Well, it is hard for me to have my kids grow up BUT

lately, the girls have become old enough to ACTUALLY help clean the house. (I've been having them "help" for years, but if it was a job that actually needed to be done right, then I needed to do it myself - and most household jobs tended to fall into that category.)

But now, quite a few of the morning chores are done by the girls. (FYI Flower is 10 and Jelly Bean is 8.) I generally alternate who I ask to do which chores, but not always. Mostly, it is just "Flower, you may go do X. And Jelly Bean, please go do that." Here are the types of chores that they usually do:

• Unload the dishwasher
• Wipe down the bathroom counters and the toilets
• Clean the mirrors in the bathrooms
• Sweep and swiffer the bathroom floors
• Sweep and swiffer the dining room and kitchen floors
• Transfer clothes from the washer to the dryer
• Take the trash out
• Vacuum the living room, hallway and upstairs bedrooms
• Dust

And lest you think that I'm just sitting there eating bon-bons while I direct them, I'm usually doing things like folding clothes, putting clothes away, loading the dishwasher, changing diapers on the toddler and the baby that I watch, making bottles for the baby, wiping the counters down in the kitchen, putting stuff away that doesn't belong in the living room or kitchen, vacuuming the preschool area, and doing any of the things that the girls don't get to, etc.

And why don't I do more of this at night, you may ask? Well, the toddler and baby leave around 5:15, and then we eat dinner, and then at least a couple nights a week, we have an outside activity. Super gets in bed by 7:00 pm and the girls are in bed by 7:30 pm. On some nights, I need to do prep for preschool/homeschool the next day. And I have to be in bed by 9 pm because I get up at 4:45 am so I can go to the gym. So oftentimes, I just don't have much time to clean in the evenings. Plus, if I do it in the evening, I would probably start it after the kids went to bed, and I don't want to deprive the girls of their opportunity to be helpful LOL

We usually start chores at 8 am, and the goal is to get everything done by 9 am. Most of the time, we get the chores done around 8:45 am. Most of the time, the girls don't even complain about doing their chores. I'm not lying! I don't know what has come over them, but I'm just keeping quiet and being grateful!

Want to become more of a minimalist but don't know where to start???

Or maybe you like the idea of it, but you think of minimalism as one room, one table, one chair, one bed, one set of sheets, one comforter, and one pillow. Or something like that.

Well, here is a list to help get you started by just cutting down the number of things that you have in each category. Or maybe things that would be less painful to give up than say, your stove or something. LOL

101 Physical Things That Can Be Reduced In Your Home

You remember my complaining last summer . . .

about how busy we were? Remember how I confessed that I fell off the Simple wagon last summer?

Well, here we are and it is May. It isn't Summer yet. And I'm trying to look ahead and make things different.

Well, maybe not different exactly. Because both girls will be doing Swim Team this year, and Super is going to be doing T-Ball, so that part of our schedule will stay basically the same. I thought long and hard about having the children involved in summer activities. And I decided that for OUR family, that it is a good fit. But what I can control is how organized about those activities, and what we do with the time that is not involved in sports.

We are still going to do the Library Reading program, but we are not going to Story Hour, and I'm going to be very selective with the Reading Program activities that we go to. We are not going to do Running Club. We aren't going to do any day camps. We aren't going to any playgroup/kid get together activities. I'm not going to do a structured learning time (although we are going to still have some preschool materials out this summer, and the girls are going to continue doing Math during the summer.) But I'm not doing like Bug Week for preschool or anything like that. No circle time. No Helper Jobs. Just the materials. They can use them. Or not. We are not going to watch television. We are not going to watch movies.

So what are we going to do? Well, we are going to spend a lot of time outside. That is for sure. We'll play on the playset. We'll play in the pool. We'll work on the garden. We'll walk on the Trail. I'll read stories. We'll crochet. We will go to the Nature Center. We will go to the Zoo. We will go to the Park. And we will work. Chores will continue. Projects will be done.

And I want to do look beyond our family too. Simple Mom is talking today about 10 ideas to Inspire Community Connections. She talks about things like having a block party or baking for a cause or being part of a solution to a community problem. And I'm not sure yet what we will do, but I want to do at least one thing that helps my children feel connected to their neighborhood, their community.

And in terms of me not falling off the Simple wagon, well, I've been making some changes to eating more simply lately (and healthier), and I anticipate continuing that. I'm exercising. I'm clearing my house of lots and lots of extra "stuff". I'm starting my garden. I go outside, often, and just look at things.

I'm sure that it won't be the perfect Simple summer. But I'm hoping that it is a Good One. Maybe even a Great One.

Looking Beyond Spring Cleaning . . .

I always get that BUG this time of year. Suddenly, I NEED to purge. I NEED to organize, and this year, I NEED to have a garage sale. (Well, I'm not actually having one, but I'm sending a TON of stuff to my MIL for their big apartment-wide garage sale.) I know it is because it is Spring. It just feels right, to come out of hibernation and clear out the area. It just feels right that in the Spring, there is SPACE. This year, I'm feeling even more driven than usual. This year, I really want to try and get rid of some things we aren't using. This year, I really want to try and go through things and only keep what we need. Only keep the best of the best.

I was reading on (In)Courage, and this is what she had to say about Spring Cleaning, and it helped me look beyond just cleaning to clean. Get rid of things just to get rid of them.

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"Spring cleaning is merely a band-aid unless you frequently take some time to evaluate your inner life and heart. This is because holding on to clutter is merely a symptom of a deeper heart issue -- and this is the place where the root needs to be nurtured and fertilized. And sometimes pruned.

As we manage the stuff in our homes that God has entrusted to us, the question for all of us is this -- "Where do I put my trust?"

Do I put my trust in the stuff around me? Do I hold on to things because, all glory to God, I'm able to find a use for them around my home or they add beauty to our environment? Or do I hold on to things out of fear?

• Am I scared to sell our plethora of unused children's clothes given by my mother-in-law because it might damage our relationship?

• Even though our unloved Christmas china would sell for a pretty sum, am I holding on to it because I feel like it defines who we are as a family?

• Do I hold on to my old high school notes, the souvenirs from my European trip in college, and the ticket stubs from our honeymoon because if I let them go, I'll forget that they were important?

This isn't to say having stuff is bad. It's not. Many, many times the material things in our life truly are blessings, and in light of these things, we must be thankful. God blesses us richly. Heck, nine times out of ten, He blesses us beyond all we ask or imagine, with things we don't even need. He owns the cattle on a thousand hills.

But while on Earth, we constantly need to be mindful of our status here as stewards, not as owners. And stewardship means to manage well.

Let's manage the stuff that truly is a blessing with honor and integrity, to the glory of Him who gave it in the first place. And the things that are no longer a blessing for us -- let's bless someone else by giving it away or selling it.

Because with spring cleaning, that's all decluttering really is -- thanking God by fully enjoying His blessings in our life, and passing on everything else so that it can bless someone else."

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So here's to being thankful and appreciating the things that are truly enriching our lives, but here's also to blessing others with those things that don't. And remember, things are just things, but people are real.

Pardon me while I have my midlife crisis . . .

OK, I've been going through my midlife crisis for a couple months now. But it took me until the last week or so to realize that is what I'm going through. When I hear the words "midlife crisis", I imagine a 50 year old balding, pudgy, male who goes out and buys a sports car or a boat to make himself feel young again. I'm not 50 (yet), balding, or male (I am, shall we say, fluffy though) and I haven't purchased a car or a boat recently (I wouldn't mind a boat though. Something to do a little fishing, a little water skiing . . . but I digress . . . )

I'm 43. Turning 40 didn't really seem like that big of deal. It had seemed like I'd been in my 30s forever, and so I guess I just sort of expected that 40 would eventually come. But when I turned 40, it made me unique within my group of friends. When I turned 40, not one of my local friends was in their 40s. Most of them were in their early to mid 30s. A couple of them were still in their 20s.

I think that part of the fact that I didn't have my break down at 40 was that when I turned 40, Super was still 1 (well, he was 23 months, but he still technically wasn't 2 yet.) Flower was 6 (almost 7) and Jelly Bean was 4. My kids were young. My friends' kids were young.

But it has been 3.5 years now. Super is 5. He is not a baby. He is not a toddler. He is almost not a preschooler. And almost all of my friends have had more babies since I had Super. I think it is easier to not feel like you are getting older when you still are having babies. Well, maybe that is just me. For me, it was easier for me to feel like I was not getting older when I was still having babies.

And lately, there have been so many reminders of how old I am becoming. I was at the thrift store the other day (when am I not at a thrift store? LOL) and there was a Schwinn Varsity bicycle sitting there. I told Flower "That looks just like the bicycle that I saved up to get. I think it was 1980 when I got my bike." There was a man standing there and he said "Wow. So 30 years ago, huh?" Oh MY. I mean, it doesn't feel like yesterday that I got my bike, but 30 years? Seriously?

I graduated from high school 25 years ago. 25! Seriously????

Well, surely it hasn't been very long since I bought my first car. Uh, well, yea, it has. I bought it in 1990. 20 YEARS AGO.

I got married in 1995. That was 15 years ago. I remember when my PARENTS had their 15th wedding anniversary.

Well, at least it isn't that long since I had my first child. Just 10 years. 10??? How can that be possible?

And of course, it has been 5 since Super was born.

SIGH. Big SIGH.

Things have gone by so fast. And I just want things to start SLOWING down.

Or if that can't happen, and if I can't go back in time either, well, at least maybe I could feel settled about where I am right now.

A big Nope on that one too.

Unsettled is putting it mildly. I'm not where I imagined I would be in so many areas of my life. And so I stew. I reflect. I try and think about what I could be doing instead. And then sometimes, I feel sad about it. I try not to feel sad about all the time that has gone by. All the things that I could have done. All the paths I didn't take. All the choices that I didn't pick. But sometimes, I just can't help it.

I try to tell myself that just because I'm going through a different stage now that it doesn't mean it is bad. I try to tell myself that the best could be yet to come. I try to tell myself that just because things haven't really changed for me in the past few years, that that doesn't mean that there isn't lots of great still coming up. I try to tell myself that it is up to me to change. It is up to me to start trying new things. Picking new paths. Exploring things, choices that I didn't have the opportunity to do when I was younger. When the kids were younger. But sometimes, I can't make myself. Honestly, it is more than sometimes that I can't.

So here I am. A 43 year old woman who spends way too much of her time reflecting on her past, present and future. And probably not nearly enough time accepting what was and changing what could be.

You know, maybe I'll just buy that boat and that will solve all my problems.

Food Storage Series: Rice

1 cup uncooked rice = 3 cups cooked

Rice is of such antiquity that the precise time and place of its first development will perhaps never be known. The cultivation of rice began as early as 6,000 BC making rice one of the oldest grains grown for food. It is a dietary staple for almost half the world's population. Rice has fed more people over a longer period of time than has any other crop. In several Asian languages the words for rice and food are identical. Rice has been produced in the U.S. since late 1600 A.D.

Rice is gluten -free and non-allergenic. Most people with food allergies are not allergic to rice. Rice cereal is usually the first solid food given to babies.

There are many ways to cook rice. To retain vitamins, do not rinse enriched rice before or drain after cooking. Rice can be cooked in water, juice, milk or bouillon. It can be steamed or boiled; cooked, then fried, or added to puddings. A bit of oil will help keep the grains from sticking together and a little salt adds flavor. As soon as the cooked grains are tender all the way through but still firm, the rice is done. The easiest way to test for tenderness is to taste it. The grains should have no hardness in the center. A combination of rice with other grains or legumes will increase nutrition and add variety to meals.

How rice cooks changes from variety to variety, even from batch to batch. Brown rice cooks longer than white, old rice absorbs more water than new. All cook by the same principles: Add rice to boiling water, stir, cover, reduce heat, cook. Water will be absorbed into rice or evaporate during cooking. Let rice sit off the heat, with lid on, at least 5 minutes or as long as 30 minutes. This results in a uniform texture, with the bottom layer as fluffy as the top. Cooked rice stored tightly covered will last up to one week in the refrigerator or in the freezer for 6 months.

Rice recipes will be up on Simply Recipes in the next few days.

Teenagers . . .

No, I don't have any of my own yet. For the record, the Simple Kids are 10, 8, and 5.

Teenagers scare me.

I've been scared about my children turning into teenagers since they were born I think.

And I'm generally someone who isn't scared of that much. I'm also someone who kind of rolls with life. Maybe not always happily, but rolls none the less.

And I was a teenager, and I turned out o.k. Eventually.

I think it is the eventually part that makes me scared.

That, and when I see other teenagers. I see how snotty they are to each other. I see how mean they can be. I see how how rude they are to anyone that they don't know. I know that not all teenagers are like that.

And I really, truly, don't think that I was snotty, mean, or rude.

But I also see other teenagers. The ones that worry about what others think about them. The ones that get hurt, so hurt, way too young. The ones who are lost and feel like no one understands them. The ones who can't see past today, much less what their life will be, could be in a year, in 5 years.

That kind of teenager was closer to me. And I know not all teenagers are like that either.

My parents were good parents. They were strict, but I always knew they loved me. But yet, things went wrong for me during those years. And some days, I still feel like that 15 year old. A fifteen year old that was so lost, and in so much pain, and couldn't/wouldn't let anybody help her.

It could have been worse. And I know, I know that I'm not the only one who had a tough time as a teenager.

And I think teenage-dom is tough on some level for everyone. And I think, honestly, it is supposed to be. If everything was great, you'd never leave home. If everything was easy, you'd never have to learn how strong you were. If you could do everything well, you'd never have to learn how to try. Or how to fail, and try again.

But yet, I'm so afraid for my children when they become teenagers. I want someone to promise me that they won't be hurt too badly. I want someone to promise me that they won't make bad decisions that will affect the rest of their lives. I want someone to promise me that we will be able to have a good relationship, not necessarily the same kind of relationship that we have now, but one that is still nurturing while giving them the freedom to grow. I want someone to promise me that I won't be so afraid of the bad, that I don't allow them to do things that will help them be great.

But there are no promises like that in Life.

And I know that people say "You can teach them, and lead by example, and then you just have to trust."

I am going to have to spend all of the next few years, trying to do all of those things better - teaching, leading, and trusting.

But maybe the next year and a half could go really slow. Or maybe we could have three Mays this year. And four or five Augusts. Or maybe time could just stand still for a few months.

But I'll probably just have to settle for looking at them at night and trying to freeze the image of them still young, in my mind.