What my kids did not get from me...

The tree climbing gene. I didn't get one. I never had a desire to climb up a tree pretty much ever.

AB might even tell you a story about the day we went for a walk and I got stuck in a tree. About four feet off the ground.

My kids didn't inherit that fear.

Skadi begged and begged for me to put her in the tree. She had refused to put shoes on earlier so I told her no, she couldn't go in the tree because she didn't have shoes on.

She was back 30 seconds later.

Fancy shoes and all.

I don't balk too much when she decides to hang out in the tree. I just grab the camera. Because being in a tree means smiles. And stillness. I am not chasing her for a picture.

Nope, I can get cute smiley pictures, like this:

Or this:

Or cute serious pictures like this:

All the while I am ignoring what is going on in the other tree. Something I want no part of at all. Something that I think is just wrong. Because I shouldn't have to look up and search for my son and find him 15' off the ground in a tree.

Goals

So if you haven't been keeping up, my goal for 2008 is to not only get my house organized, but to get it ready to sell in 9 months to a year. My plan has been to address one room a month, every month. January was the library, February was Leif's room and the guest bathroom (since it is small), March was Skadi's room.

Skadi's room, for all intensive purposes is 95% done. My sewing table needs to be replaced by her crib, and we need to do something with the queen sized bed in that room.

But finishing her room has been put on hold. Meanwhile, Skadi's crib sits in our closet - where she sleeps so that we don't wake her up (me reading at night with the light on, AB snoring...). Our crib seems to be on its last legs and AB fears moving it very much. So given that my mom and stepdad are coming out in a few weeks, we have put off moving Skadi into her room for our own ease. So that also means that her room will remain at being 95% done beyond March (i.e., tomorrow).

So the next question became, which room is next? I was leaning pretty solidly to our Master Suite - to include the bathroom.

AB, despite all his whining about my goals that he thinks have become his goals, had another suggestion yesterday. We need to treat outside as "a room".

He is right. April is the perfect month to get our backyard in shape. As long as it quits snowing freak snow showers on us and warms up. In theory we will be able to plant the garden in a few weeks. Plus, I want my patio to be in good shape for when my mom and stepdad visit... sitting outside with a gin and tonic or glass of wine, eating BBQ, is always a favorite activity for us all when they visit.

The indoor rooms can wait until it is too hot and miserable to go outside and work. And it is a chance to switch things up a little. And when my husband starts whining about "my goals", I can remind him that this one, was his idea.

The "to do list" includes coating the patio with an epoxy resin so the two cement slabs become one that is much more appealing to the eye and to tender bare feet. Clean out the awful corner that is the bane of my existance. If I ever feel like I need to complain to my husband about something I just walk over to the west side of our house. Where my brow immediately furrows...

I need to clean out my flower beds front and back. I pruned my roses last weekend. And we need to plant the vegetable garden (broccoli, brussel sprouts, carrots, a tomato or two and mostly room for giant pumpkin rearing).

The goal is set!