MamaBlogga

Yesterday, I cleaned my desk (hurray; I’m still in shock). My little tip of the week: how to get rid of 6 months’ worth of junk mail in 20 minutes. (Oh, you read the title? Sorry.)

First, I know you’re wondering, Why did you have 6 months’ worth of junk mail in the first place? Truth be told, it’s been at least that long since I’ve cleaned off my desk. Sad.

My desk is where we keep the ‘to be shredded’ pile. We don’t throw away junk mail with the slightest hint of ‘private info,’ including our ZIP code (another story. I’ll tell you that one someday. It’s funny.). We have a compulsive need to shred it lest someone find out we live here and steal our identities. That and we’re on the lam. (Not really; please don’t call the cops!)

We also shred the mail for half a dozen people that don’t live here anymore. Anyone know how to get people to stop mailing credit card offers, etc. to people who haven’t lived here in probably 10 years?

Anyway, it’s really easy to streamline the shredding process.

1. Take all your envelopes. (You have all your junk mail in one place, right?)
2. Grab a letter opener and slice each envelope open. Don’t stop, just slice.
3. Once all the envelopes are opened, take out only the sheets that have your name on them. For most of them, that’s only the sheet closest to the plastic window. However, a couple (US Airways MasterCard, for one) also have your name and address printed on a second sheet. Do NOT extract the terms of the credit card, return envelope (though it is very fun to mail old tires with them), stickers, fliers, etc.
4. Unfold each sheet as you pull it out (so it’s not too thick for your shredder, unless, of course, you’re using a wood chipper), giving it a little lengthwise tug to keep it open. As you go, remove any cardboard or plastic “this is not a real credit cards.” (I save those for Hayden.) Also try to remove the gummies that hold on the cards; these aren’t good for the shredder (or wood chipper).
5. Turn on your shredder and feed the ready sheets into it. I like to do this continuously so that obnoxious noise doesn’t last very long. I was amazed that it only took about 5 minutes to shred a big ol’ stack of papers (my shredder has a whopping 5 sheet capacity!).
6. Throw away envelopes and nonsensitive information.

It probably takes longer to read or write this than it does to get rid of all that mail. And I’m not just throwing out the “six months” number because it sounds good; these offers were actually dated to expire last October and November.

I also recommend opting out of credit card mailings in the US by calling 1-888-5-OPT-OUT.

UPDATE: Why you should always shred, not tear up, credit card offers.

Honking at people who are weaving in traffic—even if they aren’t passing me—also works for me.

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I did it!

Hurray for me!

Dear Ryan,

I know you won’t see this until tomorrow, but I just wanted to tell you a few things.

I wanted to tell you thank you again for getting out the crock pot yesterday while I ran around like a chicken with its head cut off trying to get the stoneware clean, vegetables sliced and pot roast on. It may not have been a huge deal, but it was one little thing that helped my day go more smoothly. Plus, I liked that I didn’t even have to ask you to do it. You anticipated a need and fulfilled it.

I especially liked it because I felt like we were a team. I like to feel like we’re working in perfect synchronization.

I also appreciate how you usually notice if I’ve cleared off the kitchen counters or done the dishes or mopped or vacuumed. I appreciate you taking notice, thanking me for doing my daily chores, and saying, “The house looks good, babe.”

Thank you for giving Hayden his bath almost every single night for nearly a year now. I like to take those few minutes sometimes and decompress a little. But usually, I like to sit with my boys.

Thank you for being a competent father. You have excellent judgment when it comes to our son’s safety and wellbeing. You’re even very good at diapers. I’m so glad to have someone whom I love and trust to be right there with me to share my concerns and hopes for our son.

No, there’s no special occasion that you’ve forgotten (though it is my grandma’s birthday tomorrow). It’s just Monday.

I love you.

Love,
Jordan

Yeah, I skipped last week. Whoops!

Six Motherly Chores That Really Bug Me

• Diapers: but only when Ryan’s around.
• Keeping Hayden out of stuff like the cat’s food and water, the trash, things I don’t want ruined, etc.
• Laundry. Take a week off and BAM, you’re drowning in it. Oh, wait, that’s true of everything…
• Feeding him solids used to bother me, but it’s not such a big deal anymore (now it takes more effort to feed myself!).
• Taking out his trash or is that diapers again?
• Going out: From gathering up everything we’ll need (though I’ve progressed to keeping his bag almost entirely ready) to struggling with him to get into the car seat (though that’s improved, too, since he switched to a big boy car seat). Despite those improvements, it seems like the smallest trip to the store or the gym is a major production.

Six Motherly Chores That (Surprisingly) I Don’t Mind

• Diapers, especially when I’m the only one around to change them.
• Still nursing at 14 months, though I am beginning to wonder when we’ll eliminate these last two feedings.
• Feeding him solids once we really got into a rhythm with feedings, it’s not that hard.
• Getting up with him at night now that he’s gotten much better about sleeping through the night.
• Cleaning up his toys: he’s not that messy (yet).
• Baths: they’re just so much part of our routine that they’re not a big deal anymore.

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Hayden has picked up a new trick this week: signing. He learned two signs on Sunday that he’s been using off and on this week. He’s not totally consistent, so I don’t have any video or pictures, but here’s what he’s learned:

• All gone. Nana Diana was feeding him Easter candy for breakfast (I can’t really say anything, since that’s been my breakfast for two weeks now). She told him he couldn’t have any more until his mouth was empty—until it was all gone. He picked up the standard “all gone” sign (very similar to ASL’s “finished” sign)
• More. That night I was eating candy and gave Hayden a little bit. I got him to sign more to ask for some more.

Of course, his technique isn’t perfect, but I’m just excited that he’s learning one language

I promise he doesn’t eat as much candy as this makes it sound like he does… really….

I’d Rather Be Writing has an interesting post on a recent episode of the NPR show, This American Life:

The point of the show is that glamorous jobs usually turn out to be boring. The cartographer’s story was one of the most interesting:

Charles Preuss … charted the Western Territories with two of American history’s legendary explorers—John Charles Fremont and Kit Carson. The maps Preuss made were best sellers and helped open the Western frontier to settlement. But, as he wrote in the diary he kept while in the wilderness, he hated pretty much every minute of the expedition.

Preuss had to rough the uncharted frontier so he could do what he really wanted to do: make maps. Isn’t life like that?

I’d have to agree. But I also have to say that the drudgery of every day life—whether you’re an astronaut (another person profiled in the story), a cartographer or a mother, you have to learn to find joy every day in the small things. The day-to-day, whether it be roughing the frontier, stultifying meetings or endlessly keeping your son from playing in the garbage, can seem to be more than you can bear.

If you haven’t learned this yet, let me tell you: you can bear a lot, and probably more than you know. But who wants to just bear his or her entire life? The big rewards (space walks, drawing maps, the perfect day with your kids) are incredible, but you have to get by between them—and they may be few and far between.

I invite you to find joy in the every day today.