I have finally come to realize is that this quality makes me MISERABLE! Who wants to miserable? Not me! I have allowed this trait, if you will, dictate my every breathing moment. It sucks away any joy that living life brings, whether on your way to a failure or on your way to success. Life isn't about just getting to a specific point, it is about all the points in between. That is where you find your laughs and your memories. That is where you draw closer and find comfort in your family. There definitely will be let downs when things don't work out the way you had hoped...but I now know (just recently for some reason) that One will always turn that disappointment into good...somehow, someway. Jesus! He will make a way for those who love him and walk in his way. That is me! So I denounce being a Bad News Expecter. I vow to not let the possibility of bad news tomorrow ruin the good things of today. Will this be easy for me? Ah.....NO. But it is necessary in order to claim the joy that is mine...not to mention my family's.

Baking Brings Memories

I love to bake! It is very calming to me...well, when I bake by myself. My girls like to bake also, and I am excited to teach them, but not when I need solace. :) I like to bake because it is usually a one step at a time process (which I love), it makes the house smell so good, my family gets excited and lets face it...it tastes delicious! This morning I woke and decided to use the ever so ripening bananas sitting on my counter to make banana bread. To me, baking not only gives us something good to eat, but it is attached to so many memories. I can remember during my childhood my mom baking the most wonderful cakes...a bunny loaded with jelly beans for Easter, a beautiful barbie with a full hoop skirt for a birthday, a baby rocking in a cradle for a shower. I loved watching her create these delectable desserts...I liked licking the bowl even more! My 5th grade year, a few of my friends and I were close to our Teacher Assistant. She was almost completely blind, so we would go to her house and she would teach us how to read and "write" brail, we would tell stories and giggle...and we would bake. One time I remember sneaking globs of chocolate chip cookie dough from the bowl. I thought she couldn't see me, but I am pretty sure she knew! :) This all brings me back to my morning banana bread baking...We recently relocated to Tennessee. It was a deeply thought out and prayerful move, but a difficult one. We left the only place our children knew. We left a wonderful church. We left virtually all of our family and so many friends. One of our dear friends loved my banana bread. My children actually used to get rather annoyed because I would bake a loaf and bring it to church and give it to him. Well, this loaf will be staying in our kitchen because we are over 700 miles away. We miss Rochester very much...but I am so excited for the memories we will make while baking here in Tennessee. These memories will be what my children will have. Wonderful memories brought out by just mixing up a bowl of batter. Feel free to share some of your own baking memories. Happy Baking...and Memory Making!

Planning Withdrawal

Every year about this time, you would no doubt find me hovering over a computer, clicking this link, then that link, reading reviews, making notes or printing pages. Or I might be huddled on the floor at Barnes and Noble, pulling this book, then that book, scanning the shelves for something new that I may have missed but might work. What was I doing? Planning! I have homeschooled my children for the past eight years and every year after the relief of school being over started to subside, at least for me, I would get the planning bug. I loved researching new curriculum and finding new items I might be able to use that next year. It gave me an outlet for my need to organize...and I was putting myself ahead of schedule. Who doesn't like that?
Well...this year my kids will be attending ACA (Apostolic Christian Academy). I am very excited about this, as are my children. It is a wonderful school...however this means there is nothing to plan for next year. Sure, I can probably make a list of school supplies that I THINK they may need and maybe create a calendar to write in their activities (to my husband's dismay I still love paper and pen), but it just isn't the same. Who would have thought that I would miss that task so much? :) I guess I need to tackle the Meal Plan! I don't know why, but I always have a hard time with that one. If and when I complete one that I love and actually use I will share it.

Blog?...Sure, I'll try

I will be the first one to admit that I am obsessed with organization (hence, the reason why I chose the name Baskets and Bins). I get so excited when I create cleaning lists, family calendars, meal plans...and I get goosebumps when I find an empty basket that I can put blankets, towels, books, toys in. Blogs are another source that I view to be under the organization umbrella. This may not be true at all, but I think of people that blog to have a grip (however loose it may be) on organization. It probably sounds like I have it all together...WRONG! I am a wanna be! I love flipping through magazines to get ideas, and then make an attempt to bring those ideas into our family. I must be honest though...my attempt is at best mediocre. This entry is not to put myself down...just an honest beginning to my road in becoming TRULY ORGANIZED! Join me in my journey. It may be a long one, but I am determined to always be moving forward.