Mandy Knits a Lot and other musings from a pastor's wife

As of now, both the dryer and the washer are empty. That's unusual for me. There's no piles in baskets. In fact, all the baskets are empty and piled up themselves. There are small piles of neatly folded clothes for each of us. All clean clothes are folded. There is quite a pile of dirty clothes in front of the washer, but those don't count in the resolution. It is so nice to be able to find any piece of clothing that I have and it's right where it is supposed to be. I also hung up a rod in the laundry room for hanging up hanging clothes. Dave went through all his clothes and got rid of everything that doesn't fit or he just doesn't wear. I think he's got about 3 button-up shirts and 2 dozen t-shirts left. The closet is much emptier, and so less laundry. This is probably the most boring blog in the world, but folding laundry is a big deal because it had become so much of an issue to me. It's like Clean Sweep or How Clean is Your House. Getting rid of the ...

New Year's Resolutions have always been a big joke to me. Last year I resolved to not drink any coffee. I detest coffee. But this year, I'm going to try one. Laundry is a huge issue for me. I don't enjoy it. Washing and drying is easy. Putting clothes into one machine and then into another is a simple quick task. I don't mind that. I only have to remind myself that my grandmother had to haul all the clothes outside and wash them by hand--she had 6 kids. However, after the dryer comes the problem. I'm usually looking for a shirt or jeans that I know is in the dryer because I washed them a few days before. After I pull all the clothes out of the dryer, Elizabeth finds me and gets all under my feet, so now I have to leave the pile to tend to her. After 5 or 6 loads, that makes quite a pile. It's hard to find 2 little baby socks in all that. It has gotten so bad that I put a box in the laundry room to put in clothes that I find that are too little for the kids. Some...

Dave and I recently had a second child, a girl, join our family. Her big brother Matt is incredibly protective of her. He tells EVERYONE, "Don't look at Elizabeth!" And he means it, too! The jump from 1 child to 2 has been quite an adjustment for me. I had almost a year to adjust to not working before Elizabeth was born. Most days it was just Matt and me. I was able to spend quite a bit of time with him. I've come to realize that one more child does not just double to work--it's multiplied. Despite all the extra work, I wouldn't trade these days for anything!