small success

Small Success Thursday

/ CAstfalk / 6 Comments

Small Success Thursday

I needed the small successes this week. I look around me and see major, seemingly insurmountable tasks that take more time than I have available. It’s discouraging. These little successes remind me all hope is not lost.

  1. The financial stuff caught up. Ordinarily, I sync Quicken with our online accounts each weekday. With Christmas, I got a bit behind.  Come January, I had dozens of transactions to categorize. A flurry of Amazon and PayPal purchases took hours to sift through, matching the amount with the product so that I could properly account for where our money had gone. And then there were the bills. It took a full morning, but everything is paid up and all accounts are balanced. Continue reading →

Small Success Thursday

/ CAstfalk / 3 Comments

Small Success Thursday

Why small success? Because that’s the only kind I know! Even the big ones come in small steps. Here’s my paltry offering for the week:

    1. Halloween Costumes – The first costume completed was an angel for my second grader. We re-used the pretty white dress she wore this summer when she was part of her cousin’s wedding. Then we found some DIY angel wings on Pinterest that we created using cereal boxes, coffee filters, sheet music, Mod Podge, and a glue gun. I made a simple halo using gold chenille stems (apparently they’re not “pipe cleaners” anymore) and other gold “stuff” I found at the craft store. My preschoolers are going as Sheriff Callie and Spiderman in the store-bought costumes they wanted. You’d think that would mean no work for me, but after they tried on their quality apparel, I had minor sewing jobs to do on each. My seventh grader wanted to be a Star Wars tie fighter pilot until his leg landed in an immobilizer. Now we’re working on an Igor/hunchback costume. Continue reading →

Small Success Thursday

/ CAstfalk / 6 Comments

Small Success Thursday

Why small success? Because that’s the only kind I know! Even the big ones come in small steps. Here’s my paltry offering for the week:

  1. Back-to-School Paperwork Conquered – I survived the beginning-of-the-school-year-paperwork flurry. After filling out umpteen forms replete with multiple emergency contacts with multiple contact phone numbers for multiple children and a range of other forms requiring my signature, I thought my work was done. Then a second round of papers hit at back-to-school night. I think I’ve completed every necessary form and attached every necessary payment without letting things fall through the cracks. I think.  Continue reading →

Small Success Thursday

/ CAstfalk / 2 Comments

Small Success Thursday

Why small success? Because that’s the only kind I know! Even the big ones come in small steps. Here’s my paltry offering for the week:

 

  1. School Uniforms Ready – School starts for my kids in less than two weeks , so I sorted through all the old stuff, had them try it on, and made a list of what was needed. The school uniform exchange was a disappointment as we went in with a bag of outgrown clothes and walked out with one blouse. On to the uniform store, where I dropped a bundle of money. Luckily the young lady who helped us (and gently tried to up-sell us) moved us through quickly so that the little ones didn’t do too much damage as, for reasons unknown to me, is their wont in that particular store.

    School Uniforms

    Some of our take from the uniform store.

    2. Continue reading →

Small Success Thursday

/ CAstfalk / 4 Comments

Small Success Thursday

Why small success? Because that’s the only kind I know! Even the big ones come in small steps. Here’s my paltry offering for the week.

  1. Took the kids to the swimming pool. Doesn’t sound like much, but last year I was afraid to take them all swimming without another adult along. With only one adult for a one-year-old, a two-year-old, and a six-year-old who still needed a little supervision, I feared a drowning. It’s amazing what a year of maturity will do. Now the two oldest can play independently at the pool, and the two youngest are slightly less erratic and crazy.

    2. Continue reading →

Small Success Thursday

/ CAstfalk / 5 Comments

Small Success Thursday

Why small success? Because that’s the only kind I know! Even the big ones come in small steps. Here’s my paltry offering for the week.

  1. Baked, baked, and baked some more. I killed my hand mixer, and my oven is liable to rebel from extreme overuse. It started with chocolate chip cookies and snickerdoodles for the junior high youth ministry. I suspected their energy levels might be depleted after zip lining and rolling around in an OGO ball.

    I moved on to blueberry muffins and gingerbread cake for an upcoming blog post featuring more recipes from Stay With Me. Next came banana bread (see #3). And finally, I baked six-dozen heart-shaped beauties for the cookie table at my niece’s wedding next week. What? You don’t know what a cookie table is? I dare you to Google “Pittsburgh wedding cookie tables,” look at the images, and not salivate. Continue reading →

Small Success Thursday

/ CAstfalk / 7 Comments

Small Success Thursday

Why small success? Because that’s the only kind I know! Even the big ones come in small steps. Here’s my paltry offering for the week.

  1. I sorted through the end-of-school-year stuff. When my school-aged children returned from their last day of school with bulging backpacks, I sorted through their, ahem, stuff. Instead of piling it all somewhere to deal with “later,” I immediately funneled their art tools, projects, notebooks, and supplies into either the trash, the recycling bin, or an appropriate drawer. Some stuff came home barely used, so that should cut down on needed supplies for next school year.

Continue reading →