Spring Cleaning

These pictures have nothing to do with my post… they are just uber cute.  

So, before we moved to Germany we moved every year for three consecutive years… which is a huge pain in the you know what.  But in some ways ONE way it was nice because it forced me to go through every single item we owned… every year... and decide if we were keeping it, selling it, storing it, donating it, or trashing it.  And then after we moved and set up house, everything was in its proper organized place, a fresh start.

Well, for the first time in quite awhile, we are actually staying put for a few years.  Which I TOTALLY love.    We've been here over a year and don't plan on going anywhere for a couple more. I can actually relax a little.

But, it's amazing how quickly order evolves into chaos... and how much STUFF we've accumulated in just one year.   Every closet in every room and drawer in every dresser and shelf in every cupboard is in desperate need of a good cleaning and reorganizing.  A "spring cleaning" if you will.

Here's the problem.  I have like ZERO motivation to get it done.  There are like a kajillion things I'd rather do than clean out my kitchen cupboards. For instance, I'd rather 

read a book

read a book to my child

go outside

plant some flowers

plan or daydream about our next trip

cuddle with Jamesy Wamesy

play a game with Caroline

read a book… did I already mention that?

go to a park

go for a walk

take a nap

Yeah… the list goes on.

The problems associated with this type of project are these:

1.  Nobody cares if I do it.  Ben has a very high tolerance for clutter and disorganization… and my children are totally oblivious.  And no one else is coming to my house to go through my closets.

2.  I'm not getting paid

3.  Even if I do it, there's a high probability that nobody will notice

4.  I'm not held accountable to anyone.

5.  It is extremely boring drudgery

So last week as I was trying to get myself all psyched about doing it, I thought, maybe if I BLOG about it and post some before and after pictures, it'll get me moving.

So, I did. The first thing I tackled was the laundry room.  Are you ready for the before picture?  It's pretty embarrassing.

Yeah, it was getting to the point where we couldn't even walk in there. 

So, it took just under two hours and I had a brand new laundry room:

And I'm happy to report Ben DID notice.  

Next was my closet.  Note:  I did not do this on the same day.  Or even the next day.  That's how much time I need to recover between jobs.

Before:

And after:

And the nursery.  Really, there's no words for the state it was in:

And after:

There's still a long way to go… but for now, hanging out in the laundry room or James' room is pretty sweet.  What gets you motivated to do this sort of thing?  I need HELP!

Mainau!

When we first moved to Stuttgart in January 2013, I found myself riding along in a car with a German woman who worked for housing.  She was taking me around to see some rental properties, which they are required to do for newcomers, since we arrive with no car and no place to live.  This was my first outing in Germany.  It was cold.  I had not seen the sun since we'd arrived.  Everything was covered in ice.  It looked miserable outside.  As we drove through the countryside covered in snow, everything looking gray and bleak, I tried to imagine how it might look in another season… green fields, hills, and sunshine.  The lady was friendly, spunky, and spoke great English.  I asked her where she recommend we visit while living in Germany.  She told me about an island in a lake I had never heard of… she said it's her favorite place to go, but not many Americans visit it.  She was talking about the Bodensee, also known as Lake Konstanz.  It's a large lake that borders Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, and is less than a two hour drive away.  She told me that this island, Mainau, was filled with flowers, a butterfly house, and playgrounds for children.  What's not to like?   Ever since she told me about it, I've been wanting to go… and 15 months later, we finally made it happen.   

A far cry from our first month in Germany

Ben and I were discussing this is what we love about Europe… they put such a high price on natural beauty.  Germany is the size of Montana with twice the population of California, but they still carve out plenty of public space where you can go for a leisurely stroll or relax on a park bench and enjoy being outdoors.  Mainau is such a place… it's just a little island, but Germany has made the most of it… it is filled with flowers, this time of year daffodils, hyacinths, pansies, blue bonnets, and TULIPS galore.  And there's a big playground for the kids to climb and run around.  And of course a biergarten.  And pony rides.  And a butterfly house.  Anyway, we just went on Saturday, stayed for the afternoon, and were home by dinnertime.  It was a perfect way to spend a weekend together.  

So who needs Holland when you've got Mainau? 

Tel Aviv!

Going for a morning run along the boardwalk

I know you're tired of all these "vacation" pictures.  Vacation is in quotation marks because traveling with children is anything but.  I like to call it a "trip."  So, I know you're tired of seeing pics from our "trip", but I have to post these for posterity's sake!  This is the last round, I promise, and there aren't so many this time.

Tel Aviv is the capital of Israel situated on the Mediterranean Sea.  We we were able to rent a little apartment on the beach and hang out for a few days.  If only it had been a little warmer… it was in the high sixties so not quite warm enough to really soak up the sun, but we went anyway. 

I loved going to their Carmel Market… a huge outdoor farmer's market and everything else under the sun market.  I went twice.  I bought fruit there.  We all partook.  Ben and I got sick to our stomachs, just as we were ready to travel home.  See entry about flying home.  Not fun.  

James' first trip to the beach… he was happy to just stay on my lap

Emily was in heaven building sand castles.  C is still not a fan of the sand.  Kind of hard when you're at the beach.

Finished product

Taken from our balcony 

Jaffa is a port town just a mile or so down the boardwalk.  We went for an evening stroll there.

Selfie by Ben (yes, I was sleeping)...  watching the sunrise from the balcony.  My favorite pic by far.