What I am trying...

This week I received my first Stitch Fix. Now, I am a HUGE fan of Thread Up (an online thrift store) but thought I would try this other service as I had heard such good things about it. You go to the site and fill out a quick style questionnaire. Then you are given a stylist for a $20 consultation fee (this fee is taken off the cost of any of the items you choose to keep from your "fix"). Then you can schedule your fix to be shipped automatically (every month, three months, four months...). I love getting things in the mail and this was no exception! I was excited to see what my stylist Cookie had chosen for me...

 

You get five items in your fix along with an inspiration card telling how to pair the items together. I received one dress, a skirt, two shirts, and a bracelet.

 

Cookie had a few hits and a few misses. I did try everything on as they suggest. They say you never know when you just think you hate something (I can attest to that as when the bridal stylist brought my wedding dress out to try on and I thought to myself, "Are you insane? That is the ugliest thing I have ever seen." Needless to say as soon as I put it on I was in love!) but really it is just the right cut/color/style for you! You won't know until you try, so I trusted Cookie's expertise and had my own fashion show in Thaddeus' room.

 

In the end the only winners were...

This dress (not surprising it had "me" written all over it.) and a surprising choice in the bracelet they sent. Juliette and I both loved it! I liked that for the first one they sent a $20 option so I could find something I liked and not lose out on my $20 styling fee.

 

Now I just pack up the three items I did not like in the paid and addressed envelope they include in the fix and drop it in a USPS box within three days. Then I fill out the online check out form. Here I am able to give Cookie feedback to help make my next fix be even better. You also can make a Pinterest board for your stylist so they can get a better idea of what you like. If you buy all five items you get a 25% discount.

 

I think this was a fun way to try out new brands and styles than I may choose for myself. It is more expensive than Thread Up, but since they allow you to give a price point to your stylist they know what you are comfortable spending. It will be a fun way to add a few things monthly to my wardrobe once school starts without me having to do anything at all!

 

If you want to give it a try click the link below. Let me know what you think!

 

https://www.stitchfix.com/

 If you sign up use my referral code 5013451

 

    

     

Thaddeus Newsbreak

Today was one of those wonderful, simple days that you forget you are even in this leukemia battle. Thaddy spent most of this 115 degree day right here...

On the trampoline his Mema got him for his birthday. Put a sprinkler under it, add your two best friends, AKA your siblings, and you have something summer memories are made of! Before I start getting emails...yes he had sunscreen on...yes he drank a LOT of water...and YES he had an AWESOME day!! I was sad Monday when we heard his ANC (immune system) was low and that he could not return to VBS (nor could his siblings) but in the end, God knew what we needed. We needed a break where we were all enjoying our home and each other. We have had so much fun. Thanking God for these little breaks and reprieves from treatment. Thanking Him too that we did not have a break because Thaddy was sick. He feels great (I daresay better than he has in a LONG time). Considering many of our friends have been in and out of the hospital for various things recently we know to NOT take his health and happiness for granted. As it has been, we continue to be so blessed on this journey. Keep praying ...He hears us and answers our hearts desires. Surely goodness and mercy are following us all the days of our lives. These sweet summer days I feel it even more than usual.

Day One Entry: 31 Days to a Clutter Free Home

Day one on my 31 day journey...starts off fairly easy with the entry. This is not a hot spot for my family for anything other than shoes (as is apparent). So here is the before...

 

And here is the after...

 

 

All this day entailed for me was removing the shoes (but the real problem is not solved. I cannot find a good shoe system for this area. I am all for finding systems that work for us and not making us work for a system...but I cannot find anything that keeps these shoes put neatly away... suggestions welcome!) I had been needing to clean the paint off of this mirror for a few weeks (after the kids were gifted some mirror paint they went on a painting binge!). Jamie helped me hang a curtain rod to display all the boys medals. I then just cleaned the walls, baseboards, dusted, rearranged the trophies, and cleaned the floors very well. Day one done!

Tomorrow we tackle our mail system. =)

 

 



Weekly Random Act of Kindness (RAK)

Friday is going to be where I share a Random Act of Kindness (RAK) our family has done during the week. We like to do small things, preferably child led, for someone else. This week I am sharing about my son Thaddeus and his homeless blessing bags. This all began because on his drive to the clinic for his leukemia treatments we pass by many homeless people. They have always bothered his sweet heart and he has been looking for a way to help them. When we began discussing his birthday he decided in lieu of gifts he would ask for donations from a list he created so he could make blessing bags to keep in the car to pass out to homeless people who cross his path. With help from the Bishop Gorman Football players he was able to collect enough items to make 38 bags! We will be adding a Bible from Stephanie's Wish (Stephanie felt called to pass out one million Bibles to people who had lost hope) to each bag and then passing them out to homeless people around the valley.

If you would like to learn more about Stephanie and the wish her parents are working hard to fulfill in her memory go to...
http://www.stephanieswish.org/index.php

Share a RAK you have done with your kids. We are always looking for new ideas.

Thaddeus Newsbreak

My plan for this blog is to give me a place to share my MANY thoughts (mostly to give my Facebook friends a break). I obviously am in a stage of life where the fact that Thaddeus (my son 8) has Acute T Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia consumes many of my waking moments. Through this leukemia battle we have strived to maintain as normal a life as possible for him, our other children, and ourselves. I'd like to daily share a "Thaddeus Newsbreak" to not only keep his "fans" up to date but also to serve as a way for us to document his journey. We hope someday to be able to give hope to other kids who are newly diagnosed with leukemia. When Thaddy got his diagnosis we spent many a hospital night laying awake searching the internet for a shred of hope. Was this the end of life as we knew it? Was Thaddy ever going to be like he was October 21st; the day before his diagnosis? Overwhelmingly the answer seemed to be no. We read horror stories of treatment and side effects (and let me tell you they are no joke!) and mostly of what kids and families have lost because you lose A LOT. I did not find TOO many cases of kids continuing to do gymnastics (but there were a few) or hockey (again some) but NONE that played tackle football or wrestled. Well Thaddy WILL be doing these things and I want some little super star football players parents to be able to find him and SEE him doing these things when their child gets diagnosed. I want them to know it does not HAVE to be their story that at 7 so many doors are forever closed because childhood cancer sneaks in unwanted. Do NOT get me wrong...the "cancer life" is full of things that are NO good...but we do not get a choice in the matter. The only choice we have is to rise up to the occasion and fight this battle. Everyday FIGHTING to find joy in the journey. To not just get by, but to THRIVE. Treatment is 3.5 years.. that is a long time. So in this little corner of the internet I will share what MY baby and family are doing to not let him be a "cancer kid" but to be Thaddeus that is a quarterback for the Red Eagles, a number one ranked wrestler, a rock climber, a gymnast, a ballet dancer...and he happens to have leukemia. It is not WHO he is, it is something he has. I do not want to look back and see we lost HIM in this. God created him to be SO very special and it is my job and HONOR to protect that and to help him reach ALL his goals in SPITE of this diagnosis. So this is entry one...yesterday he turned 8. He got to celebrate with the football players from the NUMBER ONE ranked school in the nation Bishop Gorman. He played around the world with a super stud quarterback (Tate Martell: remember the name you will be seeing a lot more of him in the upcoming years...), kickball with the varsity line, tetherball with the star running back...it was amazing and it all started with ONE text. A text from the team mom who heard from a friend, who heard from a friend on FB that Thaddy was not going to be able to have his birthday party due to low blood counts. The boys passed the text around and showed up at our house on their own because they wanted our baby boys birthday to be special. Which it was...very. He has Tate's phone number now (and was invited to call him anytime!), invitations to come for team practice, games, special events... what leukemia tried to rob him of (a birthday) God intervened and used the community to make his day BETTER than we could have imagined. That is what we have learned these past eight months...to let go, and let God. He will always do it better than our wildest dreams.

What I'm Reading...

As I try to get on a good schedule I will be sharing different things on different days. This will number one keep me accountable and also (if anyone EVER reads these thoughts lol) will allow for others to share what THEY are doing/reading/eating. Thursdays are going to be What I am reading this week days. I LOVE to read. I read when I am watching my son play hockey, in the bath, while my family watches TV...as often as I can! It makes me a better mother, wife, Christian, human being, parent to a child with leukemia...with that being said THIS week I am reading...

 

http://www.amazon.com/31-Days-Clutter-Free-Life/dp/0692252711/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=7+project+jenn+hatmaker

http://www.amazon.com/Happiness-Project-Morning-Aristotle-Generally/dp/006158326X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1434676158&sr=1-1&keywords=happiness+project

http://www.amazon.com/At-Home-Madame-Chic-Connoisseur/dp/1476770336/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1434676084&sr=1-1&keywords=madame+chic

I will let you know NEXT Thursday what I thought and what I will be reading the next week.

Mondays: What my kids are doing...
Tuesdays: What we are eating...
Wednesdays: What I am reading...
Thursdays: Our family weekly Random Acts of Kindness (RAKs)
Fridays: What we are liking/trying 
Saturdays: Family Bible Night...
Sundays: What our weekly goals are and how we did on last weeks goals...

31 Day Series: Organize Your Space

While Reading 31 Days to a Clutter Free Life by Ruth Soukup I was inspired! Now, as a teacher, I have these months off every summer I can live at my leisure. So it is easy for me to say, "I accept your challenge Ruth!" with gusto. In the middle of the year...not so much. BUT, the benefit to taking a month long challenge is that you can really get things in order and then all year you are just maintaining. Also, another benefit is that they say if you can do things for 21 days in a row you have developed a habit. If you de-clutter for 31 days you should be well on your way to establishing a habit of an organized home. Now the way the challenge works is you focus on one area a day. The challenges should take 30 minutes to one hour to complete. If it has been a long time since you really went through your areas you may have to do this challenge five (or ten) times to completely complete all the tasks. The trick is to not go over an hour; nobody has time for that! Also, like she says in the beginning of the book, prepare yourself for the process of letting go. If you do not find it beautiful or useful; let it go. If it is broken; let it go. If you are keeping it because it was expensive or a gift but you do not love it; let it go. Play the Frozen theme song in your head on repeat. After you complete the challenge you will be able to start next school year (yes I went there. I am talking about next school year!) on the right foot...the organized foot! So the order for the next seven days starting tomorrow is entryway, mail, living room, books/magazines, DVDs/video games, toys, and junk drawer. I think she starts off on the easier ones so you gain momentum and hone your clutter busting skills. In the book the Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo she also recommends a similar strategy. She explains that its easier to toss or donate an old VHS but harder to get rid of photographs or knick knacks that have sentimental value. That is why she saves those until last when your organization muscles are in top de-cluttering shape after many days of using them. In the morning I am going to post my before picture followed by the after. The process is removing anything that does not belong, cleaning the area, and then making sure all remaining items have a functional home. If everything does not have a place you will never stay organized. Good luck!

Buy the book for yourself at http://www.amazon.com/31-Days-Clutter-Free-Life/dp/0692252711/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8