The Purse Curse

Why is it that husbands get away with just a wallet and keys, while us ladies have to carry around purses filled with all the ‘necessities’? 

Before children, I still carried a lot; but now my purse qualifies as luggage.  I’m starting to re-think this whole purse thing… 

Here’s what’s in my purse right now… seriously!

• My 24 oz Water Bottle – In my favorite flip lid Nalgene Bottle
• My son’s 12 oz Water Bottle – In a perfect kid sized Nalgene Bottle
• Wallet with: ID, Credit Cards, Checkbook, Photos, Receipts and at least 100 stupid membership cards (just one more punch and I’ll get a free something).  Oddly enough, there is no actual money in my wallet – except for a few loose coins.
• Keys
• Cell Phone, Case and Headset
• Sunglasses, Case and Microfiber Cloth
• 2 Bottles of Hand Sanitizer: One in 2 oz pump and another small keychained size.
• Wipes
• Pocket Sized Bible – Love this one from Amazon.
• Digital Camera (a Sony Cyber-Shot if anyone cares)
• Gerber Multi-Tool – With a built in screwdrivers, I use this all the time!
• Swiss Army Knife – mostly for the cool tweezers!
• Pack of Gum
• Aspirin
• Mini Hairbrush
• 2 Band-Aids
• Tissues
• 3 Toothpicks in plastic
• Matches
• Eyeglass Repair Kit
• Rubberbands – Both the hair and standard ones.
• Disposable Rubber Glove – you have no idea how many times I’ve had to use one of these (like the time my son peed all over the floor in Macy’s and I had to mop it up – Yuck!)
• Book of Stamps
• Travel Pack of 5 Toilet Seat Covers – compliments of my mother-in-law (she really knows me!)
• Chapstick
• Hand Lotion
• 16 crayons – accumulated from restaurants (which I am removing from my purse right now!).
• 2 Sunday School projects from my son
• Pen
• Note Pad
• Costco Coupon Book
• Today’s Mail
• and finally… a tampon! (even though I haven’t had a period in almost 10 years – see ‘our adoption story’ for more info on this)

I can’t even imagine if I had another baby or if I wore make-up!  I’d have to upgrade to a full time pack-mule!!  And I have a confession:  Even though my son has outgrown his stroller, I often take it with me when I go shopping just to hold my purse!

I’m normally such a neat freak – I can’t imagine why I let my purse get like this… Perhaps there’s a 12-step program for this.  I’d like to what you’ve got in your purse and perhaps you have a tip on how you’ve tamed the ‘purse curse’.

Help Me!

~ Erika

You'd Be Proud of Us Jo-Jo!

The Super Nanny would be sooooo proud!  My husband and I sat down one night and hammered out a list of General House Rules we felt best suited our faith, personal convictions, as well as our family. 

One of the criteria for our list was that we wanted them to be Biblically accurate, realistic and something were willing to hold ourselves accountable to as well (Titus 2:7-8).  If we don’t model this for our children, then how can we possibly expect them to follow suit? 

I will admit, I’ve broken more than a few of the rules myself… like ‘Interupting’ (I’m the Queen of Interrupting and it’s a nasty habit I hope doesn’t get passed on).  I’ve also been known to eat breakfast standing up while checking my email AND talking on my cell phone at the same time!  And since I’m being honest here… I do grumble and complain far more than I’d care to admit.

So without further ado…here they are!  Feel free to copy and use them for your family – most of ours are just copied right out of the Bible anyway. 

GENERAL HOUSE RULES

JOY! = Jesus First, Others Second, Yourself Last

Order of Authority = Jesus & the Bible > Daddy > Mommy > Respected Elders > The Law (Ephesians 6:1-4 & Colossians 3:18-21)

• Love & Forgive Each Other (Colossians 3:13)
• Treat Everyone with Gentleness & Kindness (Galatians 5:22-23)
• No Interrupting – Use Interrupt Rule (Child and/or adult place hand gently on person’s arm they’d like to say something to – waiting for the person to signal their turn to speak.  This is a ‘Baby Wise/Growing Kids God’s Way’  idea that we love!)
• No Back Talking, Sassing or Disrespectful Tones – Respond Respectfully
• No Bad / Naughty Words (Ephesians 4:29 & Ephesians 5:4)
• No Lying, Cheating, Stealing (See all 10 Commandments – Exodus 20)
• No Hitting, Pinching, Biting or Hurtful Physical Contact (Matthew 5:38-45 & Luke 6:27-31)
• Even if You’re Just Playing, If Someone Asks You To Stop – Stop!
• No Whining, Grumbling or Complaining (Philippians 2:14-15)
• No Yelling, Screaming or Angry Loud Talking (Colossians 3:8 & Proverbs 14:29)
• No Ball Throwing or Rough Play Inside House
• All Food is to be Eaten at the Kitchen Table or Sitting Down
• No Toys, Computers, Phones, Games, Etc… While Eating as a Family (Deuteronomy 11:19)
• Always Clean-Up After Yourself and Return Things Where They Belong, In as Good or Better Condition than You Found It (Matthew 7:12)

I’m sure we’ve forgotten a couple of important rules… What kind of house rules to you use?  Where do you post them (ours is on the fridge)?  I’d love to hear your wisdom on this.

~ Erika