We had a yard sale a few weeks ago. The whole community that we live in sponsored it. I love yard sales. Not the actual selling part, or the pricing part. But the feeling I get when I get rid of stuff that we no longer need.
It makes me feel lighter, freer. And it adds a dash of order and organization to our otherwise chaotic home of six people. Plus it makes more room for the new "stuff" that will ineveitably come into the home each holiday and birthday...
It was hot as hades the day of the sale. Felt like 90 degrees by 8 a.m., and humid too. Eric helped me drag out the clothes, old strollers, baby clothes, toys, and knick knacks. And I sat there in the heat for 4 hours. People were funny; most wanted to negotiate and pay next to nothing for the items. But it felt good to see so much of it go. I am going to drop off the rest of the things that didn't sell this week at the consignment store.
Christian was funny about the sale. He ran outside to inspect the toys I had for sale. They were mostly little baby items that the boys had outgrown. He looked around for a minute and turned to me with a puzzled look, "Where did the cars go Mommy?" He wanted some big boy toys. So, his sister walked him to the neighbor's sale and found a race track with two cars for $2.50. He was thrilled! He sat there and played with it on the hot driveway while I talked to customers. "Hi people!" he'd call to them. "See my new cars?" So cute.
Next up on my list to clean will be the older kids' rooms. Let's face it, their rooms are never in great shape even when clean. But lately, they had been pretty decent (ie no food, dishes, or trash around. Just some dirty clothes and clean ones scattered). But then, their teachers had them clean out their desks and lockers for the end of the school year. Oui vay. For two days they brought home notebooks, projects, supplies, and papers. Now their room look like supply stores! So we wiil have to have a room cleaning party next week.
I am doing a little "house cleaning" with my diet lately too. I found out 4 years ago that I am allergic to milk and corn. I never did anything about it because the task seemed too daunting, plus I was going through two pregnancies (not a great time to diet). Recently though, I grew weary of always having a stuffy nose and skin rashes and irritations. So, I decided to eliminate corn and dairy. Boy did it make a difference! I am less itchy, less sneezy, stuffy, and so on. And it sure cuts down on my snacking. Do you know that the food industry puts corn in almost everything?
Corn syrup is the worst offender. I read that the stuff is addictive and leads to obesity. It makes you crave more sugar. Well, it is in most deli meat, most ketchup, candies, cookies, wheat thins...you name it! So, needless to say, I don't snack as much. When I do it tends to be apples, peanuts, pita chips, or a piece of toast.
The "babies" are happy with my "allergy house cleaning" and new milk-free living. They have benefited because I am stocking the house with more milk-free bread, rice cheese, and rice milk ice cream.
Just last night we had breakfast for dinner. I made french toast with soy milk and eggs for us, regular milk french toast for Lanae, and pancakes (batter had corn in it) for Eric. Colin had a nitrite-nitrate free hot dog and gluten-free spaghetti. :-) We are a complicated bunch for sure.
The hardest part of my new allergy-free living is learning what to order at my favorite place: Chick-fil-A. Alas, they put corn and milk in almost everything they serve. Even the fries...and chicken...and Chick-fil-A sauce! I think I could safely have their side salad (no dressing), cole slaw, and raisin and carrot salad, and a regular lemonade (the diet lemonade has corn in it!!!) I think I may cheat this weekend in honor of Father's Day. We have some coupons for free Chick-fil-A and we may all go as a family Saturday afternoon...the "babies" will suffer for the milk-filled chicken and I may need a benedryl after, but it is just so darn tasty it may be worth it.
That is all for now. The tale of Jen will continue next week...
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