Last week I came across this (basically the idea that Thursdays should be reserved for random musings because it’s too close to Friday to be overly coherent) and I love it! So here is some of the craziness that’s swirling around in my head right now…

(Linking up with Amanda)

1. Why isn’t summer over already??

We had one amazing day last week where it was in the mid 70s by sunset and I could actually take the kids for a walk outside, but its been high 90s and low 100s ever since and I die a little inside every time I have to go outside for any reason. It’s funny, I’ve lived in Arizona for 13 years now and the summers still make me feel like I’m dying. The only way my body has adjusted is that it’s freezing for me when it hits 65 degrees, but 85 still feels like I’m roasting on the sun. I wish the monsoons would start already, we get the best lightening storms out here! You should seriously Google Arizona lighting storms, you find pictures like this…

You can even find pictures of the dust storms that usually come with the lightning —

kinda scary the first time you see one of those coming at you, but once you get used to them they’re really cool to watch. I’ve never gotten a really good lightning picture on my own, so it’s awesome that so many people have posted amazing pics online. 🙂

I need to have our backyard and patio fixed up by next summer so we have a good place to sit outside and watch the storms…

2. My body is finally starting to feel the tiniest sense of normalcy.

Even with my attempts to move more often and start working out regularly, my body has still been feeling odd. My joints hurt more often than they ever have (more on that later), my stamina is less than it should be, and I get still get tired and crabby pretty easily (although this might be from a genuine lack of sleep).

This last week I realized while I still have a lot to do to get back into shape, it’s easier to move and working out feels more natural. I was able to job for longer without needing walk breaks, and when I do a plyo workout I can actually get my knees up for tuck jumps. It’s been a bit of a frustrating process trying to establish a routine for getting my workouts done, mostly because the kids are not always on a regular schedule, so it’s so nice to see the time I’m putting in paying off! 🙂

3. I. HATE. CLUTTER.

I’ve mentioned before that I’m (yet again) clearing out some excess this week, and I seriously can’t believe how much stuff we have after 3 previous “clearing out” sessions. These weren’t “oh I’ll get rid of a box of clothes” sessions, they each involved at least half a dozen medium to large boxes, and most also involved large objects that couldn’t fit in boxes. Crazy how fast stuff accumulates!

We’re trying to make the loft a more kid friendly space, so we got a small trampoline and my parents bought Micah a gorgeous train set and table for his birthday, so we’re rearranging everything to be centered around those two toys (since they’re the biggest).

I love that Micah is willing to share this — I expected him to be pretty territorial but he seems happy to have found something where Jonah can actually play with him.

It’ll be even more fun when Jonah can actually get in the trampoline too! Micah and Kinsey have fun together, but he really misses her when she’s not with us and Jonah just isn’t old enough to try to fill that void. The three of them are going to be adorably inseparable, I can’t wait! 🙂

I’m kind of weird about getting rid of stuff, and I wind up going from one extreme to the other. I start out saving absolutely everything because we might have a use for it someday, which crowds up our limited storage space…then things we use every day start staying out because there isn’t any storage space for them anymore…and then one day I realize I’m drowning in clutter and I must throw away EVERYTHING WE OWN. My husband is a minimalist so it really cracks him up to see me go from one extreme to the other, and he loves it when I’m in a purging mood.

I remember one day when I was pregnant I got tired of all the movies cluttering up our walls that we rarely watch, and I took over a hundred of them to a second hand store to sell back (got like $25 for them lol, such a rip off but I was happy to be rid of them). Last night I ran out of hangars for the kids clothes, and since I have over two hundred kids hangars in my house (for just 3 kids) today is my day to DONATE ALL THE CLOTHES!! Just for the record — we don’t normally purchase a ton of clothes for the kids because they grow so quickly, we’ve just been blessed with generous friends whose kids are growing out of clothes that fit our kids perfectly. My daughter has so many shirts I bet that if I stopped washing her clothes she still couldn’t wear all of them before she grew out of them.  It’ll be funny to see how much stuff we still have when I’m done with this purge — I swear our clothes, toys, and dishes are all breeding!

4. Plain Cheerios are gross. 

Jonah is constantly asking for solid food, but since he’s only six months old there’s a limit on what I should be giving him. One of his favorite things to munch on is Cheerios, and being a generous boy he loves to try to put them in my mouth.

There’s nothing wrong with flavored Cheerios, but the plain ones just taste like cardboard. YUCK!

5. My baby is going to walk any day now.

It’s one of those proud but sad milestones for Moms, and I can’t believe how fast it’s coming.

He pulls himself up on everything he can grab, and he loves to jump in place.

He’s even tried to push off a few times and stand up on his own, but he doesn’t quite have the balance yet.

He doesn’t seem to mind falling though, and Micah thinks it’s hilarious that Jonah is trying to walk. These boys are going to give me a run for my money in about 6 months… 😛

Speaking of baby milestones — first two teeth coming through! It’s easier to see the one right in front of my index finger, the other one is only through on one corner. Hopefully that doesn’t mess with nursing, I’m a little nervous about being bitten.

6. My family is amazing!

My family is pretty spread out around the country, with us in Arizona, most of my hubby’s family on the west coast, and most of my family on the east coast, and then one sister smack in the middle. I’m just feeling blessed today at how much they all love and take care of us even though it can be hard to stay in touch on a daily basis because of the distance. We don’t always get along but they’ve always been there for me when it matters, and I’m so grateful to have such amazing people in my life.

Now I just have to figure out how to get them all to move to the middle of the burning desert so I can see them all more often! Or find a friend with a private jet lol, either way. 😉

What is one thing on your mind today?