Craziness of My Life

I can't believe the end of the month is here already. It's been a whirl-wind of a month here for my sweet little family.

We have had three weeks (so far and looking like a 4th) of sickness. It just doesn't seem to want to go away AND I'm thinking we need to stay away from the Library for a while. Every time we go, we get sick. Stupid people who take their kids out when they are sick. GRrrrrr.

AND we had the passing of my very wonderful Grandma. So sad to see her go. My kids won't really get to know her very well. But it was fantastic this morning when my Sweet Pea noticed a picture of her on the white board and called her by name. She at least knows who she is.

Needless to say, my schedule has been M.I.A. this past month. But I'm so excited to get going again and do more outdoor things. YEAH!! Get more blogging in. WooHoo! And FINALLY get to EXERCISING A BIT. We all know my body needs it. As soon as we are all completely sickness free there WILL be partying at our house.

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss

Last Friday, March 2nd, was Dr. Seuss' Birthday! To celebrate this wonderous occasion we had green eggs and ham for lunch. . .

My lunch

Sweet Pea's lunch

While Sweet Pea ate lunch I read Green Eggs and Ham to her. It's really hard for me to get her to eat eggs. However, today when I died them green and hard boiled them she actually had a few bites. Hooray!

This is my Sweet Pea yearning for me to stop taking pictures and just let her eat her lunch.

I Really Did Organize My Life: Step #1

It has been 2 weeks since I started putting together my schedule. And there have definitely been some adjustments made and still some that need to be made. But I LOVE it! With a schedule, my life is less stressful. I don't have to find a way to squeeze something in, it already has it's place and time. Again, I LOVE IT!

I wanted to tell you how I went about getting it all together. Well, let me first give you "the checklist." This is the list that got me started.

• get together a 90 day menu plan with grocery lists to go with each week
• Weed out the clutter! Garage Sale, D.I., Savers
• Everything kept is neatly organized and can be found quickly
• Get together a weekly schedule with time carved out for blogging, housework, play dates, park time, library time, and other activities we've been wanting to try but never got around to.
• For Stay at Home Days, we've got a routine that the kids can rely on. It includes stuff like art time, outside time, story time and bath time.
• Put together all activities, quiet books, busy bags. Things that can be done while I am getting dinner ready or need a few minutes of kid-free time.
• get our budget down to a science.
• Update our wills, life insurance, and retirement planning.
• never again miss an appointment or birthday.
• If something does somehow sneak by, have a birthday closet with pre-bought gifts and cards - thanks to the new budget and organization I now have the space and money for it.
• Start exercising regularly (part of the new weekly schedule).
• go through all of my digital photos, edited them, imported them to yearly photobooks and backed them all up online.
• catch up on my personal blog and regularly contribute to it.
• have a set-in-stone date night that we never miss.
• have family night

Now this list looks so long and unattainable. However, we need to do as Bob would do. Baby Steps. Baby steps. So, after getting this list all together, I started with figuring out what I need and what the kiddos need.

Which brings me to:

STEP #1:  Prioritizing Our Needs

I sat down next to my toddler, took a scrap piece of paper and crayon from her and wrote down these things:

KIDS NEEDS:

• Library Day
• Swim Day
• Park
• Craft Day
• Music Day
• Field Trip Day
• Bathtime
• Calendar Time
• Snack Time
• Nap Time
• Reading Time

MOMS NEEDS: (this is more like a to-do list)

• Cleaning
• Grocery Shopping
• Exercise
• Email/Blog/Pinterest
• Pay Bills
• Laundry

This was a relatively easy list to compile because I had been thinking about it for months and months. Before going any further in planning your day, week, or month; you HAVE to know what you have/want going on in your life. Prioritize. It helped me.  Sit down and make this list.  It is a requirement to use Crayons though.  Don't forget.

I Really Did Organize My Life: The Beginning

I have done it!

I read a post HERE about this woman who had "organized" her entire life. I was stoked. Ready to learn how she had done it, and maybe borrow some of her tried and true methods. It was all too good to be true.

Although I did have a good laugh and I felt a bit more at ease that I'm not the only out there that isn't on a schedule with my kids, I was a bit disappointed.

I have been meaning to get a schedule together for a long time. I even had a basic plan on how to do it. It was supposed to be in place January 1st. But I just wasn't getting to it. I mean, popping in a movie is SO EASY. But not really fun, or educational. I had liked the post I read so much, I had to share it with my Hubby.

Mistake? I don't think so. He thought that the post was clever, but he turned to me and asked,

"So, why don't you?"

Me, "why don't I what?"

Hubby, "get a schedule together. She made you a check list that you don't have to organize and you wanted to do it anyway. So, why don't you?"


That was a great question.

WHY DON'T I?

SO. . . . . . . I DID!!

I put together my schedule. For me AND the kids. Themed days. Outings. Exercise time. Internet time. Cleaning. Dishes. Meals. (I already had my 30 day plan put together. I don't need 90 days)

This was not a simple, quick process. It took me 3 days just to get it all together, then another couple of days to get the whole schedule rolling. And it takes every single day to keep it going and to keep me prepped for the next day or week. Sick days also throw a kink in the schedule, but we are back on track.

I don't have too much time today to tell you how I did it. You'll have to wait until Friday.

Step #1 is coming. . .







[update]


Step #1


Step #2

"I Want To Go Home!"

It's been 10 weeks since we moved into the basement of my parents home.

Everything is here.

Everything is set up.

Everything happens like normal. But my sweet little toddler still cries and screams,

"I WANT TO GO HOME!"

She will even go get her shoes and coat. Begging to go home. Sad, sad, sad.

I Can't Believe It's Been 7 Years Today

I was reminded today while browsing through my friends updates on Facebook, that it has been 7 years today since I left on my mission. Not from the new Timeline they have going (heaven forbid I forget something I never want to remember and remember something I never want to forget), but from another friend that left the same day. We even shared our farewell together.

She is fondly remembering her experience, and I can't help but question my feelings. It doesn't help that I'm residing in Happy Valley where there is (lets say) a slight misunderstanding for those who didn't finish their missions. There really isn't a whole lot to say about it. The only words I can come up with to describe my experience are:

cold
sad
angry
hurt
confused

It's been 7 years. Couldn't I now have just a little bit of understanding?

Monthly Menu Planner

I decided this year that I would be on top of the whole dinner every night thing. It is supposed to be cheaper, right? Well, this year I'm going to see if it actually does save us money to eat at home.

I decided I needed a way to organize and remember what we were going to be eating every day. So, I spent plenty of time on Pinterest.com trying to find some great menu planners. I found plenty of them, but none that I felt would completely meet our needs. So, I made my own.

I started out with a plain old cork board. It was this ugly brown color. So, I painted it black.
Here is the cork board all ready to be painted.

Here is my finished Monthly Menu Planner:

Days of the week


The whole board. I left lots of space so I could fit Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner on each day.
I finished it in time to try out the last two weeks of January. It worked out fantastically. I knew before hand what I was going to make for dinner. No more hours of debating our meals. Yeah.! This last Sunday I spent nap time putting together February. I have my whole month planned out. Fantastic!

Late Night Snack

There is just nothing like blue Rice Krispies before bed.
I made them so gooey that we couldn't cut them. We had to just scoop it out.

10 Resolutions I Don't Have to Set to Begin 2012

10. Get More Sleep (With 2 kids and midnight feedings? Yea Right!)

9. Become a Better Homemaker (I don't need to have brunch like Mrs. Jones)

8. Read the Books I Bought 2 years ago (but they look so good on my shelf all pretty and new)

7. Make More Money (I think I enjoy playing with my toddler in our pajamas too much)

6. Save Better (I save just fine. I'm sure it's the banks fault there isn't enough in my account)

5. Follow the Presidential Debates (They aren't really going to do what they say they are anyway)

4. Keep My Oppinion To Myself (I don't think so.)

3. Spend Less Time on the Internet (cut off my interaction with people who say more than "mine-ses"? I don't think so)

2. Give Up Junk Food (Food tastes too good. Maybe next year)

1. Lose Weight (if I work hard, I could be the next Biggest Loser contestant)

Birthday Seasons

This morning, while contemplating the shortening distance between my current age and 30, I was remembering the different ways that my previous birthdays have been celebrated. The swimming parties, the decorations my parents put up, the mornings that I was awakened early to go out to Village Inn for breakfast with friends, and the flowers and note found on my doorstep from a friend on the other side of the world.

Then I started to think about all the fun things I wanted to do for my little ones. The decorating, the party themes, and the activities. All fun things for my special little veggies.

And after that, my birthdays to come. They seem very uneventful. There aren't any mile stone birthdays left. Nothing big like 12, 16, 18, or 21. I guess there are seasons to Birthdays. My season for the fun exciting birthdays has past. And the season to celebrate the little ones is here. They get the attention. They are the ones that need the attention and special treatment.

I hope that my Sweet Pea and my Green Bean have as many great memories of their birthdays when they get to be my age.