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    • Being Satisfied
    • Winston Salem Home Tour
    • Easter Weekend Wrap up
    • Spring Home and Garden Show
    • Warm Spring Day
    • It’s beginning to look a lot like Spring

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This dining room won’t be seeing Thanksgiving dinner this year. Our family is scattered across the country so, we are keeping things simple. Or so I keep telling myself that. Who’s coming to your house for Turkey Day? #turkey #thanksgiving #family #simple #home #noplansarethebestplans
Love to see my kids in action. My oldest son took his grandmother’s old oak table and recycled it into a brand new piece. When the bones are good, use them! #recycle #home #homedecor #kitchen #oakfurniture

Much Loved Chaos

Where creativity and chaos ensue

  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Projects
    • Creating Birthday Invites
    • CRICUT T-SHIRT
    • Creating with the Cricut Machine
    • Crochet Baby Blanket
    • Crochet Potato
    • IKEA ROLLING CART
    • Restoring A Chest
    • The finished Chest
    • Kimo-YES!
    • Refreshing Porch Chairs
  • Homeschooling
    • A day is not what it used to be
  • Reviews
    • The Reason I want to Visit 1400s Italy
    • For the Love of Purses
    • BANGS SHOES
    • My, my, my Spartina
  • Simple Meals
    • Simple Dinner Ideas
    • Vegetable Beef Chowder
    • Simple Dinners: Meatloaf and Sides
    • Learning to eat with EoE
    • Simple Dinners: Meatloaf and Sides
    • Meals around Baseball
    • Spinach Quiche
    • Mother’s Day with a little bit of Blueberry Lemon Cake
  • Our Home
    • Home Tour: Dining Room
    • Home Tour: Entry Way
    • The making of a Guest Room
    • Adding to the Dining Room
    • The Redesign of My Room
    • Getting Creative with Storage
    • (G)Race to the end
    • Hints and thoughts for a Yard Sale
    • Becoming Conference 2018
    • Just another weekend at the Ballpark
    • Bye, Bye Flannels
    • Being Satisfied
    • Winston Salem Home Tour
    • Easter Weekend Wrap up
    • Spring Home and Garden Show
    • Warm Spring Day
    • It’s beginning to look a lot like Spring
  • Our Lives

When Life Throws You a Bag of Lemons

muchlovedchaos August 1, 2019

Today I opened up my Blog after months of a Pause. When I posted my last piece titled Pause, I had no idea what that would mean for our family.  As I scanned my last post, the first thing I saw was the word Pause, the next thing was the date, March 19, 2019.  These two things hold the key to where we have been for the past 4 1/2 months.

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Photo by rawpixel.com on Pexels.com

On March 19, 2019 at 5:40, I was watching L’il Man warm up for his baseball game.  My 16 yr old was standing close by getting ready for his practice when my phone rang.  I don’t remember a lot after that moment other than my husband speaking, me saying What? What? What? and No, No, No.  At that point my son came over to me, held my hand and things got blurry.

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Have you ever had a major life event happen totally unexpected that will drop you to your knees?  March 19th was that day for our family.  Our very healthy, she will live past all of us, walk 5 miles 4 days a week, yoga mother / grandmother left this earth.  It was so unexpected her doctor called me and was so baffled that he barely spoke.  She had just been in his office the day before.

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Grieving is a word that can take on so many meanings.  It is different for each of us.  It can tear us down to bits.  Some process loss easily and others just stop.  Each experience of loss will take you down a different path.  While you may be moving on; others may be standing still.  There may be anger, sadness, loneliness, defensiveness.  There is no right was to grieve, but grieve you must.

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Our family and her friends are still grieving.  This was a very hard loss.  My MIL had moved from MO 2 1/2 years ago to be close to us after my FIL passed away.  She lit up the lives of so many.  For weeks her Sunday School Class and her neighbors reached out to me asking for information, but there was nothing.

In the midst of all of this going on, my 16 yr old decided to try out his new mountain bike in our backyard and took a horrible tumble.  Yes, add it to the list I’d say as we drove to the ER.  Yes, confirmed, your son has broken his collarbone.

Mr Chaos was out of town and I was trying my best to keep things together.  It was hard…

So now here we are–August 1, 2019. A new month to bloom, rejoice and be Thankful.  Family and friends have reached out to me asking when I will get back to my Blog because they have missed it.  Well, today is the day!  That bag of Lemons that hit us so hard in the Spring is what we are going to make Lemonade with.

photo of lemon juice in glass bottle

Photo by rawpixel.com on Pexels.com

I have missed Much Loved Chaos! This is our life.  So much good stuff happened this summer and I can’t wait to share with you all of the projects and fun times we had.

Thank you for sticking with us!  Now go ahead and squeeze those lemons!!

XO,

Susan

 

  • Our Lives

Taking a Pause

muchlovedchaos March 19, 2019

When we go on vacation, I always find it amazing how tired we can be.  While we’re out of town, we are sleeping in late and hanging out in our PJ’s for half the day.  And when we return home, we ‘re still tired!  How is that?

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Based on this past week, there are no words other then this pause was much needed.  When life gets going, don’t you find yourself just jumping on the Merry Go Round and hoping for the best? There is always some sort of school work, housework, meal or sport practice that is in constant need.  We are spinning and spinning just trying to keep a balance and stay on top of this craziness.

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Taking care of yourself is important and we hear it all the time, but when do we have time? As I’ve said before, our kids are allowed 1 activity of their choice outside of school and church.  But even with that rule, things can still stay pretty fast paced.

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It was Kendall’s Spring Break and she really wanted to head south.  “Anywhere warm, please, mom” were her words and we did just that!

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We packed it up and it was fabulous.  Even though it was no where near warm enough for a dip in the pool or wading in the ocean, it was wonderful!  We had no agenda, nowhere to be, and everyone was loving the new short lived pace.  The kids brought games, we rented bikes and we spent time in the sand.  Smore’s was offered nightly and lemonade and cookies at 3pm daily.  Wow! What a treat! Taking a Pause and allowing someone else–a total stranger to manage these extracurricular activities is fabulous!

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It’s the middle of March now and we are approaching the first day of Spring.  Take time and truly Pause and enjoy the beauty that is beginning to unfold outside.  Sometimes when you need to break the cycle, you can’t get away, but you can pause even if its for 15 minutes a day.

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Here’s to your 15 minutes!

XO, 

Susan

  • Projects

Repurposing Quaker Oats Containers

muchlovedchaos February 4, 2019

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Hello Friends!

Before Kendall headed back to school, we worked on a quick little project.  The project started with two Quaker Oats oatmeal containers, scrapbook paper and ribbon.

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The containers will give her storage for her pens and pencils at school.  Kendall has lots of pens, pencils and markers as well as paint brushes and paint.  Artist at work you might say.

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First we selected our paper.  Trying to keep the two close to complimentary.  Then we measured and cut the paper to fit the container.

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After the paper was cut, we put glue on the paper and rolled the container over the paper.  We used clear Elmers Glue this time and I don’t think it really made the project dry any better.

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Once this dried, we added the ribbon and a chalk label.

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To finish the project, we added paper to the lid.  Not only an easy project, but it met a need and repurposed a couple containers.

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You can mix the lids and add a little personality to your new containers.  Look at all those writing tools.

Try this at home when you have a few extra minutes.  The hardest part for us was picking the paper!

Have a wonderful Day!

XO,

Susan

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