Early Riser Mom?

Awhile back, I wrote about the Maximize Your Mornings Challenge over at Inspired to Action. It was basically a Challenge that I read about that challenged moms to get up before their kids in the morning to spend precious, quiet time with God, get some kind of workout in, and start to plan their day. There was some awesome accountability on Twitter, opportunities to study the same things in the morning, and just that mom camaraderie of being intentional together to make our health and relationship with God a priority. Over the years, I have gone back and forth between getting up early and sleeping in. But I must say, when I get up early, I have a head-start on my day, and when I sleep in, the day seems to run me.
With all my responsibilities these days, I really need to get up before my kids, spend quiet time with God (the key word being quiet), get my workout in, and know what I need to get done that day. It seems so simple, and yet the concept is so profound. I want this to be a new habit this year. To consistently get up early. Not just now and then. Not just 2-3 times per week. But that my norm would be to set that alarm for 5:20 or earlier, and be disciplined enough to get going. On the Maximize Your Mornings Challenge, they even encourage moms to not hit the snooze button. To be disciplined enough to just get out of bed when the alarm goes off. Is it possible?
I think being a stay-at-home mom affords me the opportunity for many freedoms in how to run my day. I am in charge. I am in charge of so many things. I am in charge of the house, finances, homeschooling my children, our CC community, my Beachbody business, the menu for the day (so essentially, the health of my family!), and so many more little things. It gets busy. I think when things get busy and overwhelming, the tendency can be to get lazy. To sleep in. To stay up late to "relax" but then struggle to get up in the morning. And these bad habits may be contributing to my "depression" and "anxiety" that have plagued me this last semester. I put quotes around these words to sort of label my feelings but not necessarily diagnose a super serious version of these things.
So, as a New Year's Resolution of sorts, I want to commit to getting up early. And in doing that, to put my relationship with God and my health as 2 of my first priorities in my day. I get up, spend time with God (usually doing my Bible Study that is over the book of Galatians) and then do my workout for the day. I seem to be more motivated to get up when I know I am not working out right away. I get to drink my coffee and pre-workout formula, and just relax in God's Word in the quiet of my house! That kind of motivates me to get up!!
The key to making this a reality is to plan the night before. If I don't lay out my pre-workout formula, coffee, Bible Study, workout clothes, tennis shoes, workout dvds, and water bottle the night before, then chances are I'm not going to get up at 5:20 and dig around for those things.
I have to plan. I have to plan to succeed. And THAT is what I plan to do.

How do you start your mornings?

Grateful for Christmas Break

Ahhh. The day after Christmas. Time to unwind, clean up, and relax. I was so ready for Christmas day. For all the craziness of the season to finally be over. Not in a bad way, just ready to relax and enjoy versus the days leading up to Christmas that were filled with hurrying around, millions of trips to the store (with 3 kids in tow), and last minute projects like Christmas cookies and Christmas cards. Each thing is enjoyable in its own right, but when all is said and done, they are big projects that Mommy ends up finishing herself. I'm excited for this week between Christmas and New Years. I am hoping to relax, get some projects/deep cleaning done that I don't usually have time for, and do some fun things out of the ordinary like playdates, playing with Maddy during nap time, and playing with the kids with their new Christmas toys!
These days, there isn't much "down time" where we can just relax, catch up on stuff, or work on projects. Life has been full of lots of busyness but also lots of blessings. This summer, while on vacation, I was really trying to take that time to think, pray, and counsel with people about what "things" I should keep in my life for the next school year. I have lots of opportunities to do things, be involved, and serve. But the reality is, I can't do them all! And when I try, I end up frustrated, miserable, and exhausted. I am still in the same boat. I think after all that thinking, praying, and counseling, I dropped 1-2 things out of our hectic schedules. It was good that I actually did drop 2 things, but I could probably do better. I just don't like being the frantic mom who is always running behind, stressed out about something, showing up early to everything because I have to prep, plan, prepare something. This semester, Thursdays were my favorite day of the week. I have bible study on those mornings, and it was the one place I could go, be around godly women, socialize, make new friendships, and just be. I didn't have to serve, work, show up early, coordinate, or run around. I could simply partake and take in what was being offered.
Now, I'm not saying that I just want to relax, be on vacation, and take instead of give all the time. I'm just saying that sometimes it feels like I am just go, go, going all the time and rarely have the time to just be. That's why God knew He had to include the "Be still, and know that I am God" verse in the bible. Just for me. And maybe you.
Those moments of being still and quiet are so rare, and yet so vital to our relationship with God. We forget that. Satan tempts and lures us with all these "things" we need to be apart of, serve in, and do, and yet God tells us to just "be still." Now, of course we are to serve, love, care, give of ourselves as a living sacrifice, and I get that. But hopefully not at the expense of our still moments.
So this next week, I am hoping to get some of those still moments. To relax, and to get some reading time in. I am looking forward to reading the appropriate book for my life season right now by Lysa Terkeurst called "The Best Yes: Making Wise Decisions in the Midst of Endless Demands." Hopefully I will get a book review out about it once I finish it!!
So, Happy Holidays, my fellow exhausted, weary Moms!! Get some rest and some still moments in soon, and let God speak to you about what you should keep in your life, and what you may need to let go of!! Blessings!

Happy New Year!

Well, it's another new year; Happy 2014!! It's that time of year...packing up the Christmas decorations, cleaning up the house (after the Christmas explosion and kids being off school), and planning to get back to school and other "normal" routines. I actually like the progression of things; I am always ready for a break from CC and school, and excited for Christmas, but afterwards I am ready to declutter the house of the decorations and get back to the regular schedule. I will miss the extra time I have to get things done, but I have been getting a lot of deep cleaning done that I usually don't have time to do, so hopefully that will make up for the rest of the school year where I don't really have time to do that kind of thing!!

Christmas Eve service

A Lushes with Brushes birthday party: so fun!!

The kids have had fun being on break, but they also get bored and end up fighting, so I will be glad to get back to a more normal routine with schoolwork and normal chores, to keep them busy with constructive things. A little too much TV, computer games, and phone games around here! It's also a good time to think through things that could change; routines, schedules, working out, school ideas, extra-curricular activities. The break just gives me a little bit more time to think straight without so much to do all the time. Though I did feel pretty overwhelmed with Christmas duties, so I am trying to relax a little more this week, but that's hard to do! A mother's work is never done!
I am reading a book called Captivating by John and Stasi Eldridge and I am really enjoying it. I thought I would have more time to read it while on break, but I feel like I have actually had less time to read!! But it is a great book so I need to carve out some more time to get into it.
So what are you all excited to get back to after break, or are you excited at all? I have a new workout partner and we have been meeting at the Y before 6 am to workout, so that is good motivation for me. It feels good to get my workout done so early, before anything can ruin it and prevent it from happening. I did a workout at home this morning while the kids were awake, and it is ridiculous trying to referee and keep them occupied and get almost an hour long workout done. Ridiculous!! It just reminded me how going to the Y earlier is so much more practical. So that is what I will do tomorrow!!

Date night!!

Well, I guess this was just a rambling post with no real point or purpose. Just what is going on with me, with us. And I want to know what is going on with you!! So if you have read this post, let me know how you are planning on improving in January. Improving your marriage, schooling, taking care of your home, losing that "holiday" weight, or making your time with God a priority. Let's spur one another on towards love and good deeds!!

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Year's Day!!

Some Simple Homemaking Tips (for Homeschooling Moms)

I have found that the stay-at-home mom with young children who also homeschools is a pretty rare find. Especially in my situation where I also teach Classical Conversations once a week. Our lives are pretty busy. I thought I had a lot to keep up with when I was a stay-at-home mom, but when we added homeschooling, I felt overwhelmed because I replaced my morning chore time with schooling. And then when I added weekly teaching to the mix, it became even crazier because then my evenings were often busy with prepping for that. And now that Judah is doing preschool...well, you get the idea. It is busy. And keeping up with housework isn't as easy as it used to be. People might think that since I am home all the time, I must have so much time to keep up with things around the house. But when your day is full with homeschooling 2 kids and the kids are home all day to keep making messes, it is hard to keep up.
Believe me, it is a huge blessing that I get to stay home with my kids. That I get to be the one to teach them to read, about historical events, do bible time with them and get into important, deep conversations about God that matter and often end up with me sharing what God is doing in my own life. And I love staying home. And I love all things domestic. Well, maybe not all things, but a lot of things!! And over the years, I have learned a few tips, though I would in no way consider myself an expert in the domestic department. Other blogs and moms and people with far more experience than myself have better systems and ideas, but I'm just sharing some things I have learned in my own journey, and things that I have found that work for me. Some things I have shared before, and some things you may have heard before, so just take what you can from my experiences!!
1. Make a weekly chore chart. If I can focus on 1 main chore for the day, with schooling and everything else I need to do, that is enough for me. Of course I have other responsibilities during the day, but I usually have just one main thing I need to get done for the day.
Mondays - Laundry/Prep CC for Tuesday
Tuesday - off/Teach CC
Wednesday- Laundry, Office Day (Finances, Account)
Thursday - Bathrooms, mirrors, mopping (if this gets done, it's a miracle!)
Friday - Laundry
Saturday- Clean out Car, Outside chores, Kitchen Day/Cooking Day, Lessons Plans for kids for following week
Sunday - Relax with Hubby/Family, Prep CC
2. Get up earlier than your kids. I have written about this a lot. And I am not always good at this. But I have found that when I get up early, I can get a lot accomplished before my kids wake up, and I know what is on the agenda for the day. If I can spend quiet time seeking the Lord, make my to-do list, look at/balance my checking account, check if I need to pay any bills, check the calendar and know what I am making for dinner that night, then I feel like I have started my day off right. I don't feel so overwhelmed when the kids wake up because I already know what my day looks like. I have found that when I get up when my kids get up, I am grumpy because they are demanding different breakfasts and I am flustered because I want to read and relax with my coffee and my quiet time, and I do not get much of that once they are awake.

3. Exercise in the morning: for homeschooling/exercising moms: I have found this new discovery lately. I would always do school in the morning and exercise during the kids nap time. But lately, Ruth started waking up about an hour into her naptime, and I was afraid that my workout was waking her up. So I started having Maddy "watch" the little ones and play while I worked out in the morning and then I would start school with Maddy after that, and finish up during nap time if necessary. Then, my nap time was free to do other things quietly, which wouldn't wake up Ruth (though she has just been taking short naps anyways) and it has become a true rest time for me. And my workout got done in the morning when I had more energy!! This has been a huge, amazing change for me!
4. Work quickly!! I read this on another blog once, and though it seems trivial, it makes a lot of difference if you apply it!! When you get a little block of time, or a lot, just do those mundane tasks quickly! Fold laundry quickly! Scrub dishes quickly! Wash mirrors quickly!! And save yourself some time!
5. Enjoy your daily mundane tasks. Let them be your "break." When you are alone scrubbing dishes at night, take a deep breath, and enjoy the time. Listen to music. Pray. Think of others you could bless. It doesn't have to be a "waste of time" and something that we must do over and over and keeps needing done. It can feel like that. But if we offer up even the smallest of tasks to the Lord, or enjoy them, then we can have joy in them and even worship at the same time!
6. Pick up every night. Now, the house doesn't have to be spotless every night, but I have found that I like to wake up to a clean house. If you wake up to piles of junk all over the floor and can barely walk around, it doesn't exactly start your day off right. So take those extra few minutes every night and pick up the toys, the dirty laundry, the clean laundry, and trash, and just get the main areas clear. It doesn't have to have that "people are coming over" look, but just a general picking up can make a huge difference.

7. Have different "clean up" times with the kids. For me, I like to have a clean up time before naps (cleaning up from the morning play), before Daddy gets home from work (so he isn't trudging through piles and is blessed when he gets home), and before bed. This is good for Mommy's sanity, is a good time to teach little ones about cleaning up after themselves (Mommy shouldn't have to clean up after their messes all the time, especially if they are old enough to clean up after themselves), and is good to do throughout the day so that it doesn't all pile up for a huge mess at the end of the day. Make it fun! Sing songs, make it a race with a reward at the end, or make a chore chart for the kids with a prize at the end of the week. Make it fun for them so they don't grow up resenting clean up time because it always involved Mom yelling and them getting punished. I have found they do much better and have much better attitudes when we make it fun in a fun atmosphere!!
8. Give your kids age-appropriate jobs to help around the house. This is a big perk with homeschooling. They learn what it looks like to take care of a home, how much work it really is, and how to help. They are home all the time, so they can help with many different aspects of what needs done around the house, and maybe appreciate how much Mom does!! Maddy is 7 and she unloads the dishwasher (and Judah has started to help by handing her things and she puts them away), makes her bed, picks up her room and other rooms (kid messes), feeds the dogs, folds washcloths, helps take care of Ruth, and then helps with other stuff when I ask her. Judah is almost 4 and he has started making his bed, can put silverware away, helps put his own stuff away, and is learning to help with baking. Have them help you, and teach them the value of hard work, and taking care of their own things and messes.
9. Do what you can ahead of time. Do freezer cooking when you can, try to make double batches of dinners often, make food ahead of time when entertaining, use your crockpot, do some cleaning at night when the kids aren't awake, get school prep done all before that week starts (make the lesson plan, make copies, write out handwriting, get everything in order), and think ahead 1-2 weeks at a time when you are making grocery/store lists so you don't have to go back to the store because you forgot about birthday parties, potluck, entertaining, or a cookie exchange.

10. Have relaxing time for you. I think this is so important for the homeschooling mom. We are home a lot. We are with our kids a lot. And we need breaks!! Take those opportunities to go to bible study, out to coffee with a friend, to a workout class, to take a bath, read a book at night, go to a coffee shop alone, go shopping at night alone (I have been going shopping after the kids go to bed so I can whip through those stores without kids interruptions), and plan date nights with your hubby!! Make it a priority for yourself to get up early and quietly seek the Lord. All these things are so important so we can keep our sanity and be the best mothers we can be for our children! We are not defined by our role as a mother. We are God's children. We are individuals. And this time of craziness with young children will not last forever. In our weakness, we need to rely on the strength that comes from the Lord, and remember we are not in this alone. We are not superwoman!! We cannot do it all, sign up for every group and lesson, go to every event, and still remain sane. Learn when to say no, and when your family needs a break!!
And just remember that during this season, your house will never be perfect. That is one reality that I probably still need to accept. And that is ok. If we are teaching our kids to clean up after themselves, and the responsibility that what they get out, they will put away, and we are involving them in the clean-up process, then one day, we won't have so much cleaning to do. We will have little helpers who have learned to clean up what they have gotten out (hopefully)! I hope some of these tips have been helpful, and please if you have any more, leave them in the comments section below!!

It's Been Awhile!!

My friends! It has been so long since I have put out a blog post! Our computer died, and so we spent the summer without a computer, but since we have gotten one, we have been so busy with school (and Judah is doing preschool at home this year!), Classical Conversations, swim lessons, church, and life with 3 kids! I'm sure some of you wondered if I fell off the planet or something! I have missed putting up my favorite recipes, blogging about homemaking, tips I have learned, life, and stuff that makes my life interesting! I have so many things to share as I get back to blogging. In April, I got into a weight loss group on Facebook and have lost about 15 pounds (give or take what day it is!) I would love to share about that! Also, I am in my second year of tutoring (teaching) Maddy's class at Classical Conversations. So I have the children that are mostly in 2nd grade. This year is going great!

Another cool thing is that God has been doing some awesome things in my heart, and I have finished a book that I want to share about that was really awesome! There were 2 things that I realized at the beginning of this school year that have really helped me in my everyday life. The first thing is that I realized I needed to get up earlier than my kids in the morning. I used to do this before I got pregnant with Ruth, inspired by the blog "Inspired to Action" where there is a whole "movement" to Maximize Your Mornings (link on the right hand side of the blog). When you are not in the habit of getting up early, it may seem like an impossible feat. But once you start, and you realize the amazing quiet before the kids get up, and that quiet time you can spend with God, you will get addicted to it! The other thing I realized, with my quiet times seeming boring and not drawing me closer to God, was that I really needed to spend quiet time with God. Not just time before my kids got up, but time where I wasn't doing anything else. Where I could just listen to worship music. Or just sit in the quiet. Or where I could "be still, and know that He is God." (Psalm 46:1) And then, randomnly, I picked a book off our bookshelf (I don't know where we got it, or how long we have had it), and decided to use it during my devotion time. It is an oldie, by A.W. Tozer, called "The Pursuit of God." And boy did God drop that in my lap at the right time. It was about the very thing I had been missing in my walk with God. That sweet fellowship and intimacy that comes from pursuing God and seeking that quiet time of drawing near to God that we all too often miss out on. And when we just read the Bible (check), pray (check), and do all our church duties (check, check), it can start to feel dull. And we can start to get resentful. And feel like we are wasting our time. But when we can turn off the distractions, and actually let God do the talking, when we can just listen, and be thankful, and draw near to Him, He will change our hearst. And it starts to feel different. And new. And amazing. And you will be fed. And as mommies of little children who need us for a million different things all day long, we need to be fed or we will burn out. And we can just feel overwhelmed with a million different to-do lists that seem like they have no purpose. Things that get undone 10 minutes after we do them. And the other reason I felt like it was so important to get up before the kids, was so I could also plan my day right after my time with God. Know what I want to accomplish for the day, check the account and be on top of the finances daily (something I was slacking on), know what we are having for dinner and how much prep time I will need, look at the calendar, and just be prepared for the day.

Before I got up early, I would wake up with kids who needed something, I would be groggy as my husband left for work with minimal breakfast, I had no idea what was for dinner, how much was in the account, or what I was doing that day. And that's when my life was feeling overwhelming and I felt like it was out of control. But with my new plan in place, I was getting fed by God first thing in the morning, having relaxing, quiet time with God to start off my day, and knew what my chores were for the day, and what the plan for the day would be. These 2 things have really helped me a lot during this crazy, hectic season of homeschooling 2 kids, preparing for CC each week, and a load of other responsibilities.

I hope everyone is well. I hope to hear from some of my regular readers from before, and hope to encourage some new moms as well who are in the thick of it, busy but satisfied staying home with little ones. Maybe we have homeschooling in common, our relationship with God, Classical Conversations, being a stay-at-home mom, or a love for cooking, but whatever it may be, I hope this blog will encourage you and give you some new ideas for how to make your life easier, more fun, or at least make your house smell yummy with some new recipes to try! Happy Fall!!

The Art of Losing Things

Just so you know, this is not a picture from my house!!

If Tad and I got paid for losing things, we would be rich by now. We specialize in losing things in deep, dark places, or even random places, or even obvious places and we should remember where they are! It is just amazing to me how fast things disappear into the oblivion around here.
Just yesterday we lost something important and spent a good deal of time looking for it. We looked through boxes, through piles of papers, in the garage, in purses, etc. and I happened upon it this morning with my sleepy eyes that weren't fully awake yet. It was on top of the microwave. Duh!
We usually have certain "spots" for important things, to make it less easy to lose them. But man oh man, if we don't put them in those spots, it seems impossible to find them. We just forget. I just forget, where I put them when I'm cleaning. I'm the master cleaner/hider of all things important. When I get going, especially if someone is coming over, I just grab piles of things and either put them away, or if there's no time, I just shove them places. Sometimes it seems like they do disappear; like pacifiers for instance. We had bought Judah so many pacifiers and lost them and bought them. I feel like I should be finding them in random places, but alas. Who knows what happened to them. (And by the way, we just finally weened him off of them! Well, I will give all the credit to Tad, because I was still hanging onto his obsession with them!)
So, judge all you want. Call us messy, unorganized, cluttered, forgetful, or irresponsible. But I just had to brag. Because I am a pro at losing stuff!

What bad habit are you a pro at?? Go ahead, brag in the comments section!!

image credit

Sleepy, Grumpy Mommy

 
I think when you become a parent you truly begin to realize the value of sleep. Oh, in college you get a taste of the sleepless nights. But you can always make up for it the next night, or that weekend, and it doesn't go on for weeks and months at a time. When I had Maddy (my first), I lost sleep for sure. But it wasn't too bad. The rule is "when they are sleeping, you should be sleeping." But that rule really only applies when you have one child, right? You can't just take a nap on the couch when you have other ones awake and playing. And the more kids you have, the more chances you have of being woken up at night.
Maddy is a pretty good sleeper now. She used to have night terrors until she was about 3 or 4, but now she is old enough that she doesn't get them and she doesn't really wake up at night. She just wakes up super early in the morning. And she has always been an early riser. But ever since she was about 3 or 4, she could come out of her room at 6 or 7 and turn on the tv and color. So that helped me get a little more sleep once I knew I could trust her to come out at a certain time.
Judah has always been a really good sleeper. He takes long naps and for the most part, has slept in. But lately he has been getting up early in the morning, and sometimes getting up at night since he is in a toddler bed and he can. We recently took away his pacifier, so that helps that he isn't waking me up to find it in his bed, which he did frequently.
Ruth is a pretty good sleeper. She has her different streaks, and they depend on teething, sickness, or if she is well and happy, she sleeps pretty good and wakes up one to two times at night to nurse, and takes one to two naps during the day, depending on when she wakes up. She actually sleeps until around 9 most days, so that is a nice time for me to have in the morning before she gets up.

I was having a hard time when Ruth was teething and sick and waking up in the middle of the night and staying up for awhile, sometimes 2 plus hours at a time. During that time, Judah would wake up and need put back to sleep. And then Judah or Ruth would wake up around 6 in the morning. I was so tired, that when Maddy and Judah were up that early, and Ruth was still sleeping, I would get them breakfast and put them in front of the TV with their little table and try to sleep on the couch. I was desperate for sleep. And grumpy. And didn't feel like starting my day that early. I didn't have enough energy to get everything done that I needed to. I felt like a failure as a mom because I have so much on my plate but I did not have the energy to accomplish stuff, especially stuff in the morning before school. I would just lay on the couch until 8 or 830 since Ruth was still sleeping, and it felt disgusting! Depression was starting to set in, and I couldn't handle my emotions or anything around me.
I do feel like I'm starting to come out of it. The kids have been sleeping better at night; I just have to plan on them getting up at or around 6. Which means I need to go to bed earlier. I am not good at this, but I have been so exhausted that it has been more motivating to go to bed earlier. I feel a little bit fresher, a little bit more alive, and a little bit more like I can handle my emotions. This is the start of a new week, and a new plan. I am cutting out sugar, wheat (as much as I can), sugary drinks, eating after 7, and will begin working out 6 days this week. I plan on being up in the morning with the kids and not sleeping on the couch. I don't want to go to bed late, and I need to get more done this week, including drinking more water, taking vitamins, eating healthier and getting out of my pajamas every morning and into normal clothes! I just had a big "binge" weekend of eating at different events, and I'm ready to shed those pounds, and choose things to help me feel better all around. I'm hoping that the extra water, healthy food, exercise, sleep, and good choices will help me feel better.
So, here's to a new week. Being a stay at home mom and a homeschooling mom at that, isn't always easy. There are good days and bad days. Days where you get a lot done and feel like you accomplished much. And then there are days when it seems like you are just trying to survive and make it to the end of the day with kids who are fed, dressed, and happy. It's all part of the process, and God is there with us through both kinds of days. Here's to a better week!

Priorities

Right now seems like such a crazy time. I think I definitely feel the most overwhelmed since having my third baby at the end of February. She is almost 8 months already, and I still feel pretty overwhelmed. It's not so much just her. It's all three of them put together. And this new year of teaching Classical Conversations each week that involves hours of prep work. And the ministries that I have at church. Plus the regular homeschooling, which I want to be one of my top priorities because I don't want that to fall by the wayside. And my home, and all the responsibilities that come along with that that pretty much fall on my shoulders alone. And then there are other things that I wish I had more time for. Like working out and spending time with friends. I feel like my friends are totally on the backburner right now. The only ones I really get together with are the few that pursue me to get together. Bless them!
Whenever anyone asks how I'm doing or what is going on, I feel like the answer is always "Busy." "Overwhelmed." "Crazy." "A lot going on." And if I'm not doing anything, or if I'm taking a nap, or relaxing, I feel like I should be doing something productive. And I wish I could get up early and get more things done before the kids get up, but lately, I have been getting so little sleep that my energy levels have been down and I have been struggling with depression so I can't really give up sleep right now. Ruth is up a lot at night, Maddy and Judah are in the same room now and they fall asleep a lot later than they used to, and get up a lot earlier than they used to. And usually about the time I lay down to go to sleep at night, Ruth wakes up for a feeding. And it seems like she is up way too much at night.
There is just so much going on right now. I miss having time to bake, cook, decorate, clean, exercise, entertain, all the things I used to blog about. My passions. The things that used to give me breaks. But now, I barely blog and probably because I don't have anything fun to blog about, it seems like I just keep griping about how overwhelmed I am. And how important things keep falling by the wayside. I know there are tons of systems and schedules out there to keep you on top of things. But when you homeschool, you are in a totally different game. When am I suppose to do those daily chores? My whole morning is filled with getting breakfast for 4 people, maybe picking up the kitchen, nursing Ruth, and getting school done with Maddy. And we are usually doing school in the afternoon after naps too.
I need the professional homeschooling veteran moms to help! When do you get things done? And how do you find the energy to get all those things done? It seems like my house is suffering, my health is suffering, and I cannot stay on top of things!! Maybe I'm just having a little emotional meltdown. I know the rewards of homeschooling and I know that that is more important than having a perfect house and entertaining weekly.
My mother-in-law was trying to help me by reminding me of my priorities: God, Husband, Family, Others/Church, Me. That breaks it down, showing me that my family is more important than church, Tad is more important than the kids, etc. But it can still be hard to break it all down and figure out how to get everything done in a way that I'm not going crazy. And I desperately miss my husband. My love. I so wish we had the money to have a getaway to focus on each other and relax. We have barely had that in our whole marriage. Maybe once. Or twice.
And it can also feel a little lonely being at home. Especially when the kids get sick. Even your husband doesn't understand what it's like to have all the responsibilities of a SAHM and be home with them all the time. And to never get a day off. Or a night off. It can be exhausting. Like today. Tad went to work, came home on his lunch break and saw the craziness for like 10 minutes and went back to work. Came home and took a nap on the couch. Left for worship practice and church while I stayed home with sick kids. Came back and did dishes for me and helped clean up and now he is gone on a run with his sister. I have been here all day. He did offer for me to go run, or for us to run together, but I just don't have the energy.
So there's my life. Crazy. Busy. And I don't have any answers, persay, I guess I'm still looking for answers.

Bogged Down

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 Well, it happens to me every once in awhile. I feel overwhelmed. I have so many new things on my plate, and with CC just starting, and in full swing with 1st grade, I feel exhausted at all my responsibilities. I keep saying I remember the days when I was a new stay-at-home-mom and I actually felt bored and lonely. I didn't know what to do with myself! Ha! I kinda miss those days.
I'm not the best at keeping up with everything. Honestly, I'm the worst with finances. And paper clutter. I feel like I have paper coming out my ears. Mail. Flyers. Calendars. Scratch paper. School papers. Coloring pages. Instruction manuals. Papers for baby, kids, CC, events, receipts, articles from magazines, recipes, artwork from the kids, and on and on. I don't know what to do with it all! I keep coming up with these "systems" to keep everything in it's place. But it seems like as soon as I go through a stack or box of papers and organize them, there is another stack! It's constantly growing! In my head, my systems work, but in the busyness of life, it just gets out of hand and the system gets lost in the shuffle.
CC takes a lot of prep work. I feel a little behind on Maddy's 1st grade stuff, but she is getting a lot of school in besides CC! And she is doing great! Everything kind of fell on me at once! Responsibilities at church, the beginning of the school year, and with all these responsibilities I have had less sleep (partly my fault for going to bed too late, and partly because Ruth started waking up and staying up more in the night) and Tad has been working doubles constantly so I feel like I have been going at it alone. He doesn't have the time or energy to really help me with my load of responsibilities.
So I guess at this point I really need to ask myself what my top priorities are. I can't do it all. And at the end of the day, I don't have that much energy to start 5 tasks before I go to bed. That's my relaxing, chill time. And my only time with Tad minus the kids.
I have been working at a bunch of schedules for chores, school, planning CC, morning tasks, afternoon tasks, evening tasks, and a reading schedule so that life can flow a little more smoothly and I can get things done throughout the week.
And also, life isn't perfect. I'm never gonna have a perfectly cleaned house, all the laundry done and folded, all my tasks done, etc. and the most important thing in my life right now needs to be my relationships. I can't be so busy that my marriage or relationship/time with my kids suffers. There will always be tasks to be done. But this precious time with my kids who are growing up so fast is fleeting. I want to enjoy this time, and not just try to "get through it."

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven. Ecclesiastes 3:1

Big Jobs for Little Hands

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It takes a lot of work to take care of little kids and take care of a house. They are practically on a mission to destroy your best efforts right behind you. Sometimes I pretty much give up and clean up after they go to bed so that I can enjoy the cleanliness of my house without it being destroyed 5 seconds later. But I have found that my kids really do love to help, even if they aren't doing a job perfectly, and it keeps them busy while I do other things I need to do. So here are some things that I have found that my little ones can do.

When they are around 2, they can do little, short tasks, because that is all they can remember and all they can really follow through with. And I've found that they need a little motivation, like a song, cleaning with them, or cleaning with an older sibling. They can help with things like:
1. washing windows (give them a towel or paper towel after you have sprayed it)
2. helping to unload the dishwasher (my 2 year old hands all the dishes to my 5 year old, and she stacks them appropriately on the counter, and I just put them away. I wish I would have thought of this when I was pregnant and bending down was difficult!!)
3. taking things to their room (especially if they have a play grocery cart, you can load it up with things that go to their room, and they will be glad to push it!)
4. getting their own diaper, shoes, shirts, etc. (if they can reach something that you need them to bring somewhere, why not ask them to get it? They may or may not, but praise them if they do!)
5. a rag with water (if you give them something to clean, a rag, and some water, it may or may not get cleaned, but they will be occupied for at least 30 minutes!
6. Putting their dirty clothes into the laundry basket
7. Putting their shoes away/in their room upon returning home
8. wiping off the table (might not be super efficient, but they love doing it!)
9. dusting (give them a washcloth and a certain area to dust, praise them!)

10. putting on their own shoes (if they can)

When they are around 5 (I picked these ages because that's how old mine are, so those are the ages I know. Certainly there are other chores they can do at other ages, and more things they can do when they are older/younger!) they can be such a big help. And I have found that they want to help, enjoy the praise when they do a good job, love the independence of doing something they have seen you do, and are learning the value of the work that goes into keeping a home. I especially value this for my 5 year old girl, who may be taking care of a home someday. They take it for granted when everything is done for them, and when they learn a little bit of hard work, they start to understand what it takes to be responsible and get things done throughout the day. I especially love the extra time I get with Maddy since we homeschool, so she can see what I do all day long, observe, and one day learn how to do things! Baby steps, people!  So here are some jobs that they can do at around 5 years old:
1. fold washcloths (I gave Maddy this job one day, and she proceeded to fold a whole load of laundry!)
2. put washcloths/towels away (I used to let her put her clothes away, and then she was just shoving them in her drawers, defeating the purpose of folding them.)
3. using the hose to vacuum corners
4. making their bed
5. cleaning their room (Maddy often doesn't do a great job cleaning her room, and I have been meaning to make a visual chart so she knows which things to clean up. Like pictures of toys, shoes, clean clothes, dirty clothes, etc. so she can move through the list, checking each thing off and also teaching her how to clean her room)
6. putting silverware away from the dishwasher (teaches sorting)
7. teaching their younger sibling a chore that they know (helps them be patient, learn how to teach, and keeps 2 kids occupied at once!)
8. switching laundry from washer to dryer, and from dryer to basket
9. taking out their own trashcan, or all the trashcans to a central location the day before trash pickup
10. sweeping
11. feeding their pet (maddy gives the dog food and water, and lets her out of her cage and opens the door to let her outside)
12. washing windows
13. helping to watch the baby (she can sit with her and keep her happy while I do housework)
14. wiping off the dining room table, kitchen counters, bathroom counters
15. clearing the dining room table after a meal (teaches them how to put things away, keep their place clean)
16. cleaning up after their own messes
17. putting their coat/bag/shoes away upon returning home
18. picking up their toys when they are done playing
19. getting the mail (ours is right on our front porch)
20. dusting

I love that instead of making more of a mess for you, you can actually get your kids to work together to clean something, which accomplishes so many things all at once!! It is a lot of work to take care of a house, but your 5 and 2 year old don't need to be sitting on the couch watching tv or running around fighting and making a mess all the time while you clean. Put them to work, and watch for results!! Teaching them some responsibility is a great gift you can give them at this young age! I do, however, think you need to be careful not to make your kids slaves and make them do everything in your house! It is hard to find the balance sometimes, between teaching your kids responsibility and making them do everything around the house. They should definitely be responsible for themselves as they get older, but I do believe they should have a fun childhood as well, and not spend it taking care of the whole house! We have to model hard work for them too, so that they will see what it looks like to work hard and not be lazy. If we make them do everything and we are lazy, then they will resent hard work and will not want to continue it into adulthood. Modelling laziness and teaching hard work is not a good combination!
So there you have it! There's my two sense!! Feel free to leave a comment if you have any other jobs for little hands that would be helpful to other moms!!

A Juggling Act

 Sorry I have been so MIA lately!! A big part of it is that I haven't been able to transfer all my pictures from my phone to the computer, so all the blog posts that I took pictures for aren't able to be put on my blog as easily. Not sure what is going on with that. The other part is that life is just plain hectic around here!! We only have a couple of weeks of school left, and with Ruthie coming during the school year, we had to take a few weeks off. So we are doing 6 days of school in each school week to try to get done by June 8. I'm ready for summer break!!
I pretty much have to make school the main priority in the mornings. I really try to get it all done by lunch time, or at least before nap time. So between feeding Ruthie, making breakfast, rocking Ruthie to sleep for her nap (which is often pretty time-consuming throughout the day), getting the kids dressed, and cleaning up after breakfast, it's a pretty hectic and busy morning. Ruthie's schedule isn't very predictable yet, so if she wakes up from her nap, then school usually gets put on hold for a little bit. I try to keep Maddy on schedule and doing things without me while I nurse, or reading a book to me if Ruth doesn't get too distracted.
But these days are extremely hectic when it's one on three. One mom, three kids who all need mom. Thankfully, Maddy is pretty self-sufficient so she can not only get most things that she needs, but she helps a lot with Judah too. I count down the hours until Tad gets off work, and until his days off!! It's so nice to have his help! I don't feel as insane when he is here and I can usually eat breakfast at a normal time when he is here to hold the baby!
I will say that it is so nice to live near family during this busy time, and have Tad's siblings stop in to visit, help, and to just go over his parent's house and have the kids run and play and have lots of aunts and uncles to love on them!
I'm hoping that if I can get my picture situation figured out, and once we are done with school here in a couple weeks, I will be much more present in the blogging world!! And if anyone has any advice why all of a sudden my phone won't upload any new pictures to my computer, feel free to leave a comment!!

I know I'm behind on my blog when my husband checks it and says I've been slacking!! I miss it!

Decorating Fun

I am so not an artsy person. Ask anyone who knows me. If I buy something from the thrift store or a garage sale, it is going in my house the way it is, no matter how rough it looks. I almost find it comical when people  say to me, "you should just sew that, or make this, or use this pattern, or sand or paint this," because I have no idea how to do any of those things.
Well, I found this super cool old frame or whatever it is at the thrift store for like $3, and I put it up on the wall. But it looked a little bare with nothing in the middle. I know that people decorate like that these days, but with only one big frame, it needed something else. Maybe it would have been fine if I had several other empty frames with it. But I didn't.
So I was asking some people what they thought I should do with it. My sis-in-law looked up some ideas so it got the wheels turning. Eventually I am going to have pics of each of my kids in each frame. Originally I was going to get the first letter of each of their names instead of the crosses. But I really liked the look of the crosses I found, and the letters I saw didn't have the same look.

So anyways, that's that. Not too much effort. And some help and ideas from family. But I think it turned out pretty cute!! It's also up on Pinterest!!

Entertaining: Do's and Don'ts

I love entertaining. It's something I never knew I loved until I got married and started having people over. I had no idea what to do! But over time, I got ideas of how to have my house in order and cook and have a meal ready for people to come over! I really love having an excuse to super clean my house (my house doesn't look like this all the time, folks!) and to cook some really yummy food. It's the perfect combination of getting my house clean, cooking, and hanging out with friends!! But although I love it, entertaining has become a pretty stressful thing around here.
Although people might say I'm good at entertaining, they don't see the mayhem that goes on around my house before people arrive for dinner. Trying to clean a house with little ones running around who practically destroy your best efforts right behind you is exhausting. I try to clean throughout the week if I know people are coming over, but how quickly things get in disarray as the kids play. I don't want to tell them they can't play or make a mess, but inevitably their rooms go off limits at some point closer to when people will come. They just can't help but destroy them!
I have done a pretty good job of stressing out my poor husband when company is due to come, leaving him probably wishing we didn't entertain instead of all the stress that comes with people coming over. I guess I have 2 options: to either let go of my standards of how the house should look when people come over or have a better cleaning/cooking schedule that allows more time to get the house ready.
But it's not all horrible!! I really do enjoy it, and I will share some of the good things I have learned to do when having guests over, which I did a lot more of in Chicago, and am starting to do more of here in Oklahoma!!

I love to have people over for dinner, moms over for a morning playdate with a mid-morning snack, an afternoon playdate with snacks for the kids, dinner with friends, and I have been wanting to do a brunch for the ladies! Someday!! I have learned to plan to cook during the kids nap time and to try to keep as much stuff warm in crockpots so that I'm not rushing around finishing dinner when company gets here. I used to be finishing my cooking when people were walking in the door, and if I wasn't finished, it was stressful to try to talk to them while measuring ingredients and cooking. I would rather calmly greet people at the door and be able to talk to them instead of frantically cooking and finishing dinner!!
Something else I did was to start writing down dinners that went well for company, were easy, and had a good reaction. That way when company is coming over, I can just look up a meal I haven't made for them, and it's something I'm familiar with and I'm not as stressed out about it. I used to always cook a new recipe for company, but using a familiar meal cuts down on the nerves about dinner turning out!!
With little kids, you can still clean earlier in the week and get things done, and then close off the rooms, like the bathroom, master bedroom, kitchen counters, surfaces, decluttering, etc. You can pick the areas that they can't reach or you can shut off to clean earlier in the week, and save the main areas that they will destroy throughout the week for last. That way you aren't cleaning the same area more than once.

Do you think my house always looks like this?? Why do you think I had to take a picture? To enjoy this sweet, brief moment!!

And the more you can get done ahead of time makes your time with company more enjoyable. Get out all the plates, napkins, utensils, and cups. Make the drinks ahead of time and have them in the fridge. Prep the coffee for dessert, set out dessert plates and forks, and pick a dessert you can make a day or more in advance so that isn't even on your list for that day!! Make to-do lists for each day until they arrive, so all the stress isn't at the last minute. Make a to-do list for your husband on the Monday before they come so he has all week to get it done. Like right now, since I'm pregnant, I can't do heavy lifting. So I try to save all the big stuff for him to do when he gets home from work. That way you aren't yelling at him at the last minute to get stuff done. He knows ahead of time what you expect him to do, there isn't miscommunication about it, and he can get it done in his time. Which believe me, isn't your time!!
So, sorry this is so long!! Hopefully this might give you some ideas about what to do, and what not to do, and of course, adapt it to how you like to entertain and get things done!!


Happy Entertaining!!

Thanksgiving Meal Preparations

Holiday Cranberry Sauce as the cranberries were bursting.

With Thanksgiving quickly approaching, it was about that time to make my menu and start planning my schedule for when I would start cooking/baking so that I wouldn't have to do it all at one sitting! Especially with being pregnant, I can't be on my feet for too long at a time, so I really wanted to stretch out my cooking to preserve my back!
This year, it really helps that we are spending Thanksgiving with Tad's family, so I don't have to do all the cooking, and we pretty much cut the menu in half and are each cooking so that the burden doesn't fall on either of us! And the great thing is that she has a roaster that she cooks her turkey in, so I don't have to even think about buying the turkey, thawing it, and cooking it so that it doesn't kill my guests!! In years past, I was frantically reading all the how-to's and turkey 101's so that I would properly cook the thing so that it would taste good and not send anyone home in pain! I have cooked about 3 turkeys now, but it still seems like a foreign thing to me, so I'm glad to not be cooking it this year!
My portion of the Thanksgiving menu is as follows:

Cranberry Sauce
Cheese Balls
Pumpkin Soup (which might actually be eaten at dinner with leftovers)
Corn Souffle
Stuffing
Pecan Pie
Pumpkin Cream Cheese Pie

I tried to map out my cooking according to what would keep best in the fridge/freezer and what I could make ahead of time and still taste like it was just made! So, here is my schedule for the week:

Pie Crust Dough before putting them into Ziplocs and rolling them out to be frozen until later use.

Sunday: made Cranberry Sauce and Perfect Pie Crusts for my pies
Monday: made the Cheese Balls
Tuesday: no cooking
Wednesday: will make Pecan Pie and Stuffing
Thursday morning: will make Pumpkin Cream Cheese Pie
will prep Corn Souffle (church cookbook, will include recipe later!)
Thursday late morning: will cook Corn Souffle and Stuffing at Tad's parent's house
will cook Pumpkin Soup on stove top either right before the meal, or later that evening with dinner leftovers.

Cheese Balls to be refrigerated and then rolled in chopped pecans before serving. Yum!

So that's the plan for this year. Not too complicated, and yummy recipes pretty much that I have made before! It should be good, easy, and not too much at one time! I'm looking forward to it! My mother-in-law is making the turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole, rolls, pumpkin pie, and apple pie. It should be a yummy, fun time!

What does your Thanksgiving menu look like this year?

Outdoor Fall Decor

I am so excited this year to decorate outside for the Fall season!! It might sound really silly, but living in Chicago all those years in a little apartment didn't allow for us to decorate outside!! We had a tiny little balcony that I could put a small table and a plant on, but other than that, not even a front porch!!
We were glad to see that the people who previously lived here had planted mums all across the front of the flower bed, which stayed green all through the cold and hot months. We trimmed them once or twice, and now they are in full bloom! They are mostly a deep red/maroon color and one of them is getting some burnt orange flowers too! There is also another mum (or other plant) that is getting buds and I'm wondering what they will look like!!

I also bought a few mums and pumpkins to put out on our porch since it is pretty big. When we first moved in, the porch seemed pretty empty with nothing on it, and it took us awhile to figure out what we wanted on there and to find stuff for it! But with the mums and pumpkins, it is looking more full! We got the chairs for about $20 from a thrift store, and the baskets that the mums are in and the little rocking chair are from a garage sale!!

Here is my little man watering the yard. Well, the driveway. Okay, he is just playing with the hose!!

Pretty soon, the little pumpkins will come inside, since they are pie pumpkins and I will have to put them to good use!! We will carve our pumpkins this weekend, toast the seeds, and then I might have to figure out what to do with the porch again!! I will also probably have to plant the mums I got from the store in the side part of the flower beds.
Any ideas for another bare porch once the flowers/pumpkins are removed??
Happy Fall!

Our Attempt at Gardening Part II

Well, our garden has been doing pretty well despite our total lack of knowledge on the subject!! Our first garden is actually growing things!! Not everything decided to come up, but we do have stuff growing and flourishing!!
I finally got a hoe for the garden, which really helps with the mass amount of weeding that needs to be done. Though I still have to hand-weed part of it, like the area around the watermelon and the carrots and chives are growing pretty close together, so I can't use a hoe there.
Here is a tour of our garden:

This is the only tomato plant we have left. We started out with 4 I think, and we transplanted 2 or 3 of them to a sunnier spot. and they didn't make it. I think they had some sort of bug get them before we even moved them. Since this plant was growing a little bit, I left it alone and it has gotten bigger. It isn't growing super fast, but we just put a cage on it because it is getting bigger. Hopefully I will get at least 1 tomato out of it!! It definitely doesn't get as much sun as a lot of my other plants.
Our cilantro is thriving! I have a bunch of little plants like this in the garden, and have already used it in my cooking! Exciting!! And when I water the garden, I smell the strong smell of cilantro! I love it!

Maddy's sunflower and watermelon (behind the towering sunflower) are doing really well! That sunflower gets bigger and bigger everyday!! She has had fun watering it and watching it grow! What a fun thing for little kids to get to watch a garden grow!

Those tall shoots are my chives, which are more like green onions now. They are doing well and I have used them in my cooking already as well. I love the taste of fresh green onions in dishes!
To the right is a row of carrots. I have several rows, and they are coming up nicely. When I water the garden, I'm starting to see the tops of the orange carrots, which is exciting!! They are all different sizes, not sure why, but they seem to be doing well!

And now, for our watermelon!! It is taking over! The baby watermelons are growing noticeable by the day!

The vines are taking over and are out into the yard as well. We need to prune them, as I've been told and have read, to get the biggest, best watermelon instead of a bunch of small watermelon.
Some of the first watermelon.

Little baby ones :)

Getting bigger...

They are at least double or triple this size now. I keep taking pictures of them, but the pictures quickly are not of the current size! They are really fun to watch everyday! Maddy is always asking to go outside and see them!
They are probably bigger than a softball right now. The other thing we have decided to do is to mulch the area under the watermelon to keep them from rotting on the ground (which happened to my friend's watermelon) and it also keeps down the weeds. Once the vines get going for the watermelon, it's really hard to get in there to weed, and I don't want them to choke out my plants.
So, for our first garden, I'm pretty happy! I wish more of our plants had come up, but I'm happy with how things are going, and it gives me a lot to learn from for next year!! Hopefully by the end of the season, I'll have a helpful knowledge of what to do/not do for my next garden!